influencing and being influenced by Archives - Page 5 of 5

A Great Kitchen Won’t Make You a Great Chef

March 27, 2017

We have a friend who has one of the most beautiful kitchens we’ve ever seen. This kitchen has everything: amazing appliances, workstations, lighting, and amenities. It would make professional chefs drool and is truly an inspiring sight to behold. When talking about the kitchen, we asked, “Who’s the chef?” We know that our friend (let’s call her Sara) can barely heat soup and so we were curious about who was going to be using this amazing kitchen. Sara stated, “Well,…

insight or incite? - road sign pointing both ways

Alignment vs. Voting

November 21, 2016

Monday Morning Business Coach

We’ve heard from so many of you as you struggle to know how to move forward in this difficult time, that we want to share a lesson that can be game-changing in your personal and professional life. And that is that voting is not always the best way to a decision. As we work with communities, non-profit organizations, and businesses, we frequently see decisions being made by a vote. It makes sense as we have all grown up with the…

The Road to Nowhere…

October 31, 2016

Monday Morning Business Coach

One of the key aspects of being a good leader is determining the road forward and figuring out how to stay on that road despite the sometimes unfavorable conditions. We often meet individuals who turn off the road to success for what appears to be an immediate gain without considering how this short-term diversion will impact their long-term goal. Each of these distractions puts them on the road to nowhere. We’ve been working with a lot of organizations of late…

What to Do with Those Negative Neils & Nellies!

June 20, 2016

Monday Morning Business Coach

One of the things many of our clients struggle with is how to get the most out of the negative people in their lives. Those people who are quick to see what’s wrong, or to resist a new idea, or who focus on all the potential “disastrous” consequences of a decision. Almost all of us have one or two in our lives and they can make moving an initiative forward challenging, unless you have the ability to tap into the…

Suffering from Change Fatigue?

June 13, 2016

Monday Morning Business Coach

As the world moves faster and faster, there are demands on each of us to match the pace. Yet, as humans, we count on a level of predictability and stability to move forward effectively. In fact, our brains count on being able to kick into habit to manage the demands of all that’s coming at us. When it gets to be too much, we get fatigued by all the change—hence the term Change Fatigue. Organizational change fatigue can become a…

Inspire Others to Dream More

June 15, 2015

Monday Morning Business Coach

“If your actions inspire others to dream more,learn more, do more and become more,you are a leader.” — John Quincy Adams We recently had a conversation with some young adults who we know through our young adult children. They are amazing young people with great passion and integrity. In our conversation, several of them talked about their belief that leadership is a role and that the people who pursue that role are power-hungry and self-absorbed. Since we had just…

Your Holiday Leadership

December 15, 2014

Monday Morning Business Coach

For the past couple of weeks, our clients have come to meetings looking a little worse for wear. They are running hard at work—where many are at fiscal year end—while also trying to prepare for the holidays. They are attending the plays and shows that their kids are in, going to office and personal holiday parties, participating in religious services or activities, and trying to figure out great gifts for hard-to-buy-for family members. Many report that they both love and…

Influence vs. Manipulation

March 25, 2013

Monday Morning Business Coach

In our coaching work with executives and managers, we often run into individuals who are uncomfortable with the idea of learning to be more influential because they equate influence with manipulation. Influencing others requires building a shared vision for the future (that future may be three years out, or it may be how to handle a personnel crisis today). When you build a shared vision, each person shares in the excitement about the future because they each stand to benefit…

Effectively Communicating One-to One

October 8, 2012

Monday Morning Business Coach

One question we often receive about communication is, “How do I get people to communicate with me one-on-one?” Many people are confident in their ability to facilitate communication in meetings, but in one-on-one meetings they struggle to shift from a “talking to” conversation to a “talking with” conversation. Many leaders fall into this dilemma, believing it is their job to be the authority, know the “truth,” and have all the answers. Therefore, they often have little practice genuinely engaging with…

Stop Talking! Now, Communicate.

August 27, 2012

Monday Morning Business Coach

As executive coaches and management consultants, we have worked with hundreds of individuals and organizations in our combined 35+ years of experience. As such, people often ask us what makes some organizations successful and others less so—despite similar conditions. We recently sat down to mull this one over—and came back to what we have seen over and over again. The secret to success comes down to one thing: a leader’s willingness to influence and to be influenced by every member…