Do you know your employment value? I learned about the emotional benefit of getting an unbiased opinion when I helped someone write her CV around 30 years ago.
In my new home typing venture, my first client worked at a local bank. She was a lovely, nervous woman who wanted to know if I could provide a confidential service and help her write a new CV. Continue reading
I was having a conversation with this amazing construction manager with higher than usual emotional intelligence. Since the projects he does are huge, with up to 250 people to manage, he ends up with different quirks and personalities woven into the mix.
On his current project, he talked about getting several complaints about one person who was overly aggressive. Continue reading
I have a client who is dealing with a bad boss. Her boss gets hysterical over inconsequential things, doesn’t plan well or communicate with the staff and is putting the organization at risk.
Her life is spent putting out fires while his is spent lighting them.
Although she has bravely spoken up and alerted the people above him, this will take a while. Continue reading
People always want to know how to have a better outcome with those horrible, difficult people in their lives.
I recently gave 2 keynotes on my topic of increasing collaboration.
After both of them, people came up to me to tell how one simple tool struck them.
What regularly sticks is this small piece of information I share with folks: Continue reading
Anger or anxiety disables our thinking brain. We need to re-calibrate what we are thinking in order to reclaim our emotional balance. That being said, when someone is putting pressure on us or elevating our blood pressure, stepping back and approaching things differently can help improve the outcome. Continue reading
(Published in Huffington Post)
Years ago, as a single mom I was working very hard to reinvent myself with very few credentials to my name. My financial and emotional bank accounts were constantly being drained with demands and responsibilities. There were days where I would have preferred to stay in bed for a month, but I got out of bed, painted on a smile and picked up my boxing gloves; just like every under-employed single mom I knew.
At work, I had a colleague named Raj. He had a Master’s degree in Mathematics, came from a prominent family, and was newly engaged to a professional woman. They were living the dream and had life by the balls! Continue reading
As we patiently wait for the admin assistant to call our number at the clinic, a man at the desk is asking her what’s taking so long for the doctor to see him and that he has to get back to the office. He wants to know how much longer. She abruptly says they don’t give times. He asks how many people are ahead of him. Instead of answering, the girl dismissively points to the sign next to her desk and goes in the back where the files are. The sign reads “Aggressive behaviours will not be tolerated”. Continue reading
It’s very easy to judge another. Everyone does it.
On Friday, we went to grab a bite at Wendy’s. Ahead of us, there was an impatient woman, waiting to be served while a confused, older gentleman was trying to order a Papa burger. A&W is across the street.
They were opening another cash register while the woman angrily barked at the man that A&W is across the street and that this is Wendy’s. Continue reading
Out of the blue, someone I know professionally wrote me a quick Facebook private message telling me he thinks I’m amazing. Truthfully, I didn’t even know how to respond. I read it and sat with it for a couple of hours before I responded. It truly confused and bothered me.
He was not pointing to anything in particular I had done.
I expected he was most likely responding to a Facebook opinion post. Continue reading
In reflecting on a conversation I had with a Director of Care and her direct boss at a senior’s residence, I was struck by how unaware they were that their attempts in managing communication flow was causing their current communication breakdown.
The new DoC has only been in her position since December and was promoted from within. Communication breakdown has been a terrible problem for several years. There is a history of staff not being told basic information and clients or their family members unable to get information about their loved ones. Continue reading
