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. (more…)
People always want to know how to have a better outcome with those horrible, difficult people in their lives.
I gave 2 keynotes on my topic of increasing collaboration within a day of each other.
After both of them, people came up to me to tell how one simple tool struck them.
I was a strong reminder of what regularly sticks is this small piece of information I share with folks: (more…)
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. (more…)
While networking, I asked an HR professional of a mid-sized company (150 employees) when would she hire a communications expert like me to come and train her employees. She told me she never has because there’s no budget. Then she added that all training budgets were for technical training and only the C-suite folks do retreats, team building and leadership development.
Oh?!?
So you think you are observant. Everyone seems to be getting along. After all, they come to work everyday and smile when you walk by. If people weren’t communicating well, you’d know! Right?
Do you care about your organization’s performance and productivity? I’m guessing “Yes”! Do you know how much of it is reliant on how well people “play nice together”?
Sometimes, when we’ve got our head down, doing the work, we forget to look up and at each other. And when we do, it can feel a little irritating. (Of course it’s not you!)
Here’s a quick video about why we should talk. Share it with those you know that also value leadership development and performance.
And then, let’s talk. 🙂
Do you wish there was more collaboration in your workplace? Maybe it’s time for a conversation.
Monique works with organizations or people who want to reduce conflict to create a culture of collaboration, engagement and productivity. The most successful leaders are not infallible when faced with someone who “drives them crazy!” Her strategies to empower people to better understand each other and have better outcomes, while having fun, are appreciated by all who meet her. She draws from 30 years of crisis intervention and mental health work, she is a Level II Accredited Trainer for DISC as a Human Behavior Consultant and a Certified NLP Professional Coach. She loves meeting people and getting to know them and their industry. So feel free to reach out.
I was given some feedback about my participation in a closed Facebook group that felt somewhat harsh at first. Now, I want to point out that I deeply respect and admire the person who was telling me this. If it had been someone who I didn’t respect, I might not have taken any notice of his comment. But when he brought it up, I felt guilty wondering if I had done something wrong.
What is funny is that it was such a small thing, and he just wanted to nip it in the bud. I’ll tell you the story below.
(Published in Huffington Post)
I just came back from a two day “Think Tank” for forward thinking business people. This experience gave me an opportunity to reflect on the people I’ve been hanging out with since deciding to tip my toe in the world of entrepreneurialism.
Besides laughing and socializing, we shared many personal stories of challenges and how we overcame them; learning from each other. (more…)
(Published on Huffington Post.) Thursday, February 18th, I listened with rapt attention to The Right Honourable Paul Martin as he engaged with 5 Former First Nations Chiefs. In the image above, from left to right, they are Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, Matthew Coon Come, Phil Fontaine, Ovide Mercredi and Georges Erasmus. This was our last mainstage panel discussion of a week of sharing and brainstorming to reclaim and rebuild after 20 years of abusive neglect by our Canadian government.
The full title of the AFOA conference was “Leadership and Governance: Transformational Change through Education and Capacity Building”. The messages of hope and transformation rang throughout the week without naively denying what has happened. (more…)