My friend Sally works for a company that holds monthly small-group “open forum” type meetings for cross-sections of various company departments. The purpose of these meetings is to promote cross-departmental communication. Each month, leaders from different functions in the company moderate the discussion. In general, Sally enjoys the meetings, except for one aspect: they are…
Communication
3 Keys to Keeping a Virtual Open Door Policy
Recently I wrote a post about what happens to employees’ brains when they cross the threshold of their workplace door. In a happy coincidence, at about the same time, I was connected to Kyle Lagunas, who wrote an excellent post on his blog about doors and workplaces: how to maintain an “open door policy” when…
What Type of Angry Boss Are You?
My kid came home the other day and showed me some artwork that he drew while waiting for his classmates to finish their math tests. He drew a series of random dots, connected them and then created a cartoon out the resulting shape. His first shape resembled an angry person screaming so he labeled it…
Is Faulty Wiring Frying Your Gut-Check?
Even the most plugged-in leaders get it wrong sometimes. This fact was driven home to me the other day as I listened in on a phone conference led by a regional manager named Pete who manages a group of customer service teams spread across the northern half of the United States. My purpose in joining the…
Great Speakers Form Authentic Relationships
A Book Review of Speak Up! by Heather Stubbs Most books on public speaking emphasize external attributes— projecting one’s voice confidently, maintaining eye contact and telling spellbinding stories. These are all important factors says author Heather Stubbs, but to be a truly powerful speaker, you need to first get your internal house in order. That’s…