When I was a young supervisor fresh from college I was thrown into a turbulent division experiencing 400% growth. The lead underwriter took me under her wing and taught me valuable lessons for dealing with that kind of chaos. “Never leave a problem file sitting on your desk over a weekend,” Jackie taught me. “Problems … Read more
Many managers look to the annual performance appraisal as a time for goal-setting and calibration. It is an important event, but for the feedback-starved associate, that’s like being in school and getting no teacher input until the report cards come out in June. Let’s face it: the annual performance review cycle is a relic of … Read more
I recently received a bit of wisdom from a colleague of mine, and it was very important in a conversation I had today with a client, so I”m passing on to you. First, an important distinction between being NICE and being KIND Nice is about what the other person is thinking and feeling–it’s their perception … Read more
You would probably not expect yourself to place well in a swimming race if you only got into the pool once every six months. And if you need to generate custom reports from the accounting software, you’ll probably seek training and experience so you can increase your comfort with the programming parameters. When you engage … Read more
Any emotion that you WANT to experience more can become more natural if you play the role, or practice it, more often. Let’s look at assertiveness. In assertiveness, you are able to stand up for yourself or your position from a place of confidence. When you practice assertiveness, you are more likely to get your … Read more
As more and more companies must make the difficult decision to reduce staff and send people packing, I’ve had many leaders come to me and ask for advice on what to tell people when they ask questions. When people suspect a lay off is pending, they shift into constant anxiety. Yet too many top leaders, … Read more