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Create a Culture of Accountability
Create a Culture of Accountability The Importance of Accountability in Leadership In the realm of leadership, accountability is a cornerstone of effective management and a healthy organizational culture. Recently, I had a conversation with a coaching client about a...
How to Have a Great One-on-One with Your Staff
I have had several people ask me recently, “How do I have a successful one-on-one conversation/meeting with my staff members?” I am a strong believer in having regular one-on-one (or “1 on 1”) conversations with your staff members. The annual review or quarterly...
Letting Go of Stress
Stress is the number one challenge in the workplace and it is continuing into 2023. We as leaders have to find some ways for ourselves and our staff members to Let Go of Stress! Here are some interesting 2023 statistics from Zippia, along with their related research...
Happy Employee Appreciation Month!
Amazing how fast this year is flying by…it is March! “The month of March symbolically represents new growth, fertility, and procreation in humans, plants and animals. It’s meaning embodies a kind of reigniting of the hearts, like our ancestors, quickened… our...
Wise and Compassionate Crucial Conversations
I woke up this morning thinking about a leadership book I recently read, Compassionate Leadership, by Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter. I highly recommend this book! So many of us have challenges dealing with conflict/confrontation and having crucial...
Coaching vs Check-In Meetings
If you are leading and managing people, Coaching and Check-in meetings are a must, and there is a difference between the two conversations. To help clarify their use, let’s define and differentiate the two. A Coaching Conversation: What is Coaching? First, a...
Relationships at Work: Give What You Want to Get
Strong leadership is based on strong relationships. Have you considered your relationships lately? Here’s what to consider and how to improve them.
Compassion and Empathy
What are the differences? Compassion and Empathy are being talked about a lot in the work environment these days. I have discovered that many of us, myself included, sometimes use these words interchangeably, so that their definitions have become blurred. However, the...
Tips for Transitioning after the Pandemic
Hope you all are well and getting outside to enjoy some of this Spring weather. As my blog readers know, getting outside in nature to relax and renew is an important part of self-care. Don’t miss the Spring! And as we transition from Winter to Spring,...
Empathy in the Caring Professions
by Marguerite Ham Balancing Empathy and Burnout I recently read an interesting article in Quartz about the possibility that empathy could cause exhaustion and burnout. This can happen to anyone, but particularly to people in professions which involve caring for people...
The 4 Attitudes for Outstanding Leadership
I recently became a Certified Mindfulness Facilitator with Wendy Quan, The Calm Monkey. As I walked through the months of training, practicing and learning, one of the foundational pieces we learned was “The 4 Attitudes of Mindfulness for Successful...
The 3 Keys to Servant Leadership
I just recently listened to a great webinar at www.MindfulLeader.org with Jacqueline Carter from Potential Project. In her presentation, she talks about “Leading with Mindfulness, Selflessness and Compassion.” Here are some of the highlights from this...
Mindful Leadership
by Marguerite Ham I recently reread a powerful book by Janice Marturano, “Finding the Space to Lead,” about mindful leadership. Because of all the turmoil in our country and world, it seems that everywhere I look, experts are talking about the importance of...
Conversational or Directional Leader?
Are you a Conversational Leader or a Directional Leader? I was watching a You Tube with two of my favorite authors and leaders, John Maxwell and Simon Sinek. Two brilliant minds having a conversation around leadership. Here is the link (1 Hour),...
Pandemic Leadership: Find Your Focus
With the coronavirus pandemic affecting our world, nation, communities, workplaces, and families, as Angela Duckworth says, “If you’re not stressed right now, you’re not alive!” That does not mean that we must become victims of the stress, anxiety and fear that...
Anxiety is Manageable – Reduce it Quickly
Anxiety can creep up the thermometer quickly and throw us into an emotional spiral of fear or uncertainty. Anxiety can paralyze our ability to think and make decisions, especially during trying times like these. A hamster wheel of rumination can start spinning inside...
Adaptive Leadership Requires Flexibility!
Adaptive Leadership Adaptive Leadership is key right now with our uncertain environment worldwide. Your way of being as a leader must be intentional. Your people are watching everything you say and do and the energy you are emanating. Now is the time to become an...
‘Tis the Season to Love Your Staff
The 12 Days of Appreciation by Marguerite Ham I was recently reading the Simple Abundance, A Daybook of Comfort and Joy, by Sarah Ban Breathnach. This book is a wonderful compilation of essays that stimulate reflection on how we are living or not living our lives with...
Are You Living Your Values?
by Marguerite Ham If we live in a way that conflicts with our deep internal values, we can’t help but be unhappy, though we might not consciously know why. In the midst of our busy life, we don’t often stop to think about our personal value system. The list below will...
Energize Your Workplace with Empathy
by Marguerite Ham I have often been asked “What is the difference between empathy & sympathy?” Although they are similar, they do have different meanings, especially when it comes to the workplace. Empathy is a great quality to develop to improve your...
Leaders Set the Example
A friend and client, John Horan, forwarded a Harvard Business Review article to me: Leading Teams: If You Multitask During Meetings, Your Team Will, Too. I found it interesting and right on! I think we each occasionally find ourselves guilty of the sins noted in this...
Trust and Team Building
The post before last was about finding balance in your life, based on information from the book Breaking the Trust Barrier, by JV Venable. If you recall, Venable was a commander and demonstration leader of the Thunderbirds, the USAF’s elite demonstration...
How Accountability and Resilience are Connected
I recently had a conversation with a client which generated a leadership AHA! about how accountability and resilience are connected. In this situation, a millennial was involved. He had been working for a year with this organization, and his manager had...
Leadership and Gratitude
Thanksgiving is right around the corner and a perfect time for reflecting on the people we are grateful for in our personal and professional lives. Find ways to demonstrate gratitude all year long! In my workshops and retreats discussing leadership, there are many...
Crucial conversations with the C Style
Today, we wrap up the series of communication tips based on DISC styles with hints for strong C’s, the Mr. Spocks of the office. Even if you don’t need it right now, you can bookmark the first article, which contains links to the others, and keep it for reference when...
Crucial Conversations with the S Style
If you’re a high S, here’s how you relate… …to a high D: People with the D style like to get right to the point. They’re willing to be straightforward and even blunt at times in the interest of making rapid process. You’re more likely to be tactful and soft-spoken, so...
Crucial Conversations with the I style
If you’re a high I, here’s how you relate… …to a high D: People with the D style like to get right to the point. They’re probably straightforward and even blunt at times, while you’re more likely to spend time building friendly relationships rather than focusing...
Crucial Conversations with the D Style
If you’re a high D, here’s how you relate to each of the styles: …to another high D: People with the D style like to get right to the point. They want things to happen quickly and don’t want to spend a lot of time dwelling on specifics. Because both of you tend to be...
Mastering Difficult Conversations
One of the things I hear quite often from Leaders and Managers at all levels: “I have to have a Crucial Conversation with someone, and I don’t know how…” This is understandable. Crucial conversations can be difficult. But they are key to helping...
Apathy … Sooner or Later
Sooner or later, Apathy strikes! It may show up in our personal lives, and it may show up in our professional lives. And, as we know, if we have a personal challenge it can, and most likely will, creep into our professional lives as well. So, it is...
Reasons People Don’t Take Action & How to Get them Moving
With the start of 2017, many of us think about the goals we want to accomplish this year and beyond. If we manage or lead others, we are also helping others set and reach their goals. As a coach, I am often asked/told, “How do I get ‘Name’ to take action?”...
Leaders Listen, Laugh, and Love
I have been working with “leaders” for a long time – over 30 years. Wow! The time has flown by and what a learning journey it has been and continues to be every day! I have worked with some amazing leaders, who were and continue to be my teachers, mentors, and...
Frogs and Tomatoes Beat Procrastination
How many of you spent time creating goals for 2016? How many of your goals fell by the wayside because of PROCRASTINATION and anxiety about not having enough time? Wouldn’t it be great to have a strategy to deal with procrastination and make some real...
Shifting Our Mindset
7 Ways to Shift your Mindset as a Leader Shifting our mindset from “how does this impact me” to “what is the greater good for the greatest number of people” is not an easy shift! It takes time for most to let go of old and outworn beliefs and thoughts and replace...
Use an Elephant to Improve Communication
How many times have you been in a meeting and know there is something that needs to be said (everyone is feeling/sensing it) and no one is talking about it??? This leads to communication break downs within organizations, which can negatively impact productivity,...
Chart Your Course for Change
You can’t get where you’re going if you don’t know where that is! Every year, it is a great idea to chart your course for the upcoming year by creating a Vision Board. What is a Vision Board? A “visual” representation of what you want to create or what you want to...
I Wish YOU Would Change!
Can you believe it’s March already? Spring arrives this month, so we “spring forward.” Before April comes, there will be a bustling feeling of rebirth and renewal in the air. Consequently, we feel an urge to make a change in our own lives. Are you stuck in a...
Feel the Fear – Be Powerful Beyond Measure!
I was thinking about how “fear” can hold us back from so much, both personally and professionally. Fear paralyzes us from taking action, from taking a risk, from love… In wonderful passage in A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson, she writes:...
Leading Staff through Holiday Stress
The holidays are a busy time and can be truly challenging, both personally and professionally. Often when we are stressed, going in too many directions, overwhelmed, or dealing with organizational changes, our EQ takes a real nosedive; regardless...
Riding a Horse and Leading Your Staff
Leaders are not to control their staff…they are to have a deep understanding of who they are and what their strengths are. Leaders help their staff succeed in their roles. It is through their successes that the organization will...
What People Want
What do customers, friends, the socially networked, users, neighbors, classmates, servers, administrators, employees… maybe even brands… want? notice me like me touch me do what I say miss me if I’m gone The above blog was written by Seth Godin, Saturday, May 14,...
Leadership & Rituals
I had a very interesting conversation this week about the importance of rituals in our lives. We were raised with rituals! Family rituals, religious rituals, community rituals, school rituals, holiday rituals….the list goes on and on! I started thinking about how...
Communication is Key to a Leaders Success
I was talking with a client today, and he shared with me the great success that is taking place within his company. He stated that the success is due to his constant attention to “Re-training, Re-immersion and Reemphasis” to the core Mission, Vision, Values and...