6 Positive Ways (Stolen from Top Salespeople) to Deal With Confrontation

by John Walston March 18, 2018

Some people are naturally confrontational. It’s just how they roll.

And most managers’ first thought is how to avoid them!

That’s impossible all the time. But we can adopt an approach that at least lessens the pain of engaging them – without turning into an argument.

Salespeople are probably the most adept at dealing with combative people. They’re the ones who hear the complaints about a product or service (whether it’s their fault or not), so they come to expect some level of confrontation with almost every encounter.

They’re prepared, so they know how to respond. So you might want to use these tips from seasoned salespeople the next time you face a confrontational person:

Click to continue »

Hiring

New Hires: Paying Top Dollar Doesn’t Mean You Have Top Talent

by Jeff Hyman March 11, 2018

When assembling your team, you want to hire winners – not mercenaries. No matter how great the performer, never hire someone who is in it just for the money. This is easier said than done.

The sports world is rife with athletes who ignited a bidding war for their services, selected the highest offer, and then rewarded their new team with poor performances. Contrast that with athletes who took less than market value or even agreed to pay cuts to give their organizations the financial flexibility to sign other top players and build a championship team (witness Kevin Durant or Tom Brady).

Ideally, you want a team of Rockstars who are inspired by the mission and culture of your organization and derive deep satisfaction from crushing their goals and driving the enterprise forward. Money is an important part of the equation, but if that’s an employee’s prime motivation, they will bail when a headhunter calls. (I know: that’s my job.)

Click to continue »

Hiring

Body Language: Are They Lying Or Just Tired? [Infographic]

by John Walston March 4, 2018

We’ve gotten a lot of inquiries about body language in the past year.

What is a person’s body saying when they are interviewing? Are they insecure? Confident? Are they lying? Or just tired?

So, I want to thank the folks at Custom Writing for letting us share their infographic on Body Language: From Common Signs to Spotting Lies. Plus, it pairs well with one our most popular posts, which is on lying.

It’s a biggie! It covers 30 situations, almost everything you’ll want to know.

Click to continue »

Professional Development

Well, That Didn’t Work! 5 Proven Ways To Turn Failures Into Wins

by John Walston February 4, 2018

No matter how hard you try, sometimes you and your team fail.

Yep, mistakes happen.

And your immediate thought: We can’t let that ever happen again.

But sometimes it does.

It doesn’t have to. There’s a new way, backed by research, to recover from both team and individual setbacks.

Click to continue »

Professional Development

Even Techies Now Admit Soft Skills Are The Difference Maker

by John Walston January 28, 2018

Despite all the hoopla about how tech skills will drive the future, it turns out soft skills, like communicating and coaching, top the list when it comes to being a most valued employee.

Even the tech-types are now saying so.

Two recent Google studies suggest overlooking soft skills is to your detriment.

Click to continue »

Employee Engagement

8 Ways to Get Real Feedback From Employees That Makes a Difference

by John Walston January 7, 2018

When’s the last time you asked your employees what they really think?

About anything – their jobs, the company’s prospects, the physical space, what they get stuck on most.

Forget “brainstorming” – that’s not what this is. It’s an effort to find out what’s been making them tick lately, and whether you’re missing any subtle messages they’re trying to send.

Soliciting feedback can be as simple as telling employees about upcoming projects and asking what they feel should be prioritized. Or discussing company efforts toward a goal, and asking what they’d do to get it done.

Even though your team might not make the big decisions, this practice does two things: It gives you insight into how your employees think regarding their jobs and, more importantly, lets your employees know they’re more than just a number.

Click to continue »

Professional Development

11 Buzzwords To Retire – and Become a Better Manager for It

by Michele McGovern December 31, 2017

Forget cleaning out your closets or cleaning up your diet.

Make 2018 the year you clean up your communication.

Ditch the clichés and buzzwords. Put meaning and credibility back into what you say – and what you write. You’re sure to get better results if you do.

Here are 11 all-too-popular workplace words and phrases that have seen their day come and go – and why you really do want to make a point of putting them to rest this year.

Click to continue »

Professional Development

Do You Really Need To Hold That Meeting? Use This Tool to Find Out

by John Walston December 24, 2017

It seems we find ourselves in meetings all day long. Some are pretty productive, but I bet you find yourself in a lot more meetings that just seem to be a waste of time.

And you end up asking, “Is this meeting REALLY necessary?”

The cost of bad meetings is staggering: $37 billion dollars are wasted every year in the U.S. on useless meetings.

Well, this great infographic/flowchart from our friends at fundera can help you decide whether you should hold that meeting at all. So next time you think about calling a meeting, walk through this flowchart first.

Click to continue »

Employee Engagement

6 Ways to Delegate the Right Job to the Right Person

by Lisa McKale December 17, 2017

Successful managers get to the top by knowing how and when to effectively delegate. Being able to use your human resources wisely makes both you and your team better.

But when the time comes to delegate, you might find yourself doing a delicate dance. It’s your job to delegate work, but it might not be obvious what tasks should go to which employee.

One option is to fake it: Gather your team together, outline the project tasks to be done, and let your employees choose what they want to be responsible for.

It might be easier, but it’s less effective. Why? Because employees respond better when they feel they’ve been chosen for a particular task, rather than having to volunteer for it.

Click to continue »

Professional Development

5 Pieces Of Practical Leadership Advice From A Jeopardy! Champion

by Fred Hosier November 26, 2017

Ken Jennings says knowledge isn’t trivial.

As the winningest Jeopardy! contestant of all time (74 matches in a row), Jennings knows something about knowledge and trivia.

Like this factoid: “Trivia” is the only word you’re not supposed to say on air as a Jeopardy! contestant (as in, “I was always good at trivia”).

Why? Because trivia equals trivial, and Jeopardy! isn’t trivial. (Jennings’ payday of $3.4 million certainly wasn’t.)

But in this age of being able to ask Google or Siri for a piece of information, is knowing stuff still important to managers and supervisors for anything besides winning on TV game shows?

Jennings, who calls himself a “nerdy guy” who “knows a lot of weird stuff” argues it does. And it applies to leaders and managers, too. Here’s why:

Click to continue »