If you really want to build a collaborative team, make sure you look like you do!
He had assembled a multi-level, multi-functional group – a diagonal slice of 30 people from across the organization – and had taken them off-site for two days to co-create the necessary steps for achieving the company’s new strategic plan. The hope was that collaboration and knowledge sharing would begin at this meeting and expand from…
The most effective communicators come across as both confident and caring
A few years ago, I conducted research in the United States, Europe and Canada to see how gender differences in communication were displayed in the workplace. The first thing I found was that both men and women identified the same sets of strengths and weaknesses in themselves and each other. Top three communication strengths for…
Assess the reality, take more risks, speak up, increase your visibility, be authentic, and learn to be powerful but still likable
My special project when coaching female leaders is to improve their influence and impact skills – their leadership presence. You might be surprised to find that leadership presence is not an attribute automatically assigned to you because of your business results. Nor is it necessarily reflective of your true qualities and potential. Instead, it depends…
Own your success, take your place at the table and power up your body language
Sandra was introduced to me as a highly successful business professional with exceptional leadership skills. She was being groomed for a top executive position and she sounded perfect for my favourite kind of coaching assignment: I love working with accomplished women who are looking to become even more effective. It should have come as a…
Collaboration is also intrinsically inspiring because it has an emotional payoff. People like being part of a winning team
Some years ago, when I was speaking to a group of executives about change leadership, the topic of collaboration came up. On a whim I asked, "How many of you are totally comfortable sharing information with others in your organization?" I was astonished when out of an audience of about 200, only three hands went…
Men lie about their accomplishments, salaries, and status. Women, by contrast, lie to minimize their perceived deficiencies
I don’t mean that men tell more lies, or are better at lying. But men and women lie about different things. When men lie, it’s often to look bigger – taller, richer, more powerful and more sexually attractive. In both personal ads and in face-to-face conversations, men tend to “inflate” the numbers by saying they…
People are two times more likely to remember you if you shake hands with them
Apparently there is some controversy over the question of whether businesswomen should hug or shake hands. My vote goes to the handshake. Here’s why: A study on handshakes (by the Income Center for Trade Shows) showed that people are two times more likely to remember you if you shake hands with them. The trade-show researchers…
It's all about context: view them in clusters, evaluate them in relation to what is being said, assess them for consistency and filter them for cultural influences
Humans are genetically programmed to look for facial and behavioural cues and to quickly understand their meaning. We see someone gesture and automatically make a judgment about the intention of that gesture. And we've been doing this for a long time. As a species, we knew how to win friends and influence people – or…
Inspiring loyalty takes leaders with insight into the human heart and sensitivity toward the hopes and aspirations of others
Think loyalty is dead? Think again. Loyalty may not look like it did 20 years ago – when companies offered career-long employment and workers unquestioningly followed orders – but loyalty is far from deceased. Loyalty is an intrinsic human characteristic based on emotional attachment that can be tapped, nurtured and developed. Inspiring loyalty takes leaders…
Why you can't stop anyone from making these snap decisions
Knowing whom to trust is an important social and business skill. But it’s not that simple – although it’s fast. It took me just seven seconds to assess your confidence, competence, status, likability, warmth and, yes, your trustworthiness. You can’t stop me (or anyone, for that matter) from making these snap decisions. The human brain…
We tend to follow charismatic leaders because they’re perceived as confident, upbeat and inspirational
In business dealings, charisma counts. A lot. And charisma is as much about impressions and body language as it is about issues and substance. I've seen many qualified people get passed over for promotion (or lose a sale or fail an interview) simply because they couldn’t project an engaging attitude. Max Weber, the father of…
Build a culture of candor by expecting your people to be honest, to communicate openly and to treat people nicely
Lies in the workplace are expensive. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, a typical organization loses five per cent of its revenue to fraud – a potential global loss of $3.5 trillion dollars. But the cost of out-and-out fraud pales in comparison to the monumental cost of the erosion of trust that occurs…
The amazing thing about nonverbal communication is that sometimes the smallest body language change can bring powerful results
Evidence from psychology, neuroscience, sociology, and anthropology has given nonverbal communication new credence in the workplace. One example is a study at the University of Glasgow’s Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging that discovered it takes the brain just 200 milliseconds to gather most of the information it needs from a facial expression to determine a person’s…
Three things you can control as you drive your career forward – and three things completely out of your control
You may have a leadership title or tremendous leadership potential, but that in itself doesn’t give you leadership presence. Here are typical comments I hear when asked to coach an up-and-coming female whose career has stalled: “It isn’t that she couldn’t do the next job. It’s that no one on the executive team sees her…
You have just 7 seconds to make a good first impression
You're at a business conference and you turn to the stranger standing next to you. He turns to face you and in that instant your brain makes a thousand computations. Is he someone to approach or to avoid? Should you flee or be friendly? Will he harm you or help you? In about seven seconds…