The Neuroscience of Respect
Imagine you’re in an important business meeting with your boss and colleagues, and you’re in the middle of making a crucial point. Suddenly your boss interrupts you, dismisses your idea, and takes over the conversation. Odds are you’d be annoyed to say the least; your heart rate may increase; your face might flush, and you may feel the need to move your limbs, to do something physical like...
Antisemitism on the Rise
I must admit, until Ye – the musician and designer formerly known as Kanye West – tweeted that he would “go death con 3 on Jewish people,” I wasn’t paying as much attention to the rise of antisemitism in this country as I should have. Shame on me. Quick research shows that according to the Anti-Defamation League, which tracks antisemitic behavior in the US, there was a 37% rise in...
How Coaches Can Help Their Clients Admit Biases About Co-Workers
Recently I was talking with another executive coach who asked me, “How do you get your clients to admit their biases about their co-workers?” That’s a good question. My first response was “very carefully.” When we’re calm, cool and not under threat, most of us will admit that we hold some negative biases about others. But usually, these are what I call “acceptable biases,” the ones most people...
The Four Yeses: Creating mutually respectful relationships through trust & care
Relationships are at the heart of everything, even (or especially) in business. But good relationships take work to build and develop. And unless you have put in that work, you can’t assume your colleagues and employees will automatically trust and respect you. Your relationships function better when you’ve invested some relational capital. Imagine how different Luke Skywalker’s response to...
3 Strategies for Giving & Receiving Feedback
An overwhelming number of human resource professionals find that giving critical feedback is one of the most challenging conversations they routinely have. Maya Hu-Chan, one of CRL’s esteemed advisors, has also found this to be the case. However, she takes that conversation a step further and examines not only giving, but also receiving critical feedback. If you are reading this article you...
How to Have Executive Presence While Staying True to Yourself
By Maya Hu-Chan PASSION AND ENTHUSIASM OFTEN FAIL TO TRANSLATE EFFECTIVELY IN SETTINGS THAT CALL FOR AUTHORITY, CLARITY, AND CONFIDENCE. Jessica didn’t want to lose the qualities that make her an outstanding leader. A senior leader in the nonprofit sector, Jessica is passionate about her job. She is well-loved by her team and colleagues, who point to her commitment to her organization’s...
IS MEANINGFUL WORK A PIPE DREAM?
Should managers strive to provide meaningful work to their employees? By Gerald L. Finch, PhD Can organizations create meaningful work for their employees? The answer seems to be…not in most cases. Our research tells us that not only is it exceedingly difficult to achieve this for most employees but focusing on meaningful work is not the optimal place to start when it comes to retaining and...
44 Years
Sometimes we make terrible mistakes, unintentionally, and innocent people are hurt or even killed. Regardless of whether we are at fault, we may blame ourselves, often for the rest of our lives. And our life trajectory may change as a result, in directions we never imagined. I have lived this truth for decades; today is the 44th anniversary of my tragic mistake during which a wonderful,...
Ink Blotches on Letterhead
This week, we’re doing something new – turning over our newsletter to a dear friend and client whom I had the privilege to serve as a consultant many decades ago. He recently shared a story about something he did back then that I think is very moving and profound. He gave me permission to reprint his story, but he’d prefer to remain anonymous. Still, I can say that at the time he was...