Ever had something seemingly important to say to a group and wondered if they were paying attention?  All those faces in a sea of possibility.  An audience consisting of such a diversity of different personalities, communication preferences, and learning styles. What are they really like?  Well, what about these audience types?  (By the way, these […]

I recently shared thoughts regarding followership.  A reality in following anyone is the leader’s ability to be compelling ‘enough’ to follow.  I believe one of the ‘enoughs’ is something called Servant Leadership. Rather than pontificate about this topic, I will share three sources.  You make the connection. “The greatest leader forgets himself and attends to the […]

In our shared journey into decision making, we have considered being in the middle of a decision and how memory plays an intrinsic part in our choices.  The first gave us context.  The second gave us a source.  Now we look at a different perspective and in doing so ask a complex question…what influences decision […]

I have always shared when I became a manager, I did not know what I did not know.  I was given the opportunity to manage and lead a very capable group of people.  I knew the job.  I then needed to know how to get the job done through others.  Fast forward to the present.  […]

I recently facilitated a manager leadership workshop in Toronto. I love this environment. I also love to provoke learning. I have a trademark or two in sessions. One is to pose “what if” questions. An example would be “What if you have a sales rep who is late twice in two weeks without an excuse. […]

Perspective Three: The Outcome So what happened? Coaching has an outcome.  This aftermath allows for a range of action.  Not only does what happens after the coaching and feedback matter, it is what happens as a result of that assessment that is at the heart of the entire coaching cycle. To create a context for […]

Perspective Two: The Message Why am I listening to you?  What’s the point?  How will I do this?  When do I know I am doing it right? If the definition of coaching is giving instruction (very simple definition, by the way), then an inference may be made that the instruction is ideally both trusted and […]

Have you ever been given a skill or tip or a certain something designed to make your job easier, faster or more productive and efficient?  We all have gone to some kind of workshop to enhance a skill set.  Maybe it was a speech, class or training session.  We were given some ‘magical nugget’ of […]

Next journey stop.  If it is important to consider what we see or how we see others and ourselves within the sales interaction, it is equally important to consider what we do.  Part 8 dealt with perception and Part 9 will explore action. Now let’s be real.  Your action is easy.  Sell stuff.  Sell a […]

Sometimes we need fuel.  Not gas for the car, but rather gas for ourselves.  And not necessarily food for our bodies, although that is important.  I am speaking about our skillset as manager and leader.  We need to feed our abilities to manage, lead, coach, share, inspire, influence, grow and develop others.  What is on […]