Communication

Creative Energy Options

Who decides when enough is enough?

By Sylvia Lafair | April 22, 2020 | Comments Off on Who decides when enough is enough?

Summary: How many of you have said, “enough is enough?” And you find that while you demand the upset to stop, it just keeps going on and on? This leads to both overwhelm and anxiety.  Here are some tips to help. QUESTION: Who decides when enough is enough?  ANSWER: It depends on the circumstances.  What…

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Create Emotional Environment for Success at Work and at Home

By Sylvia Lafair | March 19, 2020 | Comments Off on Create Emotional Environment for Success at Work and at Home

Summary: Well, we are in it. It is the worst of times. It is the best of times. It’s all how you perceive what’s going on now. Here are some tips to help. Dear Dr. Sylvia, Indeed, I don’t want to make light of what’s happening on our planet now. However, good is available when…

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Leaders and Rebels

By Sylvia Lafair | March 6, 2020 | Comments Off on Leaders and Rebels

Summary: Rebels are often the leaders of the future. However, their argumentative nature needs to focus in a more positive direction. Here are some ideas for rebels becoming community builders. Today we’re looking at why we get so stuck when things repeat and repeat. Einstein’s quote, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll…

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How Is Good Work Measured in Most Organizations Today?

By Sylvia Lafair | March 4, 2020 | Comments Off on How Is Good Work Measured in Most Organizations Today?

Summary: How do we measure good work in most organizations today? It’s no longer about longevity and loyalty. Nor about being the first in the office and the last out (to show how hard you work). Past are those days to say ‘yes’ to every project, no matter how overwhelmed you become. Let’s drill down…

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How to Change Conflict to Collaboration

By Sylvia Lafair | March 4, 2020 | Comments Off on How to Change Conflict to Collaboration

Dear Conflict Avoider, I’d like to offer a few tidbits about conflict and how to handle that nasty thing that drives us all to hide under the covers. For example, When I was a keynote speaker about conflict, I often asked how many people love competition. I ask that question, and in a room of…

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Getting the Rebels Who Challenge Everything You Do to Comply

By Sylvia Lafair | February 26, 2020 | Comments Off on Getting the Rebels Who Challenge Everything You Do to Comply

You have the skills to be a leader. You are given great feedback about how well you communicate. So, why is it still a struggle to get some of the rebels who challenge everything you do to comply with what you want done? You question yourself all the time, wondering if you must always fire…

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How Super Achievers Can Listen to Themselves and Others

By Sylvia Lafair | February 11, 2020 | Comments Off on How Super Achievers Can Listen to Themselves and Others

Before super achievers can listen to themselves or others, they need to know how they got to be so exhausting, annoying, and demanding in the first place.   Here’s how the super-achiever pattern was addressed with a new coaching client, Dan, a Senior VP in a large marketing company that offers leadership development courses for senior executives.  He said this about himself, which much initial pride, “Hey, I always have to be…

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Feedback: Learn to Love It, You’ll Get It Anyway

By Sylvia Lafair | February 5, 2020 | Comments Off on Feedback: Learn to Love It, You’ll Get It Anyway

Summary: Feedback started with report cards and still leaves most of us with an anxiety knot when we have performance reviews at work. Today we’re going to talk about an area of communication that makes most of us shudder. To clarify. It’s all about feedback. For example, the way you give it has ramifications, and…

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The Jerk at Work, Not Me

By Sylvia Lafair | January 29, 2020 | Comments Off on The Jerk at Work, Not Me

Hi everybody! Well, today is one of my favorite subjects, “The Jerk at Work, Not Meâ€. It’s out there. It’s always out there. We’re never the jerks at work. Are we? Well, you never know, but here’s what I’d like to do. I’m going to give you a sentence that you can use. Craft it…

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Get the BUT Out of Your YES

By Sylvia Lafair | January 29, 2020 | Comments Off on Get the BUT Out of Your YES

Do you ever get frustrated with petty conflicts at work? You’re not alone. A whopping 93% of workers report being affected in a negative manner by conflict.  The other variable is the length of time consumed by on-going, unresolved conflict.  Even worse is the fact that litigation for workplace harassment and hostile work environments has…

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