Blogs
Leadership Strategies: Can Emotional Intelligence Be Learned?
How do we learn emotional intelligence? Can we change our basic nature just by willing it to happen? Here is my response to one of my clients who was so sick and tired of feeling like a bully boss and not sure what to do. Let me know your thoughts too. Dear Dr. Sylvia, I…
3 Simple Ways to Stop Your Co-Workers from Driving You Nuts
It’s tough to confront people. Well, at least that’s what 90% of the population says. Is your tendency to avoid or even worse, deny, that difficult issues exist at your office? It’s so much easier to blame others for being impossible to work with. We live in a “he did it, she did it, they…
3 Habits of Naive Leaders
Stupid leaders are a dime a dozen. What they do looks the same through the centuries. Here’s what Cicero, Roman politician and lawyer who served as consul in 63 BC had to say, “Any man can make mistakes, but only an idiot persists in his error.†Habit #1: Repetition. You know the saying that if you…
These are the Best and Worst Things About Success
Let’s start with a short quiz: What’s the best thing about workplace success? A. You get more money. B. You get more recognition. C. You get more work. If you answered “A,†you are on the right track. Workplace success usually translates to earning more money. If you’re like most people, you want a financial…
How to Untangle a Nasty Feud at Work
Power struggles are the essence of great theater (think Hamilton). Yet, if the backstabbing is not squelched, the damage is deadly. Read about Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr and their duel. Or better yet, beg, borrow or steal (well, not the latter) and get tickets to see this brilliant play that is basically about office politics…
Leadership Strategies: How to be confident
How to be confident instead of strong-willed and stubborn so you can get unstuck at work. I received the following email that got me thinking about how complex it is to be confident when you feel you’ve been blind-sided. Here’s what was said…. “I had my performance review last week and it was awful. When…
Being Pushy is Good For You, Here’s Why…
What if you’ve gone too far in your comments about someone? What if you’ve been called out for being excessive in challenging others in a meeting? What if you have been shunned after you mocked a colleague? Our world of extremes is starting to backfire. Don’t get caught in the tidal wave of seeing how…
Leadership strategies: How to look at your decision making
You as a leader must think about and understand how to look at your decision making… Leadership today relies on astute decision making. Life moves so fast there’s little room left for mistakes. How much time have you spent really, I mean really, looking at how you make decisions? Here’s a clue to why so…
How to Ease Conflict by Knowing the Difference Between Facts and Emotions
Facts are married to emotion. As a leader, it’s your job to ask the right questions that lead to what the key issues are. The natural tendency for most people is to deflect the real reasons for hurt and feeling discounted. It’s the emotions that will resolve the conflict, not just the facts. Here’s what happens in…
5 Ways You Can Ask For Help Without Appearing Helpless
Are you the kind of guy who relies on willpower to get the job done? If you are an entrepreneur, the most likely answer is, “yes.†The big question is, why is it so hard for most males to be vulnerable? What gets in the way of asking for help? And, an even bigger question…
Communication is Complex: Help! BUT They Always Said The Right Thing
Communication is complex, especially when meeting face to face. That’s when you need to stay alert and take a deeper look at how they are talking with you. In this post, I cover 3 ways to step back and really look at what is being said and 3 ways to check your assumptions so you…
How Women Can Change The Way Men Think
Oprah just had a Wonder Woman-themed party for 28 ten-year old girls. It came with all the glitz and glitter associated with the recent blockbuster film that is causing all the buzz these days. There was a cake, indestructible bracelets, even flip flops to wear when fighting evil. Wonder Woman has been around since 1941,…