Blog Archives

Candy Dish Perceptions

8/31/2013

By: Dawn L Miller

My colleagues love dropping by my office to sample the range of candies I keep in a bowl at the edge of my desk.  I do my best to keep my own fingers away from it - striving to stick to
the latest popular P90X diet. One gentleman asked me why I have goodies yet do not partake; I told him it was part of my diet
plan. He was perplexed - persistent resistance to temptation isn't my goal! I joked that by making everyone else around me gain weight, I look slimmer, with no change in my routine.

While funny in this case, our surroundings help dictate how we are perceived. This is a mix in how we chose to surround ourselves, as well as how we portray ourselves in each situation. A tall 300-lbs man looks of average weight amongst sumo wrestlers. A healthy, trim woman looks heavyset against runway models. Similarly, a cultural faux pax at a business dinner function with your partner company's
CEO likely has far very different repercussions than a dinner in your home. Our behavior reflects not only our ourselves, but our peers, subordinates, family, friends.  Intentions mean little as we are judged by others' perceptions.

Stop by for a piece of candy and chat for a moment.  I'd love for you to join in my diet plan. We may have a lively talk, too.

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Standing out in Today's Environment

8/31/2013

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By: Amit Shah

There is a famous saying - “Leadership cannot be taught but it can be learned.” So how does one go about learning something that cannot be taught? Many individuals and corporations have struggled with this very paradigm.

In the past, a great number of corporations would fall into the trap of taking very skilled individual contributors and place them in leadership roles, thinking that if they are good at what they do now they will be able to teach them the leadership skills required to succeed in a management position. This is why countless dollars were spent sending managers to leadership conferences and summits at fancy hotels with very little to show for it.

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Lonely at the Top

8/24/2013

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By: Dawn Miller

When I think about leadership, I envision the strength, the momentum to build, create, to move people towards a common goal.  I imagine also the strength of the following and perhaps the support and strength a lead takes from this.
In times of a leader's personal need, I see another angle - the side where letting your followers see weaknesses can leave them astray - where only a select few should see the darker days.  In these dark days, in absence of those trusted few, loneliness sets in.

A leader needs a close base of companions - those to show the 'freak out' moments of uncertainty, doubt, the emotionally frayed side that we   all have from time to time. These are the counterparts that will keep this side close to heart - trusted advisors, friends.

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Over the Pond Part 2 - Let's Cover Our Bases

8/11/2013

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By: Dawn Miller

“I want to cover our bases; there’s no prize for second base. We missed the boat last time and paid for it thru the nose. We need to have our i’s dotted and t’s crossed.”

I thank goodness for a well established relationship with my overseas counterparts in moments like this. There was a long, muted pause on the telecom. Then the response was, “Dawn, we do not understand. Can you repeat, please?"

I almost did repeat myself and was randomly reminded of a lecture my dad gave me and my little brother when I was 7 years old.

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What did you say? I can't hear you.

8/4/2013

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By: Eric Pearson

Feedback. We all need it, yet few of us take it serious enough or often enough to make an impact in our ability to lead others. When was the last time you asked someone their opinion, appeared to be attentive (smiling and nodding your head up and down at the appropriate intervals to give the impression of deep thought and consideration in what they are sharing) only to be lost in your own thought and at the end of the conversation realize you haven’t heard a word? I expect probably more recent and often than any of us wish to admit. Why do we continue to choose to fail to embrace the tremendous value of feedback?

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Candy Dish Perceptions

Standing out in Today's Environment

Lonely at the Top

Over the Pond Part 2 - Let's Cover Our Bases

What did you say? I can't hear you.

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