Over the past couple of months, a number of recent articles and podcasts have caught my attention and challenged my point of view for the better. Here are my top selections about culture, innovation, and the future of hybrid workplaces.
INSIGHTS
A strong company culture comes from listening to your employees. Most organizations are asking the right questions—but getting it wrong when it comes to listening to the answers. Find out how to make sure your company isn’t one of them.
As part of our research into listening intelligence, we’ve detected four distinct styles (or preferences) of how people listen. These four listening styles cover what individuals pay attention to as well as what they are likely to miss in any collaboration.
Learn more about the 4 Listening Habits, and how listening impacts both the well-being and productivity of your virtual teams.
After years of research and studying the latest scientific findings, we’ve established that listening is a trainable skill which if optimized, can significantly impact business outcomes.
In an era of digital transformation, skill development is all the more critical to organizational success. In 2020, we’ll share best practices for skill-building and keep readers abreast of trends that will help transform teams and drive workplace performance.
There’s a treacherous siren threatening learning effectiveness today. It seductively sings, “Don’t make it too difficult. Make it easy.” Now, there’s nothing wrong with trying to make learning more physically convenient for people. But is your learning at risk of becoming too convenient?
Read the blog to discover why learning should be uncomfortable.
How do you feel about building rapport? Many introverts feel uncomfortable when it comes to rapport-building because they think it means having to make “small talk” with others. If that’s you, fear not. You don't need the gift of gab to build good rapport. And having the gift of gab (or being extroverted) doesn't guarantee success either — especially if you're the one doing most of the talking.
Read the blog to get specific rapport-building tips anyone can use to quickly make a strong connection with others.
Have you ever encountered an unfriendly meeting participant while presenting? Maybe you know someone who constantly interrupts, asks aggressive questions, or worse, tries to take over your meeting. Believe it or not, you have more control over these conference room bullies than you think.
Learn how to recognize these strong personalities, the things you may be doing to trigger their behavior, and what you can do right now to strengthen your command of the room and feel more confident in front of any audience.
How many meetings have you gone to this week? Were they productive, or did they just create the need for more? Now think about how many meetings happen every day in your organization. Companies lose millions of dollars each year on wasted employee time in meetings and, as a result, employees become increasingly stressed and unhappy. Believe it or not, part of the problem is the meeting invitation.
Learn how a simple, quick addition to your meeting invites can help you and your organization have consistent meeting success every time.
Communication is the skill most in demand across 100 major US cities, according to LinkedIn research. That may be why more than 2000 talent professionals and executives identified soft skills as their #1 development priority for 2018. But in a world obsessed with data, why do soft skills matter? And how can companies meet demand in the face of such a huge shortage?
"Too little time" is the number one concern customers raise when it comes to training. Organizations fear that pulling employees away from their jobs, even for a day or two, will negatively impact productivity and performance. To mitigate this perceived risk some opt to drastically shorten training or, worse, skip it altogether. But cutting corners on the one skill every single employee uses every day could cost you in ways you hadn't imagined. Read the blog to learn why and what you can do about it.
Gratitude. Appreciation. Recognition. It makes you feel good. This week in the US, many will pause for a day or two to give thanks and show appreciation for the things and people we care about most. It’s no secret how appreciation benefits the person getting it—but did you know it benefits the person giving it just as much? Discover why recognition is such a powerful tool for improving relationships and wellbeing in life and at work. Learn how to (and how NOT to) express your appreciation to others.
Imagine this scenario. You’re at home and you want to learn something. What do you do? Watch a video on YouTube, Google it, find directions on Waze, ask Alexa, get the news on Twitter. As consumers, we’ve been conditioned to expect a certain experience. So why is it that our experience at work is so vastly different? This week, Mandel Executive Director Kate Day writes about how technology has forever changed learner expectations and what the implications are for businesses. She also has some “from-the-trenches” advice on how learning and development organizations can seize this moment as an opportunity to reimagine the user experience for your employees and, in turn, your customers.
The thing I love most about my generation? We’re always pushing the boundaries to make our world—and work—a better place. But we can only drive the change we want to see if we’re able to share our ideas in ways that others can easily understand and get excited about. Want to be a force for positive change and prove the stereotypes wrong? Focus on building the right skills as early in your career as possible. Here’s how.
Companies perform better financially when women are well represented in the workforce, in management, and on corporate boards. The problem is when a woman speaks, she can feel like she’s walking a tightrope. Many women report feeling like they’re either not heard at all at work or are judged as too aggressive when they speak. The research backs this up. As a result, women may decide that saying less is more. But this hurts them and their organizations. So what can your business do to tackle this problem head-on and build a stronger pipeline of women leaders? Read the blog to find out.
A lot of research highlights differences between Generations X, Y, and Z. But one thing they share is a desire to lead. Preparing them to be leaders is a mission-critical task for organizations. But what will it really take to get there? Read the blog to find out.
If you want to connect with more people on LinkedIn, I have a foolproof tip: Make a real connection. What I mean is, if you want to productively connect with someone—whether virtually through a social network or in-person—don't send a generic invite. They don't work. Read the blog to find out why, and what you can do instead to craft irresistible LinkedIn messages or networking emails that get results.
Are you one of the 2 billion people on Facebook? Then, we want to connect with you! Here are 3 reasons to follow Mandel Communications on social media. Plus, don't miss your chance to win a complimentary seat (a $1495 value) in one of our open enrollment presentation and public speaking workshops!
Business anxiety is high. Geopolitics. Trade. Cyber security. Uncertainty reigns. One former White House economist suggests we're living in an "age of anxiety." Ready-aim-fire approaches to addressing the disruptive changes ahead won't work. Instead, businesses need to be proactive. How? Equip your people with the skills needed to create clarity from chaos and decisiveness from uncertainty. Learn why clearer thinking and speaking is the antidote to business anxiety and what 3 skills your talent needs to not only survive this new era, but to thrive in it.
Today, decision quality alone is no longer enough to gain and keep a competitive edge: good decisions also need to be made quickly. Too often, the structure and flow of information presented in meetings add complexity and slow down the decision-making process. Busy, distracted decision-makers and team members need more help to make better decisions faster. Here's what you can do to address this challenge.
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