Be the Motivator—Save the World!

We’ve been talking a lot these past few months about motivation, including getting ourselves motivated. One of our roles as a colleague—whether we’re officially in a leadership role or not—is to help inspire the people around us. If we seem angry all the time, don’t listen, or don’t seem to care, our less-than-stellar behavior affects those around us.

Read more

Don’t Let Your Work Knock You Down: Getting Yourself Motivated

Recently, we wrote about motivation and how it’s rooted in activation, persistence, and intensity. When faced with a new task or project, sometimes we feel genuine excitement and can’t wait to get going on it. Too often, however, knowing we have to do something fills us with a Sisyphean dread that demoralizes us before we begin.

Read more

How to Survive Feedback

Sometimes feedback is hard to take. In this post, I share four tips I tell new managers in our coaching sessions:

  • Remember that there’s a reason you were selected for this position.
  • Be honest with yourself about how you’re feeling at the moment. 
  • Look at the feedback from a distance.
  • Acknowledge what you need to acknowledge.
Read more

Chronic Body Odor and Communication

Talking costs nothing, doesn’t trigger sensitivities to fragrance, and could actually solve the problem, instead of coating it in floral scent. However, it’s a lot harder to raise a sensitive issue than it is to spray an air freshener. As a new or seasoned manager, you’re going to face lots of difficult conversations. So, how do you address sensitive and difficult conversations with your direct reports? Let’s look at the technique we explore in Gillespie Nimble.

Read more