Every Dog

In nearly every leadership workshop I deliver the discussion of integrity and honesty comes to the surface. At some point in their life many employees have had an experience of integrity and honesty violations. This sometimes stems from personal experiences off the job, or actual workplace scenarios that leave team members feeling undervalued, misused, and disregarded. This creates a very big problem with trust in the workplace and ultimately causes communication breakdown.

While we cannot necessarily control what others do, we can choose our own attitude. Attitudes are contagious and if we seek the positive in people and workplace teams we can help to make a good attitude a viral experience. By taking what we sometimes call the “high road approach” we can continue to give our best effort in even the most difficult situations. There is an age old idiom, “every dog has its day.” Stay true to yourself and reflect a positive attitude, you will make a difference in your organization.

Silence and Listening

Have you considered that we can listen to silence?

Recently many clients have had a strong interest in effective listening skills. A recent discussion point considered how we react, or listen to, silence. Consider the following:

* A comedian using silence when timing the punch line
* A speaker utilizing a long pause, causing the audience to listen for more
* A co-worker sitting quietly when asked for some verbal contribution

In fact, listening for silence in the workplace can have a significant impact on our communication efforts. Listening is not instinctive, it is considered to be a developed skill. As the famous cellular commercial makes a point:“Can you hear me now?”