Dianna Booher's Blog, page 27
February 19, 2018
Are You a Micromanager? 6 Signs
No one proudly wears the label of micromanager. Yet the workplace overflows with them. Here’s how to identify them on your team before you err by giving them bigger opportunities. If you fear you may be falling into the micromanagement trap yourself, consider these tell-tale signs.
6 Signs of a Micromanager
Micromanagers Lack Confidence in Others and Refuse to Delegate Authority
Micromanagers demand constant check-backs on projects. For whatever reason, they don’t trust their team. Eit...
February 12, 2018
10 Bad Business Communication Habits That Ruin Relationships
Few people admit to bad communication habits—much less habits that can cost them a job or a contract. Yet, we all see some of the following habits in people we interact with in the workplace on a daily basis. A few reminders can cut your risks that these habits don’t creep into your own business and personal relationships.
Bad Business Communication Habits to Avoid 1 – Interruptions, Changing the Subject
People who perturb their friends and colleagues alike may have one or all of these h...
February 5, 2018
Hollywood Consistently Degrades Society by What It Communicates
By Guest Blogger Jeff Davidson
At first glance, 2017 appeared to be a banner year for movies. Anytime you would open the newspaper to the movie section, the appeal was strong. When visiting RottenTomatoes.com, you couldn’t ignore the large number of movies rated 80% or higher. Yet, a nagging, insidious trend has continued for decades: Hollywood increasingly degrades society via storylines, profanity, and a multitude of devices.
In I, Tonya, one might expect to hear the f-word, but to hear...
January 30, 2018
State of the Union Speech Analysis
As an executive speech coach, I’ve become accustomed to analyzing State of the Union speeches and presidential debates for many years.
Bottom-line: If Obama performed like a motivational speaker, Trump delivered like a CEO. To be more specific, Obama’s speeches were often eloquent and motivational––but short on specifics. Trump’s speech sounded like the corporate CEO’s list of “done’s” and “to-dos” about to be delegated to his team.
Let’s break that summary down this way:
Strengths of the...January 29, 2018
Do You Hear the Shocking Sound of Silence From Customers?
Some silences can be more painful than others: The thank-you note that never arrives. The dinner invitation that goes unanswered. The job interview request that’s never returned. The re-order that fails to come through.
Paul Simon’s famous “The Sounds of Silence” always puts me in a melancholy mood—seeing a world of bleakness, where people fail to connect and communicate. The songwriter is definitely correct about this: Silence says meaningful things.
Have you thought what family, friends,...
January 22, 2018
10 Traits That Make You More Likable
You’ve heard it said that people do business with people they like. But they also believe people they like, help people they like, hire people they like, promote people they like, get on committees with people they like, vote for people they like. Few would argue that likability is a good thing.
If you’d like to increase your likability factor, here’s how to make the effort tangible.
How to Make People Like You: 10 Traits to Increase Your Likability 1 – Wear a Pleasant Facial Expression...
January 15, 2018
5 Words Leaders Seldom Use—And What to Choose Instead
The essence of leadership is communication. As a leader, your words have the power to motivate or demoralize, inspire or discourage, clarify or confuse. The language of leadership matters a great deal to how your team performs.
Many would-be leaders discover that it’s often subtle things about their communication that keep colleagues and supervisors from considering them as capable of heavier responsibilities. Consider these common culprits:
5 Words Real Leaders Rarely Use 1- TryTo say...
January 8, 2018
Is a Resumé Written by Professional Writers a Good or Bad Idea?
Why can’t I get a job? Is my resumé the problem? How do I stand out from the crowd? These questions keep job seekers awake at night. And the answers may cause nightmares.
Ere.net, an online gathering place for recruiters, was onto something back in 2013 when they conducted a survey that gave insightful answers to these questions. The answers were not that surprising after all: On average, each corporate job opening gets 250 applications. Out of these candidates, only four to six get invite...
January 2, 2018
Leaders, Are You Asking Enough Questions in These 4 Core Categories?
Micromanagers direct. Leaders coach. As a leader, you understand the value of using questions to develop those around you to their highest potential. Questions play a central role in
Giving performance feedback Helping team members evaluate their own projects and revise processes for the future Gaining buy-in for your key initiatives or those of your executive team members Guiding discussions with clients Facilitating meetings to brainstorm solutions Generating ideas for new product or se...December 25, 2017
10 Best Tips on How to Write a Book Fast—From the Author of 47
Is writing a book one of your goals for the new year? If so, these 10 tips can make the difference between dickering and done.
Now that I’m 47 full-length books down the road (all sold to major publishing houses), plus more than a dozen other compilations, I can attest that these principles work. A couple of my books were written in two days. The longest (95,000 words) took me 28 days to write. Several have been book club selections and won literary awards. Writing fast does NOT mean cutti...
