December 2, 2019
“But words are things, and a small drop of ink, Falling like dew, upon a thought, produces That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think.” ~George Gordon Byron Words are powerful. What we say reflects what we think. Our spoken word originates in our thought. Typically, most people don’t think consciously. Long established habits that have formed hard wired neural networks […]
September 8, 2019
Since the term Emotional Intelligence (EI) was popularized in the mid -1990’s by former New York Times science writer, Daniel Goleman, work on EI has found its way into mainstream business. Goleman’s first book, Emotional Intelligence, was based on the work of university researchers John Mayer and Peter Salovey, who were trying to scientifically measure the difference in people’s emotional abilities. At the […]
July 8, 2019
“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. “I don’t much care where -” said Alice. “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat Working with clients we often find the question – what do you really […]
June 11, 2019
I once heard someone say that if we overheard a conversation at the next table in a restaurant with people talking to each other the way we talk to ourselves – we’d get up and leave. Know what I mean? This statement has stayed with me for a long time, especially when I am judging myself harshly or listening to […]
March 11, 2019
In a series of articles, we’ve explored some reasons to consciously act on developing our empathic skills. We cannot expect to extend our empathy to others in the fullest sense unless we are capable of giving it to ourselves first. The reality is that we are often as hard on ourselves as we are on others. We’ve often joked that if we sat […]
October 14, 2018
“Fear is an aggressive predator of joy and creativity in the workplace.” Terence Deal & M.K. Key The price tag on fear is high – for business and our own well-being. Emotional contagion is real. Fear is catchy. Old fears get easily activated. The way we talk to ourselves is a critically important factor in how we activate our fears. External […]
December 12, 2017
Photo by Ali Kazal on Unsplash The Intentional Workplace blog began with this post. What could be more basic than to understand the nature of communication? But more important, how we communicate and why. The message was simple but seems to grow more important every day – everything comes down to how we communicate. All the things that we want and need start […]
December 3, 2015
If we are living in a so-called Age of Empathy – what does that mean? What does it mean for an individual, a co-worker, an employer, a neighbor, a city or a world society to live with empathy in the face of such harsh daily realities? What will we do differently in our personal and social lives? What kind of […]
October 11, 2015
Ever since I began to work in the business world, the term “soft skills” always felt off to me. The more I come to appreciate the complexity of human dynamics, the more off it feels. In my experience, there is nothing soft or easy about mastering people skills. In fact, when I look around, especially in the workplace, clear and effective […]