Have you ever received a comment that made you take notice of a particular characteristic about yourself? For example, “Your determination is exemplary” or “Those around you notice your thoughtfulness.” How did you respond? “I guess I’ve never seen myself in that light” or “Really? I haven’t given it much thought.” Responses like these are common. We don’t expect positive comments and …

A person who doubts his or her abilities will often say–“I don’t think I can do that,” or “I’m not capable.” Even though it may not be true, it’s that person’s reality and genuine belief. What can we do to change a doubting mindset? Be a champion for someone by using your capacity to see the person’s capacity and acknowledge what …

Coaching and wellness may not seem to go hand in hand however; in actuality they are highly compatible. One of the individuals who leads the research for wellness and coaching is Margaret, aka Coach Meg. She is a 17-year veteran of the biotechnology industry in the U.S., UK, Canada, and France. In 2000 she founded Wellcoaches Corporation, a school for …

Nothing happens without conversation, yet communication challenges are massive in today’s world. Certainly on a positive note, remarkable and incredible accomplishments have been achieved because of conversation. Can you imagine the conversations that took place when the iPhone was being developed? Many of us are enjoying the rewards of those conversations. Yet the ugly truth is that conversations can destroy relationships, …

David Grossman reported in The Cost of Poor Communications that a survey of 400 companies with 100,000 employees each cited an average loss per company of $62.4 million per year because of inadequate communication to and between employees. In her article Top Ten Email Blunders that Cost Companies Money, Debra Hamilton asserted that miscommunication cost smaller companies of 100 employees …

There is a growing need for soft skills in today’s businesses. Jeff Weiner, CEO of Linkedin. recently discussed the LinkedIn study that identified a lack of expertise in interpersonal skills across the job market. He stated: “The U.S. is short 1.4 million professionals with soft skills, with communication as the #1 skill in demand in all 100 metros we analyzed.” …

In 2015, Melcrum Inc., a best practice insight and technology company, conducted research on the challenges and best practices common among employee peers for boosting employee engagement. Melcrum’s explored how progressive companies (such as Lowe’s and EMC) were refocusing employee engagement efforts on collective engagement—employee-to-employee and employee-to-customer relationships needed to achieve company objectives, rather than the satisfaction of individual employees …

Research conducted by Harvard University, the Carnegie Foundation, and Stanford Research Center has concluded that 85% of job success comes from having well-developed soft and people skills, and only 15% of job success comes from technical skills and knowledge (hard skills). While soft skills are increasingly becoming the hard skills of today’s workforce, many people continue to come to organizations …

Everything in leadership involves developing strong and trusting relationships. Scott Edinger, founder of the Edinger Consulting Group in Tampa, Florida, tells the story of when he first started working in the Coopers & Lybrand consulting firm. Scott was assigned to Chris Abramson, who had an enormous scale of responsibility. Yet whenever Chris talked with him, he gave him undivided attention: …

In talking with coaches, a common goal is to be highly competent and masterful in the profession. Certainly every client deserves a masterful coach, but have you ever wondered how coaching competence is actually defined? A skill that is distinct. Coaches who are affiliated with the International Coach Federation [ICF] use the organization’s definition of coaching as their guideline and …