BLOG ARTICLES BY AMY
6 Bad Listening Habits You Need to Break Now
People often ask me what’s the first step to becoming a better listener. The answer? Get rid of your bad listening habits. As much as we don’t like to admit it, most of us aren’t the best of listeners and we’ve developed some bad habits over our lifetimes. As you review this list of bad […]
When it comes to conflict, you can be the water or the gasoline. Be the water.
We all face conflict in every aspect of our lives. We might have family feuds at home and war waging in the workplace. We have conflict (or potential conflict) over parking spaces and spots in line. When it comes to conflict, you have a choice to make. Do you want to be the water or […]
7 Annoying Voicemail Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Many people can relate to the frustration of receiving a voicemail message that is unclear, incomplete, or so long-winded that even the sender wouldn’t want to hear it again. That’s probably the reason so many of us only listen long enough to find out who called and then delete the message and call the other […]
6 annoying phone habits you need to stop right now!
I was presenting a customer service program last week when a participant asked how to handle customers who exhibited “bad cell phone behavior”, i.e., continued to talk on their cell phones while she tried to help them. “Isn’t that rude?” she asked. She was obviously a nicer person than I am, since she had to […]
No one puts gas in a car that doesn’t run, so . . .
Relationships with people are similar to our relationships with our cars. Just go with me on this analogy for a minute. You have a reciprocal relationship with your car. If you care for it properly and give it what it needs- gas, maintenance, tires, cleaning, etc., it will “reciprocate” by being reliable, efficient, and safe […]
Stop Being So Demanding and Just Say Please
Please. A simple word that shouldn’t require a reminder. Our mothers demanded it when we were children. “What’s the magic word?” “What do we say when we want someone to pass the broccoli?” “No thanks,” perhaps. As we get older, move out on our own, and no longer rely on our mothers to keep us […]
Want to be a likeable boss? Adopt these 7 habits
In my consulting work with organizations, I’m often asked to work with leaders who are having “issues” with their relationships with their employees. In many instances, these leaders aren’t doing anything overtly wrong in WHAT they’re communicating with their employees, rather it’s the way they’re communicating and the impact that their poor relationships with their […]
5 Things the Best Leaders Do to Deal with Poor Behavior
The best leaders know that dealing with problem employee behavior is just one of those things that comes with the job. However, most people who find themselves in leadership positions don’t receive the training needed to make their discipline efforts effective. Learning on-the-job works, but only if you have great leadership examples to follow. Here […]
Like a garden, your relationships need to be cultivated
I’ve always wanted to plant a garden, so several years ago I did. Since I wanted it to be successful, I really gave my garden a lot of attention. I watered every day, fertilized, fussed, and worried over it. My reward? A whole lot of nothing. I harvested one zucchini from my zucchini plant before […]