Category Archives: Communication

The Meaning of your Communication is Its Effect

By Daniel Robin In communicating with other people, what matters more: what we intend to convey, or the actual response we get? Who is responsible for your communication? The meaning of our communication is not what we think it means. It is based on the response we get from the other person. It is pointless to insist on a meaning that is lost on the listener, especially when the response you get Continue Reading ...

Rapport: The Link to Gaining Cooperation

Or, "Stuff They Never Taught You in Driver’s Training" By Daniel Robin A friend of mine once said that driving in heavily populated parts of California is like being on heavy sedatives while simultaneously having an adrenaline rush. For many of us, the traffic patterns in industrialized regions are a lot like how we get things done in corporate bureaucracies: "hurry up and wait." The metaphor Continue Reading ...

Initiating and Sustaining Change at Work: Part 1

Personal Tools for Leading Transitions By Daniel Robin "You just don't seem motivated to do your job," the executive tells the team, "and this will have to change soon, or else --" "Or else what?," the department manager inquires, shrugging her shoulders. "Or else ... uhhh ... it will change later?" No person or thing can force anyone to change. Your office might get moved, but the decision to Continue Reading ...

Initiating and Sustaining Change at Work: Part 2

Interpersonal Strategies for Leading Transitions By Daniel Robin Part 1 in this series focused on how change affects us personally, and what can be done to make the most of it. This article highlights interpersonal strategies for handling all forms of transitions -- from minuscule to life-bending.  Part 3 delves into organizational strategies for leading change. Change Ain't What It Used to Continue Reading ...

Difficult Behaviors at Work: Part 3

I Hate It When You Do That! (Do what?) By Daniel Robin Dealing with difficult people (or, more precisely, consultant-speak "behavior") begins with identifying and naming that which is so exasperating – you know, the types of behavior that drive you nuts, that trigger a strong reaction in you. Think, for a moment, about the people around you, and notice any behaviors that push your buttons. Continue Reading ...

Difficult Behaviors at Work: Part 2

Whose 'Stuff' Is It? By Daniel Robin When the boss bites. When the team cracks. When that jerk in the next cubicle …. These are few of my least favorite things. What are yours? What if indirectness, bad boundaries, and pushiness all manifest in one coworker, what can be done? In some ways, exasperating and annoying behaviors like being hyper-critical or defensive are harder to handle than Continue Reading ...

Difficult Behaviors at Work: Part 1

The Difficulty with Difficult People (Who, no rx me?) By Daniel Robin Each of us has a "difficult" person hiding inside. Some have it well hidden and only let it out on rare occasions – unleashing it at the driver of another car, viagra or during competitive sports, capsule or as a familiar loop with a family member. Still others, despite best efforts at self-control, are just one step away from Continue Reading ...

Workplace Power Dynamics: Part 1

Power Plays With People By Daniel Robin In a workplace mediation session, one employee set a powerful boundary with their manager, saying: "I'll never let you tell me what to do. I'll listen carefully to your request, and then I'll let you know how I'll do it, and by when. You have a problem with that? Try joining the Army; then you can order people around and get away with it." Somebody had Continue Reading ...

The Benefits and Advantages of Coaching

Still not clear on what coaching is?  Here's a definition For the Coach You don’t have to have all the answers Unleashed creativity ... more options and choices open up ... less a sense of limitation or stuckness. Fewer barriers to innovation, ... solutions arrive rather than continued head-banging Agreements upheld more often Shared responsibility frees you up to innovate, focus Continue Reading ...

Seven Attitudes to Dissolve Conflicts

By Daniel Robin If you notice yourself getting dug in or angry in the face of differing views, ailment ask for a time out and step out of the content for a moment and notice if you are presently moving toward your true goal. If not, sovaldi or if the situation is just getting too uncomfortable, check to see which of the seven strategies shown below would be most helpful Continue Reading ...

Seven Steps to Handling Interpersonal Differences

Keys to Negotiating with Power and Grace By Daniel Robin Make no mistake: resolving differences through negotiation is not a logical, linear process. However, this model can serve as a framework for staying on track and learning how and where things go wrong. These seven steps progress from how you might want to begin an effort to resolve differences to how you'd want to complete that effort. Continue Reading ...