Walks Beside Coaching and Consulting

Is it Hard to Say Thank You?

Bradley Ann Morgan — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:27:12 +0000

Every day we interact with others gives us the chance to recognize acts of sincere servitude and a job well done. But, have you noticed that generally we don’t hear the verbal acknowledgement of thanks often? Let us illustrate an actual event. We were at the airport when we heard the public broadcast system inform us that our flight had been cancelled. In stereo, we hear the other travelers at this gate exclaim, “No way!” As the frenzied travelers began to rush the gate attendant’s desk, one particular business traveler pushed his way to the front of the crowd demanding immediate attention. The smallest of the attendants, in physical stature, promptly responded with, “Let me help you sir.” This gate attendant not only found another carrier for his flight destination; but also, printed a new set of tickets for him to use at the next carrier gate. He took the new tickets and left without a word of thank you!

Why does this happen? It is often accepted that ‘thank you’ is not deserved for fulfilling your job description. Or, it is a common convention that each of us has the same work ethic regardless of culture, educational degrees, or generational profile?

Do you crave words of appreciation from others that you cannot express yourself
How many times in the last year have you chosen not to convey thanks to colleagues for a job well done? Did you make time to return later and express a sincere thanks? How did you feel afterwards?

Love to hear your thoughts, comments, and events around this topic.

Are You Doubting Your Judgment Abilities?

Bradley Ann Morgan — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 03:09:26 +0000

History has demonstrated that learning judgment is the process of experiencing events, reflection on those experiences for lessons learned; and, predicting what might happen in similar situations in the future. Because each situation and each time frame is unique, your judgment abilities will become finely tuned over time. If you are constantly doubting your judgement skills within your organization, ask yourself:

Are we educated enough to know what it is we don’t know about this product, project, or company initiative? What other resources do we truly need to make this decision effective in the competitive market space or industry?
How can we provide for factors that might change because of this decision, lose market share, increased employee turnover, or even a resulting merger? What risks can we anticipate and reduce our vulnerabilities?

Let’s hear your thoughts or comments about this post or how you developed your judgment skills.

40 more Reflective Sessions (Vol 2)

Stephan Marais — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:04:36 +0000

As in every generation, we are faced with a planet full of commotion, distraction; and, uncertainty. In the midst of all this, we establish careers, find soul mates, raise families, sometimes become the ‘head of household’, gain and lose loved ones; and try not to experience each moment by accident!

As in Volume 1 of “40 Reflections”, this edition (Volume 2) includes topics to renew your thrive drive, identify the charatisics of true compatriots, how to avoid living in constant anger, build your keystones to aging; and, thirty five more topics. Each topic area has a group of reflective questions for you to use to achieve the outcomes you originally wanted out of life.

When you are about to discard emotional weight and possible attachments to toxic memories or behaviors, dedicate all your vigor to the effort. When you have nothing to lose but negative patterns and anchors to insecurity, give it all you’ve got!

A great guide for Coaching sessions.

40 more Reflective Sessions (Vol 2)

$21.95

Trust Your Own Judgement (a workbook)

Stephan Marais — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:33:58 +0000

Anyone who has been paralyzed facing a critical decision, whether personal or professional, knows that information and time are crucial for success. As David Welch, Ph.D., professor of political science at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, explains, “People who aren’t self-reflective are going to end up making bad decisions because they don’t really know what they want in the first place.” An overload of information, including the ‘small stuff’ can derail you in the decision making process and cause you to rush into a decision you may regret.

We’ve all doubted ourselves occasionally. But, if you doubt your own judgment so often that you are considered indecisive, use this workbook to develop your decision making processes. The content here will help you use your reflective intuition, quiet unsettling emotions; and, develop procedures, uniquely yours, that you can use now and in the future.

Trust Your Own Judgement

$21.95

Restoring Trust after Corporate Betrayal?

Bradley Ann Morgan — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 18:43:16 +0000

Often when we hear the word ‘betrayal’, our mental association is of martial infidelity. However, this cruel experience extends into a broader realm, including unfaithful colleagues, trusted superiors; membership communities, even the corporate environment. Betrayal is a traumatic experience, possibly occuring between individuals, social & political groups, or businesses. It is a deep violation of the trust elements that we, as human beings, have depended on to build relationships, even entire cultures. The first response emotion is usually anger followed by lingering grief. If your belief structures have taken a severe hit by this event, how will you re-evaluate your core values and your judgment techniques of how you place trust with individuals, communities, or companies for the future? Can you restore trust in the current environment?

How do You Sustain Trust in Conflict Resolution?

Bradley Ann Morgan — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:09:27 +0000

Conflict happens when things don’t go our way. Our sense of who we are or how we see the world has been challenged in some way. We experience a stress reaction, the rush of adrenaline or nor-epinephrine, which are our energizers & mental focusers. We can feel angry, scared, or even numb. Our world becomes very small, focusing on the events that have provoked us. Trust will an important element to maintain when resolving conflict. We would be interested to hear how you sustained trust in those events where you needed to help all parties resolve issues.

Trust & Leadership Style

Bradley Ann Morgan — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:26:35 +0000

The leadership of this century is a combination of earnest employee relationships and internal meaningful achievement. Great leaders have learned how to assimilate and execute many types of leadership, inviting others to trust the mix of types. A balanced leadership style includes the creation of a positive work culture, constructing opportunities where the team’s expertise is visible internally & externally, maintaining consistent communication between team members and other departments, sustains a certainty in the company’s direction; and, acknowledges the achievements of individual members.

Which of these styles do you think your direct reports would say you demonstrate?

Autocratic leadership
Bureaucratic leadership
Situational leadership
Transactional leadership,
Transformational leadership

Return later for an update on the definitions of the styles we have listed.

Without Trust no Effective Learning WorkPlace

Bradley Ann Morgan — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 16:34:52 +0000

Without trust there cannot be an effective learning environment or an effective organization. We must not confuse trust with naiveté. Prudence must not be confused with distrust. At the organizational level, we must find ways to overcome distrust and resignation. The best way of doing this is to emphasize the importance of doing what you state you are going to do in every situation. Each of us must assist people to transform their willingness to do what they state that is necessary actions to do; and, in the time frame they state it will be completed.

When trust is broken or has gone away, it is usually directly related to:

Promises or commitments that have not been met or re-negotiated that result in the sense of betrayal, or
Expectations were not stated and parties are held accountable for anything unknown to them resulting in resentment, or
Prior history or invisible rules are in place that is not open to discussion now to create a new future resulting in resignation.

All of these result in what you may coin as ‘Trust Rust’. Anytime in your life’s journey is the right time to reflect on whether trust has become tarnished. Take all the time you need to build trust, re-build trust, and polish up the areas in your relationships where trust may have the tiniest bit of rust starting to spread.

Where People Fail the Trust Test

Bradley Ann Morgan — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 18:03:00 +0000

People fail the trust test in the area of sincerity when we believe that the public conversations they have (what they tell others) and the private conversation they have (what they are really telling themselves) is neither consistent nor congruent. Credibility is a key element of trust on both the ethical and the management sides. Without trust there cannot be an effective learning environment or an effective organization. We must not confuse trust with naiveté. Prudence must not be confused with distrust. At the organizational level, we must find ways to overcome distrust and resignation. The best way of doing this is to emphasize the importance of doing what you state you are going to do in every situation. Each of us must assist people to transform their willingness to do what they state that is necessary actions to do; and, in the time frame they state it will be completed.

Great to hear your comments on this post or these questions:

Have you re-negotiated so many commitments that no one trusts your credibility or follow through now? What conversations do you need to have in order to re-build your trust connections? Remember, forgiveness on both parties restores trust.
What resources do you need to keep your commitments? If trust is based on timely delivery, are you allocating sufficient time for your commitments to be met with other parties, consequently, helping their expectations become reality?

Has trust gone to the background?

Bradley Ann Morgan — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 14:49:20 +0000

Isn’t it interesting that as you work with other company departments, chambers of commerce, outside consultants, even community grassroots groups, you sense that no one in those organizations trust each other. Trust lives as a collaborative mood for an organization and cannot be commanded to practice. Unfortunately, trust is usually sent to the background and not given the attention it needs to live.

If you think trust has ‘gone to the background’, what conversations do you need to have in order to re-build your trust connections?

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