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Four Big Ideas to Help You Cultivate Influence in a Sharp-Elbowed Environment

Four Big Ideas to Help You Cultivate Influence in a Sharp-Elbowed Environment

I love the “clean power” approach to cultivating influence because it’s how I choose to conduct myself. Many others have adopted their version of it for similar reasoning. However, not everyone plays by rules you deem fair, and not everyone has your interests at heart. Here are four ideas to help you survive and thrive when you find yourself working in a sharp-elbowed environment.

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Leadership Caffeine™—Two Attitude Hacks to Help Create a Better Day

Leadership Caffeine™—Two Attitude Hacks to Help Create a Better Day

With most of us still working remotely, many of the conventions we created to tune-in and support our team members have to be rethought. I have two favorite hacks that work regardless of your location. One puts you in the right frame of mind for managing and leading, and the other helps your team frame the day for success.

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Leadership Caffeine™—For Virtual Teams, Success is Still a Full Contact Activity

Leadership Caffeine™—For Virtual Teams, Success is Still a Full Contact Activity

We talk a big game about teams in business, yet often they disappoint. Raise your hand if you’ve been on a so-called team that devolved into a debating society that went nowhere. Regardless of outcomes and experiences, we continue to throw teams at issues expecting or hoping for magic. It turns out, hope is a lousy strategy because team development demands deliberate focus and hard work.

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Asking the “Six Whats” Will Help You Strengthen Workplace Problem Solving

Asking the “Six Whats” Will Help You Strengthen Workplace Problem Solving

It’s an understatement to suggest this is a time for creative problem-solving in our organizations. Yet, too often, we react to symptoms or throw solutions at poorly defined problems. The failure to get to the root cause and underlying assumptions behind something that seems to be a problem results in half-measures and new, resultant problems. Here’s a technique to stop the madness!

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Leadership Caffeine™—Hard-Decisions, Soft-Touch

Leadership Caffeine™—Hard-Decisions, Soft-Touch

From small business owners to global corporate leaders—for anyone who cares about their employees, customers, and business partners, this is a time of sleepless nights and soul-crushing tough decisions. Yes, this is a time of hard decisions. It’s also a time for the softest of touches.

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