Author: Jan Hovrud

Do You Really Need that Meeting?

Posted on by Jan Hovrud

Do You Really Need that Meeting?Plan a Meeting Image

Try keeping a scorecard for just one week –

  • How many meetings produced a breakthrough idea?
  • How many meetings didn’t need to be held at all?
  • How many meetings taught you something you could have learned in less time elsewhere?
  • How many meetings were held and you weren’t quite sure why?
  • How many meetings produced absolutely no results?

Knowing how to assess if a meeting is needed enables you to save time, effort and money for your organization. It also, defines you as a leader who understands the importance of using other’s time in valuable ways.

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4 Key Habits for Resiliency

Posted on by Jan Hovrud

4 Key Habits for ResiliencyHow to Become Resilient Image

Habit #1 — Debrief Daily. Before going to bed, think about the ups and downs of your day. This will help you realize your stressors and things that uplifted you. Identifying the triggers will prepare you to deal with them in the future.

Habit #2 — Be Good to Yourself. Discover things that renew and encourage you. Enjoy at least one of them daily (e.g. your pet, exercise routine or spending time with someone special in your life, etc.)

Habit #3 — Live in the Moment. Stop yourself from constantly worrying about the future and pay attention to what is going on right now in your life. Focus on good things happening in the moment.

Habit #4 — Give Thanks. Write down things, people and situations that you are happy about in your life. Do it every day. This activity helps to keep life in perspective.

Resource: Bounce: Living the Resilient Life, by Robert Wicks, PsyD

Developing Your “Gut Instincts”

Posted on by Jan Hovrud

Developing Your “Gut Instincts”Trust Your Gut Image

How many times have you had a feeling in your “gut” that you were right about something or that something just wasn’t right? Did you follow it?

Intuition is sometimes called our “higher wisdom” or “intelligence of the heart”. It is knowledge or cognition gained without any rational, intellectual thought or effort.

Harvard business professor, Daniel Isenberg studied a group of leaders in major corporations for the use of intuition on the job. He spent days with them observing as they worked, interviewing them and having them perform various exercises designed to figure out what made them successful.

Isenberg discovered five different ways successful leaders use intuition:

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Are You Outnumbered? E-I-E-I-OH!

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Are You Outnumbered? E-I-E-I-OH!Introvert - Extrovert Image

Everyone has a natural preference for Extroversion and Introversion.

The Swiss psychologist Carl Jung recognized that people have a preferred mode in which they embrace the world. This mode, much like right or left handedness, is inborn and not something that we choose.

Extraverts and introverts differ in what they present to the world and how they recharge.

For extroverts, their natural energies, perceptions and decisions flow outward toward the world of people and things. They are stimulated by their surroundings.

Introverts have natural energies, perceptions and decisions flowing inward toward the world of thought and ideas. Internal processes stimulate the introvert.

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Cooling Hot Buttons

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Cooling Hot Buttonshot-button Image

Conflict pushes our emotions in many directions.

“Anger” is, after all, just one letter away from “Danger”. Leaders, who are in control and professional, often reflect on their responses before, during and after conflict.

The phrases below represent comments from coaching sessions in which people lost control and used destructive behaviors during conflict at work.

“I was so mad. I was seeing red.”
   “I couldn’t take it anymore and blew up.”
      “S/he really knows which buttons to push.”
         “I went over the edge with anger and just lost it.”

The Conflict Dynamics Profile (CDP) is a tool that gauges hot buttons, as well as, constructive and destructive responses to conflict.

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LOL in the Workplace

Posted on by Jan Hovrud

LOL in the WorkplaceLOL in the Workplace Image

“Laughter removes the burden of seriousness from the problem, and oftentimes, it’s that very serious attitude that is the problem itself.”

Bob Basso

Laughter and a sense of humor can be powerful antidotes to stress, pain and conflict in the workplace.

Everyone knows that laughter has physical benefits like boosting immunity, lowering blood pressure, relaxing muscles and decreasing pain. But, laughter and a sense of humor also, help to strengthen relationships, enhance teamwork, diffuse conflict and promote group bonding at work.

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Networking Takes Planning

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Networking Takes PlanningProfessional Networking Image

Great networkers use a consistent, planned methodology for success.

According to The 29% Solution-52 Weekly Networking Success Strategies, by Ivan R. Misner and Michelle R. Donovan, professionals should devote at least seven hours per week strictly on networking activities.

Effective networking is not just socializing and attending meetings, it is about building connections and relationships.

Try the following suggestions for planning your networking strategy:

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Strategies for Building Communication During Conflict

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Strategies for Building Communication During ConflictCommunication Conflict Image

“I’m sorry, if you were right, I’d agree with you.”

Robin Williams

One of the first steps toward resolving conflicts is to understand that each of us has power over whether or not a conflict becomes negative. Transforming how we think about conflict can help harness the direction and flow that conflict brings.

Carefully handled conflict can help us to shift from debate to dialogue, being at odds to being in a partnership.

In debate (e.g. position based approaches), we declare our positions.

In dialogue (e.g. interest based approaches), we recognize and satisfy interests with both parties looking for common ground.

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Constructive Feedback and Type

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Constructive Feedback and TypeTime for Feedback Image

As author, Andrew J. DuBrin, states it – “Feedback is information about past behavior, delivered in the present, which might influence future behavior.”

Providing constructive feedback about job performance is a basic responsibility of every leader. Feedback is necessary to help others develop, grow and correct their mistakes.

The MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) can assist in really reaching an understanding and moving people forward in a constructive feedback coaching session.

Use the following suggestions for the type preferences below:

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