“It is impossible to live without failing at something unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default.” ~J.K. Rowling One way to more powerfully influence others is to leverage your failures. People don’t realize the power of failure and…
“We all have blind-spots, but if we are willing to open our ears to feedback and our eyes to how others react to us, we can improve our impact as leaders ten-fold” ~Joe Contrera People always ask me, “What can I do to increase my impact as a leader?” That said, everyone has a…
“Your ability to comprehend what is not being spoken, is even more important than your ability to comprehend what is being spoken!” ~ Joe Contrera Emotional Intelligence, also known as EQ is now a highly sought after skill amongst Leaders. It was initially introduced in the 1930’s by psychologist Edward Thorndike as “social intelligence, and…
Being a leader means that your people observe you and your behaviors in order to decide whether they follow you, stay engaged, quietly quit, or leave! So, the question is; what are your people observing about you that is shaping your team culture in a negative way? Below is a list of behaviors that could…
Is It Manipulation or Praise? There is a tremendous amount of articles written on the importance of praise and its positive effect on a person. Whether it’s an employee, coworker, or your children, healthy praise can both motivate and inspire. It can also cause others to feel good about themselves and their work. That said,…
7 Minutes To Live? Okay so it sounds like an absurd question? And yet, I have been asked this question once before. It happened when I working with an amazing woman and mentor of mine by the name of Glenna Salsbury. As part of the process, I had to answer a few very poignant questions.…
Adapting Your Leadership Style to the New Bottom Line! Everyone is talking about COVID-19, the Corona Virus and how we need to adapt as leaders to this new normal. So what does that mean? Adapt how? Change what? To me the principals of great leadership …. never change If you were a terrible leader before…
Defining Leadership … I’m an Excellent Driver Defining leadership is about as easy as trying to describe the experience of tasting chocolate to someone who has never experienced sweets. Why? Because everyone has a vastly different opinion about how to define leadership. I once heard a so-called expert on everything define driving in traffic and not…
Leadership, Influence & Communication: The Power of Story Your ability to lead others is directly tied to your ability to influence them. One of the tools you can use to more powerfully influence others is the use of story in your interactions. Stories can magnify a point or grab an audiences attention during a presentation.…
Leading Others is a Privilege I am often asked about whether leaders are born or trained. I personally despise the use of the word training when it comes to developing leaders. I think we train animals … we educate leaders. Yes, leaders can be developed. However, if a leader has the skills but doesn’t understand…