Negativity Bias: How thinking creates poor outcomes

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By Marsha Petrie Sue, MBA

“Blame it on our brains. Our ‘negativity bias,’ an ancient survival mechanism, hardwires us to be nitpickers, focusing on what’s wrong as a way to keep ourselves and our tribe safe,” says an article in the Wall Street Journal. While this Wall Street Journal article focuses on parenting, children grow up to be in the workforce.

why we have a negativity biasIn today’s business environment, the focus must be on leveraging strengths while minimizing weaknesses. Annual appraisals highlight what needs to change.  By the way, if a manager waits until appraisal time to announce deficiencies, they are not leading but looking for a scapegoat of sorts.

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FREEDOM IS NOT FREE: The 7 laws that will make you free

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By Marsha Petrie Sue, MBA

“Whatever America hopes to bring to pass in the world must first come to pass in the heart of America.”
–Dwight D. Eisenhower

Our simple freedoms have been violated. Many are now worried about their companies, their business and their customers. The status of our daily lives, both personally and professionally is changing forever. The one element we control is our personal freedom. Freedom begins with you and by taking personal responsibility for everything — including your success.

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Tips to Lead Change in Your Organization

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By Marsha Petrie Sue, MBA

Policy change! Downsizing! Conflict! Improving morale! Leaders are clamoring for ways to manage change. It seems, however, the top managers want change but are not necessarily willing to be part of the process. How about you?

An excellent article in the Harvard Business Review asks this very question. As a leader, you have to model the change you expect. Part of this process is practicing how you will communicate the expected change and how you insure understanding by the group.

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The Simplicity of Speaking

By Marsha Petrie Sue, MBA
Professional Speaker, Executive Coach, Author

“Be brilliant from the platform – always,” was the very first advice I received from the fabulous Glenna Salsbury in 1997. Excellent advice and pretty simple, but what does that really mean? Here is what I’ve learned and how I have grown my business. Each step is important if you want to develop a successful speaking practice.

  • Always be authentic. Don’t attempt to have the style of another person. Audiences are smart and they will know if you are genuine or not.
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Managing Misfits

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by Marsha Petrie Sue, MBA

mis·fit, noun – a person whose behavior or attitude sets them apart from others in an uncomfortably conspicuous way.

 

Polish up your communication skills and get ready to manage these people who rob you and the team of time and energy. Here are the top four problems currently seen in the workplace. They come in the form of egotists, chronically absent, skill gap and time wasters.

Egotists

Issue: Employee or co-workers who think of themselves as indispensable and have a superior attitude. Their untouchable attitude is upsetting and will lower morale unless the manager addresses this off-putting behavior. Rules don’t apply to them and they will alienate others forcing the group to work in silo.

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Abrasive or Persuasive: A Leadership Difference

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Why do some leaders have a natural following and others don’t? Their chosen style of communication has much to do with their likeability and ultimately their success as a leader. In today’s fast paced environment, leaders are rocketing to new heights at a mind boggling pace and promoted because they are sharp, not necessarily because of their ability to connect with the group. Problem? This abrasive approach is used because of lack of understanding the benefits of a persuasive approach. This can increase the turnover of the best and brightest because they will shop for a more pleasant environment.

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Gratitude

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How did life become so amazing? I’m sitting at my desk in Scottsdale listening to the chatter of two Great Horned Owls who live in a backyard Mesquite tree. The cool breeze brushing through the window reminds me how blessed I am to be living the life I have chosen. For me, it’s all about gratitude.

I’ve used a Success Journal for years and it has morphed into a Success/Gratitude Journal.

What I’ve learned in reflection:

  • If I’m reading and find a typo, I’ll focus on all the words spelled correctly.
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Ruffled Feathers: Five tips to manage anger

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by Marsha Petrie Sue, MBA

The election is over. There will always be winners and losers. That is the way democracy works. Many feathers are ruffled.  Poor babies. We get upset and often don’t know how we arrived in an ugly fight. This is a waste of time and I’ve made a choice not to buy into anyone else’s craziness or bitter comments. I have learned how to not get my own feathers ruffled.

Conflicts become growth opportunities when you deal with them effectively. Here are five tips:

This is a preview of Ruffled Feathers: Five tips to manage anger. Read the full post (399 words, 1 image, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)
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