Communication – Personal Development – Business

What a wide variety of comments were posted on the Leadership or Toxic Behavior post! Thanks to everyone who took the time to share their perspective. My goal is to help people and myself see leadership and conflict resolution through different examples and the ‘tarmac’ was just that – an example. I totally agree with what President Obama said in January 2011 after the horrible event in Tucson, “to expand our moral imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully” and to “remind ourselves of all the ways that our hopes and dreams are bound together.”

Tags: communications, dealing with difficult people by Marsha
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Living in Arizona is never dull.  When President Barack Obama came into town on his reelection campaign he was met on the tarmac by Arizona Governor, Jan Brewer. According to interviews with Governor Brewer, upon her greeting the President he launched into his dismay over her book, Scorpions for Breakfast, and walked away while she was speaking to him. I agree with our Governor, illegal immigration on the Arizona border must be better addressed.

I have a problem with his behavior because to me, it is neither Presidential nor does it show a strong, capable leadership style. Are his exceptional oratory skills only present when reading off of a ‘comfort monitor’ aka ‘TelePrompTer?’

Tags: communications by Marsha
13 Comments »

It is always interesting to see the kind of requests I receive for information through my blog – www.DecontaminateToxicPeople.com

I would be very interested to see if you have other suggestions on crying in the workplace. Personally, I think it is unacceptable and immature!

Question:

I have a young lady on staff and she is working on a large and important project but every time someone questions some of her decisions right/wrong about the project she get very emotional, which typically results in her crying.

Tags: communications, Emotions, whining by Marsha
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I have had many requests to send the following list of answers from The Reactor Factor: How to handle difficult work situations without going nuclear. Perhaps our current lagging economy and skyrocketing unemployment is driving these requests. Or maybe it is dysfunctional work teams, poor leadership or just plain toxic people.

Do you have additional approaches that work for you?  Please share! I’m thinking my next book title will be SOS: Stamp Our Stupidity. Your story may land in that new resource!

I can no longer deal with a fellow colleague who talks behind my back.

Tags: communications by Marsha
1 Comment »

Please join me in sharing the reason we celebrate this special day in May. Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11 , and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873.

Tags: Celebrate!, communications, opinion by Marsha
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Part of managing success is using all communication tools available. There are hundreds of on-line social networks to which you can connect. Are you confused? Which ones are best for you?

If you are not twittering - start today

Then layer on the networking meetings, up close and personal time with people, and you can be in the down draft of the networking typhoon. It’s not just the Generation Y that are building businesses using these tools.  Here are a couple of my suggestions:

Tags: communications, networking, social networking by Marsha
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Oops!  Hitting the Reply All button strikes havoc once again.  The State Department‘s email was almost shut down because of the size of an email. One person decided to hit this email choice, clogging the system to a noticeable level. So here are some considerations for better e-mail etiquette.

1. Select only the people in the cc: list that care about or need the information.  Rarely is it everyone on the carbon copy diatribe.

2. Re-title the message as the theme and topic changes. For the receiver of the message, it keeps the focus on what you are addressing.  For you, it makes it easier if you are searching for a message previously sent.

Tags: communications, email by Marsha
15 Comments »

Most men will not even remember reading this blog. Don’t take my word for it, read Leadership and the Sexes: Using Gender Science to Create Success in Business by Michael Gurian and Barbara Annis. Their findings are helping business communities and leadership improve communication, team development and general gender concerns.

Tags: ability, communicate, communications, difficult people, Gender differences, personal responsibility by Marsha
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A friend just returned home from the hospital and we wanted to send her something she really enjoys – not the same old flower delivery. I went on line and ordered her Mrs. Fields Cookies - her favorite. I order tons of stuff on line and have NEVER received a wonderful response and customer service as I did from Jacob. What did I learn about communicating results for business?

1. Make it personal – not a mass email to sign up for stuff I don’t care about.

2. Make it easy – tell me why I should do business with you.

Tags: communications, customer service by Marsha
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I enjoy receiving requests for help and guidance from readers. Here is one concerning a Backstabber in the office. How is your personal development? Do you have the communication skills to handle a situation like this? My comments are in ALL CAPS (AND I’M NOT SCREAMING!)

“A long-time employee in our office, who is respected by all of the companies shareholders, is a challenging person for her coworkers to work with. In the years I have worked with her, her interactions with me have always been positive. She is very skilled at projecting the desired image to those she perceives to be in positions of authority or power.”

Tags: Backstabbers, bad behavior, communications by Marsha
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