Thinking Out Loud

Quick Email Responses: Be Careful!

At the end of the day, many of us cruise through our inbox hoping to quickly respond to email messages, lightening the load for the next day. If you’re on the receiving end of the response, you can usually tell by the tone and structure of the reply if it was done hurriedly. And likely, because you’ve done this yourself, you can empathize with the sender.  Read More

The “Mary Barras” of the World

Much was made in the media about Mary Barra being selected as the next CEO of General Motors. She is the first woman to run a major auto manufacturing company, and in that industry at the age of 51 she is relatively young.

Having grown up in Detroit, I was also interested that she attended General Motor’s Institute where some of my high school friends also received their engineering degrees. It was prestigious to attend GMI because it guaranteed a first rate education, a job at GM after graduating, and apprentice/intern jobs during the summer while you were a student. Not a bad deal. Read More

Introverts and Extroverts, Revisited

 

Some years ago I wrote a post about introverts and extroverts to clarify the relationships between introversion, extroversion, interpersonal, and intrapersonal processing (click here). I think it’s time to revisit the discussion, furthering it a bit.

Those who are strong interpersonally, the thinking-out-loud-seeking-engagement types can be introverts or extroverts. Likewise, the intrapersonally strong—those who need to seek inner clarity before they meaningfully engage with others—can also be either introverts or extroverts.  Read More

Professional Development Conversations

The Maine Association of Nonprofits offers a wide range of SkillBuilder programs as part of their effort to strengthen the workplace in nonprofit organizations. On October 31, 2013, I’ll be presenting a program (click here) in Lewiston, Maine on Communication Styles and The Professional Development conversation. Professional development conversations can have a strong impact on company culture, investing in the individual and the organization. But too often, supervisors without proper training conduct these conversations in a cursory manner. The Communication Styles Framework gives them some concrete tools to engage in a meaningful, mutually beneficial conversation and builds a stronger working relationship.