Month: March 2021

A Great Tip to Help You Grow

Posted on March 17, 2021 by - Uncategorized

A Great Tip to Help You Grow

“Feedback is a gift”. We’ve all heard that expression. It took me years to embrace it. When working at big corporations, the dreaded annual review would occupy my mind for weeks. I would fixate on what were perceived negative comments, even if they were few and far between.

Back then, I was looking at feedback all wrong! Honest feedback helps us grow personally and professionally. It helps us see ourselves from a different angle. It is so valuable.

Now, I ask for feedback often from clients, colleagues and friends. I ask: “what did you like, what can I do better” all the time. Client surveys improve my group coaching programs and workshops. While we are all surveyed to death, feedback matters.

#WiseWords

“We all need people who will give us feedback.
That’s how we improve.”

Bill Gates

Worth the Share

How do you give someone else good feedback?

This book expert provides some great advice about how to give feedback and explains why most of us do it poorly. Written by David Bradford, Ph.D. and Carole Robin, Ph.D., it provides a road map. They talk about three different areas of understanding: Intent, behavior and impact.

What really intrigued me is that they talk about WHY feedback often backfires, use a very useful tennis analogy to bring it to life, and also explain why kids can often give better feedback than adults. Here is the ARTICLE from the book Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends, and Colleagues.

Why Feedback Often Doesn’t Work
And Finally...

Here is an easy rule of thumb to follow: When you want to get feedback, ask for feedback from people you trust, ask them to be as specific as possible, then say: “thank you”. That’s it. Don’t get defensive. If you feel like the feedback was useful, incorporate it. If not, don’t use it. You get to choose.

When giving feedback, It’s important to be clear. Don’t sugarcoat it, you’ll confuse your colleague. I like this framework in an ARTICLE in HBR:

  • Describe the behavior you want to reinforce or correct
  • Explain the impact of the behavior
  • Outline what you would like them to do

Continue growing. Ask for feedback.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Mary Jo

To learn more about my 1:1 executive, communication or business growth coaching, custom virtual workshops, the Career Transition program or just to connect, you can reach me at info@mjrcac.com

Have you had a good laugh recently?

Posted on March 3, 2021 by - Uncategorized

Have you had a good laugh recently?

People are struggling with endless Zoom or video calls. I have clients that are on 10+ video calls a day. One sales client said that she is pretty much doing the same sales pitch virtually six or seven times a day. That is exhausting. What makes this worse is that virtual calls are often BORING and lack real connection.

The more interactive you can make a virtual meeting, the better. Research is showing that if you infuse a bit of humanity, maybe even some laughter, it can pay off big time. When was the last time you had a good  laugh?

#WiseWords

“Laugh as much as possible, always laugh. It’s the sweetest thing one can do for oneself & one’s fellow human beings.”

Maya Angelou

Worth the Share

This new book, Humor, Seriously: Why Humor is a secret weapon in business and life is worth the read. According to the authors Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas, “Humor is a transformative super power”.

 

Here are five highlights shared by the authors in a recent book soundbite. They resonated with me so much, I thought I’d share them with you. One stat that really stuck me is that the average 4 year old toddler laughs about 300 times a day, but it takes the average 40 year old two and a half months to laugh that many times. How depressing!

 

  1. You can’t afford to be humorless – humor has of positive impact on human health and the bottom line. Leaders who use humor are seen as more confident and competent.
  2. Humor changes our brain – releasing healthy hormones that help with bonding. People with a sense of humor live longer too.
  3. We’ve lost our sense of humor – for those of us over 23 who have not yet retired, we often go through a few days without a good hearty laugh.
  4. Find your authentic humor style – we are all able to “cultivate joy” and have a sense of humor. See below to learn about your humor style.
  5. Humor mitigates life’s greatest regrets – by helping us live lives of greater meaning.

Click here to learn more about the book.

And Finally...

What is your specific humor style? I took the humor style test from the authors of Humor, Seriously and encourage you to do the same. You will also receive a brief report explaining your humor style. It is fun and only takes a few minutes. My authentic humor style is the Magnet. You can take the quiz HERE.

 

If you want an additional resource to learn about specific information about how to use humor effectively at work, check out this article from Harvard Business Review “Sarcasm, Self-Deprecation, and Inside Jokes: A User’s Guide to Humor at Work“. it includes highlights from several research studies about the use of  humor and provides some practical guidelines.

 

Go ahead, laugh. The benefits to your health and wellbeing are substantial.

Mary Jo

To learn more about my 1:1 executive, communication or business growth coaching, custom virtual workshops, the Career Transition program or just to connect, you can reach me at info@mjrcac.com