Get your brain in motion
Think back to the last time you spoke to someone from another country. Even if the other person was fluent in English, it’s usually not long before some sort of misunderstanding. The reason has to do with the subtleties involved with speaking a language–the ability to read between the lines. This article compares how the same sentences, in English, could be differently interpreted by an English or a German speaker.
Read the full article here.
Image source: Flickr – nofrills (CC BY-NC 2.0)
In this funny TEDx Talk, the writer and actor Will Stephen gives an interesting lesson on how to sound smart.
We often spend years and years, day after day in job we don’t really love. Or we struggle trying to find out which job we would really love.
Scott Dinsmore shares what he learned from his personal experience in this deceptively simple TED talk about finding out what really matters to you — and then getting started doing it.
The first step? Understand yourself!
If you judge people, you have no time to love them – Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)
Image source: Boca Raton Magazine
In this article, Lolly Daskal singles out eight ways that can kill employee motivation. In order to avoid this risk and to provide your employees with an environment in which they can thrive, it is important to pay attention to the following aspects:
Image source: Flickr – Allagash (CC BY 2.0)
Robin Sharma, in his talk, reminds us that success is less about natural talent and more about hard work and relentless practice. He explains why you should see yourself as an artist when you go to work every day.
Andrew Piper, Associate Professor in the Department of Languages, Literature, and Cultures at McGill University, is an expert on the changes brought about by the e-books and has published a… paper book on the subject (you can see where this is going already).
In this article, published by the Slate magazine, he resumes his book, Book Was There: Reading in Electronic Times, in which he examines the history and future of (e-)reading, the differences between reading on a tablet or an electronic device and reading a paper book, and how reading a paper books connects our bodies as well our minds to the topic.
Tact is the art of telling the truth without hurting one’s sensitivity. It can be very important in negotiations and in conflict resolution. Tact encompasses many things, such as emotional intelligence, discretion, compassion, honesty and courtesy.
Mind Tool has published an article with several examples concerning the capacity of being tactful and lists 5 strategies to develop tact.
1. Create the right environment and think before you speak
2. Determine the appropriate time
3. Choose words carefully
4. Watch your body language
5. Never react emotionally
Read the full article
Image source: Deviant art – Noyipi-reaver (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)
54 lessons organized in 8 chapters, each of them covering an aspect where soft skills play an important role: career management, getting the job done, communication, handling critics, office politics, self-promotion, dealing with differences and leadership.
In her book “The hard truth about soft skills – workplace lessons smart people wish they’d learned sooner“, Peggy Klaus, tells us about the importance of soft skills on workplace, trying to understand why they are still so often ignored, although they are fundemental in our everyday work. The problem is semantic? What is soft cannot be considered serious? The matter is that most of us think that they are about touchy-feely people skills?
Among the 54 lessons pinted out by Klaus on the basis of her work experience:
1. Knowing yourself is as important as knowing how to do your job
2. Learn when to stick and when to shift or the details will hang you
3. Know where to draw the line between self-improvement and self-destruction
4. When it comes to gossip, learn the art of deflection
5. Don’t take it personally
6. Your procrastination is trying to tell you something
7. Keep your visibility when you are not face-to-face
Being able to change is a crucial skill for any leader.
However, to communicate change to our colleagues or coworkers is not always easy. Scott E. Rupp provides us with 5 useful tactics that can be summarized as “inform, share, involve and be crystal clear”:
1. Provide regular, weekly e-mail blasts from leadership describing the changing events;
2. Let employees know when major decisions are expected to be made;
3. Encourage dialogue between managers and their teams;
4. Create a channel for two-way, open communication.
5. If there is no information available or something hasn’t been decided yet, let employees know that, but don’t keep them guessing.
Read the full article here
Image source: Flickr – jordi.martorell (CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0)
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