Nov 27, 2017 | Communication Skills, Deploy Yourself |
There was once only one orange left in a kitchen and two chefs were fighting over it.”I need that orange!””Yes, but I need that orange as well !”Time was running out and they both needed an orange to finish their particular recipes for the...
Nov 15, 2017 | Communication Skills, Deploy Yourself |
In the previous four articles, I have written about what conflicts are, what not to do when they happen, how to prepare to solve them through a conversation, and some practical tips to follow during the conversation itself. However, doing all this doesn’t guarantee...
Nov 8, 2017 | Communication Skills, Deploy Yourself |
So you have prepared well (read my previous article), and are walking into a conflict resolution conversation with trust and respect for the other person. You have established ground rules for the conversation, and you know your BATNA. Even with all this preparation,...
Nov 6, 2017 | Communication Skills, Deploy Yourself |
A conflict resolution conversation is one of the most critical conversations in any organization. The success or failure of this conversation will determine how the inherent energy in a conflict will be used, and how the relationship between the involved parties will...
Nov 2, 2017 | Communication Skills, Deploy Yourself |
We all deal with conflicts in the workplace. In the last 12 years of my professional career, I have had my own share of conflicts. That has left me with some learnings about how to navigate through them successfully. This article is the second in a series of articles....
Oct 31, 2017 | Communication Skills, Deploy Yourself |
CONFLICT! Is that a word that scares you? Is that something that makes you run in the opposite direction? Do you wish you had the skills to handle conflicts better? If you are like most people, you are no fan of conflicts and have often been caught up in the maze of a...
Jun 23, 2017 | Communication Skills, Deploy Yourself, Emotional Intelligence |
Tom : “I am sorry I am a bit late to this meeting. My previous meeting ran over.” Sara : “I am more worried about the missed deadline on the product your team is developing. Your team is slow.” Tom : “It’s not my fault. Two members on my team reported sick last...
Apr 21, 2017 | Deploy Yourself, Emotional Intelligence |
As I wrote previously, every human emotion is valid. However, the story behind them might not be, and we always have the choice of how to respond to an emotion. If we want to master how to deal with others’ emotions, our own emotional mastery is the prerequisite....
Apr 4, 2017 | Coaching, Deploy Yourself, Life |
Recently I was talking to a friend of mine, who has been a state-level Taekwondo Champion for the state of California. She was telling me about her strenuous training program which she used to follow when she was training. Among other things, the one thing which she...
Mar 29, 2017 | Coaching, Deploy Yourself, Life |
“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult. ” – Seneca We all have built ‘safety walls’ around us that are unconscious to us, and are strengthened over time. They...
Mar 28, 2017 | Deploy Yourself, Emotional Intelligence |
Fresh out of college, when I started to work professionally as a 21 year old, I dived into work passionately and emotionally. Not only did I do great work during that year, but I also had a lot of fun with my team, many of whom are still my good friends. I was...
Mar 12, 2017 | Deploy Yourself, Life |
When I was young my mother used to wake me up 5 minutes earlier than I had told her to and made me study any of my school books before getting ready to go to school. I often used to ask her – “how would studying this for just 5 minutes make any difference?” And...
Mar 8, 2017 | Deploy Yourself, Leadership and Management, Life |
In today’s corporate environment, after a few years of doing your job well enough, chances are that you will be asked to step up and lead a team. You trained and studied to be good at your job, and now getting to manage people seems like a reward for a job well done....
Feb 6, 2017 | Communication Skills, Deploy Yourself |
One of my most vivid memories from my childhood is when my grandmother mistook me for my father. I first thought she had gone crazy, but I was relieved when it was diagnosed as cataract in her eyes. Within a few days and after a small surgery, I was back to being her...
Jan 11, 2017 | Communication Skills, Deploy Yourself |
Listening is one of the most basic skills required in human communication. Then isn’t it strange that there is no formal training on how to listen in our school and professional system? The lack of emphasis on listening could be because we believe that listening comes...
Nov 11, 2016 | Deploy Yourself, Leadership and Management, Life |
John was pushing on the gas as he didn’t want to be late for this meeting. If he can crack this deal, it would be a game changer for his company, and he had worked hard for it. But just as he was visualising what he would say in the meeting, his car engine fell silent...
Nov 3, 2016 | Deploy Yourself, Life |
When Atal Behari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister of India, I always wondered what could be the reason behind the pauses he took while speaking. Sometimes I thought it was because of his old age, and sometimes people even made fun of him for this habit, but I was...
Jul 2, 2012 | Deploy Yourself, Leadership and Management, Life |
Mahatama Gandhi once said – “As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world – that is the myth of the atomic age – as in being able to remake ourselves.” And indeed, it is one of the greatest myths of this world that we have to...
Jan 31, 2012 | Coaching, Deploy Yourself, Life |
When one says he is committed to something, does it mean a trade? Does it mean that I will do this or that only if you do some other this or that? Does this commitment expect something in return from the other side? Will the commitment waver if one doesn’t get a...