September 19, 2017 • Volume 8, Issue 17 • ISSN: 2154-3240

In This Issue

♦	Feature Article: Listening Well
♦	Ask Amanda: The lack of follow-up is driving me mad, help!
♦	Practical Tips: Staying Fresh

Listening Well

To get a taste of what listening well is like imagine listening to music. Most people listen to people the way they listen to background music, tuning in and out when something catches their interest. Active listening is being fully present much like when you’re wearing your headphones and are totally focused on a new tune.

To listen well there are some obvious first steps like removing distractions like your phone, computer screen, or ambient background noise. Remind yourself that you are not listening to “fix” anything, that will help you focus on hearing what is being said. read more

	Knowledge speaks, wisdom listens.

Practical Tips: Staying Fresh

The sheer volume of issues that come across your desk can easily narrow your day to going from one problem-solving situation to another. While helping your staff to solve their problems (and you are letting them solve their own problems, right?!) is one of your key deliverables, it’s important that you keep your thinking fresh.
read more

In general my team is great. The issue is that their follow through is horrendous. They’ll inevitably miss deadlines even if they set them themselves. I’ve talked to them individually and as a group. They’ll do ok for a week or so and then it starts happening again. What should I do? S.C., Raleigh, NC

Since this is a group issue, call everyone together and lay out the consequences to missing deadlines. Make the meeting 15 minutes long. Don’t disclose the topic in advance and don’t chit chat—you want to set a serious tone. Then state the problem and your planned solution.
read more

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