The leading question for most of my workshop participants for a variety workplace situations is: How do I overcome ______ (insert: lethargy, inertia, nerves, fear, apprehension, internal blocks…) in order to _______ (insert: improve a relationship, do a great presentation, connect with my boss, move through conflict, feel better about myself, be more effective…)? It’s…
“Fiero:” the pleasure that comes from meeting a challenge which has stretched you.” That is the definition of an Italian word that describes a particular positive emotion cited in the book Destructive Emotions, by Daniel Goleman. Goleman is an inspirational frontrunner of personal and leadership development. The book presents ever deeper cases that through specific…
© Steve Whiteford 2013 A friend recently dropped me an email exclaiming that she had just learned some really good tricks for controlling difficult participants and managing groups when facilitating. I was immediately interested because this is a recurring question when I teach Presentation and it’s exciting to imagine there is something new and clever…
Many organizations these days are interested in supporting their associates with training workshops in core areas that support individual growth as well as corporate values and productivity. A consistent challenge is supplying quality training within strained budgets of time and money. Unfortunately choices are often made to jump for an inexpensive quick hit that supplies…
As businesses are stressed to compete in a sea of financial and innovation ambiguity, the need for leaders to provide a sense of stability and workability, though seemingly counter intuitive, is essential for a healthy and productive workforce. Recent studies of neuroscience and tried and true common sense have proven that everyone works best in…
What’s the key to confidence and relaxation when speaking? In my twenty years as a speech coach, I’ve found that’s the question clients always ask. The basis of that anxious inquiry is the fear of speaking to a group. Many people say “I have no trouble talking or presenting one-on-one, but put me in front…
Leadership, Neuroscience and Presentation Copyright: Steve Whiteford 2012 What is old is new. We keep finding out that simple things we’ve known for years, things like eating a balanced meal with fresh vegetables and home-grown food, are really good for you. Recently I’ve been excited to see how advances of neuroscience are substantiating practices I’ve…
Working with Emotional Intelligence EQ Two of the biggest challenges for employees in today’s workplace are working effectively under the stress of ambiguity and navigating constant change. These two conditions are especially difficult because they challenge core human needs that are rooted deeply in the brain’s circuitry. Working with the EQi 2.0 assessment and the…
Strong resistance to change appears to be hardwired into each of our body-minds. One of the brain’s functions is to make sense out of sensory input by perceiving patterns and sorting those patterns into recurring or familiar categories. This selection/storage mechanism frees the mind to process new information. New information is matched to familiar patterns…
In the Career Advice section of the June, 1999 Fortune Magazine, I was reminded of my introduction to work as a coach. The article focused on the kind of executive or management coaching and training sometimes referred to facetiously as “Charm School.” The name “Charm School” is derived from the fact that this particular form…