A Controversial Note on Recognition
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A Controversial Note on Recognition

© Steve Whiteford 2023 Employee Recognition has been a popular trend for several years, but from my observation and experience has some challenges. Studies have proven that recognition programs increase employee motivation, productivity, and happiness. Yet I’ve also witnessed and experienced that it can be a task to get people engaged in the process, beyond…

EI is the Depth Charge for Recovering and Moving Forward
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EI is the Depth Charge for Recovering and Moving Forward

© Steve Whiteford 2022 Emotional Intelligence (EI) should be a very familiar topic for HR Professionals. Some say the science of EI was cited as early as the 1920s, but Daniel Goleman’s book, Emotional Intelligence brought it into popular culture in 1995 when he published his groundbreaking book by the same title. I was in…

A Life-enhancing Tool for Increasing Emotional Self-awareness
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A Life-enhancing Tool for Increasing Emotional Self-awareness

©Steve Whiteford 2023 The “Mood Meter” originated from the work of James A. Russell and his Circumplex model of “Affect” which mapped the interplay of Valence (pleasure/displeasure) and Arousal (intensity/alertness). Versions associated with Emotional Intelligence were popularized by Caruso and Salovey, and Mark Bracket at Yale University. These represent the same factors with blocks of…

Stop Using Rhetoric that Says Emotions Are Bad; Help Culture Resolve and Evolve!
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Stop Using Rhetoric that Says Emotions Are Bad; Help Culture Resolve and Evolve!

©Steve Whiteford 2023 Emotional Intelligence is a popular science that is useful for Leadership Development, Communication in business, and Employee Relations. I’ve taught it from the traits model and the skills strategy which combine very well and deliver strong results. The greatest challenge in promoting self-awareness and the skills of emotional intelligence is that our…

Cognitive Bias
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Cognitive Bias

Between Daniel Pink and Daniel Kahneman I’ve had Cognitive Bias on my mind. When you really explore it, I think you’ll find Cognitive Bias begins with and is very difficult to separate from feeling. For instance, when we make a Fundamental Attribution Error, our emotions want to reject responsibility, or when we fault someone else’s…

Look up! Look in! Look out! Directly face.
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Look up! Look in! Look out! Directly face.

© Steve Whiteford, 2022 I am a person who believes in and promotes individual well-being, self-awareness, contribution, growth, and achievement of personal fulfillment. Through all of the transition we are experiencing, classic messaging about success and productivity has begun to disturb me. I believe this messaging continues to distract us from our humanity and what…

Reduce Time-Wasting Employee Relations Issues
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Reduce Time-Wasting Employee Relations Issues

Several years working in a small HR department taught me how much valuable time is wasted on Employee Relations issues. At one time or another, every professional in the department was distracted from a project by having to refocus on resolving interpersonal or management-related conflicts in the organization. Now that I’ve expanded my expertise in…

AUTHENTIC SUCCESS
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AUTHENTIC SUCCESS

AUTHENTIC SUCCESS Feel the FEAR and Open Your Heart Anyway © 2016 Steve Whiteford My work with others using Emotional Intelligence and Mindfulness, and certainly my self-work over the years, has led to me focus strongly on the incremental, initial feelings we have throughout the day as the key to finding success through emotional intelligence….

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Core Flexibility for Performance Enhancement

Core Flexibility in Performance Enhancement The Power of Emotional Awareness in Behavioral Change By Steve Whiteford © 2015 I was recently called to coach a young tech professional who was having difficulty changing some detrimental work habits. They were simple patterns like – clocking overtime by working to “perfection” vs. adhering to defined project parameters,…

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Get Over It! Six Reasons Leadership/Executive Presence Still Matters

© Steve Whiteford 2015 Search “Executive Presence” on the internet and you will find tons of articles, and resources for training on the topic. Yet, I consistently see opinion articles that dismiss the validity of the discipline.When I read the trashing of what I have experienced to be core skills of communication, leadership and exemplary…