Giving feedback is hard. It is one of the skills newly appointed (and even established and experienced) managers and leaders often struggle with in professional settings. It is also one of the toughest skills to master in personal relationships.

Unless you work in complete isolation, chances are you have to face the prospect of either giving, or receiving feedback on a regular basis. At the root of honest feedback is an intention to improve and strengthen relationships. It is therefore the lifeblood of any growing organization and it is imperative to understand how to navigate its murky waters with prowess.

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I am going to go ahead and bet, that at some point in your life, you have heard the words, ‘it’s not what you said, it’s how you said it’. For better or for worse, the way we deliver our messages is a powerful indicator of the impression we have on people at any given time. And yet, many important components of delivery (body language, tonality, dress) are usually left out of our education, professional training and prep work.  

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In our fast-paced world, where information and knowledge seem to be a quick click away, it is easy to develop the tendency to expect change to happen overnight. As anyone who has been frustrated with the pace at which they get ‘used to’ a new role, a new relationship or a new project, the realization that this formula for immediacy does not work shouldn’t come as a surprise.

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Across the US, many workdays are filled with meetings that are discombobulated and pointless. One way to solve this is to ensure that people are coming to the table and showing up as holistic individuals, aware of themselves and aware of their fellow team members. I highlight the role of the manager in this scenario, but everyone’s presence affects everyone else’s. There is a real sense of empowerment and responsibility simply in being in the same room as your coworkers.

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Due to the popularity of my previous article on Embodying Change, I thought I would expand a little further on the difference between knowing something, and embodying something by taking a look at four distinct categories of intelligence.

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Change. Improvement. Resolutions. This time of year is rife with expectation. Have any New Years’ resolutions? This question comes with both a feeling of momentum and anticipatory guilt at the all too probable inability to maintain our New Year-spurred efforts.
Will this year be any different? It can be, and here’s how.

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Gestures and body postures, tend to have cultural sensitivities which, when known, can greatly enhance your ability to connect more quickly with individuals in entirely different parts of the world.

I spent the past two weeks having conversations about philanthropy with individuals and families all over Asia. From Singapore to Seoul, I met with over 100 people and in each short meeting I was able to apply certain nonverbal techniques to help move our conversations along despite the limits of our verbal tongues.

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From a basic neurological/anthropological perspective, human beings are hardwired to live with, learn from and grow in relation to one another.  In this capacity, we are distinctly social creatures and it is our ability to connect on a deeply limbic level that allows us to survive…and communicate.

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Whether your work entails internal meetings, check-ins with superiors, pitches in front of potential investors, clients or employers, it is important to be aware of your audience.  In traditional workplaces, where your performance is not always determined by a specific moment in time, the identification of a fixed audience is slightly less clear. In my mind, there are two main types of performances you might find yourself in at work.

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