Good people leave bad managers. It doesn't have to be that way...

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Heard the saying, "good people leave bad managers?" Well, it's true. But it doesn't have to be that way - often, "bad managers" just haven't had the opportunity to develop their leadership skills. At TalentGrow LLC, we're on a mission to develop leaders that people actually want to follow and help fast growing organizations create a strategic approach to leadership development. That way, you have less "bad managers" and you can keep those good people and your great managers, longer!

Nurture your naysayers: How to lead people who resist your leadership [vlog]

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Nurture your naysayers: How to lead people who resist your leadership [vlog]

They don’t want to follow. They resist. What should you do with those naysayers?
In this short video blog (vlog), which I'm cross-posting as an 'Ask Halelly' podcast episode, I answer this question:

“How Should I Lead People Who Don't Want To Follow?”

My answer might surprise you:

Could you... thank them?

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Halelly's 5A Formula for saying no without making enemies

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Halelly's 5A Formula for saying no without making enemies

[Note: if you like to listen to learn, this post is also a podcast episode. Listen to it on episode 87!]

If you have a tendency to say Yes too much (we discussed why you shouldn’t in episode 82 of the TalentGrow Show podcast), or have a hard time saying No to requests from your boss, co-workers, employees, clients, or even in your personal life, then this blog post is for you.

Read on to learn some of the typical reasons we are reluctant to say No, some totally legitimate reasons why you should be saying No, and how to do it in a way that protects your time, independence, integrity, and your relationships and trust using my 5A Formula for Saying No.

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The Top 10 Most Popular TalentGrow Blog Posts in 2017 (and a change for 2018)

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The Top 10 Most Popular TalentGrow Blog Posts in 2017 (and a change for 2018)

As we stare down the last days of 2017, let’s stroll down memory lane and look back at some of the popular content I’ve already created on the TalentGrow blog. According to my website traffic statistics, what were the top 10 most visited  blog posts in 2017?

Drumroll please….

Plus, an announcement about what will change in 2018. Check it out!

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Should you be an expert-generalist?

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Should you be an expert-generalist?

Even before I knew the term, I have felt like I am an expert-generalist. And while I felt drawn to it, I have felt that traditional career advice implied I was mistaken. So when I first became familiar with this term and the concept behind it, I felt like shouting Hallelujah!

In this post, I'll explain what an expert-generalist is, why you should consider becoming one, and a cool way to do it.

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Gratitude is good for you (and not just for Thanksgiving)

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Gratitude is good for you (and not just for Thanksgiving)

...gratitude is a feeling that is a key to happiness, and it is most definitely not something to save for one day (or week) per year. We really must raise our experience of gratitude all year round.

Today, I’ll give you a couple of reasons why gratitude is good for you (even better than my Jewish grandmother’s chicken soup), backed by science. We’ll look at how you can get goodness out of gratitude in different ways. Finally, I’ll help you discover (or remember) that gratitude can be experienced and expressed in every context of your life.

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The most powerful question all facilitators must ask

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The most powerful question all facilitators must ask

Earlier this year, ATD invited me to be a guest expert and create a series of instructional videos where I share insider tips from my 25+ year career in talent development.

In this one, I explain the one powerful question all facilitators must ask.

Whether you're facilitating a meeting, a client presentation, or a training or learning session or workshop, you're trying to engage your audience to actively participate. To be a truly engaging facilitator, you want to ensure you invite your audience members to ask questions and actively participate.

But HOW you ask for their questions -- that's something I want to get you to think about today.

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Don’t serve a feedback sandwich: how to give constructive feedback in a more palatable way

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Don’t serve a feedback sandwich: how to give constructive feedback in a more palatable way

Have you heard of the “feedback sandwich” or “compliment sandwich” approach?

This is feedback-giving advice that some people still dole out. And some people still practice.

And I hope (very much!) that after reading this post, you will not use it, ever again.

In this blog post, I’ll first describe what the feedback sandwich is, and why its proponents think it’s a good idea. I’ll then describe what’s wrong with it and what to do instead.

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It takes two to tango: Rebuilding trust starts with one question

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It takes two to tango: Rebuilding trust starts with one question

Last week, while I was facilitating a ‘Building Trusting Relationships in the Workplace’ workshop for one of my clients, a participant had an epiphany.

We were discussing how to build trust and repair broken trust.

This outspoken learner piped up about a damaged workplace relationship and the problems with the other person in it.

So I asked her this question that stopped her dead in her tracks…

I’ll share this question with you here, but let’s first talk about trust building.

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Don't make this nonverbal communication mistake [vlog]

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Don't make this nonverbal communication mistake [vlog]

Nonverbal communication is absolutely critical to successful interactions when there's any potential for misunderstanding. But as I explain in the short vlog, there’s still a possibility of miscommunication even when you include the nonverbal. I share a personal (painful) story about a time when I learned this the hard way. (And why is there a knife in this video?…). So please watch, enjoy, and learn about how to avoid this nonverbal communication mistake.

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No regrets: how to make big & scary decisions

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No regrets: how to make big & scary decisions

Periodically, we find ourselves having to make really key decisions that have critical implications. And when we stare these decisions in the eye, it often feels daunting and overwhelming.

In this post, I'll tell you two stories where the decision was tough and how a simple, magical filter question helped make the choice much less daunting.

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Career advice: Be in the business of building and maintaining bridges

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Career advice: Be in the business of building and maintaining bridges

We’ve all heard the cliché before: don’t burn bridges.

When we say that, we mean that when we leave a job (presumably), we should not do things that will cause the people there to remember us poorly.

In general, this is good advice. All things being equal, I would advise this too.

But there’s more than just not destroying your reputation as far as your former boss and colleagues are concerned.

I think that there’s a huge opportunity (read: something most of us are not paying enough attention to) in the bridge building and maintenance business.

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3 typical team development ‘Yeah, but’ challenges and how to respond to them

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3 typical team development ‘Yeah, but’ challenges and how to respond to them

During a recent delivery of one of my popular client workshops, Team Power, about how to develop high performing teams, we discussed seven common team development stages (I am partial to using the Drexler/Sibbert model). We also identified structural supports that help teams function optimally, reviewed the importance of trust in teams and ways to build it, discussed important team communication dynamics, and practiced applying this team development knowledge in a simulated team work situation, culminating with each learner creating an action plan for applying team dynamic best practices within their own team.

As usual, the learners were highly engaged and interested.

Also as usual, they still had some challenges they were grappling with, which came out in the form of what I call “’Yeah, but’s”.

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Networking for introverts: it doesn’t have to be so hard

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Networking for introverts: it doesn’t have to be so hard

If you are an introvert, chances are you don’t like networking. In fact, you probably despise it. Rather have a root canal. Avoid it like the plague. Think it’s a four-letter word.

But networking doesn’t have to be so awful. It doesn’t have to be so dang hard. You could actually learn to <gasp> enjoy it!

First, let’s talk about your mindset – it’s probably on the wrong track, as most people’s is, with regards to networking. And once you change that, there are many actionable, doable strategies and techniques that you can begin to implement immediately to get you started networking in an introvert-friendly, easier way.

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Let’s get gritty! (Book Review: Getting Grit by Caroline Adams Miller)

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Let’s get gritty! (Book Review: Getting Grit by Caroline Adams Miller)

Grit is so important to goal accomplishment and success that I decided to share some golden nuggets of wisdom from both the book and the podcast right here in this post, to get you started. In this blog post, I’ll share some of Caroline’s thoughts and ideas on what is grit, specifically her concept of authentic grit, why we need to cultivate more grit in our culture, the good and bad types of grit, and how to grow your grit by adding the ingredients required for grit according to Caroline’s ‘grit recipe’.

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