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Articles from Angie Thompson | Selfgrowth.com
- Six Ways to Avoid Being a Micro Manager - by Submitted on Oct 03, 2011 from Angie ThompsonLeadership and learning expert Kevin Eikenberry wants to help you avoid being - or becoming - a micro manager. Think about your perfect supervisor/manager/leader for a minute. Build a mental list of the attributes that perfect person would possess and think about the words you would use to ...
Views: 794 - Six Ways to Build on Recent Success - by Submitted on Oct 03, 2011 from Angie ThompsonYou've had a success - congratulations!! Now what do you do? Leadership and learning expert Kevin Eikenberry has 6 steps to help you turn this success into your next success (and more). Your team has just completed a major project, introduced a new product or closed a major deal. Tremendous ...
Views: 584 - Six Ways To Read More Effectively - by Submitted on Apr 27, 2008 from Angie ThompsonMaybe you are a voracious reader. Maybe reading has never been your favorite thing (though if that is the case, you’re probably not reading this!) Either way – whether you read a book a week or struggle to finish one a year - it would be helpful to gain more value from the time you do spend ...
Views: 614 - Six Ways To Read More Effectively - by Submitted on May 05, 2008 from Angie ThompsonMaybe you are a voracious reader. Maybe reading has never been your favorite thing (though if that is the case, you’re probably not reading this!) Either way – whether you read a book a week or struggle to finish one a year - it would be helpful to gain more value from the time you do spend ...
Views: 886 - Stop, Listen and Lead. - by Submitted on Feb 05, 2014 from Angie ThompsonThere’s no controversy here: everyone knows that listening is important. In every training event I facilitate, conversation turns in one way or another to listening. We all realize it to be important because people are talking to us, and we need to understand the messages or information they ...
Views: 791 - Success in the Stairway: Your Path to the Top - by Submitted on May 22, 2009 from Angie ThompsonImagine walking into a 20 story office building, knowing that your upcoming meeting is on the top floor. You walk into the building and immediately search for the elevators. To your surprise, and disappointment, some of the elevators show "out of order" signs and the rest are currently being ...
Views: 968 - Take These Four Leadership Leaps - by Submitted on May 08, 2014 from Angie ThompsonIn 1919, Leslie Irvin became the first person to jump out of an airplane with a parachute. Think about that leap – once you jump, you are completely committed. You can’t turn back, you are heading downward towards your target. Today I want to encourage you to take some leadership leaps – and ...
Views: 761 - Taking Advantage of the Teachable Moment - by Submitted on Apr 05, 2009 from Angie ThompsonTom, a middle-aged CEO, is experiencing some tough times in his business. Changes in economic climate and competitors are leaving him and his team unsure about the validity of their strategy, so he attends an executive strategy workshop. Andrea, a mother of two young children, has the chance to ...
Views: 907 - Telling a Story that Influences Others - by Submitted on Feb 13, 2012 from Angie ThompsonThere are many reasons you might want to tell a story. You could tell a story to entertain, to inform, or to get a laugh. You could tell a story to a friend, write it in a blog post, or include it in a presentation. While there are many situations when a story can be a powerful communication ...
Views: 781 - Ten Hats All Leaders Wear - by Submitted on Jan 27, 2014 from Angie ThompsonAs a leader, all day long you are wearing a hat. Not the kind that people might laugh at or that might smoosh your hair, but a hat nonetheless. For the next few minutes I want you to think of the various roles you play as a leader and different hats that you wear. While there are likely more, ...
Views: 964 - Ten Morning Habits That Promote Greater Success - by Submitted on Jan 24, 2012 from Angie ThompsonDo you want to get more done, reach more of your goals, and make a bigger difference? If so, the morning is when that can all begin! However you came to read these words, I`m confident you are interested in greater productivity, achievement and success. Perhaps you want that for yourself, ...
Views: 761 - Ten Questions Leaders Should Ask Every Day - by Submitted on Apr 21, 2014 from Angie ThompsonQuestions are one of the most powerful tools we have at our hands as leaders. They can help us engage others, gather information, set the stage for coaching and feedback, and allow us the opportunity to listen rather than talk. The power of questions is undeniable. I am a big fan of collecting ...
Views: 835 - Ten Questions to Ask After Setting Your Goals - by Submitted on Jul 03, 2015 from Angie ThompsonLots of people set goals. Far fewer achieve them. There are a lot of reasons why that happens, not the least of which is that people treat the goal setting process as an achievement; which it isn’t really. We don’t set goals as the outcome. We set goals to get goals. (Tweet That) Yes, setting ...
Views: 873 - Ten Ways To Nurture Your Network - by Submitted on Sep 24, 2007 from Angie ThompsonWe all have personal networks – the groups of people who make up your professional and personal collection of friends, colleagues, acquaintances, etc. Unfortunately, we almost all also have people we used to know or were close to that we have lost track of or fallen out of touch with. Whether ...
Views: 977 - The ABC's Of Coaching Success - by Submitted on May 05, 2008 from Angie ThompsonEffective coaching is a big topic. Here are just a few examples where being a more effective coach can make a difference: at work, for your children’s sports teams, for a friend and in your community. As with anything as important and as pervasive as this topic, there are lots of resources ...
Views: 876 - The Antidote for Unsuccessful New Year's Resolutions - by Submitted on Dec 19, 2007 from Angie ThompsonMany people spend some time at the end of the year working on the New Year. These people typically fall into two groups: those who use the end of the year as a way to be introspective and look back on the past year, and those who spend time looking forward; setting goals and planning the coming ...
Views: 764 - The Best Leaders Are Bold Leaders - by Submitted on Dec 26, 2013 from Angie ThompsonIf you make a list of leaders who have made a difference – whether the list is global and historical, or local and recent – you will find they all have one thing in common. Those leaders are bold. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines bold in part with these three definitions: not ...
Views: 797 - The Best Things to Plant in Your Life - by Submitted on Jun 03, 2009 from Angie ThompsonSpring is the time of the year I miss my kidhood the most. Growing up on a farm the spring brought many activities and tasks, but my favorite was preparing the soil and planting a crop. There are two truths of planting that all farmers know. First, you must plant the seeds that you want to ...
Views: 728 - The Five Perspectives Leaders Must Have to Succeed in 2014 - by Submitted on Jan 07, 2014 from Angie ThompsonOne of the truths about leadership, not often talked about, is that when we become leaders we must begin to look at and see the world differently – at least if we want to be successful and effective. Following that idea, the obvious question is, what are the ways we need to look at the world ...
Views: 792 - The Insurance Every Leader Needs - by Submitted on Feb 18, 2015 from Angie ThompsonInsurance. We have it for many things: for our lives, for our cars, for our home, for our health, for our identities, for our cell phones (!) and much more. We are purchasing this insurance as a safety net against something bad happening. While different people have different risk tolerances, ...
Views: 856 - The Journey To Our Goals - by Submitted on Nov 04, 2007 from Angie ThompsonOn a recent cross country flight I looked out over the Rocky Mountains from 30,000 feet and saw hundreds of paths sort of heading towards the summits of the various peaks. I write “sort of” because looking at these zigzagging paths made it very clear why they are called switchbacks. Those ...
Views: 708 - The Keys to Successful Performance Conversations - by Submitted on Sep 02, 2014 from Angie ThompsonIt is likely you have had an experience like this in your past: You are 8 or 10 or 12 years old. You’ve done something wrong, whether you know it yet or not. You certainly know it after you have been told to “stay after class”, “go to the Principal’s office” or “wait until your Father gets ...
Views: 885 - The Language of Encouragement - by Submitted on Mar 30, 2015 from Angie ThompsonSome of the most powerful things in life are simple. Such is the case with encouragement. People are more productive, more focused and more successful in a positive and supportive environment than in a negative one. And we can help create that environment by being more encouraging. John Adair ...
Views: 893 - The Leadership Question Prompted by Daylight Savings Time - by Submitted on Mar 10, 2014 from Angie ThompsonIf you live in most of the United States or Canada, you recently lost an hour of sleep. If you live in some other parts of the world, you’ve got a couple more weeks to hold on to that hour. I’m talking, of course about Daylight Savings Time. Some people love it (especially in the fall when they ...
Views: 749 - The Magic Of Memory Lane - by Submitted on Oct 23, 2007 from Angie ThompsonOn a recent early autumn evening, I walked around the farm of my kidhood. In the spring, my father passed away, so I have spent more time here this year than in recent years. And on this particular evening I was on the farm alone. As the sun began to set a different memory seemed to arrive with ...
Views: 725 - The Most Important Reason Not to Fear Resistance - by Submitted on Jan 05, 2015 from Angie ThompsonResistance. When I ask groups to tell me what first comes to their minds when they think about change, resistance is always on that list. And their thoughts about it aren’t positive – in fact, I used the word “fear” in the title purposefully. Resistance is typically seen as a negative ...
Views: 992 - The Overlooked Secret of Networking Success - by Submitted on May 20, 2009 from Angie ThompsonWhen the word networking is mentioned, most people I know think about salespeople or business owners exchanging business cards any chance they can. Of course networking can be the card exchange. It`s also "doing lunch" and attending events and many other equally valid and important things, but ...
Views: 648 - THE Recency Illusion - What It Is and What It Means To Leaders - by Submitted on Aug 24, 2015 from Angie ThompsonIt is a phrase most often used in relationship to language usage, but when coined by linguist Arnold Zwicky, he defined it much more broadly as “the belief that things you have noticed only recently are in fact recent.” Here are two interesting language examples: • You might think that the use ...
Views: 863 - The Starting Point of Any Change - by Submitted on Mar 02, 2010 from Angie ThompsonTake a minute and mentally put yourself in a place that you love. You love the sights, the sounds, the activity you are engaging in. If there are others around they are people you are excited to be with. Take a minute and put yourself in that situation mentally right now. Now, imagine that I ...
Views: 622 - The Unexpected Perils of Balance - by Submitted on Jun 03, 2009 from Angie ThompsonBalance. For many balance represents the Holy Grail. You might aspire to: Work/Life Balance. A balanced approach to your business strategy. A desire to please all Customers. And yet, often, you don`t really think about what that means in terms of your decision making; what you stand for, ...
Views: 858 - There's No Such Thing as Organizational Change - by Submitted on Jan 24, 2012 from Angie ThompsonThere’s No Such Thing as Organizational Change It is everywhere. . . . . . Political leaders promoting changing policies. . . . Organizational leadership touting new products or strategies. . . . Team leaders outlining a process improvement. Leaders everywhere think their job is ...
Views: 855 - Three Techniques For Better Feedback and One Big But - by Submitted on Sep 19, 2007 from Angie ThompsonFeedback is something we all need, and at least in some instances something we all want. And yet for many leaders, giving feedback is something we aren’t comfortable doing, or don’t feel we do successfully. This article is designed to give you some techniques to help make this valuable and ...
Views: 737 - Three Types of Forgiveness and Why They Matter to Us as Leaders - by Submitted on Sep 08, 2014 from Angie ThompsonForgiveness. We see it in public gestures like Nelson Mandela forgiving his captors after his long imprisonment or when President Ford pardoned President Nixon. And we often see the results when there is no forgiveness. Like in the news every day – from revenge violence to road rage to people ...
Views: 839 - Training Is An Event, Learning Is A Process - by Submitted on Feb 19, 2008 from Angie ThompsonI say that phrase often. It’s part of my personal philosophy, and it’s part of my business philosophy. Let me explain… People around the world (you included) buy learning materials, books, audio programs, webinars, tele-seminars and attend lectures and workshops every day. These learning ...
Views: 767 - Unlock Conversation With These Seven Question Keys - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2015 from Angie ThompsonWe have all encountered locked doors in our lives. Most of them are literal slabs of wood or metal, keeping us from moving to someplace we want to go. And to get through doors, keys are required. The keys I am sharing with you today however, unlock more than a literal door. They are key ways to ...
Views: 870 - Using the Four Types of Feedback Effectively - by Submitted on Oct 03, 2011 from Angie ThompsonAre you incorporating all four feedback methods when working with your team? What? You think there are only 2 types of feedback? Leadership and learning expert Kevin Eikenberry shares tips for using all FOUR feedback techniques. You`ve likely heard when you deliver feedback it should be ...
Views: 621 - What Do You Believe? - by Submitted on Jan 26, 2015 from Angie ThompsonI’ve certainly opened with a big question, and it is a question I want you to think about as you read, and hopefully far into the future. Specifically, I want you to think about the beliefs and expectations you hold about those you lead. But before I get back to you personally, let me give you ...
Views: 935 - What Do You Expect? - by Submitted on Feb 12, 2008 from Angie ThompsonWhen something goes wrong (anywhere – in your office, at headquarters, in the national news, even around the dinner table reviewing your family’s day) have you ever heard (or said), “Well, what did you expect?” Usually that question is followed by a knowing glance, a wistful shaking of the head ...
Views: 926 - What Do You Stand For? - by Submitted on Mar 23, 2015 from Angie ThompsonAs leaders we are in the influence business. Think about it – while it might be desirable and make our lives easier, we can’t make anyone do anything, at least not for very long, and without there being unintended consequences. If we as leaders can’t control others, we must influence or ...
Views: 916 - What Every Leader Can Learn from the TSA - by Submitted on Aug 18, 2014 from Angie ThompsonThere is a phrase that TSA uses over the speakers at airports, in public service advertisements and on billboards like the one I recently saw in a baggage claim area. If you see something, say something. TSA is wisely using this catchy phrase for several reasons: • They want to reinforce the ...
Views: 740 - What Great Leaders Must Love - by Submitted on Feb 09, 2015 from Angie ThompsonIt’s the season of love – the week of Valentine’s Day when everyone who sells anything is trying to tie their product to romance. I’m not trying to sell you a bouquet or a bottle of wine. I’m trying to sell you an idea. And admittedly, the love I am speaking of isn’t the sort that takes place ...
Views: 993 - What I Learned at My Class Reunion - by Submitted on Aug 19, 2015 from Angie ThompsonRecently I attended my 35th High School Class Reunion. Actually, I did more than attend it; I hosted it at our farm. I graduated with about 115 other kids in 1980, and as Class President, I have been involved in the planning of all of our class reunions (though early on, my role was much ...
Views: 943 - What Is My Trust Set Point? - by Submitted on Nov 09, 2015 from Angie ThompsonTrust is something we’d all like more of. We’d like to be able to trust more people more. And we’d all also like more people to trust us more. These are universally true statements, even for those who have lots of trusting relationships. While this is true, it only considers part of what ...
Views: 934 - What Leaders Can Learn From Cal Ripken, Jr. - by Submitted on Aug 24, 2015 from Angie ThompsonIf you aren’t a baseball fan, Cal Ripken, Jr. is a Hall of Fame shortstop who played his whole career with the Baltimore Orioles. While over 18,000 have played in the Major Leagues, less than 250 have been elected to the Hall of Fame. And no one who has ever played in 2,632 games in a row, ...
Views: 1080 - What Leaders Can Learn From Charlie Brown - by Submitted on Nov 16, 2015 from Angie ThompsonCharlie Brown. He is one of the best-known fictional characters of the last 75 years (though he first appeared in a different strip earlier. The first Peanuts Strip was published October 2, 1950). He is known by many as a lovable loser, has been often bullied, and called names (“You Blockhead, ...
Views: 935 - What Leaders Can Learn From Homemade Bread? - by Submitted on Nov 17, 2014 from Angie ThompsonThis post is written to celebrate Homemade Bread Day, and while it may seem strange to connect homemade bread and leadership, please get past the quirkiness and follow along. I believe there are powerful points that follow, even if you aren’t (gasp!) a fan of homemade bread. As I made notes to ...
Views: 763 - What Leaders Can Learn From Walt Disney - by Submitted on Dec 16, 2014 from Angie ThompsonOn December 15, 1966 Walt Disney died. His legacy and vision have lived on and expanded in amazing ways in the 48 years since his death. Walt has long been one of my business heroes – after all, look at what he created, and all done with the fabulous outcome of helping people smile, laugh and ...
Views: 858 - What Leaders Must Do When Failure Strikes - by Submitted on Apr 27, 2015 from Angie ThompsonFailure happens to all of us. And as leaders, how we deal with it is important – for ourselves, and for the lasting message it sends to others. Recently we experienced one of our most public failures. Guy Harris and I were in our studio during what was supposed to be an awesome three hour live ...
Views: 871 - What Leading By Example Really Means - by Submitted on Mar 02, 2015 from Angie ThompsonAny discussion of great leaders will include the cliché that the best leaders lead by example. Stated in conversation, everyone will nod and agree. And if you are reflecting personally on the attributes of those you have willingly followed, you will find that common trait too. It seems there is ...
Views: 1002 - What The Best Leaders Will Learn From Peyton Manning (But Most will Ignore) - by Submitted on Jan 27, 2014 from Angie ThompsonHe’s won one Super Bowl, so far. He’s been the NFL’s MVP 4 times, set numerous records, and more are likely in his future. He was recently named The Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated. And for the next few days will be among the most talked about and read about people in the ...
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