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Articles by Eileen McDargh

Browse published articles attributed to Eileen McDargh, with full-archive search.

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By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

Play! The Sanity Saver For Tough Times

The opposite of work is not play. It's depression. So states psychiatrist Stuart Brown in his new book, Play: How It Shapes The Brain, Opens The Imagination And Invigorates The Soul. Brown has conducted more than 6,000 play studies on what goes wrong when people do not play-studying everything from serial killers to career-drive CEOs. Given the current plethora of economic turmoil, negative news, layoff paranoia and growing unemployment lines, the notion of taking time to play sounds like a childish daydream.

Primary topic: Leadership

1,404 views3.4/5 (5)

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

Resiliency Lessons From The Chilean Mine Triumph

A worldwide web of viewers watched 33 miners being pulled to the surface following a 600,000 ton cave-in that happened nearly one-half mile below the ground on a barren plain in southern Chile. Besides showcasing the tenacity of rescuers and the miracle of technology, the miners themselves offer dramatic lessons in resiliency that anyone can learn. If your business and/or personal life has taken a downtu or if you can't seem to get over the tough times then these tips are for you.

Primary topic: Leadership

1,405 views5/5 (1)

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

The Power of Welcome Home

Welcome home! These two small words carry potent possibilities for creating a connection that evokes loyalty and teamwork. Yet, one seldom thinks of "welcome home" in the context of work. In fact, it is only through recent incidents that I have become acutely aware of the power this gesture holds. Scene ONE: a world away in the remote regions of the western Himalayas. Our team had been warned of the dangers in crossing the white water rivers fed by glacier melt.

Primary topic: Leadership

1,314 views3/5 (4)

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

Taming The Technostress

Last week, my big desktop PC crashed, my laptop got the "blue screen: of death". The refrigerator croaked, and the toaster oven went the heaven. My I-phone decided to stop receiving e-mail and the dashboard in my car kept erroneously sending warning messages. It wasn't even a full moon! As marvelous as all our technology is, chronic malfunctions and crashes and the constant demand to keep up might account for the fact that at least one in four of us will admit to physically assaulting a device.

Primary topic: Leadership

1,548 views2/5 (1)

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

In Tough Times-Silence Is NOT Golden

In the face of this severe, take-no-prisoners economic downturn, far too many organizations are responding in knee-jerk reaction to the thought of holding all but the smallest of meetings. Training budgets are slashed. Employees hunker behind their desk, hoping that no one from HR can find them ...

Primary topic: Leadership

1,228 views2/5 (1)

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

Resiliency And Innovation Go Hand In Hand

A cornerstone of resiliency is adaptability: the skill of finding multiple solutions to an event, challenge, or opportunity. The emphasis is on the word "multiple". The more options one can create, the greater is one's resiliency quotient. However, innovative thinking requires a different mindset than analytical thinking. The latter strives for one right answer. Innovative thinking seeks many answers. To hone innovative thinking, practice asking many questions: What if? Why not? Why? Who says so? How about? Where could we?

Primary topic: Leadership

1,077 views1/5 (1)

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

3 Leadership & Life Lessons On The Fly - The Butterfly!

It started when a Monarch butterfly appeared in my garden, lighting on the only milkweed plant in the yard. My leadership & life lesson was about to begin: I discover that Monarchs lay tiny, pinpoint-sized eggs ONLY on milkweed. The tiny caterpillars (larvae) emerge and begin gorging ONLY on milkweed, stripping it down to the stalk. Horrified that the yellow/black caterpillars will run out of food, I race to the nursery. Three trips to the nursery! $10 every time per plant. The little buggers are voracious and multiplying like grains of sand.

Primary topic: Leadership

1,666 views

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

Resiliency Clues From Marvel Characters & Make-A-Wish Foundation

I left the hotel in downtow Columbus, determined to take a brisk jaunt before preparing for my keynote address in the convention center. Not knowing the city, I spied signs on street lamps and taped to the sidewalk that read "Make-A-Wish Walk." A great idea! Surely the path would be around safe and interesting neighborhoods.

Primary topic: Leadership

1,526 views

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

Baton Leadership Lessons From LA Philharmonic Conductor Dudamel

Imagine a crusty group of seasoned professionals standing, applauding and cheering a 28 year-old leader who has turned a same-old-same-old product into something fresh and exciting! This does NOT happen-particularly when the professionals are members of the Israel Philharmonic. But under the baton of young Maestro Gustavo Dudamel, orchestra members did just that.

Primary topic: Leadership

1,408 views

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

The Power In A Gathering Of Women

Forget "fight or flight" as the only duo of responses in the face of stress. For women, there's a third response: "befriend". A landmark UCLA study turned five decades of stress research on its head with the revelation that a cascade of brain chemicals gives women a larger behavioral repertoire ...

Primary topic: Leadership

1,323 views

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

Servant Leadership Flies High from the Cockpit On United 757

When was the last time you boarded an airplane and the pilot was handing out Aircraft Trading Cards with the statistics of the plane on which you're about to fly? Think about it. It makes sense. How many of us would buy a car without reading the manufacture's label on the window? So why shouldn't we know about the "product" we are buying? That must have been what Captain Denny Flanagan figured when he stood at the jet way of the 757 that was to take me home to Orange County.

Primary topic: Leadership

1,300 views

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

Hospitality Is A Contact Sport

The impetus for this article comes from the thousands of miles I have traveled and the many places I have stayed in my work as a leadership consultant and professional speaker. Depending upon the city and the client, the range goes from residential inns to five star resorts, from boutique hotels to bed-and-breakfast retreats, from international chains to franchise operations.

Primary topic: Leadership

1,299 views

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

Workout Wisdom For The Workplace

The dictionary defines workout as a "physical or mental effort or activity directed toward the production or accomplishment of something." Sounds just like our workplaces where effort is expended to provide either a product or a service. Look closer at a gym and one can learn seven lessons in leading self as well as others for performance improvement. Lesson #1: Everyone needs a baseline.

Primary topic: Leadership

1,278 views

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

From the World's Highest Mountains-Lessons for Leaders

One of Carl Jung's favorite words was "synchronicity", that unexplainable convergence of unplanned events which offer insights and opportunities. When I agreed to join a trekking expedition through two remote provinces of the Indian Himalayas, I had no way of knowing that this adventure would ...

Primary topic: Leadership

1,277 views

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

Retreat To Advance Into A New Decade

From my second floor bedroom, I look out at a massive 150 year-old eucalyptus tree that almost overpowers the expanse of the Pacific and the Channel Islands. Starlings, crows, doves, and woodpeckers dart among the withered arms of ancient oaks. My window opens with a rusted hand crank and a hand-hewed teak starburst looks down from the ceiling.

Primary topic: Leadership

1,253 views

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

Resiliency: An Equal Opportunity Resource

Do any of these sound like you: Your organization has been downsized, "right-sized," capsized. Perhaps you’ve been merged, remerged, submerged. Every time you think you know the answers, they change the questions. Up is down and down is up. Perhaps you have the opposite challenge: your organization is growing so fast that it's hard to maintain the pace! Business change is a daily fact of life.

Primary topic: Leadership

1,252 views

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

How To Stand Out From The Herd And Be Heard!

What makes the difference between an average presentation and one that rocks your world? What makes the difference between a memorable speech and one that fades into oblivion as soon as the presenter steps off the stage? The answer sits in four building blocks that are essential for crafting a ...

Primary topic: Leadership

1,248 views

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

Sanity Survival-PATIENCE, NOW!!!!!!

I admit it: I am a jack rabbit. I like to hop to it and get things done. Give me a project and I'll start immediately just so I can get it off of my to do list. The problem is, sometimes in my haste I make mistakes. I admit that I have no tolerance for voicemail doom loops. I have been known to bang a phone against the desk and scream, "Give me a real person!" (It doesn't work.)

Primary topic: Leadership

1,224 views

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

Resilient Employees Start with Right Recruiting

My mother always said, "To end well, you must begin well." Of course, she was talking about how you separated clothes for the washing machine or how you chose vegetables at the market. But it's also true when it comes to creating a resilient, sustainable workforce. The questions you ask in the recruiting phase will help both you and a potential employee determine if you have the right fit for your organization.

Primary topic: Leadership

1,217 views

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

Human Work Makes For Happy Workers

It started at the rental car turn-in location. My friend is a "platinum" member with Hertz-who offers a great benefit I discovered when the rental agencies are a considerable distance from the terminal. Hertz provided a shuttle bus to the lot for people to pick out their cars. Our shuttle bus driver grinned as she slid into the driver's seat and said she could hardly wait for school to begin. Turns out she's also a school bus driver and with her seniority, she gets to pick her route. Her passion: autistic children. "I just love 'em," she grinned. "I get them again this year."

Primary topic: Leadership

1,214 views

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

What's Resiliency Got To Do With Employee Engagement?

Consider these glum facts: Only one in eight workers worldwide are engaged at work, but according to Gallup's new 142-country study on the State of the Global Workplace, engagement varies considerably according to the region and country in which these workers live and their economic and social conditions. So let's just look at the U.S and Canada. Gallup reports that only 29% of workers are engaged, leaving 54% not engaged and 18% actively disengaged.

Primary topic: Leadership

1,205 views

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

Shut Up, Put Up, And Get Some Quiet Back

When firestorms raged across Southern Califo ia and land lines were down, having a cell phone to call my family was a blessing. When I could sit in my ocean front garden and use both hands while talking to my Mother in Florida, I adored my cell phone. After getting lost in a jumble of ...

Primary topic: Leadership

1,197 views

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

The Craft Of Choosing Well—The Ultimate Success

“Wealth is the product of a person’s capacity to think.” Ayn Rand Do you remember the “good old days”? At least it seemed as if our parents’ or grandparents’ lives were so much easier. Those were the days when life seemed to work in a straightforward, linear fashion. You went to school. You ...

Primary topic: Leadership

1,196 views

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

How to Turn Stale Managers Into Stars

A new report from Gallup, based on extensive polling, finds only 10% of managers have what it takes to be "a great manager." Deep breathe before you fire the lot or cry foul.

Primary topic: Leadership

1,170 views

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

Tough Times Demand Resilient Leaders

The stock market gyrates with unpredictable and heartbu ing results. Icons of solid companies become straw figures before balance sheets. Children are abducted from their front yards and networks of terrorists spiral throughout the world. Religious institutions cast shadows of duplicity while ...

Primary topic: Leadership

1,168 views

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

Run Your Own Race—At Your Own Pace

On Thanksgiving Day, dawn spills over Dana Point Harbor where thousands of runners gather for the annual Turkey Trot. The largest holiday race in Califo ia beckons folks of all ages, sizes, shapes, and abilities. Waiting at the starting line for the 10-K, I talk to a Dad and his 7 year-old ...

Primary topic: Leadership

1,146 views

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

Fall Back In Love With Your Job? Here's How!

USA TODAY, recently ran a full-page article of Kerry Hannon's book Love Your Job. She rightfully quotes the latest stats that just 30% of the American workforce is engaged at work. She goes on to relay that most people either don't want to leave for another career or are simply putting in time to protect income and health insurance. That's a fine kettle of fish! So if leaving is not in the cards and merely putting up with work to collect a paycheck are the only options, I conclude 70% of the workforce are doomed!!

Primary topic: Leadership

1,133 views

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

When Your Get Up & Go Just Got Up And Went!

Five Tips to Refresh and Renew Yourself in the New Year Let's face it: new years are not always "new". Too often it feels like nothing more than a new calendar in which to write down pages of non-stop activities, project deadlines, social obligations, and commitments made by someone other than ...

Primary topic: Leadership

1,121 views

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

Five Leadership Lessons Learned In A Canoe

One hour north of Ely, MN, off a gravel road called Echo Trail, Little Indian Sioux River meanders through lily-pad waters and past beaver houses to meet Loon Lake. It’s but a tiny part of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilde ess, a vast chain of lakes and rivers that divide Canada and the United States. It was our fourth season to canoe for a week, testing our ability to paddle against wind gusts of 35-mph, fight mosquitoes and stinging flies, drag our boat over beaver dams, portage up and down slippery trails and sleep most nights under the stars.

Primary topic: Leadership

1,102 views

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

The Technology Trap For Talking Takes A Toll

A recent Harris Interactive survey for Whitepages.com eleased findings on what communication modes are most open to misunderstanding. Not surprisingly, 80% of adults found it most easy to misinterpret the tone of e-mail. Seventy-eight percent found text messages to be misleading, while 71% ...

Primary topic: Leadership

1,074 views

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

A Return to Dark Ages Pushes Millennials Away

Despite all the talk about wanting to attract and keep young savvy workers, too many managers in the United States are jumping backward in work/life policies. According to a new survey of nearly 10,000 workers in eight countries by Ernst & Young’s Global Generations Research, millennials are the most dissatisfied. Lack of flexibility was cited among the top reasons millennials quit jobs. And nearly 40 percent of young workers, male or female, in the United States are so unhappy with the lack of paid parental-leave policies that they say they would be willing to move to another country.

Primary topic: Leadership

1,014 views

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

Re-Frame with Humor: A Top Resiliency Tip

Up until my early 30s, vacations for this Southern-bred woman meant sipping mint juleps in a New Orleans courtyard, lounging poolside at one of Florida's posh resorts, or exploring the historic treasures of Williamsburg. My one experience with the great outdoors and camping had netted poison ivy misery from head to toe, accompanied by a scratching pain that only subsided when my grandfather soaked me in Clorox water. My biggest mountain adventure came from driving the gentle back of the Blue Ridge and Appalachians. Loved changed all that.

Primary topic: Leadership

981 views

By Eileen McDarghRecently published1 topic

Workplace Communication: How to Avoid Screwing It Up

Human language separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom. But too often, we respond to the wag of a dog's tail instead of the message given by the CEO. There is a breakdown in workplace communication. Here are four sure-fire ways to get a message across, remembered, and repeated. Use Real Language Instead of Ad Copy

Primary topic: Leadership

841 views

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