by Lynne Franklin Wordsmith | Oct 1, 2019 | Leadership
I remember the first time I heard about the second type of person who says “no” to you at work: Dead Weight Danny. My mother was the chief of the Midwest Property Division for the Department of Defense. She had a job open up, interviewed candidates, and...
by Lynne Franklin Wordsmith | Sep 24, 2019 | Leadership
I’m dating myself here. But in one of the many Star Trek incarnations, the Enterprise was led by Captain Jean-Luc Picard. One of his catchphrases was “Make it so.”Don’t we wish we could look at the people we work with, say “Make it...
by Lynne Franklin Wordsmith | Aug 6, 2019 | Neuroscience
As part of my research before starting communication mentoring with a new healthcare executive, I interviewed some of her colleagues.One of them was trying to be candid—but nice. “She has a ‘tell,’” the woman said. “You can always see what she’s thinking by the...
by Lynne Franklin Wordsmith | May 30, 2019 | Leadership
Do you ever have the experience of seeing someone and then jumping back to an earlier version of you?I was asked to do communication coaching with an executive. He knew his job well. But the people around him complained he was abrupt and sarcastic.Getting Called on...
by Lynne Franklin Wordsmith | Apr 3, 2018 | Leadership
Last year, I was frustrated with the lack of progress on updating the website for the National Speakers Association (NSA) Illinois Chapter.”Just give it to me,” I said to the chapter president, “and I’ll get it done.”I wanted to make my...