by Franklin Wordsmith | Mar 15, 2022 | Leadership
Three Lessons to Make You a Better Leader and Player I auditioned for a community theater musical on a lark. The writer/director heard me sing and encouraged me to try out. “All you have to do is bring some sheet music,” he said. “You don’t understand. I...
by 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 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 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 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: Matt. He knew his job well. But the people around him complained he was abrupt and sarcastic. Getting...
