Stop Telling and Start Listening

If you haven't had the opportunity to listen to the first episode of this show, you haven't had an opportunity to hear the story behind my passion for listening and how listening can completely alter a damaged or difficult relationship. While I teach and coach listening to leaders and organizations, I originally focused on sharing the power of effective listening behaviors to parents. Specifically...

The socio-political discourse that divides us marches on. Partisanship is up, trust is down, and social media feeds help insulate us from alternative or controversial perspectives. Today, it is more important to be safe and right, than engaged and connected. We have gotten to the point where collaborative problem solving has been replaced by partisan tribalism, with little tolerance or curiosity f...

Today's guest is a sales coach and trainer. NO! This episode is not just for salespeople! We are going to talk about how most people view sales and how we can change that in how we listen. And more. One of the biggest complaints about sales people is they are lousy listeners. Truth is, many are. Mainly it is because they have not been trained properly. Today's guest is a coach who breaks the sales...

"When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade" What sounds so simple when captured in a single statement, isn't that simple when the "lemons" are a life altering event and experience. How well prepared are any of us for a jarring interruption to our life as we live it? When bombarded by a life changing event which reroutes our life's journey, how do we simply make lemonade? Today's episode featur...

When we have the information we need to make a decision, why don't we? What causes us to hesitate before implementing the best solution? What are the most productive information gathering tools? How can we trust the information we have obtained? In today's episode, we will talk about how we learn, how we gather data and information, and how to trust that information to make and implement big decis...

Listening is all about paying attention. It's not just paying attention to what's being said, but it is about paying close attention to what is not being said and other components like body language and physical energy. Today's episode focused on what we can learn from our interactions with dogs. Dogs respond to physical and verbal cues. They have a keen sense of energy, emotion and respond to the...

Like everyone else, children want and need to be heard. The challenge is that sometimes they don't know how to share what they see, hear, or experience, or know who to share with. Whether it is a matter of knowing how to express how they feel or knowing they have permission to express their truth, children need to learn how to share and know they can. Today's episode explores how we help children...

Today's episode features a great conversation with a fellow listening advocate. It is human to seek connection. In today's divided society, finding authentic connection is a challenge. I first met my guest, Chad Belew, was when he made a presentation on listening and building connection. His thoughts were so closely aligned with mine, I joked that he must have seen my powerpoint presentation. In t...

Every organization looks to minimize turnover. As much as any organization strives to avoid turnover, in most cases it is inevitable and in many cases it is avoidable. What happens when turnover is a natural, given component of an organization's dynamic? How does one keep a team at a high performing level, when every year people transition out and a new team begins? I am excited to have recently r...

Even when we recognize the need for change in our lives, it doesn't make change any easier. It always involves letting go of something we have become attached to. And, it often involves taking on risk as we venture into developing something new. Today's guest is no stranger to change. In today's episode, Brianne Johnson and I talk about making changes in our lives and how the PIVOT assists in over...

It isn't easy for highly driven, high performing professionals to easily share the challenges and frustrations they experience. Admitting to a third party their struggles with clarity and direction in relation to their ability to usually figure it out makes it sometimes difficult to share. How does a coach create and facilitate a safe environment for high performers to share their deepest thoughts...

We live in a very turbulent and tense era. People are divided, angry, at each other's throats in disagreement. It seems as though it is getting worse, not better. Despite this alarming and frustrating trend, there is opportunity to reduce the tensions in our interaction and create change in a very powerful way. Discover how shifting your listening behaviors can change everything. Learn how to faci...