Back to S.C.H.O.O.L. My daughter is grown and out of the nest! However, August still feels like back-to-school time for me because it’s a month that I’m usually speaking to education groups to kick off the academic year. Three of my five paid speaking engagements this month have been on university campuses. I facilitated two staff retreats and served as…
Four-year-olds When my daughter was born [23 years ago] it occurred to me that I knew nothing about child rearing. Sure, I had been a working person and supervisor for many years, but my expertise on children was limited. Being the good educator that I was, I decided to do some research — a one year subscription to various parenting…
Are you a L.I.A.R.? Brainstorming in a breakout brought forth the brash but brilliant acronym L.I.A.R. Truth be told, it was some of my workshop participants who came up with it. With their permission I share this newfound abbreviation, and have embellished it with some of my own examples. Read on and see if you are a “L.I.A.R”….at least as…
I had the unique opportunity to read a REAL-LIFE “angry” email that a colleague had composed in response to a difficult workplace situation. The first list of words below was taken directly from that email. Thankfully, the email that was actually sent included the second set of words below. Positive, tactful yet still clearly conveyed the concerns. Perhaps this wrong…
Wedding Wisdom I was wowed by the words of wisdom in the wedding cards and the congrats comments following my 12-13-14 nuptials. I realized that many of these insights could be applied in ALL relationships…at work and at home. Here are some excerpts. Hope you find them useful! “Be loving. Be kind. Be caring. Be yourselves. Be loyal. Be understanding. …
Say What You Mean “Say what you mean and mean what you say, but don’t say it mean!” I recently heard this expression and thought it succinctly summed up my philosophy. Better yet, I ran across some share-worthy suggestions supporting this thought. Below are some concrete examples that I found in an article on how teachers can soften the harshness…