02 Sep 2020

Courageous Conversations, Engagement and Transformational Leadership, Innovation Leadership
Colorful balls of paper, with a lamp draw
Have you ever wondered how some business teams predictably achieve breakthrough innovation? Time and again, research indicates that positive change thrives where ideas conflict – and our perspectives clash. Think about yourself and your organization. Do you show the curiosity and courage to listen to one another's views, while keeping your options open until each puzzle piece fits? Does ...
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08 Dec 2019

Courageous Conversations, Engagement and Transformational Leadership, Positive Leadership and Fun
Group of women talking at Grooa Learning Center. The Clear Mindset Neuroscience Leadership
Most people are anxious about facing disagreements. Some of us tend to get defensive or shut up, some may become righteous and overpowering; usually, once we "cool down" we regret our choice of behaviour and wonder if there is a different, more productive way. Whether the difficult discussions are in the business arena (e.g. getting our proposal accepted, giving or receiving feedback,...
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07 Aug 2019

Courageous Conversations, Engagement and Transformational Leadership
Grooa: Working Outdoors image
I had a thought provoking coaching session today, with one of my executive Clients. First, some background: This Client is an extremely intelligent, competent and business-savvy man. Throughout his international career he has collected a string of successes that allowed him to climb the hierarchical ladder at one of the most competitive multinationals in the world. He is both ki...
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26 Feb 2017

Courageous Conversations, Feedback, Values and Purpose
secret of influence grooa
Not everybody is skilled in providing constructive and respectful feedback. Even with the best of intentions, many managers are unable to give useful feedback without judging, patronizing, or somehow acting superior, while making the other person feel small. When faced with this type of “feedback” (which sounds like criticism), it is natural to feel bad, but we can learn to stay calm and...
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26 Jun 2016

Courageous Conversations
3 people wearing a animal makeup, zebra, lion and pantera
The birthplace of all conflicts is our diversity; as human beings, we are both attracted by the "new and different" and at the same time genetically programmed to be suspicious about it. Conflicts usually start from different views about some judgmental matters. When an aligned choice needs to be made about a judgmental matter, different views can only in principle work as complementa...
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29 May 2016

Courageous Conversations, Innovation Leadership
"Love" by Ukrainian sculptor Alexander Milov, at the 2015 "Burning Man" Festival, Nevada (photo author unknown)
Niels is a successful leader. He is engaged and able to engage others around him, he is focused, upbeat and pragmatic, he and his team deliver consistent results, and he is humble about it, conscious that external circumstances and luck have also played a role in their success. There is only one dark spot in his stellar performance, something he is not proud of: he stresses about disa...
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29 Feb 2016

Courageous Conversations, Engagement and Transformational Leadership
the number 1 reason why we hate disagreements grooa article
The real reason why we hate disagreements is because we have the illusion of rationality. If you disagree, you are wrong and I can prove it! OK, I am just kidding, let me try again. Sometimes I feel hurt by other people disagreeing with my views and opinions because it sounds like they are against me. Does it make sense to you? Do you feel the same? Red is my preferred color. I like re...
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29 Feb 2016

Courageous Conversations, Engagement and Transformational Leadership
Not every manager is competent in providing objective and factual feedback; some may give patronizing advice or judgmental criticism instead. When confronted with the type of “feedback” that seems more like a personal attack, a few simple steps can help us stay cool, deflect any criticism and turn the discussion into a professionally constructive one. Nobody likes to be criticized. An...
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29 Feb 2016

Courageous Conversations, Feedback, Priorities / Trivial and Toxic Work, Values and Purpose
Sometimes we tell we are very busy with a sense of pride; if we are busy, it means we are probably important, wanted and successful. Some other times we truly suffer, we are tired, exhausted, and overworked. We truly wish we could learn to say no. This is often a trap, a form of self-deception; and we may not need to learn to say: "no", we may actually need to learn to say: "yes, and.....
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16 Dec 2015

Courageous Conversations, Engagement and Transformational Leadership, Values and Purpose
How often do we hear statements like “I do not know what it takes to convince him, I have tried everything”? Perhaps we may also ask ourselves: “I wish I knew how I can explain it so that he can understand!” Whenever I hear these statements during a coaching session, I enquire back: “so did you ask him? do you understand his concerns?” This usually brings about blank stares... It is...
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