Make Yourself Essential
Posted On December 9, 2024 BY Dean Brenner
Do you want to be seen as “essential” by your manager, leader or executive? I will assume for a moment that your answer is “yes.” So let’s talk about what that will require. First, let’s start with the “table stakes” part of being essential: you have to do your job well, treat your clients or […]
Meetings are the Organization’s Blood Cells
Posted On December 3, 2024 BY Dean Brenner
How often do you sit in meetings and think to yourself “wow… this is a colossal waste of time“? My guess is your answer is some version of “far too often.” The next time you are feeling that way, do some quick back-of-the-envelope calculations. Make an estimate of what you get paid by the hour. […]
Organizational Blood Flow
Posted On November 25, 2024 BY Dean Brenner
Information is the blood supply in the modern business organization. But in a world where there is an overwhelming amount of information available, we have to make sure that we are exchanging good information, and not just any information. So let me amend my opening sentence. Good information is the healthy blood supply in the […]
The Risk of Assuming Understanding
Posted On November 20, 2024 BY Kendra Raguckas
Miscommunication happens when we assume others can “read between the lines” or make connections just because we can.
Communication Is NOT a “Soft Skill”
Posted On November 19, 2024 BY Dean Brenner
(We recently had a conversation with a good friend of The Latimer Group, who said something really powerful to us. Our friend shared that her firm no longer calls communication a “soft skill.” Instead, they refer to communication as a “power skill.” We LOVE that, and it caused me to write this post, which has […]
“Filler Words:” Don’t Undermine Yourself!
Posted On November 13, 2024 BY Lauren St. Germain
This post was written by Lauren St. Germain, Facilitator and Coach for The Latimer Group. I’m nearly two years into parenthood and often say that raising a little human is the fastest way to develop leadership skills. It’s forced me to become more self-aware, consider a perspective outside of my own, and has made me more mindful […]
The Career Impact of Powerful Communication
Posted On November 12, 2024 BY Dean Brenner
Here is a story I have witnessed countless times in my career… Think about a young, aspiring leader, with great ideas, all the best intentions, and enough energy to power up a city block. This young leader wants to do well, wants to help the company, and brings great ideas to the table. But that […]
How Quickly Should You Get to the Point? It Depends!
Posted On November 6, 2024 BY Dean Brenner
My colleagues and I always talk about the importance of getting to the point quickly. So don’t worry… I am not about to contradict twenty years of Latimer teaching. But my colleagues and I also believe in the importance of audience and situational awareness, and that we should always try to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach. […]
“Pre-Persuasion” Makes Everything Else Easier
Posted On November 5, 2024 BY Dean Brenner
Do you find persuasion easy? For most of us, the answer probably is some version of “sometimes.” It’s a broad question, with lots of variables: what you are “asking” for, the environment and situation, the person being asked, and several other variables can all play a part in how easily the persuasion happens… or if it […]
Translating Clarity
Posted On October 31, 2024 BY Jay Prewitt, EdD
This post was written by Jay Prewitt, Director of Coaching and Facilitation at The Latimer Group. I was at a post-rehearsal sushi dinner with my friend Ayur, who sings bass with me in a choral ensemble. Ayur is ethnically Mongolian, speaks Russian, Buryat, and Korean, and has been living in the United States for a year and […]