DRIVEN Blog
Perfectly Human: Evading The Trap of Perfectionism
The word “perfect” is a superlative. When it’s not being used to describe the ultimate in sophisticated cocktails— the Perfect Manhattan, it translates to “second to none, ideal, flawless, impeccable, the ultimate”. As such, the word can never (another superlative) be used in reference to oneself. This is…
DRIVEN’s Best Blog Articles of 2018, Part 1
Each week of the year, DRIVEN’s blog page is updated with a brand-new, relevant article relating to the business perspectives and advancement strategies encompassed within our mission to “support the health, well-being and success potential of motivated professionals”. Composed by Deborah Goldstein, these…
Conversation, Ongoing: The Back-and-Forth Circuit of Workplace Feedback
Making the shift from anxious to excited has revealed itself to be the formula for a curious mindset. Once you’ve made the transformation (which fits into the rare category of simple and easy), your emotions will stabilize, grooming you to receive workplace feedback constructively and without impediment by…
Self-Check Strategies: How To Make Feedback Sessions Work for YOU
Formal workplace feedback can be a tough nut to crack. Considering the contrasting perspectives of the givers and receivers of feedback, the amount of openness to ideas can vary, as can the trust factor between the parties. In my recent article Openness To Influence: The Factors To Consider Before Receiving…
Listening To Understand: A Socials Skills Staple Examined
The essential social skill of Listening is rarely mastered, even by those among us who pride ourselves on being great listeners. In my recent article, Chit-Chat Credentials: Sharpening Your Social Skills with Two Distinct Listening Styles, I offered what may have amounted to a wake-up call for many of us by sharing…
Chit-Chat Credentials: Sharpening Your Social Skills with Two Distinct Listening Styles
Listening is a communications staple and should be utilized more than 50% of the time during conversations. But just knowing this doesn’t seem to guarantee we’ll act on it. For example, I laughed out loud when a colleague once confessed about the way he uses his listening skills: to hear when the speaker is finished…
Put‘er There: The Social Skills Behind Our Most Common of Greetings
Since human relationships are directly tied to culture, it makes sense that refined social skills are vital for a healthy work environment. Culture dictates our sense of safety and acceptance, which directly impacts workplace productivity and engagement. In my recent article Clever Conversation: The Positive Effects…
Reconsidering Empathy: A Look At The Neuroscience of Compassion
In our methodical exploration of empathy, which is one of the key components of emotional intelligence, we’ve distinguished empathy from sympathy, and we’ve considered ways to zoom out from our own life perspective in order to contemplate the countless other points of view in this big world. In my latest…
“You’re Not Alone.”: Why Practicing Empathy Requires Going Inward
Understanding the components of empathy and how they connect us emotionally and intellectually is a distinguished exercise in emotional intelligence. Putting empathy into practice is a whole different ballgame and is a true accomplishment for those of us who can pull it off and sustain these skills throughout…
“If I Understand You Correctly,….”: How The Pros Put Empathy Into Practice
All summer long, we’ve been examining empathy as part of a greater overall study of emotional intelligence in the workplace. We’ve distinguished empathy from sympathy, we’ve demonstrated how empathy applies to your career, and we’ve shown the undisputed connection between one’s bias and their personal…
Gauging Your Personal Microclimate: How Bias Can Be Elusive
Men are from Mars and women are from Venus. It’s been said a million times and was written about extensively by John Gray in his 1992 book of a similar title. And if you read my recent article What Planet Are You From: Dissecting Gender-Derived Bias At Work, you’ll have a clearer understanding of how…
What Planet Are You From? Dissecting Gender-Derived Bias At Work
Personal bias is a tough topic to approach. Even those of us who can acknowledge that we see the world through the filter of our own life experiences are still often unable to reckon with our partiality. We sometimes see bias exclusively as a shortcoming, when in actuality, it’s an inevitable part of the equation that…
Gauging Personal Bias: How We’re Blinded By Experience
Many of us consider bias to be an ugly trait, even when we’re referring to our own biases. But rather than suppressing our individual biases, it’s a wise idea to investigate them and learn to be aware of how these unique ways of seeing the world influence our mind and actions. If you read my recent article…
Expanding On Empathy: Why Bias Is Part of Your “Terroir”
Practicing Empathy is difficult because each of us experiences our own reality. This often reduces empathy to a nice-to-have, when in actuality, for a sustainable workplace where inclusion is built into the culture, empathy is a need-to-have. In my recent article I Feel Your Pain: An Empathetic How-To For…
Curiosity: Your New Objective, and My 2018 Word of the Year!
Welcome 2018! With the arrival of yet another brand-new year, I’m reminded of the many ways in which I’m fortunate….in business, and in life. But nothing seems quite as poignant at this moment as setting…
The Outside Influence: How Society Raises The Bar On Confidence
In our recent introduction to GRACE In The WorkplaceTM, as I illustrated the relationship between our DNA “hardwiring” and our confidence level, you were reminded of the power pose. Have…
DRIVEN Turns The Corner: Gearing Up for GRACE In The Workplace℠
We spent a considerable amount of time during the last quarter exploring Trust in the workplace. This included abundant blog articles and workshops designed to outline the components of trust, to pinpoint the ways in which stress fogs our ability to…
The End Of Assumption: How Genuine Curiosity Can Affect Bias
Building a culture of workplace trust can start with YOU. Yes, you have the ability to leverage your newly-acknowledged Unconscious Bias to build stronger relationships on your team…
Is It In My Head?: Implicit Bias And The Challenge To Connect
Because of our individual life experiences, each of us has subconsciously constructed our own unique vision of the world. Whether positive, negative, or a bit of both, this outlook has…
I Once Was Blind: 3 Ways That Unconscious Bias Can Be An Eye-Opener
Ah, the deceptive blind spot. Each of us is plagued by a few, which serve as big barriers to clear communications and a workplace culture of trust. That is, unless we actively arrange for those blind…