"Office Workers Don't Trust Colleagues Who Work Remotely," read the headline from a recent survey(link is external). According to researchers the survey respondents believed remote workers were: • "Three times more likely than people in the office to miss deadlines, not follow through on commitments or mislead co-workers."• "Four times more likely to give a half-hearted effort, make changes without notice or not fight for...

"Remember, the feeling you get from a good run is far better than the feeling you get from sitting around wishing you were running." Those words from Olympic swimmer and author Sarah Connor capture the essence of a skill those wanting to thrive in the new world of work need.We live in a world with constant interruptions, interesting internet rabbit holes to explore, and mobile apps to try. There's more information than we c...

Unfamiliar with the city and location where I was to speak, I added the address to the GPS before leaving home. Arriving in the conference city hours later, I turn it on and dutifully followed the route that chirped at me from the device. “That’s odd,” I thought as the directed turn took me away from the city towards the foothills and into a neighborhood. “Maybe it’s a retreat location,” I mulled as I followed that voice up...

I hesitated before I answered the question. It was just a slight hesitation, but the question took me by surprise. Someone asked me how could they work on self-improvement and development on the clock. And while I answered at the time with a few tips, the on the clock part stuck with me and got me thinking.When it comes to self-improvement and personal development, there are at least four kinds of people at work: people who...

Instead of an early start, with time to read the news, check key messages, and write uninterruptedly for a pending project, I spent it down a rabbit hole. What I expected was a five or ten minute interruption to answer a client’s email, marked with one of those urgent exclamation points, but it took me over an hour. Before I could even send the requested information, I got an email telling me, in essence, “never mind,” the...

Based on dozens of articles that arrived in my inbox in a single week, one might think that the majority of people work in difficult work-cultures, alongside clueless co-workers, under distrusting bosses. Here are a few examples: "You're the Boss, Not the Babysitter" "What to Do When Your Employees Won't Stop Whining" "Giving Feedback to the Clueless" "How to Survive a Toxic Boss"Fortunately, most of us don't work for or...

A three hour delayed connecting flight in Minneapolis created headaches for me and other business travelers seeking to still reach their destinations that day. All seats in the narrow gate area were filled and briefcases, roller-boards, and more passengers occupied available floor space. Every half hour the gate agent updated us on the status of a part being flown in to fix a rather minor, but important, mechanical issue on...

When it comes to building or diminishing trust at work one thing is clear, there is no little stuff. Everything matters. That includes routine actions, casual habits, and how, what and to whom you communicate. Too often, the speed of work causes us to quickly craft a message or reply without awareness of its trust-diminishing or enhancing dynamics.But, you can improve your trust-building odds by eliminating common trust-dim...

One thing is clear - communication has changed. Some leaders remain wishing and hoping for the way things were, with top down approaches and controlled messaging. But, it doesn't matter what you think of anonymous blog comments, social media avenues, texting, tweeting, or video posting; technology that provides instant access to alternative points of view and influence is here to stay. Unfortunately, more ways doesn't mean...

Twelve minutes before I was to speak to a large group gathering in a downtown hotel ballroom, I was still struggling with A/V equipment. With hundreds of presentations under my belt, I'm accustomed to handling last minute glitches. But no matter what I tried, my presentation wouldn't project.Hailing the meeting planner for help, he did his magic and within minutes an A/V tech arrived with another projector. When that, too,...