SkillInside

Kick Off the New Year! I love to step outside and watch the first rays of the sun early in the morning. There’s something about the newness of the day that gives me energy. Whether the smell of a new car or the ref’s whistle signaling the start of a game, I love beginnings. The new year is full of hope and opportunity. Here are some quotes to inspire your new year. To your success! “ “Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.” –Abraham Lincoln “ “Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.” –Helen Keller “ “Success is something you attract by the person you become.” –Jim Rohn “ “The object of a new year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul.” –G.K. Chesterton “ “For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s ...

A simple "presence audit" will tell you what your team thinks of you. As a leader, it can be hard to get an honest pulse on what your team thinks about you. On the one hand, employees (often rightfully) believe that telling you about your negative traits will impact their career. While on the other side, it's incredibly difficult for us to see ourselves through someone else's eyes. Psychologists call this  transparency illusion --where we all believe we're open books and that our intentions are clear to those around us. But work is all about relationships. And personal and professional growth can only happen when you know where you stand in the eyes of those you work with. Which is why senior leadership coach Kristi Hedges suggests doing  a "presence audit" . Simply put, a presence audit is a performance review about your soft skills. Rather than looking at how good you do your job, it highlights how others perceive you, how you come across,...

There’s a lot of talk about creating cultures of creativity—especially within the creative industry -- and I agree wholeheartedly that such cultures are vital. What I think too many people overlook; however, is creativity’s important driver: curiosity. To a large extent, curiosity underlies every act of creativity, but I think it also extends beyond it. When we open ourselves fully to our curious natures, we are able to ponder without limits. Unlike creativity -- at least as practiced in business -- curiosity isn’t about solving problems. It’s about exploration and expansion. Curiosity can start and lead anywhere. And that’s precisely the sort of broader mindset our industry needs. So how should we go about promoting a culture of curiosity within our organizations? It's essential to be curious about four things. Be curious about your people. Many organizations work hard to attract people with inquisitive mindsets and then stick them in ...

There is a tale of a chassidic rabbi named rabbi Zusya. Zusya was a timid man, a man who lived a humble life. One day Rabbi Zusya stood before his congregation and he said,  When I die and have to present myself before the celestial tribunal, they will not ask me,  ‘Zusya  why were you not Moses?’ because I would say ‘Moses was prophet and I am not.’ They will not say ‘Zusya, why were you not Jeremiah?’ for  I  would say ‘Jeremiah was a writer, and I am not.’ And they will not say ‘ Why were you not  Rabbi Akiba?’ for I would tell them, ‘Rabbi Akiba was a great teacher and scholar and I am not.’ But then they will say ‘Zusya  why were you not   Zusya?’ and to this I will have no answer. All of us strive to be great leaders, the best parents, exceptional partners, who are we being? How do we know what is the right thing to do, and how do we live a life without having regrets about  ‘Why were you not’? It begins with li...

Ironically, introverts are better adapted than extroverts for today's so-called "collaborative" workplaces. Today's workplaces are supposed to "collaborative." Indeed, most companies have invested heavily to create open-plan offices designed to increase communication between individuals and groups. You'd think that the "collaborative" workplace would be perfectly suited to extroverts who, after all, are already good at communicating. You'd think wrong, though. "Collaborative" workplaces bring out the worst in extroverts and best in introverts. Here's why: Introverts think before they talk .   Extroverts  talk before they think. In most business communications "Ready, Aim, Shoot" works better than "Ready, Shoot, Aim." Introverts are quieter.   One or two loud-mouthed extraverts can turn an open-plan office into a productivity toilet. Introverts tend to naturally keep their voices down. Introver...

I  am not much of a TV watcher, and when I do tune in, I’m usually half-watching, half-working on something else. But sometimes you learn things from unexpected places, and it so happens that a recent Gatorade commercial grabbed my attention. The ad shows some of the world’s best athletes, like Michael Jordan and Peyton Manning, remarking on their failures—Jordan’s inability to make his high school varsity team, Manning’s abysmal rookie season—and how those defeats redoubled their drive. What a powerful message. Even Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan makes an appearance, acknowledging his team’s mind-blowing, fourth-quarter Super Bowl fall to the Patriots in 2017 and implying that he, too, would grow from the experience. This is the time of the year when we think about recharging, renewing and redefining ourselves. People this month will do anything, from joining a gym to embarking on a spiritual retreat. "Whether you are 15 years old or 50, your outlook to...