The PMA Blog

Many people hesitate to speak up in team meetings because they worry about being judged, lack confidence, or feel unsure of how their contributions will be received. Sometimes, it's a fear of disagreement, or maybe they feel overshadowed by more dominant voices or find the group dynamic unwelcoming. Cultural factors, like different communication styles or even language barriers, can add to the challenge. Other times, people stay quiet simply because they don’t feel connected to the topic or aren’t clear on their role in the discussion. Whatever the reason, these factors can all contribute to an environment where only a few voices are heard. In today’s post, we’ll explore some practical tips to help you build confidence and find your voice in meetings, so you can start sharing your ideas with ease.

Over the years, I have heard the same story from leaders I’m coaching or training. They have a person on their team who is a “high achiever”,  but who just gets into trouble when they're communicating with others or dealing with sticky emotional situations. They spend their time as leaders patching things up and apologizing for them, often finding themselves at a loss for taking their high performers to the next level. “That’s just Chris being Chris.” Sound familiar?

It's no secret that leadership is like walking a tightrope. It requires balance, focus, resilience — and let’s be real here — a whole lot of courage. You’re leaders are constantly caught between mapping out strategies and managing the emotions that come with them.  

Allow me to introduce a coaching client whose name has been changed to protect the . . .ok maybe not innocent, exactly.  Alex is a leader who could give a computer a run for its money with his analytical thinking. His decision-making process? Always rational, always precise. Emotional considerations? Not so much. Over time, his team started to feel as though they were just cogs in a machine, not valued contributors with ideas, feelings, and ambitions of their own. As a result, his "think-first, feel-later" approach led to mounting frustration and disengaged employees, so his director asked him to get some help from a coach.

It's easy to get caught up in a constant cycle of reactivity and back-to-back meetings, leaving little room for personal growth and reflection. But it doesn't have to be this way. By taking intentional steps to carve out dedicated time for ourselves, we can break free from the chaos and make space for what's truly important. In this blog post, we will delve into various strategies to reclaim your time, including deep dives, sprints, creating a "not to do" list, and setting meaningful goals for the future. So, let's embark on this journey together and discover how to prioritize our time and create a life that aligns with our deepest values and aspirations. Now, let's dive in and explore these transformative strategies for reclaiming your time and living a more intentional life.

We’reat the beginning of rolling out a global leadership development curriculum for a Financial Services client and the senior leaders astutely asked how I thought they could best support their leaders as they go through this process in the coming months.  It occurred to me that capturing the list of recommendations might be helpful for some of our partners in organizational development and learning.  In response, I compiled this list and I hope you’ll add your thoughts in the comments if you feel I missed something. Feel free to share this with your leaders at the beginning of your next training rollout. 

Today we're diving headfirst into a competency that can be a game-changer in the work life of a leader, Emotional Agility. he skills required to be emotionally agile are very similar to those we prescribe for teams that want to be more agile:   discover, recognize and take action.  Rinse, repeat.  To build stronger teams and thrive in our roles as leaders and managers, we need to bring these skills into our daily consciousness.  How does your mindset impact how you show up?  And how do you recognize when you should shift your mindset and when you should not?  And even when you know you should, how do you fight your instincts?

Have you experienced any recent changes in your life? Perhaps you've taken on a new position at work, welcomed a new team member, or updated your software.  And if you're a parent, you understand how children are constantly growing and changing.

In a world that is constantly changing, one thing remains certain: every individual responds to change in their own unique way. Whether you embrace change with open arms or feel a sense of panic at the mere mention of it, there is a valuable tool that can help you understand the different behaviors that emerge during these transitions.

I recently moved into a new house and found myself evaluating a room that's needs painting.  "Is the color close enough to avoid a primer?  It would save time to jump right to a coat of the new stuff.  But would it really if I had to add a second coat because the old color showed through?  Ok, time for a base coat of primer!"

That same day I found myself teaching our Influencing class to a group of front line managers and it occurred to me that the same conversation applied.  You cannot skip the base coat!  All the fancy influencing approaches fall flat if you haven't checked the boxes on these top five fundamentals of influencing: