How many times have we tried to reach a customer service person on the phone but instead of getting a person, an automatic system responds with a long list of numbers to call? In appreciation to all the companies that offer this, we like the ones that make it simple after you hit the correct number! The companies that do well with the first customer service contact, usually put an efficient, inclusive agent on the phone that wants to help get the problem resolved.

When working with clients or others to solve a problem, resolve the issue so that everyone leaves with a sense of closure. This burnishes a reputation of inclusiveness and competence.

Renewing excitement after holidays are behind us and the new year begins is challenging. I remembered when I read Stephen Covey’s or Tony Robbins’ daily reflections to help jump start the day.

Self-motivation works best when looking at the upside of life and being grateful for the things we have going for us. Always staying in a hard driving mode gets old after a while. We must break and take some time to enjoy what we have. The length of the break needed depends on what works best for each person.

Successful leaders bring people together especially when the issues are critical. The best leaders:

• Take the time to listen
• Stay open to possibilities
• Never gloat after a win
• Always give credit to others
• Strive for the win/win
• Tap into a team of advisors

Often, we must work with a person who takes up all the air in the room. With a larger than life personality this person can also be very fun to be with. If this individual is a group leader, sometimes, details and tasks never get addressed or completed.

Allow this person their moment and when there is a break in conversation, rejoin the discussion with the task in mind. Avoid trying to control this person but instead manage them. This happened at Thanksgiving with my larger than life youngest sister. Instead of trying to rein her in, I asked her to make the gravy and everything went back on track!

Build confidence by doing it. Practice bolsters confidence even when there is failure. In the early stages of my work, whether speaking to a group of 20 or to one thousand, it took constant practice to fortify my confidence.

Go to different events to study the styles of those who are really the best. Watch Oprah or Zig Ziglar and note their speech patterns and talking points. Receiving feedback, good and bad, will always help you improve as it did for me.

Truth will always matter. Once, during a television makeover show twenty years ago, the host asked me what I would never do. I replied that I would never lie to a client or audience. Truth can be told in a way that is not hurtful. For example, instead of saying that the suit looks awful, one might say it does not do the person justice.

In the second season of the television series, “The Sinner”, a young boy decides not to run away. He chose to face the consequences because lies eat away at integrity. And a very good friend and outstanding psychologist said, once integrity is gone, there is nothing left. Being truthful is not always easy but it is the right thing to do.

Years ago, at a Fortune 100 company, I was asked to spend a day working with high potentials candidates for management. There was a woman in her mid-thirties, in accounting, who was constantly overlooked for the next level position. In my first meeting with her, she walked in with pink hair!

Naturally, the hair came up for discussion. I learned that she changed her hair color every week because her evening job required it. However, it appears to be hindering professional advancement in her day job because it comes up often in talks with management. The problem is that her hair has become more of a talking point than her professional qualities.

In today’s work and personal environments, to accomplish all that is needed, we can easily become overwhelmed. This sometimes lead to anxiety. Harnessing the anxiety to shift it into motivation, is the best way change the emotion needed to move toward accomplishment. Taking note of the anxiety triggers will help turn the it into motivation to achieve the goal.

The cooking competition show is about more than just the food. It provides a visual of ways contestants and judges work under pressure to deliver successful products and give constructive feedback. The show that continues to give feedback gems is the Kid’s Championship Baking Show.

Duff and Valerie are the judges and it is the way they use the three to one rule that clicks. They look for the three positives and one not-so-positive area to help the contestants achieve success as a baker. The judges balance the fine line on these impressionable young minds. We understand they were chosen for their baking skills, personality, and how they receive feedback.
All us of revert to the child in ourselves when under review and feeling pressured. (Even when we try to toughen up!)

It is easy to talk about problems. However, if we approach them in a solution driven manner, the problems turn into endless opportunities. Asking how questions needing open ended answers as opposed to questions requiring yes and no answers, create possibilities for solutions. Keeping an optimistic outlook and seeking different opinions will help create a solution driven mind.