Leadership Development
Anneli Blundell
How to get people to do what they ...

Picture this. You have your weekly one on one. Your team member promises to complete the inventory report for the project by next week. Next week arrives and it’s not done. What do you say? Is it, ‘Why didn’t you complete the report?’  If you’re like most leaders, that’s exactly what you’d say. Or at least, it’s what you want to say.

How to get people to do what they promised...without shaming them
Awards
Anneli Blundell
So… yeah… this cool thing just happened 😊🏆

We won!

I saw the call for the awards email and deleted it… Three times.

Then I had a conversation with my client about how well the current Coaching skills program was going. I was feeling quite chuffed!

Then I saw the award email again, and this time I read it.

So… yeah… this cool thing just happened 😊🏆
Leadership Development
Anneli Blundell
Why diverse teams have the worst time

We know that diverse teams deliver the goods. Science knows it. Academia knows it. And anyone who’s worked on a diverse team knows it. But what we don't’ talk enough about, is how it feels to be a part of this diversity. If we are doing our job, showing up with ideas, challenging other team members, and generally pushing ourselves and each other to be brilliant, then diversity feels difficult. There is push back. There is scepticism. There is discomfort. BUT...if we can just hang in there long enough, trust our colleagues enough, and have faith that we all want to make a positive difference, then we can reap the rewards that diversity offers. 

Why diverse teams have the worst time
Anneli Blundell
Celebrating 48 Years of Life: Lessons from My ...

Today I turn 48 (and mark 18 years as an independent consultant in communication dynamics – Wahoo!). Feeling nostalgic about my life, my mind has wandered to my early jobs, and how they shaped my work today. I figured you might get a laugh out of these early jobs so I’m sharing some here. (I guarantee you’ll be surprised by some!) 

Celebrating 48 Years of Life: Lessons from My Early Jobs
Women at Work
Anneli Blundell
The time I stomped my foot to get my way

Holding boundaries is a learnt skill. Saying no, pushing back, being assertive is hard for most people. If it’s something you struggle with, welcome to the human race.

The time I stomped my foot to get my way

influence

The only communication style you need to succeed

The only communication style you need to succeed

What's the most effective communication style? When it comes to communication styles, I’ve noticed a human tendency to register two main styles, your own style, and the ‘wrong style’. That’s right. The style you are comfortable with, and the style you are uncomfortable with, no matter what that style is.

In reality, we are not registering the ‘wrong’ style so much, as one that is just different from our own. And the problem with this difference is that we have to work so much harder to hear through that different style in order to get to the substance.

The mark of a great communicator is someone who is flexible. Someone who can adapt their communication style and connect on any level, with any other style.



How to gently shock people into getting what you want

How to gently shock people into getting what you want

In negotiation there is a technique called ‘anchoring’. Anchoring is where the first offer you make becomes the anchor around which all other offers are considered. Anchoring allows you to set the boundaries of the negotiation, no matter how wild or unrealistic they may be. 

When the problem is the solution – taking the counterintuitive path.

Getting the best out of others is not an easy task. Helping your team members to be more effective, more productive, and more engaged is not always as simple as asking them to be so, or equipping them with the skills or support to be so. In fact, sometimes it’s not even about the very problem that’s causing the problem. To be an effective leader of people requires us to be flexible in the way we approach and support our people. Sometimes it even calls on us to allow the problem to get worse before it gets better.