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Is the Art of Good Conversation Lost in the Age of Constant Communication?
“Ah, good conversation—there’s nothing like it, is there? The air of ideas is the only air worth breathing.” So wrote Edith Wharton, the Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist and a keen social observer of the early 20th century. Wharton wrote about the intricacies of privilege in novels like The Age of Innocence and The House of Mirth….
Think Pink: A look into Breast Cancer Awareness as we Conclude October Breast Cancer Awareness Month
For the past month, you’ve probably noticed an infusion of the color pink intermixed throughout your day-to-day life. You know, the pink signs and posters in storefront windows. The pink clothes on sale in retail stores at the mall. The pink cookies at the grocery store. The pink apparel worn by NFL players during Steelers games. The pink pins, ribbons, and bracelets your friends and family proudly wear each day.
Because in October, pink is all over.
As you likely know, pink is the color associated with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which annually comes to the forefront throughout the month of October. It’s a staple over the 31-day span, signifying an effort to take steps toward finding a cure for a disease that takes the lives of over 41,000 women each year in the United States. Most of us probably know someone who has been affected by breast cancer in one form or another – whether it’s their own diagnosis or the diagnosis of someone close to them – and have been forced to face the battle head-on.
Tackling Tough Workplace Conversations
Regardless of your position or title, participating in tough conversations at work comes with the job. As an engaged employee, it is your responsibility to address and rectify these challenges as they arise to keep things running as smoothly as possible.
Tough topics are diverse in circumstance. Anything from poor work performance, inappropriate workplace behavior, emotional reactions, mental health stresses, verbal/sexual harassment and layoffs or terminations call for serious conversations that require effort and an effective communication strategy.
Although tackling tough topics in the workplace comes with the territory of being a servant leader, it isn’t always an easy task. Use these four tips to constructively handle these conversations in order to maintain a healthy and productive work environment.
How to Practice Servant Leadership
Leadership is a unique skill. It requires confidence, poise, emotional intelligence, interpersonal communication, industry expertise, accountability, passion and drive to be a great leader. When all are combined, leaders are able to act as a resource others can rely on – both from professional and personal standpoints.
There are various forms of leadership, some producing better results than others. An effective strategy I’ve experienced throughout my professional career is the concept of Servant Leadership.
4 Effective Communication Strategies to Become a Better Leader
We’ve all interacted with leaders at some point in our lives. Maybe it was a boss, a mentor, a coach, a parent, a sibling, or even a friend. And, as we recall, the leaders who we shared the most positive experiences with – the leaders who inspired us to be the best versions of ourselves – were those who understood how to develop a relationship with us, those who empathized with our emotions, and those who knew how to shine a guiding light toward turning our trials and tribulations into success stories.
That’s because great leaders are dependent upon their ability to effectively communicate!
The evolving paradigm of inclusion: Where are we headed?
Ableism. Latinx. Non-binary. Alternative spirituality. Transracial. Mansplain. The landscape of diversity & inclusion is no longer Black and White, or Female and Male; it requires the ability to navigate culture in a manner that is vastly different today than ever before. But just wait until tomorrow!
Countless studies have shown that diverse employee representation at all levels of an organization has a quantifiable impact on financial performance. In fact, it is now commonly acknowledged that diversity & inclusion serve as the engine for many corporations to ensure the knowledge, critical thinking, and innovation required to successfully achieve business and mission-critical objectives. But haven’t we been talking about “the business case” for diversity & inclusion for some time? How much progress have we, as diversity practitioners, really made in our corporations and more broadly throughout society? And does the next generation of diversity leaders have a different agenda from that which we are immersed in today?
Increased Female Representation in Congress a Byproduct of Continuous Female Rights Advocacy
In 2019, female representation in the United States Congress is higher than ever before.
Following the midterm elections last fall, a record 106 women currently hold seats in the U.S. House of Representatives – 35 of whom earned their seat for the first time – with 25 women serving in the Senate. In total, nearly 25 percent of all congressional voters are now female, marking the highest rate in U.S. History since Jeannette Rankin (R-MT) became the first woman elected to Congress in 1916.
Female inclusion in the government is an amazing aspect of the political spectrum, but the increasing prominence females are holding among society stems far beyond it. More women hold high-profile positions in the workplace and are the primary income earners for their families. More women are successful doctors, lawyers, CEOs, public leaders, media members, entertainers, artists, athletes, coaches and so on.