Category Archives: Communication

Are You Hearing Voices? If So, What Are They Saying? Daily Affirmations for Developing a Habit of Excellence

shutterstock_38101996Most of us engage in self-talk for more than half of our waking hours. The question is: What are we saying to ourselves? Negative self-talk runs rampant for many of us and is usually a mixture of half-truths, poor logic, distortions of reality, and an unbalanced focus on a problem.

We are not born with negative self-talk; we learn it.  That means that we can un-learn it, too. We can change our thinking and our actions by the messages we tell ourselves. Pay attention to your language in your self-talk today. Notice when you begin to think negatively and to lace your self-talk with can’ts, won’ts, and shouldn’ts. Stop yourself. Then speak only of positive thoughts and possibilities. Use language of abundance, prosperity, and excellence.

For example, whenever you begin to tell yourself something negative, replace the thought with daily affirmations like the ones below. These will help you develop and cement your own personal habit of excellence:

1.    What I do every day matters.
2.    People can count on me.
3.    I expect the best of myself.
4.    I am worth investing in.
5.    I want to learn new things.
6.    I will do good things for myself every day.
7.    I will stay in control of my papers, things, and workspace.
8.    I will aim higher and higher.
9.    I will embrace new challenges.
10.    I will succeed

For more information about developing a habit of personal excellence, check out Blue Pencil Institute’s 25 Rules for Being Excellent. On Pinterest:
http://pinterest.com/drlaurahills/being-excellent-25-tips/. – Dr. Laura Hills, President, Blue Pencil Institute, www.bluepencilinstitute.com

The Barista with the Blank Face: Three Hallmarks of Professional Excellence

Two Cups EspressoThe other day I stepped into a local coffee shop where I smiled and said hello to the barista behind the counter. The young woman neither responded verbally nor smiled, but rather, stared at me blankly waiting for me to tell her the next monotonous coffee order she’d have to fill. While her response was obviously far from what any employer would hope for in a customer service representative, what struck me most about my barista was how apparently miserable she was in her job. I felt sorry for her.

The barista with the blank face clearly wasn’t happy, and because of that, I have to say that she wasn’t excellent in her job. Getting a cup of coffee should be a pleasant experience, not one where the customer feels that his or her order is a burden. Because of my barista’s poor response, my overall experience in the coffee shop that day was lackluster, even though the coffee was hot and delicious. I thought more broadly about the excellent customer service experiences I’ve had elsewhere and the excellent individual performance I’ve witnessed. While professional excellence may vary from one person to the next, it struck me that there are three hallmarks of personal excellence that are always in place – and that this unfortunate young woman lacked. Excellent career professionals:

1. Sincerely want to better the business. Have you ever come up with a solution to a problem in your company or suggested a better way of doing things or of providing better service to your clients? Do you treat the company you work for as though it is your own? If you love what you do and you are committed to excellence, you’ll be constantly on the lookout for ways to improve your business, whether it’s your “coffee shop” or someone else’s. If my barista owned the shop, I doubt that she’d have behaved as she did. Or certainly, if she did, the shop couldn’t survive long.

2. Are constantly learning and enlarging their expertise. Do you read books, professional journals, and newsletters pertaining to your work? Do you attend conferences of your professional association and participate in courses, either face-to-face or online? Do you know and regularly visit several blogs and/or websites that help you keep abreast of your field? The career professional who is passionate about gaining new knowledge is better equipped for the future and has more to contribute. It’s a likely guess that my unfortunate barista hadn’t learned anything new on her job or about her work since her initial training.

3. Get in the “flow” of their work. Flow occurs when we lose track of time and are 100% engaged in what we’re doing. Do you find yourself staring at the clock and waiting for each break or the end of the day? As the day is winding down do you find yourself counting the minutes until you can bolt out the door? If you’re just punching a clock at work, like my barista, you’re most likely not performing excellently. Notice the times when you’ve gotten lost in your work and were fully present in the moment. Strive to have more and more flow times like those.

Career professionals who are truly excellent don’t put on a set of behaviors and act the part (though in this case, I’d have preferred that to my barista’s blank stare). They are excellent from the inside out, making their excellence genuine.

Are you looking for more ways to increase your personal and professional excellence? Or, would you like to use an interesting tool to help your employees to increase their personal and professional excellence? If so, check out my Pinterest board, “25 Rules for Being Excellent” at http://pinterest.com/drlaurahills/25-rules-for-being-excellent/. And the next time you encounter excellence – or the opposite of excellence, like my barista with the blank stare — think of the three hallmarks of excellence I’ve identified and look for other lessons that you can apply to your own life and career. And remember, your client’s experience will suffer if you’re not excellent – even if your coffee is hot and delicious. – Dr. Laura Hills, President, Blue Pencil Institute, www.bluepencilinstitute.com.

Hello, My Name Is Laura

Woman smileHave you ever had a job that required you to wear a name tag? I serve as the pianist and music specialist at an assisted living facility on Friday mornings and even though I’m there only a few hours each week, my work requires me to wear a name tag. In fact, everyone on the staff wears the same lightweight plastic name tag, from the president on down, giving us all a common identity and a sense of belonging.

Wearing a name tag is not a daily habit for me, so I sometimes forget that I have mine on when I leave the facility. When this happens, and I stop somewhere to run an errand or get a bite to eat, the same thing inevitably happens. Someone I don’t know in the store, bank, or restaurant starts to talk to me. “Hi Laura,” “How ya’ doin’, Laura” or “Can I help you, Laura?” are typical remarks. Sometimes, someone will ask, “Laura, where do you work?” or “Laura, what do you do?” People are much friendlier to me when I’m wearing my name tag. I’ve noticed that they’re more likely to talk to me, to ask me a question, or to smile at me than when I’m not wearing my name tag.

We are issued name tags at conventions, corporate events, and social functions. Don’t we do that so people will be friendlier to one another? A name tag breaks the ice and helps people connect. It enables us to remember one another and makes the awkwardness of first introductions just a bit easier. Name tags can also provide information that can stimulate conversation. For example, a name tag can tell where you are from, what organization you represent, or your title. I’ve noticed that the employees in a local grocery store wear name tags that have something personal on them and an invitation for customers to ask a question. For example: “Hello, my name is Bob. Ask me about the Dallas Cowboys” or “Hello, my name is Denise. Ask me about running marathons.” The employees have told me that these name tags work like a charm in stimulating interesting and friendly conversation with customers.

My point is this: If there’s an opportunity for you to wear name tags in your workplace, wear them. People would be friendlier to you and more likely to strike up conversations. They’d be kinder to you, too. It would be much harder for someone to cut into a line in the company cafeteria if the person next to him could say, “Hey, Michael, we have a line going here.” Name tags remove the anonymity that many people hide behind to excuse rude or unkind behavior. Name tags would make it a lot easier for your clients to know who you are and in larger organizations, for you to know your colleagues in other departments and divisions. And think, too, about wearing your name tag when you’re out visiting client sites and whenever you are doing business on behalf of your company. You’ll see. People will open up to you more when they know your name. — Dr. Laura Hills, President, Blue Pencil Institute, www.bluepencilinstitute.com

My Presidential Office

shutterstock_92470540A few years ago, I was working in an organization where most of my coworkers and office visitors were amazed by my office. There were no files lying about, no bulletin boards crowded with messages and to-do lists, no plastic or metal organizing trays on my desk to serve as in- and out- boxes for stacks of paper. In fact, it probably looked to some as though no work at all was ever done in my office. That was unusual in the culture where I worked; I was the only person in my organization to have such an office. Even our president and his Number Two were usually buried under paper.

Mind you, work most certainly did occur in my office – plenty of it, in fact. I had the justly-deserved reputation for being one of the most productive employees in my organization. So you may wonder, how was this possible?

The answer is simple. I made a commitment to keeping my office free of clutter and loose papers. I arranged my work in such a way that my desk was always empty except for the one project I happened to be working on at the moment. Even so, I put the evidence of that work away before I left the office for a meeting or lunch, at the end of the day, or before I prepared for a scheduled appointment with an office visitor. That way, I was able to greet every visitor to my office and start every day with a clear desk.

Now you may wonder, why did I do this? My decision to keep my office free of visible paper stemmed from a formative experience early in my career. About 30 years ago, I was serving as a freelance writer for the president and CEO of a mid-sized cable television company in central Pennsylvania. The company published a quarterly client newsletter and it was my job to interview the president of the company before each issue and ghost write his article for him. This was an unusual opportunity for me because I was in my mid-twenties and had one-on-one meetings with a very powerful corporate leader. There was no other person even close to his stature who spent that kind of time with me back then.

The president’s office was tastefully decorated with a matched suite of cherry wood executive furniture. Behind the important-looking desk, which dominated the room, was a huge and high-backed black leather executive chair. The president was always seated on this thrown when I entered his office, and then he’d stand, smile, shake my hand, and greet me warmly as he offered me a seat. Always, the president had a clear desk with no papers in sight. Behind him sat a large closed credenza and I always imagined that piles of papers were hidden behind its closed doors. But I never knew.

The president would always begin our meeting by saying something like, “Lovely to see you again, Laura.” He took great care to call me by name. He would then engage me in some chit chat so the two of us could catch up. He’d tell me about his horses and I’d tell him about the book I was working on. Then, without fail, he would ask me if I would like something to drink and when I said yes, which I did once I got to know him better, he would press the button on his intercom and say, “Marge, would you please bring Laura a Diet Coke?” And like magic, Marge would appear in seconds to place before me on edge of the desk two leather coasters, and on them, a cold sweating can of Diet Coke and a glass filled with delicate cylindrical ice cubes. Marge would leave and after these pleasantries, the president and I would get down to business. We would talk and I would ask questions and take notes to help me write his article for him.

Every time I met with the president, I was impressed that such a successful and powerful person had so much time and attention just for me. I couldn’t figure out how he managed such a big organization with hundreds of employees without having even one piece of paper anywhere in sight in his office. In fact, I was so dazzled and confused by this feat that I told my father about it one day. Dad had worked in large corporations for most of his career and knew the behavior of presidents and other people at the top very well. “They’re all like that, all the highest-level executives,” my father told me. “They’re always well-mannered, beautifully dressed, and perfect hosts when you visit them. Always, they ask you if you’d like something to drink and always, they seem to have lots of time for pleasantries,” he said. By contrast, mid- and lower-level managers – people like my Dad — are the “worker bees” of the organization, he explained. They’re the ones buried under stacks of papers and who haven’t got time to breathe, let alone chit chat. “Think about it,” Dad said. “Does the President of the United States greet visitors to the Oval Office with lots of notes and memos tacked to a bulletin board? Do you expect that he’d have piles of papers covering his desk?” But somewhere in the White House, there’s some poor “low level grunt”, Dad said, closeted away with all the papers. It’s like that in the corporate world, too.

So how do they do it? The highest-level executives have secretaries to handle all the paper for them, Dad said. They ask Marge or Joan or Mrs. Someone-Or-Other to bring this file or that to them on command. Then they do what they have to do with the file and give it right back to her. “Presidents don’t deal with filing or calendars and they don’t have to keep track of things for themselves. That’s the secretary’s job,” my father explained. How wonderful to be a president, I thought.

I had no secretary to manage my calendar or files for me where I was working. No one screened my calls. And I was not a president. Still, I made a decision when I began to work in the organization that my office would be a “presidential” office. Right away, I bought doors for my open bookcases to hide all the things I didn’t want visitors to see – papers, my purse, and the phone book, among other unsightlies. I also bought myself a high-backed black leather executive desk chair to replace the blue fabric-covered computer task chair provided by my employer. I make good use of my file cabinet and also had a holding area hidden from view for a large pile of projects in progress. That and my sheer determination enabled me to keep my desk clear for office visitors.

Again you may wonder, why do I do this? Certainly I was not a president – really I had much more in common with the worker bees – and I had no one to help me. There were several reasons. First, it is a wonderful thing to be received in a presidential office. One feels that he or she is important and special and that a cordial host is ready and able to be of help and is truly interested. I saw it as a big part of my job to be such a host and to help to my office visitors. My presidential office was welcoming for them. Second, a presidential office gave me a certain mystique among my colleagues. I believe that my office, in combination with my professional wardrobe and bearing, helped me snag several promotions for which others were passed up. We’ve all heard the old advice that we should dress for the job we want, not for the one we have; I also kept an office for the job I wanted. And third, if truth be told, I got off on acting presidential and giving myself a presidential office was part of that. I believe I was more effective and productive because I enjoyed being in my clutter-free and welcoming work environment.

One of my colleagues told me the once that she could never keep her office the way I kept mine because she has too many things to do. I didn’t believe that and I still don’t. I worked harder than the majority of people around me and juggled an amazing number of projects at once. Two of my colleagues later took over positions I previously held, one in my actual former office. The first thing they both did when stepping into my vacated job was to put up a bulletin board and cover it with paper and then to muck up their desks with file folders and stacks of paper. No, my colleague who felt she has too many things to do to stow away the papers was making a choice. I made one too.

Some say clothes make the man. That’s true. But I also believe the office makes the man – or woman. Worker bees are rarely promoted to top positions in organizations. They get stuck in the mid-level. To be an executive, one must create the aura of an executive. The office is a huge part of that. Come visit me even today, in my new office. I’ll offer you something to drink and we’ll chat before getting down to business. You’ll see what I mean. – Dr. Laura Hills, President, Blue Pencil Institute, www.bluepencilinstitute.com

Minute Men and Minute Women: Our Unsung Heroes

shutterstock_8764987In my experience, taking minutes of a meeting is a thankless task. The only time you are likely to hear anything about the minutes you’ve taken is when you’ve made a mistake. Few people will sing your praises because you did a good job of taking the minutes. And let’s face it; taking minutes is not all that exciting. You’re there to capture what other people say, not to come up with your own ideas. You have to pay attention the whole time you’re at the meeting and not let your mind wander. While other meeting participants can sit back and relax, you can’t. And when everyone walks out of the room when the meeting is over, you still have a lot of work ahead of you. You have to review and edit your notes, complete the minutes, and distribute them.

I remember working in an organization some years ago where no one on our senior management team was designated to take the minutes of our meetings. We were supposed to rotate the task. But there were some members of our team who always had a reason that they could not take the minutes. They weren’t very good writers, they’d say. Or they were really busy. Or they were going to have to leave the meeting early. Whenever the question of who would take the minutes came up at the start of the meeting, which it inevitably did, they would rifle through their notes or jot something in their padfolios to avoid eye contact with the rest of us sitting at the conference table. And I must admit, too, much as it pains me, that a few of the older men on the team held fast to the idea that the task of taking minutes was more suitable for a female colleague.

The people who take the minutes of our meetings are doing an important and valuable service for us. If you’ve never had to take minutes, think about how different their experiences at meetings are from yours. Be grateful that you don’t have to be the one to take the minutes. Thank them for what they are doing to support you and your colleagues. Compliment them on their excellent minutes. And when you do, smile warmly and mean it. — Dr. Laura Hills, President, Blue Pencil Institute, www.bluepencilinstitute.com