source: http://masteringlifeandhappiness.com/humanrelations.html Reading Carl Rogers recently again after a few months an interesting idea came to mind: HR is normally understood as the corporate acronym for Human Resources. In fact, perhaps we should think of HR more as Human Relationships. During my experience as an HR professional, I kept believing that my work will be complete when I will ...
The Paradoxes of a Manager – and how to balance them
Few people are good managers. In fact, I've met so few that sometimes I congratulate myself for the job I'm in - that of helping managers be better people managers. The good people managers, however, are mostly not built (sadly, though I'd love to say HR had a role to play in it). They're built through ...
10 Questions to raise Engagement (GROW model)
Whether you're a manager talking to a direct report who has a problem, or a friend helping out someone who doesn't know what to do next... there's a simple flow of questions that can help bring focus and call to action. Coaches talk a lot about the GROW model, perhaps the most known - and simple! - ...
How to coach – it’s that simple!
Part of my job (one of the parts I love most) is to create and supervise development programs for employees who want to move to the next level. Sometimes you spot a potential leader inside the group of participants, and the guy (or girl) just sky rockets by himself. Other times, you must create the awareness ...
10 Common Sense Lessons from the Corporate world
I've recently started recognizing people (outside work environment) who work in multinationals. They have a certain way of behaving and, of course, personal idiosyncrasies (or as we say it in Romanian, "pitici", or "stoluri"). On the other hand, there are some valuable lessons I've learned, some not yet mastered, while working almost 6 years for corporations. ...
Confident Communication – it’s not only about the attitude
Recently I was talking with Eddie Ezeanu, a friend coach, for lunch. Eddie and I have that kind of camaraderie where we challenge each other's views and tend to find different perspectives. As he was talking about his niche - which is helping other people how to better communicate, this brought the following debate to ...
What to do when you can’t figure out your Life Mission
I recently coached a young NGO leader on developing a conference for fresh graduates and master students, called "Heading for the Future". It's not the first time this conference was held, and I appreciated the idea even the first time I heard about it. But by working with Cristina, and wondering how we could better ...
How to be an awsome Project Manager
"Not everyone can be a Project Manager" it is said. Or at least, that's what I heard in a conversation yesterday. "You should be able to see what's coming, control the steps, and take over when things are not working properly. Yes, you can learn the technicalities, but to be a really good Project Manager, ...
The one simple thing that will help you get organized
People tell me I'm structured, analytical and organized. (of course, more often than not, they also tell me I'm strange, moody, and inconsistent). (I think the two sides make quite an interesting combination, and I don't intend to change either of them). Anyways, along time I've experimented (as you can tell by the posts on this blog) with ...
1 year of Life Toolkit! Best posts & Coaching challenge
So one year of blogging passed away, quite fast. What happened during this time? Looking back... - I started blogging like crazy, read all I could on SEO and social network promoting, then decided I should just let my readers unfold as they come. And that's how I got to this steady, smallish base of you ...
The Devil’s Advocate: Corporate Life
I don't believe in safety nets. I flew on my own to the US, not having a job or a place to stay, not knowing where I would sleep the first night. And it went ok. I travelled alone by train to countries where people don't speak English, and found that sign language actually works. I trusted people ...
Leadership – moving from chaos to trust
I know, ashes on my head, I haven't written in a while. But it was for good reasons - I've been on an management training. Perfect weather, chilly, windy and rainy; great people, who didn't speak much to each other for the first two days, after which they/we danced frantically in a pub until ...
Transitions – internalizing learning
The second week of my transition to a new job has passed, and I find myself with an obvious conclusion. I'm treading on thin ice. Constantly aware of what I say and do, exposing my views ("you don't want to seem unopinionated", my angel on the right shoulder, or Self 1, advises) but careful not to let ...
Slowing Down – How To
This is part 3 of a series of 3 blog posts on how slowing down can actually improve effectiveness and productivity. This focuses on practical aspects. The first one's called "Are you living your life too fast?" and the second is "Benefits of SLOW living". How to slow down? I'm a fairly fast person. Multitasking is my ...
How to coach your people (even if you’re not a coach)
One of the biggest shifts I've seen in the people I work with was the ability to move from the "Manager" point of view to the "Coach" point of view. Remember my post on "being a People Manager vs. a People Developer"? Well, this approach lies between the two. If your people perceive that you're shifting ...
