Self-Improvement Archives | Alan Feirer: Group Dynamic

Increasing Your Emotional Intelligence

June 3, 2020 by Alan Feirer

This final post of our three-part miniseries on emotional intelligence (EQ) concludes with practical ways for you and/or your team to increase EQ. If you missed the first two posts, you can find them here and here. Also, if you … Read More

Communication | Stretching and Growing

Productive Conflict: Be Aware of Your Own Feelings

March 20, 2019 by Alan Feirer

What happens when you feel a conflict brewing? Does your heart speed up? Does your brow begin to sweat? Do your hands get clammy? Do you swallow more? These are all physical signs of stress, and they’re connected to your … Read More… Read More

Positivity | Stretching and Growing

Productive Conflict: Own Your Contributions

January 9, 2019 by Alan Feirer

Have you ever heard the saying, “Nobody’s perfect?” Have you ever used that saying? How often do you use it? It’s probably one of the most popular things we say and/or think, because it’s true. But what does it mean … Read More… Read More

Modeling Behavior | Stretching and Growing

Productive Conflict: Separate Emotion from Fact

January 2, 2019 by Alan Feirer

I’m going to start with a story from my assistant DeAnne’s family: We enjoy having family nights on Friday nights. Sometimes those are movie nights and sometimes they are game nights. On this particular evening, it was game night, and … Read More… Read More

Communication | Stretching and Growing

Productive Conflict: Bring in a Neutral Perspective

December 26, 2018 by Alan Feirer

We don’t know what we don’t know. That sounds obvious, right? But when tensions are high and conflict ensues, our view gets more narrow, and we don’t realize that we don’t know what we don’t know. People who seek counsel tend to … Read More… Read More

Stretching and Growing | Vision

Leaders Set Personal Development Goals

November 28, 2018 by Alan Feirer

Personal development goals at work are essential for leaders in order to grow and develop in your career. This may include learning new skills, familiarizing yourself with company practices, policies, and technology, or getting feedback from others. Whatever personal development … Read More… Read More

Communication | Stretching and Growing

Leaders Embrace the Power of BSaAFWYW

November 7, 2018 by Alan Feirer

Recently, Sarah Noll Wilson asked me to be a guest on her Manager Minute or Two! series. I have a great appreciation for Sarah, so of course I couldn’t pass this up. And what better topic to cover than— BSaAFWYW. … Read More… Read More

Modeling Behavior | Positivity

Leaders Influence Outcomes

October 31, 2018 by Alan Feirer

I heard Tim Kight speak at the Iowa SHRM conference, and he had an elegant way of boiling down the role our choices make in determining outcomes. Event + response = outcome Essentially, if we don’t have influence over events, … Read More… Read More

Organizational Improvement | Vision

Book report: When

August 22, 2018 by Alan Feirer

Hi there,Alan Feirer here with a book report. It’s been awhile since I have done one, but I just read something great—Daniel Pink’s latest, “When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing.” I love it. I recommend it. It’s a fairly … Read More… Read More

Communication | Integrity

Things Successful Leaders Avoid Saying (Part 12)

August 15, 2018 by Alan Feirer

Effective communication avoids misunderstandings. It can also clear up existent misunderstandings. In our quest to be understood, we may accidentally slip into using one of these versions of a potentially manipulative accusation: “You misunderstood me.”“You must have misunderstood me.”“You don’t … Read More… Read More