How to improve your communication skills.

COMMUNICATION comes in many forms. As leaders, we must develop an acute sensibility to the non-apparent messages that humans send. We must listen, not only with our ears, but our eyes, our hearts, hair follicles, our noses and our intuition.

We must develop the ability to speak and be heard without words. Be understood without gestures. We must pay attention to the nuances of expression on all levels.

Albert Merhabian illustrated this best when he stated that only 7% of our communication is actually through words. The remaining 93% is non-verbal!

All the clues, skills and solutions of relevant and clear communication lie within our awareness and sensitivity to ourselves and the external world (Emotional Intelligence) - it opens doors to connectivity and increased levels of company growth and success. Poor communication can lead to disasters and easily avoidable errors and conflicts.

The more aware we are, the better and more effectively we can send and receive messages.

To further improve your communication skills, always place yourself in the shoes of the receiver, as their perspective might not align with yours. And finally, if not most importantly, it is the responsibility of the communicator to make sure clear and correct communication has been established. The best way to achieve this is by asking the receiver to clearly communicate back what they have understood, bringing everybody on the same page. 

Become a more confident communicator

If this blog was of value, please feel welcome to borrow and/or share. 

THANK YOU, Vital Germaine

What's the value of connectivity in the workplace?

Putting down our guard and our ego, being receptive and fully cognisant or aware of our colleagues and ourselves allows for a stronger sense of CONNECTIVITY. The ego is often the root cause of conflicts and misunderstandings. 

Allowing for authenic, sincere and open expression can encourage a sense of vulnerability which makes people more relatable. Relatability creates stronger bonds. The more common threads we can create between ourselves and our peers, the higher the performance levels we will achieve. A team that works together on a relatable and common level is a team that THRIVES. 

To further strengthen the team, consider encouraging such important fundamentals as, camaraderie, collaboration, listening, appreciation, respect and understanding - and most definitely empathy and LOVE.

With these common threads in place, all barriers such as: cultural, social, economic, gender and religious etc, can be broken down, allowing for people to relate more to each other and therefore exist in a more harmonious and profitable environment.

Put down you guard, and allow yourself to CONNECT - it will improve some many elements of life both at work and home. 

If this blog has been of value, please share or borrow, Vital Germaine

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Is creativity sometimes misunderstood in the business world?

Often times the logical, business mind can be thrown off, confused, if not intimidated by the word creativity. It can scare because it is associated, if not subconsciously interpreted as meaning "artistic". 

"Oh, I'm not creative in the slightest. I can't even draw a stick figure, or dance, let alone paint or play a musical instrument."

There is, however, a huge difference between being artistic and being creative. Art comes as a result of heightened creativity, but creativity is not limited to art.

More importantly, everybody is creative... but not everybody is artistic.

• Creativity is more about having an open, curious, flexible and childlike mindset that allows for growth and expansion. It's the ability to generate innovative and original ideas; problem solve, see beyond limitations. It is an approach - an attitude - perspective - a mindset. A mindset that embraces and encourages the new, the different - a mindset that is adaptable to change and can have fun in the process. It is clarity and diversity of thought. Creativity can be science, philosophy, law, athletics, culinary, business, architectural, art, esthetics, math, politics and finances. 
• Art is a talent, a refined skill (regardless of mindset) given to a select group of people. It evokes emotion and is valued for its beauty. Art is fueled by passion, extreme sensitivity, tragedy, oppression, interpretive expression, abstract thought and artistic communication (and a few other elements). Add your two cents please, as I don't wish to attempt to define what is and what is not art - it is in the eye of the beholder apparently and takes on many forms :)

Nonetheless, I will firmly argue that art is not synonymous to creativity. The business world needs and thrives on creativity to stimulate innovation, growth and sustainability. It does not need art... society does, nonetheless.

The fact is, every successful business needs innovation and a forward thinking mindset in order to compete and stay relevant in today's faster-than-ever, changing business trends. A creative approach can lead to the development of such valuable tools as, establishing memorable sensory experiences for your clients, to implementing cutting-edge marketing and sales strategies and methodologies - even identifying new markets, or fashioning a defining product that will separate you from your competitors. It leads to relevant paradigm shifts.

What creativity and art have in common is that they both originate from the launching pad of our imagination. And the beautiful thing is, WE ALL HAVE IMAGINATION.

Logic will take you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere. - Albert Einstein 

Now, that quote comes from a scientific, mathematical and logical brain - that happens to be creative, yet not "artistic."

I invite you to come to your own "creative" and "artistic" conclusions as to what is what. In the meantime, I encourage you to remember that everybody has imagination and is therefore creative :)

Set yourself free to grow and expand through a more creative mindset and and open-spirited, adaptable attitude. Don't let the power of your imagination go to waste.

Oh, btw, I happen to be an artist in my spare time and believe to understand the difference.

If this blog was of value, please feel welcome to borrow and/or share. 

THANK YOU.

HAPPY MINDSET_RICHER LIVING

Actively disengaged employees cost the US economy $500 billion annually, simply because they are not happy!

• Is your company culture, or your leadership, remotely contributing to this statistic?

• Are you inspiring greatness, peak performance, collaboration and happiness from your employees.

• Is your team as engaged as they should or could be?

The mental wellness of your work force and company culture has such profound effects on your company's bottom line.  It's simple!  When we’re happy, we’re simply better. We’re better leaders, better lovers, better parents, employees, friends… better everything.

Have you ever noticed that when you are happy, things fall into a place a little easier: the sky's a little bluer. You don't notice all the red lights on the way to work - in fact, there are no red lights. When our mindset is positive, we have more clarity, more energy, more focus and of course more confidence. WE BECOME BETTER LEADERS... BETTER HUMAN BEINGS.

The math behind a happier mindset. Happy, forward thinking companies are up to %20 more profitable according to Gallup.  

There is sadly not enough happiness in the workplace.

According to a Gallup, who surveyed 25 million employees in a 189 different countries, to determine employee satisfaction and engagement, concluded that 1 in 2 employees are not happy at work! 

By inspiring relevant paradigm shifts within yourself as well as your company culture, these "unhappy" facts can be turned around very easily. The change will stimulate personal and professional growth and benefits.

On a spiritual level, one could say HAPPINESS is a question of vibrating at a higher frequency. On a chemical or scientific level, it's about stimulating the production of key hormones like, Serotonin, Oxytocin and my favorite, Phenylathamine (chocolate!!!).  Be it spiritual or scientific, happiness is in part due to mindset, lifestyle, attitude and perspective. It's the result of a series of choices; but there is more than that (for another blog).

Is your leadership stimulating happiness and satisfaction in your team, thus maximizing their contribution and impact to the relevance and growth your company (or your own life)? If so, SMILE and be happy - stay calm and carry on :)

If this blog was of value, please feel welcome to borrow and/or share. 

THANK YOU.

Maximizing potential

The brain is often divided into left and right, and more recently into lower and upper. As a result, people are catagorized as "left" or "right" brained.

Our brain, however, works best when stimulated as ONE with both right and left stimulated and encouraged to collide and collaborate.

The most amazing minds in the history of the human species (Einstein, Da Vinci, Jobs, Hawkings, Galileo, Aristotle, Tesla, Gates) had the ability to think logically with the curiosity and imagination of a child.

They capitalized the resources of their complete brain.

5 great leadership tips to live by

1. You don’t need a title to be a leader. –Multiple Attributions
2. A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. —John Maxwell
3. Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily; even if you had no title or position. —Brian Tracy
4. I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers. —Ralph Nader
5. Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to high sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations. —Peter Drucker

Adaptability and $$$$ for your business

Every successful business needs innovation in order to grow and compete in todays faster than ever, changing business climate. Creativity provides a platform upon which to envision tomorrow'g great ideas – be it developing a new and memorable sensory experience for your clients, or identifying new markets, to implementing innovative marketing and sales strategies, or creating defining products that will separate you from your competitors.

The challenge with creativity is that people often claim to have none,  yet we are all creative! The common confusion is people are not artistic so they claim to not be creative. You don't need to be artistic in order to be creative. However, business needs creativity and a workforce invited to explore, experiment, fail, discover and eventually achieve new heights. 

According to Gallup, forward thinking companies that adapt to trends and implement new approaches, stimulating paradigm shifts, experience on average 20% higher profits.

Are you stimulating sales, broadening your business perspective and promoting growth by inspiring innovation and creativity as a part of your corporate culture?