We have just returned from a 2-week family driving trip from Dallas to the foothills of Denver. What could go wrong?
Get ready to navigate winding roads, strengthen family ties, and discover valuable executive communication lessons along the way.
🥂 Lindsey and Brett get engaged 🥂
➜ Relish the good times. Our son, Brett, on a mountain plateau private hike, kneels down on one knee and asks Lindsey to spend their lives together! She says YES!
🚘 Tip: Celebrate achievements, recognize milestones, acknowledge your team for big and small gains. Raise a toast, share laughter, and create an office atmosphere as joyous as our dinner toast for Lindsey and Brett after their special hike.
➜ Listen to your family. Lindsey & Brett arrange to have her parents stay with us… for THREE nights. We’ve never met! Jim and I feel like we’re in a “parent-trap for future in-laws”. Turns out we are compatible! Phew.
🚘 Tip: Tune in to your team’s needs, understand their perspectives, and provide communication strategies that foster connection. Try to build strong bonds.
Lindsey & Brett surrounded by Mom and Dad on both sides!
➜ Embrace Surprises. Just as we are about to eat a delicious meal on our outdoor deck prepared by our daughter and son-in-law, Courtney and Kevin, a sudden hail storm takes over. We dash indoors squeezing around a smaller table.
🚘 Tip: Stay adaptable, navigate challenges, and find alternative routes to success. Detours can lead to business breakthroughs.
➜ Be proactive. Our son likes to dine out and our daughter loves to cook and stay in. We negotiate. I also bring my espresso machine because it’s essential.
🚘 Tip: Embrace your inner road trip expectation map. Chart objectives, anticipate obstacles, and adjust your course. It’s like steering through the twists and turns of effective communication, sans family drama.
➜ Avoid Wrong Turn Syndrome. Can you emulate the GPS voice and calmly say “rerouting” vs yelling when exits fly by? Okay, we miss a few exits. The GPS voice always stays neutral.
🚘 Tip: Ensure your directions align with reality to avoid confusion. Build trust with your team, stay “GPS voice” calm, and don’t leave them wandering in communication wilderness.
So, fasten your seatbelts, cherish family ties, and drive toward a more effective communication style.
The 2023 Tony Awards may seem like an unlikely source of inspiration for your boardroom discussions, but this Broadway awards show offers valuable insights into effective communication strategies. So, grab your top hats as we tap dance into this unexpected connection!
The opening act
The seamless synergy of Ariana DeBose, the host this year, without a script, creates a show-stopping, fun and fabulous start to the evening. She demonstrates the power of teamwork and collaboration.
🎩 Tip: As C-Suite execs, fostering effective teamwork among your leadership team is essential for driving success + innovation within your organization.
Some (!) of the acceptance speeches
The best speeches conveyed, within 3 minutes, their heartfelt story with humor.
🎩 Tip: As busy executives, mastering the art of brevity is crucial. Communicate your ideas succinctly and engagingly to resonate with your team, investors, and stakeholders.
The dance performances
The choreography showcased the power of nonverbal communication.
🎩 Tip: Just as actors conveyed emotions without uttering a word, mastering nonverbal cues enhances your executive presence. Pay attention to posture, gestures, and facial expressions to strengthen your impact in the boardroom.
And the 2023 Communication Tony Award goes to…
Valuable Lessons for C-Suite Executives.
🎩 Tip: Foster teamwork, embrace brevity and humor, master nonverbal cues, and tell your story to elevate your communication strategies.
Take center stage, command the boardroom with confidence, and let the spotlight shine on your exceptional skills. Bravo!
“Credibility Sprinkles” ➜ When you sprinkle your past experiences into your narrative to increase buy-in from your audience. Ex from Scott Galloway’s recent blog – “I got my start building companies, telling stories. Later I became a professor at NYU. Now I tell stories on a stage in front of 150 to 15,000 people who pay between 100k to 250k…”
“Gen Zs” ➜ The generation born between 1995 – 2012, ranging now from age 11 to 28. Main qualifiers of this group: Tech dependent, gender neutral and cause driven.
Context.
During a speaker training workshop I said, “Add in some Credibility Sprinkles while sharing stories. This will increase your believability with your listeners.” A millennial dentist then commented, “Gen Z’s don’t like that. Adding in your track record, no matter how subtle your approach, will alienate them.” I replied, “Know the age ranges in your audience.”
To this workshop attendee’s point, this generational shift is happening and here are the reasons why Gen Z’s don’t want to hear about your stellar track record.
Gen Z convictions.
According to TrendsActive.com, Gen Z’s resentment stems from “older generations thinking they know better than younger generations – with age comes wisdom and all that. Considering the state of the environment, the housing market and various societal inequalities at the hands of older generations, Generation Z is forced to question whether older really does mean wiser.”
Gen Z is DONE with older generations deciding what is best. Their collective exhaustion derives from feeling misrepresented with a dash of condescension.
How can you engage with this Gen Z mindset?
TrendsActive provides these wise suggestions:
Understand that Generation Z are progressive, realistic and responsible.
Treat them as adults.
Be open and honest and hear what they have to say.
You get stuck over how to advise a peer that’s received negative work feedback.
You perseverate over how to help a client diagnosed with cancer.
You hesitate to offer support to a struggling friend.
According to a NYT article by Jancee Dunn the best way to handle these scenarios is to ask this question:
“Do you want to be helped, heard or hugged?”
Dunn’s inspiration originates from her sister, a special-education school teacher at an elementary school. Dunn’s sister observes, ““Some need a box of tissues, or they want to talk about a problem on the bus, and I’ll just listen.”
You might think that this question works best with school-aged children. But Dunn says, “It struck me that this question could be just as effective for adults.”
I agree.
How often do you vent to a trusted colleague, friend or family member and all you want is to be heard, or maybe even hugged? In fact the last thing you want is advice!
The next time you are in the position to listen to your friend, family member or colleague think about these 3 “H” options: Helped. Heard. Hugged.
➜ By asking them this one question: “Do you want to be helped, heard or hugged?” you will then know how to navigate the conversation.
My best bet: you’ll be a great listener without providing any solutions unless solicited.
How this transformative Hebrew word can clarify the way you think, communicate and act ➜
Dayenu (die – YAY – nu) defined
The Hebrew translation is “That would be sufficient”, and boiled down to one word … “ENOUGH”.
It’s also the title of a traditional one-thousand-years-old upbeat song that’s part of the Jewish holiday Passover. Every year as my family celebrates Passover we have a “Seder”, a special dinner, and we each read a paragraph from the “Haggadah” – the telling of the story of the exodus from slavery in Egypt to the freedom beyond; and we sing “Dayenu”.
This song is about being grateful to G-d for the gifts given to the Jewish people. A few lines:
“If G-d had brought us out from Egypt … Dayenu, it would have been sufficient!”
“If G-d had fed us only matza … Dayenu, it would have been sufficient!”
Dayenu in your life
❓ What’s “Dayenu / Enough” for you regarding money, possessions, or even Linked In likes & impressions?
❓ What’s “Dayenu / Enough” in terms of your professional achievements?
❓ What’s “Dayenu / Enough” when thinking about the relationships in your life?
❓ What would make you say, “Yes, that (fill in the blank) would be sufficient. That would be enough”?
You tell me… or rather, you tell yourself.
Dayenu in my life
This pic is our out-door Seder during the pandemic. Thank you, Nina & Bob, for being such gracious hosts every year. Dayenu.
We will once again sit around this table this week with loved ones and sing this song. That would be sufficient. Dayenu.
Your super power
“Credibility Sprinkles” ➜ When you sprinkle your past experiences into your narrative to increase buy-in from your audience. Ex from Scott Galloway’s recent blog – “I got my start building companies, telling stories. Later I became a professor at NYU. Now I tell stories on a stage in front of 150 to 15,000 people who pay between 100k to 250k…”
You get stuck over how to advise a peer that’s received negative work feedback.
