San Francisco Bay Area Executive Coaching

Positive Leadership for Happy People – Creating Positive Results

Positive Leadership

Do you feel appreciated by your company managers on a daily basis?  Do you consistently have the opportunity to do your best work? Are you clear about what is expected of you? Does your manager provide you clarity and focus?  People who are fully engaged can answer these questions with a clear yes and feelings of gratitude!

Most of us start a job motivated to perform our best, but sometimes working for a negative manager can negatively affect your motivation. Positive leaders help people tap into their intrinsic motivation to improve performance.

Optimistic leaders inspire people to achieve a better future. They have a strong spirit of significance. Are you a positive leader that gets results?

Positive Results

Margaret Greenberg and Dana Arakawa in a 2005, Gallup research study found that managers play a crucial role in employee well-being and engagement.

Greenberg and Arakawa discovered that managers who maintained a positive perspective when things went awry experienced greater project performance. Managers who scored in the top quartile for positive perspective (as reported by their employees, not self-report) had significantly higher project performance than those in the bottom quartile.

Of course, unrealistic optimism and inauthentic happy faces do not bode well for any manager or employee. Honesty is critically important, especially in uncertain times. Luckily, managers can moderate their emotional responses in ways that reassure people, without denying the reality of harsh situations.
In their paper, Greenberg and Arakawa wrote:

“In today's rapidly changing and uncertain business environment, managers and employees need optimism more than ever before to not only cope, but to innovate and flourish.

“Managers have more influence than perhaps they realize on the employees' engagement, optimism, and performance, and can consciously use this influence to benefit these employees and the organization as a whole.

“We have employed a strengths-based performance perspective in our technology organization for the past few years," says Hanover's Tranter. "Clearly, the outcomes of this study will continue to have a greater influence on how we recruit, interview, select, and hire managers and for our organization.”

Reflect on how you as a manager and leader can implement positive leadership by practicing these behaviors:
1. Focus on and work with people's strengths.
2. Improve the frequency with which you give praise and recognition.
3. Respond with your best game face when the going gets rough.

Are you working in a professional services firm or other organization where executive coaches provide leadership development? Does your organization provide executive coaching to help leaders improve their ability to focus on the positive? Leaders at all levels need to improve their emotional intelligence and social intelligence skills.

One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Do I focus on the positive when things go wrong?”  Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations provide executive coaching for positive leaders who help their employees to be fully engaged and happy at work.

What actions can you take today to be a more positive leader? What activities further develop your people’s strengths? Companies need positive and results-oriented managers and leaders who are part of the solution to vexing problems.

Working with a seasoned executive coach and leadership consultant trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-I, CPI 260 and Denison Culture Survey can help you leverage people's strengths and ensure sustainable business success. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision, mission and strategy of your company or law firm.

About Dr. Maynard Brusman

Dr. Maynard Brusman is a consulting psychologist and executive coach. He is the president of Working Resources, a leadership consulting and executive coaching firm. We specialize in helping San Francisco Bay Area companies and law firms assess, select, coach, and retain emotionally intelligent leaders.  Maynard is a highly sought-after speaker and workshop leader. He facilitates leadership retreats in Northern California and Costa Rica. The Society for Advancement of Consulting (SAC) awarded Dr. Maynard Brusman "Board Approved" designations in the specialties of Executive Coaching and Leadership Development.

For more information, please go to http://www.workingresources.com, write to [email protected], or call 415-546-1252.
Subscribe to Working Resources Newsletter: http://www.workingresources.com
Visit Maynard's Blog: http://www.workingresourcesblog.com 
Connect with me on these Social Media sites.
http://twitter.com/drbrusman
http://www.facebook.com/maynardbrusman
http://www.linkedin.com/in/maynardbrusman
http://www.youtube.com/user/maynardbrusman

Focus on Positive Leadership – When Things Go Wrong

Positive Leadership

Are you appreciated by company managers?  Do you have the opportunity to do your best work? Are you clear about what is expected of you at work? Does your manager provide employees focus?  People at work who are fully engaged can answer these questions with a clear yes and sense of gratitude!

Most of us start a job motivated to perform our best, but sometimes working for an ineffective manager can negatively affect your motivation. Positive leaders help people tap into their intrinsic motivation to improve performance.

Optimistic leaders inspire people to an inspired future. They have a strong sense of significance and share it with others. Are you a positive leader in good times and bad?

When Things Go Wrong

Managing long-term, multimillion-dollar projects that involve dozens of people and several workgroups is a complex challenge, and things are bound to go wrong. How managers respond to problems has a direct and measurable impact on both the employees and the project.

Margaret Greenberg and Dana Arakawa in a 2005, Gallup research study found that managers play a crucial role in employee well-being and engagement.

Researchers Greenberg and Arakawa asked employees:
•  “When a problem crops up on my project, is my project manager able to help me come up with solutions?”
•  “What steps does your project manager take when such a problem arises?”
Here’s what they found:
•  Managers who maintain a positive perspective don't turn setbacks into catastrophes.
•  They don't fly off the handle; they control their emotions.
•  They recognize what's within their sphere of influence (and what's not).
•  They see and discuss the problem as an opportunity.
•  They provide a solution-oriented perspective.

In other words, they make themselves part of the solution rather than the problem, which frees up employees to tackle the challenge.

Are you working in a professional services firm or other organization where executive coaches provide leadership development? Does your organization provide executive coaching to help leaders improve their ability to focus on the positive? Leaders at all levels need to improve their emotional intelligence and social intelligence skills.

One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Do I focus on the positive when things go wrong?”  Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations provide executive coaching for positive leaders who help their employees to be fully engaged and happy at work.

What actions can you take today to be a more positive leader? What activities leverage your people’s strengths? Companies need competent managers and leaders who are part of the solution to vexing problems.

Working with a seasoned executive coach and leadership consultant trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i CPI 260 and Denison Culture Survey can help you leverage people's strengths and ensure sustainable business success. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision, mission and strategy of your company or law firm.

About Dr. Maynard Brusman

Dr. Maynard Brusman is a consulting psychologist and executive coach. He is the president of Working Resources, a leadership consulting and executive coaching firm. We specialize in helping San Francisco Bay Area companies and law firms assess, select, coach, and retain emotionally intelligent leaders.  Maynard is a highly sought-after speaker and workshop leader. He facilitates leadership retreats in Northern California and Costa Rica. The Society for Advancement of Consulting (SAC) awarded Dr. Maynard Brusman "Board Approved" designations in the specialties of Executive Coaching and Leadership Development.

For more information, please go to http://www.workingresources.com, write to [email protected], or call 415-546-1252.
Subscribe to Working Resources Newsletter: http://www.workingresources.com
Visit Maynard's Blog: http://www.workingresourcesblog.com 
Connect with me on these Social Media sites.
http://twitter.com/drbrusman
http://www.facebook.com/maynardbrusman
http://www.linkedin.com/in/maynardbrusman
http://www.youtube.com/user/maynardbrusman

Building Positive Leadership – The Brain Power of Negativity

Positive Leadership

Do you feel that company leaders and managers at work appreciate you?  Do you regularly have the chance to do your best work? Do you have clarity on what is expected of you at work? Does your manager care about you and provide focus?  Fully engaged people at work can answer these questions with a resounding yes!

Most of us start a job motivated to perform our best, but sometimes working for a poor manager can adversely affect your motivation. Positive leaders help people tap into their innovative spirit to improve performance.

Optimistic leaders inspire people to a better future. They have a strong sense of significance. Do you model servant leadership?

The Brain Power of Negativity

In Switch (2010), authors Dan and Chip Heath write about “finding the bright spots” in our work and lives. After extensive research, the two business school professors have documented myriad cases that prove how hard it is to overcome negativity’s pull.

In one study, for example, scientists analyzed 558 words in the English language that denote emotions, and they found that 62% were negative (versus the 38% positive).

Across the board, no matter the situation or domain, we are wired to focus on bad over good.

• Example A: People who were shown photos of good and bad events spent more time viewing the latter.

• Example B: When people hear something bad about someone else, they pay more attention to it, reflect on it more, remember it longer and weigh it more when assessing that person. This tendency is called “positive-negative asymmetry.”

• Example C: A researcher reviewed 17 studies of how people interpret and explain events in their lives, such as how fans interpret sporting events or how students describe their days in a journal. Across multiple domains — work, politics, sports, relationships — people were more likely to spontaneously bring up negative versus positive events.

“Bad is stronger than good,” the Heaths conclude. It’s no wonder performance reviews and feedback are usually aimed at what’s not working. Yet, individuals can override this brain tendency and focus on the positive, at least enough to create successful relationships both at work and home.

John Gottman, a psychologist who studies extensive marital conversations, finds that couples who sustain long-term marriages use language that reflects five times more positive statements than negative ones. In fact, he calls this “the magic ratio” and claims it will accurately predict if a marriage will last.

He urges managers to use a ratio of 5:1 positive statements in conversations with employees. Ask yourself: “What percentage of time do I spend solving problems in relation to the time I spend scaling successes?”

Given the advantages of a solution mindset, it’s surprising that more managers fail to gain a foothold in this managerial style. Remember: You can’t give praise and recognition if you see only the negative and focus on what’s broken.

Are you working in a professional services firm or other organization where executive coaches are hired to provide emotional intelligence skills and positive leadership development for organizational leaders? Does your organization provide executive coaching to help leaders improve their ability to focus on what’s right? Leaders at all levels need to improve their emotional intelligence and social intelligence skills.

One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Do I regularly focus on the positive?”  Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations provide executive coaching for positive leaders who help their employees to be fully engaged and happy at work.

What actions can you take today to be a more positive leader? What activities unleash your people’s strengths? Companies need more great managers and leaders.

Working with a seasoned executive coach and leadership consultant trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i CPI 260 and Denison Culture Survey can help you leverage people's strengths and ensure sustainable business success. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision, mission and strategy of your company or law firm.

About Dr. Maynard Brusman

Dr. Maynard Brusman is a consulting psychologist and executive coach. He is the president of Working Resources, a leadership consulting and executive coaching firm. We specialize in helping San Francisco Bay Area companies and law firms assess, select, coach, and retain emotionally intelligent leaders.  Maynard is a highly sought-after speaker and workshop leader. He facilitates leadership retreats in Northern California and Costa Rica. The Society for Advancement of Consulting (SAC) awarded Dr. Maynard Brusman "Board Approved" designations in the specialties of Executive Coaching and Leadership Development.

For more information, please go to http://www.workingresources.com, write to [email protected], or call 415-546-1252.
Subscribe to Working Resources Newsletter: http://www.workingresources.com
Visit Maynard's Blog: http://www.workingresourcesblog.com 
Connect with me on these Social Media sites.
http://twitter.com/drbrusman
http://www.facebook.com/maynardbrusman
http://www.linkedin.com/in/maynardbrusman
http://www.youtube.com/user/maynardbrusman

Leadership Coaching for Positive Leadership – The Problem-Seeking Mindset

Leadership Coaching for Positive Leadership

Do you regularly feel fully appreciated at work?  Do you have the chance to do what you do best each and every day? Do you know what is expected of you at work? Does your manager know you and focus you?  Fully engaged people at work can answer these questions with a resounding yes!

Most of us start a job motivated to perform our best, but sometimes working for a poor manager can deflate your career mojo or worse. Positive leaders provide clarity to help people unleash their innovative spirit, improve performance and fully engage.

Optimistic leaders inspire people to a better future. They have a strong sense of significance. Who do you serve?

The Problem-Seeking Mindset

A critically important factor in positive leadership behaviors is giving frequent praise and recognition. In 90% of workplaces, this doesn’t happen enough, nor is praise delivered in a way that can be heard or received for maximum effect.

It’s not enough to wait for annual performance reviews or project completion to deliver feedback. Praise must be frequent, ongoing and specific to current behaviors — not vague or general.

Why is it so difficult to provide frequent, positive feedback? Because, in truth, we’re predisposed to look for the negative: in ourselves, in others and for external events. We rarely scan our environment and ask:
•  “What’s working right now... and how can we do more of it?”
•  Instead, we look around and ask: “What’s broken — and how can we fix it?”

The problem-seeking mindset is one of the brain’s shortcomings, while also serving as a protective device to spare us from danger and making mistakes. Psychologists have studied our predilection for the negative, with astonishing results.

Are you working in a professional services firm or other organization where executive coaches are hired to provide emotional intelligence skills and positive leadership development for organizational leaders? Does your organization provide executive coaching to help leaders improve their ability to fully appreciate people in the moment? Leaders at all levels need to improve their emotional intelligence and social intelligence skills.

One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Do I have a proactive problem-solving mindset?”  Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations provide executive coaching for positive leaders who help their employees to be fully engaged and happy at work.

What actions can you take today to be a more positive leader? What activities unleash your people’s strengths? Companies need more great managers and leaders.

Working with a seasoned executive coach and leadership consultant trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i CPI 260 and Denison Culture Survey can help you leverage people's strengths and ensure sustainable business success. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision, mission and strategy of your company or law firm.

About Dr. Maynard Brusman

Dr. Maynard Brusman is a consulting psychologist and executive coach. He is the president of Working Resources, a leadership consulting and executive coaching firm. We specialize in helping San Francisco Bay Area companies and law firms assess, select, coach, and retain emotionally intelligent leaders.  Maynard is a highly sought-after speaker and workshop leader. He facilitates leadership retreats in Northern California and Costa Rica. The Society for Advancement of Consulting (SAC) awarded Dr. Maynard Brusman "Board Approved" designations in the specialties of Executive Coaching and Leadership Development.

For more information, please go to http://www.workingresources.com, write to [email protected], or call 415-546-1252.
Subscribe to Working Resources Newsletter: http://www.workingresources.com
Visit Maynard's Blog: http://www.workingresourcesblog.com 
Connect with me on these Social Media sites.
http://twitter.com/drbrusman
http://www.facebook.com/maynardbrusman
http://www.linkedin.com/in/maynardbrusman
http://www.youtube.com/user/maynardbrusman

Leadership Coaching for Positive Leadership – Focus on What Works

Leadership Coaching for Positive Leadership

Are you regularly feeling appreciated at work?  Do you have the chance to do what you do best every day? Do you know what is expected of you at work? Does your manager know you and focus you?  Fully engaged people at work can answer these questions with a resounding yes!

Most of us start a job motivated to perform our best, but sometimes working for a poor manager can be de-motivating or worse. Positive leaders provide leadership to help people unleash their innovative spirit, improve performance and fully engage. Optimistic leaders rally people to a better future. They have a strong sense of significance. Who do you serve?

Develop a Caring Work Environment

You've heard it said, “They don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Not only are the people the most important asset of your business, but people are also completely emotional. People perform to the degree to which they feel that their superiors care about them as individuals. In today's tight labor markets, your ability to attract and keep good people is vital to your success. And the better your people, the more they expect to be treated with kindness, courtesy, respect, and openness.

Develop and Maintain High Levels of Commitment

Hire and keep only people who are willing to put their whole hearts into the job and into making your business successful. Your very best people will always be those with the highest level of personal commitment to you and to getting results. Your biggest problems will always come from people who are uncommitted in some way, for some reason.

That's why Margaret Greenberg and Dana Arakawa put the theory of positive leadership to the test. Greenberg is president of The Greenberg Group, an executive coaching/consulting practice in Andover, CT. Arakawa is a program associate at the John Templeton Foundation of West Conshohocken, PA. Both are graduates of the Master of Applied Positive Psychology program at the University of Pennsylvania.

Focus on What Works

Too many managers assume that employees need to be good at many things, rather than excellent in key areas — a decidedly negative view of human capital.

More recent studies in behavioral sciences and organizational performance have firmly established that focusing on what works, followed by a program to scale it to greater levels, is a more practical and efficient approach to developing people and performance.

Managers who take a strengths-based approach help employees identify strengths and align talents with their work. These managers don't ignore employee weaknesses, but fixing them isn't their primary focus.

Instead, positive managers focus more on the areas in which an employee excels and how his or her strengths can be leveraged to benefit the employee, team and organization.

Greenberg and Arakawa measured the degree to which managers used strength-based behaviors by asking employees to rate their level of agreement with a series of statements, such as:
•  "My project manager matches my talents to the tasks that need to be accomplished."
•  "My project manager encourages high performance by building on my strengths."

They found that managers who focused on strengths enjoyed superior team performance, as opposed to managers who focused on weaknesses.

Their study surveyed more than 100 information technology professionals in different managerial roles at The Hanover Insurance Group. Managers were asked about how well projects met budget, schedule and quality standards.

Using the employee responses, Greenberg and Arakawa ranked the extent to which managers focused on strengths and found that those in the top quartile had much higher project performance results.

Based on retrospective project performance results from 2005, managers in the top quartile achieved an average project performance score of 10.6 on a 20-point scale, while managers in the bottom quartile achieved an average score of 7.09. In 2006, the average score for top-quartile managers was 17.91, compared to an average score of 11.55 for managers in the bottom quartile.

Good managers won't be surprised to find a correlation between their behavior and employee performance. But even Hanover's leaders were surprised at how much the two factors correlated.

Are you working in a professional services firm or other organization where executive coaches are hired to provide emotional intelligence skills and positive leadership development for organizational leaders? Does your organization provide executive coaching to help leaders improve their ability to appreciate people in the moment? Leaders at all levels need to improve their emotional intelligence and social intelligence skills.

One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Do you focus on what works to support full engagement at work?”  Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations provide executive coaching for positive leaders who help their employees to be fully engaged and happy at work.

What actions can you take today to be a more positive leader? What activities unleash your people’s strengths? Companies need more great managers and leaders.

Working with a seasoned executive coach and leadership consultant trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i CPI 260 and Denison Culture Survey can help you leverage people's strengths and ensure sustainable business success. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision, mission and strategy of your company or law firm.

About Dr. Maynard Brusman

Dr. Maynard Brusman is a consulting psychologist and executive coach. He is the president of Working Resources, a leadership consulting and executive coaching firm. We specialize in helping San Francisco Bay Area companies and law firms assess, select, coach, and retain emotionally intelligent leaders.  Maynard is a highly sought-after speaker and workshop leader. He facilitates leadership retreats in Northern California and Costa Rica. The Society for Advancement of Consulting (SAC) awarded Dr. Maynard Brusman "Board Approved" designations in the specialties of Executive Coaching and Leadership Development.
For more information, please go to http://www.workingresources.com, write to [email protected], or call 415-546-1252.

Subscribe to Working Resources Newsletter: http://www.workingresources.com
Visit Maynard's Blog: http://www.workingresourcesblog.com 
Connect with me on these Social Media sites.
http://twitter.com/drbrusman
http://www.facebook.com/maynardbrusman
http://www.linkedin.com/in/maynardbrusman
http://www.youtube.com/user/maynardbrusman

Executive Coaching for Strengths-Based Leadership – A Strengths-Based Approach

Executive Coaching for Strengths-Based Leadership

Do you feel appreciated at work?  Do you have the chance to do what you do best every day? Do you know what is expected of you? Does your manager know you and focus you?  Fully engaged people can answer these questions with a resounding yes!

Positive leaders tap into the intrinsic motivation of employees. They focus on strengths and mitigate weaknesses.

Strengths according to Marcus Buckingham, Now Discover Your Strengths, are an activity that makes you feel strong. Positive leaders provide clarity and focus on core strengths. Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple is quoted as saying “Our strength is lick able design.” Who are you really? What are your strengths?

A Strengths-Based Approach

There's a reason why managers’ focus on strengths and weaknesses is so important. Most organizations are obsessed with fixing weaknesses. They consequently conduct performance reviews, 360-degree assessments and they like to evaluate how well employees and managers are measuring up to predefined goals and competencies.

Managers are instructed to look at an employee’s assessed gap and coach for greater performance in areas of weakness. The goal is to raise awareness of deficiencies and encourage progress toward a set standard, building strength where it is lacking. An executive coach, an offsite training program and in-house learning programs may be assigned.

Such assessments, however, usually pay only cursory attention to an employee's strengths. The assessment, performance review and subsequent remedial programs focus instead almost exclusively on gaps or weaknesses.

Are you working in a professional services firm or other organization where executive coaches are hired to provide training in emotional intelligence and leadership development? Does your organization provide executive coaching to help leaders improve their ability to appreciate people in the moment? Leaders at all levels need to improve their emotional intelligence and social intelligence skills.

One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Am I positively supporting employee’s well-being and engagement?”  Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations provide executive coaching for positive leaders who help their employees to be fully engaged and happy at work.

What actions can you take today to be a more positive leader? What activities unleash your people’s strengths? Companies need more great managers and leaders.

Working with a seasoned executive coach and leadership consultant trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i CPI 260 and Denison Culture Survey can help you work with people's strengths and ensure sustainable business success. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision, mission and strategy of your company or law firm.

About Dr. Maynard Brusman

Dr. Maynard Brusman is a consulting psychologist and executive coach. He is the president of Working Resources, a leadership consulting and executive coaching firm. We specialize in helping San Francisco Bay Area companies and law firms assess, select, coach, and retain emotionally intelligent leaders.  Maynard is a highly sought-after speaker and workshop leader. He facilitates leadership retreats in Northern California and Costa Rica. The Society for Advancement of Consulting (SAC) awarded Dr. Maynard Brusman "Board Approved" designations in the specialties of Executive Coaching and Leadership Development.

For more information, please go to http://www.workingresources.com, write to [email protected], or call 415-546-1252.
Subscribe to Working Resources Newsletter: http://www.workingresources.com
Visit Maynard's Blog: http://www.workingresourcesblog.com 
Connect with me on these Social Media sites.
http://twitter.com/drbrusman
http://www.facebook.com/maynardbrusman
http://www.linkedin.com/in/maynardbrusman
http://www.youtube.com/user/maynardbrusman

Executive Coaching for Emotionally Intelligent Leadership – 3 Steps to Positive Leadership

Positive Leadership

Are you feeling fully appreciated at work?  Do you have the chance to do what you do best every day? Do you know what is expected of you at work? Does your manager know you and focus you?  Fully engaged people at work can answer these questions with a resounding yes!

Most of us start a job motivated to perform our best, but sometimes working for a poor manager can be de-motivating or worse. Positive leaders provide leadership to help people unleash their creativity, improve performance and fully engage. Optimistic leaders rally people to a better future. They have a strong sense of significance. Who do you serve?

3 Steps to Positive Leadership

In 2005, results of a Gallup research study concluded managers play a crucial role in employee well-being and engagement.

Five years later, most leaders are acutely aware of the costs and benefits of engaging their workforce at all levels. Active employee engagement has strong linkages to key business outcomes, including retention, productivity, profitability, customer retention and safety.

But the Gallup research didn't study what managers did (their specific behaviors) to elicit positive responses from employees.

That's why Margaret Greenberg and Dana Arakawa put the theory of positive leadership to the test. Greenberg is president of The Greenberg Group, an executive coaching/consulting practice in Andover, CT. Arakawa is a program associate at the John Templeton Foundation of West Conshohocken, PA. Both are graduates of the Master of Applied Positive Psychology program at the University of Pennsylvania.

Greenberg and Arakawa wanted to know if managers who apply positive leadership practices have teams with higher project performance and employee engagement, as compared to teams led by managers who don't apply these practices.

Based on a great deal of previous research, positive managers practice these three leadership behaviors:
1. Use a strengths-based approach
2. Provide frequent recognition and encouragement
3. Maintain a positive perspective when difficulties arise

Past studies have shown these practices have a direct effect on employee engagement, and each is an observable and testable behavior.

None of these characteristics are innate, but all can be learned. Very few executives intuitively know:
1. How to work with people's strengths
2. How to automatically give frequent credit where due
3. How to respond with your best game face when the going gets rough

Are you working in a professional services firm or other organization where executive coaches are hired to provide emotional intelligence skills and positive leadership development for organizational leaders? Does your organization provide executive coaching to help leaders improve their ability to appreciate people in the moment? Leaders at all levels need to improve their emotional intelligence and social intelligence skills.

One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Am I positively supporting employee’s well-being and engagement?”  Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations provide executive coaching for positive leaders who help their employees to be fully engaged and happy at work.

What actions can you take today to be a more positive leader? What activities unleash your people’s strengths? Companies need more great managers and leaders.

Working with a seasoned executive coach and leadership consultant trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i CPI 260 and Denison Culture Survey can help you work with people's strengths and ensure sustainable business success. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision, mission and strategy of your company or law firm.

About Dr. Maynard Brusman

Dr. Maynard Brusman is a consulting psychologist and executive coach. He is the president of Working Resources, a leadership consulting and executive coaching firm. We specialize in helping San Francisco Bay Area companies and law firms assess, select, coach, and retain emotionally intelligent leaders.  Maynard is a highly sought-after speaker and workshop leader. He facilitates leadership retreats in Northern California and Costa Rica. The Society for Advancement of Consulting (SAC) awarded Dr. Maynard Brusman "Board Approved" designations in the specialties of Executive Coaching and Leadership Development.

For more information, please go to http://www.workingresources.com, write to [email protected], or call 415-546-1252.
Subscribe to Working Resources Newsletter: http://www.workingresources.com
Visit Maynard's Blog: http://www.workingresourcesblog.com 
Connect with me on these Social Media sites.
http://twitter.com/drbrusman
http://www.facebook.com/maynardbrusman
http://www.linkedin.com/in/maynardbrusman
http://www.youtube.com/user/maynardbrusman

Executive Coaching for Positive Leadership

Positive Leadership

Are you feeling appreciated at work? Most of us start a job motivated to perform our best, but sometimes working for a poor manager can be de-motivating or worse. Enlightened leaders provide positive leadership inspiring people to unleash their creativity and be fully engaged.

The No. 1 reason why most Americans leave their jobs is the feeling they’re not appreciated. In fact, 65% of people surveyed said they received no recognition for good work in a previous year, according to Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton, authors of How Full Is Your Bucket? Positive Strategies for Work and Life (2004).

According to newer Gallup research, what employees want most — along with competitive pay — is quality management. When they feel unappreciated and disapprove of their managers, they leave or stop trying.

Almost 25% of U.S. employees would fire their bosses if given the chance, and about 50% of actively disengaged workers would follow suit.

A Gallup Management Journal survey found that, of all 24.7 million U.S. workers, roughly 18% are actively disengaged. Gallup estimates the lower productivity of actively disengaged workers costs the U.S. economy about $382 billion (http://gmj.gallup.com/content/28867/Many-Employees-Would-Fire-Their-Boss.aspx).

Because of current economic realities, people may not be leaving their jobs. Instead, they join the ranks of the disengaged and become “missing in action.” It rests upon managers to learn better ways of interacting with the people on whom they depend.

Are you working in a professional services firm or other organization where executive coaches are hired to provide emotional intelligence skills and positive leadership development for organizational leaders? Does your organization provide executive coaching to help leaders improve their ability to appreciate people in the moment? Leaders at all levels need to improve their emotional intelligence and social intelligence skills.

One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Am I interacting with people in a way that keeps people fully engaged?”  Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations provide executive coaching and communications skills training for positive leaders who their employees to be fully engaged and happy at work.

Working with a seasoned executive coach and leadership consultant trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i CPI 260 and Denison Culture Survey can help you avoid bad business decisions and ensure sustainable business success. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision, mission and strategy of your company or law firm.

About Dr. Maynard Brusman

Dr. Maynard Brusman is a consulting psychologist and executive coach. He is the president of Working Resources, a leadership consulting and executive coaching firm. We specialize in helping San Francisco Bay Area companies and law firms assess, select, coach, and retain emotionally intelligent leaders.  Maynard is a highly sought-after speaker and workshop leader. He facilitates leadership retreats in Northern California and Costa Rica. The Society for Advancement of Consulting (SAC) awarded Dr. Maynard Brusman "Board Approved" designations in the specialties of Executive Coaching and Leadership Development.

For more information, please go to http://www.workingresources.com, write to [email protected], or call 415-546-1252.
Subscribe to Working Resources Newsletter: http://www.workingresources.com
Visit Maynard's Blog: http://www.workingresourcesblog.com 
Connect with me on these Social Media sites.
http://twitter.com/drbrusman
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Executive Coaching to Improve Hiring Decisions

Improve Hiring Decisions

When we encounter new people at a party, we quickly diagnose them by placing tags on them, such as “approachable” or “standoffish.” This helps us quickly decide if we want to engage them in conversation.

By employing this mental shortcut, we fail to see a person’s good qualities. Nowhere is this clearer than in job interviews.

A meta-analysis of data found there is little correlation between unstructured job interview success and job performance in new hires. The marks given to job candidates after a first date-type interview have little to do with how well those hired will actually perform on the job.

Nonetheless, companies are drawn to this interview format. Managers form impressions by asking questions they hope will ensure a person is a good fit:
• Does this candidate share my interests?
• How’s the chemistry between us?
• Is there a connection?

Managers value their intuition and think they have a refined ability to truly see and understand an applicant. They overestimate their ability to form objective opinions and underestimate their subconscious’ biases.

Managers should, instead, forego unstructured interviews and focus on a candidate’s past experience and responses to hypothetical scenarios.

Are you working in a professional services firm or other organization where executive coaches are hired to provide interpersonal communication skills and leadership development for organizational leaders? Does your organization provide executive coaching to help leaders improve their interpersonal communication skills? Leaders at all levels need to improve their emotional intelligence and social intelligence skills.

One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Am I sometimes blind to evidence that contradicts my initial assessment of a person or situation. Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations,  provide executive coaching and communications skills training for leaders who want to have fierce conversations and be fully engaged and happy at work.

Working with a seasoned executive coach and leadership consultant trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i CPI 260 and Denison Culture Survey can help you avoid bad business decisions and ensure sustainable business success. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision, mission and strategy of your company or law firm.

About Dr. Maynard Brusman

Dr. Maynard Brusman is a consulting psychologist and executive coach. He is the president of Working Resources, a leadership consulting and executive coaching firm. We specialize in helping San Francisco Bay Area companies and law firms assess, select, coach, and retain emotionally intelligent leaders.  Maynard is a highly sought-after speaker and workshop leader. He facilitates leadership retreats in Northern California and Costa Rica. The Society for Advancement of Consulting (SAC) awarded Dr. Maynard Brusman "Board Approved" designations in the specialties of Executive Coaching and Leadership Development.

For more information, please go to http://www.workingresources.com, write to [email protected], or call 415-546-1252.
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