Articles
Balance Curve publishes articles designed to support and assist our clients. Some of our articles are found below and on LinkedIn.
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Dealing with really difficult bosses
Some bosses seem to be permanently ensconced at the high end of the “difficult to deal with” continuum. They don’t just have their moments – they’re frequently really difficult to deal with. Under pressure they’re intransigent, aggressive, and highly emotional. Think Donald Trump. Bill Eddy, President of the High Conflict Institute, suggests that approximately 15%…
Read MoreBeing “Fair”. Can You Be Fair to Everyone?
In a recent blog I talked about relationship trust and how it was critical to a leader’s credibility. Important to building this trust is making decisions that are seen as “fair to everyone” – something easier said than done. How can a leader make decisions that everyone involved see as fair? In business, team leaders…
Read MoreDiscussing Performance – How to avoid having a civil war
It’s unbelievable how quickly “performance” conversations can spiral out of control. Formal performance reviews have their own particular challenges, but even informal performance conversations can be tricky. I recently observed one of my workshop role-plays where a participant was playing a team leader having a conversation with a member of his team who wasn’t performing…
Read MoreThe Art of Persuasion – How to get people to work with you, not against you
Sometimes it’s frustrating being a manager. You work hard to try to get the outcomes you believe are in the best interest of the organisation, but get slowed down by “difficult recalcitrant people” who somehow fail to immediately grasp the inherent wisdom in what you are proposing. How do you get these people on board?…
Read MoreAn Easy Way to Save Time
Far too much management time is spent on what I call “silly conflict” or misunderstandings that are a waste of time and a source of frustration and stress for managers. Misunderstandings are usually the result of the way we communicate. So how do you avoid wasting precious time on silly conflict? The key is becoming…
Read MoreHow do you become a Consummate Listener?
On Saturday night I came thudding back to earth. During the week I like to think of myself as a consummate listener – someone who enables my clients to really feel heard and understood. But on Saturday night my 17 year old daughter gave it to me straight – Dad, you’re looking at me, but…
Read MoreUnderstanding Difficult People
This is a continuation of my last blog on Dealing with Difficult People. If you haven’t read that blog, here is a link as it’s worth a quick read: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dealing-difficult-people-mark-rosenberg?trk=pulse_spock-articles. If the first step in dealing with a difficult person is “Self-Reflection” – getting a handle on what’s going on for you, the second…
Read MoreDealing with Difficult People
Every now and then you come across someone who makes life really difficult. They take up more of your time than you’d like, and are responsible for creating an inordinate amount of stress and anxiety in your world. How do you deal with these “difficult” people? It isn’t easy. A useful starting point is to…
Read MoreGenius and Grit
This post was written with my colleague Dr John Waters. Thomas Edison’s famous saying that “Genius is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration” reflected his belief that creativity is more a product of work than it is of the imagination. The truth of his aphorism is demonstrated in all forms of creativity, whether in science, in art…
Read MoreBeing a Courageous Leader – Some questions you should ask your Team
When I ask people about the attributes of leaders they most admire the word “courage” is often mentioned. And when I ask them what courageous leaders do, they talk about actions such as making unpopular decisions, standing up for what they believe in, calling out poor behaviour, putting themselves on the line by taking calculated…
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