Communication | Transitions Intl - Part 3
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Transitions Intl / Communication
19 February 2014 In Character, Coaching, Communication, Emotions, Habits, Lead From Within, Leadership, Life, Personal & Professional Development By Lalita Raman

Live With Hope

Photo Credits : Lalita Raman Once there was a young warrior. Her teacher told her that she had to do battle with fear. She didn't want to do that. It seemed too aggressive; it was scary; it seemed unfriendly. But the teacher said she had to do it and gave her the instructions for the battle. The day arrived. The student warrior stood on one side, and fear stood on the other. The warrior was feeling very small, and fear was looking big and wrathful. They both had their weapons. The young warrior roused herself and went toward fear, prostrated three times, and asked, "May I have permission to go into battle with you?" Fear said,"Thank you for showing me so much respect that you ask permission." Then the young warrior said, "How can I defeat you?" Fear replied,"My weapons are that I talk fast, and I get very close to your face. Then you get completely unnerved, and you do whatever I say. If you don't do what I tell you, I have no power. You can listen to me, and you can have respect for me. You can even be convinced by me. But if you don't do what

18 February 2014 In Change, Character, Coaching, Comfort Zone, Communication, Habits, Lead From Within, Leadership, Life, Personal & Professional Development By Lalita Raman

Leadership And The Art Of Communication

Last week on Wednesday, I was attending a meeting and one of the conversations was about organizing events where we could bring out the best in Women and show diversity of women by getting those who practice it to share their experiences. Along with this, some of us were of the view that we should combine this talk with some fun, food and frolic. While this conversation was going on, I suggested that maybe we should consider a theme party and before I could finish my statement, I heard a woman who was dominating the meeting till then, cut me off by laughing and saying “oh God, no, I hate fancy dress parties”. For a second or two I was upset but decided to smile. I smiled, because at that moment I had a flash of this particular extract from Pema Chodron’s quotes that I had read the day before. “It’s not life that causes suffering, says Buddhist teacher Pema Chödrön, it’s our story about life—our interpretation—that causes so much distress. When we practice interrupting the story we’re telling ourselves, and learn to ride the wave of emotions that inevitably come up in life, we can find a new freedom and flexibility in

19 November 2013 In Change, Coaching, Communication, Employee Engagement, Lead From Within, Leadership, Life, Organizational Leadership, Personal & Professional Development, Talent Management By Lalita Raman

The Strength Based Resonant Team Leader

A month back, I conducted a workshop on Tips and Tricks To Engage Employees. The focus of this workshop was employee engagement using a neuroscience perspective. While discussing the neuroscience aspects, one of the points I highlighted was the importance of leaders and managers recognizing the strengths of the people who work with them in their teams or organizations. Strength is the key binding factor in providing certainty, feeling that we have the power of choice in what we do and being recognized for our talents because we operate from our area of strength. It provides the endorphin to help our brain move towards an engaged and reward state. One of the participants had a view that in some industries only command and control works and there is no time, especially given the deadlines, for recognizing strengths or working on creating an environment of Certainty, Recognition, Choices or Connection. An interesting discussion ensued in the workshop once this comment was made. One of my coaching clients during one of her earlier sessions was sharing her challenges at her work place. She has been with her organization for eight years and she was describing how the head of the business was a very tough

18 November 2013 In Change, Character, Coaching, Comfort Zone, Communication, Conflict Leadership, Lead From Within, Leadership, Life, Organizational Leadership, Personal & Professional Development By Lalita Raman

Leadership In Troubled Times

The CEO of the Company was having his monthly meeting with his direct reports to discuss achievements, strengths, opportunities missed or well used and way forward. Jack, the CFO of the company had attended several of these meetings and felt the quality of these meetings had deteriorated. In the moments of silence, whenever he was an observer, he felt these meetings had become agreeable in nature and no brainstorming was encouraged. Just in the last meeting he had raised an objection to the way the revenues were being earned and the way the company was going about increasing its market share and how in the medium to long-term the company may not be able to hold its market share. He also had concerns on the franchise value which he thought he will bring it up later. Despite presenting solutions he was left with the feeling that by raising a different perspective, he was considered possibly a rebel. The room didn't celebrate his passion for the business nor appreciate his concern. "Don't trouble trouble till trouble troubles you because if you trouble trouble, trouble will trouble you". As a kid I used to play this tongue twister with my friends. Today in many organizations and

18 November 2013 In Character, Coaching, Communication, Lead From Within, Leadership, Personal & Professional Development By Lalita Raman

Eight Leadership Lessons From Dogs

I love and admire dogs. I don't miss a chance, whilst walking, running or hiking, to stop and say hello to the dog and if the owner looks friendly enough, have a word or two with the dog and pet the dog. I don't own a dog as yet. I have always wanted to own a dog but not owned one because I feel guilty that I'll not be able to spend time with my dog. So whilst I do want to own a dog, It has not happened yet. I love all animals but dogs have a special place in my heart. This post is based on my observations of dogs that I have met in various walks of my life. There is a lot each of us can learn from dogs. What do they teach us? For FULL POST CLICK LINK For Coaching, Facilitating and Speaking Connect. About Lalita Raman

17 November 2013 In Change, Character, Coaching, Comfort Zone, Communication, Conflict Leadership, Customer Service and Sales, Employee Engagement, Lead From Within, Leadership, Life, Organizational Leadership, Personal & Professional Development By Lalita Raman

The Power Of Reframing

Have you been in meetings where you interpret something that has been said by your boss very differently from what one of your colleagues may have interpreted? Have you had moments or days when you feel everything is going wrong, until you see someone else having a worse time which pales yours in comparison? Have you observed situations where two people could have faced the same situation, yet one considers it as a challenge to be overcome whereas the other person dwells on it, complains about it and their body language and facial expression conveys that they are having one a nerve wrecking experience? How many times have you for any small mistakes made, stated that "I have messed up" instead of "I made a mistake"? When I coach leaders, executives and professionals, I hear negative statements about who they are or what they are not good at or what they cannot do. The cues is not only verbal but also in their body language and facial expressions. When I listen to what is being said, the way it is being said and sense the cues, I ask of my clients to reframe the thought, the feeling, the fear in a positive way. Reframing is the art

16 November 2013 In Character, Coaching, Communication, Integrity, Lead From Within, Leadership, Life, Organizational Leadership, Personal & Professional Development By Lalita Raman

How To Lose In Leadership

I was at my friend’s place last week for dinner. She has 2 kids, a son and daughter. We were chatting and in the midst of a discussion, her daughter Nikita, comes up to her Dad and reminds him that it is her time to play chess with him. Despite being told that he will play with her later, she insists. He consents and tells her that she will play the game without playing any pranks. Nikita is a junior chess champion at a State level for girls under 10 years. Her dad, although not a champion has always been an expert in chess. We were watching them play and Nikita suddenly turned to her mom and asked her a question on what she should do. I also noticed that she didn’t just ask for a solution but explained what her strategy was and consulted her mother on which option she should choose as the next step. John was having some morale issues among his team. He had 5 direct reports though he was responsible for a team of fifty. He decided he will conduct a survey to determine the engagement and satisfaction among his team. At the end of one

30 September 2013 In Change, Character, Coaching, Communication, Integrity, Lead From Within, Life, Organizational Leadership, Personal & Professional Development By Lalita Raman

The Pitfalls Of Willful Blindness

I’m not a fan of watching soap operas. One day when I was changing channels to watch a program on CNBC, my attention was caught by a snap-shot of a scene in Star Plus, where a girl was asking questions to her grandma. I started watching this Indian soap opera called Veera. What got me interested in this soap opera was the girl’s never-ending quest to learn, to challenge, to explore, to question and not to take things for granted. If you observe a child, you will notice that a child never stops to ask questions. Most questions asked by a child arise from curiosity and to determine the Why? However, as we grow older, we stop asking relevant questions. We take things for granted and are happy to accept the beliefs, the processes, the archaic methods. When people ask me what is Coaching, I explain that a Coach facilitates listening in an adult environment by asking relevant and contextual questions. As your coach, I create an environment to evoke you to explore your greatest potential be it in tactical – sales, communication or leadership or transformational coaching. How many times have you faced situations in your organization or in a community voluntary service, where you observe situations

7 September 2013 In Communication, Conflict Leadership, Emotions, Lead From Within, Leadership, Life By Lalita Raman

Leadership Lessons From The Movie “42″

Life offers the strangest twists and turns for some of us. Some of these challenges agonizes you, tortures you and you are left wondering what did you do wrong? Why “me”? I’ve always considered life’s challenges as a way to learn and when I get into a negative mode, I realize that negativity pulls me down further and I need to bounce back from that thinking. In my journey to date, I have been inspired by my parents, some of my friends, my family, people whom I’ve read about or met, books that I’ve read and some of the movies that I’ve watched. I saw the movie “42” recently. 42 tells the story of Jackie Robinson and, under the guidance of team executive Branch Rickey, Robinson’s signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers to become the first African-American player to break the baseball color barrier. The story focuses mostly on the 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers season and somewhat on Robinson’s 1946 season with the Montreal Royals. Drag your thoughts away from your troubles…by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it. – Mark Twain Jackie Robinson, despite support from Branch Rickey and later from some of his team members, was not without troubles and hardships. His color

6 September 2013 In Character, Communication, Habits, Lead From Within, Leadership, Life, Organizational Leadership, Personal & Professional Development By Lalita Raman

Are You Walking Your Talk?

“I’ll get that done by tomorrow morning.” “Just leave it to me, I’ll help you get that website of yours up and running by the end of this weekend.” “Hey, you’ve often said that you and I should collaborate together on a topic of common interest where we can work together. You have been interested in leadership workshops and speaking sessions. How about we collaborate on that and see how it goes? Are you interested? You always say that you are interested and then despite several follow ups’ from me, you don’t revert on how we can work together. You make statements on how we should think about working together and yet there is zero follow through!” How many times have you been in one of the above situations where your friends or business partners or acquaintances commit in words to do something yet there is no follow through action? Our desires dictates our priorities which in turn shape our choices. Our choices in turn determine our actions. Thoughts translate into feeling, feeling to words and/or action, actions become habit, and habits crystallize into character. The formation of a good character, therefore, is largely dependent upon the right unfolding of thoughts and feelings. A