Blog

November 17, 2021

Leadership That Inspires Trust & Safety

Have you ever been in a conversation and had the thought, “I can’t believe that I just shared that”? Or, perhaps you leave a conversation feeling […]
November 16, 2021

Why Senior Leaders Still Need Leadership Development | The Connection Diaries

“Development isn’t because I have some huge deficit, it’s because I have more potential to realize in my life.” It’s easy to assume that senior leaders […]
November 15, 2021

Be a Beacon of Calm for Yourself & Your Organization

“I’m frustrated, burnt out, overwhelmed, exhausted, emotional, worried, have no work/life balance, always feel behind, disconnected, anxious, cannot focus, feel like I’m running on the hamster wheel of life.”  Have you described yourself with […]
October 18, 2021

Setting a New Standard for Global Leadership

As a global collective, we face a number of complex challenges: climate change, racial injustice, income disparity, and the gender wage gap to name a few. […]
October 18, 2021

Why Does Leadership Need A Reset Now? | The Connection Diaries

Conversant CEO Robin Anselmi invited Mickey Connolly to answer a question she was asked as part of this year’s 5th Global Forum: Why does leadership need […]
September 30, 2021

Setting a New Standard for Sales Leadership | The Connection Diaries

The common or traditional approach to sales leadership often leaves opportunities for connection (and for performance improvement) on the table. In this episode, Tom Knighton and […]
September 28, 2021

8 Conversations for the Connected Sales Leader

All organizations are systems of conversation, and a sales team is no different. Every day, sales leaders are having conversations with the people on their team, […]
September 23, 2021

The Connected Sales Leader

The sales function is much more important than a revenue engine. It is the first touch that a prospective client or consumer has to your company’s […]
September 15, 2021

Sales Managers vs. Sales Leaders: It’s all about connection

The Sales Manager As the title would suggest, the job is to… manage sales. But what does that mean? Well, traditionally it’s meant handling a myriad of […]
August 30, 2021

Why is organizational life so messy? We’re only human! | The Connection Diaries

Organizations are systems of human beings. It’s a simple and seemingly obvious fact, but we forget it all the time. While we strive to perfect our […]
August 30, 2021

Leave the Robotics Behind: Bringing More Humanity to Work

Being human is hard work—or rather, it can be hard at work. Walls of text, tightly managed calendars, and unending to-do lists can all make us feel like cogs […]
August 30, 2021

Manipulation Isn’t Communication

I read a brief “how-to” article recently in a newsletter. The advice focused on getting your phone calls returned and one of the highlighted tips reminded me why […]
August 30, 2021

Growing Forward, Together

Are you going backward or forward as life, work, and the world open up?  I see it all over. Everyone is wrestling with the question of how best to “go back to” the office, travel, hanging out in groups. No matter what […]
July 28, 2021

Is My Leader Listening? | The Connection Diaries

If conversations are the work of leadership, listening is one of the most powerful skills a leader can seek to improve. There is a magical moment […]
July 23, 2021

An Alternative to Pushback: Try Listening to Learn

As an Executive Coach, I hear leaders saying more and more often that they need to go “push back” on something—a decision, a plan, an idea. […]
June 24, 2021

Autonomy Ain’t Anarchy

“That is my choice!” Those four words, spoken with angry fervor, were part of a recent discussion with a senior VP of a large company. After […]
June 24, 2021

Stages of Learning for Effective Leadership | The Connection Diaries

Continuous learning is the hallmark of great leaders and great organizations. As adults, learning and development progress through a series of stages, whether we’re learning new […]
June 22, 2021

Change Leadership: The Art of Correction, Not Perfection

This blog was co-written by Robin Anselmi and Katie Mingo. Human beings are funny. People say: “No one likes change,” yet the reality is humans don’t like […]
May 26, 2021

Virtual or In-Person? A Five Sense Solution | The Connection Diaries

 As parts of the world begin to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, many are asking – should we be in person or stay virtual? Mickey […]
May 19, 2021

Zoom Fatigue is a Choice: How to make virtual work less exhausting

Your Zoom Fatigue is Your Fault With so much of our lives shifting to virtual in the past year, the concept of “Zoom fatigue” has become […]
April 27, 2021

360 Reviews: From Punishment to Contribution

April 26, 2021

Rethinking Accountability | The Connection Diaries

We often hear from clients that they want to increase accountability in their organizations in order to ensure high performance. We’ve recently been wondering, what does […]
April 16, 2021

From Chaos to Clarity: Designing for Strategic Success in an Uncertain World

Designing for Strategic Success, Even When Challenges Are Complex & Conditions Are Uncertain Leaders today have a tough job. An increasingly complex world means a growing […]
March 25, 2021

Smart & Wrong – How Leaders Create Chaos | The Connection Diaries

In the face of complex challenges, leaders often create more chaos, despite their best intentions. Quickly moving into action and being the hero with an answer […]
March 25, 2021

If You Want a High-Performing Team, Connection is the Key: A Bootcamp for Connected Teams

Nearly 30 years ago, Jon Katzenbach and Douglas Smith published The Wisdom of Teams, a book considered a definitive resource for driving high-performance in organizations. Their […]