Many of us struggle to effectively handle high-stakes conversations when we encounter them. I’m talking about the ones that we don’t necessarily plan for or know that are coming, such as giving feedback to an employee whose behavior does not align with the company’s core values, terminating a difficult customer or dealing with someone who has hijacked your meeting. Because these can be emotionally charged and highly impactful to the future of the relationship, we can all benefit from polishing up our communication skills for these crucial conversations. Lucky for us, there is a way to handle these conversations so we can accelerate our connections and deepen our relationships.

Are you ready to scale faster, develop your team, and improve your business performance while simultaneously freeing up time in your own life?! You may be thinking, “that sounds impossible. How can I improve my business and not add more to my plate?” Well, many leaders are not applying the essential skill of delegation and we are most definitely suffering as a result.

The Great Resignation. We’ve heard of it. Maybe some of us have even become part of it. I think most of us would agree that our workplace and even our worlds look a lot different today than they did three years ago. Instead of looking back at what it was and trying to get things to the way they “used to be”, let’s adjust to the cards we’ve been dealt and do what we do best: move forward with a plan.

Are you familiar with Dr. Stephen Karpman’s Drama Triangle involving the roles of victim, persecutor, and rescuer? Do you often find yourself or those around you getting caught in one of these roles? These unproductive mindsets may be the obstacle preventing you and your team from operating with trust and alignment. The good news is, there is a way out.

Of all the questions, WHO is the most burning. Is your organization still using the standard job description during your hiring process? Are you tucking it away once you make the hire? Well, that needs to change…TODAY!

According to Geoff Smart and Randy Street, authors of Who: The A Method for Hiring, an A Player is someone who has at least a 90% chance of achieving a set of outcomes that only the top 10% of possible candidates could achieve.

Do you set far too many goals only to lose focus as you stretch yourself too thin across your list of priorities? I’m giving you permission to stop. Stop trying to do everything at once.

What if we narrowed our focus and set our intentions on ONE THING? This doesn’t mean the other goals on our list are unimportant or won’t get accomplished, but rather, they are not our #1 Priority right now.

Paul Darley had sales representatives on the ground in Wuhan, China, in the fall of 2019. As CEO and President of W. S. Darley & Co., a 113-year-old fourth-generation family business that manufactures fire trucks and pumps, as well as special operations equipment and PPE for firefighting, emergency and special operations personnel, Paul had early insight on the impending pandemic.