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People Skills: What does it take to see others’ perspectives?



Some say you need the ability to see beyond your own thoughts — in other words, telescopic talent. People with this talent can see others’ views more easily however it’s possible to consider others’ perspectives without it. 










Others say you need the ability to see into another person’s mind — microscopic talent. There are people who have a natural ability to analyze and go deep yet it’s possible to see others’ perspectives without it.



So what does it take to listen and see the perspectives of others?

The short answer — love and courage.



Not tangible enough for you? Too touchy-feely especially in a work setting? OK. Here is a more substantial list that will help you improve your people skills ability to see others’ views.

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People Skills: Essentials to Seeing Others’ Views

1. Desire to grow. Wanting to know something new is the great motivator. If you don’t yearn to go beyond your current view, skills and ability won’t help you.




2. Courage to explore and be vulnerable. Your beliefs help you feel grounded and comfortable. To see others’ views you must have the courage to go outside your comfort zone and hear very different ideas. This also means temporarily feeling vulnerable in the gap.




3. Belief that the status quo is just as risky as change. People who find the courage to delve into others’ views also see discovery as risk reduction — not just as risk.




4. Patience with ambiguity. If you always like feeling in control, you may also find that you don’t explore others’ views. In exploration there is always some ambiguity as you try to understand something different. Those who see others’ perspective have some patience with ambiguity.




5. Comfort with diversity. Those who see others’ perspectives have accept diversity. Rather than categorically seeing ideas as right/wrong, they first see ideas as different. They don’t prejudge. They explore because they are comfortable with diversity.




6. High self-esteem & humility. When high self-esteem and humility unite, your people skills shine. High self-esteem is the safety net for exploration. New ideas don’t threaten your ego. Humility prevents arrogance and self-righteousness. It keeps you learning about others and their views.

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As you read through this list, the underlying elements are courage and love. It takes courage to explore, to go outside of the known and the comfortable. It takes love to give others a moment of your time and your courage to see what they have to say.


Consider what seeing peoples’ views can do for your personal and professional life.

• Strong friendships and happy marriages are based on willingness to see the other person’s view.
• Successful negotiation is all about exploring and seeing many aspects and views.
• Leadership and employee engagement hinge on exploring various perspectives.
• Teamwork gels when team members can work through different views to find a winning solution.
• Customer service soars when you take time to see the customer’s perspective.

Want some of these great successes? Give up the need to be right. Ease up on your need to control. Give some of your time and attention. Explore without fearing capitulation. Discover without confusing it with mindless agreement.

Seeing others’ views does not mean you will agree. It simply gives you and others a true chance to discover if you agree or disagree! With desire and great people skills, you will be respected for your openness — even in disagreement.


One great way to start: Ask yourself what if. ====> “What if I find out their ideas are similar to mine? What if I learn something that can help me in another way? What if they end up seeing value in my view? What if the different views are surprisingly helpful and give me happiness and success?”


It costs nothing to explore and learn and the return is great. Muster your courage, give your love, see others’ views, and fearlessly watch the new horizon emerge.

What would you add to the above list of six essentials? Your #7 is ….?


From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™

Related Posts:
What’s So Hot About Humility Anyway?
12 Most Professional People Skills to Use When You Have Little Power
People Skills: Empathize Before You Analyze

Gratitude for:
Image of telescope by KristinMarshall via Flickr Creative Commons License.
Image of microscope by Carl Zeiss Microscopy via Flickr Creative Commons License.

©2013 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.

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Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.

People skills Twitter Chat TOPIC: The Impact of Pace & Time on #PeopleSkills.

WHEN: Sunday May 19, 2013 10AM EDT.

Here’s a time converter to assist all of you around the globe in converting 10am EDT to your local time.

Background on This Chat Topic
Do you ever find it challenging to deal with someone who operates at a very different pace than you? You are fast paced they are slower or vice versa? Well, there are cultural differences and personality type differences in how time is perceived, used, and managed that impact people skills and interactions.

As I listened to Guillaume Gevrey’s TedX talk on intercultural time differences, I knew I wanted to do a people skills Twitter chat on the topic.

Guillaume has graciously agreed to co-host with me this Sunday May 19th as we explore both the cultural and personality type differences in people’s pace and how people perceive and use time.

Image designed by: Kimb Manson Graphics Design for Kate Nasser. All rights reserved.

This topic applies to everyone. When you meet people from a country/culture different from yours, do you find you each interpret and use time differently? In some cultures, time is far more fluid than our western view. And even here in the USA, there are many many differences in the importance people put on speed or a more relaxed approach. Join us for this rather unique people skills Twitter chat topic on Sunday May 19th at 10am EDT!


Shout Out of Gratitude

Thank you everyone for joining this weekly people skills Twitter chat (hashtag #peopleskils) to improve how we all interact and build bonds of happiness and success.

Join People Skills Twitter Chat Sun. May 19th ’13 10am EDT.

Come and explore right in the chat what time means to different people. Why do people perceive time differently? It’s worth considering for it can be the source of many disagreements at work in teamwork within just one company to global success with suppliers, vendors, and virtual teams! Even in personal relationships and finding your life mate, pace and time components can make or break it.


I also invite you continue this chat by joining the Google+ People Skills Community to be a part of all the people skills discussions not just on Sundays but everyday 24×7.

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Hope you will all join in the #PeopleSkills Twitter chat to explore The Impact of Pace & Time Differences on People Skills, this Sunday May 19, 2013 10am EDT/7am PDT.

Everyone is welcome! We have only one rule in People Skills Twitter Chat: Respect for all even when we disagree.

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TIP: If you have never been in a Twitter chat, you may find it helpful to log on to Tweetchat.com, enter hashtag #peopleskills, and sign in to your Twitter account. Tweetchat will insert the hashtag automatically for you and you will see all the tweets on one screen. Other tools available are OneQube, Hootsuite and TweetDeck.

I am the founder and host of the chat and will be happy to answer any questions you have in advance: Email me.


Chat with you this Sunday May 19, 2013 10am EDT in #PeopleSkills Twitter Chat: The Impact of Pace & Time Differences on People Skills.


Until then, as always, I wish you bonds of happiness and success!

From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™

©2013 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.

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Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.

People skills Twitter Chat TOPIC: What Our Mothers Taught Us on #PeopleSkills.

WHEN: Mother’s Day, Sunday May 12, 2013 10AM EDT/7am PDT.

Here’s a time converter to assist all of you around the globe in converting 10am EDT to your local time.

A Different Format for Special Mother’s Day Chat!

Instead of our normal structured questions, I will post a one word topic every five minutes and we will tweet what our mothers taught us about it!

So collect your family people skills wisdom from the ages and get ready to share it this Mother’s Day in #peopleskills chat.

Image designed by: Kimb Manson Graphics Design for Kate Nasser. All rights reserved.

Shout Out of Gratitude

To mothers, step mothers, Godmothers everywhere and all those who have filled those roles without the official title. Thank you for your incredible sacrifice, love, strength, and compassion.

Join People Skills Twitter Chat Sun. May 12th ’13 10am EDT/7am PDT.

If you would like to suggest some of the one word topics for this special Mother’s Day chat, please note them in the comments section below by Saturday May 11th. **What our mothers taught us about ___________ in people skills.

I also invite you to join the Google+ People Skills Community to be a part of all the people skills discussions not just on Sundays but everyday 24×7.

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Hope you will all join in the #PeopleSkills Twitter chat to explore What Our Mothers Taught Us On People Skills, this Sunday May 12, 2013 10am EDT/7am PDT.

Everyone is welcome! We have only one rule in People Skills Twitter Chat: Respect for all even when we disagree.

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TIP: If you have never been in a Twitter chat, you may find it helpful to log on to Tweetchat.com, enter hashtag #peopleskills, and sign in to your Twitter account. Tweetchat will insert the hashtag automatically for you and you will see all the tweets on one screen. Other tools available are OneQube, Hootsuite and TweetDeck.

I am the founder and host of the chat and will be happy to answer any questions you have in advance: Email me.


Chat with you this Mother’s Day Sunday May 12, 2013 10am EDT in #PeopleSkills Twitter Chat: What Our Mothers Taught Us on People Skills.


Until then, as always, I wish you bonds of happiness and success!

From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™

©2013 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.

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Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.

People Skills: Can you show dignity even to those you don’t respect?

Work and life bring people together.  Often they form positive connections through great people skills and build trust with great results.

Sometimes the interactions don’t work out well.  For some reason, the people don’t respect or trust each other.  But what if they must still interact? How can they show dignity to those they don’t respect or trust?

Grateful for image by: edmittance via Flickr Creative Commons License.

People Skills: Responding With Dignity When There’s No Respect

1. Focus on human dignity vs. the need to be right.

   Even when there’s disrespect for others’ views, resolution comes through communication. Treating others with dignity keeps the communication flowing. The need to be right can generate a degrading response. Once said, it echoes forever making a dignified end result very difficult.




2. Clearly set limits on verbal abuse without abusing.

   Often when verbal abuse is coming at you, the instinct is to fight back in a similar undignified manner. Yet there is nothing as strong as firmly and clearly setting limits — with dignity. If verbal abuse continues, you can always take a temporary leave. A wonderful how-to resource on this is The Power of a Positive No by negotiation expert William Ury.




3. Consider how you would feel. Don’t patronize.

   In the heat of emotion and the desire to win an argument, it’s tempting to patronize. Yet, this degradation makes matters worse and makes interaction difficult. As adults we all like to be treated as adults. Instead of patronizing, bravely ask for a new approach. “Let’s all treat each other as valued adults. It brings cooperation.”




4. Know yourself & your hot buttons.

   Undignified responses come from fears, past scars, and insecurities. When someone you don’t respect touches on any of your hot buttons, your non-dignified response is close at hand. Yet if you are aware of your triggers, you can own them, repress their power over you, and choose dignity for yourself and others.




5. Clarify goals instead of assuming the worst.

   Knowledge highlights alternatives; assumptions feed emotions and fears. Better to ask “What is your goal?” than to assume a person’s goal is to degrade you. If they admit their goal is to attack your dignity, you can clearly set limits or walk away.




6. Trust that dignity doesn’t cause defeat.

   Responding with dignity doesn’t mean weakness. It doesn’t lead to failure and defeat. Quite the opposite! There is enormous strength and power in maintaining your dignity and treating others that way too.




7. Let time provides insight and answers.

   Time out to defuse and consider what’s truly important also sends the message that a new approach is needed. It’s a strong yet dignified way to interact, when necessary, with those you don’t respect.

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Why is it tough to show dignity to those we don’t respect? Because the desire to treat others with dignity usually comes from a sense of mutual respect. When that is missing, we must look within ourselves to lead with dignity.

Responding with dignity preserves our own dignity and that is the inspiration to continue — even with those we don’t respect!

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What else would you add to this list? What has life taught you about responding with dignity?


From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™

Other People Skills Posts:
People Skills Secret to Success: Uninvited Bluntness Loses
People Skills: Integrity & Authenticity
People Skills: Empathize Before You Analyze

©2013 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.

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Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.

People skills Twitter Chat: April 14, 2013. TOPIC: #PeopleSkills & FUN!

WHEN: Sunday, 10AM EDT/2pm GMT/3pm Daylight Savings Time UK.


In our people skills chats thus far, we have discussed many serious topics. This week we change it up and explore people skills and fun!

Image designed by: Kimb Manson Graphics Design for Kate Nasser.

Fun is a universal connector as are people skills. It draws people together. Everyone loves to have fun. (Ever hear someone say, “I hope I struggle today and feel down?”)

Fun is a also tremendous motivator. People succeed when they’re having fun. There is even research on the effects of fun at work!

Join #PeopleSkills Twitter Chat Sun. April 14: People Skills & Fun!

My mind has so many questions I have yet to finalize them! So bring your in-the-moment creativity, ingenuity, and originality to share fun with others in Sunday’s people skills chat.

What questions would you want to discuss? Please leave your idea in the comment section below!

Shout Out of Gratitude

A special thank you and shout to Kumud Ajmani founder of #Spiritchat. It was last week’s chat about spontaneity that inspired me to pick “People Skills and Fun” for this week’s #peopleskills chat.

Hope you will join all of us in the #PeopleSkills Twitter chat to explore People Skills & Fun!. Sunday 10am EDT/2pm GMT/3pm Daylight Savings Time UK.

Everyone is welcome! We have only one rule in People Skills Twitter Chat: Respect for all even when we disagree. This week we will add “have fun”!

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TIP: If you have never been in a Twitter chat, you may find it helpful to log on to Tweetchat.com, enter hashtag #peopleskills, and sign in to your Twitter account. Tweetchat will insert the hashtag automatically for you and you will see all the tweets on one screen. Other tools available are Hootsuite.com and TweetDeck.com.

I am the founder and host of the chat and will be happy to answer any questions you have in advance: Email me.


Chat with you this Sunday April 14, 2013 10am EDT in #PeopleSkills Twitter Chat – People Skills & Fun!


Until then, as always, I wish you bonds of happiness and success!

From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™

©2013 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.

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Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.

Leaders and managers there are three often overlooked factors critical to building a WE culture.

 

I write about them in my latest guest post on Desk.com blog, Turn Your Company Culture From “I” to “We”.

 

I look forward to engaging with you today on this topic at Desk.com and I welcome your experiences, perspectives, and feedback in their comments section.


Thank you Alex Hisaka at Desk.com for this wonderful invitation and opportunity to write for your customers, followers, and collaborators.


From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™

©2013 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.

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Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.

Be authentic is the popular advice you hear for success and happiness. It builds trust, right?

Yes as long we are authentic not absolute. Our people skills build trusting connections when we are authentic and still flexible. If we confuse authentic with absolute, we drive people away. Picture the person who often proclaims “this is how I am”. You can almost hear the next statement — “like it or not”.

Grateful for image by: Callumscott2 via Flickr Creative Commons License.

People Skills Success: Be Authentic Not Absolute

1. Authentic builds trust through confidence.

   It shares the confidence with everyone it touches. Conversely, being absolute screams arrogance and drives people away. Authentic is confident enough to bend without losing its essence. Absolute hides it fear of diversity by masquerading as authentic. The disguise doesn’t work. The difference between authentic and absolute is visible through people skills!




2. Authentic invites others to be themselves.

   People skills that show we are authentic welcome others’ authenticity as well. Being absolute and rigid says “I’m OK, you’re not.” This doesn’t breed success. It feels strong yet topples quickly as people push away from obstinacy.




3. Authentic shares energy.

   Authentic has a strong natural energy that attracts many to feel and share. Absolute and inflexible spews energy like an exploding volcano and propels everyone to run for their lives!




4. Authentic piques curiosity.

   Imagine seeing behavior that is very different from how you would behave. If it seems both unique AND authentic, it arouses curiosity. If it seems different but absolute and arrogant, it repels.




5. Authentic communicates an inner world.

   The essence of each of us comes through authentic people skills. Authenticity is a window that opens others to our past, our ethos, our hopes and dreams. Absolute inflexibility communicates ego and is a solid door shutting out connection.

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Being authentic doesn’t rule out empathy and understanding for others. Being absolute does.
Being authentic doesn’t stop us from adapting to people and conditions. Being absolute does.
Being authentic doesn’t promote closed-mindedness. Being absolute does.

Question: How can you be authentic without falling into the trap of being inflexible? See authenticity as a journey of growth not a single destination.

Where has your journey of authenticity taken you with others?

From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™

Related Post: People Skills: Integrity & Authenticity

©2013 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.

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Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.

People skills Twitter Chat: March 24th, 2013. TOPIC: Converting Difficult Moments w/ #PeopleSkills WHEN: Sunday, 10AM EDT/2pm GMT.

Image designed by: Kimb Manson Graphics Design for Kate Nasser.


Life presents many difficult moments of interaction. Great people skills can convert those difficult interactions into bonds of happiness and success.

Different goals, different personality types, attitudes, etc… can all become obstacles to great connections. Yet, these obstacles are not insurmountable.

Let’s gather this Sunday March 24th and explore how to transform difficult interactions into positive connections and results.

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People Skills Twitter Chat – Convert Difficult Moments!

• How do you define ‘difficult interaction’?
• What causes interactions to be difficult?
• Do views on this differ? Why/why not?
• When can a positive desire create a difficult interaction?
• Difficult interactions make me ______________________.
• Where do difficult interactions have the greatest impact?
• What beliefs sustain you in difficult interactions?
• How does mindset/outlook affect interactions?
• What can we learn from difficult interactions?
• How can you help others convert a difficult interaction?
• What are some great ways to make difficult interactions easier?
• How do people skills turn difficult interactions into winning results?
• … and much more.

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Please join all of us in the People Skills Twitter chat to explore Converting Difficult Moments w/ Great People Skills. Hashtag #PeopleSkills Sunday 10am EDT/2pm GMT.


Remember everyone: The USA is now on Daylight Savings Time.


We have only one rule in People Skills Twitter Chat: Respect for all even when we disagree. Everyone is welcome!


TIP: If you have never been in a Twitter chat, you may find it helpful to log on to Tweetchat.com, enter hashtag #peopleskills, and sign in to your Twitter account. Tweetchat will insert the hashtag automatically for you and you will see all the tweets on one screen. Other tools available are Hootsuite.com and TweetDeck.com.

I am the moderator of the chat and will be happy to answer any questions you have in advance: Email me.


Chat with you this Sunday March 24, 2013 in People Skills Twitter Chat – Convert Difficult Interactions into Positive Connections and Results!


Until then, as always, I wish you bonds of happiness and success!


From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™

©2013 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.

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Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.

Super customer service experience starts with more than a vision statement. It starts with a vivid picture of what is super customer service experience. To picture it, lead it, and create it, leaders must engage their organization in imagining the wow.

Grateful for Image by:SirWiseOwl via Creative Commons License.


If you want to create super customer service experience, don’t start with a lecture. Start with games of imagination.  There is so much focus today about games to engage and motivate yet many still focus on the competitive aspect of games. 


Instead, engage employees in games imagining what super customer service looks like, feels like, and delivers!

Super Customer Service Experience: Picture It!

Leaders fear that if they ask employees to imagine the ultimate customer service, they may come up with ideas that will bankrupt the company. Fear not. Boundaries and rules exist in life. That doesn’t mean we stop living. Games can have boundaries/rules and that came make them more challenging!  Just make sure that the rules aren’t directives.  If you are telling them what to think, it’s not a game of imagination.



When I run these games with teams in customer service workshops, I am incredibly psyched by the tremendous service experience pictures they create. It is an honor to be in the “front row” seeing this amazing pictorial. Leaders engage in the games not as leaders but as equals. They are lifted up by their teams imagination.  The seeds of customer service innovation emerge.

Super Customer Service Experience: Lead It!

Now that the ideas are flying, you must lead them to keep the spirit and energy going. From imagination to assessment to creation, resist your need to apply metrics to it right now. It’s way too soon. The teams are innovating the actions of customer service experience AND their attitudes. Measure them at this early stage and you shut the innovation down. Be a Buoy of Inspiration & Balance.

Super Customer Service Experience: Create It!

By now the teams are soaring with spirit. They feel that they are the engines of great customer service experience. They will implement the seemingly smaller changes with ease. As you all consider the larger innovations they have imagined, continue to engage them in the creation. How can you do this when they are on the phones?


Rotations off the phone to participate in creating the new world are smart and cost effective. Include people from all aspects of customer experience not just the service aspect. Together they create teamwork, buy-in, and accountability. Leaders don’t create great customer service experience from above. They do it with teams! Teams can even create some of the metrics. These metrics will make sense, fuel service excellence, and everyone engaged to deliver excellence.


If you want to truly inspire your customer service teams to a super level of performance, get them to picture it, lead it with you, and create it everyday. Want more ideas? Just let me know!


How do you picture super customer experience?


From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™

©2013 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.

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Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.

People skills Twitter Chat: March 17th, 2013. TOPIC: Impact of Attitudes on #PeopleSkills WHEN: Sunday, 10AM EDT/2pm GMT.

Image designed by: Kimb Manson Graphics Design for Kate Nasser.


Today many people focus on authenticity. The rallying cry seems to be: “Be yourself as you interact with others.”

Does that mean that our attitudes impact our people skills? Optimism, pessimism, realism — do they affect how we communicate? Independence vs. interdependence — does that guide the connections we make?

Let’s gather this Sunday March 17th and explore the impact of attitudes on people skills.

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People Skills Twitter Chat – Impact of Attitudes on People Skills.

• What attitudes do you hold dear & live by?
• Ponder: Why have you embraced these attitudes?
• How do these attitudes guide your interaction with others?
• How have these attitudes brought you joy or pain w/ others?
• Where in your life were you surprised by results of your attitudes?
• Are you more comfortable w/ people who share your attitudes?
• How has interacting with others changed your attitudes?
• How do the attitudes of optimism & pessimism affect interactions?
• When independent and interdependent attitudes meet, what happens?
• Must authenticity cause conflict between ppl w/ different attitudes?
• What must people w/ very different attitudes do to interact well?
• How have your people skills closed the gap between different attitudes?
• … and much more.

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Please join all of us in the People Skills Twitter chat to explore The Impact of Attitudes. Hashtag #PeopleSkills Sunday 10am EDT/2pm GMT.


Remember everyone: The USA is now on Daylight Savings Time.


We have only one rule in People Skills Twitter Chat: Respect for all even when we disagree. Everyone is welcome!


TIP: If you have never been in a Twitter chat, you may find it helpful to log on to Tweetchat.com, enter hashtag #peopleskills, and sign in to your Twitter account. Tweetchat will insert the hashtag automatically for you and you will see all the tweets on one screen. Other tools available are Hootsuite.com and TweetDeck.com.

I am the moderator of the chat and will be happy to answer any questions you have in advance: Email me.


Chat with you this Sunday March 17, 2013 in People Skills Twitter Chat – #Peopleskills in Social Media & Online Communication!


Until then, as always, I wish you bonds of happiness and success!

From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™

©2013 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.

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Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.

Leaders often ask me, how long should we coach a bad attitude? Simple answer: You don’t.

When you hire someone, you are hiring the skills and talents of the individual AND a positive attitude toward work. Great employee attitude is the foundation for success.

Leaders great employee attitude is essential, not negotiable.

Define the basics of a great attitude and have your teams add to it!

A great attitude is …

• Giving
• Helpful
• Contributory
• Positive
• Realistic
• Reasonable
• Resilient

A great attitude isn’t …

• Disinterested
• Drowsy & lethargic
• Pessimistic
• Head in the sand
• Extreme rose colored view
• Entitled and demanding
• Greedy and self-absorbed

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Leaders ask: what if the organization is going through difficulty? Is it still appropriate to expect great employee attitude? Yes and engage everyone to solve the problems.

An employee who uses these occasions to justify a bad attitude is taking you, the team, and the organization down. How does it help to allow this attitude to burden everyone? Success is tough enough to achieve; it’s impossible without great employee attitude.

What Must You Do to Model a Great Attitude

• Empower them — for real. A great employee attitude needs to be used for something great.
• Breed accountability not blame
• Inspire them everyday. Be a buoy — not the buoy!
• Listen when they have problems. Ask what resources they have and/or need to resolve the trouble. This empathizes without approving of a bad attitude.

It isn’t cold and draconian to set a basic standard of a great employee attitude. It is helpful to all involved.

In teamwork, bad attitudes can destroy good ones.

In customer service delivery, bad attitudes destroy revenue, customer loyalty, and sometimes the brand.

In leadership, bad attitudes create a toxic culture that can take years to undo even after a leadership change.

A great employee attitude is essential. It’s not negotiable.

Your organization can achieve greatness, productivity, and profit — even in the toughest times — when you lead, model, and expect a great employee attitude.


Question: What other attributes would your teams add to the great attitude list?


From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™

©2013 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.

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Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.

What does every customer want?  Most customer service professionals reply “help”.   I say customers want a buoy!  In fact, customers want us to be their buoy.

Customers are trying to survive and thrive. They reach out to us especially when they are in trouble. They don’t want help. They want to float to greatness. Will you be their buoy?

Image by: Mike Baird via Flickr Creative Commons License.

Customer Service: Be the Customer’s Buoy!

What does a buoy do?

• Keeps others floating high!
• Confidently stays afloat even in the toughest seas.
• Willingly takes the waves and rocks back up.
• Beams guidance in tight spots.
• Is always there and ready.

 

How can you be the customer’s buoy every day?

• Begin each day with an inventory of your talents and attributes.  To be a constant customer service buoy, you must believe in yourself.  Confidence, not arrogance, sustains others.  Make a list of every great customer service attribute you have. Read it at the beginning of your shift, on your breaks, and at the end of your shift. This reminds us just how important our behavior is to customers.




• Start work over with each interaction. Life is full of stress that can rock you off your inspiration.  To counter this, take a very slight pause before you start giving customer service. It puts outside stress – outside — where it belongs.  You can’t be the customer’s buoy if you are thinking of your own problems.  Surprising benefit: Buoying others buoys your spirits too!




• Adapt to each personality. Whether the customer is a driver, an analytic, an expressive, or an amiable type, adapting to their style keeps you all afloat.  This flexibility allows you to rock with the waves instead toppling over.  Make life easy for the customer by touching the heart of who they are. They will have no need to pull you under. You are their customer service buoy! Their satisfaction and loyalty soars. You strengthen your ability to adapt and thrive.




• Connect, connect, connect. To be a buoy you must be connected to others. Without connection, you aren’t a buoy.  Connect to them by listening from their perspective.  Connect into their true need instead of focusing mostly on the procedure. Buoy them with your knowledge and care.  You won’t have the answer to everything. You can show them you care enough to find the answers. This makes you an incredible customer buoy!




• Give your ego a relaxing vacation. Do you think this contradicts the first suggestion about confidence?  It doesn’t.  Confidence comes from constant learning not from the egotistical desire to be right.  Be confident in your knowledge and humble in giving it.  Be humble enough to learn what the customer teaches you about their world and confident to use it for them. Your confident humility buoys customers. When your ego takes a relaxing vacation, your heart can beat more effectively for the customer.




• Celebrate your buoyancy. Do a virtual happy dance at the end of each interaction.  We learn and repeat what we celebrate. Celebrate individually and as a team. Instead of griping about tough situations with customers, heave a big smile of pride for being a customer buoy in rough seas. Your buoyancy will sustain yourselves and the customers.

Leaders, What Must You Do?

Simply put, give daily doses of customer service inspiration.   Customer service leaders who spend more time inspiring realize far greater success than those who focus mostly on the details.  Leaders, here are special be a buoy leadership tips for you.

If you have questions about these tips, I am your customer service leadership buoy! See you on the high seas to share the big waves, keep you floating high, and celebrate your buoyancy and success.

From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™

Related Post:
15 Essential Customer Service Beliefs for Super Customer Experience
People Skills Create Profitable Customer Service Connections

©2013 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.

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Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.

Customer service excellence is feed by essential beliefs that we live and breathe everyday. When Desk.com invited me to write a post on excellence in customer service and sales, I jumped at the chance because actions follow beliefs.

Our beliefs shape every experience a customer has with us — face-to-face, on the phone, in chat, and even through our websites!

I know this post will help you, your teams, and most importantly your customers.

Essential Beliefs for Excellence in Customer Service & Sales

Here’s two of the beliefs.

• Customers cannot observe our intentions.
• A customer’s trust is an invitation for a human bond.

Read more > 15 essential beliefs to deliver superior customer service and sales experience.


And of course add your essential customer service beliefs to this list of fifteen!


From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™

Image licensed from Istock.com.

©2013 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.

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Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.

Customer service people skills are a gold mine of success.  Why?

Customer service people skills connect at the depths of human need.  Everyone loves to feel respected, honored, and valued! Think about you as a customer. Isn’t this true?

How deep do you and your teams go with customers?

Do your customer service people skills create profitable connection?

Beyond the standard mindset of caring for customers’ tangible needs, lies a gold mine of profitable connection through people skills. Let’s explore!!

A champion feels — elevated, accomplished, and elated. Interact with customers to make them feel like champions!

Greet them with heartfelt enthusiasm. It elevates!

Understand their goal line beyond the request. Help them accomplish it.

Elate them with care and action don’t deflate them with procedural details.

Heroes are beloved and honored for their courage and action. Honor customers as our heroes!

Customers courageously overcome fears and doubts and choose us.

Customers’ actions (choices & purchases) keep us alive.

Customers put their name on the line and refer their network to us.

Customers courageously give us feedback to make us more successful.

Customers give us the gift of their personal trust.

Customers expand our horizons through theirs.

Our customer service people skills must treat them like our heroes!

Customers want and are worthy of our respect!

Let our customer service people skills show them respect as individuals vs. treating them like a transaction number.

Let’s empathize with their struggle vs. labeling them as difficult.

Let’s start by trusting them vs. guarding with mistrust.

Let’s respect them by connecting in their channel vs. making them come to us.

Let us make their day easier vs. adding to their burden.

Customer service people skills honor the customers for who they are. When we adapt to their personality styles, we respect them as individuals and create profitable connections. When we give them a little extra for no extra money, our gratitude and respect elevate them.

For years we have lived with the motto, people do business with those they know, like and trust.

The deeper truth is: People do business with those who respect, honor, and value them! Customer service people skills based on emotional and social intelligence are the pathway to profitable connections.


From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™

Gratitude for featured images to: Sweet Dreamz Design via Creative Commons License.

©2013 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.

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Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.

Leadership inspiration video: In this 2.5 minute short, capture the key to leading in the tough times of change or when teams are pressured to do more with less.

Image by:Three_Sixteen via Creative Commons License.

Great leaders face this challenge by being a buoy of inspiration and balance. They turn rough currents into the currents that sustain and move everyone forward.


In this short leadership inspiration video, hear 3 steps to be a buoy and model buoyancy for every team member.

Leadership Inspiration Video: Are You a Buoy?

Be a Buoy; Model Buoyancy.

• Be a Buoy Not the Buoy. Many leaders don’t want the organization tied to them. The organization should flourish without breeding dependency on them. To this end, they withhold inspiration thinking teams will discover their own. Inspiration doesn’t breed dependency. A leader’s inspiration is a buoy that teaches others how to be a buoy. It models buoyancy to sustain all in tough times.




• Show respect to respect. Basic human respect is a buoyant force. Without it, teams sink. Great leaders show respect to respect and to everyone. It doesn’t coddle teams. It keeps them buoyant in rough currents. It includes honesty vs. bluntness and respect for diversity.




• Maximize Positive Emotion. Kudos, appreciation, and can-do mindset teach everyone how to be buoys. Pessimists believe that this is sugar coating. They think it denies the truth and can lead to business failure. Not true. Positivity doesn’t rewrite the truth. It spotlights the positive truth to handle the negative truth. Be a buoy to sustain all in tough times.




• Build Daily Practice into Buoyant Culture. Whatever behaviors people repeat become their culture. Learning vs. blaming creates a learning buoyant culture. Engaging vs. telling creates an empowered buoyant culture. Responsibility vs. entitlement creates a buoyant culture of shared leadership. Daily doses of inspiration vs. a just get-to-work approach creates a buoyant can do culture.




• Celebrate Flexibility. One of the most maddening aspects of tough times is having to abandon one project or product to develop another. Committed team members feel a loss. Demoralized, they lose energy and productivity. Leaders can minimize and even prevent this effect. Model flexibility. It keeps productivity afloat in times of change. Stay buoyant!




• Play Along the Way. Driver personality types find challenge fun and highly motivating. This isn’t true of every personality type on the team. Challenge to them feels like struggle. They achieve through other types of fun. Great leaders stimulate buoyancy through diverse play along the way.

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Leaders, do you foresee rough currents ahead? Are you and your teams pressured to do more with less. Play this short leadership inspiration video for your teams each day. Discuss what you can all do to be buoys for each other. “Instruction does much, but encouragement does everything.+ ~Goethe

Contact me for more ideas, for Be a Buoy workshops, or for the one hour Be a Buoy keynote at your next big event.


From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™

Related Posts:
25 Incredibly Valuable Team Member Traits to Applaud
10 Ways to Ignite Greatness Without Scars
Engage Employees With the Magic of the I’s in Team

©2013 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please contact me. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.

---

Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.