TTI Success Insights Archives - Page 2 of 3

The Dip: A Surprisingly Common Scenario for New Leaders

By Dr. Francis Eberle

I was recently asked how I would coach a highly successful employee who had been promoted to supervise a team. After the promotion, this individual’s performance, and subsequently that of the team, dropped dramatically. He experienced what might be called “The Dip.”

I wish this was an uncommon scenario.

Companies often make the mistake of taking employees who are succeeding in non-supervisory roles and promoting them to management roles—without adequate support for the new function—and expecting them to thrive. Read More

5 Ways Vulnerability Can Be An Asset

By Dave Clark,

I did something very out of character for me one day last week. In fact, it was something I don’t think I’ve ever done in a 30+ year career in the workforce – I admitted to my manager that I simply just didn’t have it that day. My mental gas tank had gone dry.

A confluence of internal and external pressures created a perfect storm of mental chaos. Sleep deprived, overextended, and trying to keep up with my self-inflicted unmanageable schedule led to elevated-stress levels that pushed me over the edge. My will to conquer the world was put on hold – even if just for one day.Read More

3 Common Misconceptions About Assessments

Restraint – The Key to Improving Emotional Intelligence

By Dave Clark,

You will continue to suffer if you have an emotional reaction to everything that is said to you. True power is sitting back and observing things with logic. True power is restraint. If words control you, that means everyone else can control you. Breathe and allow things to pass. – Warren Buffett.

I saw this quote scrolling through social media recently and it really caught my eye. I think the message is absolutely pertinent in today’s society where people’s tempers seem to flare at the slightest urging, from battles on social media to recurrent road rage incidents. Read More

5 Ways to Avoid Making a Bad Hire

By Justice Council,

It seems like a very simple and basic concept, that people are the lifeblood of any business. Businesses will succeed or fail based depending on the quality of its workforce. Yet, how many business owners view their workforce as the resource they actually are, and take the time to ensure they have the best of the best?

Ultimate success for a company comes from constructing a well-rounded and synergistic team. It starts with understanding the real cost of a bad hire. If you ask a business owner, what keeps you up at night? A likely answer may be the ability to hire and retain the right people. Well, at least it should be the answer. Read More

4 Tips to Eliminate Emotional Blind Spots

By Bob Sands

It happened in an instant. My wife was on a conference call sitting next to me, and I was driving. My kids were in the back seat looking at their phones. I was in the far-left lane on Florida’s Turnpike when the semi-truck to the right of me began merging into my lane. I couldn’t speed up or slam on my brakes because there were cars both in front of me and behind me. The truck continued to merge. There was no place to go but into the VERY narrow shoulder. I took a deep breath and threaded, as it were, the needle between the semi-truck and the retaining wall. I’m relieved to say there were no accidents and no injuries. It was a miracle.

After making a few comments about the driver, I realized what had happened. He didn’t know I was there, I was in his blind spot and he never even saw me. Read More

5 Keys to Creating the Ideal Work Environment

One of my favorite interview questions to ask candidates is “what’s your ideal environment?” If the environment is not right, skills, values and other intangibles may not matter. Different individuals thrive in different environments. The key to craft an ideal environment is to understand a person’s drivers and primary behavioral style.

In “What’s the Color of your Parachute,” author Richard Nelson Bolles explains there are several variables leading whether a person will be happy with his or her job.

To name just a few, one has to have strong interest in the field or job function. They need to be able to use skills they possess and enjoy using those skills when doing the job. Finally, they need to be happy with the people around them. Read More

5 Things You Need to do to be Successful at Just About Anything

By Dave Clark

Like the elusive fountain of youth, people are constantly looking for the magic recipe or the secret sauce to become successful. While there are far more successful people in the world than I am, I would like to share some things that have worked for me over the years.

I am proud to say that I’ve been able to reinvent myself several times over the years, making “hard shifts” between unrelated industries, successfully landing on my feet – and thriving – each time. There were a few consistent themes each time I made one of these drastic changes. Since they worked for me, they may work for you, as well. As far as I’m concerned, these are the 5 things you need to do to be successful at just about anything. Read More

Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover

By Todd Fox

An important life theme I’ve always tried to live by is to never to judge a book by its cover. Talking recently with a coworker who had an unfortunate incident at a local car dealership got me to thinking about that.

In today’s fast-paced world, we tend to make quick decisions about everything, including how we judge people. In our quest for speed, we can often and easily make judgments based on superficial evidence we see on the surface. The problem with rushing to judgment on anything, especially people, is that we may make an entirely wrong assessment about someone when we don’t have all the information. If we make a point to treat people equally, regardless of what we may experience in our initial introduction, we may come to find our judgments couldn’t have been more wrong. Read More

How to Use Mindfulness to Improve Emotional Intelligence

Said another way, mindfulness can be thought of as bringing one’s attention to experiences occurring in the present moment. It is a skill that can be developed and sharpened over time with practice, focus and repetition.

Mindfulness can be achieved in countless ways, a few of which include meditation and yoga, to name just a couple. While those things are not for everyone, all people can certainly benefit from mindfulness. So if you’re not into yoga or chanting quietly to yourself, how do you achieve mindfulness in our fast-paced, high-stress world? And what is the goal of achieving it? Read More

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OUR THINKING