High performing teams need separation and silos – in moderation.

Here’s the thing about team wins – they’re a result of different people and different groups of people executing their expertise. Maybe it’s the offense delivering five home runs to back a great pitching performance. It could be the defense coming up with a big stop after the offense rallied to score late. Then there’s the 18 points scored by the reserve off the bench after the starter got hurt in the first half.

In sports we recognize there are different positions, skill sets and expertise. In business we’re quick to call them silos and even quicker to try and eliminate them.

Here are few reasons silos form in locker rooms:

Function/purpose. Your role determines the people you talk to most. For example: Position groups in football versus the departments in your office. If you work in payroll you spend more time talking to people in payroll by function of your...

As a sports broadcaster I work with and talk to coaches every day.

So do you.

They might not be called coaches, but you work with people who coach you up, give you feedback, provide instruction and hold you accountable. Instead of calling them coach, you probably call them boss, manager, supervisor, team leads, or in some cases colleagues. What you call them doesn’t matter. Your response to them does.

Coachability is a skill that gets you to the next level of your career.

You see it all the time in athletes. What got an athlete like Mariners centerfielder Mallex Smith to the big leagues won’t keep him in the big leagues. He’s had to make adjustments and be coachable.

No one likes a know-it-all or someone who doesn’t believe they have any room for improvement. There’s always something you can learn and do better. The skills that helped you land a job won’t be enough for you to keep the job. You need to add to it, develop, learn and take coaching...

Committing to better business communication improves the flow of information. But that’s not all.

Effective communicators can get more done in less time by communicating their objectives, time frames and next steps in addition to their actual message.

Reading that sentence (or hearing me describe it in the video) probably makes sense.

So why don’t you do it?

I hate to be the one to tell you, but a lot of your frustrations with colleagues (spouses and kids, for that matter) are because you’re withholding information. You’re not verbalizing details that allow them to take the appropriate action, the best next steps, or the right decision.

NOTE** Don’t think you do this? Consider the last time you asked your spouse to empty the dishwasher or fold clothes. How frustrated did you get when the chore wasn’t completed on your timeline? Did you actually communicate your prefered timeline, as in, did you say, “Could you empty the dishwasher before I...

Trust the process.

I’ve lost track of the number of times athletes have said that during post-game interviews.

I understand what they’re saying, but sometimes I think it’s a load of crap because what you’re actually saying is I don’t care if I win or lose and everyone knows that winning is better.

But there are different ways to win in a situation and sometimes just going through a situation (and trusting the process) is a win, especially if you use it as a fact-finding mission.

Just like athlete isn’t always going to deliver the game-winning run to win the game, you are not always going to be successful in the way you hoped. You’re not always going to get the job you applied for, the raise you asked for, the project you wanted to take on but it doesn’t mean the situation isn’t worth experiencing.

Just because the outcome isn’t what you wanted doesn’t mean the conversation or experience was a waste of time.

Change...

After 20 years of working in sports, I’m frequently asked, “Who’s your favorite player to interview?”

I’m sure the answer, “I can’t name just one,” disappoints everyone, but it’s the truth.

I’ve been blessed and fortunate to meet a number of incredibly talented and incredibly wonderful human beings.

Every single one of the them has reinforced that people are people.

The athletes I’ve covered have taught me a lot about how to relate to people from different backgrounds, the importance of developing relationships and ways to leverage the relationships you already have in making new ones.

It’s something I talk about often during presentations I give corporate clients and it’s the subject of one of the Mentorship Moments I posted to inspire young women, aspiring journalists and up-and-coming leaders.

Take a look.

Leadership skills aren’t acquired, they’re developed and encouraged.

Which means you can’t sit back and wait until you’re ready to be a leader. In fact, if you want to identify a leader – look for initiative. That’s according to Beth Knox former President and CEO of Seafair and the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games.

Beth joined me recently for my Learn from a Leader online leadership development series and shared these thoughts on identifying leaders.

“Initiative to me is someone who is curious. They ask questions.” Taking initiative includes asking questions about what the end result should look like.

Take this action: Build business relationships. It’s easier to have conversations with established leaders regarding their vision for a specific project or company objectives when there’s an exsisting relationship in place. Starting conversations is a way to show initiative. Use small talk to develop business...

Conversation skills, confidence and competency. They’re all connected.

Speaking with confidence conveys your knowledge or mastery (i.e. competency) of the information you’re sharing, and it makes a difference in the way people see you at work.

It might not be fair but it’s true.

So speak with confidence and practice out loud what you think you’re going to say in critical conversations.

As someone who talks for a living, I do it.  All. The. Time.

I rehearse questions before post-game interviews.

I practice scripts before going on-air.

I verbalize the introduction I’m going to make when I meet a new player or coach in the locker room.

Saying the words out loud helps you to be more confident in your approach and that is how you win at business communication.

Suspense in a movie keeps you interested and intrigued. Add the element of suspense to conversations and your colleagues will be confused and frustrated.

When you keep people in suspense and fail to reveal the reason for the conversation or what you hope to accomplish, you give them the opportunity to make up a story.

Their narrative might not match your objective. In fact, I can almost guarantee it won’t because you don’t work (or live) with mind-readers.

Effective business communication requires the ability to communicate a message clearly which is the opposite of leaving colleagues in suspense by saying things like: “I’ve got an idea. Let’s talk tomorrow.”

Seems simple enough. Except the person receiving that message could be thinking:

“Got an idea about what?”

“About how to help me finish a project ahead of schedule?”

“Is it an idea that’s going to add more work to my plate and make my life...