Erin’s Blog
What’s Working? What’s Not? How to Own it Through Self-Empathy
What you’re about to read was not the regularly scheduled newsletter for the week. Speaking of that regular schedule…Yesterday I had the thought that perhaps I should change my “Welcome In” email to say something more accurate. Instead of, “You’ll receive an email...
Jordan the Helpful Insurance Dude
Yesterday I found out I needed to procure some General Liability Insurance for a project I’m on. With unprecedented efficiency, I texted a friend, got a recommendation, jumped online, got a quote, thought “good enough,” called the number to give them my credit card...
Unsolicited Feedback: Why it Doesn’t Work
“Open to constructive feedback?” My immediate reaction when that gem of a question popped into my LinkedIn messages: “Not from you!” I refrained from flailing that response, deciding it had a bit too much of a nanna-nanna-poo-poo-type vibe. Although I was...
You’re Always On Stage: Why that well-meaning saying misses the mark
You’re always on stage! Leave it at the door! Smile! Oh, the number of times I chanted, taught, and encouraged my hospitality teams to do all of those things. Now, I’ll stand by the concepts. Who wants a grumpy server or an aloof person checking them into the...
Show Don’t Tell: How to Engage and Not Offend
She read the first draft of her acceptance speech for a prestigious award she received. There was a line along the lines of, “This group has always inspired me…”I resisted interrupting. Then, a minute later, another line, “I had struggled early in my career,...
Authority or leadership: which do you embrace?
I tagged along as a nanny of sorts with some family on a trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico. As soon as we arrived in the city and I took in the adobe buildings and the green chile–I made a vow that someday I would call Santa Fe home. The move to the high desert...
How to shift from “yeah buts…” to possibility in the great reset.
Mike (hubby), Steve (dog), and I were lucky enough to move a block from the ocean last August. While “lucky” could be an aggressive term as moving to the beach required a temporary 2-month stay at an Air B&B, the double move was made sweeter when you can hear...
Avoiding Difficult Conversations
"I tend to avoid difficult conversations." That comment on a recent workshop survey had me thinking--does anyone actually pursue difficult conversations? Then I remembered someone who did back in the day--me. They weren't so much difficult conversations with...
Listening Doesn’t Count Unless I Feel Heard
"Listening doesn't count unless I feel heard." You can attribute that quote to yours truly. While I definitely think it's weird when people quote themselves, that mantra is one that tends to hit hard and get a lot of "Amens!" when I share it. We’re talking...
Do you listen when you talk? Or are people checking out when you’re speaking?
We're back with another edition of the Story Session Activity. This activity was born from delivering one horrible active listening workshop too many and deciding there had to be another way. The breakdown: one person gets 3 minutes to tell the group about a...
