Thoughts and Insights by Michael Gregory

Here are ten ideas from positive psychology on how to be happier and more productive

In an article from the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California at Berkley the author, James McConchie, PhD, looks at two of the great minds from the field of positive psychology and shares what he has found from their body of work. The author provides ten lessons learned from these two giants in the field, Ed Diener and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Starting with these ten lessons you are provided with additional commentary that you can use to be happier and more productive

This is how to manage emotions during a negotiation

We are very emotional beings. When you are in a negotiation those emotions can work for you or against you. If you are compassionate remaining calm, competent, and confident they work for us. If you become defensive, blame others or yourself, or even worse become angry, your negative emotions can take over. When that happens, you will not be thinking clearly. This can undermine your best of intentions. So, how can you make your emotions work for you in a negotiation? In short, prepare by being mindful before the negotiation. When possible, identify your emotional triggers, reinterpret the trigger, alter the emotion, and take appropriate actions. Now let us look each of these areas to make your emotions work for you in a negotiation.

December 10, 2021, Michael Gregory’s Weekly Leadership Roundup

Leadership, Collaboration, Conflict Resolution  

Emphasize kindness when collaborating with difficult people

We all must collaborate with difficult people at times. Not everyone at work can be your friend. However, you need to collaborate with others to meet your goals. When someone else is difficult to work with this can be very trying, difficult, and frustrating. This article looks at the impacts, discusses alternatives and gives you ideas that you can try to make the situation as productive and tenable as possible. Successful people have been in this situation too and made the best of trying times. Learn from them and enhance your own probability for success in the future. They did it. So can you.  

December 3, 2021, Michael Gregory’s Weekly Leadership Roundup

Leadership, Collaboration, Conflict Resolution  

Combat negative thoughts for better collaboration and overcoming conflict

Research varies on how many thoughts we have each day considering how many are original and how many are repeats. However, about 95% are negative thoughts. Wow! What can you do to combat this and what is one question you can ask to help overcome this perspective? Knowing this information can have a major impact on addressing conflict and on promoting collaboration.

How to avoid conflict in negotiations

Understanding the roles and relationships in negotiations is critical for complex negotiations to avoid conflict. By taking the time to prepare each member of the negotiation to understand and fulfill their respective responsibilities is critical. As the negotiation unfolds members can adjust and modify their role as required in a negotiation based on their research and how the negotiation unfolds. There are steps you can take to avoid certain types of conflict in a negotiation. These are explored in this commentary.

November 19, 2021, Michael Gregory’s Weekly Leadership Roundup

Leadership, Collaboration, Conflict Resolution  

Success in business and appreciation

Have you ever volunteered at an activity, and come away with a positive feeling for what you have done? You feel good about yourself and for having made a positive difference in someone else’s life. Have you noticed that the leadership was extremely appreciative and gave you many kudos at the beginning, during the activity, and at the end? Learn from this and treat your employees as volunteers. Provide authentic appreciation at work on a timely and regular basis for something specific. This will enhance collaboration, engagement, and a sense of belonging. Side benefits are better productivity, more revenue, and more profit. These are not the goals, but these are the tangible benefits by taking these proactive, positive, engaging, appreciating actions when genuinely and authentically applied.

November 12, 2021, Michael Gregory’s Weekly Leadership Roundup

  Leadership, Collaboration, Conflict Resolution