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Susan M Barber Coaching & Consulting, LLC > Blog > Blog

Do You Believe That Vulnerability is a Good Thing?

vulnerability

I used to think that you couldn’t be vulnerable without being seen as weak. I thought that letting my guard down would allow others to judge and criticize me which would cause my credibility to be diminished.  It would mean that I would have to let people know that I didn’t have all the answers and I needed help. That was definitely true, I just didn’t want to admit it to anyone or to myself.   I decided to start being more…
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It’s Time to be Strong, Focus on Visibility, and Choose Yourself!

I recently participated in an online class that was focused on people getting more visibility in their lives. What was amazing to me was how many women joined this group very quickly. I wasn’t the only one seeking out options to be visible in a more meaningful way. Why is being visible such a challenge for women in general and more specifically for women in leadership? This issue of self-promotion or being visible impacts women and their ability to get…
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Why Do You Have to Hold People Accountable?

Sue Barber accountable

  I have clients who ask me all the time, “Why don’t people just do what they are supposed to do?”  It is a simple question that, unfortunately, doesn’t have a simple answer.  Not everyone thinks the same way you do about getting work done and there could be other issues that need to be uncovered.  Here are a few examples of what could be happening. The easiest way to think about it is that every person comes to work each…
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Are You Tired of Being Frustrated?

Are You Tired of Being Frustrated?

Are expectations causing confusion when you want to create a culture focused on accountability? Think about the expectations that you may have of one of your team members. You may be making assumptions about the things that you are asking the person to do for you. They are making their own assumptions from the conversation and you are both heading down the path of frustration. Brene Brown talks about this concept in her book Dare to Lead. She calls it…
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What if You Thought About Accountability in a Different Way?

Holding other people accountable can be a challenge for leaders. The leader makes an assumption that their direct reports are just like them. No one has to hold me accountable, so why do I have to hold other people accountable? Why don’t they just do the work that they have to do? Does this sound like a thought you have had or you have heard from other leaders? There are multiple reasons why holding direct reports is necessary. They don’t…
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Do You Need to Hold People Accountable?

Imagine that you and I are at a networking event and someone in the group that we are talking to says, “My company is creating a culture of accountability.” It tends to bring up a negative connotation for people when they hear that phrase. Managers don’t want to be micro-managers and employees don’t want to be micro-managed. So why would you need to create a culture that focuses on accountability? It would be necessary if you have a culture that…
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Did You Know That You Have a Choice?

Change is happening for everyone at such a rapid pace now. You may be focused on one thing and then get pulled into some other urgent request. It may feel like you are firefighting every day putting out the biggest fires first before you even can get to the smaller ones.  That takes a lot of energy away from your priorities and forces you to be reactive all the time. Although many people will struggle with change, the people who like to have…
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What Do You Need to Know About Leading Change for Yourself?

leading change

I have posted articles this month on helping leaders understand what they have to do to help their team go through change. Today’s focus will be on helping the leader as they navigate the change for themselves. I talked about the stress of change on people going through a workforce reduction or reorganization, but for the leader of a team, it is even more stressful. Here are some of the reasons why and what they can do to help themselves….
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Can You See Change as a New Beginning?

Change can be scary because it is full of unknowns.  You want to keep things the way they are even if they aren’t the best, because you already know what you are dealing with.  It is natural to feel that way.  What if you could shift the way you think about change and not see it as scary, but exciting?  I found this quote from Joyce Meyer that made me think about how change could be perceived differently.  She said, “Don’t be afraid…
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What Do Leaders Need To Do in the Midst of Change?

One of the biggest stresses that anyone in an organization can go through is when there are going to be layoffs or reductions. You walk into work one day and your world is turned upside down. Your first thought is, “Will I have a job when this is all over?” Unfortunately, when you are the leader, you have no time to dwell on that because your focus has to be on your team. You can almost watch the stages happen….
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