Can a person ever change?

“Can I person ever change?” That question was posed several times, stated in a number of various ways, during meetings I held with one of my clients last week. The majority of these 30 managers are seasoned and they all care a lot about their employees. They also take their role very seriously. They have…

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You can be threatening or calming

“You have a choice: you can be threatening or calming.” That’s what I read in an enlightening book entitled “On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals,” by Turid Rugaas. The author talks about our relationships with dogs, and of course, I also see the applications between manager and employee. Rugaas talks about how frequently we,…

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Pestered into action

Have you ever been pestered enough that you do something that you wouldn’t ordinarily do? That just happened to me. For the last 30 minutes while trying to work, Grace has been whining and pawing at my chair. It’s almost an hour before her normal dinner time. And sometimes she does get antsy when it…

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Otter tales

I can easily find connections between what happens with Grace and what happens in everyday human interactions. But my awareness doesn’t always stop with her. Nature is a wonderland for learning efficient and effective communication skills. Grace and I went for a walk this past Sunday morning. I chose a trail we’ve been on before,…

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Didn’t I already tell you that?

  Does the following statement sound familiar: “I have specifically told him not to do that, but yet he still does it. It drives me crazy.” Or this one: “I know we’ve talked about that. And she said she understood. Yet just this morning, I witnessed her doing the same thing without making the changes…

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A whale of a time

In recent posts, I’ve talked about Gitte and Jill, both who inspired me by the choices they made about how they are living their lives. The subject of career choices comes up frequently in conversations I have with my work but I didn’t really expect this to be one of the main themes that resonated…

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Take your chores to the river

There was one woman that we met on vacation that made a major impression on me. Her name is Gitte (pronounced Gee-ta), a Swedish woman who has lived in Alaska for the last 27 years. She was our guide during a 13-hour tour through Denali National Park. This particular tour took you into the park…

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Man’s Best Friend makes a great employee, too

Hauling around a heavy load over miles of tough terrain in sub-zero temperatures doesn’t sound like it would be much fun. But I found out just how fun it can be – if you’re an Alaskan sled dog. While on vacation the past two weeks, my husband and I toured through parts of Alaska. The…

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