Deborah J. Thompson

Many people pride themselves on being good listeners. But are you really a good listener? What does that mean? How does one listen to facilitate effective communication? Listening is a skill that can be not only be learned, but also improved, and even perfected. However, it takes desire, dedication, and direction. Many people listen not to hear, but to be heard. Did you catch that? Often we only listen for the other person to stop talking so that we know when it is our turn t

How do you respond to failure, disappointments, setbacks? To success, accolades, praise? What do your responses tell others about you? I love college football. And I try to be a good sport, whether my team wins or loses. We used to attend games with a friend who whined when his team lost--or blamed the referees, or made excuses, etc. And when they won, he was even worse--getting in your face, rubbing it in, putting the other team down, and on and on and on. His behavior--win

Three of the most powerful words for a leader to admit are: “I don’t know.” Admitting your limitations demonstrates that you value honesty, even at the expense of ego. It also signifies your humanity, making you more approachable and “real.” To go from “I don’t know” to a true leader, however, requires a crucial next step—acquiring the knowledge/skills you do not currently possess. You do this in several important ways. If the knowledge you seek is outside the scope of your t