CrucialSkills, the official VitalSmarts blog
Helping you change behavior by answering your questions about soft skills.
Q. I am not actively training due to COVID-19 restructuring, but I still want to use the VitalSmarts skills I value and love to help my co-workers, company leaders, community and family members navigate the tumultuous changes we are experiencing. Can you offer some tips to help me get started? […]
Q. How can the Crucial Conversations skills help me be more prepared and less reactive in sharing my thoughts about COVID-19, racial equality, and other intense social topics in moments of friendly fire from peers? I read a quote by J. Kehaulani Kauanui, professor of American studies and anthropology at […]
Dear Emily, Leaders at my company announced they would like employees to return to the office in July. After working at home in quarantine, what should my company be doing to help employees feel more comfortable about coming back to the office? Signed, Wary Dear Wary, Like you, for many […]
Dear Scott, COVID-19 work from home conditions have thrown my routines into chaos. I feel like I am constantly trying to keep up and the more I try, the more overwhelmed I feel. How can I get myself back on track? Sincerely, Overwhelmed Dear Overwhelmed, Frustrating. Confusing. Challenging. Unprecedented. Restricting. […]
by Melanie Parsons Gao NPR Moth Story Slam Champion, TEDx Fellow, Passionate Developer of People My laptop was on the kitchen counter, the oven was pre-heating and I was just starting to crack the eggs for my muffins when suddenly I heard my name. The teacher was calling on me! […]
I am a trainer in a non-profit organization. Because we are a close staff, we tend to avoid accountability discussions around inefficient patterns rather than discussing solutions for improved performance. People arrive late for meetings, fail to complete time-sensitive tasks and spend a lot of time talking. I do have […]
We sat down with journalist Charles Duhigg, author of Smarter Faster Better and The Power of Habit, to talk about chocolate chip cookies, the science of habit formation, and what he’s learned from both. Why did you decide to research and write about habits? I was good at a lot […]
“How would you describe the kind of manager you most like to work for?” asked Steve. He was interviewing applicants for an administrative assistant role on our team. The role reported directly to me. Steve and I had worked together for many years at this point and he had a […]
