Liz Trocchio Smith
Certified Executive Business Coach
and Trusted Advisor
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When you’re leading a meeting, it’s tempting to hold the floor. After all, you called everyone together, right? But no one wants to go to a meeting where one person talks the whole time, and you’re unlikely to get what you need from the group if you’re delivering a monologue. To keep yourself in check, try three tactics. First, make notes and stick to them. Give yourself a time limit,…
As a coach, I am always working with my clients to make sure their number one priority is themselves, period. If you don’t take care of yourself, you are not in a position to take care of others. That doesn’t just include your family, but your clients as well. If you have traveled by plane, the safety instructions are always, “Put your oxygen mask on yourself first, before assisting others.” …
When difficult conversations at work go wrong, they can rapidly devolve into unproductive arguments. Keep your discussion on track by minding the A-BCDs: Avoid Blame, Contempt, Defensiveness, and Stonewalling. Blame. Try not to make assumptions about what your colleague is thinking, and don’t make groundless accusations. Keep the conversation focused on facts. Contempt. Acknowledge when you’ve lashed out in exasperation, and do your best to avoid making judgments. Defensiveness. Take…
Burnout is a serious problem at work. It can make you feel emotionally exhausted, cause cynicism, and hinder your job performance. If you notice these signs of extreme stress, resist the urge to beat yourself up — that will only make the situation worse. Instead, have some empathy for yourself and what you’re going through. Start by considering how you might be creating unnecessary stress: For example, are you setting…
It’s the morning after the Super Bowl and wow, what a game. If you are a San Francisco fan, you are wondering what in the world happened to the 49ers. If you are a Kansas City fan, you may be a bit tired from the late night celebration from the Chiefs not having won a Super Bowl in 50 years!!!! So what happened? Both teams obviously were physically prepared to…
Achieving a long-term objective, such as getting in shape, paying off debt, or switching careers, takes persistence. Recent research has found something that can help: incorporating immediate benefits into your pursuit of longer-term goals. Make the short-term activities fun. If you want to work out more, select a fitness class that you enjoy. If you want to eat healthier, build a diet around healthy foods that you actually like to…
I’m sure most of you have read Robert Fulghum’s book All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten. If you have or have not read his book, it’s a great lesson for both kids and adults. And a great reminder as we look for ways to be better people in 2020! This morning, I share his Credo with you. Share everything. Play fair. Don’t hit people. Put…
The year 2019 is behind us, with a fresh 365 days ahead (give or take). Now that 2020 is here, it is time to reflect on the year that went by, how you fared, what you learned, where you traveled, the relationships you forged or discontinued, how the quality of your life improved. Most importantly, it is time to give some thought to what difference you want to create in…
As we wind down 2019 and head into 2020, most clients want to know how to be more productive and get rid of “time wasters”. I always have them make a list of their bad habits, and we go from there. Nothing sabotages your productivity quite like bad habits. They are insidious, creeping up on you slowly until you don’t even notice the damage they’re causing. Bad habits slow you…
No matter how much we try, it seems we can never reach that point when we declare, “Wow! I have way too much time on my hands! I don’t know what to do with myself!!” Today’s pace has practically eradicated the concept of “work-life integration” because work is part of life, and there are no more boundaries. We are always “on.” Here are some ways to protect your valuable time, from…
I find that good advice is needed at every juncture of one’s career — whether just starting out or having climbed up the proverbial ladder of success. I not only love hearing it but also sharing it with others. I recently spent some time with some incredible women talking about this very topic. I gleaned new wisdom from them. Below are some of the best bite-sized pieces of advice I…