Liz Trocchio Smith
Certified Executive Business Coach
and Trusted Advisor
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Good morning, Leadership is not dictating, commanding, or imposing. It is being of service to others (yes, to your customers but especially to your employees). It is empowering others to achieve their goals, bringing out the best in people, putting their needs ahead of your own (as a leader), and helping them develop. The behaviors that lead to influence point back to character. It is who you are, not what you…
Election Day is tomorrow, and I don’t have to worry about standing in line because I voted early. Typically, more folks vote during a presidential election year. I guess they consider it the main event. The 26th amendment to the Constitution passed on July 1, 1971, and gave the right to vote to citizens 18 years of age and older. But in 1943, Georgia became the first state to lower its…
Good morning, You believe in your company wholeheartedly. There’s a fire burning strong inside that motivates you to work harder each day. Unfortunately, the same cannot always be said about your employees. In a 2015 SHRM Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement survey, only 69 percent of employees felt they were consistently putting all their effort into their work. If you’ve tried a variety of incentives but are still seeing the…
Good morning, If you are seeking a new job or are looking for greater opportunities, here are some easy to follow networking tips to help you. Create a Spiderweb Approach Try a spiderweb approach to networking. The inner layer of your web consists of friends, colleagues and other direct connections. The second layer is made up of their direct contacts, and so on—provided you work with your inner circle properly,…
Good morning, Fear can be crippling. Fear can be debilitating. Fear feeds resistance and stops us achieving dreams; from challenging the status quo; from using our voices – or even from trying something new. I doubt there are many business people who have gone through their career without experiencing fear – loss of face, loss of market share, loss of revenue – or worse still – loss of forward momentum….
Good morning, Being productive is all about preparation. If you know what you need to do ahead of time, you will know exactly where to dive in as soon as you get started. On the flip-side, if you do not take the time to prepare, you will find yourself flustered and uncertain because you now have to think through whatever it is you need to do. Having a great week…
Companies need to have rules—that’s a given—but they don’t have to be shortsighted and lazy attempts at creating order. I understand the temptation. As my company has grown, so has our difficulty maintaining standards. There have been many instances where someone crossed a line, and we were tempted to respond with a new rule that applied to everyone. But that’s where most companies blow it. In just about every instance,…
Labor Day for many is all about a last blast at the beach with family and friends, backyard barbecues, school retail bonanzas and the grudging realization that sun-soaked play days are no more. But the day has a deeper meaning and marks a pivotal moment in U.S. labor history — and it had a pretty violent start. In the late 1800s, the state of labor was grim as U.S. workers…
Each year I spend a week in August with kids that have Crohn’s or Colitis Disease, as a Counselor at a Camp in Texas. As a survivor, and still fighter of Crohn’s, it’s a great way for me to give back and truly understand what the kids are going through and do what I can to help them learn they can lead a full life with the disease. To be…
Good morning, For this year’s Olympics and years past, I wondered what we might gain from a leadership perspective. Here’s my take. Teamwork takes the pressure off. Research suggests athletes performing in Olympic team sports have a less difficult time than individual athletes. Swimming or track and field relay events, for instance, help take the pressure off an individual and place the burden to win on the entire team. Giving…
Good morning, Stress can be a powerful and healthy resource. Yes, you heard me correctly – a resource. But wait, stress is bad, stress causes health problems, we all should try to diminish the stress in our daily lives… right? Not exactly. Sure, chronic stress can absolutely be harmful to health and well-being. But not always. When stress is viewed as a resource that is helpful to our lives,…
Good morning, The B players. In most companies, B players typically make up the majority of an organization (not the top producers nor the bottom 10 percent), but are oftentimes overlooked, which is one of the biggest mistakes a company can make. Focusing on this group can increase staff retention, improve culture and ultimately grow revenue. Everyone knows who the A players are… What ends up happening is that leaders…