Liz Trocchio Smith
Certified Executive Business Coach
and Trusted Advisor
Get “Monday Morning Coffee with Liz”
direct to your in-box every Monday Morning with tips on what it takes to be a great leader
Many years ago, I attended a conference where the key note speaker happened to be a Symphony Orchestra. The conductor was teaching us leadership lessons. It was a unique and powerful experience. Read on. Conductors start with a plan. They start with a musical score and a clear idea of how it should sound. Only then do they attempt to recreate in real time their musical “vision.” The conductor recruits the best players. Great conductors…
In the ancient world, people took longer-time horizons. It took about 20 years to build a pyramid. Rome wasn’t built in a day. In fact, it’s estimated to have taken 1,000 years to reach its height of glory. But today we live in a period of compressed time spans. The average TV commercial is 30 seconds. Typical smartphone users check their phone 200 times a day, yes you read that correct!…
That person who is our boss has a tremendous impact on us at work–far beyond the obvious things like which office we are assigned to, or the jobs we do each day. The better the boss, the more engaged team members are, and the better their performance. In one study of more than 2,500 leaders in a large financial services company, the engagement, satisfaction, and commitment levels of people working for the…
As leaders, good leaders, the best of leaders, we are natural fixers. Something comes our way that goes wrong, is broken or a challenge and we automatically go into fixer mode. Nothing to big, overwhelming or damaged that the best of leaders can’t handle, right? We stay calm, we are proactive and not reactive, we get it done, and we move forward. We reach deep into our psyche and start…
I always enjoy and appreciate when my readers send me their picks on what would make great MMC! I often get asked about work-life balance and I couldn’t agree more with Richard Branson’s theory on the topic, so thanks to my good friend Jeannie, I am sharing it with you this morning. Enjoy the read! “Achieving work-life balance is like walking a tightrope. Luckily, over numerous decades in business I have learned…
With most everyone out this week for Spring Break, I thought I’d pull out a favorite MMC of most of my readers. Sadly Abby and Lilly have both passed over the rainbow bridge, but they live on in our hearts. This is from 2015. Those of you that know me, know that I have a love for animals. I am particularly fond of Labrador Retrievers which I have had most of…
Good leaders look good on paper. Great leaders look great in person; their actions show their value. Yet some leaders go even farther. And they’re even more successful not because of what you see them do… but because of what you don’t see them do. Where the best leaders are concerned, what you see is far from all you get: They forgive… and they forget. When an employee makes a mistake —…
As an executive coach, I always tell my clients to take the negative and “soft” words out of their verbal and written vocabulary and replace it with positive and strong words. It makes an amazing difference in how you come across in your delivery, and how people see you as positive and composed. Here are 10 common words that you could drop from your everyday conversations, both written and…
Author Amy Morin’s book “13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do” is a great book to check-in and see where you stand. Here is the quick down and dirty. Don’t waste time feeling sorry for yourself – Everyday has its ups and downs If you dwell on the downs, you develop a glass half empty mentality. Don’t give away your power – Every day comes with new choices. These include how…
Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. Also known as African American History Month, the event grew out of “Negro History Week,” the brainchild of noted historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries around…
Do you every feel like you are always under stress? It seems to be everywhere! Be mindful of what causes you stress. We all have things that set us off — particular triggers that cause a less-than-helpful knee-jerk reaction. Understanding what stresses you out can help you improve your emotional intelligence and resilience. One way to identify your triggers is by completing statements like, “I become overwhelmed when…,” or “At…
I recently read a New York Times article that spoke of how men and women made decisions under stress. Picture a scene from “The Big Bang Theory” where the scientists are testing men and women under normal circumstances, when everything is low-key and manageable, men and women make decisions about risk in similar ways. We gather the best information we can, we weigh potential costs against potential gains, and then…