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Five Elements Consulting Group is located just 25 minutes south of Los Angeles. Give us a call and let’s have a conversation about your specific project, or what’s going on inside your organization or on your team. We’ll help you think through the best ways to move forward to get the results you truly desire. We’d love to hear from you!
In this short video Michelle Boos-Stone, Founder and Principal of Five Elements Consulting Group, talks about how she and her team produce exceptional client experiences through “doing things differently.”
Michelle’s philosophy is that deeply understanding and partnering with her clients is key to understanding what’s going on within the organization, and that helping them determine ways to manage and embrace change is critical.
We believe that leaders sit at every level inside the organization and it’s up to us to empower them to bring out the best in them. When our people feel valued and they TRULY CARE, they can produce exponentially different results for the organization. Period.
We teach your people how to navigate change, how to build trust and learn simple models to create a stronger, more resilient culture. And thankfully, we have no idea how to do boring meetings. It’s not in our DNA. Instead we believe if you’re laughing, you’re learning. (Plan to learn…and laugh a lot.)
I believe that in order to truly “get” your client you have take the time to listen to…and hear…their story. Their history is an important part of their future and many times they can’t take steps forward without having their story acknowledged. It’s a way to help them move into possibility.
So listen. Just listen.
read moreIf I’ve said it once I’ve said it a million times: there’s no better way to alleviate conflict, grow your team and foster a culture where everyone feels valued and heard than BUILDING TRUST. But building trust ain’t so easy is it?! It takes people on your team being willing to take a risk…be vulnerable….open their “house” to others. It is a courageous act. I had the gift of watching a misaligned executive leadership team take huge risks, stretch themselves beyond their comfort zones, and begin to see one another very differently…by lunchtime today they’d pushed their lunch tables together…so as to not leave anyone out. I could’ve cried to simply see that…something they didn’t even realize they’d done.
What inside of us opens up to allow new things in? My theory is that you can’t let new stuff in without letting old stuff GO. We have to let go of the little things, assume positive intent on behalf of others, and take risks in order to grow ourselves as leaders.
And when you take that risk, make that leap, and leave behind the “yuck”…man, it CHANGES EVERYTHING.
read moreI’m always trying to learn how to engage people in new ways. I’m a firm believer in PRESENCE, in that if you have presence, people will listen to what you say. But there’s also a few tricks that I’ve learned along the way. Here are a few to share:
1. To capture someone’s attention, start the sentence with the person’s name. When they hear you say their name, it makes people feel special and often compels them to listen to what comes next.
2. When you’re on the phone with someone, SMILE when you’re talking. It makes your voice come across as friendlier and it makes people want to listen to you. I tell my mentees to always have a mirror on their desk so they can ensure they SEE themselves smiling when talking on the phone.
3. Stop saying the word “BUT…” It often negates everything that was said before it and is generally a big turnoff. Replace it with “And…”
4. Stop saying the word “SHOULD” It makes people feel as if they’re being lectured to, and it might just make them ignore what you’re saying entirely. Replace it with “How about if we…”
5. Own your voice. When you’re upset, hurt or angry, always begin by saying “I feel…” or “I think…” It takes the harshness out of your anger. If you start there, you will almost guaranteed have a better outcome.
6. Make eye contact immediately…people have super short attention spans! Eye contact says “I’m listening to you” without being so overt. And it makes you pay attention more too.
7. Truly LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN and don’t just “build your response” while the other person is speaking. Often when others speak we are just waiting for a break for us to jump in and share OUR experience of that same thing. Instead (and I learned this in Singapore), PAUSE for 10 seconds after the person is done speaking, THEN make your comment. NOTE: this is totally and amazingly hard to do. Just keep practicing!
When we take the time to listen to others and speak in ways that show that we care, it allows others to engage with us in more meaningful ways, and strengthens our relationships. And when people feel heard, they feel safe enough to share their own ideas and thinking back…and that’s when we get the best of our people.
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“May those who love us, love us. And those that don’t love us, may God turn their hearts. And if He doesn’t turn their hearts, may He turn their ankles. So we’ll know them by their limping.” –an old Gaelic BlessingTWITTER
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