A Technical Writer creates and compiles a range of documents. This is especially true when the product involves multiple divisions, departments, or projects. By working across these multiple channels all knowledge gained will be incorporated within several documents. Product specifications, deployment manuals, instructional material, operational manuals, forms manuals, brochures, etc., may need to be written. …

Leaders spend a significant amount of time on roles and responsibilities, goal-setting, and determining who is accountable for what. They spend much less time defining the outcomes they desire, negotiating the conditions of satisfaction that will achieve these outcomes, and coordinating the commitments of those who report to them. Yet, by focusing on these three …

Have you made decisions that seemed right at the time, but did not turn out the way you expected? In a coaching session with a manager, who was dealing with a setback, I asked what did she learn? She answered honestly and with some regret: “I wanted it to happen so badly that I didn’t …

How skilled are you at communicating messages to others? Effective communication is one of the keys to success. Here are some tips that you will find useful to communicate messages more effectively. 1. Notice your impact when speaking/delivering the message – what is going on with the other person? Watch for their nonverbal cues of …

This morning my inbox contained a special invitation that I want to pass on to women reading this blog. The Berkana Institute invites you on a Walk Out Walk On Women’s Learning Journey to South Africa, November 1 – 12, 2011, to explore the role that women are playing in recreating community, government, and themselves. …

It’s not my job to fix someone else It is my job to be the radiance and splendor of Who I Am It’s not my job to judge others’ mistakes It is my job to be a role model of someone doing their best It’s not my job to tell others how to live or …

What to do when you hate your job? In an earlier post on job satisfaction – “have you lost that loving feeling” – I presented three reasons to stay and three reasons to leave your present job. Well here are additional options to consider before making that critical career decision. It is based on the …

One of my coaching clients received feedback that she needed to work on her tone and how she delivered messages. Since these skills are essential leadership skills, she needed new ways to speak more effectively to others. Her first step was to become aware of the specific behaviors that were preventing her from communicating successfully. …

I’ve been thinking this week about the idea of integrity and values. I had dinner recently with a man who is starting a new business. The man had successfully owned a previous company. He worked long hours to grow and then sell that company for a large profit. He’s basing the new company on a …

If you think that people online give to your organization only through your web donation form, you’re missing significant slices of the online giving pie. See the chart below to see how big those missing slices can be. I recently studied 701 gifts that a nonprofit client received in 2010. All were made by visitors …