Improving communication in the workplace can affect the bottom line. And it all starts at the top. Leaders set the tone for the organization. Employees look to leaders for guidance, advancement opportunities, and model their behavior. Hire good leaders, set them up to succeed, and the profits should roll in, right? It’s not that simple, […] Read More...

Do you want to know how to influence people? Here’s a simple, yet essential, three-step process (AIM) that underpins Pinnacle’s methodology.Do these three steps sequentially when communicating a message to others: Analyze your audience Identify your objective and how you want them to feel about your message Modify your delivery to achieve that result When we communicate, […] Read More...

Employee engagement is still challenging for most companies, according to two recent studies. According to a recent report from employee engagement platform provider, Achievers, employees are still disengaged in their current job: 31.6% responded “average engagement, but open to new opportunities” 31.3 percent say they’re “engaged but feel my company could do more to improve […] Read More...

Handling difficult questions during and after your presentation, meeting or call is just as important as the presentation, meeting, or call itself. Want proof? Here are some examples of how handling difficult questions poorly affected a company’s brand or their bottom line. During United Airlines’ third quarter earning’s call in 2017, analysts peppered CEO Oscar […] Read More...

New studies show an overwhelming correlation between employee engagement and fulfillment at work. Unfortunately, workers aren’t feeling particularly fulfilled or feel like they’re having a positive experience. Meaningful work remains the single largest contributor to a positive employee experience, according to a recent study by Globoforce’s WorkHuman Research Institute and IBM’s Smarter Workforce Institute. Unfortunately, only […] Read More...

Providing constructive feedback to employees is critical. Yet most managers don’t do it particularly well. Study after study tells us people don’t leave companies, they leave managers. According to a recent TINYpulse report, employees who give their managers a low rating are four times more likely to be interviewing for other jobs than their peers. Why […] Read More...

Poor communication is having a tremendous impact on the workplace. This according to the “Communication barriers in the modern workplace” study recently released by The Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by Lucidchart. According to the study, “unclear instructions from superiors, pointless meetings and other stressors can snowball into larger issues with widespread impacts on the […] Read More...

Maestro Gernot Schulz has devoted his life to mastering classical music – understanding the composer’s intention and conveying it collaboratively with an orchestra so the audience feels it. A disciple of legendary conductors Leonard Bernstein, Herbert von Karajan, and Sir Georg Solti, Gernot Schulz has lead some of the world’s most renowned orchestras. The talent, expertise, […] Read More...

You’ll never guess the number one skills gap in the U.S., according to LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner. Drum roll please! The answer: communication skills. During a recent interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Weiner said, “Not surprisingly, there continues to be an imbalance with regards to software engineers. But somewhat surprisingly, some people may not realize, interpersonal skills […] Read More...

There are several things that make communication and interpersonal skills excellent, but for this post, we’ll focus on a big one: listening. As a manager or leader, listening is particularly important because it can help increase employee engagement. “The biggest communication problem is we do not listen to understand. We listen to reply.” -unknown To […] Read More...