Miri Zena McDonald attended the 2012 International Association of Business Communicators World Conference in Chicago and is providing coverage for SmartBrief’s SmartBlog on Leadership. She tweets @mirimcdonald.
Pamela Shockley-Zalabak almost didn’t make it to IABC. She evacuated from her home as part of the Colorado wildfires.
Shockley-Zalabak, chancellor of the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, and author of eight books, said that she decided to attend despite the grave situation at home because she can’t do anything to change it.
However, she said, we have never before in modern history had issues with trust in organizations like we do today. “Communications is the main thing” in improving trust.
Trust is not more important than integrity, but if no one gets it, it doesn’t matter, she said, adding that we should not bother building trust for a rotten organization. “There must be a floor of integrity.”
In Shockley-Zalabak’s research for “Building the High-Trust Organization,” the data clearly showed that trust in organizations predicts organizational performance and outcomes. (read more…)
Miri Zena McDonald attended the 2012 International Association of Business Communicators World Conference in Chicago and is providing coverage for SmartBrief’s SmartBlog on Leadership. She tweets @mirimcdonald.
The IABC World Conference this week heard from the winner of the IABC 2012 Excellence in Communication Leadership (EXCEL) Award, Irene Lewis, president and CEO of SAIT Polytechnic, Canada’s first publicly funded polytechnic institute.
No stranger to recognition, Lewis was named one of Canada’s 100 most powerful women in 2010. She discussed the transformation of SAIT under her leadership from a “trade school on the hill” in crumbling disrepair with a disengaged workforce to a majestic, award-winning institution that is globally recognized and has received accolades as a top employer in Canada.
Lewis credited communications as a key part of that transformation, emphasizing the role of the CEO in carrying that out. The best things a leader can do are:
- Listen closely and look people in eye.
Miri Zena McDonald attended the 2012 International Association of Business Communicators World Conference in Chicago and is providing coverage for SmartBrief’s SmartBlog on Leadership. She tweets @mirimcdonald.
Author Kevin Carroll stood before the audience with a big metal trunk behind him and a red rubber ball peeking out of it. “A red rubber ball changed my life.”
At 6 years old, Carroll and his brothers, ages 8 and 3, were left in a trailer by his addict mother (the dad, an addict, was no longer in the picture), with a promise of return in a few hours. Five days later, he told a stranger they were left alone. They were rescued by their grandparents, who ended up raising them.
That same day, Carroll asked to go to a playground. He found a red rubber ball and was kicking it around, only to realize he had an audience of neighborhood boys who wanted to join in the game. (read more…)
In September, a team from a Fortune 500 consumer products company shadowed a guest as he checked into a hotel. The guest — a frequent business traveler whom we’ll call Clay — put his key card into the hotel room door and walked in. Clay knew he was being followed; the products company paid him to participate in a research program.
After he was shadowed, Clay shared personal details with the company, ranging from how he handles his shaving gear (“I leave it on a washcloth in a nicer hotel, but I keep it hidden in my shaving kit if I’m not so sure”) to his preferred spot for his suitcase (“on a hard surface, never on the floor”). He also told the company his routine for when he first walks into the room (“I breathe deeply to smell that the room was cleaned — but not some perfume-y smell that that feels like they’re trying to hide something”). (read more…)
I recently stepped out of an airplane from 13,000 feet, connected to a man named Chuck.
The story began in March when my fabulous husband asked me, “What do you want to do to celebrate your 40th birthday?” To his surprise and amusement, I said, “Jump out of an airplane.” This is coming from the person who just last year conquered her fear of riding a bike by pedaling over the Golden Gate Bridge.
So on a Saturday afternoon, we hopped in the car and headed to Skydive Orange in Orange, Va., to “fly” (as the pros would say). It was a gorgeous day with blue skies, thin white clouds, and light winds. We waited our turn, and I was filled with a mix of smiles and awes as I watched the sky above me fill up with bright colored parachutes that made their way swiftly and softly to ground.
“Kelly Lewis … Glenn Lewis”, we heard from inside the hangar. (read more…)
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