Posts by Jo Ilfeld, PhD
Track Your Turn
Are you taking up more oxygen in the room than others or are you barely contributing to meetings, such that people are wondering why you’re there. An important aspect of emotional intelligence (EQ) is relationship management. Often this means making sure that there is time and space for everyone to get their opinion and thoughts…
Read MoreHow To Gracefully Recover When Your Technology Fails During Meetings
Article originally appeared in Forbes Last week, I was on a working vacation with my daughter and had a planned meeting with a new connection. Let’s call him John. When I jumped off my previous client call, I was already running two minutes late, which, of course, never feels good. I checked my digital calendar…
Read MoreTake a Mini Reset and Build Your Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
How many times have you sat in a meeting, whether it’s virtual or in-person, and found yourself frustrated because of what’s happening? Maybe someone keeps presenting the same idea over and over even though you have told them multiple times that it just won’t work. Or maybe you wish that someone would get to the…
Read MoreWhat Are People Really Saying?
Do you ever wonder if what people are saying is what they really mean? The truth is that about 90% of our communication is non-verbal so it’s not the words we say but our actions and body language and our tone of voice. Build up your emotional intelligence (EQ) by learning to read the room.…
Read MoreHow Can You Improve Your Emotional Intelligence (EQ)?
Start by asking yourself what YOU need. Instead of rolling over and checking in with your phone when you wake up in the morning, take a breath and check in with yourself. Ask yourself, “What do I need today?“ Maybe you need to go out for a run or get a workout in because you…
Read MoreWhat’s Stressing Out Your Employees?
Stressed employees are unproductive employees. Companies lose billions annually because of stressed-out employees who are unproductive and uninvested. A survey on workers under stress revealed that 41% felt less productive, 33% felt less engaged, and 15% felt compelled to look for a new job— all bad news for a business. Plus, they aren’t just employees,…
Read MoreWhen Is a Hell Yes Not a Good Thing?
We often hear that if it’s not a hell yes, then it’s a no. I share a different opinion. I say: maybe it’s time to think again before proceeding. Why? Because oftentimes these hell yesses that our first instincts jump at, don’t line up with our values or what we really want more of for…
Read MoreHow to lead a productive online meeting that doesn’t suck
When a lot of us shifted to working from home arrangements, there was a certain novelty in the whole setup. We could put on a nice top and keep our pajamas on, join zoom calls, and eat lunch whenever we wanted. But the change-up in our work from home arrangements is unlikely to come soon;…
Read MoreGiving Feedback: What I learned from puppy training
I have learned that when training a puppy, it is so important to give feedback at the exact moment they do something. Why do I bring this up? Because when we are working remotely as so many of us are right now, there is an absence of immediate feedback. By the time people get feedback…
Read MoreHow Not to Start off Your New Year
It’s Saturday morning January 2nd. I often hike with one of my best friends on Saturdays. During Covid, we began embarking on weekly longer up and downhill 6-mile hikes. Jo: It’s raining here in Berkeley. Is it raining by you? Sara: I’ll check. Just looks foggy here, no rain. Jo: So should we go today?…
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