EDGE Rising Professionals met for a session led by career coach, Kristen McLaughlin, to discover new ways to: Lead meetings and projects with confidence and success and master effective professional communication while cultivating solid communications and workplace relationships.

Key Takeaways:

• Communications
  • Avoid the “dumb disclaimer,” such as “this may be a dumb question, but . . .”
  • Focus on active listening
  • “Yes, and” instead of “yes, but”
• Overcome meeting challenges
  • Set ground rules to manage talkers vs. quiet participants, “gripe fest,” staying on topic
  • Brainstorming vs. jumping to problem solving
  • Focus on getting others’ opinions
• Workplace relationships
  • Communications about others: kind, necessary, true
  • Develop mentors/sponsors, peer learning
  • Expand your viewpoints
• Building your professional network
  • Getting to know colleagues at work
  • Offer others something of value
• Building your industry knowledge
  • Your company and its products and services
  • Customers and prospects
  • Competitors

About EDGE Rising Professionals:

EDGE Rising Professionals peer group is exclusively for EDGE Member organizations, mid-sized companies in Northeast Ohio who value developing their leaders, growing their company and improving Northeast Ohio. The purpose of this group is for rising talent at these organizations to gather together to share best practices on how to make a greater impact to their organization and community.