Welcome to Misti's Insights
7 steps to Uncovering your Vision
A very special “Thank You” all of your for asking such awesome questions! You can submit yours here. Your question, answered: How do I craft and communicate a compelling vision? First, what a great question—the three C’s make it even more fun! It never fails to amaze...
Why Guzzling Gallons of Chlorinated Water is Good For You
About this time last year I first started learning how to swim. While I had a mean doggy paddle, I had no idea how to put one hand in front of the other. Well, I mean, I could, I just wouldn’t make much progress. With the support of the Swim Across America coaches, I...
Improve Your Chances of Getting Them to Hear/Listen
In a recent survey, I asked for your most pressing questions about giving and receiving critical feedback. The following are a few of the specific questions I seek to answer through this podcast: Which is more important – immediate feedback or feedback that is thought...
Why They Don’t Want To Help You Improve
Generally, I am up for the challenge of giving difficult feedback. Helping someone understand how they may be getting in their own way can be rewarding, particularly because few like to give feedback and most want to learn from it. It’s for this reason that I push...
Get People to Take Action NOW: Interview with Mark Goulston
This interview is filled with valuable insight for executives, those striving to be in a leadership position, and those ready to discover proven strategies for winning people over. Beyond a business advisor, speaker, and coach who honed his skills as an FBI/police...
No More Management, Mayor Rawlings-Blake, #Lead The Way
I’m not much of a political person. I vote, but I don’t follow politics, generally. That all changed for me as I inadvertently sat, stuck in my car, just blocks away from the riots on Monday, April 27th here in Baltimore. Having completely forgotten about the...
What Negative Reviews Really Tell Us
I recently traveled to Vieques, a small island off Puerto Rico, and found myself using Trip Advisor, searching for restaurant recommendations. While touring I noticed a restaurant called Roy’s. Open from 9-1, conveniently located and with low prices, it would be...
The Key to Receptivity When Getting Negative Feedback
In a recent survey, I asked for your top two questions about influence and growth. As with most survey’s I’ve sent, receiving negative feedback was one of the top questions. Here was the specific question: How do I be receptive to getting constructive,...
What To Do When Your Team Is Letting You Down
When polled, 99.999% of people will tell you that they want to succeed. They are doing everything they know how to do in order to achieve excellence, gain approval, make friends, and get picked for advancement and opportunity. So, what gives? Why do certain members of...
How To Keep Employees From Asking For a Raise
Want to keep your team motivated and focused on their work, without having to worry where to pull funds in order to pay them more? Shortly after a speech I delivered on “Provoking Greatness,” here in Baltimore, Maryland, I had a chance to grab coffee with a hustler....
Why People Don’t Compliment You
What would you do if… You spent time thinking through, buying (or creating), the perfect gift for someone you appreciate, only to have him or her either throw it in the trash, or refuse to accept it? “That’s nice,” they say, “but I’m sure I’m not the...
3 Critical Questions To Ask Before Promoting Anyone Into Leadership
Some people hustle so well, and produce such exceptional results that a promotion to leadership is clearly in order. You bring them into your office, celebrate their success, eat some delicious cake, and award them with a team to lead. Nearly a year later,...
The #1 Key To Motivate People To Step Up Their Game
My hands shook as I opened the envelop from the University. Was a miracle about to happen, I wondered? Having gone from being in court as juvenile offender, to being on the court as an Olympic hopeful in shot put, discus, and powerlifting, I wondered if the later...
How To Make Sure They Pick You
Rich Fairbank, CEO and Founder of Capital One said, “There’s a direct correlation between the people who rise in my organization, and those who ask for feedback.” Just as a baby has to bump it’s head a few times (feedback) before s/he learns to walk, we all need to...
The Reason You’re Not Getting Picked
Not being picked for the opportunity is one thing. Not knowing why you weren’t picked is a whole other. Most people never stop to figure out why they weren’t picked, and yet that’s the one way to learn, and make adjustments, so you get the next opportunity. Of course,...
Why Success Can Cripple You
I’m in awe of Meghan Linsey, a woman’s whose talent is undeniable, and whose performance has landed her the opportunity to perform live on The Voice. It’s one thing to do a blind audition when you are brand new, but can you imagine what your nerves might be like if...
How Do You Get Them To Take Action On Your Feedback?
Question from audience: How do you nurture a willingness to accept or seek feedback in others? And than get them to take action on it? The most important answer is much simpler than it is easy: Show me! Demonstration is key. By actively seeking out feedback,...
The Real Reason Women Aren’t Advancing in Leadership
When I first started speaking and coaching (10 years ago this month!), the main thrust of my opportunities came from companies and leaders dealing with conflict between generations. Less than a year into this work, I began receiving requests to address, “Why...