Confidence | Star Leadership

3-Step Shift to Gratitude: When the Boss Belittles

by Star Dargin | Feb 22, 2019 | Communication, Confidence, Difficult, Gratitude, Leadership

Despite knowing that his manager supported his position and gave him regular raises, and promotions, Paul despised the person in charge over him. (In full transparency, Paul is not his real name—or any one person, for that matter—as some variation of this story plays...

Stop Being Nice and Save Lives!

by Star Dargin | Oct 15, 2018 | Communication, Confidence, Difficult, Leaders, Leadership

In extreme scenarios, being nice and not speaking up can result in death. A failed O-ring seal was blamed for the Challenger space shuttle disaster that killed seven astronauts, even though NASA engineer Allan McDonald knew of the potential disaster and didn’t sign...

Stop being so Nice and Get Unstuck

by Star Dargin | Sep 23, 2018 | Business, Communication, Confidence, Gratitude

I had to stop being nice. Otherwise, I got spoken over and, worse, walked over. Gratitude is not about being nice all the time. “Don’t speak up unless you have something nice to say,” my mother repeated, often. Well, that doesn’t work so well in business. To get...

Techniques to Try – Experiment Having Challenging Conversations

by Star Dargin | Dec 12, 2017 | Communication, Confidence, Difficult, Leadership

My family is my reluctant, yet fertile, petri dish. Petri dishes are self-contained round clear bubbles you conduct experiments in. I was raised by deep-rooted New Englanders who are always fine and say things are always good. This “never speak up” background was...