by Star Dargin | Mar 17, 2022 | Communication, Difficult, If Only, Leaders, Leadership
Here are two, IF ONLY stories. Only one had a successful outcome, the one who knew and worked on what their if only was. In both cases, my intuition was screaming that these IF ONLYs were important. If only I had listened to my intuition and been more assertive. ...
by Star Dargin | May 7, 2021 | Business, Communication, Difficult, Gratitude, Leaders, Leadership
You may think it’s simple, just be grateful. But, there are many challenges in consistently using an approach of gratitude. Some of these challenges might surprise you, as they did me. Because of these challenges, telling someone to be grateful, generally, does...
by Star Dargin | Dec 8, 2020 | Difficult, Gratitude, Leaders, Leadership, Teams
It can be hard at times to feel real gratitude. I do not mean the polite socially acceptable kind where you must say “thank you” or risk raised eyebrows. You might find yourself in a tragic situation, or dealing with a toxic person, for whom you feel a strong dislike...
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...
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...
by Star Dargin | Oct 7, 2018 | Communication, Difficult, Leaders, Leadership, Uncategorized
“Do it my way or I will have you thrown out by security” I was told before the conference at the hotel. I had spoken up in a nice way and thought I was being helpful. I was coming from a place of gratitude and being a contributing member of the team. I wanted...