Tag Learning and Growing

Working With People of Various Backgrounds

Steve Keating 4 Comments

A handful of years ago, before the pandemic started, I had the opportunity to do a week’s worth of sales and leadership training for a group from Asia and Indonesia. I hadn’t done of lot of work with people from this part of the world and when I had they were usually part of a much bigger group. 

But this time it was just us, tucked in a small hotel conference room all day for several days. I was honored with outstanding feedback and comments about how much they learned that week. That was music to my ears. But here’s the other side of the story… no matter how much they learned from me, I learned more from them. 

I learned we had so much in common. Their lives, cultures and environments were all very different than what I had experienced growing up in suburban middle America. And yet as people, we had so much in common. Worries about our kids. Issues with our jobs, customers, the poor state of customer service. The lack of leadership from our country’s politicians was a common theme. 


On the business side the commonalities were even more plentiful. Difficult customers, price objections, poor employee moral and performance. The challenge to find good employees, adapting to changing marketplaces and the list went on and on. 

Aside from the fact that we looked a little different and one of us spoke with an American accent, we were, when it came down to it, almost identical. I suspect, actually I know, the same would be true for you. Even people we think are different than we are aren’t that different. 


Abraham Lincoln once said “ I really do not like that man, I must get to know him better.” Honest Abe understood that when you really know someone you’d be far more likely to understand their point of view. You’d also be less likely to dismiss it or dispute it. 


Today working with people of various backgrounds is essential in our diverse world. And as I’ve learned first hand it can lead to more productive and enriching experiences. It could lead to lasting relationships with people who are different but not so different than you. So here are a few ideas to help you effectively work with people from different backgrounds.

  • Educate yourself about different cultures, customs, and traditions. Be aware of potential cultural differences in communication styles, decision-making processes, and social norms. Avoid making assumptions based on stereotypes and treat each person as an individual.
  • Practice active listening when interacting with people from diverse backgrounds. Pay attention to their perspectives, concerns, and ideas without interrupting or judging. Show genuine interest in understanding their point of view.
  • Treat others with empathy and respect, regardless of their background. Show appreciation for their unique contributions and acknowledge their expertise. Create an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued.
  • Be flexible in your communication approach. Some individuals may prefer direct communication, while others might be more comfortable with indirect or indirect forms. Pay attention to verbal and non-verbal cues to gauge the most effective way to communicate.
  • Misunderstandings are inevitable when working with people from diverse backgrounds. If an issue arises, address it promptly and respectfully. Seek to understand the root of the problem and work together to find a solution.
  • Be mindful of the language and behavior you use. Avoid offensive jokes, slurs, or insensitive comments that might alienate or hurt others. Foster an atmosphere of inclusivity and acceptance. If there is one thing I learned the hard way it was that my humor didn’t always translate well. 
  • Embrace the opportunity to learn from others. Recognize that everyone has unique experiences and knowledge to offer. Be open to expanding your horizons and gaining new insights.
  • So I used to think that this whole “unconscious bias” stuff was some HR stuff or the stuff consultants are made of. I was wrong, it’s very real. We don’t even realize that our life experiences lead us to think a certain way. Not realizing why we thing the way we think causes the “un” part of unconscious bias. So recognize and challenge your unconscious biases. We all have biases that affect our perceptions and judgments. Acknowledging them allows us to make more objective decisions and treat everyone fairly.
  • In times of conflict, focus on the issues at hand rather than making it personal. Practice constructive conflict resolution. Try to understand each other’s perspectives to find common ground. The number one goal in conflict resolution should be to make certain all the parties involved maintain their self respect. 
  • Take the time to build strong relationships with your colleagues or team members. This builds trust and camaraderie, leading to more effective collaboration. It makes work, and life, more fun.

Working with people of various backgrounds can enrich our lives and enhance our ability to tackle complex challenges. Embrace the differences. Strive to create an environment where everyone feels valued for the simple reason that they are indeed, valuable.

When you use these ideas it’s actually possible you could even learn to work with, and even genuinely like, a Green Bay Packers fan. As outrageous as that sounds I can state unequivocally it’s true. 🙂

Want more of LeadToday? I’ve changed things up on my Twitter feed for subscribers. I recently began publishing two or three videos each week focusing on an element of Authentic Leadership. I’ll post these videos each Tuesday and Thursday morning. Sometimes a bonus video pops up at other times during the week. They will be about 10 minutes long so we can get into the topic in a more meaningful way. The investment for subscribers in still only $4.99 a month. That’s for at least 80 MINUTES of quality video content on leadership a month.

If you’re interested in taking a look, head on over to my Twitter profile page. If you’re not a follower yet just hit the follow button. It will change to a subscribe button and once you hit that you’re on your way. You can cancel at any time you’ve decided you have nothing left to learn about leading the people who you count on for your success.

Here’s the link to my Twitter… https://twitter.com/leadtoday

How to Build a Culture of Continuous Learning 

Steve Keating 2 Comments

The most successful people learn something new almost everyday. So do the most successful organizations. Building a culture of continuous learning within an organization is crucial. It is the bedrock or organizational growth. It is the engine of innovation and adaptability. 

Here are some of the most important steps to take if you’re trying to establish such a culture of continuous learning in your organization.

  1. Begin by securing commitment from senior leadership to prioritize and promote continuous learning. Let me be perfectly clear on this. If you’re a Training and Education Leader without total commitment from your senior leadership then you didn’t have, don’t have, and will never have a culture of continuous learning. When leaders emphasize the importance of learning, it sets the tone for the entire organization.
  1. Clearly communicate the value and benefits of continuous learning to everyone. Help them understand that learning is not just about personal growth. It is also about improving performance.  It is about enhancing job satisfaction. It is about staying competitive in a rapidly evolving world.
  1. Encourage your people to set individual learning goals.  The goals should align with their professional development and organizational objectives. These goals can be tied to specific skills, knowledge areas, or competencies. They should be relevant to their roles, or perhaps to roles they one day hope to fill.
  1. Ensure that all team members have access to a variety of learning resources. This could include internal training programs, workshops, online courses, mentoring, or coaching. Consider offering a diverse range of options to cater to different learning styles and preferences.
  1. Encourage your people to allocate regular time for learning within their work schedules. This could be in the form of dedicated “learning hours” or flexible work arrangements. These should allow individuals to pursue learning initiatives without hindering their productivity.
  1. Create an environment that encourages curiosity, experimentation, and knowledge sharing. Encourage people to ask questions, seek feedback, and share their learnings with others. Recognize and reward those who actively engage in learning activities.
  1. Promote a culture where mistakes and failures are seen as learning opportunities rather than sources of blame or punishment. Encourage people to take risks, learn from their experiences, and share their insights with others.
  1. Provide regular feedback to team members on their learning progress. Offer consistent guidance on areas where improvement is needed. Encourage managers and team members to have open conversations about learning and development.
  1. Encourage collaboration and cross-functional learning by organizing group projects and team-based learning activities. Create an environment where employees can learn from one another and leverage their collective expertise.
  1. Seniors leaders want to know if the education programs are working. Establish metrics and evaluation methods to track the impact of continuous learning initiatives. Assess the effectiveness of training programs. Gather feedback from participants, and use data to refine and improve learning opportunities.

Organizations that learn more also tend to earn more. The same can be said for people. Earn comes before learn in the dictionary but in life it’s the opposite. Ya gotta learn before you can earn. 

Building a culture of continuous learning is an ongoing process. It requires consistent effort, reinforcement, and adaptability to changing needs. By encouraging a learning mindset throughout the organization, you can create an environment that encourages growth, innovation, and continuous improvement.


Want more of LeadToday? I’ve changed things up on my Twitter feed for subscribers. I recently began publishing two or three videos each week focusing on an element of Authentic Leadership. I’ll post these videos each Tuesday and Thursday morning. Sometimes a bonus video pops up at other times during the week. They will be about 10 minutes long so we can get into the topic in a more meaningful way. The investment for subscribers in still only $4.99 a month. That’s for at least 80 MINUTES of quality video content on leadership a month. 
If you’re interested in taking a look, head on over to my Twitter profile page. If you’re not a follower yet just hit the follow button. It will change to a subscribe button and once you hit that you’re on your way. You can cancel at any time you’ve decided you have nothing left to learn about leading the people who you count on for your success. 

Here’s the link to my Twitter… https://twitter.com/leadtoday 

Learn to Earn

Steve Keating 1 Comment

I’ve frequently said that one of my greatest strengths is that I’m pretty much average in almost every way. Almost. There are a couple of things I do that most people simply don’t do. They could, they just don’t. That’s why I can often exceed the expectations of others despite my being average.

One of those things is that I’m up hours before other people. I am also fortunate to be able to read quickly while retaining most of what I read. I write almost as quick as I read, a blog post like this takes maybe 15 minutes to write. Those things combine to help me do the one thing that has helped me succeed more than any other, they help me to always always always be learning. I give myself time, very early in the day, that other people choose to not give themselves. I use much of that time to learn. 

By 6:00am I’ve read two or 3 newspapers, perhaps listened to a podcast, watched a TedTalk or read a magazine or two. I’ll look at what the overseas stock markets are doing so I’ll know whether or not it’s a good idea to peek at my 401k that day or not. Plus it’s in that timeframe that I write this blog two days a week and make my Principles of Leadership Videos for Twitter. 

All this before most people are even thinking about getting themselves out of bed. That allows me to accomplish more than my average cohorts even if I’m below average the rest of the day. 

So I don’t cut people much slack when they tell me they don’t have time to do this or that. I know for a fact that what they are lacking is not time, it’s priorities. 

Most people quit learning at 18 or 22. They may pick up some extra skills on the job, they may learn some stuff through osmosis but the vast vast majority of people stop their formal education the last day they walk out of school. 

You cannot reach your full potential without constantly learning. Knowledge compounds over time. The more you learn the more you will learn in the future. The more you learn the better your choices will be. Better choices lead to better outcomes and far fewer negative consequences. 

Better outcomes and fewer negative consequences lead to higher incomes and lower expenses. Success boils down to what you know and how you use what you know. 

It makes little difference how far you got in school, you can and should still be learning. You need to fire up those study habits from whatever grade you finished and start studying again. Make time to study. Make time to learn. Make time to earn. Make time to succeed…in every area of your life. 

I run into a whole lot of people who are smarter than me. But they don’t know as much as I do. I see many people who have the potential to far surpass any of my accomplishments but I know they are very unlikely to. They are comfortable with what they know. They may not know it all but they are very confident that they know enough. 

Truth be told not knowing something causes very few problems when compared to “knowing” something that just isn’t so. Consistent learners are always challenging what they “know” to see if it is in fact accurate. 

People who keep learning keep rising. Average people who keep learning and using what they learn will consistently outperform above average people who have stopped learning. 

Somebody much smarter than me, I don’t recall who but there’s this thing called Google where you can look it up, once said, “if you’re willing to learn no one can stop you. If you’re not willing to learn no one can help you.” 

I’ve already learned some stuff today but it’s still early, I’m sure I’ll be learning more before the day is done. Will you join me? Not only today but tomorrow and the next day too. You’ll be surprised how much you still have to learn once you commit yourself to learning everyday. But other people will be even more surprised and that’s what makes learning so much fun. 

Want more of LeadToday? I’m changing things up on my Twitter feed for subscribers. I have started publishing two videos each week focusing on an element of Authentic Leadership. I’ll post these videos each Tuesday and Thursday morning. They will be about 10 minutes long so we can get into the topic in a more meaningful way. The investment for subscribers in still only $5 a month. That’s for at least 80 MINUTES of quality video content on leadership a month. 

If you’re interested in taking a look head on over to my Twitter profile page. If you’re not a follower yet just hit the follow button. It will change to a subscribe button and once you hit that you’re on your way. You can cancel at any time you’ve decided you have nothing left to learn about leading the people who you count on for your success. 🙂

Here’s the link to my Twitter… https://twitter.com/leadtoday 

Learning is Never Wasted

Steve Keating 3 Comments

I had just finished up a large project. By every measure it was a tremendous success. I was proud of the effort I had put into it and especially proud of the efforts of my fellow team members. 

 

A person a little higher in the organization than me told me the event was a huge success. I commented that I had learned a lot and they said “that’s too bad cause we’re never doing that again.” The implication was that whatever I had learned would go to waste. 

 

They were wrong about what I had learned going to waste. They were wrong because learning is never wasted. All learning, I repeat, all learning is beneficial.

 

I had an outstanding teacher in the 7th grade. His name was Cyril Paul. He was a life changing kind of teacher and I’ve never forgotten him or the lessons he taught me. I tried finding him several years ago to give him a proper thank you and to let him know how he changed my life. My search unfortunately did not succeed.

 

I remember complaining to him one day about some junk (in the infinite wisdom of a 12 year old I was certain it was junk) he was teaching in math class. I said “I’m going to be a baseball player, I’ll never use this.” 

 

He said I could be right, I might never need that particular knowledge. But he quickly added that learning how to solve problems would benefit me the rest of my life. He said that every class I was in was serving two purposes. Teaching me whatever the subject was and teaching me how to learn. Every single class was teaching me how to learn! I’m not sure when I discovered he was right about that, I think it came upon me slowly. But he was absolutely right.

 

I am still learning today. I hope you are too.

 

No one can take your education from you. Don’t think for a minute that something you’ve learned will be of no use to you in the future. You never know when some tidbit of knowledge from your past will come in handy. 

 

It’s never been easier to add to your base of knowledge than it is today. There are tons of good online classes and many of them are available at no cost to the learner. Remember, the most successful people learn something new almost every single day. 

 

Don’t use lack of time as an excuse for not learning. If educating yourself is a priority then time won’t be an issue. 


So, what are you learning today?


It’s Not My Fault

Steve Keating 3 Comments

“It’s not my fault” are some of the most dangerous words a person can string together. They cause a ton of damage to your relationships, to your ability to lead and to your personal ability to learn and grow.

 

When you’re in sales and something goes wrong you can’t say it’s not my fault. You have to accept responsibility or you damage the credibility of others in your organization. To me accepting responsibility for the mistakes or failings of someone else is one of the greatest challenges a professional salesperson must face. It’s not easy to stand in front of an angry customer and be chewed out for something someone else did. 

 

It is easier however when you stop trying to assign blame for a problem and start looking for solutions to the problem. The fact is, no matter who’s “fault” it is you as a salesperson are responsible. You sold the product and whatever outcome, good or bad, comes with it. Trying to offload responsibility for it makes you look less like a professional and more like a mere product peddler. 

 

When you’re a leader and something goes wrong you definitely can’t say it’s not my fault. Blaming your people for mistakes or problems will damage your credibility with everyone, not only the person you’re blaming.

 

The truth is that if you have a person that is mistake prone, or someone who is underperforming in their role it IS your responsibility as a leader. Either you’re not providing the person with the training and tools they need to succeed or you’ve put them in a role where they can’t excel. Both those circumstances are your responsibility. 

 

If you have the audacity to call yourself a leader then you must accept the awesome responsibility that comes with it. One of the major responsibilities of leadership is ensuring the success of the people you lead. 

 

The most successful people, in any walk of life, care less about assigning blame for a fault. They care more about finding solutions to any problems caused by the fault. 

 

“It’s, not, my, and fault” are incredibly destructive words when strung together. They limit the potential of the person speaking them. Those words together cause the person speaking them to accept their circumstances and walk away from potential growth opportunities. Those words, when strung together have never been known to solve anything.


When anyone says “it’s not my fault” someone loses. All too often the person who says it loses the most. Remove that combination of words from your vocabulary and your entire outlook will improve for the better.