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You’re sitting at your desk, intensely focused on writing that big report, when you start to feel a weird tingling on the back of your neck. You try to refocus, furrowing your brow and redoubling your efforts, but you can’t shake the disquieting sense that you’re being watched. Finally, you give up and slowly turn around in your chair, sincerely hoping there’s not an ax murderer lurking behind you.
Imagine if people had zero empathy; if we couldn’t understand others’ perspectives. What kind of world would that be? Terrible, right?
Well, there are troubling signs that, in fact, the world is currently suffering from a major deficit of empathy; that we’re losing (or have lost) the ability and willingness to truly empathize with others. And that’s why this test of empathy is so important!
New managers have a fair number of challenges; maybe they’re a manager for the first time, or taking over a new team that loved their previous manager, or they got promoted over some of the employees they now have to manage.
Whatever the situation, the first thing a new manager has to do, before sitting down and talking to all the people on the team, is to understand ‘what are my goals?’ and ‘what have I been put in this leadership role to accomplish?’
The Drama Queens (and Kings) at your office need to be the center of attention. They’re provocative, emotional and reactive. And they are highly skilled at getting everyone around them worked-up, frazzled and emotional (that’s how they stay at the center of attention).
Did you know that it was Google engineers and not the auto industry that started the race to produce a self-driving car? While the concept of an autonomous car dates back to at least the 1920s, it was Google engineers that matched a well-documented human pain: driver error causes millions of traffic deaths, with the building blocks to a solution: Google Maps, Google Earth and Street View. 
Dealing With Difficult People: Drama Queens
We've all had to work with drama queens and drama kings, and dealing with difficult people can be incredibly frustrating. But there is a very simple way to calm down drama queens and kings. Four simple words: “Just the facts please.”
It’s nice to conduct an employee engagement survey, but is your survey actually delivering the results you want? There’s new research that suggests most surveys are falling far short.
More than 3,000 HR executives have taken the online quiz “How Good Is Your Employee Engagement Survey?”
The antidote to the excuse mentality is accountability where people take ownership, fix problems and bring solutions. Mentally and emotionally, accountability is where every leader wants their people to be. But accountability is not an either/or kind of phenomenon. Denial, blame, excuses and anxiety are all stages leading up to accountability that are part of the excuse mentality.
Here's a dirty little secret that falls under the heading of communication skills: Flattery actually does work. It is effective. Saying nice things to people is a really good way to build relationships (it's not the only way, but it is a helpful tool). Great sales people know this. 
