Blue Fjord Leaders Blog
The Voice for Insightful Leadership with Shelley Row, P.E.
The Surprising Key to Productivity: Listening Skills
How to be a boss that is a good listener You want your office to run like a finely-tuned machine, each gear meshing seamlessly with the others. This level of performance requires the WD-40 of organizations – communication skills and listening skills specifically. In...
3 Essential Communication Skills for Improved Productivity
Want to get more stuff done? Here’s what it takes. You just want to get stuff done. That’s what I hear from the technical professionals I work with. Run into a problem? Let’s solve it and move on. These motivated staff are like high performance gears whirring at top...
Understanding Humility & Leadership: a Guide for New Managers
How this aspect of self-awareness is a critical function in leadership How do you show up? A few weeks ago we introduced you to the Blue Fjord Leadership System. Over time, I’ll write about each of the skills starting with the foundational skills. Today, is...
Being the Smartest Person in the Room isn’t Enough. Now what?
Why smart people struggle in leadership positions & why technical experts need people skills You sensed it for some time. You know technically what is the right answer. And it’s not enough. You sense that you aren’t as effective or influential as you should...
The attributes of a good manager
From Technical Expert to Manager: How will you bridge the gap? It’s no surprise that the transition from technical expert to manager is a struggle. Leaders in technical organizations tell stories of exceptional engineers who never make it as a manager. Perhaps you...
Tone Matters: How a Leader’s Words Influence Good & Bad Behaviors
Tone at the Top Matters: What Tone Are You Setting? As a manager, what you say and how you say it drastically affects your team. Fix bad behavior and set the tone for office culture by learning from these mistakes. Daniel was the new boss and he came in like a...
Blue Fjord Leaders Newsletter with Shelley Row, PE, CSP
Your place for short, easy-to-read articles on management, leadership, decision-making, and personal & professional development.
Featured Blog Posts
Curiosity: The Secret to High-Functioning Communication
How to be a curious, not judgmental leader Walt Whitman said, “Be curious; not judgmental.” The word, curiosity, evokes a sense of openness and flexibility. That’s a good way to approach interpersonal communication. In my courses, we define the goal of communication...
3 Components of Judgment: Are You Using All of Them?
Good Judgment Empowers Leadership Teams — Here's How to Use Information, Experience & Gut Feel when Making Decisions “You weren’t promoted for your technical skills. You were promoted for your judgment.” That’s what my boss told me shortly after my promotion into...
The Forgetting Curve: It’s Why Your Training Program Doesn’t Stick
Here's how you can train managers for employee retention & satisfaction You’re trying to do the right thing by investing in training for your staff. But is it sticking? If it’s not sticking, then it’s not making a difference for them, for you or the organization....
The Best Attributes of Engineers & How to Upskill to Be a Better Manager
Use these 3 tips for better management training It’s National Engineers Week! Let’s take a moment to celebrate engineers and the value they bring into the world. And let’s look at how to get more from that value. Think about it. Engineers design, build and...
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