Betsy Petrie Consulting

11/04/2025

Feeling joyous today. Happy Anniversary, good little book. Thanks for what you’ve brought into my life.
-Talk

08/05/2025

When you’re an author, sometimes you need to read your own book again to remind yourself that you did it and that it’s helping people. A reader recently told me that she uses the RAILS-Talk technique with her kids and that it helps her to stay calm and centered. That’s beautiful ☀️

08/05/2025

My quick vacation read. Of course I’ve read it several times, but the nuggets of truth in here never grow old. One of my readers asked me to start sharing some of them on social media. So it shall be. After a dip.

05/14/2025

Had a lovely chat about building great teams with Chris Thomas of, “Workplace Theater.” Have a listen and subscribe to their channel for great insights relating to the work environment.

🎭 The Leadership Perspectives Interview Series – Ep. 6: Betsy PetrieTopic: Building Great Teams in a Changing WorldWhat does it take to build teams people l...

04/21/2025

Oh, WOW. This was such a cool experience. The Business of Story is a podcast about businesses and the story or brand that they convey. It was an honor to be interviewed by Park Howell and to not only share my vision for authentic leadership, but also to learn from him about the brand my marketing efforts are conveying. I learned something new about what I really love: implementing candor to reduce friction and evolve employee satisfaction.
Listen here: https://businessofstory.com/podcast/candor-successful-leadership-storytelling/

Check out Park's books, revolutionary StoryCycle Genie and hundreds of podcasts here: businessofstory.com/

03/01/2025

Steering a 40 foot sailboat this week in the Sea of Cortez was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. I almost declined but really wanted to learn and be of help as there are a lot of roles to fill when sailing. What’s the phrase…”Do something each day that scares you a little.”
Thank you, Captain Marcano for the opportunity ⛵️☀️

02/12/2025

Candor is not about being brutally honest. It’s about being thoughtfully truthful.

Candor fosters trust because people know where they stand with you and that they can rely on your words. If you have trust, you’re probably able to say what you mean – and mean what you say. Whether you communicate in this manner has a lot to do with where you sit on the Candor Continuum (see my recent post on candor and authenticity).

If trust is absent, candor becomes even more critical, but also more delicate. Without trust, blunt honesty can come across as harsh, confrontational or even manipulative. Without trust, evasive or sugarcoated communication can come across as meaningless and even annoying.

In my book, RAILS-Talk, I provide a template for structuring complex conversations like those requiring candor. RAILS is an acronym, and the first step is R or Relate Respectfully. Here’s how you can build trust through candor and Relating Respectfully.

When you start your conversation, and based upon your natural communication style, you may be at risk for derailing into useless small talk or diving right into directness. Instead, seek first to establish intent for the candor you are about to share in a way that is respectful to your receiver. Something like:

“I want to share something with you that [concerns me/I noticed]. I want to be upfront with you because I value [your partnership/friendship/insights] and I value [clarity/honesty/you].”

Once you have established that you have a ready listener, you are in a position to share your insights in a receiver-centric manner.

Receiver-centric = Why would what you have to say matter to them?

If you think it might, then proceed with that focus. If not, rethink your conversation and the need for it.
As you learn to balance candor with kindness, you will build trust with those around you. As for when to have your RAILS-Talk, timing matters, and that’s a topic for another post.

11/14/2024

Here’s a sneak peak at a huge book launch party outside of Baltimore! Really thrilled to share the RAILS technique and to sign a bunch of books! It. Was. Amazing.

11/04/2024

11/01/2024

🎉Happy First Anniversary to me! 🎉
It’s been one year flying solo. They tell you it won’t be easy, and that you’ll wonder whether you made the right decision. They also say, “Do what you love and the rest will follow.”
I’ve had some great gigs with old and new clients. Oh, and I wrote a book that I am very excited about.
To you, I say follow your heart. Tooting your own horn is hard, but I feel really proud. Here’s my beautiful new website with a link to join my newsletter: www.betsypetrie.com ❤️🩷💛💜💙♥️💚