A conversation toward improving work and life
How do you develop a sense of team when members are spread out geographically? For many groups the opportunities to get together in the same physical location are rare. But do you have to accept having a disconnected team, just because everyone doesn’t come to work in the same location every day? People often tell me how difficult it is to build relationships in that kind of situation. I’ve experienced it myself, and I agree … Read More
How is it that small changes can lead to widespread, even epidemic-like changes? What causes something to reach the tipping point, where critical mass creates its own momentum? Malcolm Gladwell made some surprising discoveries when researching these questions. He shares insights on what makes certain people more influential than others, what makes some communications more successful and memorable than others, and the importance of situational context on shaping our beliefs and actions.The small things … Read More
I stumbled while running the other day. Fell, actually. Pretty much flat-out. I’m happy to report that I did get up, and, after taking a quick inventory of scrapes and what would soon be bruises, kept on going. Just like we do in life, right? Later, I analyzed what had happened. Why did I fall? Because I had my eyes on something I was trying to reach up ahead and neglected to also pay … Read More
Perhaps you are the person in your organization responsible for making sure everyone learns a critical new procedure. Everyone attends a full-day training. The training event gets great reviews in the follow-up surveys, and the participants earn high scores on tests given at the end of the session. But when the participants get back on the job, they have trouble applying what they learned and don’t follow the new procedure. What happened? Or rather, … Read More
Get ready to unlearn what you know about “traditional” methods of motivating people – at work, school, or home. This book by Daniel Pink is another favorite from my bookshelf and a fascinating read about what motivates us, along with the things that demotivate. You may find some of the demotivators surprising – I know I did! For example, rewards and punishments. That’s how we teach behaviors, from childhood to adulthood, and it works, … Read More
Have you seen it? People rolling their eyes when you bring up team-building? Well, maybe not eye-rolling exactly, but perhaps a slight cringe or something else in their body language that says they’re not too keen on the idea. Why is that? Having had many experiences myself in the team-building arena, I have some theories. I’d have to say first that for me, every one of the actual “team-building” events I’ve participated in was … Read More
Yesterday I stopped in at a local chain store to pick up a couple of things. While browsing the shelves, I overheard two employees talking. One of them said, “Remember that question about having a best friend at work – you’re my best friend!” My immediate thought was that they must have recently taken some kind of employee engagement or opinion survey, as one area that’s been shown to influence engagement and job satisfaction … Read More
Trust – intuitively, we know it’s important. We’d rather live and work in a trusting environment than one of fear, suspicion, and distrust. We have a sense that things seem to go more smoothly when we trust those around us and they trust us. But why is that?Using real-world examples and personal experiences, Stephen M. R. Covey shows the direct correlation between trust, cost, and speed in The Speed of Trust. When trust is … Read More
What is the big deal about engagement? It seems everyone is talking about it. It’s at the heart of nearly every conversation about productivity – and for good reason. Companies spend a considerable amount of money surveying their employees each year to determine how engaged those employees are. Why? Because studies show, again and again, that the level of employee engagement impacts the bottom line, and significantly (Harter, Schmidt, Agrawal, & Plowman, 2013; MacLeod … Read More