I overheard a conversation in the coffee line on Monday that bothered me all week. Person 1: What’s up with you today? You seem a bit off. Person 2: I’m ok—just a bit stressed. Person 1: Really? Work stress or home stress? Person 2: I don’t know. Both, I guess. I have this huge project and there’s a lot of pressure with it. I really need it to go well. There’s just so much to do and I can never get ahead. I’ll probably have to work all evening every night this week to get it done. Person 1: Didn’t … Read More
Do You Sabotage Your Learning Culture?
When was the last time you learned something new? Think back on that moment and how it happened. Perhaps you were searching for more information on a topic and came across something new. Or the information may have been presented to you unexpectedly. If you pay attention, it’s likely true that you learn something new every day. But, establishing a learning culture in an organization is not as simple as it may seem. Many organizations have great intentions but fail to execute a strategy that truly transforms a culture into one that values constant development, knowledge transfer, and thoughtful inquiry. … Read More
Office Space 2019: It’s a Problem of Motivation, Bob
It’s been 20 years since the 1999 cult classic movie “Office Space” was released and workers everywhere bonded over their shared disdain for mundane work, lack of functional resources, poor communication and motivation, and ineffective reporting structures. We followed worker Peter Gibbons as he transitioned from disengaged employee through his awakening and career change. We saw what happens when the employee’s values and company culture are mis-aligned. And who could forget the satisfaction of seeing defunct office equipment destroyed with a baseball bat? Have we improved the workplace experience at all in the past 20 years? If a sequel to … Read More
The Missing Piece of the Female Leadership Equation
Leading up to International Women’s Day today, my social media feeds have been overflowing with videos and images of female leaders and women gathering together to network with, learn from, and support one another. Female executives have been sharing their personal career development stories and how they were able to break the glass ceiling on their way to the boardroom. These stories should be told and amplified as much as possible, but with one caveat.
Six Keys to a Successful Listening Tour
Stepping in as a new manager to a team feels a lot like standing at the base of a mountain. You have a vision of what you’d like to achieve, but the hill to climb is steep and the pathway isn’t always certain. From the team’s perspective, gaining a new manager can be either a welcome relief or a cause for trepidation. The amount of excitement, anxiety, uncertainty, and ambiguity shared by all parties can make the first week as a new intact team quite tumultuous. Effective new managers often go on a “listening tour” for the first 30-60 days. … Read More
Beware the Busyness Trap
In the endless battle for better work/life balance, we say we want to work smarter, not harder. But do we? We search for life hacks and consume books on how to do more with less. But it seems we like the idea of the 4-hour workweek more than we’re capable of implementing the concepts. Intuitively, this just doesn’t make sense. Why do we complain about the lack of work/life balance, and also constantly brag about how busy we are? There are a number of factors at play here, but one disturbing factor is how much our culture rewards being busy.