Victor Frankl, via his book Man’s Search for Meaning, wrote about how important it is in living a good life to have a purpose. When we have a purpose we can weather any storm and look back over our life and know our life mattered. It helps answer the question: why are we here? Purpose … Continued
There is quite alot of discussion about the importance or otherwise of employee engagement to productivity and performance of individuals at work. There is correlational data which suggests organisations with high levels of engagement (however that is defined and measured) have higher levels of productivity, discretionary effort or job satisfaction. There is much less data … Continued
Despite us spending on average 25% less time at work compared with 50 years ago, two thirds of us feel overwhelmed. Something’s obviously going wrong and why is it we feel so very stressed as a result? Is it because we are catastrophising daily events into highly stressful situations (very possibly). Or is it because … Continued
Feedback can demotivate an individual and lead to a drop in performance. And yet feedback is a critical component of any manager’s job. Is there a better way to deliver feedback which leaves employees feeling motivated and positive about their performance potential? It doesn’t matter if it’s negative or positive feedback in more than one … Continued
There is a growing canon of research on the benefits to organisations when employees get to use their strengths at work. Using your strengths every day increases engagement, meaning and job satisfaction. That translates to lower employee turnover and absenteeism. In addition, leveraging strengths is key to releasing creativity as it increases the amount of … Continued
In March, Zappos offered its employees an ultimatum: get behind their new organisation structure or leave in exchange for at least 3 months of redundancy (The Washington Post). As a result of the ‘ultimatum’, approximately 14% of the the 1,500 workforce took redundancy. Some may consider this relatively high, particularly as Zappos’ customer focused workforce … Continued
Professor Adam Grant, is an organisational scholar who undertakes research into pro social behaviour and is one of my favourite reads. In his book ‘Give and Take’, he defines people in one of three ways. Mostly people are ‘givers…people who contribute to others without expecting anything in return.’ Some others are ‘matchers… (who) aim to … Continued
Sir Dave Brailsford, MBA, CBE, Team Principal, Team Sky and former Performance Director, Great Britain Cycling Team, gives top 5 tips for outperformance. His success is based on a theory of ‘marginal gains’ – significant improvement is obtained through a large number of marginal increases. 1. Recruit the best people that you can possibly find … Continued
65% of workers report that in the past 12 months they received no recognition for good work during the prior year (Gallup). Appreciation can be used strategically by supervisors to boost employee morale. Appreciating the best qualities in those with whom we work can help give them a boost, motivating them to persevere even when … Continued
An interesting blog at IDEO highlighting an experiment in client empathy ended up emphasising how the little things in life really matter. IDEO is a creative design company which is justifiably proud of their fantastic work culture. In their words ‘We provide the small things that enable the day to run smoothly so individuals can … Continued
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