An adult conversation is critical to performance

Most performance management is ‘broken’ – it is administratively burdensome and often gets in the way of having an enlightened and honest conversation between the organisation and the employee. In a recent edition of the RSA journal entitled 21st Century Enlightenment, Lynda Gratton gave her view on the important issues of work in the 21st … Continued

If work is not life, what the hell is it?

“Jobs that exist today were invented to fulfil particular industrial and commercial purposes. Employers want recruits who will fit into existing organisations and systems whereas the young are now being educated to develop and express their individual personalities and no longer just to obey and conform….   Work has not yet been reconceived as a … Continued

The Future of Work – is it Really Freelancing?

In a recent edition of the RSA journal entitled 21st Century Enlightenment, Lynda Gratton and a number of other industrial academics, gave their view on the important issues of work in the 21st Century. Gratton talked about the ‘hollowing out of work’ which is a reshaping of the labour markets so that middle skill jobs … Continued

An organisational manifesto to deliver meaning

Alain de Botton, philosopher, writes books that have been described as ‘a philosophy of everyday life’. Recently he was interviewed by an HR based job site about work and meaning (see the full interview here). In particular de Botton was scathing about education which didn’t equip youngsters for working life (nothing new here). But what … Continued

What you choose to focus on

Went to an Action for Happiness talk by Tal Ben Shahar and he left us with a really useful set of messages: 1. Focus on what’s good 2. Ask questions that help us find solutions rather than focus on the negative 3. When you appreciate the good, the good appreciates – in other words, focusing … Continued

Meaning – a great case study

The most recent edition of People Management (March 2014) contains an article on an SME, Fittleworth, which highlights the importance of authenticity when creating a culture with meaning, purpose and compassion. Frittleworth’s business is not glamorous – it is a mail order delivery service of ostomy, continent and wound care products, which has managed to … Continued

Best Possible Self – Day Three – Eureka

Over the past three mornings I have been engaged in an exercise aimed at increasing my levels of joy. What I’ve found is that it has increased my levels of creativity. So much so that I’ve managed to build the outline of a 9 month development programme aimed at building meaning in work. Meaning is … Continued

How to be your best possible self

I am embarking on a 3 day writing exercise to boost my levels of joy. The Best Possible Self (BPS) exercise is one originally used by Pennebaker to help trauma victims get over the trauma by writing about their experience.The writing acts as a therapeutic means of getting closure and it seems to work. The … Continued

Employees want emotional support but can managers give it?

This blog summarises major research that appeared throughout 2013 on the leader – follower relationship and appeared in the BPS Occupational Research Digest. It raises questions about the emotional expectations of workers today and the value, if any, of the transformational leader. There was plenty of research on the give and take between leader and … Continued

Play to your strengths to create a meaningful life

I love this article by Bridget-Grenville-Cleave which appeared in Positive Psychology news. It so neatly highlights not only the importance of playing to our strengths, but by doing so, it is possible to create a meaningful life.   —-   Earlier this month I got together with several of my colleagues to share ideas about … Continued