Can leaders impact upon another individual’s experience of meaning (in the workplace)? This is the question I am currently grappling with as part of my MSc research. Whilst much research has been undertaken into positive psychology, happiness and the conditions which enable individuals to flourish including ‘meaning’; alot of the writing around organisational dynamics lacks … Continued
Kelly Mcgonigal, PhD has produced a scientific, evidence based book on willpower which helps explain why most of us never stick to our new year resolutions. Her strategies are useful at an individual and organisational level. 1. Forgive yourself – when you have a set back (in your diet, your exercise regime etc), instead of … Continued
I will be posting a series of blogs on resilience and optimism. As a start, and after a big dose of family over Christmas, it seems appropriate to reflect how much we can learn from our children. 1. Persistence Have you ever seen a child at a task that seems impossible? If you have you’ve … Continued
At an Engage for Success event yesterday, it was clear how critical leadership is to employee engagement. With trust at an all time low (only 3 out of 10 employees trust their managers), how do managers rebuild trust? David MacLeod and Nita Clarke were asked by the UK government to take an in-depth look at … Continued
Martin Seligman, the ‘godfather’ of Positive Psychology, has found that: – optimistic people deliver 35% more sales than pessimists – optimistic people are less likely to quit at the end of the first year than pessimists. (Seligman and Schulman, 1986) The attached LOTR questionnaire provides a measure of your level of optimism. So just how … Continued
Barbara Fredrickson on the link between positive language and business performance: “We go into companies and transcribe every word that is said in their business meetings. We have done this in 60 companies. One third of the companies are flourishing economically, one-third are doing okay and one-third are failing. We code each sentence for positive … Continued
During tough times it is often HR who are ‘cut’, that is unless they have particular skills in redundancy. This is particularly true in the ‘interesting’ end of HR – leadership development, OD – the areas in which I predominantly work. Here are 4 ways in which L&D, OD and HR more generally can make … Continued
Of late, much has been written (and spoken) about the level of risk (for instance, that taken on by banks) and what is a ‘healthy’ level of risk for an organisation. The following is a heavily truncated report by the Hay Group which talks about the mismatch between the level of risk organisations are prepared … Continued
Have you ever thought about the best way to get what you want? How is it that others around you seem to get what they want and you don’t? As a leader, what is the best way to get your team to do what you want? There’s a really great way to do this which … Continued
This article appeared in HR magazine recently and made me pause and think, given I’m an advocate of competency based interviewing. Two-thirds of candidates welcome obscure lines of questioning as part of the job interview process, giving businesses the opportunity to shake up their interview processes in the tight war for talent, according to recruitment … Continued
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