Right after congratulating me on my new position overseeing the human resources department at Hilltop Community Resources, an employee told me, “I hope I never find myself in your office.” To her, HR is the workplace equivalent of the principal’s office. After I conducted an informal poll and endured a few “uh-oh, HR is here” […]
You’ve likely heard curiosity killed the cat, but there’s more to the story. Francesa Gino, a Harvard Business School professor and researcher, found a treasure trove of benefits organizations enjoy when leaders promote curiosity in the workplace. Among them, we find such gems as: Better decision-making. Curiosity helps us avoid default explanations confirming what we […]
When I was growing up, my father had two main jobs: teaching math during the school year and working for a pest control company in the summers. I noticed he often appeared more exhausted after a day spent in the classroom dealing with students than a day spent in the hot sun doing manual labor. […]
Accept this challenge. Pretend you’re a scientist and note your immediate response to reading the following words: Diversity. Equity. Inclusion. Did you bristle? Did you feel hope? Or did you think, “Ugh, buzz words?” Don’t judge your response. Just notice it. With curiosity, consider whether it’s possible no matter how you felt reading those words, […]
Author and entrepreneur Jim Rohn once said, “Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” The same could be said for organizations. We can look at a list of time-honored companies to realize this is true. Apple, Cadbury, Lego and McDonald’s all embraced change as the engine of their ongoing […]
If you’ve followed the saga of the GameStop video game retailer and its stock prices, you know what happens when technology increases diversity, transparency, and the speed of information sharing in a market. You get democratization — the process of making something accessible to everyone. Apply this concept to the job market, though, and we […]
Think about the companies you’ve worked for during your career. Chances are, you’ve heard some of these responses from managers: “Hey, at least you have a job.” “How do I know if you’re working if I can’t see you?” “Oh, that’s been a problem for years. Not much we can do about it.” “We’ve tried […]
The year 2020 might hold the record for spawning the greatest number of articles suggesting ways to build resilience. “Meditate,” the articles advise. “Think positive.” “Practice self-compassion.” “Just breathe.” No one could argue that’s solid advice. Resilience — the ability to bounce back from challenges — is a skill we can practice, polish and benefit […]
Have you ever put off sleep to knock out just one more item on your to-do list? If so, your choice likely backfired. It turns out our brains have lists of their own that can only be tackled while we’re asleep. Robbing our brains of enough time to perform these tasks not only impedes our […]
Ernest Hemingway wrote: “The way to make people trustworthy is to trust them.” The sentiment is simple, but true. Especially in the workplace. When managers trust employees, employees tend to rise to the level of those expectations. According to the results of research conducted by Paul J. Zak, founding director of the Center for Neuroeconomics […]