More Opinion Pieces
Andre de Waal | 06 Feb 2012

Ten habits of bad management

If you're looking to run a High-Performance Organization, you need to be able to be able to recognize the signs of bad management. Here are ten classic bad habits to look out for that you ought never to put up with:
Mark A Smith

Intolerance, leadership and risk-taking

In the current economic environment, playing it safe is probably the most dangerous thing you could do. But all too often, pressure from shareholders greedy for short-term gains makes executives fearful and risk-averse – with devastating consequences.
Nicola Hunt

Top tips for spirituality in the workplace

Even in the mainstream business environment, dealing with the challenges of the working day actually offers a great playground and outlet for developing our spiritual selves and for sharing our light with others.
Cindy Wahler

Set up to fail? Nurturing high potentials

Just because someone is a high performer doesn't automatically mean that they will make a successful move into a leadership role. But that's what many organizations seem to think – and in doing so, they are setting up their high potential employees to fail.
Stephen Archer

Leadership and the nature of confidence

Economic cycles are a fact of life and business leaders are well used to dealing with their ups and downs. But this recession is different. It isn't just confidence in the economy that is eroding fast. Business leaders have lost their self-confidence, too - with damaging results.
David Dumeresque

The management challenges of social media

Organisations that try to impose command-and-control management on today's generation of digital natives who have grown up with social media and Web 2.0 are in for a rude shock. Instead, they need to rethink the function of leadership and accept that information is a commodity, not a means of controlling people.
Mark A Smith

Are employees your greatest asset or biggest risk?

Most companies claim that employees are their most valued asset. But few seem to believe it and even fewer act on it. One sure sign is the attitude towards training. While some firms see training as an expense, others realize it is an investment.
James Kerr

Are you a dreadful leader?

The chances are you have witnessed the damage a dreadful leader can wreak on an organization. While bad leaders can take many forms, there are five primary types from which all are derived. So can you recognize a dreadful leader in your midst?
Mark A Smith

Getting into the FLOW

Flow is about achieving a state of focused high-performance and enjoyment where the challenge level is a match for skill level. Athletes call this place 'the zone', but it's something that you can achieve at work, too.
Ali Forghani

Statistics: a managerial trick

As far as most organisations are concerned, statistics are sacred. But the trouble is, numbers don't tell the whole story. In fact there's a whole level of reality that is obscured – not illuminated – by statistics.
Jack Wiley

Give employees what they really want

There are seven key elements that contribute to the engagement, commitment, retention and overall satisfaction of employees. There's no mystery to any of them - in fact they can be achieved with little or no expense while delivering real improvements in operational performance.
Mark A Smith

A day in their shoes

Here's a call to all managers: spend a day in the life your staff and acquaint yourself with what your hard-working, dedicated employees actually do. The results will surprise you.
James Kerr

Leadership: we're in it together

Outstanding leaders lead by example. They put forth a sense that they and their staffs share the same goals and aspirations and that together, they are going to go about achieving these ambitions as one.
Philip Whiteley

A sustainable acceleration

The 'old normal' assumed that companies existed solely for profit and commercial success had to come with human or environmental victims. But now these cynical beliefs are being replaced by a new understanding of the importance of collaboration and sustainability.
Peter Taylor

Selling project management

Getting customers to accept the need to invest in project management when they buy products or services can be tough. So here's how to address some of the common 'pushbacks' you might come across.
Gareth Kane

Don't preach the green agenda

People who take environmental issues seriously have an unfortunate tendency to come across as rather over-zealous. It's a fatal mistake that will put many people off. Instead, if you want to get a green message across, your mantra ought to be "ask, don't tell".
Dawna Jones

Leadership challenges of VUCA

VUCA - volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity - is the new operating condition for business (and for life). Using these conditions to advantage requires a complete shift in mindset and a letting go of past notions about how the world works.
James Kerr

Building a championship business

Championship-winning sports teams and championship-caliber businesses have certain fundamental traits in common. So recognizing and understanding these factors can go a long way towards helping an organization to reach perfection.
Marlene Chism

How lack of clarity leads to workplace drama

When there is drama in the workplace, lurking in the background is always a lack of clarity. If you are experiencing the signs of drama and negativity, look at these seven areas to see where you might be giving incongruent messages.
Peter Taylor

The campaign for real sponsors

More and more organisations are developing project managers in a disciplined and mature way. But the same cannot be said of project sponsors, many of whom continue to believe that they are a figurehead who will never be called to active duty. How wrong. How very wrong.
Andrew Sibley

A new perspective on nature and manufacturing

We hear a lot of talk about 'greener' industry, but what does this actually mean in practice? If companies really are becoming more sustainable, what is it they are actually doing? Here's how one manufacturer has decided to go beyond eco-efficiency to adopt a new theory of eco-effectiveness.
Simon Mosey

Innovation: getting more from less

Getting more from less has been one of the big drivers of invention and innovation throughout history. But what is innovation? What does it entail in practice - and how can organisations build an innovation culture?
Ali Forghani

Hyperactive management

We're all familiar with various styles of management: autocratic, paternalistic and democratic, for example. But what about managers who display all the symptos of hyperactivity? What sort of damage can they cause?
Ellen Cobb

Workplace bullying: a global overview

Workplace bullying is a global problem affecting all professions and sectors. This overview examines the range of legislation already in place to address bullying as well as laws we can expect to see enacted in the near future.
Gareth Kane

Sustainability hits the boardroom

Ten years ago, environmental issues in business were essentially about compliance. Then we moved into environmental management. But now, sustainability is fast becoming a strategic boardroom priority. But why?
Tim Lambert

The Ministry of Silly Questions

Have you ever considered setting up a Ministry of Silly Questions in your company and seeing what new insights it brings? This isn't a frivolous idea: silly answers might be just the thing to give you a competitive edge
Marcia Xenitelis

Are you engaging or just informing?

Do your employee communication strategies really engage your employees, or do they simply inform them? Because unless employees truly understand the issues and make the connection between their jobs and those issues, their attitudes and behaviors will not change.
Tim Lambert

Keeping it together when you're apart

Much like a marriage, how members of a team behave when they are apart is the key to determining how successful they will be when they are together. So how can you keep the relationship strong?
Shaun Smith

The bold employee experience

If you want to deliver a great customer experience you must first create an engaging employee experience. And what what motivates employees is feeling connected to the brand promise.
Tim Lambert

Getting rid of Dolly

Dolly the cloned sheep caused a sensation when her birth was announced in 1997. But what does Dolly have to do with the way your teams function at work?
Karsten Jonsen

Gimme, gimme, gimme!

Many generations have said "today's young people only think of themselves," but this time around it may be true. So is "Generation Me" a real phenomenon – and if it is, what are the implications for business and society?
Shaun Smith

Bold vision

A different breed of organisation is emerging in this world. They succeed because they have the courage, confidence or just sheer chutzpah to pursue a purpose that is beyond profit. They succeed because they are bold.
Gareth Kane

The green folding stuff

It's all very well claiming to be committed to green initiatives, but how are you going to finance them? If you claim to be committed to something, you have to allocate resources or your claim is just hot air. Or to put it simply, no money = no commitment.
James Kerr

Fixing the broken education system

The US education system is broken, says James Kerr, and it doesn't look like it will fix itself. In fact, if fundamental reform isn't undertaken soon, it is very likely that American businesses will find themselves grossly short-handed in the coming years.
Peter Taylor

Learning from the old beans

Every organisation faces the challenge of bringing on board and developing raw talent. So as far as project managers are concerned, what are the keys to a successful induction?
James Kerr

Staying in the moment

How do the best companies differentiate themselves in the marketplace? One way is by staying focused and not getting distracted. To put it another way, it comes down to exceptional strategic planning and execution by staying in the moment.
Roberta Matuson

Top tips for new managers

Management looks really straightforward, doesn't it? You're awarded a title, and, if you are lucky, an office, and away you go. You bark some orders here and there and then you sit back until it's time to give another directive. If only it was that easy.
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Earlier Opinion pieces
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The leader as activist
John Blackwell
A mandate for change
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How to engage employees
Bill Rosenthal
The art of apologizing
Andrea Adams
HR and the new normal
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Developing future leaders
Mitch McCrimmon
The effective manager
Jorgen Thorsell
The missing trainees
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