Thinking about the good things
Duane Dike | 11 Dec 2018
Some days, things at work just don’t pan out. But rather than letting this undermine your motivation, it’s worth taking a little time to think about the things that do make your job worthwhile.
Restoring the promise of social media
Rod Collins
Only by embracing the notion that all voices matter and redesigning their algorithms to promote collective intelligence can social media companies start to defuse the state of toxic tribalism that has fractured our social discourse.
Is your organisation a cult?
Manfred Kets De Vries
Many businesses display cult-like characteristics, offering a form of meaning, purpose and belonging but demanding strict adherence to their set of beliefs and swiftly punishing or ostracising those who don’t conform.
Compassion
Duane Dike
Compassion is not typically revered in the corporate world. Bosses are simply supposed to get things done. But if they're not careful, they can become impersonal, non-compassionate and ultimately, non-human.
Social media: how did we get here?
Rod Collins
One of the great ironies of the digital revolution is the environment of toxic tribalism that has been enabled by social media and the collective unconscious blindness it has brought with it.
Three lessons in crisis leadership
Piyumi Kapugeekiyana
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to crisis management. But studying examples of crises that have been handled well can teach us some very valuable coping mechanisms that could help avoid a crisis turning into a disaster.
Emotional intelligence doesn't translate
David Livermore
Emotions are universal. But the ways in which different cultures express them are not. So what’s considered appropriate in one culture could get you in trouble if blindly applied to colleagues and friends elsewhere.
New ways of thinking and acting
Rod Collins
For more than a century, the basic formula of management has been “plan and control.” But today this no longer works because strategies are no longer planned, they’re discovered. So the new formula for business should be “explore, experiment and execute”.
Get out of the way!
Duane Dike
What kinds of things get in the way of productivity? There are no simple answers, but the one thing we can say is that barriers are almost always by-products of the destructive attitudes and behaviors of leaders.
The key to cultivating agility in decision making
Marc Le Menestrel
Decision-making excellence requires self-awareness and the ability to choose how to think in different situations. That's why being able to understand different perspectives is such a crucial skill for today’s business leaders.
Five reasons remote teams fail
Wayne Turmel
Leading a remote team isn’t that different to leading a co-located one. But we do have to re-think how we do certain things. Here are five ways you can get that wrong.
From strategic planning to strategic discovery
Rod Collins
In today’s world, strategic planning based on the extrapolation of historical trends is a futile exercise. Instead, staying ahead of disruptive change depends on harnessing the power of collective intelligence.
Disaster equals energy plus misinformation
Janet Howd
In his seminal book on accidents and disasters, Barry A Turner observed that disasters almost always represent failures of intention and that a simple equation - “disaster equals energy plus misinformation” - can to help guard against catastrophic events.
Disaster equals energy plus misinformation
Janet Howd
In his seminal book on accidents and disasters, Barry A Turner observed that disasters almost always represent failures of intention and that a simple equation - “disaster equals energy plus misinformation” - can to help guard against catastrophic events.
Are you hiding behind technology?
Wayne Turmel
We all get tired, rushed and overworked. And when we do, it's tempting to use technology as an excuse to take the easy way out by avoiding confrontation or uncomfortable conversations.
On culture
Duane Dike
Cultures are complicated things: they tend to break down to innumerable sub-cultures like concentric rings. But that doesn’t stop us embracing simplistic cultural stereotypes, be they about nations or organizations.
Swerve and swarm
Max McKeown
You want to know the secret to winning in an age of uncertainty? It's to keep your future open. Planning never guarantees success. Only adaptation guarantees success. Success comes from being confident in your human ability to see opportunity, understand opportunity and grab opportunities.
Why power seekers give advice
Li Huang
Giving advice makes some people feel powerful because they feel that they have influence over others. But that connection with power means that it can also be dangerous.
Earning attention on webinars
Wayne Turmel
I’m always being asked how to get people to pay attention during webinars. My answer is to ask a simple question: what are you doing to earn their attention?
Recent Podcasts
From the archive
Morale: a moving target
Duane Dike
What we think we know about morale is probably wrong, especially the black and white notion that morale is either ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Like most human feelings, morale is a moving target, which is why being sensitive to its nuances is such a key skill for leaders.
Leading by candlelight
Michael Jones
The difference between management and leadership is like the difference between flashlight and candlelight. In the focused, flash-lit world of management, we try to bend others to our will. But in the candle-lit world of dialogue, we blend with others in order to see a greater whole.
How to increase leaders' moral authority
David Dubois
Power corrupts? Not necessarily. In fact, under certain circumstances, attaining power might make people more moral, not less. What's more, organisations can actually help their leaders become more effective moral agents.
View from the middle
Wayne Turmel
New columnist Wayne Turmel kicks off a new series all about getting people at the top of organisations to start recognising the value of the people in the middle.
Never too early to distrust HR
Wayne Turmel
I'm not normally one of those people who slams HR. Not this time, though. I can forgive a lot, but there's a special place in hell for the HR person who ruined my kid's introduction to the workplace.
Earlier opinion
The dual company
Rod Collins
In today’s world, strategic plans and once-successful business models can quickly become redundant. So how can companies sustain short-term profitability while building long-term innovation capability? One answer is to create a dual company.
I think, therefore I feel
Duane Dike
How many of us have said, “I’ve been so busy today I haven’t even had time to think?” If you haven’t had time to think, you haven’t had time to lead. Leading without thinking is leading into disaster.
Ask your team a 3,000 year-old question
Wayne Turmel
If you're mindful as to your meeting's purpose and desired outcome, you will accomplish far more than if you approach it as an empty ritual.
Culture fit vs. authenticity
David Livermore
Authenticity - being yourself - can sometimes collide with organizational values. So how far should any of us be expected to give up our authentic preferences for the sake of an organizational purpose?
Nine habits that build trust
John Blakey
There’s a lot more to trust than just delivering on your promises. In fact, doing what you say you will do is only the basic entry-level requirement if you want to inspire trust in those you lead.
Managing risks in a hyper-connected world
Rod Collins
As we all know, risk is a fact of life. But as the world becomes more connected, new risks have emerged that demand new tools to mitigate them and to thwart a new generation of threats.
What can be done about bullies at work?
Manfred Kets De Vries
Workplace bullying is a silent epidemic that causes a host of psychological and physical health problems. So why is addressing the problem and stamping out bullying such an uphill battle for everyone involved?
The mortar in a project's wall
Wayne Turmel
What holds a wall together is the mortar between the bricks. And what holds a project together is the effective, clear and proactive communication between individuals.
Shut up first, talk later
Wayne Turmel
On team conference calls, it can sometimes seem almost impossible to get people to contribute or share information effectively. Here’s how you can change that.
10 characteristics of customer-focused businesses
Andy Hanselman
Customer-focused organisations are dramatically and demonstrably different from their competitors. They don’t just meet customer expectations, they consistently try to exceed them in everything they do.
Why change? Why not?
Duane Dike
Change often fails because it is based on a plan/do model. We plan, and then expect people to do. But that ignores the exploration, thinking, mistaking, learning, testing and struggling that needs to come in between.
Accountability is more important than accounting
Wayne Turmel
What's more important: that people are working on exactly what you want them working on at that exact moment, or that important tasks and outputs are done on time and team goals are met?
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