We spend a large amount of our waking hours at work – wouldn’t it be nice if more people liked where they work? Beyond this just being the right thing to do, there are practical and financial reasons to invest energy into creating organizations that are great places to work. In a survey from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, completed … Read More
The Culture Question
While there is agreement that culture exists, and that it plays a crucial role in an organization’s success, there is less agreement on what organizational culture actually is. The concept of culture can be very vague and confusing to grasp. While it is largely an invisible force – like the wind – it can still be felt. No two cultures … Read More
Do You Like Where You Work?
At ACHIEVE Centre for Leadership & Workplace Performance, where I am the CEO, a key belief that guides the creation and delivery of our services is that people should be able to like where they work. At a fundamental level, we believe that when people like where they work, organizations are not only more fun and enjoyable, but also more … Read More
Who’s Your Favorite ‘Teacher’?
My teenage children can’t help but compare their teachers. At least several times a year I hear, “Who’s your favorite teacher?” They talk about which ones they like or don’t like, which ones are encouraging or indifferent, and which ones are nice or sometimes not nice. Employees of organizations where there are multiple supervisors do the same thing. If someone … Read More
What’s Your Purpose? Communicate it!
What is your organization’s purpose? Sometimes when I ask people what the purpose of their organization is, they struggle to articulate anything meaningfully. Many will go to their smartphone and try to find some sort of purpose on their website – that may or may not be there. The importance of developing a clear organizational purpose has been written about … Read More
Encouragement – Moving Beyond “Good Job”!
I have never been good at giving the “you’re doing a great job” type of encouragement to my staff. Don’t get me wrong, I do realize that encouragement is valued, and that to sustain a productive and innovative culture, leaders must give encouragement. When there is a lack of encouragement, employees wonder if they are valued, and may question if … Read More
A Great Place to Work – Beyond the Foosball Table
Most of us are familiar with stories of some of the Great Places to Work – the Googles of the world, with their complimentary food courts, massage and foosball tables. The hope is that these extra perks will help make them a great place to work. And as a result, they are more likely to attract and keep talented employees … Read More
Make Your Leadership Intentional
Make your leadership more intentional, and you will improve your self-awareness, focus and effectiveness. When I use the term intentional, I am referring to the simple process of slowing down and thinking things through before speaking or acting. This is particularly important when it comes to potentially difficult interactions with others or important decisions. In recent months I have focused … Read More
Caring Leadership Makes a Difference
With the January 2017 release of my new book, The Ordinary Leader: 10 Key Insights for Building and Leading a Thriving Organization, the frequency of my speaking events has increased. One of the things I really enjoy about speaking at so many varied events is getting to hear many different stories of people’s experiences at work. Most recently, I gave … Read More
The Millennial Question
I recently gave a keynote on the topic of employee engagement. After my presentation, I was asked the following question, “What strategies do you use to motivate millennials?” I paused for a moment to gather my thoughts and then responded, “I believe all this debate about millennials is overblown. I motivate millennials in the workplace the same way I motivate … Read More
- Page 1 of 2
- 1
- 2
