My friend Bill was a superb performer at a nuclear power plant where he worked. He was one of those guys who—regardless of the assignment—always added value beyond what his coworkers even imagined. He carefully listened to everyone, regardless of their role. He appreciated contrary viewpoints. He challenged the status quo. He frequently saw performance…
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Have you ever been on a team that couldn’t seem to get its act together? Of course, you have. So, you know about the frustration that comes with poor planning, aimless meetings, weak execution, disappointing results and all the rest. Dr. Valerie Patrick feels your pain. With 25 years of experience leading technical and strategic…
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The job market is a crazy place these days. As pandemic life slowly recedes (despite flareups in some areas), people are rethinking what work means to them. They’re reassessing how they are valued and how they spend their time. Record numbers are leaving their jobs. And they aren’t just quitting their jobs. They are redefining…
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We live in a world of constant change. “Adapt or die” is really not an overstatement of what’s required to stay resilient and grow as individuals and as organizations. The secret, if it can even be called that, is to infuse our workplace systems—and humanity itself—with happiness. Jenn Lim has made this pursuit her life’s…
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It’s probably safe to say that most of us like to be productive. We may have different ideas about what “productive” looks like, but we nevertheless like to get stuff done. And regardless of where we may land on the efficiency-effectiveness continuum, most of us like the idea of getting our “stuff” done in less…
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In this age—and every age—“power” seems to be at the center of politics, social movements, commerce, finance, education, and virtually every other facet of our civilization. As the saying goes—power is neither good nor evil, but its user makes it so. Julie Battilana and Tiziana Casciaro certainly embrace that view, and they’ve invested much of…
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What kind of work is absolutely the best fit for you? It’s a good question, especially since you’ll likely spend the majority of your adult life doing it. What are the consequences of doing work that produces a paycheck but doesn’t really offer the challenge and fulfillment you’d like to have? And how can you…
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In today’s workplace, there’s arguably more pressure than ever for leaders to succeed. The arena is crammed full of challenges: Investors often demand quarterly gains rather than long-term growth. Customers clamor for newer, better, and cheaper products and services. Employees lobby for flexible hours, higher pay, and other benefits that can jeopardize profits. Activists agitate…
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In today’s hyper-partisan environment, fueled by social media blasts that—let’s be honest—don’t exactly bring out the best in people—it’s sometimes hard to find a public conversation that’s civil. And the discord isn’t confined to the airwaves and the Internet. Some of the bad “persuasion” habits can be found in the workplace and even at family…
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