Blog

Still Stressed After All These Years

Inadequate staffing is the top source of workplace stress according to research conducted by Towers Perrin and The National Business Group on Health. During the recession, in a panic mode, companies laid off thousands of workers. The research shows that the “work more” economy companies embraced during that time still exists, even though employment statistics show that jobs are now at pre-recession levels. From the calls I receive, it is clear that many people remain unemployed or underemployed. Though companies ...

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21
APR

10 Great Sites for Part-Time Work

Finding part-time work or a job where you can work from home can be challenging. Early retirees and those who don’t need to work full-time often want to work both for the extra money as well as the challenge of using their brain and skill set. Students often need summer jobs.

I recently came across a blog posting by Nancy Collamer that delineates and explains 10 sites that list part-time and work from home jobs.

1. The best overall site, she says, ...

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14
APR

Embody Creative Leadership

Creativity is the most important leadership competency, according to IBM’s Global Chief Executive Officer Study. According to the study, leaders work with teams toward a shared vision and integrate a strong learning component with feedback loops that allow for learning and adapting to changing needs and services.

Creative leadership embraces creativity, takes risks that disrupt legacy and leaps beyond the tried and true management systems.It should be taught and fostered throughout the organization, not just in silos. The approach ...

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7
APR

IBM on Capitalizing on Complexity

Complexity is the biggest challenge facing us, says the paper describing the results of IBM’s Global Chief Executive Officer Study. Today’s world is deeply connected on many levels which means it is susceptible to system-level failures. Therefore we need systems-level thinking regarding physical and digital infrastructures to anticipate and respond to how a change in one system affects another. But often the consequences of any change or decision are unknown.

The survey found three widely accepted ...

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2
APR

Defining and Creating Lasting Success

Since the tech crash of 1999, 9/11 and the more recent great recession, many have looked at their values and how they fit, and in many cases, don’t fit, with the realities of their life . Some talk of finding work-life balance, but many times we find ourselves neglecting certain areas in the push to achieve in another. So the short-term feeling of success that comes from one victory; getting that well earned bonus or finishing a project, lasts only ...

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19
MAR

How Companies are Failing Middle Managers

In a recent article in Workforce online, the author discusses four ways that companies are failing middle managers. With the focus on technology, social media and organizational profits, large companies have streamlined management, increasing the workloads of managers who are expected to do more with less.

The author states there is a downside to the traditional methods of promoting employees into leadership roles. Supervisor ratings are often political and the bold behavior in employees that succeeds on one level, may ...

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21
JAN

Microsoft Stops Stacked Ranking

Last year I posted an entry in this blog that discussed the flaws of a stacked ranking performance management system. (See “Grading on a Curve: Does it Work?” posted o8/07/2012. ) Stacked ranking was popularized by Jack Welch of GE and was in use at Microsoft. With stacked ranking at Microsoft, employees were ranked from 1 to 5, with the person who ranked 5 in the group at risk for reassignment or dismissal. This tended to encourage competition, rather than ...

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25
NOV

Is Positive Intellligence a Better Predictor of Success?

In earlier posts I have touted the importance of emotional intelligence for career success. But I recently read an article in qz.com that adds another important dimension.

Shirzad Chamine was a Stanford MBA student when he was informed by some fellow students that they always felt judged by him. After some soul searching, Chamine named this judge inside his mind a “sabateur.” Our minds, he says, can be our best friend or our worst enemy. The sabateur judges, controls, is a ...

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19
NOV

Sleep and Rest: Your Brain Needs More Downtime

Do you ever seem to crash around 3 PM in the afternoon? This happens to me religiously; and it is my cue, if my schedule permits, to do my afternoon 20 minute meditation. Although I have been practicing TM since the 70’s, I don’t always do it the best way. Sometimes my dog interrupts me or insists on getting on my lap, or perhaps I need to work through that mid-afternoon period because of scheduled appointments. But when I do ...

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21
OCT

For Better Social Skills, Read Literary Fiction

If you are thrown into a new situation, a project with a new team, or a promotion to a new job, how should you prepare? Researchers have recently discovered that reading literary fiction for as as little as three to five minutes can make you perform better when it comes to empathy, social perception and emotional intelligence. These skills are especially important when you are trying to determine what someone is thinking or to gauge their body language. And these ...

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4
OCT