The world of work is replete with good ideas that don't er... work. Innovation sounds great but beware of propaganda that perpetuates dodgy thinking, and check the facts. Otherwise you'll find out how going with the herd tramples on genuine transformation.
In difficult economic times the relationship between employees and employers is often tested. Trust suffers and staff turnover increases. But it need not be so. Creating an ethical company is low cost and high-reward.
The 'Jolly' is a thing of the past, but it was never effective as a training idea anyway. Take charge of your own professional development. Just 20 minutes a day is all you'll need.
People often fall foul of stress because they soldier on, ignoring the warning signs of mind and body, often completely oblivious to the unreasonable pressure they are putting themselves under. Here's an idea to avoid that.
When a dispute between employees becomes visible it usually falls to a manager to intervene but few are confident in doing this so they'll often ignore the conflict in the hope that it'll go away, downplay the seriousness of the disagreement, or approach it ineffectively. Research by OPP charts the costs and benefits of conflict, and a guide from CIPD identifies the behaviours that will help managers recognise and proactively manage disputes at work.
Traditional methods of motivating people at work are so 'last century'. In this TED talk Dan Pink explains what we are doing wrong. The three key drivers today, he says, are mastery, autonomy and purpose. Carrots and sticks don't work for conceptual thinkers.
Organisatons spend millions each year on staff training yet much of it is a waste of money. One pundit recently claimed that people only remember 16% of what they are taught in training. Would any organisation buy another product or service that only worked 16% of the time?
Why we study and what we study seem to be linked to earning a living, rather than preparing us for life. The two are linked, but as so often happens we lose sight of the bigger picture.
The much-published ideas on leadership have come under scrutiny in a new study which distinguishes truly exceptional leadership from run-of-the mill management-speak. The research, by the Work Foundation, identifies three principles of outstanding leadership coupled with nine themes that exceptional leaders adhere to. It adds some surprising insights with practical applications.
Personality testing may have its place, but I'm not sure how it helps to produce an effective team. Most team members suss each other out pretty quickly and they don't need a psychological test to tell them which of their colleagues is an introvert, and extrovert or a psychopath.
