Managing for Progress – Using Small Wins to Motivate Teams
December 4, 2011 by Di
Filed under goals, leadership, motivation, performance management, productivity
“So much of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to do work.” ~ Peter Drucker
As any fan of The Office can attest, negative managerial behaviour severely affects employees’ work lives.
Clash of the Generations
November 6, 2011 by Di
Filed under communication, leadership, motivation
Baby Boomers are lingering in the workplace. The younger Gen X and Gen Y (New Millennials) are growing impatient to ascend to leadership responsibilities. New graduates are knocking at HR’s door in record numbers. And technology, including social media, is transforming the mode and pace of communication. These trends are creating new opportunities, but not without foreseeable generational clashes.
In 1999, leadership expert Ira S. Wolfe coined the term “perfect labor storm” to describe a convergence of demographic and socioeconomic developments that would result in an unprecedented shortage of skilled workers in 2011—the year the first Baby Boomers hit 65 and start to retire.
How to Be Happy – in 3 Proven Steps
April 25, 2011 by Di
Filed under coaching, motivation
Why do some people always seem happy, and others not? Is it really a question of life circumstances? Are they happy because their life is better, because they have more luck, and they just don’t have as many worries and upsets?
Or is it more a question of disposition, their nature, and character? Since luck happens to us all, just as taxes, health and family problems do, could it be that some people are genetically wired to be happy no matter what?
Managing for Peak Performance
April 3, 2011 by Di
Filed under motivation, performance management
Disengaged employees often appear to lack commitment. In reality, many of them crave re-engagement. No one enjoys working without passion or joy.
While many factors cause disengagement, the most prevalent is feeling overwhelmed (or, conversely, underwhelmed). Disconnection and overload pose obstacles to performance, yet they often go undetected or ignored because neither qualifies as a disciplinary issue.
The Talent Myth
February 27, 2011 by Di
Filed under change leadership, coaching, goals, leadership, motivation
Everyone’s talking about ways to find opportunity amid times of uncertainty and change. Yet there’s something right under our noses that’s being overlooked: Times of crisis present unprecedented opportunities to stretch and develop real leadership capabilities.
What’s needed, specifically?
Leadership and the Power of “Why”
December 10, 2010 by Di
Filed under communication, leadership, motivation
Leadership and the Power of “Why”
Many business books seek to define the qualities of great business leaders, while claiming that leadership can be learned. Yet few CEOs of top companies provide the truly inspirational leadership that leaves a legacy strong enough to ensure future sustainability.
The situation is truly puzzling: Most candidates for senior leadership positions are highly qualified, experienced and deeply engaged in their work. Less effective bosses are commonly weeded out in the long run, and competent bosses are usually promoted. Why, then, do so many good managers lack the requisite leadership skills?
The Magic Ratio of Positive to Negative Moments
November 10, 2010 by Di
Filed under motivation, performance management
According to the Nobel Prize-winning scientist Daniel Kahneman, each day we experience approximately 20,000 moments. A moment is defined as a few seconds in which our brain records an experience. The quality of our days is determined by how our brains recognise and categorise our moments — either as positive, negative or just neutral. Rarely do we remember neutral moments.
There is no question that the memories of our lives are recorded in terms of positive and negative experiences. Now scientists propose that each day our brains — i.e. our thoughts and our emotions — keep track of our positive and negative moments and the resulting score contributes to our overall mood.
10 Myths about Employee Motivation
October 26, 2010 by Di
Filed under leadership, motivation, performance management
Spend enough time in management meetings, and you’re destined to hear your fair share of managers’ complaints about their employees.
But as these leaders vent their frustrations, they’re actually looking in the wrong direction.
Choose Success
July 21, 2010 by Di
Filed under leadership, motivation
Guest Post from Barbara Hofmeister…
Barbara Hofmeister’s new book “To Be or Not to Be. The Choice is Yours” is available now.
Order through this link to get 47 SUCCCESS gifts. http://MegaSuccessDay.com
“The little girl was standing tiptoe on the old brown sofa that served as her bed at night. She pressed her cheek against the window pane trying to look down the five stories to the busy street below. But as much as she craned her head, their little attic room was too high up and the window too small to
see what was going on below. She signed and slipped down again behind the kitchen table. She really wished her mother would be home to keep her company and help her with her homework. But Mom was still at work and when she finally came home she would be much too tired to be any fun.
Since they had fled East Germany life had changed dramatically. Nobody had time for her anymore and she had left all her friends behind. No more roaming the countryside with her German Sheppard, no more feeding and teasing the chickens with her best friend Christine, no more climbing fences
and trees with her cousins. No more beautiful pink little girls room, no more warm kitchen with Mummy cooking her favorite dinner, no more laughter with Grandma who could tell such lovely stories. There seemed to be nothing anymore…
Finding Your Flow at Work
June 28, 2010 by Di
Filed under goals, motivation
Have you ever experienced “flow”?
Have you ever experienced one of those exceptional states of blissful, yet effortless focus and concentration called “flow”?
Perhaps, like me, you have been inspired by an idea which compels you to write. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a crowded café or in a quiet room; everything disappears from your consciousness, except for the idea and its expression. Once the “flow” takes hold, your full attention is on the transition of the idea from your mind to the page. Hours can pass where you are in a state of bliss, unaware of the passage of time, of any physical sensations or egocentric distractions, until the experience is concluded and you are jolted back into reality. I often delight in reflecting on the work I produce when I’m “in the zone”. The quality is exceptional, the ideas new and fresh, the quantity of pages phenomenal, and the structure near word-perfect.
Welcome to this on-line forum for leaders of change. My name is Di Worrall, and I help business leaders with the skills and confidence to make change happen for themselves, their career and their business. As an author, organisational change specialist and executive coach, I work with leaders to create a clear path through change and uncertainty; build their leadership skills and confidence; and create systems for lasting change and a more prosperous and sustainable future. For regular updates on our best leadership and change articles, you can subscribe to our fortnightly ezine below.
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