Because energetic, enthusiastic employees get more done, today’s managers are exploring many ways to stimulate employee engagement. Some programs work better than others, but one point seems clear: it’s difficult for bored or unhappy leaders to motivate their teams. So perhaps your first rule for engaging colleagues is to be engaged yourself.Of course, it’s not always easy to pull yourself out of the doldrums. A variety of...
In “Life Reimagined – The Science, Art, and Opportunity of Midlife,” NPR reporter Barbara Bradley Hagerty shares the story of her own middle age challenges. She writes with humor and honesty about her concerns about aging and her efforts to rethink her career. And at the same time she takes a deep dive into cutting-edge research that could change how you think about life for people in their 40’s, 50’s and beyond.After inter...
In "Life Reimagined - The Science, Art, and Opportunity of Midlife," NPR reporter Barbara Bradley Hagerty shares the story of her own middle age challenges. She writes with humor and honesty about her concerns about aging and her efforts to rethink her career. And at the same time she takes a deep dive into cutting-edge research that could change how you think about life for people in their 40's, 50's and beyond. After inte...
It's well understood that upbeat and highly motivated employees achieve more than their negative, disgruntled peers. Recognizing the link between attitude and job performance, human resources experts used to talk a lot about the need to enhance "employee morale" and build "job satisfaction." In recent years, however, the buzz has been all about increasing productivity and innovation by promoting "employee engagement." Defin...
Because I spend long hours talking with clients on the phone, good quality, comfortable headsets are among my most valued tools. A few months ago I needed new ones, but I dreaded shopping because of past hassles, like being stuck with equipment that didn't work with our telephones.I searched on-line and elected to place a phone order with Headsets.com, whose website invited me to "Call our Headset Advisors." My call was pro...
"Sophie" was a busy manager working long hours in a competitive environment. She had just received a modest promotion, which meant that her small team of analysts would grow from three direct reports to five. She had wanted this broader responsibility, but now she wasn't feeling good about her expanded role. Sophie told me that she had already been operating at full capacity. So how could she possibly handle the additional...
A little bit of tidying can bring you a big boostAre you feeling stuck, bored or besieged?A good strategy for getting out of the doldrums can be to attack the clutter that is clogging up your desk, your office, your home or your life.You have a clutter problem if you don’t have enough room to get your work done; if your things always look muddled; if you can’t quickly find what you need; or if you have too much paper or oth...
I felt refreshed at the end of a phone call with a client I’ll call “Mark.” It wasn’t just because Mark, like many of my clients, is smart and likeable. What made the conversation energizing was listening to a person whose orientation to the continuum of time is so nicely balanced.Mark is comfortable with his past and has fond memories of growing up within a big family. Of course, he has experienced career bumps over the ye...
I felt refreshed at the end of a phone call with a client I'll call "Mark." It wasn't just because Mark, like many of my clients, is smart and likeable. What made the conversation energizing was listening to a person whose orientation to the continuum of time is so nicely balanced. Mark is comfortable with his past and has fond memories of growing up within a big family. Of course, he has experienced career bumps over the y...
You Can Become More at Ease With Criticism of Your WorkDuring my first coaching session with "Jodie," a talented scientist, she expressed frustration about not getting the challenging assignments she thought she deserved. She theorized that she might be a victim of gender discrimination. Or perhaps she wasn't respected because her Ph.D. was from a university some regarded as second tier. I heard a different story when, with...