New habits can be tough to change in the workplace. People like predictability. When you show up differently – even if the change is for the better – it is still different, and you may feel pressure from others to go back to how you were “before.” Still, change starts with you. Choose a specific … Read more
20 years ago the focus was on “being effective;” taking effective action to achieve our goals, make money, have a big house, etc. And so we pursued our goals at any cost, to be effective. We exploited the planet, the systems, maximized profit in short term, etc. Other people were resources to be exploited. Today … Read more
One of the oldest and most enduring leadership models in business today is Situational Leadership (SL), developed by Blanchard and Hersey several decades ago. The SL model works with the stages of learning through which we all progress when we take on a new task. The four stages (these are in my own words) are: … Read more
THE GIFT OF GREAT EMPLOYEES Recently, one of my clients was stunned by the resignation of a star employee — a woman he’d been developing for an executive role, possibly even as his successor. He told me he was meeting with her in a few hours to discuss what he might do to keep her. … Read more
Gifts For the New Year: Use Your Power to Change the Weather Here is your final Gift to help you prepare for a great 2011 — a reminder that you are more powerful than you know! This year, don’t treat your emotions like the weather – something about which one speaks but does nothing at … Read more
Gifts for the New Year: Practice Optimism to Create a Positive Future As Martin Seligman (the father of Positive Psychology) realized decades ago, we can train ourselves into any number of emotional states. He first noticed the phenomenon of Learned Helplessness in lab animals subjected to random reward/punishment activities over which they had no control. … Read more
Gifts for the New Year: Be the Real You Notice all the places in your life where you feel distracted and stressed by how you’re behaving. Happiness Principle #13, Be Authentic, reminds that when you stop trying to “play a role” to fit what you think other people expect of you, you give yourself the … Read more
You would probably not expect yourself to place well in a swimming race if you only got into the pool once every six months. And if you need to generate custom reports from the accounting software, you’ll probably seek training and experience so you can increase your comfort with the programming parameters. When you engage … Read more
If you’re like many people, you expect a lot – of self and others – on the job. How much of the stress you experience comes from trying to juggle too many roles, goals, and projects simultaneously? While you may have a dozen or more items on your project list, remember that the maximum most … Read more
A shorter version of a post from earlier this week – 156 words of advise for managing job search stress: 1. Practice gratitude. Every day, write down three good things that happen around you. Focus on what you DO have to feel blessed even when stressed. 2. Tally your Friendships. List all your important relationships: … Read more