During my college years, a prevailing management theory contended that bosses should keep their distance from employees. Becoming too friendly with employees was believed to undermine your authority, so many workplaces became cold and aloof. This sometimes even spilled over into peer-to-peer relationships. New research highlighted in Harvard Business Review, however, surfaces a different conclusion. Researchers Emma Seppala and Marissa ...
According to author, Ron Carruci, US companies spend $37 billion per year on meetings, despite 71% of senior managers viewing them as unproductive. In a Harvard Business Review article, Mr. Carruci, highlights three recommendations. First, he recommends that the scope of the meeting be clearly defined and narrowly focused on items within your control. Second, he suggests a synchronized cadence. ...
The television program “60 Minutes” convened a group of 12 people in Grand Rapids Michigan during the last presidential campaign, with an even mix of people for and against Donald Trump. This group had very heated debates and disagreements. “60 Minutes” was surprised to learn that despite their differences the group not only maintained contact after the focus group, they ...
In the 1980s, I had talented friends who hated working for large organizations. But, their pay was higher than they could get elsewhere, so they stayed. Today, small businesses have a more even playing field than 30 years ago. A study conducted by Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford economist, discovered that the pay premium for working at large organizations has dramatically ...
Jim is one employer I admire. Not only is Jim a hard worker, but he also cares deeply for each employee of his technology company. When one of their key employees tragically took his own life, Jim called in me and some counselors to pray and care for his employees. He also cares for each person’s professional and spiritual life. ...
In the early years of my marriage to Kathy, her family interactions during the holidays shocked me at times. My family members are peacemakers with conflict avoided at all costs. Kathy’s family on the other hand was verbal and sometimes loud when things didn’t go according to plan. The strife in those early years was hard for me to handle, ...
Years ago, a pastor and his elders were locked in conflict. Early on, the pastor shared a vision with the elders that they needed to become more evangelistic and community minded. The leaders, knowing their church was dying, embraced his vision and hired this pastor to move them forward. Sometime later, however, these longstanding leaders began grumbling about the changes ...
This week we’re discussing causes of conflict in today’s workplace. One of those causes is obstinance. There are some people who love to cause trouble. If you say yes, they say no. As a junior loan officer, my job required me to present loan proposals to the bank’s loan committee. One of the members of the committee prided himself on ...
This week we’re discussing some of the causes of conflict in today’s workplace. One of those causes is hatred. Years ago, at a Graduate School of Banking event, a comedian asked everyone to stand. He then asked us to look to the person to our right. He then asked everyone to look to the person to their left. Then he ...
An Association for Psychological Science article highlighted some startling revelations. It discovered that ostracizing or ignoring a worker can cause more harm than harassing that worker. A research team from the University of Ottawa conducted a survey of U.S. workers and discovered that more than 70% of respondents had experienced some form of exclusion in their workplace. In addition, those ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
