You Get What You Pay For: Investing in Your People

While it is not the first time, I was recently approached by a nation wide company looking for professional development services at fire sale prices. Why this came as such a shock was because this high profile company is known for both it’s rapid growth and for it’s formidable profits. Yet despite a growing chorus…

6 Things You Need to Know About Behavior Change

Underlying most personal or leadership development efforts is the need to change some aspect of the way you do things. Whether it be learning to engage your team more effectively or improving how you handle difficult situations, some form of doing things differently on your part is par for the course. If you’re like many who venture down this road of self-awareness and growth, you may well underestimate just how difficult behavior change can be…and that can set you up for failure.

Jet Fuel for Creativity: Routine

It seems almost counter-intuitive. Routine is usually associated with boredom. In reality though, an underlay of routine in your day will spark your creativity muscle.  Having routines can help offset the anxiety and fear that often accompanies the uncertainty of the creative process. Routines, or ‘rituals’, as Jonathon Fields writes, can serve as “certainty anchors.”…

A Focused Mind is a Happy & Productive Mind

Are you easily distracted? If you are like many (and myself) keeping a tight focus on the task at hand can be a challenge. Oh look, a bright shiny object… In his research on mind-wandering, Matthew Killingsworth shows how losing focus on the job reduces both happiness and productivity.  In fact, it appears that about…

Sink or Swim: Helping the Newly Hired and Promoted Stay Afloat

All too often I see new hires and those recently promoted thrown to the wolves, so to speak.  Beyond a perfunctory introduction to their new office or responsibilities, frequently, little else is provided.  As a result, many are left dazed and confused, don’t feel welcome, and may even start looking for a new job.  While the reasons underlying this sad scenario can be many, I see it happening all too often because of a lack of time.

Lessons from India: Leadership and Organizational Culture

Employee First…Shareholder Second? I’ve always believed, with the odd exception, that leadership and organizational culture are two sides of the same coin.  Whether staff is engaged or not is a reflection of the priority they are accorded.  Too often in North America, the maniacal focus on short term quarterly shareholder value all but assures that…