As Henry Mintzberg, author of The Structuring of Organizations, writes, “The words centralization and decentralization have been bandied about for as long as anyone has cared to write about organizations.” And that is a pretty long time, at least since 400 B.C., when Jethro advised Moses to distribute responsibility to various levels in the hierarchy. […]
20 Ways to Boost Employee Engagement Starting Today
HR managers can agree that employee engagement and retention are at the top of their priority list. Every company wants to attract and keep the best talent. The problem? Many employees in today’s job market quickly feel uninspired by their work, get bored after 2 years and start job hunting for something new. So we decided to speak […]
Do Unhappy Employees Stifle Innovation?
I recently read an article in Bloomberg Business Week titled, “Three people to fire immediately.” I know what you’re thinking – you loathe the idea of discussing problem areas that a certain ‘You Know Who’ needs to address. However sometimes, no matter how effective your management techniques, there are people who will not change and […]
Leadership in the Zone – How to Fully Engage Your Leadership
Think that brainpower alone will maintain high performing teams? Think again. Instead, it takes a special kind of energy, which is created from a combination of four aspects of our lives: the body, mind, emotions and spirit (yes, spirit!). I’ve invited expert Tom Ward, founder and principal of NextLevel, to be a guest blogger on […]
How to Define Your Organizational Values
Organizational culture can be seen as a “personality” created by the organization’s values, attitudes, and behaviors. This “personality” attracts and keeps great talent, creates a positive public image, and helps build long-lasting relationships with stakeholders, vendors and customers. But a good organizational culture doesn’t spring up out of serendipity. It requires intentional and thoughtful identification […]
How to Increase Employee Retention With Data
Your search is over. You finally found an ideal candidate after months of screening and interviewing. It took a lot of work (and many awkward conversations) but thinking about your new hire’s potential contributions to the team made it all worthwhile. However, don’t pat yourself on the back just yet… because one third (33%) of new […]
Avoid Bad Meetings: Understand Cultural Differences of Time, Hierarchy and Decision Making
The meeting went badly. Very badly. The CMO was thirty minutes early, and the CEO was twenty minutes late. The COO and CMO were both attempting to lead the meeting, while simultaneously offending each other for doing so. Meanwhile, the CFO and CIO interrupted them constantly, both steering the conversation where they saw fit. After […]
Psychological Safety: A Secret Weapon for Organizational Growth
What if we told you that one simple concept would decrease employee turnover and destructive behaviors while simultaneously improving innovation, team effectiveness, employee engagement, and ultimately profit margins? That concept is psychological safety. While a simple concept, the cultural change required to make it possible is more challenging. What is Psychological Safety? Psychological safety is […]
Three Ways to Develop Trust at Work
Emmanuelle looks around the room at the sales team. She’s new at the company and still learning about the relationship dynamics between her coworkers. Tensions are running high as it was just announced that the team didn’t make their sales goal for the second month in a row. Not that she’s surprised. This past month, […]
Can’t Stand Your Colleagues? Six Tips for Effectively Working with Them Anyway
Unless you’re the one doing the hiring, it’s unlikely you get to choose who you’ll be working with on various teams and projects. In some cases, it’s likely you’ll work with someone who, frankly, you truly dislike. Of course, this speaks to a bigger issue – the importance of considering an organization’s culture to determine […]
