If you enjoy reading fictional books, you’re getting more out of it than pure pleasure. According to Fast Company, it also helps you improve job performance. Here’s how. It enhances your reasoning skills by cultivating the ability to work beyond logic and explore how fuzzy values play out in social contexts. It helps you understand […]
Read More →Is Your Job A Good Match For Your Personality? While we can learn how to do just about anything, personality factors play a prominent role in determining what we do best most easily. In the 1950’s, Oregon Research Institute’s Lewis Goldberg created “The Big Five” personality model. Mindtools.com says his work remains relevant. I agree. […]
Read More →Negative Emotions Provide Important Data Life is filled with situations that evoke strong emotions, yet we’ve been conditioned to pretend everything is okay. In most workplaces, the expectation is that we behave professionally and avoid reacting based on emotion. But Susan David, author of “Emotional Agility,” reminds us that ignoring negative emotions shuts us off […]
Read More →You Can Train Your Memory Like You Train Your Body Would it surprise you to learn that there are people who train and compete in Memory Championships? Scientist in the Netherlands have proof that you can train to supersize your memory and the effects can be long lasting. After using functional and structural MRI’s on […]
Read More →Intangible soft skills rank high in today’s business world. A recent Fast Company article asks the question: Are they truly in short supply or do interviewers not know how to probe for them? Josh Millet, the article’s author, is CEO of a pre-employment testing software company. He suggests asking these 3 questions to measure soft […]
Read More →When Layoffs Happen, How Do You Manage The Team that Remains? Headlines say the economy is doing great. Yet, in our ever-changing business landscape, the reality is downsizing and layoffs still happen. If you’ve suddenly found yourself leading a smaller team, Mindtools.com offers these suggestions for moving forward. Don’t preach that people are lucky to […]
Read More →The 15-Second Soft Eyes Challenge When you look at yourself, what goes on inside you? What are your thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and reactions? What do you say to yourself about what you see? Do you look deeply or do you barely glance? We tend NOT to look at ourselves – and as a result, […]
Read More →Why It Doesn’t Work and How to Avoid the Pitfalls A recent Wall Street Journal article reported on the growing phenomena of talent hoarding at large companies. A 4.5% unemployment rate is making it harder to find good employees, so some keep a tight grip on their superstars. But when people eager to grow feel […]
Read More →Do you get excellent reviews, but no advancement opportunities? Are you denied training opportunities because your boss says you’re too busy? Do leaders discourage you from applying for other positions in the company and give you reasons you don’t want that job? Does your boss frown on you communicating with people in other departments or […]
Read More →Are You Really As Busy As You Say You Are? When asked how you are, do you launch into explaining how crazy busy or overwhelmed you are? Do you proudly tick off reasons you don’t have a minute to catch your breath and relax? It may be time to stop and ask yourself if your busyness […]
Read More →From time to time, we encounter situations – usually large and complex or emotionally charged – that paralyze us. We feel stuck, at a standstill. We suffer from analysis-paralysis because we have an overwhelming amount of data to consider. Or, there are too many cooks in the kitchen, with everyone wanting a say in how […]
Read More →Simple Way To Use Nature As A Relaxation Tool Researchers at the University of Sussex in England have proof that the sounds of nature promote relaxation and wellbeing. They discovered that the brain reacts differently to man-made sounds than it does to natural sounds found in the outdoors. How can you put that to use […]
Read More →Why You Shouldn’t Let Slow Progress Frustrate You I recently found a quote from an unknown source that read, “Some quit due to slow progress. Never grasping the fact that slow progress is progress.” It was a reminder that hit home and one that I think we could benefit from re-learning. In our “right now” […]
Read More →Are you dealing with a complex situation? One where you’re unclear about the issues, who to involve and in what way? If the path forward is unclear, try this: Grab paper and pen and draw the situation. Map it out. Include all the players – those who are actively involved, as well as those who […]
Read More →When it comes to decision-making, do you procrastinate? Do you weigh the pros and cons, over and over, again? Do you hesitate in an approach-avoidance dance? If you do, you’re not alone. Many people fear making the wrong decision, so they make no decision at all. According to “Psychology Today,” Emotional procrastination starts with the […]
Read More →A recent survey by BetterWorks found that 87 percent of Americans are reading political news at work. Nearly half of the people surveyed have seen discussions among colleagues turn into arguments. The heated political climate may be here to stay. Here are a few survival tips. If you get into a disagreement with a colleague, […]
Read More →A recent survey by Betterworks found that 87% of employees are reading political social media posts during the workday. 73% talk politics with colleagues. And 49% have seen a political discussion turn into an argument. If you’re concerned about the political climate taking a toll on your organization’s productivity, BetterWorks offers this advice. Measure productivity […]
Read More →Is your company good at diagnosing problems? According to the Harvard Business Review, 85% of C-Suite execs at 91 private companies in 17 countries believe they are bad at uncovering the actual problem. They feel this flaw comes at a high price. Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg, recommends these tools for reframing problems before diving into solutions. Establish […]
Read More →Have you ever had someone come behind you and repeat an idea you just stated, but no one picked up on, or it was rejected outright? Yet when it came out of his mouth, everyone praised him. Some of that may have to do with the manner in which the idea was presented, or the […]
Read More →How To Dig Beneath The Surface of The Polished Resume and Interview Skills Sometimes we make the wrong hiring decision, regardless of how thorough our interview process is or how outstanding the candidate’s resume appears. Organization Development Coach Douglas Bush offers these three questions – in addition to the interview — that can help determine […]
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