How to involve, not just engage, employees
“Why do you use the word ‘involvement’ instead of the more popular term ‘engagement’?” the prospective client asked me. “Involvement is all about action,” I responded. “When you’re involved, you’re doing something. Action helps drive lasting behavior change.” “By...
5 benefits of flipping how you learn
Can’t easily find learning and development opportunities that fit your schedule and needs during this back-to-school season? It’s time to try something that respects you and your brain. Flip how you learn! Rather than seek out old-fashioned experts, hang out with...
Bless your biased brain!
“If you have a brain, you are biased,” stated Dr. Josh Davis in his recent NeuroLeadership Institute webinar, Decide: A Scalable Learning Solution for Breaking Unconscious Bias in the Workplace. Being unconsciously biased isn’t because we’re unaware. Or uninformed. Or...
Watch out! 3 ways to control your environment
Pay attention to your surroundings! If you want to change your behavior or influence others in your organization to change the way they work, you’ve got to view the environment as an active player. Our surroundings shape our behavior and our attitudes more than we’re...
Trust me! Not spoken here….
“Trust me.” Do you still tell people to trust you? If so, I hope you’re getting better results than I am. Even my dog questions my words. Last week when I told Gustav on one of our walks, “Trust me. Dolittle’s isn’t open on Sundays so we’re not walking in that...
Be “BC” (brain-correct) in 2015 AD
What do being clever, being “PC” (political correct) and being tenacious all have in common? The unintended consequence of miscommunication between sender and receiver. When senders are dogmatic about a topic or issue, they tend to form their messages in ways that...
Preserving vs. shaping culture?
To what extent are you preserving the good, bad and ugly of your organizational culture versus actively shaping it? If your organization is like most that I work with, you are trying to adjust your culture to fit changing circumstances. For example, you may desire...
5 ways to focus in a crisis
How do you focus on anything, especially work, when…? …Nine people were massacred in an historic church a mile-and-a-half away …The heat index was hovering in the triple digits with no relief in sight …Your home air conditioning unit stopped working and inside...
It’s in your paygrade
“That’s above my paygrade.” That excuse—which I’ve already heard multiple times this year—is so last century. The reasons for saying "that's above my paygrade" are varied. For example, individuals may prefer staying quiet and not speaking up because they want to...
