The word “ego” carries a lot of baggage, with connotations like: Blowhard. Difficult to get along with. Egomaniac. Middle man to the Id and Superego. Rarely have three letters evoked so much emotional drama. In fact, perhaps you experienced a bit of inner turmoil prior to clicking the link to this blog post. Because, of…
3 Tips for More Productivity with Less Stress
When you think “time management,” what are the productivity practices that will make the most difference? We’re always trying to squeeze as much as we can out of our days. But here’s the thing: there are only so many hours in the day and only one of you. I’ve finally surrendered to the fact that…
Don’t Overload Your Team Ecosystem With Star Players
You want a team loaded with star players, right? What leader wouldn’t want a team filled with high-performing folks? Isn’t a team stacked with rocks stars is a good thing? It depends. Research into team performance reveals a surprising element: you can have too much of a good thing. Consider the study reported in Gartner’s…
When Leaders Hold on Too Tightly Employee Engagement Suffers
Are we looking at employee retention the wrong way? HR professionals and leaders invest significant time and effort on employee retention. There’s an interesting paradox to this organizational form of “holding on” to employees: the more we try to retain talent, the more we squeeze the engagement right out of the very individuals we want…
A Very Human Julia Louis-Dreyfus
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of hearing actor and comedian Julia Louis-Dreyfus speak at the WorkHuman conference in Phoenix. She was interviewed by Michelle Gielan, a former news journalist turned positive psychology researcher. As Louis-Dreyfus settled in for the interview, her trademark wit surfaced: “Huh. Happiness researcher. I just can’t get enough…