Wonder Woman kicks butt. She’s strong, principled, and makes people tell the truth with her golden lasso. When I was a kid, I watched the Linda Carter version on TV. She’s my favorite heroine, as evidenced by the many WW items adorning my home. When Harvard professor Amy Cuddy made news with her 2012 “power…
Personal Effectiveness
Finding Your Sunshine At Work
Every summer, I plant a small veggie garden in my Michigan backyard. Even though the location is too shady for some of the sun-loving plants, it’s the only place that works in our yard, so we (and by “we”, I mean both the plants and I) make do. This summer I experimented with the placement…
Why Leaders Need to Understand the Difference between Influence and Manipulation
If you enact a leadership role, you have some measure of influence. And you also likely don’t see yourself as a manipulator. Do you know where influence stops and manipulation begins? Read on to learn what two prominent authors who’ve conducted extensive research on leadership and change management have to say about this important distinction….
Help Your Team Be More Productive with these 4 Tips
If you asked your team members what saps their productivity, what would they say? They’d probably mention unnecessary meetings, interruptions or poor communications, right? What if — shockingly — you were listed as one of the reasons that your team couldn’t get their work done? Wait a minute, you say, I’m not a micromanager; I…
Giving Praise as a Way to Increase Your Happiness
Are you a praise giver or taker? How you respond may offer a clue into your level of happiness at work. Happiness researcher Shawn Achor has made a name for himself studying the many facets of happiness. His research has uncovered a startling connection between praise and happiness: the more praise you give, the happier…