You may suspect that the arrogant, hyper-critical jerk guy in the office next to you is overcompensating for a lack of something, but what? Turns out it’s not a lack of basic human decency, but instead it’s most likely a self-esteem deficit. According to research cited on the I/O at Work site (I/O = Industrial…
Communication
3 Tips on Building a Culture of Peer-to-Peer Recognition at Your Company
A Guest Post by Ginni Chen I read an incredible statistic the other day that summarizes the epidemic of worker disenchantment: 53% of people at work are dissatisfied with the amount of recognition they get on the job. A recent study by Towers Watson concluded that whether employees feel their efforts are appreciated is the number one determining…
5 Ways to Get Your Team to Speak Up
At a staff meeting Trina, a leader in an I.T. department, asks for a status update on a high-visibility project. There is a brief silence. Then Michael speaks up— “It’s behind schedule. I’m concerned that we’re not going to meet the beta test projections. What do you think?” Trina gives this some thought and counters…
SmartBlog on Leadership – Can Your Team Say No?
Twice a month, Lead Change Group authors write a blog post on the SmartBlog on Leadership site. Today it’s my turn with a post called How to Get Your Team to Speak Up. It’s based on my observation that many team leaders create a culture where saying “no” is unacceptable, thereby causing their team…
Killing Flies with Honey- How to Turn a Frustrating Colleague into an Asset
A guest post by Chris Wallace It’s a tough lesson to grasp when you’re 8-years-old, but sometime during the road to adulthood I finally understood my grandmother’s favorite maxim — “You kill more flies with honey than with vinegar.” This wise saying couldn’t be more true than in an office environment. Even if you’re a generally rosy…