by Lynn Harrison, Ph.D. The focus of my dissertation research was the phenomenon of abrasive leadership, that is, a pattern of managerial behavior that causes significant distress for coworkers, impacting organizational functioning. In doing my initial research, I found that most of the writing on this topic was focused (quite understandably) on the recipients of this… Read more »
Tag: Management
Stop managing and start leading!
No one likes to be managed. It is intrinsically diminishing and a poor substitute for leadership. Managing also doesn’t work as a long-term strategy for enrolling people in a shared effort, whether in business, families, or communities. So, how did we come to elevate managing and management as the epitome of leadership, and why do… Read more »
5 Things Managers Should Say to Employees
Now that the economy is beginning to pick up, it’s becoming harder to retain quality employees. And just because your company may offer many attractive benefits and good wages, doesn’t mean you’ll be able to hold on to your best performers. Research has found that people join a company due to its reputation, but they… Read more »
Listening Into Others to Gain Influence
No matter what line of work you are in, you are likely seeking ways to be more productive and successful. And, regardless of the profession, how effective you interact with and influence other people can greatly determine your fate. That’s because it is all about relationship, and relationships should always be about the long term…. Read more »
98104: Responsiveness, and Why We Don’t Have It
In this country, citizens across a broad spectrum of diverse backgrounds don’t often come together over a cause. We just don’t organize much anymore. Our rights and liberties were bought and fought for some time ago. Or so we think – We expect our water and electricity to just work. We expect to easily cross… Read more »
Creating Safe Spaces to Turn Challenges into Opportunities
Many of today’s complexity-related challenges require leaders to create more space in the workplace for people to share their difficulties and concerns, and explore new ways of addressing them. Whenever we are facing the unknown, doing something we haven’t done before, and unsure how to approach a new challenge or what the outcome might be, we… Read more »
Listening to Find the Truth Within, A Corporate Leader’s Story
Tom was born in the mid-sixties in a family of small self-made entrepreneurs. His destiny had to be to continue the family business, to potentially bring it to its next level of development. The family understood that for that to happen, Tom would have to complete engineering studies. This is where he would successfully learn how to become methodical,… Read more »
Microsoft’s New CEO Signals Radical Shift
Though Wall Street may not thoroughly rally around Satya Nadella to succeed Steve Ballmer as CEO at Microsoft, I believe this so-called “safe choice” is a compelling one because it signals a radical shift in management style at the company. Nadella is described as smart, persuasive and likeable. He’s also known as a great communicator… Read more »
Listen for a Change
As I write this post, I am in Mexico City having just spent the day with a group of mid-career managers facilitating a program about how to have more productive conversations at work. I cannot say for sure what the participants got from today’s session, but I definitely walked away with some food for thought…. Read more »
Increase Productivity Through Passion & Freedom
Greater productivity should be a goal of just about every organization. It is often challenged, however, by ever-tightening budgets and low employee morale. Nevertheless, increasing productivity can be accomplished without a lot of money and ultimately result in raising employee engagement. To do this, nothing works better than appealing to people’s intrinsic motivation and letting… Read more »