Power doesn’t only alter our own judgment, it also changes how people perceive and relate to us. Power has a bad name, especially for those aspiring to be positive leaders. In a positive, productive culture we don’t want to emphasize power and we like to keep the power distance small. We value equality and mutual respect. However, trivializing power doesn’t …
Positive Self Leadership: Progress, not Perfection
What’s keeping you from developing positive (self-)leadership? The list of advantages is compelling. Positive leaders are authentic, open, transparent, trustworthy. They coach and support self and others, they see what is working well and try to amplify that. They give people feedback to keep going and to improve. They’re not on people’s back when the goal is clear. They value …
Recharging and Reading Over the Summer
If you have some time to spare over the summer (or the winter, if you’re in the southern hemisphere), how do you recharge? Reading is a great way to both relax and recharge: great novels help you escape from the daily grind while non-fiction helps you learn new ideas and return to work inspired. I asked my network, clients, and …
Manage Positive Energy To Enhance Performance
Do you manage energy? Most of us don’t, at least not consciously. Leaders tend to manage information and influence within their network. Traditionally, leadership is associated with influencing people to do things. However, energy is a crucial resource within organizations. The fascinating thing with energy is that when you spend energy on relationships it increases. Energy is the source of …
Gratitude, Contribution, and an Abundance Culture
Let’s look at some more positivity research and a real positive case. Thanks to Kim Cameron for inspiring us with positive leadership research and practices – here are more things that you can do, too! Gratitude Research with Positive Practices shows that they increase our mental, emotional and physical wellbeing. For instance: Two groups were asked to journal every day. …
Positive Deviance: Performance in a state of flow
All organizations exist to prevent deviance. Organizations aim for stability and end up in the middle. Not bad, but neither extraordinary. The natural focus is on what’s wrong and to fix that. Think of the medical perspective, legal, and business. But in the middle is not where the magic happens… The big dollar question is: How do you get organizations …
Retention: does your Culture help them stay?
66% of professionals are not planning to stay at their organization long-term. What are you doing to retain them longer? Do you develop your organizational culture and offer them a reason to stay? Retention of great employees can be extremely cost-efficient as the recruitment and on-boarding processes take time, energy and money. Every time a new colleague enters the organization …
Recruitment: Hiring for Current or Desired Culture?
Does your organizational culture attract job applicants? Culture represents the identity of the organization and it can attract people if it radiates outside the office walls. A positive culture can be a magnet to the professionals that your organization is looking for! Professionals are more and more looking for fulfillment at work and seeing their careers as an integral part …
Leadership: the Hero, the Servant, and the Host
What would you rather be: a heroic leader or a servant leader? Which do you need to develop a positive culture where people and performance thrive? Most people don’t want and cannot be either. It can be demanding to be the hero who solves everything. It can be frustrating to be a servant who serves everyone. Positive Leadership Then what …
Hack the Culture with Micro Changes
Some organizations are still operating on industrial-age paradigms. One of my clients was working with the IT department of a very large insurance company. They were building an online platform for insurance clients to upload their documents, download their policies, make claims, and so on. The IT department embraced the Scrum methodology; they needed to be agile to serve their …
Culture Matters: Service Versus Technical Companies
Is culture less important in a tech company? While it’s crucial when you provide services, based on both research and practice, the answer is no. Culture matters everywhere. The Supermarket Organizations that provide a service to clients depend on culture. Services are “people work”. The added value is created in interaction with the client and this results in an experience. …
Buy-in for Culture?
How can you get buy-in to do something about the culture? It’s a question people ask me often. “It’s obvious: our associates are unhappy with the way we do things around here”. “Our factory’s performance indicators go downhill.” “Retention is a disaster: new hires leave within three months.” “Employee health is vital but leaders dismiss it as soft stuff. We …