Employee Well-Being: A Workplace Imperative
I just finished filming a course for The Great Courses entitled “How to Build a Thriving Workplace: A Leader’s Guide.” It should be available in the fall, so stay
Follow Your Heart
I have had the great fortune of seeing Yo-Yo Ma play the cello. What an amazing experience! He was fantastic! But what impressed me the most was how incredibly happy
A Plea For Meaningful Part-Time Work
According to the Gallup World Poll, people who voluntarily work part-time are happier, less stressed, and have higher job satisfaction than other employees. Obviously, not everyone can afford to work
Purpose Matters
People and peace of mind increase our day-to-day happiness and reduce our stress, but a truly meaningful life comes from having a sense of purpose. Purpose is about making a
Using Company Culture to Attract, Retain, and Engage Talent
Next week I’m moderating a conference, organized by the Northern Virginia Technology Council and sponsored by Invertix Corporation, entitled “Best practices for recruiting and retaining talent”. The panelists, winners
3 Elements of Empowerment
In positive work environments people are empowered to do their job successfully. According to the progress principle, a new theory of work motivation, people are happier at work when they
5 Steps for Inspiring Excellence
In his book, Shine, Ed Hallowell describes five steps that managers can take to ignite peak performance in their employees. His ideas are based on research from neuroscience and positive
Happy Leaders Have Successful Teams
Research shows that our happiness influences our own success, but what about the impact of a leader’s happiness on the success of his or her followers? Studies have, in
How to Maintain High Energy
Many people today are facing an energy crisis. We don’t get enough sleep and we spend our days fighting traffic, rushing to meetings, and stressing about deadlines. So what
Having Fun at Work is Good Business
Creating a workplace where people play and have fun is good business. A fun work environment leads to more creativity, increased group cohesiveness, less conflict, less stress, and less turnover.
How to Turn Your Work into a Calling
People who view their work as a calling experience higher job satisfaction and perform better. Do you wish you had a calling? All it takes is to change the way
How Wal-Mart is Creating a Meaningful Workplace
People want to have meaningful work, to feel like the work they do makes a difference. But they also want to work in a meaningful workplace. Meaningful workplaces are those
Dare to Step Outside Your Comfort Zone
Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. – T.S. Eliot Human beings are creatures of habit. Change makes us nervous,
Celebrate (and Engage) Workers
With the Labor Day weekend coming up I have been thinking a lot about what food to take on our family camping trip. I have also been thinking about how
3 Reasons to Focus on Strengths
Focusing on strengths is an important step toward creating a more positive work environment. Below are three specific reasons why a strengths-based approach to managing people leads to higher levels
Respect Others by Encouraging Collaboration
Often our first reaction when something goes wrong is to look for someone to blame. But assigning fault is counterproductive and it undermines respect. First of all, identifying whom to
Respect Others by Showing Appreciation
Expressing appreciation for the people you work with, communicating to them that they are valued members of the organization, helps them feel respected. And not only that, it will help
Respect Others by Listening
Treating others with respect is a basic foundation for establishing positive relationships. Leaders show respect by giving others their undivided attention. They ask people for their ideas and really listen
Reading for Marbles; The Danger of Extrinsic Motivators
I his latest book, Drive, Daniel Pink suggests that trying to motivate people with external rewards like money is a mistake. His argument is based on years of scientific research
Keep it Positive by Sharing Information
Dr. Theresa Welbourne and her colleagues found some pretty unexpected results in a recent study they did on employee engagement. Employees who reported the most positive attitudes toward their managers
Clarify and Communicate Expectations
In addition to the importance of having norms valuing results not presence, increasing autonomy also requires that goals and expectations be clearly and frequently communicated. Autonomy goes hand in hand
Results Matter, not Presence
Increasing autonomy requires a cultural transformation moving away from norms valuing physical presence at the office to norms valuing results. Autonomy is about giving people increased control, but also giving
ROWE Helps to Build Positive Relationships
Trust Leaders build positive relationships by showing their followers that they trust them. People who feel that their leaders trust them have higher levels of performance, are more likely to
Positivity Increases Employee Engagement
Positive employees are engaged in their work and their organizations. When people experience positive emotions they are energetic, confident, and optimistic. As a result, they are internally motivated to pursue