I’m writing this blog post while on vacation, which may provoke you to ask, “What kind of vacation is THAT? You are not relaxing, you’re working!” Or, more than likely, you didn’t even notice the irony–the lines between work time and “down time” are blurred (or gone) for many of us. Research shows that over half
One of the most enjoyable aspects of my work is assisting teams and organizations with culture change. Culture–“the way we do things around here”–is arguably the most important aspect of any workplace. The difference between, for example, a “collaborative” culture and a “punishing” culture is huge, touching all aspects of an organization and the
A few years ago, a “40-something” client told me that she was irritated by change in the organization because “I had really planned to coast to retirement, and now I have to ramp up.” Um, WOW. A Japanese client recently described the phenomenon of bringing one’s body to work, but not one’s intellect or spirit,
In a typical working day, I hear a dozen stories about work interactions gone terribly awry. Whether it be the drama queen who exhausts her colleagues with her latest antics, the arrogant guy who condescends to his peers one too many times, or the person who drops an F-bomb in front of the boss, these
In John Maeda’s book, “Redesigning Leadership,” he challenges the reader with his opinion that “difference drives deliciousness.” Although theoretically we may agree that “variety is the spice of life,” when it comes to the workplace, I often hear my clients wishing for more similarity with colleagues than difference. In fact, whether a potential job candidate
In a featured article I recently wrote for Japan’s HR Magazine, The HR Agenda (http://www.danagallagher.com/downloads/Extroverts-Introverts.pdf), I shared observations about how to maximize introvert/extrovert contributions to teams. In this post, I would like to expand on my article, and also invite your comments, so we can all learn more about this important topic. Since Susan Cain’s