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
My motto used to be, “I don’t want to be on a team unless I’m leading it.” (And yes, I am embarrassed to state this publicly. Live and learn.) Like so many of us brought up in American culture, I was trained that leading is somehow the loftiest (best?) way to relate to others, and
No, this is not about the aftermath of getting a bad haircut. But I am willing to bet that when you read this title you thought not about “humility” but about “humiliation.” While having my hair cut recently, my Japanese hairstylist and I wandered onto the topic of “being humble,” something one experiences comparatively less
How many times have you found yourself in a meeting wondering, “What am I doing here??” One of the biggest complaints my clients have is about how much time they spend in meetings–not only the time they spend in them, but also the quality of the time they spend. More often than any of us would
In a recent conversation with a Japanese executive, he told me that “the Japanese are not resilient.” Since I think the Japanese have demonstrated remarkable resilience in the last 70 years, I was really taken aback by his assertion. After recovering from my surprise, I questioned him more closely, and it turns out that his
For several months, I’ve been thinking about starting a blog focused on the practice and the challenge of my organizational development (OD) work, in both California, US and in Tokyo, Japan—and also, the interplay between them. I have applied “California” ideas and practices in Tokyo, and vice versa, and doing so has expanded my repertoire