Bullying causes immense personal grief as well as inhibiting employee work performance and work passion. Even so, it is all too common that bullying is ignored in organizations. Bullying often takes the form of subtle behaviors over time as opposed to bold actions – so, it can be difficult to gauge if a particular boss or employee is bullying.
They will be coming to an end soon but I am enjoying my 50’s. A stage of your life, better than any other, when everything comes together. You are old enough, but you are still young enough too.
Often whenever a change is introduced, especially when there is a strong following involved, there is going to be resistance. A recent study revealed that the well-known target of 10,000 steps a day will boost our health is a complete fallacy. Science wasn’t the foundation for that daily target. Lead researcher and Harvard professor I-Min Lee noted, "It likely derives from the trade name of a pedometer sold in 1965 by Yamasa Clock and Instrument Company in Japan called Manpo-kei, which translates to '10 000 steps meter' in Japanese."
July in the United States of America is best thought of as the month in which Independence Day is celebrated. Independence for the United States of America was born out of conflict. By its very nature, that conflict was won and independence declared because of a strategy based on solid information and knowledge of the area in which the conflict was being fought and an equally good working knowledge of the capacity and capabilities of the soldiers involved. However, George Washington would not have proven himself to be the great military leader and indeed the great President of the United States that he was, if he were not also ‘attuned’ to the culture within the military he led and as President, within the newly formed union of the United States of America.
If you have been in one of my audiences as I spoke, read one of my books, or watched one of my videos, you may have heard one of my leadership philosophies: “We don’t lead out of our position; we lead out of our lives…”
It makes sense that when an organization such as a Government agency is looking to create a ‘wonderful’ workplace, it needs more than just a ‘political’ restructure to make it happen. Some may even suggest that the notion of a Government agency being the most ‘wonderful’ place on earth to work, is the antithesis of the reality of working in a Government organization.
Changing daily practices is about creating new habits: clarifying desired practices, evaluating current practices, then closing any gaps. Research says that developing new habits requires demonstration of new behaviors for 21 days – and there’s no time like the present to start!
Often people will work and work, then see others being promoted over them. They ask themselves: what have they got that I haven't? Their typical solution - obviously I have to work harder! As a result, they buy into a dangerous narrative in which work dominates at the expense of everything else in life. The paradox, of course, is that the leaders who made the decision about your promotion have probably picked up on that.
Are the stories being told within your organization today the kind of stories that clarify your desired culture? Storytelling is one of the most effective and impactful methods for communicating the desired culture of your organization to its members. For centuries, tribes of all kinds have utilized storytelling to support their desired culture. In man’s early history, those stories were told around the campfire each evening, with tribe members going to sleep with a clear image of preferred tribe behaviors, values, and norms in their minds.
Should you ever visit Australia, a trip to Australia’s island state of Tasmania is a must. On the Tasman Peninsula, near the township of Eaglehawk Nest, is a rare geological formation known as the ‘Tessellated Pavement’. This is a compressed rock formation that over millions of years has been eroded into what seems like tiles that have been laid by the sea. You can read more about this at Tasmania National Parks.
Featured Locations
