How Your Brain Handles Conflict - Many of us have been socialised or learned as adults that conflict is “bad” and in order to succeed, we should appear optimistic and positive at all times. Yet while this avoidance of conflict leads to superficial harmony, it denies what is really...
Recently, I wrote an article that went viral. It concerned the conduct of a politician at the world cup. The behaviour I saw on the world stage seemed manifestly different to all the other world leaders she stood alongside and I wanted to write about that. What I hadn’t anticipated was...
HR has a connection to every department and goes beyond the administrative call of duty, embracing a relationship with each person in an organisation. It is that very connection and understanding that affords HR professionals the ability to become more engaged with the business. The majority of CEOs...
Could high quality internal consultancy be a short cut to developing a powerful organisational culture?
While most media attention was on winners, losers, the players and their coaches, one brilliant example of leadership from the world cup slipped under the radar of many people. This was the story of Croatia's president, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic. What really caught my attention was that although the spotlight fell...
Gallup has spent decades studying how the best organizations increase speed to value after M&A. We've found that HR leaders can reduce delays in realizing a "better together" organization by anticipating and mitigating common people barriers to harmony. The following best practices can help HR leaders support the creation of...
Developing a great strategy starts with changing the dynamics in your strategy room. Here’s how. Many strategy planning processes begin with a memo like the one below. Such missives lead managers to spend months gathering inputs, mining data, scanning the marketplace for opportunities and threats, and formulating responses. In the...
- I get tired of hearing about “soft skills,” even when it’s acknowledged they are important. No less a hard-muscled body than the U.S. Army, in its Army Field Manual on Leader Development (one of the best resource on leadership I’ve ever seen) insists repeatedly that empathy is essential...
How HR Leaders Can Win a Seat at the Table: "Our people are our greatest asset." These feel-good words have decorated countless company walls, websites and mission statements. But let's be real. Most organisations don't treat their employees like assets. Think of it this way: An organisation that owns land and buildings ensures...
Winning your employees over to stick with the company long term involves an array of factors–but first among those is love. What are the real drivers of human engagement in the workplace? What are those things that consistently inspire people to fully commit themselves in their jobs and to willingly scale...