Goals & Practices
11.26.2019
On Being Grateful
Two days from today on the fourth Thursday of November, people in the United States will celebrate a national day of Thanksgiving. A similar holiday is celebrated on the same or other days by people in many nations. In the United States, a day set apart for giving thanks has been observed, most years, […]
11.19.2019
Proud of What You Do?
… to be truly effective, you need to be! Bill Taylor, Robert J. Smith Professor of Accountancy at Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Business and an expert on subjective performance evaluation, has said it this way: “… I’m convinced that if you truly want people to elevate their performance, you have first to […]
11.12.2019
Thinking Critically
Recently on TV, I was attracted to a Cascade dishwasher detergent commercial featuring child actress Sierra Richards, who seeing her “mother” rinse off the dishes before putting them in the open dishwasher asks, “just what does the dishwasher do?” This question is an example of thinking critically about what the “mother” in the commercial was doing. […]
11.05.2019
Unwritten (and Written) Rules
… they surround us No matter where you look, you will find both unwritten and written rules – rules at work, rules that are personal to you, rules for your family, rules about your social interactions, rules at home, rules everywhere. Some are “written” by others including your organization, and many, likely the majority, by […]
10.29.2019
Just How Does One Listen?
“Humble listening” is among the top four characteristics of leader.1 — Jeff Immelt, Former Chairman and CEO, GE. “If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as from your own.”2,3 — Henry Ford. “To […]
10.22.2019
Changing Culture, Growing Leaders
Today’s Tuesday Reading is an essay by Monika R. Dressler. Director of Academic Technologies, in the LSA Technology Services group at the University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. She is an alumnus of the MOR Leaders Program. Her essay first appeared as a program reflection earlier this year. [Monika may be reached at […]
10.15.2019
Burnt Out?
Where are you on the burnout scale — exhaustion, cynicism and inefficacy — to fully engaged — energy, dedication, and absorbed?1 In a 2018 paper, Seppälä and Moeller2 introduce a young woman who is in a new workplace. She really liked her new job and was highly motivated to perform well. She undertook, and was highly successful at, organizing a […]
09.24.2019
Gobsmacked
Been gobsmacked1 recently? You are in a team meeting and make a proposal you believe is well thought out. You feel your work is solid. A coworker viciously attacks your proposal. Or, a friend, who also is your boss’s, boss’s boss, unexpectedly calls you early one morning to strongly admonish you for a comment you had […]
09.17.2019
Help You, Help Me
Today’s Tuesday Reading is an essay by Dave Acheson, Network Operations, Information Systems and Technology, Chapman University. His essay first appeared as a leaders program reflection earlier this year. [Dave may be reached at <[email protected]>.] Since my MOR Associates Leaders Program came to an end, I have struggled to continue the strides I felt […]