Managing people

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It is mighty easy to focus on how much better the world's bosses could be, and on the plight of all the unhappy workers out there who work for lousy ones....

When your people are anxious – and do you know anyone who isn’t? -their minds constrict. Neuroanatomically that means that the middle mammalian emotional brain has trouble accessing the upper human rational brain (which could put things into perspective) and it takes everything in that person to keep from throwing everything into the lower reptilian […]

It's time to invest in workers.

How a “dynamic workforce model” puts employees and independent contractors on an equal footing.

What managers need to know.

A story last week about the Obama administration committing more than $3 billion to smart grid initiatives caught my eye. It wasn’t really an unusual story. It seems like every day features a slew of stories where leaders commit billions to new geographies, technologies, or acquisitions to demonstrate how serious they are about innovation and […]

It's a revolution nearly 100 years in the making.

Are you giving your employees enough opportunities to learn?

None of us are totally rational.

Whatever the leadership style they bring to their jobs, the best GMs focus on the same set of fundamental tasks.

Dismayed by the State Department employees who peeked at Senator Barack Obama’s, Senator Hillary Clinton’s and John McCain’s passport files? Shocked by the nineteen employees, including physicians, who furtively glanced at Britney Spears’ medical files? Don’t be. Snooping isn’t rare. When I worked for CSO, a magazine devoted to executive-level security professionals, I heard countless […]

[For more, visit the Communication Insight Center.] When change initiatives fail, the culprit is often a lack of good communication from management. But...

Turning Negativity into Productivity Dealing with a pessimist on your team can be a frustrating and time-consuming experience. Attempts to ignore or counter...

A study found that "work from anywhere" policies increased productivity.

I spend a great deal of my time coaching executives on how to become more effective leaders and managers. An important part of this work is to help them develop good relationships with their key staff and stakeholders. We explore different ways of influencing, motivating, and leading people and by extending their skills — I […]

Companies must remake themselves into places of engagement, where people are committed to one another and their enterprise.

Lessons from 69 articles published in top management and applied psychology journals.

The fire chief is clearly displeased. He angrily upbraids his firefighting team for disregarding his direct order to evacuate a building that was on the verge of exploding. The firemen had their reasons for doing what they did, but in overriding direct orders they put themselves and their unit in added danger. Notably as the […]

What does it take to become more productive? Based on their recent research, the authors propose a process to help knowledge workers increase their productivity....