How might you describe the organizational cultures you’ve worked in? For me, I’ve worked in independent-detached cultures, toxic-politics cultures, unhealthy-anxiety cultures, and high-trust cultures. The one constant across all of these is that the organization’s culture—the way people think, behave, and interact—has influenced my own thinking, behavior, and interactions. You’ve probably experienced something similar. It’s
At a recent company meeting, one of the people on my team announced that she was “the most engaged at work” that she’s ever been. She’s worked on our team for several years, and this hasn’t been the easiest of them. Yet she is on fire. Imagine the impact her enthusiasm for work has on our
Relationships usually start with affinity: we work together, we live near each other, we both enjoy the same hobby or we exercise at the same gym. They deepen as we validate one another (implicitly or explicitly): we appreciate each other, we listen to each other, we show acts of kindness or we inflate each other’s
Recently, I caught up with Dr. Justin Anderson, a well-regarded leader in sports psychology, about my performance anxiety. Anderson coaches “acceptance and commitment,” and to illustrate, he has his clients picture their minds like a segment of a river. In this river, red leaves and green leaves will float by. Red leaves represent thoughts that drain
I have a confession that hurts to write: I don’t have much appreciation for people who aren’t useful to me. When someone works hard and improves their results over time, I’m invested in the relationship. When they aren’t demonstrating the activity I expect, I distance myself from them and consider ways to “fix” the situation.
We’ve been to the same furniture store four times and still haven’t bought a couch. Every visit we leave feeling overwhelmed with our choices. As the salesperson learns more about us, she presents more options—bedding, curtains and pillows to match! In her passion to present everything we might need, she’s driving us further and further
Wouldn’t it be great if you could have more meetings? If you’re like most leaders today, your response to that question probably lies somewhere between “No” and “Absolutely not!” But hear me out… Recently, a company hired me because their people haven’t been engaged and their strategic plans haven’t been gaining traction. Year after year,
Matt Norman is president of Norman & Associates, which offers Dale Carnegie Training in the North Central US. Dale Carnegie Training is a global organization ...READ MORE