Slow Leadership

Corporations have a love affair with micro-management

“Over last ten years or so, I’ve noticed a definite shift, particularly in the expectations that top executives demand from mid-level managers. I now believe that the commonly held definition of management, at least for that middle level, is more akin to either simply, ‘Getting things done’, ‘Getting things done yourself’ or worse, ‘Getting things done in spite of people.’ Enter the micromanager. While micromanagers may be the bane of their co-workers and direct reports, the top echelons of corporations can’t seem to get enough of them.” [Read more >>] [via]

Natural talents: the importance of what you can’t not do

“Everyone has natural, innate talent. Just watch them. Pay attention to yourself, too. Watch who can’t not organize something. . .who can’t not run the numbers when a project is proposed. . .who can’t not ask just the right question at the right moment. These are all indicators of one’s innate talent. What can’t you not do?” [Read more >>]

Is pressure a good thing?

“Waiting — even for a second or two — is the technique behind the success of many people. And it is a particularly worthwhile technique when under pressure because each level of complexity in the decision requires more time. Obvious enough perhaps — and the reason that the first thought ought to be, ‘how can I give myself more time to take this decision’.” [Read more >>]

It’s always the right time to say thanks

“It’s easy to understand why we don’t say thank-you as often as we should. In our hectic, overcommitted lives, we tend to focus primarily or exclusively on our own needs and desires. When we’re not immersed in activity (and sometimes even when we are), we mentally go through the items on our extensive to-do lists. . . . Nevertheless, everyone wins when we step outside of ourselves and acknowledge the many things for which we should be grateful, in every area of our lives.” [Read more >>]

The forgotten other half

“I keep hearing that this is a record-breaking economy. I hear presidential candidates say that cutting taxes for the rich makes our nation stronger; and that so long as the stock market is buzzing, our economy is winning. I’m telling you that we’re wrong. I’m telling you that we are failing our own. There is a divide in this country, it is bigger than red and blue, and it is growing. There is a widening gulf between the haves and those who don’t even have enough to pay the gas bill.” [Read more >>]

Bad habits to stop now

“. . . nine stressful and common habits that entrepreneurs and office workers should strive to eliminate. Focus on one or two at a time, just as you would with high-priority to-do items.” [Read more >>]

Doing things backwards.

“What is one of the most effective ways to change your own behavior and habits? Doing things backwards. What I mean by backward is that if you for instance start moving slower you soon start feeling calmer. If you start to — even if your force it — you soon feel happy and like you actually want to smile. It’s kinda strange but it sure does work.” [Read more >>]

Stress is a career-killer

“What the study found is that when employees are stressed, their emotional intelligence — in other words, their ability to monitor and interpret their emotions and the emotions of those around them — is stunted.” [Read more >>]

10 Tips for creating an ethical culture, one decency at a time

“One of the toughest tasks for a manager, no matter what type of company you work for, is to earn the respect and the trust of those who work for you, while still ensuring that your company or department is meeting all of its production / financial goals. [. . . ] Ethics in the workplace . . . is very much a consistently challenging idea—maybe because it’s so rare, or maybe because “ethics” is usually one of those subjects that you have to take a whole separate class on in management school. Rather than having it taught as part and parcel of how a manager should conduct himself or herself, ethics is considered something ‘extra’ . . .” [Read more >>]

Workaholics dissatisfied, study shows

“‘They devote more effort to work, but they derive no more satisfaction or pleasure from it than do non-workaholics,’ writes Statistics Canada analyst Leslie-Anne Keown, author of Time Escapes Me: Workaholics and Time Perception. ‘They are very dissatisfied with their work-life balance and wish they could spend more time with family and friends.’” [Read more >>]

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