Producing great work or making things happen? Which motivates you?
Think back to the last time you felt really pleased* with your work. What caused you to be pleased? Did you produce some really good quality work - a design, a report, an ad campaign? Or did you make something happen - hit a target, win a new client? I don't want to suggest that these things are mutually exclusive, but there is a fundamental difference. One is about outputs, the other about outcomes. The nature of you role will determine which one you focus on - and get measured on. If you're a designer, you'll be judged on the ...
Why do so few businesses have a decent strategy?
In my 25 years as a business psychologist, I've worked with a lot of businesses, particularly mid-sized companies, and it's surprising just how few of them have a decent strategy. By 'a decent strategy' I mean that the business knows where it's going and how it's going to get there. "We want to double in size in the next five years" - a surprisingly common aspiration - is not a strategy. Double what? Turnover? Profit? Market share? Even if the overall goal is clear, the route to get there is often sketchy. This is unlikely to surprise you if you ...
The riskiest behaviour I’ve engaged in – and I bet you have too
I don't think of myself as much of a risk taker. I'm generally fairly cautious - no high risk investments, Vegas holidays or adventure sports for me. But recently I've noticed just how risky some of my behaviour can be. I guarantee some of yours is too. To illustrate, let me tell you about my garden. When we moved into our house 20 years ago, the small garden was very basic - a scrappy lawn with some flower beds round the edges. Despite being a novice gardener, I wanted something grander. I wanted a stately home garden in a matchbox. ...
How should we address climate change at work? Part 2 – let’s talk about it
In November I wrote the first of a two-part series looking at the climate crisis in a work context. It explored the psychological barriers that stop us even thinking about the subject and ended with a promise that next time I'd explore what we should actually do. It's taken me four months to reach the conclusion that I don't know. And actually, that's ok. Why would I know when everyone's situation is so different? But what I have realised is that we need to normalise talking about the climate at work. Having spoken to a lot of people who have ...
How do you navigate organisational politics?
What do you think of when you hear the term 'organisational politics'? My hunch is it's back stabbing, pointless rivalries, sucking up to the boss, that kind of thing. I'm not going to pretend that that isn't a feature of many workplaces. If you work somewhere with really dysfunctional politics, it pays to be alert, to work out who you can trust - and to do what. But the reality is all organisations are political. Some of my clients tell me that they're lucky to work in an organisation with "no politics". What they mean is little or no dysfunctional ...
Who do you think you are?
I'm not issuing that as a challenge, more an invitation for some gentle introspection. The way we think about our identity - the way we describe ourselves to ourselves and to others - has an impact on the way we operate in the world. This is particularly true in our working lives and sometimes that impact is not helpful. So this month I want to look at five situations where it might be useful to think about the way you think about yourself. 1. When you take a step up If you move into something bigger - promotion, higher profile ...
What do we mean by resilience? A conversation with a CEO
Resilience. There's a topic that's had loads of airtime over the last year. How resilient are you? How do you improve your resilience? I wrote about it myself just a few months ago. But what do we really mean by resilience – and might some definitions actually be unhelpful? This month's blog was inspired by a conversation with an experienced CEO and non-exec director, Andrew Manning, who contacted me as he has a particular interest in resilience. It's a little different from my usual posts in that it takes the form of a conversation where we explore the topic. Caroline ...
Joining at a distance: Five things missing when people start new jobs remotely
We’re nearly a year into the pandemic and, for many of us, life goes on. I'm working with companies who are recruiting and coaching a couple of people who’ve started new leadership positions during lockdown. But starting a new job is different now. This month I want to focus what's missing when people start new jobs in a pandemic. So here are five things you don’t get in a remote working environment - and some of them have an upside. 1. Physical presence Like it or not, we make judgments about people, often unconsciously, based on their physical presence – ...
COVID-19: What will September bring?
It may be only the end of July but I'm turning my attention to September as I think it's worth planning for now. September has always had a feel of New Year, back to normal about it, but this year what kind of normal will it be? Even if you're going to keep working from home well into next year, as many organisations are planning to do, September is still likely to feel psychologically different. So whatever your working arrangements are likely to be, here are five things to consider: 1. Still Working From Home After four months, it's easy ...
COVID-19: What next? Who knows? Living with uncertainty
So here we are, tentatively venturing back out into the world and wondering what life will be like. There is no shortage of commentators predicting the business, societal and political changes which will result from the pandemic. I am not one of them. What I want to look at is how we handle the level of uncertainty we are facing. Here are six observations. 1. Predictability vs uncertainty One of the overlooked aspects of the pandemic is the weird juxtaposition of massive uncertainty alongside monotonous predictability. On the one hand, you know what your days are going to look ...
Producing great work or making things happen? Which motivates you?
Think back to the last time you felt really pleased* with your work. What caused you to be pleased? Did you produce some really good quality work - a design, a report, an ad campaign? Or did you make something happen - hit a target, win a new client? I don't want to suggest that these things are mutually exclusive, but there is a fundamental difference. One is about outputs, the other about outcomes. The nature of you role will determine which one you focus on - and get measured on. If you're a designer, you'll be judged on the ...
Why do so few businesses have a decent strategy?
In my 25 years as a business psychologist, I've worked with a lot of businesses, particularly mid-sized companies, and it's surprising just how few of them have a decent strategy. By 'a decent strategy' I mean that the business knows where it's going and how it's going to get there. "We want to double in size in the next five years" - a surprisingly common aspiration - is not a strategy. Double what? Turnover? Profit? Market share? Even if the overall goal is clear, the route to get there is often sketchy. This is unlikely to surprise you if you ...
The riskiest behaviour I’ve engaged in – and I bet you have too
I don't think of myself as much of a risk taker. I'm generally fairly cautious - no high risk investments, Vegas holidays or adventure sports for me. But recently I've noticed just how risky some of my behaviour can be. I guarantee some of yours is too. To illustrate, let me tell you about my garden. When we moved into our house 20 years ago, the small garden was very basic - a scrappy lawn with some flower beds round the edges. Despite being a novice gardener, I wanted something grander. I wanted a stately home garden in a matchbox. ...
How should we address climate change at work? Part 2 – let’s talk about it
In November I wrote the first of a two-part series looking at the climate crisis in a work context. It explored the psychological barriers that stop us even thinking about the subject and ended with a promise that next time I'd explore what we should actually do. It's taken me four months to reach the conclusion that I don't know. And actually, that's ok. Why would I know when everyone's situation is so different? But what I have realised is that we need to normalise talking about the climate at work. Having spoken to a lot of people who have ...
How do you navigate organisational politics?
What do you think of when you hear the term 'organisational politics'? My hunch is it's back stabbing, pointless rivalries, sucking up to the boss, that kind of thing. I'm not going to pretend that that isn't a feature of many workplaces. If you work somewhere with really dysfunctional politics, it pays to be alert, to work out who you can trust - and to do what. But the reality is all organisations are political. Some of my clients tell me that they're lucky to work in an organisation with "no politics". What they mean is little or no dysfunctional ...
Who do you think you are?
I'm not issuing that as a challenge, more an invitation for some gentle introspection. The way we think about our identity - the way we describe ourselves to ourselves and to others - has an impact on the way we operate in the world. This is particularly true in our working lives and sometimes that impact is not helpful. So this month I want to look at five situations where it might be useful to think about the way you think about yourself. 1. When you take a step up If you move into something bigger - promotion, higher profile ...
What do we mean by resilience? A conversation with a CEO
Resilience. There's a topic that's had loads of airtime over the last year. How resilient are you? How do you improve your resilience? I wrote about it myself just a few months ago. But what do we really mean by resilience – and might some definitions actually be unhelpful? This month's blog was inspired by a conversation with an experienced CEO and non-exec director, Andrew Manning, who contacted me as he has a particular interest in resilience. It's a little different from my usual posts in that it takes the form of a conversation where we explore the topic. Caroline ...
Joining at a distance: Five things missing when people start new jobs remotely
We’re nearly a year into the pandemic and, for many of us, life goes on. I'm working with companies who are recruiting and coaching a couple of people who’ve started new leadership positions during lockdown. But starting a new job is different now. This month I want to focus what's missing when people start new jobs in a pandemic. So here are five things you don’t get in a remote working environment - and some of them have an upside. 1. Physical presence Like it or not, we make judgments about people, often unconsciously, based on their physical presence – ...
COVID-19: What will September bring?
It may be only the end of July but I'm turning my attention to September as I think it's worth planning for now. September has always had a feel of New Year, back to normal about it, but this year what kind of normal will it be? Even if you're going to keep working from home well into next year, as many organisations are planning to do, September is still likely to feel psychologically different. So whatever your working arrangements are likely to be, here are five things to consider: 1. Still Working From Home After four months, it's easy ...
COVID-19: What next? Who knows? Living with uncertainty
So here we are, tentatively venturing back out into the world and wondering what life will be like. There is no shortage of commentators predicting the business, societal and political changes which will result from the pandemic. I am not one of them. What I want to look at is how we handle the level of uncertainty we are facing. Here are six observations. 1. Predictability vs uncertainty One of the overlooked aspects of the pandemic is the weird juxtaposition of massive uncertainty alongside monotonous predictability. On the one hand, you know what your days are going to look ...
