Think you understand the workplace? Five ways you’re probably wrong.
I like to keep up with psychology research. I feel it's part of my responsibility as a practising psychologist to have at least some idea of the latest findings. What's struck me recently is how often the research has confounded my thinking, suggesting something counter-intuitive. So here are five pieces of common sense, received wisdom about the workplace that recent psychological research suggests are wrong: 1. Leaders should embody their company's culture This is just obvious, isn't it? What could be worse than having a leader who's out of step with the culture of the organisation? Well in terms of ...
Psychology snippets – Four things you’ll be discussing at the water cooler
It’s August. You’re probably on holiday or wishing you were. In the press, this is the season where traditionally the quirkier stories get an airing, so I thought I’d do the same here. These are the four most interesting bits of psychological research or thinking that I’ve seen in the last few months: 1. How quickly should you answer emails? It depends on your status, according to a piece of psychological research. Imagine you’re collaborating on a project and someone asks for ideas. If you don’t have much status in the group, e.g. you’re quite junior or inexperienced, you need ...
Three management fads to be wary of in 2016
So we’re well into the New Year, your feet are back under the desk, Christmas is a distant memory and maybe you’re thinking about things you might do differently at work in 2016. There’ll be no shortage of people to advise you on exciting new approaches you might want to try but how do you know what works? Well here are three hot topics to be wary of: 1. Neuro-leadership Neuro-leadership, neuro-management, neuro-marketing, even neuro-politics – it seems sticking the prefix neuro- on to something makes it instantly more scientifically credible. It’s all very 21st century, very now and, sadly ...
The 7 most useful, interesting or just plain weird bits of psychology from 2014
It’s that time of year for annual roundups and reviews of the highlights of the year, so here are 7 of my favourite random bits of psychology from 2014, including when bankers cheat, the nasty side of niceness, the unexpected effect of women handling men’s underpants and why Brummies should consider relocating to Tel Aviv……… 1. How to appear more intelligent According to this useful summary of the research, people are likely to perceive you as smarter if you: • Smile • Enunciate your words clearly and speak with expression • Don’t expose too much skin • Use a middle initial ...
Think you understand the workplace? Five ways you’re probably wrong.
I like to keep up with psychology research. I feel it's part of my responsibility as a practising psychologist to have at least some idea of the latest findings. What's struck me recently is how often the research has confounded my thinking, suggesting something counter-intuitive. So here are five pieces of common sense, received wisdom about the workplace that recent psychological research suggests are wrong: 1. Leaders should embody their company's culture This is just obvious, isn't it? What could be worse than having a leader who's out of step with the culture of the organisation? Well in terms of ...
Psychology snippets – Four things you’ll be discussing at the water cooler
It’s August. You’re probably on holiday or wishing you were. In the press, this is the season where traditionally the quirkier stories get an airing, so I thought I’d do the same here. These are the four most interesting bits of psychological research or thinking that I’ve seen in the last few months: 1. How quickly should you answer emails? It depends on your status, according to a piece of psychological research. Imagine you’re collaborating on a project and someone asks for ideas. If you don’t have much status in the group, e.g. you’re quite junior or inexperienced, you need ...
Three management fads to be wary of in 2016
So we’re well into the New Year, your feet are back under the desk, Christmas is a distant memory and maybe you’re thinking about things you might do differently at work in 2016. There’ll be no shortage of people to advise you on exciting new approaches you might want to try but how do you know what works? Well here are three hot topics to be wary of: 1. Neuro-leadership Neuro-leadership, neuro-management, neuro-marketing, even neuro-politics – it seems sticking the prefix neuro- on to something makes it instantly more scientifically credible. It’s all very 21st century, very now and, sadly ...
The 7 most useful, interesting or just plain weird bits of psychology from 2014
It’s that time of year for annual roundups and reviews of the highlights of the year, so here are 7 of my favourite random bits of psychology from 2014, including when bankers cheat, the nasty side of niceness, the unexpected effect of women handling men’s underpants and why Brummies should consider relocating to Tel Aviv……… 1. How to appear more intelligent According to this useful summary of the research, people are likely to perceive you as smarter if you: • Smile • Enunciate your words clearly and speak with expression • Don’t expose too much skin • Use a middle initial ...
