The Economist presents a vision of the office of the future which is not about work but about connecting. So out go Dilbert cubes and in come meeting rooms, maybe even a bar, with flexible spaces and technology to support collaboration and hybrid teams.
Oxford University business school psychologist Nelisha Wickremasinghe defines three states of our brains: threat brain, drive brain and safe brain. Stress activates threat brain but switching between states could be as easy as positive self-talk and steady breathing.
HBR provides a vision of feedback which is not difficult for the giver, nor demoralising for the receiver: don’t criticise but position yourself as an ally, be future focused, identify the corresponding strength which can be leveraged, and make a realistic plan.
BCG defines innovation readiness as opposed to intention – actual business commitment to innovation and this depends on two key dimension: leadership clarity on the importance to the business and the skills of teaming – genuine collaboration to deliver customer value.
LinkedIn learning’s review of 2021 shows confidence among L&D leaders that they have a seat at the exec table now. Their key focus is upskilling, particularly in resilience and digital fluency, and social learning is still the most effective way to drive engagement.
CapGemini research suggests there is a gap between senior leaders perception of their ability to adapt to the new challenges of hybrid work and employees actual experience. In particular fewer than 40% employees feel teams are empowered to make decisions.
McKinsey suggests organisations are missing the point about ‘the great attrition’ by offering more money to retain staff when what they really want is genuine investment in the human aspects of work: purpose, development, connection and shared identity.
Dan Rockwell ‘Leadership Freak’ reflects on the power of gossip to strengthen social ties and police bad behaviours; he introduces us to the concept of reverse gossip – ask your team to say something good about team members who aren’t in the room. We tried it and it works!