Seasonal depression is well-known and has traditionally been easy to recognize: difficulty concentrating, low levels of energy, etc. — all related to bleak winter weather conditions. So naturally, it follows that we assume the opposite in weather conditions leads to positive outcomes. Indeed, some previous studies have found this link to be true, linking good […]
Subject: Performance Management
Calling in the Consultants: Risks and Rewards
Troubled manufacturing company the KSV is at crisis point. Its Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) program has failed to deliver the expected benefits, and two of its biggest customers, Avobus and Ecotech, are threatening to defect. Senior members of staff are divided, and, after a particularly difficult meeting, managing director James Grader, brought in to […]
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When Financial Incentives Backfire
Economic theory tells us that human capital, i.e. employee ability, is positively linked to productivity and that high performers should be rewarded. Strong financial incentives for performance, however, can carry unexpected costs for companies. (The financial crisis was but the most vivid demonstration of this.) A recent study of a private Polish retail bank suggests […]
Narcissistic CEOs – A Signature for Poor Performance
Recently, faculty from Kenan-Flagler Business School and Robert H. Smith School of Business looked at the relationship between egotistic (or narcissistic) CEOs and firm performance by measuring ego by the size of signatures on yearly SEC filings. They looked at about 400 CEO signatures from the annual SEC filings from companies in the S&P 500, […]
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Reporting Risk When Reporting Performance to the Board
Performance and risk are actually two sides of the same coin. Although they have traditionally been reported and managed by different organisational functions, there is a growing tendency to link them – for example, by integrating risk indicators into the company’s performance scorecard. Separate risk reporting zooms in specifically on the risk aspect of the […]
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The Value of Front Line Managers
CEOs are often put under the spotlight, with everything from how they spend their time to their leadership style closely scrutinized. But what about managers and supervisors lower down in organization hierarchies? These are the people that most employees directly work with, yet their ‘value’ is less discussed, which is surprising considering more often than […]
Live and Learn: The Innovation Imperative
There is a quote from Mahatma Gandhi that should be in the lexicon of every aspiring business: “Live as if you were to die tomorrow, learn as if you were to live forever”. Yet many firms shy away from innovation. Sticking with what they know, they fail to see the benefit of a lifelong learning […]
The Cost of Rudeness and Incivility at Work
"One-half of all employees reported being on the receiving end of rudeness at least once a week — compared to only one-quarter 1998." Christine Pearson of Thunderbird and Christine Porath of Georgetown have been researching rudeness and incivility in the workplace for many years, and in 2009 published a book about their research called The […]
Mars Vs Venus: Gender and Self-Image in the Workplace
What is your view of yourself as a leader, and how does it compare to what those around you think? Recent research shows that when examining their competence as leaders in four key areas (self-confidence, self-management, interpersonal understanding, and behavioural flexibility) both sexes initially rate themselves higher than their peers do. Over time, however, peer […]
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Harnessing Individual and Organization Networks
Finding ways to generate more value from employees and optimize talent is critical for leaders and HR professionals. Organizations could get even more from their investments in talent management if they focused on collaboration. That is why leaders need to be aware of how collaboration takes place among top performers and key experts in their […]
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