In the past research has consistently demonstrated the importance of ‘dominance’ as a personality trait in influential leaders. Understanding this, the authors through their new research found that dominant individuals achieve influence because they tend to appear competent to others, even when they actually lack competence. Furthermore, dominant individuals behave in ways that make them […]
Read More… from How Dominant Personality Trumps Competence in Teams
The authors set out to examine the leadership tools required to help managers rise to new challenges faced during uncertain times. Using case studies of prominent leaders of the past 50 years, they explore the keys of effective leadership. They find that in order to inspire others and lead change in difficult times, the two […]
Read More… from Leadership Tools: Magnet to Pull, Hammer to Drive
When it comes to personalities and employment roles, extraverts have traditionally done well, as they tend to express confidence, dominance and enthusiasm easily – all traits typically associated with good-performing employees. After all, someone expressing anxiety, emotional volatility and an overall neurotic personality in comparison will hardly make a better employee, right? Not according to […]
Read More… from Status in the Team: Extraverts Vs Neurotics
In a survey by Staples, Inc. in 2010, three out of four respondents admitted to ‘office-chair envy’ – that is, coveting a co-worker’s office chair. It may sound laughable, but various degrees and forms of envy in the workplace are a reality. Whether it is for the time and attention of senior managers or for […]
Read More… from Envy at Work – Pros and Cons for the Organization
In January 2011, a football commentator found himself unceremoniously fired after he made a remark about the appearance of a female match official, and questioned whether another was capable of understanding the ‘offside rule.’ Many called his comments sexist and ‘prehistoric.’ However, there were also some people that suggested the commentator’s termination was a result […]
Read More… from Political Correctness Helps Expression in Mixed-Sex Teams
Building on the latest research on leadership, as well as scores of interviews with CEOs and other leaders, Professor of Strategy and Leadership Sydney Finkelstein of Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business has identified four key capabilities that he argues are essential to strategic leadership. The first is intellectual honesty, that is, the capability of the […]
Read More… from Four Capabilities of Great Strategic Leaders
Derailment is the term assigned to the phenomenon of once-successful managers whose careers have ‘gone off the track.’ They are no longer effective in their functions or as leaders. They are no longer promotable. They are no longer contributing to the organization, despite years of experience and accumulated knowledge. What happened? Through a number of […]
Read More… from When Successful Managers Go off the Rails
Assessing a situation before acting may seem like common sense. After all, many languages have an equivalent of the English proverb: ‘look before you leap’. However, people rarely apply this in their daily working lives; we seldom make time to stop and reflect on our processes, and most teams and organizations are action-orientated. If you […]
Read More… from How Team Reflexivity Fosters Innovation
From the Atari arcade games made popular in the 1970s-80s, to Angry Birds on iPhones across the world, video games have grown significantly in popularity and sophistication over the past few decades. This year sees the 65th birthday of the first patented video game, the ‘Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device’. Most of today’s workers have […]
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"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 […]
Read More… from The Cost of Rudeness and Incivility at Work