Cultural Cohesion

This year I’ve done work that’s borne the least resemblance to the “plan” of any work I’ve ever done, whilst simultaneously being some of the most meaningful work I’ve ever done. What we eventually did with the client was in a different universe to our agreed programme of work, but it was what mattered most at that moment.

What’s your plan to not be busy? Can’t answer that? That’s why you’re so busy.

Every organization needs a reliable system of accountability to help ensure teams are actually completing projects and meeting goals in a timely way. In this piece, author Robert Reffkin, founder and CEO of Compass, lays out the system he implemented at his company. He calls it the Single Point of Accountability (SPOA) approach.

In far too many companies, there is the appearance of harmony and alignment but in reality there’s often dysfunction simmering beneath the surface. The intention behind cultivating a nice culture is often genuine. Leaders believe they’re doing a good thing that will motivate people and create inclusion. But often it has the opposite effect and the result is a lack of honest communication, intellectual bravery, innovation, and accountability.

A lot has been written about innovation, and I thought I’d read most of it. But at a recent conference on inclusion hosted by Workplace Equity and Equality, participants explored innovation in ways I hadn’t considered.

The idea can seem overwhelming to leaders, but this one thing can make a major difference.

Culture is an experience, not a policy

As a leader, you should appreciate that the differentiating factor for creating and sustaining high performance in your workforce is … you. While it might not be a groundbreaking revelation, the fact that effective leadership is essential to employee work passion, customer satisfaction and organizational vitality does raise a set of questions worth considering.

Especially in tumultuous times, managers and their teams increasingly depend on candor, speed, and creativity to make progress. Creating psychological safety — the confidence that candor and vulnerability are welcome — in a workplace is truly challenging and takes an unusual degree of commitment and skill. But it can be done.

Our studies show that receiving recognition helps employees appreciate the support they receive from others and triggers them to give recognition too.

To impose the changes needed to achieve promises of racial justice, equity, and inclusion, organizations require all hands on deck — at levels of the company. But widespread support on any effort can be difficult to garner, especially when it comes to DE&I work. An essential part of this is to create a culture where every employee, regardless of their background, feels they belong.

The effectiveness of your business rests in its ability to concentrate. That ability to focus on what is most important is vital if your business is to outcompete others in its marketplace.

The founders of Motto say that the most innovative workers approach problems and solutions with blinding originality despite all their quirks and sharp elbows.

A new study finds that grit is a better predictor of performance success than talent or mindset. It helps you find your flow, too.

One beautiful yet sometimes frustrating truth is that not all creative thinking is the same… or in the same league. Why are some people able to connect dots into a breakthrough insight, or develop a jaw-dropping concept for a problem we had yet to define?

Loneliness comes with many negative side effects, and rates of loneliness at work have risen thanks to the pandemic. While increasing face-to-face interaction may be beneficial for some aspects of work, it’s not enough to create strong interpersonal bonds among colleagues. Whatever form the return to the workplace takes, building high-quality connections will require a focused set of structures and practices built on a bedrock of psychological safety.

It can be easy to absorb messages in our society that time is a limited resource — a commodity to be managed rather than squandered. And certainly, the various hacks to manage time more efficiently are necessary if you need more discipline and structure. But for some people, time management is a barrier to true effectiveness and productivity.

Change is always taxing and more demanding than business as usual, which is why it is always met with resistance. That’s why there’s never been a more important time for managers to act with emotional intelligence (EQ) if they want to make hybrid work, work.

Middle managers have long had reputations as ineffective or weak supervisors. But research shows that, in fact, they’re often the people that make an organization run smoothly between hierarchies.

In How to Change, Wharton professor Katy Milkman delves into the science that can help us make changes stick.