Joy at Work Thinking
Written by Ed Cook
The questions to ask to make the mentor or coach choice clear
The words coach and mentor are often used interchangeably, making distinctions between them murky. This is unfortunate because the value of each can be tremendous for a person’s career, but where and how that val...
Written by Ed Cook
The words leader and manager are often used interchangeably, and with that slipshod usage, their individual meanings can be lost. Â Peter Drucker and Warren Bennis are often quoted as saying:
“Management is doing the things right and Leadership is doing the right thing.”   ...
Written by Ed Cook and Roxanne Brown
A common refrain in many conferences or conversations about Change Management is “people don’t like change.” On the surface, this is understandable. Change Management Professionals and Change Leaders will encounter people who actively push back on a Change or qu...
Written by Ed Cook
Humans walk about the Earth trying to make sense of it. Karl Weick introduced the concept of "sensemaking" to organizational studies in his 1969 book The Social Psychology of Organizing. His work described how humans understand the world in the face of uncertainty and labeled hum...
Written by Ed Cook
Engagement is a big word. Employee Engagement is an often discussed goal. Engaged employees are the ones who will stay with the organization. They are the ones who will do the difficult tasks and solve the difficult problems. But is this really true? Perhaps we need to go up a le...
Written by Ed Cook
One of the Ten Dimensions of Joy at Work is Belonging. It is one of the more obvious dimensions, who doesn’t want to belong; however, measuring belonging is not as obvious. Although we believe there is much that humans can simply intuit about joy attributes, such as belong...
Written by Ed Cook
Trust shows up frequently as a corporate value, a desirable commodity. It is inscribed on the dollar (“In God We Trust”), the official motto of the US. But for something that is valued so highly, organizations struggle to explain what Trust is. They seem unclear about how ...
Written by Ed Cook
Leaders who help to develop the skills and capabilities of their teammates are giving a gift that returns again and again. These brave leaders are attempting a process that can be both difficult to do and even damaging if not carefully done. What makes this such a difficult under...
Written by Ed Cook
The amount of participation from each team member is a meaningful predictor of a team’s success. Participation means being part of the team, not just showing up. The same root word for “part” (as in being part of) is at the heart of “participation.” Putting on a name tag (or a te...
Written by Roxanne Brown
When you're leading your team to change you may wonder: How do IÂ recognize and reinforce the progress people are making toward the change I have in mind?
Meaningful recognition demonstrates that you understand and respect the unique capabilities and contributions a per...
Written by Roxanne Brown
Imagine this: You trust everyone you work with to do what you need them to do, in the way you need them to do it. You know you can count on them to do their best, even when they make a mistake. Imagine how liberating that would be. Imagine what you could accomplish, what yo...
Written by Roxanne Brown
What's a Trust Fall? Or rather, what’s the point of it? The trust fall is an exercise meant to increase confidence between people: “I can rely on you for my safety and success when I’m at risk personally. And you can rely on me in the same way.” The hazards of the exercise ...
