Joy at Work Thinking

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

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 u...

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 I 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 if you trusted everyone you work with to do everything you need them to do, in the way you need them to do it. Imagine how liberating that would be. Imagine what you could accomplish, what your team could accomplish. It’s all about Trust.

Trust is complicated. ...

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 ...

Ed explains how to calculate whether Change Management is worth investing in for your business change: The return on investment in Change Management.

Written by Ed Cook

As a leader, it can be difficult to convey how you want the team to be. Not what the team does but how the team is. People know how their team feels. They know the culture and norms and habits of the team. But is the feeling, on the team, what the leader intends? For leaders to g...

Written by Ed Cook

With the amount of energy that organizations put into the development of management skills, you might expect that most managers are great. Yet Gallup’s research shows that great managers are rare. A stunning 82% of the time, companies hire the wrong person to be a manager. Gallup...