The dominant, but tacit, influencer that has the capacity to both limit and liberate a business: are the shared organisational beliefs. They are a silent power within every organisation that’s quietly moulding the patterns of behaviour that will determine the culture and organizational performance.
Category: Reads
The Made-up Nonsense About Generations At Work
The job hopping myth is just one of the made-up generalizations wrongly shaping the way we think about generational differences in the workplace. Knowing such claims to be false the Corporate Rebels decided to put some of them to the test looking at the evidence behind what millennials and other generations want and need from work. The needs can be roughly summarized with the following list: purpose, meaning, freedom, autonomy, fun, and personal development. But aren’t these really universal basic human needs rather than what might be separating Millennials from the baby boomers and other generations?
Written and published by Corporate Rebels
It’s Never Too Early To Fire
The longer founders or CEOs wait to fire people that don’t work out in and for the company, the more compounded success is lost. This is counter to the prevailing wisdom about working with someone to help them do their job well: developing a training program, a system of accountability, perhaps professional development. But in the world of startups, it’s important to make a quick decision, and fire fast.
Written by Lars Dalgaard, published on a16z blog
The Dark Side Of Transparency
What about transparency within organizations? Many emphasize the benefits of sharing information freely, as a way of empowering employees and improving the quality and speed of decision making. But there is also a “dark side” to transparency. This article looks at three main areas where too much transparency creates problems and offers some guidance on how to get the balance right.
Julian Birkinshaw and Dan Cable, published by McKinsey Quarterly
Avoid Disastrous Decisions With These Four Meeting Practices
If teams practice and are used to top-down communication and way of handling decisions on a day-to-day basis, these patterns will likely become the trained muscle memory for the group and the muscles for speaking up, dissenting, and taking initiative will atrophy. Leaders can follow four meeting practices that will help bring organizational muscles that include the employee’s diverse eyes, ears and voices in shape.
Written by David Marquet, published on Forbes
The Power Of Pride At Facebook
Pride in the company is an engine of engagement. As Voltaire put it, “We are rarely proud when we are alone.” When we feel connected to something bigger than ourselves, we bring more of ourselves to work. We feel a sense of ownership at the office. It’s not just the place we work—it’s a part of who we are.
Written by Lori Goler, Janelle Gale, Brynn Harrington, Adam Grant, published on Fast Company
6 Exercises To Help Safeguard Against Artificial Harmony
A lack of conflict isn’t necessarily a sign of a like-minded, fully-aligned group with a project that is humming along smoothly. On the contrary, it usually means that essential conflict isn’t happening, resulting in disengaged team members and the rare, honest conversations happening in the shadows.
Written by Carolyn Kopprasch, published on OpenBuffer
Five Skills You’ll Need To Lead The Company Of The Future
Today, we live in a time of rapid change, when products and services often become obsolete overnight, and competition includes startups and companies in adjacent industries – the traditional leadership archetypes of a singular vision and strong command need not apply. To accommodate and achieve effectiveness in highly dynamic environments an entirely new value system is beginning to emerge for the leaders of the future, one that will continue to grow with the rise of new tools like artificial intelligence, robotics, and automation.
Written by Jared Lindzon, published on Fast Company
Why Workplace Mindfulness Is Simpler Than You Might Think
Mindfulness at work proves to have positive effects on increased productivity, wellness, happiness, and energy. These are few of the reasons businesses are integrating elements of mindfulness into their organizational practices. Getting started is as simple as becoming more aware of yourself and the world around you.
Authored by Bianca Bartz for hazel
The Organization Of The Future: Arriving Now
In today’s digital context organizations face a growing imperative to redesign themselves to move faster, adapt more quickly, facilitate rapid learning, and embrace the dynamic career demands of their people. A growing number of leading organizations are taking the leap of faith to explore, experiment and adapt new ways of organizing and running their operations with the purpose of actively building organizational structures for effective value creation and high-performance in a digital economy.
