When you look at all of the stats pointing to the low levels of employee engagement in the US and around the world, you might start to believe that people are naturally lazy and disengaged—or that people wouldn’t work if they didn’t have to. But that’s not true. In fact, that kind of misinterpretation of…
If you are a manager, supervisor, or an executive at any level, I think you’ll find the latest research on leadership power relevant to your job, the people you lead, and the results you seek. Consider this story shared by a woman in a workshop I was teaching on motivation. While taking her normal elevator…
Are your leadership practices based on outdated assumptions about the true nature of human motivation? Think about how you might approach leadership differently if you took into account some of the latest findings: – Our basic human nature is to thrive. No one wants to be bored and disengaged. People want to contribute. People appreciate meaningful…
I recently flew to New York City to meet with the head of one of the world’s largest wealth management companies. He told me he’d read my book, Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work… and What Does multiple times and was dedicated to using its ideas to change the culture of his organization. Pretty heady stuff.…
When your organization and people are challenged with impending doom—I mean, impending change—leaders often stick their heads in the sand and hope it passes. Yes, it will pass, but your organization can take advantage of the transition using the science of motivation and what we know about the way people experience change. People go through…
If you are a leader on a mission to focus the actions of your people this year, would you be surprised if I suggested having your people focus on something other than the actions you wanted them to take? It may feel counterintuitive, but the key to taking action is to shift your focus from…
“As a leader, how do I set goals and enforce deadlines without people feeling imposed by expectations?” This is a great question often posed in our Optimal Motivation workshops. I understand that you are between a rock and hard place—on one hand, you are responsible for getting results; on the other hand, the traditional tactics…
