3605 Posts Found

The leader’s first job is to be a missionary, to remind people what is special about them and their institutions. Second it is to set up the infrastructure for that to happen—not the superstructure, not to take the actual decisions, but to set the support systems, the people in place. The two go together; it’s no good having a brilliant strategy and structure and great … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Charles Handy | Source: Leader to Leader | Subjects: Leadership, Management, Organizational Behavior, Strategy

The interesting thing about organizations is that they can make the assumption that they’re never going to die. And the reason that you stay immortal is you have discovered what’s unique about you. The job of the leader is to work that out. To express it. Very few leaders succeed in doing this. I ask a lot of leaders of organizations what it’s all about. … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Charles Handy | Source: Leader to Leader | Subjects: Leadership, Mission, Organizational Behavior

In new businesses, the start-up group—which may be 10, 20, 50 people—has a psychological stake and often a financial stake in the business. These people use what I describe as the twin hierarchy approach. That is, there is the hierarchy of status—though not more than three or four levels. You find this in professional organizations, with senior partners, ordinary partners, and associates who would like … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Charles Handy | Source: Leader to Leader | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Organizational Behavior

Cultures develop myths when they can’t rely on existing knowledge to explain the world around them. They are developed and passed down in an effort to explain why certain mysterious events occur, or to affirm how we should behave and think. Creativity is no different. These myths were prevalent almost everywhere I looked—everywhere except in the most innovative companies and people. If we want to … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: David Burkus | Source: ChangeThis | Subjects: Innovation, Organizational Behavior

I learned from Peter J. Gomes that people burn out less from a lack of energy than from a lack of a sense of purpose.

Content: Quotation | Author: Taylor Bodman | Source: Leader to Leader | Subjects: Leadership, Management, Motivation, Organizational Behavior

The cofounder of unconscious thought theory explains how taking a break and distracting the mind can lead to higher-quality decision making.

Content: Thought Leader | Authors: Ken Favaro, Loran Nordgren | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Demographics, Management, Organizational Behavior, Personal Development, Productivity / Work Tips

There are two kinds of power in the world: organized money and organized people.

Content: Quotation | Subject: Power / Authority

Smart organizations ignore the urgent. Smart organizations understand that important issues are the ones to deal with. If you focus on the important stuff, the urgent will take care of itself. A key corollary to this principle is the idea that if you don’t have the time to do it right, there’s no way in the world you’ll find the time to do it over. … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Seth Godin | Source: Fast Company | Subjects: Attention, Decision Making, Management, Personal Development, Time Management

In many organizations, employees know more about their work than their managers. This reality should force organizations that still cling to the old, top-down style of managing to recognize that many employees today are very capable of managing themselves. This author explains the “Why” and “How” of a new style of managing for today.

Content: Article | Author: Mitch McCrimmon, Ph.D. | Source: Ivey Business Journal | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior

Superstition is merely the confusion of correlation and causality. Any human (in fact, any animal) tends to repeat behavior that is followed by positive reinforcement. The more we achieve, the more reinforcement we get. One of the greatest mistakes of successful leaders is the assumption, “I behave this way, and I achieve results. Therefore, I must achieve results because I behave this way. […] One … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Marshall Goldsmith | Source: Fast Company | Subjects: Leadership, Management, Personal Development, Personality / Behavior

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As analytics exert greater influence in organizational decision making, the question of how to manage this essential asset is coming to a head.

Content: Article | Authors: Boris Abezgauz, Kumar Krishnamurthy, Tom Casey | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior

Why do so many people dislike their bosses? One reason is that people in positions of authority are frequently asked not to exercise their leadership. Instead of mobilizing their constituents to face tough, frustrating challenges, they are asked to protect those constituents from having to make adjustments. That’s why leadership is dangerous. Sure, you have to protect people from change. But you also have to … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Ronald A. Heifetz | Source: Fast Company | Subjects: Change Management, Leadership, Organizational Behavior

It is not centralization that drives scale; it’s specialization. And that doesn’t have to be central at all. Specialization is about where you create centers of excellence—and that may or may not be at the corporate center. Now, creating this integrated network of specialized operations does increase the coordination needs. So when we wrote about centralization versus coordination, we emphasized the challenges of coordinating operations … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Christopher A. Bartlett | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Management, Operations, Organizational Behavior

How better design could fix your workday—and your life .

Content: Article | Author: Julie Beck | Source: The Atlantic Monthly | Subject: Organizational Behavior

As any frustrated executive can vouch, the best plans count for naught if they are not implemented. Yet what exists, other than gut instinct, to inform leaders’ decisions around organizational engagement? In focusing on strategy execution and changes that depend on large numbers of people working together, we identify three factors that are present when organizations achieve their goals.

Content: Article | Authors: Andrew Garber, David Brown, Frederick D. Miller | Source: Deloitte Review | Subjects: Leadership, Management, Organizational Behavior

Free lunches, foosball tables, and other perks don’t matter as much as your employees’ engagement levels.

Content: Article | Author: Susan Sorenson | Source: Gallup Management Journal | Subjects: Human Resources, Management, Organizational Behavior

Structure influences behavior. When placed in the same system, people, however different, tend to produce similar results.

Content: Quotation | Author: Peter Senge | Subjects: Culture, Organizational Behavior

Dante’s got nothing on the endless loops of interruptions, overwhelming emails and pointless formalities that plague workplaces. Here’s how to break free.

Content: Article | Author: Stephanie Vozza | Source: Fast Company | Subject: Organizational Behavior

A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right man’s brow.

Content: Quotation | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Management, Organizational Behavior