Author Archives: Jason

Soft skills are more than just a collection of techniques; they also subtly incorporate ways of thinking and perspectives. Forming friendships at work requires skill and appreciation of why it’s important for you and others. Generally, the same skills and thinking apply in much the same ways to our personal lives and our work lives.Continue reading “Friends at Work”

Different things drive different people. Neuroscience suggests that in fact it’s a combination of six core things. Let’s take a look at what they are along with a few wider principles. I’ve been trying to find an angle on the ‘motivating people’ topic for a while, it is a pretty wide topic with lots ofContinue reading “Motivating others – a personality perspective”

Feedback like nearly everything else you will read on this site needs to come from an honest interest in helping the person (I think a mantra is starting to form). If that is your goal then you are already halfway to providing good feedback. Here are some other tips that can be used with theContinue reading “Giving Feedback”

Here’s a great article from Daniel Goleman on using mindfulness to build resilience against challenging situations, people and stress in general. http://danielgoleman.info/2011/05/04/resilience-for-the-rest-of-us/ The mindfulness practice has a long and solid history not covered in this article but as a practitioner I can definitely swear by the results. Daniel also draws our attention to the amygdalaContinue reading “Building resilience”

This is a classic stumbling block for many leaders.Whether you are new to leadership or a relatively old hat it seems common that a lot of people miss the mark on when to consult people and when specify. Leaders that specify 99.9% of the time still achieve good results, especially if they are leading inContinue reading “The consultative leader problem”

What is the purpose of performance reviews? This is first question everyone should ask themselves before setting targets and conducting or eceiving a review. Properly understanding the purpose is key to getting the desired outcome. Here is a few interesting facts about performance targets and feedback; 1) Most people are harsher on themselves than any evaluator.Continue reading “Performance Reviews”

Came across Naikan this morning, a relatively simple activity which has studies supporting its benefit to significantly improving happiness. The simplicity, quick duration and proven results make it a pretty appealing practice. Results included awareness of other’s viewpoint, feelings of love, appreciation of life and sense of fulfillment.   Performed daily the Naikan practice isContinue reading “Naikan”

Leadership, team building, goal setting, people skills etc activities are pretty common place in many businesses these days.In different shapes and forms companies invest time and money into them to be the best and provide the best for their employees. Traditionally, at least in my experience, these leadership activities are performed using the same fundamentalsContinue reading “Symbols of Leadership”

Definitions – Generosity: readiness or liberality in giving. – Altruism: the principle or practice of unselfish concern for or devotion to the welfare of others. At first glance generosity seems like such a simple concept and is pretty easy to define. However there seem to be a few challenges around generosity that have captured myContinue reading “On Generosity”

Three articles and a podcast have come together lately to re-enforce the need to provide people with purpose. The other day I was reading an article on entrepreneurs; a key trait in them is that they like to create and build. It went on to say that not all people are oriented this way andContinue reading “Where is your company going?”