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January 22, 2015
Generosity is giving freely and unselfishly of your time, money, and resources to benefit others. But generosity is a paradox, say sociologists Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson.
How so?
January 21, 2015
First I recommended the idea of starting small—trying a Spark of Kindness as a small experiment in a safe place. This is a good piece of practical wisdom.
But, you can also go big! Sparks can be small or large—any Spark can start a wildfire! Is a big experiment for you?
January 20, 2015
Trying something new can cause anxiety. I teach courses about Positive Organizational Scholarship, and there’s always something new to try at work or home. Many people, I’ve observed, can be hesitant.
What if it doesn’t work? What if I’m embarrassed?
When this occurs, here’s the advice I always give, which I learned from a colleague: Try a small experiment in a safe place. Would this help you Spark kindness?
January 19, 2015
Want to make the world a better place? Want to be a better person? Not sure what to do? Here’s a possibility: Join Sparks of Kindness.
January 8, 2015
Jane Dutton’s research mentioned in the Huffington Post:
“One big building block of resilience is connection, but not just any old connection. High-quality relationships are critical to resilience. According to business and psychology professor Dr. Jane Dutton, there are four distinct pathways for building high-quality connections at work. The first is respectfully engaging others by communicating supportively and being an effective listener. Second, facilitate another person’s success with guidance, recognition and support. Third, build trust, which can be done by relying on another person to follow through on projects and other commitments. Finally, have moments of play. Play evokes positive emotions and is often associated with creativity and innovation (Dutton & Spreitzer, 2014). Work can be a serious place, but so many workplaces take the world far too seriously.”
January 6, 2015
Sue Ashford quoted in New York Magazine:
“Colleagues are a tangible benefit provided by organizations. But perhaps the most profound benefit is intangible: They help forge identity. At first blush, this notion may sound laughable, or at least paradoxical, given the office’s reputation as a wasteland of depersonalization. But Sue Ashford, a management professor at the University of Michigan who’s written thoughtfully about nonstandard work, notes that offices provide a ‘holding environment’—a psychoanalytic term coined by Donald Winnicott—to contain our existential anxiety.”
January 5, 2015
“Chances are that at some point in your career, you’ve taken an idea from someone else. I want to know why.”
January 1, 2015
Wayne Baker was interviewed in the Jan / Feb Zingerman’s Community Newsletter.
December 25, 2014
Gretchen Spreitzer quoted in the Wall Street Journal:
“Gretchen Spreitzer, a management professor at the University of Michigan’s Steven M. Ross School of Business, says Facebook’s approach reflects the changing demographics of the workplace. ‘Employees want more power,’ she says. ‘They want jobs that are more interesting.’ “
December 19, 2014
Faculty Associate Sue Ashford and James Detert in the Harvard Business Review:
“Organizations don’t prosper unless managers in the middle ranks… identify and promote the need for change. People at that level gather valuable intelligence from direct contact with customers, suppliers, and colleagues. They’re in a position to see when the market is ripe for a certain offering, for instance, or to detect early signs that a partnership won’t work out.”
December 19, 2014
James Detert and Sue Ashford in the Harvard Business Review:
“Pitching an idea to higher-ups inevitably stirs emotions. You feel a sense of investment and urgency — it’s your baby, after all. By making a compelling case to redesign a key process or develop a promising new offering, for instance, you can have a big impact on productivity or revenue. (And if you fail to get buy-in, the organization might suffer — along with your career.) Further complicating matters, decision makers may balk if they think you’re being overly emotional, or they may feel defensive if you’re proposing a change to something they’ve done.”
December 18, 2014
Wayne Baker in the Harvard Business Review:
“It seems like leaders are always lamenting the lack of cooperation and collaboration in their organizations. But more often than not, the culprit isn’t their employees’ unwillingness to give others a hand — it’s the fact that most people simply don’t, or won’t, ask for help.”