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Case Study & Branching Exercise: Goal Setting (Manager)
You are a new manager in the organization. A few weeks ago, you asked your employees to begin thinking about individual and department goals for the next year. When you reviewed their submitted goals, you were disappointed by the general lack of enthusiasm and creativity of the group. What do you do? Kick start a great discussion with this case study and branching exercise.
Case Study & Branching Exercise: Highly Critical (Manager)
You are a manager of a large division. One of your best performing employees has a reputation for being highly critical of her co-workers. She criticizes the competency of other team members, how many hours they work compared to her, and how much time they spend socializing on the job. What do you do? Kick start a great discussion with this case study and branching exercise.
Case Study & Branching Exercise: Overwhelmed! (Manager)
You are the manager of a large department. Recently, you have become concerned one of your high-performing employees may be overwhelmed by his growing workload. What do you do? Kick start a great discussion with this case study and branching exercise.
Case Study – I Need Help! I’m Afraid of My Spouse (Manager)
This exercise leads to a discussion about violence in the workplace.” The Q&A-based format helps participants look at the intruder response topic addressing the highest risk demographic of estranged spouses committing violent acts in the workplace (32% of workplace violence incidents are homicides against women).
Case Study – It’s Not MY FAULT! (Manager)
You're a manager. Over a year ago, an employee was hired to assist you. Since that time, you have noticed that this employee’s work is consistently below expected standards. Every time you try to counsel this employee on improving results, the employee overreacts and blames someone else for their sub-standard performance....
Case Study – Why Diversity, Why Now? (Employees)
This case study is designed to help participants discover that diversity encompasses more than what they may realize on both a personal and professional level. Read through this case study and answer the questions at the end.
Case Study – Why Diversity, Why Now? (Managers)
This case study is designed to help managers discover that diversity encompasses more than what they may realize on both a personal and professional level.
Article: Breaking the Cycle
What problems are we trying to solve with the same old ineffective circular approach? We can usually figure this out. When a problem repeatedly rears its ugly head, our approach is likely a circular one.
Article: Finding Balance
Everyone I know struggles to balance their work and home lives. No, wait a minute. That’s not true. My retired friends seem to have it down pat. The rest of us juggle, patch, negotiate, apply a temporary fix here and there. This isn’t very satisfying. In short, we feel as if we’re not doing justice to our careers or to our families and friends.
Article: Getting Creative
What inspires you to create? When I ask my clients and workshop attendees this question, I’m usually met with a pause, possibly accompanied by a blank stare and a tendency to search for something shiny to focus on. Most of us aren’t used to thinking about this question, and it makes us uncomfortable. We aren’t sure we really are creative.
Article: Mortgaging the Future
Goals are mostly a good thing, but what happens when personal or corporate goals mortgage the future for short-term gain? At what point do we recognize the folly and re-think our strategy?
Article: Overcoming Worries and Fears
Our fears limit us. They hold us back. They keep us from living a positive, proactive life that embraces the good and decries that which needs to be changed. Fear-based decisions hurt us, and they hurt others who are affected by our decisions. The child who is never allowed to make decisions because we fear she’ll make the wrong decisions finally rebels and turns into the teenager from the black lagoon.
Article: Overwhelmed? Compartmentalize!
When we catch ourselves elongating a mishap or problem, we can compartmentalize. Big word, but relatively easy concept. Think of your life as one that is filled with a series of rooms. One room might hold that CEO who badmouthed your brilliant work. Another might hold your career with the company.
Article: Pay Attention
It is in our present moments, that we truly live. Each time we catch a pleasant scent or feel a cool spring breeze we are brought to the immediate. This gives us a chance to notice and appreciate that which surrounds us.
Article: Productive Workload Management
It seems donkeys, though beasts of burden, have limits. Load one to excess, and it will be hard pressed to do your bidding. People who work for us are no different. Some can juggle hats, plates, balls, and flaming torches simultaneously. Even the most talented will drop it all if we add too much to the mix.
Article: Stressed? Take a Break!
Ours is a complex, fast-paced world. We all know about the treadmill analogy. Some of us run pretty fast. The mind has a hard time catching up with the body. Some of us don’t so much identify with the treadmill as we do the Tasmanian Devil. Either way, we’re moving fast and we need a break.
Article: Take Time to Laugh
We need to work harder to stay positive during some seasons than others. If we haven’t supported humor and laughter in our workplace before, now is the best time to start. There are many benefits. Humor reduces stress levels because it helps us calm the chemicals that zip through our bodies when we’re agitated. We all need the physical balancing laughter offers.
Article: Victims in the Workplace
People who lead and manage others might consider the productivity and morale impact when others have to spend time around victims. Years ago a VP at a company I worked for fired someone who did exceptional work. I asked him why he let such a strong performer go. He said no matter how good the work, it didn’t balance out the individual’s destructive behavior on the rest of the staff.
Coaching to Support Success
When it comes to coaching, open-ended questions are usually the best questions. This simple tool lists open-ended questions you can ask to bring out the best in your employees.
Diversity Version 3.0 - Organizational Development and Continuous Education
This perspective paper discusses the concept that diversity in the workplace has steadily evolved over the last couple decades. Originally it focused primarily on race, but later broadened to include the promotion of women, people with disabilities and the LGBT community. Now, the definition of diversity is expanding further to include aspects such as physical characteristics, background, family status, military service, personality and work style. Today, in essence, diversity is all of the ways that we are similar and different to one another.