GreatWork Blog

Building better workplaces through compliance, culture, connection

Do you have a favorite metaphor you have been using to describe 2020 as we begin to embrace 2021?

We listen to teams, we discuss best practices for supervision, we work through some kind of “resetting” of our business and practices, and we find ways to embrace positive transition techniques.

I don’t know about you, but in the past few weeks I have received about a ton and a half of advice about how to cope with all the change and stressors that have hit us recently. To be honest, I am also guilty of adding to the advice pile.

High achieving, highly successful people often suffer, so impostor syndrome doesn’t equate with low self-esteem or a lack of self-confidence. In fact, some researchers have linked it with perfectionism, and it is disproportionately experienced by women and people of color.

Near panic, I began listing all the projects I had been in charge of over the years. Our instructor had suggested we review just how common project management is by creating a historical record of our own projects. Pen to paper, I was grinding out a history of, at best, mixed results. One pattern emerged, however: that of getting better over time and learning from mistakes.

Resolve this year to improve the quality and effectiveness of your workplace conversations by challenging everything. Well, don’t challenge everything. That would take too long. But it may really pay off to work with your supervisory team to improve critical thinking.

It was three years ago that a casual kitchen table conversation turned into an adventure, an adventure that gave me the opportunity to live on an island in Alaska and relearn some lessons that workplaces have been teaching me now for decades.

According to the annual 2017 Alamo Family Vacation Survey, nearly half of American workers feel guilty when planning or taking a vacation, with an equivalent amount not using the vacation time they are given. Respondents claim they feel “shamed” by other co-workers who make them feel guilty for taking time off.

Can you measure a work team’s awesomeness? Or do you just know it when you see it?

Strong organizations require a strong organizational culture, which helps employees understand expectations, feel a sense of pride and focus on what is good and right. A mission or values statement, a creed or a set of beliefs distinguishes a business from other firms and identifies its scope of operations in product and market terms. The organization’s mission is fundamental to establishing priorities and making strategic decisions.

When presenting to a group or an audience, we need to establish rapport with our listeners and have ways to engage them in the conversation. Instead, presenters often lose sight of the audience and become preoccupied with the material they wish to cover.

Arnie (names changed) dragged his Arkansas accent down the Oregon Coast to become a boat builder at Freeman Marine. His coworkers appreciated his hard work but thought him naïve. 

For a guy who is sometimes a “no-nonsense” manager, this entire concept is a little woo-woo. But, in the “no-nonsense” world of work we are always looking for an edge, a way to make our workplaces more effective. 

We hear a lot from the workplace research nerds that personal recognition of accomplishments and involvement is a key driver of employee engagement. 

We are fairly flexible people around here. Why use words that are in the dictionary when you can make up your own? Several times this year in the midst of team and leadership discussions, participants have used words or phrases that, we are pretty sure, are not part of the English language. 

We can’t believe it’s already Spring either, but it’s here and so now is the perfect time to go through the Spring Cleaning checklist for your business.

Now that certain industries are seeing some recovery from the economic downturn, from a human resource perspective there is one big mistake that is proving to be a key differentiating factor between a successful recovery and continued struggle. 

I grew up in a house in San Francisco where golf seemed like the most important activity in the world. My father, a policeman, was on the swing shift and did not spend a lot of time with my brother and me, but when he did, we talked, practiced and played golf. For 30 years, my father played every Friday with the same foursome (his team). We practiced putting in the living room. When my brother reached high school, he joined the golf team and became “first man.” He even developed a booklet about putting with photos in it.

It is natural to experience shock and anger when something terrible happens. Those who are “resilient,” or have a “Survivor Personality,” don’t let bad circumstances define who they are. They assess their choices and make the most wise and positive ones. 

A stronger economy often gives workers greater courage to change jobs, but the excuses offered for jumping ship can leave many employers perplexed. A new OfficeTeam survey reveals the wackiest reasons job seekers have given for handing in their notice. 

Do you ever wonder why training doesn’t get “off-the-ground” or seems to get stuck? Glen Fahs, expert trainer and coach, and one of Cascade’s Leadership Facilitators, outlines some common struggles with training and the antidotes that can solve them.

The lights are on, but not everybody’s home. Or at the office for that matter. The mobile workforce is now working 24×7. But they aren’t just working from their cubicles and living rooms — they are holed up in coffee shops and many other public venues, or out working in a park, getting some badly needed fresh air.

It’s Spring! That means it’s time for Spring cleaning. Here is a quick checklist of things to get out of the way and get ready for summer.