by Laura Heinemann | Mar 31, 2016 | Uncategorized
You might be wondering how this video of an enthusiastic festival goer could possibly provide an important lesson on leadership, and that is understandable. After all, the image of a lone man flailing about on a hillside hardly resembles the typical portraits of great leaders we have come to expect, such as MLK, Gandi, Lincoln, or Jobs. However, this video actually perfectly demonstrates the process of how leaders come to be. Now before you scoff in dissent, let me explain my reasoning. The start of the video exemplifies that sometimes being a leader means taking action independently of everyone else. However, in the first 15 seconds of the video, the lone dancer is not actually a leader. Why? A leader needs followers. Otherwise, they are just an individual. It isn’t until about 20 seconds into the video that our lone dancer inspires one follower to hesitantly join the dancing madness. All great leaders start out as individuals without followers, and it is through their passionate course of action – or wacky shirtless dancing – that others begin to follow. After the first follower joins in, it isn’t until the 50 second mark that another follower comes along. Just like all movements led by great leaders, the follower base takes times to develop. A leader’s follower base usually builds gradually and eventually goes through a snowball effect: one follower leads to two, two leads to four, four leads to eight, and so on. With each additional follower to the group, the leader’s validity to outsiders of the movement strengthens, which consequently attracts more followers. Once the follower base reaches a certain threshold the number of followers begins to exponentially grow. Basically, a single man or woman can become a small group,...
by Laura Heinemann | Mar 10, 2016 | Uncategorized
Whether you are starting your first job or you are at the height of your career, self-education through reading is essential to success. By constantly striving to acquire new knowledge that can be applied to your life, you are expanding your abilities and increasing your potential in ways you probably can’t predict. Besides the typical reasons you’ve been told to read, there may be numerous health benefits scientists are just beginning to discover. After looking through the current research, here are 5 scientifically-backed reasons to read every day: Increasing intelligence. A report from the University of California Berkeley found that reading books exposes you to 50% more words than prime time TV or even conversations between college graduates. Exposure to new words leads to higher scores on reading tests, general intelligence tests, and reasoning tests. However, research does suggest that it is important to read from a traditional book rather than an electronic device. When you read from a screen, your reading speed can slow down by 20-30%. Give your brain a workout and improve your mental power. Reading a book is like giving your brain a cardiovascular workout. As your brain processes the text, changes happen in the brain that lead to improved efficiency, focus, and power. Studies show that reading regularly improves memory function, slows the decline of memory and brain function, and improves mental focus and stamina. Basically, reading often makes your mind sharper, longer. Reduce stress and increase relaxation. If you have stress built up from work, relationships, or other issues, reading is a great way to naturally reduce that stress and allow for...
by Laura Heinemann | Mar 3, 2016 | Uncategorized
Nothing can drain your energy and derail your organization’s efforts faster than toxic colleagues. Usually spotting a toxic coworker is fairly straightforward, but just in case, here are a list of toxic characteristics to watch out for. They’re selfish. Toxic people generally think about themselves before others. According to a study published in the Harvard Business Review, selfishness is the number one characteristic of a toxic coworker. They usually lack genuine concern for your feelings or desires. This might appear in the form of someone demanding you work late despite knowing you have a necessary conflict or obligation after work. Or they might present you with an “urgent” project immediately before your lunch break and insist you complete the project before leaving. Regardless, selfishness should be a big warning on your toxicity meter. They seem to be surrounded by drama and gossip. Workplaces can become overwrought with drama and gossip, and generally there are only a few individuals responsible. If your coworker is constantly surrounded by drama at the workplace, they might be toxic. They’re dishonest. Whenever you discover that someone is purposely and consistently misleading you, it is best to distance yourself from that person. They’re toxic. They are always right… or else. We have all met those individuals who can’t stand being wrong, but usually people learn to graciously accept that they are not always right. However, when you meet someone who will pursue a debate until they force everyone involved to concede, that person is probably toxic. Other signs include bitter determination and underhanded tactics. They play the victim card too often. Everyone gets to...
by Laura Heinemann | Feb 29, 2016 | Uncategorized
Over the past 50 years, technology has ushered in an enormous amount of efficiency to the workplace that have increased productivity and improved inter-organization communication. However, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics productivity from 2007-2015 actually went down, breaking the trend of continual improvements in productivity starting in the 1970s (see the graph below). Although companies have continued to implement new technologies in the workplace, the improvements to productivity seem to be diminishing. Why would this be? To answer this question, we turn to a theory created in the 1980s called Metcalfe’s Law. According to the law, the value of a network – or for the sake of understanding, any communication technology – increases with the square of the number of users. So for example, one telephone is worthless. Two telephones are worth a slight amount. A million telephones are incredibly worth while, because now there are millions of people who can call each other. Another postulation of Metcalfe’s Law is that as the difficulty or cost of communication in a network decreases, the number of interactions increases exponentially, along with the time required to process them. For example, in the 1990s business executives might receive or send a couple of emails a day, but by the 2000s – when email became commonplace – an executive might receive 100+ emails a day. Despite the improved accessibility and efficiency, the system or network inundates the executive with emails and thus reduces or eliminates the efficiency through unnecessary communications and wasted time. This problem may be at the reason for the drop in productivity today. According to research conducted at...
by Laura Heinemann | Feb 11, 2016 | Uncategorized
New research from Bain & Company has provided a clear overview of the fundamentals of employee engagement called the Pyramid of Needs. With many companies struggling to engage employees and retain talent, it is important to understand the basic needs of employees. Here is the breakdown:...
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