Blog: Ideas at Work

December 6, 2009 In Leadership

Women and Negotiation: Why and How Men Should Come to the Table

A book about women and negotiation caught my attention recently. It is called Women Don’t Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide, by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever. Ms. Babcock is a professor of economics and Ms. Laschever is a writer, both based in the United

April 4, 2009 In Conflict-Resolution

Enhancing Organizational Dispute Resolution (DR); Leveraging Learning from Conflict

Introduction Many large organizations benefit from internal (in-house) dispute resolution (DR) programs. These services can be highly successful in terms of resolving disputes quickly and informally, thereby avoiding the potential of litigation against the company, the reduction in productivity and engagement, and/or the loss of talent.

February 3, 2009 In Leadership

What Are We Carrying Around?

The story is told of a man who finds himself lost in the desert. In his wandering he sees a faint image of someone or something on a distant sand dune. He walks closer and closer and the shape grows to a point where he

July 7, 2008 In Leadership

Why Purpose and Values are Essential: The Need for Self Managing Leadership

From my point of view, women and men today are more drawn to asking and answering deeper questions about their own purpose, values and vision than they were, say, 20 years ago. Or at least they are more willing to acknowledge the attraction to these

October 18, 2007 In Leadership

Making the Best Decisions Requires Acceptance, Courage, and Communication

I was recently involved in a very engaging talk with Kenny Moore, author of The CEO and the Monk: One Company's Journey to Profit and Purpose. He was talking about leadership and the nature of the decisions that leaders make. First line managers/supervisors face problems,

February 26, 2007 In Leadership, Teams

It Starts With Goals

Not long ago, I was providing some coaching to a business leader. After we discussed some feedback she had received from her peers and direct reports, she asked me what I would recommend as an action plan. She seemed quite surprised at the question I

January 11, 2007 In Teams

How Much Information is Enough to Make a Decision? It Depends Upon Whom You Ask

Working with a cross-functional chemical development team recently, I saw once again a familiar element of team dynamics surface. The context was this: the organization was at a critical stage in terms of the evolution of its business. Decisions needed to be made about what

August 22, 2006 In Leadership

Caring as a Personal Leadership Action

Several years ago, I attended a talk by Patch Adams, physician, health care reform activist, and subject of the movie "Patch" starring Robin Williams. What strikes you about Patch is his passion and tirelessness, particularly concerning improving access to health care. But I remember most