“We always admire the other fellow more after we have tried to do his job.”
–William Feather (1889 – 1981), American author and publisher
An age old problem in business is how individuals work together. I’ve had several leaders say to me, “If we didn’t have to deal with all of this stuff, we could concentrate on running the business.” The “stuff” in question is human dynamics—what makes individuals and teams work; and, what most definitely gets in the way of productivity and performance.
Walk a Mile…
Author: Diane Hamilton, Date: 5/17/2012
Heated Debate Versus Constructive Dialogue
Author: Diane Hamilton, Date: 1/18/2011
Civil discourse. Vitriolic language. We’ve been hearing and reading a lot about the state of American politics and our ability to discuss and debate. I don’t want to risk a comparison between our work lives and the Arizona tragedy. Except in cases of violence, a comparison would be silly. That being said, the concept of how we communicate with each other transfers from politics to our work lives each and every day. Just how civil are we at work? What does our organizational culture support?
I have worked in and been witness to work environments that have been quite heated—quite vitriolic. In recent months, I have had individuals tell me (or have observed):
