15 December 2010

Recent sightings - links

  • Real men lose their workplace machismo
    This case study of oil rig workers showed how they had found ways to 'undo' the stereotypical demands of their 'manly' identities even in a normally 'macho' work environment. They did this by "having collectivist goals (especially putting safety first); defining competence according to task requirements rather than masculine ideals; and having a learning orientation towards work." Lessons here for the office environment too?
  • Followership - the key to change?
    Leadership is overrated, and the value of followership is under-recognised. This new blog addresses what it means to be a good follower. I especially like the short video clip of the dancing guy, which shows how vital and courageous the 'first follower' is. (Case in point: you'd never catch me doing that...not in a million years...) -- via Johnnie Moore
  • The 99% of internal communications that isn't
    Jan van Veen points to the vast majority of 'internal communication' that has nothing to do with his role as an 'internal communicator' and suggests how IC professionals might frame their roles into five 'playing fields' based on the work of a Dutch consultant. In the comments at the end of his post I've made a connection to some of Chris Rodgers' writing on the nature and importance of informal conversations in organisations.

  • Questions to develop team trust
    In a sense it takes offering trust (taking a risk) to receive trust in a group. Here Dan Oestreich offers six questions for team members to answer that go help to bring the focus of trust in a group to what each individual can offer. He also offers some very useful thoughts and practical exercises about the 'gifts' and 'shadows' in each of our ways of being (see the link in the blog post to his paper).
  • The limits of 'employee engagement'
    "Giving someone a job, benefits, bonuses and the rest does not entitle you to their every thought, action or emotion." Tony Quinlan rightly challenges "communicators [who] don't seem to realise that there ought to be boundaries" when it comes to trying to communicate or 'engage' employees who choose to ignore them.