Many people are confused about the relationship between incentives and motivation. It’s generally accepted that satisfaction and dissatisfaction are separate, independent measures, which explains why you may love and hate your job at the same time. Psychologist Frederick Herzberg’s theory of motivation identifies two work factors that cause dissatisfaction: hygiene and motivation. Hygiene factors include […]
Are You Satisfied with Your Career?
Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life. ~Confucius What can we do to ensure a source of happiness and fulfillment throughout our careers? At graduation, each of us has visions of what we’ll accomplish. Years later, even the best and brightest from the most prestigious universities aren’t immune […]
Less Confidence, More Leadership Success
In business psychology, the prevailing wisdom has assumed that a high degree of self-confidence leads to promotions and leadership success. New studies, however, prove otherwise, writes business psychologist Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic in Less-Confident People Are More Successful (Harvard Business Reviewblog, July 2012). According to this blog post, a moderately low level of self-confidence is more likely to make you […]
Managerial Self-Deception
Try telling a colleague or subordinate that he has a problem, and the depth of his self-deception will become clear. Helping others see what they’re unable to recognize is a widespread leadership challenge. And it’s one of the prime reasons my clients engage me as an executive coach. It’s especially tricky when we observe blind […]
Are You “In” or “Out” of the Box?
I’ve been reviewing concepts from one of the best books written on leadership and self-deception. This is a common problem that leaders find they must confront with each promotion to greater responsibility. It’s something we work hard on in our executive coaching sessions. Leadership and Self-Deception, a book written by the Arbinger Institute, features a […]
Want to Inspire? Start with Why
When a mission statement is well written, it serves as a declaration of purpose. But corporate mission statements are often little more than a descriptive sentence about products, aspirations or desired public perceptions. They’re more powerful when they clearly and specifically articulate the difference your business strives to make in the world. Here’s an example […]
Are You Suffering from The Progress Paradox (part 1)
As a society, we’re achieving more yet feeling worse. Even when well paid, we’re dissatisfied. Most of us accomplish plenty but lack feelings of well-being. While every metric of society is improving worldwide, our happiness levels are declining-and the more we have and achieve, the less successful we feel. This phenomenon is known as the […]
Diana Gabriel, PPC