Has your workplace got cancer?

The workplace can be a place of friendship, support, fun and laughter. I was thinking recently about fun things that used to happen when I worked in a bank. We would:
*play cricket after work
*do a Starbucks run to get away for a bit and come back with our huge venti lattes with almond biscotti (turned into an expensive habit!)
*take turns at bringing in lollies we could all scoff (I would deliver some to our mates upstairs)
*go to the big department store sale in our lunch break and rummage through quality discounted lingerie looking for bargains
*send the email jokes around or play practical jokes on each other
*we organized a game of ‘Where’s Wally’ using this huge poster that was part of some training thing. I drew the wee cardboard ‘Where’s Wally’ and he was awesome! The funniest part of this game was the arguing "your cheating" "no I'm not" "stop peeking"!!

On the other side, also during this time there was also:
*Two diagnosis’s of breast cancer
*A suicide
*Marriage splits
*Relationship problems
*Addiction problems
*Huge trouble conceiving a child

So while the first list looks as though no work ever got done (!) the truth was we were spending time together living life as best we could to keep positive, have fun and make sure everyone was smiling regardless of everything going on. It’s great for people to get ‘mental space’ at work if they are having trouble at home, or just have something they need to take their minds off. While there may be personality clashes and other ‘difficulties’ in workplaces, when something like cancer hits, it’s amazing how people can pull together to support each other and the other politics no longer matter. Workplaces can become family, and can be a ‘refuge’ from the sometimes harsh reality of the world. Let’s not take for granted the support our workmates can give us. Let’s also remember to notice how much other stuff is going on in workmates lives. Actually doing work is important but so is the fun and the support – we are human before we are anything else.

Fabulous 'ground rules' for meetings

Further to the blog entry about effective meetings, check out what Kelly from http://www.humansatwork.com/ has added to that about 'ground rules' in meetings. It covers things like noise and privacy, communication, decision making and team work.

This blog entry really gives managers some great things to think about - especially if they've been overlooked in the past. Implimenting Kellys tips could totally overhaul your team and how they work together.

Read it here: http://www.humansatwork.com/more-on-ground-rules/

Silverware, tattoos and your bosses shoes: how and why you should read between the lines

Here is a random blog entry of a few great stories I want to share (and a joke at the end).

Good and bad ways to start a word-of-mouth frenzy:
http://kirstydunphey.blogspot.com/2009/04/crazy-about-clean-why-did-you-get.html

What your bosses shoes can teach you: http://bobsutton.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/03/interesting-shoes.html

Signs you should hide the good silverware:
http://bobsutton.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/03/the-enron-code-of-ethics-something-every-boss-should-read.html

And now for a leadership joke…

“There are four keys to leadership:
1. Confidence
2. A folder
3. A pencil with a rubber on the end
4 The ability to say "ok guys" after a single hand clap”

Why you should audit the secrets you keep from your staff

In the 'old days' there were plenty of things that management kept secret from staff. These days, any business that wants to really excel cannot afford to have that still be the case in their workplaces. In my book The Boss Benchmark I talk about doing a 'secrets audit'. I decided to write an article about how exactly one should go about doing just that. Check it out here.

Employees REALLY don't trust senior managers

I came across an article that proves (yet again) it is definitely time for bosses to try something new - their current approach is NOT WORKING. In the article it states that employees don't trust CEO's and senior managers. It's rather blatant statistics say that:

CEOs and senior managers don't care about employees (chosen by almost 50%).
CEOs and senior managers don't mean what they say (chosen by around 40%).
CEOs and senior managers don't value the contribution employees make (chosen by around 40%).

YIKES!! That's a bad report card. It continues...

"More than a quarter don't think their CEO is honest and truthful or that they deliver on promises. But a third of respondents say the above is also true for senior managers – actually placing them below CEOs when it comes to trust from employees." This is not good news (and is probably a bit of a shock) for senior managers! I think some factors to consider when it comes to trust are:

Hierarchy - when the boss still believes he is "a cut above" trust is harder to earn

Being free of BS - total honesty required, if you say you are gonna do something - DO IT

Telling all - total transparency, no secrets or things "staff aren't important enough to know"

Loving the yuck - don't avoid scary problems, staff know you are worth your weight in gold if you aren't afraid to tackle them

Chucking "do your employees trust you" into Google yields some good advice. One article suggests MBWO, translation = Management by Walking Around to build trust. "Not only are people more apt to approach you in "their territory," but you will hear and see things that never make it into the reports that come into your office. Besides, when your employees see you walking around, they begin to see you as a person, not just as "the boss." It's a lot easier to mistrust "the boss" than to mistrust an individual."

How are you going to change as a boss?