contents · 2019-03-05 · !e road to (leadership) hell is paved with good intentions "e art...

Contents5 Introduction9 The Road to (Leadership) Hell is Paved with Good Intentions15 Does Play at Work = Productivity?21 Quality of Leadership = Employee Well-Being27 Aim High33 Challenging Meaning41 A Labour of Love47 Self Compassion53 Building a Vibrant Culture: Lessons from Zappos!61 Tapping into the ‘Inner Heart’ of Innovation67 Talented Terrors73 A Key to Success – with Interest79 To Err is Human – to Apologize is Humane

T H E S C I E N C E O F P O S I T I V E L E A D E R S H I P 3

© Copyright 2015

Published by Your Workplace. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, the publisher cannot be held responsible for any error or omissions that may inadvertently occur.

Production CreditsAuthor: Craig Dowden, Ph.D.Design: Anthony Aird

Created in Canada.

IntroductionThe art of leadership is a demanding, yet rewarding challenge. Successful leaders are able to create a highly engaged and purpose-filled team that shares a common understanding of what is expected and desired of them. At its very core, powerful leadership leads to exceeding expectations and having fun while doing it.

Over the years, many of my clients have expressed frustration at the sheer volume of leadership advice in the market. Despite this influx of information, leaders often experience challenges in finding relevant, reliable and practical material that they can apply to their specific situations.

In my coaching work, I am passionate about sharing the science of leadership, team, and organizational excellence and translating these


evidence-based findings into real life solutions. Rather than share one opinion, I synthesize the current research in a relevant topic area to discuss with my clients. They find that this scientific foundation brings a level of rigour and credibility to my consulting work, which allows them to make informed decisions when meeting their challenges.

Over the past several years, I have had the privilege of contributing content to various HR/business publications. This e-book is a culmination of my most popular articles on evidence-based practices.

The articles I have included are inspired by ideas and suggestions from my clients. These columns are designed to share the latest research on various topics that are essential for leadership effectiveness while providing practical tips and strategies leaders can bring back to their workplaces.

I hope you enjoy these articles and find that you are able to extract some evidence-based strategies to successfully apply within your workplace. I also encourage you to contact me to recommend any topics or people you would like to see covered in the future. My goal is to build a highly interactive community of like-minded professionals. The more information we share with each other, the better the experience for all involved.

6 T H E S C I E N C E O F P O S I T I V E L E A D E R S H I P

In closing, I want to express my sincere appreciation for your interest in the content and philosophy of this online community. Achieving positive leadership through science is my “why.” I look forward to continuing our conversation and thank you for sharing this journey with me.

Sincerely,

Craig Dowden, Ph.D.President and FounderCraig Dowden & [email protected]


1The Road to (Leadership) Hell is Paved with Good IntentionsThe art of leadership is a demanding challenge. It requires creating a highly engaged and purpose-filled team that shares a common understanding of what is expected and desired. Ideally, it is about exceeding expectations and having fun while doing it.


Unfortunately, the reality of leadership can be drastically different. Research from the Gallup Organization indicates large numbers of disengaged employees. Their previous research also shows that one of the primary reasons why employees leave organizations is because of a poor relationship with their immediate supervisor.

These cases are not always about the “bad apples” that are ruining the bunch. In many circumstances, the offending parties may not even be aware of their transgressions and what appears to be happening is a case of good intentions gone awry. A manager who I once coached (let’s call her Susan) provides a perfect illustration of this situation in practice. Susan was highly committed to her own career progression and that of her team. When she underwent a 360 feedback exercise, she received exemplary scores on her warmth, approachability, and concern for others.

However, her top area of development was her tendency to micromanage. She was devastated by this feedback, as she felt this was the epitome of poor leadership. She also was perplexed as to why they could see her being so nice and approachable while simultaneously scoring her high on micromanagement. To her, this did not make any sense.

Trying to better understand the context of this result, I asked her how she would manage me if I was on her team. She said she would check in with


me first thing in the morning and go over my projects. Then, she would check in every hour on the hour to make sure I was on track. At lunch, we would reconvene and do a mid-day evaluation and she would provide me with very detailed feedback on where I needed to improve. Then, the morning routine would be repeated in the afternoon until end of day. Tomorrow the process would start over again.

She said her former boss did this and it contributed to her own success, which was a key reason why she won her current job. She wanted to ‘pay it forward’ and give her staff every opportunity to get ahead. I asked her if she had ever explicitly explained the reasons behind her management style to her team. When she said that she had not, I asked how she would interpret these behaviours if she did not know the reason behind them.

Leaning back in her chair, she exclaimed “Oh no, I am a micromanager!”

This manager had lost several key people who had tired of her ‘hands-on’ management style and those who knew her thought it was strange that someone so kind and friendly would have so much turnover on her team.

This case illustrates what can happen when good intentions go bad. Susan did not set out to be a micromanager. She wanted her team to succeed and so replicated a strategy she had found very helpful. However, she


never communicated the reasoning behind this to her employees. So, how can we avoid creating our own road to leadership hell?

1) Explain our intentions – Rather than assume others will interpret the good will behind our intentions, make them explicit. People around us only see our actions and are usually unaware of the intentions behind them. When possible, take the time to explain your actions to avoid possible misunderstandings.

2) Look at your behaviour through the lens of another person – We see and live the world through our eyes and motivations. Take the time to think about how others might see things. Recognize how you may come across to those who are unlike you.

3) Ask questions – This is a key leadership skill. Ask the people around you what they need from you. Check in and determine whether your actions are supporting their growth, development, and achievement. This open process of exploration may bring to light some challenges with your leadership style that you may not have otherwise seen.Despite our desire to lead positively, it can be relatively easy to slip into the trap of paving our own road to hell, by not explaining our true intentions. It can be incredibly frustrating if we are receiving negative environmental feedback, even though our motives may feel pure. Taking


the time to step back and assess our own behaviour from the position of the people we are leading can help us to better appreciate how our management style is impacting those with whom we work. Rather than using our good intentions to pave a road to leadership hell, we can use those bricks to build a solid leadership and team foundation.evidence support a different way of thinking.


2Does Play at Work =Productivity?Organizations catching on to idea of free, creative timeWhen discussions of employee engagement arise, invariably the focus of the conversation tends to shift to formal reward structures (e.g., pay or benefits) and how they can be introduced to motivate certain behaviours at work. However, numerous case studies and a growing body of scientific evidence support a different way of thinking. Efforts to encourage employee happiness and well-being are having a tremendous positive


impact. Using humour and play is important and can benefit both employees and the organization.

Although the notion of “play at work” may seem counterintuitive and the antithesis of common business practice, organizations that are opening their minds to these possibilities are reaping increased rewards as a result.

ENCOURAGE HUMOUR A 2003 article from the Harvard Business

Review, entitled “Laughing All the Way to the Bank”, showed that humour, when used skillfully, “greases the management wheels… It reduces hostility, deflects criticism, relieves tension, improves morale, and helps communicate difficult messages.”

Executives who were rated as most effective by their colleagues used humour twice as

often as those who scored in the average range, according to the article. The appropriate use

of humour was interpreted by others as a form of higher emotional intelligence, a claim echoed by other scholars in the area.

INTRODUCE TIME TO PLAY AT WORKIn his recent best-seller, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, author Daniel Pink summarizes the findings of the past 40 years of research in human motivation, devoting an entire chapter to discussing examples of several companies (e.g., Google, Apple) that have successfully leveraged the concept of introducing play at work to create outstanding results.

Numerous organizations have accessed the untapped potential of play by allowing their employees “free time” to work on whatever projects they wish, however they wish, without needing to “check in” with their supervisors about what they are working on. One company calls these periods “Fed Ex” days, as employees are tasked with designing, building, and presenting their idea within a 24-hour period. At this company, employees feel so protective of this “free time” that they work very hard to maximize its benefits to the organization in order to keep it.

In his book, Pink also presents the case of Google, which allows its employees to work on individually-driven projects 20% of their time. One of their engineers noted: “just about all the good ideas here at Google have bubbled up from 20% time.” About half of Google’s new offerings have been created during these play periods, including Google News, Google Translate and Gmail, which is now one of the most widely used email systems in the world.


THE POWER OF PLAY IS UNIVERSALA recent study of Taiwanese workers in the International Journal of Technology Management showed that the concept of play at work is equally applicable within Chinese culture. Specifically, as has been found in Western culture, playfulness at work within Taiwanese organizations was related to significantly higher levels of job satisfaction. Furthermore, it was also positively associated with highly desirable behavioural outcomes such as creativity/innovation and job performance. While more work needs to be done to explore the positive impacts of introducing the concept of play at work, the preliminary evidence seems highly suggestive of its engaging qualities.

HAPPY WORKERS ARE MORE PRODUCTIVEAn expanding body of research has reinforced the link between happiness and performance. Recent research by Carleton University professor John Zelenski has concluded that people are more productive when they are in a good mood and that “organizations do stand to benefit by creating work environments that promote better moods, even for (its) unhappy members”. Several studies have also shown happier employees receive better performance appraisals than their unhappier counterparts. In fact, employee happiness has been shown to predict performance appraisals that are conducted almost two years down the road, according to 1999 studies in the Consulting Psychology Journal and the Journal of Organization Behaviour.


Research validates the link between humour and play in the workplace and high levels of employee engagement, performance, and well-being. Shifting the paradigm from “all work and no play” to the encouragement of playful innovation can tap into these benefits and lead to significant results across all levels of your organization.


3Quality of Leadership = Employee Well-BeingStories abound regarding “killer bosses” — leaders who are categorically feared. Popular television shows such as The Office and cartoons like Dilbert dramatize the perils of such ineptitude and insensitivity, and paint a troublesome portrait of what work within these types of organizations


is like for employees. Unfortunately, these situations aren’t reserved for television entertainment; they can also be found in daily workplaces. Being aware of how the quality of leadership is affecting us is essential to our professional and personal well-being.

IMPACT ON PERFORMANCERecent research conducted by badbossology.com, in partnership with Development Dimensions International, a talent management consulting company, found that most employees spend 10 or more hours of work time per month complaining, or listening to others complain, about bad boss behaviour. Almost one-third of employees spend 20 hours or more per month on this activity. With work time being spent complaining about leadership, workplace morale and productivity invariably suffers.

In fact, previous research by the Gallup Organization, which has keenly documented the links between problematic leadership and negative outcomes, estimates that these types of challenges cost U.S. companies about $360 billion in lost productivity each year. Furthermore, they found that the most important reason employees leave organizations is because of poor relationships with their direct manager.


In the classic book, First Break All The Rules (1999), the authors reported that employees who had a supervisor or someone at work who cared about them as a person were significantly more productive, contributed more to profits, and had a significantly higher desire to remain with the organization.

A similar study, involving a partnership between MIT and IBM consultants, examined the impact of boss-employee relationships on performance by looking at an estimated gain in revenue. Researchers concluded that consultants who reported stronger and healthier relationships with their managers brought in monthly revenues that were $588 above the company average.

Last, but not least, and not surprisingly, poor leadership/supervision also has a direct spillover effect at home. Indeed, recent research just published in the latest issue of Personnel Psychology showed that employees who had dysfunctional/problematic relationships with their bosses were significantly more likely to have relationship problems at home as measured by increased conflict and tension.

IMPACT ON PHYSICAL HEALTHThe impact of a “bad boss” is not just limited to our productivity or performance. Several recent studies have shown that problematic


relationships with our supervisors can lead to damaging impacts on our physical health.

In one of the first studies to examine this question, a team of British researchers were given access to a group of employees who worked for two different supervisors on alternate days. Interestingly, this group of employees had a positive relationship with one supervisor and a negative one with the other. The researchers decided to measure the blood pressure of the employees on the alternating days to determine what impact these relationships might have on their physical well-being. In a powerful illustration of the impact of poor leadership, the research team noted that on the days the employees worked with the “bad boss”, their blood pressure significantly increased.

This work was extended by another group of researchers who looked at the longer-term effects of this toxic leadership exposure. In their research, they followed employees over a 15-year period to examine the link between quality of boss relationship and the eventual emergence of coronary heart disease (CHD).

Their results were both troubling and striking. They reported that employees who had a difficult relationship with their boss (exhibited by a lack of autonomy, clarity and emotional support) were 30% more likely to


develop CHD. These results are even more disturbing when you consider that the researchers controlled for major risk factors including perceived workload, activity level, education, social class, income, supervisory status and general health.

CONCLUSION“Killer Bosses” are, unfortunately, not a work of fiction. When faced with

a negative relationship with a supervisor or manager, we may try to rationalize why things are “not so bad”. We may

tell ourselves that we just need to “stick it out” for a myriad of reasons including monetary. However, the research to date indicates that by doing so, we may be putting both our emotional and physical health at risk. Conversely, working for effective and engaged leaders can lead to increased morale and productivity, while simultaneously creating an environment that fosters

growth and achievement — two important factors in well-being. evidence support a

different way of thinking.


4Aim HighTake an evidence-based approach to maximizing performance, and build your team’s abilitiesFinding the key to unlocking employee potential and performance has been a constant quest for organizations throughout history. No matter how time impacts workplace trends, employers are always seeking to reap the benefits of a workforce that has tapped into its potential.

Unfortunately, in many cases, the initiatives designed to enhance employee performance are more urban legend than scientific fact. Countless organizations have initiated rewards programs or


performance-oriented systems, chasing the latest craze in the market or following the path of their competitors. Consultants can shoulder some of the responsibility for this, as they often enthusiastically endorse many models, the vast majority self-produced, most of which are not based on any systematic study.

Given the wealth of advice on maximizing employee performance, where can you turn for reliable answers?

Fortunately, one statistical technique, the meta-analysis, can help. This tool allows scientists to summarize all of the research conducted in a particular area

over an extended period of time. Let’s take a look at the most recent meta-analysis conducted on job performance. It can help us to determine the strongest evidence-based factors for organizations to consider.

Managers at companies have become more concerned than ever about sustaining job performance since the onset of the recession of 2008. Even though we have fared better in Canada than elsewhere, Canadian

Building and maintaining an organization that operates at peak performance requires identifying and prioritizing goals and fostering the processes that perpetuate them.


companies are still recovering. Managers are trying to do more with less, and it has become essential to manage job stressors within our environments.

To examine what factors were most closely linked to job performance, the research team collected almost 140 scientific studies, which represented more than 35,000 employees. From these studies, they found two factors that most influenced job stress: role ambiguity and situational constraints.

ROLE AMBIGUITY Role ambiguity is when an employee is uncertain as to what tasks and behaviours are the right ones for his or her position. In other words, there is a profound lack of clarity about how one should go about his or her job.

To combat role ambiguity, employers need to clarify the role and how to perform it. Taking the time to explain to employees what their primary goals are—or should be—will help employees to focus on what they need to be doing. This will also ensure consistency between different colleagues and supervisors about what the key priorities are in their area.

Once primary goals are established, it’s important to prioritize them. In any role, there are various competing demands. Often, employees may be unclear as to what levels of priority are attached to these possible


actions, particularly when they get mixed messages that vary per level of management. Organizations could benefit from taking the time to clarify these sources of conflict. Although it would require a significant investment of time at the outset, the ROI would be extraordinary. With a consistent prioritization of goals, employees could seamlessly respond. There would be minimal need for consultation up the chain, and no second-guessing on the part of employees, who could respond more quickly and efficiently in the moment.

Finally, once employees are clear about their primary objectives, they need to be sure about the preferred ways to get there. Organizations and their leaders could make considerable gains in this domain by highlighting the processes through which the organization, the team, and the individual can pursue their goals. Managers and HR personnel can facilitate the pursuit of these goals by creating process maps and providing ongoing training and coaching in these mechanisms.

SITUATIONAL CONSTRAINTSAn important predictor of performance from the list of job stressors was situational constraints. The research team defined this as “a situation in which conditions in an employee’s immediate work environment inhibit or constrain performance, like improper machinery or inadequate supplies.”


It seems intuitively obvious that if you don’t have the resources required to fulfill your responsibilities, you can’t achieve high performance. That’s why it’s necessary for managers to check in with their team members and ensure they have the resources required to perform their roles. Managers should ask their direct reports what type of barriers exist for them to do their jobs and then work diligently to remove these obstacles.

Science has a crucial contribution to make in accessing employee potential. The evidence to date indicates that organizations would be well served to reduce or, better, eliminate any role ambiguity experienced by their employees. Building and maintaining an organization that operates at peak performance requires consistency in identifying and prioritizing individual and team goals and fostering the processes that perpetuate them.

An organization aiming for peak performance needs to identify gaps in the resources their employees may have. Making sure employees have the tools and skills to deliver on their tasks and have an environment that is conducive to these objectives is critical for an organization to thrive at top performance.

When grappling with performance challenges, organizations would benefit most by accessing the science, rather than consulting the latest fad. An evidence-based approach provides proven techniques for enhancing


employee performance. Rather than trying to get the most out of their employees, employers can instead focus on getting their best.


5Challenging MeaningExploring the link between meaning and performance in the workplaceEnhancing performance is a laudable individual, team, and organizational goal. Unfortunately, the fast-paced and chaotic nature of today’s work environments undermines achieving this goal. When employees are highly stressed, maintaining peak performance is a difficult, if not impossible, endeavour.


Not surprisingly, experts have proposed many solutions to counteract these trends. For example, providing on-site massages, stress management seminars and pizza parties have become more common. Despite the intuitive appeal of these ideas, recent research suggests that another intangible aspect of work may yield much more powerful benefits in this domain.

MAXIMIZING PERFORMANCE THROUGH MEANINGRecently, the critical role of meaning in employee engagement and organizational success has received a lot of attention. Many popular press books, including Simon Sinek’s international best-seller Start With Why, have brought this issue to the forefront. Wayne Cascio, an organizational psychologist has reported that, for the past three decades, the average American has identified meaningful work as the single most important feature they look for in a position. This finding has been replicated in other countries, including countries in Europe and Asia.

Empirical research has also started to accrue, showing the direct linkages between meaning and positive employee outcomes. Adam Grant, of Wharton Business School has highlighted how increased meaning in work environments, even those as challenging as call centres, yields impressive bottom-line results. Reminding employees of the purpose of their jobs reinvigorates and enlivens their contributions to their organizations.


Certain professionals may be seen to possess much more meaning, by the nature and consequences of their work. For example, medical doctors may quickly spring to mind, as they directly impact the quality of other people’s lives through their profession. However, despite the level of inherent meaning attached to this type of work, it may seem surprising that survey research has consistently shown that physicians suffer from high levels of burnout and poor mental health. This may seem like a counterintuitive finding, especially when you consider the strong, previously-established link between meaning and employee performance. Drill down at a deeper level though, and it’s apparent where these high stress levels come from. For example, doctors are tasked with increasingly high levels of administrative responsibilities and are also finding it much more difficult to balance work and family responsibilities. Not surprisingly, the above factors have led to a subsequent decrease in the amount of time and quality of interaction with their patients.

Anecdotally, many people talk about the assembly-line feel of medical care, where patients are rushed through as quickly as possible. This leads to a transactional relationship between patient and physician, negatively affecting both parties.


Interestingly, this transition from meaningful to transactional relationship may be affecting the quality of our health-care system more than we may realize. In a fascinating study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the research team illustrated how meaning at work acts as a buffer against the harmful effects of employee burnout.

In this study, a large sample of physicians (nearly 500), were surveyed on a number of factors. One key area of interest was the extent to which the doctors were spending time on the area they deemed most meaningful to them, which the majority (68%) noted as patient care. The researchers were interested in determining whether those professionals who spent more time engaged in meaningful work would exhibit the lowest levels of burnout, and that is exactly what they found.

Specifically, for those who spent less than 10% of their time engaged in their most meaningful activity, 57% were burned out. However, physicians who spent more than 20% of their time in their most meaningful tasks—patient care—reported about half the burnout their peers had.

Not surprisingly, burnout is a major occupational concern, not just for the physician, but also when it comes to patient care. Exhaustion at work can lead to poor decisions, a lack of attention and deterioration in the quality


of the patient-doctor relationship. It can severely and adversely impact the health of the physician, which may lead to considerable problems both in the short-term and long-term.

The impacts of spending less time on the activities that matter did not only increase their risk of burnout, but also contributed to the desire to potentially reduce their work hours or leave their position altogether. These sentiments are concerning, as it shows how a lack of meaning can drive employees to want to leave their employers, even when they occupy roles in which there is an abundant amount of professional meaning.

DEVELOPING MEANING At our core, we are all creatures who crave meaning and desire to contribute to the world around us. Not surprisingly, this need extends into our workplaces and is a universally shared phenomenon. Without meaning, it is difficult to engage our talents and bring out the best in ourselves.

However, even when we are in roles where meaning may be seen to be abundantly present, challenges can still occur.

Indeed, other competing demands from our job may take us further and further away from the drive that brought us there in the first place. The


research suggests that we need to be cognizant of this reality, as it may systematically and profoundly affect our workplace performance and emotional well-being.

Stepping back and reflecting on what is truly important in our roles may allow us to maximize our potential and benefit ourselves, our organizations, and the people whom we serve.


6A Labour of LoveThe truth of strengthsPassion, engagement and drive are buzz words that continue to receive attention in the popular press and within organizations. It’s easy to see why this is the case. Strengthening the connection we have with our work brings considerable benefits to ourselves, our teams and our organizations.

A recent BlessingWhite survey examined what the primary employee engagement drivers were for professionals around the world. Interestingly, the number one satisfaction driver in North America (and in many other countries) was having “more opportunities to do what I do best.”


Leveraging the power of strengths is an idea that has been keenly developed by the Gallup organization. Based on their global research initiatives, which have involved hundreds of thousands of employees,

Gallup researchers documented the myriad benefits of this approach. In one large-scale study, they found that people who were aware of their strengths, and utilized them more frequently in the workplace, were more likely to be the strongest performers.

The benefits of using our strengths are not just limited to our performance. Gallup’s research found that employees who were given “strengths feedback” had a 14.9% lower turnover rate than employees who did not receive such feedback.

Gallup has also observed that it is possible for organizations to introduce and apply the strengths advantage within their existing culture. In another research project focusing on workgroups, the Gallup researchers reported that managers who received a one-hour coaching session geared toward understanding and applying their strengths experienced significant increases in their engagement scores compared to their counterparts who did not participate in such a discussion. Another fascinating revelation was that these gains cascaded down to their teams, who benefitted from significant improvements in their own engagement scores following the


intervention. This indicates the positive and contagious impacts that can be realized by focusing on our strengths.

DEVELOP AWARENESSThe research is quite clear: being aware of one’s strengths is the foundational piece. This intuitively makes sense—how can individuals maximize their time using their strengths if they do not even know what they are?

There are several ways employees and organizations can access this information. First and foremost, several assessment tools exist that provide detailed insight into this topic. Gallup offers StrengthsFinder 2.0, which yields a personalized report detailing the individual’s strengths and provides customized tips for activities/opportunities to leverage these within the workplace.

The Values In Action (VIA) Institute on Character also has a strengths report (called the VIA Pro), which individuals and organizations can use. Hogan, one of the most widely respected and used personality assessments on the market, also has a suite of tools that can inform this discussion. These instruments provide an individual with insight into their personalities and how they can use these natural tendencies to their advantage.


Although lacking the rigour associated with using one or all of the above assessment tools, another option is to ask colleagues or friends what they think are your greatest strengths. Ask them to be specific. If they say “interpersonal skills,” ask them exactly what they mean. You could be a strong listener, a strong communicator or both. The more specific the feedback, the more actionable your future response.

HAVE A STRENGTHS DISCUSSION Although this may seem to be aimed primarily at managers, employees can play a part in this as well. Employees can ask their managers directly for feedback in terms of what they do well, and also ask how they might engage in more activities that leverage these talents.

For managers, incorporate more of a strengths-based approach into your style. Provide feedback to your employees, not only on where they should improve but also highlight strengths they can utilize. Encourage team members to share their insights into others’ strengths in the workplace. Integrating strengths concepts into daily routines helps keep them top of mind for everyone involved.


CONDUCT A “STRENGTHS AUDIT” TO IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTHOnce again, this can be a joint responsibility. Employees can provide suggestions to managers around where they feel they can add even more value by maximizing their strengths. Furthermore, employees can keep their eyes open for new and interesting ways to apply their talents at work.

Managers can also view their work and the work of their employees through “strengths goggles.” Examine roles and responsibilities to find opportunities to capitalize on employee strengths even more. At best, bring the employee into the conversation. Employees will possess unique and invaluable insight into how they can bring the best of who they are into their current role.

ASSIGN TASKS BASED ON STRENGTHSThis is specifically targeted to managers and leaders. Innumerable tasks and projects emerge within organizations. Rather than just assigning tasks randomly or through some other self-directed process, collaborate with your teams to determine who is the best fit and has the most to offer. This presents a wonderful opportunity to bring maximum capacity to an initiative.


Being your best is a mantra that has tremendous interest to employees and to their employers more broadly. The above research provides a compelling case for why maximizing opportunities to use our strengths is critical to realizing this goal. This is, however, a shared responsibility, in which each of us can play a role. Celebrating and leveraging our talents will benefit all parties involved and can contribute to building a culture where “loving your job” is not just a dream, but rather, a reality.


7Self CompassionAn essential leadership trait Exercising effective leadership is a worthy and challenging endeavour. Not surprisingly, there are numerous obstacles and setbacks faced along the way. Although resilience is undoubtedly important, it is likely not enough. Practising self-compassion or personal forgiveness is a necessary adaptive strategy, and it may be a critical contributor to achieving our leadership potential.

Countless articles and books have been written on the topic of leadership. Not surprisingly, much of the discussion focuses on the traits, behaviours and models of effective leaders ultimately to reveal the “secrets” of better leadership.


When talking about setbacks, most of the attention centres on team members, with the prevailing wisdom suggesting that leaders should be open and supportive of their direct reports when errors occur. And when leaders face obstacles, the importance of perseverance and maintaining a positive attitude are offered as sage advice.

Unfortunately, an overriding emphasis on perseverance may mask the equally important, yet often overlooked leadership competency of practising self-compassion. In the 2012 study, Self-Compassion Increases Self-Improvement Motivation, conducted at the University of California, Berkeley, researchers explored the effectiveness of different reactions to failure situations. In some cases, participants were primed to think about a recent setback in a way that enhanced their self-esteem (e.g., to look at the situation in ways that focused on their positive qualities). In other cases, participants were distracted from focusing on their setback in a positive manner (e.g., to think about positive memories from the past). Lastly, a group of participants was instructed to view their failure in a way that encouraged self-compassion. This involved exercising some personal forgiveness and understanding, and recognizing that these types of challenges are human and are not a reflection of their character or their potential as human beings.

Interestingly, those who took a self-compassionate approach experienced more benefits than those who did not. Specifically, the people who were


self-compassionate were significantly more likely to view their failures as changeable. Indeed, it motivated them to want to address these areas of challenge and work harder to improve their performance in the future.

This finding was consistent with another separate study conducted by the Berkeley team in which participants were given the opportunity to take a test a second time, which they had initially failed. When faced with this failure situation, people who were primed to be self-compassionate

studied much longer (approximately 25%), which translated into significantly higher test scores than those who focused on maintaining or enhancing their self-esteem.

So why is self-compassion such a powerful coping mechanism for these situations? Self-compassion does not mean abdicating responsibility or lowering our expectations of ourselves. On the contrary, exercising personal forgiveness is to acknowledge our shortcomings as human beings. Equally important is recognizing that the existence of these challenges breathes life into the possibility of achieving excellence and success. It reinforces that these performance blips are temporary, not permanent, which can drive us

“…the more we see how hard it is to understand good leadership, the more we begin to appreciate its importance.”


to push ourselves to our higher limits. It is a more balanced view of our capabilities and a recognition that these can change across time and circumstance.

Focusing solely on self-esteem may actually be problematic when it comes to improving our performance. Focusing only on the positive and ignoring the potential causes of our setbacks also makes personal learning exceptionally difficult. The first step to change is personal acceptance that there is a problem. Acknowledging the problem better positions us to learn from any setbacks. But constantly exercising self-compassion may be the key to our leadership success and the best way to realize our highest potential.


Tony Hsieh in his “office”.


Tony Hsieh in his “office”.

8Building a Vibrant Culture: Lessons from Zappos!Culture is an intangible but defining feature of an organization. Although countless definitions exist, the common thread is that culture essentially represents the “personality” of the organization.

Not surprisingly, establishing a positive culture is one of the most highly valued goals for organizations, with executives and Human Resources leaders constantly looking for ways to achieve this.


Zappos is an organization that seems to have succeeded in the ‘culture arena’. Zappos has been consistently rated by Forbes magazine as one of the 100 best companies to work for, and was recently acquired by Amazon for $928 million. According to Amazon, it was as much a culture acquisition

as a business acquisition — a clear testament to the strength of the Zappos brand surviving acquisition by a widely known and respected giant.

What makes Zappos’s success especially impressive is that they are an online store in the business of selling shoes — a product that most would argue demands to be ‘tried on’.

Also remarkable is that the majority of their employees are call-centre agents. Historically, call centres are notorious for having extremely high turnover rates and poor employee morale, but these problems do not plague Zappos.

Tony Hsieh (pronounced SHAY) has fervently protected the culture of Zappos. His dedication stems from his previous involvement in a start-up — one that he sold for almost a quarter of a billion dollars. While working

“If you get the culture right, then most of the other stuff follows” —Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh


at the start-up he became increasingly disenfranchised with the culture, and found that going to work was no longer fun or meaningful. He swore he would do everything in his power not to follow the same path in his next venture.

LESSONS LEARNEDThe following provides some thought-provoking examples of how Zappos does things differently, which could help strengthen your culture.

1) Interview Process – When a Zappos candidate is selected for an interview, rather than follow the standard process, they engage in a

“culture interview.” For example, interviewers ask potential candidates to rate their level of weirdness on a scale of 1-10. Individuals who provide a very low number are screened out, as they are seen as likely too conservative for the work environment.

Another popular question asked of candidates is “What was the title of your last position and was it appropriate?” This is designed to test for the degree of humility in the candidate. If they are self-aggrandizing in their response, Zappos is not the right place for them.

2) Onboarding Process – After passing the interview, candidates receive two weeks of classroom training, which includes a detailed


introduction to the “Zappos way”. An interesting twist in this process is that following the training, Zappos offers prospective employees $2,000 to quit. This is a strategic investment as it weeds out employees who do not identify with or fit the culture. Most importantly, those who turn down the money make a powerful public statement about their commitment to Zappos. In the long run, it is much cheaper to pay a candidate $2,000 to leave than to replace an employee who is not committed to the company.

3) Commitment to Learning – This is one of Zappos’ core values and Tony Hsieh has been instrumental in driving curriculum development for the entire organization. Employees are fully paid for their participation and the training occurs during regular work hours. Hsieh’s ultimate goal is to have all new recruits ready for senior leadership positions within five to seven years.

4) Creating a Culture Book – Each year, employees contribute unedited stories and observations about what it means to be a part of the company. Experts agree that culture provides direction on what behaviours are, and are not, appropriate in the day-to-day workings of an organization. There is no way that is more powerful in expressing what it is like within a company than having employees literally write the book.


5) Playing – Management are required to spend at least 10-20% of their time ‘goofing off ’ with their team to help build and maintain morale.

Creating and sustaining a positive and healthy culture is critical to the success of an organization. Indeed, the mission of Your Workplace magazine is to highlight the personal, professional, and corporate benefits of such a philosophy and way of being.

Sometimes to find our way, it is helpful to learn from role models who are trailblazers in this domain. Zappos clearly embraces the opportunity to build an exemplary culture, which has delivered exemplary results. Although not all of their ideas may readily apply to every organization, reflecting on the underlying values within each of their strategies suggest concrete actions that can be taken to create a more positive organizational culture.


9Tapping into the ‘Inner Heart’ of InnovationCreativity is an essential skill for organizations particularly in the ever-evolving modern marketplace. Indeed, organizations that do not adapt to changing economic and market trends are unlikely to survive (the cases of Blockbuster or Kodak are good examples of companies that suffered these consequences). Not surprisingly, leaders and organizations are searching for ways to stimulate and encourage innovation within their workplaces.


From the outside looking in, a quick-fix to stimulating creativity and innovation within the organization might be to offer employees financial incentives to bring creative ideas to the table. If you want better ideas, pay people more money to deliver them.

However, the simplest most logical solution may not be the best. Teresa Amabile, a professor at Harvard Business School and one of the leading authorities on creativity and innovation, conducted a fascinating study highlighting how this seemingly obvious advice is actually seriously flawed.

In this classic experiment, she invited 72 creative writers to author poems on various subjects. When they first arrived, each participant was asked to pen a brief poem on Snow which would be later used as a baseline measure of creativity. Once these Snow poems were completed, the true experiment began.

One-third of the creative writers were assigned to an “extrinsic motivation” condition. In this group the participants were given a “Reasons for Writing” questionnaire that required them to rank-order seven extrinsically motivated reasons for being a writer (e.g., financial reward, prestige, etc.). Interestingly the reasons, and the order in which the participants ranked them, was irrelevant to Amabile. What was important


to the study was that these individuals were now primed to think about the extrinsic reasons for engaging in their craft.

Another third of the writers were given the same “Reasons for Writing” questionnaire, but this time the seven reasons were intrinsically motivated (e.g., they provided an opportunity for self-expression). Again the reasons and the ranking were not important. The remaining set of writers, making up the last one third or participants, read an irrelevant story. This control group was labelled the “control condition’”. Once these questionnaires were completed and stories read the writers were asked to write one more poem, this time on the topic of Laughter. When the poems were finished an independent group of 12 writers, who had no knowledge of the experiment or to which group each participant was assigned, judged the creativity of both poems (e.g., Snow and Laughter).

When the groups were compared in terms of the creativity of the initial poem, Snow, no between-group differences were found. In other words, before the participants were divided into their groups their poems were judged to be equally creative.

However, an intriguing variation was discovered when the Laughter poems were evaluated. In this instance, two major findings emerged. First, the “extrinsic motivation” group’s Laughter poems were deemed to exhibit


much less creativity than their Snow poems. In addition, the ‘extrinsic’ group’s Laughter poems were judged to be significantly less creative than the Laughter poems written by the other two groups.

Remarkably, these findings suggest that simply priming individuals to adopt an extrinsic frame of mind significantly dampens their creativity; even individuals who naturally enjoy the task of being creative.

A potential criticism of this line of research is that it was conducted in a laboratory setting with a set of creative writers, so the results may not translate to the ‘real world.’ Amabile and her colleagues

have addressed this issue in her latest book, The Progress Principle. Based on 12,000 diary entries, she showed that employees “were more creative in their individual work on the days when they were more highly intrinsically motivated. What’s more, the projects that were distinguished by the greatest levels of creativity overall were the ones in which team members had the highest average of intrinsic motivation in their day-to-day work.”

It is important to reflect on the potentially harmful effects of organizations linking creativity with reward.


THE TAKEAWAYIt is important to reflect on the potentially harmful effects of organizations linking creativity with reward. Their intentions (e.g., stimulating creativity and innovation) may not be matching their impact.Individuals, teams and organizations need to innovate in order to remain competitive in the current economic environment. Although we may assume that the quickest route to this goal is through financial means, research strongly questions this assumption. Tapping into the inexpensive and relatively limitless resource of creativity by enhancing opportunities for intrinsic motivation appears to be the most effective path to encourage creativity and innovation.


10Talented TerrorsHow some of your top performers may be harming your organizationEnhancing productivity is a laudable and important organizational goal. In the current economic environment there is a heightened demand to deliver, which is further intensified by our new reality of being asked to do more with less. Finding ways to meet or exceed our performance targets keeps many senior leaders (and employees) awake at night.

Within this context, it may appear that performance is king. Although it may even seem more attractive to focus exclusively on the what (e.g., results), rather than the how (e.g., process), this may be a losing


strategy — one with potentially long-term, debilitating impacts on an organization.

THE PROBLEM WITH TOXIC HIGH-PERFORMERSWe have all likely come across individuals who are capable of achieving extraordinary results, but with a style that leaves a lot to be desired. They can be quite ruthless, impersonal and aggressive. Often, these destructive behaviours are trivialized in a joking manner (“Oh, that’s just Bob being Bob”).

Part of this response may stem from discomfort in dealing with the individual in a direct manner. Another, more likely scenario, especially

in the domain of senior leadership, is that it may be tough to imagine letting Bob go, since he “brings so much to the organization”.

Leadership IQ, a globally recognized research and leadership consulting company, conducted a study to examine the impacts of the “Bobs” of the world on both their corporate culture and performance. Their research results, involving over 70,000 individuals, demonstrated how these “Bobs” are negatively impacting their organizations.

Although ‘results at any cost’ may yield short-term dividends, the longer-term negative impacts are considerably higher.


Think of performance as having two dimensions: skills and attitude. Of course there could be more, but Leadership IQ’s numerous studies show that almost all attributes of performance ultimately get subsumed by skills or attitude. Some people have great attitudes but terrible skills. Others have stellar skills but bad attitudes. The latter group, called “Talented Terrors”, when at their worst are like emotional vampires. And while they won’t actually suck your blood, the frustration of dealing with them just might suck the life out of you.

To truly appreciate the damaging effects of these individuals, Leadership IQ looked at the impact that working with “Talented Terrors” had on the top-performing employees — those who truly give it their all every day when they are at the office. When asked what it was like to work with a “Talented Terror”, 87% noted that they had seriously contemplated switching jobs as a result. To make matters worse, 93% mentioned that their productivity also declined. Although these findings emerged from the highest-potential employees, there is no reason to believe that this trend does not also extend to the rest of the organization.

This research highlights the far-reaching impacts of “Talented Terrors”. An especially important point to note is that although it may be tempting to keep “Bob” for his contributions to the organization, the impact he may have on the rest of the top performers (e.g., through potential voluntary


turnover at worst, or decreased productivity, at best), reverses the benefit of keeping him onboard. He should be considered a low performer and be dispensed with accordingly.

Based on the above, what are some steps that organizations can take to eliminate these “Talented Terrors” from the workplace?

1. Provide numerous opportunities for anonymous employee feedback – There are countless ways the senior leadership within organizations can address this potential problem. For example, skip-level interviews could be introduced, whereby employees bypass their immediate supervisor and talk to a member of the senior leadership team directly. This strategy can provide invaluable information concerning what is happening on the front lines of an organization. Furthermore, 360-feedback exercises can also be used, such that anonymous and unfiltered feedback can be received about the “how” of leadership. Looking for trends in responses and highlighting troubling behaviours can go a long way toward identifying talented or even untalented terrors in your organization.

2. Make respectful behaviour part of your core values – As the saying goes, “common sense is not all that common”. Certain individuals may be predisposed to the belief “results at all costs” while others may interpret certain messages from the organization that they feel appear to support


this mantra. Clarifying the core values and acceptable codes of conduct can erase any uncertainty and make it easier to address any departures from these standards.

3. Correct disrespectful/inappropriate behaviours immediately – Civility experts Drs. Christine Porath and Christine Pearson highlight the necessity of stepping in right away to address these problem behaviours. In their research, 88% of people who feel disrespected by a coworker or colleague “get even” with the organization, which adds to the potential costs of ”Talented Terrors”.

Organizations need to maximize their productivity in order to survive and thrive in today’s competitive landscape. A by-product of this reality may be a temptation to focus exclusively on results, at the expense of everything else. Although “results at any cost” may yield short-term dividends, the longer-term negative impacts are considerably higher. Focusing greater attention on “how” the results are achieved may not only benefit the output goals of the organization, but will likely contribute to a healthier and more productive work environment.


11A Key to Success – with InterestThere is a reason that the phrase “Do what you love and the money will follow” is a popular piece of business advice. People who enjoy their jobs generally find the work interesting and engaging, and people who are interested in what they do are more likely to enjoy their jobs. However, recent research from Duke University adds another piece to this puzzle, highlighting how our level of interest in our daily tasks is linked to how successfully we perform them. Not only does interest maximize our performance, it also acts as a buffer against burning out.


In their first study, doctoral student Paul O’Keefe and associate professor Lisa Linnenbrink-Garcia asked over 150 individuals to work on a set of word puzzles. Before engaging in the task, they were asked how much they thought they would enjoy the activity. Once these ratings were obtained, the participants set out to solve the puzzles, which were described as either important (e.g., their solution was valuable/purposeful) or not (e.g., no real benefit was shared).

People who thought they would enjoy the task and solved the ‘valuable’ puzzles, achieved significantly higher levels of performance than their counterparts. More importantly, the reason for their elevated performance was not due to their working harder, but rather being more efficient (i.e. they had a high intensity focus).

Following this revelation, the researchers wanted to determine whether these individuals would be worn out as a result of this heightened level of focus. To test this idea, they replicated the experiment again, but this time, after the participants had completed solving the puzzles, they were asked to squeeze a hand grip (often used for exercise) to see how long they could hold it.

Once again, the “high-interest” individuals who felt the word puzzles would be highly enjoyable and worked on the ‘valuable’ puzzles were able


to squeeze the grip the longest. This test of self-control demonstrated that these individuals still had a high level of engagement following the cognitive task.

On the flip side, people who reported that they were uninterested in the task did not perform as well. Furthermore, they also were the most exhausted at the end of the study, as evidenced by their shorter squeeze times.

IMPLICATIONSWhat do these findings mean for us on a practical level?

First and foremost, the above study suggests that it is important for us to find some level of interest (or anticipated interest) in our activities. If this interest is not immediately evident, take some time to find something of interest within the task by breaking it down into smaller components. Find elements of it to be excited about. This will help to maximize our performance, as well as our energy level.

If you cannot find anything/little of interest in the task, and if you have the resources, seriously consider delegating the activity to someone who does. Not only will someone else perform at a level higher than yours, you can conserve your strength for the most innately interesting activities in which you can be at your best.


If you are in a leadership position within an organization, make sure you take the time to find out what excites and interests each member of your team. This can be invaluable, especially when it comes to assigning duties and responsibilities for shared projects. If certain members of your group are more data-oriented, make sure they are the ones working on the spreadsheets and number-crunching. If some individuals relish ‘client-facing work,’ maximize the time they can be engaged with others. Matching the tasks with the resources most interested in performing them will likely result in a higher quality outcome and more engaged staff.

Last but not least, the research also highlights the importance of providing the meaning behind the task. Remember that the benefits were only gained when a task was both enjoyable and valuable. Take the time to explain to your team members why the task is critical to the success of the organization. If it is a ‘personal project,’ ensure you are clear on the purpose behind the project and its importance.

Maximizing our performance and sustainable effort is something we are constantly striving for. Recent research shows that both interest and meaning allow us to maintain a high level of focus and engagement both during and after a task. However, not every task is inherently interesting to everyone. Seeking out activities that hold our attention and passing tasks along to those who are interested in them allows for a high level


of productivity and a more successful outcome. So find the element of enjoyment in your tasks and success will follow – with interest.


12To Err is Human –to Apologize is HumaneConflict is a natural and inevitable part of being human. At home or in the workplace, different opinions, perspectives, and values intersect to create interactions that are challenging and taxing to navigate, even at the highest levels of leadership. For example, in a recent survey, CEOs rate conflict management skills as their most important area for professional development.


Handling conflict can become even more challenging when we are the offending party. When we are responsible for hurting someone, we often get angry at the person we harmed, avoid the situation, or try to rationalize our behaviour rather than apologizing for it.

However, a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences highlights the importance of apology in repairing and strengthening our relationships. This research examined how people respond when those who offended them offered an apology. The longitudinal nature of this investigation also meant that the researchers could examine what effect the apology had after the event occurred and track forgiveness levels in the weeks ahead.

When participants received an apology after the conflict, the research team found that the level of forgiveness towards the transgressor rose significantly several weeks after the occurrence. Furthermore, the level of anger the individuals felt towards the ‘offender’ significantly decreased after the apology.

Two major factors contributed to these positive outcomes. First, the transgressor was seen as more valuable as a relationship partner, since the apology signified the level of importance the transgressor placed on the relationship. The apology also made the individual who


was harmed feel more confident in the strength and stability of the relationship moving forward.

Second, and equally as important, the transgressor was seen as less likely to engage in hurtful behaviors in the future and genuinely desired for the conflict to end.

WHAT WERE THE MOST EFFECTIVE FORMS OF APOLOGY?Given the positive impacts of apologies to enhance the strength and sustainability of a personal or professional relationship, the research team was interested in uncovering the distinguishing features an effective apology. Here is what they found:

1) Say “I’m sorry” – Not surprisingly, openly acknowledging regret for the incident was an important element of moving forward, a feature which has also been noted in research conducted through the Harvard Negotiation Project.

2) Offering a form of compensation – This signalled to the individual that the person was genuinely remorseful for the harmful act and interested in finding a way to facilitate with the healing process.

3) Taking responsibility – In many situations, a ‘non-apology’ is offered where the individual/party essentially dodges taking responsibility for


their actions, but regrets any ‘inconvenience’ or ‘hurt feelings’ caused by their actions. It is a hollow statement of remorse, one that is deemed to be inauthentic and unhelpful. Fully accepting responsibility for their actions expedited the forgiveness process.

Despite our history with conflict, the vast majority of us struggle with making amends. We either avoid the conversation or make things worse with an awkward ‘non-apology.’

Making mistakes is a necessary and unavoidable part of life. However, when our mistakes negatively impact others, we can use the opportunity to not only repair our bonds with others, but also to strengthen them. The above research not only shows the importance of a genuine apology for restoring our relationships, it also provides a roadmap to better equip us to engage in these conversations more effectively. By saying we’re sorry, offering compensation, and taking responsibility for our words/actions, we can take steps to repair the damage to our relationships and reconnect with the people around us.


About the AuthorCraig Dowden (Ph.D.) is President and Founder of Craig Dowden & Associates, a firm focused on bridging the gap between what science knows and what business does. His firm specializes in the custom design and delivery of evidence-based leadership development programs and services. His main areas of practice include executive and career coaching, workshop facilitation/keynote speaking, employee engagement, and psychometric/personality assessment (including 360-feedback).

Craig holds a Ph.D. in Psychology with a specialization in Business. He frequently shares his insights on how to maximize individual, team, and organizational potential through keynote speaking and writing regularly for various high-profile HR and business publications including the Huffington Post Business (U.S.), Financial Post, Financial Times, Psychology Today, HR Professional and Your Workplace. In 2009, while living in Ottawa, Craig was recognized as one of its “Forty under 40” business leaders by the Ottawa Business Journal.

Craig also dedicates time to reviewing and conducting research that provides valuable insight into the most pressing issues facing businesses today. This commitment ensures he brings the latest research in the leadership and organizational sciences to his consulting work.

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