Positivity – it’s more than Smiley Faces and “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” slogans. And it is a lot more than encouraging people to put on a fake air of cheerfulness (“Shiny Happy People”). During the past twenty years, Positive Psychology has advanced tremendously as a science and we have learned a lot about ourselves. Key among these findings – people who have more positivity … [Read more...] about Positivity Power: More than Smiley Faces
Personal
Developing Your Self-Awareness
Developing your self-awareness has long been thought of as a key to improving your leadership capability. Self-awareness is valuable because if you understand yourself extremely well then you can choose the appropriate effective behaviors to fit the situations you find yourself in. Without understanding yourself, you act on your natural “tendencies” which might not always … [Read more...] about Developing Your Self-Awareness
Happiness Traps
Can too much of a good thing be bad for you? Yes – suggests Annie McKee, author of How to Be Happy at Work*. She identifies three “traps” that successful people often fall into at work – success strategies that go too far. *The Ambition Trap. A laser focus on success – especially when combined with competitiveness to be the best - can actually be a trap for the high … [Read more...] about Happiness Traps
Engaged & Exhausted
Employee engagement is the current Holy Grail for organizations. Many employers – including my own, the University of Maryland – are spending millions of dollars to assess employee engagement and implement programs to increase engagement. Given the research on the payoff of having an engaged workforce, these investments make sense (e.g., see extensive research by Gallup). … [Read more...] about Engaged & Exhausted
Time to Think
As I have gotten older, I want more and more time to think, gather my thoughts, make sense of the world, and hopefully garner some wisdom. Yeah, I keep on waiting. That hasn’t happened in a long time even with multiple efforts to carve that time out and work it into my schedule. The necessities of work, family, and Netflix binging push out any attempt otherwise. Then … [Read more...] about Time to Think