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April 2021

A Better Way

This past weekend my wife and I traveled to see our daughter and help her through a monumental life event. She is preparing to buy her first car on her own. I don’t know about you, but fewer things bring me dread than the car buying process. She had done her research, knew the types of cars she wanted to test drive, and the locations of the dealerships near her. She had her personal information all accounted for and was prepared to make a purchase if everything fell into place. We planned to all pile into her tiny car she had been driving for 11 years so we had it available as a trade-in. Everything was ready and we were confident that nothing could dismantle our day. Then we left her apartment. The first dealership we went to was the brand our family traditionally had purchased. We love the brand and this was sure to be the leader. The people who met us were friendly and welcoming. They passed the first test by making sure they worked directly …

Leaders Who Micro-Manage are Over-Functioning

Nobody likes to be micro-managed. Yet nearly all of us have felt the intense pressure of a manager who was too involved in the minutiae of our daily work lives. There are many reasons why leaders micro-manage. In some cases, a hands-on approach actually has benefits, according to this BBC article by Sydney Finkelstein. Why Do Leaders Micro-Manage? Leaders micro-manage because they have concerns that employees will make a mistake or can’t do the job properly. This is true with new employees or when a new policy or system is introduced. It makes sense for leaders to stay involved with day-to-day operations while employees are learning. Yet some leaders have a hard time pulling away after the initial learning curve. Or they simply can’t accept a way of accomplishing a task that’s different than their own way. What’s going on with that? It might be that the manager is “over-functioning.” Why Leaders Who Micro-Management Might Be Over-Functioning I first learned the term “over-functioning” from Shelley Row, the author of Think Less, Live More: Lessons from a Recovering Over-Thinker. It’s …

Respond Instead

If I asked you how your day was going, how would you answer? I’m 99.9% sure you’d easily say “Good” or “Fine” because it’s polite and expected. The person being asked is hoping with all that’s in them that these one-word retorts will placate the inquisitor enough that they’ll move on. We say these responses because it is the norm of a shallow acknowledgment as humans. We may care how the other person is when we greet them, but chances are we care “ish.” You see, far more daunting and important battles lay ahead of us. We are sure of it because why else would we venture to work if it wasn’t to slay the dragons that no one else is capable of handling? We tell ourselves we are indispensable due to a mix of self-assuredness and a need to feel valued as a contributor. So, now that the obligatory greetings of our co-workers are complete we can get to the day ahead which is sure to be far more fulfilling. As we open our “to do” list, …

Respond Instead

If I asked you how your day was going, how would you answer? I’m 99.9% sure you’d easily say “Good” or “Fine” because it’s polite and expected. The person being asked is hoping with all that’s in them that these one-word retorts will placate the inquisitor enough that they’ll move on. We say these responses because it is the norm of a shallow acknowledgment as humans. We may care how the other person is when we greet them, but chances are we care “ish.” You see, far more daunting and important battles lay ahead of us. We are sure of it because why else would we venture to work if it wasn’t to slay the dragons that no one else is capable of handling? We tell ourselves we are indispensable due to a mix of self-assuredness and a need to feel valued as a contributor. So, now that the obligatory greetings of our co-workers are complete we can get to the day ahead which is sure to be far more fulfilling. As we open our “to do” list, …

When Red Means “Go”: Color and Cultural Reactance in Risk Preferences

Color is shown to affect decision making and judgment, and its effects may vary across cultures. Research reported in this article shows that cross-cultural color effects on risk preferences are affected by personal associations of color-gain/loss. Our research finds a cultural reactance effect, a phenomenon in which people who hold culturally incongruent (vs. cultural mainstream norms) color associations show a stronger risk preference. The post When Red Means “Go”: Color and Cultural Reactance in Risk Preferences appeared first on BehavioralEconomics.com | The BE Hub. …

Anxiety about Working in Close Proximity

Is your company moving towards opening in-person workspaces? Here’s an element of the people equation that should be on leaders’ radar: many people are kind of freaked out about it. After a year of working from home, media reports indicate folks have anxiety about working in close proximity. And it’s not just mundane worries about having to wear “hard pants” again. Many office workers are realizing that their social skills are like a muscle; it’s possible there’s been a bit of atrophy. So here are my suggestions for how to successfully come together again without getting on each others’ last nerve. Working in close proximity is about leadership grace and compassion Just as you wouldn’t expect an athlete to come off the injured reserve list and nail it the first day back to practice, keep in mind that employees who have been relegated to working from their kitchen/bedroom/den are going to be a bit rusty. Leaders should acknowledge that individuals might be feeling concern. And given that some frontline workers tended to enjoy WFH more than their leaders, …