Sunday Best – Work

Sunday Best is a curated list of articles I’ve read over the past week or so that I find enlightening, educational or just plain interesting. This week’s focus is surviving and thriving at work. Enjoy!

Office politics

Urgh. Work politics. I must admit I suck at it. Colin Gautrey explains how to play the politics confidently and suggests four ways to engage in office politics that a) enable you to get things done and b) don’t become career limiting moves.

Gender bias

If you are strong, assertive woman, you know that strong, assertive women are often at risk of being labelled “emotional” (or worse) when they speak up at work. This rarely happens if you are a man. Psychology Today suggests framing as a way to curb gender bias. It’s brilliant!

Thinking styles

We’ve all been Myers Briggsed and DISCed to within an inch of our lives at work, with the goal of helping us understand each other and hence work more effectively as members of a team. Now, according to the Harvard Business Review, there’s a way to tap into our thinking style and use how we think to work more effectively with others. Who knew?

Culture and motivation

We’ve all the heard the story about star recruits who wither and die because the culture of the company they move to is less then stellar. Culture is a beast that must be controlled… or it controls the enterprise. Harvard Business Review maintains that leaders need to understand that corporate culture is an ecosystem, and that motives and processes (good and bad) shape employee motivation or otherwise.

Defining stupid

I hate idiots. And stupid. There is so much stupid in our workplaces (and I’m generally talking about management here—not my colleagues and peers, who are usually wonderful). Often I don’t know exactly what is it about the stupid I hate. Luckily, Seth Godin has deconstructed it for us. He is also optimistic about curing stupidity. I’m not at all convinced that it’s possible.

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