How does one listen well? The answer—as revealed in an exhaustive review of the listening research published between 2000 and 2021—is often built on the speaker’s perception. For example, some common signs of a good listener include: acknowledging the speaker through non-verbal reactions (nodding the head) or verbal reactions (“hmm,” “yes”); continuing to watch the […]
Read More… from The Listening Paradox: Why Listening Is Often Difficult
People treat each other differently at work than in non-work settings, and with good reason: they are work colleagues brought together solely to accomplish the work necessary for their jobs. They are not loved ones, family, or even close friends who come together for personal reasons. Work relationships, however, can veer too far from the […]
Read More… from Why Objectification of People Is Rampant at Work
As human beings, we are spectacular at pulling off all the complicated tasks it takes to have a conversation. The one conversation challenge we have not mastered is coordinating the end of the conversation. In most cases, according to recent research, a conversation ends either later or earlier than either partner wants it to end, and for […]
Read More… from Conversations Don’t End When We Want Them To
What is charisma? Much of past research focuses on the outcomes of charisma and often within the context of leaders in an organizational setting—e.g., charismatic leaders generate emotions that inspire others to follow them. However, leaders are not the only people in our lives who exhibit charisma, argues a team of researchers from the University […]
Read More… from Charisma beyond Leadership: Influence + Affability
Most attempts at persuasion are met by wary resistance. People are naturally suspicious of the motives of persuaders, ready to believe that persuaders will use devious means to achieve their goal of persuasion. Previous research has focused on linguistic cues—that is, the words that persuaders can use to overcome this natural resistance. However, in their […]
Read More… from Persuading with Pitch, Volume and Non-Verbal Cues
Research has identified as non-productive the narcissistic tendencies of a leader, such as a grandiose sense of self-importance and need for constant admiration, that have a negative impact on the organization. In contrast, productive narcissistic tendencies, such as charm and the drive to push through adversity, can have a positive impact. A new study examines […]
Read More… from Narcissistic Leaders Negatively Impact Different Employees in Different Ways
While a great deal of attention has been paid to the performance and cost advantages of hiring superstars, less attention is paid to employees at the other end of the spectrum: toxic workers who undermine the organization’s productivity and incur significant costs regulatory and legal liabilities. New research shows that avoiding toxic workers (or converting […]
Read More… from Avoiding Toxic Workers Is More Profitable Than Hiring Superstars
Conversations with new people are an important part of most people’s social and professional lives. After such conversations, people often seem to underestimate whether the other person in the conversation enjoyed the conversation and liked them. A series of five studies confirmed what the researchers call the ‘liking gap.’ In the first section of the […]
Read More… from Why Workplace Conversations Are More Successful than You Believe
The ideal candidates for a new job are highly competent and highly sociable. They are knowledgeable and skilled in their fields while at the same time have collegial and easy to work with personalities. Nobody is perfect, however, and many candidates will be stronger on one dimension than the other — they will come across […]
In the 21st century interconnected, global, cross-functional, flat-hierarchy, silo-busted world of business, collaboration and teamwork are viewed as one of the foundational pillars of success, at both the organizational level and individual level. Such is the generally accepted wisdom. Even collaboration, however, is not immune to the dangers of ‘too much of a good thing.’ […]
Read More… from Too Much of a Good Thing: Collaborative Overload
