It’s difficult to be a leader alone

Being a leader is a very complex role. Especially in our time, when leaders would be required to know enough to support the team they are leading – says Prof. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in the video below: They should know the needs of different minorities, like women, children, people with special needs etc. They should be able to…

Parts of Prof. Csikszentmihalyi’s commencement address

This blogpost contains parts of Prof. Csikszentmihalyi’s commencement speech addressed at the Colorado College  in 2002. Even though this commencement address is 14 years old now, still contains ultimate truths that could serve as guiding principles of life: “Now that you are poised for this great transition, about to leave the safe for the unknown, it…

How to earn your employees engagement?

Multiple research shows that only about one-third of the employees are engaged at a given workplace. A larger amount of people is not engaged while the rest (around one-fourth) is actively disengaged. But what exactly employee engagement means? A business management concept that describes the level of enthusiasm and dedication a worker feels toward his/her…

Spring chickens and old dogs – generations working together

About 150-200 years ago when people died at a younger age (around 40-60) and the yearly technical advancement wasn’t that significant, it didn’t cause any problems for generations to work together. It was obvious that everyone starts at the bottom at a young age and works him/herself up on the ladder by learning and perfecting the tricks of…

Micromanage or not?! That is the question.

How micromanaging interrupts the flow in you as a leader and in your subordinates? What steps help to promote flow at work? Are there any circumstances when micromanaging is not only allowed but desirable? First of all please, allow me to be a bit personal here: I look at timesheet if it were my enemy.…

Emotions: do they help you to “flow” or drag you down?

Have you ever experienced that simply just knowing every bit of your job is not enough to excel at your workplace? What else might be needed beside deep knowledge and high intelligence to experience that rewarding state of mind that described as Flow? Have you ever met people who you admired for their expertise but…

Manage your work, live your life

Work-life balance is not a rule set in stone but more like a concept that is different for every individual and might change on a daily basis. What work-life balance really means? Does it mean that you have to adhere to the 8 hours of work, 8 hours of fun and 8 hours of sleep…

How can you benefit from flextime as a leader?

It’s hardly dawn when the loud clicking of the alarm clock wakes you up in the morning. You are still heavy headed from last night’s socializing event where you had to attend as part of your duties. You would prefer to stay in bed till about midday but you have to be in the office…