A while ago, a friend asked my advice about dealing with an ‘apathetic and cynical’ member of her management team. The team were tasked with driving through some sweeping changes in her Primary Care Trust (I probably need to explain…
The Neuroscience Of Appreciative Inquiry
Advances in brain-imaging technology from the 1990s onwards enabled researchers to discover two networks in the brain that in some ways are in opposition to each other. The Task Positive Network (TPN) is activated when you engage in ‘cognitive’ tasks…
Want To Hire Emotionally Intelligent People For Your Team? My New Book Will Help
What makes the difference between the average performers and the stars in your team? More than any other factor, it’s emotional intelligence. This new book tells you how to hire emotionally intelligent people – without blowing your budget on expensive…
How To Make Sure Training Actually Transfers To The Workplace: What Research Tells Us
Since the 1950s there’s been a perception that most of the money spent on training is wasted, because it either fails to transfer back into the workplace, or fades away over time. Most studies of training transfer suggest a transfer…
Introduction To Appreciative Inquiry – Video With Andy Smith
Recently I was interviewed over video link about Appreciative Inquiry by Joe Dager of Business901. This introductory segment covers: What Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is in a nutshell What teams need to be successful Neuroscience discoveries that support Appreciative Inquiry How…
Einstein Quote For Appreciative Inquiry
I came across this quote by Albert Einstein mentioned in a couple of places in the same week, and it struck my how applicable it is to Appreciative Inquiry. If you’re looking only at analysing the causes of problems, you’re…
Practical Appreciative Inquiry Online Training
A press release has gone out about the course – you can read it here or get the PDF version here. It has a bit more information about the course in addition to what’s on the course booking page. If…
An Easy Format For Giving Positive Feedback
Following on from the last post on Why It’s Better, And More Accurate, To Give Positive Feedback, here’s a format for doing just that. We’re more used to giving details about what people did wrong. When people do things right, the…
Why It’s Better, And More Accurate, To Give Positive Feedback
Objective appraisal is impossible Although feedback is famously “the breakfast of champions”, nobody likes getting negative feedback. Now a new book, Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World, by management researcher Marcus Buckingham and SVP…
The Human Cost Of Change, And How To Reduce It
Rising levels of stress and depression The business bestseller lists are full of books about how to embrace change. Silicon Valley companies are lauded for disrupting traditional business models. “A game-changer” is about the most complimentary thing you can say…