organizational development — Blog

The CIO tells a female colleague she needs to sit in the back of the room — as a joke. The VP of Procurement tells a subordinate he wouldn’t need a new office chair every two years if he’d lose 75 pounds. The CEO demands that a department do his bidding if they want to receive a sustainable budgetary allocation for the year. The VP of Sales regularly yells and cusses at his team for missing performance goals. The CMO is infamous for gossiping about subordinates and feigning ignorance when confronted. Aside from being unprofessional, ill-behaved, and quite shady, what do all of these individuals have in common?

Whitney BlackburnApril 2, 2018organizational development, emotional intelligenceComment

Are You Working in a Psychologically Healthy Environment?

In today’s post-recession, skeleton-crew workplace, the pressure to perform continues to mount. Increased production demands, infoxication, and an ever-widening gap between work and home life has taken a toll on the modern employee’s well-being and job satisfaction. According to the American Psychological Association, two-thirds of both men and women cite work as a major source of stress, and one in four has called in sick as a result of work-induced anxiety. So, how do you know if you’re working in a psychologically healthy environment?

Whitney BlackburnMarch 26, 2018organizational developmentComment

Show Me the Money (and Other Ways to Reinforce Team Performance)

The benefits of positive reinforcement in the workplace are innumerable. Reward systems can incentivize and encourage higher levels of productivity, attendance, morale, and retention. They can signal to a team that the work they are doing is important and valuable. Moreover, when positive recognition is aligned with organizational objectives, it can increase profits and reinforce the motivational benefits of challenging direction and well-designed teamwork.

Whitney BlackburnMarch 19, 2018organizational development, team orientedComment

5 Signs of Bad Leadership (And What to Do About It)

What’s the one factor that affects how engaged and committed you are to your work? According to a whole bunch (very scientific term) of research, it’s your direct supervisor. Simply put, the better the leader, the happier and more engaged the workforce. From an organizational standpoint, effective leaders positively impact productivity, reduce turnover, and improve morale. Yet, despite the obvious benefits, many companies are riddled with bad bosses.

Whitney BlackburnMarch 12, 2018organizational development, leadership Comment

Creating Conditions for Team Success When Conditions Aren’t Optimal

Good leaders inspire confidence in themselves and their abilities. Great leaders inspire confidence in the team and their collective contributions. Great leaders also inspire enthusiasm among the team members to exceed their normal performance level in order to reach a common goal.In order to create an optimal environment for success, leaders must be able to do all of these things and more.

Whitney BlackburnMarch 8, 2018organizational development, team oriented, downloadable contentComment

How to Create a Shared Vision in Your Organization

Van Gogh once said, “I dream my painting and I paint my dream.” In many ways, this is how every vision starts — with a dream put into action. Successful envisioning requires boldness. Leaders must question, anticipate, imagine, take risks, and ultimately, change; they must dream big where others see obstacles.Does your organization have a vision statement? If so, is it frequently communicated to all levels of stakeholders? What actions can you personally commit to in order to better represent the shared vision of the organization?

Whitney BlackburnFebruary 25, 2018organizational development, cultureComment

Is It Possible to Truly Live a Stress-Free Life?

Is it possible to truly live a stress-free life? The short answer is no. However, it is a bit more labyrinthine than that. While the saber-tooth tiger is no longer a threat, stress still motivates us to act, albeit in a much different way. Things like work, finances, and relationships have the power to activate those same effects in a way that ultimately creates a false alarm in the human body.

Whitney BlackburnFebruary 22, 2018organizational development, stress managementComment