Darya Sinusoid, Author at Shortform Books

Ronald A. Heifetz: Preparing for an Adaptive Change

What exactly is an adaptive change? Have you ever introduced a fundamental change to your organization’s processes? How did you communicate it to your team? According to change theorist Ronald A. Heifetz, an adaptive change is a change instituted in response to an “adaptive challenge”—an organizational problem that has no known solutions. Part of your job as an adaptive leader is to prepare people for the change, and the first step to this is to make sure that everyone has an accurate understanding of what the challenge entails and what change is about to come. In this article, we’ll look

The Confidence Gap: Why Men Have More Self-Esteem

Why do women tend to be less confident than men? Can the confidence gap between genders be explained by genetic differences between males and females? While there are no genetic differences between men and women—the confidence-related gene variants are evenly distributed between genders—the sexes do have physiological differences in their brains, think in different ways, and have different amounts of relevant hormones. Some of these differences may explain the confidence gap between men and women. Here is what neuroscience has to say about the confidence gap between men and women.

Getting Through Organizational Conflict: The 8 Steps

Have you ever dealt with conflict at an organizational level? How did it manifest? What was the underlying issue? Surfacing organizational conflict is a sign of unarticulated and unacknowledged differences in values and points of view. It won’t be possible to function effectively until this information comes to light and people understand the conflict’s underlying issues. In this article, we’ll look at eight steps for getting through organizational conflict: how to bring it to light and how to resolve it constructively.

Is Confidence Genetic?—Yes, to an Extent

Is confidence genetic? And if so, how much do genes contribute to one’s sense of self-confidence? It’s scientifically accepted that the big five personality traits—agreeableness, neuroticism, conscientiousness, extroversion, and openness are responsible for around 50% of our personalities. Confidence and optimism are related to these traits, and scientists estimate that 25-50% of our confidence comes from our genes. Here is what science has to say about the role of genetics in confidence.

Bond Investment: The Risks and the Benefits

Are bonds a high-risk investment? What are the key risks associated with bond investing? When you buy bonds, you are loaning your money to a company or government entity. Although bond investing is generally viewed as safer than stock investing, it has several risks. In this article, we’ll take a quick look at the major bond investment risks you should know about.

The Role of Extrinsic Rewards in Motivation

What role do rewards play in motivation? Have you ever done something purely for fun, then started getting paid for it? How did getting paid change how you felt about the work, and how motivated you were? According to Daniel H. Pink, the author of Drive, rewards—specifically, extrinsic rewards—are only effective when the job is low-skill, routine and, monotone. However, when the job requires creativity and intelligence, extrinsic rewards actually diminish motivation and performance. In this article, you’ll learn about the psychology behind rewards and motivation. Specifically, we’ll discuss why extrinsic rewards are ineffective in motivating performance in the long-term.

How to Stay True to Your Organizational Purpose

How to Find Your Major Definite Purpose in Life

What is organizational purpose? Do you feel like you often lose sight of your purpose as change gets in the way? Organizational purpose is the grand vision of an organization that pulls its different functions together. Although most businesses will have a purpose, many struggle to stay true to it as circumstances get in the way. There are five techniques to stay true to your and your organization’s orienting purpose as you navigate change.

The Psychology of Confidence: Where It Stems From

What are some things you feel confident about? What do you think gives you that confidence? Where does confidence stem from in general? According to Katty Kay and Claire Shipman, the authors of The Confidence Code, real confidence stems from mastery. You can only be truly confident about your ability to do something because you have the hard evidence for it—you’ve worked hard and pushed through the difficulties to master it. In this article, you’ll learn about the psychology of confidence: what confidence is, why it’s important, and how women seem predisposed to have less of it than men.

Tax-Advantaged Accounts: What You Need to Know

What are tax-advantaged accounts? What kind of financial assets should you use a tax-advantaged account for? Tax-advantaged accounts are tax-deferred or tax-exempt. You should use these accounts, such as IRAs and 401(k)s, for holding tax-inefficient assets (e.g. bond funds that generate taxable interest, actively managed stock funds, CDs, and REITs). They pay interest and non-qualified dividends and produce capital gains distributions. Below, we’ll take a look at the basic types of tax-advantaged accounts and their key characteristics.

Daniel Pink: Autonomy vs. Independence

What is autonomy in the context of motivation? How does autonomous motivation improve performance? Autonomy gives you more internal choice over what to do and how to do it. Autonomous motivation has been associated with: greater conceptual understanding, better grades, job satisfaction, higher productivity, less burnout, faster company growth, and better psychological health. According to Daniel Pink, autonomy is acting with internal choice but it is different from independence. In this article, you’ll learn about the autonomy component of motivation.