Motivation Archives

A Leader’s Guide to Managing Resistance to Change

Are you stuck in your ways at work? Have you received negative feedback about your performance but are resistant to change? In his book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, Marshall Goldsmith says that many leaders and managers tend to resist change for a number of reasons. However, if you are receiving negative feedback about your performance, it’s important to make changes and improve, or else you may never move up the ladder. Here is Goldsmith’s advice on managing your resistance to change.

The 2 Steps to Assuming Personal Accountability

How do you understand personal accountability? What does it really take to assume ownership of your life and hold yourself accountable for its outcomes? Personal accountability means understanding that you control your own fate. To hold yourself accountable, you have to become comfortable examining the part you play (through action or inaction) in getting into or remaining in negative situations. There are two steps to this: 1) face the facts, or evaluate problems without flinching from difficult realities, and 2) Admit your role by being honest about how your actions affected the problem. We’ll discuss both of these principles below.

Moonshot Thinking: 2 Tips for Taking Giant Leaps

If you practiced moonshot thinking, what would you dream? What could you achieve? In Think Like a Rocket Scientist, Ozan Varol describes principles to help you realize your seemingly impossible dreams, the same way that rocket scientists did when they successfully landed a man on the Moon. To achieve the impossible, you first must adopt moonshot thinking. Continue reading to learn how to apply moonshot thinking to your own life.

The Zagrum Company: Leading Outside the Box

How to Build the Next Trillion Dollar Business

What is the Zagrum Company from Leadership and Self-Deception? Why would this company be considered “out of the box”? In the Arbinger Institute’s leadership fable Leadership and Self-Deception, the main character Tom struggles with self-betrayal and treating others with respect—both at work and at home. He is told about Bud’s experience at the Zagrum Company in hopes of inspiring him to change. Here is the Zagrum Company’s story.

Design Your Life Dashboard: Take Stock of Your Life

When is the last time you took stock of your life? How could designing your life dashboard help? You want to take a certain direction in life. But, before you can know which direction to go, you must clarify where you are right now. Designing your life dashboard can help you take stock of your life and figure out what’s working and what isn’t. Read more to learn how to design your life dashboard and use it to find direction.

Happiness and Success: Which Comes First?

What is the connection between happiness and success? Can being happy increase your chances of success? In The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Achor shows that happier people tend to be more successful. It’s often thought that success brings us happiness, but it’s actually the other way around. Here’s the connection between happiness and success.

How to Inspire a Shared Vision in Your Team

Does your team share in your vision of your organization’s way forward? What can you do to inspire a common vision in the people you lead? People are naturally drawn to leaders who inspire a shared vision of a better world because they want to feel like they are a part of something important. In their book The Leadership Challenge, bestselling authors and long-time research partners James Kouzes and Barry Posner outline two guidelines for inspiring a shared vision in your team: 1) envision a positive future, and 2) get others on board. Here is how you can inspire a shared

The Pygmalion Effect in the Classroom: What It Reveals

What is the Pygmalion Effect in the classroom? How do teacher expectations impact student performance? The Pygmalion Effect shows that high expectations can actually improve someone’s performance. As an example, in the classroom, the Pygmalion Effect reveals that teacher expectations can dramatically affect student test scores. Find out more about the Pygmalion Effect in the classroom below.

Yellow Hat Thinking: Positive and Concrete

What is yellow hat thinking from Six Thinking Hats? What mode of thinking does the yellow hat represent? The yellow hat is the constructive hat. This means the wearer’s job is to provide proposals and suggestions to the rest of the team while staying grounded and focusing on improvement. Keep reading to learn how to use the yellow hat in your decision-making process.

The Green Hat: Thinking Outside the Box

What is green hat thinking from Six Thinking Hats? What mode of thinking does the green hat represent? In Edward de Bono’s book Six Thinking Hats, the green hat is the creative hat. The wearer of this hat is in charge of coming up with new ideas, whether they be realistic or outrageous. The goal of this hat is to push the boundaries of the team’s ideas without thinking of the risks or dangers. Keep reading to learn how to use the green hat and why it’s so important for growth.