Work Archives

Reward Incentives: 20 Reasons They Don’t Work

What are the top 20 reasons why employee reward incentives don’t work? What are the different types of reward incentives that employers offer? In his book Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work, Paul Marciano argues that traditional employee reward incentives such as bonuses and recognition programs don’t actually improve employee performance. Marciano compares reward incentives to dangling a carrot in front of a mule to get it to move. Here are the 20 reasons why employee reward incentives don’t work.

How to Effectively Incorporate Feedback

What do you do when someone gives you feedback? Do you think of ways to act on it? Or do you tend to brush it off? Feedback is any information you receive about yourself— it’s how you’re ranked, thanked, described, and advised. It can be hard to hear feedback, and much training has been devoted to how to better give it. The key, though, is learning how to better incorporate feedback. In this article, we’ll discuss some helpful tips and techniques that can help you get the most out of feedback.

Why Job Engagement Is Crucial to Performance

What does it mean to be engaged at work? In what ways do engaged employees do better? How can you increase your workplace engagement? According to Paul Marciano in his book Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work, employee job engagement is essential for your employees to produce their best work. However, studies show that most employees feel disengaged from their work. Here is why job engagement is so important and steps you can take to increase your employee engagement.

When to Leave Your Job: The 3 Factors to Look For

How do you know when to leave your job? If you don’t like it, is that enough? You should consider three factors that signal when to leave your job. Rather than simply determining whether you’re happy in your work, these factors prompt you to consider how well your current job helps you build career capital. Ultimately this impacts overall career satisfaction. Keep reading to learn when to leave your job.

Improve Your Skills: 5 Steps to Deliberate Practice

Are you familiar with the “deliberate practice” method of improving your skills? How this can help you build career capital and get a job you love? When you improve your skills—especially scarce and valuable skills—you build up career capital that you can use to “buy” a desirable job. The best method of improving your skills is deliberate practice. There are five steps to figuring out how to deliberately practice in your workplace. Read more to learn this method of improving your skills.

Clear Communication in the Workplace: Think Out Loud

How can you achieve clear communication in the workplace? What is the “think out loud” method? Thinking out loud goes against Navy training and culture, which says that, when reporting something up the chain of command, you should say as little as possible. Submarine captain David Marquet threw out this tradition and instituted the “think out loud” method of clear communication in the workplace. It allowed him to keep quiet and let his team do their jobs. Read more to learn about this method of achieving clear communication in the workplace and how it worked for Marquet.

Career Capital: What You Need to Get a Job You Love

How much career capital do you have? How can it lead to career happiness? Desirable jobs are scarce and prized. You can “buy” such jobs by using career capital, which is made up of scarce and prized skills. In other words, developing valuable skills is the best way to get a job you love. A focus on skill development—”the craftsperson mindset”—is the first step in building up career capital. Keep reading to learn about career capital.

Transparency in the Workplace: Embrace the Auditors

How can you leverage transparency in the workplace to strengthen your organization? What if you created an atmosphere of embracing outside oversight? It can be tempting to handle organizational problems in house and keep them out of the view of auditors. David Marquet chose not to go that route. Instead, he embraced the inspectors, which necessitated transparency in the workplace. In this case, the workplace was a submarine. Read more to learn how transparency in the workplace can move your organization forward.

How to Promote Empowerment in the Workplace

What are the benefits of employee empowerment in the workplace? What can you do to empower your employees? In Paul Marciano’s book Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work, he discusses the many benefits of employee empowerment and autonomy. Marciano says that it’s only when employees can make independent decisions that they don’t detract from the team. In this article, we’ll discuss the importance of employee empowerement and some actionable pointers for empowering your team.

Following Your Passion Isn’t the Path to Happiness

Does following your passion lead to joy in your work? What does the research say? Cal Newport shares the evidence against the “passion hypothesis”—the idea that you can find a job you like by first figuring out what you’re passionate about, and then looking for a job that allows you to use this passion. According to scientific research, surveys, and interviews, following your passion shouldn’t be your focus if your goal is to find a job you love. Read more to learn why following your passion is not the way to find happiness at work.