How is the manager as coach viewed in your organization? Does your organization have a training program to help managers develop or improve their coaching skills? If so, how effective is it? Is coaching done formally or informally?  The consultant and practitioner literature is replete with ideas to enhance the manager as coach. One idea that management scholars have rarely studied is "coachable moments."
 
In 2015 Christina Turner (Queensland University of Technology) and Grace McCarthy (University of Wollongong) published a study examining “coachable moments.” They defined a coachable moment as “an informal, usually unplanned or unexpected opportunity for a manager to have a conversation with an employee aimed at facilitating the employee to problem solve or learn from a work experience” (p. 5). They wanted to determine what factors determined whether or not managers took advantage of coaching moments in the daily business of the workplace. To that end, they interviewed ten managers in depth. This is a small sample but it is twice as large as Mintzberg’s study of CEOs that gave us interpersonal, informational, and decisional managerial roles. 
 
Their review of previous research found:

• most managers do not coach much
• managers often don’t have the skills to be effective coaching employees
• some managers see coaching as micro-managing
• some managers prefer traditional controlling and directing
• benefits of coaching: “learning, self-awareness, cost savings, and enhanced commitment” (p.2)
• characteristics of coachable moments: impromptu, short, timely, spontaneous, quick, focused

​
From their interviews Turner and McCarthy identified six themes (In italics are comments from managers):

1. Coach’s awareness: Managers have to size up a situation as a coaching opportunity and then assess the risk. Decisions to coach are “conscious and deliberate”. “It’s triage – critical decision-making about whether to coach.”
2. Type of employee:  Managers don’t see all employees as being coachable. “Some employees just don’t want to be coached – they just want direction.”
3. Relationship: To be effective, there has to be a relationship of “mutual trust and respect.” “If there’s no rapport, it won’t work.”
4. The situation presenting: Just not enough time. Too busy. Benefits not offset by time lost.
5. Physical environment or location: Most coachable moments were informal, not in the workplace per se, e.g., having coffee, sharing ride. “The office reminds you of status.”
6. Coach’s skills: Managers varied in how competent they felt coaching. “There are some issues and people I just don’t feel competent enough to tackle by coaching.”

 
Coachable moments involve managers assessing risk: 

• risk that the employee will react negatively
• risk that the employee will not like feedback
• risk that coaching will lead to conflict
• risk that the relationship will be damaged

 
My take-aways:
 
1.  In my managerial positions, I found coachable moments contributed greatly to building my work force. The conversations were usually in the workplace, private and off-the-cuff. They complemented formal workplace training programs. I saw large individual differences, from the employee who just wanted all the coaching I could provide to the employee who wanted none. 
 
2. I think some managers are capable of little more than an occasional coaching moment, at best. It’s just not their personalities. This does not mean that cannot be effective managers and leaders. This is just not a skill in their tool kit and they probably wouldn't use it if it were. On the other hand, some of us could benefit by training, especially training that includes practice in effective coaching. 
 
3. Turner and McCarthy’s study identified risk assessment as a major factor affecting the use of coachable moments. In many situations the manager’s assessment of risks is probably a key factor – along with just not enough time. Identifying the importance of managerial risk assessment in coachable moments is a major contribution of this study. 
 
4. We need more qualitative studies like Turner and McCarthy’s. There is a richness of ideas in good depth interviews. These ideas can enrich qualitative and quantitative studies that further our understanding of coachable moments -- and how to use coachable moments in the workplace.
 
Previous blogs on coaching:
A Leader and Managerial Skill: The Importance of Coaching
The Manager as Coach
Manager as Coach: Aptitude, Trust, Time

Mintzberg, H. (1975). The manager’s job: Folklore and fact. Harvard Business Review, March-April, 49-61.

Turner, C., & McCarthy, G. (2015). Coachable moments: Identifying factors that influence managers to take advantage of coachable moments in day-to-day management. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 13(1): 1-13. 
 
Untitled image. Obtained from https://pixabay.com/en/discussion-restaurant-business-2822066/
Public domain. https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
​
© John Ballard, PhD, 2018. All rights reserved.
 
Author of Decoding the Workplace, BEST CAREER BOOK Next Generation Indie Book Awards 2016.
 _________________________
Decoding the Workplace “deals with principles and practices that are timeless – how to relate to others in the workplace, the psychology of groups and teams, the use (and abuse) of power and influence, and how to manage stress. Is this a must-have for managers and would-be managers? Yes.” Ron Riggio, Book Review, Academy of Management Learning & Education, in-press.

What does it mean to be a manager who coaches? In my last blog I reviewed Patricia Buhler’s perspective and listed activities indicative of the manager as coach. So what does it take to be a manager-coach?
 
Richard Ladyshewsky of Curtin University (Perth) reviewed this literature in an article in the Leadership and Organization Development Journal in 2010. He concluded “coaching in the workplace, between a manager and a subordinate, is part of an overall organizational development and performance management philosophy” and a core management skill. Here are some highlights I gleaned from his review:

• “No consensus on a definition of coaching” but it may be considered “a short-term developmental interaction focused on performance . . .”
• A major challenge is “finding the time to coach” and this becomes more challenging as the span of control (number of direct reports) increases.
• Managers “differ in their inclination to coach subordinates.”
• Managers differ in the communication skills needed to coach.
• Managers with more self-awareness, higher emotional intelligence are more likely to be successful in the manager as coach role.
• In a coaching culture, performance appraisal (e.g., with emphasis on accountability) takes a backseat to performance management (with emphasis on improved performance).
• “Coaching should be developmental and not corrective or remedial action.”

Ladyshewsky emphasized the importance of trust:

• Trust may be cognitive (rational) or affective (based on emotional bonds).

• It takes time for the subordinate to build a relationship of trust with a manager.
• Trust develops more rapidly where the manager and employee share common values and common interests.
• Well-adjusted people build trust faster.
• “When the stakes are very high, trust decreases to ensure security.”
• Managers who are not “competent in the eyes of their subordinates will not be able to build trust.”
• The organizational culture affects ability to build trust, as does the economic viability of the organization.

 
My take-aways:
 
1.  Ladyshewsky makes an excellent point that managers may simply be too busy to coach. If so, then the question must be asked, how important is it to your success as a manager, to the organization, that you grow your people? Time is about priorities and decisions. As a manager, I can recall struggling to carve out time to work with employees developmentally. Fortunately my boss and I talked, he listened, and we got enough adjustments to deadlines to find the time. I understand not everyone has an understanding boss. In my case I had credibility far enough up my chain-of-command to pull this off. Why? Because my employees were growing in their capabilities and it showed in results. 
 
2.  But what if manager as coach is not who you are? You may not be inclined in that direction. It may not be your personality. Can some skills be learned? Perhaps, but it is still not who you are. You may be a technical whiz-kid and respected by your subordinates but just have no talent for developing others. If the organization wants managers to be coaches, then this may suggest better attention to promotion-to-management processes. It may also suggest a look at talent acquisition.

3. My guess is that most managers know whether or not coaching is part of what they want to do, irrespective of finding time. If it is something you want to do, then you can probably develop coaching skills. And organizations should decide if this is a managerial expectation, and if so, support this objective with effective training (one-on-one or group). 
 
Ladyshewsky, R. (2010). The manager as coach as a driver of organizational development. Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 31(4), 292-306. 
 
Untitled image. Obtained from https://pxhere.com/ro/photo/480543
Public domain. https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
​
© John Ballard, PhD, 2018. All rights reserved.
 
Author of Decoding the Workplace, BEST CAREER BOOK Next Generation Indie Book Awards 2016.
 _________________________
"Decoding the Workplace: 50 Keys to Understanding People in Organizations is as informed and informative a read as it is thoughtful and thought-provoking. . . Decoding the Workplace should be considered critically important reading for anyone working in a corporate environment." —Midwest Book Review

20 years ago Patricia Buhler argued for a new role for managers, the manager as coach. Now professor of management at Goldey-Beacom College in Delaware, she suggested in a 1998 issue of the journal Supervision that “the command and control manager is a dinosaur.” Lately I've been thinking about employee engagement and what role effective coaching might play in increasing engagement and productivity. In an earlier blog I quoted David Antonioni (2000) whose research suggested coaching was “like a foreign concept in the workplace.” This is the first of several blogs in which I will address the manager as coach.
 
Today there is a plethora of books, literature, and courses on the manager as coach. Even so, that does not mean every manager can move to the manager-as-coach model. In her article Buhler laid out several basic ideas -- the manager as coach:

• “Advises and assists employees” rather than being “controlling and issuing commands”
• “Provides guidance”
• “Focuses on the developmental needs of employees”
• “Helps employees tap into their full potential”
• “Empowers employees”, “sets employees up to manage themselves”
• “Listens”
• “Uses participative decision making”
• “Shares information, “Hoarding information has no place in coaching.”

So how can a manager succeed as a coach?

• Be “sincere and open”
• “Create a climate of trust and mutual respect”
• Allow employees to “take risks without fear”

My take-aways:
 
1. My favorites from the list above are helping employees by (1) focusing on developmental needs and (2) tapping into potentials. Both are hard but both get at what I consider a key to leadership: helping those with whom you work develop and grow. In my opinion, grow your employees and you grow success.
 
2. Organizational culture is an important variable here. Without a strong culture that is supportive of employee development or the coaching aspects of leading, individual success as a manager-coach is more problematic. Probably the most important aspect of that culture is trust. Where trust is embedded in the culture, constructive feedback will find more fertile ground. Growth should be greater.  
 
3. Buhler was not the first to suggest the manager-as-coach model. For example, she quoted Dennis Kinlaw, “coaching is eye-ball-to-eyeball management.”  However she identified clearly that “astute managers” were incorporating coaching into their managerial behaviors. That remains true 20 years later.
  
Buhler, P. (1998). A new role for managers: the move from directing to coaching. Supervision, 59(8): 17-19.
 
Untitled image. Obtained from https://pxhere.com/en/photo/595817
Public domain. https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
​
© John Ballard, PhD,  2018. All rights reserved.

Author of Decoding the Workplace, BEST CAREER BOOK Next Generation Indie Book Awards 2016.
 _________________________
"Decoding the Workplace: 50 Keys to Understanding People in Organizations is as informed and informative a read as it is thoughtful and thought-provoking. . . Decoding the Workplace should be considered critically important reading for anyone working in a corporate environment." —Midwest Book Review

I walked into the post office and immediately my eyes burned and I had trouble breathing. A scent that most would find pleasant filled the air. I put on a mask to help manage my situation and conducted my business as quickly as possible.
 
I walked into my bank and immediately I had trouble breathing and my head ached. A scent that most would find pleasant filled the air. I put on a mask to help manage my situation and conducted my business as quickly as possible.
 
I could go on and on with other examples. The post office, the bank, and others all used “air fresheners.” The managers were unaware of potential health issues for some of their employees and customers. Percentages in surveys vary but 12-20% of the general population have multiple chemical sensitivities.
 
Dr. Anne Steinemann of the University of Melbourne leads research on and writes about the little known “unintended effects and risks for the indoor environment and human health” from air fresheners. She equates the problem of air fresheners to second-hand smoke. Managers and human resource professionals should become familiar with her work.
 
In a 2017 article in the journal Building and Environment, she poses and answers ten questions about air fresheners. Much of the article details the technical results of chemical analyses. I will share the questions and brief answers here. I recommend the full article for more information and details.
 
1. “What are air fresheners?” 

• “Consumer products that emit a fragrance to provide an aroma to a space, to mask an odor, or both . . . designed to impart an aromatic fragrance or a masking fragrance into the air. . . “
• Includes many forms such as plug-ins, solids, wick diffusers, and even scented candles.

2. “Where are air fresheners used?”

• “Throughout society, by individuals, industries, and institutions.”
• Global market “exceeds US $10 billion."

3. “What do air fresheners emit?”

• “Over 100 different chemicals, including volatile organic compounds.”
• Fragrance mixture more important than delivery method.

4. “How do air fresheners affect the indoor environment?”

• “Contribute to indoor hazardous air pollutants, both through direct emissions and secondary reaction products.”
• Emit high concentrations of odorless chemicals, such as formaldehyde.

5. “How do air fresheners affect human health?”

• “Air freshener exposure, even at low levels, have been associated with a range of adverse health effects, which include migraine headaches, asthma attacks, breathing difficulties, respiratory difficulties” and so forth.
• 20.4% of U.S. population “report health problems when exposed to air fresheners and deodorizers.”
• Specific chemicals “emitted from air fresheners have been associated with adverse effects to the neurological, cardiovascular, respiratory, reproductive, immune, and endocrine systems, and with cancer.”
• Acetaldehyde is “classified as a carcinogenic hazardous air pollutant in US.”

6. “Do air fresheners disclose their ingredients?”

• The industry is not required to “and typically do not.”
• No law “requires disclosure of all ingredients in air fresheners.”
• “Striking differences exist between chemicals listed and chemicals emitted.“
• In one analysis, an air freshener emitted four compounds, not listed, for which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency states “no safe threshold of exposure.”

7. “Do emissions from ‘green’ air fresheners differ from regular air fresheners?” 

• No regulatory definition of what is a green air freshener.
• In tests, found no significant differences.

8. “What about involuntary exposure to air fresheners within indoor environments?”

• “Individuals may experience adverse effects without their awareness or agreement.”
• People with medically documented adverse chemical sensitivities may request accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• Surveys indicate majority of populations prefer scent-free environments in public places, workplaces, hotels, airplanes, and such.

9. “What are possible solutions or alternatives?”

• Fragrance-free policies in the “workplaces, schools, hospitals, and other indoor environments.”
• Once air fresheners are removed, compounds absorbed into room furnishings may be reemitted.
• Question: “Whether perceived benefits are outweighed by the potential costs to personal and public health, and profits.”
• “The use of an air freshener can pose potential liability, if it triggers adverse or potentially disabling health effects in individuals.”

10. “What are research directions needed for science, health, and policy?”

• Here Steinemann lists 10 questions for researchers, such as “What is the public awareness of air freshener emissions?”

 
My take-aways:
 
Steinemann’s research is critically important. There is little awareness of the health implications of air fresheners and fragrances. My guess is fragrance-free workplaces probably have higher productivity, but that is just a hypothesis. Examples of fragrance-free policies can be found online, such as this one suggested by the American Lung Association.
 
Steinemann, A. (2017). Ten questions concerning air fresheners and indoor built environments. Building and Environment, 1(1): 279-284.
 
Image, "Close-up of a yellow rose and other flowers," by Petr Kratochvil. Obtained from http://www.freestockphotos.biz/stockphoto/6122
Public domain. https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
​
© John Ballard, PhD,  2018. All rights reserved.

Author of Decoding the Workplace, BEST CAREER BOOK Next Generation Indie Book Awards 2016.
 _________________________
"Decoding the Workplace: 50 Keys to Understanding People in Organizations is as informed and informative a read as it is thoughtful and thought-provoking. . . Decoding the Workplace should be considered critically important reading for anyone working in a corporate environment." —Midwest Book Review

Commencement speeches are usually quickly forgotten. But not all. Sometimes we remember the speaker. I'll never forget Neil Armstrong giving a speech at my university -- but I don't remember anything he said. On the other hand I do not recall the name of the coroner of Cincinnati who spoke years ago -- but I remember one thing he said: "My daddy always told me growing up that I was not promised another day. I've got news for you. You're not promised another hour." On rare occasions we may remember the person and the message, such as Steve Jobs and his three lessons at Stanford in 2005. 

Admiral William McRaven's commencement speech (10 lessons he learned in Navy Seal training) at the University of Texas in 2014 went viral. Probably the best advice I've heard in speeches at my university was Wendy Lea's address in 2017 --"Stay in a beginner's mind," "Nothing is more magical than sharing," "All jobs are temporary" and more.

In 2017 Sue Desmond-Hellman, CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, spoke at a commencement in Dayton. I read her address in a local newspaper and later found it online. Much was motivational but at the heart of it was a very sound suggestion: “I want to encourage you to lead a meaningful life.” Below I share several key points from this part of her speech: 

• “No job, regardless of the pay or perks, can take the place of a meaningful life."
• “Don’t limit your ambitions to making a living; challenge yourselves to live a meaningful life.”
•  Don’t just “make a dollar” –“make a difference”
• "Don’t just settle for personal happiness” – “fulfill a noble purpose.”
• “Shortcomings, failures, bad luck, heartache” are all part of life.
• “No meaningful life is lived as an unbroken string of successes.”

She advised:
1. “Be genuine.”

• “Show up as your true self.”
• “Revel in your individuality”
• “Embrace your uniqueness.”
• “Know that every new experience will make you feel a bit uncomfortable.”
•  In moments “of discomfort, remember that who you are deep down and what you’ve learned throughout your life to date is what got you to that opportunity.”
• “Never hide what makes you, you.”

2. “Be grateful.”

• “You’ll depend on others throughout your life, and you should welcome that.”
• “Remember to say thank you.”

 
My take-away:

I am reminded of Clayton Christensen's question: "How will you measure your life?" Here I have shared Sue Desmond-Hellman's advice and links to advice from Steve Jobs, Admiral Raven, and Wendy Lea. I find much wisdom in each of these. What is the most important advice? It will vary from individual to individual. Your most important take-away will probably be different from mine. But I think the odds are high that within these four commencement speeches you will find useful nuggets of wisdom.

Image modified from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Congresswoman_Pelosi_joins_UC_San_Francisco_Chancellor_Susan_Desmond-Hellmann_and_Senator_Dianne_Fienstein_(9938886963).jpg
Used in accordance with https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en
​
© John Ballard, PhD,  2018. All rights reserved.

Author of Decoding the Workplace, BEST CAREER BOOK Next Generation Indie Book Awards 2016.
 _________________________
"Decoding the Workplace: 50 Keys to Understanding People in Organizations is as informed and informative a read as it is thoughtful and thought-provoking. . . Decoding the Workplace should be considered critically important reading for anyone working in a corporate environment." —Midwest Book Review

On January 8, 2018, football teams from the University of Alabama and the University of Georgia competed in the FBS College Playoff National Championship game. I had no favorite. Alabama won in overtime 26-23, giving Alabama coach Nick Saban his sixth national championship (5 at Alabama, 1 at Louisiana). Andy Staples wrote a Sports Illustrated article, “It Takes Tua,” describing the game. Staples’s narrative also offered insights into Saban’s management style. Here are my insights for leaders based on my reading about Nick Saban in Staples’s article.

1. Acquire the best talent that you can. From 2011 to 2017 Saban had the #1 recruiting class, except 2015 when his recruits were #2. This is a theme at the highest achieving organizations.
2. Know your people and their potential. Saban coaches practices on the field, not from a tower above the field. He gets to know his players, strengths, weaknesses, areas to improve. Staples quotes Saban: “You’re there to see the flaws. You’re a part of quality control.”
3. Maximize the value of training. Training is more than preparation. On the practice field Saban sees fine details, makes corrections, and develops insights that help him with the “big picture” and strategies.
4. Adapt quickly to change. To match up better with the new look from high-tempo run-pass-option teams, Saban recruited lighter, quicker defenders. “When the NCAA banned head coaches . . . from visiting high schools to watch practice during the spring evaluation period, Saban became one of the first coaches to use video conferencing to talk to recruits” (p. 37).
5. Work through adverse events not under your control. Alabama had a difficult year with many injuries but managed to win all but one game during the regular season.
6. Try to affect outcomes not under your control. Alabama was not a lock to be in the national championship playoffs. Saban “called in to ESPN” and made the case for his team. Did it make a difference? Perhaps. Perhaps not – but he spoke up on behalf of his people. He tried.
7. Embrace resiliency. After the championship game, Saban told his players, “I hope you take something from this game and the resiliency that you showed in this game helps you be more successful in life” (p. 39).
8. Analyze, be prepared, be decisive. At halftime trailing 13-0, Saban replaced his starting quarterback Jalen Hurts (who had led Alabama to a 25-2 record) with an 18 year-old backup. The decision changed the game and was called “a drastic – or desperate move” by many. But Saban always had this as an option. It wasn’t drastic or desperate. It was calculated, planned for, and always an option. The halftime adjustment was for an offense with more passing. He knew Tua Tagovailoa was the better passer.
9. Grow and support your people. Many of Saban’s assistants have moved on to leadership positions in football. In the championship game Saban faced Kirby Smart who “had helped Saban win four national titles as Alabama’s defensive coordinator” (p.39).
10. Stay hungry for success. “I’m never satisfied. My greatest fear professionally is that we might lose the next game . . . I hate the feeling you have when you lose, but I also hate the feeling that you have when you didn’t do a good job for your players.”

I have often found leadership and life lessons in sports stories and occasionally have made these the subjects of blogs. Here are several: Urban Meyer, Carli Lloyd, Coach K, Gregg Popovich, Steve Kerr, and Champ Bailey.

Staples, A. (2018, January 15). “It takes Tua.” Sports Illustrated, 128(1), 32-39.

Image, modified from "Nick Saban and Terri Sewell", Rep. Terri Sewell. Public Domain. From: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nick_Saban_and_Terri_Sewell.jpg
​
© John Ballard, PhD,  2018. All rights reserved.

Author of Decoding the Workplace, BEST CAREER BOOK Next Generation Indie Book Awards 2016.
 _________________________
"Decoding the Workplace: 50 Keys to Understanding People in Organizations is as informed and informative a read as it is thoughtful and thought-provoking. . . Decoding the Workplace should be considered critically important reading for anyone working in a corporate environment." —Midwest Book Review

My annual blog on reading, modified from my previous January blogs about the importance of leaders reading

Each January I pose the question: What book are you reading now? My experience is the best leaders always have a book they are reading about which they have opinions, insights, and comments.
 
Lifelong learning is essential to grow as a leader. A habit of reading books is important to that growth. What role do books play in your life? In your learning? Making time to read books is important. I usually have several books in my study that I am working through. Technology helps. I read books on the Kindle app on my iPhone when I have short periods of downtime away from home. On long car trips I enjoy audio books. I have friends who like audio books best. 
 
My favorite books in 2017 were non-fiction and had lessons for work and life.  Brian Jay's George Lucas: A Life is worth another read. So many innovations from Lucas about which I was unaware. Interested in the question are we alone in the universe? Start here on Earth with Peter Godfrey-Smith's Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness. And while we are discussing life on Earth, I highly recommend a book about life on and in us, I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yon. I often asked my students what percent of the cells in their bodies were human. Few guessed only 10%. 

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders was easily the most creative work of fiction I read last year. Reminded me of the Spoon River Anthology, which incidentally has a character named John Ballard. On a very different note I found Soul Survivor by Bruce and Andrea Leininger compelling. Academics knowledgeable about reincarnation research recommended as one of the best documented cases in the U.S. Also recommended was I Saw a Light and Came Here: Children's Experiences of Reincarnation by Erlendur Haraldsson and James Matlock, another intriguing read. 

As we begin 2018, here are a few of the books on my reading list:

• Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson
• Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life  . . . and Maybe the World by William McRaven
• Lead Yourself First by Raymond Kethledge and Michael Erwin
• A New History of Management by Stephen Cummings, Todd Bridgman, John Hassard, and Michael Rowlinson
• Making It Up by Penelope Lively 
• Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon by Jeffrey Kluger
• Henry David Thoreau: A Life by Laura Walls
• Caesar’s Last Breath: Decoding the Secrets of the Air around Us by Sam Kean
• A History of the World in 500 Walks by Sarah Baxter
• Overload: Finding the Truth in Today's News by Bob Schieffer
• Old Man's War by John Scalzi 
• I’ll have what she’s having: How Nora Ephron's Three Iconic Films Saved the Romantic Comedy by Erin Carlson
• Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery by Scott Kelly
• Unbelievable by Katy Tur
• Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers by Anne Lamott

“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them”, Mark Twain. 

Or as the comedian Groucho Marx said, “Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.”   
 
What are you reading?
_______________________
Image, "Books", © John Ballard.
​
© John Ballard, PhD,  2018. All rights reserved.

Author of Decoding the Workplace, BEST CAREER BOOK Next Generation Indie Book Awards 2016.
 _________________________
"Decoding the Workplace: 50 Keys to Understanding People in Organizations is as informed and informative a read as it is thoughtful and thought-provoking. . . Decoding the Workplace should be considered critically important reading for anyone working in a corporate environment." —Midwest Book Review

The “pursuit of happiness" is embedded in the United States Declaration of Independence. How does one pursue happiness? Who is happy? In a previous blog I focused on the latter question and quoted Dave Meyer and Ed Diener: “Wealth  . . . is like health: Its absence can breed misery, yet having it is no guarantee of happiness” (p. 13). I have also blogged about research on ways to iincrease your happiness. 
 
What is the relationship between money and happiness? If you had more money, would you be happier? Researchers have studied these and related questions for years. What have we learned?
 
Boyce, Daly, Hounkpatin, and Wood published an interesting article on this subject in the April 2017 issue of Psychological Science. While the focus of their contribution was on clarifying previous research on spending and personality, their discussion included insights from multiple studies. Here are some highlights I gleaned from their article:

• Studies indicate a weak relationship between happiness and money
• A possible reason for the weak relationship is “because people do not spend their money wisely” (p. 544).
• Money spent on experiences are more likely to increase happiness than money spent on possessions.
• Money spent on other people are more likely to increase happiness than money spent on one’s self.
• “Materialism is associated with less happiness” (p. 545).
• “Attempting to spend one’s way to happiness would ‘buy’ so little well-being as to be largely irrelevant to people’s lives” (p. 545).
• Situations where money affects well-being: poverty, indebtedness, losing income.
• Strong predictors of happiness: relationships, stable employment, mental and physical health
• People who tend to be moody and have negative feelings (neuroticism) tend to be less happy.
• People who tend to be outgoing (extraversion) tend to be happier.

My take-aways:
 
1. Research on what makes us happy is important. Experiences over possessions. Relationships. Spending on others. I have had a wonderful Christmas season with friends and family. It was not about gifts received. It was about being with people dear to me and also doing for others.
 
2. The “pursuit of happiness” is a marvelous phrase. Who “pursues” happiness? Who just lets life unfold? There is an intentionality inherent to this phrase. And how we pursue happiness may change. We may find moments of wonder, joy, and yes happiness, even in dire circumstances.
 
3. How does this affect us in the workplace? I suggest two types of happiness. One is trait-happiness. Some people just tend to be happier. The other is state-happiness, the joy that is more temporary and situation-specific. As leaders and colleagues, we can affect state-happiness by how we interact with each other and support each other. And do not forget to celebrate small victories that are meaningful shared experiences.
 
Boyce, C. J., Daly, M., Hounkpatin, H. O., Wood, A. M. (2017). Money may buy happiness, but often so little that it doesn’t matter. Psychological Science, 28(4), 544-546.
 
Myers, D. G., & Diener, E. (1995). Who is happy? Psychological Science, 6 (1), 10-19.
 
My image, "Confederation Bridge at Sunset."
 
© John Ballard, PhD,  2017. All rights reserved.
 
Decoding the Workplace, BEST CAREER BOOK 2016 Next Generation Indie Book Awards

Sexual harassment is now the major topic in the workplace. The following is adapted from my book, Decoding the Workplace.
     
In most organizations masculine norms are common, and the higher you advance in the organization, the stronger the norms become.  As Sheryl Sandberg put it in Lean In, “the blunt truth is that men still run the world.” Only in the past two decades have women moved in significant numbers into leadership positions in corporate America.
 
The predominance of men in most of our organizations has created male cultures where masculine norms and roles are pervasive --and sometimes decisive. When a woman rises to near the top of an organization, the question may become, is she one of the boys?
 
The "boys" have the rules they play by, the games they play, the subjects they talk about. Will the woman fit into the group? Business is conducted on the golf course, in the locker room, on hunting trips.
 
And then there is the comfort factor, will we be comfortable with this woman around? Will we be comfortable with her on our executive retreat in the Caribbean?
 
Compounding this is the fact that as you go higher in organizations, the norms tend to become stronger. And they extend beyond the workday. Those who lead our organizations are available 24/7. There are social engagements, dinners, parties, plus the work that must get done, the decisions that must be made. You will entertain, you will be at these functions, you will see that our main client has a great time.
 
When you are "on" all the time, disconnects between thought and deed are more likely to be revealed. Your actions must fit the group norms or you will not remain part of the group.
 
In spite of this male culture, some women break the glass ceiling. The long term answer to the predominance of masculine norms is more women in our organizations, women in positions of leadership. Where women are represented proportionately across an organization, norms may slowly change. Where women actually outnumber men in significant numbers, one would expect masculine norms to give way to more feminine norms.
 
More troublesome are those workplaces where the masculine norms border on (or even embrace) sexual harassment, crude humor, and sexual innuendo. Polls suggest that perhaps 50% of all women in the workforce have experienced some form of harassment. A new poll taken today would probably find that percentage low.
 
As legally indefensible as these conditions may be, women may be reluctant to "rock the boat.” A paycheck is a paycheck. The question becomes at what cost? Some women endure very stressful working conditions that impact health and productivity just to keep a job.

"Boys will be boys" is not an acceptable response to these issues. Where dysfunctional norms impact on the quality of work life, management should exercise leadership and work to eliminate. Changing norms can be difficult but the costs here are not only to the individual but also to the organization.
 
Image "#METOO" by Mihai Surdu. Obtained from https://pixabay.com/en/metoo-women-harassment-sexual-2859980/
​
Used with permission: Public domain per CC0 
 
© John Ballard, PhD,  2017. All rights reserved.
 
Decoding the Workplace, BEST CAREER BOOK 2016 Next Generation Indie Book Awards