Organisation Development

Very interesting... Can this be a sign of changing times? Fascinating read, thanks Christine!

From the article:

Before Yale can determine whether the test can help them enhance the admissions process, the results first have to prove that it can predict certain outcomes. For now, Yale's School of Management and School of Medicine are allowing applicants the option to take the test, then they will study the results in a few years to determine whether using the applicant's emotional intelligence quotient would have "led to different results, predicted problems, or predicted unusual achievement."

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/yales-emotional-intelligence-assessment-2013-5#ixzz2TPyl7UtX

This is all about self-awareness. The degree to which people have this, or not, varies greatly. But the good news is that self-awareness can be developed. How? By gradually building understanding of self and why we do what we do, behave as we do, react the way we do and what causese these. In this way we can then begin to control and manage our emotions more effectively.

Does this turn Emotional Intelligence into a cognitive exercise.

From the introduction

"There’s a paradox facing American society today. The demonstrable economic benefit of investing in higher education has never been greater. Research in the United States shows an enduring positive impact on earnings directly associated with the level of postsecondary learning a person attains. And research from around the world shows a link between college education and levels of individual and national well-being more broadly.

"Yet at the same time, as the survey discussed in this report will show, this potential does not appear to be fully realized in the lived experience of many recent graduates.The gap between higher education’s undeniable value and the concerns many recent graduates nonetheless report should become the impetus for change. In a sense, the “voice of the graduate” revealed in this survey amounts to a cry for help—an urgent call to deepen the relevance of higher education to employment and entrepreneurship so that the promise of higher education is fulfilled.

"By focusing on the voice of America’s young people, this report, by design, raises more questions than it answers. Our hope is that the underappreciated student perspective can serve as a fresh spur to a conversation that seems overdue.

"As every thoughtful observer recognizes, the improvements today’s graduates are calling for cannot be pursued by any education stakeholder working alone. Instead, as McKinsey’s work around the world on its “education to employment” initiative suggests, it is only when employers,education providers, public officials, families, and youth advocates work together that effective solutions can be forged."

Fantastic scoop David, thank you!

From the article:

In a thoughtful new book on bullying, “Sticks and Stones” (Random House), Emily Bazelon writes,

“The scariest aspect of bullying is the utter lack of empathy”—a diagnosis that she applies not only to the bullies but also to those who do nothing to help the victims.

Few of those involved in bullying, she cautions, will turn into full-blown psychopaths. Rather, the empathy gap is situational: bullies have come to see their victims as worthless; they have chosen to shut down their empathetic responses. But most will outgrow—and perhaps regret—their terrible behavior.

“The key is to remember that almost everyone has the capacity for empathy and decency—and to tend that seed as best as we possibly can,” she maintains.

Empathy alone is not enough.

Absolutely BRILLIANT. Witty, funny, and with substance :-)

How cultivating empathy can change your life.

"Behavioral research has demonstrated that feeling understood by others enhances social closeness and intimacy, as well as subjective well-being. In contrast, feeling misunderstood can be harmful to social relationships, leading to loneliness and isolation. However, it is still unclear why and how felt understanding exerts such a powerful impact on both interpersonal and intrapersonal well-being" 

If your organization draws value from optimizing repetitive work, you'll find that it will be increasingly difficult to extract that value.

Very interesting, the technology certainly exists to make this real. Organisational structures however, are slower to change. The move to flexibility I think is a good one, affording a better work life balance.

In redefining entrepreneurship what Milleniums truly expect is working from a Starbucks while typing a few lines of code and sipping coffee. When they realize it isn't that easy, that thousands like them are struggling to make ends meet, I bet you they'll think twice about that 9 to 5 steady job with a monthy pay check.

Good list...what would you add?

Tpotally agree with Don on item #5.  I also like #3.

Create an environment of trust.

Many organizations believe internal trust is nice to have but not a key factor for bottom line profitability. That simply isn’t true. Trust directly affects speed and cost. When trust diminishes, speed goes down and costs go up. These economic factors are usually disguised as other things, but when there isn’t trust between team members, or between the company and its customers, it is impossible to achieve real success. The myths are that trust is built solely on integrity, that you either have it or you don’t, that if lost it can’t be restored, and that it can’t be taught. The realities are that trust is a function of both character and competency, it can be both created and destroyed, it can be restored (in most cases), and be taught and developed into a measurable strategic advantage.

We need different people running many organizations.

Don't forget the warm up. 

On your marks ...

We need a new leadership structure to emerge for this to happen.

From this great article : "the strongest predictor of group effectiveness is the amount of help that is given to each other"

Very good article. And good reading recommendations: 

Do we trust the people we work with? If we do not, we are in a difficult place.

from article : "managers need to reposition their roles as catalysts, coaches or facilitators to their team members to avoid violating employee expectations that managers must be answer givers".

An older artcile but still very true today.