If I think of you as a friend, then there’s about 50% likelihood that you don’t think of me likewise. That’s disturbing, isn’t it? Well, it should be. Good friendship is vital to our physical and emotional health. A Harvard study that spanned more than 75 years concluded that the single most important determinant of our well-being, including financial, is… Read more →
Many say or assume that leadership does not change in the digital age. The scant attention paid to technology in the leadership literature is a testimony to that. But, isn’t it hard to expect that with so much of our interactions and work occurring via technology, leadership would remain unchanged? Technology is changing the fundamental human processes that underlie leadership…. Read more →
What if I told you that leading others has just become harder? And that it will become increasingly challenging in the future? How we lead others effectively is not remaining constant. Ever-changing technology that is touching more and more of our lives is making sure of that. Leadership is all about how we influence others and motivate them to meet… Read more →
On my LinkedIn profile, I received a suggestion in response to one of my recent posts that I cover a particular configuration of virtual teams. In this configuration, the team leader is in one location and the rest of the team is in another. There is some research on the effects of different configurations or distributions of members of virtual… Read more →
In my previous post, I referred you to articles about how to lead virtual teams. As educators, we often assume that people lack knowledge and once it is imparted it will be used. But there is often a big gap between knowledge and translating it into action. This knowing-doing gap exists in leadership development as well. The field of training… Read more →
Talk to those who coach leaders and they will tell you that leading virtual teams continues to be challenging. The interesting thing is that that there is fair amount of relevant research that can benefit leaders. Unfortunately, such research never makes its way to the general public. We academics do a pretty good job conducting rigorous research but we are… Read more →
Technology is meant to connect us. Instead, it often creates feelings of isolation. Such as when there’s no reply to our emails. We don’t care as much when our email to a company’s customer service is unanswered but when we send it to someone we know or an individual we are trying to establish contact with, not receiving a reply… Read more →
During the last weekend, I had a chance to observe a couple of workers who were installing new backsplash in my kitchen. One of them was setting the tiles as quickly as he could. It was clear that he wanted to finish his task and get out as quickly as possible. The other went about his work patiently. He… Read more →
A recent Harvard Business Review blog post by James Champy argues leadership does not change in a Web 2.0 World. Mr. Champy’s core points are that (a) leadership requires relationships and personal engagement and (b) technology does nothing to alter this requirement in leaders. Based on his points, Mr. Champy seems to suggest that the most appropriate way forward for… Read more →
When air travel to and from several European cities was curtailed due to volcanic ash, people adopted Skype and other video conferencing tools in lieu of travel. Unlike email or telephone, video conferencing is thought to be like face-to-face communication but only somewhat leaner because one is not in the same place as the person one is communicating with…. Read more →