Work Happy: What Great Bosses Know

When I’m teaching about leadership and change, one of the key change “accelerators” I invoke is communication. It’s a skill that many managers — even those in media — take for granted. At a time when emotions and uncertainty are high, when people are learning new things and letting go of the old, when people on the outside are questioning and the people on the inside want to believe they know the right answers — they turn to their leaders. Too often, they get management-speak that’s aimed at boardrooms, not boiler rooms, and certainly not to newsrooms filled with people who write for a living and know fluff when they read it.

I don’t know what lies in store for The Washington Post. Maybe one day journalists will be quoting this memo for stories about failed strategies. But for today, it stands as an example of what to say when you want a room filled with nervous employees to believe.

I define feedback as:

Information with Intent to Influence

Just think about all the things feedback can influence: productivity, quality, motivation, morale, team-building, relationships, and risk-taking. When you consider that, it's a shame employees say time and again that they're hungry for feedback but fail to get it.

In a column and podcast today for Poynter.org, I share advice on how to close the feedback gap.  Just click on this link -- and feel free to send me YOUR feedback! -- Jill

That's important here, for sure, because public radio is built on ideas. But every good organization wants to capture and cultivate good proposals, plans, thoughts, suggestions. It works best when leaders understand how to cultivate great ideas. How to make it easy and effective to pitch, catch and coach them.

Some of our best ideas come when we’re taking a break from concentration. At least, that’s what recent research says. Since the concept for this column coalesced while I was sweating my way through a Zumba class, I’m prepared to believe it.

I’d been doing a lot of reading about the cultivation of ideas — especially the leader’s role in brainstorming, creativity and innovation. I collected insights and advice from all sorts of experts to use in my teaching. I wanted to craft a column, too, but kept debating with myself about the framing.

Not surprisingly, my breakthrough came when I stopped fretting and shifted my focus to enjoying some music and keeping pace with the class leader.

And here's a link to the full column and all ten tips.

This website has a newer, cleaner look. Hope you like it. I'm in great debt to this little fellow for the updated style and format:

Future online marketing genius at work - 1994.

Welcome to the Aarhus studios and offices of DR - Danish Broadcasting.

On a Friday morning in April, I spent the day there to teach about leadership and success. To say I was welcomed would be an understatement.  Take a look at the front door! That poster, announcing my morning talk to the full staff, was not only there, but everywhere around the building.

I had been asked to talk to DR employees about a successful, creative and competitive workplace, with both the joys and the demands it places on people. In fact, the talk was titled "Surviving Success."  The shot below is from the back of the gathering.  I'm that tiny spot in the front right corner.

Fortunately, English is a second (or third or fourth!) language for many Danes, because my Danish is quite limited.  It's so limited, I told the group, that I knew only a few Danish words: "tusen takk" -- which means "thank you very much" and "velkommen," which is "welcome."  But for this day, I had learned a new and very powerful Danish word.  Here it is:

Arbejdsglæde

The DR staff applauded my attempt to pronounce the word.  (Sounds like "ah-BITES-glay-the")  Later that day, I applauded their managers for their focus on leadership, during our daylong workshop.

At the end of the seminar, I mentioned to a colleague how energized I was by the group.  There was an optimism in the room that was undeniable.  It was a special mindset -- refreshing in these days of downsizing, changing demands and tight budgets.  The more I thought about it, the more I was inspired to write, so I could encourage veteran managers to recapture an essential part of the new manager mindset.  Here's a link to that column and podcast on Poynter.org.

Hope you enjoy it!  Let me know what you think.

Over the past ten years, the University has been at the fore of conversations about leadership and its impact on business, education, government and civic life.  Stritch brings together people who care about leadership, problem-solving and success in a diverse society.  I'm honored to be a featured speaker this year.

I hope I will see you for this special event.  More information is below.  Please use the following link to access the site for registration, tickets and other information: Helen Bader Leadership Speaker Series. (Links within the flyer below aren't active via this page.)