Laura Wolfe Coaching LLC

Supporting the Evolution of Careers, Leaders,

& Climate Consciousness

A Black Hole and A Light Source?

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If you can’t handle deep thoughts today then stop reading because in this one I take on the blessing and the curse that is social media.

A lot of people I talk with mention how often and easily they go down the rabbit hole when on facebook or twitter only to look up and realize an hour (maybe more) has passed. Or that seeing all the cool and exciting things their friends post about makes them feel bad. Or the realization that they’ve just spent their most valuable resource (time) watching cat videos.

I too have experienced all of these.

Check out Prince Ea’s very interesting perspective on social media where his observations about our digital insanity include concern about the generation of media overstimulation and the pageantry of vanity. Gotta love his fantastic use of language!

In spite of the negatives, I absolutely love that social media has reconnected me with so many friends from my past and how easy it makes keeping up with friends and family spread across the world. Social media also allows me to know more about current events and breaking news (practically as it happens) and also to conveniently consume mass quantities of interesting information that is relevant to my life and work.

Further, research by my friend Stacie Furst Holloway and others finds that digital breaks during work do have value. Social media breaks 1) help workers balance work-family responsibilities and 2) provide for career and professional learning. Also, 3) after a digital break people report greater satisfaction.

Drawbacks of social media in the workplace include social media’s inherent lack of physical activity and the potential for cyberloafing.

I work from home, usually alone, and completely enjoy my digital breaks.

I have no conclusions to draw about this or recommendations to make. Just acknowledging here the powerful force that social media is. For me, it is both a positive and a negative – a black hole and light source.

Check out what I’ve written about love/hate relationships previously.

What do you think of social media? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

Be For She

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Pictogram Man Woman Sign icons on wall texture background desigMy bookclub is reading I Am Malala this month and the treatment of women in Pakistan she describes is quite disturbing. Sadly, some dismiss it because it is Pakistan but reading in Malala’s words what is going on is terrifying. Suddenly, incidents that devalue women seem to be everywhere and this trend disturbs me as well.

You’ve likely heard about these big news stories but each link has additional commentary, consequences, and responses:

The NFL scandal.

ESPN going for the money.

Derogatory comments on Fox about a female UAE pilot. Check out the awesome response from veterans.

Emma Watson’s UN speech on women’s rights and the subsequent threats against her. In her speech she talks about the important and excellent UN Women HeForShe campaign.

Organizations are critical to changing attitudes through their actions which include among other things ensuring pay equity. Leaders and managers have an important role in making change happen in the the world as they model behavior that employees and others often emulate. Unfortunately, the organizations and the leaders of the NFL and ESPN have largely failed.

My business mantra is Better Managers and my hope is this post will catch the eye of managers and remind them of the immense influence they have.

You and I can make a difference too by taking a stand for women everywhere to be treated fairly. I’m going to adopt this response from the veterans to Fox to use when I hear someone make an insulting joke. “You are not funny. You are not clever. And you are not excused.”

Finally, we can also speak with our wallets. Don’t give your money to organizations that sponsor behaviors you believe inappropriate.

We can change this.

How else are you changing the world? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

Are we connected? Find me on facebook, linkedin, google+, & twitter if one of those is your preferred network. I also keep in touch through my (usually) twice monthly newsletter – sign-up below.

My goal is to write 30 blog posts in 30 days the month of September.

#30in30

 

 

 

 

Did you see the look on his face?

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Are facial expressions interpreted the same way all over the world? You may think so and for years scientists believed it to be true as well.

Several new research studies featured the April 2014 APS Observer find people from Western cultures do interpret facial expressions similarly. Emotions interpreted tend to fall into six categories, those of the classic emotions (e.g., happiness, surprise, fear, disgust, anger, or sadness). However, considerable overlap was found in the way East Asian participants categorized fear, surprise, disgust, and anger.

Of course, facial expression is only one source of information used to interpret emotions. Other emotional context cues include vocalization, body language, and emotion words. Other research has found certain cultures may rely more on one particular emotion context cue than others. For instance, Japanese focus more on vocal cues than the Dutch when interpreting emotion.

These studies are important because the results suggest individuals from different cultures may convey and perceive emotions in different ways – yet one more piece of the cultural fluency puzzle. To be most effective in our global village, knowledge of this type is key. I’ve written about cultural fluency several times before – here and here and here.

Wondering if these differences apply to emoticons as well??? 🙂

How well do you interpret emotions via facial expressions? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

Are we connected? Find me on facebook, linkedin, google+, & twitter if one of those is your preferred network. I also keep in touch through my (usually) twice monthly newsletter – sign-up below.

My goal is to write 30 blog posts in 30 days the month of September.

#30in30

Inquiring Companies Want to Know

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Closeup of male hand showing thumbs up signAre you familiar with Appreciative Inquiry? If not, read on because here’s a quick overview.

Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a method for organization development and change management that focuses on strengths and their power at both the organization and individual level.

From a great book on the topic, Appreciative Inquiry – A Positive Revolution in Change by David L. Cooperrider and Diana Whitney – “Organizations are not, at their core, problems to be solved. Each was created as a solution designed in its own time to meet a challenge or satisfy a need of society. Each is full of vital connections and life giving potential: relationships, partnerships, alliances and growing webs of knowledge, skill and ability that can harness the power of combined strengths.”

The Appreciative Inquiry process engages the powerful positive potential of all organization members and by identifying and aligning strengths makes weaknesses less relevant. It happens via four steps aka the 4-D Cycle:

  • Discovery – identifying the best in the status quo
  • Dream – creating a vision of what could be
  • Design – determining what should be
  • Destiny – realizing the dream

Appreciative Inquiry is a great addition to the toolkit of today’s managers and other organizational practitioners such as training & development folks. Using AI and emphasizing the positive can result in many desirable outcomes as reported by Cooperrider and Whitney including employees feeling safe, confident, and committed to the organization as well as increased employee participation.

Note: I am not suggesting companies completely ignore weaknesses and I do believe identifying, understanding, and addressing them is a necessary piece of the development process.

AI is a departure from the traditional command and control, employees must be policed school of management and therefore a hard sell to people and companies still operating with a 20th century mentality. Baby steps are required when introducing AI techniques in those organizations.

How are you harnessing the strength in your organization? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

Are we connected? Find me on facebook, linkedin, google+, & twitter if one of those is your preferred network. I also keep in touch through my (usually) twice monthly newsletter – sign-up below.

My goal is to write 30 blog posts in 30 days the month of September.

#30in30