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Are Your Team High Performers or Losers?

11 May, 2013 by James Lawther 4 Comments

Pygmalion effect

What do you think of the team you manage?  Are they the crème de la crème or a shower of … Is that a rather harsh question?  Perhaps, but the answer may well have a lot more to do with you than with them. Why do some people do better than others? In 1968 Rosenthal and […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: beliefs, employee performance measures, management style, pygmalion effect, reinforcing behaviour, Robert Rosenthal

92 People Die for Lack of Trust

8 December, 2012 by James Lawther 8 Comments

TWA flight 514

In 1974 TWA flight 514 was flying into Washington Dulles airport.  As it came into land the air traffic controller said “cleared for approach”.  The flight crew thought it meant one thing (we will guide you in) but the control tower meant something ever so slightly different (guide yourself in).  It was simple miscommunication. Flight […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: accident prevention, aviation, Aviation Safety Reporting System, bad process, blame, reinforcing behaviour, trust

Process Design and Human Nature

30 June, 2012 by James Lawther 5 Comments

Mothers were dying In 1840’s Vienna they were dying of “childbed fever”.  In one hospital the death rate was alarming, roughly 1 in 10 mothers perished after childbirth, some months this statistic climbed to a horrific  30%. A young doctor, Ignaz Semmelweis, working in the maternity hospital noticed that in a neighbouring hospital death rates were a far […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: accident prevention, error proofing, human nature, medicine, reinforcing behaviour, service design

How to Change Behaviour or Why Fish Don’t Ride Bicycles

15 May, 2012 by James Lawther 1 Comment

It is a big challenge, maybe the big challenge.  How do you sustain change?  How do you get people to do something different, to change their behaviour? Here is a model to frame the problem… There are 5 stages people have to pass through before they will change their behaviour for good: Awareness Want Know […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement, Tools & Techniques Tagged With: cycling, political will, reinforcing behaviour, video

Employee Recognition Awards: Bragging Rights and Bling

20 August, 2011 by James Lawther 4 Comments

Recognise your staff If you read blogs and books about staff engagement, sooner or later they will tell you that: The most motivational thing you can do for your employees is thank them Money isn’t a motivator Recognition should be timely Recognition should be targeted All good advice but boring. How about adding: Recognition should […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement, Tools & Techniques Tagged With: Asda, bling, Domino's Pizza, employee recognition, McDonald's, motivation, reinforcing behaviour

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