Karl Edwards presents Working Matters

Blog

  • Motivating Yourself at Work

    We all have occasional days of excruciating boredom. Every office has its share of petty in-fighting. Anyone who sees a towering in-box spill across the desk wants to weep openly.Push does come to shove, and most of us have the bruises to show for it. But productive people still motivate themselves at work in spite of circumstances. Sure, bad leadership is disappointing and unacceptable. Those with power in the organization may create an office culture that saps the life out of hard-working, valuable people. Or worse, our supervisors simply don’t notice that we’re having a difficult time getting the motivational juices flowing. (more…)

  • Theory U: Leading From The Future As It Emerges

    Theory U CoverC. Otto Scharmer, Society for Organizational Learning, Cambridge, MA, 2007.


    I’m ready to jump right into developing a coaching course around this book. This is the real thing. The vocabulary and the framework we’ve been groping around for over the past twenty years. You cannot even begin to think about leadership techniques until you’ve examined the inside of the leader him or herself. How do you gain objective awareness of one’s subjective processes? Unless you do, you’re flying blind. I can’t recommend making this effort more highly.

  • Crazed by Clutter?

    I know my cluttered style needs attention (again) because I can no longer see my desk. I do not exaggerate. Unwieldy piles of paper, files, and books compete for cascading dominance.

    I’ve personally stopped trying to become a super neat or organized person. I’m simply not. But sometimes the clutter gets in the way. I can’t find an important document. Or I simply can’t focus. My work space is too messy, and I am overwhelmed by the blur of important projects literally swirling around me. I can’t focus on one task without addressing all of the tasks—so I do nothing at all.

    Do you lack focus, too? Do you feel overwhelmed? Are you having trouble discerning (more…)

  • Five Sure Fire Ways to Get Problems to Backfire

    Some people are so certain that everything will turn out right in the end. They treat each problem like nothing more than a passing nuisance. They do not allow anything to interrupt their progress.

    Are you one of these people? Nothing ever backfire on you? Your success streak defying all odds? This month we pass on five sure fire ways to make your efforts backfire.

    Tip #1: Assume that your next problem will take care of itself. Let as much time go by as possible so events have a chance to sort themselves out.

    Tip #2: Protect team morale by refusing to acknowledge the existence of any (more…)

  • Stuck in the Middle?

    What do you do when you can’t do what you should do? All leaders have the responsibility to address a variety of organizational problems. They may face the exodus of their quality staff. They may struggle with a lazy worker who is undermining team morale. They may need to meet a tight budget or accelerated schedule. But not all leaders have the authority to solve the problems they face. Some leaders may be powerless to change an overly stratified organizational chart. Or unable to extend unrealistic deadlines imposed by clients. Or locked into a contract negotiated by others. They are, in fact, stuck in the middle.

    In one organization, a middle manager knew he had found something special in Greg, a young new hire. He was trained in cutting edge (more…)

  • Avoiding Difficult Conversations?

    Jane had not been pulling her weight for months now. Initially, Tom was glad to jump in and take up the slack for the sake of the team. After awhile though, he grew to resent her and his job. It was even beginning to affect his performance and his overall job satisfaction. Tom needed to resolve this situation before it got any worse.

    He needed to have a difficult conversation with Jane.

    When initiating a difficult conversation like this, it is important to understand what (more…)

  • Coping or Contribution?

    Do you ever have the feeling of time slipping through your fingers? Another year has gone, but you’re not quite sure where it went. New Year’s resolutions losing the fight for attention against a crowded list of deadlines, emergencies and other people’s agendas for you.

    Life will always be busy and complex to some degree. The question is whether you feel (more…)

  • The Price of Loyalty

    Sean like his job and probably would have stayed. But nobody ever told him “Thank you” for his efforts. That’s why he could accept a job offer from a competing firm with a clear conscience. He was pretty sure he wouldn’t be missed. He was even more sure no one knew the extent of what he did.

    “Why should I say, ‘Thank you’,” Sean’s boss asked me in an offended tone, “when people are just doing their jobs?”

    I explained that Sean’s departure was unnecessary and expensive. Over a two-year period, the firm would spend three times his salary in lost (more…)

  • To Micromanage or Disappear Altogether?

    Command and control, or withdraw and watch. Leaders often swing between these two extremes. Either we take charge in order to get results, or we let our managers do whatever they think is best in order to keep them motivated. Some leaders don’t realize that “taking charge” can result in quenching creativity and reducing initiative. Often their heavy-handed leadership deprives employees the opportunity to contribute, and so deprives the organization of their contributions. But passively watching is no better. Withdrawal leaves a leadership vacuum. Our managers need guiding priorities, constructive feedback, and strategic input. They need our vision.

    Accountability and empowerment are not mutually exclusive. Instead, they can be powerful (more…)

  • Integrity: The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality

    Integrity, by Henry CloudI have long critiqued those who try to “technique” their way to leadership effectiveness. Henry Cloud provides an accessible guide to closing any disconnect between your person and your performance. His helpful framework is firmly grounded in the complex realities that make up our working worlds. You will appreciate his six dimensions of characters with integrity: the ability to build trust, face reality, get results, solve problems, cause growth, and achieve meaning in life.