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Articles from Ray Williams | Selfgrowth.com
- Do women have to become more like men to make it to the top? - by Submitted on Sep 05, 2013 from Ray WilliamsDebate over the existence of a “glass ceiling” for women for top leadership positions has been renewed by the publication of the book, Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead, by Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, and some new research data on gender equity. Sandberg is ranked on Fortune’s list ...
Views: 1068(1 vote) - Do more friends on Facebook induce stress and anxiety? - by Submitted on Jul 22, 2013 from Ray WilliamsMany Facebook users spend considerable time and energy collecting hundreds of virtual friends, and posting updates with the intention of increasing positive relationships, raising their self-esteem or living a happier life. At the same time, several studies have shown there can be negative ...
Views: 1588 - The end of careers as we know them - by Submitted on Jul 21, 2013 from Ray WilliamsIn my Financial Post article, “In the Future, No One is Going To Pay You Just to Show Up,” I argued technology, for the most part, has not allowed us to retire to a life of leisure as predicted decades ago. The current reality is that we may see many people resigned to an extensive period of ...
Views: 2317 - The Leadership Secrets of the Trappist Monks - by Submitted on Jul 21, 2013 from Ray WilliamsAmerican style capitalism has been criticized for its lack of “heart” or “soul.” Many critics have also pointed to the excessive focus on greed, with little regard for the well-being of employees customers or the environment. Other than the typical insights of business school gurus or ...
Views: 1483 - Does employee engagement really drive productivity? - by Submitted on Jul 07, 2010 from Ray WilliamsDoes Employee Engagement Really Drive Productivity? The subject of employee engagement as a measure of productivity and management strategies to increase engagement have been hot topics since the original Gallup organization research was published. The Gallup organization defined employee ...
Views: 2006(2 votes) - Is it time to give leaders competency tests? - by Submitted on Jul 09, 2010 from Ray WilliamsDo we need to have some standard of competency required of our leaders? The recent failed track record of many prominent captains of industry and political leaders might lead us to think so. Most professions require some kind of competency test before a member--such as a doctor, lawyer, ...
Views: 1329 - Energizing your workplace: What managers should know - by Submitted on Apr 16, 2010 from Ray WilliamsThe energy and vitality of individuals and organizations depends on the quality of the connections among people inside the organization, and between them and their customers and clients. The key to transforming your own work experience and the performance of the people around you is to build ...
Views: 1358(1 vote) - How compassionate meditation can reduce stress - by Submitted on Feb 15, 2010 from Ray WilliamsCan you train yourself to be compassionate? A new study says, yes. According to researchers at the University of Wisconsin, cultivating compassion and kindness through meditation affects brain regions that can make you more empathetic to other peoples' mental and emotional states. According ...
Views: 1170 - Why analyzing your problems may be unproductive - by Submitted on Feb 15, 2010 from Ray WilliamsWhen you're upset or depressed, should you analyze your feelings to figure out what's wrong? Or should you just forget about it and move on? New research and theories suggests if you do want to think about your problems, do so from a detached perspective, rather than reliving the ...
Views: 1367(10 votes) - How Putting Feelings Into Words Can Help You - by Submitted on Feb 07, 2010 from Ray WilliamsWhy does putting our feelings into words--such as talking with a therapist, counselor or coach, or even writing in a journal--help you feel better? A new brain imaging study by UCLA psychologists, as reported in Psychological Science, may give us the answer. This research combines modern ...
Views: 1238(1 vote) - Why should we focus on positive organizational behavior? - by Submitted on Jan 16, 2010 from Ray WilliamsThe concept of positive psychology is growing in the fields of psychology, management studies and organizational behavior. The focus of this trend is the movement away from the focus of psychology on "fixing" or "repairing" problems to building positive qualities and behaviors. In addition, a ...
Views: 2721(1 vote) - Why Smiling Can Make You Happy - by Submitted on Dec 25, 2009 from Ray WilliamsDo you smile because you're happy, or does smiling make you happy? In psychology, there is a theory called the "facial feedback hypothesis" which states, according to researchers D.A. Bernstein and his colleagues, that involuntary facial movements provide sufficient peripheral information ...
Views: 5005(3 votes) - Global Survey Reveals Happiness Gaps Between Men and Women - by Submitted on Dec 25, 2009 from Ray WilliamsA new global survey reports that men are happier with wealth, while women find greater happiness in friendships and family, co-workers and their bosses. Yet the survey may not have asked the right questions. The online survey of more than 28,000 people in more than 51 countries by global ...
Views: 1323(2 votes) - Why New Year's Resolutions Don't Work - by Submitted on Dec 25, 2009 from Ray WilliamsThe start of the New Year is often the perfect time to turn a new page in your life, which is why so many people make New Year's resolutions. Researchers have looked at success rates of peoples' resolutions: the first two weeks usually go along beautifully, but by February, people are ...
Views: 1428(3 votes) - Why People Get Depressed at Christmas and What to do About It - by Submitted on Dec 21, 2009 from Ray WilliamsWe are told that Christmas, for Christians, should be the happiest time of year, an opportunity to be joyful and grateful with family, friends and colleagues. Yet, according to the National Institute of Health, Christmas is the time of year that people experience the highest incidence of ...
Views: 2003(3 votes) - Social Media: Does It Help or Hinder Productivity? - by Submitted on Nov 29, 2009 from Ray WilliamsDoes the use of social media in the workplace benefit organizations and educational institutions and help productivity or hamper productivity? That's a question many leaders and educators are debating in organizations, even while students and employees immerse themselves in social media for both ...
Views: 3505(1 vote) - The Secret to a Healthy Retirement: Keep Working - by Submitted on Oct 26, 2009 from Ray WilliamsSince the Great Depression, a commonly held perspective on the good life is that we can all look forward to retirement, when we didn't have to work any more. We would be more relaxed and healthier away from the stresses of work. There's a couple of flaws in that argument. For one thing, ...
Views: 1225(1 vote) - The Age of Empathy - by Submitted on Oct 26, 2009 from Ray WilliamsGreed is out. Empathy is in. That's how Frans de Waal begins his book, The Age of Empathy: Nature's Lessons For A Kinder Society. De Waal is a biologist, professor of psychology and director of the Living Link Center at Emory University. In 2007, Time magazine selected him as one of the world's ...
Views: 2181(3 votes) - What Brain Science Can Tell Us About Leadership - by Submitted on Oct 12, 2009 from Ray WilliamsResearch on how the human brain can affect behaviors--called neuroscience, or the popular term, brain science--has yet to be fully appreciated by leaders of organizations. That knowledge could have a significant impact on how leaders are trained and what they do. In the past few decades, ...
Views: 1703(2 votes) - How Mentoring Can Be An Effective Business Strategy - by Submitted on Oct 12, 2009 from Ray WilliamsMany small to medium sized companies have become so successful that they have been "corporatized," a term coined that describes the feeling of professionals working in those companies that makes them feel like "cogs in a wheel." In an article the Harvard Business Review, authors Thomas J. ...
Views: 1202(3 votes) - Layoffs And The Stress Response - by Submitted on Sep 08, 2009 from Ray WilliamsThe recession has had a serious psychological impact on many businesses, due to the stress associated with layoffs. We know from various research studies that negative emotions such as fear, anxiety and sadness, which often accompany workplace stress, have a detrimental effect on workers' ...
Views: 1636(2 votes) - Leadership For A New World - by Submitted on Aug 25, 2009 from Ray WilliamsIn times of crisis, people's behaviors and perspectives--both in their personal and work lives--change irrevocably. Those that adapt to the changes have the best chance for success. As a result of the current economic crisis, our economic system will fundamentally change and will not return to ...
Views: 1289(3 votes) - Why Don't I Feel Better? The Truth About Positive Affirmations and Self Help Books - by Submitted on Aug 03, 2009 from Ray Williams"I am successful," "I am a wonderful person," "I will find love again," and many other similar phrases that students, the broken-hearted and unfulfilled employees may repeat to themselves over and over again, hoping to change their lives. Self-help books through the ages, from Norman Vincent ...
Views: 1703(2 votes) - How to Be Resilient in a Turbulent World - by Submitted on Jun 22, 2009 from Ray WilliamsIn the 2007 World Health Statistics Report, the World Health Organization identified depression as one of the most significant global public health problems. World wide events such as recession, the effects of climate change, and terrorism events and alerts have increased the general level of ...
Views: 1151(2 votes) - How To Be Super Successful: Be Tall and Attractive? - by Submitted on Jun 22, 2009 from Ray WilliamsIn an ideal world, people are hired and promoted because of their abilities, competence, attitudes and interpersonal skills--right? Maybe not. Despite how far we've come in the areas of recruiting, selecting and developing people in organizations, there's evidence that we still judge people ...
Views: 1483(2 votes) - How Friends Are the New Business Strategy - by Submitted on Jun 14, 2009 from Ray WilliamsThere are 85 million baby boomers and 50 million Generation X'ers in the U.S. For baby boomers, it's the juggling act between job and family. For Generation X (1965-1980), it means moving in and out of the workforce to accommodate kids and outside interests. Now there's 76 million members of ...
Views: 1029(2 votes) - How to Boost Employee Morale During Difficult Times - by Submitted on Jun 07, 2009 from Ray WilliamsDuring difficult economic times, how do leaders deal with the challenge of retaining and motivating their best people ? In an article in the Harvard Business Review online, Kevin Coyne says that many examples of high morale come from situations of great unhappiness and stress. He suggests the ...
Views: 2659(3 votes) - You Are Not Your Job - by Submitted on May 18, 2009 from Ray WilliamsBy the time you were probably in your third grade, you were asked the question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" In our society, job titles have come to define who a person is. By defining yourself by what you do rather than by who are you can put yourself in emotional jeopardy. By ...
Views: 1262(2 votes) - Twitter Your Business? - by Submitted on Apr 20, 2009 from Ray WilliamsThere' s no question that Twitter has become the next big thing in internet social networking. Yet to this day, less than 10% of North American internet users actually "Twitter." But unique visitors the Twitter website has grown over 1300 % in one year. So what exactly is Twitter? Twitter is ...
Views: 1152(2 votes) - Should You Facebook Your Business? - by Submitted on Apr 05, 2009 from Ray WilliamsTraditional business practice was based on the principle of developing a great product or service and then finding customers to buy it. Then came the marketing and promotion so as many people knew about your product or service through advertising, promotion, stores, etc. The same kind of ...
Views: 1330(9 votes) - Does Happiness Bring You Financial Success? - by Submitted on Feb 19, 2009 from Ray WilliamsDoes happiness bring you financial success? Well, actually, the evidence suggests it does. There is a growing body of research now that supports the connections among happiness, effectiveness, productivity and success. Sonja Lyubamirsky, a University of California author of The How of ...
Views: 1445(2 votes)