Practice Notes

Christmas reading

We recommend Primal Leadership, Realising the power of emotional intelligence. Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee, Harvard Business School Press, 2002. It's one the best reads on leadership we've come across this year. It's not heavy either.

Tea and Toast learning sessions - Notes on improving your presentations

Our first two Tea and Toast sessions were worthwhile and good fun. If you want a copy of the notes from the second session on tips to improve presentations please contact us.

Testing out a theory - motivation and de-motivation

In a recent training course, we tested Herzberg's well-known (and often taught) two-factor motivation theory. Try it out with our staff and see what results you get. Just ask them: what motivates you and what de-motivates you?

Herzberg developed his theory by asking a group what motivated them at work. Then, he asked, what de-motivated them. According to him, the factors that de-motivated people - so called hygiene factors - may be improved, but don't actually motivate. The things that motivated people were different - doing interesting work, developing personally etc.

The result of our test? Well, about 80% for Herzberg's theory. The motivating and de-motivating factors were broadly different, but with a small (but significant) overlap.

A great website for government and government-related information

Check out: http://www.decisionmaker.co.nz/ It's a great resource for anyone who wants a quick and clear explanation of how government is structured and what different agencies do.

The site is designed to improve citizen participation. Good stuff!