Practice Notes

What's new in the world?

What makes us happy?

Harvard Business Review January-February 2012
Harvard psychology professor Daniel Gilbert is widely known for his 2006 best seller, Stumbling on Happiness.
His recent research reported in HBR Jan/Feb 2012 has implications for the work place. Responses from 15,000 people in 83 countries led to a major finding that people’s minds wander nearly half the time and that this appears to lower their mood.
The amount of mind wandering varies greatly depending on the activity, 50% of the time at work according to reports, but no matter what people are doing, they are much less happy when their minds are wandering than when their minds are focused.
Mind wandering on the job reduces both happiness and productivity.  Managers may want to look for ways to help employees stay focused. 
One way of achieving this is to give employees goals that are difficult but not out of reach.  People hate being bored and they don’t like being threatened either. Creating challenges for people that are achievable but a stretch is the best way of keeping them happy and productive.

Want to grow as a leader?

By Scott Eblin on January 27, 2012

One of the biggest challenges we find in working with leaders is convincing them that leadership is about causing others rather than being the expert themselves. Scott Eblin has an interesting blog about this.

"How many of you think of yourselves or have been referred to by others as the 'go-to person'? Usually about every hand in the room goes up.

So what's wrong with that? Nothing at all when you're on your way up. Being the person who's known for getting stuff done is a great way to build your reputation and career. Chances are, though, that you're eventually going to reach the point at which operating as the go-to person is simply no longer sustainable. The scope of work gets too broad and complex for one go-to person to take things over and heroically save the day.

To grow as a leader, you have to let go of being the go-to person and pick up the profile of being the person who builds a team of go-to people.

How do you do that?

• Allow and encourage your team to become an expert in the things in which you've been an expert.
• Raise your comfort level for letting go of what you've been doing and your team's for picking up responsibilities by establishing regular check points.
• Coach your team to come up with its own way of doing things rather than giving your team the answers."

 

Open to all programmes

Kick Start - Becoming a Manager

Anyone who is new to management or about to become a manager. Kick Start will increase your confidence, competence, and capability and focus your management challenges. it's overwhelmingly practical and based in the real world, not a textbook.

Dates: 17th and 18th May

           13th and 14th September

Time: 9am - 4:45pm each day

Cost: $1,050.00 plus GST per person.

Facilitator: Marie Kiely

 

How Government Works

Anyone who works either in the sector, or alongside the sector, and wants to get up to speed with how things really work and what's happening at the moment.

Dates: 23rd March

           2nd November

Time: 9am - 4:45pm each day

Cost: $625.00 plus GSt per person.

 

Venue:  NZICA, Level 7, Tower Building,

            50 Customhouse Quay, Wellington

            www.nzica.com

Email pip@trainingpractice.co.nz, or call 04 472 6225 to book a place or for more details.

Also see our website: www.trainingpractice.co.nz

Facilitator: Hilary Bryan