Workplace Mojo 
Looking to get your workplace mojo kick-started? Want to work smarter? Here you'll find information and inspiration as Get Your BIG On features (in its sometimes serendipitous and sometimes purposeful way):
› a nugget (or two) of workplace wisdom
› career wit, wisdom and adventures
› a must-read something, or
› an individual or company making a positive impact in balancing people, principles and profit.
At Get Your BIG On, we're big on polarities – understanding those both/and scenarios that seem contradictory yet are interdependent and both necessary. Here Gary Hamel itemizes a whole host of polarities necessary to revitalize management in the new normal. Which of the 25 grand challenges is your favorite?
Psychologist Barry Schwartz proposes that freedom of choice has made us not more free but more paralyzed, not happier but more dissatisfied. If you yearn for the days when life was more simple, there's some food for thought here.
Combining empathy with accountability is a unique skill set no leader should be without. In this Harvard Business Review article, Robert Goffee and Gareth Jones define tough empathy as "giving people not necessarily what they want, but what they need to achieve their best." It's the ultimate leadership balance beam act between task completion and relationship. Being tough and tender. Having high standards and high touch. The article is a great reminder to periodically hit your own pause button occasionally to re-assess your leadership behavior.
Ever traveled to a new city and explored its riches and intricacies with a knowledgeable tour guide? It's a totally positive experience. Wendy Appel offers that same rewarding experience in her new book, InsideOut Enneagram: The Game Changing Guide for Leaders, for anyone on a journey to be a better leader. Understanding one's self – strengths, weaknesses, blind spots and shadows – is foundational for effectively leading others. The Enneagram is an beneficial tool for building that self-awareness. Wendy provides a rich trove insights and ways to help leaders (both formal and informal) use the Enneagram to plumb the heights and depths of their types and triads.
Women "Take Care", Men "Take Charge": Stereotyping of U.S. Business Leaders
In this study, Catalyst looked at ten essential behaviors required of corporate leaders, assessing where women leaders are vulnerable to stereotyping. A fascinating read!
This HBR post, 12 Things Good Bosses Believe, by Bob Sutton, professor of management science and engineering at Stanford University and the author of Good Boss, Bad Boss, caught our attention. The BIG team loved #7. Send us a note and let us know which one you liked best!
How often do we hear how important networking is if we want to be successful? Pretty frequently. Networking, in BIG's view, is one of those art and science activities - full of nuances that lead to success or to crash and burn failure. As with many posts, this one advocates for quality over quantity and introduces the interesting concept of bridging ties — ties that connect people to other people who were themselves not connected. Some good stuff to noodle as you think about your own network.
Grab a cup of coffee and treat yourself to two donuts (or two apples), then listen to Simon Sinek explain his Golden Circle. As you listen to his explanation, you'll suddenly gain clarity about why so many initiatives and change efforts fail. Learn about operating from the inside out. Listen to Simon explain why people don't buy what you do, rather they buy the "why" because they're doing it for themselves. Intriguing stuff.
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