Content about Psychology

Managers with a growth mindset are more committed to their employees’ development, and to their own, according to Carol S. Dweck, author of “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.” They give a great deal more developmental coaching, they notice improvement in employees’ performance, and they welcome critiques from their employees, she writes. “Most exciting, the growth mindset can be taught to managers.”

Heidrick & Struggles recently commissioned a survey in partnership with The Economistof more than 400 CEOs globally to tell us about their attitudes on hiring prospects for the future. The survey results, along with other data and input from global economists, formed the basis of the Heidrick & Struggles Global Talent Index, which shows that the demand for talent across the globe is outstripping supply.

It is no easy task to motivate, engage, and involve your team, and it certainly doesn’t happen overnight. Even today’s most prominent business tycoons admit the most difficult part of their job is managing and leading their people. But there are a few strategies you can employ to improve the engagement of your team and, in turn, your bottom line.

Robert Vetere, author of “From Wags to Riches,” explores the human-animal bond and looks at moving from extrinsic motivation to intrinsic motivation for both dogs and people. In the business world, he says, intrinsic motivation is widely believed to be the key to employee engagement and one way to ensure people get the highest degree of satisfaction from their work.

Applying game sciences to recognition and performance improvement programs is much more than just creating a game. It’s essentially a way of creating a series of interlocking and customizable experiences that enrich a relationship with a brand or company. Gamification is about finding new ways to appeal to the basic human drives that motivate us every day.

When people think about performance management (PM), what usually comes to mind is the formal HR system for conducting appraisals. More than 50 years of research have been devoted to designing the perfect formal PM system. Unfortunately, these attempts have failed to produce a PM system that managers and employees consistently view as working well and that yields the positive outcomes expected from PM. So here are three new rules of PM to help get back on track.

Contrary to popular belief, happiness actually is the precursor to success, not merely the result, says Shawn Achor, author of “The Happiness Factor. And happiness and optimism actually fuel performance and achievement—giving people the competitive edge he calls the Happiness Advantage.

Mentoring is one of the major responsibilities of any boss—regardless of whether it is listed in the job description or not. It is also critical to developing a “high-performance” work culture. At the heart of mentoring is encouragement. Creating a climate where people feel they can grow will eliminate much of the fear that often exists with growth.

Crowdsourcing enables a company to broadcast an issue to a diverse audience using Web-based collaboration solutions and asks them to contribute ideas to solve the problem. Organizations that have tried this have developed surprising solutions to internal problems and innovation needs.

Being part of an ongoing group of six people—True North Groups—who know you intimately is the best way to develop your emotional intelligence (EQ), according to Bill George and Doug Baker, authors of “True North Groups: A Powerful Path to Personal and Leadership Development.” True North Groups enable us to integrate the drives for bonding and comprehension into our development as human beings and leaders.

VThere is a lot of talk about gamification today and how we can use it in business—with consumers, as well as with our employees. But what about learning? Bill and Melinda Gates think gamification can make a difference in how children can learn. They recently opened their foundation purse strings and invested $20 million partially toward developing innovative digital and game-based learning tools for children in the U.S.