| Humor at Work |
ISSUE 650 - Oct 12, 2016 |
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Do Great Teams Make More Mistakes? |
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A Harvard University study in the mid-1990s posed a seemingly straightforward question: Do nurses with better coworker relationships make fewer mistakes? The results proved contrary to what the researcher expected to find: Those nurses who had better relationships with their managers and coworkers actually made more errors, not less! The researcher was
surprised by the results, until she realized what was actually going on. The nurses in the tightly knit teams weren't really making more errors, they were simply being more open about them.
Here's what we know from a substantial amount of research:When the consequences of making mistakes is too severe or when avoiding failure becomes the primary focus, employees find work far more stressful, they find the work harder to do, they burn out more often, they cover up any mistakes they do make, and they play it safe and take fewer risks which leads to less innovation. Without a safe space to admit mistakes often larger errors end up being made and without there ever
being any honest discussion about the root causes of those mistakes.
Conversely, when there's a psychologically safe work environment built on trust and openness and when errors are viewed as part of the learning process, employees are far more likely to admit errors, learn from failure and adopt a continuous growth mindset that leads to far greater workplace success, happiness and engagement.
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Mike's Fun at Work Tip |
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When you're planning a large project or implementing a major change make sure you include how you will celebrate different milestones in any timelines or plans. Include recognition plans in the project specs and recognition details in all of your planning documentation. Recognizing and celebrating milestones is a key way to build momentum and it's too important to be taken for granted, so make recognition an integral part of your planning process, not an afterthought.
And on that note...an ad agency in Toronto created official Guybrush Days. Guybrush Day is named for the employee who suggested that whenever a major project is completed the staff get to take one day off after the project is put to bed. (It's also a reminder that another creative way to recognize an employee for an idea is to name the idea or a special day in their honor.)
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Quote of the Week |
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"We used to laugh at comedians and listen to politicians. Now we laugh at politicians and listen to comedians." (Does this say more about our current state of politics or the wisdom of our modern day court jesters?)
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It's a Wacky World |
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How McCrazy is this? Quintuplets (three 18-year-old brothers and two sisters) have all landed their first jobs working at the same place, a McDonald's in Michigan. I smell a sitcom in the making...
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mike@mikekerr.com
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