A Better Way of Working Blog

Thoughts and ideas about transforming the way the world works

What If You Could Truly Be Yourself at Work?
Emotional Needs, Mindfulness, Practices, Relationships | 4 COMMENTS | January 23, 2013
For two years now, we have been holding regular "community" meetings at our office to give team members an opportunity to check in about how they're doing, not just professionally but also personally. Each person answers several questions beginning with a deceptively simple one: "How are you feeling today?"* The rest of us simply listen.
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Tony Schwartz
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Save Us From Our Strengths
Emotional Needs | 1 COMMENTS | September 20, 2012
Call me Scrooge, but when I hear the phrase "strengths-based" organization, I find myself cringing.The idea that organizations ought to focus on developing the strengths of their employees rather than trying to help them fix their weaknesses was introduced and popularized by the consulting firm Gallup.
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Tony Schwartz
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Our Unhealthy Obsession with Winning
Emotional Needs | COMMENTS | August 1, 2012
It's impossible not to admire the discipline, focus, willingness to sacrifice and grace under pressure exhibited by the Olympic champions. Even so, there's something about the relentless focus on winning — and more specifically, our shared reverence for "winners" — that leaves me feeling deeply uneasy.
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Tony Schwartz
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Emotional Contagion Can Take Down Your Whole Team
Emotional Needs | 5 COMMENTS | July 11, 2012
We had hired a new senior executive. Soon after settling in, he began to share his concerns with me. He was doing so, he assured me, only because he loved working for us, and he was looking out for the wellbeing of the company. He reported to me, and at first, I appreciated his input.
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Tony Schwartz
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The Art of Letting Go
Emotional Needs | 2 COMMENTS | June 6, 2012
It's one of the hardest things in the world to do, probably because it runs so counter to our powerful and primal need to feel safe, loved, and successful.For most of my life, I prided myself on relentless perseverance in the face of obstacles, and a refusal to give up on any goal or client I was pursuing. Letting go felt like failure or rejection, and both were nearly unbearable to me.
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Tony Schwartz
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