The Pygmalion Effect on the Workplace

The Pygmalion Effect and Its Impact on Work

Pygmalion is a character in one of the books of the mythological work Metamorphoses, by the poet of ancient Rome, Ovid. Pygmalion was a king of Cyprus and a sculptor, and, disappointed with women, had decided to be celibate. However, after sculpting a statue of a woman he considered ideal, he fell in love with her, wishing she had life. The goddess Aphrodite then granted his request. In the previous figure, you can see the work of the French artist, Étienne Maurice Falconet, depicting Pigmalyon and the statue.

The Pygmalion effect is the phenomenon in which, a higher expectation in relation to someone’s performance, effectively leads to better performance; and the inverse is also true. The Pygmalion effect is the result of Continue reading “The Pygmalion Effect on the Workplace”

Keep An Eye On That, Always!

Keep An Eye On That, Always!

“Shit! Why I didn’t do that?”

That has likely happened to you sometime! Well, the good part is that it teaches us priceless lessons. If you think you should do something, you probably have to. In management, we can face this kind of situations everyday. So, pay attention on your feeling, and don’t lose the proper time to do the right thing.

A Useful Story

See the following case that has happened in a certain company: Continue reading “Keep An Eye On That, Always!”

How To Build a Winning Team?

How To Build a Winning Team?

This is probably one of the biggest questions in the leadership area. I have probably known dozens of good leaders, but dozens of bad ones. Some of the bad leaders were, not just bad, but terrible, and most of them, probably, thought they were good. If you want to know how good one leader is, just look at his team.

I believe there are some rules to follow when you want to create a winning team. You have to establish some key points that can drive you towards a good team results. I call these 10 key points as part of the Virtuous Circle of the Winning Team. Let’s see them:

Continue reading “How To Build a Winning Team?”

How to Lead Meetings Effectively?

How to Lead Meetings Effectively?

Certainly, in a management role, you will have to be faced with the task of leading meetings. Although they are important and fundamental in various situations of corporate life, when poorly led, meetings can become destroyers of productivity and wasters of time.

When people ask me if I recommend doing meetings stand up to be shorter and to the point, I ask: Do you have lunch standing up?  Continue reading “How to Lead Meetings Effectively?”

Do You Know the Difference Between Manager & Leader? Really?

 

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In my first job in a management role, in 1997, as a production supervisor in a big engine manufacturer, my challenge was not just startup production in a new global and competitive environment, but at the same time, startup my own management career, and like me in that time, you probably heard about the advice: anyone can be a manager, you have to be a good leader!

 Seriously? Anyone can be a manager?

Continue reading “Do You Know the Difference Between Manager & Leader? Really?”