Seven Ways to Be Happier at Work

Posted on June 22nd, 2009 by Keith Ferrazzi

Today Harvard Business offers 7 Ways to Be Happier at Work. My two favorites from the list:

Stop managing and start leading. If you're in management, you need to find ways to motivate and stimulate your employees. How? Stretch their minds. Empower your team by giving them more responsibility, more decision-making power, more autonomy. Equally important: be inclusive. Explain what is happening in the company as a whole and give your employees a broader perspective on how their jobs influence the overall business.

Delegate. One of the most destructive and counterproductive byproducts of the downsizing era is fear — many managers are scared to let go of control for fear that doing so will make them obsolete. I have news for you: if you feel that way, you already are obsolete. Being controlling is bad for business, not to mention bad for your physical and mental health. The best leaders always look for people better, smarter, and more capable than themselves.

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4 Responses so far | Have Your Say!

  1. thought this looked interesting....:-)
    me

  2. Loved the comment that if you're thinking that letting go of control will make you obsolete, you already are. Being controlling has its place for the world needs order, laws, rules to govern our selfish, stupid, or violent tendencies. The apostolic community that form after Christ's death encouraged all to share to give when you have more and take when you have less. We all share much on this planet, the air we breathe (let's be thoughtful about what we put into it, how often we drive, how many trees we cut, what fuels and power source we use. Let us not just delegate to others but let us also learn to lead by example by giving and sharing, just as these blogs do. It is better to give than to receive. To understand rather than be understood -St. Francis. This is indeed the way to a happier life both in and out of work.

  3. This article is written for the 99.5% of the population that is neurotypical. I'm in the 0.5% with an autism-spectrum disorder. In my job, I'm supposed to lead others. That part is easy when I'm dealing with highly competent team members with Ph.D.s. Most of the time, I'm dealing with people who are not competent to do their jobs and should never have been hired. (Management has strange ideas that good programmers can be made rather than are born: every good programmer knows otherwise. Management also thinks that anyone can be a leader.) In order to lead people like this, and even competent people, I need empathy. One problem: I have no empathy. Therefore, I will never be able to lead an average group of people. One job requirement is that I'm supposed to delegate except when I'm not. Without empathy, I don't know when the exceptions occur.

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