The leader can create chaos or create order:  It is actually so true. It is entirely up to the leader whether she or he wants to create chaos (and enjoy asynchronous employees) or wants to create dynamism (by synchronizing the whole group). It may sound both technical and difficult. But just read on. It's as easy as scratching your neck. A few years ago I arrived for a workshop at a major American education fair. In the doorway stood a friendly man with a basket over one arm. He welcomed me and offered me some of the contents of the basket. What he offered me was something as strange as a rhythm egg. I accepted it and entered the room where approx. 250 people were already seated. They all sat and shook the rhythm egg in the same way and in the same rhythm. It actually sounded pretty amazing. I sat down and 'rhythmed' along. Only several years later did I find out what it was I was a part of and what significance the rhythm egg had on the workshop, on the participants and on...

Are you our new Head of Motivation?:  Your 'chair' is brand new. You will report directly to me. I am the company's managing director. You will be tasked with managing engagement in our company. By that I mean that all managers and all employees are interested in the job and are committed to doing it. Your new title will be 'Head of Motivation'. Your task will be to keep track of the commitment of all our managers and employees. They have earned it. And it's not something I just write for fun. I mean it so emphatically that you must follow the commitment so closely that we know the level on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Then nothing gets behind us. Our employees must be committed every day and all day. You will monitor this and alert the managers so that they can motivate timely and properly. Let me start with a few examples. First, example #1 One Saturday I stood in a queue at a checkout in a supermarket. The belt was full of goods. The front customer had ...

Individuality kills the excitement:  Four out of five employees are disengaged. One of these four is even hostilely disengaged. The manager can do something about it. When work tasks are to be solved, it requires teamwork. The leader must ensure that the entire group succeeds through collaboration. However, the manager takes a myriad of individual considerations into account from recruitment, salary negotiations, review conversations and retention. These considerations are misunderstood and kill employees' commitment to collaboration. Two Danish business consultants have mapped what goes wrong and what goes well when the manager stands up in front of the group of employees to engage them in the common cause. Business consultants Mette Berner and Michael Meinhardt have taken their 15 years of course work as their starting point and have used all their experience to design a practical model for Strategic Motivation. 'The model means that motivation no longer happens spontaneously...

Paramount attitude in Stolpegård Kindergarten:  Stolpegårds Kindergarten is a delightful experience of the very rare kind. Marie, Maria, Mette, Maj, Michelle and Tina are an exceptional team who gets the best grade in written and oral FISH! It started as an ordinary workshop with a short welcome, a short exercise where the participants got to try talking to each other in a new way with some dialogue cards in their hands. Then I told about the fish shop Pike Place Fish in Seattle and the way the 12 fishmongers work together. Then they saw the film called FISH! and afterwards each one found out which scene they liked the most. We did that because it's insanely interesting to find out what you like. The film must not be reviewed. The film's individual scenes or sequences should not be criticized. But the scene that the individual thinks is good must be highlighted. The scene you like is also what you like to give to colleagues and customers. And this is also what you like to rece...

Rush on from your first reaction to your second reaction:  Yabadabadoo. This is how I react when I win the Lotto or receive other surprising and happy news. This reaction can be more or less juicy. But you probably get the point. Ouch and shit ... This is how I react when I am told that we have to reorganize the office and move to building H. The reaction can easily be more or less juicy. But you probably also understand this meaning. Two understandable reactions These reactions can last from a few seconds to several years. From 'Yabadabadoo' to 'Shit'. Quite human, in fact. And now comes my point: From  Yabadabadoo  to Shit We need to move on to a second reaction as soon as possible after the first one. The first reaction is 'Yabadabadoo' or 'Shit'. The first reaction lets the steam out of the container. First reaction dumps a whole lot of words on the floor. The first reaction is sometimes shrill and violent. First reaction is an animal reaction that d...

Inspiration for leaders in the use of dialogue cards:  There are many different types of dialogue cards. One thing they have in common - they create energy and they create great conversations.  The time has come to put together a mini-university about dialogue cards. Here are 7 lessons: When you want to create energy in the team and break the ice and get the participants to talk to one another, you must invite everyone out onto the floor, out onto the lawn, out into the parking lot or into the drying loft. Then you stand there. Now you distribute or let them choose one or more dialogue cards for each participant and then you instruct them in the procedure. Perhaps you show what a 'transaction' looks like by borrowing a participant and showing it. Also explain that you will probably have to make a sound when they have to pause or stop. This is how you can start an energetic dialogue card exercise. More variants to follow! Dialogue cards control the dialogue At the same time, th...