The problem with the concept of "empowerment" is it implies that "power" is something to be bestowed on others from on high. But employees already have power. The best thing businesses and HR leaders can do is get out of the way so employees can tap into it.
Christina.Folz
Articles by Christina Folz
For decades, smart people were thought to be those who knew the most—and weren't afraid to show it: the manager who insists that everyone sees things his way or the student who always has her hand up because she memorized the whole textbook.
But now that technology can track down reams of information faster than even the biggest know-it-alls, our definition of what makes people smart is shifting.
Like priests and therapists, employment attorneys will hear just about everything over the course of their careers. They are privy to all manner of human tragedy, triumph—and stupidity. The best of them will turn their knowledge and experience into something deeper: wisdom.
It's a tale as old as time: Middle-aged and older adults kvetch about the next generation and speculate on what this world is coming to. Business author and consultant Jamie Notter recently shared a reference to young adults' lack of respect for elders and poor work ethic—from the ancient Roman philosopher Cicero.
The article in Sunday’s New York Times describing Amazon’s relentless, hard-driving work environment is, in many ways, a case study in how one very large company is responding to our changing work world.
Over the past several months, it has been my great pleasure to get to know SHRM members and others through a series of conversations around Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In. This effort began in March when I posted on SHRM’s LinkedIn page to ask for volunteers to take part in a kind of virtual book club.