Wisdom, Learning, and Office Politics

A few days ago, I was talking to someone about wisdom, and two things really struck me from that conversation.  First, a wise person is teachable.  He or she doesn’t feel the need to have all the answers and doesn’t feel the need to “fake it” instead of saying “I don’t know.”  Second, a wise [...]

Authenticity

I recently asked my organizational communication class how they would define effective communication in organizations.  This class is a senior, capstone class, and these students are about to be entering the workforce.  I wanted to ask what they wanted in terms of communication from the organizations in which they would be working.  The first thing [...]

Contested Control

I’ve posted before about connections between what we watch and how we communicate at work.  One of the themes from The Office is that a workplace is a place of contested control.  That is, the show presents its workplace as a place where employees are constantly vying for control and turf.  Is your workplace like [...]

Hierarchies and Relationships

Many thanks to those who helped me solve the formatting issue from last week.  I think I have fixed the problem (but let me know if you find it again).
I was reading a book last week that talked about what it meant to be in trusting relationship with someone.  The book contrasted that with hierarchy.  [...]

Organizational Systems

What you do affects everyone else in your organization and vice versa.  The communication theory that relates to this is known as Systems Theory.  Systems theory is based on the idea that we are interdependent with the people around us.  I’ve already blogged about equifinality, which is one result of that interdependence.  Another result is [...]

Office Friendships–How close is too close?

In one of the classes that I taught last semester, we discussed workplace friendships.  I am referring to the closer connections, rather than the coworker acquaintanceships that are often a part of jobs or the romantic relationships that are often discouraged in workplaces.  Is it ok to be close friends at work?  Several places in [...]

Speaking up for the Group

One thing that interests me about coalitions is the art of choosing a spokesperson.  I think there are different ideas about who speaks for the group.  If the coalition is organized around a charismatic leader, that person often speaks for the group because he or she may best reflect the coalitions’ values.  But I would [...]

Using Coalitions to be Heard

Strength in numbers is more than just a cliché.  Coalitions involve recruiting people and convincing them to mobilize their resources to support your cause.  In terms of recruiting, you can rally people around common values or convince them that the cause in their best interest.  Either way they will support the cause only until the [...]