Minds at Work

Exploring the psychological forces at play while you work.

By Ben Dattner

Rationalizing your boss's rationalizations

By Ben Dattner on June 30, 2009 - 5:52am in Minds at Work

Credit and blame are at the heart of organizational behavior. Over the years, issues of credit and blame have been among my clients' top concerns. When working well, credit and blame can enable individuals, teams, and entire organizations to confront reality and effectively move forward. Read More

Introducing a new interactive blog series: Credit and Blame at Work

By Ben Dattner on June 20, 2009 - 4:30pm in Minds at Work

Dear Readers,

I am pleased to launch a new interactive "series" on this blog: "Credit and Blame at Work".

I'm currently working on a book about credit and blame, and will give due credit to anyone who can post an interesting response or a helpful link in response to the topics that we will be exploring together.

Why credit and blame? Read More

Bad news: you've been promoted

By Ben Dattner on April 22, 2009 - 5:55am in Minds at Work

What's worse for your mental well being- being laid off or being promoted? Read More

The baggage we bring to work each day

By Ben Dattner on March 28, 2009 - 7:50am in Minds at Work

Henry Ford reportedly once complained that all he wanted from a worker was a pair of hands, but that he had to deal with the whole person instead. Each of us brings our whole self to work each day, regardless of whether we have a chance to express and actualize ourselves in our jobs. Read More

Holding managers accountable for their hiring decisions

By Ben Dattner on March 25, 2009 - 8:39am in Minds at Work

Imagine you're the CEO of a hypothetical mutual fund company with 10 different mutual funds and 40 managers of those funds. Now, imagine you didn't know which manager had bought which stocks. Absurd, right? Read More

Valid and invalid concerns about the validity of 360's

By Ben Dattner on March 23, 2009 - 3:09pm in Minds at Work

360 degree feedback is an increasingly popular tool for executive coaching and leadership development. An individual evaluates him or herself along some predetermined quantitative and qualitative dimensions, providing numerical ratings for the quantitative items and comments for the qualitative ones. Read More

Good feedback, bad feedback

By Ben Dattner on March 20, 2009 - 3:38pm in Minds at Work

In the current economic environment, it is crucial for individuals, teams and organizations to continuously improve their performance. Getting and giving useful performance feedback, whether through a formal performance appraisal system, or through less formal, more ad-hoc tools like Rypple, can help greatly. Read More

The unavoidable conspiracy in every workplace

By Ben Dattner on February 26, 2009 - 11:32am in Minds at Work

Everyone has their own favorite indicators of the sorry state of our economy and the stress that it is causing. Some people point to empty restaurants in New York City, plunging condo prices in Miami, or lengthening unemployment lines. Others point to the growth in prescriptions for anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medications. Read More

Better interviewing through psychology

By Ben Dattner on February 17, 2009 - 7:00am in Minds at Work

In these difficult economic times, many people are in transition and looking for new jobs. Even though employment interviews are often unreliable and invalid predictors of job performance, they remain the most common and most heavily weighted selection methodology for most employers. Read More

Influence without authority

By Ben Dattner on February 9, 2009 - 1:14pm in Minds at Work

In the current economic turmoil, one thing has become clear. In an enviroment of cutbacks, downsizing, and restructuring, formal lines of authority and accountability have been seriously disrupted and blurred. Read More