One of the reasons I decided to create 2gno.me was to help companies streamline the dreaded employee evaluation process. Data shows that a majority of employees—from top management on down—are disengaged at their jobs, and companies are struggling to figure out why.


A recent post on the talent management blog TLNT offers a few theories. “Many managers are ineffective at managing their people,” Howard Risher writes, because “in some cases they were promoted to a supervisory role because of their technical skills and have poor people skills.” 

In a time when job responsibilities change often as ...

Some people are afraid of change, but the truth is, if you’re changing you’re likely growing.

Psychologists used to think that change started when a person took action, but modern studies suggest change takes place in stages.

Let’s use friendliness as an example. James might typically be grumpy in the mornings, but wants to work on it and become more amiable and friendly to others when he goes into work.

Here are the steps James can take to change his nasty habit:

1. Precognition – James recognizes that there’s a problem, but he’s not yet connecting it ...

Nobody’s perfect. But some people want to be perceived in a different light, or live more healthfully, or stop acting in a self-destructive way. Whatever the reason, most of us would like to make at least one change in our lives.

Many of us have made a concerted effort to improve something about ourselves, particularly at the New Year or the morning after overindulging. We have promised to become better people, to stop engaging in unhealthy behavior, or to give up a bad habit. And… we’ve given up after awhile, because it’s hard to make lasting changes ...

Demonstrating good listening skills can result in us securing successful business deals and solidifying healthy relationships. Yet, how many times have we found ourselves talking to people only to discover they hadn’t really heard us at all? Or looking back and realizing we’d talked too much ourselves without bothering to find out how the other person was feeling?

For centuries, wise people have understood the importance of minimizing the noise we make in order to listen to and learn from those around us. “We have two ears and one mouth,” philosopher Epictetus said, “so we may listen twice ...

If you were a brainiac in school but weren’t one of the popular kids, you may think you had the last laugh when you went on to land that high-paying job. But what good is having lots of money if you have no friends?

The truth is, almost anyone can be smart and have a decent social life - you just need to realize it takes a little work to be in any worthwhile relationship. The trick is not to alienate people with a know-it-all attitude, but rather to master some basic social skills.

Follow these guidelines to stop being ...

Do you ever wonder how other people see you? When it comes to our own self-knowledge, we all have blind spots. We simply can’t see ourselves the way others do.

To gain this insight you need peer review; input from your friends, colleagues, teachers, clients or bosses. When we better understand ourselves we can zero in on traits or habits that we can improve upon.

We have mentioned a tool used by psychologists to help individuals increase self-knowledge.

The “Johari Window” is a four-paneled grid that can help us organize areas of perception

1.      What is known about us ...

We’ve all experienced a moody day or temperamental period in our lives. We may feel upbeat for a time, but then descend and become sad or even grouchy. If the moodiness persists it can negatively affect our relationships with co-workers and loved ones.

Short-term moodiness can be caused by a variety of factors including stress, exhaustion and difficulties in your private life or with finances. Long-term mood swings often are attributed to hormonal or physiological imbalances, psychological disorders, or other issues that may need to be addressed by medical professionals.

Regardless of the duration or severity, an uneven temperament ...

What personality trait did Abraham Lincoln, Mohandas Gandhi, Mother Teresa share? Each of them was born with a naturally timid disposition, yet they all found the courage to stand up for their beliefs in a very public way that made significant advances for human rights.

We’ve all experienced moments of timidity, but there are many of us who experience it on a daily basis. Some have made their peace with what they deem something they were “born with”. They have learned to appreciate the positive things about being introverted, such as being careful, approachable and having a calming effect ...

There must be a breaking point for each one of us.

Eventually you must sleep, bathe or use both hands at the same time for some purpose other than the all-encompassing thrill of “the world in a click”.

So when is that time?

Leadership today needs to get outside the bounds of the current pace, have a deeper than typical series of thoughts on a single subject and to figure out how we can best fit into the plans.

I’ve seen two references recently that touch on this point: Sherry Turkle’s “Alone Together”, a book on digital dependency ...

Many times, especially right before elections, we hear accusations of a candidate being a “flip-flopper” or being “wishy-washy”, which basically means someone held a certain position on an issue and then changed his or her position later. This is typically perceived as a weakness or flaw in character.  There are times, however, when it’s all right to change our minds.

This is not to say that it’s a good thing to be consistently indecisive, but there are benefits to being open-minded enough to admit when we’ve made a mistake or have discovered information that has a direct ...