Hi! I’m Jennifer Deal. I’m a Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Creative Leadership (www.ccl.org) and an Affiliated Researcher at the Center for Effective Organizations (http://ceo.usc.edu/). My B.A. is from Haverford College, and my Ph.D. is from the Ohio State University (in Industrial and Organizational Psychology). You can read more about me here.
This is a blog (mostly) about what happens at work. It is also (partly) about what happens outside of work, because work and life are inextricably intertwined – at least for me, and for pretty much everyone I know.
This blog is being written for those of you who want information about how you can be more efficient and effective at work, and therefore have a happier life.
You:
want to stay ahead in a fast-paced world,
would prefer to not spend endless time doing it (you have other things to do),
want fact-based information, but don’t want to be bogged down in arcane theoretical discussions or statistical analyses that require way too much time on Wikipedia to understand,
are skeptical about workplace and business trends, having seen (or read about) a number of them which have come and gone and had no discernible effect,
refuse to take everything deadly seriously, because it is more fun to see the absurd rather than to get angry, and
want to hear a different take on what you are seeing and experiencing at work, perhaps a perspective more grounded in reality and less enthralled with business trends and buzzwords.
Why am I doing this blog?
Because I believe that people can make better choices and therefore live happier and more productive lives if they have access to good information, and I think good information is based in good research. I strongly believe that information that is pesky but true helps people make more rational decisions about their work and career than information that is easy and convenient, but possibly not correct.
Someone many years ago pointed out to me that I don’t do research for a living, I am a researcher, every day of my life. It is who I am, not what I do. And what I focus on is improving our understanding of our world so we can use that information to make changes that make us all happier in both the long and the short run. But I see no point in doing research and studying the research others do if it doesn’t help someone, somewhere. So my hope is that through this blog others benefit from that focus.
What is my approach?
Skeptical & Data-based: I generally don’t accept the first or commonly-believed answer as the correct one, even if it is what everyone is saying (unless the evidence is overwhelming, which it rarely is). As the saying goes, a lie goes around the world while truth is pulling its boots on. I want to help get the boots on faster. Rather than taking the easy route and believing that the first answer is the correct one, I look at the data and experiences of people around me, and evaluate the question thoroughly.
Irreverent & Truthful: Like Dilbert, I believe that the workplace is full of absurdity, and I prefer to view the world and see the humor in it rather than taking it all terribly seriously. I think we are more likely to see the truth if we acknowledged the absurdity as well.
Applicable & Thought-Provoking: Finally, I believe that if I’m going to write something, it should be useful to those who read it. So what I write is meant to provide people with useful information, a different perspective, or thought-provoking ideas which they can use to make their work (and perhaps their life) better, more efficient . . . and a bit more light-hearted. As Oscar Wilde said, Life is too important to be taken seriously.
I’d say the same thing about work.
Happy reading!
