Introducing the Ostrich Effect
When people discover that I am an organizational psychologist, they often tell me that they have some problem—a crazy boss, needy co-workers, departmental conflict—that would make a "great case study."...
View ArticleThe Moment
The Ostrich Effect occurs when we routinely find ourselves stuck in seemingly unsolvable problems-with bosses, co-workers, groups, departments. We are having the same conversations over and over, with...
View ArticleThe Averted Gaze
The Ostrich Effect is this: people look away from that which makes them anxious, setting in motion a sequence of events that get them stuck with difficult work situations, problems, relationships and...
View ArticleThe Rock and the Hard Place
In difficult moments, we often silence ourselves because we are anxious about what might happen if we do otherwise. This is a tricky place in which to be, torn between competing dictates to speak and...
View ArticleThe Stories We Tell
The Ostrich Effect is marked by people looking away from the realities of tough situations. Spooked by what those realities might mean for them, they avert their gazes. read more
View ArticleCounterfeit Problems
The Ostrich Effect occurs when we look away from that which disturbs us and fasten onto something else that is less likely to trigger our anxiety. This happens at work far more than we realize. We have...
View ArticleSigns of Stuckness
In the Ostrich Effect the problems that capture attention are acceptable; they can be admitted to, talked about and invested in. But they cannot be fully solved, not really.read more
View ArticleMoments of Pause
Force of habit is like gravity: it weighs upon us, keeps us earthbound, making it difficult to leap into other ways of being and doing. Breaking free of our habits requires the type of wrenching...
View ArticleInspect Thyself
In the Ostrich Effect, people look away from that which makes them anxious, setting in motion a sequence of events that get them stuck with difficult work situations, problems, relationships and...
View ArticleMoments of Truth
There is a simple, profound way to move from destructive relationships at work: moving toward moments of truth.read more
View ArticleThe Right Conversations
Getting into the right conversations means getting out of the wrong ones.read more
View ArticleThe Messiness of Change
Insight into our selves opens the gate to changes in behavior ... but we still need to walk through that gate and into the light and act as if we belong there.read more
View ArticleFrom Knowing to Doing
Now you face the choice: Do you pause, speak a moment of truth, name what is right there to be named, and invite the other to join you in making right what is wrong? Or do you stay where you are,...
View ArticleThe Heart of Engagement
At the heart of employee engagement are the emotional experiences that people have at work. Ignoring this reality is problematic, for workers and organizations alike. read more
View ArticleWorkarounds
It seems simple to just work around people who are difficult, obnoxious, and self-centered at work. Yet whenever we do so, it seems that it does more harm than good. Understanding rather than avoiding...
View ArticleThe Open Secrets That Halt Organizational Change
Unless system members are able to name openly what they all know, and work with the fallout, there will always be workarounds, disempowerment, skulking, and a great deal of unproductivity and...
View ArticleThe Dark Side of Nice
There are some really, really nice people at work. They are so nice that they remain unaware of all the damage that they do, not in what they say, but in what they do not say. We all need to look...
View ArticleIntroducing the Ostrich Effect
When people discover that I am an organizational psychologist, they often tell me that they have some problem—a crazy boss, needy co-workers, departmental conflict—that would make a "great case study."...
View Article
