Gagen Blog

As the world continues to cope and learn from COVID-19, we are quickly coming to grips with a new normal for how we connect – and are connected – with others. The backbone of an effective organizational communication system is a well-executed, feedback-rich, and outcomes-driven communication strategy. And people managers are the essential nervous system…

 In times of crisis, one thing is certain – people will seek information. They’ll search online. They’ll read the news. They’ll ask their friends and family. They’ll check their social networks. They’ll even rely on their employers for guidance. And in times of significant crisis, like the one we’re living in right now –…

As governments and organizations scramble to find the best response to the novel COVID-19 (coronavirus), many of us are being asked to help curb the rate of infection by social distancing and working from home. For some, it’s a welcomed trial. For many others, it’s another obstacle in a generally bizarre time. Before COVID-19, I…

It’s often during the times of greatest uncertainty – when fear and anxiety run rampant – that bonds between employees and their employers are either fractured or solidified. As the current outbreak of the novel coronavirus strains healthcare systems, induces chaos in financial markets, plummets consumer confidence, and raises fears of travel, sharing public spaces…

On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization announced that the coronavirus outbreak that originated in China was a “public health emergency of international concern.” In February, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that more cases are likely to be identified globally and in the United States, which could overload public health and…

“What really matters for success, character, happiness and lifeline achievements is a definite set of emotional skills, not just purely cognitive abilities that are measured by conventional IQ tests” – Daniel Goleman Last week, I published a blog post about the importance of emotion in the workplace. As people, we seek meaning and a sense…

“Every organization has an emotional culture, even if it’s one of suppression” Sigal Barsade. Humans are emotional creatures. At a basic level, we are more emotional animals capable of reason than rational animals capable of emotion. That fundamental truth is born out in decades of research, which – among other findings – shows that emotions…

The concept of Black History as a celebratory event originated in 1915 in Chicago, IL when Harvard-educated historian, Dr. Carter G. Woodson attended an exhibition at the Chicago Coliseum to mark the 50th anniversary of emancipation. Inspired by the exhibits that showcased the progress of Black communities, Dr. Woodson founded the Association for the Study…

Recently, I published two pieces exploring the recent surge in employee activism. In the first, I offered my thinking on why activism is on the rise; and in the second, I offered my view on the conditions that need to exist to prevent healthy tension between employees and executives from spiraling into messy public activism…

Due to the many competing pressures businesses face today, culture ranks as a top concern for CEOs and other executives, and is increasingly seen as the pendulum on which results swing. Given how extraordinarily complex cultures are, how does an organization refine and evolve a culture to unleash potential and turn strategies into success? We…