Samantha Julka: Leaders, read the room literally before taking action
From an academic perspective, what happened was that the leaders failed to understand the cultural human factors associated with the built environment.
Samantha Julka
Articles
Samantha Julka: To achieve goals, define success together
Once we’ve established a shared understanding of success, we can all align our behaviors toward our common goal.
Samantha Julka: Oats, observation and the office
Looking back, it’s clear that my childhood fascination with Cheerios was a precursor to my career.
Samantha Julka: Why leaders need to think outside Pandora’s Box
Leaders fear asking their workforce questions, worried that the answers will lead to requests they can’t (or don’t want to) fulfill.
Samantha Julka: Thanks, I hate it: The gift of an open mindset
In our work at DORIS, we pause in the middle of our process and present leaders with the challenges their employees experience in the workplace.
Sam Julka: Making room for workers isn’t just about space
As leaders think about the challenges they face with real estate, they simply cannot compartmentalize it as separate from their workforce. In fact, they cannot separate it from other factors like technology, HR policies and company culture.
Samantha Julka: Discovering the recovery in the work we do
When I shared my morning experience with my colleagues, they said, “You might need to find more recovery time in your schedule.”
Samantha Julka: Intentional ambiguity finds the precise problem
At DORIS, our research methodology is based in grounded theory, a fancy term referring to allowing findings to surface, rather than looking for specific answers.
Samantha Julka: Let’s help employees take a (mental) load off
One second I might be contemplating my laundry pile and the next taking a deep dive into why sales are down this quarter.
Samatha Julka: As leaders, we must be aware of unintended impact
My colleagues’ intention was to help, but the impact was hurt feelings.
Samantha Julka: As leaders, we need to better promote relational work
Organizations push high volumes of personal (focus) and transactional (collaborative) work, often at the expense of relational (connection) work. And it’s gotten worse since the pandemic.
Samantha Julka: Welcome your employee’s full being into the office
The pandemic has taught us that work and life are pretty hard to treat as two dichotomous elements of a singular person.
To rework your office space, take advice from Vanilla Ice
I’ve been in several meetings with leaders lately who feel an urgency to take action with respect to changing their office space. However, it’s clear they don’t fully understand the “why” underlying that urgency.
Samantha Julka: Returning to work? Your office needs a refresh.
It’s not appropriate for people to return to a workspace that hasn’t changed since March 2020.
Samantha Julka: Stick to the basics to bring employees back
Our true motivation is knowing we will see our colleagues.
In the Workplace: Make 2022 the year of ‘we’ and collaboration
As we begin 2022, it’s important for all of us to reexamine the definition of the word “collaboration.” Not only is it the action of working together to create something, but it also includes making yourself a resource to your collaborators—your co-workers.
Samantha Julka: Draw conclusions, predictions from the unsaid
To make the best predictions possible, one skill we need to hone is seeing the unsaid.
In the workplace: Data is a commodity, but insight is gold
If you are embarking on that journey and wisely trying to include stakeholders in the process, make sure to work with a researcher who knows how to help you use your data for years to come by highlighting the insights.
In the workplace: Before allowing flexible work, clearly define it
A hot topic right now is the notion of employers offering employees a flexible work environment. However, it leaves a lot of us wondering: Just what does a “flexible work environment” mean, and how does it help us to be our best?
In the workplace: Trust will be imperative in hybrid work models
Organizations and teams who are successfully working hybrid have individuals and managers who trust each other.