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Is it actually less stressful to be in charge?
The Washington Post: Think your job is more stressful than your employees’? Think again. A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and featured on the news service HealthDay Monday found that people in leadership positions suffer from less stress, surprisingly, than those in less powerful positions. The researchers, in what they say is the largest of such studies, asked 148 leaders and 65 non-leaders attending a leadership program at Harvard University about their stress (many of whom worked in government jobs).
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Good Versus Effective Leadership
The New York Times: The Lance Armstrong case is like many other instances involving the evaluation of leaders. The key problem is that we equate leader effectiveness with being a good leader. It isn’t enough for someone in a leadership position (and by virtue of his position as a role model and a “leader” in his sport, Lance Armstrong qualifies) to simply get things done. A successful leader is one who accomplishes goals, but who also has good character. Here’s what distinguishes a “good” leader from merely an effective one: Doing the Right Things vs.
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Pounds of Personality
It's November, which means that Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching—and with it the season of temptation. Beginning with the giblet gravy and ending with the New Year’s Eve champagne toast, the weeks ahead will add a pound of weight to the typical American—a pound that will rarely be lost. That means steadily expanding waistlines as we move from young adulthood into middle age and beyond. But some people won’t follow this trend. Some are conscientious and disciplined and know where to draw the line on indulging, while others seem to lack control of their impulses and desires.
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The Ins and Outs of In-Groups and Out-Groups
We humans organize ourselves in myriad kinds of social groups, from scout troops and sports teams to networks of friends, colleagues, or classmates. But how do these social groups work? How do we decide whom to trust and whom to follow? And how do we deal with people that don’t seem to fit the norms of our social groups? New research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, explores these issues by examining various facets of social perception and behavior. The Herding Hormone: Oxytocin Stimulates In-Group Conformity Mirre Stallen, Carsten K. W. De Dreu, Shaul Shalvi, Ale Smidts, and Alan G.
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Solitude in a wired world: More people, even employers are setting aside tech-free time
The Washington Post: When was the last time you were alone, and unwired? Really, truly by yourself. Just you and your thoughts — no cellphone, no tablet, no laptop. Many of us crave that kind of solitude, though in an increasingly wired world, it’s a rare commodity. We check texts and emails, and update our online status, at any hour — when we’re lying in bed or sitting at stop lights or on trains. Sometimes, we even do so when we’re on the toilet. We feel obligated, yes.
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Facebook has a stronger draw than sex for some, study finds
The Toronto Star: Well, it may not have come to that (as of yet) but a new study suggests social media activity, such as checking tweets and email, trumps sex — as well as smoking and alcohol — in terms of sheer irresistibility. The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, operating in Germany, used smartphone-based surveys to check the desires of 205 men and women, most of whom were college aged, ABC News reported. For one week the phones buzzed seven times daily alerting the students to take a survey on the type, strength and timing of their desires (for sex and/or using social media) and their ability to resist them.
