Vlerick Expertise in People Management & Leadership

The trend towards flexible work is not new, but the Covid-19 pandemic has definitely accelerated these efforts. Investing in workforce flexibility is no longer a luxury, but a key strategic priority that can yield important benefits. In addition to improving employee engagement, flexibility can improve productivity and profitability. Moreover, organisations that offer greater flexibility can tap into a broader talent pool of workers that were previously harder to reach, which fosters diversity and inclusion. The white paper ‘Flexing your workforce’ takes a closer look at four ways in which organisations can flex their workforce.

We often get the advice to just be ourselves. However, it requires a large amount of self-knowledge to know who you are authentically. Your reflected best self is your individual mental picture of the qualities and characteristics that are on display when you are at your best. But how do you construct this mental picture? And what are the trigger events that contain new pieces of information to add to the picture? Professor and Dean Marion Debruyne explains.

Is it better to invest in further developing and refining your strengths, or should you go for the tough track and overcome your weaknesses? Most of us prefer the former. Because it feels so much better to further develop what you are already good at. But by overinvesting in our strengths, we also take less time to learn other important new skills. Professor Katleen De Stobbeleir explains how to overcome this so-called competency trap.

When employees resist a new technology, one of the reasons is often the lack of trust towards machines and systems. That kind of trust is different from the trust we experience between people, as kindness and warmth are characteristics that machines lack. Research by Professor Karlien Vanderheyden on planners and planning systems shows which factors can help building more trust towards machines.

How does a society learn? And most importantly, why do we so often learn the wrong things? What blinds us? These are questions that are asked surprisingly little. In this book, organisational expert and emeritus professor Marc Buelens presents a razor-sharp analysis of how societies shoot themselves in the foot all too often. He explains how the three draught horses of our society – science, economics and politics – always seem to keep trotting on no matter what… and how they threaten to trample our ‘sheltered’ systems, such as culture, purpose and solidarity, completely as a result.

The only way is up; you create your own career; and leaders are born, not made. These are just three of the fifteen persistent myths that Professor Marion Debruyne and Professor Katleen De Stobbeleir expertly unravel in ‘Making your way, the (wobbly) road to success and happiness in life and work’, a book that everyone can and should read.

We all know change cannot be mandated or forced. It has many aspects and these aspects count. As a change manager, you need to ask yourself some difficult questions before you set out to ‘shake things up’. And you must listen to the answers. In this ‘Business Watcher’ video, Professor of Change Management Peter De Prins raises 10 questions to consider, before you set out to make things better.

The COVID-19 outbreak has forced many organisations to re-evaluate their business models and re-examine their staffing practises to stay operational within an atmosphere of financial uncertainty. Many organisations are turning to gig workers to supplement the work of their employees. As such, many managers have found themselves dealing with a different form of work arrangement. In this ‘Business Watcher’ video, PhD researcher Neveen Saied shares 3 tips to optimise your interactions with gig workers during this ongoing crisis.

How do you negotiate if you cannot touch and see each other? For years, the answer would have been: ‘don't’. However, these days, many of us do not have a choice. Research on negotiations via e-mail shows a negative impact both on the negotiation relationships as well as on the negotiation results. But what about negotiations via a screen, by means of Zoom or Teams? In this ‘Business Watcher’ video, Professor Katia Tieleman shares insights and tips.

The gig economy is very diverse, and the COVID-19 pandemic has affected some workers more than others. Food couriers are seeing more demand, whereas graphic designers, writers and photographers may have seen potential work opportunities dry up. Although some expect that once the pandemic is under control, the need for gig workers might skyrocket as delayed projects gear up into implementation, several workers have been saying that many of their near-future projects are cancelled. In this ‘Business Watcher’ video PhD researcher Neveen Saied shares 3 tips for gig workers in the Corona era.