Glowing Engineers

Lynda Gratton, a psychologist with the London Business School, has come up with the phrase - - "Glow at work." According to Gratton, individuals that Glow have mastered three distinct areas of their lives - - (1) They have built deeply trusting and cooperative relationships with others, (2) They have extended their networks beyond the obvious to encompass the unusual, and (3) They are on an inner quest that ignites their own energy and that of others.

As outlined in the Spring 2010 issue of Rotman, Gratton outlines her nine facets of Glowing:

1. People who Glow have five daily habits - - they have realistic and positive expectations of others, they are prepared to share valuable information with others, they act with discretion, they use the language of cooperation, and they make and keep commitments.
2. People who Glow are able to bring emotional authenticity and analytical rigor to their conversations and use the art of great conversation as the bedrock of their cooperation with others.
3. People who Glow are astute at acting on the "smell of the place", they know the signs of the Big Freeze and how to avoid it.
4. People who Glow are skilled at increasing the value of their networks and at balancing their networks between people who are similar to them and people who are very different from them.
5. People who Glow are skilled at escaping the boundaries that constrain them, they allow for serendipity in their lives and are prepared to meet new people and take untrodden paths to broaden their experience.
6. People who Glow are adept at finding and moving to boundary-less places. They know how to connect with people and places that encourage them to grow by creating opportunities to jump across worlds.
7. People who Glow are adept at asking the big questions that spark energy which requires courage and focus.
8. People who Glow create a compelling vision that sparks energy and is so exciting and engaging that others are drawn to it.
9. People who Glow craft meaningful and exciting work that stimulates them and others.