In My Experience - Personal Stress and Its Impact on Workplace Productivity
Management, Productivity No Comments »We all remember the Disney movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Their world was a fantasy land. Remember the dwarfs and the song they sung on their way to work? “Hi ho, Hi ho, Hi ho, its off to work we go”! O.K. come on now, be honest! How many of us are that cheerful as we fight traffic to get to the office.
Fact is, today in our western world, life is complicated. The demands of home, work, kids, pets and outside commitments constantly pull us in all directions. As employees, we come to the workplace with all types of things on our mind. And then we hear the statement; leave your personal life at home!
Every day you and I must solve problems, both large and small. And everyday we use the same process-or no process-for getting answers. Usually we stumble around in a thick fog, hoping we come up with something that works as a reward for our time, energy, and confusion. We may actually find solutions, but are they the BEST solutions? Are they the solutions that optimally serve our employees, our companies, our families, and ourselves?
Consider the last problem you needed to solve. Maybe that was yesterday, this morning, or just a few minutes ago. Whatever and whenever it was, how did you reach a conclusion? An answer? A strategy for moving forward? How did you get there, and were you satisfied? Or did you simply breathe a sigh of relief and run?
Should You Be Making Managers Into Leaders?
Employee motivation, Leadership, Management No Comments »Should you be making managers into leaders? That’s a trickier question than you might think. At face value, it seems like an obviously good idea. Things get more complicated when you look a little closer.
That’s because there is an inherent risk in trying to facilitate the transition. If you have good managers, it’s obviously tempting to try to tap their potential leadership skills. What happens if doing so starts to detract from their managerial skills and emphasis, though?
Are you better off with a distracted manager who’s trying to develop leadership skills or would you be in a superior position with a focused manager who’s not all that concerned with becoming a proactive force for leadership?
Some people will tell you, if you ask them, that they think leadership is deciding on a plan of action and sticking to it, no matter what. Others will tell you it means taking charge of a situation and then handing out tasks so everything gets done right and by the set deadline.
What if that’s not leadership? What if leadership is less about handing out orders and sticking by a plan whether or not it works and more about working with people to mentor them and help them find their own path. I would argue that defining a leader today is much different than it was 5 or 10 years ago. In fact, I would say that inspiration is the biggest thing you contribute to a company or even a person when you become a leader.
While leaders are made, most are born. That sounds odd, doesn’t it? Well, the truth is we can’t all be leaders and not everyone wants to be a leader.
When people think about motivating employees, they’re usually thinking about ways to reward them. What carrots can be offered to get employees to work harder, what can we dangle in front of them to incent them to take the actions we desire? There are whole books written on ways to reward our employees, and multi-million dollar consulting engagements built on those books.
They include issues big and small, like money, pay-for-performance plans, flexible shifts, thank-you notes, gift cards, extra days off, promotions, educational opportunities, public recognition or a private pat-on-the-back. But while rewarding employees is important, it misses a hugely important point. If someone is hitting your foot with a hammer, you can’t stop the pain with a backrub.
In my experience of practical strategies for managing change, I have identified 8 key areas that need to be considered and addressed in order to maximise your chances of success with a change initiative.
(1) Drivers
Assessing the case for change: Kurt Lewin’s force field analysis work provides useful background and a practical tool for assessing the case for change - a necessary first step and an integral aspect of your strategies for managing change.
One of the biggest business buzzwords today is engagement.
Everyone suddenly seems to have realized that we need to have employees who are engaged in their work. It seems to be the latest “holy grail” in leadership and management circles (teams, lean and total quality are just three past examples).
Like the other examples, creating and nurturing engaged employees is important and will make a difference both for the individuals and the organization. I believe in the importance of engagement and the value of engaged employees. And I believe leaders can make a big difference in this area.
And, if these are my beliefs, you may be wondering why I opened on a bit of a cynical note?
To become a leader, you have to be able to work with others, have an effective communication line with others so that you can achieve all of your goals. Although this may sound easy, it actually isn’t. Being in the position to lead your team could really put a heavy pressure on your back. But to get through this a little easier, maybe you could start by reflecting on your strong and weak points.
Becoming aware of your strong and weak areas are key points in leadership development. By knowing your weak points, you can start working on them so that you could either get rid of them or turn them into positive characteristics. This also goes the same for your strengths. By recognizing them, your self esteem is boosted and you can find ways to use them to their maximum benefits.
10 Ways to Improve Your Team’s Performance and Gain Back Your Personal Time
Business Management, Time Management No Comments »Are you having trouble getting your team to meet company goals? Is your team lacking energy, creativity and motivation? Are you stressed, overwhelmed and feeling the need to work long hours just to hold your department together? It doesn’t need to be that way you can take control of the situation. You can get your team working effectively towards a common goal and you can gain back your personal time.
Work is important and you want to exceed company expectations but having control of your time to pursue personal interests is just as important. You want to be there to see the kids grow up and have time for that significant other (Yes honey I meant you and not golfing)… but you also want to have time to shave a few strokes off that handicap as well. Whatever your interests are you need to find balance. Work on implementing these 10 steps and you will improve your teams performance and gain back your personal time.
Social Awareness may be the most easily recognized dimension of Emotional Intelligence. We have all appreciated empathy at some time or another and we have always missed it when we have been exposed to an unfeeling manager or colleague.
Strangely, we never hear people being praised for their empathy, or even being recognized. We never seemed to recruit for this quality in certain key positions. Yet it is such a valuable attribute that builds superb relationships.
I think it must be because we have got the wrong idea about what it is. Do we think it means adopting other people’s emotions and trying to please everybody? Do we see it as some mawkish approach in which we refuse to make hard decisions?
Instead, empathy is the ability to understand what other people are feeling. It means taking those feelings into consideration when making leadership decisions about people and working those decisions into the response.
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Call Center Cafe'- How to Boost Morale at WorkMarch 10, 2010It's your satisfaction on your job and the general attitude you have towards your firm and your work that will determine the quality of output.gyahner
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- Management of Business Process Outsourcing TeamMarch 8, 2010Efforts should be made by the call center agents to leave the customers with a good experience every time they call up at your company.gyahner
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