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#Leadership : The Bottom Line On Why You Can’t Fill Jobs…Here’s What I Hear from Employers: We can’t Find Talent. We can’t Keep Talent. We can’t Keep Talent Engaged.

June 8, 2016/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

From my perspective, there certainly is a disconnect. Here are the facts. Unemployment in the U.S. is 4.7 percent, which is down from last month’s figure of 5.0 percent and the new Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLT) report for April has just been released. There are now over 5.7 million job openings, which equals last July’s peak on records going back to 2001. This problem isn’t going away anytime soon.

As I travel around the country, here’s what I hear from employers:

We can’t find talent.
We can’t keep talent.
We can’t keep talent engaged.

Here’s what I hear from those who are seeking employment:

I can’t get past the Applicant Tracking Systems.
I apply for jobs and never hear back.
I’m perfectly qualified. I suspect my age is the problem.

Here’s why you can’t fill jobs and what you can do to change this.

You don’t know where you are going. I always tell my clients that we first have to establish where we are going before we can figure out how to get there. I use the example of someone in Detroit who is planning a trip. Is the goal to visit Canada, which is a stone’s throw away or is it to go to South America? Canada is an easy jaunt, that doesn’t even require packing a lunch. South America is quite a different story.

Decide where you are going in terms of your talent strategy, before mapping out your entire plan to get there. By doing so, you’ll be able to find a direct route that will get you to your destination in a timely and cost efficient manner.

You’re too tentative. Have you ever been in a situation where someone really wanted you, more than anyone else? They may have wanted you for a particular role in their company or you may have been their first choice to take to the prom. In both cases, you were most likely pursued.

Hiring managers need to pursue talent the same way they would go after a ticket to a sold out Bruce Springsteen show–with gusto! Do whatever is required to get the attention of the person you’ve identified as “the one” for your team. Don’t stop until you get a yes!

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You’re focusing on the wrong things. I get how you want your applicant tracking system to completely integrate with your Human Resource Information System and you are investing heavily to make this so. However, given today’s unemployment and JOLT numbers, you’ve got bigger fish to fry.

Processes are not going to get your job filled. To do so, you need people whoknow how to attract and retain talent. This requires transforming your hiring managers into talent magnets. Doing so, will help you dramatically reduce the time it’s taking you to fill your current job openings.

Your applicant experience is dreadful. We always tell job candidates they only have one chance to make a great impression. Well, the same holds true for employers. I hear tons of horror stories from candidates regarding their experience with a company’s interviewing process. Many are relieved when they never hear back from the employer, as they can only imagine how awful it might be to work in this type of environment day in and day out.

Treat your applicants as well as you treat your customers and you’ll be golden.

Your hiring managers don’t know how to hire. Where is it written that upon promotion to management, you automatically acquire the assessing candidates gene that seems to be missing from many hiring managers? Most hiring managers have no idea how to hire. I can say this as I’ve taught thousands of hiring managers how to select for success. One such hiring manager comes to mind. She said the following to me after attending a course I facilitated on Selecting for Success. “I’ve been interviewing for years and now I finally know why I’ve been asking these questions!”

Now that I’ve exposed the real truth about hiring managers, it’s up to you to help these people dramatically improve their ability to select new hires. Believe me when I tell you that most will be eternally grateful that you are finally giving them support.

Stop eliminating candidates based on salary. Many companies toss out anyone who is asking for more money than we are willing to pay. This usually results in a huge chunk of the talent pool–those over the age of 40–being tossed out as well.

Take a few moments to have a conversation with a candidate before discarding them because of money. By doing so, you may find that many candidates are more flexible on salary than you had originally thought.

Roberta Matuson is the author of Talent Magnetism, Suddenly in Charge and the forthcoming, The Magnetic Leader. Subscribe to her e-newsletter here.

Forbes.com | June 8, 2016 |

Roberta Matuson

CONTRIBUTOR

Your #Career : Layoffs! 7 Types of Jobs That Are Making Cuts in 2016…Jobs are Lost All the Time, for One Reason or Another. The Best you Can Do to Protect Yourself is Be Aware of What’s Happening In & Around your Industry.

June 7, 2016/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Your job is consistently threatened whether you give it much thought or not. While many people do enjoy a good level of job security, the truth is, anything can happen at any time that renders you redundant — robots can take our jobs, a new CEO may decide that layoffs are necessary, or a fire or natural disaster can hit. While that’s all relatively unlikely, it’s important to keep in mind that jobs are not permanent.

For many people receiving layoff notices this year, the writing has been on the wall for some time. Big economic changes have pushed many into joblessness over the past few months, and those cycles and mechanisms will continue to churn well into the future. Oil workers are being fired due to falling prices, for example. Tech companies are scrapping certain projects, sending others to the unemployment line.

Lost jobs in 2016

Jobs are lost all the time, for one reason or another. The best you can do to protect yourself is be aware of what’s happening in and around your industry. Sometimes, there’s nothing you can do to save your job. Other times, you can make some serious efforts to insulate yourself.

But as for layoffs this year? They’ve been coming in droves. Here are seven specific jobs and industries that have been plagued by layoffs, and will likely continue to be for the near future.

1. Oil workers

Following huge growth in the energy sector thanks to fracking and natural gas exploration in parts of the Midwest, we’re now seeing the downturn. An influx of supply has caused market prices for energy to drop dramatically, pushing many companies out of business. As a result, many oil and gas workers have been laid off from the oil fields of the Dakotas, and parts of Texas. Tens, if not hundreds of thousand of jobs have been lost.

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2. Coal miners

The energy sector has seen downturns in other areas, notably coal, over the past several years. The number of coal mining jobs are dropping as newer, cheaper, and cleaner energy sources are developed, and the government starts taking action to curb climate change fears. Coal, though, has likely taken its biggest hit due to the growth of fracking and increased natural gas production.

3. Manufacturing

Manufacturing has been on the ropes for decades now, as globalization has led to the transfer of many of thesejobs overseas. But even those jobs are now being lost to robots and artificial intelligence, which is leading to job losses for hundreds of thousands worldwide. Just recently, 60,000 Foxconn workers were replaced with automation. Adidas made a similar move.

4. Tech

The tech sector is brimming with opportunity and well-paying jobs, but it’s also rife with uncertainty. Tech workers from across the spectrum have been let go this year, with one of the more recent large layoffs occuring within Microsoft, who fired more than 1,800 people from its Nokia division. Intel announced plans to lay off 12,000. And many other, smaller firms, are cutting jobs as well.

5. Education

Huge cuts to education spending across the country mean that there is less money for teachers and administrators. That requires job cuts, and that’s what we’re seeing. There haven’t been any single, large-scale cuts to speak of, but instead, districts and university systems across the country have been firing a dozen or so people here and there. It’s happening at the local level all across the country.

6. Government

While education employees typically fall under the “government” category, there are other government jobs being lost in addition to those in the education world. State and federal employee have lost their jobs as budget shortfalls have forced governments to tighten their belts, though it’s nothing compared to what we’re seeing internationally. For example, China announced the firing of six million workers just recently.

7. Telecommunications

Though we may rejoice to hear that telecommunications companies are getting more efficient — in theory, anyway — don’t expect Comcast to improve their customer service any time soon. As previously mentioned, Nokia is being hit hard by Microsoft’s firings, and other companies, including Verizon, are planning on making cuts as well.

Follow Sam on Facebook and Twitter @SliceOfGinger

CheatSheet.com | June 6, 2016 | Sam Becker

#Leadership : What Bad Bosses Can Teach You About Good Leadership…List of 10 Things a Bad Boss can Teach you about Good Leadership, for the Day When you Might Have his (or her) Job

June 6, 2016/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

A lot has been written about what makes a bad boss, or about bosses to avoid or signs you are working for a bad boss. And then what – leave? To go where? Today’s business world is so precarious may of us don’t know if we’ll be in the same company from one week to the next, let alone report to the same person.

In the belief that the only thing you can really change in the world is your point of view, I offer this list of 10 things a bad boss can teach you about good leadership, for the day when you might have his (or her) job…

1. Mutual respect. I had a boss once who – in staff meetings – would actually sneer at those with whom she disagreed, who wouldn’t hesitate to openly criticize someone’s efforts. This is one step shy of public ridicule. The result was a marked decline in initiative and innovation and a general malaise of spirit within the department that was noticeable and remarked upon by senior management. Ultimately her behavior outweighed performance in removing her from her position.

“To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.” —Eleanor Roosevelt

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2. Communication is a two-way street. One boss had three styles when it came to communicating with staff verbally, and “listening” wasn’t one of them: bullying, pontificating, and droning on. The message that came through was that she really didn’t much care what anyone else thought or had to say. The result? People toed the line and had a field day mimicking her behind her back.

“The day the soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.” —Colin Powell

3. Know who’s the boss. If that’s your title, then it’s you. You don’t have to hold off making a decision until the last minute to watch your staff scramble to meet the deadline just so they’ll know who has the authority around here. That’s sabotage.

“A leader … is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.” —Nelson Mandela

4. Pay staff well and equitably. I once had a boss who suggested I hire a women for an open position because it would be cheaper than hiring a man. I didn’t. Make it cheaper, that is. A salary is a sign of worth, and if someone learns he or she is being paid less than someone else doing the same kind of job, you can leave yourself open to legal action. That’s in addition to being a jerk.

“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” —Peter F. Drucker

5. Hire good people, share your vision, and then let them get on with it in their own way. Don’t let your staff’s competence make you uncomfortable or nervous. You’re there to lead an entire team, to clear the path for them so you can reach your targets — not meddle in their daily work.

“Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.” General George Patton

6. Give the credit; take the blame. Too often, it’s the other way around, with the boss taking on for him- or herself the team’s achievements while offloading failure. That’s exploitation. This tactic fools no one, no matter which end of the corporate ladder you’re trying to impress.

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” —Martin Luther King, Jr.

7. Don’t play favorites. I had one boss whose principle business relationship centered around his second in command. The two played tennis together, their families went to dinner together. That left the other 96 people working at that company out in the cold. So none of them could (or would?) come to the rescue when eventually the Board of Directors, tired of lackluster performance from the CEO, ousted him one day… and his sidekick followed. Aside from putting yourself at risk of corporate lynching, playing favorites sidelines the valuable talents of everyone else.

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.” —Antoine de Saint-Exupry

8. Keep your distance. I don’t mean “aloof’ — as in the sense of being cold or void of compassion. But there needs to be a bit of a “no fly zone” between you and your staff. The people over whom you have some control, and on whose efforts your company relies, shouldn’t have to bear the burden of your personal problems.

“Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.” —John C. Maxwell (contemporary American author, pastor and speaker)

9. Lead by example. This almost goes without saying. Actions always speak louder than words. Say less, if you have to.

“Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.” —Albert Schweitzer

10. Trust your people. If you don’t, you may find yourself on the receiving end of words and deeds that are not as promised, whereas sometimes bestowing trust on someone is enough to make him or her live up to expectations. The trust you give out comes back to you.

“There is a difference between being a leader and being a boss. Both are based on authority. A boss demands blind obedience; a leader earns his authority through understanding and trust.” —Klaus Balkenhol (German equestrian and 1992 Olympic gold medalist)

And finally, be comfortable in your own skin:

”It’s hard to lead a cavalry charge if you think you look funny on a horse.” —Adlai E. Stevenson II

Follow me on Twitter @sckarabell1

Forbes.com | June 6, 2016 | Shellie Karabell – CONTRIBUTOR : I cover leadership – people, politics & policy – from a European view

#Leadership : 8 Ways Smart People Use Failure to Their Advantage…Failure is an Inevitable Part of Life, but Smart People Know How to Make it Work for Them.

June 3, 2016/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

One of the biggest roadblocks to success is the fear of failure. Fear of failure is worse than failure itself because it condemns you to a life of unrealized potential.

A successful response to failure is all in your approach. In a study recently published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, researchers found that success in the face of failure comes from focusing on results (what you hope to achieve), rather than trying not to fail. While it’s tempting to try and avoid failure, people who do this fail far more often than those who optimistically focus on their goals.

“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” –Winston Churchill

This sounds rather easy and intuitive, but it’s very hard to do when the consequences of failure are severe. The researchers also found that positive feedback increased people’s chances of success because it fueled the same optimism you experience when focusing solely on your goals.

The people who make history–true innovators–take things a step further and see failure as a mere stepping stone to success. Thomas Edison is a great example. It took him 1,000 tries to develop a light bulb that actually worked. When someone asked him how it felt to fail 1,000 times, he said, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.”

That attitude is what separates the successes from the failures. Thomas Edison isn’t the only one. J. K. Rowling’s manuscript for Harry Potter was only accepted after 12 publishers denied it, and even then she was only paid a nominal advance. Oprah Winfrey lost her job as a Baltimore news anchor for becoming too emotionally involved in her stories, a quality that became her trademark. Henry Ford lost his financial backers twice before he was able to produce a workable prototype of an automobile. The list goes on and on.

“If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.” –Henry Ford

So, what separates the people who let their failures derail them from those who use failure to their advantage? Some of it comes down to what you do, and the rest comes down to what you think.

The actions you take in the face of failure are critical to your ability to recover from it, and they have huge implications for how others view you and your mistakes. There are five actions you must take when you fail that will enable you to succeed in the future and allow others to see you positively in spite of your failure.

1. Break the bad news yourself. If you’ve made a mistake, don’t cross your fingers and hope no one will notice, because someone is going to–it’s inevitable. When someone else points out your failure, that one failure turns into two. If you stay quiet, people are going to wonder why you didn’t say something, and they’re likely to attribute this to either cowardice or ignorance.

2. Offer an explanation, but don’t make excuses. Owning your mistakes can actually enhance your image. It shows confidence, accountability, and integrity. Just be sure to stick to the facts. “We lost the account because I missed the deadline” is a reason. “We lost the account because my dog was sick all weekend and that made me miss the deadline” is an excuse.

3. Have a plan for fixing things. Owning up to a mistake is one thing, but you can’t end it there. What you do next is critical. Instead of standing there, waiting for someone else to clean up your mess, offer your own solutions. It’s even better if you can tell your boss (or whomever) the specific steps you’ve already taken to get things back on track.

4. Have a plan for prevention. In addition to having a plan for fixing things, you should also have a plan for how you’ll avoid making the same mistake in the future. That’s the best way to reassure people that good things will come out of your failure.

5. Get back on the horse. It’s important that you don’t let failure make you timid. That’s a mindset that sucks you in and handicaps you every time you slip up. Take enough time to absorb the lessons of your failure, and as soon as you’ve done that, get right back out there and try again. Waiting only prolongs bad feelings and increases the chance that you’ll lose your nerve.

Your attitude when facing failure is just as important as the actions you take. Using failure to your advantage requires resilience and mental strength, both hallmarks ofemotional intelligence. When you fail, there are three attitudes you want to maintain.

6. Perspective is the most important factor in handling failure. People who are skilledat rebounding after failure are more likely to blame the failure on something they did–the wrong course of action or a specific oversight–rather than something they are. People who are bad at handling failure tend to blame failure on their laziness, lack of intelligence, or some other personal quality, which implies that they had no control over the situation. That makes them more likely to avoid future risk-taking.

7. Optimism is another characteristic of people who bounce back from failure. One British study of 576 serial entrepreneurs found they were much more likely to expect success than entrepreneurs who gave up after their first failure. That sense ofoptimism is what keeps people from feeling like failure is a permanent condition. Instead, they tend to see each failure as a building block to their ultimate success because of the learning it provides.

8. Persistence. Optimism is a feeling of positivity; persistence is what you do with it. It’s optimism in action. When everybody else says, “Enough is enough” and decides to quit and go home, persistent people shake off those failures and keep going. Persistent people are special because their optimism never dies. This makes them great at rising from failure.

Bringing It All Together

Failure is a product of your perspective. What one person considers a crushing defeat another sees as a minor setback. The beauty is that you can change how you see failure so that you can use it to better yourself.

How do you handle failure? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below, as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

PUBLISHED ON: JUN 2, 2016

BY TRAVIS BRADBERRY

Your #Career : 5 Ways To Bounce Back From Criticism At Work… Remember: It’s Not the Critique that Counts – It’s What you Do With It That Has the Power to Change your Life & Inspire the People Around You. If you Can Let that Dust Sit on your Face with Grace, You are a True Professional.

June 1, 2016/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

As a career coach, I am all too familiar with the emotional history we carry into our professional lives. Many of my clients come to me with self-imposed, often limiting, ideas about what they are capable of in their careers. As we discuss all of the career avenues available to them, without fail, they offer me a wide variety of unfounded reasons to explain why certain career paths aren’t an option for them. It’s as though they’re expecting to fail and protecting themselves from even having to try in the first place.

I get it. I’ve been there. Even as an entrepreneur, I see it in my world—the same article can invoke a “you’re amazing” response from one person, and “you’re a nightmare” response from another.

So how do we get ahead in such a critical world when taking risks and being vulnerable can feel so raw?

Aristotle says it best: “There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.”

These are a few of the key tips I give my clients to help them push past their fear of feedback:

1. Accept the feedback graciously. First and foremost, listen to the person delivering the feedback. It’s gold, truly. People often think they’re listening when in fact they are anticipating their own response or explanation to the criticism. If the feedback is given in person, take a notepad along and jot some notes down. Hold yourself with confidence and grace and take the feedback like a boss, even if the feedback-giver is less than gentle in its wording. Above all, do not react defensively, and don’t feel obligated to respond. Thank the deliverer for the feedback, express appreciation for their candor, and let them know you will consider their comments and follow up if you need any clarification. This lets them know they’ve been heard, and it leaves the door open for you to follow up with questions, or – if absolutely necessary – an explanation or apology.

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2. Look for the lessons. You are probably familiar with the old saying: “there’s no such thing as a bad experience.” I’ve found this to be true when it comes to professional development… There’s also no such thing as a true “mistake.” Every interaction you have with your colleagues, clients, and peers provides you with an opportunity to learn something about them – their communication styles, body language, word choices, and tone. Most importantly, there’s so much to learn about yourself… What do you notice within yourself when you experience criticism? Do you feel offended? Do you feel less confidence? Your response to criticism is a direct pathway for insight on how you’re doing with your own personal self-esteem. Plus, if you spend the entire feedback session feeling self-conscious or defensive, you miss the chance to be observant and learn. How a person delivers criticism speaks volumes about who they are as a person, and while it could have value for you, separate the energy they’re speaking from away from the actual content they’re sharing. This leads us to No. 3.

3. Check your ego at the door. Occasionally, feedback will be 100% valid and also 100% painful. The ego has a tendency to get very loud in these situations, especially when the delivery was aggressive or hurtful. It’s easy to dismiss the feedback by blaming the messenger: “I would be more willing to consider his opinion if he hadn’t yelled at me while he said it.” While a cruel delivery can be embarrassing, the humiliation we feel is usually just masking a deeper sense of shame that comes from feeling powerless to change. Our ego fights those feelings with arguments like “that’s just who I am,” “he knew this about me when he hired me,” and “he’s too uptight” or “he’s the only one who feels this way.” At the end of the day, letting the ego win – and dismissing all feedback as unjustified – is a complete bar to growth and professional satisfaction. Instead, ask how you can use the experience to grow. How can you use it as a tool to rise and succeed even more? As an entrepreneur, I’m susceptible to harsh feedback—I see it with gratitude… It’s a mechanism and venue for me to grow and better serve my clients… This is how successful people think.

4. Give yourself some processing time to sort through the feedback.After you receive the feedback, take some notes about it. How does it make you feel? Some of it may feel expected and non-painful. But if you have a strong reaction, such as feeling outraged and misunderstood, or completely worthless and beat up, try to identify the sensitivity and any past triggers, meaning times in your life where you felt this familiar pain. This is much more powerful than dismissing the feedback just because it stirs up uncomfortable and confusing emotions. Once you understand whether your pain roots back from any other similar life experiences, you’ll have a better frame of reference to accept the meaningful feedback and dismiss the parts of it that feel inherently off-the-mark or valueless. The ability to have those honest internal conversations with yourself will help you stay humble and strong – as opposed to defensive or weak – in these potentially painful situations.

5. Empower your professional relationships. If you can approach every feedback situation from the mental standpoint that the speaker is coming from a place of good intention, you will be able to emotionally withstand the criticism with dignity. You will learn to use hardship as a platform to build—not burn—bridges. In fact, the way in which you receive feedback is a direct path to how your colleagues respect you moving forward… Surprise them! Having a professional and gracious attitude is empowering to your relationship with the critic. They will remember your grace and feel grateful to you for making it more bearable.

I’ve seen many different reactions to tough feedback in my practice as a career coach. Some clients take on the “I’ll show them” mentality and, without really tapping into their emotions, go overboard trying to prove their superiors wrong. While the approach is less combative than outright defensiveness, it’s no less hostile and counterproductive.

As Roosevelt brilliantly said: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because this is no effort without error and shortcoming …”

In closing, remember: It’s not the critique that counts – it’s what you do with it that has the power to change your life and inspire the people around you.

If you can let that dust sit on your face with grace, you are a true professional.

Ashley Stahl CONTRIBUTOR

I cover careers, job hunting and millennials in the workforce.

Ashley Stahl is a career coach who helps millennials find their purpose, get job offers or launch their dream business. Join her at LandMoreJobOffers.com.

Forbes.com | May 30, 2016

#Leadership : How To Make Yourself Work When You Don’t Want To…With the Holidays Approaching, the High Season for Procrastination is upon Us. It’s Even More Difficult to Get Work Done when you’re Stuck at the Office, Wishing you were Enjoying Time with Family & Friends.

June 1, 2016/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Procrastination affects everyone. It sneaks up on most people when they’re tired or bored, but for some, procrastination can be a full-fledged addiction. They avoid all day the work that is right in front of them, only to go home and toil late into the night, frantically trying to finish what they could have easily completed before dinner.

“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” –Charles Dickens

With the holidays approaching, the high season for procrastination is upon us. It’s even more difficult to get work done when you’re stuck at the office, wishing you were enjoying time with family and friends.

Still, the procrastination cycle can become crippling at any time of the year, which is troubling, because recent studies show that procrastination magnifies stress, reduces performance, and leads to poor health.

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Psychologists at Case Western Reserve University conducted an interesting experiment where they offered college students a date range instead of a single due date for their papers. The researchers tracked the date that students turned in their papers and compared this to their stress levels and overall health. Students who waited until the last minute to turn in their papers had greater stress and more health issues than others did. They also received worse grades on their papers and in the class overall than students who turned their papers in earlier.

A study published earlier this year by Bishop’s University explored the link between chronic procrastination and stress-related health issues. The researchers found a strong link between procrastination and hypertension and heart disease, as procrastinators experienced greater amounts of stress and were more likely to delay healthy activities, such as proper diet and exercise.

Fighting procrastination teaches us to fully engage in our work, get more creative with it, and, ultimately, get more done.

Procrastination is fueled by excuses. We cannot expect to overcome procrastination and improve our health and productivity until we’re able to overcome the negative mental habits that lead us to procrastinate in the first place.

What follows are the most troubling excuses we use to help us procrastinate. They’re troubling because they’re the most difficult excuses to conquer. For each, I offer preventative strategies so you can overcome procrastination and get productive, even when you don’t feel like working.

“I don’t know where to begin.”

Paradoxically, we often find ourselves frozen like a deer in headlights when confronted with a difficult task. As well, much like deer, the best thing we can do is move in any direction, fast. When a task is particularly difficult, you need all the time you are given to complete it. There’s no sense in wasting valuable time by allowing yourself to be overwhelmed by the complexity of the task.

The key here is to not allow fear of the whole to stop you from engaging in the parts. When something looks too difficult, simply break it down. What can you accomplish in 60 minutes that will help you slay the beast? Then, what can you do in 60 more minutes?

Breaking your task into shorter periods (where effort is guaranteed) allows you to move out of the “deer in headlights” frame of mind. Before you know it, you’ve accomplished something, and the task goes from way too hard to absolutely doable. When it comes to challenging tasks, inactivity is the enemy.

“There are too many distractions.”

For most of us, getting started on a large project is a challenge. We stumble over all sorts of smaller, irrelevant tasks that distract us from the real assignment. We answer emails, make calls, check the news online…anything to avoid the elephant in the room.

Being busy is not the same as being productive. When you find yourself avoiding a particularly sizeable task, slow down and visualize what will happen if you continue to put off the task. Distractions numb you by shifting your attention away from these consequences (a.k.a., away from reality). Reminding yourself of what will happen if you continue procrastinating is a great way to make distractions less enchanting so that you can focus on your work.

“It’s too easy.”

Tasks that are too easy can be surprisingly dangerous, because when you put them off, it’s easy to underestimate how much time they’ll take to complete. Once you finally sit down to work on them, you discover you have not given yourself enough time to complete the task (or at least to complete it well).

If a task is too easy, draw connections to the bigger picture, because these connections turn mundane tasks into a fundamental (and do it now) part of your job. For example, you might hate data entry, but when you think about the role the data plays in the strategic objectives of your department, the task becomes worthwhile. When the smaller, seemingly insignificant things don’t get done or get done poorly, it has a ripple effect that’s felt for miles.

“I don’t like it.”

Procrastination isn’t always about a task being too easy or too hard. Sometimes, you just don’t want to do it. It can be very hard to get moving on a task in which you’re disinterested, much less despise.

Unfortunately, there’s no foolproof way to teach yourself to find something interesting, because certain things will never draw your attention. Rather than pushing these tasks to the back of your plate, make it a rule that you cannot touch any other project or task until you’ve finished the dreaded one. In this way, you are policing yourself by forcing yourself to “eat your vegetables before you can have dessert.”

When you do get started, you can always turn the task into a game. How can you achieve your task more efficiently? How can you change the steps of the process and still produce the same result? Bringing mindfulness to a dreaded task gives you a fresh perspective. The task itself might not be fun, but the game can be.

“I don’t think I can do it.”

You are assigned a new project by your supervisor. In fact, it’s one you’ve wished he or she would give you for a while. However, now that it’s in your lap, you simply cannot get started. You cannot get past thoughts of failure. What’s going to happen if I blow it? How am I going to do this? Could I be fired over this? It can reach a point where avoiding failure seems like the best possible option. After all, if you never engage in a project, you’ll never fail. Right?

Wrong. Procrastination itself is failure—failure to utilize your innate talents and abilities. When you procrastinate, you’re failing to believe in yourself.

Remember when you were learning to drive and you could only look straight ahead, because if you looked at something off the road, you’d unwittingly turn the wheel in that direction? Worrying about everything that might go wrong if you fail has the same effect. It pulls you toward failure.

You must shift your mind in a confident direction by focusing on all the positive things that are going to happen when you succeed. When you believe you can do something—and you visualize the positive things that will come from doing well—you equip yourself to succeed. This thought process gets your mind headed in the right direction. Worrying about everything that could go wrong only binds your hands. Break the chains and get started!

Bringing It All Together

Fighting procrastination teaches us to fully engage in our work, get more creative with it, and, ultimately, get more done.

How do you fight procrastination? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.

Travis co-wrote the bestselling book Emotional Intelligence 2.0 and co-founded TalentSmart.

Forbes.com | June 1, 2016 | Travis Bradberry

#Leadership : 6 Productive Ways to Spend Your Idle Time…Regardless of your Workload, You are Sure to Have a Few Gaps Here & There. Choose to Spend your Time Wisely & Make Every Second Count.

June 1, 2016/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Only the most productive among us see time as it really is: one of our most valuable assets. Perhaps you’re one of the ones who recognize that time has a “limited offer” attached to it; after all, there are only 24 hours in a day. Therefore, you strive to make every single second count.

While downtime is vital for the preservation of our health, you cannot dismiss the fact that there are meaningful activities you can be involved in, even when resting. This takes multitasking to a whole new dimension.

Here are six things you can do in your idle time:

1. Record your goals.
To be successful at anything, you must first set clear goals of what you want to achieve. People who write down their goals are far more likely to achieve them than those who simply think about a goal, or those who have no goal at all.

This will also save you a lot of time in the future. If you use your spare time to clearly record your daily and long-term goals, it will eliminate other distractions and give you an objective to focus on. Hence, time that would otherwise be spent on mindless diversions will be converted into productive time.

As you complete your goals, cross them off your list to give you a greater feeling of accomplishment.

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2. Listen to audio books.
Acquiring new knowledge never loses its value, and we should never really stop learning until we die. The increase in technology has made it convenient to acquire information and with a wide variety of audio books that can be borrowed from the library at no cost or downloaded with the click of a button, you can listen and learn while traveling, exercising, or even relaxing on the beach. It is a simple as having someone read a book for you, at your convenience.

3. Learn another language.
As with audio books, technology has made it quite simple to learn a new language. Gone are the days when it was necessary to sit in a classroom. With CDs, downloads, and podcasts you can begin your journey to becoming bilingual (or multilingual). As an added bonus, knowledge of other languages will make you more marketable.

4. Check up on your loved ones.
Because productive people are often very busy, they may find it difficult to find the time to spend with friends and family. As a matter of fact, it is easy for productive people to become so caught up in the goal of getting ahead that they can forget about their loved loves in the process. Although it may not be possible for you to spend all the time you want with your loved ones, using your idle time to touch base with them over the phone, or even in a handwritten note or card, will help bridge the gap.

5. Get moving.
No matter how busy you are, you need to exercise if you want to live long enough to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Do some squats or lift hand weights while talking on the phone, or use your lunch break to walk around the neighborhood.

6. Give Back
Part of happiness comes from serving others, so instead of watching TV, help someone learn to read, serve dinner in a soup kitchen, or help an elderly person with their errands. These activities are not overly demanding of your time and provide a wealth of rewards.

Regardless of your workload, you are sure to have a few gaps here and there. Choose to spend your time wisely and make every second count.

Entrepreneur.com | May 31, 2016

JACQUELINE WHITMORE

CONTRIBUTOR

Author, Business Etiquette Expert and Founder of The Protocol School of Palm Beach

#Leadership : Employee Retention- When Achieving True Success Means Letting Go… It Seems Counterintuitive to Give your Employees Every Opportunity to Leave. But by Helping your Team stay Engaged in their Role, Aligned in their Personal & Professional Goals, & allowing Them to Leave if it Isn’t a Good Fit, you’ll Ensure that Those who Choose to Stay Will be Committed to Doing their Best Work for You, for a Long Time to Come.

May 31, 2016/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

The war for talent. The age-old battle waged by HR teams across the country, each vying to secure and retain the best people to help them achieve organizational success. The eternal effort to create systems, process, and benefits to help keep them once you’ve recruited them.

At the epicenter of the war for talent resides the tech industry, where many talented engineers and other highly-skilled workers have no problem jumping to another employer for a minor bump in pay or benefits. The result? Companies are forever trying to outshine each other with baubles, beer kegs and nap pods to try to entice this demographic to join them.

What this approach fails to do is inspire loyalty. Despite all the money that these companies pour into perks, at the end of the day, it’s just job hopping.

A Better Way to Retain Talent

What if, rather than doing everything possible to keep people no matter what, you took an alternative approach? That’s exactly what Rami Essaid, co-founder and CEO of Distil Networks, has done.

“It’s almost a fool’s errand to try to hold onto people,” Essaid suggests. “Why work to retain people when the only solution becomes offering more outrageous benefits? It’s an unsustainable cycle where people end up leaving anyway. Why not rethink the way work is designed where we acknowledge people are going to move around over the course of their careers?”

And Essaid has some first-hand experience with this phenomenon. His Silicon Valley-based cybersecurity firm helps customers identify and block malicious website traffic while letting legitimate users do what they need to do. Distil is able to find the “bots” that attack websites and police them before they can do damage to your brand.

The success of the company over the last five years has resulted in the rapid expansion of his team, now 150 strong. Here are some of Rami’s secrets to success:

Be intentional about the culture you are creating from the start.Rami started Distil Networks with a small group of longtime friends and many of their initial hires included additional friends from their social circles. “This had the potential to create a dynamic of ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ based on whether or not you were a personal friend or not, so we made a very intentional choice that we were going to build a company where everyone was treated with a kinship and in a transparent and honest way,” Essaid explained.

The founders of Distil took care to create a fundamental way of working together that was deeply rooted in the values that they shared as a result of this friendship. And by extending those values out to the team as they grew, they were able to keep the same feeling and way of operating over the years.

Really commit to providing developmental opportunities. “We are constantly investing in our employees.” Essaid described how Distil Networks takes great care in providing robust and comprehensive development to its employees. Be it executive coaching support, job rotations to different functional areas, or training and development, this approach aligns with Essaid’s belief that the company can play a role in helping people achieve their own personal definition of success.

Helping people to grow professionally and personally plays a significant role in ensuring that Distil is the right place for them at that time in their journey. And, if it turns out that a great opportunity presents itself outside of Distil, trying to hold people back is not in anyone’s best interest.

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Structure career progression to include lateral mobility.Organizations that only afford career progression through promotion to levels of management dramatically limits opportunities. By finding ways to move people across the organization, Distil Networks has found another way to help provide people with the maximum opportunity for development.

Help people spread their wings and prosper, even if that means leaving your company. This is based on a few of the fundamental beliefs and assumptions that the leaders at Distil Networks hold to be true about the world of business. If people leave to pursue opportunities that present massive growth and development potential, keeping them would only hinder them. By letting them go forth and prosper, the company helps them succeed while also ensuring that the remaining workforce is in their place of most potential, doing their best work. If this is the case, Distil will become a much more attractive place to work—for the right people at the right time.

Essaid believes that helping people figure out their path and providing plenty of opportunities to achieve their vision of success is a much more productive, positive and effective cycle than trying to keep people who are not in their “zone” employed for as long as possible until they wind up leaving anyway.

Distil’s method doesn’t come without its challenges. Essaid is the first to admit that it can sometimes be difficult to get people to really think about, or articulate, where they want to go in life and in their careers. But this is not unique to Distil by any stretch.

It is incumbent upon leaders to both develop their own coaching skills and understand and acknowledge that some employees may have given little to no critical thought to their more long-term career goals. In these situations, engaging in frequent developmental coaching discussions can help guide employees in their progress so that they can be more intentional about setting and achieving their goals.

You can’t keep everyone around forever. As Richard Bach famously said, “If you love someone, set them free. If they come back they’re yours; if they don’t they never were.” It seems counterintuitive to give your employees every opportunity to leave. But by helping your team stay engaged in their role, aligned in their personal and professional goals, and allowing them to leave if it isn’t a good fit, you’ll ensure that those who choose to stay will be committed to doing their best work for you, for a long time to come.

Chris Cancialosi, Ph.D., is a Partner and Founder at gothamCulture.

Forbes.com | May 31, 2016 | Chris Cancialosi

#Leadership : How To Master Your Remote Work Job Interview…A Killer Candidate will Always be One Step Ahead of the Interviewer. The Real Skill is to Take the Time to Prepare for Conversations that Will Allow you to Address the Points Above as You Detail your Work Experience.

May 30, 2016/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

A job interview is a pretty challenging experience. You have to impress. You have to display a personality that will bring untold value to your potential employer. You have to stand out from an ocean of candidates who want the job as badly as you do.

Now imagine having to overcome those hurdles on a Skype call or Google Hangout in an entirely different timezone, and possibly hundreds (if not thousands) of kilometers away. Interviewing for a remote work opportunity presents a whole new layer of challenges that are centered around visibility and autonomy. These are traits that you have to exhibit in an office environment, but they’re much more heightened when management can’t tangibly see you at your desk every single day.

If you’re hoping to secure a remote work position and really want to stand out, consider these tips for giving a killer interview. Here’s what the hiring manager is going to want to see and hear during your interview process:

Before the interview

It’s important to assume that your interview starts the moment you submit a resume, portfolio, or body of work. Granted your work may look good and perfectly fit the organization’s functional need for your skills, but does the submitted content answer questions about your viability as a remote work candidate?

If you have previous freelance or full-time remote work experience, then it’ll be obvious to point that out. If you don’t have that experience but feel you’re a fit for the role, then make sure there’s ample language in your cover letter, resume or portfolio that really drives home your ability to work independently and across a virtual team. You don’t have to go into detail (the next point will explain why), but you will want to show on a high-level that:

You will be present despite multiple timezones.
You will bring in processes (personal and collaborative) that will be positive to a distributed workforce.
You are incredibly organized and accountable for your tasks.
You conduct your own quality assurance on deliverables before soliciting feedback from others on your team.
You are a clear communicator and fantastic listener.
You make use of technology to minimize the feeling of distance.

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During the interview

Your hiring documents will give a taste of what you bring to the team, but storytelling will be crucial throughout the verbal interview process to reassure the hiring manager that you can work remotely.

This is your opportunity to discuss concrete examples of how autonomous and organized you can be. Don’t just talk about your ability to produce great work, be explicit about the production process you encountered or were responsible for designing. When you talk about achievements in projects or initiatives be sure to point out the following:

Were multiple people involved in the project? Where they all located in one building?
How do you personally organize yourself around new projects? What are your usual run of events to kick-off a new effort?
What did you work on individually, and what did you work on in collaboration?
What existing processes were used to move the project forward, and what new ones were created as the team progressed through tasks? Be sure to point out team check-ins, status updates, and other communication processes.
What tools did you or your team use to capture feedback and track progress?
What mistakes were made? No project is perfect, so how did you right the ship?

After the interview

As is customary, make sure you send a note at least 24-hours after the session to thank the interviewer for their time. This is also a chance to attach any new or additional information that display your ability to work well remotely; and in turn, convince the hiring manager to make a much more confident decision on your candidacy.

So what can you send over? Consider the following (and double check you aren’t sharing sensitive information):

A quick process map or sketch to outline how a particular project unfolded. This can help to elaborate on how your efforts helped to produce great work, and it’s a tangible way to point out team check-ins and organizational skills.
Examples of tools you use individually or in a team to communicate and capture progress. If your employer is considering tools that you have used before, then share your perspective on what makes that particular tool great or difficult to use especially in a virtual work context.

Always prepare to be a step ahead

A killer candidate will always be one step ahead of the interviewer. The real skill is to take the time to prepare for conversations that will allow you to address the points above as you detail your work experience. Employers who hire remotely will be impressed by candidates who bring peace of mind to the organization even if they are physically removed from the rest of the team. Your ultimate goal is to remove any doubt from your candidacy as a distributed team member and show them that you are on top of your stuff.

I regularly write about the Future Of Work. Get in touch with me here: @kaviguppta.

Forbes.com | May 30, 2016 | Kavi Guppta

#Leadership : 8 Questions to Ask Yourself Before you Start Dating a Coworker… Since about One-Third of Human Life is Spent Working, it’s Not Unreasonable that Romances Occur in the Office

May 29, 2016/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

We’ve all seen, experienced, or thought about office romances. Some say they’re a terrible idea (people might gossip, or things can get awkward at work if the relationship goes sour) — while others believe they make perfect sense (you’re with these people eight hours a day, and you know you have at least one thing in common). But what’s the real deal with interoffice dating?

Lynn Taylor, a national workplace expert and the author of “Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job,” says she hears this question all the time, and shared her thoughts on the topic with Business Insider.

“Modern thinking is that you spend so much time in the office and online that those are the most likely places you will meet Mr. or Ms. Right,” says Taylor. “Occasionally you’ll hear: the gym, supermarket, or Starbucks, because those may be the only other places you even have time to escape to outside the busy office these days.”

But since about one-third of human life is spent working, it’s not unreasonable that romances occur in the office, she adds. “And this is time spent with people we know — theoretically they’re not ax murderers.”

A survey from CareerBuilder revealed that nearly 40% of employees admitted to having a romantic relationship with a coworker, and almost one-third of office relationships result in marriage.

“Considering that there are some eight billion people on the planet, some question why anyone would choose an office mate for romance, with all the potential gossip, possibility of a job nightmare if things go south, terminations, and maybe even a lawsuit as icing on the cake,” Taylor explains.

But the fact of the matter is: Nobody knows when true love will strike. “It could happen in the break room just as easily as it could at your cousin’s wedding or at the tire store,” Taylor says. “Why put arbitrary parameters on something so important? Certainly there are endless cases of coworkers who have found love in the workplace and moved on to marry and live happily ever after.”

Ultimately, she says, the success of this path will depend on you, your partner, boss, workplace, and many other variables. And it’s up to you to decide whether the pros outweigh the cons — or if you’re better off steering clear of an office romance.

Before you flip the switch, here’s what you need to ask yourself:

1. Is this person in a direct supervisory or subordinate position?

If they are, stay away.

“Problems can result from dating a person in a subordinate or superior position,” says Taylor.

If your boss (who happens to be your partner) takes you to lunch or promotes you, people will claim it’s based on favoritism — not merit. (And it’s also a problem if you deserve to be promoted but your significant other doesn’t offer you the position because they fear people will think it’s an act of favoritism.)

“Also, remember this: If things go sour in your relationship with a subordinate, there may a claim of sexual harassment or hostile work environment,” she explains.

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2. What is the company’s policy on this?

“The variation on corporate practices is so broad that you have employers with lenient policies, strict policies, and no policies, even at Fortune 500-sized companies,” Taylor says.

Some firms make a conscious choice not to incorporate them into their general “sexual harassment” policy. “Policy or no policy, lovehappens. So in the absence of written rules and/or in the interpretation of them, there’s one common barometer: your common sense. That must always prevail.”

3. How closely do I work with this person?

Keeping your distance in another department, floor, or building will help keep things less awkward, messy, and challenging. “And if you are ever in a competitive situation, it takes that element out of the fray, too,” she adds.

4. Can I envision this relationship working?

Nobody can predict the viability of a relationship, but you should take time to envision it.

“Is it completely unrealistic? Do you have a lot in common? It could happen that spending time in a romantic relationship that began at work will bring you closer together because you share a common interest and can be a sounding board for each other. Only you can weigh whether you see more overall upside potential than downside,” Taylor says.

5. Have I considered the consequences?

Could this be a career-limiting move? Would I hate working here if things didn’t work out? Will I ruin relationships with friends in the office?

It’s hard to think about the relationship ending or how it might hurt your career when you’re newly in love and distracted by butterflies. But, it’s important that you carefully think about the pros and cons; the ramifications on your job and reputation, Taylor says.

“If things fall apart, to what extent could your career potentially be jeopardized? How much of your personal life could be the ‘keynote topic’ at the water cooler? Could your real thoughts about the new CEO get back to her just in time for your next review? Imagine that that one of you decides to move on — what would it be like to see that person every day?”

If these potential consequences make you feel uneasy or worried about your professional future, you probably shouldn’t pursue the relationship.

6. Am I prepared to disclose the details of my relationship to my employer?

Some employee handbooks require you to describe the nature of your relationship in writing. Specifically, you could be asked whether there’s a conflict of interest with an employee (even independent contractors, clients, and vendors), Taylor explains.

“The employer’s goal is full transparency, your consent, and protection for employees and others from future allegations,” she says. “You may be warned verbally, or in a handbook or both, that anything interfering with work getting done can result in termination. So this is the fun part.”

7. Can we be discreet?

Only you and your partner know how you’ll handle this romantic adventure, e.g., if you’ll be bubbling over with excitement to the point where it could damage your concentration, distract others, or generally get in the way of your advancement.

“Every situation is different, but what matters is how both of you plan to navigate the tricky waters, and how your respective managers and fellow employees react,” Taylor says.

8. What would happen if they get promoted?

Now the rules change. You could suddenly be dating your supervisor, or just someone in management who has a direct or indirect say in decisions that affect your job, she explains. “Just assume you’ve inherited another layer of risk, with a boss/employee relationship being the worst outcome of all.”

Businessinsider.com | May 29, 2016 | Jacquelyn Smith