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#Strategy : 7 Foods That Can Boost Productivity & Creativity

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You are what you eat. You’ve heard that plenty of times before, but have you ever given it some serious thought? What does it mean, exactly?

Want foods give us energy & productivity during the day?  Found this great article/link below.  Welcome your thoughts/comments.

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http://www.cheatsheet.com/money-career/7-foods-that-can-boost-productivity-and-creativity.html/?a=viewall

Your #Career : College Students: These 7 Industries Are Hiring Like Crazy… Here are 7 Industries that Expect to Significantly Increase their Hiring of New Grads with Bachelor’s Degrees

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College seniors, it’s time to get cracking on your resumes. The job market for the class of 2015-16 is strong, according to Michigan State University’s Recruiting Trends survey, with hiring projected to increase 15% over last year.  “Most signs point to another explosive year of growth in the job market for college graduates,” said Phil Gardner, a Michigan State economist and the survey’s lead author.

 

Researchers asked 4,700 employers in every state about their hiring plans for this year. They found that employers in virtually all industries are expecting to expand their payrolls this year. Increased turnover, baby boomer retirements, and strong business growth are all driving increased hiring.

While the overall outlook for hiring is good, the future looks especially bright for graduates in fields like hospitality, business, and finance, which all expect to boost hiring by 20% or more. Even construction businesses, which have struggled post-recession, expect to increase their hiring of graduates by 19% this year.

People seeking jobs with non-profits, the government, and real estate may struggle more to find work. Hiring should be up in those fields, but only in the single digits. People looking for work in the mining and oil industries may want to start panicking now, though. Hiring looks to be down 47% compared to last year. Meanwhile, companies that manufacture chemicals and pharmaceuticals are dialing back hiring by 40%.

One area where newly minted grads won’t see a big increase? Their salaries. Starting salaries should grow by 2% to 5% this year, according to the survey.

Here are seven industries that expect to significantly increase their hiring of new grads with bachelor’s degrees this year compared to last.

1. Educational services

Hiring increase: 73%

Education majors have had a tough go of it in recent years, as school districts slashed jobs and cut budgets. But things seem to finally be turning around. California alone planned to hire more than 21,000 teachers for the2015-16 school year.

Education graduates might want to expand their job search beyond the traditional school environment. While there should be more jobs available for elementary and high school teachers, companies that provide other educational services like alternative learning, online content development, and tutoring expect to increase hiringby 73%.

 

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2. Management services

Hiring increase: 64%

Hiring is strong in the professional, business, and scientific sector, where jobs should increase by 38% for new bachelor’s degree holders. Things are looking especially good for the future managers of the world; the number of jobs available is expected to double compared to last year.

3. Accounting

Hiring increase: 63%

Number-crunching students, rejoice. Hiring for new accountants should be up 63% this year. The average starting salary for accounting majors in 2014 was $48,420, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

4. Insurance

Hiring increase: 49%

Job growth in the financial industry is strong, with hiring up 28% over last year. But the real bright spot is the insurance industry, which plans to boost job offers to new grads by 49%. Jobs in depository banks, in contrast, are disappearing, with hiring in that sector down 26% from 2014-15.

5. Administrative services

Hiring increase: 40%

The broad category of administrative services, which includes jobs in office administration, employment services, and business support, is doing well. Hiring of recent grads should increase by 40% this year.

6. Utilities

Hiring increase: 35%

Jobs for bachelor’s degree holders in the electric power, natural gas, water supply and sewage, and airconditioning industries should increase by more than 30% this year. People with less than four years of experience who work in the water utilities industry earn about $50,000 annually, according to Payscale, while those in electric power distribution earn about $61,000 per year.

 7. Internet services

Hiring increase: 34%

Most people won’t be surprised to see that hiring at Internet-related businesses is up this year. In fact, jobs at these companies are responsible for almost all the growth in the broader information services sector. Little or no growth is expected in the publishing, film, and broadcasting industries.

Follow Megan on Twitter @MeganE_CS

 

Cheatsheet.com | November 1, 2015 | 

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#Leadership : The Secret to How People Work Well Under Pressure…The Trick is, of Course, Developing the Ability to Handle Pressure. So, How Do you Do It?

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You’re up against a lot at work — environmental factors are likely killing your productivity, your more socially savvy coworkers could be getting promotions over you, and you may even be tempted to cheat your way to the top. It’s a lot of pressure, and one of the ways that we can truly get a glimpse at our character is by our actions and attitudes in the face of that pressure.

 

 

Most career paths come with their stresses, but others are particularly well-known for being high-pressure gigs — think Wall Street finance jobs, management positions, and pretty much anything involving customer service. The people who typically succeed at those positions, however, are the ones who can best handle stress and pressure. An ability to remain cool and confident under pressure is one trait that is shared among many of the world’s business and political leaders, as well as many of history’s most famous and influential names.

 The trick is, of course, developing the ability to handle pressure. So, how do you do it?

Essentially, handling pressure comes down to meshing the ability to assess one’s surroundings in a thought-out and logical manner with composed behavior.

For example, if you’re working in a kitchen and there’s a grease fire at one of the cooking stations, what do you do? Do you panic, and dump a bucket of water on the fire? Or can you think on your feet, walk briskly to the fire extinguisher, and use it to dispose of the problem?

Or put yourself in another position. If you’re in a customer service position and have a line of angry, screaming customers all looking to make you the target of their ire, do you run away, start crying, or take control of the situation?

 

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You can guess which type of person hiring managers are going to want to put out on the floor, and it’s not the guy who’s going to run away or start with the waterworks. But overall, the real key to handling stress and high-pressure situations is as simple as this: never stand still.

To reiterate, the best thing you can do in high-stress, high-pressure situations is to keep moving. Simply stay on your feet, and engage with the crisis around you. Fear can be paralyzing — but as previously mentioned, it’s the ability to push through that paralysis, logically take stock of what’s going on, and grab a hold on the situation that makes a true leader.

We’ve written before about how, in many professional settings, emotion can actually be your biggest weakness. This rings true in the face of stress and pressure — if you let your emotions (fear, anger, etc.) take the wheel, you’re going to go careening off a cliff.

 Though you will want to keep your emotions in check, focusing all of your energy on staying calm could backfire as well. According to Alison Wood Brooks of the Harvard Business School, who has done a good deal of researchinto the best way to handle stress and pressure in a variety of situations, staying upbeat, yet focused, is the ideal way to tackle hairy situations.

“People have a very strong intuition that trying to calm down is the best way to cope with their anxiety, but that can be very difficult and ineffective,” she said, according to a recent article from Inc. “When people feel anxious and try to calm down, they are thinking about all the things that could go badly. When they are excited, they are thinking about how things could go well.”

Clearly, handling pressure is one of those ‘simple, yet complicated’ abilities. To really boil it down, and work on your own abilities to handle stress, simply remembering to not freeze up, and to control your emotions in the face of screaming customers or grease fires is a great place to start. But it’s going to take balance — you don’t want to calm yourself down to the point that your mind is flooded with the worst possible outcomes.

Handling pressure is a learned skill, and one that is very valuable. It’s something that separates the ‘men from the boys’, and can get you a long way if you can treat the ability like a muscle, and exercise it. When the time comes to put it to use, you’ll be glad you did.

Follow Sam on Twitter @SliceOfGinger

 

 CheatSheet.com | October 31, 2015 | Sam Becker

#Strategy : 7 Memory Skills that will Make you Smarter…If you’re Good at Learning, you Have an Advantage in Life.

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“We need to keep learning and remembering all our lives,” they write. “Getting ahead at work takes mastery of job skills and difficult colleagues. … If you’re good at learning, you have an advantage in life.”

 

Learning ability is probably the most important skill you can have.  Take it from Peter Brown, Henry Roediger, and Mark McDaniel, authors of “Make It Stick: The Science Of Successful Learning.”

“We need to keep learning and remembering all our lives,” they write. “Getting ahead at work takes mastery of job skills and difficult colleagues. … If you’re good at learning, you have an advantage in life.”

And to learn something is to be able to remember it, say the authors, two of whom are psychology professors at Washington University in St. Louis.

Unfortunately, lots of the techniques for learning that we pick up in school don’t help with long-term recall — like cramming or highlighting.

To get over these bad habits, we scoured “Make It Stick” for learning tips.

Here are the takeaways:

Retrieval: Bring it back from memory.

benjamingolub/flickr

When you’re attempting to recall an idea, method, or technique from memory, you’re retrieving. Flash cards are a great example: They force you to recall an idea from memory, unlike a technique like highlighting where you’re not burning anything into your brain. The reason retrieval’s so effective is that it strengthens the neural pathways associated with a given concept.

 

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Elaboration: Connect new ideas to what you already know.

REUTERS/Osman Orsal

When you try to put a new idea into your own words, you’re elaborating. 

“The more you can explain about the way your new learning relates to prior knowledge,” the authors write, “the stronger your grasp of the new learning will be, and the more connections you create that will help you remember it later.”

For instance, if you’re in physics class and trying to understand heat transfer, try to tie the concept into your real-life experiences, say, by imagining how a warm cup of coffee disperses heat into your hands.

Interleaving: Varying your subjects.

Fred Thornhill/REUTERS

When you work on a variety of things at once, you’re interleaving. If you’re trying to understand a subject — from the basics of economics to hitting a pitch — you’re going to learn better if you mix up your examples.

A sports case: Batters who do batting practice with a mix of fastballs, change-ups, and curveballs hit for a higher average. The interleaving helps because when you’re out there in the wild, you need to first discern what kind of problem you’re facing before you can start to find a solution, like a ball coming from a pitcher’s hand.

Generation: Answer before you have an answer.

Flickr/Sebastiaan ter Burg

When you try to give an answer before it’s given to you, you’re generating. “By wading into the unknown first and puzzling through it, you are far more likely to learn and remember the solution than if somebody first sat down to teach it to you,” the authors write.

In an academic setting, you could work finding your own answers before class starts. In a professional setting, you could supply your own ideas when you’re stuck before talking with your boss.

 

Reflection: Evaluate what happened.

Francisco Osorio/Flickr

When you take a few moments to review what happened with a project or meeting, you’re reflecting. You might ask yourself a few questions: What went well? Where can you improve? What does it remind you of?

Harvard Business School researchers have found reflective writing to be super powerful. Just 15 minutes of written reflection at the end of the day increased performance by 23% for one group of employees.

Mnemonics: Use hacks to recall.

Wikimedia Commons

When you’re using an acronym or image to recall something, you’re using a mnemonic. The hall of fame includes abbreviations — Roy G. Biv for the colors of the spectrum (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet) — and rhyming, like “in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.”

“Mnemonics are not tools for learning per se,” the authors write, “but for creating mental structures that make it easier to retrieve what you have learned.”

Calibration: Know what you don’t know.

Flickr / Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design

When you get feedback that reveals your ignorance to you, you’re calibrating. “Calibration is simply the act of using an objective instrument to clear away illusions and adjust your judgment to better reflect reality.”

This is necessary since we all suffer from “cognitive illusions”: We think we understand something when we really don’t. So taking a quiz — or gathering feedback from a colleague — helps you to identify those blind spots.

For a deeper dig into the science of learning, make sure to pick up “Make It Stick.” It’s an illuminating read.

This is an update of an article that was previously published.

 

Businessinsider.com | 

 

#Leadership : Hate #Meetings? 5 Ways to Stop Them From Being a Waste of Time…The Time you Actually Spend in Meetings Might Depend on How Much your #Boss (or you) Actually Likes Them.

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Meetings are infamously the bane of work life. As far as workplace drudgery goes, they’re right up there withchecking emails and mandatory fire drills. But no matter whether you work for a Fortune 500 company or one that’s just getting started, meetings are a necessary evil in order to run smoothly and have employees on the same page. If Google and Apple are still holding meetings, chances are your company will need to as well.

The time you actually spend in meetings might depend on how much your boss (or you) actually likes them. The Harvard Business Review found that one large company’s executive meeting led to 300,000 hours per year spent supporting it with smaller meetings (the higher-ups met with their divisional employees in order to be preparedfor their weekly executive get-together.) Overall, about 15% of a company’s collective time in spent in a meeting room somewhere. The Wall Street Journal reported that in a sample of 65 CEOs, about 32% of their logged hours were spent in meetings. It’s a small sample, but based on conventional wisdom doesn’t seem far-fetched.

Software creator Atlassian estimates that most employees will have an average of 62 meetings to attend per month, and many people consider at least half of that time to be wasted. While that might seem like a lot, meeting regularly can be a good thing. That’s because if employees are given enough time to have a back-and-forth discussion with the decision-makers, they have the chance to express their opinions on goals or new strategies for the company. “The plan often changes because of the team’s input. And consensus is neither assumed nor achieved with any regularity. In the end, though, everyone feels like they’ve said their bit, and they’re able to back up the decision because of this,” writes Kristine Kern, a consultant for workplace adviser The Table Group.

Whether you’re the executive who’s normally hosting the meetings or if you’re expected to be in charge of one once in a while, there are a few ways to make sure they go off without a hitch, and are actually productive at the same time. Here are five things to keep in mind.

 

1. Start on time

 

Yes, your mother’s wisdom about the importance of punctuality really does have a huge impact on setting the right tone for a meeting, right away. If they enter the meeting thinking about the other things they have to get done, and then you wait an extra 10 minutes until you begin, you’re signaling that their other projects aren’t as important as shooting the breeze waiting for the straggler or two to show up. Starting on time — and letting the latecomers realize they’ve inconvenienced the group — will encourage prompt attendance from everyone, writes BFG Communications founder Kevin Meany.

Old-Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

If meetings are known to start on time, at every level of the company, you have fewer chances to derail other productivity throughout the day. “If you can start on time with the first meeting of the day (and respect the end time) you set a culture where the importance of people’s time is highly valued,” writes Entrepreneur contributorCraig Cincotta.

 Being punctual also helps you to end on time, as long as you’ve been careful to avoid tangents. This is crucial, because once the time slot for the meeting is over, employees will start to mentally check out whether or not you’ve made it through the agenda. “Their mind isn’t on the meeting at the end, so it’s not productive,” Peter Handal, former CEO and chairman of Dale Carnegie Training, told U.S. News & World Report.

 

2. Have a concise agenda

 

You need an agenda if you want a productive meeting, so everyone knows what’s about to be discussed. But how you handle the agenda-setting will likely depend on team dynamics and what you think will work best for that particular atmosphere.

 Another tactic is to enter the meeting without a pre-set agenda, but have the meeting members develop one based on what’s most important to them. Kern, from The Table Group, wrote in an article for Inc. that the agenda does need to be tightly focused around the general goals for the meeting — this isn’t the time to put tangents on an agenda. But the results can be empowering for the people who attend the meetings. “The meeting scriptdoesn’t result from a circulated email and it’s not based solely on the meeting leaders’ strategic priorities, and that is important. This is a powerful change, because it means that team members are discussing things that are important to them,” Kern explains.

3. Take good notes

 

Nothing can be more frustrating than spending 30 minutes in a decent meeting, only to realize a day later that no one recorded the details of what was actually discussed. Alexandra Samuel, author of Work Smarter with Social Media, suggests using a collaborative tool like Google Docs. That way, when one person is talking and sharing ideas, another person can be recording what’s said. This is also a way to draw more people into the meeting, as they can share ideas and get them down on paper immediately. Applications like Evernote also allow for searchable functions and provides an easy way to keep track of archived meeting minutes, Samuel writes.

While you’re taking those notes, it’s wise to also keep track of who is taking responsibility for which tasks. Steve Jobs became famous for this, including a “directly responsible individual,” or DRI, next to every task or agenda item. That way, people can be working on a project but know exactly who is responsible for seeing it through to completion. It’s a quick way to streamline questions, follow-ups, and also who will likely update their superiors on progress that’s made.

4. Use technology as an asset

 

We’re now squarely in the digital age, so technology should begin to be used to our advantage in meetings, not ignored in favor of another Powerpoint presentation. If you’re conducting meetings remotely or have clients who aren’t coming in to your office, Samuel suggests using a screen-sharing app to quickly show drafts or brainstorm topics. Of the several platforms she’s used, Samuel recommends Join.me for quick and reliable sharing.

Also, have an extra screen like a spare iPad or other device ready to display reference material. That way, you won’t have to divert your main screen from taking notes or your prepared presentation, but everyone can still see multiple sets of information relevant to the conversation. If you’re on a conference call, Samuel suggests setting up a backchannel before the call in-house, so that you as a team can stay on the same page during the meeting.

In addition to these things, start basing decisions and conversations around data when possible, not personal preferences. Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo!, approaches design pitches from a scientific viewpoint whenever possible. Carmine Gallo wrote in a piece for Bloomberg Businessweek that Mayer discourages “I like” statements and instead looks for statements backed up by performance measures and metrics. Instead of “I like the way the screen looks,” Mayer expects statements like, “The experimentation on the site shows that his design performed 10% better.” Mayer was still working for Google when the Businessweek article was written, but it’s pretty safe to assume the same logic is happening in Yahoo!’s meetings.

5. Leave with action steps

 

If employees leave knowing where everyone is going to lunch but not what’s happening for your marketing strategy, your meeting has failed. Figure out who is responsible for heading up certain tasks, and come up with measurable ways to track progress. “The worst thing that can happen is nobody follows up and then you have another meeting to talk about what you already discussed,” Cincotta writes.

For the steps that will need to be carried out with other employees, establish a framework for how it will be explained to colleagues or direct reports. “It’s important that everyone is on the same page about what you will and what you won’t say outside the meeting. Not everything will be ready for prime time, and that’s OK, so long as everyone finds out information within the same time frame,” Kern at The Table Group writes.

One last word about wrapping up a meeting: don’t let people get away with stewing in the corner, just waiting to leave the meeting to tell everyone else about the bad brainstorm ideas. “Nothing is more deadly than silent disagreement that quickly results in a totally dysfunctional meeting after the meeting in which ‘real’ opinions are shared behind closed doors,” Kern explains. If you’re leading the meeting and believe someone strongly disagrees but isn’t speaking up, encourage them to do so or follow up with them immediately after. Disagreements are natural, but should be resolved before it feels like the entire meeting was undermined by a complaint afterward.
CheatSheet.com | October 27, 2015 | 

#Leadership : 3 Types of #Employees you Should Fire Immediately…You May Not Even Realize It, but These “Time-Suckers” Hurt your Business by Drawing your Attention Away From the Tasks you Need to Do Each Day.

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As a Manager/Business Owner, your Time is Limited; you Hired a Team of Capable Professionals Because there’s No Way you Can Do it All.  Even if your organization runs like a well-oiled machine, there’s usually at least one team member who causes you more stress than the others.

 

You may not even realize it, but these “time-suckers” hurt your business by drawing your attention away from the tasks you need to do each day. While many types of productivity-zappers exist in an office environment, none are as disruptive as those who directly affect strategic decision-makers.

These three types of people should be removed from your staff as soon as possible.

 

Juliana Dacoregio

Never hire the “Drama Queen” job applicant.

1. The Drama Queen

If your office doesn’t have a drama queen, consider yourself lucky. Found in almost every group of people, these individuals live life as though it’s a reality show. They enjoy stirring things up, then sitting back to watch the fireworks.

You’ll likely find yourself frequently breaking up arguments between employees, only to find the resident drama queen at the heart of it. Whether it’s exposing what someone said about someone else or accusing someone of neglecting his work, these individuals will constantly require your attention as referee.

Unfortunately, drama queens do more than simply waste worker productivity. Their behind-the-scenes conversations are often negative in tone, and the attitude can be contagious.

This is especially true if the drama queen directs attention to the company’s leadership, causing a general distaste for management that leads to greater problems within the organization.

Managing drama queens can be a delicate situation, because much of what they do is social. Some businesses have implemented no-gossip policies, but these policies are usually impossible to legally enforce.

They can also lead employees to feel that their personal conversations are being monitored and judged. Instead, employers should document the behaviors that have led to incidents in the office and address them directly with the individual.

William Brawley/Flickr

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2. The Victim

One of the toughest challenges of managing people is knowing how to handle the ones who like to play the victim. These people avoid accountability for their own actions, preferring to blame others for bad situations.

They’ll always have an excuse, and their constant complaints aren’t missed by their coworkers, who can even begin to develop their own victim mentality as a result of seeing others do it.

Even stickier is the employee who seems to always have some ailment. While every employer wants his staff to be as healthy as possible, there are occasionally people who take advantage of the employer’s generosity by claiming an array of medical conditions that, over time, turn out to be unfounded.

Too often, the employer is left not knowing for certain if the person is truly ill or is simply trying to take advantage of the system.

The overriding issue in the workplace is how the person’s actions are affecting the business as a whole. One person’s chronic absences and refusal to participate will eventually be noticed by other employees, who are likely to feel resentful about having to cover.

To avoid issues, have a set policy in place regarding absenteeism, making it clear that after a certain number of days within a cycle, a doctor’s notice will be required. When an assignment affects a vast majority of the staff, make it clear that everyone is required to participate.

Keep careful documentation of each incident and, if issues persist, have a talk with the employee about his or her issues. Make it clear that if the person continues to miss work or decline to participate in work assignments, action will be taken that may include termination.

It’s important to review the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), because you’ll be required to provide accommodations if the condition falls into an area that would be classified as a “major impairment.”

 

Flickr/Lenore Edman

3. The Nonconformist

These rebels without a cause are determined to break the rules, from the simplest to the most complex. If you have a dress code that prohibits T-shirts with slogans, this person will wear one every Friday.

If you have a set procedure for how tasks should be completed, they’ll go off script every time. While some businesses are less restrictive than others, every business usually finds it must enact some rules to avoid problems and remain productive. These employees seem to see “rules” as “control” and want to battle you each step of the way.

Instead of engaging in a power struggle with these renegades, determine if there are ways you can work with rebels rather than against them. Often a rebel is nothing more than an independent thinker who wants to make a difference in the world, rather than just following along with what others tell them. If you can put these qualities to work for your organization, you may find you have an employee who can help your organization grow.

Sometimes, however, the rebel mentality comes from someone who takes it a step further and tries to take over. This person tends to come across as a know-it-all, refusing to listen to instruction and instead choosing to do things his or her own way.

Worst of all, this type of person may have appoint him- or herself as a leader within the organization, ordering other employees around. If given enough time, this type of toxic behavior could drive some of your best employees away.

Whether an employee’s independent attitude is a benefit to your organization or not, it can definitely take a toll on employee morale. As others see that someone is violating company policies, they may begin to wonder why they have to follow the rules when everyone else doesn’t.

For that reason, you’ll have to enforce your company policies in a uniform manner, whether it’s corporate dress code, office hours and attendance, meeting project deadlines, or some other clearly outlined rule.

 

 Conclusion

Employee management is one of the toughest challenges for manager/business owners.

By identifying employees who drain productivity and slow your business growth, you’ll be able to remove them and bring in professionals who will help you meet your long-term goals.

 

Businessinsider.com |  October 27, 2015  | Jayson Demers, Inc.com

#Leadership : 9 Things #Employees Hate Most about their #Bosses …. According to a Recent Poll, 91% say Communication Issues Can Hurt their Relationship With their #Boss.

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If you’re getting the sense thatyour employees secretly hate youand you’re wondering why, it could be your communication style.  If you’re getting the sense thatyour employees secretly hate youand you’re wondering why, it could be your communication style.

 

According to a recent poll of about 1,000 US workers by Harris and Interact, a communications consultancy, 91% say communication issues can hurt their relationship with their boss.

The employees surveyed voted on the top nine communication issues that bug them about their managers. We spoke with Lou Solomon, CEO of Interact, about why these behaviors are so irksome and how managers can tweak their leadership style to be more effective.

Here’s the list of troublesome leadership behaviors, in reverse order.

View As: One PageSlides

 

9. Not asking about employees’ lives outside of work

Twenty-three percent of employees surveyed said this was a problem for them.

To illustrate how problematic this issue can be, Solomon referred to one of her clients, whose boss suggested he attend a certain professional conference. What the boss didn’t realize was that his employee was in fact one of the conference organizers. That experience is an example of leaders who only make half-hearted attempts to connect with their employees, Solomon said.

Of course, managers don’t have to know absolutely everything about their employees’ lives outside of work — but key points like the birth of children, the loss of loved ones, and certainly professional roles like being a conference organizer are important to note.

Solomon said employees might think about the situation this way: “The fact that you [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][the boss] only care about my contribution at work and are oblivious to the other parts of my life — that stands out to me as a workplace that I don’t want to be a part of.”

Francois Mori/AP

8. Refusing to talk to people on the phone or in person.

Thirty-four percent of employees surveyed said this was a problem for them.

With the advent of digital technologies from email to Slack, it’s becoming increasingly possible to avoid in-person interaction entirely.

Yet Solomon strongly advised against this practice. “Face-to-face communication is still the most persuasive, influential medium that there is,” she said.

Leaders can make themselves visible by periodically showing up at meetings or on phone calls — or even by making the rounds at company-wide social functions. That way, they’ll appear more approachable and trustworthy.

“You can communicate electronically to exchange information and sustain a dialogue,” Solomon said, “but you cannot build trust electronically.”

of about 1,000 US workers by Harris and Interact, a communications consultancy, 91% say communication issues can hurt their relationship with their boss.

The employees surveyed voted on the top nine communication issues that bug them about their managers. We spoke with Lou Solomon, CEO of Interact, about why these behaviors are so irksome and how managers can tweak their leadership style to be more effective.

Here’s the list of troublesome leadership behaviors, in reverse order.

Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design/flickr

7. Not knowing employees’ names

Thirty-six percent of employees surveyed said this was a problem for them.

Employees today “want a meaningful exchange with the people who are leading the company,” Solomon said. “And when they are not greeted as an individual, then it stands out as missing.”

Solomon cited instances she’s heard about, in which a CEO rides the elevator with an employee and greets him by name. “The impact of that is extraordinary,” she said.

The bottom line is that leaders need to stop pleading, “I’m not good with names,” and make it a priority to know them. “As a leader,” Solomon said, “the standard is higher.”

University of Michigan School of Natural Resources & Environment/flickr

6. Not offering constructive criticism

Thirty-nine percent of employees surveyed said this was a problem for them.

“Great leaders let people know how they’re doing,” Solomon said, “and give them ways to constantly do better and to get themselves in position to reach their goals.”

Yet Solomon said constructive feedback is often the “missing piece” in today’s leadership, for two key reasons. One, many leaders feel they’re too busy to slow down and invest their time and energy in giving an impromptu performance review.

And two, some leaders fear offending employees or hurting their feelings if they give feedback after a negative incident.

The key to delivering helpful criticism, Solomon said, is to assess the employee’s performancewithout emotions like anger or frustration.

Francisco Osorio/Flickr

5. Taking credit for others’ ideas

Forty-seven percent of employees surveyed said this was a problem for them.

Few leaders actually assert that they came up with an idea when in fact one of their employees submitted it.

Instead, Solomon said, what often happens is that, in the rush to get things done, managers neglect to give credit where it’s due.

But to employees, it can feel as though someone has just stolen credit for their contributions — and that experience can be extremely demotivating.

VFS Digital Design/Flickr

4. Refusing to talk to subordinates

Fifty-one percent of employees surveyed said this was a problem for them.

Managers who won’t associate with their reports are communicating a lack of concern for them — even if, again, it’s just a result of being distracted.

Flickr / Alan Levine

3. Not having time to meet with employees

Fifty-two percent of employees surveyed said this was a problem for them.

The reason managers might not have time to meet with their employees isn’t necessarily that they don’t care about their subordinates. Instead, it’s usually a function of distraction and having multiple responsibilities to juggle.

Still, “if you don’t have time to be easygoing and open and accessible to employees, you could be a liability” in your organization, Solomon said.

That’s because people trust and engage with leaders they genuinely like — and it’s hard to like a manager who clearly doesn’t make her relationship with you a priority.

Vancouver Film School/Flickr

2. Not giving clear directions

Fifty-seven percent of employees said this was a problem for them.

“This is such a rift that comes up more than we’d like to imagine between leaders and folks who report to them,” Solomon said. The leaders “weren’t specific on exactly what constituted a success or what the deliverable looks like in their mind.”

What typically ends up happening is that the leader gets frustrated with the employee for not producing the desired result, when in fact, “it was really the leader’s responsibility to make crystal clear exactly what they’re looking for.”

Solomon said managers should keep in mind that, while it might be easier to provide a few key points about a project and leave employees alone, it will ultimately be much more effective to outline the specific directions and exactly what they’re looking for. That way, employees won’t have to redo their work and there will be less aggravation all around.

velkr0/Flickr

1. Not recognizing employee achievements

Sixty-three percent of employees surveyed said this was a problem for them.

According to Solomon, “the human side of business is what drives the bottom line as much as the numbers.” In other words, if employees feel unappreciated, they won’t be motivated to produce their best work and the organization will suffer as a result.

The key to giving motivational feedback, Solomon said, is to make it specific andinstantaneous.

“If you tell me that you especially liked the way I was able to get collaboration from another department on a particular project I was in charge of, then I sense that you really understand my giftedness and what I bring to the table.

“However, if you just tell me that, ‘Hey, you did a good job on that project,’ then it’s less satisfying to me. Even though you said something, it was general. Anybody could say that.”

Businessinsider.com | October 27, 2015 | 

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Your #Career : 5 Things You Should Do If You Get Fired or Laid Off…Be Alert & Know the Signs. You Should be Especially Leery If you Start Getting Terrible Assignments or your Co-Workers Act Differently Around you or Stop Talking to you Altogether.

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Getting fired or laid off can be an unpleasant experience. You feel a range of emotions including shock, sadness, disbelief, intense anger, and sometimes even hopelessness. It leaves a bitter taste in your mouth that never seems to go away.

 

“For most of us, termination is shocking. For some, it is even debilitating. For others, it ruins their careers, if not their health. A termination, and the loss of income that accompanies its aftermath, can divide families and destroy the soul…and cause a loss of self-esteem that takes years to rebuild. A termination always has the potential to be a life-altering event,” said Richard Busse in Fired, Laid Off or Forced Out: A Complete Guide to Severance, Benefits and Your Rights When You’re Starting Over.

However, it will be important to work toward bouncing back so that you can start looking for your next job. Once you’ve wiped away your tears and licked your wounds, it’s time to get off the couch and get back out there. You may discover your next job is a better fit or that you have a talent you were unaware of. Know that all is not lost. Here are the steps you should take after you lose your job.

1. Apply for unemployment

Don’t delay this first step, as it could take several weeks before you receive your first check. Generally, you’ll have a waiting period of about one week before you can become eligible to collect benefits. Know that even if you were fired, you might still be able to collect unemployment. However, this depends on the reason you were fired and the specific laws for your state.

“Generally speaking, an employee who is fired for serious misconduct is ineligible for benefits, either entirely or for a certain period of time (often called a “disqualification period”). But the definition of misconduct varies from state to state,” says legal site Nolo.

 

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2. Assess your savings

 

Make the time to review your emergency savings. Take stock of how much you have and how long it will last. While you’re looking for jobs, you may also want to take on a side job so you can bring in extra cash to help you stay afloat and reduce the chances that you’ll blow through your savings too quickly. Also try your best to avoid cleaning out your retirement account. Even if your former employer allows hardship withdrawals, this may not be the best choice. If you are under age 59 1/2 you’ll face fees and penalties.

3. Contact your network

The next thing you’ll want to do is get in touch with your professional network. Someone in your circle (or in a colleague’s circle) may be able to introduce you to a hiring manager who is looking for an employee with your skill set. Remember to keep your message light. Briefly explain that you are no longer with your former company. It is not necessary to get into details. Also, if you were fired, don’t give in to the urge to bash your former employer.

4. Look for a job

It’s OK to give yourself time to grieve, but you should keep it at a minimum. You may feel terrible right now, but it’s not wise to put your job search on hold for too long. Keep yourself busy by conducting a search as soon as possible. This will help take your mind off of being depressed about losing your job and may increase your chances of becoming employed sooner. You may also want to take some time to speak to a career counselor.

“Now may not seem like the time to spend money, but there are some investments worth considering. Before you start applying for any job that comes along, take time to make sure you are headed in the right direction. A good career counselor can help you choose your path. If money is really tight, consider asking family members to forgo their usual holiday gifts to you. The money might be better spent on helping you find your calling in life. You have an opportunity to do something different with your life. You just might need some help figuring out how to transition your skills. ” said Monster contributor Roberta Chinsky Matuson.

5. Hire a lawyer

It’s likely you were given separation paperwork outlining what you can and cannot do after the separation. Two items to watch out for are the non-disparagement and non-disclosure clauses. You’ll also want to know if you will still be required to adhere to any non-compete agreements (if you had previously signed one). Hire a lawyer to thoroughly review your paperwork before you sign anything.

A word of caution

If you haven’t been fired or laid off, but you think it may be coming, take the time now to dust off your résumé and start looking for a new job. Be alert and know the signs. You should be especially leery if you start getting terrible assignments or your co-workers act differently around you or stop talking to you altogether.

 

CheatSheet.com | October 12, 2015 | 

 

 

#Strategy : 5 Setbacks that Will Help you #Succeed Later in Life…Here, 3 #Millennials Share their In-The-Moment Nightmares that Eventually Helped Them Overcome

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Among the good times, your college years are also filled with moments of hair-pulling and the occasional screaming in frustration at the top of your lungs. Back then, you probably asked yourself, “Why is this happening to me?!” but with the passing of time, your mindset shifts.  The stress, sadness, or anger that you once felt was replaced with understanding — and even a lesson learned.

Here, three Millennials share their in-the-moment nightmares that eventually helped them overcome:

 

1. Difficult coworkers

I was assigned to a group for a project and the other students were just plain awful. It was impossible to get everyone to show up to the meetings, and several deadlines were missed.

I had to work extra hard to crank out the project by being on top of everyone, but it prepared me for working with coworkers who I might not necessarily click with.

We ended up getting a good grade on the project, by the way!

— Shannon, 22, Philadelphia, Pa.

Related: How to Deal with Difficult Coworkers

 

2. Untimely illnesses

I got food poisoning the day before a final and couldn’t study for it because I was so sick.

It taught me that sometimes things happen that you can’t prepare for ahead of time. You just have to keep plugging away and deal with problems as they come.

— Lindsey, 22, Manalapan, N.J. 

Related: How to Win Your Sick Day

 

 

3. Failure

Right when I started college, I knew I wanted to work in magazines. I was crazy-passionate about editing, so I thought my first editing-specific class would be a breeze. I soon realized I wasn’t as good as a thought — I got a D on my first assignment and a few Cs thereafter.

My professor scheduled a time to meet with me to talk about my grades, and I think we talked for nearly an hour about how I could improve. I took on extra work, not even for extra credit, but so I could practice and get better.

Then I started to get Bs and then As, and ended the class with a B+. Now I work as an editor in New York City, living my dream. If I gave up after the first challenge that came my way, I never would have gotten to where I am today.”

— Erica, 24, New York, NY

Related: How to Deal With a Terrifying Boss

 

 

4. A super-demanding boss

I had a nursing instructor in college who was very strict during my clinical rotations in the hospital. It seemed like she cared so much about little things, like being a few minutes late, and would have a harsh penalty if anything like that happened.

I only realized after college, when I got my first nursing job, that she was only trying to be a good educator. She was hard on us for the right reasons; she wanted us to understand that we were dealing with patients’ lives and that our job was serious.

—Christina McCourt, 24, Hoboken, NJ

Related: What 9 Successful People Learned From Failing Forward

 

 

5. Rejection

I got injured right before my first college track season. I always imagined I would be on the cross country and track team because it’s what I had done in high school. I expected that to be my ‘thing’ and for that to be where I made my friend group.

As soon as I got injured, I knew I wouldn’t be able to just get right back into the swing of things as if nothing happened. I made the decision to join a sorority instead. It ended up being one of the best decisions I ever made in college.

Now, I remind myself to always be open to new things, even if it means straying from my original plan. If one door closes in your face, you can’t be afraid to look for another way out.

—Tara, Long Branch, 22, NJ

 

Businessinsider.com | October 24. 2015 | Kristen Lauletti, Levo League

#Leadership : How To Let Go & Become The #Manager #Millennials Want…Like most Millennials, I Bristle at Command & Control. My Generation Expects a More Personal Interaction with #Management

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As a manager, I’ve Struggled to Double as a Mentor to my Employees. I’ve felt, at times, confined in my formal role by unseen pressures that pervade any organization.

 

Robert Pirsig’s famous motorcycle treatise contains a lesson for managers who aspire to be better mentors (Credit: Public Domain)

Like most  Millennials, I bristle at command and control. My generation expects a more personal interaction with management. We want to confide in them our goals — whether we want to be promoted, transfer departments, enroll in graduate school, or leave to backpack Europe.

As a manager, I’ve struggled to double as a mentor to my employees. I’ve felt, at times, confined in my formal role by unseen pressures that pervade any organization.

Harvard psychologist Harry Levinson called this phenomenon the Great Jackass fallacy. The carrot-and-stick metaphor suggests employees are stubborn mules that need to be controlled.

I’ve asked myself how I can effortlessly shift between being a manager and being a mentor.

For me, the answer lies in a consistent mindfulness practice.

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is an open awareness of the present moment in which you observe whatever thoughts come to mind in a detached, nonjudgmental way. But it’s so much more than that.

Robert Pirsig captures its essence in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance:

In a car, you’re always in a compartment, and because you’re used to it you don’t realize that through that car window everything you see is just more TV. You’re a passive observer and it is all moving by you boringly in a frame.

On a cycle the frame is gone. You’re completely in contact with it all. You’re in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming.

Millennials crave this collapse in distance, emphasizing people and their development more than today’s leaders who, at least to us, are focused exclusively on profit and personal reward.

Mindfulness has the power to tear down the walls that separate supervisors from their staff.

 

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What creates these walls in the first place?

The Arbinger Institute argues that self-deception is the underlying cause of all people problems.

Self-deception is not knowing you’re the cause of the problem.

When we feel the need to do something for someone else and choose not to, we betray ourselves and enter what Arbinger calls “the box.”

From inside the box, our view of others is distorted. We see people as objects available to advance our agendas. Their needs aren’t as legitimate as our own.

We also inflate our view of ourselves. We begin to justify our actions to protect the image we’re projecting to the world.

A manager, for example, might pride himself on always getting results. An underperforming employee, therefore, jeopardizes the outcome and is seen as a threat to his self-image.

Rather than consider his contribution to the problem, he uses a bevy of tactics to temporarily steer the employee back on track. But he fails to create any lasting change in the relationship.

How do we get out of the box?

We can’t “do” anything to get out of the box. Tweaking behavior isn’t enough.

Instead, a shift in mindset is required.

Meditation is a fantastic method for training the mind. A daily sitting practice cultivates the quality of mindfulness that Pirsig describes in his book.

 Researchers have found that mindfulness increases the capacity for perspective-taking.  This means that mindful managers are able to suspend their own thoughts and feelings while remaining fully present to those of their employees.

But certain managers are simply not able to shift perspectives.

“Millennials are used to much more fluidity in terms of role. There are moments of hierarchy and moments of parallelism,” explains Diane Musho Hamilton, author of Everything is Workable: A Zen Approach to Conflict Resolution. “It may be that other generations don’t have that flexibility.”

For those who want to increase their agility, Hamilton offers three suggestions:

    1. Identify the role shift when it’s happening
    2. Practice excellent listening skills
    3. Resolve all your issues related to power

The last one is a doozy. Hamilton says that it’s difficult for people in power to relinquish it, even momentarily. When they do, they’re put into a freefall. They don’t know what’s going to happen.

Yet, as a mentor, you have to be willing to be changed by interactions with your employees.

Cordelia Jensen sums it up well: “I think the most important quality of a mentor is that they are open to following students where they want to go, not always pushing their own agenda.”

 

Forbes.com | October 26, 2015 | Drew Hansen