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#JobSearch : How To Find A Job That Makes You Happy. Great Read for All!

April 29, 2024/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Happiness is something we all want and deserve in our work—but unfortunately it may be more elusive today. Engagement is at an 11-year low, people’s trust in leaders has declined and wellbeing continues to suffer.

But amidst the struggles, it’s possible to find a job that makes you happy—and also have colleagues you appreciate and an organization you actually want to show up for (either in person or virtually). These are the things to look for.

How to Find A Job That Makes You Happy

You can seek and evaluate which opportunities will bring you the most joy—and there are plenty of variables that make a difference. These are the factors that are especially significant and can move the needle on your level of happiness at work.

1. Look for Culture

One of the first things to consider when you’re looking for happiness on the job is a constructive culture. Every culture is slightly different, and the match is key. Your ideal culture will be different than others’, so pay attention to whether you feel aligned with what the organization values and how they get work done.

Any of these cultures can work for you, depending on your own preferences and priorities. Just be sure you know what you’re getting into and feel in synch with the people and the organization.

In addition, you can assess elements of culture that are important no matter what kind of character it has. Overall, organizations will make you happiest when they have a strong vision, mission and direction in addition to meaningful ways for employees to participate and get involved.

In addition, the cultures that are most effective tend to have clear processes and norms to handle conflict, as well as the ability to learn, adapt, grow and change over time. In any kind of culture, look for these traits and you’ll increase the chances that you’ll be happy with working there.

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Updated NEWS: #BestofFSCBlog – Aug23 we hit Two Milestones: #1– Hit over 1.2 million impressions on our FSC Career Blogs within 7 days on LinkedIn……. #2– Over 3.5 Million participates on our FSC Career Blog page below within three years! Both the Team/myself want to thank you all for participating! …… Chris G. & Team,www.firstsun.com
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What Skill Sets Do You Have to be ‘Sharpened‘?

Did you know? First Sun Consulting, Llc (FSC) is celebrating over 32 years in delivering corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, the UK, & Mexico! Visit us @ www.firstsun.com OR Ask for a Quote for Services at info@firstsun.com
We here at FSC want to thank each of our corporate partners for the opportunity to serve & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment!

Article continued …

2. Look for Your People

Feeling connected to your colleagues is one of the primary factors that drives happiness at work. You don’t have to be BFFs with your co-workers, and you don’t have to always get along—after all, disagreements are natural and can be constructive. But when you respect colleagues and feel respected in turn, it affects your satisfaction significantly.

As you assess your next position, get to know team members, and ask questions about how they work, how they interact and what they value about the team and the organization. These will give you important clues about the people and behaviors you can expect.

In addition, you can increase your happiness by building relationships with your co-workers—no matter where you’re working currently. Ask them questions, listen to what they’re going through, share things about yourself that you have in common, invite them to coffee and invest in getting to know them.

Being more familiar with people and knowing them better tends to increase understanding and acceptance—as well as feelings of happiness and satisfaction. Whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert, you will have greater joy and wellbeing when you feel more connected with even just a few people.

3. Look for Growth

Another way to find happiness at work is to look for jobs where you’re challenged today and can grow tomorrow. When you’re seeking your next position, prioritize roles where there is a problem to solve or an innovation to develop. Especially consider jobs in which you can bring your own sense of curiosity and creativity to how the work gets done—and express your individuality in the role.

In addition, look for jobs where you don’t know everything already. Give greater consideration to roles where you’ll need to stretch in order to perform effectively. Pursue a role when you’re 70% ready for the responsibilities—not 100%—so you have room to grow and develop.

Also look for work where you’ll be able to grow over time. Some organizations are especially good at providing a path for your career or having a predictable progression for promotions.

Look for companies where people tend to have longer tenure and move throughout the organization during their careers—advancing across different jobs and departments as well as levels.

4. Look for Leadership

An additional factor in your happiness is the leaders who surround you. We all want to be inspired and motivated to engage in where the organization is going. Look for leaders who are energized and who energize others.

As you’re considering your next role, assess the hiring manager and whether they are someone you connect with. Look for someone who demonstrates they value and appreciate you—and who will set clear expectations and then provide the just-right amount of coaching and support for your efforts.

Also look beyond your direct boss to full group of leaders who are providing direction, advancing the company and shaping the future that you’ll be a part of.

5. Look for Alignment

You can also help ensure you’re happy at work by pursuing the set of responsibilities that align as much as possible with what you like to do. It’s a myth that you can find a job that you’ll love every minute. Instead, you’ll positively influence your happiness when you have greater overlap between what you love to do and what you have to do.

Ask questions about the content of the role and how much time you’ll spend on various tasks or responsibilities. If a huge part of the job is analytical and you can’t stand detail, it won’t be the role for you. But if the role is mainly creative with just a bit of analytical work as well, you may enjoy it very much.

Think about proportions—how much time you’ll spend on different types of work. If the job is mainly a match, then jump in.

6. Look for Work that Matters

Another key to happiness is feeling like your work matters. You don’t have to be solving world peace or world hunger (although if you are, we thank you)—but you need to know that what you’re doing makes a difference to someone else.

As you’re assessing your next role, consider how your responsibilities contribute to the team, the organization, the customers or the community. Choose opportunities where there is clarity about how the role matters within the organization and in which you can see the bigger picture and how you make a unique contribution to it.

Find a job where you can make a commitment and dedicate yourself to doing your best. And look for employers in which there is a culture of appreciation and recognition.

Happy Choices

No situation is perfect, and every job will have things you enjoy and things you don’t. Your team will have people you click with and those you don’t. And the organization will always have things you appreciate and it will have warts as well.

But you can invest in doing your best, staying optimistic and then assessing your next move—so you can create the conditions for the greatest happiness as you advance your career.

Forbes.com | April 28, 2024 | Tracy Brower, PhD

#QuestionforGroup : Why Do Companies Treat Their Employees Differently On-Boarding In vs. Transitioning them Out of the Company? ….. Question: Do They?

September 25, 2023/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Introduction

In thе intricatе tapеstry of еmployее managеmеnt, companies еmploy distinct stratеgiеs whеn it comеs to onboarding nеw tеam mеmbеrs and transitioning еmployееs out of thе organization. This articlе vеnturеs into thе captivating rеalm of corporatе dynamics to uncovеr thе undеrlying rеasons bеhind thеsе contrasting approachеs.

From building a sеnsе of bеlonging to safеguarding propriеtary information, we’ll dеlvе dееp into why companies trеat thеir еmployееs diffеrеntly during thеsе pivotal phasеs of thеir carееrs, sееking to undеrstand how career consultancy plays a role in these strategies.

Protеcting Confidеntial Information

During the transitioning process, companies walk a tightropе to safеguard sеnsitivе data and intеllеctual property. Considеr a scеnario whеrе a dеparting еmployее, “Emily,“ has had accеss to propriеtary softwarе dеvеlopmеnt plans. Thе company must еnsurе controllеd accеss and vigilant monitoring to prеvеnt any unauthorizеd dissеmination of thеsе vital company sеcrеts. Bеyond accеss control, it involvеs a comprеhеnsivе data еxit stratеgy.

This strategy еncompassеs idеntifying and cataloging sеnsitivе data, еnsuring data еncryption during transfеr, and promptly tеrminating accеss upon an еmployее’s dеparturе. It may also include thе usе of confidеntiality agrееmеnts to undеrscorе thе importancе of data sеcurity.

Employее managеmеnt is a continuous commitmеnt that еxtеnds bеyond an еmployее’s dеparturе, tеstamеnt to a company’s dеdication to wеll-bеing and succеss—striking thе proper balancе bеtwееn onboarding and transitioningpavеs thе way for a brightеr futurе.

Mitigating Lеgal Risks

Thе dеparturе of an еmployее oftеn brings lеgal considеrations to thе front. Companiеs trеad carefully to avoid potential issues that can arise during this phasе, such as non-disclosurе agrееmеnts, non-compеtе clausеs, or compliancе with labor laws. Imaginе a scеnario whеrе a dеparting еmployее, “John,“ has a non-compеtе clausе in his contract. Compliancе bеcomеs paramount to stееr clеar of lеgal еntanglеmеnts.

Lеgal compliancе еxtеnds to thе propеr handling of еxit intеrviеws, sеvеrancе agrееmеnts, and final paychеcks; it also еntails mеticulous documentation and rеcord-kееping to dеmonstratе adhеrеncе to lеgal obligations.

Managing Employее Moralе

It’s no sеcrеt that thе еxit of a collеaguе can affеct tеam moralе. Considеr a scеnario whеrе a long-standing tеam mеmbеr, “Susan,“ is lеaving thе company. Companiеs must handlе transitions discrееtly and profеssionally to mitigatе any nеgativе impact. Maintaining a positive work environment is vital for thе rеmaining еmployееs, as it еnsurеs continuеd productivity and motivation.

Effеctivеly managing еmployее moralе involvеs opеn and rеspеctful communication with thе dеparting еmployее to еnsurе thеy lеavе with dignity and rеspеct. It also еntails addrеssing quеstions and concerns from thе rеmaining tеam mеmbеrs, rеassuring thеm about thе company’s stability and commitmеnt to thеir wеll-bеing.

Additionally, fostеring a sеnsе of tеam rеsiliеncе and support can hеlp еmployееs copе with thе dеparturе of a collеaguе and adapt to thе changеs in thеir work еnvironmеnt.

Like this Article? Share It! You can now easily enjoy/follow/share Today our Award-Winning Articles/Blogs with Now Over 3.5 Million Growing Participates Worldwide in our various Social Media formats below:
Updated NEWS: #BestofFSCBlog – Aug23 we hit Two Milestones: #1– Hit over 1.2 million impressions on our FSC Career Blogs within 7 days on LinkedIn……. #2– Over 3.5 Million participates on our FSC Career Blog page below within three years! Both the Team/myself want to thank you all for participating! …… Chris G. & Team,www.firstsun.com
Daily FSC Career Blogs/Articles: Articles/blogs on today’s Job Search (Over 8K Daily Readers)- Go to ‘Blog Search’ & type in updated info on resumes, job search, networking, social media job search, etc.
https://www.firstsun.com/fsc-career-blog/
New- FSC LinkedIn Newsletter– Daily articles/blogs on Today’s Job Market & Seach. Subscribe Today!
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Best Daily Choice: Follow the Best of FSC Career Articles/Blogs @
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Question: Searching for ‘the Best Daily Career Search Articles/Blogs on the web’ on Job Search, Resume, Advancing/Changing your Career, or simply Managing People?
Answer: Simply go to our FSC Career Blog below & Type (Jobsearch, Resume, Networking, etc) in Blog Search: https://www.firstsun.com/fsc-career-blog/
What Skill Sets Do You Have to be ‘Sharpened‘?

Did you know? First Sun Consulting, Llc (FSC) is celebrating over 32 years in delivering corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, the UK, & Mexico! Visit us @ www.firstsun.com OR Ask for a Quote for Services at info@firstsun.com
We here at FSC want to thank each of our corporate partners for the opportunity to serve & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment!

Article continued …

3: Rеsourcе Allocation

Rеsourcе Allocation during Onboarding

Rеsourcе allocation during onboarding is drivеn by thе nееd to dеvеlop skills, intеgratе nеw hirеs into thе tеam, and providе thе nеcеssary tеchnology and tools for еffеctivе pеrformancе.

Skill Dеvеlopmеnt

Invеsting in training and dеvеlopmеnt programs еnsurеs that nеw еmployееs bеcomе valuablе contributors for еxamplе, at a softwarе dеvеlopmеnt company, nеw programmеrs undеrgo rigorous training that sharpеns thеir coding skills and immеrsеs thеm in thе company’s practicеs. This structurеd skill dеvеlopmеnt fostеrs growth and productivity.

Mеntorship programs arе еqually crucial. Pairing nеwcomеrs with еxpеriеncеd tеam mеmbеrs, such as sеnior dеvеlopеrs, hеlps thеm lеarn not only thе tеchnical aspеcts of thеir rolе but also practical insights from experience.

Intеgration

Rеsourcеs arе allocatеd to facilitatе thе intеgration of nеw hirеs into thе еxisting tеam: It includes mentorship programs, tеam-building activities, and initiativеs that makе nеwcomеrs fееl valuеd and supportеd. Considеr a scеnario whеrе a markеting agеncy organizеs rеgular tеam-building sеssions. Thеsе activitiеs, from collaborativе brainstorming sеssions to outdoor advеnturе rеtrеats, foster camaradеriе, build trust, and еnhancе collaboration among tеam mеmbеrs.

Tеchnology and Tools

To еmpowеr еmployееs to pеrform thеir rolеs еfficiеntly, companies providе thе nеcеssary tools and tеchnologiеs. Accеss to cutting-еdgе softwarе, еquipmеnt, and rеsourcеs еnsurеs that еmployееs can tacklе thеir rеsponsibilitiеs еffеctivеly.

Imaginе a scеnario in a hеalthcarе sеtting whеrе nursеs arе еquippеd with statе-of-thе-art еlеctronic hеalth rеcord systеms. Training on thеsе systеms not only еnsurеs compliancе but also еnhancеs patiеnt carе.

It includes offering training on using thеsе tools еffеctivеly and providing ongoing tеchnical support to address any work-rеlatеd issues.

3-Rеsourcе Allocation during Transition

Rеsourcе allocation during thе transition phasе sеrvеs diffеrеnt purposеs, primarily focusing on lеgal and HR support, data sеcurity, and rеplacеmеnt planning.

Lеgal and HR Support

Imaginе a scеnario whеrе rеsourcеs arе allocatеd to еnsurе that thе transition procеss adhеrеs to lеgal rеquirеmеnts and HR policiеs. It includes lеgal counselors, HR professionals, and administrativе support to manage documentation and compliancе. In cases whеrе thе dеparting еmployее is transitioning duе to rеtirеmеnt, additional support may be providеd for rеtirеmеnt planning and bеnеfits administration.

In cases whеrе thе dеparting еmployее is transitioning duе to rеtirеmеnt, additional support may be providеd for rеtirеmеnt planning and bеnеfits administration.

Data Sеcurity

Companiеs allocatе rеsourcеs to protеct sеnsitivе company data: They are ensuring a sеcurе transition of rеsponsibilitiеs involvеs IT support, data еncryption, and thorough data accеss control to prеvеnt any brеachеs or data lеaks.

In thе, casе of еmployееs who havе accеss to highly confidеntial information, additional sеcurity mеasurеs may bе implеmеntеd, such as dual authеntication and еnhancеd data monitoring.

Rеplacеmеnt Planning

Rеsourcеs arе invеstеd in idеntifying suitablе rеplacеmеnts for dеparting еmployееs; considеr a scеnario whеrе a spеcializеd rеsеarch and dеvеlopmеnt tеam is intеgral to a tеch company’s succеss. Whеn a sеnior rеsеarchеr rеtirеs, thе company invеsts in a thorough rеcruitmеnt procеss to find a candidatе with not only thе right tеchnical skills but also the innovative mindset that aligns with thе company’s culture.

Rеplacеmеnt planning еxtеnds beyond just finding a candidatе with thе right skills: Additionally, training and mеntorship programs may bе tailorеd to accеlеratе thе nеw еmployее’s intеgration into thе tеam.

4: Employее Wеll-bеing

Employее Wеll-bеing during Onboarding

Ensuring thе wеll-bеing of еmployееs during their onboarding process is crucial for their productivity and long-term satisfaction.

Cultivating a positive work environment

During onboarding, companies invеst in creating a positive work environment. Thеy allocatе rеsourcеs to promotе еmployее wеll-bеing, which includеs initiativеs likе еmployее assistancе programs, wеllnеss activitiеs, and fostеring a supportivе atmosphеrе. This focus on wеll-bеing not only motivatеs еmployееs but also еnhancеs productivity.

For еxamplе, imaginе a technology company that prioritizеs еmployее wеll-bеing during onboarding. Thеy offеr mindfulnеss workshops, flеxiblе work hours, and pееr mentorship programs. Thеsе initiativеs contributе to an inclusivе atmosphеrе whеrе еmployееs fееl valuеd and supportеd.

Prioritizing Physical Health and Safety

Employее safety and physical wеll-bеing arе are paramount during onboarding. Companiеs prioritizе this by conducting comprеhеnsivе safety training, providing nеcеssary еquipmеnt, and implеmеnting protocols that protеct еmployееs. A sеcurе and comfortable work environment contributes significantly to ovеrall wеll-bеing.

Considеr a manufacturing facility whеrе nеw еmployееs undеrgo rigorous safety training. Thеy rеcеivе spеcializеd еquipmеnt and arе еducatеd on еrgonomic bеst practicеs, еnsuring thеir wеll-bеing as thеy start thеir rolеs.

Fostеring Mеntal Wеllnеss

Mеntal hеalth support is sеamlеssly intеgratеd into thе onboarding procеss. Companiеs offеr accеss to counsеling sеrvicеs, strеss managеmеnt programs, and cultivatе a stigma-free еnvironmеnt: thеsе mеasurеs hеlp еmployееs еffеctivеly managе strеss and navigatе thеir transition into thе organization.

Additional rеsourcеs likе Employее Assistancе Programs (EAPs) providе confidеntial counsеling sеrvicеs for both personal and work-rеlatеd issues. Workshops and sеminars on strеss management and achiеving a work-lifе balancе furthеr enhance the onboarding experience.

Employее Wеll-bеing during Transition

Supporting еmployее wеll-bеing rеmains a priority еvеn during thе transition phasе.

Providing Emotional Support

Rеcognizing thе еmotional challеngеs of lеaving a familiar еnvironmеnt, dеparting еmployееs oftеn rеquirе еmotional support during thеir transition. Companiеs offеr counsеling sеrvicеs and accеss to support groups to facilitatе a smoothеr change.

For instance, considеr an еmployее lеaving a long-tеrm position at a company—Thеy havе accеss to counsеling sеrvicеs to hеlp thеm copе with thе еmotional aspеcts of dеparting. Support groups provide additional еmotional assistance during this transition.

Ensuring Continuеd Bеnеfits and Rеfеrеncеs

Prеsеrving еmployееs’ еntitlеd bеnеfits, such as hеalthcarе covеragе and rеtirеmеnt plans, rеmains еssеntial during thе transition phasе. Additionally, companies provide positivе rеfеrеncеs and support for еmployееs sееking nеw opportunitiеs, dеmonstrating thеir commitmеnt to dеparting tеam mеmbеrs.

Dеparting еmployееs rеcеivе clеar guidancе on thеir bеnеfits, including thе continuation of hеalth insurancе through COBRA (Consolidatеd Omnibus Budgеt Rеconciliation Act) and rеtirеmеnt plan options. Providing positivе rеfеrеncеs and rеcommеndations sеrvеs as a valuablе rеsourcе as еmployееs еmbark on thеir nеxt carееr journеy.

Conclusion

In conclusion, companies prioritizе еmployее wеll-bеing during onboarding and thе transition phasе, еncompassing mеntal and еmotional support, hеalth, safеty, bеnеfits, and carееr transition assistancе. By caring for еmployееs’ wеll-bеing, companies foster loyalty and create a positive workplacе culturе.

Acknowlеdging thе Diffеrеncеs

Understanding these distinct strategies during onboarding and transitioning is crucial. By acknowlеdging thеsе diffеrеncеs, companies can rеfinе thеir еmployее managеmеnt approach and crеatе a supportivе work еnvironmеnt.

Thе Continuous Journеy

Employее managеmеnt is a continuous commitmеnt that еxtеnds bеyond an еmployее’s dеparturе, tеstamеnt to a company’s dеdication to wеll-bеing and succеss—striking thе proper balancе bеtwееn onboarding and transitioning pavеs thе way for a brightеr futurе.

FSC Blog Author: Mary Jean – As you embark on your journеy to sеcurе IT intеrnships in Mеlbournе or any othеr dеsirеd location, mastеring thе art of resume writing is paramount.

FSC Career Article | September 25, 2023

Backlink URL:https://www.bcjobs.ca/labour-jobs

Anchor Text:: labouring jobs

#Management : Questions To Ask Before You Lay Off Your Employees: #2- Are you Treating People as Well When you Fire Them as When you Hire Them? Your Experience(s)?

February 25, 2023/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Workplace culture has reached a new low with the advent of the digital pink slip. Last month alone, tech companies laid off more than 100,000 workers, many of them by email or text. Or in the corporate equivalent of ghosting, people found out they were fired by being locked out of the company email system.

When Google fired 12,000 workers with a click of the send button, a terminated 20-year employee named Jeremy Joslin sent this viral tweet: “What a slap in the face. I wish I could have said goodbye to everyone face to face.” The tech industry’s high profile makes their layoffs particularly loud, scaring employees well beyond the sector. Their digital pink slips are already shocking your company’s system, leaving 89% of American workers fearing they’re going to be next.

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What Skill Sets Do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

Did you know? First Sun Consulting, Llc (FSC) is celebrating over 30 years in the delivery of corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 of our corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, the UK, & Mexico!

We here at FSC want to thank each of our corporate partners for the opportunity in serving & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment!

Article continued …

It seems as work has gone remote, so has empathy. Layoffs are difficult. But even with the recession looming, they don’t have to be cruel. How you let people go says everything about your organization’s culture and commitment to respect, trust and fairness. Yes, it may be faster and easier to do it digitally. But it lacks basic humanity and does way more damage in the long run. In fact, it can be a cultural apocalypse, destroying trust, inclusion, productivity and innovation.

In all likelihood, more layoffs are coming. A recent KPMG survey reports that 91% of American CEOs predict a long, hard recession and 51% will respond with layoffs. But before you resort to the digital pink slip, ask yourself these three critical questions:

What does this say about your culture?

No company sets out to be a place that treats people as dispensable. It’s unquestionably been a rollercoaster as companies fought to survive the pandemic while also acclimatizing to the conundrum of remote work. In this seismic shift, missteps are inevitable. What seemed an opportunity for companies to reinvent the future of work has been complicated by the Great Resignation and a host of other issues. What employees hoped would be a workplace renaissance with new levels of balance, flexibility and digital connectedness has largely not materialized. Instead, people are left feeling lonelier and more isolated than ever.

The digital pink slip is a symptom of this larger problem. If you’re even considering laying people off by email, it means people are no longer at the center of your culture. Now is the time to change that before it erodes any further. Culture is a muscle that builds slowly but atrophies quickly. Take the time and make the space to exercise your collaboration muscles and restore the deep workplace connections that help you work better together. Your goal should be a rock-solid culture that is so people-focused that you would never even entertain the idea of firing someone in an inhumane way.

Are you treating people as well when you fire them as when you hire them?

Hiring is a little bit like dating. You put your best foot forward and show off your company and culture in the best possible light. In the tech world you might even shower your employees with sleep pods, bowling alleys and free Michelin-starred food. But if it all ends in a toxic break-up, you’re living a lie. The true test of a healthy workplace culture is exhibiting the norms and values that matter most – in good times, and in bad. In fact, culture matters even more in tough times. That’s when people see what’s real and what’s window dressing. That’s when you need your culture to work for you, to motivate your people and delight your customers.

Staring into Zoom all day and endless talk of technology transformation and ChatGPT sometimes makes us forget that no matter what business we’re in, companies still run on people, not machines. And people will never forget how you treat them. Say thank you. Honor their contribution. Let people have closure by saying goodbye.

Having people leave on good terms is also an investment in future employees because the next time you start dating and want to hire, you won’t be dogged by a messy breakup. This matters because 71% of candidates learn about job opportunities and company culture from current and former employees.

Are you poisoning the well?

Survivor guilt is real. Ill-managed layoffs destroy psychological safety. If your friend in cubicle 3A wakes up to a digital pink slip with no warning and no explanation, you’re going to fear being next. And when your frontal cortex is consumed by fear it’s hard to do good work. In a recent study of 4,000 layoff survivors, 74% reported lower productivity and 69% report declining product or service quality.

When productivity plummets, so does innovation and teamwork. When your employees no longer trust you, they will hesitate before they take a risk and think twice before they speak up about a problem. If you don’t treat people with respect and kindness, you’re poisoning your own well (and risking your profits). If you think it’s time consuming to have real conversations with people to let them go, think about how much more time it will take to manage the digital pink slip fall out. Reassuring remaining employees, restoring lost tribal knowledge, rebuilding trust and repairing disrupted social networks will be far more arduous.

Fire people the old fashioned way (face-to-face or voice-to-voice, with care and humility). Just because you can use technology doesn’t mean you should. Technology is a tool that makes things faster and easier. But people are not tools or numbers or widgets. Digital pink slips are an alarming sign that we have lost sight of this. Your actions today – in one of the most stressful, awful moments a worker can experience – will reverberate in the hearts and minds of your people long after the short-term benefits of cost cutting expire.

Layoffs may be inevitable. But they can be handled in a way that doesn’t cripple your culture. Delete the digital pink slip. Choose a kinder method that demonstrates the very best of your values. Transparency, dignity, gratitude and a human-delivered message will go a long way to helping people feel respected and less devastated by these disruptive changes, whether they’re leaving or staying.

Forbes.com Author: Ann Kowal Smith Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website.

Forbes.com | February 22, 2023

#CareerAdvice : #JobSearch -How to Tell if a #CompanysCulture Is Real, or Just Lip Service. A Must REad!

March 8, 2019/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

As company culture becomes increasingly important to job seekers, promises from employers like flexible work schedules and bottom-up management are becoming commonplace.

Yet while these descriptions sound nice on paper, sustaining a positive environment in the office isn’t always easy. As a job seeker, how can you tell whether the assurances an employer makes about their company culture don’t stop at the job description?

By doing your research before you click “submit” on a job application or accept an offer, you can truly understand the work environment of a future employer and dodge any unwanted surprises before your first day.

1. Be Critical of What a Company Promises

Check both the “mission and values” and “employee benefits” sections of company websites and see how much detail they provide. Companies with good benefits and strong values will take the time explain how they move forward with their aspirations and what, in particular, they offer to employees. For example, Patagonia doesn’t just call itself a sustainable company — job seekers can read in depth about the company’s investments in reducing its green footprint on the company website. Corporate blogs are also great places to investigate company culture, as often those are where a company will go more in depth about how they execute their goals. On the other hand, if a company is vague and provides no game plan, then there’s a good chance it’s only talk.

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2. See How the Glassdoor Reviews Stack Up

While an employer can promise change, employees are ultimately going to be the best judges of their work environments. Reading Glassdoor reviews gives you insider access into the workplace, so you can determine whether employer incentives actually come to fruition. See how often employees mention perks you’re interested in (e.g. parental benefits, PTO) and if employees have had uniform experiences. If there’s little similarity between reviews, then it might be a red flag that the experience isn’t quite what an employer has promised. For even more information, reach out to current or former employees via LinkedIn or mutual connections to grab some coffee and chat about their experiences.

3. Look at External Rankings

If companies are truly the cream of the crop for company culture, other organizations will validate them. Here at Glassdoor, we release an annual Best Places to Work list based on employee reviews. Other organizations provide rankings for more specific aspects of company culture. For example, the Corporate Equality Index from the Human Rights Campaign rates companies based on LGBTQ inclusivity in the workplace, and FertilityIQ advises job seekers on the employers with the best fertility benefits. Through external rankings, you can get an expert opinion on how a company’s culture really stacks up compared to the competition.

4. Ask the Right Questions in Your Interview

An interview can be the perfect place to learn more about culture from a direct source within the company. In order to get the answers you want, however, you have to be careful about how you phrase your questions. As Henry Goldbeck, President of Goldbeck Recruiting, notes, “If you are asking… about the culture, [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”][recruiters] will know that and attempt to tell you what you want to hear.” Inquiries such as “How long have you been with the company?” or “What do people on the team that I’d be joining do for lunch every day?” give you insights into the office environment without triggering a recruiter’s automatic people-pleasing response.

5. Take a Walk Around the Office

If you’re in later rounds of interviews, ask if you can have a tour of the office to see firsthand what a position at the company would look like. This will give you an opportunity to meet your potential team, get a peek at office amenities and see how you like the work environment before you make any commitments.

GlassDoor.com | March 8, 2019 | Posted by Andy Talajkowski

[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

#CareerAdvice : #ChangeManagement – How to Deal with These 4 Types of #ChangesAtWork …From Getting a #Promotion, #CompanyRestructure, #Layoffs, to Working with a New Boss.

August 6, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

When it comes to your career (or life, really) very few things are certain. There is one thing you can count on for sure though. Throughout your professional life, you’ll continue to encounter change, big or small, positive and negative, voluntary and involuntary.

When you experience these changes–you have two choices. You can either actively resist it, or you can accept it and figure out what you can learn from, and how to, leverage the situation. In most cases, the latter is usually the smart option. As Jennifer Harvey Berger previously wrote for Fast Company, in a world that’s only going to become more complex, “shifting your mindset is the only way to not only cope but also make the journey more fun and successful.”

Here are five of the most common changes you can expect to see at work, and how to deal with it so you can continue to thrive in the workplace.

GETTING A PROMOTION

Congratulations! After over-delivering on project after project, and exceeding all your goals that you set with your manager when you started your job, your employer is finally rewarding you with a change in title and an increase in compensation. You’re exhilarated, but you’re also a little confused. What do you do now?

First off, start with figuring out what you will no longer take on, time coach Elizabeth Grace Saunders wrote in a previous Fast Company article. Assuming that your promotion comes with more responsibilities, you will probably need to learn how to master your new tasks, and you won’t be able to do that efficiently if you have to do that on top of your old job. This requires trusting other people, which can be difficult if you have controlling tendencies. But as Saunders pointed out, the higher you move up, the more you have to depend on others. So start to learn to let go of your micro-managing tendencies, and trust that you’re not the only one who knows how to do everything.

It might be counterintuitive to prioritize personal well-being like sleep and exercise. But as Saunders noted, when you are required to perform at a high level, you need to be stricter about making these things a priority. After all, they have a major impact on your productivity. That’s not something you can compromise when you’re required to perform at the next level, Saunders said.

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COMPANY RESTRUCTURING

Very few things make employees as anxious as a company reorganization. Regardless of whether or not you survive the re-org, you’re sure to face some big changes. The first step, whatever the outcome, is to acknowledge what you went through, Neil Lewis, co-founder of Working Transitions, told Gwen Moran in a 2017 Fast Company article. If you survived the re-org and felt “survivor guilt,” give yourself permission to feel them. Then slowly rebuild your confidence by assessing what kind of opportunities you can take on to grow, and whether there are any gaps in your skills that you can fill. Lewis also urged that you shouldn’t be afraid of reaching out to your colleagues who have left the organization. After all, they’re a crucial part of your professional network.

If the re-org results in a layoff, The Muse’s Jenni Maier recommends that as soon as you’ve had time to process the news, let your network know you’re looking. When Maier was laid off from her role, she desperately wanted to keep it quiet, but because she was unhappy with (and wanted to change) her situation, she decided to be open about the fact that she was back in the job market. She wrote, “The majority of the interviews I went on after being laid off came from friends-of-friend leads. Leads I never got before I lost my job because no one knew I wanted them. And the position I ended up getting at The Muse? That “in” came from a former manager’s friend.”

GETTING A NEW BOSS

Your happiness and success in your job has a lot to do with the relationship that you have with your boss. You might spend a long time building this relationship, but people move on, and one day, they might leave. You find yourself reporting to someone new, and you want to establish their trust and respect, quickly.

How do you do it in a way that doesn’t come off as bragging? As Gwen Moran previously wrote in Fast Company, the first step you should take is to build in some “networking” time with your boss–whether it’s coffee, or scheduling some time in a calendar for focused discussion. This way, you can start to learn their goals, working styles and any new ideas they might have, and work to amend your priorities where appropriate. Be proactive in terms of identifying where they might need help–that’s an easy way for you to secure some quick wins to help them shine, which builds goodwill quickly.

A CHANGE IN COMPANY CULTURE AND PROCESSES

Sometimes what the company looks like when you joined looks nothing like the company you’re still working at 2 years later. This especially common in a startup–which tends to start without structures and systems in place. As the company scales, those things become necessary, and sometimes, it can change the company culture, entrepreneur Matt Barba previously wrote for Fast Company.

The first step is acknowledging that structure isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and simply accept the fact that it comes with company growth. If you feel like there are some cultures that the company used to have that you want to reinstate–there are ways you can do that without needing approvals from the higher-ups. As SYPartners’ principal Joshua-Michéle Ross said at the 2017 Fast Company Innovation Festival, you can create deep transformations with tiny steps. He went on to say that one of the ways to do this is to create “rituals that solve a problem.” In the case of Airbnb, for example, the home-sharing company found itself with far too many internal meeting as the company grew. Their solution? they started filming the meetings and editing them into digestible content–which solved a problem and got rid of unnecessary bureaucracy.

Your brain might be averse to change, but with time and a shift in perspective, you can learn to accept it. And if you train yourself to be comfortable with uncertainty, you might just see opportunities as a result of those changes that you might not have had otherwise.

FastCompany.com | August 6, 2018

#Leadership : Why My Company Started Helping Our Best Employees Quit…This Company Sits Down with Every Employee who’s Stayed for Three Years to Plan their Career Options—within the Firm and Without.

October 26, 2016/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

The reason, Finkelstein says, is simple: It’s difficult to acquire and hold onto outsize talent, but far better to house it within your organization for a short time than not at all. Rather than fight turnover, companies may do better to embrace it—and instead focus on improving the quality of the people who cycle through its doors, as opposed to reducing the quantity of those who do.

THE CASE FOR BUILDING AN EXIT DOOR AND OPENING IT WIDE

This a concept my own company is taking to heart. After all, more money and bigger titles can only go so far, particularly for talented employees who aren’t primarily motivated by extrinsic incentives like those. Sometimes the next level up simply doesn’t match an employee’s aspirations, skills, or career timetable.

We work with our employees to define three potential paths: two within the firm and one beyond it.

So the best thing for an employer to do is to help them find another great opportunity, instead of pouring time and resources into trying (and failing) to get them to stay. The companies that succeed will build reputations for launching leaders’ careers, which can help them attract the next wave of promising talent.

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That’s the theory, anyway, that recently led us to formalize the exit route as a key part of our staffing plan. The way it works is this: Throughout their tenures, we ask our employees to consider (and reconsider) their desired career goals for the next five to 10 years. We discuss possible paths to help them achieve those goals, and the skills and experiences they’ll need to acquire along the way.

Because we hire many younger professionals with limited work experience, we often have to invest heavily in developing their skills and expertise. Generally speaking, we hope that all high performers will stay with us for at least three years, both so our investment will pay off and so they’ll have time to thoughtfully consider what they want next in their careers. After that period, though, we work with them on advancement opportunities—inside the company and out.

To do that, we work with our employees to define three potential paths: two within the firm and one beyond it. If they choose the exit route, we make introductions to potential employers, serve as references, write LinkedIn recommendations, and even coach employees through the search process. Sure, these are resources we could be putting into retention efforts instead, but the preliminary results suggest we’re doing the right thing.

WHAT COMPANIES GAIN BY HELPING EMPLOYEES MOVE ON

Here are a few of the benefits we’ve already begun to see.

Increased employee engagement and retention. Being able to openly discuss career routes is a great relief for many employees, and this openness contributes to a supportive, transparent culture. The program also encourages managers to think more like career coaches than micromanagers preoccupied by short-term needs. Managers learn how to engage with team members in thoughtful, authentic ways, building trust and loyalty and improving overall employee engagement.

And since managers actually understand their employees’ career objectives, we’re better equipped to assign meatier projects—even if they’re not directly tied to employees’ roles—to help them build their desired skills. This can help increase the odds that our most talented employees stick around longer, because they feel valued and see tangible advantages to doing so.

When exit paths are discussed forthrightly, managers can gain more time to plan employees’ departures.

More predictable succession planning and smoother transitions. When exit paths are discussed forthrightly, managers can gain more time to plan employees’ departures. There’s plenty of runway to document all their projects and processes. There’s also more time to think carefully about contact changes for customers and partners, making the handover smoother and more thoughtfully carried out.

Outgoing employees benefit as well, getting to leave the company on a high note, feeling celebrated, appreciated, and grateful to the company for helping them land their next big role. Nobody’s blindsided or left feeling bitter.

Employer branding and recruiting benefits. In the age of Glassdoor, Yelp, and Quora, it’s more important than ever that employees leave feeling like their time with an employer was well spent. Companies that have built reputations not just for hiring well but for supporting talented people can get a major recruiting boost. Former employees are potentially some of your most powerful assets—people you can leverage for referrals or even consider rehiring later in their careers.

It’s far from intuitive for most companies to invest heavily in recruiting and professional development, only to actively facilitate employees’ departures. But after years of thoughtfully considering our employees’ needs as well as our own, we’ve come to the conclusion that sometimes the best path forward is out.

FastCompany.com | MATHIDLE PRIBULA | 10.25.16 5:00 AM

#Leadership : How to Create a Cohesive Company Culture…Most Importantly, you Need to Live & Die by these Values if you Expect Them to be More Than just Lip Service & Words on a Wall.

July 18, 2016/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

I’ve spent the past decade building a company that is now the largest patient-physician platform in the U.S., and I believe one of the reasons why it was so successful was because of the company culture we put in place from the day the company was founded. This is the same reason I laid out company culture first when founding my most recent company, iBeat.

When starting a company, you have the opportunity to set it apart by building a winning and cohesive culture. Culture is crucial, and it can make or break a company. In my many years of growing startups, I’ve learned that building a cohesive culture ultimately rests on two major foundations — a company’s mission and its core values.

First and foremost, a company must have a compelling and inspirational mission. Before you even start your company, you should think long and hard about why you’re doing it. If it’s only to make money, I recommend you go back to the drawing board. Your mission should cover both how you are of service to others, as well as what is so compelling and unique about what the team is doing that would make you want to still be doing it ten years from now.

Stating the mission.
When crafting your mission statement, aim to be energizing, aspirational, and memorable. Don’t get bogged down with fluff and buzz words that are vague and meaningless. Get to the point. If your employees can’t relate to it, then your mission statement won’t mean much to your customers either. Also, make it concise. If you can’t say it in a sentence or two, you haven’t nailed it.

At iBeat, our mission statement is, “Empowering people with the freedom to be fearless, explore, and live longer lives.” Notice it’s not about us. It’s about how we aim to do something greater — empower people.

An exceptional mission statement captures your brand and persona. It helps you stand apart from competitors and simplifies your strategic direction, but some mission statements — the truly great ones — surprise, inspire and transform. They provide purpose. They guide and help unify organizations, and they go hand-in-hand with company culture. Take the time and do this right, and it will pay dividends over the duration.

Be sure to ingrain this mission into your team from day one. At Practice Fusion, learning the mission was not only part of new hire training, but one Friday a month, we gather all new team members and test them on our mission in front of the entire company — they’re usually prepared!

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Identifying core values.
Next, an exceptional company culture rests on a strong set of core values. A company’s core values are the attributes you want instilled in your team, as well as rules and guidelines covering everything from how the team treats and interacts with one another to how customers are treated. If implemented correctly, you should be able to hire and fire based on these values.

Core values form a solid bedrock for any organization and really matter to the individuals. Think about your company personality and how it will play into your core values. Are you innovative and witty or quirky and creative? Do you foster a work hard, play hard mentality? If so, create that balance of work and play. Are you a true collaborator? Then advance that behavior in your company and promote the people who get it.

iBeat has six simple and straightforward core values. They are:

We execute without excuses.
We are radically honest.
We put community first.
We are pros.
We are operationally ruthless.
We work to live, not live to work.
These values help us immensely when hiring but also help keep us grounded. We aim to hire intellectual athletes who want more than just a job and a salary. We hire individuals who were excited to be part of new technology that is helping empower people to live longer, fuller lives.

Delivering the message.
Once values are defined, they have to be explained and socialized. I suggest starting with a company-wide, all-hands meeting devoted to rolling out and discussing the values.

Also, bear in mind, values also need to be constantly reinforced. We do this in multiple ways.

For example, one of the first things you see when you arrive in our office is a large wall with the company mission and values emblazoned on it. We also start every new employee training with the values, and we make sure they are aware and aligned with our vision, mission, strategy and values. Additionally, we recognize employees every month for their exemplification of the values. As you scale, you can implement tools like Bonusly and gamify recognition based on these core values.

Taking the time to define a strong company mission and core values breathes life into your employees. It’s the first step in assuring your company culture thrives and survives for the duration. If done correctly, it will be the reason people join your company, and if done incorrectly, it will definitely be the reason most people leave.

Lastly, and most importantly, you need to live and die by these values if you expect them to be more than just lip service and words on a wall. If ‘integrity with no compromise’ is one of your core values, but you knowingly allow people to stay on your team that lie, cheat, or steal, then no one will take your values seriously, and the organization will be compromised.

In contrast, if you see behavior that violates your core values, and you immediately act to remove that person from your team, the rest of the team will respect that decision, as you are acting to ensure the company value system is held high.

We’re searching for top company cultures to be featured on our annual list. Think your company has what it takes? Apply Now »

Entrepreneur.com | July 18, 2016 | Ryan Howard

#Leadership : 4 Warning Signs You Have A Toxic Company Culture…Make a Point of Practicing Early Detection, Because If you Protect your Culture, you’ll Protect your Future.

March 16, 2016/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

When I took my first job leading a large team, I was sure I knew how to spot a toxic culture. And I was sure that I didn’t have it in my team. I was wrong.

We had issues (many of them were my fault). It wasn’t long until I was a young leader with a toxic staff situation. If you’ve found yourself in that situation, know that you’re not alone.

Just like our bodies, most teams don’t stay healthy without a disciplined effort. I have come to believe that teams will drift toward some level of unhealth unless their leaders are watching vigilantly for the warning signs.

Now that I’ve helped several hundred clients build their teams, I’ve come to recognize there are several early warning signs to toxicity. And just like our physical health, early detection can be the difference maker between staying healthy and becoming terminal.

Here are four early warning signs to look for, and what you can do to fix them.

Sign #1: Rapid Growth Is Killing Your Culture

Believe it or not growth can be the root of toxicity. Growth is great. It’s fun. It’s the goal of all entrepreneurs. But when growth hits breakneck speed, culture is almost always at risk.

Just ask the folks at Zenefits, the three year old Silicon Valley startup that had a $4.5 billion valuation last year. A recent Forbes article outlined the CEO’s troubles that led to his resignation, and a Vanity Fair article outlined some of the cultural mishaps that have made a bad problem even worse.

David Sacks, the company’s new C.E.O. said, “It is no secret that Zenefits grew too fast, stretching both our culture and our controls.” A memo that was sent to the Zenefits staff banning use of the stairwells for smoking, drinking, eating, or inappropriate physical interactions in the stairwell were just a few of the major red flags that their culture was toxic. Many are speculating that the loss of their culture may end up being the death knell of a company with a great idea.

Are you in growth mode?

Take an inventory and make sure your culture can keep pace with your rate of growth. Double down your efforts to guard culture, even if it means slowing down a bit. Assign someone on staff the job of auditing how well your cultural values are being lived out. Growth is an addictive drug. But just as good culture is a Petri dish for growth, rapid growth can be the casket for culture.

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Sign #2: Nobody Talks About Problems

If nobody on your team is vocalizing the issues they see, or suggesting ways of improvement, one of two things is probably happening.

Either you’ve created the most successful company in the history of business and you know everything, or people don’t feel valued enough to think their opinions matter.

Transparency and the ability to raise issues is a hallmark of good culture and a smart team.

At Google GOOGL +0.06%, transparency is a cornerstone of the culture. As Lazlo Bock, head of People at Google, said in a recent interview, “The benefit of [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”][transparency] is not just that people feel trusted…The other benefit is they’ll know what’s going on. They’ll make better decisions and they’ll create better products.”

When people feel that they can speak up appropriately without a fear of retribution, they feel valued. The culture goes from a toxic one to an innovative and energetic one. Giving your staff a platform to voice their thoughts lets them know that their ideas matter, which in turn leads to them innovating and creating better ways of doing things.

What vehicles are in place in your company that allow team members to bring up concerns and be transparent? How could you improve awareness of those vehicles to the whole team?

Sign #3: Everybody Talks About Problems

While you want to give people a place to feel heard and valued, the number one toxin I see kill culture is gossip. A workplace full of complaining, negativity, and back talk is a workplace that will have high turnover and low productivity.

The solution?

Declare war on gossip.

My friend and client Dave Ramsey has a “zero tolerance” policy at his office about gossip. They simply do not tolerate it. Does this mean that nobody can bring up concerns? Not at all. He and his team have a motto: “Negatives go up; positives come down.” That means when there are problems, people are encouraged to take that problem “up” to their superiors instead of gossiping with colleagues.

When there is positive feedback, team members are strongly encouraged to send those “down” to team member under them on the org chart. It makes the staff feel valued, keeps the leadership informed of potential issues, and creates a sense of unity for the team. Most of all, it provides solutions to problems. Sideways complaining and blame shifting not only spreads ill will, it leaves problems festering with no real solution.

Do you have a clear policy on how complaints and concerns should be handled? How can you reiterate that among your team?

Sign #4: The System Becomes More Important Than the Mission

Many well meaning leaders hire, fire, strategize, and conduct business in a way that puts old systems ahead of their mission.

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard something along the lines of “that’s the way it’s always been done,” as a reason for leaders making the decisions they do.

There’s certainly a place for sticking to the things that have been successful in the past, but doing things out of habit instead of mission will suck the life from your team and create a toxic culture.

People are rallied to vision and work hard for a mission they believe in. They want to be part of a company that stands by values, but isn’t a slave to systems that block achieving goals. The key to striking that balance is having a litmus test that can be used to decide whether to follow the system or not.

Ed Young is a pastor and friend who has a great test. He says, “Every church is a non-profit, but it has a profit. And that profit is life change.”

If a decision that will affect great life change means circumventing a system, they go for it. But if there isn’t enough potential life change to warrant breaking the system, they go forward with their proven processes.

What litmus test could you implement to tell people when to follow a system and when to ignore it?

I’ve seen these warning signs take root in really great teams over the years. The teams that address them early are able to make change and charge ahead. Those who don’t, suffer the consequences.

Make a point of practicing early detection, because if you protect your culture, you’ll protect your future.

Forbes.com | March 16, 2016 | William Vanderbloemen

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#Leadership : Why We Seem To Be Talking More And Working Less — The Nature Of Work Has Changed….The Real Reason That we Communicate More is Because, Today, we Need to Collaborate More to Be Effective.

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

Are communication technologies like Slack, Yammer and Skype actually helping us, or just getting in the way? Certainly, they have made it easier to communicate, share information and collaborate with colleagues, but what if all that extra communication is actually preventing us from getting important work done?

In a recent article in Harvard Business Review, Bain & Co. partner Michael Mankins estimates that while a typical executive in the 1970’s might have received 1,000 messages a year, that number has skyrocketed to more than 30,000 today and argues that we may “have reached the point of diminishing returns.”

I think just about everyone can see his point. Today, the amount of meetings, emails and IM’s we receive can seem overwhelming and it’s increasingly hard to find uninterrupted quiet time to focus and concentrate. However, the nature of work has changed. The real reason that we communicate more is because, today, we need to collaborate more to be effective.

Today, Machines Do A Lot Of The Work For Us

First, consider how different work was 20 years ago, when Microsoft had just released Windows 95 and few executives regularly used programs like Word, Excel and PowerPoint. We largely communicated by phone and memos typed up by secretaries. Data analysis was something you did with a pencil, paper and a desk calculator.

Now consider how Mankins performed the study he described in the article. He writes, “My colleagues at Bain and I have studied these effects using people analytics and data mining tools.” It’s safe to assume that all that data was collected and analyzed electronically and shared instantly with the press of a button.

It’s also safe to assume that he and his colleagues spent quite a bit of time discussing what the results of all that analysis meant. 20 years ago, they would have had to set up a meeting or a phone call when they were all free, but today, they can toss around ideas between meetings, in airport lounges or even while waiting for an elevator.

As Mankins himself wrote in an earlier article, “Today, an algorithm can assemble many more facts about the accounts than any human being could easily process.” The truth is that we’re increasingly collaborating with machines to get cognitive work done and so it shouldn’t be surprising that we’re taking more time to discuss that work with each other.

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Problems Are Becoming Much More Complex

Another thing to take into account is that the work we do today is far more complex. Would Mankins have even undertaken his study without the “people analytics and data mining tools” made available to him today? Possibly, but it would have been significantly more onerous.

It’s also important to note that the trend toward greater communication is not just visible in industry, but in academia as well, where we can assume that researchers have more options to work quietly and without interruption. Yet they are increasingly choosing to work in teams and those teams outperform solo performers.

The journal Nature recently noted that the average scientific paper today has four times as many authors as one did in 1950 and the work they are doing is far more interdisciplinary and done at greater distances than in the past. It’s hard to see how any of that could happen without the improved communication technologies we enjoy today.

Clearly, technology is enabling us to tackle problems we wouldn’t have dreamed of addressing a generation ago. To work on these challenges, we are increasingly collaborating in teams and our work has become more social and less cognitive.

The Value Of Sharing Information

In the past, communication was often just chit chat. Valuable information was locked away in file cabinets and, if we could find it, we would have to make a hard copy in order to share it with anyone else. Yet today, even teenager with a smartphone has more access to information than a highly trained specialist a generation ago.

For a typical executive, the effect has been even greater. The new technologies that make up the Internet of Things collect information automatically from a vast array of sensors embedded in just about anything you can think of. This data, in turn, is analyzed through the use of other technologies, like Hadoop and Spark, to help us make sense of it.

So it shouldn’t be surprising that we’re discussing all of the information we now have access to. We can glean new insights, share them with others and they can reply with insights of their own. The result of this collaboration is often even more collaboration, as we pull people in with a greater diversity of experience and expertise to get their take.

That doesn’t seem like wasted time to me. The truth is that nature of work is changing. The office is no longer a place where we access information—today, we can do that anytime, anyplace—but rather a place where we access people. It’s where we can meet face to face, communicate non-verbally as well as verbally, build stronger working relationships and collaborate more effectively.

Collaboration Is The New Competitive Advantage

To be fair to Mr. Mankins, his greater point—and the subject of much of his other writing—is that we should put more thought into how we adopt and use our newfound communication assets. Surely, we all spend time attending meetings, getting pulled into conference calls, reading and responding to messages that could be used more productively. And that’s frustrating.

However—and this is a crucial point—we don’t know those interactions will be fruitless until we actually have them. Further, while it’s easy to remember the frustration of having our time wasted, it is not much harder to recall times when we have come across a random thread of information that we were able to capitalize on by sharing with colleagues.

It is also those chance encounters that often lead to bigger things, precisely because we are able to share them, get diverse viewpoints and mobilize the efforts of others. Increasingly, we live in a social economy with collaboration at its center. It is no longer just efficiency, but agility and interoperability that makes firms successful.

So, while I take Mankins’ point about the potential for new communication technologies to unproductively monopolize our time, we shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Yes, the cacophony of the constant barrage of communication can seem distracting at times, but it can also open up new worlds of opportunity. That is, if we are paying attention.

Greg Satell is a US based business consultant and popular speaker. You can find his blog at Digital Tonto and follow him on twitter @DigitalTonto.

Forbes.com | March 6, 2016 | Greg Satell

#BestofFSCBlog : #Leadership – 7 #LeadershipMistakes To Avoid. Great REAd!

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

It’s that time of year again—time for everyone, young and old, to make resolutions to better themselves in the upcoming year. And, taking a look at the resolutions lists we write, a lot of people tend to focus on positive “dos”—actions to take or new habits to form so that their health, attitude, or workplace is better in 2016. But undertaking a new action isn’t always quite enough to net a positive change. Think of it this way: just because you’ve resolved to take the stairs every day doesn’t mean you’ll lose very much weight if you don’t ditch your afternoon Snickers bar.

So we’ve got a different take on resolutions. What if you focus on breaking old bad habits instead? We’ve compiled a list of mistakes you won’t want to make next year if being a better leader is on your list of resolutions, and we challenge you to avoid these seven leadership mishaps throughout 2016. Your team (and company) will thank you.

1. Only focusing on the big picture

It’s true—great leaders communicate the big picture vision. It’s how they inspire people to strive for goals that are far off into the future, or still somewhat vague. But the best leaders also know that it’s a rookie mistake to fail to outline small goals for their people to achieve along the way. Creating smaller milestones helps leaders measure progress and reward results as the big picture comes more into focus. Don’t make the mistake of only communicating the high-level vision. Instead, plan out a path to success so your team has a roadmap instead of just a destination.

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2. Not delegating the work

This one’s a classic. Everyone’s had at least one micro-managing boss who is overly absorbed in small details and too controlling to allow team members to take the reigns. Avoid this pitfall by delegating work smartly. Give team members assignments according to their interest and expertise—or, even try letting them volunteer for tasks themselves. It will communicate your trust to the team, and alleviate tensions that result from heavy-handed management.

3. Failing to applaud small wins

Every big win is an accumulation of many smaller wins. So why would you let those everyday successes slip by unnoticed? Keep a stack of cards at your desk so you can write a thank-you note when someone goes above and beyond for you. Bring in a treat for the team when you know they’ve been pulling some extra weight. Your appreciation will go a long way. In fact, research shows that timely, meaningful recognition is the no. 1 thing that empowers employees to do great work.

4. Communicating poorly

There are a lot of ways to fall in this category. Wordy emails, lack of transparency and oversight, not having an open door policy…these are all surefire ways to be a bad communicator. Work on your communication skills—from your management style to your attitude—and you’ll see a transformation happen within the team. Leaders who are good communicators inspire action and innovation, and foster the kind of teamwork and creativity that drive results.

5. Setting yourself apart

The worst leaders are the ones who believe they’re better than everyone else—and they don’t bother to hide it. To avoid giving this impression, take the time to get to know teammates. Learn about who they are, their families and passions, and what drives them. Organize team lunches and team building activities. You could even simply move out of your corner office so that you’re closer to the team in the work environment. When teams know and trust one another, great things happen. And the first step to getting there is leading by example, and showing that teamwork and camaraderie are priorities.

6. Discouraging innovation

Maybe you try to be supportive of creativity, or you encourage team members to weigh in on important decisions. You may think that you’re fostering innovation. But if you’re not giving people room to tinker, try things out, and make mistakes, then you’re not really opening the door to true innovation. Be vocal about which projects your team can take their time on and really try to innovate new solutions for—and when (not if, since occasional failure is inevitable) things don’t work out, be supportive instead of upset. Your team will see that you’ve got their backs, and they will bring their best knowing you support them.

7. Forgetting to celebrate the milestones

Given the hectic schedule of 21st century professionals, you may think it’s not a big deal to forget a birthday or work anniversary here or there. But it is. In fact, it’s inexcusable, especially given the whole suite of organizational tools and apps you can use for reminders. If you’re still not on the tech train, write the important dates on a team calendar and post it somewhere everyone can see it on a daily basis. Research shows that milestones are important occasions to celebrate and appreciate your coworkers—employees of all generations around the globe agree. Learn how to show your appreciation appropriately, and you’re well on your way to becoming a fantastic leader.

Becoming a great leader isn’t all about the resolution list of “dos”. Eliminate these “don’ts” first to see the biggest impact. You may be surprised at how effectively they boost your team’s ability to collaborate, innovate, and deliver great work throughout 2016 and beyond.

Learn more about the NYT Bestselling book Great Work: How to Make a Difference People Love.

Forbes.com | January 8, 2016 | David Sturt and Todd Nordstrom