•A Meeting of the Minds
Meetings offer managers the chance to unify the workforce, communicate important messages, and create an organized forum for employee concerns. Therefore, meetings are a crucial aspect of running a business. Unfortunately, many managers treat meetings as ad hoc events and fail to properly prepare. Preparation, however, is the key to holding a successful meeting. Without clear objectives, managers flounder. Without rules and protocols, meeting participants can transform a quiet company...
•An Apple a Day Won't Keep Burnout Away
In this era of long work days, long commutes, and high stress, employees dedicate far less time towards preserving their mental and physical well-being. Employees have instead redirected that energy towards keeping pace with the ever-changing demands of today's businesses. While employers prefer to believe that extended work days enhance long-term production, the reality presents a far different picture. Employees who are always on the go never have time to recharge their batteries. As a...
•Are Men Better Bosses than Women?
? Which gender makes the best boss? It's a frequently asked question in the workplace. Is it men or women who are superior as boss-material? MSN Career Builder recently featured an article espousing the fact that men are better bosses. The writer's opinion and research notwithstanding, I don't actually think this is an "either-or" kind of question. It's really a question of what qualities make someone a successful boss, and even further how do we quantify success?
There are clearly...
•Establishing Meaningful and Objective Performance Criteria
Jane and Bob understand that establishing criteria for successful performance is key to ensure that they get the performance they want. Yet they've found that their colleagues in other departments don't set up criteria from the get-go.
Why?
Managers often do not know how to establish meaningful criteria for job performance, let alone extras like training and development.
To establish performance criteria, Jane and Bob ask themselves, "What are the conditions for satisfaction? How will we...
•Life Management Skills – is it possible to have a life and be a leader?
? You know, Jane and Bob work so hard that they wonder sometimes if they even have a life, if their life is in balance. Maybe there is no such thing as balance (and Jane and Bob heave a big sigh of relief – one less thing to strive for). If there is balance, it's right there in the moment because life changes in the next nanosecond, and everything gets all out of whack again. Balance is more of a way of life, not a result one tries to achieve.
Balance means whatever feels right to us in the...
•Mentoring: A Little Help Goes a Long Way
Mentoring programs offer companies an efficient and economical way to manage and develop human assets. A mentor can transform an average employee into an exceptional leader. A mentor can guide an up-and-coming leader through the maze of leadership skill acquisition. A mentor can even improve the production levels of low-performers. A mentor cannot, however, make an individual want to excel. Nor can a mentor simultaneously boost employee production and groom powerful leaders. Companies...
•The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Workplace Friendships
Workplace friendships may seem like an ideal arrangement at first blush. But once the honeymoon phase ends, a whole different picture may emerge. Whether the image appears rosy or bleak depends entirely upon those involved in the friendship. Unfortunately, situations can sour long before individuals realize they should not have befriended a colleague. When workplace friends turn enemies, a company loses far more than camaraderie. A broken friendship can reduce productivity, cause...
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