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#Leadership : #OlderWorkers – Everyone In My Office Is 30 Years Younger Than Me… As SYPartners’ Senior Adviser & Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Sherri Leopard, 62, is Often the Oldest Person in the Room, and she Explains Why That’s a Plus.

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Sherri Leopard has experienced being unique many times in her career. During her early professional life as a marketing consultant in technology, Leopard found herself in projects where she would be the only female member, as well as the youngest.

Having grown up in a lower-middle-class household, she also found herself at odds with many of her privileged friends who graduated from elite colleges. Yet she persevered and thrived, building and running a marketing consultancy with blue-chip clients such as IBM, SAP, Siemens, and Motorola. In 2006, she sold her consultancy, Leopard, to advertising giant WPP. Leopard became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ogilvy & Mather.

Sherri Leopard [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”][Photo: courtesy of SYPartners]

Many years later, as a senior adviser and entrepreneur-in-residence for SYPartners, Leopard would find herself–once again–as the unique person in the room.  But this time, it would be as the oldest person in an office full of twenty- and thirtysomethings. Leopard recently chatted to Fast Company about how working with younger employees has helped shaped her way of thinking, and the misconceptions about older workers that she wishes everyone would drop. Here’s her experience in her own words, edited for length and clarity.

WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE DECADES OLDER THAN ALL YOUR COWORKERS

All of the people that I work with on a day-to-day basis are 20 to 30 years younger than me. The company is young, young, young, and many of them come from prestigious schools. Me? I went to Metropolitan State University in Denver. I came from a lower-middle-class upbringing–and I think part of the way that manifests in me is being really practical. Everyone else would have these debates about really minute things, and I tend to be super impatient and cut to the chase. Of course, I’ve had to learn to do it in a way that doesn’t stifle people’s creativity.

To be honest, I don’t think people tend to focus on the fact that I’m older. There is a designer on my team who is 24 years old, and the other day he told me, I think of you as a mentor, but you’re not someone who just gives me advice, because you’ve done all these things. We get in and figure out stuff together and when we’re solving a problem. We’re solving it as equals.

Related:I Was The Only Woman In My Company For Two Long Years 

ON LEARNING FROM YOUNGER WORKERS

As a former CEO who happens to be the oldest person in the office, over my three years at SYPartners, I’ve really struggled with not being right and the need to be right. It took a while for me to be comfortable with learning from the young people who challenge me. That’s been a journey. In one of my earliest projects, that was really hard. I was on a team that just saw things so differently.

The perspective shift came during my work with BlackRock–who we’ve been working with on their diversity and inclusion initiatives. Something finally jelled in my brain, and now it’s much easier to be in situations where people are challenging my thinking. Had I learned that earlier in my career, I would have been a much better CEO. I’ve realized that we need those differences in the workplace to solve the sorts of complex problems we’re presented with today.

Of course, there will always be a generational gap. When I hear about young women discussing salaries, I think, in my generation, people didn’t talk about what they got paid. But I think that young people are a lot smarter because that transparency is going to pay off.

Another obvious generational gap is my aversion to social media. I feel like young people around me try to pull me into that world and occasionally I’ll go, okay, I get it, I get why I need to do it. But I’ve had times where I’ve gone through six rounds of writing a Medium post and I can never bring myself to post it. The younger people will be telling me, “Just do it, and you’ll get more comfortable.” But I still can’t do it.

Related:Good American’s CEO On Being The Only Black Woman In The Room: “I Don’t Notice”

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

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ON THE IMPORTANCE OF ENDURANCE

I think that my stamina is an advantage I have, as an older worker. When I was doing marketing and communications work, I did a lot of speech writing. I’d have clients call me very last minute, often very early in the morning. I remembered watching my then client, a senior VP at IBM, outwork me even though he was probably 20 years older. At that time I realized, oh my gosh, the game here is actually endurance. I realized then how important it is to be physically strong, eat healthy, exercise, and just be really mindful about my health. I think that investment I’ve been making for years in my health is really paying off. Today, young people in my team will go, geez, you’re the Energizer bunny!

Related:Why You Should Recruit Older Workers 

ON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT BEING AN OLDER WORKER

I feel like there’s this misconception that older people just can’t keep up, whether that’s keeping up with anything in the world, or physically. Well, I’m just going to prove in my little circle of the world that we can keep up. I do think that to succeed at this age, you need to have a growth mind-set. There are so many people my age who believe that the world is prejudiced against them. I deeply believe that there’s an experience in all of us that can be reshaped and reapplied in a new way. The question is, do you choose to reinvent yourself?

FastCompany.com | April 16, 2018 | BY ANISA PURBASARI HORTON 4 MINUTE READ

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#Leadership : How To Turn #Conflict Into A #Communication Tool…Many People Try to Avoid #Conflicts at #Work . But if you Know the Right Way to Lodge an Objection, It can Actually Smooth the Way for Better Communication.

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Last year, I was working with leaders who had recently joined an Israeli company. One of them said to me, “Anett, I used to work for a Midwestern company, and now I’m working for a company that yells and pounds the table in meetings–you can even hear it on the phone! What do I do?”

“Well, what happens after those meetings?” I asked. “They all go out for coffee!” she told me.

This is a texbook example of constructive conflict. Yes, it might have been emotionally charged and intense, but everyone respected each other enough to be friendly afterward. You might feel that it’s hard to see conflict as anything but a barrier to communication, but if you use it the right way, it can be an effective tool.

Here are some tips on how to do just that.

ATTACK THE IDEA, NOT THE PERSON

Intense conflicts can be civil. The key is not to let it get personal–which means making sure that you direct any criticism toward ideas, not people. Many of us know to avoid telling someone, “I don’t think you’ve done your research on this issue” or, “How could you possibly come to that conclusion?!” since these clearly sound like an attack on the person. But finding alternative phrasing isn’t always easy. When in doubt, delete any second-person (“your”/”your”) phrases from your vocabulary, and start with “I” phrase that zeroes in on the underlying concept. For example, “I struggle with that conclusion.” Now you can center the discussion around the conclusion itself–not the person who proposed it.

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Related:Want More Creative Employees? Create Some Conflict 

BE ESPECIALLY CAREFUL WITH YOUR TONE

Sometimes what you say doesn’t matter as much as how you say it. And when you’re sharing a critique, you have to be especially mindful of your tone. My client’s colleagues might have participated in loud conversations–but those discussions weren’t overly emotional, sarcastic, or condescending. Tone isn’t about the volume of your voice; you can still be calm and collected while verbally putting someone down. As Fast Company’s Lydia Dishman previously reported, passive-aggression comes in many forms. For example, you might start off by using logic to point out the flaws in your coworker’s point–but if you end by saying something like, “You don’t mind, do you?” your coworker might read your tone as patronizing.

Related: Here’s What Being Too Nice At Work Is Costing Your Company

DON’T FLOUT CULTURAL NORMS

Some companies are more comfortable with conflict than others, and every company will have its own “rules” about what’s acceptable and what’s not. Those rules might not be written anywhere, but if you look at how your organization has dealt with conflict in the past, you can usually get a sense of how its culture operates. Some workplaces are comfortable with constructive conflict as long as it stays behind closed doors, and employees and senior leadership show a united front in public. Others embrace displaying their conflict openly. So stay attuned to corporate culture as well as societal norms. As my client found, the way his Midwestern colleagues operated was pretty different than the approach his Israeli associates took. Neither was necessarily “better” or “worse” than the other, but in order to have productive disagreements, he needed to adapt to those teams’ respective cultures.

FOCUS ON MAINTAINING RELATIONSHIPS (EVEN IF IT MEANS BITING YOUR TONGUE)

Remember, just because you disagree with someone’s idea, you still need to show that you value their input. This might require extra effort on your part–like being selective about when to voice your criticism. If you argue too frequently, others may find it hard to believe you’re doing so in good faith. If, on the other hand, you share your disagreement a little more strategically, you’re more likely to strengthen your relationships–and improve the odds that your criticism will actually register, without hurting feelings.

Related: How I’ve Learned To Stop Arrogance From Silently Hurting My Career

CALCULATE THE OPPORTUNITY COST

On the other hand, if you’re on the fence about whether to raise an objection, consider the possible downsides to not engaging in constructive conflict. What potential consequences will staying silent bring? Depending on your company culture, you may be viewed as lacking conviction in your ideas if you seem afraid to stand up for them. In that case, not speaking up could actually backfire. Not to mention, if you don’t voice your disagreement early on, you might be setting yourself up for a bigger explosion later by keeping your thoughts bottled up.

Needless to say, no two situations will be the same. If you’re unsure of how direct you should be–start by listening and observing. You can learn a lot just by paying attention to people’s body language and how they respond. When it comes to constructive conflict, context is everything. But whatever you do, just don’t let it get personal.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Anett Grant is the CEO of Executive Speaking, Inc. and the author of the new e-book,CEO Speaking: The 6-Minute Guide. Since 1979, Executive Speaking has pioneered breakthrough approaches to helping leaders from all over the world–including leaders from 61 of the Fortune 100 companies–develop leadership presence, communicate complexity, and speak with precision and power.

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FastCompany.com| April 14, 2018 | Anett Grant

 

Your #Career : What To Do When A #Coworker Has It In For You…Whether They Just Don’t Like You or They’re Engaging in Sabotage, you Need to Deal with a Difficult CoWorker. Here’s How to Prepare for a Resolution.

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A surprising number of people just don’t get along at the office. Surprised?

Recent research by The Creative Group found that nearly one-third of executives surveyed have had someone try to make them look bad on the job. This type of behavior can range from pointing out someone’s mistake to copying a coworker’s manager on an email criticizing a project the person worked on. In fact, April has actually been declared Workplace Conflict Awareness Month.

Sometimes, workplace relationships can be complex and confusing. Personality types combined with competitiveness and the desire to protect “territory,” in the professional sense of the word, can combine and create strange behavior. But what do you do when you encounter a coworker who just seems to have it in for you?

“It happens more often than you think,” says New York City-based executive coach Shefali Raina. And the negative behavior may range from simply being adversarial to full-on sabotage. To counter such a difficult coworker requires a combination of strategy and skill.

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FACT-CHECK THE SITUATION

The first step, Raina says, is to try to keep your emotions in check—and fact-check the situation. Having conflict with a coworker, especially if you feel you’re being treated unfairly, can be upsetting. But if you make assumptions about a situation or get angry over a miscommunication, you’re going to exacerbate the situation, she says.

“Ensure that your perception that the coworker dislikes you or is sabotaging you is factual and not imagined by you. Our brains have an incredible ability to create stories and connect the dots based on inadequate facts, so it is equally possible that the truth is something else and we are taking it too personally,” she says. Look at the facts objectively so you take the best next steps.

SHARE THEIR PERSPECTIVE

Sometimes, you can understand another person better if you put yourself in their shoes, says Diane Domeyer, executive director of Menlo Park, California-based The Creative Group, a division of Robert Half International. “Some professionals, especially those in competitive fields, may feel pressure to set themselves apart from their peers to get ahead. Putting others down or taking credit for a teammate’s work may make them think they’ll be seen in a better light,” she says.

Consider your teammate’s motivation with empathy. Are you a newcomer who might be a threat? Did you recently get a promotion the individual wanted? Think about why the coworker may be acting like an adversary.

DON’T RETALIATE

Getting into a tit-for-tat with your coworker isn’t going to do anyone any good. Avoid responding in the heat of the moment, Domeyer says. Wait until you are calm to start a discussion and always speak with an even, polite tone so the situation doesn’t escalate.

MAKE THE CALL

What happens next depends on where you land after you’ve gathered facts and objectively evaluated them. Domeyer says that TCG’s research found that 41% of respondents thought it was best to confront the individual directly, while 40% thought it was best to engage a supervisor.

What you should do really depends on whether you’re dealing with someone who dislikes or is threatened by you versus someone who is actively trying to undermine you or derail your career, Raina says. If the former, it may be a good idea to handle the situation on your own. If the latter—or if you’ve tried to confront the individual and it didn’t work or made the behavior worse—then you may need to engage your supervisor. However, if you can show that you tried to fix the issue on your own, that may show your boss that you made the effort to solve the problem first.

ENGAGE IN RESPECTFUL CONFRONTATION

If you’re dealing with garden-variety jealousy or pettiness, engaging in “respectful confrontation” is usually the way to go, says human resources consultant Cornelia Gamlem, president of The GEMS Group, Ltd. in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and coauthor of The Essential Workplace Conflict Handbook. When you’re sure you’re calm enough to not let the situation get heated, choose a time when you can have a private conversation with the individual who seems to be causing the problem. Using non-threatening language, state your concern over the tension or behavior the person is exhibiting. Remain respectful and continue to frame the conversation in terms of what you need or is causing concern, she says.

“It’s kind of hard to keep punching back if somebody’s sitting there saying, ‘Okay, I hear what you’re saying, but let’s take the time to really talk about what’s at the root of the problem,’” she says. Sometimes, people just want to be heard. Such respectful confrontation can help you both get to the heart of what’s bothering you.

BRING IN REINFORCEMENTS

If the situation has the potential to be career damaging, document as much as you can and get help. “If there has been real sabotage, for example, you lost an opportunity or someone damaged your work or your reputation, confront it fearlessly and non-emotionally. In my experience, a coworker with a sabotage mind-set will not stop the sabotage if they feel they will get away with it,” Raina says. Bringing in a supervisor or HR person elevates the situation and can help you resolve it quicker.

Sometimes, you’ll need to accept that some people just won’t like you. But when a difference in personalities or styles becomes adversarial, career  damaging, or prevents you from getting your work done, taking quick, decisive action is critical to mitigating potential damage.

FastCompany.com | April 11, 2018 | Gwen Moran 

#Leadership : How to Gain your #Employees Trust, take Care When #Changes Need to be Made…One of the Greatest Threats to #EmployeeEngagement is UnCeremonious or UnDignified Dismissals.

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I was at a conference last month and had the chance to hear from several people who had read my book, “Fired:  How to Manage Your Career in the Age of Job Uncertainty.” One of them told me their organization was having to do a reduction in force. It was going to be a very difficult–the organization’s leaders truly cared about their employees. She then shared that  and her boss used the book to make sure as they planned the layoffs, they did everything they could to help the employees affected transition successfully.

Another person at the same conference told me that she too is having to look at organizational changes and that the book is helping her think more intentionally about those affected.

I am glad to see that my book is having an impact with leaders who truly care about their employees and their organization’s culture.  I had hoped it would help leaders with tough decisions as well as people at the other end of them.

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One of the greatest threats to employee engagement is unceremonious or undignified dismissals.  We’ve seen them in the news.  You may have witnessed them at work.  Someone is perp walked out the door.  Or at 4:55 pm there is an email saying someone “…is no longer with XYZ Company.” Or maybe you’ve heard managers blame or scape goat the person who was let go.  The remaining employees who see their friends treated poorly in a termination wonder, “Am I next?”   or “Is this company worth my loyalty?”

It is so difficult to let someone go, whether they “deserve” it or not.  Handling these gut wrenching decisions with grace and dignity helps leaders keep the trust with their employees.

As one of my book reviewers, John Franklin wrote,

“This is a must read for everyone, whether you have been fired or not, and in doing so, will expand our understanding of others and will make each of us more compassionate human beings.”

I am grateful that these leaders took the lessons learned in the book to heart.  Please share your stories with me as well on my web site www.jobuncertainty.com

Dr. Nancy Koury King is a contributing author on the FSC Career Blog (https://www.firstsun.com/fsc-career-blog/) & is a participating member of the FSC LinkedIn Network ( www.linkedin.com/in/fscnetwork ) . 

As mentioned above, her publication of the book, “Fired:  How to Manage Your Career in the Age of Job Uncertainty”  & is available on Amazon below.

https://www.amazon.com/Fired-manage-your-career-uncertainty/dp/1978407130

 

First Sun Career Blog | April 10, 2018

Your #Career : Does Your Boss Have Favorites? Here’s What to Do…You Cannot Control the Actions of your Boss; You can Only Control your Reaction to Him or Her

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You see your co-worker hanging out in your boss’ office almost every day. They laugh, make inside jokes and seem more like longtime Buddies than employer and employee.

Anytime you try to join the camaraderie, they don’t exactly embrace your contributions to their little social circle—it’s more like they tolerate you. And coincidentally (or not), the high-profile projects always seem to go to this particular coworker.

Yep, your boss clearly has a favorite. These tips can help keep your career moving forward when that favorite isn’t you.

Get a reality check

Your supervisor’s favoritism may be frustrating, but try not to let it get to you. Complaining and whining about it won’t help you get ahead, says Billie Sucher, a career-transition management expert, so focus on maintaining your professionalism. One way to do that is to get honest with yourself—even if that means taking a slice of humble pie.

“No one wants to admit that a colleague might be more experienced or skilled [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”][and thus enjoys more face-time with the boss], but in reality, this is frequently the case,” says Alexandra Levit, author of Blind Spots: The 10 Business Myths You Can’t Afford to Believe on Your New Path to Success. “If you really believe favoritism is in question, talk to a mentor outside the situation—in confidence—for an honest and fair assessment.”

Don’t limit this assessment to just the technical aspects of your job. “Take a good look at your performance and relationships at work,” says Hannah Morgan, career strategist and founder of CareerSherpa.net. “Are you easy to get along with? Do you have strong relationships with your colleagues? Do they trust you? All of these factors are equally as important as your qualifications to do the job.”

You can also choose to address the issue directly with your boss to get his or her feedback. Focus the conversation on how you can improve your performance, Sucher says. Rather than expressing anger or frustration about your place in the office hierarchy, ask what you can do to become a more valuable member of the team. Additionally, discuss your own short- and long-term goals with your boss, and lay out plans that will help you get where you want to be, Levit says.

Take the reins

While it would certainly be nice to be chummy with your supervisor, it’s not a prerequisite in order for you to excel at your job. Instead of concerning yourself with your boss’s feelings about you relative to your coworkers, concentrate your energy on what actually matters—the work you do.

“You cannot control the actions of your boss; you can only control your reaction to him or her,” says Sucher. “Focus on what is before you—your tasks, accountabilities and serving your customers and employer to the best of your ability.”

Make sure your boss knows you’re doing great work by regularly reporting on your accomplishments. “Don’t just go to your boss when there is a problem,” says Boni Candelario, a New York City-based career coach. “Set yourself apart and express your successes and how they relate to your department’s success.”

 

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Proactively pitch project ideas in areas your boss cares about. If you’re getting passed over for assignments you think you should have, provide your boss with reasons and facts to support why you should get the next one, Morgan says.

Know when to walk

After you make your case to your boss, his or her reaction should help you decide if it’s worth staying at this job or not, Morgan says. So let’s say you’ve spoken to your boss, discussed your aspirations for more challenging work and explained your personal goals, and your boss has emphatically agreed that you should be working on bigger, better projects. Terrific! Except the next time a plum account becomes available, you’re once again passed over, leaving you bored and unchallenged in your role.

Unfortunately, you may still find that your boss is dismissive toward your goals and uninterested in helping you move forward. That’s a flag.

“If you have done all that you can possibly do from a professional standpoint and are still uncomfortable in your environment, dust off your resume,” Sucher says. Take a first step in the right direction by setting up an account on Monster—so employers that are looking to hire can find you easily and so you can manage alerts on jobs you’re interested in.

You can find a manager who will have your interests in mind. “There will always be favorites,” says Sucher, “but a good leader knows and shows that all of her team members are her favorites.”

 

Entrepreneur.com | November 18, 2016 | Monster.com 

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#Leadership : 8 Bad Mistakes That Make Good Employees Leave…Managers Tend to Blame their Turnover Problems on Everything Under the Sun while Ignoring the Crux of the Matter: People Don’t Leave Jobs; They Leave Managers.

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It’s tough to hold on to good employees, but it shouldn’t be. Most of the mistakes that companies make are easily avoided. When you do make mistakes, your best employees are the first to go, because they have the most options.Free- Bubble on the Bubble

If you can’t keep your best employees engaged, you can’t keep your best employees. While this should be common sense, it isn’t common enough. A survey by CEB found that one-third of star employees feel disengaged from their employer and are already looking for a new job.

When you lose good employees, they don’t disengage all at once. Instead, their interest in their jobs slowly dissipates. Michael Kibler, who has spent much of his career studying this phenomenon, refers to it as brownout. Like dying stars, star employees slowly lose their fire for their jobs.

“Brownout is different from burnout because workers afflicted by it are not in obvious crisis,”Kibler said. “They seem to be performing fine: putting in massive hours, grinding out work while contributing to teams, and saying all the right things in meetings. However, they are operating in a silent state of continual overwhelm, and the predictable consequence is disengagement.”

In order to prevent brownout and to retain top talent, companies and managers must understand what they’re doing that contributes to this slow fade. The following practices are the worst offenders, and they must be abolished if you’re going to hang on to good employees.

1. They make a lot of stupid rules.

Companies need to have rules—that’s a given—but they don’t have to be shortsighted and lazy attempts at creating order. Whether it’s an overzealous attendance policy or taking employees’ frequent flier miles, even a couple of unnecessary rules can drive people crazy. When good employees feel like big brother is watching, they’ll find someplace else to work.

 

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2. They treat everyone equally.

While this tactic works with school children, the workplace ought to function differently. Treating everyone equally shows your top performers that no matter how high they perform (and, typically, top performers are work horses), they will be treated the same as the bozo who does nothing more than punch the clock.

3. They tolerate poor performance.

It’s said that in jazz bands, the band is only as good as the worst player; no matter how great some members may be, everyone hears the worst player. The same goes for a company. When you permit weak links to exist without consequence, they drag everyone else down, especially your top performers.

4. They don’t recognize accomplishments.

It’s easy to underestimate the power of a pat on the back, especially with top performers who are intrinsically motivated. Everyone likes kudos, none more so than those who work hard and give their all. Rewarding individual accomplishments shows that you’re paying attention. Managers need to communicate with their people to find out what makes them feel good (for some, it’s a raise; for others, it’s public recognition) and then to reward them for a job well done. With top performers, this will happen often if you’re doing it right.

5. They don’t care about people.

More than half the people who leave their jobs do so because of their relationship with their boss. Smart companies make certain that their managers know how to balance being professional with being human. These are the bosses who celebrate their employees’ successes, empathize with those going through hard times, and challenge them, even when it hurts. Bosses who fail to really care will always have high turnover rates. It’s impossible to work for someone for eight-plus hours a day when they aren’t personally involved and don’t care about anything other than your output.

6. They don’t show people the big picture.

It may seem efficient to simply send employees assignments and move on, but leaving out the big picture is a deal breaker for star performers. Star performers shoulder heavier loads because they genuinely care about their work, so their work must have a purpose. When they don’t know what that is, they feel alienated and aimless. When they aren’t given a purpose, they find one elsewhere.

7. They don’t let people pursue their passions.

Google mandates that employees spend at least 20% of their time doing “what they believe will benefit Google most.” While these passion projects make major contributions to marquis Google products, such as Gmail and AdSense, their biggest impact is in creating highly engaged Googlers. Talented employees are passionate. Providing opportunities for them to pursue their passions improves their productivity and job satisfaction, but many managers want people to work within a little box. These managers fear that productivity will decline if they let people expand their focus and pursue their passions. This fear is unfounded. Studies have shown that people who are able to pursue their passions at work experience flow, a euphoric state of mind that is five times more productive than the norm.

8. They don’t make things fun.

If people aren’t having fun at work, then you’re doing it wrong. People don’t give their all if they aren’t having fun, and fun is a major protector against brownout. The best companies to work for know the importance of letting employees loosen up a little. Google, for example, does just about everything it can to make work fun—free meals, bowling allies, and fitness classes, to name a few. The idea is simple: if work is fun, you’ll not only perform better, but you’ll stick around for longer hours and an even longer career.

Bringing It All Together

Managers tend to blame their turnover problems on everything under the sun while ignoring the crux of the matter: people don’t leave jobs; they leave managers.

What other mistakes cause great employees to leave? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below, as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.

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

Forbes.com | September 7, 2016 | Travis Bradberry 

#Leadership : 8 Ways You’re Making People Tune Out When You Speak…You Spend Up to 80% of your Day Communicating, so Take Care Not to Fall Prey to these Common Missteps.

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 In meetings, emails, conversations, and conference calls, business leaders spend roughly 80% of their time communicating. So, it’s a significant waste of time and resources if that communication isn’t effective. When it comes to the way we speak to others—either groups or individuals—we can often be inadvertently doing or saying things that undermine our effectiveness.
bored-woman

American English is typically spoken at roughly 183 words per minute, but we can listen and understand at up to 400 words per minute. The difference can lead to distraction, says speech coach Ethan F. Becker, PhD, president of the Speech Improvement Company, a speech and communications coaching firm, and author of Mastering Communication at Work: How to Lead, Manage and Influence. “There are all sorts of conversations in the back of our mind,” he says. “When I add filler words or something like that, I increase the chance of miscommunication.”

Are you doing or saying things that make people tune out or distract them from your message? Here are eight common habits to avoid.

1. DISMISSING THEIR MESSAGE

Common phrases like, “You think that’s bad? Listen to this!” could be intended to communicate a shared experience, but actually sounds dismissive of the other person’s message or experience, Becker says. That can be off-putting. Suddenly your conversation partner or audience is put in defensive mode rather than listening to your experience. It’s better to affirm that you heard the other person’s story or experience and state that you can relate because you’ve been through something similar, then tell your story, he says. Using the word “but” can have a similar effect.

 

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2. USING TOO MANY FILLER WORDS

Words like “um,” “you know,” or “like,” are filler words—Becker calls them “vocalized pauses”—that we tend to repeat out of habit or because of nervousness. Research his team at the Speech Improvement Company has done found that while a few instances per minute doesn’t typically deter the message, upwards of six per minute becomes increasingly distracting and makes it difficult for the listener to focus on what you have to say.

3. BREAKING OUT THE JARGON

It’s important to not be condescending to your audience, but even if you’re in a room full of people who are fluent in industry jargon, they don’t want to hear people speak that way for too long, says Kory Floyd, PhD, professor of communication at the University of Arizona and author of Communication Matters.

Using too much technical language, “or even $5 words when a 50¢ word will do,” makes language more complicated than it needs to be, says Floyd. Being accessible and specific in your language doesn’t mean “dumbing it down.” You’re simply making it easier for people to truly understand what you’re saying, he says.

4. PRETENDING TO BE SOMEONE YOU’RE NOT

Similarly, the first rule of great communication is to understand your own style, strengths, and weaknesses and adapt to them. Trying to be overly formal when that’s not really who you are can sound inauthentic and make listeners less likely to hear your message.

5. SPEAKING IN A MONOTONE

When you speak in the same tone throughout the conversation or presentation, you risk losing your audience, Becker says. It’s important to change your speaking patterns, especially when you’re speaking to groups, he says. Moving from an animated, fast-paced speech pattern to one that’s more leisurely and relaxed can help keep your audience engaged. If they hear too much of the same speech pattern, they may “zone out,” because monotonous speech patterns can be boring, he says.

6. FAILING TO REGULATE PERSONAL SPACE

A well-known Seinfeld episode put the term “close talker”—someone who moves in close, especially face-to-face, when speaking to another person—into the common lexicon. In interpersonal communication, ensuring proper personal space is essential, says communication expert Leil Lowndes, author of How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships.

But it’s not as simple as it seems. If someone moves in close and you pull back abruptly, you could inadvertently send the signal that you’re not open to what they have to say. At the same time, if the person is making you uncomfortable, you need to adjust your distance so that you can effectively speak. Sometimes, getting interpersonal space right is like “a little dance,” she says, but take your cues from your counterpart and your own comfort level.

7. GETTING EYE CONTACT WRONG

It’s well-known that eye contact is important in interpersonal communication, but there’s a fine line between being warm and engaging and making listeners feel intimidated or threatened, Becker says.

Communications-analytics company Quantified Communications found that adults make eye contact between 30% and 60% of the time while speaking to individuals or groups, yet they should make eye contact roughly 60% to 70% of the time.

Becker says that when you’re speaking to a group, it’s important to vary eye contact around the room. Common advice to speakers is to pick more than two or three faces to avoid making those few people very uncomfortable, he says.

8. IGNORING INTERACTION

Whether you’re speaking to a person or a group, failing to allow appropriate interaction can leave your audience members feeling like you don’t care about their feedback, Floyd says. These exchanges are supposed to have give-and-take, he points out. When there’s no opportunity to participate, listeners may lose interest.

 

FastCompany.com | GWEN MORAN  | 08.31.16 5:26 AM

 

#Leadership : 5 Reasons Employees Don’t Trust Their Boss or Their Company…Recent Report find that a Lot of Workers are Very Skeptical of their Bosses, and the Companies they Work For. In Concert, that Impacts Productivity, can Lead to a Toxic Workplace, and Hurts the Bottom Line.

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Trust and loyalty are difficult to come by in the professional world. While the millennial generation seems happy enough to job-hop their way to the top, more and more employers are looking for ways to increase employee loyalty within their organizations. Finding new and trustworthy employees is difficult and expensive, and even as many people are willing to lie on their resumes to get the job they want, most wouldn’t want their employers betraying their confidence in similar fashion.

Free- Rusted Tanker

But there have been signs that the tides are turning. Employers have started to implement new ways to keep employees around, and the numbers show that more raises and promotions are being handed out to loyal, long-time workers. That means there is at least some sort of divide being bridged between management and labor, in some organizations.

When we dig a little deeper, however, it becomes clear that there’s still a wide gulf when it comes to confidence in our employers. The latest Trust Barometer report from Edelman all but confirms it. The annual report, now in its 16th iteration, took the pulse of tens of thousands of workers, in an effort to see just how much trust (or distrust) is prevalent in the economy.

The findings? A lot of workers are very skeptical of their bosses, and the companies they work for. In concert, that impacts productivity, can lead to a toxic workplace, and hurts the bottom line.

This is a wake-up call for any business leader who underestimates the importance of building trust with employees,” said Nick Howard, executive director of Edelman’s employee engagement business in Europe in an accompanying press release. “Edelman’s special report on Employee Advocacy shows that non-trusting employees are far less likely to say good things about their employer. And worryingly, the bad things they say will be believed by consumers.”

Christopher Hannegan, executive vice president and lead of Edelman’s employee engagement business in the United States, echoed Howard’s sentiment. “The findings are very clear,” he said. “Consumers trust companies that treat their employees well. Companies that have ethical business practices. Are transparent and open. And respond well to problems and crises. Equally clear is that these are the topics that employees are most trusted to talk about.”

Here are five of the chief reasons Edelman’s Trust Barometer says employees don’t trust their employers. Do you agree with any of them?

1. Engagement

Where there’s a lack of engagement and communication, there’s a lack of trust. We see the same dynamic at play in our personal relationships, and that extends to the employee-employer relationship as well. When there are limited lines of communication and engagement, skepticism bubbles up. You start to worry about potential changes that you may be missing. It’s difficult to manage — and employers who keep employees in the dark are feeding distrust and discontent in their ranks.

It also leads people to believe there is something to hide, which obviously leads to distrust.

 

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2. Short-term thinking

“Short-termism” is when a company or leadership team puts short-term profits ahead of an organization’s long-term goals and survival. It’s how you end up with car companies cutting corners like GM or Volkswagen’s recent scandals, or how we end up with huge disasters like Deepwater Horizon. It’s about making the quarterly numbers look good, at the expense of long-term projections. And employees hate it.

“More than two-thirds of people feel that CEOs are too focused on short-term financial results,” said Howard.

3. Belief in the company

Do you believe in your employer? That is, do you believe in the company’s mission and purpose? People want to work for employers who are addressing society’s needs, and positively impacting their communities. That may mean taking measures to protect the environment, or simply taking care of employees so that they can afford life’s necessities without struggling. But there’s an evident gap in Edelman’s numbers that show employers are coming up short. And that breeds distrust and contempt.

 

4. Product quality

This is a call back to the discussion around “short-termism.” People trust companies that create and sell high-quality, reliable products and services. It’s easy to work for a company that puts pride into its work, and pumps out products people love. Think of companies like Apple, for example. If you can personally stand behind your employer’s products, it’s easy to trust them.

Now, put yourself in the shoes of a Comcast employee. You’re consistently fielding calls from angry customers about being overcharged, and how their service is out. That’s going to take a toll on your pysche, and how much you trust your company.

5. Ethics

Most of these other points boil down to this: ethics. While we’re all taught to act ethically, so many headlines fill the newspapers and cable news networks about corporations or individuals taking short cuts, ultimately earning a big pay day at the expense of everyone else. We saw ethics go out the window during the financial crisis, and by decisions made at (again) GM and Volkswagen.

Employees want to work for ethical companies, who aren’t doing shady things, and are cleaning up after themselves. If they don’t, then what kind of example are they setting? It becomes hard to trust your company, and its leadership, when all kinds of unethical behavior is being exhibited.

If your own employees don’t trust you, you can bet that customers won’t trust you either.

Check out Edelman’s complete Trust Barometer report.

Follow Sam on Facebook and Twitter @SliceOfGinger

 

CheatSheet.com | August 21, 2016 | Sam Becker 

 

#Leadership : How to Get the Best from your Employees without Burning them Out…What is it that Drives Employees to Lose Faith in their Employers, Lose Motivation in their Careers, and Drives them Away from your Company and to Another?

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We all want to maximize productivity within our businesses, large or small, yet the techniques of the past are rarely sufficient for a modern workforce. More and more, I’m finding that the personal touch goes a long way toward employee productivity, as well as morale and retention.

Free- Stones stacked on each other

What is it that drives employees to lose faith in their employers, lose motivation in their careers, and drives them away from your company and to another?

I find that it’s often a combination of bureaucracy and stress. To minimize both, you need to identify what it is that your employees reject, and figure out a way to fix the issue.

1. Minimize the red tape

One of the most frustrating walls an employee encounters is requiring permission to do their job, time and time again.

Yes, there are security reasons for some measures. But often, old policies from petty managers trying to hoard power have led to “the way things have always been done” inertia, which keeps bad rules in place.

Just like in marketing with conversion rates, minimizing the number of obstacles between employee and desired outcome will increase productivity.

2. Be liberal with non-financial benefits

I completely understand that many businesses operate on tight margins. Your best employees deserve raises and bonuses, but when the budget doesn’t allow it, you have to do something.

Why not offer a bit more paid time off or allow the occasional work-from-home day? Sometimes it can be as simple as setting up a room for the occasional sanctioned, on-the-job nap.

Personally, I’d much rather have an employee feel safe nodding off for half an hour than having them doze at their computer getting barely anything done for half their shift.

 

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3. Ditch the performance review

Or, rather, make sure they’re relevant if you have one. Performance reviews are a source of stress even for good employees — check out impostor syndrome — and they’re often just filed away and never referenced again.

Unless your reviews are both accurate and used regularly, they’re probably doing more harm than good.

Frankly, I think official performance reviews are an antiquated relic from the ghost of management past. If you’re paying attention and have a working relationship with your employees, you’ll be able to tell how they’re performing.

More importantly, if you’re open and they can come to you with problems they face, you can help stave off the issues that drive down their morale. Half of the reason for a negative performance review is toiling under strict conditions that limit an employee’s ability to work in the first place.

 

4. Establish a way to report and address problems

Part of this comes from fostering a culture of gentle management. I’m not saying you need to make friends with all of your employees, but you should be approachable and attentive when they have something to say.

If the problem is a business system, consider why it’s causing an obstacle to productivity and look into alternatives. If it’s not something you can change, at least consult with the employee about why that’s the case.

One circumstance that may come up is when an employee is the problem. Sometimes a new hire just isn’t working out, and their coworkers are better positioned to see it than you.

You don’t need to set up an anonymous tip line for bad behavior, but you can accept employee advice when a developer tells you the new guy is consistently breaking things and barely doing their job.

5. Trust your employees to do what they do best

Ideally, you will avoid the above situation by hiring a competent, intelligent team. The number-one thing you can do is stay out of their way and let them do their thing. Eliminating red tape and bureaucracy is one part of it, but another is being more of a facilitator than a dictator.

Provide guidance and advice. Establish goals and plans. Don’t micromanage their hours and set unrealistic deadlines. If they need more resources, help them obtain them or explain why the restrictions exist. Keep them in the loop and aware of what’s going on in the bigger picture, so they know what they’re working toward.

The ideal situation is one of trust, awareness, and facilitation. The days where management is a harsh gatekeeper of information and resources are gone. We live in a world where your best employees will be more than happy to jump ship unless you give them a reason to stick with you.

Sometimes, yes, that’s going to be money, and yes, you’re going to lose some good employees when your budgets are tight. You’d be surprised, however, just how many good people are willing to stick around when you simply have a pleasant place to work.

James Parsons is a content marketing influencer, entrepreneur, and writer. He writes for large publishers including Entrepreneur, Inc., and The Huffington Post. You can reach contact him on his website or on his Twitter profile.

 

Businessinsider.com | August 18, 2016 |  James Parsons 

 

Your #Career : 4 Ways To Bounce Back When You’re Treated Unfairly At Work…You can Get Even, Or you can Take the High Road—Where the Outlook’s Much Better for your Health and Career.

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Depending on how you see it, there’s more than just death and taxes on the short list of things life throws at pretty much everybody. There’s also unfairness (which cynics might even see as the umbrella term for both death and taxes), as many a parent has informed a 5-year-old who’s too young to know what taxes are but has no trouble grasping what’s not fair.

Free- Barbed Wire

But simply accepting that life isn’t fair doesn’t mean we respond to its injustices with perfect equanimity—especially where our careers are concerned. Maybe you’ve been passed up for a promotion you deserved. Or management made a big decision impacting your job without you having a say. Maybe you were just disrespected by a colleague.

Organizational researchers like the University of Georgia’s Jason Colquitt call these types of offenses “distributive,” “procedural,” and “interpersonal” injustice, respectively. And they’ve been linked to lower levels of self-esteem, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and performance.

That may not come as a shock—it’s just about impossible to avoid feeling mistreated at some point or another at work. Georgetown professor Chris Porathestimates that 98% of the thousands of workers she’s surveyed have experienced incivility at work firsthand, and 99% have seen it take place.

But the good news is that while work, like life, isn’t always fair, you don’t have to stew in your sense of being wronged. In fact, you can even use the experience to become a little more resilient for the next time you’re slighted. Here’s how.

WHY UNFAIR TREATMENT STINGS

You may feel hurt that you’ve been mistreated while at the same time wondering whether it’s petty of you to take offense. But psychologically, unfairness communicates a lot more than the act itself. Being treated unfairly violates basic human needs for autonomy, belonging, and morality. It thwarts our agency, makes us feel like we aren’t valued, and tramples on the basic social principles that bind people together.

So it’s no surprise that violating these mores reliably leads to feelings of anger, outage, and contempt—emotions that lead us to act in ways that both harm our careers and are typically inconsistent with our own values: When we’re wronged at work, many of us isolate ourselves or retaliate. And while that may lead to short-term reprieve or catharsis, the longer-term consequences are rarely good.

Instead, we need better ways to respond to mistreatment at work—strategies that can actually improve how others see us and how we see ourselves—so we can minimize the likelihood of it happening again.

1. WALK BACK FROM THE CONCLUSIONS YOU’VE JUMPED TO

Leadership gurus Chris Argyris and Peter Senge are known for introducing the“ladder of inference,” the process by which people make a sequence of assumptions about others’ intentions. It’s important to remember that injustice is in the eye of the beholder, so it’s critical to make sure you’re seeing the situation accurately.

And to do that, there’s no substitute for perspective. Talk to a trusted friend or colleague to get their point of view before taking any action. Whatever they say, the simple act of confiding in others can strengthen your relationships around the office and mitigate the negative feelings you’re experiencing.

 

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2. TAKE THE MORAL HIGH GROUND

Sometimes it’s actually okay to get up on your high horse and stay there. In fact, refusing to match slight for slight can help you sidestep the indignity you’re feeling and avoid boiling in anger. From that vantage point, you may even be able to look at the situation more critically and learn something about your coworker, your organization, or even yourself—to understand what’s happened in a more detached way.

3. LOOK FOR WHAT’S STILL GOOD, FAIR, AND RIGHT

Sure, you’ve just been treated unfairly in one context, but there are certainly others where you’re still clearly valued and respected at work. And one principlelong familiar to psychologists is our tendency to focus on the negative at the expense of the positive. So make sure you’re considering this recent mistreatment in light of other good things at work, which will help you put it into perspective.

It may be the last thing you’re inclined to do while you’re feeling upset, but consider making a list of the positive aspects of your job—the upsides that haven’tbeen affected by this incident—so you don’t act rashly.

4. FORGIVE WHOEVER’S RESPONSIBLE

This may be the hardest one yet, but it might pay off. Research suggests that forgiveness is critical for mental and physical health in the aftermath of being mistreated. You don’t need to excuse the incident or convince yourself you’re being dramatic, you just need to acknowledge that the bad thing they did to you is something you can live with—that, as Whitney Houston memorably put it, “It’s not right, but it’s okay.” Forgiveness, at any rate, can be a surprisingly powerful way of moving on without carrying a chip on your shoulder.

Let’s be real—being treated unfairly at work can be painful, upsetting, and frustrating. But it can also be an opportunity to build resilience—not just to others, but to your own, less-than-productive knee-jerk responses. So take the high road. The view is much better from there anyway.

 

FastCompany.com | August 4, 2016 | David Mayer