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Your #Career : 5 Things you Should Never Tell your #Boss (and What to Say Instead)…What you Say to your Boss can Impact your #CareerGrowth in the Company, So Choose your Words Wisely.

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Whether you’re lucky enough to have a great boss or have an uncomfortably rocky relationship with your manager, it pays to put some thought into your interactions. The language you use with your boss could end up dictating whether you get promoted, end up on the chopping block, or fall somewhere in between.

With that in mind, here are five phrases you should make an effort to avoid uttering to your boss–even if they seem appropriate on the spot.

1. “THAT’S NOT IN MY JOB DESCRIPTION”

We all have our share of grunt work to tackle on the job, whether we’re entry-level assistants or senior-level executives. So if you’re asked to do something that’s outside your purview, don’t be so quick to push back. Rather, be a good sport and comply, especially if it’s the first time you’re being put in that position.

Furthermore, if you’re going to push back, do so on the basis of being too busy, as opposed to being too good for the lowly or undesirable task your manager attempts to assign. Saying, “I’m afraid that doing this will cause me to miss my project deadline” sounds a lot better than, “That’s not what you hired me to do.”

Related: Yes, you can still get stuff done with a hands-off boss 

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

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2. “THAT’S NOT WHAT YOU SAID”

In the course of our jobs, we’re often put in situations where there’s some miscommunication. But if that happens, and your boss calls you out for not following instructions, don’t bite back by insisting you’re in the right and he or she is in the wrong. Unless you have documented proof that your boss said what you claim he or she did, keep quiet.

Even if you have that proof–say, your manager sent instructions in writing, and is now backtracking and trying to put the blame on you–be polite about it. Pull up that email and say something like, “I really thought I was following these instructions precisely. Please show me where I went wrong, and let’s see how we can fix things.” It’ll spare your boss the embarrassment of being wrong, thus sparing you some backlash later on.

3. “IT’S NOT MY FAULT”

We all make mistakes at work. So if your boss calls you out on one, own up to it rather than deflect the blame. Even if you aren’t at fault, there’s a politically correct way to make that clear. For example, say your manager asks you to provide an estimate for a project, and you use your colleague’s inaccurate data to arrive at your own set of incorrect numbers. It’s easy enough to claim that you’re not at fault and point a finger at your coworker instead. But rather than go that route, say, “I should’ve done further diligence before relying on Bob’s numbers. I’ll be happy to run those calculations again and get you a more spot-on estimate.” This shows a degree of maturity that your manager will no doubt appreciate.

Related: How to talk to your boss about your career goals 

4. “IT CAN’T BE DONE”

Maybe your boss wants you to turn around a major report in two hours, when you know it would normally take five to get that sort of task done. Tempting as it may be to throw your hands up in the air and state that it can’t be done, find a way to get it done to some degree. You might say, “I can turn around the first half of this report in time, and then prioritize the remainder first thing tomorrow.” It’s not a yes, but it’s also not a no, and that might be just enough to appease your manager.

5. “IT’S NOT FAIR”

Here’s a news flash: Life isn’t fair, and that applies to office life as well. So yes, maybe you’re being asked to work late for the second time this month when your colleague who sits next to you has yet to be asked, but for the love of job security, don’t mouth off to your boss about how unjust that situation is. You never know what weight your other colleagues are pulling, and what they’re sacrificing to get their jobs done. You also may not know what rewards your boss is secretly planning for your solid effort (more money, perhaps), so before you complain about things being unfair, take a step back and try to power through.

Related: Four times your boss doesn’t want your input (and how to get heard anyway) 

Now if it becomes obvious that your boss is blatantly treating you unfairly–say, you’re always working late while every other member of your team clocks out at 5 p.m. consistently–then that gives you a leg to stand on. But think long and hard before moaning about one-off requests. And if you do complain, do so diplomatically. Try, “With all due respect, it seems like I’ve been pulling some long nights at the office lately. Can I help bring some other folks up to speed on these issues to better divvy up the load?”

Saying the wrong thing to your boss can come back to haunt you. Avoid these career-zapping phrases, and you’ll be a happier employee for it in the long run.

 

FastCompany.com | June 13, 2018 | BY MAURIE BACKMAN—THE MOTLEY FOOL 4 MINUTE READ

 

#Leadership : ‘I Lost It’: The #Boss Who Banned Phones, and What Came Next… #Employers Limit Cellphone use to Regain Attentiveness. Workers use Watches and Laptops Instead.

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Two thousand six hundred seventeen times a day. That is how often the average person taps, pokes, pinches or swipes their personal phone.

It all adds up to about 2 hours and 25 minutes, according to a study by mobile app research firm Dscout Inc. And a good chunk of that time comes during work hours.

Jason Brown had had enough of it. Two years ago, the chief executive of Brown, Parker & DeMarinis Advertising paused for a moment to look across the meeting room as he delivered a presentation. The majority of those gathered were fiddling with their phones.

“I lost it,” says Mr. Brown.

In his anger, he issued a companywide edict:“Don’t show up at a meeting with me with your phone. If someone shows up with their phone, it’ll be their last meeting.”

Many managers are conflicted about how—or even whether—to limit smartphone use in the workplace. Smartphones enable people to get work done remotely, stay on top of rapid business developments and keep up with clients and colleagues. But the devices are also the leading productivity killers in the workplace, according to a 2016 survey of more than 2,000 executives and human-resource managers conducted by CareerBuilder, an HR software and services company.

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There is also some evidence that productivity suffers in the mere presence of smartphones. When workers in a recent study by the University of Texas and University of California had their personal phones placed on their desks—untouched—their cognitive performance was lower than when their devices were in another location, such as in a handbag or the pocket of a coat hanging near their workspace.

“I firmly believe that multitasking is a myth,” says Bill Hoopes, an IT project manager at L3 TechnologiesInc.

Mr. Hoopes put his convictions into practice at group gatherings when he took over a team of about 25 people at the aerospace defense company three years ago. “Every time someone’s phone went off, they had to stand for the rest of the meeting,” he says. Before long, he asked the group to leave their phones at their desks when two or more people got together.

Over time, he says, he has noticed not only an improvement in the quality of conversation and ideas in meetings, but also that his people seem to show more respect and appreciation for one another’s work.

Mat Ishbia, CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage, banned technology from meetings about two years ago and recently asked that his executive team and other managers not check their phones as they walk to and from meetings.

 “Don’t act like we’re too important to say hello,” he says he told them. “Make eye contact with people.”

Mr. Ishbia is now piloting another solution to phone addiction. A group of about 250 workers are part of an experiment in which they refrain from all personal phone use at their desks. If they want to use their devices they must go to a common area designated for phone use and socializing. Forty-five days into the trial run, workers are checking their phones a lot less, he said.

Bryan Lee, a product manager at enterprise software company Docker Inc., suspected that his daily phone use was a problem, so last month he installed an app called Moment on his iPhone that tracks the total amount of daily time he spent on his phone. His first measurement revealed four hours in a day. Since early April, he’s reduced that to roughly an hour.

At work, Mr. Lee persuaded his team of eight to download the app and post their daily phone hours on a whiteboard. The team member with the lowest time gets bragging rights.

“We’re thinking of having a trophy we can pass around—or maybe just shaming the loser,” he says.

Handheld devices can be a valuable source of information during office gatherings.  Shane Wooten, CEO of enterprise video platform company Vidplat LLC, recently surprised a group of corporate clients with a request that they leave their electronic devices outside. “They didn’t like it,” he says.

Since January, Mr. Wooten has limited personal devices at meetings with his employees and faced some resistance. Workers argue their phones are vital for staying in touch with a sick child or researching information relevant to the meeting.

“I told them we’re not in middle school,” he says. “I’m not collecting phones in a bucket. Just don’t have it out faceup on the table.”

Google Inc. announced last week that the next version of its operating system for Android phones will include a feature that is meant to help people who feel tethered to their devices. It will let users see how much time they spend on their phones, show which apps they use the most and display how often the phone gets unlocked.

Instead of phones, staffers wore smartwatches to meetings or brought their laptops, which were just as distracting, he says, adding that workers said they were worried about missing calls and emails from clients.

Now, he tells his 40 employees not to attend meetings unless they really have to be there and strongly advises they fully engage.

Mr. Brown missed his phone too and likened the experience to outlawing alcohol during the Prohibition era: “A theoretical state that almost no one wants to live in, including those making the rules,” he says.

Write to John Simons at John.Simons@wsj.com

 

WSJ.com | May 17, 2018 | John Simons

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#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

#Leadership : Follow the 70-20-10 Model to Train Your Employees … Only 32% of Employees in the U.S. are Engaged, Involved in, Enthusiastic about & Committed to their Work & Workplace, according to Recent Surveys by Gallup. That means More than Two-Thirds of Employees are Not Engaged.

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Today’s rapidly evolving workplace requires employees to constantly upgrade their skills. They must be equipped to find knowledge quickly, be proficient with technology and be able to interact and collaborate using a variety of communication tools.

Leader3

 

The new reality of training is the 70-20-10 model, in which learners get 70 percent of their knowledge from job-related experiences, 20 percent from interactions with others and 10 percent from formal educational events.

Forward-thinking training initiatives can help employees be successful in a rapidly evolving environment. Yet many companies continue to use old-school training methods that have failed to keep pace with major trends affecting the workplace.

A survey by Boston Consulting Group found that companies spend tens of billions of dollars globally each year to train employees, but the money often is wasted because “the training is not geared to drive business results.” It also discovered that business leadership training and talent development often overlook frontline leaders, who create value for customers and that the training employees do receive often doesn’t have a meaningful impact on business results.

According to “The Impact of Employee Engagement on Performance,” a 2013 report by Harvard Business Review Analytical Services, having a highly engaged workforce “not only maximizes a company’s investment in human capital and improves productivity, but it can also significantly reduce costs, such as turnover, that directly impact the bottom line.”

 

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Yet only about 32 percent of employees in the U.S. are engaged, involved in, enthusiastic about and committed to their work and workplace, according to recent surveys by Gallup. That means more than two-thirds of employees are not engaged.

Meanwhile, Millennials and Gen Xers are a growing majority of the workforce. Millennials last year surpassed Gen X as the largest cohort of the U.S. labor force.

These trends are driving many companies to take a hard look at costly, ineffective and time-consuming traditional training – the kind involving daylong workshops and “death by Powerpoint” presentations. Today’s employees want opportunities for on-demand, on-the-job training and feedback.

Progressive companies are opting for a more immersive, interactive and ongoing training approach that typically involves technology. Toward this purpose, many are utilizing microlearning – delivering training content in a bite-sized, on-demand format.

Microlearning can include anything from simple methods, such as directing employees to research topics online and reporting what they discover, to customized digital libraries that offer leaders and employees on-demand access to a constantly evolving set of topics.

Companies that utilize microlearning effectively focus on providing rich content in a variety of formats so learners can focus on the right knowledge and skills in multiple ways. Here are some tips for building more agile, effective and efficient training.

Offer flexible options.
Learners are no longer tied to their laptop or PC. They use Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and other social media networks to get information. Give them specific skill-building content they can use in a moment of need via social media or other online tools.

Provide both short and long learning opportunities.
These can range from a 30-second video available on their phones, focusing on a specific job challenge, to in-depth e-learning courses and one-on-one coaching.

Make it practical and interactive.
Effective training shows employees the connection between what they are being asked to do and why. It should connect them with the specific skills and information they need to do their jobs, and give them opportunities to learn, practice and get feedback.

Make it social, and fun.
Including a social element that involves community sharing and learning, and perhaps gaming elements, will intrigue learners to return frequently.

The new reality of training is the 70-20-10 model, in which learners get 70 percent of their knowledge from job-related experiences, 20 percent from interactions with others and 10 percent from formal educational events.

I expect interactive, on-demand, on-the-job learning solutions will remain critical to helping companies remain agile and adapt to rapidly changing business environments, though the form of these solutions will undoubtedly continue to evolve. Be open to experimenting with new modalities to ensure learners get what they need.

 

Entrepreneur.com | July 5, 2016 | Amy Fox

#Leadership : Top CHROs Discuss Culture In A Digital World…It’s Important to Begin Planning Today for the Use of Cognitive Computing in Enhancing Workforce Productivity, Reducing Business Risk & Increasing Competitive Advantage.

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Steve Jobs once said, “Simple is harder than complex.” Human resources embodies that mantra where the complexities of behind the curtain data and analytics can yield the simplistic beauty of a great culture.

Free- Home Office

To explore how top companies build winning cultures in a fast-changing digital world, on February 23, 2016 I spoke with these CHROs of industry leaders:

  • Victoria Berger-Gross, CHRO, Tiffany & Co.
  • Matthew Owenby, CHRO, Aflac
  • Larry Pernosky, CHRO, Amedisys
  1. What is the one data point you look to first?

Larry Pernosky, Amedisys:  “Engagement because as our engagement barometer moves up or down, so will the culture and attrition.”

Victoria Berger-Gross, Tiffany & Co:  “Employee turnover — because even though it’s a lagging not leading indicator, it’s an objective sign of what’s going on in satisfaction, engagement, and the strength of your employee value proposition against the external marketplace.”

Matthew Owenby, Aflac: “We focus on engagement as a leading indicator of many potential issues, from which we gauge the level of trust employees have in leadership which is the foundation for creating the best employment experience possible.”

 

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  1. What’s the relationship between data and culture?

Victoria Berger-Gross, Tiffany & Co.:  “Over time you develop culture with qualitative hand-selection of people, close relationships, and understanding what values you can and can’t adapt in people once they’re hired.  We use employee survey measurement, qualitative focus groups, and other data gathering to recognize our constraints and drive new offerings to encourage people to engage and grow with Tiffany.”

Matthew Owenby, Aflac:  “Data is particularly important from a hiring standpoint. We are careful to hire people who embody our strong, individualized culture. It’s not enough to have a technical competency, you’ve got to be a person that’s going to connect well with our culture. Data and analytics don’t build your culture– the culture is built on values. That’s what’s worked for us for over 60 years.  From a value perspective, communication is key–regularly, immediately, and with transparency. Access to LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter makes it easier to gauge what types of communicators you may hiring”.

Larry Pernosky, Amedisys: “We sit on a plethora of data. In redefining our culture, we needed to redefine how we use our human capital data overlaying with business outcomes.  You then view your business outcome differently, incorporating engagement data to form a strategy that truly motivates and inspires employees to grow personally and professionally. That ties back to the success of the company.”

  1. How will mobile technologies and the Internet of Things affect the future of HR?

Matthew Owenby, Aflac:  “A practical view of mobile technologies and the future of HR is that more Millennials represent today’s workforce and shape the expectation around, ‘I want the ability to sign up for healthcare via my Smartphone.’ And more senior leaders increasingly want to access information real time. We’re using more of a push rather than pull strategy, meaning we are deliberately pushing content, doing more things mobile, from an access to information perspective.  Even our internal app which says, here’s what you need to be talking to your people about today and here’s how to incorporate diversity and inclusion in regular touch bases with your teammates”.

Victoria Berger-Gross, Tiffany & Co: “We are continuing to add more mobile technologies in retail, distribution and manufacturing (we are unusually vertically integrated). This connectivity supports absolute alignment between these groups.  At retail, repeat and long-term customer relationships are key to our mindset of customer service. Our retail staff are consummate and credentialed professionals – many are gemologists – and we use technology for on-going training.  We also use broad consumer analytics to understand the behavioral shopping preferences of different consumer groups, which affects how we select and train sales staff.”

Larry Pernosky, Amedisys: “Tele-medicine, tele-monitoring are becoming increasingly important to acute or even critical acute care. Partnerships across technology streams help us procure the best technology possible. A number one priority is work/life balance, and more often for Millennials. Incorporating fitness, health and well-being strategies, such as personalized data feeds from a Fitbit, builds a caring culture where employees say, “I’ve got an organization who cares, and even provides technology to help me manage my life.”

  1. How do you see the role of HR changing five years from now?

Victoria Berger-Gross, Tiffany & Co.:  “For the most part, whatever the size, companies are led by the same number of 10 to 15 people at the top. Data allows us to further scale and be more data driven, especially in the groups with high staff numbers, about scheduling and employee decisions in general. Utilizing people in different locations, not necessarily tied to particular customers in a particular location. Updated, faster customer databases– while balancing essential privacy issue.”

Matthew Owenby, Aflac:  “Accessing information in more real-time, user-friendly methods and doing basic and even complex HR transactions via your mobile device, from any location. Increased productivity and efficiency, whereby you no longer require someone to be in an office to perform a transaction.”

Larry Pernosky, Amedisys: “We will have dynamic workforce planning and forecasting capabilities. Companies will make predictive forecasting and analytic decisions versus today’s practice whereby somebody leaves and you replace them. That will change the game, business outcomes, and even capital analytics.

The future of human resources was summed up by Susan Steele, Executive Partner, Talent and Engagement at IBM. “It’s clear that the HR function, along with the entire enterprise, is increasingly becoming more digitally-oriented, data driven and cognitively-enabled. While this trend creates opportunity for tech-savvy HR leaders it can lead to new risks and challenges for those HR executives who are unprepared. I would therefore encourage all Chief HR Officers to begin planning today for the use of cognitive computing in enhancing workforce productivity, reducing business risk and increasing competitive advantage.”

 

Forbes.com | March 21, 2016 | Robert Reiss