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

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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. 

 

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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 …

 

3: Rеsourcе Allocation

  1. 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

  1. 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

 

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Anchor Text:: labouring jobs

 

 

#SuccessfulPeople :The One Thing To Prioritize To Be More Effective.

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There is no dearth of information or advice about how to be more effective, including Stephen Covey’s famous book, a whole industry around time management, advice to shorten meetings (or cancel them altogether), advice to meditate and take naps, advice to wake up early and exercise, and advice from a wide variety of gurus, coaches, nutritionists, and more — all who want to help you be more effective at work by managing your energy, your time, your focus, and your priorities.

My advice for being more effective is simple.

Don’t be the bottleneck.

If you want to maximize not just your own effectiveness but that of your whole organization, the worst thing you can do is be the bottleneck. In today’s world of work, processes are intertwined across teams and companies such that a delay in your part of the process creates a bottleneck and delays for everyone else in your organization. And for your customers.

It is a subtle shift, but much of the advice on prioritizing work is focused on your activities that are part of your job and things that you need to do in a vacuum. Some people will tell you to do the quick things first so you can knock them off of your list. But what if the quick things impact you but don’t necessarily move the process of work along to others?

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

Continue of the article:

Some will tell you to do the important and urgent things first, but what if you don’t include getting things to other people in your definition of important and urgent? And some people will tell you to make sure you’re blocking off time to think strategically, but what if you prioritize thinking about the future and end up becoming a hindrance to results in the here-and-now?

Throughout my career, after my first cup of coffee and a quick glance at emails and texts to make sure no crisis had emerged while I was sleeping, I’d prioritize my day’s activities based on who else needed something from me in order to do their work. Because I didn’t want to be the bottleneck. I didn’t want to be the one slowing down the team or threatening the delivery of a commitment to a customer or creating a drag on results.

Depending on the job, this has meant I’ve prioritized:  

  • Making and communicating decisions. (It still amazes me how many people avoid making decisions and then even when they make decisions, they forget to communicate them.)
  • Signing approvals (or delegating them!).
  • Meeting with customers to understand their pain points and then communicating those to account teams to figure out how to do better.
  • Doing my part to get a new process or technology implemented.
  • Getting the pricing and marketing programs ready for a new launch.
  • Getting information to third parties, other teams, or my own teammates so they could advance and execute on initiatives.
  • Ensuring efficient placement and receipt of orders with the supply chain and logistics teams by getting new technologies in place with the sales teams.
  • Ensuring innovation teams had the resources, equipment, and machine time to create new solutions in the lab.
  • Calling and pressuring people who weren’t doing their part such that they were becoming the bottleneck for me and my team. (This is not the fun part.)

Now I know some of you are thinking that if you spend all of your time doing things that others need, you’ll never have time to plan or to strategize or to coach your team. What I’ve found is actually the opposite. When you prioritize things that you need to do so that others can do what they need to do, much less organizational (and personal) energy is spent on following up, nagging, waiting, and complaining.

Less organizational (and personal) energy is spent on fire drills and emergencies that emerged because work did not flow smoothly across the teams and organizations and third parties. Less organizational (and personal) energy is spent stressing out over whether or not something will be done on time. And all of that organizational (and personal) energy gets shifted to thinking about the future rather than being anxious over whether something will get done in the present.

And there is an added bonus to prioritizing things that others need from you in order to get their work done. When you do this, you develop a reputation as someone who is good to work with as opposed to the person who is always needing to be reminded to get their stuff done and holding everyone else up. This pays off when the time comes to talk about career-expanding projects and assignments.

So get your stuff done and get it in the hands of the people that need it. And get your teams and colleagues to shift their prioritization of work accordingly so together, you can reduce friction, accelerate your business, delight your customers, and create an environment where you are truly effective.

Forbes.com | January 3, 2020 | Robin Moriart

#Leadership : How to Manage Your Team’s Calendar During the Holidays

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The end of the last quarter is a time of rest for many, but founders and their teams keep working hard to set up their companies for success in the new year. Just because the grind never stops, however, does not mean that founders should take their teams for granted. But there are ways to manage your team’s calendar during the holidays.

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The Team here at FSC LinkedIn Network would like to wish you/yours a Wonderful Christmas & a Happy, Healthy, & Prosperous 2019!  Our best to you, www.firstsun.com 

My companies are closing for 10 full days during the holiday season. I want our employees to know that we recognize their value and respect them enough to provide a manageable work-life balance.

We aren’t closing shop for 10 days without proper preparation, of course. Until those 10 days arrive, our teams from top to bottom are working tirelessly to ensure that we won’t leave anything unfinished. Our break will be much more enjoyable with the knowledge that we did everything necessary before closing shop for the season.

Managing a team’s calendar during the holidays is a delicate task. Some people want to work more in a quiet office, while others want to take long breaks. The key to managing a holiday calendar is to treat employees with respect without compromising on the company’s goals in the bargain.

Related: The Best Founders Are Already Planning How to Thank Their People During the Holiday Season

Follow these scheduling tips to manage a team through the turmoil of the holiday season:

1. Understand what they want.

Rather than announce the office will close for two weeks without discussing it with anyone, talk to people about what they would like to do for the holidays. Some teams would prefer to grind it out for a few weeks to earn a long break, like we’re doing, but others would rather take it slow. Keep in mind that not all employees celebrate the same holidays.

Employees respond better to leaders who involve them in the decision-making process. Involve them, but don’t let them run the show on their own. Paula Santonocito of Recruiting Daily Advisorargues that, while employee involvement can provide a sense of value and ownership to employees, it can also lead to decision paralysis within the organization.

Find the balance by soliciting employee input then making the call that’s best for the company. Maybe that means going with what the majority wants. Maybe it means allowing people to opt-in to an alternative holiday schedule. Whatever the decision, don’t let one group saddle another with extra responsibilities.

Related: 6 Ways to Keep Employees Engaged During the Holiday Season

 

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

Continue of article:

2. Lean on freelancers to fill the gaps.

Freelancers are always available to help small companies meet goals when internal employees don’t have the capacity. This is especially true during the holidays when entire teams can disappear for days at a time.

Reach out to trusted freelancers early in the month to ask about their capacity. If they have some room on their schedules, talk to teams about their holiday plans to coordinate projects. Keep track of this in a calendar app so that you don’t forget. We get so busy these days that we often don’t message till it’s too late.

Of course you don’t rely on freelancers to do jobs that would be better handled internally. You can take this opportunity to tackle some projects that might not come up during the rest of the year. Work with contractors to come up with creative pieces of content. Trust freelancers with big tasks to learn which ones are dependable, then give them more work during the coming year.

Don’t worry about the potential cost of a freelancer/full-timer mix. Michael Solomon, co-founder of 10x Management, broke down the budget on Huffington Post and found that mixing freelance with full-time is the most cost-efficient management method.

Related: 7 Ways to Manage Employee Holiday Time Off

3. Relax work-from-home policies.

Remote workers are typically more productive than their in-office counterparts, as Harvard Business Review discussed back in 2014. Now that telecommuting tools have gotten even better, that productivity gap is even wider. That goes double for the holidays when office workers take every opportunity to talk about gift recommendations and football.

Encourage employees to work from home whenever necessary during the holiday season. If the company has a rule about needing an excuse, drop that rule (permanently if possible, but definitely for December). When parents don’t have to worry about their kids’ school schedules and travelers are free to work from the road, companies reap the benefits of anytime, anywhere productivity. It also cuts down on all of the extra office-holiday-chatter that is a huge time-suck.

Maintain a semblance of order by clearly communicating expectations and reminding employees of work-from-home guidelines. People still need to attend important meetings and meet productivity goals at the end of the year. Treat people with respect and assume they want to do good work. If the team is a good one, it will reward that faith many times over.

The holidays are almost here, so don’t delay. Work with teams to create a schedule (scheduling beats hustling) that works for everyone, set expectations and treat employees with the respect they deserve. When the holidays end, return to work refreshed and ready to tackle the new year.

Entrepreneur.com | December 11, 2018 | John Rampton VIP CONTRIBUTOR

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#Leadership : #EmployeeRetention – Plan your New Hire’s Next Job from the Moment they Start… Here’s how Here are Three Ways to Start Preparing your #TeamMembers for New and Different Roles Inside the Company (before they find other opportunities outside it).

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Remember when staying in a job for less than a few years was considered a stain on your resume? That’s no longer the case. By one recent estimate, the average length of time people now spend in a given role is just a little over two years among workers ages 25–39. And who can blame them?

Baseless millennial stereotypes notwithstanding, it’s people earlier in their careers who tend to fill lower-level positions, which typically involve at least a few unexciting tasks. I’ve noticed entry-level employees at my own company getting anxious to take the next step in their careers even sooner than they’d used to. Many of our sales reps now start eyeing their next internal moves after just six to eight months.

So lately I’ve had to think creatively about ways to keep new hires engaged while extending their professional lives inside the company. Here are a few methods we’ve come up with.

BREAK ROLES INTO TIERS

The most employee movement we see here at Vidyard is in our sales department. As with a lot of front-line jobs, it’s hard to keep this area dynamic because sales isn’t necessarily a role where you can rotate people through varied projects, like we do with our developers. So instead we’ve introduced tiers to certain sales positions, transparent step-ups that come with added responsibilities and pay. Importantly, these aren’t promotions out of a role that somebody has only started to master. Rather, we’re building discrete new functions into that role.

A higher-level tier might include new responsibilities like mentoring newer hires, taking on bigger accounts, or shadowing more senior team members. Yet each new level comes with commensurate pay increases to reflect the advancement.

Having clear tiers for sales jobs lets our new hires see from the outset that they’re never “stuck” in an entry-level role, and it shows them exactly what they need to do to make it to the next level. They get the support and encouragement to add to their skill sets while also getting better at selling–the critical function they were hired for. For now, we’ve limited this “slice-and-dice” approach to sales, where there are clear, repeatable duties. But it’s not hard to see how it could be useful elsewhere.

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ASK AMBITIOUS EMPLOYEES TO SELF-ASSESS

As any manager knows, dealing with an employee who’s pushing for a promotion before they’re ready can be a tricky (and common) situation. The challenge is to be realistic without dismissing their desire to advance. Simply telling someone they’ll have to stay put will only breed resentment and accelerate a move–likely outside your company.

So we’ve tried to develop what I think of as a readiness pulse-check. Flip the tables and give eager team members a chance to assess their own readiness for a promotion (or lack thereof). A little while ago, one new hire joined Vidyard as a “concierge,” helping direct customer inquiries to the right place, but his heart was set on getting into sales. When he pleaded with me after just a couple months to make the move, I assigned him some homework: I asked him to spend some time with other leaders in the company to learn exactly what his dream job entailed.

He soon realized he still had some work to do, but he now knew exactly which skills and qualifications he’d need to move forward. Within little more than a year, he successfully made the switch and has continued to move up the ranks. In fact, using this same approach, he went on to segue into a product manager role, where he’s in charge of bringing our tools from ideation to market.

Putting the onus on your ambitious employees to figure out whether they’re truly ready for the next step is a great way to give them some control over their career paths. Some may resent the perceived roadblock. But those that rise to the occasion will be doubly dedicated to their jobs, and double their value to you by learning more about how the company works.

EXPERIMENT WITH SWAPS AND LOANS

Indeed, sometimes the best ways to keep team members happy is to encourage internal mobility across functional areas. Jumping to a new role or department can revitalize enthusiasm and preserve institutional know-how while also busting up silos.

We recently began experimenting with a loaner program to let employees cross departmental lines in their work, something that other tech companies have been doing for years. Right now, our initiative is admittedly small and operating on a four-month trial, but I’m excited to see where it leads in the future. Other times a change of scenery is all it takes to renew someone’s enthusiasm for their job. We have a satellite office in another city on the West Coast, and we’ve had a few team members request to make the move. While this doesn’t always entail a change in job description, the shift in setting is often a welcome change, with the added benefit of strengthening our company culture through cross-pollination between offices.

In my opinion, keeping a good employee for many years is important; it’s the goal of every great leader I know. The key is to creating a climate where people hungry to amass new skills can genuinely see a path forward. In the end, a stifled, inflexible workplace only leads to the exodus of your best and brightest. The earlier you start thinking about where your newest hires might be headed, the sooner you’ll start seeing them maximize their potential and make your organization stronger–no matter how long they’re there.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Litt is cofounder and CEO of the video marketing platform Vidyard. Follow him on Twitter at @michaellitt.

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FastCompany.com | July 20, 2018

#CareerAdvice : #JobSearch -The Best #JobSearchAdvice from Top CEOs at GM, 23andMe, Hilton & More… Best of FSC Blog! Great Read.

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There’s no doubt about it: the job search is tough. You have to spend time and energy revamping your resume, writing cover letters and practicing for interviews, and even then, you’re not guaranteed a position. The good news, though, is that you get a little bit savvier at every step. With each interview needed to get to the next level, you get better at marketing yourself, communicating confidently and reflecting on your experiences thus far. So by the time you’re at the top of the company ladder, you’re practically an expert at what it takes to get a job.

With this in mind, we chatted with and researched the best job search advice from the Top CEOs of 2018. If your job search strategy hasn’t been working out so far, one of these tips might just do the trick.

1. Find a Mentor

It’s a well-known fact that personal connections are one of the most effective ways to find a job. If you develop a strong relationship with an industry mentor, they’re often able to connect you to people, companies and opportunities that can advance your career. Even if they can’t directly hook you up with a job, though, they can serve as a fantastic reference who can speak to your work ethic and personal character. But make sure you choose the right one, advises Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors.

“There are mentors in the workspace all around you — peers, the seasoned professional, your supervisor, the supervisor one desk over,” Barra said in an interview with the Women@Work podcast. “People often reach out [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”][to me] saying, ‘Will you be my mentor?’ And I say, ‘Let’s talk about that, because the better person to be your mentor in the organization is someone who sees you every day, someone who knows you at your best, and someone who can give you opportunities to improve.’ So I always redirect them: Find mentors in the people around you who you respect.”

See Open Jobs at GM 

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2. Try a Little Bit of Everything While You Still Can

When you’re just beginning your career, you might not know for sure what you want to do yet. And really, that’s okay. You don’t have to go looking for your dream job right away. In fact, trying out many different fields can be an asset, believes Anne Wojcicki, CEO of 23andMe. Not only does this make you more marketable in the future — the more skills you have, the more doors open for you — but you’ll also have a better chance of identifying what you really love doing.

“Enjoy the uncertainty and the adventure of figuring out the world and what you want to do. 20-year-olds can get away with adventure and exploration in a way 40+-year-olds can not. So enjoy asking all the questions and trying all the different jobs and realize that each new experience helps shape your views of the world and what you want to do in it,” Wojcicki said in an interview with Glassdoor.

See Open Jobs at 23andMe 

3. Give Lesser-Known Companies a Chance

If you’re only applying to Fortune 500 companies or tech titans, don’t get discouraged when you don’t hear back. The name recognition and prestige of these companies lead to hundreds, thousands or even millions of candidates applying to them — Google, for example, sees about two million applicants each year — so your odds may be better if you explore more under-the-radar companies. You’ll also gain exposure to multiple roles at smaller companies, helping you discover what you enjoy doing and increase your skill stack.

“My suggestion is to visit the websites of the top-tier [venture capital firms] and click through their portfolio companies, and apply to a few that seem especially interesting,” Sanjit Biswas, CEO of Samsara, told Glassdoor. “High-growth tech companies are a great place to accelerate career growth — you’ll get to see decisions up close, and the short feedback loops are some of the best ways to learn what works and what doesn’t.”

See Open Jobs at Samsara 

4. Show You’re a Team Player

It’s hard to think of any job nowadays that doesn’t require some degree of teamwork, and because of this, companies expect candidates to be adept collaborators. Lean into the opportunities you have to work with others at your current job, Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta advises.

“Make sure that you contribute in every way that you can, and really become a team player. Nothing gets done in today’s world without a village, so to speak. While we all make individual contributions, ultimately it’s about how you as a component, particularly as you’re getting started, work with other people,” Nassetta shared with Glassdoor. Employers want to see “ways where obviously you’re contributing and you’re creating significant value, but you’re doing it as a member of a team and not just as an individual contributor.”

Learning to work well with others, and then drawing on these experiences in your cover letter or when answering behavioral interview questions like “Tell me how you handled a difficult situation” or “What are some of your leadership experiences?” can really make you stand out to recruiters.

See Open Jobs at Hilton 

5. Follow Your Passion

You may not end up in your ideal job right away, but when you’re thinking of settling down at a job or company for the long haul, make sure that it’s one you’re passionate about. For one, we spend about a third of our waking lives at work, so it’s worth spending that time doing something you enjoy. But for another reason, you simply tend to be better at what you do when you find a job you’re passionate about.

“My #1 job tip is to look for a job that you want to do. We spend a lot of time at work, and it’s important that we enjoy what we’re doing. We only go around once, and we’ve got to keep that in perspective,” said Bernard J. Tyson, Chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente, in an interview with Glassdoor. “Nothing is promised to any of us [at] the end of the day. The key to that is to be in step with the culture of the organization where you work.”

See Open Jobs at Kaiser Permanente 

6. Consider Alternate Paths

Following your passion, though, doesn’t always mean rigidly clinging onto one idea of The Perfect Job — there are often multiple ways to explore the fields you’re most passionate about, Michael Mahoney, CEO of Boston Scientific, explained to Glassdoor.

“I knew from a young age that I wanted to get into healthcare. I was inspired by my grandpa who was a pediatric cardiac surgeon. I grew up admiring how he helped so many children. I remember sneaking into his library when I was a kid. I’d sit in his chair surrounded by all his medical books and dream about being a doctor,” Mahoney shared. “After earning a solid C- in organic chemistry, I elected to change course and approach healthcare a little differently. It was a great lesson for me.”

Rather than pursuing a different field entirely, Mahoney chose to go into the business side of healthcare — and his decision paid off. Today, Mahoney oversees an organization of 29,000 that helps create lifesaving medical devices.

See Open Jobs at Boston Scientific 

7. Do Your Research

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: recruiters want informed candidates, the kind of people who look up a company beforehand and gather information on its culture, products, business model and more. Because by researching a company, you don’t just show that you’re knowledgeable about it — you also show that you care about and believe in it.

Brian Halligan, CEO of HubSpot, mentioned in an interview with Glassdoor that his company specifically looks for candidates who have taken it upon themselves to learn about his company and its products.

“One tip I’d give all applicants is to review HubSpot’s culture code before interviewing and to use the software — we give tons of it away for free,” Halligan said.

See Open Jobs at HubSpot 

8. Take Risks

Whether you’re on the fence about applying to a position you’re slightly underqualified for or reaching out to a coworker you haven’t spoken with in years for an informational interview, don’t let a fear of failure hold you back.

“The biggest risk is not taking any risk,” said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a 2011 interview. “In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.”

Sure, there’s no guarantee that any one particular risk will pay off — but if you keep swinging big, you’re bound to reap the rewards eventually.

 

GlassDoor.com |  | Posted by 

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#CareerAdvice : #SuccessfulLeaders -7 Warning Signs that Your #Career is Stalling…What Got you Here won’t Get you There. After you’ve Achieved #Success , it’s Common to Stagnate. Look Out for These Signs & Turn Things Around.

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It’s not unusual to see a leader turn a company around and bring it to success, only to fail at the next challenge. Some call it the sophomore slump, but it’s really a case of, “What got you here won’t get you there,” says John Hillen, coauthor of What Happens Now? Reinvent Yourself as a Leader Before Your Business Outruns You.

“Leaders are often victims of their own success,” says Hillen. “They wanted the change; they put the business plan in place. Then they themselves don’t make parallel plans to change with the organization. That’s why leaders often stall on the other side.”

What it takes to become a successful leader is not what you need to remain a leader. Playing at the higher level requires different skills, capabilities, mind-sets, behaviors, and attitudes. “Most leaders get it intellectually,” says Hillen, executive in residence and professor of practice in the School of Business at George Mason University. “Unfortunately, what they often do is focus energy on tinkering with the organization instead of reinventing themselves.”

Only a small percentage of organizations make deliberate plans to grow their executives alongside their business. As a result, leaders need to take it upon themselves to adapt to the new playing field, or they’re at risk of hitting one of seven career stalls, says Hillen.

1. YOU HAVEN’T RE-ESTABLISHED YOUR PURPOSE

Leaders often fail to establish new purpose and direction once they succeed. “When things change and new people are coming on board, purpose and direction must be modified,” says Hillen. “Leaders often struggle to tell a coherent narrative, and people start making decisions at odds with culture or value.”

A warning sign that you’re hitting the purpose stall is when you think you need to hire an outsider to get to the next level. Break through by holding a story-creation session with people from all levels of the organization, suggests Hillen.

“Ask, ‘What are we about here?’” he says. “Engage teams to rearticulate values and purpose that will be easy to communicate to the ranks and out to multiple stakeholders.”

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2. YOUR TEAM ISN’T WORKING TOGETHER ON GOALS

After a success, team members can start acting like freelancers, concerned with their own departments and not agreeing on priorities or strategies, says Hillen.

“The single most critical success factor for high-performing teams is having a shared understanding of why the team exists, what it is trying to accomplish, and how it will work together,” he says.

Work through this career stall by holding frequent meetings or off-sites to ensure team alignment, suggests Hillen. “Create team ‘rules of engagement’ and require team members to hold each other (and you) accountable to them,” he says. “Be explicit about the culture that ties the team together.”

3. YOU AREN’T TALKING TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE

Working at a new level can cause leaders to not make good use of their time. If you feel frustrated that people aren’t following your orders, or if you’re too busy to talk to stakeholders, you’re career’s in danger.

Push through by creating a stakeholder management plan, Hillen suggests. “Who will you put on your calendar regularly?” he asks. “What kinds of conversations should you be having with them?” Concentrate on developing a strategic network, allocating time for people who control your future.

4. YOU CAN’T ARTICULATE YOUR VISION AND MOTIVATE PEOPLE

If you can’t seem to energize employees to own the strategy or spring into action to tackle a new initiative, you’re at risk of another career stall. Instead of blaming others for their inability to “get” it, reassess your communication skills and think of yourself as the “chief explaining officer,” says Hillen.

“Whenever possible, make communication two-way; achieve true communication, not mere transmission,” he says. Communicate more than you believe is necessary to ensure sufficient understanding, and change your style of communication to reach different people.

5. YOUR AUTHORITY IS WANING

Once you’ve achieved success, you need to keep performing at a high level to maintain your team’s respect. If you give people direction but they don’t follow through, or you start getting passed over for promotion, you may have hit a career stall.

“Shift your actions and behaviors to come across to followers in a more authentically and emotionally,” he says. “Empathy works, and builds character.”

Accept a position on the board of a nonprofit, for example, take a community leadership role, or be more involved in your industry, Hillen suggests.

6. YOU FEEL EXHAUSTED AND OVERWHELMED

Once you’re operating at a new level, it can be easy to lose sight of your focus. The danger signs of a career stall here are feeling exhausted and overwhelmed, and less energetic and passionate about what you’re doing and its impact, says Hillen.

Decide which tasks to do, which to delegate, and which to drop. “Allocate your time as if you’re going to ‘make history,’” he says. “Enforce, with the help of an accountability partner, rational percentages of time on your calendar to the leadership work that matters most.”

7. YOU’VE ABANDONED LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

A successful leader’s job is to be a leader of leaders, says Hillen. If you’re unsure of your current leadership team and are starting to no longer trust their capabilities, you could be about to hit a career stall.

“Take command of shaping your organization’s leadership-development programs and play a meaningful role in leading them,” he says. “Commit to becoming a coach as well as a boss, and dedicate discrete time for both.”

While every stall is different, every leader will stall at some point, says Hillen. “They might not hit all of them and not all at once,” he says. “When you’re in a meeting where you are the decision maker, but everybody else has more information at hand, you’re at risk. It should be an epiphany that it’s you and your behavior that needs to be changed.”

 

 

FastCompany.com | July 9, 2018 | CAREER EVOLUTION

#Leadership : How to #InspireyourTeam When you’re Feeling Uninspired…You Don’t have to be a Cheerleader to Keep your Team’s Spirits Up. Next Time you Aren’t Feeling Up to Motivating Others, Consider these Options.

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You’re prepping your team for an upcoming project and you know you need the best ideas on the table. But when you try to get up the motivation to work on the project, you struggle to focus. You just don’t seem to have the same energy for the project as you usually do. How can you get the best ideas and productivity out of your team when you, their leader, are feeling uninspired, and perhaps even unmotivated?

Cheri Torres, business leadership coach and the author of Conversations Worth Having, says good leaders don’t have to be cheerleaders. “Sometimes we feel like we have to be the cheerleader, that our energy is what is contagious. This is a focus that says, ‘It’s all about me’,” says Torres. The pressure that comes from feeling like you need to be the team cheerleader can make it even harder to emerge from your slump.

Related: How these 4 different personality types find motivation

Next time you find yourself uninspired to inspire, try having these conversations with yourself and your team first:

ASK YOURSELF SOME “DIG DEEP” QUESTIONS

To get inspired, you need to be in a physical, mental, and emotional state that generates inspiration. Begin by checking in with your physical state. Are you eating well? Are you getting enough sleep? “Sometimes the body is what is impacting energy and inspiration,” says Torres.

Next, check in with your mental self. What are you ruminating about? What is your inner dialogue like? Keeping a journal of your thoughts can help you uncover how you are speaking to yourself. If your mind is full of negative self-talk, it’s no doubt you’re feeling uninspired.

Lastly, check in with your emotional state. Is there something that is going on in your personal life that is preventing you from being inspired at work?

HAVE THE VULNERABLE CONVERSATION

Leaders often feel that they need to have all the answers, but it’s important to remind your team that you are human, too. Don’t be afraid to tell your team that you are having a tough time getting inspired at the moment and ask for their help. “The most effective leaders are those that have the courage to be vulnerable,” says Torres. Showing vulnerability helps to facilitate trust and mutual respect, which are a good foundation for collaboration and connection–exactly the traits required for a productive brainstorming session.

Related: 4 ways to help employees find meaning at work

AVOID NEGATIVE TALK

“If all the conversations are about problems, trying to fix what’s wrong and focused on negative outcomes, no wonder you’re uninspired,” says Torres. Instead of talking about what you don’t want the outcome to be, focus conversations on what you do want and the positive outcomes you will have. It’s easier to discover the path to achieve those goals if you speak using positive language, rather than giving in to negativity.

ASK YOUR TEAM WHAT THEY NEED

Leaders often misunderstand what their team needs in order to get inspired to action. Ask team members what is currently inspiring them, and what they would need to happen to help inspire them further. Do they need to step away from the desk and have some fun for a few hours to get their creative juices flowing? Or do they need a better understanding of the goals of the project?

MAKE TIME FOR JOY

Schedule something in your calendar that brings you joy and invite your team to do the same. It could be going out for lunch, spending the afternoon playing laser tag, or even simply taking off a little early to enjoy a good book. The point is to do anything that increases your positive emotions and brings you joy. “Positive emotions are correlated with a biochemical soup that increases energy, connection, motivation, and inspiration,” says Torres.

Related: This is the link between employee motivation and their manager’s mental state

GIVE YOURSELF AND YOUR TEAM A PURPOSE

To reignite your inspiration, turn to your “why.” Try to remember why you do what you do in the first place. Review some positive customer testimonials, remember your “why,” and share this with your team.

Lisa Evans is a freelance writer from Toronto who covers topics related to mental and physical health. She strives to help readers make small changes to their daily habits that have a profound and lasting impact on their productivity and overall job satisfaction.

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FastCompany.com | June 14, 2018 | Lisa Evans

#Leadership : #WorkPlace Evolution- Your #TeamMembers Need To Disagree More. Here’s How To Help Them…You Do Want Everyone to Get on Board with Whatever Decision they Ultimately Reach Together. You just Don’t Want that to Happen Right Away.

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The most effective teams have regular, intense debates. The ability to disagree without causing offense is a crucial precondition for good communication and problem-solving. Yet whenever we ask the managers we speak with what they’d prefer–a team that’s almost always harmonious or one that has conflicts and arguments–the vast majority vote for the latter.

Not only is harmony overrated, but it undermines innovative thinking, particularly the kind that diverse work cultures are supposed to generate. Rather than encourage your team members to come to agreements quickly, effective managers do the reverse: They help their teams disagree–productively.

GROUND RULES FOR HEALTHY DEBATE

Teammates want the opportunity to challenge each other. As long as discussions are respectful and everyone gets a chance to contribute equally, most people thrive on this kind of debate, finding it not only intellectually stimulating but also helpful for unearthing the best solutions.

What’s more, teams typically feel more bonded and more effective when they have challenging discussions regularly, trading a wide range of ideas and perspectives. That’s even true when those debates get a little heated. After all, this is the whole point of diversity and inclusion–it’s about bringing in people whose points of view differ in order to spark new ideas and ways of looking at things. But facilitating these conversations takes some ground rules, like these:

  • Treat each other with respect, and challenge the position, not the person.
  • Listen to one another carefully before responding, and ask for clarification if needed. Gather facts; don’t jump to conclusions.
  • Come to the debate ready to present facts and data, not suppositions.
  • Do not compete to “win.” Debates are a chance to find and test the best ideas and to learn, not to score points.
  • After the team makes a decision collaboratively, everyone needs to respect and support it, even if they have their own reservations.

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SIX QUESTIONS FOR FACILITATING SMART DEBATES

Mark Beck is the CEO of JELD-WEN, a global window and door manufacturer with 20,000 employees. He believes it’s leaders’ jobs to step in and protect people when things get heated–which they sometimes still do, even after laying down solid guidelines.

In some cases, Beck says, he might take the side of a person whose view is under assault, even if he personally doesn’t necessarily agree with it. This isn’t gamesmanship, it’s to show that the person is offering up a reasonable way of thinking that should be respected. “The attacker usually steps back a little and softens their tone when a leader does that,” he told us.

And, Beck adds, managers must take the lead in getting everyone to participate by posing the right questions. Here are six great questions we’ve heard effective team leaders like Beck throw out in debates:

  1. That’s a good thought. Could you walk us through the process you went through to reach that conclusion?
  2. What rules should we be breaking here?
  3. What’s our biggest risk in this, and what’s our fallback position?’
  4. What if we did nothing at all–what would happen then?
  5. Are we missing or forgetting anything?
  6. Aside from earning us a profit, how would this decision change lives and make the world a better place?

Beck said that smart questions can encourage active debate when a team has plateaued or is stuck in a safe zone. At times of such inertia, he’ll tell his direct reports, “The only way you can get your topic on the management-team agenda is to frame it out as a question, and collectively we have to come up with an answer.”

CHANGING THE QUESTION

These six questions aren’t the end-all-be-all, though. Sometimes you need to reframe a question you’ve already asked and revisit it from a new angle.

The Best Team Wins: The New Science Of High Performance by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton

When Beck arrived at JELD-WEN, the company’s focus was on getting ready to issue an initial public offering (IPO). He changed the question to, “How do we get ready to become a Fortune 500 company?” JELD-WEN did wind up issuing a very successful IPO in 2017, “but,” says Beck, “that’s been because we were focused on building a Fortune 500 company,” he said. “If we had just focused on the IPO and seen that as the finish line, I don’t think our story would have resonated with investors in the same way.”

And ironically enough, because his teams stick to respectful ground rules while they disagree, Beck estimates that they’re able to come to a consensus about 99% of the time. “If it’s done right, there’s usually no need for a leader to have to make a decision–it’s become obvious to everyone.”

And from there, Beck says, his job is actually pretty easy: “I might just say, ‘Let me summarize what I think we are all saying’.”

This article is adapted from The Best Team Wins: The New Science of High Performance by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton. Copyright © 2018 by Gostick & Elton, IP, LLC. Reprinted by permission of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

 

FastCompany.com | March 5, 2018 | BY ADRIAN GOSTICK AND CHESTER ELTON 4 MINUTE READ

 

 

#Leadership : Why Monday Is Your Most #ProductiveDay Of The Week…Even If it Doesn’t Feel like It. Here’s How to Make the Most of It.

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You may be working for the weekend, but when it comes to actually getting work done, Monday is the most productive day, according to a study by Redbooth. The data collaboration software provider found that the highest percentage of tasks–20.4%–are completed on Monday, compared to Friday, when only 16.7% of work tasks are accomplished. Tuesday is a close second, accounting for 20.2% of work.

“Given the relatively low completion levels on the latter days of the week, it’s likely that Monday is the ‘catch up’ day at work,” according to the report.

WHY MONDAY IS MADE FOR WORKING

Mondays are prime for work because they feel like a fresh start, says productivity coach Deb Lee. “When you’ve had the weekend to take a break, relax and regroup, you come back to work fresher than when you walked out the door the previous Friday,” she says. “We tend to tackle our work week-by-week, which means Monday can often be less stressful than say a Thursday or a Friday when those end-of-week deadlines are approaching. That stress-free, clean-slate feeling on Monday morning can inspire creativity and boost productivity.”

Focus is often at its highest at the beginning of a work week, adds Scott Amyx, author of Strive: How Doing the Things Most Uncomfortable Leads to Success. “On Mondays, you have a vantage point, looking at your priorities for the week and then appropriately applying your highest level of concentration to the hardest tasks,” he says.

Willpower might also be replenished on Monday, says Amyx. “For those who believe that willpower is limited, I believe that they do apply the greatest energy on Mondays,” he says.

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MAKING THE MOST OF MONDAY

The key to starting off the workweek in high productivity mode is being ready, says Lee. “You could prepare for the week on Friday afternoon, before heading home for the weekend,” she says. “Others look to Sunday evening as an opportunity to prep meals, pull clothes out for Monday morning, and check their calendars. It’s also fine to save your preparation for Monday morning—just be sure to set aside at least 30 uninterrupted minutes when you arrive at your desk to regroup and map out an action plan.”

Set up the week for success by not completely unplugging over the weekend, says Amyx. “Perhaps one of the biggest culprits to a stressful Monday is email,” he says. “Workers end up sifting through dozens of emails to come up for air hours later to find out it’s already lunch time. Give yourself permission to check once or twice on the weekend to quickly prioritize what’s urgent, important, lower priority or spam.”

Use your renewed energy on a Monday by blocking out time to focus, suggests Amyx. “Success comes when we do the things most uncomfortable,” he says. “Instead of acquiescing to your urge to check your email on Monday morning, time bound it to five to 10 minutes, not to answer emails but rather to quickly organize and prioritize. Then allocate the next one to two hours to do the hardest, brain intensive work without interruption.”

And cancel Monday morning meetings, suggests Mike Vardy, author of The Front Nine: How to Start the Year You Want Anytime You Want. “If your meetings are scheduled for first thing on Mondays and if you have any pull with your superiors then ask if it’d be possible to shift the meeting to later in the day,” he writes on his Productivityist blog. “Mention that giving each of your colleagues time in their own space before going into a meeting would allow them to be more ‘present’ in the meeting. If you are absolutely certain that there’s no way you can avoid that early morning Monday meeting, then make sure you prepare for that meeting the night before. That alone will make your Monday morning better.”

When you start to organize your Mondays by your priorities, productivity, and rewards then you feel great about your accomplishments, says Amyx. “There’s no greater satisfaction than knowing that you overcame the biggest, gnarliest cognitive, creative work to make significant progress on your project or tasks,” he says.

#Leadership : Work Smart- 5 Ways To Make Sure Your #Meeting Will Be #Productive …Don’t Accept another Meeting Invite without Making Sure it Meets all of These Criteria.

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Meetings can be the bane of working life, but they don’t have to be a waste of time if you ask yourself a series of questions before every meeting, and only attend meetings that are really necessary.

So before you click “accept” on that new calendar invitation, look out for these signs that indicate it’s not going to be a waste of your time.

1) YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE MEETING IS ABOUT AND WHAT IT’S TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH

Part of the reason that a meeting tends to drag on for longer than it needs to is because there is no clear purpose. As a result, attendees might be more likely to veer off topic for long periods of time. Christopher Frank, a VP at American Express, asks everyone to answer the question, “What exactly are we meeting about?” at the start of each meeting. He said, “This will show you if everyone is on the same page or not, and if your meeting topic is focused enough. Are the answers inconsistent or too long? Refocus the meeting and try again.”

Related: How To Nail The First 90 Seconds Of That Big Meeting

2) YOU KNOW WHAT TYPE OF DISCUSSION WILL TAKE PLACE

Each meeting has a different purpose and commands a different type of discussion. Cameron Herold, business consultant and author of Double Double: How to Double Your Revenue and Profit in Three Years or Less, told Fast Company in a 2015 article that there are three types of meetings: information share, creative discussion, and consensus meetings.

In information-share meetings, attendees are expected to listen, and discussions are generally limited to “requests for clarification.” Creative discussion meetings tend to be an exercise in brainstorming, and consensus meetings require participants to make a unanimous decision. Having a good idea of what type of discussion will take place ahead of time lets you be better prepared, and allows you to plan accordingly. 

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3) THERE IS A CLEAR AGENDA TO ACHIEVE THE OBJECTIVE

Having an objective is one thing, but a productive meeting focuses on what needs to happen in order to meet that objective. Connie Williams, CMO & chief knowledge officer at Syneticsworld, a company that studies meeting processes, told Fast Company that instead of focusing on the problem, facilitators should frame the agenda in “problem-solving” language. Some examples: How can we build a better campaign? How can we find new clients? As Williams explained, encouraging people to think about solutions means that they’re less likely to focus on the problems. 

4)  ITEMS ARE PRIORITIZED ACCORDINGLY

In addition to being solution-focused, a productive meeting prioritizes the most important items and tackles those first. Mat MacInnis, CEO and founder of digital content platform Inkling, previously wrote in Fast Company that his team would always prioritize the meeting items based on what they need to get done that week, and park any debates that spin into “strategic, long-term conversations” for later discussions. At the end of the meeting, everyone knows exactly what they need to execute for the rest of the week.

Related:  This Silicon Valley-Style Meeting Can Transform Your Whole Team 

5)  THERE ARE SYSTEMS IN PLACE TO PREVENT MULTITASKING AND INTERRUPTIONS

Sometimes, it’s not the meeting itself that’s unproductive, but the attendees. Whether they’re answering emails instead of listening to an important announcement, or they’re constantly interrupting another, there needs to be a system in place to prevent this from derailing your meeting. For one, you can either ban digital devices in meetings, or limit them to those who may need them for meeting purposes, such as pulling up a presentation. If it is interruption that you’re trying to fix, you can assign someone to monitor and interject the interruptors, setting the expectation that people should be able to finish what they want to say at every meeting.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Anisa is the Editorial Assistant for Fast Company’s Leadership section. She covers everything from personal development, entrepreneurship and the future of work.

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FastCompany.com | February 1, 2018 |  BY ANISA PURBASARI HORTON 3 MINUTE READ