Becoming a Better Employee
Most of the talk is about being a better manager. But what about our own contributions as employees? Seriously thinking about our work persona and making changes may also make you more indispensable. Here are some ideas for becoming a better employee.
- Show Emotional Intelligence. We live in ever-changing environments. Stress levels can be high. But the ability to manage the highs and lows at work is an increasingly important skill. If your coping mechanism keeps you from getting defensive or emotional, you probably work more effectively is tough situations. Cooperation is high among those with emotional intelligence, which makes them more valuable in the workplace.
- Plan for your own development. You may work for an organization that includes a formal development process, but if not, plan your own. The goal here is to bring out your fullest potential – you have to WANT to improve for it to happen. And when you discover what really matters to you, you’ll foster real change. Understanding what you can work on and how to improve it is important. When you actively seek out new skills, you are recognized as someone willing to take the initiative. More than likely, you’ll be given more responsibility.
- Connect. Connect. Connect. The more connections you have in the workplace, the more opportunities present themselves. Connecting with people often means admitting to what you don’t know. As you connect with more people, you can learn exponentially. Be patient. Give people a chance to get to know you, and trust you. And give as much as you can.
- Say Thank You. The most innovative managers are those who recognize the work of others. Why? Because they encourage innovation and productivity. Recognition doesn’t have to be expensive, or hard. It may mean giving a spot award to someone who has made a concerted effort to launch an initiative. If a team deserves recognition, consider something that may not be the norm for your workplace – wearing blue jeans for one week, for example. You can also consider recognizing anniversaries – perhaps a lunch outing or an unexpected coffee and bagel.
- Plan your goals, and strive to implement them. Work with your manager to plan your goals. And then make sure you review these goals daily. Try printing them out and posting them at your desk. Being proactive about progress and challenges will make you a better employee.
- Manage your time more constructively. Think about the day’s activities. What usually pulls you away from your important work? Whatever it is, minimize the time you spend on that activity. If it’s email, try checking your email just twice a day. If it’s finding files, develop a system that’s easier to remember.
- Make things easier for your boss. The idea here is to be more concise. Can you send emails that get to the point quicker? Leave out all the details that are unimportant and get to the point immediately. Can you give regular updates on a project rather than wait to be asked? Be honest. Your manager will trust you more. Ask questions. If you admit what you don’t know, you are more likely to build respect. And in many cases, your manager can point you to someone who may have the answer.
- Deal with conflict proactively. The cardinal rule is to first find out what’s causing the conflict. It may just be a stressful time in the workplace. Or it could be an overload of emotions. Talk it out. Suggest a compromise. See our tips in the next article.
You probably have ideas of your own on how you can be a better employee. This may in fact, be a good discussion to have with your manager. Be open to new ideas. You manager will come away realizing that you are on the job to be more productive. You benefit. Your organization benefits. It’s a win-win.
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Keys to Dealing with Conflict
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Sound business practices. Don’t assume. Instead, define acceptable behavior. Having clearly defined job descriptions help. Effective communication from leadership goes a long way to avoiding conflicts. - Don’t shrink. Some people go to great lengths to avoid conflict. What usually happens in such cases is that conflict grows. At the first suggestion, seek out potential areas of conflict and resolve them. The time you spend identifying potential projects will help you avoid future conflict.
- Identify motivations. If you can approach the problem from the prospective of what’s the best action needed to help everyone reach their objectives, you should find few obstacles
- How important is it? While it’s best to meet conflict head-on, there are some conflicts that are not important. If you call attention to the problem, you may just be blowing it out of proportion.
- Conflict is really an opportunity. There is some learning possibility that comes from any conflict. Take advantage of that opportunity and build in the potential for growth and development. Opposite positions can stimulate innovation and learning. Take advantage of it.
Ditch Bad Habits This Year
Can 2017 be the year that you get rid of bad habits and make real strides forward? It can, but it requires new thinking. Moving forward means we have to drop some of the things we hold onto, even though they may be things we’ve come to expect, and accept. I’m one of the worst at letting go! I know it. The people around me know it. But sometimes, it seems that I just HAVE to keep those old habits going. Not this year. I’m going to make a concerted effort to let go of these bad habits. Do you want to join me? They say that if we join forces, there’s a better chance we’ll succeed in ditching our bad habits. Here’s a list of bad habits often seen in the workplace.
Striving for perfection. While we all want our work to be correct, striving for the perfect result does not pay off. We lose time, the project takes longer to complete and the end result is not significantly improved. Instead, we overstress ourselves and those around us.
Addiction to our phones. Have you noticed sometimes when you’re out, that everyone’s on their phones? Whether they’re playing games, on social media or checking email, it’s a habit most of us need to break. There’s a difference between responsible communication and not interacting with the people around you.
Accepting a high level of stress. I blame this one on the “east-coast-culture.” Truthfully though, it’s prevalent everywhere. There is so much going on in our lives that it’s easy to accept a high level of stress as normal. We sometimes contribute to our own stress. Even before we begin work, our thinking turns negative. We say to ourselves, “I’ll never get this all done today!” It’s up to us to break our own stress habit. We can turn our attitude around by saying “Let’s see how much I can get done on this project today.”
Sticking with the way we’ve always done things. There are so many tasks that can be done faster and more efficiently today than in the past. These tasks may require learning new technology – which can be frightening to many. But spending time to sit down with someone who can explain a faster way of accomplishing a tasks broadens our minds and keeps us current.
Acting too quickly. When I can’t answer emails quickly, I notice that some problems solve themselves. The same thing happens in meetings. When we listen to the discussion for a while, rather than come to a quick decision, the best way to solve the problem surfaces naturally. Holding back, rather than jumping in too quickly, is often more effective.
Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn this month. I’ll provide more information on bad habits we should kick and how to succeed! Share your ideas with me!
Steps You Can Take To Break Bad Habits
Looking at the list of bad habits commonly found in the workplace, I’m pretty determined that I’d like to break myself of at least some of them. To be successful, the experts say to follow these steps.
- Find a partner who will work with you to help ditch these bad habits.
2. Put a voice to your bad habit. Admitting your habit to someone makes you accountable. Sharing your habit with a friend will also make you more conscious of it when you fall back into the habit.
3. Write it down. Whatever your bad habit, when you find yourself repeating it, write it down. Write down how you feel – what’s going through your head. This action will also make you more aware of your bad habit before it happens.
4. Think of a good response for the next time. If your bad habit is accepting too much stress, try a one-minute meditation. Or get up from you chair and take a 5-minute walk. Find something that can replace your bad habit.
5. Reward yourself. Start small. How can you reward yourself when you’ve avoided the habit? Then keep rewarding yourself and plan for a big reward when you finally feel like you’ve ditched the habit for good.
Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn this month. I’ll provide more information on bad habits we should kick and how to succeed! Share your ideas with me!
Positivity
Did you happen to notice around the end of 2016 how many people were looking forward to saying goodbye to the year? 2016 was a rough one for many folks. It was a divisive political environment, we said goodbye to many sports and entertainment personalities and there were too many tragedies broadcast over the air waves.
But turning the calendar page from one year to the next does little to change our overall emotional well-being. There are lots of things we can all do to improve our mood and general outlook. I like this article from Fast Company on 10 Science-Backed Ways to Be More Positive in 2017. There are some simple ideas here, such as breathing deeply, scheduling our own self-care sessions, volunteering time and meditation. Everyone can practice some of these methods to help improve your outlook.
For me, part of being positive comes from recognizing the things that I should be grateful for. A gentle reminder to ourselves makes us realize our good fortune. Things that I’ve stressed about become less annoying when I remember how lucky I am.
I also search out positive people. Have you ever noticed how much better you feel after you’ve been around a person who inspires you? A happy, positive person generally spreads happy thoughts around the office.
Even when you adopt a few habits to increase your positivity, there are times in our lives, especially in today’s uber-connected world, when things can overwhelm us. When that happens, it may be time to change the way we live and work. We are constantly connected with our work, our home and our national and global news sources. It’s easy to feel bogged down. Maintaining positivity might mean disconnecting with the world around is – even if it’s only for a short time.
Try opening your email just twice a day. Constantly communicating with co-workers may not be the ideal situation. Think about putting your phone down when you get home in the evening, and try not to look at it until after dinner. Short breaks from the constant clutter that comes our way can be quite effective in relieving our stress and shifting our outlook from gloomy to glad!
And one more tip. So often, we measure our value by productivity. But when we try to battle three things at once, we can end up even more frustrated. Instead, focus on getting one thing done at a time. As you arrive at work each day, say to yourself – “What is the most important thing for me to do today?” Make that one action your priority and get it done. Even if it’s the ONLY thing you accomplish that day, you can positively remember that you did accomplish your most important task. And then put the rest aside, there’s another day to tackle the next project on your list!
Six Things You Can Do To Be More Positive
These tips won’t cost you a dime. And they’re easy, so time is no excuse!
- Purposefully Breathe. Long breaths in, long breaths out. Repeat them 5 times.
- Turn off your phone. Maybe just for an hour. Watch how much you get done!
- Reward yourself. A hot bath, a walk at lunchtime, music while you cook dinner, 10 pages of your favorite book – all of these ideas will bring a calmness to your life.
- Choose a word every day that lightens the mood and brings soothing thoughts. Beach. Snow. Faith. Peace. Whatever the word is, take time during your day to consciously think about it for a minute or two.
- Get up, walk around, roll your shoulders. The simple act of pushing yourself away from your desk and computer will relax you and make you think differently.
- Thank someone. At home or at work, giving a sincere thanks to someone not only lightens that person’s day, but yours also.
Deriving Pleasure From Results
Last month, we talked about recognizing accomplishments and doing what matters! As humans, we get pleasure from accomplishment. So it makes sense that as we approach 2017, our goal should be to create a culture of accomplishment in the workplace to engage our employees even more powerfully.
This video appeared in 2015. It’s been viewed time and time again. It’s pretty simple. It’s about accomplishing the first task of the day and the importance of that task. Take a look. The video resonates with many of us. We somehow find great comfort in checking off a task. We recognize that something has been accomplished.
As the manager of your department, organization, project team or company, your job is to set goals. But it’s also your job to help employees reach those goals. So starting now, begin 2017 as the year of accomplishment. Here are some tips for making that happen.
- Celebrate the small wins. If the team has an enormous project ahead of them for the year, break it up into small projects. Seeing success along the way makes the entire project more palatable and doable! And small celebrations help to keep everyone on track. You recognize their efforts and progress. And in return, your team gets a boost of energy. The feeling of satisfaction permeates throughout the office!
2. Be present. That seems easy, but sometimes leaders are in such a hurry, they forget to touch base with individuals. Keeping a team on track is important, so regular meetings and constant feedback is fuel for your team. Being present doesn’t mean micromanaging – it’s just keeping in touch and providing positive reinforcement.
3. Be clear and concise. I once had a manager that would give a task and then talk about it for 10-15 minutes. By the time he was finished, we were more confused than before our meeting! Instead, be clear. Explain what the goals are and what your expectation is for every member of the team.
4. Be positive. Besides celebrating small wins, make sure you celebrate milestones. Give credit to the team. And point out how well they’ve accomplished a project. Emphasize the positive.
Helping your team measure and track success instills a culture of accomplishment. The next time you have an opportunity to celebrate, be sure you do – no matter how busy your day!
Working Effectively as a Team, Motivating Employees, Building Trust and Integrity – these are just some of the courses we’ve developed for organizations. How can we help you? Give us a call at 301-670-0051. Let us help you put a plan in place to instill a culture of accomplishment in your organization.
Four Ways To Engage Your Employees
- Listen. Every company has good ideas. The question is, are they recognized? Too often, the good suggestions fall on deaf ears. Even if an idea seems silly, or not doable, before you reject it, let it work itself inside your brain for a while. Often, the best ideas come from where the work is being done.
- Get Feedback From Within. Being recognized by our manager is important, but just as important, and maybe more sincere, is the recognition we get from our colleagues. Start a campaign where employees can recognize the work of others.
- Inform. Sometimes organizations don’t see the need to inform everyone of progress, issues and roadblocks. So instead of knowing what’s going on, employees guess. Or wonder. A thorough understanding of the situation engages employees even more powerfully. Providing information encourages a culture of assistance. Instead of being discouraged, employees are more likely to ask, what can we do to overcome this barrier?
- Involve. No one is expected to have all the answers. Even management can’t possibly have all the answers. Involving employees in decisions is powerful. With involvement comes ownership. Employees work harder to make it happen.
Working Effectively as a Team, Motivating Employees, Building Trust and Integrity – these are just some of the courses we’ve developed for organizations. How can we help you? Give us a call at 301-670-0051. Let us help you put a plan in place to instill a culture of accomplishment in your organization.
Doing What Matters
Ever since childhood I remember my mom saying:
“Get a good education. That is something that no one can take away from you.”
In my parent’s house, college was mandatory. There were 5 children in the house, and all of us have some level of post high school learning – whether it be a college degree or specific military training. As a matter of fact, my youngest sibling excelled at maintaining the Army’s Black Hawk and served in Desert Storm. We are all so very proud of him.
When I received my MBA, of course my family was proud of me, but actually it felt quite normal. After all, that’s what we were supposed to do! I went on to be adjunct faculty and career counselor. Eventually, I started my own business – and now it’s going on 25 years!
It seems appropriate then, that my business is about educating and training people on how to become an effective leader. We help our clients find “What Matters to Them” and at the same time, I’m “Doing What Matters” to me.
Additionally, as a mentor for high school high achievers, I have seen so many extremely smart and ambitious youth who want to go to college. The problem is that there are very limited resources to take advantage of – short of their parents having to go into deep debt. It was different when I went to college. Then, there was an abundance of FREE college money. Indeed, I went to the University of Maryland – tuition-free! It appears that those days are long gone. So many kids are side-lined from fulfilling their dreams, realizing their purpose, for lack of money.
And so, I have now entered into my Next Life – Director of Let’s Go! In short, I started Let’s Go! as a non-profit in order to provide resources for ambitious and high achieving youth who just don’t have the means to take advantage of post-high school learning as I did. Let’s Go! – a highly competitive program – will not only provide financial resources for these youth, but it will also provide leadership and life skills. I’ve come full-circle. Once again – Doing What Matters. What matters to YOU?
Recognizing Accomplishments
November has blessed us with some wonderful weather and forceful sunshine! Even if it were not the month that we traditionally give thanks, we might be thankful each time we go out the door. When we really sit down and think about it, we realize that it’s often the littlest things – the things we sometimes take for granted – that we are most thankful for.
I once had a boss who rarely acknowledged accomplishments. He thought accomplishments were expected, and praising an accomplishment might make someone sit back and not work very hard. I’d often shake my head, wondering, what was he thinking! In truth, when we recognize accomplishments, we provide a lift to the person or team we recognize. Instead of sitting back and doing nothing, a little recognition usually makes people work harder! They are grateful – grateful to have a job and grateful that hard work is recognized.
So in this month of November, as the days grow shorter and the year-end approaches, let’s remember the things we can do to celebrate successes. Here’s a list. How many can you practice before December 31st?
- Recognizing success is often about doing what matters. It’s taking your job seriously and performing the work that is important to the mission. Do you have a manager or team leader who has battled through opposition? Or maybe led a team with dignity? Celebrate their success with a hand-written note. A simple Thank You will prove to be a happy diversion for a job well done.
- Celebrating the entire team. Besides the pessimistic boss described above, I also had one that understood how important it was to recognize the team. So he would arrange an event. Something simple. He’d bring in root beer and vanilla ice cream and make root beer floats after lunch! Or he stopped by the donut place and grab a large container of coffee and donuts. Whatever he planned, it came with a public display of recognition. Wow, did that make us feel good!
- Perk up someone’s day with a small card from Starbucks. It might just have $5 on it, but you end up making that person feel good twice – when you give it to them and make note of why he/she deserves it, and when they use the card!
- Set up a Brag Board. This is great if you have a team. Ask them to bring something that can be added to a poster that reminds them of the job they’re working on. Make it known that you want brag on them a little and want visitors to see what’s being accomplished. The board will grow as more contributions come in, making it a topic of interest for a while, and a constant reminder that you wanted to brag!
- Finally, just say it. Say Thank You. Genuinely given, a simple thank you can have as great an impact as any of the other suggestions above.
Need help building a team? Or building a positive culture. Why don’t you give us a call and we’ll get started now so that 2017 becomes the year of achievements for your organization. Give us a call at 301-670-0051.