One of the fastest ways leaders accumulate stress is by constantly reacting to other people’s timelines. Missed deadlines, last-minute requests, and repeated vendor issues create unnecessary pressure that feels out of your control. In most cases, the problem is not other people. The problem is the absence of a proactive system. Why Proactivity Reduces Leadership…
Escape the Negative Influencer Other people are often the cause of our stress, whether they are upset about things that happen to them or outside world issues. Sometimes our co-workers or loved ones bring their stress with them to work and are in terrible moods. When that happens, one of the best things you can do is remove yourself…
Appreciate Your Employees & Give Them Feedback In a study conducted by USA Today a few years back, the top three things that employees want are: interesting work, appreciation and being “in” on things. The U.S. Dept. of Labor said 46% of all people who quit do so because they felt they are not appreciated…
You Do Have the Power to Stop Negative Behavior No matter what kind of professional you are, CEO, executive, business owner, doctor, lawyer, manager, you have the right and indeed, the responsibility, to set standards for your workplace. Many fields have set standards already, from healthcare to law. However you can go further. You can set standards of…
5:15 Can Make All the Difference In an article in Fortune Small Business, FSB, Pat Croce shared a clever way to stay on top of his employees’ progress, concerns and successes. Every Friday, all employees and managers write a progress report that lands on the desk or in the email of their supervisor. Eventually, all of the critical info…
If You Don’t Know What’s Going On, Ask One of the hardest parts of any job is feeling like you are missing critical data you need. Sometimes that data is product and service related, and other times it is personnel related. If you are in a situation where you don’t know the guidelines, you don’t…
Marketing Tip: Event Sponsorships Clients often ask me about unique ways to market themselves with good return. One approach is to sponsor an event or cause that you believe in, which has an audience of people who might use your business. Companies whose primary target market is women might pick the American Heart Association Go…
Management Tip: Catch People in the Act of Doing It Right At a recent networking function, I hugged a business associate and praised her for her recent accomplishments. She said, “I wish they treated me this way at work.” How sad that so many workplaces don’t emphasize praise, but rather just numbers and performance. Your…
Stress Express Tip: Give Crystal Clear Expectations to Your People Welcoa leader David Hunnicutt says that only 10% of all employers have crystal clear expectations for their employees. That’s especially astonishing when you need them to perform at high levels under significant pressure. If they don’t know exactly what is expected of them, how can they succeed? David suggested managers…
Fire Up! Your Intellectual Property Protection If you regularly post on your blog or newsletter, protect your material. Tammy Hawk-Bridges of the blog Social Heavy shared two free websites that allow you to check if someone is using your content without permission: Copyscape and Plagium. Using Copyscape, I found someone had taken an entire paragraph from my blog and…