Inevitably there will be times when you have setbacks or things don t go your way. Maybe you didn't get a job you thought you were sure to get. Maybe you lost a job unexpectedly, didn't win a contract, or lost a major client. Your car always seems to break down right after you've had some other unexpected expense. These kinds of situations immediately place us in crisis. They don t feel good, but sometimes they re what we need in order to grow. The beautiful thing about crises is that they force us to take a step back and reevaluate what s going on in our lives and rediscover what we truly want and need. When we get over that initial shock and feeling of disappointment, we might realize that maybe that job wasn't really the best for us anyway. Maybe, just maybe, that wasn't what you really wanted to spend your life doing. Maybe that friend was holding you back instead of pushing you forward. The way I deal with crises of these sorts is simple: If something doesn't go my way professionally, I try to create a situation that would be more rewarding than the situation originally planned. A while ago, I was offered a job that looked very promising. After I accepted the offer, they pushed the start date back three times, later informing me (via e-mail) that they wanted to bring me on in the near future but I should feel free to explore other options. I was extremely disappointed. I felt disrespected and angry, but decided to make the best of the situation and follow my dream of working internationally. I then flew to Santiago, Chile and had great professional and personal experiences I wouldn't have had otherwise. Later, reflecting back on the original opportunity, I realized that working for a company that avoids a start date three times and then can t pick up the phone to explain the situation is probably not where I need to spend my time. Use setbacks as an opportunity to put your goals in order and act on them. In the moment, it s difficult to look at a setback as temporary, but they are. They happen to everybody. It s how you respond to them that will determine how they affect you.
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“How do we do this more efficiently,” we always hear in the workplace. How can we do this and this and this and this, and squeeze it into one workday? The problem with focusing on efficiency is that, in order to do so, we’re not focusing on effectiveness.
Efficiency is minimizing the amount of resources it takes to accomplish a task. Effectiveness focuses on what tasks need to be done in order to accomplish the actual desired result. Focus on what it takes to be effective instead of what it takes to be efficient.
Today I came across an interesting article in Change.org by Tara Lohan, describing how one company is planning on using Soda to solve global warming. To read the article in full click here.
Why is it that some managers have great relationships with their employees while others don’t? How is it that turnover can drop, or increase tremendously with the addition or subtraction of a single person? Managers typically have the same or very similar goals, stresses, and pressures. Getting people to do what you want is, for the most part, pretty simple. You don’t have to have a prestigious degree. You don’t have to have the answers to everything. They may help you earn respect, but they won’t get people to do things for you. Respect is key to getting people to do things. The days when tyranny scared people into productivity are all but over. You have to make people feel important.
What Is Making People Feel Important:
- Showing respect to the people with whom you work
- Providing constructive criticism
- Encouraging creative solutions
- Involving your team
- Remembering (and saying) a person’s name – VERY IMPORTANT
- Saying “hello” to people (address them with their name)
- Explaining the importance of a project or assignment
- Listening to concerns (real listening)
- Following up on those concerns
What Is NOT Making People Feel Important:
- Attempting to buy respect
- Providing destructive criticism
- Not listening to critiques made of you
- Assigning assignments and projects with no explanation
- Not involving your team
- Not listening to your team
- Hearing concerns rather than listening to them
- Forgetting about things that are important to others
- Gossiping
- Sexually harassment
I know you can think of others you can add. What else would you like to add to these lists? Leave your comments below.