How to Speak Up in a Meeting, and When to Hold Back
Improve your contributions to meetings with these three strategies:...
Here’s What Successful People Do When They’re Feeling Unhappy at Work (Hint: It’s Not ‘Stick It Out’)
We all have days at work when nothing goes right. Usually, we shrug it off and hope that tomorrow is better.
However, when those days start blending together, and you notice your energy for work dwindling week after week, you may start realizing that it's not just an "off" month--you're unhappy at work.
This isn't uncommon. In fact, according to Gallup's most recent engagement survey, only 34 percent of Americans are engaged with their work--which means 66 percent aren't. Furthermore, of that 66 percent, 13 percent are actively disengaged, meaning they openly show and express their displeasure at work (which is pretty toxic for themselves and anyone around them).
The question is then, what should we do when we feel a dip in engagement at work? Successful people, those who love their work and have careers that are continually moving in a positive direction, take this kind of situation seriously. They take action.
And you can, too. Here are four steps you can take when you start feeling this way. They'll...
8 Ways to Stand Out for That Ideal Job Without a Stellar Resume
Startups and small businesses are different worlds from big enterprises, so the qualities you need to get a job in a new venture are different.
Corporate environments are looking for depth of technical skills and experience, while small businesses need everyone to be customer-centric, with a broad range of perspectives and experiences, in addition to the specific skill requested.
In my experience, if you want to be that ideal candidate for an attractive position in a new venture or a small business, I recommend that you orient your résumé and your interview discussion to all of the following attributes, in addition to your skills and prior experience:
1. Focus on "people-smarts" rather than "technical-smarts."
The key to success in new businesses is good communication with other people, both peers...
Stop Complaining About Your Colleagues Behind Their Backs
In my coaching work with leaders and teams, I often ask my clients whether they engage in workplace gossip. More often than not, they respond, “of course not!” with a look on their faces that indicates that they are insulted to have been asked such a question.
But when I ask them whether they have ever participated in a “confirmation expedition” — whereby they 1) ask a colleague to confirm their own negative or challenging experience with a third colleague who is not present, or 2) welcome a similar line of confirmation inquiry from another colleague about a third colleague who is not present, most admit that this is, in fact, a regular part of their daily work life.
While leaders and teams might consider this behavior to be innocent “blowing off steam” or the more strategic “confirming performance data,” I consider it a form of workplace gossip....
Why unit trusts is best Covid times investment option
The current environment emanating from the Covid-19 pandemic is unprecedented and has had a huge and adverse impact on both the demand and supply chain.
Financial institutions, such as banks and insurance companies, with the support of their respective regulators, have come up with different programmes to cushion customers from the current economic slump. These include extension of loan terms or issuing loan and premium repayment holidays. Payment holidays are meant to offer relief to people who may be experiencing financial difficulties in honouring their contractual obligations.
Usually, the market demands some level of certainty and stability, but the current environment reflects neither of these. Even more unsettling, we do not know when it will stabilise or if there is going to be a second wave of Covid-19 or how far out we are in terms of production of a vaccine.
That said and in terms of making an entry into the market, it really depends on, but not limited to, your financial...
Implement These Three Leadership Tactics from Abe Lincoln Today
During the early part of the Civil War, the Union was facing great difficulty in the Eastern Theater. Robert E. Lee was routinely trouncing on the U.S. Army from early 1862 through mid-1863. Lincoln tried out four or five Union commanders, all of whom were fired.
As I reflect on my entrepreneurial voyage, I have some appreciation for how hard it must have been for Lincoln to fire all of these generals, who we have to remember were at the very top of the military command system. Of course, Lincoln eventually landed on Ulysses S. Grant and put him in charge, which I believe turned the war to the Union's favor.
There are three attributes of Lincoln that would make him a good entrepreneur today....
Thou Shall Not Fall in Love With Your Job and Employer
Mediamax Networks Ltd media company has just sent home a huge number of employees. Poleni sana. But I want to take this opportunity to ask you not to take this redundancy personal. I’ts not a rejection.
Mediamax hasn’t weighed you and found you wanting. It’s not a statement of your performance. Look at it from the point of view that it cannot afford your services anymore.
In 2002, I was made redundant by Reuters. My detractors ran around Nairobi gossiping about I being a non-performer. The company itself mumbled incoherently about why it was sending me home. Shortly, those who were laughing at me followed me out. Cashflow issues....
Stop Calling Yourself the ‘CEO’ and Start Telling People What You Do
J D Wetherspoon is well-known in the United Kingdom for its more than 890 pubs, as well as a chain of upscale bars and boutique hotels. The firm, founded in 1979 by Tim Martin, grosses about $2.2 billion a year and employs more than 37,000 people. Martin prides himself on visiting anywhere from 10 to 20 of his establishments each week. He writes notes on the staff, the cutlery, the quality of food and, of course, the beer. Oh, and he consumes about two to four pints of it just about every day.
Martin's official title at Wetherspoon, which is a publicly held company, is chairman and founder. But, don't you dare call him that. "I'm a publican," he said in a recent BBC interview. "My day-to-day life is running pubs."...
If You Aren’t a Morning Person, Neuroscience Says Please Stop Trying to Be
Tim Cook gets up at 3.45 a.m. Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi gets up at 4 a.m. Disney CEO Bob Iger is a 4.30 kind of guy.
Jack Dorsey sleeps in until 5.30. So does my buddy Richard Branson.
Rarely do night owls get good press.
Because hey: Successful people wake up early.
Well, at least some of them do.
As Adam Grant says, "The world's most successful people aren't worried about what time others wake up. They wake and work on the schedule that works for them."...
Michael Acton Smith: How to Turn Your Craziest Business Ideas Into Reality
As a young entrepreneur, Michael Acton Smith had big ideas for his business.
Communicating that vision to investors was the challenge for Smith, the co-founder and co-CEO of mindfulness and meditation app Calm. The app launched in 2012, and finally found significant traction after being named Apple's App of the Year in 2017. Now, it's valued at more than $1 billion. Looking back, Smith says, being able to tell a great story about your brand's future is a crucial part of selling your idea. It's equally important, he adds, to constantly take small, actionable steps toward realizing that future.
"You do need that wild vision," says Smith. "But you also need to get out of bed, roll your sleeves, and do that critical execution work every single day to get to each step of many steps on the journey."
Experimenting regularly and staying disciplined about your goals can help turn a big vision into a business reality. That's one of the key takeaways from this week's episode of Inc.'s What I Know podcast,...
How to Collaborate with People You Don’t Like
A few months ago, a former client — let’s call her Kacie— called me to check in. I had supported her through her transition when she had joined a prestigious global financial services firm several months prior. Given how deliberately and thoughtfully she’d gone through the process, I expected that our conversation would be about her early wins.
Instead, Kacie confessed that she had a simple but serious problem: she wasn’t getting along well with a peer-level executive — let’s call her Marta. The two had gotten off on the wrong foot, and as time passed things weren’t getting any better. Kacie told me that it was becoming painfully clear that her inability to get along with Marta was going to impede her success, and possibly derail her career at the company.
As Kacie and I explored the situation, she told me that Marta was seen as a highly talented, accomplished, and well-liked executive — she wasn’t toxic or difficult. But Kacie admitted...
Want More Clients? Focus On Your Personal Brand
How would it feel to run a competition-proof business? Wouldn't you just love to have your client roster full? How about a waiting list of hot prospects impatiently longing for an opportunity to tap into your genius?
Here is the secret to making it happen with ease: Focus on your personal brand, and start building your visibility and audience online. Social media offers a brilliant platform to establish yourself as a sought-after expert in your niche. When you commit to showing up as who you are, regardless of your previous status or even the size of your audience, you can immediately experience some delightful advantages of getting more “personal” in your marketing.
People trust other people more than they trust brands
When you create content around who you are as a person (your values, your experiences, your passions), your audience develops a much deeper connection and trust, as they feel like they almost know you personally....
4 Ways to Survive a Crisis as a Public Speaker
The COVID-19 pandemic has not only been difficult from a health perspective. It’s also been really challenging financially for those whose careers largely depend on in-person interactions, like public speakers. In my own case, I’ve lost many great speaking gigs, including an opportunity to speak at SXSW. But that doesn’t mean I have to just wait around, with no income, until conferences and other events can resume.
Public speakers like myself can survive this crisis by focusing on digital opportunities in the short term and looking long term toward future in-person opportunities. Specifically, you can take these four steps:...
Want to Avoid Being a Bad Boss? Here Are 5 Ways to Take Your Leadership from Good to Great
No one wants to be a bad boss. Unfortunately, there appear to be more bad bosses out there than good ones. Research shows that 90 percent of people lack natural leadership skills, and 60 percent of employees plan to leave their company because of a bad boss.
This does not have to be the case at all.
Shane Metcalf is chief culture officer and co-founder of HR tech company 15Five. 15Five recently launched Best Self Academy, a free online education platform that provides managers with the tools and training to unlock the potential of each and every employee, effectively increasing employee retention, productivity, and their overall contribution to the company....
If You Don’t Listen to Your Employees, Someone Else Will
The Conference Board’s C-Suite Challenge 2019 survey revealed that the top internal concern of global CEOs and executives isn’t disruptive technology or ever-evolving data privacy rules -- it’s keeping good people.
As a business owner and CEO, I’m inclined to agree. Top talent is hard to find (especially in the current labor market), and it’s even harder to keep.
Take the millennials portion of the workforce. Its members generally have different expectations of work than their predecessors.They demand rapid mobility and new experiences, and they frequently seek out companies that share their personal values.
Members of this cohort also know about and use a multitude of websites, recruiting services and apps to connect them with potential employers; and the gig economy gives them options for making ends meet until the right full-time opportunity shows up....
