How to Battle Job Boredom
It's easy to blame your company, your boss, or your colleagues when you feel bored with your job. But it's up to you to turn things around. Here are three ways to stop the boredom:
1. Turn off autopilot. Think about new ways of doing work and try new approaches to what may seem like old problems.
2. See change as possible. When you first started, you likely saw things that needed to change. After a few years, and perhaps a few setbacks, you started to see change as too difficult. Remind yourself that change is possible, even if it's slow, and vow to find ways to make the impossible possible.
3. Renew your leadership agenda. Think about what you wanted to accomplish during your first 90 days on the job, before you got bored. Renew your energy and commitment to make change happen.
Today's Management Tip was adapted from "Maybe You're the Reason Your Job Is Boring" by Susan Cramm.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Be a Better Leader by Building Your Self-Awareness
Be a Better Leader by Building Your Self-Awareness
Too many leaders think they are adept at everything. Self-aware leaders know that they can't possibly have the skills and knowledge to do it all. Instead, they are dynamic, adaptable, and emotionally intelligent. Here are three ways to build your own self-awareness:
1. Observe your own performance. Take note of the areas you excel in and those that need improvement. Share these observations with your team.
2. Know what you don't know. Accept that there are areas you have little expertise in. Seek out a team that can help you fill in the gaps.
3. Monitor your impact on others. Because so much of work is about relationships, knowing how you affect others is a critical leadership skill. Manage your emotional responses and look for cues that you're building relationships, not destroying them.
Today's Management Tip was adapted from "The Mark of a Great Leader" by Marshall Goldsmith.
Too many leaders think they are adept at everything. Self-aware leaders know that they can't possibly have the skills and knowledge to do it all. Instead, they are dynamic, adaptable, and emotionally intelligent. Here are three ways to build your own self-awareness:
1. Observe your own performance. Take note of the areas you excel in and those that need improvement. Share these observations with your team.
2. Know what you don't know. Accept that there are areas you have little expertise in. Seek out a team that can help you fill in the gaps.
3. Monitor your impact on others. Because so much of work is about relationships, knowing how you affect others is a critical leadership skill. Manage your emotional responses and look for cues that you're building relationships, not destroying them.
Today's Management Tip was adapted from "The Mark of a Great Leader" by Marshall Goldsmith.
4 Things Your Employees Want from You
4 Things Your Employees Want from You
Figuring out what your people want can feel like an intricate puzzle, especially when different employees require different things. Here are four things most employees need to be successful:
1. Role clarity. Tell your employees what their roles are, what you want them to achieve, and what the rules are for getting there.
2. Autonomy. People want something interesting to work on and they want to be trusted to do it well.
3. Accountability. Holding people accountable is not just about being fair. It also sends a message about what is and what isn't acceptable. This is critical for employees who are trying to figure out how to succeed.
4. Praise. Everyone wants to be recognized when they've done something right. You can motivate employees by highlighting their strengths and not harping on their weaknesses.
Today's Management Tip was adapted from "Eight Things Your Employees Want From You" by Melissa Raffoni.
Figuring out what your people want can feel like an intricate puzzle, especially when different employees require different things. Here are four things most employees need to be successful:
1. Role clarity. Tell your employees what their roles are, what you want them to achieve, and what the rules are for getting there.
2. Autonomy. People want something interesting to work on and they want to be trusted to do it well.
3. Accountability. Holding people accountable is not just about being fair. It also sends a message about what is and what isn't acceptable. This is critical for employees who are trying to figure out how to succeed.
4. Praise. Everyone wants to be recognized when they've done something right. You can motivate employees by highlighting their strengths and not harping on their weaknesses.
Today's Management Tip was adapted from "Eight Things Your Employees Want From You" by Melissa Raffoni.
3 Ways to Overcome Barriers to Change
3 Ways to Overcome Barriers to Change
People often react to change by resisting it, and smart change agents know that being aggressive only makes people increasingly defensive. Here are three ways to move around the defenses and closer to your goal:
1. Find another way in. If your change is rebuffed, try another tactic. Find out what matters to the people whose support you need and shift the focus of the change to take their preferences and goals into account.
2. Befriend people closest to your resisters. Make friends with administrative assistants, direct reports, or other people who spend time with them. These relationships often yield useful information and help get your ideas heard.
3. Go bottom up. If senior management is resisting your idea, start from the bottom of the organization and build grassroots support. With enough backing, you may be able to convince leaders to reconsider.
Today's Management Tip was adapted from "Four Ways to Attack the Castle — And Get a Job, Get Ahead, Make Change" by Rosabeth Moss Kanter.
People often react to change by resisting it, and smart change agents know that being aggressive only makes people increasingly defensive. Here are three ways to move around the defenses and closer to your goal:
1. Find another way in. If your change is rebuffed, try another tactic. Find out what matters to the people whose support you need and shift the focus of the change to take their preferences and goals into account.
2. Befriend people closest to your resisters. Make friends with administrative assistants, direct reports, or other people who spend time with them. These relationships often yield useful information and help get your ideas heard.
3. Go bottom up. If senior management is resisting your idea, start from the bottom of the organization and build grassroots support. With enough backing, you may be able to convince leaders to reconsider.
Today's Management Tip was adapted from "Four Ways to Attack the Castle — And Get a Job, Get Ahead, Make Change" by Rosabeth Moss Kanter.
3 Ways to Keep Your Brain in Shape
3 Ways to Keep Your Brain in Shape
The notion that we lose brain cells as we age has thankfully been disproved. But to continue to harness your brain power on the job, you need to keep your brain cells in good shape. Here are three ways to make sure your brain stays healthy:
1. Keep working. Most modern jobs involve multi-layered thinking, problem-solving, and socializing, all of which are good exercises for the brain.
2. Seek out new ideas and people. Get out of your thinking comfort zone and search for new ideas and people that rattle established brain patterns and challenge you to think in new ways.
3. Breathe. Like the heart, the brain needs oxygen and blood flow. The current star in brain science research is exercise. So get up and move around.
Today's Management Tip was adapted from "Harnessing Your Brain Power" by Barbara Strauch.
The notion that we lose brain cells as we age has thankfully been disproved. But to continue to harness your brain power on the job, you need to keep your brain cells in good shape. Here are three ways to make sure your brain stays healthy:
1. Keep working. Most modern jobs involve multi-layered thinking, problem-solving, and socializing, all of which are good exercises for the brain.
2. Seek out new ideas and people. Get out of your thinking comfort zone and search for new ideas and people that rattle established brain patterns and challenge you to think in new ways.
3. Breathe. Like the heart, the brain needs oxygen and blood flow. The current star in brain science research is exercise. So get up and move around.
Today's Management Tip was adapted from "Harnessing Your Brain Power" by Barbara Strauch.
Elevate Performance without Waiting for a Crisis
Elevate Performance without
Waiting for a Crisis
Crises often motivate people to achieve new levels of performance. Since you likely don't want to operate in crisis-mode, how can you access the hidden reserves in your company without waiting for a disaster? Tap into the three factors always present in a crisis response:
1. Urgency. People feel motivated when they know time matters. Set clear goals and clear consequences if the goals are not achieved. Don't run fire drills, however; people know false urgency when they see it.
2. Empathy. People want to feel emotionally connected to what they're doing. Show employees how their work will matter to others — their coworkers or your customers.
3. Innovation. In a crisis, there's no time or patience for red tape. Remove unnecessary organizational obstacles to being innovative. Get rid of the time-consuming processes that would be the first to go in a crisis.
Today's Management Tip was adapted from "Using Crisis Response Factors in the Absence of a Crisis" by Ron Ashkenas.
Waiting for a Crisis
Crises often motivate people to achieve new levels of performance. Since you likely don't want to operate in crisis-mode, how can you access the hidden reserves in your company without waiting for a disaster? Tap into the three factors always present in a crisis response:
1. Urgency. People feel motivated when they know time matters. Set clear goals and clear consequences if the goals are not achieved. Don't run fire drills, however; people know false urgency when they see it.
2. Empathy. People want to feel emotionally connected to what they're doing. Show employees how their work will matter to others — their coworkers or your customers.
3. Innovation. In a crisis, there's no time or patience for red tape. Remove unnecessary organizational obstacles to being innovative. Get rid of the time-consuming processes that would be the first to go in a crisis.
Today's Management Tip was adapted from "Using Crisis Response Factors in the Absence of a Crisis" by Ron Ashkenas.
2 Questions to Ask before Diversifying
2 Questions to Ask before Diversifying
Believe it or not, some innovations are too innovative. Before you pursue the next big thing, ask these two questions to determine whether your core business will embrace or reject the new product or service:
1. Does the new innovation conflict with your fundamental business model? If so, stop. Undermining your business model for the sake of a new innovation wastes money and valuable management time.
2. Is the new innovation closely related to the five dimensions of diversification? These dimensions are: customer, distribution channel, product/service, geography, and competency. If the new product or service is closely related to many or most of these dimensions, then pursuing it will be less risky.
Today's Management Tip was adapted from "Is This Innovation Too Disruptive for My Firm?" by John Sviokla.
Believe it or not, some innovations are too innovative. Before you pursue the next big thing, ask these two questions to determine whether your core business will embrace or reject the new product or service:
1. Does the new innovation conflict with your fundamental business model? If so, stop. Undermining your business model for the sake of a new innovation wastes money and valuable management time.
2. Is the new innovation closely related to the five dimensions of diversification? These dimensions are: customer, distribution channel, product/service, geography, and competency. If the new product or service is closely related to many or most of these dimensions, then pursuing it will be less risky.
Today's Management Tip was adapted from "Is This Innovation Too Disruptive for My Firm?" by John Sviokla.
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