Gone are the days of regular rhythms for reviewing performance, plans, and strategies. Now, most leaders receive a constant stream of data about customers, operations, markets, competitors, and more. Here are three ways to handle the information free-for-all:
· Focus on a few key indicators. Don't try to absorb everything. Pay attention to what matters and enables you to take action.
· Differentiate opinion from data. Don't take one person's word as truth. People may observe the same event and interpret it differently based on their own biases.
· Use information as a basis for dialogue. Take advantage of your team to help you sort through and interpret information. Ask for their thoughts on trends they see in the data stream.
If You're a New Manager, Get Bossy
Common wisdom is that the best managers are collaborative. After all, nobody likes to be bossed around. But that's not true for rookie managers. New leaders who are perceived as having low status — because of their age, education, or experience — lead better when they tell subordinates what to do. If as a new manager you sense that your team doesn't yet have confidence in you, you're better off setting the agenda, establishing clear direction, and putting people to work on what you think needs to be done. Only after you have established your authority should you introduce a more collaborative style.
Find Your Willpower
Mustering willpower is a struggle for almost everyone — and it's getting harder. Today, more distractions make it difficult to focus on your goals. To keep yourself on track, try the following:
· Practice small. By reminding yourself to sit up straight, you train the same mental muscle needed to quit smoking or lose weight. Practice small exercises in self-control, and your overall willpower will benefit.
· Take on one task at a time. If you try to accomplish everything, you'll likely give up on all of it. Instead, choose one thing to tackle. Once successful, move on to the next.
· Monitor, monitor, monitor. The more you track your progress on something (and ask others to help you track it) the more likely you are to stay on task.
Don't Take that Coffee Break
Most people assume it's good to take a few breaks during the day — grab a coffee, make a personal call, check Facebook — and then return to work refreshed. But those non-work related breaks may be making you more tired and distracted. Detaching from work is only beneficial if it's over a longer period of time. If you need a break — and we all do — try writing out a to-do list or giving a colleague a compliment instead of drinking a caffeinated beverage or listening to music. If you do something work-related during those brief times you'll be more engaged and energized. At the end of the day, you can punch out and pursue those non-work conversations and hobbies.
Hire for Passion, Not Just Talent
People are more creative when they feel passionate about their work. Whether they are driven by interest, enjoyment, satisfaction, or a sense of personal challenge, they are more likely to take risks, look for multiple solutions to a problem, and seek out the best one rather than the easiest. These are the people you want on your team. Get to know potential hires as thoroughly as possible, even before you have an opening for them. Ask them why they do what they do, what disappointments they've had, what their dream jobs would be. Look for fire in their eyes as they talk about the work itself, and listen for a deep desire to do something that hasn't been done before. When you talk to their references, listen for mentions of passion.
Use Social Media to Boost Your Job Search
More and more people are finding jobs via Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites. These media aren't changing how we look for jobs, they are simply rebooting the traditional habits of successful job hunters and making them easier. To boost your job search:
· Build a better network. You used to pester people for their business cards at conferences and mixers. Twitter offers a better alternative. Lots of recruiters, hiring managers, and industry leaders hang out on Twitter, swapping job leads and industry updates.
· Share evidence of your good work. Rather than dragging your portfolio to an interview, high-traffic sites such as YouTube and Pinterest can help you showcase your work. Recruiters increasingly prowl the web to look for the best candidates.
Turn Obstacles into Assets
Successful people work with what they have to achieve their goals. This includes surprises, obstacles, and even disappointments. Next time you face a challenge, think about how it can help you. Use negative feedback to gauge whether to invest more resources or pull the plug before it's too late. Take your boss' rejection of your idea as a chance to come up with a better one that she will love. Use discouraging market research findings about your product to develop a feature that customers can't live without. Instead of setbacks, see these events as gifts and make them work for you.
Keep Your Job Search a Secret
Looking for a job while you already have one can be stressful, especially in the age of social media when privacy is scarce. Here are three ways to keep your search to yourself:
· Don't tell anyone. You may be close with certain coworkers, but your secret will only stay secret if you're religious about keeping it to yourself.
· Network carefully. When reaching out to others, you don't need to spill the beans. Instead of "Hi, I'm Amy Gallo and I'm looking for a job," say something like, "I'm doing well at my current position and I'm always entertaining options for what's next."
· Wait for the offer. If you know your manager will react negatively, it's best to wait until after you have an offer in hand to inform her.
Increase Profits by Streamlining Your Company
As a business becomes more complex, it gets difficult to trace costs. If you aren't sure where your company is making money — or losing it — follow these two steps to simplify:
· Analyze profitability by offering or market. There are often large profit disparities among lines ofbusiness, brands, products, and customers. Knowing exactly where you're making money and how is the first step to making more of it.
· Make sure each brand and SKU is pulling its weight. Most complex companies have many brands or SKUs that contribute little to the bottom line. By targeting profitable ones and cutting the rest loose, you can free up significant capacity with negligible loss in revenue and volume.
Stop Email Overload
Do you have thousands of messages in your inbox, and receive hundreds more every day? Welcome to the club. Instead of being overwhelmed by email, take these steps to regain control:
· Turn off the spigot. Unsubscribe to irrelevant e-newsletters and turn off Facebook or Twitter notifications. Consider whether colleagues are copying you on too many emails. If so, ask to only be updated with final decisions.
· Keep a clean inbox. It's easier to handle incoming messages without clutter staring back at you. Create a new folder called "Old Inbox" and put all your messages in there. Then when new email comes in, sort it right away.
· Take an occasional break. Disconnect from all things digital once in a while. Take an email sabbatical next time you go on vacation.
Turn Adversaries into Allies
Anyone who has faced rivals at work — bosses who take all the credit, team members who undermine things — knows how difficult it is to ignore them. Instead, turn your adversaries into collaborators by following these three steps:
· Redirect. Try to channel your rival's negative emotions away from you by bringing up something you have in common, or talking about the source of the tension in a favorable light.
· Reciprocate. Give up something of value to your rival — help complete a project or divulge important information — so you are poised to ask for something in return.
· Reason. Explain that not working together cooperatively could mean lost opportunities. Most people are highly motivated to avoid a loss.
Keep Gen-Xers Engaged
Generation X may be a smaller population than Baby Boomers or Millennials, but it wields great influence in today's organizations. People in this generation are the all-important bench strength for aging leadership. To keep them around, here's how to keep them engaged.
· Develop corporate chameleons. Gen-Xers like to continually learn. Rotate promising employees through different functions on a regular schedule. This will keep things fresh and prep them for leadership roles that require broad experience.
· Bring them out of the shadows. Put Xers in charge of high-visibility projects to spotlight their abilities, or partner them with Baby Boomers who can enhance their careers.
· Test their wings. Many Xers have an entrepreneurial spirit. Foster this interest by letting them take responsibility for a company-sponsored venture.
Stop Getting Bad Advice
People love to give advice. While it's useful to hear what others think, sometimes they give off-target or foolish guidance. Here are a few ways to increase your odds of getting good input:
· Target your requests. Don't ask whoever is available. Create a list of people who have access to relevant resources, information, and experience on your problem and approach them first.
· Frame your question. Figure out what you need before asking for input. Know what information would be useful to hear and help explore gaps in your thinking.
· Redirect the conversation. If the person offering advice jumps to erroneous conclusions, redirect them. Most people will not be offended when politely refocused.
Respond Thoughtfully to Online Customer Feedback
Whether you're a small company or a Fortune 500, customer feedback matters. But it can be tough to navigate online feedback. Which reviews are valuable and which are unreliable? Consider the following when dealing with the negative ones:
· Seek a solution. Post a response and offer a way to turn the situation around. Always extend an olive branch if you can.
· Don't treat all comments equally. Anonymous reviews should never receive the same attention as authored comments.
· Invite comments. If you're open to hearing input, you're more likely to hear positive things. Create forums for discussions about products or services, allow customers to post video testimonials, and keep social media lines open.
Build a Better Business Case
When building a business case, many managers pick an early solution and fail to explore additional possibilities. Others fail to consider the status quo as an alternative. To avoid these traps, bring together the people who will be affected by the outcome of your proposal — these may be customers, frontline workers, or managers in other departments. Ask them to brainstorm alternatives. To generate as many ideas as possible, record everything without judgment or discussing pros and cons. Once you have a full list, move on to assessing which are feasible.
Use Pulse Meetings to Track Projects
As a project manager, you need to actively monitor progress to keep your team on the right path. One way to do that is to hold short pulse meetings where team members share brief status updates on their activities. These can be held face-to-face or virtually. Limit the meetings to 10 minutes and discuss only the tasks started or finished since the last. If the team identifies any problems or risks, don't try to solve them then and there. Schedule a separate working session with the appropriate people to resolve the issue. Hold pulse meetings on a weekly basis unless your project is in crisis mode. Then, you'll need to take the pulse more often.
Know When to Give Up on Your Goals
Setting goals and sticking to them is important. But you should also occasionally reevaluate your goals. Quitting isn't fun, but sometimes it's necessary. Here are two warning signs that it might be time to abandon your goal:
· Your goals have adverse consequences. If you've committed to going to the gym every morning but find that you're too tired to be productive the rest of the day, something needs to give. In these cases, adjust the goal itself or at least how you go about achieving it.
· Your goals impede other objectives. Most people have several goals — getting healthy, spending time with family, making more sales calls, etc. If one of your goals is preventing you from reaching another one, decide which is more important.
Use the Power of Pause When Speaking
Whenever effective public speakers end a sentence or phrase, they usually pause. This gives listeners time to absorb their words. Nervous presenters often do the opposite: The stress of being in front of an audience causes them to speak faster and faster, rushing past the pauses. Whether you're speaking to a large group of strangers or a small room full of colleagues, give your audience a moment to take in your information. Create a pause by dropping your voice at the ends of your phrases instead of raising it, which avoids the dreaded "Valley Girl" effect. Concentrate on dropping your voice and you'll not only sound more authoritative, but you'll add those essential pauses.
How to Reach Your Enemy
Having enemies in the workplace is often destructive. Ideally you should try to work with your rival instead of against him. But if your collaborative efforts fail, try one of these strategies instead:
· Find a common ally. Seek a third party whom your enemy trusts. A common ally may convince him of the benefits of working with you.
· Wait for the right time. Sometimes people need time and space before they can see your side. Put off communication until the right opportunity presents itself.
· Recognize when to go elsewhere. The effort of converting a rival is sometimes so great that you're better off focusing your energy on another relationship.
When to Share Bad News
When you're privy to information that your team isn't, should you share the news or protect your employees? When deciding whether to divulge bad news, do these things first:
· Know your tendency. We all have a preferred approach when it comes to privacy. Some keep things quiet, while others are more open. Understand your bias and find a middle ground.
· Question your motives. Whether you're eager to share news or resisting a conversation, question your motives. Are you feeling guilty about harboring information? Are you afraid of people getting angry?
· Tend toward transparency. Lean toward transparency if possible. As long as you're not violating company policy, give your team the bad news — especially if it's going to impact their work.
Manage the Information Avalanche
Gone are the days of regular rhythms for reviewing performance, plans, and strategies. Now, most leaders receive a constant stream of data about customers, operations, markets, competitors, and more. Here are three ways to handle the information free-for-all:
· Focus on a few key indicators. Don't try to absorb everything. Pay attention to what matters and enables you to take action.
· Differentiate opinion from data. Don't take one person's word as truth. People may observe the same event and interpret it differently based on their own biases.
· Use information as a basis for dialogue. Take advantage of your team to help you sort through and interpret information. Ask for their thoughts on trends they see in the data stream.
If You're a New Manager, Get Bossy
Common wisdom is that the best managers are collaborative. After all, nobody likes to be bossed around. But that's not true for rookie managers. New leaders who are perceived as having low status — because of their age, education, or experience — lead better when they tell subordinates what to do. If as a new manager you sense that your team doesn't yet have confidence in you, you're better off setting the agenda, establishing clear direction, and putting people to work on what you think needs to be done. Only after you have established your authority should you introduce a more collaborative style.
Find Your Willpower
Mustering willpower is a struggle for almost everyone — and it's getting harder. Today, more distractions make it difficult to focus on your goals. To keep yourself on track, try the following:
· Practice small. By reminding yourself to sit up straight, you train the same mental muscle needed to quit smoking or lose weight. Practice small exercises in self-control, and your overall willpower will benefit.
· Take on one task at a time. If you try to accomplish everything, you'll likely give up on all of it. Instead, choose one thing to tackle. Once successful, move on to the next.
· Monitor, monitor, monitor. The more you track your progress on something (and ask others to help you track it) the more likely you are to stay on task.
Don't Take that Coffee Break
Most people assume it's good to take a few breaks during the day — grab a coffee, make a personal call, check Facebook — and then return to work refreshed. But those non-work related breaks may be making you more tired and distracted. Detaching from work is only beneficial if it's over a longer period of time. If you need a break — and we all do — try writing out a to-do list or giving a colleague a compliment instead of drinking a caffeinated beverage or listening to music. If you do something work-related during those brief times you'll be more engaged and energized. At the end of the day, you can punch out and pursue those non-work conversations and hobbies.
Hire for Passion, Not Just Talent
People are more creative when they feel passionate about their work. Whether they are driven by interest, enjoyment, satisfaction, or a sense of personal challenge, they are more likely to take risks, look for multiple solutions to a problem, and seek out the best one rather than the easiest. These are the people you want on your team. Get to know potential hires as thoroughly as possible, even before you have an opening for them. Ask them why they do what they do, what disappointments they've had, what their dream jobs would be. Look for fire in their eyes as they talk about the work itself, and listen for a deep desire to do something that hasn't been done before. When you talk to their references, listen for mentions of passion.
Use Social Media to Boost Your Job Search
More and more people are finding jobs via Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites. These media aren't changing how we look for jobs, they are simply rebooting the traditional habits of successful job hunters and making them easier. To boost your job search:
· Build a better network. You used to pester people for their business cards at conferences and mixers. Twitter offers a better alternative. Lots of recruiters, hiring managers, and industry leaders hang out on Twitter, swapping job leads and industry updates.
· Share evidence of your good work. Rather than dragging your portfolio to an interview, high-traffic sites such as YouTube and Pinterest can help you showcase your work. Recruiters increasingly prowl the web to look for the best candidates.
Turn Obstacles into Assets
Successful people work with what they have to achieve their goals. This includes surprises, obstacles, and even disappointments. Next time you face a challenge, think about how it can help you. Use negative feedback to gauge whether to invest more resources or pull the plug before it's too late. Take your boss' rejection of your idea as a chance to come up with a better one that she will love. Use discouraging market research findings about your product to develop a feature that customers can't live without. Instead of setbacks, see these events as gifts and make them work for you.
Keep Your Job Search a Secret
Looking for a job while you already have one can be stressful, especially in the age of social media when privacy is scarce. Here are three ways to keep your search to yourself:
· Don't tell anyone. You may be close with certain coworkers, but your secret will only stay secret if you're religious about keeping it to yourself.
· Network carefully. When reaching out to others, you don't need to spill the beans. Instead of "Hi, I'm Amy Gallo and I'm looking for a job," say something like, "I'm doing well at my current position and I'm always entertaining options for what's next."
· Wait for the offer. If you know your manager will react negatively, it's best to wait until after you have an offer in hand to inform her.
Increase Profits by Streamlining Your Company
As a business becomes more complex, it gets difficult to trace costs. If you aren't sure where your company is making money — or losing it — follow these two steps to simplify:
· Analyze profitability by offering or market. There are often large profit disparities among lines ofbusiness, brands, products, and customers. Knowing exactly where you're making money and how is the first step to making more of it.
· Make sure each brand and SKU is pulling its weight. Most complex companies have many brands or SKUs that contribute little to the bottom line. By targeting profitable ones and cutting the rest loose, you can free up significant capacity with negligible loss in revenue and volume.
Stop Email Overload
Do you have thousands of messages in your inbox, and receive hundreds more every day? Welcome to the club. Instead of being overwhelmed by email, take these steps to regain control:
· Turn off the spigot. Unsubscribe to irrelevant e-newsletters and turn off Facebook or Twitter notifications. Consider whether colleagues are copying you on too many emails. If so, ask to only be updated with final decisions.
· Keep a clean inbox. It's easier to handle incoming messages without clutter staring back at you. Create a new folder called "Old Inbox" and put all your messages in there. Then when new email comes in, sort it right away.
· Take an occasional break. Disconnect from all things digital once in a while. Take an email sabbatical next time you go on vacation.
Turn Adversaries into Allies
Anyone who has faced rivals at work — bosses who take all the credit, team members who undermine things — knows how difficult it is to ignore them. Instead, turn your adversaries into collaborators by following these three steps:
· Redirect. Try to channel your rival's negative emotions away from you by bringing up something you have in common, or talking about the source of the tension in a favorable light.
· Reciprocate. Give up something of value to your rival — help complete a project or divulge important information — so you are poised to ask for something in return.
· Reason. Explain that not working together cooperatively could mean lost opportunities. Most people are highly motivated to avoid a loss.
Keep Gen-Xers Engaged
Generation X may be a smaller population than Baby Boomers or Millennials, but it wields great influence in today's organizations. People in this generation are the all-important bench strength for aging leadership. To keep them around, here's how to keep them engaged.
· Develop corporate chameleons. Gen-Xers like to continually learn. Rotate promising employees through different functions on a regular schedule. This will keep things fresh and prep them for leadership roles that require broad experience.
· Bring them out of the shadows. Put Xers in charge of high-visibility projects to spotlight their abilities, or partner them with Baby Boomers who can enhance their careers.
· Test their wings. Many Xers have an entrepreneurial spirit. Foster this interest by letting them take responsibility for a company-sponsored venture.
Stop Getting Bad Advice
People love to give advice. While it's useful to hear what others think, sometimes they give off-target or foolish guidance. Here are a few ways to increase your odds of getting good input:
· Target your requests. Don't ask whoever is available. Create a list of people who have access to relevant resources, information, and experience on your problem and approach them first.
· Frame your question. Figure out what you need before asking for input. Know what information would be useful to hear and help explore gaps in your thinking.
· Redirect the conversation. If the person offering advice jumps to erroneous conclusions, redirect them. Most people will not be offended when politely refocused.
Respond Thoughtfully to Online Customer Feedback
Whether you're a small company or a Fortune 500, customer feedback matters. But it can be tough to navigate online feedback. Which reviews are valuable and which are unreliable? Consider the following when dealing with the negative ones:
· Seek a solution. Post a response and offer a way to turn the situation around. Always extend an olive branch if you can.
· Don't treat all comments equally. Anonymous reviews should never receive the same attention as authored comments.
· Invite comments. If you're open to hearing input, you're more likely to hear positive things. Create forums for discussions about products or services, allow customers to post video testimonials, and keep social media lines open.
Build a Better Business Case
When building a business case, many managers pick an early solution and fail to explore additional possibilities. Others fail to consider the status quo as an alternative. To avoid these traps, bring together the people who will be affected by the outcome of your proposal — these may be customers, frontline workers, or managers in other departments. Ask them to brainstorm alternatives. To generate as many ideas as possible, record everything without judgment or discussing pros and cons. Once you have a full list, move on to assessing which are feasible.
Use Pulse Meetings to Track Projects
As a project manager, you need to actively monitor progress to keep your team on the right path. One way to do that is to hold short pulse meetings where team members share brief status updates on their activities. These can be held face-to-face or virtually. Limit the meetings to 10 minutes and discuss only the tasks started or finished since the last. If the team identifies any problems or risks, don't try to solve them then and there. Schedule a separate working session with the appropriate people to resolve the issue. Hold pulse meetings on a weekly basis unless your project is in crisis mode. Then, you'll need to take the pulse more often.
Know When to Give Up on Your Goals
Setting goals and sticking to them is important. But you should also occasionally reevaluate your goals. Quitting isn't fun, but sometimes it's necessary. Here are two warning signs that it might be time to abandon your goal:
· Your goals have adverse consequences. If you've committed to going to the gym every morning but find that you're too tired to be productive the rest of the day, something needs to give. In these cases, adjust the goal itself or at least how you go about achieving it.
· Your goals impede other objectives. Most people have several goals — getting healthy, spending time with family, making more sales calls, etc. If one of your goals is preventing you from reaching another one, decide which is more important.
Use the Power of Pause When Speaking
Whenever effective public speakers end a sentence or phrase, they usually pause. This gives listeners time to absorb their words. Nervous presenters often do the opposite: The stress of being in front of an audience causes them to speak faster and faster, rushing past the pauses. Whether you're speaking to a large group of strangers or a small room full of colleagues, give your audience a moment to take in your information. Create a pause by dropping your voice at the ends of your phrases instead of raising it, which avoids the dreaded "Valley Girl" effect. Concentrate on dropping your voice and you'll not only sound more authoritative, but you'll add those essential pauses.
How to Reach Your Enemy
Having enemies in the workplace is often destructive. Ideally you should try to work with your rival instead of against him. But if your collaborative efforts fail, try one of these strategies instead:
· Find a common ally. Seek a third party whom your enemy trusts. A common ally may convince him of the benefits of working with you.
· Wait for the right time. Sometimes people need time and space before they can see your side. Put off communication until the right opportunity presents itself.
· Recognize when to go elsewhere. The effort of converting a rival is sometimes so great that you're better off focusing your energy on another relationship.
When to Share Bad News
When you're privy to information that your team isn't, should you share the news or protect your employees? When deciding whether to divulge bad news, do these things first:
· Know your tendency. We all have a preferred approach when it comes to privacy. Some keep things quiet, while others are more open. Understand your bias and find a middle ground.
· Question your motives. Whether you're eager to share news or resisting a conversation, question your motives. Are you feeling guilty about harboring information? Are you afraid of people getting angry?
· Tend toward transparency. Lean toward transparency if possible. As long as you're not violating company policy, give your team the bad news — especially if it's going to impact their work.
Trust Your Gut
Most of us are taught to defer to authority. As a result, we tend to disregard our internal compasses. But your instincts are often right. Here is how to counter your conditioning and question authority:
· Listen to your inner voice. Take a moment to breathe and consider what is going on. Ask yourself, "Are there other ways to approach this assignment?"
· Constructively question. Ask your boss, customer, or client: Why do we do it this way? Would you be open to different ways? Can we experiment?
· Reflect. Whether you've followed along or pushed for an alternative, think about what happened. Remember what it felt like to go against authority and think about how you might handle it differently in the future.
Turn Your Employees into Company Advocates
Loyal, passionate employees benefit a company as much as dedicated customers. They stay longer, work more creatively, and go the extra mile. So how do you turn employees into advocates for your company and its work?
· Throw out the annual employee survey. They're unwieldy and unreliable. Survey employees often, but just ask a few simple questions. Try: How likely would you be to recommend this company to a friend as a place to work? How likely would you be to recommend the company's products or services to a potential customer?
· Give employees unfiltered customer feedback. When frontline employees hear directly from customers they respond. Positive feedback inspires them to keep up the good work. Criticism often motivates them to improve their performance.
Find Your Willpower
Mustering willpower is a struggle for almost everyone — and it's getting harder. Today, more distractions make it difficult to focus on your goals. To keep yourself on track, try the following:
· Practice small. By reminding yourself to sit up straight, you train the same mental muscle needed to quit smoking or lose weight. Practice small exercises in self-control, and your overall willpower will benefit.
· Take on one task at a time. If you try to accomplish everything, you'll likely give up on all of it. Instead, choose one thing to tackle. Once successful, move on to the next.
· Monitor, monitor, monitor. The more you track your progress on something (and ask others to help you track it) the more likely you are to stay on task.
Don't Take that Coffee Break
Most people assume it's good to take a few breaks during the day — grab a coffee, make a personal call, check Facebook — and then return to work refreshed. But those non-work related breaks may be making you more tired and distracted. Detaching from work is only beneficial if it's over a longer period of time. If you need a break — and we all do — try writing out a to-do list or giving a colleague a compliment instead of drinking a caffeinated beverage or listening to music. If you do something work-related during those brief times you'll be more engaged and energized. At the end of the day, you can punch out and pursue those non-work conversations and hobbies.
Hire for Passion, Not Just Talent
People are more creative when they feel passionate about their work. Whether they are driven by interest, enjoyment, satisfaction, or a sense of personal challenge, they are more likely to take risks, look for multiple solutions to a problem, and seek out the best one rather than the easiest. These are the people you want on your team. Get to know potential hires as thoroughly as possible, even before you have an opening for them. Ask them why they do what they do, what disappointments they've had, what their dream jobs would be. Look for fire in their eyes as they talk about the work itself, and listen for a deep desire to do something that hasn't been done before. When you talk to their references, listen for mentions of passion.
Use Social Media to Boost Your Job Search
More and more people are finding jobs via Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites. These media aren't changing how we look for jobs, they are simply rebooting the traditional habits of successful job hunters and making them easier. To boost your job search:
· Build a better network. You used to pester people for their business cards at conferences and mixers. Twitter offers a better alternative. Lots of recruiters, hiring managers, and industry leaders hang out on Twitter, swapping job leads and industry updates.
· Share evidence of your good work. Rather than dragging your portfolio to an interview, high-traffic sites such as YouTube and Pinterest can help you showcase your work. Recruiters increasingly prowl the web to look for the best candidates.
Turn Obstacles into Assets
Successful people work with what they have to achieve their goals. This includes surprises, obstacles, and even disappointments. Next time you face a challenge, think about how it can help you. Use negative feedback to gauge whether to invest more resources or pull the plug before it's too late. Take your boss' rejection of your idea as a chance to come up with a better one that she will love. Use discouraging market research findings about your product to develop a feature that customers can't live without. Instead of setbacks, see these events as gifts and make them work for you.
Keep Your Job Search a Secret
Looking for a job while you already have one can be stressful, especially in the age of social media when privacy is scarce. Here are three ways to keep your search to yourself:
· Don't tell anyone. You may be close with certain coworkers, but your secret will only stay secret if you're religious about keeping it to yourself.
· Network carefully. When reaching out to others, you don't need to spill the beans. Instead of "Hi, I'm Amy Gallo and I'm looking for a job," say something like, "I'm doing well at my current position and I'm always entertaining options for what's next."
· Wait for the offer. If you know your manager will react negatively, it's best to wait until after you have an offer in hand to inform her.
Increase Profits by Streamlining Your Company
As a business becomes more complex, it gets difficult to trace costs. If you aren't sure where your company is making money — or losing it — follow these two steps to simplify:
· Analyze profitability by offering or market. There are often large profit disparities among lines ofbusiness, brands, products, and customers. Knowing exactly where you're making money and how is the first step to making more of it.
· Make sure each brand and SKU is pulling its weight. Most complex companies have many brands or SKUs that contribute little to the bottom line. By targeting profitable ones and cutting the rest loose, you can free up significant capacity with negligible loss in revenue and volume.
Stop Email Overload
Do you have thousands of messages in your inbox, and receive hundreds more every day? Welcome to the club. Instead of being overwhelmed by email, take these steps to regain control:
· Turn off the spigot. Unsubscribe to irrelevant e-newsletters and turn off Facebook or Twitter notifications. Consider whether colleagues are copying you on too many emails. If so, ask to only be updated with final decisions.
· Keep a clean inbox. It's easier to handle incoming messages without clutter staring back at you. Create a new folder called "Old Inbox" and put all your messages in there. Then when new email comes in, sort it right away.
· Take an occasional break. Disconnect from all things digital once in a while. Take an email sabbatical next time you go on vacation.
Turn Adversaries into Allies
Anyone who has faced rivals at work — bosses who take all the credit, team members who undermine things — knows how difficult it is to ignore them. Instead, turn your adversaries into collaborators by following these three steps:
· Redirect. Try to channel your rival's negative emotions away from you by bringing up something you have in common, or talking about the source of the tension in a favorable light.
· Reciprocate. Give up something of value to your rival — help complete a project or divulge important information — so you are poised to ask for something in return.
· Reason. Explain that not working together cooperatively could mean lost opportunities. Most people are highly motivated to avoid a loss.
Keep Gen-Xers Engaged
Generation X may be a smaller population than Baby Boomers or Millennials, but it wields great influence in today's organizations. People in this generation are the all-important bench strength for aging leadership. To keep them around, here's how to keep them engaged.
· Develop corporate chameleons. Gen-Xers like to continually learn. Rotate promising employees through different functions on a regular schedule. This will keep things fresh and prep them for leadership roles that require broad experience.
· Bring them out of the shadows. Put Xers in charge of high-visibility projects to spotlight their abilities, or partner them with Baby Boomers who can enhance their careers.
· Test their wings. Many Xers have an entrepreneurial spirit. Foster this interest by letting them take responsibility for a company-sponsored venture.
Stop Getting Bad Advice
People love to give advice. While it's useful to hear what others think, sometimes they give off-target or foolish guidance. Here are a few ways to increase your odds of getting good input:
· Target your requests. Don't ask whoever is available. Create a list of people who have access to relevant resources, information, and experience on your problem and approach them first.
· Frame your question. Figure out what you need before asking for input. Know what information would be useful to hear and help explore gaps in your thinking.
· Redirect the conversation. If the person offering advice jumps to erroneous conclusions, redirect them. Most people will not be offended when politely refocused.
Respond Thoughtfully to Online Customer Feedback
Whether you're a small company or a Fortune 500, customer feedback matters. But it can be tough to navigate online feedback. Which reviews are valuable and which are unreliable? Consider the following when dealing with the negative ones:
· Seek a solution. Post a response and offer a way to turn the situation around. Always extend an olive branch if you can.
· Don't treat all comments equally. Anonymous reviews should never receive the same attention as authored comments.
· Invite comments. If you're open to hearing input, you're more likely to hear positive things. Create forums for discussions about products or services, allow customers to post video testimonials, and keep social media lines open.
Build a Better Business Case
When building a business case, many managers pick an early solution and fail to explore additional possibilities. Others fail to consider the status quo as an alternative. To avoid these traps, bring together the people who will be affected by the outcome of your proposal — these may be customers, frontline workers, or managers in other departments. Ask them to brainstorm alternatives. To generate as many ideas as possible, record everything without judgment or discussing pros and cons. Once you have a full list, move on to assessing which are feasible.
Use Pulse Meetings to Track Projects
As a project manager, you need to actively monitor progress to keep your team on the right path. One way to do that is to hold short pulse meetings where team members share brief status updates on their activities. These can be held face-to-face or virtually. Limit the meetings to 10 minutes and discuss only the tasks started or finished since the last. If the team identifies any problems or risks, don't try to solve them then and there. Schedule a separate working session with the appropriate people to resolve the issue. Hold pulse meetings on a weekly basis unless your project is in crisis mode. Then, you'll need to take the pulse more often.
Know When to Give Up on Your Goals
Setting goals and sticking to them is important. But you should also occasionally reevaluate your goals. Quitting isn't fun, but sometimes it's necessary. Here are two warning signs that it might be time to abandon your goal:
· Your goals have adverse consequences. If you've committed to going to the gym every morning but find that you're too tired to be productive the rest of the day, something needs to give. In these cases, adjust the goal itself or at least how you go about achieving it.
· Your goals impede other objectives. Most people have several goals — getting healthy, spending time with family, making more sales calls, etc. If one of your goals is preventing you from reaching another one, decide which is more important.
Use the Power of Pause When Speaking
Whenever effective public speakers end a sentence or phrase, they usually pause. This gives listeners time to absorb their words. Nervous presenters often do the opposite: The stress of being in front of an audience causes them to speak faster and faster, rushing past the pauses. Whether you're speaking to a large group of strangers or a small room full of colleagues, give your audience a moment to take in your information. Create a pause by dropping your voice at the ends of your phrases instead of raising it, which avoids the dreaded "Valley Girl" effect. Concentrate on dropping your voice and you'll not only sound more authoritative, but you'll add those essential pauses.
How to Reach Your Enemy
Having enemies in the workplace is often destructive. Ideally you should try to work with your rival instead of against him. But if your collaborative efforts fail, try one of these strategies instead:
· Find a common ally. Seek a third party whom your enemy trusts. A common ally may convince him of the benefits of working with you.
· Wait for the right time. Sometimes people need time and space before they can see your side. Put off communication until the right opportunity presents itself.
· Recognize when to go elsewhere. The effort of converting a rival is sometimes so great that you're better off focusing your energy on another relationship.
When to Share Bad News
When you're privy to information that your team isn't, should you share the news or protect your employees? When deciding whether to divulge bad news, do these things first:
· Know your tendency. We all have a preferred approach when it comes to privacy. Some keep things quiet, while others are more open. Understand your bias and find a middle ground.
· Question your motives. Whether you're eager to share news or resisting a conversation, question your motives. Are you feeling guilty about harboring information? Are you afraid of people getting angry?
· Tend toward transparency. Lean toward transparency if possible. As long as you're not violating company policy, give your team the bad news — especially if it's going to impact their work.
Manage the Information Avalanche
Gone are the days of regular rhythms for reviewing performance, plans, and strategies. Now, most leaders receive a constant stream of data about customers, operations, markets, competitors, and more. Here are three ways to handle the information free-for-all:
· Focus on a few key indicators. Don't try to absorb everything. Pay attention to what matters and enables you to take action.
· Differentiate opinion from data. Don't take one person's word as truth. People may observe the same event and interpret it differently based on their own biases.
· Use information as a basis for dialogue. Take advantage of your team to help you sort through and interpret information. Ask for their thoughts on trends they see in the data stream.
If You're a New Manager, Get Bossy
Common wisdom is that the best managers are collaborative. After all, nobody likes to be bossed around. But that's not true for rookie managers. New leaders who are perceived as having low status — because of their age, education, or experience — lead better when they tell subordinates what to do. If as a new manager you sense that your team doesn't yet have confidence in you, you're better off setting the agenda, establishing clear direction, and putting people to work on what you think needs to be done. Only after you have established your authority should you introduce a more collaborative style.
Find Your Willpower
Mustering willpower is a struggle for almost everyone — and it's getting harder. Today, more distractions make it difficult to focus on your goals. To keep yourself on track, try the following:
· Practice small. By reminding yourself to sit up straight, you train the same mental muscle needed to quit smoking or lose weight. Practice small exercises in self-control, and your overall willpower will benefit.
· Take on one task at a time. If you try to accomplish everything, you'll likely give up on all of it. Instead, choose one thing to tackle. Once successful, move on to the next.
· Monitor, monitor, monitor. The more you track your progress on something (and ask others to help you track it) the more likely you are to stay on task.
Don't Take that Coffee Break
Most people assume it's good to take a few breaks during the day — grab a coffee, make a personal call, check Facebook — and then return to work refreshed. But those non-work related breaks may be making you more tired and distracted. Detaching from work is only beneficial if it's over a longer period of time. If you need a break — and we all do — try writing out a to-do list or giving a colleague a compliment instead of drinking a caffeinated beverage or listening to music. If you do something work-related during those brief times you'll be more engaged and energized. At the end of the day, you can punch out and pursue those non-work conversations and hobbies.
Hire for Passion, Not Just Talent
People are more creative when they feel passionate about their work. Whether they are driven by interest, enjoyment, satisfaction, or a sense of personal challenge, they are more likely to take risks, look for multiple solutions to a problem, and seek out the best one rather than the easiest. These are the people you want on your team. Get to know potential hires as thoroughly as possible, even before you have an opening for them. Ask them why they do what they do, what disappointments they've had, what their dream jobs would be. Look for fire in their eyes as they talk about the work itself, and listen for a deep desire to do something that hasn't been done before. When you talk to their references, listen for mentions of passion.
Use Social Media to Boost Your Job Search
More and more people are finding jobs via Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites. These media aren't changing how we look for jobs, they are simply rebooting the traditional habits of successful job hunters and making them easier. To boost your job search:
· Build a better network. You used to pester people for their business cards at conferences and mixers. Twitter offers a better alternative. Lots of recruiters, hiring managers, and industry leaders hang out on Twitter, swapping job leads and industry updates.
· Share evidence of your good work. Rather than dragging your portfolio to an interview, high-traffic sites such as YouTube and Pinterest can help you showcase your work. Recruiters increasingly prowl the web to look for the best candidates.
Turn Obstacles into Assets
Successful people work with what they have to achieve their goals. This includes surprises, obstacles, and even disappointments. Next time you face a challenge, think about how it can help you. Use negative feedback to gauge whether to invest more resources or pull the plug before it's too late. Take your boss' rejection of your idea as a chance to come up with a better one that she will love. Use discouraging market research findings about your product to develop a feature that customers can't live without. Instead of setbacks, see these events as gifts and make them work for you.
Keep Your Job Search a Secret
Looking for a job while you already have one can be stressful, especially in the age of social media when privacy is scarce. Here are three ways to keep your search to yourself:
· Don't tell anyone. You may be close with certain coworkers, but your secret will only stay secret if you're religious about keeping it to yourself.
· Network carefully. When reaching out to others, you don't need to spill the beans. Instead of "Hi, I'm Amy Gallo and I'm looking for a job," say something like, "I'm doing well at my current position and I'm always entertaining options for what's next."
· Wait for the offer. If you know your manager will react negatively, it's best to wait until after you have an offer in hand to inform her.
Increase Profits by Streamlining Your Company
As a business becomes more complex, it gets difficult to trace costs. If you aren't sure where your company is making money — or losing it — follow these two steps to simplify:
· Analyze profitability by offering or market. There are often large profit disparities among lines ofbusiness, brands, products, and customers. Knowing exactly where you're making money and how is the first step to making more of it.
· Make sure each brand and SKU is pulling its weight. Most complex companies have many brands or SKUs that contribute little to the bottom line. By targeting profitable ones and cutting the rest loose, you can free up significant capacity with negligible loss in revenue and volume.
Stop Email Overload
Do you have thousands of messages in your inbox, and receive hundreds more every day? Welcome to the club. Instead of being overwhelmed by email, take these steps to regain control:
· Turn off the spigot. Unsubscribe to irrelevant e-newsletters and turn off Facebook or Twitter notifications. Consider whether colleagues are copying you on too many emails. If so, ask to only be updated with final decisions.
· Keep a clean inbox. It's easier to handle incoming messages without clutter staring back at you. Create a new folder called "Old Inbox" and put all your messages in there. Then when new email comes in, sort it right away.
· Take an occasional break. Disconnect from all things digital once in a while. Take an email sabbatical next time you go on vacation.
Turn Adversaries into Allies
Anyone who has faced rivals at work — bosses who take all the credit, team members who undermine things — knows how difficult it is to ignore them. Instead, turn your adversaries into collaborators by following these three steps:
· Redirect. Try to channel your rival's negative emotions away from you by bringing up something you have in common, or talking about the source of the tension in a favorable light.
· Reciprocate. Give up something of value to your rival — help complete a project or divulge important information — so you are poised to ask for something in return.
· Reason. Explain that not working together cooperatively could mean lost opportunities. Most people are highly motivated to avoid a loss.
Keep Gen-Xers Engaged
Generation X may be a smaller population than Baby Boomers or Millennials, but it wields great influence in today's organizations. People in this generation are the all-important bench strength for aging leadership. To keep them around, here's how to keep them engaged.
· Develop corporate chameleons. Gen-Xers like to continually learn. Rotate promising employees through different functions on a regular schedule. This will keep things fresh and prep them for leadership roles that require broad experience.
· Bring them out of the shadows. Put Xers in charge of high-visibility projects to spotlight their abilities, or partner them with Baby Boomers who can enhance their careers.
· Test their wings. Many Xers have an entrepreneurial spirit. Foster this interest by letting them take responsibility for a company-sponsored venture.
Stop Getting Bad Advice
People love to give advice. While it's useful to hear what others think, sometimes they give off-target or foolish guidance. Here are a few ways to increase your odds of getting good input:
· Target your requests. Don't ask whoever is available. Create a list of people who have access to relevant resources, information, and experience on your problem and approach them first.
· Frame your question. Figure out what you need before asking for input. Know what information would be useful to hear and help explore gaps in your thinking.
· Redirect the conversation. If the person offering advice jumps to erroneous conclusions, redirect them. Most people will not be offended when politely refocused.
Respond Thoughtfully to Online Customer Feedback
Whether you're a small company or a Fortune 500, customer feedback matters. But it can be tough to navigate online feedback. Which reviews are valuable and which are unreliable? Consider the following when dealing with the negative ones:
· Seek a solution. Post a response and offer a way to turn the situation around. Always extend an olive branch if you can.
· Don't treat all comments equally. Anonymous reviews should never receive the same attention as authored comments.
· Invite comments. If you're open to hearing input, you're more likely to hear positive things. Create forums for discussions about products or services, allow customers to post video testimonials, and keep social media lines open.
Build a Better Business Case
When building a business case, many managers pick an early solution and fail to explore additional possibilities. Others fail to consider the status quo as an alternative. To avoid these traps, bring together the people who will be affected by the outcome of your proposal — these may be customers, frontline workers, or managers in other departments. Ask them to brainstorm alternatives. To generate as many ideas as possible, record everything without judgment or discussing pros and cons. Once you have a full list, move on to assessing which are feasible.
Use Pulse Meetings to Track Projects
As a project manager, you need to actively monitor progress to keep your team on the right path. One way to do that is to hold short pulse meetings where team members share brief status updates on their activities. These can be held face-to-face or virtually. Limit the meetings to 10 minutes and discuss only the tasks started or finished since the last. If the team identifies any problems or risks, don't try to solve them then and there. Schedule a separate working session with the appropriate people to resolve the issue. Hold pulse meetings on a weekly basis unless your project is in crisis mode. Then, you'll need to take the pulse more often.
Know When to Give Up on Your Goals
Setting goals and sticking to them is important. But you should also occasionally reevaluate your goals. Quitting isn't fun, but sometimes it's necessary. Here are two warning signs that it might be time to abandon your goal:
· Your goals have adverse consequences. If you've committed to going to the gym every morning but find that you're too tired to be productive the rest of the day, something needs to give. In these cases, adjust the goal itself or at least how you go about achieving it.
· Your goals impede other objectives. Most people have several goals — getting healthy, spending time with family, making more sales calls, etc. If one of your goals is preventing you from reaching another one, decide which is more important.
Use the Power of Pause When Speaking
Whenever effective public speakers end a sentence or phrase, they usually pause. This gives listeners time to absorb their words. Nervous presenters often do the opposite: The stress of being in front of an audience causes them to speak faster and faster, rushing past the pauses. Whether you're speaking to a large group of strangers or a small room full of colleagues, give your audience a moment to take in your information. Create a pause by dropping your voice at the ends of your phrases instead of raising it, which avoids the dreaded "Valley Girl" effect. Concentrate on dropping your voice and you'll not only sound more authoritative, but you'll add those essential pauses.
How to Reach Your Enemy
Having enemies in the workplace is often destructive. Ideally you should try to work with your rival instead of against him. But if your collaborative efforts fail, try one of these strategies instead:
· Find a common ally. Seek a third party whom your enemy trusts. A common ally may convince him of the benefits of working with you.
· Wait for the right time. Sometimes people need time and space before they can see your side. Put off communication until the right opportunity presents itself.
· Recognize when to go elsewhere. The effort of converting a rival is sometimes so great that you're better off focusing your energy on another relationship.
When to Share Bad News
When you're privy to information that your team isn't, should you share the news or protect your employees? When deciding whether to divulge bad news, do these things first:
· Know your tendency. We all have a preferred approach when it comes to privacy. Some keep things quiet, while others are more open. Understand your bias and find a middle ground.
· Question your motives. Whether you're eager to share news or resisting a conversation, question your motives. Are you feeling guilty about harboring information? Are you afraid of people getting angry?
· Tend toward transparency. Lean toward transparency if possible. As long as you're not violating company policy, give your team the bad news — especially if it's going to impact their work.
Trust Your Gut
Most of us are taught to defer to authority. As a result, we tend to disregard our internal compasses. But your instincts are often right. Here is how to counter your conditioning and question authority:
· Listen to your inner voice. Take a moment to breathe and consider what is going on. Ask yourself, "Are there other ways to approach this assignment?"
· Constructively question. Ask your boss, customer, or client: Why do we do it this way? Would you be open to different ways? Can we experiment?
· Reflect. Whether you've followed along or pushed for an alternative, think about what happened. Remember what it felt like to go against authority and think about how you might handle it differently in the future.
Turn Your Employees into Company Advocates
Loyal, passionate employees benefit a company as much as dedicated customers. They stay longer, work more creatively, and go the extra mile. So how do you turn employees into advocates for your company and its work?
· Throw out the annual employee survey. They're unwieldy and unreliable. Survey employees often, but just ask a few simple questions. Try: How likely would you be to recommend this company to a friend as a place to work? How likely would you be to recommend the company's products or services to a potential customer?
· Give employees unfiltered customer feedback. When frontline employees hear directly from customers they respond. Positive feedback inspires them to keep up the good work. Criticism often motivates them to improve their performance.
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