Author Archive
Begin the Journey
Posted by: | Comments
“Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”
-Lao Tzu
Dilbert!
Posted by: | Comments
Is There Value in Multitasking?
Posted by: | CommentsI think we can all agree texting while driving is dangerous. You put yourself and those around you at risk when you take your eyes and mind off the road.
But what about multitasking at work? Certainly the consequences here are not as dire. There is no risk of swerving off the road or into another car. What’s the harm?
If we are all honest with ourselves, I think we know what the harm is about multitasking, and science backs it up. Tell the truth: do you answer emails and phone calls while in a meeting? Do you surf the net instead of pay attention to the presenter when you bring your laptop to a meeting or to class? If you said “Yes” to any of these questions, you should know that your productivity goes down by 25% and it actually takes longer to complete a project when multitasking.
There is value in doing one thing at a time. Here are some simple tips to make our time more productive:
- Block off only 45 minutes for meetings. Let’s face it: our attention span for meetings are not much longer than 45 minutes, so let’s make our time valuable. Allow time afterwards for meeting members to digest the material, or take a break at this time to allow your meeting members to refocus and reengage.
- When in a meeting, ask your colleagues to turn off their phones and laptops. When everyone is concentrating on the topic at hand, there are fewer chances for miscommunication and repeating information.
- Block off time in your calendar to complete tasks. Your colleagues are less likely to request your presence during a time you have blocked off in your calendar.
- Take a 15-minute timeout during the afternoon to meditate or take a walk—just get away from your desk and disconnect from work. These few short minutes allow us to re-energize. Beating your head against your cubicle wall all afternoon does not help you get your job done better.
- Use your vacation time. Taking a break from work—completely disconnecting, No-WiFi-at-the-Hotel kind of a break—will help you be refreshed and have “new eyes” when reengaging with your work projects.
Using these tips has the potential to reinvent your day and increase your productivity. What’s the toll multitasking takes in your workplace? What tips do you have for focusing in the workplace?
LinkedIn Quick Tip
Posted by: | CommentsWe’ve all been told to get on LinkedIn to network with people to find a job. Sounds like a great idea, but what does networking really look like in a virtual setting? It isn’t like you your friend can just introduce you to someone…can they?
Maybe it is that simple! To connect with people, start by introducing yourself to people your friends know. In the search bar in the upper right hand corner, type in your colleague’s name.
Next, look at your colleague’s connection. You can find them by looking down their profile page below a list of their recent activities and their contact information. Click on “See all connections.”
From there, you can see all of their connections. Keep in mind this is not Facebook, so avoid becoming friends with all their friends. What you can do is become connected with those who you are interested in becoming professionally affiliated with. For example, your friend Michael is connected with Jacqueline who works at your dream company or job.
You can connect with Jacqueline in one of three ways
- You can simply add Jacqueline by clicking Connect. She will get a message in her inbox inviting her to connect with you.
- You can view her profile by selecting her name. From here you can select the Connect button on the right hand of the screen to connect with her if you have had contact with her in the past professionally, or through a group or school affiliation. I do not recommend connecting this ways if you don’t know her at all.
- Finally, you can Get introduced through a connection. This is probably the best way you can get introduced to someone you don’t know. When you select this option, you are prompted to write a note to your current connection, Michael. Tell him why you are writing and why you want to get introduced to Jacqueline. Be honest and give Michael an out. He should not feel obligated to introduce you. Simply saying, “If you are uncomfortable, with making the introduction, I understand,” should suffice.
Now, all you have to do is wait to hear back from Jacqueline.
I hope this quick tip helps you use your LinkedIn account to network with people! Good luck! And please feel free to add any additional information or questions.
Eleven Tips for Millennial Management
Posted by: | CommentsI was doing a little research on Millennials this afternoon and I stumbled across an article from About.com (see the full article here) that suggested eleven tips for managing Millennials. I agree with a lot of these tips – but to be honest, I wonder if organizations/managers are having to bend a little too much to unleash the potential of this generation. What do you think?
- Provide structure. Reports have monthly due dates. Jobs have fairly regular hours. Certain activities are scheduled every day. Meetings have agendas and minutes. Goals are clearly stated and progress is assessed. Define assignments and success factors.
- Provide leadership and guidance. Millennials want to look up to you, learn from you, and receive daily feedback from you. They want “in” on the whole picture and to know the scoop. Plan to spend a lot of time teaching and coaching and be aware of this commitment to Millennials when you hire them. They deserve and want your very best investment of time in their success.
- Encourage the Millennial’s self-assuredness, “can-do” attitude, and positive personal self-image. Millennials are ready to take on the world. Their parents told them they can do it – they can. Encourage – don’t squash them or contain them.
- Take advantage of the Millennial’s comfort level with teams. Encourage them to join. They are used to working in groups and teams. In contrast to the lone ranger attitude of earlier generations, Millennials actually believe a team can accomplish more and better – they’ve experienced team success. Not just related to age, watch who joins the volleyball match at the company picnic. Millennials gather in groups and play on teams; you can also mentor, coach, and train your Millennials as a team.
- Listen to the millennial employee. Your Millennial employees are used to loving parents who have scheduled their lives around the activities and events of their children. These young adults have ideas and opinions, and don’t take kindly to having their thoughts ignored. After all, they had the best listening, most child-centric audience in history.
- Millennial employees are up for a challenge and change. Boring is bad. They seek ever-changing tasks within their work. What’s happening next is their mantra. Don’t bore them, ignore them, or trivialize their contribution.
- Millennial employees are multi-taskers on a scale you’ve never seen before. Multiple tasks don’t phase them. Talk on the phone while doing email and answering multiple instant messages – yes! This is a way of life. In fact, without many different tasks and goals to pursue within the week, the Millennials will likely experience boredom.
- Take advantage of your millennial employee’s computer, cell phone, and electronic literacy. Are you a Boomer or even an early Gen-Xer? The electronic capabilities of these employees are amazing. You have a salesman in China? How’s the trip going? Old timers call and leave a message in his hotel room. Or, you can have your Millennial text message him in his meeting for an immediate response. The world is wide, if not yet deep, for your Millennial employees.
- Capitalize on the Millennial’s affinity for networking. Not just comfortable with teams and group activities, your Millennial employee likes to network around the world electronically. Keep this in mind because they are able to post their resume electronically as well on Web job boards viewed by millions of employers. Sought after employees, they are loyal, but they keep their options open – always.
- Provide a life-work balanced workplace. Your Millennial employees are used to cramming their lives with multiple activities. They may play on sports teams, walk for multiple causes, spend time as fans at company sports leagues, and spend lots of time with family and friends. They work hard, but they are not into the sixty hour work weeks defined by the Baby Boomers. Home, family, spending time with the children and families, are priorities. Don’t lose sight of this. Balance and multiple activities are important to these millennial employees. Ignore this to your peril.
- Provide a fun, employee-centered workplace. Millennials want to enjoy their work. They want to enjoy their workplace. They want to make friends in their workplace. Worry if your Millennial employees aren’t laughing, going out with workplace friends for lunch, and helping plan the next company event or committee. Help your long-term employees make room for the Millennials.
To our readers (especially Millennials): What are your thoughts on these tips? Do you agree or disagree? Are they missing anything? How do you want to be managed?
Dilbert!
Posted by: | Comments
LinkedIn Quick Tip
Posted by: | CommentsLately, I’ve been working on getting my LinkedIn account up-to-date to ‘brand’ myself and job search. I’ve read numerous “how to” articles and have found a few tidbits on my own to supplement the suggestions of the LinkedIn pros.
I am certainly no pro, but I have been investigating how to use this social media tool to the best of my ability and want to share one of the lessons I’ve learned with you.
Tip 1: Connecting with Groups
I have come across many LinkedIn experts saying to connect with groups with whom I share a common interest. I agree with this advice, and would take it a step further to say, connect with groups with whom I share a common interest AND make sure they are an active group.
I’ve come across many groups who have had few discussion posts and would label them an inactive group. Something tells me that adding to an empty discussion board would be a waste of my time since other members are not participating.
Once you find a group you’re interested in, select “More.”
Then select what you want to know about the group. “Group Statistics” has helped me to determine if joining the group would be helpful for me. I enjoy participating in conversations and getting answers to questions I have, so I would want to make sure the group has an active discussion board.
To get a good idea of how often the group has discussions, go to the “Activities Tab.”
As you can see, the group SIOP had 19 discussions and 75 comments last week. In my experience, this is a very active group.
My personal rule for joining a group is at least 10 discussions and at least that many comments over the past week. My goal is to job search and network, so I want to spend my time where I can gain exposure and ask subject experts their opinions on topics I’m encountering at school and at my internship.
Bonus Tip:
To see a list of your first tier connections that are already part of the group, under “More” select “Group Profile.” A list, complete with pictures, will generate of your first tier connections.
I hope my Linked In tip helps! Please feel free to share your LinkedIn tips or improve upon what’s mentioned here!
The Invisible Spotlight — Get your management questions answered!
Posted by: | CommentsTo our readers, new & “seasoned” consultants, and those in the management or HR industry –
Our dear friends, fellow consultants and authors of The Invisible Spotlight: Why Managers Can’t Hide are now taking questions on topics of management and consulting! Visit them at WassermanKatz to read their latest advice and ask your questions. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to get your questions answered by the renowned authors, Doug Katz and Craig Wasserman.
We look forward to seeing your questions and reading their insights!
Sincerely,
The Monar Team
Dilbert!
Posted by: | Comments
Dilbert!
Posted by: | Comments
