Archive for 'Communication'
Stop Pigeonholing Workers — Learn More
Posted on 28. Feb, 2009 by admin.
How many managers hire someone for a specific set of tasks and then forget that they hired a whole human being who is full of undocumented skills and capabilities?
Answer: Too many.
And we lose a big advantage as a result.
Why do we pigeonhole people?
When we hire people we conduct the interview(s) and scan the resumé for red flags, but we probably don’t go very much in depth with them, learning what else they can do. I think this is fumbling…
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New Office Etiquette: Ear Buds (and the greater meaning)
Posted on 12. Feb, 2009 by admin.
Every day I go into the office I learn something new. Today was an office etiquette lesson.
Our admin manager is under 30, and I’m not sure if she’s a very young Gen Xer or an old Gen Y (aka Millennial, Gen “We”); while her assistant is definitely a Y. Two very nice young women, and both adding value to our company.
Like most other offices they sit right at the front and greet any guests who come in, but in our case there are few visitors and the bulk of their work is a mixture of tasks that the rest of the team requires. Much of this is database work and both like to plug ear buds into iTunes, and do the job with…
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Do We Really Know How Our Workers Interpret Us?
Posted on 08. Feb, 2009 by Jerry Roberts.
Would you talk to your work team differently if you knew that each point you deliver was instantly placed in one of two categories: Acceptance or disbelief?
According to research that Google has done in how people process advertising, this seems to be exactly what we face when trying to motivate our team.
I recently viewed a video of an interview with Dr. Vinton Cerf, Google VP and Chief Internet Evangelist, where he discussed how people make the distinction between valuable information and advertising…
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You Can’t Scare Workers Into Long Term High Performance
Posted on 27. Jan, 2009 by Jerry Roberts.
Woe is Bill. You see, he’s a manager who is stuck in the 1960s and who believes that you can get workers to perform at a high level if they’re fearful of losing their jobs.
While Bill has worked for several companies in his career as a hotel food and beverage manager, he still buys in to the 1960s employment scenario. He still thinks he can strongarm workers and scare them into performing up to expectations. Bill suffers from …
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Is It “Kissing Up” to the Boss or Just Common Sense?
Posted on 26. Jan, 2009 by Jerry Roberts.
During a training late last year the topic turned to our precarious economic times and job worries, and a couple of “Generation We” (aka Gen Y or Millennial) workers disagreed with one of my positions, that we have to take an active role in influencing our employers so that we’re not an easy target for layoff if that becomes necessary.
I had suggested that now was a good time to make a bigger effort to forge a warmer relationship with the boss. In more colorful terms than I use here, one young man…
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10 Ideas to Keep Your Boss Satisfied (if not happy)
Posted on 04. Jan, 2009 by Jerry Roberts.
Got a tough boss? Maybe one who is cold or even mean? Are you frustrated and thinking of giving up? Here are 10 ideas for improving the relationship with your supervisor.
As far as the order of these ideas, after you’ve got the first three figured out you can approach …
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The Dangers of Labeling People in the Workplace
Posted on 01. Jan, 2009 by Jerry Roberts.
So you have a “bad” boss, eh?
So, you supervise a “bad” frontline worker?
But is it really case of being “bad?” And does using that particular word to describe a worker really a problem?
You call somebody “bad” and …
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Never Accept a Job or Assignment Without Knowing What Success Looks Like
Posted on 29. Dec, 2008 by Jerry Roberts.
If you’ve ever done the assembly of a complicated holiday gift or a jigsaw puzzle with several hundred pieces, you know that it’s impossible without one thing:




