Author: Marcia Zidle

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Work Stress Getting You Down: Here’s How To Get Back Up!

stressed-woman-at-work

Stressful situations are all too common in a workplace that’s facing budget cuts, staff layoffs, and department changes. It may become harder and harder to manage your stress and emotions under these circumstances, but it’s even more important for you to do so.

Here are seven strategies to help you deal with frustrations, irritations, worry, anger and disappointments so you won’t have an emotional meltdown.

1. Stop and evaluate.
Ask yourself why you feel frustrated. Write it down, and be specific. For example, you’re wasting time and could be finishing a report. Then think of one positive thing about your current situation. For instance, if your boss is late for your meeting, then you have more time to prepare or time to catch up on emails.

2. Focus on how to improve the situation.
If you just received a not so good performance review, probably fretting or complaining about it won’t help you keep your job. Instead, bring to your boss a concrete action plan for improvement. This is the time to be visible, to be valuable and showcase your variety of skills.

3. Avoid negative people.
If co-workers gather in the break room to gossip about job cuts or management changes or whatever, don’t go there and worry with everyone else. It doesn’t change the situation. It just aggravates it! Rather, surround yourself with more positive, upbeat folks.

4. Be professional, no matter what.
If you have to work with someone you don’t get along with, set aside your dislike or irritation. Act courteously and focus on the work that needs to get done. Besides that person may have something you need in the future.

5. Remain calm.
Negative criticism can give rise to anger or feelings of inadequacy. Expressing these emotions will put you, not the critic, in a negative position. When the hammer drops, pause, take a couple of deep breaths to settle down and decide how to respond. One way is to go into active listening by replying, “So what you’re saying is……Can you explain…….”

6. Pull back.
Take a moment to realize that things won’t always go your way. If they did, life would be a straight road instead of one with hills and valleys, ups and downs. And it’s the hills and valleys that often make life so interesting.

7. Smile!
Strange as it may sound, forcing a smile – or even a grimace – onto your face can often make you feel happy (this is one of the strange ways in which we humans are ‘wired.’) Try it – you may be surprised!

Career Success Tip:

We all have to deal with negative emotions at work basically because certain people or situations “get” to us. Coping with these feelings – developing emotional intelligence – is now more important than ever. A person out of control is not a person who wins friends or influences people. It also can bring down your career. Also see Job Stress Tips.

Do you want to develop Career Smarts?
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How Good an Interviewer Are You? Part 1

A-woman-being-interviewed-for-a-position

Have you ever hired someone who did not live up to expectations? Or have you seen how a bad hire can bring havoc to a team or department?

Then you want to make sure you are a good interviewer so that you can increase the odds for selecting the best person for your most critical positions. Don’t leave it up to first impressions, your gut or a recommendation from a friend. So how good are you?

Test your interviewing savvy by answering TRUE or FALSE to these 10 statements.

  1. You should study the application/resume before conducting any interview.
  2. It is your responsibility to maintain control over the progress of the interview.
  3. During the interview itself, you should do about 50% of the talking.
  4. An applicant with more than four jobs in five years should not be hired.
  5. Write down every thing the applicant tells you so you can remember it.
  6. A good way to commence an interview is to challenge the applicant to prove he can do the job.
  7. Specific interview questions should be framed to elicit “yes” or “no” or similar, simple responses.
  8. You should always review and update a job description before beginning your recruitment process.
  9. Applicants can be encouraged to elaborate on their answers by your use of silence or non-committal remarks.
  10. You can probe for more detailed information by asking behavioral questions.

ANSWERS:

  1. TRUE. By reviewing the application/resume, you will determine the focus of the interview.
  2. TRUE. If you don’t control the direction of the interview, it will get out of hand and become little more than a meaningless conversation.
  3. FALSE. Always remember you cannot learn anything while talking. The applicant should talk most of the time. Keep your part down to 20%.
  4. FALSE. Not necessarily. Determine the reasons for each change of job before drawing your conclusion.
  5. FALSE: It’s best to record only key factors during the interview. Too much writing doesn’t allow you to concentrate on their responses.
  6. FALSE. This will only antagonize the applicant and reduce your chances of building rapport. This often leads to the candidate becoming frustrated, defensive, and non-communicative.
  7. FALSE. Open-ended questions are designed to probe deeply and elicit more and better information.
  8. TRUE. Duties and responsibilities, education, experience and even technical and soft skill requirements can change. Without having accurate information, you set yourself up for potential disaster.
  9. TRUE. These non-directive techniques are very effective, when used properly. Candidates “hate” the sound of silence and often try to “fill the dead air” with additional comments.
  10. TRUE. Asking behavioral interview questions that probe for information and experience are highly effective and will assist in removing the “interview mask” from a candidate.

How many did you get right?
Do you need to learn or brush up on the keys to a successful interviewing? For example, writing comprehensive job descriptions, establishing job benchmarks, creating behavioral interview questions, developing a candidate scoring guide or refining your interviewing skills? If so,we can work with your hiring managers and human resources. Let’s talk!

Management Success Tip:

Never go into an interview unprepared. You’ll spend too much time talking about the weather or sports or job seekers hobbies – nice for conversation but hardly the basis for a sound hiring decision. Next post will be an additional 10 true or false questions. will our score go up or down? Also see Behavioral Interviewing.

Do you want to develop your Management Smarts?

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Moving to a New job or Company? Do It Right!

happy-black-male-candidate-getting-hired-got-job

Don’t say hello to your new job until you say a warm good bye to your old one.

There’s a lot to think about when you change jobs whether it’s because of a promotion, or a department change, or a move to a new organization. It’s an exciting time, but what can you do to make the transition go smoothly for you, and easier on the people you leave behind?

What should you do before you leave? Here’ are nine practical actions for your ‘to do’ list:

  1. Bring your projects up to date.You can’t always complete every project before making a transition, but if you finish as much as you can, this will make life easier on the person who takes your place.
  2. Prepare a report for your replacement. Detail what this person needs to know: future projects, who your clients are (and their contact information), tasks you recently completed, and how you did them and anything else that’s important.
  3. Share ‘inside’ information. Think about what you know now that you didn’t know when you started this position. For example, if you’re in charge of ordering supplies, it might have taken you months, or years, to figure out which vendors give the best deals. Or there may be an administrative procedure that saves you time.
  4. Take a copy with you. When you move departments, take with you to the new job an electronic copy of all the documents you prepare for the old job, containing details of where the files are, and the status of ongoing projects, etc. If your successor hasn’t started by the time you leave, or if the new person loses the background material you left behind, you’ll be able to help quickly, with a minimum of annoyance to you, when they track you down to ask about files and project status.
  5. Help train your replacement. If you have the opportunity, this will ease the stress on both your boss and the person taking over from you. If your replacement hasn’t yet been chosen, consider briefing another team member who may temporarily take your place.
  6. Contact key business associates. Let clients, vendors, and other key people know when your last day is, and whom they should contact after you’ve gone. Then they won’t be confused or frustrated if they try to reach you, and weren’t told of the personnel change.
  7. Don’t brag. Don’t boast about your new position, say how happy you are to ‘get out of here,’ or talk about your higher salary. This is likely to leave a bad impression with your co-workers. Remember, they’re the ones staying behind. Be considerate.
  8. Don’t make enemies on your way out. Keep your negative impressions about your boss, co-workers and peers to yourself. Also don’t bad mouth the company – it’s policies or programs. Leave with a good impression.
  9. Say ‘thank you’ . If there are people who helped you at work, thank them. Be specific. For example, you couldn’t have completed a project without someone’s expertise.

Career Success Tip:

Job transitions can be stressful. However, by taking the time to prepare for closure, you can reduce the impact on both you and your team. Leave a good impression and don’t make any enemies on your way out. Remember, you never know when you might work with your former team members or boss or peers again. So don’t burn bridges that may come back to haunt you.

Do you want to develop Career Smarts?
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Priority Management: Are You Doing the Right Things?

african-american-man-thinking-high-view

In coaching managers on how to stop working harder and star working smarter, I introduce them to a tool called a priority audit.

It helps them assess a project-task-assignment, which can be as small as taking an hour or two or as big as something taking a few weeks or months, before diving in.

These five key questions will help you decide on the Four “D’s” of priority management: Do it – Delegate it – Delay it- Dump it:

1. Why am I doing this?
Ever find yourself working on something but you don’t know why? Someone just told you to do this or that? It’s pretty common I thing. It’s important to ask yourself (and others): What is this for? Who benefits? How does this help achieve our team, department or organization goals? Knowing the purpose, the rationale or the “why” will help you be better focused.

2. What problem am I solving?
What’s the real problem? What’s happening that is not suppose to happen or what’s not happening that is suppose to happen? Who owns the problem – is it me, my team, my department or someone else? Sometimes you’ll find that you’re working on what someone else thinks is crucial but is it really? That’s when it’s time to stop and reevaluate what you’re doing.

3. Is this actually useful?
Are we making something useful or just making something? It’s easy to confuse enthusiasm with reality. Sometimes it’s fun to build something that’s cool, but will it make a difference for the customer. Cool wears off, usefulness never does.

4. Am I adding value?
Adding something is easy, adding true value is harder. Is what I’m working on actually making the product or service more valuable for our customers? Can they get more out of it than they did before? There’s a fine line between adding value and just adding more features that few people want.

5. Is there an easier way?
There are lots of ways to do things, but for simplicity’s sake let’s say there are two primary ways: The easier way and the harder way. The easier way takes 5 units of time. The harder way takes 10 units of time. Whenever you’re working in the harder way you should ask yourself is there an easier way? You’ll often find that the easier way is more than good enough for now.

Management Success Tip:

This is the big question: Is it really worth it? This one should come up all the time. Is what I’m doing really worth it? Is this meeting worth pulling me and 6 people off their work for an hour? Is it worth getting all stressed out over ____________? You decide what to put in blank. Also see Manage Your Productivity, Not Just Your Time.

Now it’s your turn. Are you doing work that really matters or are you just putting in the time? What are you doing to work smarter rather than harder?

Do you want to develop your Management Smarts?

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Five Career Killers For High Achievers

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Why is it so many smart, ambitious professionals are less productive and satisfied than they should or could be?

If you’re a high achiever, then you’re used to winning and you’re accustomed to turning out remarkable performance. But what happens when you’re in over your head or find yourself in hot water with your boss or on a career treadmill that’s going nowhere fast or dealing with a career challenge that can bring you down?
That’s when I’m called in, as an executive and career coach, to either fix it or at least to get these high achievers back on track. What I have found is that high performers exhibit five typical behaviors which can get them into trouble. In fact, these are behaviors that helped them succeed initially but now get in the way of their success.
  • Highly motivated: Achievers take their work seriously, but they fail to see the difference between the urgent and the merely important – a potential path to burnout.
  • Competitive: Achievers go overboard in their competitive drive; they compare themselves to others. This leads to a chronic sense of not “making it” which may lead to potential career missteps.
  • Safe risk takers: Because achievers are so passionate about success, they shy away from risk and the unknown. They won’t stray far from their comfort zone.
  • Guilt-ridden: No matter how much they accomplish, achievers believe it’s never enough. They want more. When they complete a milestone, they don’t take the time to savor the moment. They push on to another challenge and another.
  • Doers: Because nobody can do it as well or as quickly as others can, achievers drift into poor delegation or micromanagement. They get so caught up in tasks that people issues get pushed aside.

Which ones get you into trouble? And will they or are they stalling your leadership or career?

If so, here’s how to deal with your personal “snakes” and get out of the sand traps of being a high achiever:
1. Use your support network.
High achievers are very independent. But, everyone needs guidance and different perspectives. Ask people around you what skills and experiences they think you need to reach the next level.
2. Be vulnerable.
Many high achievers are reluctant to acknowledge uncertainty or mistakes. Open yourself up to new learning experiences that make you feel uncertain or even inept. Remember in order to grow professionally you may need to change.
3. Work smarter, not harder.
Are you doing work that really matters? Focus your energy on the ‘important’, not just the ‘urgent’. Don’t hold on to every decision or project. Rather let go, delegate and realize that a strong team will make your leadership stronger.

Career Success Tip:

The more you know, the more you need to realize how much you don’t know. There’s always room for improvement. It’s also helpful to keep ones success in perspective. As the great executive coach Marshall Goldsmith said: “What got you here won’t get you there. Also see Are You About to Lose Your Job?

Do you want to develop Career Smarts?
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Why Is Employee Engagement Important?

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Do you manage by walking around? What do you see? People excited about their job or people just going through the motions?

When employees care about their work and their company —when they are engaged—they use discretionary effort. This means the engaged computer programmer works overtime when needed, without being asked. This means the engaged retail clerk picks up the trash on the store floor, even if the boss isn’t watching. This means the nurse comes into your room to see how you’re doing in addition to just giving you your meds.

So how do you, as a manager or supervisor turn “it’s just a job” employees into engaged, energized employees?

Here are seven actions, that do not cost much if anything, yet have great impact. Which ones will work with your workforce?

1. Spend time out in the field.
Ask your employees how you can help make their jobs easier. Work alongside them and even let them teach you what they do. Southwest Airlines has a mandate that every manager must spend 1/3 of his or her time in direct contact with employees and customers to create a stronger feeling of teamwork.

2. Celebrate everything you can.
For example, meeting of short term goals, the end of the budget process, winning grants or new customers, extraordinary work, safety successes.

3. Hold informal “grapevine sessions” to control the flow of the rumor mill.
Managers must be prepared to listen and to be completely truthful and open. Even when they can’t share specific information, they can honestly explain why and when it will be available.

4. Let people know what they do is important.
Help your workers focus not on only a job description but also on how they fit into the big picture. That new sense of purpose will boost their self-esteem and motivation.

5. Don’t let respect slip under the radar screen.
If you treat your employees with respect you will earn their respect. For example, if you pay attention to and take care of your front-line people, they will in turn pay attention to and take care of the customer. Start with daily greetings. Remember their birthdays or other important dates. Take an interest in their interests. Say thank you for a job well done.

6. Take them serious.
There’s incredible brainpower all around you, so why not put it to work? You hired your employees because you thought they could make a valuable contribution. Ask for their suggestions to problems. Include them in decisions that affect their work. Give them enough authority that goes with their responsibility.

7. Work for your people.
Listen and act quickly on their questions. Clear the way so they can do their jobs well. Once people see their leader as acting for them, or on their behalf, they develop a personal loyalty that energizes their performance.

Management Success Tip:

So why is employee engagement so important? Here’s one way to answer that question: An employee that not only sees the glass half full but wants to contribute to the filling of the glass. That’s important because engaged employees lead to higher service, quality and productivity; which leads to higher customer satisfaction; which leads to increased sales (repeat business and referrals) which leads to better business outcomes.

Do you want to develop your Management Smarts?

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Getting A New Boss: How To Make It Work!

A group of managers talking business in an office

Your old boss is leaving and a new boss is arriving to take his or her place. So, what’s going to happen now? Does this mean that you’ll also have to change your job? Or is this an opportunity to make a great first impression and potentially change the direction of your career?

Some people in this situation may think things will continue as they were. However, a new boss will likely have different opinions, different policies and even a different management style. The situation has now changed: if you simply keep doing what you did before, you’re not facing reality.

It’s up to you to build a relationship with your new boss. Things will likely be different, so expect to change the way you work; and expect to experience a three-month adjustment period, during which you’ll both “settle in” and get used to each other.

Necessary Conversations with Your New Boss

Here’s a checklist of what you and your new boss should understand and agree upon as you get to know each other. These conversations can range from informal chats at the coffee machine to formal meetings in your boss’s office or elsewhere. Here’s what you want to accomplish.

1. Determine how your boss views the current situation.
Find out how your new boss sees things. For example, does your new boss think that the objective is to maintain a currently strong position or turn around declining performance? You may not agree on every point, but at least you’ll know.
2. Learn what your boss’s expectations are.
What does your new boss want from you now and in the longer-term future? How will your success be measured? If you understand what will help your new boss succeed (see above), this will help you relate to his or her expectations, while making sure that what’s asked of you is still realistic.
3. Figure out your boss’s working style.
What you do is important, but so is how you do it. You have your preferred way of working, and so does your new boss. Find out how your boss likes to operate, and show him or her how you like to operate. This will lead to a better chance of achieving more together – and a better chance that both of your careers will benefit.
4. Determine what resources are available.
If you need more resources or need to keep what you have now, let your new boss know.
5. Find out what’s important to your boss.
Your new boss will likely target several goals during the early weeks and months because this will help confirm to upper management that they made the right hiring choice. figure out how to help him or her succeed.

Career Success Tip:

In some cases, your new boss may be the ‘new hire’. However, you are also a ‘new hire’ to your new boss. In many ways, it’s similar to when you first started your current job – you have to work to make a positive impression, to prove yourself and to be perceived as making a valuable contribution. Also See Manage Your Boss.

Do you want to develop Career Smarts?

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The Messiness of Managerial Work

Group-of-male-managers-discussing-their-managerial-problems-in-a-meeting

Recently I watched my husband complete a crossword puzzle. He started with four down because that is where it was easiest for him. Then he focused his efforts on a small section of the puzzle trying to respond to both the across and down clues until he got stuck.

After awhile he moved to another section of the puzzle with the intent of coming back to the earlier section when he acquired some additional insight. He changed his mind on several occasions and needed to erase two previous answers. In frustration, he put the puzzle down to eat lunch, did some errands and then went back again.

What I realized is that completing crossword puzzle has many of the same aspects as managerial work. The process is rather messy in nature and can lead to frustration. Sometimes you think you’re going in the right direction and then you find that you need to backtrack. Decisions are made that don’t lead to the desired outcome and you may have to return to the “drawing board”.

Being wrong is not necessarily bad!

Some manager may think if it doesn’t go right the first time then the project or the team is failing. You may need a different approach especially when new information comes in that does not fit nicely in the original plan. In truth, knowing something doesn’t work is valuable insight. You can then fix it before it does great damage.

Managers need to continually keep their antennae up for information that alerts them to possible problems – the things that can grow into big headaches. For example, if you’re about to finalize a change in a major business process to enhance customer satisfaction, take a break and get input before making decisions. Find out from the folks who will be carrying out this new process where the possible glitches are and if it might do more harm than good.

Management Success Tip:

The fact that many management situations do not lend themselves to quick easy solutions can be frustrating. However, once it’s accepted that problem solving and decision making are messy processes, it is easier to cope with the complex nature of managerial work. When was the last time you did a crossword puzzle? Is it similar or different from your work as a manager?

Do you want to develop your Management Smarts?

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What Is Your Career Orientation?

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A career is more than a job, more than a sequence of jobs, more than luck or happenstance. It may be altered by fortune or misfortune but at least for most people it has a sense of direction.

Basic talents, values, and motives have an impact when decisions are made about careers. To help you clarify your career aspirations and achieve more successful person-job fit, there is an assessment tool called the Career Success Map Questionnaire. It was developed by Dr. Brooke Derr, global business and careers scholar. It identifies five distinct career orientations, each bearing different motivational needs, potential problems and strategies for success.

Which do you identify with?

1. Getting Ahead:
Driven by advancement and upward mobility. Prefers action, using power to get things done and achieving goals. It can lead to playing politics, aggressive competition and even peer jealousies. So learn the organization’s culture, and develop and nurture strategic relationships

2. Getting Secure:
Driven by job security and company loyalty. Prefers predictability and routine, seeks ‘belonging” and sincere recognition. It can lead to conflict with an achievement culture and difficulty to deal with change. So learn to go with the flow better and let others know of your contributions.

3. Getting Free:
Driven by independence and autonomy. Prefers less structure, control over work processes and creative freedom. It can lead to conflict with management and being seen as not a team player. So first pay your dues, get credibility, and contribute to the team effort.

4. Getting High:
Driven by challenge and excitement. Prefers cutting edge opportunities and doing new things in new ways. It can lead to a conflict with the organization culture and job requirements. So choose the right company and develop political skills.

5. Getting Balanced:
Driven by the balance between work, important relationships and personal development. Prefers flexibility and time for other pursuits. It can lead to a perception that you don’t take your work seriously. so be careful abut timing, be seen as a team player, and pay your dues first.

Career Success Tip:

Keep in mind that the purpose of any career assessment tool is to improve your awareness of self and to suggest potentially suitable career management strategies that fit you and lead to the achievement of your goals. They do not guarantee success nor do they mandate your pursuit of a specified path. Use them to enlighten not to dictate. Let me know if you would like to take this assessment. Also see Career Anchors and Career Personality.

Do you want to develop Career Smarts?

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Manage Less to Manage Better

group of workers discussing their manager in a closed space

If I was a fly on the wall what would I hear your employees say? Would it something like this? “He won’t allow me to make even the simplest decisions. She has to sign off on everything. It’s hard to do my job because there’s too much red tape.”

Is it possible your staff is talking about you?
A very common problem with many managers is micro-managing – thinking that you have to be in control of everything. For example: You check everyone’s work, even when you don’t need to. You need to know where everyone is at any given moment. You watch people closely and tell them how they could improve or what they should change. You pay attention to all the details wanting to make sure everything is done just right.

Why do so many managers get hooked?

  • The way we manage around here. Senior leaders micro-manages their direct staff. The staff adopts the same management style with their direct reports. The practice spreads and becomes part of the culture.
  • Get results or else. In today’s difficult economy, managers live in perpetual fear that their department better produce or be out of a job. This fear drives them to constantly check on their staff and their work.
  • A wrong belief. Many managers think success is based on authority. So they don’t allow their employees to make decisions because they believe that would be giving up their own power. The irony is when your people shine and do well, it enhances your reputation as a good manager.

Of course, there are situations where it’s important for you to be in control – a crisis situation you must take charge of immediately or a confidential project given to you by your boss. But, there are also situations, when you could relax a little, loosen the hand cuffs and let your people find and implement the best solutions.

So how do you manage less which is really managing better?

  • Start at the top. Hire an executive coach to help senior leaders learn to trust and delegate to subordinates. Managers will then likely follow suit with their own direct reports.
  • Put yourself in their shoes. It is very easy for managers to lose perspective about what decisions their staff can make on their own. Managers should ask themselves, what decisions would I need to make if I were doing that job?
  • Minimize the risk of things going wrong. Have them talk through their plans and get them to think of the possible consequences before they move forward. Also, schedule regular updates so you can see the progress and catch possible problems before they become full blown crises.

Management Success Tip:

Control and micro-managing kills the spirit of of competent and committed people. Morale goes down, people get disengaged and mediocrity sets in. Instead, allow others to find their own way while you’re there to offer support when asked or needed. A great manager helps their people grow and develop their own strengths and talents. They are pride-builders. Are you?

Do you want to develop your Management Smarts?