Peace is not absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means. ~ Ronald Reagan You come into work feeling rested and ready to hit it hard when lo and behold, you encounter one of every manager’s worst nightmares: infighting in your department. Or perhaps one of your employees is having […]
Managing Conflict in the Office – Part 1
Conflict is drama, and how people deal with conflict shows you the kind of people they are. —Stephen Moyer When two or more people spend time together, they’re bound to come into conflict, and when happens, conflict resolution is in order. But even though conflict is a universal inevitability in the workplace, many managers don’t know […]
Promoting Respect and Collaboration in the Office
Employees don’t need to be best friends, but there does need to be a level of mutual respect and understanding. —Kathryn Minshew, cofounder and CEO of the Muse In the era of #MeToo, how employees interact with one another has come under greater scrutiny. And for good reason: one recent study by the Workplace Bullying […]
How to Manage Employees without Killing Innovation
Great leaders often have assertive and confident personalities that heavily influence their interactions with others. Sometimes these “strong” personalities go hand in hand with similarly forceful management techniques that can squelch innovation and the effectiveness of your team, because when people are worried about disappointing (or even angering) a boss they see as very much […]
Attention, Managers: Use Onboarding to Gain a Competitive Advantage
Onboarding is not a nice-to-have, but rather a need-to-have.” —Kevin Martin, research director at Human Capital Management I’m pretty sure that no one would argue with Kevin Martin’s statement about the importance of onboarding. One possible exception might be someone whose only experience with onboarding has been sitting through a long and incredibly boring program […]
The Power of Saying No – Part 2
“The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.” —Warren Buffett You may think that you and Warren Buffett are worlds apart, but you both actually have one very important thing in common: the ability to say no. He does it all the time. You […]
The Power of Saying NO – Part 1
“What you don’t do determines what you can do.” —Timothy Ferriss Never underestimate the power of saying no! At this point in your career, you’re probably heard a lot of advice about how to succeed in the business world. “Set goals!” “Be a team player!” “Challenge yourself!” These messages are driven home in team […]
Change Your Outlook, Change Your Life – Part 2
Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me. —Carol Burnett As I explained last month, the first step toward developing a positive outlook is realizing that negativity is not inevitable. You have the power to change your status quo! The sooner you understand that, the sooner you’ll be ready for […]
Change Your Outlook, Change Your Life – Part 1
Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will. —Zig Ziglar Is there a “Downer Dave” or a “Negative Nancy” in your work or home life? You know the type: no matter what happens, these people always have a negative outlook. They are frustrating and exhausting to be around, because their […]
Val’s Guide to Surviving the Holidays
With Thanksgiving behind us, the “official” holiday madness has begun. Here are my nine tips for surviving the holidays: Make this the year you generate a gift list (and budget) for family and friends and actually stick to it. I happen to perform best under pressure and love the euphoria of waiting to the bitter end to […]
