Being a leader is a great privilege that brings with it great responsibility. As a leader, you are often the first to receive the credit and almost always the first to receive the blame. Your position is both demanding and rewarding and requires great skill and balance. You are expected to build authentic relationships, maintain confidentiality, develop your team and meet your goals. Your communication must be strong, and your time management must be masterful. You need to effectively delegate, problem solve, strategise, manage conflict and prioritise. People expect you to be engaging but serious, charismatic but sincere, confident but humble, and transparent but discreet. It is one of the most challenging and rewarding positions you can have, and it is replete with great joys and deep challenges.
The few leaders who are lucky enough to receive training on how to be a leader often attend a one-time seminar or class that focuses heavily on skill acquisition. This is a good place to start but an insufficient one to begin and end. The development of leadership skills is most certainly necessary to become a strong leader, but it is hardly a one-shot deal. Mastering the skills required of leadership is a lifelong endeavour and should be treated as such with consistent training, application, support and coaching. Further, honing these skills is just one of the components of becoming a strong leader. The other component is comprised of mindset, desire and investment required of a leader. Without a leader’s mindset, skill mastery becomes largely irrelevant. Being a leader requires the mindset of a leader.
In 2017, after nearly a decade spent building Uber into a
household brand, Travis Kalanick yielded to pressure from investors who
demanded that he step down as CEO. Shortly before offering his resignation, the
scandal-plagued founder issued a statement: “For the first time I’ve been
willing to admit that I need leadership help.”
That was too little too late. And for such once-great
commercial giants as Kodak, Blockbuster, and Blackberry, the unwillingness to
solicit advice or consider potential pitfalls resulted in not only personal but
corporate catastrophe.
Two thousand years ago, two great academies of study debated
the ancient laws of the Judean commonwealth. History records that the scholars
of the House of Hillel and the House of Shammai argued with one another so
passionately it was as if “they fought with swords and spears.” Each school had
its own angle on higher truth, and each was committed to preserving the
integrity of Jewish legal tradition.
But when they left the study hall, they were fast friends.
They married their sons and daughters to each other. Their different visions
never became personal. And, occasionally, one school convinced the other that
it was wrong.
Ultimately, it was the opinions of the House of Hillel that
prevailed, and later authorities explain why. Not only did the scholars of
Hillel always record the opinions held by the scholars of Shammai along with
their own—they
always recorded the opposition opinions first.
Only when we understand the other side of any argument can
we truly understand our own. That’s why intellectual integrity demands that we
ask ourselves these two questions:
If I don’t understand why you believe what you
believe, how can I be sure that you’re wrong?
If I don’t understand why you might reasonably
disagree with me, how can I be sure that I’m right?
It’s important to note that leadership is not management.
And the satisfaction you derive from being a leader has nothing to do with
monetary bonuses and everything to do with purpose.
Why do you want to become a leader?
If you lack purpose or drive, there’s no reason for you to
become a leader. You might as well do something else. Because at its core, leadership
requires sacrifice, and if you don’t have a strong sense of purpose and an unfailable
drive, none of the things you sacrifice will mean anything.
Without these two quintessential characteristics, you’ll
come to resent the role as well as the people that you lead. For those who have
a strong sense of purpose, they are more than willing to go the extra mile —
to go out on a limb for those we lead. It’s an inexplicable feeling, but all
great leaders have it.
Many people realise that they’re not leadership material.
And that is ok, don’t let anyone judge you because that’s indicative of great
self-awareness. It’s also one less person who will potentially take a
leadership position to use it for selfish gain.
As a leader, when you encourage underlings to propose new
ideas, challenge conventional thinking, and argue against the status quo, you
are not promoting insurrection. Just the opposite. You are forging a culture of
creativity, mutual respect, and intellectual integrity, one in which every
contribution is valued and where a commitment to sound decision-making
overrides investment in ego or personal prestige. And that will drive you and
your organization relentlessly toward success, not occasionally, but always.
Given our current situation knowing that your colleagues or employees are best suited for this new scenario we find ourselves in. Finding the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation can be a very challenging task. It is now important to find out whether your managers or your team is well-equipped of working together from various locations. It requires deep knowledge of their personalities, strengths, weaknesses, interests, work style and other characteristics. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you discover if your people are resilient during times of hardship, if they are autonomous, if they are team players, without actual human contact. Given that our platform is cloud-based, everyone can use it from home as well. Humanity finds itself at a crossroad for various reasons now, why not help people discover and develop themselves from the comfort of their own homes?
https://greatpeopleinside.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/better-leader.jpg7681024Vlad Mateihttps://greatpeopleinside.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/logo_greatpeopleinside_01.pngVlad Matei2021-03-12 16:21:522023-07-06 09:28:042 Questions that Are Vital If You Want to Be a Better Leader
From PCs to smartphones, office tech has always promised to make us more productive. But time and again, it’s come with unexpected side effects. In 1982, Time magazine skipped its annual tradition of naming a “Man of the Year” to instead crown the personal computer as the “Machine of the Year.” The Apple II had been released only a half-decade earlier, and the subsequent introduction of the VisiCalc spreadsheet software in 1979 seemingly all at once convinced the managerial class about the business potential of computers. Soon, IBM released its own PC, which went on to become both widely copied and wildly popular. The journalist who wrote the Time feature noted in his article that he had typed his contribution on a typewriter. By the next year, their newsroom switched to word processors. The revolution in workplace productivity had begun.
At least, this is the simple version of the tale we tell. A
closer look at what happened next and, in the decades following has complicated
matters. We’ re used to the idea that new office technologies make us strictly
more productive, but the history of workplace tools teaches us that the quest
to make common activities more efficient can yield unexpected side effects.
This was true of the first PCs, and it likely explains the uneasy relationship
we have with a more recent office innovation: email.
Not long after the arrival of the PC, experts began to
question the miraculous nature of this suddenly ubiquitous device. In 1991, an
article in The New York Times quoted an economist who pointed out that although
companies continue to spend heavily on technology, “white-collar productivity
has stagnated.” He concluded at the time: “No longer are chief executives
confident that throwing computers at their office staffs will result in greater
efficiency.”
The data supported these concerns. A study of the years 1987
to 1993, conducted by economists Daniel Sichel and Stephen Oliner, estimated
that computer technology contributed at most 0.2 percentage points a year to
business output growth, after adjusting for inflation, a period during which overall
growth expanded by 1.9 percent a year. A contemporaneous article summarized
these findings bluntly: “The impact of computers on recent productivity growth
has been vastly overstated.”
Productivity growth in most of the world’s rich countries has been dismal since around 2004. Especially vexing is the sluggish pace of what economists call total factor productivity—the part that accounts for the contributions of innovation and technology. In a time of Facebook, smartphones, self-driving cars, and computers that can beat a person at just about any board game, how can the key economic measure of technological progress be so pathetic? Economists have tagged this the “productivity paradox.”
What are the problems that cause the productivity paradox?
Mis-measurement – The gains are real but our current measures miss them.
Redistribution – There are private gains, but they come at the expense of other firms and individuals, leaving little net gain.
Time lags – The gains take a long time to show up.
Mismanagement – There are no gains because of the unusual difficulties in managing IT or information itself.
According to an article in ‘The Economist‘ , research has shown that productivity growth did not accelerate until 40 years after the introduction of electric power in the early 1880s. This was partly because it took until 1920 for at least half of American industrial machinery to be powered by electricity. Therefore, we won’t be seeing any spikes in productivity until all the major powers have reached at least a 50% penetration rate for computer use.
What’s happening now may be a “replay of the late 80s,” says Erik Brynjolfsson, another MIT economist. Breakthroughs in machine learning and image recognition are “eye-popping”; the delay in implementing them only reflects how much change that will entail. “It means swapping in AI and rethinking your business, and it might mean whole new business models,” he also said. In this view, AI is what economic historians consider a “general-purpose technology.” These are inventions like the steam engine, electricity, and the internal-combustion engine. Eventually they transformed how we lived and worked. But businesses had to be reinvented, and other complementary technologies had to be created to exploit the breakthroughs. That took decades. The debate over the productivity paradox is understandable, given the expectations of productivity from computerisation that are embedded in our culture. But it is arguable that the changes under way will inevitably take place across a much longer time frame than the measurements can currently cover, and actual payoff cannot be expected until major elements of organisational and social learning are complete. The measurement, management, and learning arguments can be combined to create a broad case for fundamental social transformation. In this transformation older systems of measurement and management fail as the entire regime of production is altered, and learning becomes to a much greater degree experimental and risky. The slow accumulation of knowledge will probably, eventually, produce major productivity benefits.
Illustrating the potential of AI as a general-purpose
technology, Scott Stern of MIT’s Sloan School of Management describes it as a “method
for a new method of invention.” An AI algorithm can comb through vast amounts
of data, finding hidden patterns and predicting possibilities for, say, a
better drug or a material for more efficient solar cells. It has, he says, “the
potential to transform how we do innovation.”
But he also warns against expecting such a change to show up
in macroeconomic measurements anytime soon. “If I tell you we’re having an
innovation explosion, check back with me in 2050 and I’ll show you the impacts,”
he says. General-purpose technologies, he adds, “take a lifetime to reorganize
around.”
Even as these technologies appear, huge gains in productivity aren’t guaranteed, says John Van Reenen, a British economist at Sloan. Europe, he says, missed out on the dramatic 1990s productivity boost from the IT revolution, largely because European companies, unlike US-based ones, lacked the flexibility to adapt.
We must accept that these better methods will not emerge spontaneously. We have to instead seek them out, put them in writing, experiment to get things right, and be willing to put up with some of the inconveniences and loss of flexibility these efforts might create. All of this, of course, is harder than simply waiting for engineers to build even faster email clients. But ultimately, it’s the only way to ensure that continued innovations in workplace communication can improve rather than hold back our ability to make progress on the things that matter.
Given our current situation knowing that your colleagues or employees are best suited for this new scenario we find ourselves in. Finding the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation can be a very challenging task. It is now important to find out whether your managers or your team is well-equipped of working together from various locations. It requires deep knowledge of their personalities, strengths, weaknesses, interests, work style and other characteristics. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you discover if your people are resilient during times of hardship, if they are autonomous, if they are team players, without actual human contact. Given that our platform is cloud-based, everyone can use it from home as well. Humanity finds itself at a crossroad for various reasons now, why not help people discover and develop themselves from the comfort of their own homes?
https://greatpeopleinside.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/productivity-paradox.png4501060Vlad Mateihttps://greatpeopleinside.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/logo_greatpeopleinside_01.pngVlad Matei2021-03-04 14:39:012023-07-06 09:28:09The Productivity Paradox and Its Link to Technology Innovation
Connecting with a mentor can be a huge benefit in your
career. More and more companies are launching and expanding mentorship programs,
so they are designating mentors, matching mentors, and establishing
mentor-mentee relationships from the moment you join the company.
But for many, the assignment of a mentor is only a first
step. Like a blind date, it can be awkward—only a toe in the
water in an uncertain sea. As a mentee, how can you make the relationship
successful? Especially if you’re new to a company or a role, you may not feel you
have a lot of influence in the venture. In actuality, you can significantly
contribute to creating the conditions for a great experience.
Many successful people attribute at least part of their
success to having a mentor. The right mentor can provide advice and connections
that help their mentee reach heights that would be impossible alone.
A mentor helps you build your skills as a leader, a
strategist, a consultant or a manager. They can guide you toward making sound
decisions that positively affect the trajectory of your career path or in
gaining skills needed for your industry. In the entrepreneurial sector, a
mentor can help you successfully guide your new business through the pitfalls
inherent with being a start-up, including funding challenges, paperwork,
finding clients, and delivering on projects, for example.
But, like every relationship, building and maintaining a
successful mentor relationship isn’t effortless.
Mentorship requires intentional investments of time and energy; you get what you put in
Being a mentee is not a passive role. When you have a mentor, it’s your job to define your own goals, cultivate the relationship, seek out advice, attend meetings or events you’re invited to, and so on. Mentorship is not a “do it on the side” or “when I get time” job. It’s real hard work that requires dedication and commitment much like any other part of our job.
Apart from time being of paramount importance to succeed in
a mentor-mentee relationship, it also requires a tremendous amount of energy to
engage, guide, deal with the ups and downs and all possible human emotions that
come into play when two people are trying to achieve something significant.
A true meeting of the minds requires true commitment to each other and their time. Set time boundaries, define protocol to cancel, agree on the medium to contact depending on the issue. It’s highly advisable that both mentor and mentee write down their commitments and refer to them from time to time. `
Form a personal connection, understand each other’s
principles and values, strengths and weaknesses, what drives them and what they
wish to achieve out of this relationship. Discuss shared values like integrity,
mutual respect, openness, trust and active listening as the basis for all
conversations.
As much as possible, take time out to engage in face-to-face
conversation (video, in-person). It’s not enough to hear a person’s words. Their
body language, facial expressions and emotions play a large role in
understanding their true intent.
How long should a mentoring relationship last?
There is no one-size-fits-all relationship in the mentoring
world. If the two of you are working together on your own, the relationship can
last as long as is mutually beneficial. Some mentor-mentee relationships last a
lifetime and often grow more equitable over time.
If you’re part of a more formal mentorship program, there
may be time requirements you need to follow, so make sure you’re fully informed
about your program. Knowing the guidelines also shows that you’re a good
candidate for mentorship and that you’re taking the opportunity seriously. A
good rule of thumb is to meet once a month for six months and then re-evaluate
whether to continue together in your last couple of scheduled meetings.
What are the benefits of mentoring?
A good mentor relationship gives you a powerful resource for
advice, strategy and a deeper understanding of the world you’re working in.
That relationship can guide you through defining and understanding your job
role, navigating any problems at work and empowering you to do your best work –
which, in turn, can result in promotions in the corporate world or long-term
business success in entrepreneurship.
At the same time, the relationship benefits the mentor, too,
providing a way for them to feel heard and valued for their experience. The
perspective provided by a mentor can elevate your career by helping you to be
your best –
if you’re willing to engage, listen, ask questions and cultivate the
relationship over the long-term.
The journey itself is the reward
The mentor mentee relationship does not end once mentee achieves their desired goals. The deep bond formed during these years lasts forever. People remember good mentors and mentees throughout their life. They cite their examples when talking to others and draw inspiration from them when faced with challenging circumstances. Their paths may go separate ways but it’s the journey that stays with them forever. Remember, good mentees can become successful mentors one day. Do your best to create this beautiful relationship that sows the seeds for many more in future. I am excited to see you apply it in your work environment and in personal life.
Overall, know the relationship you have with your mentor is
yours to shape and influence. It’s a context for plenty of learning — about tasks, roles, culture, and the network—and
it can also be a great place for you to expand your views of what works best.
Later, when you’re the mentor to a new mentee, you can apply all the best
practices you’ve learned from the relationships you’ve built.
To be a mentor makes you a more understanding human
being. It helps you keep your mind young and your skills fresh. Successful
people who don’t start to mentor others will over time lose touch with their
own excellence. Mentoring someone connects you back to the original you who
became so excellent.
Given our current situation knowing that your colleagues or employees are best suited for this new scenario we find ourselves in. Finding the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation can be a very challenging task. It is now important to find out whether your managers or your team is well-equipped of working together from various locations. It requires deep knowledge of their personalities, strengths, weaknesses, interests, work style and other characteristics. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you discover if your people are resilient during times of hardship, if they are autonomous, if they are team players, without actual human contact. Given that our platform is cloud-based, everyone can use it from home as well. Humanity finds itself at a crossroad for various reasons now, why not help people discover and develop themselves from the comfort of their own homes?
https://greatpeopleinside.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/mentor.jpg7201280Vlad Mateihttps://greatpeopleinside.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/logo_greatpeopleinside_01.pngVlad Matei2021-02-25 16:06:492023-07-06 09:28:15Mentor Relationship and Its Growing Importance in Organisations
As you begin to think about the type of career transition
you want to make, start out by documenting what you already know to be true
about your professional self. Pay close attention to your workday for the next
two weeks, and take notes about when you’re feeling
particularly unmotivated or unenthused about your job. Write down the tasks
that bring you down as well as those that get you excited. It may seem like a
tedious exercise, but if you stick with it, patterns will start to emerge. And
it’s
in teasing out these patterns that’ll help you build a picture of the role that’s
right for you.
To make the right choice, you have to decide what factors
are most important to you in a new job, and then you have to choose the option
that best addresses these factors. However, this operates on two levels –
on a rational level and on an emotional, “gut” level. You’ll only
truly be happy with your decision if these are aligned. This article gives you
a framework for analysing your options on both levels.
First, we have to look at things rationally, looking at the
job on offer, and also at the things that matter to you. Then, once you’ve
understood your options on a rational level, we can start looking at things on
an emotional level and think about what your emotions are telling you.
You need to get in touch with your inner self and think
about how well the career options fit with your overall sense of self and
personal fulfilment. Ask yourself:
Do I feel like it is the right choice?
Do I feel positive about the choice?
Does this choice further my career and life
goals?
If something doesn’t feel right, then you need to understand
why. Are some factors of over-riding importance? Or are other factors important
that are not mentioned? Take the time to make sure that you’re comfortable with
your analysis, and that you’re confident that you’ve made the right decision,
both on a rational and emotional level.
When you have an option that fits both objectively and
subjectively, chances are you’ve got a winning career move.
In order to discover the right choice or choices you will
have to follow an organised process in order to increase your chances of making
a good decision.
1. Assess Yourself
Before you can choose the right career, you must learn about
yourself. Your values, interests, soft skills, and aptitudes, in combination
with your personality type, make some occupations a good fit for you and others
completely inappropriate.
Use self-assessment tools, and career tests to gather information about your traits and, subsequently, generate a list of occupations that are a good fit based on them. Some people choose to work with a career counsellor or other career development professionals who can help them navigate this process.
2. Identify Your Goals
Identify your long- and short-term goals. This helps to
chart a course toward eventually landing work in your chosen field. Long-term
goals typically take about three to five years to reach, while you can usually
fulfil a short-term goal in six months to three years.
Let the research you did about required education and training be your guide. If you don’t have all the details, do some more research. Once you have all the information you need, set your goals. An example of a long-term goal would be completing your education and training. Short-term goals include applying to college, apprenticeships, other training programs, and internships.
3. Lists of Viable Occupational Options
You probably have multiple lists of occupations in front of
you at this point—one generated by each of the self-assessment tools
you used. To keep yourself organized, you should combine them into one master
list.
First, look for careers that appear on multiple lists and
copy them onto a blank page. Title it “Occupations to Explore.” Your
self-assessments indicated they are a good fit for you based on several of
your traits, so they’re definitely worth exploring.
Next, find any occupations on your lists that appeal to you. They may be careers you know a bit about and want to explore further. Also, include professions about which you don’t know much. You might learn something unexpected.
4. Shortlist
Now you have more information, start to narrow down your
list even further. Based on what you learned from your research so far, begin
eliminating the careers you don’t want to pursue any further. You should end up
with two to five occupations on your “short list.”
If your reasons for finding a career unacceptable are non-negotiable, cross it off your list. Remove everything with duties that don’t appeal to you. Eliminate careers that have weak job outlooks. Get rid of any occupation if you are unable or unwilling to fulfil the educational or other requirements, or if you lack some of the soft skills necessary to succeed in it.
5. Informal Interviews
When you have only a few occupations left on your list, start doing more in-depth research. Arrange to meet with people who work in the occupations in which you are interested. They can provide first-hand knowledge about the careers on your short list. Access your network, including LinkedIn, to find people with whom to have these informational interviews.
6. Deciding which Career to Follow
It can actually be harder to make a decision when you have
more jobs to choose from. You may have to juggle multiple job offers, which can
be stressful.
Don’t say “yes” right away. Take the time to
evaluate each offer and to carefully compare employee benefit packages. It’s
not all about the money—the benefits and perks you’re being offered are
important too, and some perks can be negotiated in a job offer.
Don’t rush into a decision. Take the time to carefully
consider all options. Forget about the ones you didn’t take once your decision
is made; instead, focus on the future and get ready to start your new job.
Careers evolve over time, so instead of stressing about
getting your trajectory exactly right, focus on setting yourself up to make an
informed decision about what to pursue. Building a career is a process, and
understanding that is a part of succeeding.
Given our current situation knowing that your colleagues or employees are best suited for this new scenario we find ourselves in. Finding the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation can be a very challenging task. It is now important to find out whether your managers or your team is well-equipped of working together from various locations. It requires deep knowledge of their personalities, strengths, weaknesses, interests, work style and other characteristics. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you discover if your people are resilient during times of hardship, if they are autonomous, if they are team players, without actual human contact. Given that our platform is cloud-based, everyone can use it from home as well. Humanity finds itself at a crossroad for various reasons now, why not help people discover and develop themselves from the comfort of their own homes?
https://greatpeopleinside.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/career-change.png276782Vlad Mateihttps://greatpeopleinside.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/logo_greatpeopleinside_01.pngVlad Matei2021-02-19 13:55:352023-07-06 09:28:20What Is Your Next Career Move?
A high-achiever who processes the world more deeply than others is also known as a sensitive strive and susceptible to overthinking. Studies show that sensitive people have more active brain circuitry and neurochemicals in areas related to mental processing. This means their minds not only take in more information but also process that information in a more complex way. Sensitive strivers are often applauded for the way they explore angles and nuance. But at the same time, they are also more susceptible to stress and overwhelm.
Deliberation is an
admirable and essential leadership quality that undoubtedly produces better
outcomes. But for Terence and others like him, there comes a point in decision
making where helpful contemplation turns into overthinking.
If you can relate, here are five ways to stop the cycle of thinking too much
and drive towards better, faster decisions.
1. Leave Perfectionism Behind
Perfectionism is one of the biggest blockers to swift, effective decision-making because it operates on faulty all-or-nothing thinking. For example, perfectionism can lead you to believe that if you don’t make the “correct” choice (as if there is only one right option), then you are a failure. Or that you must know everything, anticipate every eventuality, and have a thorough plan in place before making a move. Trying to weigh every possible outcome and consideration is paralysing.
In order
to curb this tendency, use the following questions:
Which decision will have the biggest positive impact on my top priorities?
Of all the possible people I could please or displease, which one or two people do I least want to disappoint?
What is one thing I could do today that would bring me closer to my goal?
Based on what I know and the information I have at this moment, what’s the best next step?
After all, it’s much easier to wrap your head around and take action towards a single next step rather than trying to project months or years into the future.
2. Use Your Intuition
Intuition works like a mental pattern matching game. The brain considers a situation, quickly assesses all your experiences, and then makes the best decision given the context. This automatic process is faster than rational thought, which means intuition is a necessary decision-making tool when time is short and traditional data is not available. In fact, research shows that pairing intuition with analytical thinking helps you make better, faster, and more accurate decisions and gives you more confidence in your choices than relying on intellect alone. In one study, car buyers who used only careful analysis were ultimately happy with their purchases about a quarter of the time. Meanwhile, those who made intuitive purchases were happy 60 percent of the time. That’s because relying on rapid cognition, or thin-slicing, allows the brain to make wise decisions without overthinking.
3. Limit the exposure to decision fatigue
You make hundreds of decisions a day —
from what to eat for breakfast to how to respond to an email — and each
depletes your mental and emotional resources. You’re more likely to overthink
when you’re drained, so the more you can eliminate minor decisions, the more
energy you’ll have for ones that really matter.
Create routines and rituals to conserve your brainpower, like a weekly meal plan or capsule wardrobe. Similarly, look for opportunities to eliminate certain decisions altogether, such as by instituting best practices and standardised protocols, delegating, or removing yourself from meetings.
4. Getting the right tools
Knowing how to stop overthinking isn’t an innate gift. It isn’t genetic, or set-in stone during your childhood. Many people who are able to control their emotions and avoid getting stuck in a spiral of overthinking and anxiety have developed these skills over time. It takes determination – but it also takes the right set of tools. Discover your personal blueprint and how to align your choices with your ultimate purpose in life. Learn how to navigate pain and anxiety, rather than avoiding or suppressing it. Transform your thought process to crush negative behaviours – and any obstacles in your path.
5. Distract your senses
Overthinking and worrying are mental activities, so if they
start to take hold, do something physical.
You can essentially “shock” your senses by taking the power
away from one area of your body and giving it to another. Sounds confusing?
It’s not.
For example, if you start to feel fearful about the
uncertainty of an upcoming event, splash some cold water on your face, or smell
some calming lavender oils. Your brain will start to react to the sudden
change, and you’ll have less of an ability to focus on the worrisome thoughts.
Find whatever works for you to shock your senses, and keep
it handy whenever possible.
Busying yourself with an activity is the best way to change the channel. Exercise, engage in conversation on a completely different subject, or get working on a project that will distract your mind from the barrage of negative thoughts. Remember that your mental depth gives you a major competitive advantage. Once you learn to keep overthinking in check, you’ll be able to harness your sensitivity for the superpower that it can be.
Given our current situation knowing that your colleagues or employees are best suited for this new scenario we find ourselves in. Finding the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation can be a very challenging task. It is now important to find out whether your managers or your team is well-equipped of working together from various locations. It requires deep knowledge of their personalities, strengths, weaknesses, interests, work style and other characteristics. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you discover if your people are resilient during times of hardship, if they are autonomous, if they are team players, without actual human contact. Given that our platform is cloud-based, everyone can use it from home as well. Humanity finds itself at a crossroad for various reasons now, why not help people discover and develop themselves from the comfort of their own homes?
https://greatpeopleinside.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/overthinking.jpg6671200Vlad Mateihttps://greatpeopleinside.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/logo_greatpeopleinside_01.pngVlad Matei2021-02-12 15:42:312023-07-06 09:28:26Overthinking and How It Can Affect Physical & Mental Health
More than 50 years after the term “bystander effect” was coined, many of us still witness workplace wrongdoing yet stay stubbornly silent. In motivating employees to speak up, most organisations still rely on traditional compliance-based tools such as codes of conduct, training, and audits. This approach has simply failed — only an estimated 1.4% of employees blow the whistle. Current strategies remain ineffective and are often counterproductive.
This matters because organisational silence perpetuates white-collar crime: It continues to rise despite companies investing millions in misconduct prevention. Scandals have slashed market valuations and ravaged the reputations of Boeing, BP, Barings, and many others. The leading cause of silence is fear of repercussions. One study showed that 82% of whistleblowers suffered harassment, 60% lost their jobs, 17% lost homes, and 10% attempted suicide. Other causes include our unconscious need for belonging, a preference for the status quo, and wilful blindness.
How can organisations motivate employees to speak up and respond to them effectively? The answer lies, of course, in behavioural science.
What Companies Often Do Wrong
Before
delving into the solution, we need to understand three common mistakes or
assumptions that companies make in combating misconduct.
The wrong tools. Organisations over rely on a narrow set of compliance and control tools to prevent wrongdoing and encourage its disclosure. How effective were codes of conduct, training, or audits when Volkswagen falsified the emissions of its diesel cars? Or safety training and testing when Ford launched the Pinto with a fuel-tank design flaw, saving $137 million but costing dozens of lives? The answer: Not very. Few spoke out. Why? Because sanctioning systems distort our thought process from doing the right thing. When rewards such as promotions, perks, or pay raises are threatened, self-preservation creeps in, and we use a business lens, not a moral lens, to decide what to do.
The wrong communication triggers. When companies design compliance policies and codes of conduct, they hope they will trigger our sense of duty and moral responsibility to speak up if we see bad behaviour. But they don’t inspire many people to speak up. For example, an independent longitudinal analysis concluded that codes of conduct are “insufficient to guide employee behaviour – tension-provoking when implemented across cultures – inward-looking – and dependent on effective communications.”
In
many research papers done on this topic, respondents were exposed to a
hypothetical situation where a senior executive bullied a junior employee to
accelerate launch of a new drug, despite incomplete testing. The emotion
triggered was not a feeling of responsibility to speak up, but anger at the
offending manager — by a factor of four. But while 91% of respondents
indicated they intended to report the incident, only 9% took action, and most
associated speaking up not with responsibility but with the courage to report
their superiors. Bystanders justify their inaction in what psychologists call
diffusion of responsibility: the assumption others will intervene. The bigger
the group, the bigger the assumption, and the bigger the problem.
The wrong assumptions about employee types. Assuming that certain populations or personality types — e.g., extroverts, optimists, or leaders — are predisposed to speak up is incorrect. Behavioural science shows that men are no more likely to blow the whistle than women, and extroverts no more likely than introverts, regardless of industry or occupation. There is no magic gender, disposition, age or personality. Anyone can speak up.
An Integrated Solution
Given
that codes of conduct, training, and audits alone don’t suffice in getting
people to speak up when they witness improper behaviour, other steps must be
taken. Risk and compliance departments should engage with communications
departments, and compliance-based tools must be supplemented with emotion-based
triggers.
Based
on decades of behavioural science research there have been discovered numerous strategies
which work hand-in-hand with traditional compliance practices. Managers can apply all the changes or simply cherry-pick
a few. The best mix depends on a company’s culture, size, and systems.
1. Get Rid of Your “Zero Tolerance” Policies
You’re
probably thinking, “Did I read that right? I thought zero tolerance is
important, especially when you are talking about violence, fraud, safety, or
harassment.”
To
be sure, it is critical to have strongly worded and vigorously enforced
policies, especially when dealing with behaviour that is illegal, that
threatens employee or public safety, or that jeopardises company assets. But if
your policies say (or imply) that an employee will be fired if they violate
that policy, without any possibility of a lesser outcome depending on the
severity of the behaviour, you may actually be dissuading employees from
reporting possible concerns.
The
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has cautioned that using the
phrase “zero tolerance” may lead employees to believe that the company will
automatically impose the same discipline–termination–regardless of whether
misconduct is minor or devastating. But employees often don’t want their co-worker,
or even their boss, to get fired over a minor offense. They frequently just
want the troubling behaviour to stop, so they may opt to forego reporting and
try to deal with the situation on their own, or ignore it. This can cause the
behaviour to continue or to escalate, or lead to other workplace conflicts.
2. Prevent Retaliation
This
point may seem incredibly intuitive, but if employees see or hear that someone
has experienced retaliation after they reported a concern–or even if they simply
fear that they will be retaliated against–they are less likely to come forward.
The
number and percentage of retaliation charges filed with the EEOC, for example,
indicates that retaliation is a big problem. Since the EEOC’s 2009 fiscal year,
retaliation has been the no.1 complaint filed with the EEOC, and by FY 2018,
over 50% of all charges alleged retaliation. In fact, the EEOC received 1.5
times more retaliation charges in FY 2018 than the next most frequent type of
illegal behaviour, sex discrimination (32% of charges), notwithstanding the
significant increase in those claims filed post #MeToo.
The
challenge is that retaliation can take many forms, from subtle (a supervisor
removing an employee from a lucrative project) to egregious (demotion or firing).
Compounding the issue is that it is human nature to feel upset toward or
uncomfortable around someone who has complained about you or someone on your
team. People may feel betrayed, hurt, or confused–and as a result, may change
their behaviour for a time vis-a-vis the person who complained. Some of these
behaviours are illegal and some aren’t–but all can damage workplace culture and
make employees think twice about coming forward in the future.
For
these reasons, it is critical for employers to put safeguards in place to
prevent retaliation, such as proactively and periodically checking in with
whistleblowers to see how they are doing, or monitoring proposed job changes,
performance evaluations, or other data post-complaint to ensure non-retaliatory
treatment. Equally important, the employer also should provide coaching on
conflict management and how employees can move forward in a collaborative
manner post-complaint.
3. Encourage and Reward Speaking Up in the Workplace
In
stark contrast to retaliation, organisations who truly want to know about
concerns and who understand the value of having an accurate picture of what’s
happening on the proverbial factory floor will take steps to encourage and
reward speaking up.
This
goes beyond simply communicating a “see something, say something” slogan.
Company leaders must clearly and repeatedly articulate an authentic desire to
know the good, the bad, and the ugly, and reward employees who follow through.
Here
we have the example of former CEO of Ford Motor Company, Alan Mulally. He told
the story of how when he first became Ford’s CEO, the company had many
financial challenges and a rocky road ahead. Yet, at early meetings with his
senior executive team, they each presented “all green” status reports
indicating that their areas were on target to reach their goals. Mulally knew
this couldn’t be right given the company’s struggles, so he encouraged one of
his direct reports to ensure that his next report reflected the honest truth
about what was going on.
When
that subordinate’s next report at the executive team meeting showed several
“red status” items, Mulally praised him enthusiastically for his candor and
then asked the other executives in the room about what they could all do to
help turn the situation around. Then, the following week, other executives’
reports also began to reflect “red” and “yellow” items. And once Mulally had
accurate, unfiltered data, it was quickly apparent where the business was
struggling–and what they could do to address it.
This
two-pronged approach by Mulally–asking to know the truth and then praising the
reporter publicly–was a game-changer. It proved to staff they could speak the
truth without reprisal and created trust. And as a result, the company’s
business was able to improve.
4. Gather Data About Reporting
If
you find that workers rarely speak up about conduct violations in your organisation,
one of the best steps you can take is to assess why. You may find it is as
simple as a lack of awareness of policies or procedures to report incidents, in
which case you can develop resources and training to make sure employees know
where to go. If you find your workforce is fearful of retaliation or doesn’t
feel reports will be addressed, then that information can also help the organisation
to correct misperceptions, put anti-retaliation safeguards in place, and find
ways to increase transparency about the post-report process.
5. Be Transparent
One
of the other oft-reported reasons why employees do not speak up with a concern
is because they do not believe that any action will be taken. When employees
hear crickets after filing a complaint, a natural assumption is that nothing
happened.
Of
course, as HR, compliance, safety, and legal professionals are well aware,
reported concerns generally set into motion a flurry of activity and often lead
to an investigation. The contents and progress of an investigation are usually
kept close to the vest to preserve the integrity of the process, and the
results are usually confidential for privacy and legal reasons.
However, organizations are increasingly realizing that some degree of transparency about what happened is important to demonstrate accountability, earn trust, preserve culture, and encourage reporting. Thus, organizations should consider having follow-up meetings with the reporter and any witnesses involved in an investigation to thank them for coming forward or participating, noting that an investigation was conducted and concluded, and possibly sharing–often at a very high level and depending on the person who is being spoken to–if some sort of (usually unnamed) action would be taken as a result. Encouraging a speak up culture is a critical component of an organization’s efforts to not only ensure compliance with legal requirements and company policies but also to address inappropriate behaviour before it escalates into a larger issue. It creates a sense of shared responsibility among employees, communicating that we all have a role to play in safeguarding workplace culture. Leaders who encourage employees to speak up in the workplace, and who protect and reward those who do, demonstrate their commitment to an honest, ethical, and respectful workplace. By doing so, all employees–and the company–will thrive.
Given our current situation knowing that your colleagues or employees are best suited for this new scenario we find ourselves in. Finding the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation can be a very challenging task. It is now important to find out whether your managers or your team is well-equipped of working together from various locations. It requires deep knowledge of their personalities, strengths, weaknesses, interests, work style and other characteristics. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you discover if your people are resilient during times of hardship, if they are autonomous, if they are team players, without actual human contact. Given that our platform is cloud-based, everyone can use it from home as well. Humanity finds itself at a crossroad for various reasons now, why not help people discover and develop themselves from the comfort of their own homes?
https://greatpeopleinside.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/speak-up.jpg9001600Vlad Mateihttps://greatpeopleinside.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/logo_greatpeopleinside_01.pngVlad Matei2021-02-05 15:59:242023-07-06 09:28:31How to Empower Employees to Speak Up When They See Misconducts
The global COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed how we work and how we feel about re-entering the workplace, as numbers go down and lockdowns are eased. Remote working may have been an adjustment for most at first, it slowly became a preference to employees worldwide. According to Cisco’s Workforce of the Future survey, conducted with 10,000 respondents across 12 markets in Europe, the Middle East, and Russia, employees want to keep a hold of the many positives that have emerged from this new normal.
Many of the changes that have come from the pandemic will
become a permanent part of employee experiences in 2021. This is due to the
fact that in 2020, several factors upended the traditional approach to life at
the workplace. As the economy prepares to re-open, the new normal of work,
business travel, and office space will be refined and rediscovered across
almost every industry worldwide.
Youth as the focal point
Although there are currently five generations in the
workforce, including traditionalists, baby boomers, and generation X, the youth
is taking over. – Millennials and Generation Z are becoming the largest
generational cohort in the labour force. As such, they have different needs and
values than older workers.
Hiring managers will have to understand these hires and
customize the workplace and tasks to keep them engaged and productive. These
young employees are digital natives, and they require continuous mental
stimulation, flexibility, and work-life balance. To nurture their growth and
encourage efficiency, recruiters can allow flexible working schedules, learning
platforms, and accommodate collaborative tools.
The demand for flexible working conditions
According to research conducted by Slack, 72% of employees
said they wanted a hybrid remote-office model. Instead of fully implementing a
work-from-home environment, many companies are utilising a hybrid approach
where employees will only come into the office for a couple of days in the week
and spend the remaining days working remotely.
Microsoft’s hybrid workplace environment will allow most
roles to remain remote less than half of the time with manager approval, while
62% of Google employees want to return to their offices but not every day.
Digital advancement
Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadell, described the impact of
Covid-19 on the adoption and advancement of technology at work, saying “we’ve
seen two years’ worth of digital transformation in two months”.
The findings from two separate studies by McKinsey and KPMG
indicate that at least 80% of leaders accelerated the implementation of
technology in the workplace due to COVID-19. White larger skill gaps, more
training is required for employees to support the digital transformation needs
that come with rapid change.
Many of these technologies are contact-tracing,
collaborative tools, AI-driven software, and more, all of which have been
widely adopted to support the mental health of employees, increase productivity
and allow for flexibility and safety.
Levi Strauss’ digital transformation was facilitated by the
use of AI and data, launching a virtual concierge service, appointment
scheduling, and a brand-new loyalty programme.
Automation to support employees and not replace
Forrester claims that the fears over automation eliminating
jobs is misplaced and that automation in 2021 will focus more on supporting
current employees.
For example, grocery store robots will promote social distancing by doing inventory checks for employees to prevent too many people on the floor, and Forrester expects a tripling of robots of that sort in 2021. “By the end of 2021, one in four information workers will be supported in their daily work by software bots, robotic process automation, or AI, taking rote, repetitive tasks off their plates and yielding higher EX,” the market research company predicts. “Rather than focusing on substitution, focus more of your automation efforts on helping your staff be more effective.”
Given our current situation knowing that your colleagues or employees are best suited for this new scenario we find ourselves in. Finding the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation can be a very challenging task. It is now important to find out whether your managers or your team is well-equipped of working together from various locations. It requires deep knowledge of their personalities, strengths, weaknesses, interests, work style and other characteristics. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you discover if your people are resilient during times of hardship, if they are autonomous, if they are team players, without actual human contact. Given that our platform is cloud-based, everyone can use it from home as well. Humanity finds itself at a crossroad for various reasons now, why not help people discover and develop themselves from the comfort of their own homes?
https://greatpeopleinside.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/work.jpeg7301200Vlad Mateihttps://greatpeopleinside.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/logo_greatpeopleinside_01.pngVlad Matei2021-01-22 12:15:302023-07-06 09:28:38How Is Work Going to Look Like in 2021?
Collaboration between competitors has been in fashion for quite some time. Back at the end of the 1980s, General Motors and Toyota assemble automobiles, Siemens and Philips develop semiconductors, Canon supplies photocopiers to Kodak, France’s Thomson and Japan’s JVC manufacture videocassette recorders. But the spread of what we call “competitive collaboration”—joint ventures, outsourcing agreements, product licensings, cooperative research—has triggered unease about the long-term consequences. A strategic alliance can strengthen both companies against outsiders even as it weakens one partner vis-à-vis the other. In particular, alliances between Asian companies and Western rivals seem to work against the Western partner. Cooperation becomes a low-cost route for new competitors to gain technology and market access. ICL, the British computer company, could not have developed its current generation of mainframes without Fujitsu. Motorola needs Toshiba’s distribution capacity to break into the Japanese semiconductor market. Time is another critical factor. Alliances can provide shortcuts for Western companies racing to improve their production efficiency and quality control. Yet the case for collaboration is stronger than ever. It takes so much money to develop new products and to penetrate new markets that few companies can go it alone in every situation. The risks of collaborating with rivals might seem daunting, but a study by the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute finds the benefits are likely to outweigh any disadvantages. The study found that this kind of collaborative competition, when it lasted from three to five years, had more than a 50% chance of mutually reducing company costs.
“Nowadays, the best partner might be your direct competitor,” says Paavo Ritala, a professor of Strategy and Innovation at LUT University of Technology in Finland. “Competitors tend to face similar markets and use similar resources and technologies. They typically have to deal with similar challenges at large. Thus, with rising costs of R&D and globalizing competition, it often makes sense to collaborate with competitors on product development, innovation and joint manufacturing.” Another example is, YouTube and Vimeo have a similar relationship. During an innovation panel at the 2019 ForbesWomen Summit, Vimeo CEO Anjali Sud shared that the video platform joined forces with YouTube, one of its main competitors by allowing creators to publish their videos to YouTube, as well as to other video platforms.
The term “coopetition” whilst explaining a relatively contemporary idea, has been coined back in 1996 by Yale School of Management professor Barry Nalebuff and NYU Stern School of Business professor Adam M. Brandenburger when they noticed an increasing number of these kinds of partnerships among rivals, especially in the digital space, and set out to research the theory that turned into their book “Co-Opetition”.
The Role of Sales Enablement Technology
Collaboration serves to leverage the internal pool of talent, knowledge, and experience but also improves internal communication and empowers employees. The result is a boost in productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness, driving results. Technology empowers today’s workforces by connecting more employees than ever before. A sales enablement tool such as Seismic improves marketing and sales collaboration and communication by using real-time data from best practices and peers to determine what content is most effective at progressing deals and generating the highest ROI and then surfacing recommended content based on the Salesforce record and provide recommended sales collateral within their currently workflow.
For example, Seismic can integrate wherever your sellers work such as the CRM email and Slack. This allows sales reps to deliver the right message at the right time and allows them to remain focused on sales objectives, rather than on how to out-perform their peers.
How to Build Secure Defenses
For collaboration to succeed, each partner must contribute something distinctive: basic research, product development skills, manufacturing capacity, access to distribution. The challenge is to share enough skills to create advantage vis-à-vis companies outside the alliance while preventing a wholesale transfer of core skills to the partner. This is a very thin line to walk. Companies must carefully select what skills and technologies they pass to their partners. They must develop safeguards against unintended, informal transfers of information. The goal is to limit the transparency of their operations.
Western companies face an inherent disadvantage because their skills are generally more vulnerable to transfer. The magnet that attracts so many companies to alliances with Asian competitors is their manufacturing excellence—a competence that is less transferable than most. Just-in-time inventory systems and quality circles can be imitated, but this is like pulling a few threads out of an oriental carpet. Manufacturing excellence is a complex web of employee training, integration with suppliers, statistical process controls, employee involvement, value engineering, and design for manufacture. It is difficult to extract such a subtle competence in any sort of way.
So companies must take steps to limit transparency. One approach is to limit the scope of the formal agreement. It might cover a single technology rather than an entire range of technologies; part of a product line rather than the entire line; distribution in a limited number of markets or for a limited period of time. Moreover, agreements should establish specific performance requirements. Motorola, for example, takes an incremental, incentive-based approach to technology transfer in its venture with Toshiba. The agreement calls for Motorola to release its microprocessor technology incrementally as Toshiba delivers on its promise to increase Motorola’s penetration in the Japanese semiconductor market. The greater Motorola’s market share, the greater Toshiba’s access to Motorola’s technology.
Enhance the Capacity to Learn
Whether collaboration leads to competitive surrender or revitalization depends foremost on what employees believe the purpose of the alliance to be. It is self-evident: to learn, one must want to learn. Western companies won’t realize the full benefits of competitive collaboration until they overcome an arrogance borne of decades of leadership. In short, Western companies must be more receptive. Learning begins at the top. Senior management must be committed to enhancing their companies’ skills as well as to avoiding financial risk. But most learning takes place at the lower levels of an alliance. Operating employees not only represent the front lines in an effective defense but also play a vital role in acquiring knowledge. They must be well briefed on the partner’s strengths and weaknesses and understand how acquiring particular skills will bolster their company’s competitive position.
Competitive benchmarking is a tradition in most of the Japanese companies we studied. It requires many of the same skills associated with competitor analysis: systematically calibrating performance against external targets; learning to use rough estimates to determine where a competitor (or partner) is better, faster, or cheaper; translating those estimates into new internal targets; and recalibrating to establish the rate of improvement in a competitor’s performance. The great advantage of competitive collaboration is that proximity makes benchmarking easier.
Competitive collaboration also provides a way of getting close enough to rivals to predict how they will behave when the alliance unravels or runs its course. How does the partner respond to price changes? How does it measure and reward executives? How does it prepare to launch a new product? By revealing a competitor’s management orthodoxies, collaboration can increase the chances of success in future head-to-head battles.
Knowledge acquired from a competitor-partner is only valuable after it is diffused through the organisation. Several companies we studied had established internal clearinghouses to collect and disseminate information. The collaborations manager at one Japanese company regularly made the rounds of all employees involved in alliances. He identified what information had been collected by whom and then passed it on to appropriate departments. Another company held regular meetings where employees shared new knowledge and determined who was best positioned to acquire additional information.
Given our current situation knowing that your colleagues or employees are best suited for this new scenario we find ourselves in. Finding the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation can be a very challenging task. It is now important to find out whether your managers or your team is well-equipped of working together from various locations. It requires deep knowledge of their personalities, strengths, weaknesses, interests, work style and other characteristics. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you discover if your people are resilient during times of hardship, if they are autonomous, if they are team players, without actual human contact. Given that our platform is cloud-based, everyone can use it from home as well. Humanity finds itself at a crossroad for various reasons now, why not help people discover and develop themselves from the comfort of their own homes?
Even though a vaccine to prevent COVID-19 is
available, it’s not too early for employers to start considering whether they
will require their employees to get the vaccination when it will be available
for everyone. For example, The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health
Administration has stated that employers can legally impose a flu vaccine
requirement on their workforce, but employees have the right to request medical
or religious exemptions under federal anti-discrimination laws. Each claim must
be evaluated on its own merits, a time-consuming process for employers.
While it may be legal for employers to make it compulsory for
their workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine, doing so would be a huge, difficult task.
A recent Gallup poll found that 42% of Americans say they will not get the
COVID-19 vaccine, although it must be said that the poll was conducted before
the recent optimistic vaccine results.
From an employer’s standpoint, it is a no-win situation in any way
we look at it. Those who decide to mandate the vaccine will need protection
against someone having an adverse reaction, even if the employee has signed a
waiver upon receiving the shot, he says. Contrarily, companies that decide
against a mandate will need protection if someone does contract the virus in
the workplace and sues.
Assuming the employer has a legitimate concern for the health and
safety of its workers, customers and anyone else in its workplace, it’s easy to
imagine how a coronavirus vaccine refusal would result in an undue burden on
the employer in most situations.
However, it’s also possible there is an accommodation that imposes only a minimal burden on the employer and provides an equivalent level of protection from coronavirus infection or spread. Depending on the nature of the job, this might allow the employee seeking the vaccination exemption the ability to work from home or with a mask on.
Legal Precedents
One exception falls under the Americans with Disabilities Act also
known as ADA. Under the ADA, “an employer must provide reasonable
accommodations to workers who have medical conditions that make them unable to
take the vaccine, if a reasonable accommodation is possible.”
The technical question here was whether employers could impose
COVID-19 vaccination because the Americans with Disabilities Act severely
limits the ability of employers to require medical examinations. In its Dec. 16
guidance, the EEOC clearly stated that COVID-19 vaccines do not fall in the
“medical examination” category
Another exception is covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII says employees may be able to refuse vaccinations if they have a sincerely held religious belief that precludes vaccination, and not being vaccinated doesn’t impose an undue hardship on the employer. However, it must be stated that ‘a personal or a political opposition to the vaccine is not sufficient.’
Employees and Lifestyle Status
“Employers can and have fired employees based on lifestyle choices
related to their health, including if they smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol,”
stated Holly Helstrom – adjunct instructor at Columbia University who teaches
First Amendment rights for employees.
“Refusal to get a COVID vaccine if your employer is requiring one
could get you fired and your employer would be within their legal rights to do
so,” she has also gone on record saying.
According to Helstrom, “your employer is within their legal rights to require you to get a COVID vaccine, if you work for a private sector at-will employer.” She has stated that this is a product of how U.S. labour law and the Constitution are written. For unionised workers, rules around vaccination “would likely be a subject for bargaining,” Helstrom has also said.
Coronavirus Employee Vaccination Policy
Even if the law allows an employer the legal right to mandate that
employees receive a coronavirus vaccine, it may not be worth the risk to
institute such a policy.
One form of risk comes from a scenario where an employee suffers a
severe side effect from the vaccine. That may result in a workers’ compensation
claim that the employer must deal with.
Another risk could come from public backlash. Given how politicised
the coronavirus and its vaccine has become, any vaccine policy around it will
most likely upset a lot of people.
According to Gallup, if a free, FDA-approved coronavirus vaccine
were available today, 35% of respondents said they would not get vaccinated.
This shows that any opposition to the coronavirus vaccine is not just limited
to people who have a general opposition to vaccines.
In light of the resistance some people have to mask wearing,
because a vaccine is more invasive and potentially dangerous, it’s easy to see
why so many people will be resistant to a coronavirus vaccination requirement.
What might be best is for employers to simply recommend their
employees get the coronavirus vaccine and hope most of them do so. There’s also
the possibility that a state might establish a legal requirement for certain
employees to get vaccinated. This would allow some employers to avoid any blame
when it requires its employees to get the vaccine to protect them from the
coronavirus.
Given our current situation knowing that your colleagues or employees are best suited for this new scenario we find ourselves in. Finding the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation can be a very challenging task. It is now important to find out whether your managers or your team is well-equipped of working together from various locations. It requires deep knowledge of their personalities, strengths, weaknesses, interests, work style and other characteristics. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you discover if your people are resilient during times of hardship, if they are autonomous, if they are team players, without actual human contact. Given that our platform is cloud-based, everyone can use it from home as well. Humanity finds itself at a crossroad for various reasons now, why not help people discover and develop themselves from the comfort of their own homes?
When we were sent home last
March, we patched together work habits to survive the new world of work and
life. You endured and made it to 2021.
Now, as the new year unfolds, it’s time to level up and replace survival work processes, with practices that support and enable your productive side, performance, and peace of mind.
Here are the three essential routines you need to make the months ahead more productive and less stressful.
IDENTIFY YOUR ENERGY BOOST MOMENT
When the commute to your
“office” is a few minutes from your bedroom to your sofa or kitchen table and
the days of pandemic life merge together, it’s imperative to identify your energy
boost moment so you can get an early win to ignite your energy and motivation
for the day. Here are four ways you can jump-start your day.
Compete to beat your own time. Time yourself on a routine task. For example, how long does it take you to make breakfast? Read and respond to 12 emails? Or prepare the weekly report? Turn these routine tasks into a competition with yourself and see how fast you can go. You will be surprised at how much you can accomplish and how motivated you are to take on the day.
Organise and empower your perfectionism. Straighten up your workspace, file emails, or alphabetize your spices. Then stand back, admire your work, and tell yourself you did a great job. Now move on to the first task on your task list with confidence and vigor.
Dress in clothes that make you feel professional and productive. Before you skip over this potential energy boost moment, know that there is a scientific theory called “enclothed cognition” that supports the effect that clothes have on how we feel and act. According to Dr. Nina Vasan, a psychiatrist and clinical assistant professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, “Clothing shapes your mental state and productivity. When you are stuck at home all day, what you wear can set the tone for what you are doing.” Dig into the back of your closet and pull out your favorite jacket, dress, or shirt. Put it on and use it to get your mind ready to work.
Move your body. You’ve heard it before, however, exercise does work to elevate your energy level. In a University of Georgia randomized controlled trial, researchers split people into three groups” low-intensity, moderate-intensity, and a control group (no exercise). During the six-week experiment, both exercise groups reported growing levels of energy compared to the control group. And, the good news, the low-intensity group reported less fatigue than the moderate-intensity group. Start your day with jumping jacks, a walk, or a few yoga poses, and get your blood and energy flowing.
ACHIEVE A 5 S.T.A.R. DAY
Targeted, intentional planning is how you achieve your goals and reduce stress. When you plan your upcoming work week, follow the four-step S.T.A.R. process.
S – Strategic: Review your strategic goals for the month.
T – Tasks: Identify the tasks that support the accomplishment of your
strategic objectives. These are the discrete next action steps you need to
perform to achieve your goals. Clarity is essential. Focus on the “must-dos,”
not the “nice to-dos.” All action steps need to start with an action verb, for
example, submit, call, or email.
A – Allocate: Allocate time on your calendar to complete your tasks. Is there
time available on your calendar to complete the tasks required to achieve your
goals? If not, look for opportunities to create time capacity. Can you decline
a meeting where you are not required to provide information, represent a
constituency, or be a decision-maker? Can you shorten a meeting or look for an
alternative way to accomplish the meeting’s objective? Can you renegotiate a
deadline to create capacity this week?
Now, you are ready to organise
your calendar to achieve your goals. You have three options: block your days in
either small, precise increments of time, block your days in larger time
increments or create theme days. To create theme days, you organize your days
around a theme, category, or type of work. For example, administration, team
development, sales, prospecting, or writing. Review your tasks and the core
accountabilities of your job to determine your theme days. Once you have
identified your themes, select a theme or themes for each day of the week. Note
the theme for that day on your calendar, and complete tasks and projects
aligned to that theme.
R – Results: Commit to your results. When you are asked to attend a meeting without an agenda or join a call to “catch-up,” remember that every time you say yes to a request, you are saying no to something else. Honour you and your time. Intentionally say “yes” and “no” to requests for your time.
CELEBRATE YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND SUCCESSES
In a remote work environment, it’s difficult to receive the affirmation and praise you readily heard in your office. Gone are the days of a “thank-you” in the break room from your colleague or the “great job on the presentation” from your boss as you walk past their office. It’s up to you to acknowledge and celebrate your accomplishments and successes. At the end of the work week assess how productive you were and how well you aligned with your strategic goals, or count your check marks on your task list, or reflect on any positive feedback you received via email or on a Zoom call. We all want and need to be seen and valued. Recognise how you have added value to your team, company, and customers.
It’s a new year. Use the start of the year as an opportunity to create new routines that will energise you, which will make you more productive, and remove stress from your workday.
Given our current situation knowing that your colleagues or employees are best suited for this new scenario we find ourselves in. Finding the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation can be a very challenging task. It is now important to find out whether your managers or your team is well-equipped of working together from various locations. It requires deep knowledge of their personalities, strengths, weaknesses, interests, work style and other characteristics. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you discover if your people are resilient during times of hardship, if they are autonomous, if they are team players, without actual human contact. Given that our platform is cloud-based, everyone can use it from home as well. Humanity finds itself at a crossroad for various reasons now, why not help people discover and develop themselves from the comfort of their own homes?
https://greatpeopleinside.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/productive.png6241357Vlad Mateihttps://greatpeopleinside.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/logo_greatpeopleinside_01.pngVlad Matei2020-12-18 14:10:172023-07-06 09:28:56Essential Routines for a Productive & Less Stressful 2021
Great People Inside
