We’ve all walked out of a meeting and thought “Wow, that was a waste of time.” Perhaps the meeting had no clear purpose, the participants strayed off topic or the issues weren’t adequately resolved. It's incredibly frustrating because it eats up time most of us don't have. What's even more frustrating is that those time-wasting experiences can usually be avoided if the guys … [Read more...]
5 Tips to Ensure You Don’t Botch Your First Hiring
Hiring is stressful, especially when you've never done it before. Hire the wrong person and you can cost yourself and your organization time and money. However, "when you adopt proven hiring strategies, you can retain a steady flow of talent to fill open job positions and replace underperforming employees quickly. And when your hiring is fast and accurate, you get to focus … [Read more...]
A Much Better Way to Delegate Work During Stressful Times
Busy is a good thing, but if your employees are stretched too thin, it could be hurting the quality of their work. You may not be able to add staff right now, but you can do one thing to ease their stress: Show your employees how to prioritize work assignments. Conduct a workload assessment Take time to review what is on each employee’s to-do list. Discuss what they … [Read more...]
When An Employee Says “I’m Too Busy”
New leaders in particular deal with more change resistance (and resistance in general) from their employees. Bitter coworkers who were overlooked for the promotion dig in their heels and make life hard for new managers. Some just want to take advantage of the new guy or gal. Others want to see how far they can push you. That sort of behavior, as juvenile as it is, can … [Read more...]
[Infographic]: 10 Productivity Hacks to Transform Every Business Meeting
It's that time of year again when businesses across the U.S. start gearing up for next year. Budgets are analyzed and set. Marketing and sales plans begin to take shape. Teams assess their resource and manpower needs. And more. What does all that mean? Nearly everyone will be in meetings, potentially time-sucking, energy-draining meetings. That's why it is perfect timing to … [Read more...]
[Infographic]: Productivity Prohibitors and How to Stop Them in Their Tracks
How much are bad time-management habits and distractions costing your organization? Check out this infographic created by SurePayroll to gain insight on productivity problems that could be plaguing your new team. Then learn what you can do to improve both your personal productivity and the productivity of your employees. … [Read more...]
Is Your Team Truly Prepared?
The quote to the right couldn't be more true. While it is spot on for everyone, it is especially true for leaders. Some (relatively small) percentage of the population is naturally inclined to plan, but most of us just aren’t. So people's (including yours and your employees') first inclination in the face of a new project or challenge is to jump right in and "get to … [Read more...]
Keep Your Team Productive During the Summer Slump
On Tuesday, we shared advice for managing productivity-draining and creativity-killing complacency in the workplace. Today, we are going to talk about another productivity destroyer that is wreaking havoc on workplaces right now: summer. In most places across the U.S., the weather is hot, the sun is shining, and people are zoning out, dreaming of being on a beach or by the lake … [Read more...]
Question What You Know (err … Think) Is True
When you know that something is true and someone contradicts that knowledge, you likely reject, perhaps forcefully, what the person said without giving the statement much consideration. After all, you already know that the person is wrong, so why should you listen? In fact, you should actually set the person straight, right? As a new leader, who is trying to build your … [Read more...]
6 Ways to Work and Lead Differently in the Summer
“Perfect song on the radio Sing along ’cause it’s one we know It’s a smile, it’s a kiss It’s a sip of wine, it’s summertime Sweet summertime” That’s the chorus of Kenny Chesney’s hit song "Summertime." And while those might not be the words you’d use, and while the calendar says it isn’t summer quite yet, if you live in the United States, you pretty much know ... it’s … [Read more...]