Help Overly Eager Employees Slow Down

January 19, 2018

Help Overly Eager Employees Slow Down

It’s nice to have fast-acting employees on your team. But some people have such a deep need to get things resolved that they move too quickly and make a mess. They may secure a bad deal just to say they’ve done it, or issue a faulty directive so that they can say they’ve handled a problem. You can help these people learn to corral their sense of urgency. Start by demonstrating how their approach might be hurting them. When someone is urgent about only their own goals and tasks, others may perceive them as being not a team player. It’s typical for too-urgent employees to see the upsides but not the downsides of acting quickly, 

so encourage them to identify all the consequences of their actions. Then put them on projects with high-performing, long-term thinkers so that they can see the benefits of a tempered, thoughtful approach. By watching others, they will observe how reflection and deliberation can generate significantly better results.

Adapted from “How to Manage Someone Who Thinks Everything Is Urgent,” by Liz Kislik

To Keep Your Employees Engaged, Be Curious and Challenging

January 30, 2018

To Keep Your Employees Engaged, Be Curious and Challenging

Leaders play a significant role in helping employees understand why their jobs matter, but it’s not just about connecting their work to a larger purpose. You can also do it by demonstrating curiosity: Explore, ask questions, and engage people on their ideas about the future. Make clear that there is a wide range of possibilities for how work gets done and that you want your employees to try new things. At the same time, keep them focused on meeting goals and making progress. Remain ambitious in the face of both failure and success, and push your people to continually accomplish more. You want employees to feel a sense of progress, reinvention, and growth, which results in a more meaningful and positive work experience.

Adapted from “How to Make Work More Meaningful for Your Team,” by Lewis Garrad and Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic

Freelancers, Always Get Terms in Writing

February 01, 2018

Freelancers, Always Get Terms in Writing

One of the most stressful things about being self-employed is managing your cash flow. It’s especially difficult if clients don’t pay you on time. You can avoid most problems by putting a contract in place before you start an assignment. Don’t believe a handshake will suffice, even if you’re working with friends. Informal agreements are the source of almost every payment problem, so be sure the scope of the project, the payment terms, and the expectations for both sides are written down. For small projects an email chain will often suffice, but for longer engagements you should get a signed contract. Having a standard contract template that you can alter for different clients will make this easier — and save you time and headaches.

Adapted from “How Freelancers Can Make Sure They Get Paid on Time,” by Rebecca Knight

Gig work or employment work ?

3 scales to measure the future Employee potential .

This trio will be globally accepted metric for aptitude and projected performance in the modern workplace.

Colloquially called “the Qs,” the AEI tests three variables:

Adaptability quotient (AQ)
Emotional quotient (EQ)
Intellectual quotient (IQ)

For hiring, AQ matters the most to corporations.  Strong scores in adaptability mean that you’re eligible for the “salaried track,” which leads to a three-year contract with an employer that commits significant sums toward your retraining every one to six months.

With lower scores, you must rely on the “gig track,”  or , contractual or consulting work ! Which can mean more flexibility and higher near-term rewards, but only short-duration contracts and no supported retraining. There is no inherent safety net . And the danger is that, if you bet too long on the wrong gigs in dying industries instead of continually refocusing on emergent needs , you will struggle !

Welcome to the future.

To Keep Your Employees Engaged, Be Curious and Challenging

January 31, 2018

To Keep Your Employees Engaged, Be Curious and Challenging

Leaders play a significant role in helping employees understand why their jobs matter, but it’s not just about connecting their work to a larger purpose. You can also do it by demonstrating curiosity: Explore, ask questions, and engage people on their ideas about the future. Make clear that there is a wide range of possibilities for how work gets done and that you want your employees to try new things. At the same time, keep them focused on meeting goals and making progress. Remain ambitious in the face of both failure and success, and push your people to continually accomplish more. You want employees to feel a sense of progress, reinvention, and growth, which results in a more meaningful and positive work experience.

Adapted from “How to Make Work More Meaningful for Your Team,” by Lewis Garrad and Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic

Talk About Skills When Talking About Promotions

January 18, 2018

Talk About Skills When Talking About Promotions

Conversations about promotions can be tense — both for the person asking and for you, the manager. Your first instinct might be to consider whether the employee is a “good fit” for the new role, but it’s better to focus on their skills. Ask yourself, What will the person need to do the job well? Then communicate the answer to your employee. For example, you might say: “You would need to develop expertise with Tableau,” or Excel, or giving presentations. That is a far simpler message to deliver than “I don’t know if you’re equipped to be a manager yet.” By breaking down the role into the required skills, you’ll demystify the promotion and make it more attainable for the employee. Plus, a request to learn new skills is much easier, and quicker, for you to grant.

Adapted from “How to Support Employees’ Learning Goals While Getting Day-to-Day Stuff Done,” Nick Gidwani

When You’re Returning to a Former Employer, Reset Expectations

January 22, 2018

When You’re Returning to a Former Employer, Reset Expectations

Returning to a company you used to work for can be a smart career move. But don’t assume you will pick up right where you left off. Reset expectations — both yours and others’. Demonstrate that you’ve grown, and establish yourself as a more senior person in the organization by humbly highlighting what you achieved and learned while you were away. You might need to project maturity by being a bit formal and reserved in your initial reactions; colleagues will want to see that you’ve evolved. And don’t assume the company has stayed the same since you left. Power has shifted, people have come and gone, and your colleagues have grown too. Acknowledge that the context has changed, and learn the new lay of the land.

Adapted from “What to Do When You’re Returning to a Company You Used to Work For,” by Rebecca Knight