Author: Jan Hovrud
In a workplace study done by the Harvard Business Review, it was found that participants were least creative when on a tight schedule– and especially if deadlines were imminent. However, since creativity stems from the subconscious you have the ability to nudge your thinking in the right direction.
Try these tips:
Ever wonder how to keep your employees (or yourself) happy on the job? Researchers Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham identified five factors that make a difference in job satisfaction.
Resource: The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave, by Leigh Branham
The information age has been here for quite some time. All of us are dependent on getting information, interpreting it and using it wisely. But there is also another type of information age going on that does not involve technology, it centers on the energy of emotions.
The field of Emotional Intelligence has grown both in sophistication and importance. There has been a dramatic increase in researchers that have entered the field and studies that are being conducted. This concept has taken hold worldwide.
Being a leader involves understanding the importance of taking risks. Of course, risk taking often means acting quickly within a short period of time. So leaders must be savvy on the business, their relationships and innermost emotions. Reflecting on various aspects of your risk tolerance is important for living with your actions afterwards. Consider the following suggestions for boosting your risk tolerance:
A recent study by the Army War College looked at highly regarded major generals in Iraq for leadership qualities. Subordinates rated leaders anonymously. The results were, in order of importance:
It isn’t rocket science to realize that people who bully their way through their childhood and in their personal life will bring these same techniques to work. Dealing with a bully takes a good deal of emotional intelligence and a lot of inner strength. You have to have a healthy amount of self-regard, assertiveness, impulse control, optimism and emotional self-awareness to weather the storm of an office bully.
Organizations are constantly going through change to become successful, stay on top of the competition or to just merely survive. Fundamentally, change may affect how we work, who we work for, what goals we are trying to achieve, and in what direction we are heading. At the extremes, some employees find change stimulating and exciting and other employees want to stay in the past.
Optimism can sometimes get a bad rap in business. Optimistic people can be looked upon as unrealistic and not grounded enough to see the big picture. However, the opposite is really true. Teams look to their leader for optimism on the road to success. Companies need optimistic people to build morale and create a positive atmosphere within departments. Team members need optimistic views to reach goals and achieve them.
Intellect (IQ) has long been identified as a critical factor for success in business. Financial decisions, detailed analysis, creation of strategies, defining effective processes and procedures are fundamentals in making businesses run smoothly. Smart people are needed to skillfully move the business forward, look at things in innovative ways and see beyond the present.
However, research study after research study clearly demonstrates the value of the “good boss” in building teams, demonstrating leadership attributes, retaining employees and creating positive work environments—having Emotional Intelligence. Combining IQ and EQ (emotional quotient) are proving to be powerful factors for business and personal success.
Selecting the right candidate for a position in your organization is an important, time-consuming task. After all, you are looking at the candidate’s skills, knowledge, abilities and experience as well as company cultural/team fit. Interviewing decisions are further complicated by factors that should not be a part of your rating process. To be effective in your rating process, you need to be aware of common errors that many interviewers make.