Engaging a …

Are you falling into the trap of telling your people only once and assuming that they will then diligently get on with your request?  How do you ensure that your requests stay at the top of their list of priorities?  Are you taking your power for granted? 

In the modern workplace we are all inundated with hundreds of demands from clients and customers as well as colleagues and managers.  They are all competing for our attention and we constantly have to juggle priorities.  There is…

Last year I was sitting in a business meeting which included a CEO, hearing how there is never enough time in the day. How meetings always started late, how commitments were never met because there simply wasn’t enough time. The conversation went on for a while until one member of the conversation threw down her pen and said ‘We all have the same amount of time. We all have 24 hours in the day. Time goes no more quickly or slowly for me or you. It is about priorities. This is a…

The Gillard Government's mature age worker strategy is floundering - major projects have been poorly implemented and flexibility arrangements aren't backed by legislative muscle.

Over the last 12 months, the Commonwealth Government has scrapped three important mature age initiatives: Experience Plus Training, On the Job Support and Job Transition Support.

This is in spite of the findings of the 2012 Consultative Forum on Mature Age Participation that poor physical…

Whether you are involved in recruiting or you are looking for a job, this weeks article can help you get focussed on some of the key questions which can be great for revealing a candidates strength.   When in a selection process, you can expect to find assessments and tests to give the recruiter the necessary information to show the candidate has the right skillset.   Some recruiters will leave it at that.  



However, good recruitment campaigns also try to make sure the candidate is…

Critical Engagement:

A super aircraft carrier can launch or land planes every 25 seconds. Standing 20 stories tall and stretching the length of several football fields, a crew of more than 5000 men and women ensure the floating citadels continue to play a key role in peacekeeping and war.

From the flight deck to the mess, each crew member wears a color to delineate their specific role on the ship.

If you ask anyone how they see their role …

……

I recently read about the upcoming release of Sheryl Sandberg’s new book “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead”. As the COO of Facebook, she talks about Mark Zuckerberg (her boss) and the advice he gave re her desire to be liked by everyone and his belief that it would hold her back in her…

Two things we tend to look closely at when conducting a study for our clients:



1. “Push factors” which are able to be influenced by the organisation such as manager practices, company policies, pay, etc.



2. “Pull factors” which are not able to be influenced by the organisation such as health issues, moving away, pregnancy, etc.



It is important for you to know the difference between these two causes and then start benchmarking your results and improving the…

As you know, in most organisations there is usually something valid to complain about, and the one described in the situation below was no different.  The trouble is of course, if complaints aren't voiced constructively and they become part of a negative moan, then the line between fact and fiction becomes blurred and people start making their own negative interpretations about the simplest of things.  When this happens, people who need to listen often just stop.

 

Helping…

We all have to make hundreds of decisions every day but how do you go about convincing yourself of something? Why do some people ‘know right away’ and others seem to need more information. Understanding your own ‘convincer mode’ can make a significant difference in the way you gather information and the results you get. 

Giving the benefit of the doubt

A couple of years ago a good friend of mine was complaining that she was having no joy in finding a lasting…

"The ability to motivate employees is one of the greatest skills an entrepreneur can possess; however, the path to motivation isn't paved with $100 bills. Employees are looking for emotional support and understanding more than financial benefits."

Mark is the General Manager of Power2Motivate APAC, delivering world class employee recognition and B2B loyalty programs…

On Tuesday the Federal Government released its response to the report that came out of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Employment’s inquiry into workplace bullying last year.

In their report the Committee made 23 recommendations ranging from initiatives such as the adoption of a standard definition of workplace bullying, the establishment of a workplace bullying advisory service, and the implementation of criminal laws in each State and Territory that…

This article was originally posted on the RecruitLoop Blog.

I remember walking into my first day in a new job many years ago and nobody knew who I was. My manager wasn’t there and hadn’t even told anybody I was starting.

Less than three months later I was gone.

I still tell this story nearly 20 years later (usually including the company…

The power of our imagination is phenomenal. It is often an underused source of helping us navigate our way through the challenges of life.  This is especially true in the workplace.  Quite often we either stifle or underestimate this very skill which can be used, to either shape the future of our workplace, or to change unhealthy or stressful situations in the here and now.  Up until recently, talking about using our imagination in the workplace sounded like a flight of fancy, but as our…

Why do some people find change stressful and others get agitated if there is not enough of it?  How can you implement change in a way that avoids stress and plays to people’s strengths? 

Consider the context

Just think about it for a moment, what do you have for breakfast every working day?  It made me laugh the other day when my wife Pam was making fun of the fact that I can eat the very same breakfast every working day for years and years.  For me it’s a…

In the world of business...

We often face situations that can make us feel like we have to pat our heads whilst rubbing our stomachs ... and clicking our heels all at the same time!

HOW CONFUSING!!

... A very common cry from leadership:

"We must fundamentally change as an organisation!"

But

"We must continue delivering on our existing business at the same…

There was once an employee at a software company, let’s call him “Bob”. Bob was a top-performing software programmer, very rarely away from his desk, quiet,…