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I Don’t Do Mondays! Part III – Mondays are a Mindset
May 27, 2020 | Communication, Leadership, Self Help, Time Management
This is the final post in a three-part series–why I don’t buy into all the negatives associated with Mondays. In Part 1, I shared my tips for prior planning: how a little forethought can help us avoid the Monday blues. In Part 2, I talked about setting boundaries--how to take more control so I can start the week more productively. Today, I’ll cover the importance of mindset: what we can do to reframe the way we think about Mondays. WHY WE GET “A CASE OF THE MONDAYS” Changing our mindset about Mondays begins with understanding why they can be such…
‘Twas The Night Before Christmas – Business Edition
December 14, 2018 | Communication, Employee Recognition, Leadership, Teamwork, Trust
Photo by sea turtle on Flickr ''Twas the night before Christmas, all had left for the holiday break. But I was at the office stirring, for rarely a break did I take. Never resting, always doing. Not having fun, and burnout ensuing. With engagement low, and turnover high, Unless attitudes changed, my dream would surely die. If only my people were loyal and engaged in their responsibilities, And showed behaviors like teamwork, instead of showing their hostilities. For a change, I took a look at myself, and for the first time I did see, That the problem wasn't my employees,…
Did We Respond or React?
October 16, 2018 | Communication, Leadership, Trust
Photo by aaron gilson on Flickr One of Merriam-Webster's definitions for the word "react" is "to act in opposition to a force or influence." One of Merriam-Webster's definitions for the word "respond" is "to say something in return." Given these definitions and some of my experiences, here is what I have learned: Along with the spoken message, reacting involves some type of behavior. It could be defensiveness, manipulation, passive-aggressiveness, or rage. Reacting comes from someone who is either angry or scared or both. Often, that feeling of anger or fear is triggered by the message being heard, and usually, this is…
Every Workplace Needs Standards of Behavior
October 4, 2016 | Communication, Teamwork
Photo by f3nd1 on Flickr During a time of unprecedented growth at our company, we decided that we as the senior leaders must be the ones that drive the culture. WE needed to define the "why" at our company and more importantly define the standards of behavior that help to support the "why". If neither the "why" nor the behaviors were defined by us, they would still be defined by others, but they may not be consistent with the senior leaders values. A company standards of behavior which is created by senior leadership in collaboration with other company employees helps define the values that support…
You’ve Been Promoted To Supervisor. Now What?
May 18, 2016 | Communication, Leadership, Trust
Photo by David Blackwell on Flickr Your boss quit. Management has promoted you to supervisor. Please check out my short video about what to do when you have been promoted from a non-leadership position to your first one as a leader. https://youtu.be/EGu1e84mNYw What would you say in your first conversation with your direct reports after you had been promoted?
Managers Can Apply Nursing Principles To Leadership
May 12, 2016 | Communication, Leadership, Trust
Photo by OnCall team on Flickr Since entering into the healthcare market over a decade ago, more than one person/organization has told me the importance of hourly rounding on patients in the hospital setting. Hourly rounding can address trips to the restroom, pain assessment, and simple needs such as drinks and food. Studies have shown that it reduces patient falls which are very dangerous for patients and very expensive for hospitals. The same can be said too for rounding on employees. Rounding on employees at the very least on a quarterly basis gives employees an opportunity to communicate with their…
Employee Feedback: Sugar-Coated or Bad Medicine?
February 1, 2016 | Communication, Employee Recognition, Leadership
Photo by Ramchandran Maharajapuram on Flickr I have to admit the title of this article forced me to listen to "Bad Medicine" by Bon Jovi and the song is still in my head (People younger than 40, YouTube it. Yes. Bon Jovi used to wear spandex and had big long hair). I have seen at least 2 articles in the Wall Street Journal which state in one way or another we should lessen the amount of negative feedback we give employees. The links can be found below: The Trouble with Grading Employees Everything is Awesome! Why You Can't Tell Your…
Video Blog – Peer Interviewing
July 31, 2015 | Communication, Leadership, Trust
Want to lower turnover and build trust with your current employees? Include them in the hiring process with peer interviewing! [embed]https://youtu.be/eeo7sHSRFdU[/embed]
Work Environment Does Make A Positive Difference
July 29, 2015 | Communication, Employee Recognition, Trust
Photo by tifotter on Flickr When employees do not have the correct tools to do a job, they find "work arounds" to keep things moving. I have heard stories about nurse's using coffee makers to generate hot water to bathe patients because their facilities did not generate enough. I have seen workers shovel large amounts of gravel by hand for multiple days because the company's one payloader was broke down. Employees also clean their own work areas and empty their own trash because custodial services do not complete their tasks and management does not address the issue. I have seen crazy things done to a copier…
Managing a Work from Home Team
July 22, 2015 | Communication, Leadership, Teamwork
Photo by brendangates on Flickr More companies are now promoting the use of an "agile workforce". My previous employer reconfigured all of their offices to an open concept where there were many small workstations, tables for collaboration, and conference rooms for meetings. However, except for directors, there was no assigned seating, and there were not enough seats to accommodate every single employee if they came to work. This change in strategy was due to the fact that after studying the matter for many years, employers found that on any given day, 25% of their workforce was absent due to work travel, vacation,…
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MYTH: Companies cannot do business with the federal government if they aren’t connected politically to the party in power.
FACT: The federal government’s procurement process is designed to be one of the most objective, transparent processes in the world of business. Contracting officers are forbidden to award federal contracts based on politics. Furthermore, elected officials are forbidden to interfere with the agency’s contracting process.
