Friday, October 21, 2016

eTip #620 Overcome These Four Fears to Fuel Your Professional Success

Overcome These Four Fears to Fuel Your Professional Success

By Liz Scavnicky-Yaekle
Encountering awkward situations in the workplace is inevitable, however fortunately we have control over how we respond to them.  We can gain the skills required to handle uncomfortable situations adeptly or continue feeling awkward indefinitely.  Dale Carnegie said, “Do the thing you fear to do and keep on doing it… that is the quickest and surest way ever yet discovered to conquer fear.”
Here are four fears to overcome in order to fortify your future professional success.
Accepting critical feedback.  Hearing critical feedback about your performance on the job usually stings.  Consider this—the average annual revenue generated by business coaching in the U.S. is a whopping 8.6 billion dollars!1 Instead of viewing critical feedback as sheer criticism, think about it as free, constructive professional coaching.  When you hear critical feedback, take a deep breath, listen to everything being said and take some notes.  Ask clarifying questions to ensure you understand how and what to modify—and to demonstrate that you are eagerly willing to improve.
Admitting when you’re wrong.  No one likes to admit when they’ve made a mistake, however doing so demonstrates maturity, accountability and strong leadership principles.  Apply Dale Carnegie’s 11th Human Relations principle, ‘If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically,’ to remedy the situation.  If the mistake can be immediately corrected, first resolve the issue.  Next, admit that you made a mistake and let those impacted know that you have already resolved the issue.  If you are unable to immediately reverse your faux-pas, create a plan of action, and then follow the aforementioned steps.
Starting small talk.  Whether you are introverted or extroverted, the ability to confidently start a conversation with someone is paramount to your professional success.  Dale Carnegie’s 8th principle, ‘Talk in terms of the other person’s interests,’ is a surefire way to break the ice and engage new contacts in conversation.  Develop a small-talk formula such as the conversation stack taught in the Dale Carnegie Course.  While the initial questions posed will be general, you can follow-up with additional questions that show you are truly interested in the other person. For example, if you open by asking if this is the first time someone is attending a conference, you can follow-up with questions about the person’s role in their organization or what they hope to learn from the conference. Showing your genuine interest will enable you to not only start small talk, but keep the conversation going naturally.
Giving critical feedback.  The only thing more awkward than receiving critical feedback is giving it.  Consider it an opportunity to coach an employee by being gentle, yet direct.  State the area of improvement and provide at least two concrete examples so the person on the receiving end is crystal clear about what he or she did incorrectly.  Next, guide the employee in a discussion about how it could—and should, have been handled differently.  This approach reinforces trust; minimizes confusion and enables the employee to learn from her mistakes.
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Friday, October 14, 2016

eTip #619 Three Steps to Set Clear Expectations and Drive Employee Engagement

Three Steps to Set Clear Expectations and Drive Employee Engagement

By: Liz Scavnicky-Yaekle
A recent Gallup Business Journal article reveals that many employees are not currently engaged in their jobs because they don’t know what is expected of them.  Employee engagement is the degree to which employees are involved in and enthusiastic about their role and working environment.  Today, only one third of all U.S. employees are engaged which is slightly greater than the same time last year when it was 30%.
While there is abundant research reinforcing that managers have a key role to play in employee engagement, few companies are focused on increasing it and are therefore leaving money on the table.  In fact, U.S. businesses lose $11 billion annually as a result of employee turnover according to the Bureau of National Affairs.  Moreover, Gallup’s latest meta-analysis shows that business units in the top quartile of employee engagement are 21% more profitable, are 17% more productive, have 10% better customer ratings, experience 41% less absenteeism and suffer 70% fewer safety incidents compared with business units in the bottom quartile.
Since only about half of all workers strongly indicate that they know what is expected of them at work, setting and modifying clear expectations is a viable way to drive employee engagement in the short term. Here are three tactics to set expectations and increase employee engagement.
Collaborate.  Dale Carnegie’s 7th Human Relations principle, ‘Be a good listener.  Encourage others to talk about themselves,’ underscores that it is critical for companies to gather workers’ input and collaborate with them regarding role expectations.  This approach makes employees feel valued and increases the likelihood of their succeeding.  Having the opportunity to offer opinions makes them feel respected, and discussing the role’s expectations sets them up for success because they clearly understand what is expected of them.   
Aim high.  ‘Throw down a challenge,’ is Dale Carnegie’s 21st principle because competition motivates human beings.  Think about what inspires you to go above and beyond both in your personal and professional life.  For example, if you want to lose weight, you most likely set a goal toward which you are working. 
Employees aren’t inspired by minimum job standards; rather they are inspired when they are motivated to attain a goal.  Managers who lead by example in terms of performance and productivity, and those who reveal what top performers do differently, set a high standard.  When they set high standards and clear expectations, employees understand what they need to do differently to model leaders’ and top performers’ best-in-class behaviors.
Navigate strengths.  I don’t know anyone who wants to spend time on tasks in which they lack interest or expertise.  Managers who invest time in learning what comes naturally to team members, their innate strengths, can capitalize on them.  By positioning employees’ unique talents against the tasks at hand, managers increase employee engagement and equally important, employee performance.
To learn more about employee engagement and why it is so very important, download our free employee engagement white paper.
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Friday, October 7, 2016

eTip #618 Forget IQ-Tree "Q's" You Need to Succeed

Forget IQ—Three ‘Q’s You Need to Succeed

by Liz Scavnicky-Yaekle

Most people are familiar with ‘IQ,’ an indicator of logical reasoning ability and technical intelligence.  Albert Einstein’s IQ was estimated at 160 and John F. Kennedy’s was only 119.  Traditional hiring and promoting methods often required a high IQ for climbing to the top ranks of American businesses, however today many companies are turning to more effective metrics.
Truth be told—your IQ is insignificant where compared to your EQ (Emotional Intelligence), MQ (Moral Intelligence), and BQ (Body Intelligence).  In fact, 85% of a person’s success is due to their human engineering skills according to Carnegie Institute of Technology research.  The team of researchers defined it as a person’s ability to communicate, negotiate and lead, coupled with his or her personality. 
Here are the right ‘Qs’ to pay attention to:
Emotional Intelligence was first coined by scientists Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer as, a form of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and action.” 
Learning and applying Dale Carnegie’s Human Relations principles is an ideal, systematic way to increase your EQ.  For example, principle ‘Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view,’ enables you to determine when it is appropriate to say vs. save something.  Being open and honest with people reinforces their trust so that they in turn feel comfortable sharing with you.  There are, however, statements better served when saved—anything that may hurt another person or make her feel awkward.  The higher your EQ level, the more likely you are to be aware of your inner dialogue so you can respond appropriately to others and ultimately foster healthy, productive relationships. 
Moral Intelligence dovetails emotional intelligence as it relates to a person’s integrity, responsibility, sympathy, and forgiveness.  Essentially, it is the Golden Rule—‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’  Dale Carnegie’s 19th principle, ‘Appeal to nobler motives,’ underscores the importance of having an ideal moral code. Acting with integrity in all you do; being accountable when you make mistakes; demonstrating respect, acceptance, tolerance and understanding of others, are a few examples.  When faced with a tough decision, ask yourself if you are acting with integrity or may lose the respect of others.  This is a surefire way to increase your MQ.
Body Intelligence reflects how you feel about and manage your body.  Listening to your inner dialogue; getting sufficient sleep and exercise; and maintaining a healthy diet fuel your BQ level.  Some people ignore their bodies because they assume these matters are unrelated to job performance, however your BQ directly impacts your feelings, thoughts, self-confidence and state of mind.  Therefore strong body intelligence is required to reach your peak performance in terms of productivity, relationships with others, etc. 
Bottom line—improving your EQ, MQ and BQ levels will help propel your personal and professional success!
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