Differentiate Yourself in an Interview by Asking About Performance Management

Differentiate Yourself in an Interview by Asking About Performance Management This is a guest post by Stanley Janas, previous Director of HR at Halogen Software: It can sometimes be hard to differentiate yourself in a job interview. I mean really… everyone is going to talk about stuff that relates to the posted job description and all the skills and experience they have. Heres a few thoughts about a different way to make yourself stand out and show your commitment to your work: Ask the interviewer about how the organization manages employee performance. This can be a great question if youre being interviewed by someone from HR, but it works with managers as well. A good company will have a defined performance management process that includes performance appraisals at least once a year. The best companies manage performance year round; they might do this informally, or they might have quarterly or semi-annual mini reviews. You want to show that youre interested in the process and value that kind of thing. Ask about how they measure employee performance, how feedback is given and when, how they align individual goals to organizational goals, what they consider to be the key competencies for the role and for the company. This again comes down to how they manage performance. Youre trying to communicate your knowledge and understanding about how important each of these things is. Its a measure of your engagement as an employee. You can also ask about what they do for employee development. Do they have a learning management system? Is it linked to employee performance? These questions will help you get an understanding of their commitment to employee development. But they also demonstrate your interest in continuously developing your skills and expertise to help the company. Asking these questions helps you figure out what kind of support youre going to get as an employee, and how much the company values its employees. But they also help to show your interviewer(s) that youre really into your work. Smart companies are looking for engaged employees who are committed to high performance. When the economy was good and employers were having trouble finding qualified people, some of them started using their performance reviews or talent management processes as a way to differentiate themselves. Now that times are tough, I suggest you turn the tables and do the same. Stanley Janas was Director of HR at Halogen Software. Differentiate Yourself in an Interview by Asking About Performance Management This is a guest post by Stanley Janas, previous Director of HR at Halogen Software: It can sometimes be hard to differentiate yourself in a job interview. I mean really… everyone is going to talk about stuff that relates to the posted job description and all the skills and experience they have. Heres a few thoughts about a different way to make yourself stand out and show your commitment to your work: Ask the interviewer about how the organization manages employee performance. This can be a great question if youre being interviewed by someone from HR, but it works with managers as well. A good company will have a defined performance management process that includes performance appraisals at least once a year. The best companies manage performance year round; they might do this informally, or they might have quarterly or semi-annual mini reviews. You want to show that youre interested in the process and value that kind of thing. Ask about how they measure employee performance, how feedback is given and when, how they align individual goals to organizational goals, what they consider to be the key competencies for the role and for the company. This again comes down to how they manage performance. Youre trying to communicate your knowledge and understanding about how important each of these things is. Its a measure of your engagement as an employee. You can also ask about what they do for employee development. Do they have a learning management system? Is it linked to employee performance? These questions will help you get an understanding of their commitment to employee development. But they also demonstrate your interest in continuously developing your skills and expertise to help the company. Asking these questions helps you figure out what kind of support youre going to get as an employee, and how much the company values its employees. But they also help to show your interviewer(s) that youre really into your work. Smart companies are looking for engaged employees who are committed to high performance. When the economy was good and employers were having trouble finding qualified people, some of them started using their performance reviews or talent management processes as a way to differentiate themselves. Now that times are tough, I suggest you turn the tables and do the same. Stanley Janas was Director of HR at Halogen Software. Differentiate Yourself in an Interview by Asking About Performance Management This is a guest post by Stanley Janas, previous Director of HR at Halogen Software: It can sometimes be hard to differentiate yourself in a job interview. I mean really… everyone is going to talk about stuff that relates to the posted job description and all the skills and experience they have. Heres a few thoughts about a different way to make yourself stand out and show your commitment to your work: Ask the interviewer about how the organization manages employee performance. This can be a great question if youre being interviewed by someone from HR, but it works with managers as well. A good company will have a defined performance management process that includes performance appraisals at least once a year. The best companies manage performance year round; they might do this informally, or they might have quarterly or semi-annual mini reviews. You want to show that youre interested in the process and value that kind of thing. Ask about how they measure employee performance, how feedback is given and when, how they align individual goals to organizational goals, what they consider to be the key competencies for the role and for the company. This again comes down to how they manage performance. Youre trying to communicate your knowledge and understanding about how important each of these things is. Its a measure of your engagement as an employee. You can also ask about what they do for employee development. Do they have a learning management system? Is it linked to employee performance? These questions will help you get an understanding of their commitment to employee development. But they also demonstrate your interest in continuously developing your skills and expertise to help the company. Asking these questions helps you figure out what kind of support youre going to get as an employee, and how much the company values its employees. But they also help to show your interviewer(s) that youre really into your work. Smart companies are looking for engaged employees who are committed to high performance. When the economy was good and employers were having trouble finding qualified people, some of them started using their performance reviews or talent management processes as a way to differentiate themselves. Now that times are tough, I suggest you turn the tables and do the same. Stanley Janas was Director of HR at Halogen Software.

An Open Letter to CEOs Treat Employees Like Adults

An Open Letter to CEOs Treat Employees Like Adults CEOs and C-Suite leaders get a lot of advice, often from highly-paid consultants and coaches. It’s tactful, carefully worded, and designed not to offend. This post is different. This is the advice your employees want you to hear. Follow it, and they will work harder for you. Ignore it, and they will look for a better opportunity elsewhere. It’s your choice. Stop Talking As the old proverb says, you have 2 ears and one mouth. Use them accordingly. Too many leaders are always telling. Just as your best information about the market comes from your customers, your best information about what’s happening in the company comes from the employees, especially at the levels where the real work gets done. Listen to the right people Your direct reports don’t have all the answers. They are probably looking after their own careers and are reluctant to tell you what they think you don’t want to hear. Instead of focusing just on their advice, listen to the people further down the chain. Use informal conversations (get out of your office by yourself) and listen to what’s on peoples’ minds. Ask them who else you should talk with. The people doing the real work know who is most knowledgeable; find those people and listen to them too. Stop the blah-blah At Town Halls and other company meetings, talk to employees as people. They want to listen. Just cut out the corporate speak. I once sat in a ‘straight talk information session’ after the sale of a corporate division was announced. Someone asked whether employees would be allowed to apply for jobs in other divisions. Instead of saying ‘we don’t know yet,’ the leader gave a long-winded answer in the passive tense, long on jargon and short on honesty. The entire employee population knew they were being jerked around, and trust in the leadership team plummeted. Don’t make that mistake. If you want change, live it To create new behavior, demonstrate it yourself. Want to break down silos? Seek out conversations with people deep in the company, and force your management team to do the same. Want more diversity? Show it in your leadership team, and at all levels. Consciously put more women, more people from different cultures, ages and perspectives, into senior and mid-level leadership.   Want to encourage work-life balance? Don’t send midnight emails, or work during vacation. If your employees have too much to do in a normal work day, hire more people or reduce the workload. Hold your managers and HR staff accountable to the goals that you talk about. Words are meaningless. Employees watch your actions. Own your mistakes Admit that not all of your decisions work out perfectly. When you make a mistake, say, ‘we got this wrong. We expected the market to do X, and it did Z. Here’s what we’re doing to adapt.’ People will respect you far more, help you recover, and be more willing to take intelligent risks, if you acknowledge your mistakes. Share the numbers Whether it’s sales performance or salaries, everyone’s talking about them anyway.   I have worked in companies where global marketing managers could not see their brand’s sales, and where talking about salaries was grounds for firing. Neither one did much for employee morale. The marketing managers couldn’t do their jobs, and employees who thought they might be unfairly paid became convinced of it. Good employees left the business. Share important information and answer questions forthrightly. Your employees are adults. Some are world experts in their fields. All of them are competent, knowledgeable and want to work. Otherwise we wouldn’t be there. Treat them with the respect they deserve. As a CEO it’s easy to live in a bubble. You only hear information that makes you feel good and reminds you of how wonderful you are. Don’t fall into that trap. If you want committed employees, treat them like intelligent adults.

Communicate Your Personal Brand Effectively or Suffer - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Communicate Your Personal Brand Effectively or Suffer - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Today, I spoke with Holly Weeks, who is a Harvard University professor, as well as an author and writer.   She studies and writes about how people communicate in the workplace and, more or less, in general.   I think the most important skill is communication, through writing or between people.   Think of all the emails you send and respond to on a daily basis.   Also, consider how many times youre on your cell phone and writing a blog post.   You need to learn how to deal with other people and communicate effectively, not just your personal brand, but everything else. What are the common mistakes people make when communicating in the workplace? Because tough conversations can be emotionally loaded, hard to read, and feel like combat, any of us working with just seat-of-the-pants skills can make our own situations worse. Specifically, people on both sides of a tough conversation use an arsenal of thwarting ploys meant to make the counterpart back off, or to come out on top themselves, or simply to get out of the conversation any way they can. People on both sides have bad habits: avoiding tough conversations altogether getting tangled in their own emotions swinging from one extreme reaction to another or sticking to one old standby responseâ€"even when it doesn’t work. Caught up in patterns of behavior that don’t work, we get more and more sucked into the combat mentality, the sense that this is a fight with a winner and a loser, and we don’t want to lose. At the same time, each side feels provoked by the other and justified in their own reactions. What I call the “delusion of good intentions” makes people certain that they are in the right when the conversation goes wrong. What results will you notice when you fail to communicate your message? How does it impact the individual as well as the company? Over and over again, I have seen problems that could haveâ€"and should haveâ€"worked out, but didn’t because important conversations about them broke down or turned toxic. The counterparts’ emotions escalated. One side, or both, felt disrespected or blindsided by retaliation. The tough problems that were the subject of the conversation were not themselves beyond repair, but the damaging judgments, hurt reputations, and broken relationships sometimes have been. Our worst experiences confirm our worst behaviors. We remember best the nadir of toxic conversations, when both sides feel misunderstood, embattled, offended, and falsely accused. And the fallout spreads faster, more widely, and more publicly than we imagine. Why do we turn to ineffective tactics when we have pressure on us to communicate? Three problems feed into and feed off each other in tough conversations, leaving us using ineffective tactics when the pressure is on. First, our strategies are weak and unrealistic, largely because we have the wrong models. We tend to see tough conversations as fights, like those in movies and on TV. That divides us into two schools of thought: those of us who make ready to fight and those trying hard not to fight. In both cases, we’re focused on combat. The combat mentality feels familiar emotionally, but it isn’t good for strategy. Second, emotion stands in the way of good tactics, too. We see our range of tacticsâ€"what we do in the momentâ€"as simultaneously narrow and extreme. Our choices, like whether to defer or challenge, whether to act “hypernice” or aggressive, whether to take the punch or retaliate, are themselves emotionally loaded, significantly imbalanced, and rarely effective (movies aside). Inevitably, our counterpart’s emotions rise in direct relation to the ineffectiveness of our own tactics. Each side ends up reacting to the other’s tactics rather than moving toward a good outcome. Third, caught up in both emotion and the combat mentality, we don’t pay attention to (or we don’t recognize) the contours of a difficult conversation as it is unfoldingâ€"and it’s true that they are hard to read. Real trouble begins when there’s a breakdown between what one side means and what the other side hears, or when neither side can make out why the counterpart’s reactions are so unreasonable. But what is going wrong in the conversation itself seems to be unmentionable. Both sides try to cover up their emotions, intentions, ploys, and confusion. The conversation reaches its lowest and most exaggerated moment when the cover-up finally cracks and people start to blurt out what they really think. Respect collapses and we slide into conversational warfare, feeding back into the pattern that brought us to this point in the first place. How would you structure your message to make it effective for your audience? I recommend changing unilaterally what we’re trying to do, not trying to get better at the old mistakes, and I’d start with strategy. Good strategy is thinking what we want to do and where we want to go in the conversation, while assuming we’ll face obstacles and be taken by surprise. Good strategy gives us forward motion through the landscape of the conversation and keeps us realistic about what is possible. It takes a “What have we got here?” point of viewâ€"thinking about where we are and where we could move, where the counterpart is and is likely to move, where we want to get and what’s in the way of getting there. It keeps us focused on both the situation we have and the one we wantâ€"without blaming our problem on our counterpart or on ourselves. What makes it good is something new and unexpected in tough conversations: unilateral three-way respect. A tough conversation with a strategy based on three-way respectâ€"respect for ourselves, for our counterparts, and for the problem between usâ€"is a conversation in balance. It’s hard to slide from there into warfare, even if our counterpart is not respecting us back. A balanced conversation based on three-way respect helps with tactics, too. Self-respect in particular helps us stabilize in the face of our own emotional reactions and brings us in from the extreme poles on the range of response. Good tactics keep us from overreacting to our counterpart, and let us neutralize the thwarting ploys to which we’re vulnerable. When people learn how to avoid treating conflict conversations like warfare, even if their counterpart has a combat mentality; when they can find and keep their balance in tough conversations rather than fall prey to their own emotions, no matter how their counterpart acts; when they can talk about problems between them using what I call “the blueprint for speaking well in tough moments”: clear content, neutral tone, and temperate phrasing; then they can work toward good outcomes without ratcheting up, giving in, or compromising their integrity. How can people get through the hardest conversations, while still maintaining their reputation and relationships? Studies show that the two most common traits of top executives who derail are brittle relationships and inflexibility: they alienate the people they work with and they can’t adjust their style. In contrast, the combination of self-respect and respect mentioned above is a distinct leadership trait: how we handle ourselves in tough conflicts defines our reputation and our most important relationships. In difficult conversations, the keys to success are good strategy and tactics for handling the hard parts well; balance between extremes; and three-way respect: self-respect, respect for your counterpart, and respect for the problem between you. We can also work toward a clearer view of what happens in tough conversations and begin to see them unfolding in recognizable and manageable ways. (My book, Failure to Communicate: How Conversations Go Wrong and What You Can Do to Right Them, will get you started.) We can develop the skills to make our way through them, even when the conversations are unpredictable, big emotions are in play, and our counterpart thinks we’re at war. It’s our best way out of failure-prone conversations with our reputations and relationships intact. Holly Weeks, Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, teaches, writes, and consults on communication issues. As principal of Holly Weeks Communications, she consultants and coaches on negotiation and written and oral communications issues. Her book, Failure to Communicate: How Conversations Go Wrong and What You Can Do to Right Them (HBS Press, 2008) emphasizes difficult communications. Weeks is a keynote speaker, presenter, and seminar leader at national and international conferences for groups interested in increasing their skill and expertise in communications. She is a speechwriter and teaches Vision Speeches in the Urban Superintendents Doctoral Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and has taught Management Communication in the Harvard Business School MBA Program. .

How Mindfulness at Work Can Improve Concentration Reduce Stress

How Mindfulness at Work Can Improve Concentration Reduce Stress Many claims are made for mindfulness and meditation; practicing mindfulness is likely to ease anxiety and improve concentration. Being mindful is about paying attention to the present moment so that you become more effective and efficient in what you are doing and more at peace with yourself. Gelong Thubten, a Tibetan Buddhist monk for more than 20 years, says that the main benefit it can bring to your career is that it makes you a nice person. “If you are kinder to people, you get along with them better and you do well in the world when you get along with people. They reward you and your career will go well.” Not just a fad, mindfulness classes are offered by the NHS for mental wellbeing and schools are teaching it to help pupils stay calm and focus on their studies. Can it help in the workplace and help your career? Stress reduction Stress in the workplace has been found to reduce mental ability and those who practice mindfulness may achieve more as they are more aware and “don’t miss a beat”. A 2011 study of HR staff found that those who had done an eight-week mindfulness meditation course were less likely to switch between tasks and showed improved memory. A sense of tolerance and non-prejudice are essential for any workplace to function. Key to this approach is to have compassion for yourself as well. That sense of self-acceptance can help people when they are looking for a job and during the interview process. “Mindfulness definitely makes people more confident, more comfortable in their own skin.  They learn how to be more in control of the present moment and they come across better.” Thubten How much meditation do you have to do to feel the benefits? Aim for 15-20 minutes a day, but try to integrate it into everyday life. You can meditate at your desk, in a meeting or going home on the tube. Connect to the present moment and de-stress. Become more mindful Our good friend Gladeana McMahon, co-author of Positive Psychology for Dummies, offers some tips to help: Take time to listen to what people are saying to you â€" resist the temptation think ahead and plan your response. Take five minutes or more a lunchtime to be quiet â€" go for a walk, look out of the window, be aware of your surroundings. Reflect on what you have achieved â€" at the end of each day review your activities and congratulate yourself for what you have accomplished.

Your Step-By-Step Guide to Becoming a Morning Person - CareerMetis.com

Your Step-By-Step Guide to Becoming a Morning Person Does the thought of getting out of bed at dawn make you uneasy? Do you wish you could be more energized to get up early and get a head start on your day?Well, believe it or not, you can become a morning person.evalIt’s a proven fact that morning people tend to bethinner, happier, and more successful in school or with work. They also eat healthier, tend to exercise more often, and have a positive approach to life.If the health benefits alone aren’t enough to convince you to become a morning person, think of all the things you could accomplish if you had more time.Are you up for the challenge? Check out this step-by-step guide to becoming an a.m. person.1. Go to Bed EarlierevalThis one might seem obvious, but it makes a huge difference in many ways. If you’re used to going to bed at 1:00 a.m. or 2:00 a.m. it’s no wonder why the thought of getting up before the sun seems impossible. You’re simply not getting enough sleep!The average adults needs between seven to nine hours of sleep each night to feel well-rested the next day. This doesn’t mean you have to go to bed at 7:30 p.m. or 8:30 p.m.But if you can get in bed by 10:00 p.m. or 11:00 p.m., you’ll get enough sleep even if you wake up at 6:00 a.m. When you get the proper amount of sleep, you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, clear-headed, and ready to tackle the day.To make sure you get enough sleep each night, there are a few easy things you can do to help you form the habit. Stop consuming caffeine or alcohol a few hours before you want to go to bed. The same goes for smoking cigarettes.evalCaffeine and nicotine will prevent you from falling asleep easily, and alcohol will disrupt the R.E.M. Turn off the television and put your phone on silent or “do not disturb.” Instead of stimulating your brain with the blue light from a screen, turn on a soft bedside lamp and read a book or write in a journal.Some people find it useful to meditate before falling asleep. Other people enjoy listening to music or listening to a podcast. Audible stimuli will help you fall asleep fasterâ€"visual stimuli will not.3. Create a Nighttime Routine and Stick to ItCreating and sticking to a routine can be helpful, especially if waking up early is new for you.Turn your phone off at least 30 minutes before you want to be asleep. Put on some calming music, wash your face, walk your dog, or do whatever it is that relaxes you. If you create a routine and follow it every night, you’re more likely to stick to it for the long-term.It’s also important to make sure that your bedroom encourages a good night’s sleep. Change your sheets once a week. Fluff your pillows. Light a candle beside your bed, but make sure you blow it out before you go to sleep!Create a comfortable environment and you’ll look forward to getting into bed, even if it’s a few hours earlier than you’re used to.4. Stop Hitting the Snooze ButtonThe snooze button is not your friend.Regardless of what time you need to wake up, hitt ing the snooze button over and over again is never a good idea. A trick that many people use is to put their alarm across the room so it can’t be reached from the bed. If you can’t reach the snooze button, you’ll have to get out of bed to turn off your alarm.To avoid waking up feeling groggy, make sure that your R.E.M. sleep cycle is not disturbed. R.E.M. sleep is the deepest stage of sleep, and it usually lasts around 90 minutes.evalIf you don’t disrupt that deep stage of sleep, you’ll wake up refreshed. If you’re refreshed and ready to get out of bed when your alarm goes off, you won’t miss the snooze button at all.If you use your smartphone as your alarm clockâ€"and most people doâ€"choose an alarm tone that won’t shock you out of bed Say goodbye to the days of sleeping in. Unless you are sleep deprived, sleeping in is detrimental to establishing healthy sleeping habits. It may seem life altering to think of getting up on the weekends at the same time you do all w eek, but it’s essential.Establishing a nighttime routine goes hand-in-hand with establishing a morning routine. If you go to bed at the same time each night and wake up at the same time each day, you might find that you don’t even need an alarm.evalFor the night owls out there, becoming a morning person can seem like an impossible feat. If you’re used to staying up late but wish you could get up earlier, you’ve got to create and maintain some new healthy habits.Start going to bed earlier. Turn off your phone, television, and computer at least 30 minutes before bedtime. Create a nighttime and morning routine and stick to both.When your alarm goes off, resist the temptation to hit the snooze button. If you can replace your late-night habits with some of these new habits, you’ll be waking up before the sun in no time!

Happiness on twitter - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Happiness on twitter - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog I blog a few times a week (usually) but Im on twitter pretty much every day, so if you want more timely tips, links and ideas on happiness at work, consider following me on twitter. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Wabi Sabi and Your Uniquity - When I Grow Up

Wabi Sabi and Your Uniquity - When I Grow Up Julia Ng is back to post here all the way from Singapore, and I love being introduced to the concept of Wabi Sabi. Its all about beauty, being present, and a world full of change and possibility. Must be kismet that I snuck a spot on the WIGU blog during The Declaration of Yous Uniquity week! Its an incredible blessing that I get to witness clients (re)awaken to their unique Soul qualities and unfold these Soul qualities in both their inner and outer worlds. Each time I do a reading, Im struck by how each persons Soul story is different and how its played out in their lives. At the same time, Im reminded to stay centred in my uniquity while embracing change. Its not always easy. Its often much easier to see how others are beautiful and unique, but I daresay we all tend to hold back on, or worse, FORGET our uniquity. Your Wabi Sabi World Wabi sabi is mainly an aesthetic principle, and sometimes evolves to refer to a way of thinking/being. The shortcut meaning is usually expressed as the acceptance and appreciation of imperfection, which works, but is also a reflection of how limiting words and language can be. Wabi sabi is near impossible to define, but my current interpretation of it helps me hang out in my uniquity. Wabi is about seeing the beauty in the everyday, the mundane, the ordinary. Its a reminder about how our attitudes filter what we see and experience. Sabi is about the beauty in, or born of things/situations that may appear old, sterile or difficult. This idea can be symbolised by the moss that grows out of a hard, unmoving rock. Wabi sabi also encompasses ideas of transience and non-completion. It lies in the poetry of the moment, between what is and what we choose to see. It is, and it is no longer. Wabi sabi is unassuming and un-rahrah, and I find it so helpful on days that are not smooth sailing. It brings gratitude, permission to let things go, and reminds me that every moment offers me an opportunity for change, to reframe things. Or not. And whatever I decide, its okay. In the wabi sabi world, flaws are pretty much a requirement. We dont have to fix anything. We can, but only if we want to. We are not beautiful in spite of our flaws, we are beautiful because of our flaws. Take a moment to step into your own wabi sabi world, and honour your uniquity today. p.s.  If youd like to dip your toes into a complimentary Soul Portrait Mini-Report, created specially for you amazeballs WIGU readers, drop me an email at julia [at] thelucidpath.com anytime before the end of June. Youll hear from me after 19 June, as Im offline till then. Talk to you soon! Julia works with people who are ready to dip into exploration+experiments to move into living their soul purpose.  She loves playing detective to find your unique set of superpowers through your  Soul Portrait. Learn practical ways to work with the Universes energies in your everyday life, or just say hi! at  The Lucid Path.