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How to Give Coworkers Advice Without Annoying Them
Tweet Share on Facebook September 7, 2009 Comment (2)Have you ever looked at another area of your company and thought, "They'd get better results if they did it this way instead?" If so, have you ever been tempted to tell them?
This is a sticky area. Even when your input is fantastic, if you don't present it in the right way, you can make people defensive and irritated.
[See what to do when you're frustrated at work.]
Some people handle this by never making suggestions to others at all, sacrificing the possibility of giving input that might really be appreciated. Others handle it by plunging right in, repeatedly, and over time end up alienating their colleagues.
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21 Ways Coworkers Make Your Job Harder
Tweet Share on Facebook September 4, 2009 Comment (2)Office wars may be waged in indirect ways that allow for deniability. It helps to know the multitude of snares that are out there.
Here are 21 tactics others can easily adopt to make your work life much more difficult:
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It's Your Career: Take Control of It
Tweet Share on Facebook September 3, 2009 Comment (3)Can you tell me what you think of the Strong Interest Inventory [a career test]? This summer I was talking to an acquaintance who recommended Strong to me. ... I respect his opinion personally and professionally. My own "Evil HR Lady" tells me that our company does not have a policy of paying for this test, so if I want it paid for I will have to talk to my manager. Here is where I get nervous. My direct manager, I feel, manages by default; if I ask him about this test he will tell me to ask HR, and then to stick with whatever they say. But his manager, who I used to report to directly, I think tries to make the system work for his people rather than his people for the system, and would probably okay the relatively small test expense.
Our organization is not too rigid. My former manager will still call me directly on occasion (I work remotely from both of the managers mentioned). But I know you tell people to expect nothing good to happen if they go behind their manager's back. So, I should talk to my manager; but if he doesn't approve it, should I talk to his manager or pay for it myself? What is your opinion of this career guidance tool?
I can sum up what I think about the Strong Interest Inventory in one word: Nothing. I have never used or taken the test and so am unqualified to give any opinion as to its benefit to you or your company.
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Have You Been Experimenting Enough?
Tweet Share on Facebook September 3, 2009 Comment (2)If I could share only one word to help you turn your dreams into reality, it would be this:
Experiment!
Far too often, people limit themselves with the sense that they have to have it all figured out before they take any action. They need to feel certain that the outcome of whatever they try is going to be successful. The idea that whatever they do might not turn out holds them back and limits their potential.
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Should Your Job Hunt Take a Break This Labor Day?
Tweet Share on Facebook September 2, 2009 Comment (1)So you’ve been looking for a job for what seems like a long time now. And here we are at the end of summer, with a big three-day weekend coming up.
Do you feel like making it a five-day weekend? Or longer?
Why not, you may say. No one will be working anyway. I’ll just take a breather and come back, refreshed and reenergized, next week sometime. Or the week after that.
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When You Don't Know What You're Good At
Tweet Share on Facebook September 1, 2009 Comment (8)“But I don’t know what I am really good at yet.”
If I had a nickel for every time I've heard that, I’d have a big pile of nickels.
I have a couple of ideas to share with you, if this is how you think—or it's what your own son or daughter says.
