Tip of the Month

February 2012: When it comes to managing well, it pays to escape to another world

Good managers know when to take a break—and when to encourage their staff members to, as well. One great way to educate your mind, warm your heart, and feed your soul, is to pick up a good book.

In fact, it’s a delightful diversion that I indulge in all too infrequently. I’ll drive myself over to the public library and wander the stacks until a single book calls my name.

It’s always a random book, nothing that I am hunting for or know that I need to read. It never ceases to amaze me that, more often than not, the book my fingers find is exactly the perfect book that teaches me something that I need to learn.

Click here to read all about it.

Read More...

Read All Tips...

IN THE NEWS

Alice Waagen is Management Columnist for Be Inkandescent Magazine

In January 2010, Dr. Alice Waagen was chosen to be the Management columnist for Be Inkandescent Magazine, an online business publication for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs, which gets more than 300,000 hits / month.

It is a monthly task that she says both challenges, and educates her.

“In each issue of the magazine, I am tasked with writing an article about a different phase of management—from 15 Ways To Be Funnier at Work, to How To Make Collaboration Work. she says.

“I thoroughly enjoy this challenge, for it makes me dive that much deeper into the realities of being a manager, and find new ways to solve problems and conquer challenges.”

As a fan of Workforce Learning, click here to sign up for a free subscription to Be Inkandescent Magazine.

THIS MONTH’S ISSUE:

In the January 2012 issue of Be Inkandescent Magazine, Alice Waagen offers tips for setting goals for the new year.

Her first 2012 goal-setting resolution is to make your goals inspirational: “A good goal sticks in your mind, wanders around its corners, and pops out occasionally to bug you,” she says. “You should get excited every time you achieve even small progress toward its completion. You should be happy to talk about it and share it with friends and colleagues. Goal achievement requires focus and motivation. If the goal does not inspire you, it will drift off the list. So pay attention to what sticks, and what evaporates.”

Click here to read more.

*December 2011: Alice Waagen helps us End the Year Right: Cast Off Your Bad Habits and Replace Them With Good Ones.

She writes: “When I visit my corporate clients these days, I am amazed at the levels of stress and burnout that I am seeing. So many professionals look haggard, rushing from one meeting to another, clutching bulging notebooks and beeping Blackberries.

“When I ask why things are so out of control, I hear the same answer every time: the economic fears have tightened the purse strings. More work does not mean more resources. If anything, the ‘do more with less’ mantra has folks at the end of their patience and sanity.

“Being an inveterate problem-solver, I started to look for themes or trends that could explain overload and burnout beyond the obvious one of too much work with too little to work with.”

Click here to read more.

November 2011: Alice Waagen Helps Us Build a Better Future Workforce

While the press and politicians continuously rant about job creation and unemployment, an insidious situation exists that is a real threat to the success of the entrepreneurial business: The difficulty in filling open positions that require skilled talent.

According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 3.1 million job openings on the last business day of August 2011. Although the number of job openings remained below the 4.4 million openings when the recession began in December 2007, the level in August was 944,000 higher than in July 2009 (the most recent trough). The number of job openings is up 26 percent since the end of the recession in June 2009.

Click here to read more.

October 2011: The Importance of Investing in Your Managers

Everywhere I go these days, the buzz is about protecting investment assets.
Between the financial market churn, the Euro crisis, and worries over a Greek default, there is a scramble to ensure that financial goals are being met.

But what about our managerial goals?
Every good manager I know constantly assesses the performance of their work goals and objectives and makes changes if work performance falters.
Just like financial investments, we need to constantly monitor what I like to think of as our “interpersonal investments” for the soundness of their performance.

No savvy financial expert would keep his or her savings in a shoe box under the bed. When we ignore our interpersonal assets, we are being just as short-sighted, and the impact on business success can be just as deadly.

Here’s why.

September 2011: How To Boost Your Relationship Management IQ

When I am asked to list the attributes most critical to a manager’s success, I immediately cite the ability to build and maintain positive work relationships.
It’s clear that those who fail to cultivate strong relationships with those around them may be successful in executing immediate tasks and activities—but ultimately they will struggle with having sustainable results.

The two components that form the foundation of our connectedness are respect and trust. Given the economic woes we’re all struggling with, it’s tough not to feel like there isn’t enough to go around.

This climate, however, makes it even more imperative to build strong relationships. Here are some ways to make good connections, and know that life is good.

READ MORE! Click here to view all of Alice’s Management columns published in Be Inkandescent magazine.

|