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Five Ways to Recharge Your Body and Soul

June 20, 2016June 11, 2016 Shannon Cassidy Leave a comment

It’s a common scene. You are driving home and you glance down at your phone. Only 1% power left. But you needed to make that one business call before ending your day. You are forced to wait until you get home and plug in the phone charger.

Your body and soul are very much like that phone. It’s probably easy to picture a day when you just wanted to check off one more to do off your list, but only had 1% power left.

But here’s the rub – you still tried to accomplish that task. Many of us ignore the amount of power we have in us, and force ourselves to do more when what we needed was to RECHARGE.

Here are five ways you can plug in your charger and recharge your body’s power to 100%:

Take a walk with no electronics. Follow Robert Frost and take the path less traveled by. Look around you. Consider what you see. Take an extra moment and see the details of that tree. Be a kid and find pictures in the clouds that dance across the sky. Share a “thank you” for four circumstances or people. Even a short gratitude walk can recharge the soul.
Slow down and breathe. Make a conscious choice to drive the speed limit and breathe slowly. Take the stairs or plot the long way to get to your destinations. During this time, if you have to go into any store, go slowly and breathe. Join the longest checkout lane and instead of looking ahead to see when it is your turn, breathe.
Take a long, hot bath with Epsom salts. This isn’t just for Grandma. Epsom salts break down into magnesium and sulphate in warm water and then seep into your skin, soothing aches and providing a natural relaxation. Bath salts and crystals make your skin softer, but Epsom salts address your muscles and nerves. Stay in your bath as long as you can for maximum recharging.
Plan downtime during your work day. Use a break to do a crossword puzzle or listen to a few songs from a soothing playlist. Instead of checking Facebook during your break, read a chapter of a book for the sheer enjoyment of reading. Your downtime can be maximized when you exclude electronics and include peaceful and relaxing habits during that downtime. Back at your desk, you will feel more recharged after a short break.
Get ready for bed earlier and get up earlier. Turn the TV off and spend the last minutes before you sleep talking to a loved one. The importance of sleep is not new. Getting those thirty extra minutes of sleep will give your body the extra energy you need. Get up earlier and take your time getting ready for your day. Rushing in the morning steals peace and uses up extra energy. Take your time and recharge, even as you begin your day.

These simple acts of intentionally recharging your body and soul will keep you focused when stakes are high and will reduce the stress that can harm your health. Today as you plug in your phone to recharge, think about how you can do the same for your physical body as well.

Sources:

http://www.beyondthejob.org/take-time-to-recharge.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/opinion/09kristof.html

http://theconsciouslife.com/recharge-mind-body-soul.htm

http://www.prevention.com/mind-body/emotional-health/8-ways-to-recharge-your-energy-and-your-spirit

Can Change Management Help My Company?

June 11, 2016June 11, 2016 Shannon Cassidy Leave a comment

You’ve heard the buzz word before. Change management. According to Prosci Solutions, change management is defined as “the discipline that guides how we prepare, equip and support individuals to successfully adopt change in order to drive organizational success and outcomes.”

For the past few decades, individuals have researched this relatively new skill set. Associations have formed to provide support and training.

The first State of the Change Management Industry report was published in the Consultants News in February 1995.

In 2013, The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) also included Change Management as a core competence in their Standards..

The Association of Change Management Professionals (ACMP) was created in 2011 and announced that in 2016 that, to enhance the profession, a new certification will be introduced: Certified Change Management Professional.

So how can change management help your company or career?

According to Prosci Solutions:

“Realizing the benefits of your strategy depends on people changing how they do their work. Change management is a structured approach to drive these individual transitions.”

If a company adapts change management, it will:

Increase the likelihood projects will succeed. Projects where changing practices, techniques or attitudes are important need extra attention. Left to just “adapt” to new requirements, employees often become frustrated or discouraged. Change management gives these individuals the leadership and training they need to feel confident.
Manage employee resistance to change. We are all resistant to change. Humans get comfortable in their set patterns. To upset that comfort is to experience pain. Peter Benge, an American systems scientist said, “People don’t resist change. They resist being changed.” Change management gives an employee a safe way to experience change without feeling they are “being” changed.
Build change competency in the organization. In using change management, a company acquires experience in helping individuals and groups change. By first identifying those who will need to change and defining what ways they will need to change, the process is broken down into manageable tasks that build competency in change management. After using this process the first time, the “change” techniques become easier and easier.

Your company’s individuals will embrace change more quickly and effectively when they are equipped to handle change. You team will more easily embrace new strategic initiatives and they will adopt new technology quicker.

Change management is more than a buzz word. It is a tool that every company can adopt to help employees navigate the ever-changing business environment.

Sources:

http://www.prosci.com/change-management/what-is-change-management

http://www.acmpglobal.org/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Change_management

https://www.prosci.com/

Develop Leaders, Not More Followers

May 16, 2016May 16, 2016 Shannon Cassidy Leave a comment

Besides the celebration, what happens if you get a promotion? What if you need to leave your company for some reason or you find yourself called to a different path in life? If any of these occur, what happens to your team? A great leader is always on the lookout for people they can teach and mentor. They search not for more followers but for potential leaders who can replace them. They develop leaders, not more followers.

So how do you develop another you? Another great leader? Begin with these four methods.

Give them experiences tailored to leadership.

As a manager or leader, you have certain tasks that are not required of anyone but you. Find ways that your potential leaders can gain experience in those areas. If you make a presentation once a month, allow your mentee to try her hand at it. As you develop their leadership skills, watch for unique talents they can apply to managing. Look for skills that you didn’t use because you didn’t have that talent. Allow them to see behind the curtain and try their hand at the parts of your position that are invisible to most.

Teach them to network.

Networking events can be painful and awkward, but great leaders jump in and do the work no matter how they feel. Teach your candidates how to network by having them follow you and watch how you initiate conversations. After they’ve witnessed your techniques for a while, they will be equipped to network independently. Networking is extremely valuable no matter the job. Giving your mentee the chance to cultivate abilities and confidence in networking is vital to the future of your company. As they progress into leadership roles, they’ll already have contacts and people skills.

Allow them to fail.

E.M Forster said, “Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon.”

It is highly beneficial for your leaders-in-training to fail, so you need to give them that chance. Push them to figure out problems on their own and then allow them to act on the wrong solution. Micromanaging will not teach your candidates how to stand on their own when they move into the leadership role. Of course, this doesn’t mean allowing their failures to affect the company while you just watch. But little by little, allow your leaders-in-training more responsibility.

Trust them to lead.

Just as it is difficult to watch your child leave your nest, it is a hard decision to allow your leader-in-training to leave your watchful eyes to lead independently. In order to complete the development of a leader, you must take your hands off the result. Think about it: If you teach your leader-in-training how to make smart, informed decisions, but still require that they run every idea by you before they’re allowed to make a move, how empowered will they feel?

Begin now to look around and select employees that you see have potential for leadership. If you do leave your company or your current position, you will have a succession plan in place for continued growth without you.

Leaders develop more leaders.

Sources:

http://guides.wsj.com/management/managing-your-people/how-to-develop-future-leaders/

http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/2010-02-16/how-companies-develop-great-leadersbusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice

http://www.forbes.com/sites/dailymuse/2013/06/25/5-strategies-that-will-turn-your-employees-into-leaders/

3 Keys to Entrepreneurship from 3 Key Leaders

May 9, 2016May 9, 2016 Shannon Cassidy Leave a comment

Right now in a small town in Indiana, a city in Ohio or a farm in California, young girls are dreaming of their future. Many of those dreams have nothing to do with the boys from One Direction. Creativity is blooming and innovation is blossoming. Some day, these young ladies may find themselves on Fortune’s list of the Most Promising Women Entrepreneurs. Created in 2009, the program honors extraordinary female leaders who have founded companies.

3 past winners of this honor offer insights into the entrepreneurial world that any business could benefit by following.

The Ability to be Strategic

Jody Miller is the co-founder and CEO of the Business Talent Group. She is a proponent of project-based solutions that offer independent professionals the opportunity to take charge of their work-life balance. Her company is on the leading edge of redefining the work place.

“You’ve got to have a sense of where the world is going and how you fit into it. If you need to supplement your existing skills, you need to know what those things you need are and how to get them. It requires a constant ability to understand where your skills are and where the market’s needs are, and then you get the skills you need to supply what’s most in demand.”

To be competitive and relevant in the ever-changing work force, you cannot be content in your skills and wait for the perfect opportunity to knock on your doorbell, buzz on your phone or land in your email. You must keep yourself informed so you can have a battle plan.

The Ability to be Flexible

It could be easy to assume that the world of fitness has exhausted all its possibilities from the Jack LaLanne exercises in the 1940s to the current craze of CrossFit. But Payal Kadakia invented something new when she cofounded ClassPass. Customers pay a monthly fee and gain access to thousands of fitness classes in their area. Kadakia started the company two years ago after trying to find a ballet class in New York City. She just wanted to dance that day and couldn’t. Her innovation has changed fitness. Over 7 million people have subscribed to the service.

“ClassPass has pivoted its business twice, and we’re hoping the third time’s the charm. We started as a search engine, then offered the Passport, but ultimately were able to realize our vision through the ClassPass. Despite the evolution, our mission to help people live happier, active lifestyles has always been the same. To overcome the hurdles we faced, we’ve had to be flexible in our approach in order to keep moving forward. It is better to take a few steps back and change directions than to keep going down the wrong road.”

Technology, business and the vast world of social media form a trifecta that is constantly shifting like the hosts of The View. Flexibility in navigating the market is not an asset but a necessity. As Payal Kadakia opines, the willingness and ability to take a new approach in business can make the difference between a company being relevant or antiquated.

The Ability to be Courageous

The ubiquitous cyber-attack is almost a daily headline. Michelle Zatlyn met this phenomenon head on as the co-founder and head of user experience of CloudFlare, a service that speeds up websites and gives them enhanced protection from cyber-attacks. Websites that sign up with this global network load twice as fast and use 60% less bandwidth than other websites. Today, more than 2,000,000 web properties are faster and safer.

“People don’t take opportunities because the timing is bad, the financial side is unsecure. Too many people are overanalyzing. Sometimes you just need to go for it.”

Zatlyn and her company take on the bullies of the internet every day. Cyber terrorism is real and on the up rise. Her courage has led the way to protect sites. Sometimes the ingredient that makes an entrepreneurial venture succeed is simply the guts to try it. We can all make lists of why we should not take a brave step towards our dreams. The ones who tear up that list and make the leap anyway are the leaders in the entrepreneurial world.

Women like these will continue to inspire and pave the road for young dreamers throughout the country.

Resources:

http://fortune.com/2015/09/09/2015-most-promising-women-entrepreneurs/

http://nextshark.com/payal-kadakia-how-she-turned-her-love-of-dancing-into-a-startup/

http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Q-A-with-Michelle-Zatlyn-co-founder-of-CloudFlare-2373155.php

http://worklife.wharton.upenn.edu/2015/02/projects-job-jody-miller-business-talent-group/

Maximizing Employee Productivity: It’s as Easy as 1, 2, 3

April 10, 2016April 9, 2016 Shannon Cassidy Leave a comment

How to maximize employee productivity may seem like the best kept secret in business, but it doesn’t have to be a challenge. Employees are motivated by the same things that motivate you; it’s simply putting the process into place that foster the desire to give their best every time they walk in the door.

Learn What Motivates Them

An annual engagement survey, a stay interview, or a casual conversation can bring light to the factors that motivate your best employees. By simply asking those who have dedicated years of hard work to the organization, “Why did you stay? What motivates you to work so hard? What would drive you to consider a new opportunity?” you can gain invaluable insight regarding motivators. Some might answer that they love the challenge of the position, while others may tell you that they feel the work they do makes a difference in the lives of others. Some might appreciate some light competition in the workplace while some may strive for reward or acknowledgement.

Once you understand what drives your best employees, you can develop policies and practices that provide this kind of motivation to all employees as a workplace culture. Perhaps you can promote feeling challenged by implementing a progressive fast-track to leadership program for those who show promise. You might help each employee understand how their contributions really matter to the company or what the company has done to support local causes to promote the personal satisfaction that accompanies performing meaningful work.

Establish a Work Environment that Drives Performance

Employees who are overheated, exhausted, or unorganized can’t perform to their full potential. Establish a work environment that’s conducive to stellar performance. Ask your employees which simple changes might increase their productivity to find quick wins that improve morale and boost productivity. HR managers often find that employee requests are not what they expected – they tend to be very inexpensive, unburdensome requests but fulfilling these requests instantly boosts morale and productivity. Some common requests include a small fan, an anti-fatigue mat, or a chair or stool.

Keep in mind that asking the question but failing to deliver can ultimately decrease productivity. If a request is made that simply can’t be done, it may be beneficial to explain the reasoning to employee who made the request and ask if they have any other ideas or suggestions that you can work on.

Reward Them for Achievement

Reward employees for longevity and productivity. Genuine acknowledgement in public is often the simplest and most meaningful reward to employees at every level and every supervisor, manager, and administrator can do it. Reward employees throughout the day by providing paid breaks every couple hours to refresh and recharge. Reward them annually by commending them for the dedication to the organization. Consider issuing small bonuses for production over a certain threshold.

The key to motivating employees to perform highly lies right within the walls of your own organization; it can be found through simple discussion with your very own high performers and then timely and sufficient follow through. Arm yourself with knowledge, respond appropriately, establish a comfortable environment, and reward your employees every day that they walk through those doors ready to produce.