Company Culture What Your Employees Really Think

Company Culture What Your Employees Really Think Mary had been looking forward to seeing the results from her organization’s annual employee engagement survey. She was proud of the culture the management team had fostered â€" one that she believed encouraged collaboration, innovation and honesty. She had managed a team of more than 20 people and, from her point of view, believed they felt the same way about the company. But Mary’s assessment of the culture couldn’t have been more wrong. When she read the results, she couldn’t believe what it said. Team morale was low, trust was at an all-time low and there was a major disconnect with management.  Unfortunately, Mary’s story is typical of many organizations. A new study from VitalSmarts has found an alarming gap between what managers say they want their company culture to be and what employees say is really valued by their bosses.  In fact, research shows that leaders say they want innovation, initiative, candor and teamwork to define their culture. What employees feel is really valued at their company is obedience, predictability, deference to authority and competition with peers. When it comes to culture, there’s a real disconnect between management’s perspective and employees’ perspective. The study  also found, after surveying more than 1,200 employees, managers and executives, that employees have a much more negative view of their corporate culture than their bosses do. And the higher you go up the organization chart, the more positive their perception of the company culture. Why does this matter? Research has revealed that when employees believe that what was really valued was obedience, predictability, deference to authority and competition with peers, they are  32 percent less likely to be engaged, motivated and committed to the organization. This perception also has a major impact on performance: employees are  26 percent less likely to rate their organization as successful at innovating and executing. Overall, organizations have a lot of work to do when it comes to improving company culture. Only 9 percent of employees have a favorable opinion of their company’s culture. Surprisingly, managers and executives were only slightly more optimistic â€" 15 percent reported viewing their corporate culture in a favorable light. While this culture chasm can feel daunting, there is some good news. When it comes to fixing corporate culture, we know the best place to start is with dialogue. In fact, the only way to close this perception gap is with open, honest conversation between employees and their leaders. Employees believe their leaders push one set of behaviors on them but reward another. This is the ideal starting point for dialogue. If leaders are perceived to send mixed messages about what they truly believe will drive performance, they should invite employees to call them out on the hypocrisy. While many leaders believe employees will not be open and honest with them, we’ve found the opposite to be true. When an executive really listens and demonstrated genuine concern, employees will be surprisingly honest. Let’s take it a step further. The study reveals that the healthiest cultures exist in organizations where people speak up and hold others accountable. Leaders trained in these skills can better communicate with and manage their teams. They are also in a position to teach these vital dialogue and accountability skills to their employeesâ€"cascading them throughout the organization. So how can leaders begin to open up the lines of communication with employees? Here are four strategies they can take to start a candid discussion about their culture chasm: Understand the business case Before leaders set off to change the company culture, they must be clear about the business reason for doing so. The worst thing they can do is implement a feel-good strategy. This has little impact and creates cynicism among employees. There are hard, measurable reasons for changing the culture, and leaders must articulate them before they embark on their journey. Focus on vital behaviors Leaders can’t change 10 to 15 behaviors in a company â€" they can really only focus on a vital two or three. Pick the behaviors that will have the biggest impact on performance and stick with them. Listen deeply Before leaders can change the culture, they must know where they stand with their employees. The best way to do this isn’t through a survey administered by outsiders. Rather, they should vulnerably engage with employees who know best. Pair up and meet with groups of 8 to 10 employees. Spend at least an hour asking open-ended questions like, “What advice would you give a friend if they came to work here.” Take action Listening creates expectations. Once employees take a risk to share their perceptions, they start to watch to see if leaders were really listening or just checking off a box. They want to see evidence. Leaders should pick a couple of valued and visible concerns and address them quickly. This builds trust in leaders’ sincerity to make longer-term changes that may involve the employees themselves changing their behavior. About the author: Joseph Grenny is a bestselling author, speaker, and leading social scientist for business performance. He is also the cofounder of VitalSmarts. His work has been translated into twenty-eight languages, is available in thirty-six countries, and has generated results for 300 of the Fortune 500. www.crucialskills.com.

A Splash of Blue The Free Modern Resume Design

A Splash of Blue â€" The Free Modern Resume Design A Splash of Blue â€" The Free Modern Resume Design There’s no doubt, you have impressive credentials. Your resume may have plenty of great content within.Here’s the problem: many of the other job applicants have backgrounds that are equally impressive. How do you ensure that your resume strikes a chord with the hiring managers? This is where the visual element comes into play. A Splash of Blue maybe just the color pop you need to draw more attention to your documents while remaining utterly professional and not too “blingy”.This template features a stylish, geometric layout. It uses just a bit of blue to add a bit of color without going overboard. The result is professional, attractive, and is sure to appeal to any hiring manager. Like our other templates, this one is free. Once you download it, you may edit it as you please. It’s fully compatible with MS Word for your convenience. Feel free to make it your own.If you like it, please write a short review. We’d love your feedback! File size: 56 KB Format: .doc Downloade d 4,007 times License: Free, personal use only. Please read the license terms for resources. Download previous article Tell Me About Yourself: The Right Response to this Interview Question next article Could Brexit Lead to Hiring Freezes? you might also likeThe Freelancers Resume Creative Resume Template for Independent Workers

What Are You Saying to Yourself About Yourself - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

What Are You Saying to Yourself About Yourself - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career To build a powerful personal brand we must consider three different levels of communication and ensure we are communicating consistently across all three. The three include: Self-communication Public communication Private, 1:1 communication This week I’m going to focus on self-communication because it is the foundation of everything else. Self-Communication The most important of all levels is “self-communication.” Reason being is that we are the only person with whom we communicate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, every year of our life. How well we communicate with ourselves drives our ability to effectively communicate at the other two levels in a way that builds our brand with the people with whom we most need to build it. What is your self-talk like? What do you notice to be the most consistent internal dialogue statements that either propel you to step up to a powerful personal brand, or hold you back from putting yourself out there? Is it, “I can do this!” or is it, “I’m not ready yet!” Confidence and belief in the brand comes directly from our internal dialogue and what our consistent message is to ourselves about it. For me, I came face-to-face with a self-communication barrier in building my personal brand when I launched a newly branded website with the help my marketing coach in April, 2011. The brand we decided on was what I go with today, The Leadership Workplace Communication Expert.   As we were developing it I distinctly remember it felt right, it sounded right. It also reinforced the type of results I was getting with my clients through my work and in my  speaking engagements connected best with my audiences. All was good, until… I saw my new website right before it launched to the public. The very large banner featured my picture, my name in a customized proprietary font, and the title across the top. When I saw the banner for the first time online my heart skipped a beat and I literally stopped breathing for a minute. I felt I was going to have a panic attack. My internal dialogue went something like this: “I’m not ready for this!” “What if I can’t live up to this?” “Do I really want to put myself out there like this?” “I can’t say this, what will people think?” Maybe some of those internal dialogue and self-talk statements are familiar to you. I knew I had to get a handle on my own internal dialogue and I remember it took me a couple of weeks before I really felt comfortable with it. I had to at first suppress that internal dialogue and replace it with more powerful statements. I told myself things like:  â€œIt’s going to be just fine!” “You deserve this brand and you have the goods to back it up!” “Get out there and prove to everyone you are the brand on the website!” It drove me incessantly to create content and programs to prove to myself, my clients and prospects that I deserved that brand. How could you define yourself in a way that stretches your comfort zone in such a way that will drive you to live up to it? Then, create the internal dialogue that will overtake all the self-doubting self-talk that has held you back in the past and support you in becoming that person. If you would like some help send me an e-mail to Skip@WorkplaceCommunicationExpert.com. Author: Skip Weisman, The Leadership Workplace Communication Expert, has worked with business leaders and their teams to transform both individual and organizational performance in industries from banks to plumbers since 2001.Skip’s experience helping his clients has shown that the biggest problems in workplaces today can be directly traced to interpersonal communication between people in the work environment. Having spent 20 years in professional baseball management, his first career in which he served as CEO for five different franchises, has given Skip tremendous insights and skills for build high-performing teams. Learn more about Skip at  www.WorkplaceCommunicationExpert.com  and  www.SkipWeismanSpeaks.com

Mistakes You Should Avoid When Buying Your First Home

Mistakes You Should Avoid When Buying Your First Home Other than graduating, we measure our lives in different milestones first job, first car, first heartbreak, and first salary increase. These are events in our lives that tell us we’re moving forward in our lives and learning something significant from it. One such milestone is buying our very first house. As first-time buyers, the idea of owning our own property will sometimes make us too excited to make decisions properly. This opens us up to various home buyer mistakes that may make a mess out of something important. So here, we’ll explore some of the common the mistakes which you must avoid when purchasing your first home. Not checking your financial status One of the biggest mistakes you can make is spending money you don’t actually have. There are times when our idea of what we can afford is very different from what our bank account tells us what we can afford. Before choosing a property, make sure you evaluate your total expenses first. Look at your daily expenditure, payments you make once a year, and the money you put aside as your savings. Subtract all of those in your current take home pay, and that’s the amount you can save each month for your home. You can always ask the bank for a loan, but again, check if you can make the monthly payments for it. Look for a house within your price range This is your first house, don’t worry about buying something elaborate first. If you start looking at houses that are way out of your price range, you will want to buy it more and that’s dangerous. Yes, you can lessen your expenditure or cut certain indulgences to help you buy a pricier house. But do you really want to sacrifice personal well-being just because you want that loft uptown? Start small, you’ll get there eventually. Assuming you’re qualified for a loan Never assume that the bank will approve your loan at first try. The bank will look into your ability to pay every month through your current take home salary, and they will scrutinise your credit score. If you still have credit card debts or have purchased something expensive before borrowing for a house, that’s going to hurt your chances. The best way to deal with this is to get pre-approved for a loan. Have them check whether your qualifications are good enough to be granted the money you’ll need. Additionally, avoid making big purchases during your loan application. They can reject you at the last minute even if you qualified at the pre-approval stage. Forgetting about additional expenses Buying the house isn’t the last step you need to make additional purchases to make sure it’s safe and comfortable. These expenses include a disaster insurance, furniture, property taxes, maintenance costs and homeowner’s association fees, etc. Consider all of these things when finalising your budget. Because a house is such a huge investment on your part, always choose a property that offers the best community, easy accessibility from all important points in your area, and houses that are built to last. So whether choose to buy a Lendlease house and land packages in Calderwood Valley  or virtually anywhere in the world, taking care of details in the beginning will pay off in lots of peace of mind. It’s the perfect starting point for the next milestone in your life.

Using Resume Playback to Determine Your Qualifications

Using Resume Playback to Determine Your QualificationsResume playback is one of the most powerful ways to go about looking for employment. It makes an incredible impression on anyone who is conducting a background check. This same process can also be used to determine whether a person is a good fit for the job. In fact, you can use resume playback to determine how much experience you have to offer and to see how much schooling you have to offer.You might have noticed that many resumes, especially those that are submitted for jobs that require more than a high school diploma, include something called an abbreviated resume. These are very similar to resume playback, and in many cases they will be just as effective. This means that you can use resume playback and an abbreviated resume to see whether the job posting is appropriate for someone with your skills and qualifications.In many cases, resume playback is used to see how long the applicant has been employed. If the position require s a longer period of experience, you might want to avoid that particular post. When you use resume playback to see if you should even apply for that particular position, you are preparing yourself for what might be a lengthy process.In many cases, you will want to consider how much previous work experience you have. While this might not be a concern for certain positions, it might be relevant for other positions. To determine whether you should use resume playback or just show your work history, you should consider the length of time that you have been employed.You may also want to consider if you are excited about the prospect of moving into a new job. Some positions might feel boring. In these situations, you should use resume playback to get a feel for the job and the area of the country where the new job is located.You should also use resume playback when considering education. The educational credentials of the person applying for the position is an important factor. Someone wh o has attended college, particularly for a long period of time, is likely to bring a lot to the table.Many potential employers also want to know if the candidate has completed any relevant certifications. This is a very important criterion to keep in mind because some positions require the candidate to have a certification. Because this information is readily available, you can take advantage of it to make sure that you keep the right level of certification.Resume playback can help you get a feel for whether the job posting will be appropriate for you. There are many different reasons why you might need to use resume playback. When you use it, you will be able to determine if the posting is appropriate for you and what skills you can bring to the table.

Five Steps to Fix a Toxic Team

Five Steps to Fix a Toxic Team Five Steps to Fix a Toxic Team In the world of business, it’s safe to say all work is done in teams. Ask anyone and they’ll tell you most of the teams they’ve been on are average or mediocre, or good but not great. And sadly, many can tell you in dreaded detail about the toxic teams they’ve been on where gossip, sabotage, and finger-pointing were the norm. Does this sound anything like the team you’re currently on? Are you the leader of one of these teams? If so, you know how these teams can suck the life out of you and it’s time to turn things around. ?Abby Curnow-Chavez, Trispective Group, offers ways to fix a toxic team. Curnow-Chavez told me, “My partners and I wanted to understand what separates the best teams from the toxic ones so we studied thousands of teams, analyzed the data, and looked for patterns. We named the worst of the worst Saboteur Teams because, on them, someone is always working against at least one of their teammates.” Here are the telltale signs the team you’re leading is a Saboteur Team: Members of the team are constantly complaining about each other. Team members spend as much time watching their backs as doing the work. People make plays behind the scenes, undermining and sabotaging one another. Suspicion and mistrust pervade every interaction; it seems like there are a lot of personal agendas. ?People avoid working together and seem to dread team meetings. Teammates would be perfectly happy to see others on the team fail; they criticize and point out the faults and failures of fellow team members.? If this sounds like the team you lead, it’s time to do something, because Saboteur Teams destroy value at every turn and they are miserable experiences for everyone on them: Morale suffers and good people quit. Strong candidates don’t join the team because of its bad reputation. Critical problems don’t get addressed because no one feels safe bringing up the tough issues. Decisions are made covertly or seem highly political. There’s little to no risk-taking or innovation.? If you lead a Saboteur Team, it’s up to you to turn it around. The good news is, improving your team is doable and it’s definitely worth it. Your main challenge as the leader is to change the dynamic by enforcing a no-tolerance policy on destructive behavior, rebuilding trust, setting clear standards, and defining a shared purpose. Here are five steps to get your team out of this highly dysfunctional place: 1- Own It If you don’t take full ownership for fixing your team, it won’t get better! Think about what you did to allow for this dynamic and what you didn’t do to address it. This could be an excellent time to get 360o feedback to understand others’ perceptions of your effectiveness as team leader. Talk openly with your team about your role (good and bad) and set a new standard for how you expect the team to work together. ? 2- Study the Facts and Seek Out the Truth. Use data and feedback to figure out what is really happening on the team. Get others’ perspectives. Ask questions, listen, stay curious, and be open to feedback. Be willing to seek the truth, even if it’s hard to hear. Team leaders tend to have the perspective of some, but not all, team members and may have a biased view of what’s really going on. Stay neutral and listen without judgement to fully understand why your team is struggling. 3- Set New Standards of Behavior and Make Tough Decisions. As the team leader, it’s critical you set a new standard for performance and behavior. Set the bar high and apply it to ALL team members. You can’t have different standards for different team members. Too often the negative behaviors of certain individuals are overlooked or ignored for various reasons. This doesn’t help, it hinders. Make sure the team understands the repercussions of their actions and be willing to follow-through. Frequently point out examples where team members are, and are not, living up to the new standards. Remember, you get what you tolerate! 4- Get the Team on Board. The team needs to meet regularly and, as the team leader, you need to keep everyone committed to the new rules of the road. If you need to, find a strong facilitator to help. That person could be a professional facilitator, an internal HR business partner, or a trusted colleague who has skills and is viewed as being neutral. Involve the team in discussing its challenges and suggesting ways to improve. Don’t forget to celebrate the team’s progress and successes, even the small ones. 5- Don’t Give Up. Turning around a Saboteur Team may be the hardest work you will do as a team leader. It takes time, courage, and commitment. Keep your vision in front of the team and give team members regular feedback and coaching. Look for and publicize quick wins and reward the right behavior. For many team leaders it’s tough to do this, but remove team members who aren’t willing or able to change. It only takes one saboteur for the whole team to become toxic â€" make the tough decisions when you need to. No leader has every regretted getting rid of an underperformer or a saboteur. If you’re the leader of a toxic and dysfunctional team, you’re likely suffering from the experience. And, it’s likely your business results are suffering too. Facing the truth about your team, setting a new standard, requiring the team to build strong and healthy relationships, and developing new habits takes energy and courage. However, once you begin the process of turning around your team, you are likely to see improvements immediately. Be intentional in your efforts â€" and persistent and you’ll reap the rewards. Join Dana Manciagli’s Job Search Master Class now and get the most comprehensive job search system available!

How LinkedIns Twitter Integration has Changed LinkedIn - CareerEnlightenment.com

The New LinkedIn/Twitter StrategyIf you are already on Twitter, then making the jump to daily LinkedIn updates is a no-brainer. Most of the Twitter tools, such as Tweetdeck and Hootsuite, already allow you to post to both services simultaneously.Simply post only the more professional tweets to your LinkedIn profile, leave the rest of them on Twitter.If you are not on Twitter, then you may still want to adopt the daily status update strategy. It will give you an opportunity to get in front of more people more frequently without breaking any social media Faux Pax.With more people posting on LinkedIn, there is also more opportunity to interact. Simply leave comments beneath other peoples updates to let them know you are listening to them. This is a great way to begin conversations, network and develop your personal brand.