Leadership Tips

Hiring

	An introduction to mining for top performers with psychological assessments What do you think is the most dreaded managerial task? Hiring and firing win this unpopularity contest, hands down, and for a good reason. The process of hiring has become a lot like our morning routine: predictable, boring, and uninspiring. Here are a few suggestions on what to look out for when interviewing a new hire.
	Risk-Taking - Going Out on a Limb Requires a Nimble Personality Risk-avoidant people are less likely to make rash decisions and consequent mistakes. They're also not likely to attain great achievements. Extreme risk-takers can be reckless, dangerous, and put their body and ?nances in peril. But to risk nothing is to achieve nothing. Thankfully, there is a happy medium.
	Hiring mistakes you may not realize you're making HR managers have to be fair and objective, and put aside any assumptions, stereotypes, and prejudices when going through the hiring process. But alas, we are human. We can be charmed by a charismatic job candidate, or completely dismiss someone whose interviewing skills are unpolished. Here is an informative "cheat-sheet" on how to sidestep the most common interview errors.

View all ...

Employee Development

	The Emotionally Intelligent Employee - Why Emotional Smarts Can Matter More Than IQ Most of us are familiar with the concept of IQ, but what about EIQ? Emotional Intelligence isn't just a matter of how well someone controls his or her emotions. It's the capacity to be self-aware, to resolve conflict effectively, to be resilient in the face of difficulty, and to deal with people in a socially-insightful way.
	When You Don't Have a Picasso or da Vinci on Staff - Developing Creativity in Employees Creativity is one of the least understood areas of human ability. Our ideas about our creative selves are too frequently discouraged in our early years by others whose ability to judge this matter should be questionable at best. To nurture creativity in employees, it's important to uncover if there are any psychological obstacles that can be snuffing their creative fire.
	Bridging the gap analysis Whether you're assessing a job candidate's potential or want to optimize the performance of your existing staff, the next step (after assigning psychometric tests and reviewing test results) is to conduct a Gap Analysis. Here are a few tips on how to optimize a new hire's performance by bridging the gap between their skills and your company's needs.

View all ...

Leadership Development

The Managerial Jigsaw - Finding the Right Piece to Fit Your Company's Puzzle One of the most difficult positions to fill in a company is, arguably, a managerial one. It has to be filled by someone who can wear a lot of different hats - coach, cheerleader, leader, innovator, visionary, etc. Finding a manager who possesses the right set of competencies is important, but so is the type of organizational atmosphere and circumstances you're hiring for.

The Ultimate Leaders: PsychTests Releases Study on Leadership Qualities That Differentiate the Best from the Rest It's important for companies to recognize that management and leadership are distinct, and that in order to bring out the best in employees, a person must have the business know-how of a manager but the finesse of a leader. Good leaders are in a class of their own with a very distinct personality profile.

View all ...

Motivation

	Do Your Employees Spell Team with M-E? Reasons Why Teamwork Isn't Always a Pleasant Experience Teamwork is the foundation of success for many companies. Creative ideas are more easily generated, large workloads can be shared, and it's always great to have others to turn to for help. For many people though, teamwork rarely works like a well-oiled machine - more likely, they see it as a rusty set of gears that creak and squeak at each other.
	Work Motivators - When Money and Coffee are not Enough Everyone holds different values in regards to work and needs different things in their job to feel satisfied and fulfilled. Motivation is at the heart of every productive employee, and the missing link in those who are not living up to their full potential. If managers truly want to get the best out of their workers, they need to start viewing motivation as a case-by-case issue.
	Performance Evaluations Don't Need to Taste Like Brussels Sprouts - Making Reviews an Appealing Experience Giving evaluations, especially where there's some negative feedback involved, is like a ripping a band-aid - you just want to get it over with, and suffer as little pain as possible. Here are some tips on how to ensure that the performance appraisal process of your company is a productive one.

View all ...

Employee Well-being

	Sources of Stress at Work Most employees go into work with the intention of doing the best job they can. As a manager, your goal is to create an environment in which employees can thrive so that they can provide the best work or service possible. Here are 5 common workplace stressors that employees face on a regular basis:
	Workplace Bullying Workplace bullying, like schoolyard bullying, occurs when one or more individuals use persistent aggressive or unfair behavior against a peer. Workplace bullying can include such tactics as verbal, nonverbal, psychological, and physical abuse, and humiliation. Be on the lookout for the following behaviors:
	The best offense is a good defense! Healthy coping mechanisms Theorist George Eman Valliant proposed four categories of coping mechanisms, ranging from unhealthy or immature, to healthy and mature. When it comes to dealing with stress, there is one crucial point to keep in mind - it's not the stressor that matters, it's how you respond to it. Here are some healthy strategies:

View all ...