Leadership Tips

Hiring

	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.
	How much is that hiring mistake really costing you? Most companies can survive the occasional bad hire, but when hiring is done by trial and error, you get a cumulative effect. If your recruitment process is lacking, chances are that there will be consequences. Not only does this cost a lot of money, it also has an effect on the rest of the team.
	Want to use a pre-employment test? Here's what to look for A test may ask all the right questions and assess all the skills you are looking for, but it needs to be able to perform well statistically. Any theories, regardless of the field of study, only become fact if they can stand up to rigorous analysis. You don't need to be a psychologist to assess the quality of a test. Use this checklist.

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.
	Like Seeds in Fertile Soil - Work Environments That Nurture Productivity In a business world where company loyalty and morale can't be boosted by simply dangling a bonus like a carrot, employees are more likely to be dedicated to a manager who understands and motivates them. Here are some ways to promote a healthy work environment for workers and the organization as a whole:

View all ...

Leadership Development

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.

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.

View all ...

Motivation

	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.
	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.
	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

	The Stress Response: Fight, flight, freeze, or have gas Much like activating a complex computer program, your body's response to stress sets multiple functions into motion. All of these sensations are a result of not one, not two, but three over-arching stress responses in your body. These include your physiological response, emotional response, and cognitive response. So if you feel like a mess when under stress, there are three highly complex reasons why!
	Techniques to help you deal with the physical impact of stress Not all stressors are avoidable, but their influence can be buffered by adopting healthy coping strategies. Coping skills are like any other skill: The more you practice them, the more effective they will be. Dealing effectively with stress is a four-step process: Recognize the signs of stress, identify the source, evaluate its impact, and decide on a course of action.
	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 ...