https://shiftworkplace.com/?p=1207
Virtual introductions: The “why” and “how”

Virtual introductions: The “why” and “how”

When you are anxiously looking for work or trying to find a client, where do your thoughts go? After reading this post, hopefully they will zero in on one tiny, often overlooked but immensely powerful practice: the virtual introduction. The four categories of people I...

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The power of a true vacation, and why you should harness it

The power of a true vacation, and why you should harness it

“You can’t do a good job if a job is all you do.” - Artifact Uprising “A vacation is over when you begin to yearn for your work.” - Morris Fishbein I have a confession to make. Since I started my business 10 years ago I have only taken one vacation – ONE vacation, ONE...

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Getting a job with your degree – 12 tips that work

Getting a job with your degree – 12 tips that work

Many university students are now finding themselves in the same boat as immigrant trained professionals: they have the education but cannot land jobs in their field. According to Stats Canada, of those who are earning money while completing their degrees, a whopping...

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Overcoming talent blindness

Overcoming talent blindness

The Webster dictionary defines talent as "a special ability that allows a person to do something well." We all have some special abilities that help us do things well and we are actually full of latent, undeveloped talents Why learn to see talent in others? Dave...

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Work experience – does it really matter?

Work experience – does it really matter?

People with experience on their resumes tend to receive more interview requests, and experience is certainly good for personal brand and increasing perceptions of competence. Surprisingly, however, a meta-analysis [1] about the effects of work experience on job...

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Measuring for results: Three key principles

Measuring for results: Three key principles

We all know it is important to measure for results, but often we don’t know what to measure or how to interpret the metrics. Another issue is knowing what to do – how to change our behaviour – based on the metrics. QUESTION 1: HOW CAN I UNDERSTAND METRICS SIMPLY?...

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8 Social Assumptions and What To Do About Them

8 Social Assumptions and What To Do About Them

Are your social assumptions about people’s motivations accurate? Have you noticed yourself or others making any of these kinds of statements? “Why do we need _________? I would never use it.” “Back in the day when we only had two TV channels…” “What barriers? I didn’t...

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Biology and business: genes and employee performance

Biology and business: genes and employee performance

Biology, employee performance, and business systems have more in common than you may think. According to the book “The Selfish Gene” by Richard Dawkins (first published in 1978 and widely accepted as the most significant communication about the basics of inheritance...

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Five Skills for effective workplace communication

Five Skills for effective workplace communication

Effective workplace communication can be learned! You may think you know how to communicate to your team or employees. But communication is not about what you think has happened when you speak with someone, it is about what actually happens between two people in...

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Me biased? 3 strategies to find out

Me biased? 3 strategies to find out

It is pretty easy to tell other people what they should do, how they should fix a work issue and how to fix their personality foibles. We can quickly see when someone else is so much in favour of a person or a project they can’t see the forest for the trees. We can...

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The Myth of “Old School” Management

The Myth of “Old School” Management

It always irritates me when I hear people excuse a manager’s poor performance by saying “don’t worry about (insert name of bad manager here), he/she is ‘old school.'" What does that really mean when someone describes a decision maker as ‘old school?' My initial list...

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Supervisory Basics 2: Setting Clear Expectations

Supervisory Basics 2: Setting Clear Expectations

Setting clear expectations is critical to team success When you are an employee, you expect your team leader to let you know what your job is and to teach you how to get that job done. Many supervisors make the mistake of assuming their team already knows what to do...

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Productivity challenge: Your employees are not your family

Productivity challenge: Your employees are not your family

The news is not good. It appears the Alberta approach to improving productivity is to throw more people, money and material resources at the issue without considering - or measuring for - the consequences. Financial Post’s July 25th story by Yadullah Hussein about oil...

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The paternalism checklist for women and men

The paternalism checklist for women and men

Isn’t paternalism a good thing? Paternalism. Isn’t that what you do if you are a father? Well, not exactly. To have fatherly or “paternal” feelings towards someone is, at its root, kind and loving: it implies interest in the well-being and development of children and...

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Virtual networking part three: Using Twitter to network your way into a job

5 planning strategies to build leadership from within

Internal leadership development is something many companies fall short on. Bruce Anderson from the International Institute of Directors and Managers states that barriers to leadership building from within stem from a lack of: Time to coach Accountability with regard...

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5 Megatrends to rock your world – and mine

5 Megatrends to rock your world – and mine

At the Manufacturing Leadership Executive Summit this year, Frost and Sullivan’s megatrends and disruptive technologies presentations had some particularly close to home themes for me. As a business owner working in industry managerial training, e-learning and...

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