5 Rules for Success At Work

I found something interesting in this article, it states "Most people think that they are brillant and effective communicators, if you ask people to rank themselves on their ability to communicate, nearly everyone will put themselves in the top 10%". We make assumptions that we are the best at communicating because we do it on a daily basis. Although we communicate daily, we should always review the difference between personal and workplace communication.

The following 5 rules are important rules for the workplace in order to have effective communication:

1. When in doubt, Overcommunicate - It is important to repeat messages for clarity, if they are important.
2. Use Multiple Channels - For important messages, sending them in several ways is helpful. Such as by e-mail, written annoncement and a verbal reminder.
3. Think Like a Journalist - Make sure your messages answer the questions who?, what?, when?, where?, how? and why? (espescially when policy's are being changed in the workplace).
4. Be Audience Focused - Always review your e-mails and messages from an audience's perspective before sending them to the receiver.
5. Be Authentic - "Say what you mean, mean what you say". If you want your mesaage to get across effectively, you must have a good record of openness and honesty

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/201105/communication-101-5-rules-success-work-and-everywhere-else

5 Skills to Better Listening

So, I chose this article because I think it applies to Chapter 4 (Managing Listening Communication in the Workplace) in the text book. Listening is defined sensing and making meaning of sound or signals by others. Listening is key to management (Ch.4 p. 70). We tend to filter things out based on: culture, language, values, beliefs, attitudes, expectations and intentions. Listening connects space and time. The 5 skills that for better listenig are:
1.) Silence: 3 minutes daily helps to reevaluate our thoughts and make sense of things.
2.) Mixer: Count how many sounds you hear, improves your quality of listening.
3.) Savoring: Allow yourself to enjoy mundane sounds, and helps you pay attention.
4.) Listening Position (Most Important): Idea to move your listening position to what is appropriate to what you are listening to.
5.) R.A.S.A.: Receive (pay attention to the person),
                     Appreciate (making small noises),
                     Summarize ("so" is very important),
                    Ask (ask questions afterwards)

Listening is conciously important to live fully (Julian Treasure, 2011) and helps in understnding each
other.

http://www.ted.com/talks/julian_treasure_5_ways_to_listen_better.html

If You Want To Retain The Best Young Worker, Give Them A Mentor Instead of Cash Bonuses

One article that I found to be interesting discussed the way to retaining young workers was not by offering them money incentives but by giving them a mentor to follow instead. The article suggests that innovative CEO organizations that are trying to recruit the next brightest minds will only be able to execute that task effectively by giving young adults someone who help them along the way. According to the 14th Annual Global CEO Survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers, 98% of Millennial’s believe working with a mentor is a necessary component in development. In fact, they ranked training and development three times higher than cash bonuses as their first choice in benefits(Vivian Giang, “If You Want To Retain The Best Young Workers“, businessinsider.com). The younger generation is showing to be very different from that of their (grand)parents generation in terms of normative commitment. Young workers in often times do not fell attached for the organizations in which they work for and one in four employees will leave their companies within a 12-month period. New technology and social media are two major influential systems on young people. Now, organizations are beginning to implement new strategies and restructure the function of Human Resources in order to refine employment engagement and motivation among young adults employees.
Being a young adult myself and becoming a part of the workforce I know that I personally enjoy receiving incentives myself. However I think having a mentor is something that should sought out more so. Mentors are very helpful and can be very good influential aids for young adults to get a step closer to attaining a career they want in the future. As young adult I’m sure we all have had a mentor that helped us with school and/or sports. Why not have one to help us in the business world? Sometimes mentors can be a voice of reason and they can help young adults align are abilities, strengths, goals and desires. Again money incentives are good but don’t last long and can go also stop having an affect on our motivation over time. Mentors will have a lasting impact on the decisions we make and help refine our skills. Having a mentor pays for itself over time and increases an employees potential making them worth more. I think this is a case of extrinsic vs. intrinsic: does a person want material incentives or the internal incentives that will make them a highly marketable candidate and possibly one day a leader of any organization.

Link: http://www.businessinsider.com/young-workers-mentor-2011-7