Culture: Your Environment for People
People in every workplace talk about organizational culture, that mysterious word that characterizes a work environment. One of the key questions and assessments, when employers interview a prospective employee, explores whether the candidate is a good “cultural fit.”
Image © Christopher Robbins / Getty Images
More About Organizational Culture
- Culture: Your Environment for People at Work.
- How to Understand Your Current Culture.
- How to Change Your Culture.
- How to Build a Teamwork Culture.
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Coaching Employee Performance
My input is always to make sure that managers are treating employees consistently and fairly, but that they are also looking out for their company's interests. I am also concerned that the appropriate HR policies are in place so that employees clearly understand the rules and the consequences. Most frequently, I spend my time helping managers build their skills so they become ever more effective at creating an environment in which employees can and will succeed.
These are the steps that I suggest managers follow when they have an employee who is challenged to succeed at work.
More About Employee Performance Improvement
- Use Performance Management to Help People.
- How and When to Empower People.
- Why Employees Don't Do What You Want.
- Coaching for Improved Performance.
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Grow Your Strengths With Practice
In my case, I'm good with people, not very good with mathematical story problems. No matter what, I will never be good at solving complex mathematical problems. Could I get better? Probably. But, why not spend my time honing my strengths? I'll bet you have a parallel in your life. Why not share it in comments below?
In a more middle of the road personal story, I have always been a good writer. But, strengthening that skill over the past eight years, writing online and for publications, has made me a better writer and a faster writer. Writing is definitely a skill, once I started doing it every single day, with hours of practice and a deliberate commitment to growth, that I continued to develop.
And, sure enough, Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt at the Freakonomics blog weigh in with these thoughts:
"A while ago, we wrote a New York Times Magazine column about talent — what it is, how it’s acquired, etc. The gist of the column was that 'raw talent,' as it’s often called, is vastly overrated, and that people who become very good at something, whether it’s sports, music, or medicine, generally do so through a great deal of 'deliberate practice,' a phrase used by the Florida State psychologist Anders Ericsson and his merry band of fellow scholars who study expert performers in many fields."In the column cited in the quote above, Dubner and Levitt conclude that:
"…the trait we commonly call talent is highly overrated. Or, put another way, expert performers — whether in memory or surgery, ballet or computer programming — are nearly always made, not born. And yes, practice does make perfect. These may be the sort of clichés that parents are fond of whispering to their children. But these particular clichés just happen to be true."Ericsson's research suggests a third cliché as well: when it comes to choosing a life path, you should do what you love — because if you don't love it, you are unlikely to work hard enough to get very good. Most people naturally don't like to do things they aren't 'good' at. So they often give up, telling themselves they simply don't possess the talent for math or skiing or the violin. But what they really lack is the desire to be good and to undertake the deliberate practice that would make them better."
So, it seems there is truth in the power of developing your strengths and deliberately practicing the areas you want to improve. This never comes home to me with such power as when I watch the athletes compete in the Olympics. Sure, many of these athletes have physical characteristics that assist them to excel in their chosen sport – think Michael Phelps, the winner of a record eight gold medals in a single Olympics. But, every athlete competing in the Olympics spent years in deliberate practice to develop both their physical characteristics, their mental focus, and their skill in their chosen sport.
I also liked the plug for "love your work" in the article, a concept you hear me talking about frequently. Do you agree – about the deliberate practice or the love?
More About Goal Setting and Personal Development
- Achieve Your Dreams: Six Steps to Accomplishing your Goals.
- Why You Really Ought to Want to Love Your Work.
- Ten Days to a Happier, More Successful Career and Life - Free Email Newsletter.
- Your Tip of the Week for Success in Work and Life - Free Daily Success Tips.
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Plan for Fall and Winter Holidays
Every organization needs traditions. Traditions are the special events, happenings, cultural manifestations, activities, and ways of doing business that are uniquely yours. They are hallmarks of your organization and help employees understand the culture and feel at home in your organization. At TechSmith Corporation, we send emails to each other with the Zen quote of the day. I rarely know their origination, but I often appreciate their beauty and simplicity. They make me smile and think profound thoughts.
With Labor Day, the holiday that marks the end of the summer season, just around the corner, it's a good day to remind you that your organization needs holidays and special events to celebrate and fall and winter bring many opportunities. They build team among your staff members; they often bring families together; they help people get to know the "whole" people with whom they work.
Image © Betsy Weber
Quote of the Week: Zen Quotes - More QuotesThe obstacle is the path.
------
If you understand,
things are just as they are.
If you don't understand,
things are just as they are
A second Zen quote:
If you want to see
To the bottom of a hole,
Don't cover it up.
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How to Handle an Employee Resignation
Readers ask great questions. And, often the questions identify an area that I need to write about to provide a fully helpful Web site. Today’s reader question:
Q: Dear Susan, In the article, When Employment Ends: Employment Ending Checklist, there is no guidance regarding who should notify an employee's internal business contacts that an employee has submitted a letter of resignation or the timing of that notification. I've noticed that some companies have undocumented accepted practices regarding such notifications. Why aren't these practices documented?
For example, if a manager receives a letter of resignation on a Monday morning, most people who come in contact with the person resigning will hear rumors of the resignation by the end of the day. To minimize rumors, shouldn't there be clear and open communications about the resignation as soon as it is known? Is it acceptable for a manager to delay notifying business contacts of the individual resigning for a day or more?
If the next day, someone mentions that they need to work with the individual who has resigned to resolve an issue, giving the impression that they are unaware that the individual has tendered a letter of resignation, is it appropriate for a third party to advise them of the resignation?
A: I responded to much of the reader’s question in my new article: How to Handle an Employee Resignation. Take a look and tell me whether you agree.
More About Employee Resignation
- Letter of Resignation and Samples.
- Top Ten Reasons to Quit Your Job.
- Stop Being Miserable at Work.
- Sample Human Resources Letters.
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Olympic Gold for Teamwork
Like millions of people world-wide, I’ve been watching the Olympics – not obsessively - but they are usually on in the background for a couple of hours in the evening when I write. But, I am watching the Olympics a bit differently than many. I watch the teamwork exhibited by the various athletes. I’m particularly impressed by the beach volleyball duo, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, and Michael Phelps and the other U.S. men swimmers.
With the volleyball champions, teamwork extends so far that, reportedly, during an annual vote for best athlete by athletes, Misty May refuses to vote at all. She apparently believes that it is the team that accomplishes the wins, despite the athletes voting her best athlete several times. And, Michael’s support to and from his team members has impressed me, too.
I could go on and on here, but I think the point is made. Despite individual glory, in key relays and team sports, the athletes are amazing. They use their individual strengths to the team’s best advantage. They enable other team members to be successful. They share the glory and they don’t hog the spotlight. If you’ve been watching, I imagine you can come up with many more characteristics of these successful athletes and their teams. I'd be happy if you'd share your thoughts in "comments" below. Are you watching, too?
About.com provides Olympics coverage at the individual sports sites, but also at an overall Olympics site. The writer of the Olympics blog currently lives in Beijing and is doing a terrific job talking about the culture and some of the day-to-day life happenings that you don’t often receive from the mass media.
More About Team Work
- How to Build a Teamwork Culture: Do the Hard Stuff for Teams.
- Team Building - How to Build Powerfully Successful Work Teams by ...
- Team Work Job Interview Questions.
- Inspirational Quotes for Business: Team Building, Teamwork, Teams.
Image © Getty Images / Jamie Squire
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Poll: What Do You Do?
In my effort to create a site that meets the needs of my audience and site visitors, I need to know who you are. Will you please take a moment and take my poll? The job title may not match yours exactly (I only have ten choices to provide) so please select the answer that most closely describes your current job or role in the workplace.
Determining who my site visitors are is a constant challenge. Consequently, knowing what topics will interest you is also a challenge. About.com provides statistics about how many people visit each page, but these stats don't tell me who you are and what you do. Especially, they don't tell me what you most want from the site going forward.
I'd appreciate your participation in today's quick survey. Your emailed questions, comments, and requests are also helpful. For a quick response, you can always post in the Forum.
Please notice that I am covering several topics on the site in more depth than previously. One is job descriptions since that is a favorite of site visitors.
A second favorite topic that is emerging is ice breakers. In my role as a consultant and trainer for more than twenty years, you can bet I've developed my share of ice breakers, and I am now gradually sharing them with you. Enjoy.
Again, please take the time to vote in my most recent poll: What Turns You Off the Fastest?
All prior polls. Vote in previous polls.
Additional Site Resources
- Indepth Free Email Classes and Career Success Tips.
- Humor and Inspiration.
- Work Relationship, Leadership, and Management Tips.
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Recruiting Online: Score the Most Hires
"The study of hiring practices at leading U.S. companies revealed that Internet sources produced 51% of all hires in 2005 with the largest source of hires being the employers' own corporate web sites, while newspaper classified advertisements were the source of only 5% of the new hires.
"According to the study, individual percentages of new hires for each Internet source are: Corporate Employment Web Sites: 21%; General Job Boards: 15%; Niche Job Boards: 6%; Social Network Web Sites: 5%; and Commercial Resume Databases: 4%.
"Employers reported that they find the highest quality candidates and receive the highest return on their investment from their own corporate web sites and from employee referrals. Financially, while General Job Boards represent the highest recruitment spending category for corporations, capturing 27% of the recruiting advertising budget, employers in this study reported that such Boards generated only 15% of new hires in 2005."
Thanks to About's Alison Doyle at Job Searching for drawing my attention to these results.
More Information About Recruiting Online
What Turns You Off the Fastest?
To make it to an interview, a candidate has already passed a review of his resume, a review of his cover letter, a comparison against all of the other current candidates applying, and possibly, a telephone screen.
Consider the odds of an individual's candidacy making it this far. Even if the position you are applying for appears to be perfect for you, the hiring manager and the reviewing Human Resources staff need to agree.
Do Candidates Have a Death Wish?
With the difficulty candidates experience to make it to the interview stage, you'd think the candidate would appear for the interview polished, prepared, on time, and knowledgeable about your company. Is this always the case? Despite all the job search advice that is available, candidates don't always do the right thing. In fact, some of them seem to have a candidacy death wish, they do so much wrong.
Best Practices in InterviewingCompanies that use “best practices” in interviewing and that are extremely effective in consistently hiring top performers, use customized or standard behavioral-based interview guides with interview questions to remain consistent in their line of questioning. These companies not only train their recruiters, but they train their executives, department managers, and hiring managers on legal and effective interview questions and techniques to utilize during the interview. You will want to do the same.
New Job Interview Email Classes: Conduct Powerful Job Interviews
If you interview potential employees, you'll want to take my new email class about job interviews. I've consolidated my material about interviewing and added some new thoughts, too. So, whether you want to improve your current approach, gain new skills, or are just getting started, this class is for you. Enjoy.
If you're in the market currently looking for a new job, you'll want to take About.com's Job Searching Guide, Alison Doyle's advice in How to Ace the Interview.
More interviewing resources. Please take the time to vote in my current poll.All prior polls. Vote in previous polls.
Additional Site Resources
- Indepth Free Email Classes and Career Success Tips.
- Humor and Inspiration.
- Work Relationship, Leadership, and Management Tips.
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What City Rocks Your Socks?
Thanks for all of your wonderful responses to my team building activity about favorite colors. You gave me a new challenge, however. Readers wrote to ask me to share the rest of the ice breaker. And, the ice breaker takes a real twist early next week when I reveal the interpretation of the answers you have thought about and shared this week.
You'll find the second part of the ice breaker in: Team Building Animals. For today, I’d like you to name your favorite city and a few words that describe your favorite city. (You need to describe the city not attractions that are located there including sports teams. (e.g. Tigers is not a descriptor for Detroit. The Metropolitan Opera is not a descriptor for New York City, but vibrant might be.)
My favorite city is Chicago. It is vibrant, growing, theatrical, intimate, neighborly, and spontaneous. Please share yours in “comments.”
More About Team Building Activities
- Three Shining Work Moments Team Building Activity.
- Sharing Management Wisdom Team Building Activity.
- Your Personal Best: A Magical Team Building Activity.
- How to Make Team Building Activities Successful.
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