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“What's so wrong with being a perfectionist?”
5 Min Read
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“This biggest problem in communication is the illusion that is has taken place.” – George Bernard Shaw
1 Min Read
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As we strive to make BYU a place where employees can thrive and be their best selves, it’s helpful to make a personal assessment about where we are on the scale between being a Multiplier or a Diminisher. Multipliers amplify or multiply the intelligence of the people around them while Diminishers drain intelligence, energy, and capability from others. Multipliers expect great work and inspire people to achieve extraordinary results. They assume everyone is smart and that intelligence is continually developing. Multipliers find ways to stretch their people and allow them to use more of their underutilized intelligence and capabilities. Doing this can often be as simple as asking the right questions and making space for others to find the answers rather than always having the answer or solution. The next time a co-worker, team member, or student employee comes to you with a question, look for the opportunity to tap into their intelligence. You may be surprised with what they come up with if given a chance.
1 Min Read
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In the current pandemic, many of us work remotely and juggle multiple roles. In this environment it can be challenging to keeping track of all the projects, tasks, meetings, and commitments we have on our plate. Many of us use to-do lists, stacks of post-its, calendars, or the backs of loose paper to manage projects. While these methods are a good first step, they have limitations. A way to improve managing projects is having the ability to visualize and move projects around on your to do list. This can be done with sticky notes and a white board or with a number of digital tools such as Trello.
1 Min Read
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As part of our employment at BYU it is our opportunity and responsibility to assist in developing “students of faith, intellect, and character who have the skills and the desire to continue learning and to serve others throughout their lives”. One way we can enhance a student’s educational experience is through mentoring. A mentor is an experienced and trusted advisor or someone who guides another to greater success.
1 Min Read
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I recently read a post from Adam Grant where he made the claim that sorting email into folders is a huge waste of time. According to him, we average 67 hours per year sorting email into folders and all that effort doesn't make it easier to find your messages. His recommendation is to just file all email into one folder. I had to let that sink in for a bit.
1 Min Read
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I was recently watching an interview with businessman Howard Schultz where he was talking about the importance of being candid with people. The main idea is that we are often so resistant to potential conflict, that sometimes we don't give people the feedback they need to really be successful. In his view, if you are not honest with that person, then you are part of the problem. Additionally, there are often other people watching how you might handle such a situation and what you do sends signals to them about what is valued and acceptable. I appreciate this reminder.
1 Min Read
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For many, how we manage and teach on campus has undergone some significant changes this past year. We are doing our best to deliver classes and keep the university running while many are working remotely. This has brought some unique challenges and opportunities to our work life. One of the challenges is learning how to be successful when working remotely. I recently read an interesting article where several CEOs shared their best tips for successful remote work. Here are my favorites:
1 Min Read
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Emotional intelligence is an essential part of our career and according to some studies may even be the biggest factor in our professional success. So how do we get better at our emotional intelligence? We could take an assessment or study up on the subject, or even get a coach to help us improve. But, according to Dr. Travis Bradberry, there are three ordinary things we can focus on every day to improve our emotional intelligence quotient (EQ).
2 Min Read
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Have you ever been in a situation where you just didn’t feel like giving your best effort? I’m not talking about feeling ill, rather it would be like feeling I didn’t need to give my all because the situation isn’t ideal or differs a bit from our expectations. Several years ago, I witnessed a true professional approach such a situation that could have been a bit of a disappointing, and it inspired me. We were on a cruise, and we showed up to one of the onboard activities ready to be a part of a big class. We were a small group of my extended family and as the scheduled dance activity started, we realized that we would be the only participants. The venue could clearly hold a lot more people and I was surprised that more hadn’t come to this activity. I could relate to the activity leader as she started the event for our small group, and I was curious how she would handle the low turnout. She had clearly put in a lot of effort to prepare for this event only to find that there were just a few of us there.
1 Min Read
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“In a time when almost 60% of employees feel unappreciated at work, your ability to show authentic employee appreciation may be a determining factor in your ability to retain employees and stave off The Great Resignation.”
2 Min Read
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One of the main ideas we teach in the Crucial Conversations workshop is that if you don’t talk it out, you will act it out. We will often go to great lengths to avoid a hard conversation. Often the worry is that we will handle it poorly or that our conversation will make it worse than what we have now. The trouble with that approach is that deciding to not say something feels like it is the nicer, easier way, but it has consequences just as real as deciding to have the conversation. A conversation may not go exactly as planned, but not having the conversation can also increase the divide between you. Sometimes we think we are clever enough to disguise our true feelings and that we can act normal as if there is nothing out of the ordinary happening. Unfortunately, hardly any of us are good enough actors to really pull that off. We will leak our true emotions or feelings in small ways. Maybe it is our body language that doesn’t match what we say or maybe it is our level of engagement, but something will be off. This can further complicate our already strained situation. We will tend to act it out if we don’t talk it out.
1 Min Read
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Before working at BYU, I was a leadership coach and an employee engagement consultant for an international consulting firm. In doing this, I had the opportunity to interact with many different organizational cultures and leaders. As part of this work, I reviewed thousands of engagement survey results and created action plans to suggest improvements. Based on my experiences, I offer a few suggestions for leaders to help increase your employees’ engagement and energize your workforce.
2 Min Read
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Job crafting is a skill designed to help you find more fulfillment in your work. By making a few cognitive, task, or relationship adjustments, you can turn the job you have into one that inspires and challenges you. With job crafting you can find ways to use your interests, knowledge, and skills to level up and make a greater impact.
3 Min Read
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In a study of 20,000 employees done by the Energy Project and Harvard, they found that employees were vastly more fulfilled and productive when four of their core needs were met at work:
2 Min Read
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I recently came across Josh Spector’s list of one-sentence email tips. While nobody wishes they had processed more email at the end of their life, I think it’s worth thinking about how we use this communication method and try to improve how it is used. These were the top 10 tips I found particularly interesting:
1 Min Read
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I find myself looking forward to the end of January because I know that’s when the gym activity will return to a normal level. We often have great intentions for the new year, but it is hard to sustain the enthusiasm. I came across a couple of great tips from Franklin Covey’s Victoria Roos Olsson that I think can help to keep the momentum going.
1 Min Read
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It’s that time of year again – the opportunity to reflect on the year that’s gone by and think about how we want 2022 to be. It is a natural time to come up with goals, so here are a few ideas to help them be more meaningful this year.
2 Min Read
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One of the most important things we do as managers is to hire a new employee. In our current employment market, it is even more important that we take care to find the people who will be successful in the job. One of the places we can make improvements is in the questions we ask during interviews. In general, there should be a standard set of questions that are asked of each candidate. We also want to avoid generic questions that are easy for candidates to game. Good interview questions tend to ask for specific experiences that candidates have had as opposed to hypothetical situations. They should also be relevant to the job. Lots of interviewers like to ask a wacky question just to see how the candidate will respond (how many gallons of paint would it take to cover the entire Tanner building?). But asking which animal a candidate would be doesn’t actually help you determine whether they would be a good hire. Try these approaches in your next interview.
2 Min Read
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We tend to have a pretty strong bias towards action – “don’t just sit there, do something!” While this tendency keeps us feeling busy, it doesn’t always allow us the time and space to make sure we are acting on the right things. One of the ideas I’ve been thinking about this week is how important it is to understand why we are doing what we are doing. The why is particularly important when making goals or delegating assignments in our teams. This helps everyone understand why this particular goal or task is happening and clarifies the purpose of the task. We like to know that the things we do have meaning. Giving a purpose to an even seemingly boring assignment can also be an important source of motivation. Being at BYU, we are fortunate to have an incredible mission to inspire and motivate our work. Next time you delegate an assignment or are setting a goal with your team, try connecting what they are doing with why they are doing it. Help them see how this individual goal, task, or project ultimately contributes to the mission of BYU. That reminder might be the difference between a good work situation and a great one.
1 Min Read
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If you’ve ever watched an episode of Undercover Boss, you will see an executive get a new perspective on what is happening in his or her own company by posing as a new employee and working alongside entry-level workers. The great part of this show is to see the leader’s ideas about what is happening in the company change as they see what is really going on.
1 Min Read
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