10 More Dumb Things That Managers Do

10 More Dumb Things That Managers Do10 More Dumb Things That Managers DoWant to know mora dumb things that managers do? You can avoid doing the dumb things that managers do that undermine their effectivenessif you know what they are. Sometimes managers make bad decisions or develop bad habits that are actually undermining the abilities of their staff members to do quality work. As such, creating impediments to getting their work done is one of the top ten reasons that employees are likely to hate their managers. In an bewerbungsinterview with a successful senior manager about the common mistakes managers make managing people, he said that most frequently he finds that managers make the mistake of assuming that you know whats going on. He also added his favoritequote from Peter Drucker,management consultant, educator, and author,Most of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get their work done. If you want to become an effective, contributing manager, i ts a good idea to make sure you can avoid the bad management traps that keep you from effectively managing employees and projects. Start with self-awareness as you consider the shortcomings in your own management style. 1. Overburdening Employees Requiring written reports and updates that gather dust on shelves, asking for written proposals before giving the go-ahead on projects, and holding endless meetings so you remain in the loop on everything is just plain bad management. To be more efficient, decide what you need to know and when, establish a critical feedback path for each job and project, and hold your weekly meeting with your reporting staff members. Make sure the employees understand the goals and that they have enough information to make informed decisions. Then get out of their way. 2. Acting Like a Lazy Slacker Employees who are responsible for picking up the slack for lazy managers are resentful and unhappy. Nothing makes a work environment seethe with negativi ty more quickly than having a slacker boss. Stories about bosses who surf the web and chat on Facebook all day are prevalent in social media. When working on the computer may make the world think you are actually working, dont think that you can get away with slacking. Your employees know and may even be clocking your time online. Employees dont need to know every detail of everything you do as their manager, but they still should be able to see and define what you contribute to the team. If they dont understand your role, address that issue as a problem with a lack of communication. 3. Focusing on the Complainers If employees who complain get most of your attention, you will turn all of your reporting staff members into complainers and whiners. This will occur especially if other employees perceive that the problems of the complainers are solved first. This is damaging to motivation if your employees think that the complainers receive more resources and attention from you. Good managers are responsive to all of their reporting employees and prioritize problems and opportunities based on their impact on departement goals and work. 4. Sharing Too Much Personal Information Your employees may listen politely when you talk about the details of your personal life- after all, who wants to be on the bad side of the boss? However, they really dont care, and they really dont want to know. Furthermore, excessive details can chip away at their respect for you and your competence as a manager. As a manager, you make a positive contribution at work when you are friendly to colleagues and show your human side. However, most of your focus and leadership needs to focus on work. What employees need from you is the information that will facilitate their success. 5. Mind Reading Never make assumptions about what an employee is doing, thinking, or planning without asking the employee. Dont assume that you know, or can conclude from what you see, that you understood wh at the employee meant. This is especially important in situations that might lead to disciplinary action. If you make false assumptions, you could irreparably harm your working relationship with an employee. Instead of jumping to conclusions, get an explanation from the employee. It may turn out that the employee has a method of being productive that you dont understand. 6. Gossiping Your relationship with the employees who report to you must remain confidential, and if it doesnt, whatever respect they had for you likely will be gone forever. Additionally, other staff members will disrespect you for taking part in gossip. As a supervisor, you should be stopping office gossip, not participating. 7. Too Little Information Some managers fail to communicate because they hoard information as power. Others fail because information gets lost in their day-to-day busyness. Other managers fail to understand or assess the impact of the information on the employees in their department. Whatever the reason for withholding information, its counterproductive. Employees need all of the information that you can offer to effectively perform their jobs, and you are the source of much of the information that your employees receive. They adapt much better to change when they know that the changes are coming. Make it a point to keep your staff abreast of changes or other relevant information, no matter how small. 8. Assigning Personal Work Employees resent doing your personal work and it does not move your department any closer to accomplishing goals. Personal work can be anything running personal errands to completing tasks that should be completed by you as the supervisor. Do your own job and run your own errands. Your employees will respect you more and be more willing to step up and do work that is actually relevant to their own jobs. 9. No Honest Feedback Holding back information and not conducting performance reviews that would have helped an employee grow is just plain wrong. Additionally, misuse of an annual appraisal destroys employee trust and creates an environment in which employees are afraid to make mistakes. Telling an employee at the annual review that you are rating her 3 or 4 instead of 5 because everyone has room to grow is nonsense. Equivalently, telling a good employee that he is rated a 3 so that he has something to aspire to, destroys- not increases- motivation. Every employee needs feedback regularly. Effective feedback occurs as close to the incident or occurrence as is humanly possible. It also should come as part of a regular performance review. 10. Indecision A manager who vacillates about goals, changes his mind, moves the group in new directions based on new feedback at the drop of a hat, and never seems sure of the appropriate direction, will make employees crazy. These managers alienate employees who are asked constantly to start, restart, and change direction. The best managers are leaders and provide their employees with the sense that they can be counted on to make decisions. The employees may not always like or agree with the decision, but they believe that the manager carefully considered the facts and reached a thoughtful decision. It is much easier to follow a manager who will make a decision and execute the required actions.

Top 3 Baby Boomer Blogs for Career Advice

Top 3 Baby Boomer Blogs for Career Advice Top 3 Baby Boomer Blogs for Career Advice Workplaces and job searches have changed drastically since Baby Boomers started their careers decades ago. Technology has driven many of these changes. Every generation gets, well, generalized- and Baby Boomers are generalized as being technologically inept. This can make it harder for people in this age group (those born between 1946 and 1964) to find a job or start an encore career. Baby Boomer career changers also must face the obstacle of age discrimination.Encore careers commonly focus on some form of coaching, teaching, or mentoring.Encore career is a term coined by Marc Freedman, an author of numerous books and founder of encore.org. It refers to a careers second half, or second act, when a person still does paid work, but focuses on work that has a positive social impact. Education, non-profits, and government agencies are just a few common choices for encore careers. Many people who launch en core careers choose to work with youth in some way.For career advice related to navigating todays workplace and job search, or to learn more about launching an encore career, start with these three Baby Boomer blogs.1. Career PivotCareer Pivot is a career resource firm helmed by Marc Miller, author ofRepurpose Your Career A Practical Guide for Baby Boomers.Its aimed at people who are interested in making career moves- but not interested in leaps of faith and drasticchanges.Career Pivot helps you move toward your new career in small, practical steps that land you where you want to be, according to the site.The Career Pivot blog is an incredibly useful combination of original content and round-ups of relevant stories from numerous sources. The curated posts are called BoomerJobTips, and each one is broken out into clear categories. If youre pressed for time, start with these.Career Pivotalso features resources such as book recommendations, white papers, and evaluations.Three key posts Top 5 Unspoken Objections to Hiring a Baby BoomerWaiting is Not a Job Search Strategy7 Steps to a Successful Military Transition2. Next AvenueBaby Boomers interested in launching encore careers face a special set of considerations.Next Avenue is a site produced by PBS, created especially for Baby Boomers. It was founded by Jim Pagliarini and Judy Diaz, who both have been with PBS for decades. Next Avenue includes content on a wide range of topics, with one channel- called Work Purpose- devoted to all things Baby Boomer career-related. The Living Learning channel also has some relevant content.The blog both covers current events and developments and provides advice on a range of issues, including tips on time management, job searching, and using LinkedIneffectively. The posts are written by a range of experts.In addition to the blog, there are special reports, and an e-newsletter you can sign up to receive.Three key postsAchieving Your Dreams After 60Disrupting the Way We Think Abo ut Older Workers8 Great Tips to Find Jobs in Retirement3. John Tarnoff, Boomer Reinvention CoachThis site was launched by John Tarnoff (as you may have guessed), a former entertainment executive and film producer. After the dot-com bubble burst, he went back to school and earned a masters degree in spiritual psychology and became a career educator and coach.My mission is to help my fellow Boomers not just weather the storm, but fulfill the potential of our generation and make a lasting contribution to society, he writes.His psychology education comes through loud and clear in the blog, which covers a wide range of topics- and provides both reality checks and encouragement.In addition to his blog, he offers free coaching consultation calls, as well as more in-depth consultation programs and workshops.Three key postsWhy Boomers Make the Best MentorsBoomer Careers How to Survive the Next 20 YearsHow to Prevent Failure for Boomers in an Uncertain WorldCareer advice is not one-size-fits- all. And it shouldnt be. Baby Boomer career advice needs to account for the challenges, opportunities, and considerations unique to the generation.While youre here, please check out the Jobscan Blog.

A Festival Proudly Drones On

A Festival Proudly Drones On A Festival Proudly Drones On A Festival Proudly Drones OnIn popular culture, the drone has gone from fringe figure to ubiquity. It appears in many areas of daily life, from home delivery to scientific measurement to crowd security. Now the drone is the star of its own film festival. The Flying Robot International Film Festival, held in San Francisco since 2015, provides a showcase for the stunning visuals and creative filmmaking enabled by drone technology.The type of aerial filmmaking is the very thing that Eddie Codel, director and founder of the event, wants to share with the world.Its part of why Im a huge fan of drones and film, he says. I thought, lets bring novices and more experienced people in aerial films. This is a festival that utilizes drones or is about drones.The festival has an open submission process for seven categories. Films must be five minutes or less. One of the fruchtwein innovative categories is the FPV Racing Freestyle. There is this subgroup that loves to have competitions and more and more of these films show the fun of what they can do, Codel says.But drones can also be used for philanthropic purposes, as the Drones for Good category highlights. A movie weve had shows drones bringing food and supplies to a country in Africa, he says. Its amazing how they can cut down on costs and how its helping to get to remote areas and swoop in and swoop out, giving people hope.The most popular category is Epic Landscape, an easier kind of drone film to make on average, he says, but often resulting in beautiful shots set to music.The first year of the festival had about 150 attendees at the opening event at the Roxie Theatre in downtown San Francisco. Last year, 180 attended. The goal is to expand the festival to Europe in coming years.The most memorable films since the festival began?mucksmuschenstill from 2D RUN by Ilko Iliev, Bulgaria, winner of Best in Show and Audience Choice at the Flying Robot International Fi lm Festival 2017. Image Ilko IlievI think the one from the Netherlands with a taxidermy-like ostrich drone made to fly ranks high, Codel says. There welches also a beautiful piece, a simple one by a French filmmaker. In the cinematic narrative category, two dancers are dancing together and the drone becomes an actor in this sort of dance, the drone as a third actor working around them all. All done in one shot, no cuts at all.Quinn Muller, 14 of San Francisco, won the top prize in the first year of the festival. His father worked for a company that deployed solar products in rural Africa and the film followed him as he helped put solar panels on roofs and did other humanitarian work.Another film memorably combined sound and sight.It was a swarm of drones, very precise, playing musical instruments, Codel says. Small quad copters bouncing up and down on keyboards, and others would drag something across strings, all sequenced in an orchestral arrangement. Eight or ten drones in a swarm formation playing a song, says Codel.There was even a trailer-style entry of a killer drone, combining humor with a touch of horror. I hear now the director, who has a Hollywood background, is going to try and make it into a much bigger film, he says.The event will be held once again in San Francisco in November and Codel cant wait for the festivities to begin. We already have over one hundred submissions and you can feel the enthusiasm for this, he says. A goal is really to get this out to the world. To let everyone see how terrific the drone really is.Eric Butterman is an independent writer. For Further Discussion A goal is really to get this out to the world. To let everyone see how terrific the drone really is. Eddie Codel, founder, The Flying Drone Film Festival