...Welcome to the new HBR.org. Here’s what’s new. Here’s an FAQ. MANAGING PEOPLE Are You Sure You’re Not a Bad Boss? by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman AUGUST 16, 2012 Conjure up the term “bad boss” and what comes to mind? Scenes of red-faced people berating subordinates in public. Smarmy souls taking credit for other people’s work or saying one thing and doing another. Cutting remarks. Yelling. Feel free to continue — we’re sure you can. This is iconic bad boss behavior — defining in our minds the very essence of what bad bosses do. When we see these things portrayed on TV or in the movies, we can’t help laughing, even while we’re thinking “Whew! I don’t do those things; I’m not a bad boss.” But, not so fast. Our research suggests that the offensive actions so often associated with being a bad boss make up less than 20% of the behavior that actually defines the worst bosses. When we analyzed the behavior of 30,000 managers, as seen through the eyes of some 300,000 of their peers, direct reports, and bosses on 360-degree evaluations, we found that the sins of the bad boss are far more often those of omission, not commission. That is, bad bosses are defined not so much by any appalling things they do as by certain critical things they don’t do. We came to this conclusion from two directions: First in this group of 30,000, we focused on the 11,000 leaders who received the lowest aggregate scores on their 360 feedback reports — the bottom 1% and the bottom 10%...
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...Can BOSS tune to their SUBORDINATES? -Presentation on Mckinsey Article-Why good bosses tune in to their people- by Robert Sutton Difference Between YOU and BOSS When you take a long time, you're slow. When your boss takes a long time, he's thorough. When you don't do it, you're lazy. When your boss doesn't do it, he's too busy. When you make a mistake, you're an idiot. When your boss makes a mistake, he's only human. When doing something without being told, you're overstepping your authority. When your boss does the same thing, that's initiative. When you take a stand, you're being pig-headed. When your boss does it, he's being firm. Difference Between YOU and BOSS When you overlooked a rule of ettiquette, you're being rude. When your boss skips a few rules, he's being original. When you please your boss, you're arse-creeping. When your boss pleases his boss, he's being co-operative. When you're out of the office, you're wandering around. When your boss is out of the office, he's on business. When you're on a day off sick, you're always sick. When your boss has a day off sick, he must be very ill. When you apply for leave, you must be going for an interview. When your boss applies for leave, it's because he's overworked. Daily Prayer of Employee Give me the wisdom to UNDERSTAND my BOSS Give me the Love to FORGIVE him Give me the Patience to UNDERSTAND his deeds But Dearest GOD……………. Don’t give me the...
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...If you're getting paid to do something, you should do it, and do it well. But is it always that simple? What if you have a vague job description, a haphazard workload, and a very strict boss who is only content when you look busy, and doesn't realize or care that you are so efficient that you completed your work early. Let's say you and a co-worker must each enter the data from 100 files, or shelve 100 books. You hustle and finish an hour earlier than your co-worker, and there's not much else to do. Your boss or manager walks by, expresses displeasure at the fact that you're not doing anything, and assigns you to an unpleasant, and really unnecessary task because they don't like seeing you relax (even though you earned it by finishing your assignment faster, right?). What do you do? Quit? File a complaint? Or slow down? These instructions are here for if you decide to reward your own efficiency by using that extra time you earned for R&R--without your boss noticing. Know what the standards are. At the end of the day, you still have to meet those standards if you want to keep your job. The main thing you should know is how much time your manager or boss expects you to spend on a particular project or assignment. Spend that amount of time on it--no more, no less (unless, of course, efficiency is actually rewarded in your position, not punished). If, for example, your boss expects you to spend 40 minutes on a task but you know you can get it done in 20 minutes, you should be able...
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...6 Things You Should Not Expect After High School 6 Things You Should Not Expect After High School 1. A 8-5 job after graduation Seriously? Face the reality. Being a graduate is not a free pass to get a job. You won’t get a job either you’re Master or PhD student, nope cause your school is just a school. There’re lecturers and professors but they won’t promise you a job. All they did was pumping students in order to get you educated but not get you a job yet they’re still doing it. Yes, take or leave it. You won’t get better than this. 2. High Salary You have your own expertise. You might a statistician, a doctor or maybe an engineer. But remember this, don’t let high salary history derails you job search because you won’t get it, unless you’re a son of big boss. Are you? Most people don’t. 3. Be a boss Do you really want to be a boss? Well, your degrees won’t take you there, believe it or not, that’s the reality of life. You don’t just be a boss since you know the Pythagoras theorem. Fuck Pythagoras theorem. You won’t be a boss of such a big company because they’re already having their own targets. He might be someone who has a big leverage or clout so that your company will stand stronger and longer. 4. Hang out with your best pals Three things in life once you lost are hard to build-up; friends, respect and trust. You’ll face it because I’ve faced it too and I think I’ve made it. Sometimes in life, you will think that you do not need anyone...
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...recession at Metropolitan Bank. Barely out of training, my boss Michael called me into his office and explained that my (evil) coworker had blamed me for missing her deadline. What I learned working for Michael and in the last 15 years hiring and managing my own team will help you avoid career-ending mistakes and help you succeed at a great company where the standards are high. Below, I share how you can be better than 95% of your teammates and get consistently promoted. [1]Back at the bank, when Michael reviewed my work he couldn’t tell if I had screwed up or not because my documentation was weak and unorganized. Even if I was a little humiliated to be put on probation just a couple months after starting my first permanent job, Michael turned out to be an awesome boss. What he wanted was simple and correct. He just wanted me to work smart. It’s easy to suck at your job if you don’t know what your boss wants. Today, if you follow a lot of career experts, you’d think your boss wants you to ‘brand’ yourself. ‘Personal branding’ might be hot now, but we don’t want it. It’s a lot of crap. We crave honesty and sincerity. You’re not a corporation or a cow. [2]Creating a brand image or personality for yourself is empty marketing – a CYA policy that gets in the way of doing real work. Work smart and everything you do builds trust and value – you won’t need a CYA policy because you’ll always be in demand. Ironically, your boss doesn’t want to take time to teach you what working smart...
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...you've been working unsatisfactorily for 12 months, you're awfully good at doing something incorrectly. And if you've been doing something well for 12 months and no one has mentioned it, your performance appraisal might feel like too little, too late. Performance appraisals should be summaries of everything employees and supervisors have been discussing all year. If you're a supervisor, find ways to provide feedback each week for each person who reports to you-- 52 mini performance reviews a year. Misconception 2: It's not my job to give feedback. Truth: At any company that values continuous improvement, feedback is everybody's job. If your workplace isn't feedback friendly, start a trend. First, praise. Reinforce positive actions and behaviors. Don't forget your boss: Positive feedback passed up the organization can have amazing results. Participate in suggestion programs honestly and enthusiastically. And request feedback on your own performance. Misconception 3: If you're not asked, keep your mouth shut. Truth: When you don't deliver critical feedback, you declare your indifference. Saying nothing means you don't care. But if your feedback concerns how your company works, how customers are treated, or what the company is doing right or wrong, you should speak up. Think through your message carefully, and make sure you deliver it with specific examples and suggestions. When you observe someone who needs feedback and you're reluctant to give it,...
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...Moonlighting brings up major IP concerns. So what is IP? IP essentially covers everything that your startup creates. When most people hear IP, they think patents and inventions. This is true, but IP also covers smaller things like a company logo you designed or a special procedure you developed to work through a problem. For example, if you’re a tech startup, developer code is definitely IP. All of this matters because moonlighting can have awful consequences. It can cost you your job if an unapproving boss finds out. Plus, investors are reluctant to get involved in a startup if they sense any IP concerns. Perhaps worst of all, if you create things for your startup on your employer’s time or equipment, you risk losing your rights to that IP. Something as small as using a work computer to test an algorithm for your startup could wind you up in a situation like this: That’s right, if you create IP while working at your day job, your old boss might own that IP. What if you use part of your employer’s IP to help create your own stuff? Same result: your boss might own it, and he could have other claims against you for improperly using “his”...
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...relationship with your boss/manager/superior? Answer: a. Put yourself in your boss’s shoes. Figure out the challenges your boss will encounter that day and be prepared to offer solutions. Anticipate the questions that your supervisor may ask about your work or a project and have thoughtful answers or next steps for them to take. Thinking ahead can really show that you’re an invaluable team member. b. Show value. They hired you for a reason, so make sure that you’re adding value to the organization and/or position. Bosses want employees not only to agree with them, but also be willing to speak up about the realities and challenges in the business that need to be addressed. Be the person that speaks with facts, confidence and reasonable suggestions that produce results. This builds your boss’s confidence in you. c. Know when and how to communicate with your boss. Learn how your supervisor likes to communicate and receive communication, and mimic this style. d. Ask for feedback. Don’t be afraid to ask your boss for feedback. Don’t assume that your work isn’t valued because your manager is juggling multiple deliverables and not spending as much time with you as you’d like. e. Get to know your boss personally. You don’t need to be friends with your boss or hang out with them on the weekends. However, it couldn’t hurt to ask them how their weekend was, or find out what their hobbies and interests are outside of work. f. Offer to help. You should ask as your boss if they need help...
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...I can’t help but groan as I’m woken up by loud banging on my door and my older brother, Damon, yelling, “Wake up Morana! The Boss called and he said we’ve tracked down those bio-terrorists!” “I’m up, I’m up,” I respond as I sit up and get out of bed to stretch, “Just quit banging on my door for Christ’s sake,” He laughs before responding, “You may be the boss at work, but I’m older and, therefore, the boss here, so I’ll do what I want,” “You’re an ass, you know that, right?” I respond while putting on a white T-shirt, black cargo pants, and my combat boots. “I try my hardest, little sister,” “Don’t call me little,” I retort, whacking him with the door as I open it. He jumps back from the door as he responds,”Well, I am a lot taller, so you’re little to me,”...
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...17 interview questions that are designed to trick you Savvy hiring managers have honed their ability to ask the fewest questions yielding the greatest depth of information. One way they do this is by asking seemingly simple questions that get you to reveal information you may have been trying to conceal — queries that break through the traditional interview noise and clutter and get to the raw you. In other words: questions designed to trick you. Can you tell me about yourself? Why do they ask this? They ask to determine how the candidates see themselves as it pertains to the position. "The employer wants to hear that the candidate did their homework," says Tina Nicolai, executive career coach and founder of Resume Writers' Ink. "The interviewer is also listening for a level of confidence in how well the candidate portrays herself through the information that is communicated. Additionally, the interviewer is listening for strong behavioral competencies, which help determine a right fit with the job. If this opening answer is weak, it can send the remainder of the interview into a tailspin or cut the interview short." What makes it tricky? It can tempt you to talk about your personal life — which you shouldn't! "Most candidates are not versed in seeing this as a trick question, so they may answer by speaking from a personal perspective: 'I have three kids, I'm married, etc,'" Nicolai says. "Believe it or not, even the most seasoned candidate falls for this question especially...
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...is designed to identify barriers in group communication, techniques to overcome those barriers and enhance group communication, and the role of conflict in effective communication. Barriers to Effective Group Communication One of the many barriers in group communication is related to us as a team at this moment. Being that we are spread out over the US, and none of us lives in the same city, we have a physical barrier. You can’t be as effective in most cases if you are not speaking face to face. Sure we have emails, phone numbers, and a forum within the classroom, but nothing is the same as physically seeing a person when you’re talking to them. It irritates me when you try to reach people to ask a question or to get feedback, and it takes them a long time to get back with you. Then when they finally get back with you they don’t understand what you’re asking, or they don’t give you the answer that you need. You have to go back and ask in a different way or explain what it is that you need. Whereas, if you were face to face with the group, all of those issues would not be issues. Another barrier that groups sometimes encounter is cultural barriers. The place that I work is based out of Madrid, Spain. The majority of the employees are of some Spanish descent, and they speak with heavy accents. It’s hard to understand them most of the time, and when you tell them that or...
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...REFLECTION PAPER: “Horrible Bosses” One of the worst scenarios that an employee may dream of is having a difficult boss to work under. Bosses that are too strict, give too much work, insensitive or impatient are some of the characteristics that employees don’t like. Let’s face it, I don’t think anyone would like bosses or superiors like that. The film “Horrible Bosses” shows three friends – Nick Hendricks, Dale Arbus and Kurt Buckman struggle working under their own “horrible” bosses. Nick works under David Harken who reprimands Nick and saying that Nick isn’t fit yet for a promotion so he awards it on himself. On the other hand, Dale works as an assistant for Dr. Julia Harris who continues to sexually harass Dale despite of him being engaged. Julia even threatens to show Stacy (Dale’s fiancé) some intimate pictures of her and Dale if he wouldn’t have sex with her. Lastly, since Kurt’s original boss died, he now works for his boss’ son whose name is Bobby that is a drug addict and doesn’t really care about the company at all. With these circumstances, they’ve decided to kill their respective bosses. Over the course of studying Human Resource Management (HRM), I have realized that Human Resource, in its simplest form, is about improving an employee’s work environment in order for the organization to maximize its employee’s skills and potential. The film “Horrible Bosses” illustrated how an employee’s work environment – in this case, their respective employers - can affect...
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...RIAHD 73 BES 2100 ! ! Voicing Our Values Script Case Study - BES2100 ! Ahmed Rishwan RIAHD73 ! ! ! ! Submitted to: Ms. Ayami Tennekoon SCRIPT CASE STUDY !1 RIAHD 73 BES 2100 Introduc)on ! This script presents a dialogue that takes place between a young man named Ma8hew and his friend Brad. Ma8hew recently joined a computer shop where both Brad was his superior and they both worked the night shi=. ! One month into the job, Ma8hew started to no@ce that Brad was involved in some unusual ac@vi@es at work. When asked about this, Brad explained what was going on. ! Ma8hew was shocked to learn that Brad was involved in some fraudulent ac@vi@es. But he was unsure of how to confront this situa@on. There are two scenes that cover this script. The four quadrant model in Table 1 explains the characters in the script providing a descrip@on of what they have at stake with regard to the situa@on. ...
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...How to ‘Break the Glass’ and move ahead in life. Do you feel that you've gone as far as you can with your current employer? Despite knowing that you have much more potential, is there a limit for "people like you" in your organization? If so, you've hit what's known as the "glass ceiling." This is the point at which you can clearly see the next level of promotion - yet, despite your best effort, an invisible barrier seems to stop you from proceeding. Traditionally, the glass ceiling was a concept applied to women and some minorities. It was very hard, if not impossible, for them to reach upper management positions. No matter how qualified or experienced, they simply were not given opportunities to further advance their careers. Today, there are many more women and minorities in powerful positions. However, the glass ceiling is still very real. And it's not always limited to gender or race. Have you been pushed up against a glass ceiling? This can happen for many different reasons. Are you too much the champion of change? Do you have difficulty communicating your ideas? Are you quieter and less outgoing than the people who get promotions? Whatever the reason, you have a choice. You can accept your situation and be happy with looking up and not being able to touch what you see. or you can smash the glass with purpose and determination. If you do, indeed, want to break through that glass, here are some steps to take. Identify the Key Competencies within Your Organization ...
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...Business Definition for: Presentation • an event at which preplanned material is shown to an audience for a specific purpose. Although a presentation is a verbal form of communication, it is often supported by other media, such as computer software, slides, printed handouts, and so on and to be successful, appropriate body language and good interpersonal communication skills are required. A presentation is normally intended to introduce something new to the audience, to persuade them of a viewpoint, or to inform them of something. Sales representatives use presentations when introducing a product to a potential customer. Presentations are also used in team briefing and other business contexts. Wiktionary Definition for: Presentation • The act of presenting, or something presented • A dramatic performance • An award given to someone on a special occasion • A lecture or speech given in front of an audience • # medicine The position of the foetus in the uterus at birth • # fencing Offering one's blade for engagement by the opponent On average, bullet-point slides yield a 15-20% recall of information after just five minutes. Yet most presentations are given in the same, ineffectual, way. It is possible to use PowerPoint to communicate effectively, but only by using the tool in a more considered way. Effective presentations are about clear communication. To present well, we need to understand when and why to use visual aids, what audiences...
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