Peak Pathway Magazine's Blog : career development forum

Clear and concise communications lead to a more productive workplace and happier employees who work well together. Messages are not open to interpretation when you deliver specific instructions. By eliminating indirect communications, you are creating a more pleasant work environment and making better use of your time and that of your employees. Present your directions clearly, leaving no room for interpretation. Provide specific times and dates if you’re under a deadline. Detail your instructions precisely, leaving out extra words or nonessential information. Monitor your body language diligently when communicating with co-workers or subordinates. For example, if you are delivering specific directions take your hands out of your pockets and look employees in the eyes to illustrate the seriousness of your message. If you are trying to convey a new idea to a manager, stand erect and let your enthusiasm show in your facial expressions and your hand motions. Ask open-ended

You have enough to deal with as the supervisor or boss at your workplace -- but when someone's trying to sabotage you, it's time to drop a few things off the list and give the issue the attention it deserves. An employee who's trying to sabotage you or your company is a big problem that could result in reduced productivity, a damaged company reputation or a spread of the virus that results in total mutiny. Minimize the damage by taking action now. Develop a workplace code of conduct, and put it in your employee handbook . By clearly outlining the behaviors that are accepted and not accepted in the workplace, you'll have something to refer to when an employee gets out of line. Your code of conduct code may include directions about what employees can and cannot reveal about the company in social media and other outside outlets, how they deal with the press, and how employees are expected to treat one another. Make all employees aware that you've created this c

Hostile employees can make a work environment unpleasant. Their anger casts a pall over the office, causing other employees to walk on eggshells to avoid being the recipient of their hostility. Besides causing tension, such employees interrupt work flow, have discomfiting outbursts and are often uncooperative. Addressing their behavior is essential for the sake of the company and the people who must work with the contentious person. Engage in minimal dialogue with the person who is behaving in a hostile manner. Refuse to argue or repeat yourself. Listen to what the employee is saying without offering your opinion. Use active listening techniques, such as nodding and paraphrasing. For example, if your employee says, "I am so sick of filling out this paperwork, copying this paperwork and filing this paperwork," you could say, "It sounds like you are tired of dealing with paperwork." After you've spent some time listening, the employee's hostile behavio

How do you handle a bad boss? First, consider that you can't change the person. For whatever reason, your boss is unable to lead people well. Yet, the reality is that many companies keep terrible bosses if they achieve their numbers or have personal relationships with key clients or executives. Second, you can only control and change how you respond. If you need or want to keep the job, don't allow yourself to be a victim or whine about the situation. While it isn't necessarily easy to tolerate what's happening, here are six proven methods you can use to train that horrible boss and minimize your suffering.  Your choices determine your destiny not your boss. 1. Control yourself You spend way too much time at work to let a bad boss ruin your career or family life. You start to handle a bad boss best by working on yourself first. Center yourself by doing an honest self-inventory about your strengths and areas to improve. Are you sure it isn't you that has a pro

Most of us spend at least a third of our adult lives in a working environment interacting with colleagues. Many times, close-knit friendships are developed over the years. You move from the professional to the personal world. You ask about kid soccer games and vent about personal struggles. It’s as natural as breathing. Being a part of a team just brings people together as they fight through work obstacles and overcome challenges together. And this works, as long as your career paths don’t drastically change responsibilities and roles. Many of my best friends that I continue to keep in touch with over the years originally started out as colleagues. However, if you suddenly find yourself in a position of authority over your friends, how do you handle this? After all, the person you goofed around with last week, knows all of your deepest secrets, and has seen you in embarrassing situations… now suddenly reports to you. If you are leading a team, you have to be conscience of how you

Do you work with the man or woman of your dreams? Or have the same employer as your spouse? If you do – great! It can be comforting to have a loved one around for moral support when you're feeling stressed, or to help you to celebrate when you're on top of the world. But how do you avoid colleagues gossiping about your relationship, or accusing you of favoritism? Or, if you are interested in someone, should you make your feelings known? The workplace is a professional environment so, no matter who you work with, you'll want to maintain that professionalism during working hours. In this article, we look at how you can preserve both your business reputation and your relationship. f you are in a relationship with a co-worker, or thinking about starting one, there's plenty that you can do to avoid unnecessary stress or disruption for yourself and your colleagues. Here are six things to consider. (To keep things simple, we refer to your "significant other&q