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Clear these three hurdles to be a great leader

Originally published by: Tim Sanders, Aug 10, 2016, on: linkedin.com

Napoleon Bonaparte believed that the leader’s role is “to define reality, then give hope.” Within this prescription lies a formidable challenge to leaders.  How can you focus on the challenges and opportunities of today and, at the same time, maintain the spirit and effectiveness to lead your team forward?

In today’s business environment, there are high hurdles that stand between you and leadership success.  The ability to leap over them through lifestyle design and talent development separates the truly effective from the ambitious or charismatic.  The three hurdles are:

Distraction: Today’s technology makes it nearly impossible to work without distraction.  Think about right now.  Some of you are reading this post, and will stop to check your email that just dinged. Before you can get back to reading this, a text comes through on your smart phone, requiring a quick call.  After it, you return to grazing on a budget spreadsheet, which you were working on before you booted your internet browser, clicked around and found this article. Sound familiar?  You may call this multi-tasking, but really, it’s LWD (Leading While Distracted).

SOLUTION: Work on one task at a time. Turn off email notifications and instead, schedule times during the day to read-respond (and only do that during that time!). Put your smart phone in Airplane Mode.  Push back on anyone that invades your scheduled focus time.  For more on this, read Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence by Daniel Goleman

Abstraction: Too often, leaders rely on verbal communication to convey complex ideas. They often do this via email or written memos.  Words often don’t work, and in turn, there is confusion, requiring you to repeat the attempt and grow frustrated.  You cannot define reality or give hope if you cannot reduce abstractions into concrete ideas.  Your bullet point slides don’t solve the problem, they just summarize your wordy attempts to get through.

SOLUTION: Show them, don’t tell them. Find visual ways to express your ideas. You can find images on Google or iStockPhoto.  Better yet, create prototypes of a proposed process or product. They could be simple diagrams or rough sketches.  At innovation consultancy IDEO there’s a saying: A prototype is worth 1000 meetings.  For more, read Blah Blah Blah: What To Do When Words Don’t Work by Dan Roam.

Dissatisfaction: This is the highest hurdle, especially if you’ve been leading for a while. Skillsoft’s Taavo Godtfredsen has spent time with hundreds of leaders and leadership experts during his career and has discovered that career dissatisfaction (burnout, resentment) is a supreme challenge to effectiveness.  Long after the luster of the title and power has faded, the pressures of leading and chasing made up goals crushes the best of leaders.  Never assume you’ll stay motivated!

SOLUTION: Find work-life balance, even if it means more delegation. Design you lifestyle to recharge your spirit as well as physical health.  Revisit the purpose of your organization, and periodically read your ‘fan mail’ to understand the significance of your work.  For more, read Fully Charged: The 3 Keys To Energizing Your Work and Life by Tom Rath.

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Housekeeping Interview Questions- Managers can use

Originally published by: Alison Doyle, June 27, 2016, on: thebalance.com

If you are applying for a housekeeping job, below are some housekeeping interview questions for you to review.
Working in a housekeeping position requires hard work, physical capability, and stamina. In addition, a housekeeping employee needs to interact with customers on a one-on-one basis.

Prepare for the Interview

  • Be ready to talk about your work and life experience
  • Bring contact information for references who can attest to your character and housekeeping ability
  • Be clear on what you can do, how you will do it, what cleaning products you like to use, and how long it takes you to clean

Housekeeping Interview Questions

  • Why have you chosen housekeeping?
  • What are the key components of housekeeping?
  • Are you good at multitasking?
  • How would you handle a client who was angry or upset about something?
  • What would you do if one of your colleagues was behaving inappropriately on the job?
  • What were your responsibilities and tasks in your last position?
  • Why did you leave your last position?
  • What do you find rewarding about housekeeping?
  • What do you dislike about housekeeping?
  • What skills do you have that you feel help you to be a good housekeeper?
  • What do you think are the most important skills for a housekeeper?
  • What knowledge do you feel is required for a successful housekeeper?
  • How comfortable are you with chemical safety procedures?
  • Can you give me some examples of health and safety procedures you have used?
  • What types of procedure tracking systems have you used?
  • Do you enjoy working as part of a team?
  • How well do you work on your own?
  • When can you start working?
  • What hours and days are you available?
  • Do you have reliable transportation?
  • What are two words that you would use to describe yourself?
  • What are two words that your previous supervisor would use to describe you?
  • What has been your greatest accomplishment at work?
  • What has been your greatest disappointment at work?
  • Describe the most productive environment you have worked in.
  • What would be your ideal working environment?
  • What characteristics does a great manager possess?
  • How energetic a person would you say you are?
  • How energetic would your colleagues say you are?
  • Have there been times when you have been asked to perform duties that were not in your job description? What did you do?
  • Have there been times when you have not agreed with a company policy? How did you handle the situation?
  • Have you ever disagreed with your supervisor about a policy or situation? What did you do?
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Top 10 Questions you’ll be asked in a Hotel Interview (Entry Level)

Originally published by: Angela Rose, Jun 20, 2016, on: www.hcareers.com

Whether you’re applying for a guest service position—such as front desk agent, porter, concierge or housekeeper—or are seeking employment in hotel administration, you’re going to have to ace one or more interviews before you land a job. A professional appearance and comfortable body language will certainly play a role in your success, but the most important consideration for hiring managers will be your ability to answer their interview questions with confident honesty. As you prepare for your next opportunity to dazzle a potential employer with your passion for hospitality, don’t neglect practicing your responses to these top 10 interview questions for hotel jobs.

1. Why do you want to work for this hotel?

Obviously, you have bills to pay. However, comments about compensation or “I just need a job” are the last thing a hiring manager wants to hear. To best answer this question, you need to spend time learning about the hotel’s history, mission and culture. Check out their website and search the Internet for press releases and other news. If you have access, talk to a few of their employees. Then put together a response that shows you’ve done your research and are a good match for the hotel’s current and future needs as well as culture.

2. How long will you work for Hotel ABC if you’re hired?
Turnover is often a major challenge for hospitality employers. They don’t want to spend the hotel’s time and resources to train you if you don’t intend to stay for long. You can reiterate your response to the previous question and assure the hiring manager that you see yourself working for Hotel ABC for a long time. However, if there is a reason you may need to leave in the near future—a cross-country move or going back to school for example—be honest. Accepting a position and then disappointing your employer by moving on too soon could be worse for your career in the long run.

3. Why did you leave/are you leaving Hotel XYZ?
Maybe you want a more competitive salary. Perhaps you cannot abide your current manager. You may even be bored. Whatever the actual reason, find a way to stay positive. It may be easiest to focus on what you want from your new job—greater challenges, more advancement opportunity, a chance to learn a new aspect of hospitality—rather than what you didn’t like about your last one.

4. Why are you the best candidate for this position?
Employers want to hear about more than the hard skills you’ve listed on your resume. Think about the job description as well as what you’ve learned about the hotel’s culture, mission and current needs. Then use your response to emphasize your compatibility and ways you will use those skills to help them tackle their challenges.

5. What does good guest service mean to you?
Hospitality is all about customer service, so you’re just as likely to get this question when you apply for an administration position as when you’re after one at the front desk. While the answer is common sense, a good way to make a memorable impression is to work language from the hotel’s own marketing materials (such as their website) into your response.

6. Describe a time when you had to deal with an unhappy hotel guest. How did you handle the situation?
When presented with situational interview questions like this one, it’s important to create a clear and concise answer that describes the problem you encountered, the steps you took to address it, and the ultimate solution. Stay positive and show that you learned something from the situation whenever possible.

7. Describe a time you had to disappoint a guest. What was the situation and how did you handle it?
Not all guest problems can be solved. Hotel employers want to hire someone who can empathize and remain professional even when they’re faced with an impossible task.

8. Let’s say your to-do list has five tasks and you only have time for three. How would you prioritize them?
Whatever your hotel position, there are guaranteed to be days when you cannot complete everything that needs to be done. Hiring managers want to see that you have the ability to analyze such a situation, think clearly when under pressure, make a decision on a course of action and take responsibility as you proceed.

9. A guest asks you for local restaurant and entertainment suggestions. Where would you recommend if they were a single business traveler, young couple or family with children?
Front desk agents and concierges are not the only hotel staff guests turn to for advice. Before any interview, make sure you’re familiar with local attractions and think about those that would best appeal to a variety of travelers.

10. Tell me about a time you disagreed with a coworker. What did you do to resolve the situation?
Hotels employ a diverse spectrum of personalities as well as nationalities. Regardless of your position, teamwork will often be required. The hiring manager wants to select a professional who can work well with others even when they don’t see eye to eye.

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Collaborative Conflict- The Many Faces of Conflict

Originally published by:Dr. Edward Lewellen, Apr 15, 2015, on: trans-think.com

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post titled Collaborative Conflict – The 5 Myths. To go beyond those, this post will help you appreciate the many situations and circumstances that can be catalysts for conflict and a ways to collaborate with others in resolving each one. In the next, and last, post in this series, I’ll share the five key resolutions skills needed to increase your effectiveness in collaborating through conflict and achieve positive outcomes and four final tips.

Below are 14 areas of conflict and some ways to collaborate through them:

1) Lack of Trust
There are two main types of trust needed to avoid conflict:
• Trust in the intentions of others – that their words and deeds match and they will not take advantage of another team member for personal gain. Also, that they are value-based, ethical, and have integrity.
• Trust in the competence of others – that a team member has the skills, knowledge, and ability to carry out commitments for the success of the team.

2) Conflicting resources.
We all need access to resources – whether these are office supplies, help from colleagues, or even a meeting room – to do our jobs well. When more than one person or group needs access to a particular resource, conflict can occur. The first thing that can be done to completely eliminate this source of conflict is to make sure that the staff have everything they need to do their jobs well. When there is a limited amount of resources available, teach your people how to prioritize both their time and resources. Setting up a schedule for all to be able to access and see will help mitigate conflicting needs, as well as training your people how to negotiate with one another to prevent this type of conflict.

3) Conflicting styles.
Everyone works differently, based on individual needs and personality. Some people like to work on the “Big Picture”, while other prefer to get down into the minutia. Some people love the thrill of getting things done at the last minute, while others need the structure of strict deadlines. When working styles and personalities clash, conflict occurs. How can this type of conflict me managed? When you build your team, consider people’s working styles and natural group roles. There is a need for diversity in the personality and work styles and it’s important to coach your people on how they can most effectively interact with each of their team members. An open discussion that includes communication preferences and expectations from each member will reap the benefit of mutual understanding and cooperation.

4) Conflicting perceptions.
All of us see the world through our own filters we have created through our experiences in life and our beliefs. These differences in perceptions can cause conflict. An event that has very positive connotations to one person may send chills into another. Open communication and relationships that extend beyond just business can help eliminate this type of conflict, even during stressful times. In challenging times, the more information you share with your people, the less likely it is that they will come up with their own interpretations of events.
Office politics are also commonly caused by different beliefs and perceptions. Be aware of situations that might ignite a power struggle between individuals or groups and communicate even more when there is a potential for this. When such events occur, having established open and free communication ahead of the event will facilitate minimizing the impact.

5) Conflicting goals.
Managers or leaders sometime create conflicting goals in our work. One manager might tell you that speed is of utmost importance with customers, while another manager says that in-depth, high-quality service is the top priority. Those two goals can be quite difficult to reconcile. This is where a person must learn to manage upwards. By communicating to both managers the challenge of meeting the two goals simultaneously and asking them to set the priorities, then the conflict can be resolved.

6) Conflicting pressures.
Conflicting pressures are similar to conflicting goals. The difference is that conflicting pressures involves urgent and immediate tasks, while conflicting goals typically involve projects with longer timelines. If your people are experiencing conflict because of pressures of clashing short-term objectives, you can review the priorities and possibly reschedule tasks and deadlines to reduce the conflict.

7) Conflicting roles.
Even in today’s business environment where most roles have at least some ambiguity to them and many roles are cross-trained to some degree, we may have to perform a task that we consider outside our normal role and responsibilities. This may seem to cause us to step into someone else’s “territory”. This sets the stage for potential conflict and power struggles to occur. How can this type of conflict be minimized? Be sure that the major role and responsibilities within each role are clearly delineated. It’s difficult to hold people accountable if they don’t know what they are responsible and accountable for. Then, if team members are experiencing conflict over their roles and responsibilities, explain your strategy for assigning specific tasks or projects to a person which falls outside of their normal area. Your explanation could go a long way toward remedying the pressure.

8) Different personal values.
The names Enron, Arthur Andersen, and MCI are associated with their leaders asking, even forcing, their staff to act unethically. When a manager asks their staff to perform a task that conflicts with their individual ethical standards, will she/he do as their leader asks, or will they refuse? Refusal could lead losing their boss’s trust or even the job. When work conflicts with our personal values and ethical standards like this, conflict quickly arises. As a leader it is imperative to avoid creating this conflict by practicing ethical leadership. An authentic servant leader will never to ask their people to do anything that clashes with their values.

9) Unpredictable policies.
When rules and policies change at work and the change isn’t communicated clearly, then confusion and conflict occurs. When rules and policies change, we should make sure to communicate exactly what the change is and, more importantly, the strategy for changing the policy. When people understand what the strategy and end result of the rules are, the change becomes much more acceptable. Once the rules are in place, strive to enforce them fairly and consistently. If workplace policies aren’t applied consistently, the disparity in treatment can also become a source of conflict.

10) Misunderstandings
Conflict can arise from misunderstandings about:
• The nature, goals and objectives of a job
• Differing expectations about how things should be done
• Work conditions and wages
• The different responsibilities of management and employees
• Differences in values, beliefs, needs, or priorities

11) Poor Communication
Communication relies on clear and complete messages being both sent and being received. Both managers and workers are responsible for ensuring that they fully consider the intent of the messages they send and receive. Here are some ways to improve information flow and communication:
• Take a few seconds to consider the intent of any communication before you say or write it. This will minimize communicating emotions instead of the intended outcome.
• Think about the ‘filters’ and beliefs of your own and the person or people you are communicating with. This will help to minimize misunderstandings and creating unintended offenses. (Langua-Culture)
• Some information can be distributed through emails, memos, and other written media. Information that can be volatile, emotional, or perceived as uncaring and without empathy should be held in-person or, at the very least in live video streaming.
• Though most people complain about meetings, holding frequent employee meetings can help employees feel significant, that they have an opportunity to contribute, and feel more connection with the leadership of an organization
• Ensure correspondence is easily accessible and referred to
• Distribute minutes of all meetings promptly and widely
• Ensure there is clarity about what the objectives are and about what decisions have been made
• Ensure decisions are promptly executed

Employees communicating ineffectively to clients is another common source of conflict. The companies with that are considered the best in customer service are those that train their people well in customer service beliefs, behaviors, and communication and then empower their people to act.

12) Lack of Planning
Lack of planning creates an environment where an organization moves from one crisis to the next. This sense of disorganization and lack of direction can cause a lack of trust. See item #1 above. The time spent in planning will be recouped many times over in the more efficient use of workers’ time, and in real and long-term benefits to clients.

13) Poor Employee Selection
People that don’t fit the culture of a team or company can cause conflict. And, constant turnover adds to the feeling of lack of competence and lack of stability of the organization.

14) Frustration, Stress and Burnout
Frustrated and stressed employees are more irritable and more likely to create conflicts. It is important to recognize the signs of stress in people’s work situations in order to prevent burnout. Be on the watch for signs of stress, both work-related and personal. Help your people to identify the causes of their stress, and take steps to change these factors or, better still, try to anticipate possible causes of stress before they arise. Work factors could include:
• Threats of violence or actual violence
• Overcrowding or lack of privacy
• Verbal abuse
• Dirty and/or disorganized work space
• Noise
• Harassment
• Continual crises
• Lack of ability to influence the working environment
• Tension between staff members
• Lack of direction from management
• Criticism and lack of support
• Poor communication

No doubt you have experienced several of these examples. The results you experienced may have varied and that’s the reason the next post will share with you five skills and four final tips on effectively collaborating through conflict.

 

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Find your passion by taking this test

Originally published by: NEIL PASRICHA, Jan 10, 2017, on: www.thestar.com

Be you, be yourself, be authentic.

Have you heard this before?

We’re always telling our friends and our kids to follow their hearts. Chase your dreams! Do what you love! Just love what you’re doing and the money will follow! We know this advice. We’ve heard this advice. We give this advice.

But how do we find that passion in the first place?

There are several ways, and in today’s column I want to share one of my favorites.

It’s called the Saturday Morning Test.

Now let me introduce it by discussing a horrible question: “What do you want to do when you grow up?” I worry about that question because it sits invisibly over much of our lives. Professional designations. Business cards. Resumes with job titles and bullet points.

What’s the downside to this filtering and organizing? So many people grow up stuffing their textured, layered, complex selves into narrow buckets that don’t allow room for individuality.

What’s the truth? The truth is nobody knows what they want to do with their entire life. Nobody.

Nobody is born with a single unifying sense of purpose they strive toward forever. Have people at your workplace ever said “I just backed into this job” or “I never wanted to do this when I was younger. I didn’t know it existed!” My point is, having one giant purpose you strive toward forever isn’t the goal.

What is the goal? An ikigai. That Okinawan term we’ve talked about before that roughly translates as “the reason you get out of bed in the morning.” An ikigai is your current aim. Your current passion.

The Saturday Morning Test helps you find that authentic passion. It allows you to gut check yourself to see if you’re letting it be as big a part of your life as you can.

The Saturday Morning Test is your answer to one simple question:

What do you do on a Saturday morning when you have nothing to do?

Ask yourself that one crucial question, think about it for a minute, and answer out loud. What do you do on that rare Saturday morning when you have nothing to do? Do you go to the gym? Do you record yourself playing guitar? Take whatever answer you have and then wildly brainstorm ways you can pursue opportunities that naturally spew from that passion.

There will be hundreds.

Love going to the gym? Personal training, coaching a baseball team, volunteering for a walking group, running a yoga studio, teaching phys. ed, starting a supplements company. And it goes on.

Love recording yourself playing guitar? How about teaching guitar online, editing music, learning to DJ, starting up an instrument company? One of the happiest people I’ve ever met was a high school music teacher who decided to quit his job to start importing, selling and teaching the ukulele.

Your authentic self will be drawn to these ideas.

They make you richer, stronger and happier in your work life, too.

The Saturday Morning Test asks you to lean into your natural passion to enrich your work and personal lives.

As author Dale Carnegie once said: “Are you bored with life? Then throw yourself into some work you believe in with all your heart, live for it, die for it, and you will find happiness that you had thought could never be yours.”

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how to leverage millennial strengths

Originally published by: Corissa, Jan 18, 2017, on: fierceinc.com

Statistics show that millennials now make up more than half of the current workforce.

And in case you haven’t noticed, millennials have received a wave of criticism recently in the news, via social media and in the workplace. This recent uptick in criticism is no doubt connected to the rise in working millennials who are mixing and mingling with individuals from previous generations.

Workplace friction has resulted. Older generations may be stumped as to how to accommodate and deal with the supposed millennial mentality, while millennials may be feeling frustrated, marginalized and unappreciated by their employers.

A recent blog from Born Again Minimalist goes so far as to say that millennials are experiencing a type of cultural gaslighting: “Generations before us completely drove the bus into a lake and it’s somehow our fault everybody’s drowning…the millennial generation has been tasked with fixing the broken system we inherited and chastised for not doing it right or for daring to suggest improvements.”

You might’ve seen the viral video featuring Simon Sinek who shared his take on the difficulty of managing millennials in the workplace. According to Sinek, millennials are perceived as lazy and entitled, but he stresses that their desire for meaningful work combined with their innovative mindset can be a genuine benefit. He argues that the millennial mentality has been largely influenced by unfortunate environmental factors outside of their control—including poor leadership and failed parenting—and advises corporations to make structural changes that nurture rather than alienate the younger workforce.

Whether you agree or not with Sinek’s advice to the millennial generation and to the companies they work for, it’s important to shift your perception to one that will allow you to work with rather than against what you’re observing about individuals in your work environment. The “one of us is right and the other is wrong” mentality will work against any positive result you’re trying to produce.

Regardless of which generation you identify with, here are a few ways you can take a courageous step in leadership and improve work relationships between generations:

Harness the creative vision.

In all endeavors, there is a gap that exists between where we are and where we want to be. Millennials often deeply feel the impact of this gap. Knowing that things can be improved and feeling passionate about that improvement comes with ideas for creative solutions to what may be painful problems, on both a global level and within the domestic workplace. An effective way to leverage this creativity and passion is to invite perspective—start the conversation that allows younger generations to share their vision of the future and the ideas they have that may potentially change the course of organizational decisions. Approach these conversations with the mentality that all perspectives are valuable and valid.

Request ideas for improving company culture.

As you may know, a desirable workplace culture can boost company reputation in addition to recruiting and expansion efforts. If millennials now make up over half of today’s workforce, their input is crucial to creating the kind of environment that attracts and retains workers from their generation. Take actionable steps to gather their ideas—consider implementing a suggestion box, appointing a culture committee with millennial members, hold company-wide meetings that allow the opportunity to share ideas and send out surveys or feedback forms prior to and following social company events.

Meet the desire for instant gratification.

The mentality of wanting results now rather than later is often associated with millennials. Fortunately, this can be an asset rather than a detriment. If this mentality is something you’re currently witnessing in the workplace, leverage it by delegating tasks that require the employee to develop efficient processes. The millennial “need for speed” can present plenty of opportunity for increased productivity, reduced spending, improved technology and faster results. And for someone who wants instantaneous achievement, this type of delegation can be incredibly gratifying. Ask questions such as:

What technology is available that we aren’t using that could potentially improve our process?

Is there a way we could make a specific process faster or more efficient?

What are some benchmark goals we can set for the very near future?

As with previous generations, the younger generation has important insight and perspective to offer, particularly for organizations that want to grow and progress. Set the intention today to maximize rather than resist the unique millennial mindset.

What has been your experience working with millennials? Share your story below, and let us know whether you’re a millennial or from another generation.

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