EAST STROUDSBURG — Doctors and administrators at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono are hopeful that, thanks to a new partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Alliance, their patients will get the best care possible in their own community.The hospital announced on June 7, that MSK Cancer Alliance care would be extended to the Dale and Frances Hughes Cancer Center at LVH-P.“Bringing all that the MSK Cancer Alliance has to offer to the Hughes Cancer [...]
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الأحد، 10 يونيو 2018
Making Plans? Try Writing Them Down First
Whether it's a financial goal of pulling yourself out of debt, or committing to read the Bible from start to finish, experts agree a good plan is the key to success.
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How a Rebellious Streak Can Help You Excel in the Workplace
What do people like Harry Houdini, Napoleon Bonaparte, the movie director Ava DuVernay, and the famous pilot Chesley Sullenberger have in common?
No, the answer is not “really cool names.” As Harvard Business School professor Francesca Gino shows in her new book, “Rebel Talent: Why It Pays to Break the Rules at Work and in Life,” those people achieved success in large part because of their willingness to break the mold. As Gino puts it, they are “deviants, but in a positive and constructive way.” She admiringly calls such people rebels, and she has spent a large part of her career as a social scientist showing how we can positively transform our working lives if we learn from their examples.
While Gino naturally devotes a lot of attention to the high-level strategies of CEOs, at its core, the book is about how to be a better employee.
I took away five main lessons from “Rebel Talent” that can help the average worker become more effective, and happier, in the workplace.
Be Authentic
Most of us are motivated to present the most idealized version of ourselves to others at all times. We want our employers to think of us as being good at everything and willing to take on any task. Or, if we’re job hunting, we want potential employers to know that we were always highly successful in our previous roles. This sort of thinking makes a lot of intuitive sense.
“Rebel Talent” encourages you to challenge those notions. Gino shows that we’re better off when we’re true to ourselves, even if that means admitting to mistakes and failures.
One fascinating way she illustrates this point is by writing about a study she designed involving an “elevator pitch” contest. In this Shark Tank-style competition, business school students were competing in front of judges to see who had the best startup idea.
After making their pitches, Gino had the entrepreneurs fill out a survey that aimed to find out how authentic they were. It asked things like “to what extent do you feel you were being genuine during the pitch?”
Those who felt they were being their true selves while making their pitch were three times as likely to make it to the final round. Similarly, those who admitted in their pitches to having made mistakes in the past also had a much higher likelihood of advancing in the competition. The judges valued honesty and authenticity, even though such behavior can make us feel vulnerable.
In my experience, this makes a ton of sense. When people try to sell me something at my job, I can tell almost immediately whether they actually care about what they’re selling or not. And I’m much more likely to do business with those who are genuine about it.
Remember That Everyone Struggles
We live in a culture that emphasizes how great our most prominent business leaders are. People like Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk are often described with words like “genius” and “prodigy.” According to Gino, it can be easy to forget that they all made tons of mistakes along the way. When we understand that people who have more experience than us are fallible, it can have tremendous benefits.
Gino points to a study that found firefighters got a boost to their performance after reading case studies about experienced firefighters who committed errors on the job.
Similarly, Gino analyzed hospital data over a 10-year period, and found that heart surgeons who were committed to learning from the mistakes of other doctors had significantly better patient outcomes.
I find that it’s easy to notice all of my own shortcomings, but a lot harder to recognize that highly successful people I admire make just as many mistakes. Gino emphasizes that we need to make ourselves aware of all the ways that others have failed so that we’ll have the courage and tenacity to push through tough times when they arise. Doing so goes against the grain, but it pays off.
Play to Your Strengths
We’re often told that we should focus on improving our weaknesses at our jobs. For instance, if you’re great at doing research but weak at giving presentations to a team, you might be advised to work on your public speaking abilities.
Gino flips this thinking on its head. In her research, she writes, “One predictor of job performance stood out above all others: playing to strengths.”
Rather than working on our weaknesses, we should focus on using our strengths as much as possible. Doing so makes us happier, for one thing. Gino notes that “people who use their strengths daily are six times more likely to get satisfaction out of their job and report less stress and anxiety.”
Furthermore, research has shown that when managers focus on nurturing an employee’s strengths as opposed to working on their weaknesses, their performance improves by 63%.
Amazingly, playing to your strengths helps us even if all we do is think about what we’re good at. In one study, a select group of new employees at a large IT company were instructed to spend 30 minutes thinking about their strengths on their first day. In a follow-up seven months later, those people reported being more committed to their jobs, and were performing at higher levels, than those who didn’t spend the initial 30 minutes focusing on their best abilities.
This was the single most tangible takeaway from the book, from my perspective. I’ve always thought that I should be working as hard as I can to improve in my weaker areas. While that’s not a bad thing, it’s also not optimal. There are people at my company who are good at things I’m bad at, so why not let them handle that stuff? From now on, I’m going to do a better job of being even better in the areas where I already excel.
Be Curious
Gino has found in her research that “curious people often end up being star performers in their organizations.” She lays out a few different reasons as to why this is the case.
For one thing, curious people are more likely to learn new information by reaching out to their colleagues. Not every employee gets the best training, so those who are willing to ask questions and seek help tend to rise through the ranks.
Curious employees are also more likely to be happy at work, even when they’re doing seemingly mundane jobs. A study of workers in a call center showed that those who were curious saw the job less as an assembly line and more as a puzzle to be solved. This change of mindset, so subtle yet so powerful, was a fantastic predictor of who would become the highest performers. It’s a switch we can all make with a little effort.
When Gino surveyed over 3,000 employees from different industries about the power of curiosity, the results were striking. Nine out of 10 respondents (92%) “credited curious people with bringing new ideas into teams and viewed curiosity as a catalyst to job satisfaction innovation, and high performance.”
Even though some of us might be less curious by nature, “Rebel Talent” shows that fostering what curiosity you do have can have a huge payoff.
But: Use Common Sense
My only gripe with “Rebel Talent” is that instead of offering nudges or baby steps, the overall theme is that you should jump into rebelliousness head first. I can almost hear professor Gino in my head as I walk around my office: “Take chances! Tell your boss what’s really on your mind! Come on, Drew, be a rebel!”
While she has proven it can be very effective to adopt a rebel mindset, I think Gino glosses over the downsides to rebelliousness. Every workplace has its own unique dynamics, and not every employee is in a position to challenge the existing way of doing things. When Gino says things like “breaking rules enriches every aspect of our lives,” I feel the need to throw in some caveats.
For many of us, it would be bad form to start asking a bunch of pointed questions during our next conference call, or to challenge our boss repeatedly during our next one-on-one meeting. Asking too many questions can make you come across as needy, a show-off, or an annoyance. I’ve seen it happen.
It’s great to have a rebel spirit, but make sure your timing is right.
Summing Up
If you’ve been waiting for a sign that you should be more assertive and confident in the workplace, this is the book for you. Gino does a great job of showing how people who are willing to blaze their own trail tend to be happier and more productive employees. If you’re authentic, curious, willing to learn from your mishaps, and focused on what you’re good at, your career should be far more rewarding.
Just remember that you exist in the real world, not inside of a social science study, so common sense should always rule the day.
Related Articles:
- What’s It Really Like to Have the ‘Best Job in America’?
- 10 New (to Me) Books on Finance, Frugality, and Life That Are Worth Reading
- Handling Impostor Syndrome in Your Finances and Career
The post How a Rebellious Streak Can Help You Excel in the Workplace appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
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Is Working from Home Right for You? These Do’s and Don’ts Are Here to Help
The average commute for an American worker is up to 26.4 minutes according to 2015 U.S. Census data — and that time increases if you live in a metro area. It’s no wonder more employees are asking to work remotely, either on a full-time basis or as needed. Working from home, or WFH, offers numerous benefits to employees — but, as it turns out, offering WFH options also benefits the employer.
Employer Benefits
Global Workplace Analytics evaluated thousands of studies focused on companies who offered work-from-home flexibility. While they found too many to list in this article, the main benefits included an increase in productivity among employees, fewer people calling in sick (and therefore less lost time) and a reduction in burnt-out employees.
Steve Pritchard, HR manager at Cuuver, brings up some additional benefits for employers. “Giving employees the opportunity to work from home if they wish is great for helping to retain staff, especially those who have quite a long commute to work,” he explains. “You can list it on your job advertisements as one of your company benefits, which will help to attract a high caliber of applicants.”
Another perk for employers concerns sick-day usage. “If a member of staff doesn’t feel up to coming into the office but they can get work done from home, this means you aren’t a man down – this makes for a massive perk for both the business and the employee,” says Pritchard.
As far as managing remote employees, Pritchard thinks it’s doable. “Naturally, it can be harder to manage remote workers, so the best way to do this is to implement a progression tool,” he says. “Whether it’s a Google Calendar or specialist software like Zoho or Trello, remote workers can feed into the system what work they are doing, how long it is going to take them and when it will be completed by. Phone calls also help everyone to stay connected when working from home.”
Employee Benefits
The benefits of working from home for employees are probably pretty obvious. You save time (and money) on your commute, you don’t have to adhere to a dress code (though some clothes are preferable) and you can hang out with your dog (or cat, no judgement here).
But there are hidden benefits to working from home that you might not have considered.
As The Muse points out, working from home doesn’t mean you’re stuck in your office all the time. It’s actually a great and flexible way to still get work done when you’re traveling. You can also take your laptop outside and get some work done when the weather is nice, instead of being stuck inside a stuffy office.
I spoke with Dahna Heineman, senior security program manager at DXC Technologies, to learn more about the benefits of working from home for employees. Heineman has been working from home full time for five years and loves the benefits it provides her.
Heineman has no commute and spends less than ever on things like makeup, hair products and dry cleaning. She’s also found that working from home has allowed her to become more attuned to changes in tone of voice.
Heineman also appreciates the ability to work uninterrupted from home. “No one randomly pops up at your desk to interrupt your train of thought while you are working on a security product workflow for multiple services and regions,” she says. “No office noise around or people chatting in the background make it easier to concentrate.”
Drawbacks
Of course, just because working from home can be beneficial for workers and their employers doesn’t mean everyone can (or should) do it. While Heineman generally likes working from home, she acknowledges that there is also a downside.
No commute might sound heavenly to many workers, but it could actually be detrimental. “You have zero time from when you stop working to decompress,” explains Heineman. Rather, you go straight from work life to family life without stopping to take a break.
And while working from home gives you the peace to concentrate on the task at hand, it can also be lonely. “No one ever pops up to give you a break, a laugh or interact with you,” says Heineman. If you’re a social person this can be extremely demoralizing.
Working from home could also mean you take fewer breaks throughout the day. For lunch, Heineman says, “You tend to grab your food, eat it alone and not take a full hour as your break.” Additionally, you could end up “schedul[ing] back to back calls and never even stand[ing] up for six hours.”
This can lead to issues with your health — both mental and physical.
Do’s and Don’ts
If you’re lucky enough to have an employer that supports working from home, you need to be aware of some do’s and don’ts to make sure you don’t take advantage of the policy and potentially ruin it for your co-workers.
Do get ready for work in the morning.
Diane Gottsman writes in an article for HuffPost that getting dressed, brushing your hair and washing your face can help you get in the right mindset for the workday. It might be tempting to work in your pajamas, but putting on pants and a shirt will tell your brain that it’s time to work rather than lounge.
Do make sure you are available during regular business hours.
“Your availability to colleagues should be no different when working remotely than it would be if you were in the office,” Barry Chignell writes in an article for CIPHR.
Don’t skip your lunch break.
“You have the luxury of being more flexible with your day,” writes Gottsman, “but sticking to a routine, which includes planning for healthy meals, will enable you to work more resourcefully than wandering around the house for a cup of noodle soup or a few handfuls of chips.” You’ll enjoy the mental break and will return to work ready to conquer your busy afternoon.
Do create a home office.
“Preferably, you need natural light and a door, so that you can separate your work from your home life when the workday is done,” writes Bill Murphy Jr. in an article for Inc. It might be tempting to work from your couch, but having a designated office space in your home will help you focus on the task at hand.
Don’t get distracted.
Sure, it’s easy enough to do a few chores throughout the day when you’re working from home, but make sure you’re still putting in your hours. “Whether you work in a brick-and-mortar building, local coffee shop or your personal domain, it’s up to you to control your personal disturbances,” explains Gottsman.
That means turning off the TV, staying off social media and scheduling breaks if necessary to take care of things around the house.
Working from home isn’t for everyone, but if you have the right mindset it can be a very rewarding experience. Whether your employer allows the occasional remote day or lets you telecommute full time, make sure you stay productive and switched on when working away from the office.
Catherine Hiles works from home very occasionally in her day job, and as a freelance writer. She prefers the social aspect of an office environment, but appreciates flexibility when she needs to focus on important tasks.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
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