As Project and Program Managers, we are leaders. Certainly within our teams, but often within our organizations as well.  Ideally, if we’re doing it right, our influence is also felt beyond our immediate sphere.

Almost everyone knows or has an idea of what mentoring is.  Not everyone has had the advantage of having a good mentor, or the privilege and responsibility of being a good mentor.  Consider these thoughts on mentoring in the context of leading and developing project and program teams.

• Mentoring contributes.  It contributes to the individual being mentored, it strengthens the organization that you both belong to, and it often benefits the person mentoring in intangible but meaningful ways. It’s the right thing to do for the right reasons.
• In the constantly evolving, educated and highly skilled world we operate in, people will come and go in organizations as their careers grow and develop. This is not a reason to not mentor them.
• Mentoring can center around hard skills and soft skills.  Often it is the mentoring on soft skills that facilitates the most significant growth in an individual.  Hard skills can be taught in classes if necessary. The subtleties of soft skills (understanding what matters and what doesn’t, and how to apply that in tactical managment strategy, in business or in life) can’t.
• Mentoring is not about doing things for people and thinking they will learn through the exercise.  It’s about sharing insight, sometimes resourcing them, supporting and nurturing them, and then getting out of the way.
• It’s OK for those being mentored to struggle and even fail at times.  It’s often when things are difficult that growth occurs. Many times mentoring simply takes the form of continued encouragement and belief in the individual being mentored.
• Show that you value the time of those mentoring you by being concise with your interactions with them, listening and applying what is learned.
• We as leaders are never too old, too experienced, or to knowledgeable to be mentored. Opening ourselves up to and considering the ideas of others is one of the most meaningful ways that our experience can be leveraged to the benefit of our teams and organizations.

Mentoring can make a huge difference in the effectiveness and cohesiveness of your teams and your organizations.  It’s all in what you put into it.

Gene Eckhart
Program Manager
ImageSource, Inc.

If you’re a store owner or mall marketing manager be sure to give your staff some retail therapy during the Christmas crush. We all know and appreciate how demanding those retail jobs are; Shift-work, long hours, and making sure that winning smile is handy for your customers is exhausting work year-round. In November and December make an extra effort to show your appreciation and support and your staff will respond with gratitude and improved performance.

Here are some easy and inexpensive ways to keep your staff energetic, smiling and working hard during your busiest season:

Make it Fun
Contests are a great way to push sales and keep staff interested. Offering up a gift certificate or a pair of movie passes is an affordable way to not only improve morale, but boost sales as well.

Supply Snacks and Water
Keep your staff hydrated and happy by stocking the staff area with bottled water and plenty of goodies. Be sure to replenish supplies as needed.

Create an Oasis
Your staff get enough “Frosty the Snowman” while on the sales floor. Give your team a break by setting up a small stereo or iPod speaker system in the staff area. Encourage them to relax and share their favorite tunes with each other when they have a break.

Foot the Bill
Order pizzas for the troupes, pay for a taxi home or buy a round after work. Whatever small way to treat your staff that fits your budget will be noticed and pay dividends in job performance and customer experience.

Be Vocal
Take the time to check in with everyone individually. Let your staff know you see how hard they’re working, and they’ll keep at it.

The holidays are a stressful time for just about everybody, and the people we employ to be the faces of our stores and businesses are no exception. We all expect them to step up their game as required, it’s only fair we try to do the same for them.

-gc

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Via Adam Robinson:

FACING PAGES 2009 Statewide Convening
Beyond the Tangled Web:
Envisioning a Comprehensive Technology Strategy for Your Literary Organization

Friday, October 30th 2009, 9 am – 5 pm in New York City
followed by wine & cheese reception 5:30 p.m. – 7 pm

The day will include three panel discussions led by six leading literary presenters, magazines and presses which will explore how literary organizations can utilize new technologies to further their missions. Our focus is on creating a technology plan that encompasses the use of the practical tools (social networking, user-generated content, multimedia, archiving, etc.) along with vision-driven approaches to development, including content distribution, staff management, audience building, and more.

The three panels, while grouped into specific areas of interest (book publishers, literary organizations, literary magazines), are all designed to bring forward issues that are important to everyone working in the literary field, so please plan to join us for the day.

Panelists

• Beth Harrison & Billy Merrell, The Academy of American Poets (NYC)
• Geoffrey Gatza, Blaze Vox Books (Buffalo)
• Alexis Boemhler, Managing Director of Circulation & Development, BOMB magazine (Brooklyn)
• Lena Valencia, Web Editor, BOMB magazine (Brooklyn)
• Adam Robinson, Publishing Genius (Baltimore, MD)
• Lars Reilly & Veronica Liu, Seven Stories Press (NYC)
• E.J. Van Lanen, Three Percent (Rochester)

Panel Moderators Include

• Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer, Queen Council on the Arts
• Michael Kelleher, Just Buffalo Literary Center
• Maribeth Batcha, One Story Magazine

At Poets House | 10 River Terrace | New York, NY 10282

We all like feedback.  Even when we fear it’s not good.  We generally want to know where we stand.

I’m sure it’s no surprise that I was a studious kid.  I wanted to achieve the best I possibly could, so as the teacher passed out graded assignments I eagerly awaited that circled letter at the top of my paper.

That part of me that longs for approval hasn’t changed much.  I want to know how I’m doing.  I want to know if I’m measuring up.

As I leader, I believe I have a responsibility to give our staff “a grade”.  No, not an A, B or C grade.  Frankly a grade is really the easy way out.  A grade represents feedback and feedback is all about communication.

I firmly believe that one of the most critical components to being an effective staff leader is creating communication with your team.

And while I believe this is critical to my success as a leader, it doesn’t mean that I naturally do it well.  Oftentimes I find that in my haste and busyness I haven’t given the clear direction that  I think I have and I certainly don’t rush into conversations where I need to give construction criticism.

But whether I always like it or not, I’m not helping myself, our staff, or our organization if I’m not committed to providing our team these two key things:

1. Clear direction
2. Candid feedback

Most organizations have a system, or at least a form, for performance reviews.  I’ve seen all kinds of different reviews.  I’ve been graded, dictated, manipulated and persuaded in performance reviews.  I’ve worked in organizations that had no written plans at all and then I’ve been in organizations where the system was so formalized and structured it didn’t allow for relationship or conversation of any kind.

While I by no means think that our system at Cross Point is perfect.  I do believe that we’ve created a process that encourages conversation - and conversation is the key word.  Without conversation, performance plans become  rigid, passionless rules that lack motivation and buy-in from your team. Creating conversation is critical to a successful performance plan system.

Here’s a quick step-by-step guide to our performance plan process at Cross Point:

Step 1: The manager writes a vision for the employee for the upcoming year.  The manager shares what he sees as the employees strengths and shares how he feels the employee can uniquely contribute this upcoming year.  This is a motivation piece that doesn’t include “needs improvement” statements or a list of expectations.  While this is a written piece, it is communicated in a one-on-one meeting and is used to generate a conversation about what the employee’s key objectives could be for the next year.  This should be a brainstorming/dreaming session between manager and employee.

Step2: The employee writes a first draft of 5-8 performance objectives and 2-3 development objectives. Performance Objectives are specific, job-related objectives or key accomplishments that represent the most critical things the employee can contribute to the organization in the upcoming year.  Development Objectives are specific, personal goals for the employee.  These are goals that are connected to their job but have more to do with their personal growth and development; ie. leadership skills, technical training, communication skills, etc.

Step 3: The manager reviews the objectives the employee has written measuring them against key criteria:

• Do these goals meet the SMART criteria – Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Results-driven, Time-sensitive.  Basically, will you be able to clearly state whether the objective has been met or not at the end of the year?
• Do these goals align with our overall goals and direction as an organization and a ministry department for the upcoming year?
• Do we have the budget to support these goals?
• Can I as their manager adequately help them achieve these goals?

Step 4: The manager and employee meet back together to discuss and finalize the performance plan.

Step 5: The employee begins working the plan

Step 6: Every 3 months the manager instigates a meeting with the employee to discuss progress.  At the manager’s discretion adjustments can be made in the plan in the event that circumstances indicate a change in direction or timing.

Step 7: At the end of the performance plan year, the employee and the manager each individually write a summary of each objective.  Then they meet together to compare notes, discuss any discrepancies and wrap-up the plan for that year.

This system is by no means perfect, but it does create the conversations that are so critical to providing clear direction and candid feedback.

Remember, leadership is rarely black & white.  It’s not as easy as scribbling an “A” or “F”.  Leading through “the grey” in performance assessments requires the tough work of communication, but I promise you it’s worth it!

How about you?  What systems or processes does your team have for effective performance reviews?

So its 10 minutes to 9pm and I’m planning on being in bed definitely by 9:30pm! Sad I know, but I’m tired and I have things on tomorrow that will drain me emotionally.

I’m a bit slow sometimes … but then again, I think its part of my training … everything comes from the teacher … the puppet master … and if things aren’t working, ergo there is something wrong with the teacher.

Its finally dawning on me that my room doesn’t work, not because of me, but because of the volume of enrolments, the layout of the space and the centre and of course some of the inept staff. But mainly the number of children and the space I think. I need to stop beating myself up about this, stop feeling like a failure, and realise that these are issues out of my control.

I am pleased that measures are being taken to rectify this … but the lesson here is that when you do everything that you can, and you still feel like a failure when you’ve never been one before, well the fault must lie with something outside of yourself. Now this is not an excuse for us to engage in some serious buck passing “Its obviously not me! It’s obviously THEM!” without any self-reflection … but it just gives you something to think about. Sometimes, its not you. That’s all. Sometimes you don’t really have any say in the matter … well other than saying something by walking.

Anyway … I’m really exhausted now and its 9:08pm and I have to go and clean up after the animals and be a good furry-parent.

Goodnight.

Action speaks louder than words?

True? Neither do we like people who simply are talking about what they could do nor do we like people that are too actionoriented. Again: It’s all about the balance of thinking, speaking, doing (and of course we dislike people demanding this balance). However Martin Hilb describes the role of employees within a company in his book Integriertes Personal-Management (Luchterhand) and speaks about human co-entrepreneurs as employees with „a cool head, a warm heart and working hands“.

• rare bird/fish: develops only visions without action = illusions
• inner resignation: people without any ambition (work-to-rule)
• grey mouse: works furiously without knowing why
• human co-entrepreneur: high social competence, high responsability in decision-making and high organizational skills.

As I dive into the life of an executive pastor I’ve realized my number one task at the moment is building credibility with the Crossroads staff.  In doing so, there are a number of tasks I have begun to stick to.  Of course, these are things I am currently doing; some have come naturally, others have come intentionally.  Either way, they are what I know at the moment and will continue to be used until something changes.

1. Distinguish lines of reporting. 
Crossroads has lacked in this area, and it has been important to be sure everybody knows who they are responsible to. This is not a mode to create hierarchy. Instead, it creates accurate lines of communication, a detailed sketch of the staff structure (org chart), and accountability among staff members. 

2. Create a highly effective senior leadership team (sr. staff). 
I have learned from books like The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Senior Leadership Teams, and The Wisdom of Teams, that great staffs are comprised of great teams. 

3. Build in systems of communication that translate to all areas and levels of staffing.  
I currently utilize three basic methods of communication: cascading, email, and monthly All-Staffs.  Cascading communication is by far the number one way to ensure the staff at-large knows what is happening at a high level and also what is happening in different departments.  Information needing communication is determined at the end of our meetings.  It is then the responsibility of the senior staff members to communicate to their respective teams.  Email updates come from me and are simple, straight-forward methods of communicating items of interest.  Monthly All-Staffs are new and have not been utilized.  Our first one will be held next week (July 30). 

4. Keep My Door Open. 
I spend the bulk of my time with my direct reports (mostly sr. staff members).  However, when in my office I keep my door open at all times (with the exception of private conversations and phone calls).  My current policy: when a staff member (no matter what) has a question or would like to speak with me, I stop what I am doing and address their need. 

5. Get to know staff members (all of them).
I know this sounds obvious, but I really attempt to get to know all of the members on our staff.  It’s easy to “talk shop” while in the office, but it’s important to discover the lives of those you work with directly or indirectly.

6. Always speak of staff members positively.
People complain about staff members periodically and it is important to cast the “accused” in a positive manner.  Even if the person complaining has a just reason to do so, I do my absolute best to cast a positive light on the staff member.  This doesn’t mean I will be blind to the issue; it will be addressed with the staff member at a different time. 

7. Ask for Feedback.
Ask for it from superiors, direct reports, and indirect reports.  The staff sees things I don’t necessarily see, and their feedback is beneficial to the success of creating a dynamic staff.

8. Re-direct Authority.
Redirecting authority is a learned skill, I’m finding.  People enjoy doing an “end around” with those they report to.  If ministry leaders are coming to me when they should be going to another staff member (the one they report to) then authority needs to be redirected.  I will kindly say, “You need to take this up with __________.”  By doing this it sets a precedent for the reporting structure in place (gives it validity) and it gives the authority back to the leaders.  If the “end around” is not addressed appropriately, lines of reporting and authority become blurred and ambiguous resulting in a lack of empowerment among staff and confusion.

9. Be Reliable.
I’ve learned that reliability is not as black and white as I originally thought.  Until recently, reliability meant batting 1.000.  However, something will always fall through the cracks, get double scheduled, missed in the inbox.  Two things are important to the reliability factor though: 1) Is their consistency–not perfection, consistency and 2) How do you respond when you drop the ball on something?

10.  Encourage specifically
Enouragement is an important part of leadership.  It lets people know you’ve taken notice of their work and are appreciative of what has happened.  However, encouragement can become stagnant and even patronizing if it is not specific.  When a person only ever gets a “Great job” from you, encouragement can become discouraging.  Apply specifics to your encouragement: “Great job organizing the event last week.  I especially liked how you…”

As with many small business owners, I belong to a number of online social networks including Twitter and Facebook.  I frequently review postings from other members to identify interesting information that I believe will be of value to my target customer, small business owners. 

In reviewing some recent Twitter postings, I came across one from Amy Nichols the CEO of the franchise organization, Dogtopia.  Her posting regarding the ‘Flexible Fridays’ program at her company struck me as a concept that other business owners might have interest in using in these days of high gas prices, long commutes and 60-hour work weeks. Therefore, I asked Amy if she would write an article to share her program with our readers.  The resulting article is below.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. (By the way, as a former D.C. area resident myself, I can absolutely attest to the traffic difficulties Amy discusses in her article; I assure you, I would have been thrilled to have an employer who believed in ‘Flexible Friday’s’ when I lived there!)

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Flexible Fridays

Washington, D.C. is known as our nation’s capital, but it also has another national moniker, that of one of the worst cities for traffic in the country.  Forbes ranked us in the Top 3 Worst Traffic Cities with the likes of Los Angeles and San Francisco. http://bit.ly/ForbesWorstCitiesForTraffic

Commuting in our area is grueling, and after leaving the “rat race” seven years ago to start my own business, I thought I had found a way to truly control the time I spend in my car.  I opened a doggie daycare, Dogtopia, just seven miles from my house.  Our business hours had me commuting outside of the most congested periods of the day, and I felt that I had solved the problem.  No longer would I be subjected to hours of wasted time in my car.  Until I decided to expand the business, that is.

A few years later we decided it was time to grow Dogtopia.  We had great success with the first dog daycare franchise in Tysons Corner, VA and felt it was time to add a “sister store” in North Bethesda, MD.  The new Maryland store would be only 14 miles from the Tysons Corner location – an easy commute between the two.  Or so we thought.  Apparently, the Wilson Bridge that takes you over the Potomac River and from Virginia into Maryland, had other ideas.

Skip forward a few more years and we are now a growing franchise company with 20 locations across the country.  We also have over 30 employees, six of which are in franchise management and report daily to our North Bethesda location.  The North Bethesda location now houses our national headquarters and training center.  Since we began the business in Virginia, that also happens to be where the majority of our corporate staff  lives, thus the daily undertaking of the Wilson Bridge.  The result, I was back to where I started eight years before and dealing daily with the horrors of DC traffic!

It occurred to me last summer that it would be quite easy to work from home on Fridays, and I felt that I deserved a day free from commuting.  My second thought was that my employees would really enjoy working from home on Fridays.  And if I could do it, why couldn’t everyone on our management team?  They would each save two hours or more in daily commuting time, and could therefore have an earlier start to their weekend and more time with their family.  I even came up with a clever name, “Flexible Fridays.” 

The way the program works, you can work wherever you want, but there are a few rules:

1. Must be available by phone
2. Must be online and available in email
3. Must be on Instant Messenger

 The first two are quite obvious; the third requirement is because even when in the office, I often use IM to communicate with my team.  I might have a quick question while on the phone with a vendor or franchisee and it prevents me from having to yell and/or put the person on hold. 

Our initial ‘Flexible Fridays’ program last Summer worked great!  Knowing they had at least one day per week where they could avoid traffic really improved the outlook of the staff, and I know they appreciated my gesture.  There have been a few frustrations, but the slight inconveniences are more than outweighed by the increased satisfaction felt by my staff.

 This year I decided to once again offer ‘Flexible Fridays’ and so far, so good.  Other times of the year it would not be possible due to franchisee training and other commitments, but it has become a nice Summertime perk, and one that I plan to continue indefinitely.

Nancy is a financial analyst working for a mid-sized company located in the United Kingdom, but she lives in Michigan. She works from home in her pajamas and “meets” her boss once a month via video conference.

She is a virtual employee enjoying one of the perks of working from home and leveraging technology to stay in touch with her boss.

Companies across the globe are leveraging technology to retain resources that no longer have to be located in the same building or even in the same country. It is commonplace to hear of an individual working for a multinational company and having never met another team member.

By creating a virtual workforce, companies have been able to create efficiency, reduce travel and overhead costs, and essentially service the end-customer 24/7. Virtual employees, on the other hand, benefit from having a better work-life balance due to flexibility in working hours and not having to dodge rush hour traffic to be at work at a specific time.

Companies, however, face a common concern when it comes to virtual teams, that of measuring an employee’s productivity. Since the employee is no longer under a manager’s nose per se, managing productivity through “oversight” is impossible. Another concern is keeping an employee motivated and connected to company happenings.

The virtual team requires a shift in managerial and employee behavior. Here are some best practices which can effectively help you manage virtual employees:

Level Set Expectations
Beyond the policy and procedures set up by human resources, be sure to level set your expectations with your virtual employee, in a one-on-one discussion. Specifically state how you’d like him or her to keep in touch, how often, by what means (e-mail, chat, phone), and what deliverables you expect to receive at various times during the week. By level setting expectations in a more personalized manner, you create a better working relationship with your virtual employee and also plan for corrective action in the future.

Trust Employees
This is an important responsibility for a manager even when managing an on-site employee. It is an even more important responsibility when working with a virtual employee. Lack of trust can lead to micromanagement, which is never productive. Refrain from micromanagement in the form of “urgent e-mails” and “urgent voicemail” on a daily basis, which can create friction and unproductive working relationships between manager and employee. Trust the employee to do the work assigned and to turn it around in a reasonable timeframe. Once expectations are set, trust the employee to perform and do the work as assigned.

Provide Tools and Support
Virtual employees may require additional support to ensure their productivity. They could run into technical issues when connecting with a company local area network, or they could have issues sending large files through the firewall. All these issues need to be promptly addressed so that productivity is not impacted. Tools such as a BlackBerry, fax, access to resources and webinars, etc. should be offered to ensure employee can do the job.

Create an Inclusive Environment
Just because an employee is virtual it doesn’t mean he or she should be isolated from corporate events and happenings. Virtual employees still need to be included in team meetings, conference calls, town hall meetings, and other events so that they feel as if they are part of the corporate culture. 

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
The importance of communication cannot be overstated. Even with all the technology in the world, it is important to do more than “staying in touch.” On a regular basis and without micromanaging; keep in touch, ask questions, participate in dialog, provide feedback, ask for feedback, etc.  Do everything necessary to stay in touch with your virtual employee so that you have clear communication.

A virtual workforce can be a blessing for companies and individuals alike. To make it work effectively, everyone involved will need to learn new skills and techniques. A successful virtual workforce can help a company save money and increase efficiency. Implement the above strategies and create a dynamic virtual workforce for your company!

Nipa Shah is president of Jenesys Group, LLC, an online marketing and Internet solutions company, providing technology consulting (with emphasis on offshore management) and online marketing. She is also the founder of the Michigan India Chamber of Commerce. Shah can be reached at nipa@jenesysgroup.com.

MySpace proved today that even social media are not safe from the current economic decline.

News Corp. officials announced Wednesday the lay off of about 30 percent of the social networking site’s employees. The change brings the company’s domestic staff to about 1,000 employees, according to a press release.

Company officials claim the layoffs will help them minimize a bloated staff and become more innovative and competitive in the market. Perhaps what they actually mean is that they need to get rid of some people so they can attempt to compete with Facebook?

Either way, the layoffs indicate that no form of media, even social ones, are exempt from economic concerns. Could it be that the current market is impacting ALL businesses, including all forms of media? It seems like I’ve read something like that before (“The Paper” adds insight to current newspaper woes).

Strategic Growth Concepts is pleased to present articles from time-to-time written by Human Resource related experts.  This article is from LaToya M. Palmer, an HR professional with  over 10-years of extensive experience in all aspects of Human Resources. She is President of the Michigan-based consulting firm, Palmer Solutions, LLC., which specializes in innovative HR solutions while also providing creative benefit management and payroll administration services.

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I’ve had many managers come to me and tell me that they are having problems with their employees and they haven’t the faintest idea why.  I love this…okay maybe I really don’t, but humor me.  Any good HR person will use this gem (that’s what I like to call coachable HR moments) to give the greatest advice any human resources professional can give; always listen to what your employees don’t say.  I know you are scratching your head, trust me, the HR Gods are smiling down on you.

Employees can definitely be, let’s say, cryptic in their communications with company management. For example, I had a manager come to me and say that he was having problems with a normally good employee who had come to him and informed him that she was really concerned about a co-worker because she had been missing a lot of days lately. After asking a few more pointed questions, it came out that this “concerned” employee had been picking up the slack.  So do you see the hidden message?  What the employee was really telling the boss was, “My co-worker is not pulling her weight and I’m getting left holding the bag.” Needless to say, the manager hadn’t realized he was adding more work to the “good” employee, and that he wasn’t addressing what appeared to be an attendance problem within his department. Had he been listening more intently to what she wasn’t saying in his earlier conversations with the “good employee”, he would have picked up on the real situation during those earlier conversations.

Here are a couple more “translations” for those of you who haven’t yet mastered the language of Employee Speak.

1. You’re giving a very simple explanation and instruction to your employees about a decision that was made by you or the Executive Team, and your employee says, “I don’t understand.”  Translation: “I totally disagree with what you’re saying. I am going to continue to say I don’t understand so that when I do the exact opposite of what you’re instructing us to do, I can use my lack of clarity as the reason.”  Action:  You should take this person aside and ensure thru a private conversation that they really “get it” by allowing them to walk through the parts they “don’t understand”, and encouraging them to give voice to their disagreement so that any potential “lack of clarity” is resolved and no longer an issue.
2. You get a “petition” from your employees stating they want to change something within the company. Translation: Alarm bells should be ringing in your ears!  Your employees are telling you that they don’t feel comfortable coming to management individually to voice their opinions. They only feel comfortable doing so in numbers. This is a ripe climate in an hourly environment for unionization and should not be taken lightly.  Action:  There is a communication gap within your organization that needs to be bridged; you should initiate communication between appropriate management and employee representatives as soon as possible to address the reasons that this climate has developed within the organization and work to diffuse the situation to allow for easier communication between the parties in future.

Employees give you “hints” at their “hidden meanings” more often than you realize. It’s imperative for company management, and HR professionals in particular, to listen closely to determine the “real” message that employees are trying to get across in order to prevent problem situations from occurring.

It doesn’t care about your beat assignment. It doesn’t discriminate between news delivery platforms. And it certainly doesn’t care about your dinner plans, how busy you are or your mood.

Death is a guaranteed subject of news. People die in every beat, every day. Many of these deaths are newsworthy. The more traumatic the death, the more likely it is that a reporter will be sent to cover it. Even if the people involved in a trauma don’t die, the nature of a traumatic event alone is newsworthy as being something outside of the norm.

This guaranteed coverage is the reason it’s critically important that all journalists (including students, especially students) are training on how to report on trauma while minimizing harm to sources and themselves.

The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma focuses on this training. The Dart Center has launched a redesigned Web site packed with tools to assist journalists in covering trauma victims and in protecting themselves while they perform this duty.

While the Dart Center’s first site was suitable, this relaunched effort is amazing. It is THE resource for reporting about trauma.

The site includes a new section on covering school shootings that can only be described as an incredible resource. Jim Killam at Northern Illinois University assisted in compiling the information, which includes a powerful documentary taken in his newsroom after the February 2008 shooting at the school.

It was brave of Jim and the Northern Star staff to share this traumatic experience as a educational tool. Their willingness to post the video speaks to their understanding of the importance of recognizing the potential long-term impact of decisions made during and after traumatic events.

If you haven’t already visited the new Dart Center site, you should. Bookmark it. Register for e-mail updates. Educate yourself on how to cover traumatic events while protecting the emotional health of yourself and others. The media industry and news consumers everywhere are begging for an ethical, sensitive approach to trauma coverage. Become a resource in your newsroom.

Do you have amazing staff that are not allowed to do their thing? Have you hired amazing people only to stop them from carrying out projects their way?  OR do you just point your people in the right direction and then get out of the way?

But what happens if you think that you know best?  What if you have more experience than anyone else?

If you want to do everything yourself then go and be a sole trader.  If, however you are a CEO, Director or owner, and have staff and you know that you can’t do everything yourself, then you need to give your talented staff room to excell.  If you don’t they will leave you (and maybe go and help one of your competitors put you and your company out of business!!) 

You have great staff, let them be great.

Make Business Better
Ben Hall
FixMyBusiness@gmail.com

Social networking ethics may seem like an oxymoron, but the concept is becoming increasingly important as journalists join the masses using sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Poytner’s Will Sullivan recently posted about The Wall Street Journal’s new social media policy for staffers in “News Organizations Implement New Social Media Ethics Policies.” The policies outline steps reporters should complete before “friending” or “following” potential sources. They also addressed discussing newspaper content and explaining how news was gathered.

Proponents think social network policies protect news organizations’ credibility by maintaining boundaries between journalists and (potential) sources. Opponents view the policies as a missed opportunity to promote content and create collaboration between the media and the public.

As the popularity of social networking continues growing and the sites are increasingly used for marketing and promotions, we are likely to see more company regulation of how these tools are used.

What do you think about potential employer restrictions regarding your networking?

It’s an adviser’s nightmare. Student journalists decide to tackle a seemingly unsolvable, irresponsible or controversial social issue in the commentary section of the university newspaper. We encourage strong writing and reporting, advise when asked, and then cross our fingers and hope for the best.

Advisers aren’t the only ones who should be thinking about the impact of commentary that supports drinking and driving, having casual sex or even skipping work to attend a fraternity party. Students also should consider how what they write in college – opinion or news – might affect them in the future.

Steve Kolowich wrote about this type of delayed impact in the story Alumni Try to Rewrite History on College Newspaper Web Sites, printed in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

One of the first things potential employers do when considering job candidates is Google their names. Google has become a primary way to weed through the stack of promising resumes. Since many college newspapers are published online and are creating electronic archives of older editions, pieces of student journalism are likely to appear in the mix, according to Kolowich’s article.

“Youthful activities that once would have disappeared into the recesses of a campus library are now preserved on the public record, to be viewed with skeptical eyes by an adult world of colleagues and potential employers,” Kolowich wrote.

The result is alumni contacting newspaper editors and advisers attempting to have their former articles removed, an allowance that current editorial boards are not legally required to make. Many such boards are approving policies prohibiting redaction, saying it diminishes the historical role of their publications. Other student editorial boards have agreed to remove articles under specific circumstances or darken the browser window.

If your student newspaper doesn’t have a policy addressing this issue, you’d better draft one. My gut says this isn’t an issue that will disappear soon.

The greater debate is one tied to personal responsibility. At what point in a person’s life are they permanently responsible for the things they do, say or write? I’ll admit, I wouldn’t be crazy about the “Let’s Go Clubbin’” article I wrote as an undergrad to be at the top of my Google search. I also understand that I wrote it by choice. I doubt there’s an employer anywhere who didn’t commit some equal or greater sin in college.

How important is  Staff Development?  Relegate it to an ‘I’ll-worry-about-that-later’ mind-set and watch your patients disappear.  You and your staff are a team.  Each member plays an integral part in making your practice succeed.  If a  teammate forgets her role but but plays a different one instead, her actions become a distraction.  When a member doesn’t know their role – “er, what do I do now!” – you stop what you are doing to focus on ‘their problem’.  Productivity suffers.  And your practice gets smaller.

All systems will fail.  Even strong, well-thought out  office and patient management systems will fail.  It’s the nature of things.  Damage control and righting the ship isn’t just the captain’s (dentist) responsibility.  It’s the OM, the RDH, the chair-side assistants as well.   Everybody on your team drives your success (and theirs).

How do you react when things go awry?  Get aggitated, steamed,or unsettled when things don’t go right?  Can you rely on your staff to shift roles, play a different game for the day in order to serve your case load?  If your staff has an ongoing training program that focuses on teamwork and personal responsibility, you will. 

Staff training and development is an ongoing process.  There are no ‘quick fixes’ nor are there systems that operate on their own. Mastery of your dental practice includes both clinical skills and emotional intelligence.  Each competency will support and drive the other.  When they do, watch your practice soar!

Let’s face it, we aren’t all young techno junkies. Many of us just heard of the new-fangled Twitter. Some of us aren’t even tweeting yet.

Those of us who were brave enough to register a Twitter account and try (read: fail) to post something worth reading still don’t necessarily understand the “bells and whistles” the site offers. Paul Boutin uncodes the Twitter mystery in The New York Times story, “All you need to know to Twitter.” A few of my favorite explanations:

• Automatic status updates between Facebook and Twitter through twitter.com/widgets/facebook.
• Twitter desktop and phone apps and
• Spreadtweet, which mimics an Excel spreadsheet so you don’t get busted Tweeting at work.

Employee engagement

Are your staff giving 100% to the organisation? Do they feel valued and appreciated? Do they show-up each day with passion and purpose?

If you answered “no” to any of these questions – your organisation has an employee engagement problem. But don’t worry – you are not alone. The Hewitt Best Employer Survey results suggest that engaging staff is a big challenge for most Australian organisations. According to their most recent survey – the national average for employee engagement is only 54%.

So why is employee engagement a problem? In Australia unemployment is running at historical lows, we are experiencing an unprecedented skills shortage in various sectors and many organisations have failed to create workplace environments which truly engage staff. These factors have resulted in a highly mobile workforce, which is costly to the organisation in terms of productivity and profit.

The secret to employee engagement is capturing the hearts and minds of your employees. The difficult part is discovering what truly inspires staff to perform above and beyond. Once you discover how to engage your staff the benefits include: a happy and healthy work environment, a more productive team and a more profitable business.

Here are ten tips on creating and sustaining employee engagement.

1. Let go of the negative thoughts you have about your employees. Each person in the team has unique knowledge, skills and something valuable to contribute. Rather than focussing on the weaknesses of a staff member it is important to focus on their strengths and place staff in positions where their strengths are best utilised.  

2. Be nice to your staff. Noticing and acknowledging the contribution of your employees and treating them well will have a profound impact. However, staff usually forget compliments quickly, so it essential to give these out regularly and in an authentic way. Also be aware that people like to be noticed in different ways. Some prefer a quiet praise. Others prefer open acknowledgment in front of their peers.

3. Get to know your staff. Show an interest in your people and genuinely get to know them. Understanding the stress factors and motivational drivers for each staff member can be extremely useful in managing them.

4. Use clear and regular communication. Staff like to know ‘what is going on and why’, especially when changes are planned. Regular feedback to staff helps reduce damaging corridor gossip that can be an undercurrent of misinformation. In addition, it is essential to clearly communicate your expectations of staff so that they can be productive and meet targets.

5. Hold performance reviews. Staff are always keen to receive formal feedback on their progress. Using a twice yearly – 360 degree review process (i.e. feedback from superiors, peers, support staff and some clients) is ideal. The process is also a great way of formally acknowledging the contribution of staff. When staff do not receive feedback and do not see any future with the organisation, they quickly start to look for greener fields.

6. Equipping your staff with the right tools. Following a performance review, training needs should be identified and appropriate courses need to be selected for staff to undertake. Ongoing training programs show staff that the organisation is interested in and responsive to their needs for improvement. You also equip staff with the skills and tools to perform at their best.

7. Offer career progression. An important driver in keeping staff engaged is to offer a career development program for each staff member. Opportunities need to be identified for appropriate staff and they need to be groomed for positions via training and mentoring.

8. Provide inspiring leadership and give individual autonomy. When new employees join an organisation, leaders need to impart the values and aspirations of the business. Staff look to management for leadership and direction, but this does not mean they need to be monitored every step of the way. No one enjoys being micro-managed! Instead inspire excellence in your staff and allow them the freedom and autonomy to deliver on tasks.

9. Remuneration and incentives. So that salaries are fair they should be monitored on an ongoing basis to keep track of changes in the market for different job roles and experience levels. Employers should also adjust salaries yearly for those staff not changing their roles and responsibilities, to ensure staff don’t fall behind. Many workplaces have also introduced incentive payments that are linked both to the person’s individual performance and the overall performance of the organisation. The process for calculating incentive payments needs to be transparent and clearly communicated to staff. Incentives are an important recognition tool and a way of sharing the organisations success with staff due to their efforts.

10. Flexible working arrangements. Lifestyle and work-life balance are becoming important for today’s workforce and employers need to adapt and offer greater flexibility. Some workplaces offer flexible working arrangements or have wellbeing and lifestyle programs in place, such as gym membership and cinema admission for their staff. These programs demonstrate the caring nature of the organisation. 

Our experience with clients is that those organisations that have processes in place to manage above tips are more successful because their staff are engaged and committed. Not surprisingly, their staff tend to work harder, perform that extra 10%, accomplish more, are more loyal and tend to speak positively about the organisation.

Written by Andrew Lawson of BEST PRACTICE CONSULTING. Best Practice Consulting is a business coaching and consulting group which delivers Best Practice business management advice. Visit www.bestpracticeconsulting.com.au or telephone  0400 22 11 36 .

Thinking of updating your status while you’re off of work sick? You may want to reconsider.

A Swiss woman lost her job after employers saw that she was using Facebook after she reported being too sick to use the computer.

The woman called in sick to lie in a dark room and cure her migraine. She then updated her Facebook via her iPhone and was fired.

Read the full story on BBC News and see what you think about her company possibly creating a fake “friend” to monitor her Facebook usage.

I was happy to see an editorial in The Oklahoman addressing the current state of the newspaper industry and reassuring readers, read “After a Century of Service, Working Hard to do More.”

The editorial seems like a responsible way to help readers understand where you stand in a tough economy, when they might be wondering how much longer you’ll be around.

The Oklahoman’s officials should continue to recognize the importance of the printed version of their product beyond just its revenue stream. It is the product that has served Oklahoma’s readers for more than a century. It brought them to this dance. They should consider this importance when making decisions that impact the more than 100-year-old publication, including those involving newsroom cuts, content changes and general reporting policies. There’s no question that in a traditional, conservative state with an aging population that the printed version is preferred. It also is understood that new media are necessary to embrace today’s changing readers and be innovative in the journalism industry.

In other words, The Oklahoman’s management needs to remember to protect the solid journalistic foundation they’ve built while exploring new advances in the way news is delivered. It doesn’t have to be one or the other; both tradition and innovation will make way for a truly enlightened future reader.

Perhaps university administrators do know the best way to train students for a future in journalism.

In an industry that seems ever more willing to bow down to anyone with authority and cover any “news” event initiated via press release, it seems only natural that students should learn censorship along with biology and humanities.

But some of us “old news guys” (read: aspiring Woodwards and Bernsteins) aren’t quite as willing to roll over and play dead.

This leads us to the latest case of university officials NOT making hiring/promotion decisions regarding student newspapers advisers as a result of their leadership of student publications.

Last week the board of trustees at Clark College in Vancouver, Wash., rejected the unanimous recommendation of a faculty committee and denied tenure to the university’s student newspaper adviser.

The journalism professor is said to have fought the administration’s request to prior review articles. She also (insert gasp here) advocated more aggressive reporting from the student journalists she advised. The result was a series of articles criticizing administrators and campus security.

Say it ain’t so! We would NEVER want to teach journalists to question authority. Instead, let’s just teach them to fall in line. Why? Well, because it makes us more comfortable. Then, when they become working members of the press, the public, likely including those same administrators, can accuse them of being biased governmental lapdogs.

Yes, this makes great sense. Why didn’t I think of it myself? Let’s discourage student journalists from questioning authority and encourage them to only report news in which they are spoon fed. This certainly will result in a more informed democracy.

Read the full story, College denies tenure to student newspaper’s adviser who urged aggressive reporting, from The Chronicle of Higher Education.

When you’re done, get mad. Get really mad. Then vow never to let anyone force you into passive journalism.

I received a link from a former student this week that I found interesting and saddening. The title line of his e-mail was “really?” This was my exact sentiment after reading the attached link about how the American Society of Newspaper Editors is proposing changing the organization’s name. Because of the current state of the newspaper industry, some members of the group are advocating changing the name to the American Society of News Editors. Really? I find it unfortunate at best that journalists are the first ones to bail when the news industry undergoes an adjustment. It truly concerns me for the state of our democracy when the watchdogs ‘can’t stand the heat.’ Read the full article at www.politico.com. As always, I’d love to know what you think.