As we enter the New Year I want to kick things off by taking a cold, hard look at ethics and how they apply in the workplace. Most managers believe they are ethical and, consciously, they may be. The problem is that everyone has a habit or bias that can be viewed as slightly unethical, whether they realize it or not.

Most of us have some sort of implicit bias, whether we recognize it or not. What is an implicit bias? It is one that, despite you not saying it outright, shows in the way you act. There are a few organisations that have tested managers and individuals to uncover some of their implicit biases, including Harvard and Tolerance.org. Here are a few examples of information about biases they uncovered:

• A large percentage of participants had an implicit bias towards young people.
• A large percentage of participants had an implicit bias towards white people.
• A large percentage of participants had an implicit bias towards rich people.
• Consciously desiring to not be biased will not make you an unbiased person.

What does this mean? Let’s say, for example, you claim not to be biased towards men. You have two similar resumes on your desk and you have interviewed both candidates – one male and one female. They are both highly qualified and it’s a very difficult decision to make but we’ll say for the purpose of this example that there may be one or two areas in which the female candidate might make a better fit. You claim to be reviewing their applications from an objective standpoint but your implicit bias towards men allows you to justify hiring the male candidate instead. You literally dig for a reason not to hire the female candidate and you  may not even realize why.

Being biased can be costly. You can lose great candidates or team members and possibly even be accused of bias and become the victim of a discrimination lawsuit.

I urge you to step back and think about your management ethics and hiring practices. Are you biased? Do you even realize it? Are you treating your employees fairly? Think about it and let me know.

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Development

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

As a manager you’re going to find that there are times when you feel a lot more stressed than you do at other times. You might even stop and wonder why you feel more stressed than those around you. The truth is that, as managers, we tend to believe we need to be perfect at everything we do. We need to be in control. We want to be right. We want our jobs done perfectly. In short, we put too much pressure on ourselves.

As you approach the New Year, take the following 5 points into consideration and see if you can begin to make tiny changes, one at a time. Eliminating some of the stress you’re putting on yourself might make your job just a bit easier to accomplish!

5. Stop Expecting Perfection

You are not perfect, nor are the people who work for or with you. If you stop expecting perfection you won’t be disappointed when you don’t achieve it and you’ll be better able to take a strong, objective look at the great results you did achieve after working on a project instead of the minute percentage you think you didn’t.

4. Keep Your Opinions to Yourself

Do you have a tendancy towards giving people your unsolicited opinions or advice? Stop. If people want your help they will ask for it. If you’re working with someone who doesn’t know you well, ask them if you can offer your opinion or advice so that they can get ideas from another vantage point. If you stop forcing your ideas on others they’ll be more willing to work with you.

3. Forget the Past

So you’ve made a few mistakes in the past. Stop letting them eat at you, stressing you out even more. Put them aside and move on. You can’t change the past but you can control what you are doing now and in the future.

2. Analyse Less

Sometimes, when we are given new tasks, we feel like we have to learn as much as possible about the background or procedures before we get started. We end up adding stress and wasting time when we realistically could have just jumped right into the project. Try to spend less time analysing projects – just do them instead.

1. Stop Caring about Who Likes You

The truth is very simple. Not everyone you meet in your life is going to like you. Their reasons may or may not be valid. You don’t need to stress yourself out or care about who likes you and who does not. It doesn’t matter and, to be honest, you can work professionally with people who do not like you as long as you are all respectful.

Ready to reduce the stress in your life? Start by taking a look at yourself and your habits. Once you can do that you’ll be half way home and your relationships with your team members will instantly begin to improve!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Leadership

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

In the past we’ve talked about team building in terms of bringing your current team members together as a whole. Today I’d like to take just a minute to talk about the ways in which you choose the members of your team.

You may, in light of the current economy, feel torn between your desire to build a strong team and your need to cut back on costs. As a result, you may find yourself looking to hire temporary employees instead of full-time employees with full benefits. Doing so will do nothing to strengthen your team, though. You’re better off hiring one full-time employee who will be dedicated to keeping his job and seeing results than you will be if you hire a temporary employee only willing to do the minimum amount necessary to get paid because he knows he’ll lose his job soon, anyway.

You should also put away your reservations about “working work experience” and consider building strong relationships with local colleges and educational institutions. Sometimes those fresh out of school are the most innovative and free-thinking. They’re not jaded by the working world and have some great ideas – ideas that have yet to be heard. You don’t have to form a workforce made up of college graduates but including a few that you can train and mold to work well with your organisation can be incredibly beneficial.

As you approach the New Year, take some time to sit back and think about your recruitment goals. What type of team do you really want to build?

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

As a manager you’re bound to find out that not everyday is going to be as pleasant as others. You may have problems with clients or deadlines but in my experience the worst days are the ones during which your own team has trouble getting along. If your team members are in the midst of a conflict it’ll be up to you to sort things out. Here are a few tips to help make that job a bit easier.

Determine the Actual Problem

Sometimes people argue and then things escalate until they no longer remember what the original problem was. Ask everyone involved to sit down and talk about what they perceive the problem to be. Once you all agree on a source you can start to find a solution.

Allow Everyone to Contribute

Make sure everyone involved in the conflict has the opportunity to talk about what he or she not only thinks the problem is but what his opinions are and how the problem can be solved. Give each person a set amount of time to speak and make sure everyone sticks to the facts – no berating other team members.

Reach for a Compromise

Identify the methods each member of the group thinks need to be followed in order to reach a compromise. Not everyone will be happy with the entire outcome but there is always a way to make as many people happy as possible. Identify both long and short term goals and find ways for everyone to work toward them together.

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Courses

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

Quite a few of you are probably relaxing with your friends and family, enjoying the holiday season. I might add that doing so is an excellent time management strategy because it is just as important to take time out for yourself as it is to attack the lingering list of chores you’ve probably made for yourself.

Sadly, not many people make time for themselves and their inability to do so is a huge time management mistake. We’ve spent a lot of time talking about tips for more effectively managing your time but we haven’t focused on some of the mistakes people make. Here are a few to consider.

• Do you pay too much attention to the minor details instead of doing what you can to get a perfectly acceptable job out the door? While attention to detail is great it can also be distracting or detrimental when you’re facing a deadline.
• Do you find that you often have too many projects on your plate at the same time? Doing so will stretch your resources and instead of finishing one great project you’ll turn in multiple sub-par projects.
• Are you dead set against changing your routine? Sometimes deviating from the norm will free up your time so that you can get your most important tasks out of the way sooner.
• Do you prefer to do mundane tasks before focusing on your major projects? Putting some time into your larger projects earlier in the day might motivate you to get them done sooner – and those mundane tasks will be a welcome break after all of your hard work.
• Are you good at anticipating problems? If so, that’s great, but people who expect problems to occur usually waste a lot of time focusing on them even if they haven’t happened yet. And if that problem never actually comes to fruition you’ll find you wasted a ton of time.
• Are you surrounded by unhappy and unmotivated coworkers? They’ll drag you down and waste your time whether you realize it or not.

Can you identify with any of these issues? If so, you may want to work on making some changes in the way you manage your own time in the New Year. Until then, enjoy your time away from the workdesk!

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”