Archive for April, 2010
7 Ways Your Boss Can Mess Up Your Evaluation
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Susan C.
Anna Johnson has identified five behavioural mistakes that bosses make in performance evaluations. I’ve added two other factors that might contribute to a boss giving you a bad performance evaluation. If you can recognize that the following mistakes, attitudes and behaviours say more about your boss than they do about you, it might help you find a way to take the higher path when responding to your boss. If you can respond as calmly as possible from a non-defensive place, you might be able to defuse an intense discussion and hopefully recalibrate the level of respectfulness observed in the discussion. The following suggestions have to be tailored to what you know about your boss’s attitude to receiving feedback, and your overall comfort level with speaking up for yourself and giving your boss feedback.
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Do You Need a Superpowers Coach? – $240 Contest Giveaway
You help me wake up in the morning.
You empathize with my pain.
You are a friend.
You push me to improve.
You are simply amazing.
I am so excited that you are a part of Work Happy Now. Without you I wouldn’t be as happy as I am. I’m currently in the top 10% of happiest people on earth. I’m not sure how to prove that, but believe me I’m there.
Today I’m giving away two superpower coaching sessions to one lucky winner. That’s a $240 prize. No messing around about this offer.
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7 Tips to Overcome the Monday Blues
Arrrrrgh days (Mondays) are the most difficult transition for most of us. We just had two glorious days off doing stuff we chose to do. Now we are back at work and doing stuff other people are telling us to do. We all have to do stuff we don’t feel like doing. Even if you are the CEO, your share holders, board members and customers are telling you what to do.
By adjusting the way you view your experience, you have the ability to be happy on a Monday.
You have to take some of the control back and make yourself feel good. I’m not talking about eating chocolate cake. I’m talking about doing small things that can redirect your focus.
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Pushing Past Your Comfort Zone Will…
> force you to appreciate your present situation.
> encourage you to laugh at your mistakes.
> create feelings you don’t want to face, but should.
> make you happier because you understand what you are capable of accomplishing.
> allow you to develop a deeper understanding of yourself.
What have you put on your backburner that could challenge you to reach new levels?
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Negotiate Your Way to Great Work
You may have noticed some of the changes going on around here. I’ve been talking more about developing your strengths and living your passions. This is what we should all be doing. We need to leverage what we already are good at and develop the skills we are passionate about.
Many of you don’t get to apply your strengths and passions in your careers. I was talking to a client of mine about these issues. She knows what she is good at, but can’t seem to make the transition. Her boss gives her the same work day after day that makes her unhappy.
As we continued to talk I began to see a theme. She did not want to say “no” to the crappy work or negotiate to get the work that excited her. She felt stuck.
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Performance Evaluations from Hell – and how to survive them
Almost Everything I Know about Performance Evaluations I learned in the School of Life
Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Susan C.
Love ‘em or loathe ‘em, performance evaluations seem to be a fact of working life for employees of most companies or organizations. I don’t think I’ve ever actually met anyone who claims to love performance evaluations. I would guess that most people, including myself, have mixed feelings about the ordeal—an observation that seems to be borne out in the research literature on the subject. I have a friend who seems to loathe them and is convinced that not only are performance evaluations a waste of time, but they actually train people to be less–rather than more–creative, innovative, independent and productive. He’s not alone in his thinking. An increasing number of HR specialists are beginning to reach a similar conclusion. They argue that in its current format, the practice is more destructive than constructive, and is a holdover from earlier paternalistic ideologies about the relationship between employer and employee.
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7 Ways to Bring More Positivity to Your Career
Some days, work just drain you of energy. It’s hard to talk to a co-worker, client, and customer while maintaining an upbeat attitude.
It’s easy to focus on the negative. It’s that little devil on your shoulder that likes chewing your ear off until you can’t take anymore and you just give in.
You know this doesn’t help you feel any happier, and it sure as heck doesn’t make you more productive. So let’s do something about it.
1. Look for learning experiences
Each day has quite a few hidden gems, even when you are working on those projects that wear you out. Look for little moments that can teach you a lesson. For example, you can examine how you deal with your anger at a failed project. How quickly can you process your feelings and get back into a good work rhythm?
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Stop Swimming Against the Tide and Meet Your Career Needs
Do you ever feel like you are swimming against the tide?
For the past few months I’ve been in transition. I didn’t know it, but the transition had really begun a while back.
I had been receiving great advice, but from the wrong perspective.
You may be in a similar position. Your best friend, mom or therapist sees the world from their perspective. They try their best to jump into your shoes, but they don’t quite fit.
I’ve decided to stop taking most of my friend’s advice and swim with my internal tide.
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Entrepreneurs Making a Difference – Giveaway
At the end of this post you’ll learn how you can win the set of cards featured in the photo below.
Evan Carmichael created a project called Entrepreneur Trading Cards. He highlights great business leaders and bloggers who are making a difference in this world.
Entrepreneurs like:
These packs trading cards come in a pack of 5 for $3.95 if you pre-order today. All the money raised will go to Kiva.org, which focuses on raising money for entrepreneurs in impoverished countries.
Focus on Fewer Things with Better Results – cartoon
I’m a big believer in creativity at work. We need to expand outside our comfort zones to reach the good stuff. That’s why I draw. It forces me to find new angles on work happiness. How do you find new angles?
Too often we get caught up in trying to be amazing instead of just letting our amazing ooze out.
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