“I feel like I’m talking to a wall!” Judy told her co-worker over lunch. “Whether at home or work, I find myself repeating my requests as everyone is just too darn busy to stop what they’re doing and truly listen!” Do you often feel as if your words are falling on deaf ears? Learn to listen with L-O-V-E.
The recession has led to more than just job cuts. It has also opened the door to more gossip around the water cooler. In a survey conducted last year by the SHRM, 54% of managers said they had seen an increase in gossip or rumors about downsizing or layoffs. Want to quash rumors? Kathi Elster, co-author of Working with You Is Killing Me, offers these guidelines:
What if your organization doesn’t have an online strategy to speak of—a skimpy web site, no social-media strategy, no e-mail list, no e-newsletter. Is it too late to catch up? And how can tech-savvy administrative professionals help push an organization toward online literacy? Best-selling author and marketing expert Seth Godin recommends venturing forward with these strategies:
Liz Jazwiec, author of Eat That Cookie!: Make Workplace Positivity Pay Off, is a big believer in workplace gratitude. Not just the kind that passes from boss to employee, but from employee to employee and to their bosses. Jazwiec offers these tips for hardwiring workplace gratitude from the ground up:
Question: “I feel that I am being ignored because of my age. I am a young employee who recently attained a position in which I have to interact with top-level managers. When I request information from them, I find it difficult to get responses. I believe they are not taking me seriously. How should I handle this?” — Young & Frustrated
“Don’t think your boss is getting overwhelmed with praise,” says Quint Studer, CEO of Studer Group and author of Straight A Leadership: Alignment, Action, Accountability. “Bosses hear what’s wrong all the time. Very rarely do they hear what’s right.”
Have you ever looked at how a colleague is working and thought, “He’d get better results if he did it this way instead”? Should you offer a suggestion? You have a couple of options:
A few things to consider when revising your
e-mails: 1. Toss useless words. 2. Last things first. 3. Watch your format. 4. Use effective subject lines. 5. Set the right tone. 6. Always allow room to be corrected.
Your office may have escaped a massive outbreak of swine flu, but odds are there’s still the lurking threat of seasonal flu. One admin wrote on our
Admin Pro Forum that all employees at her company are required to attend an hour-long presentation about pandemic preparedness. A few ways to keep the flu at bay:
Making a “cold call” can shake the nerves of even a seasoned pro. Engaging with a person you’ve never met is even more challenging if you land in the individual’s voice mail. On his blog, Never Eat Alone author Keith Ferrazzi suggests “warm calling” instead. His four rules for making a warm connection in a 15-second voice mail message:
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