10 Habits that Bosses Love

Every boss wants employees who do their jobs well. But even among highly competent employees, there are distinctions. Here are 10 tips for making sure you're on the boss's A-list:

1. Communicate, communicate, communicate. Especially at the beginning of your relationship -- that is, when either you or the boss is new to the job -- err on the side of giving your boss too much information and asking too many questions.

"There's no such thing as a dumb question," says Marianne Adoradio, a Silicon Valley recruiter and career counselor. "Look at it as information gathering."

Don't keep up the constant stream of communication unless your boss likes it, though. It's best to ask directly whether you're giving the boss enough information or too much.

2. Acknowledge what the boss says. Bosses appreciate "responsive listening," says John Farner, principal of Russell Employee Management Consulting. When your boss asks you to do something or suggests ways for you to improve your work, let her know you heard.

3. Collaborate. When your boss has a new idea, respond to it in a constructive way instead of throwing up roadblocks.

"Be willing to brainstorm ways to get something done," says Michael Beasley, principal of Career-Crossings and a leadership and career development coach.

4. Build relationships. You'll make your boss look good if you establish a good rapport with your department's customers, whether they're inside the company or outside. Bring back what you learn -- about ways to offer better customer service, for example -- to your boss. This is also helpful for your own career development.

"Everybody wins in the long run," Adoradio says.

5. Understand how you fit in. Is your boss detail-oriented, or someone who keeps his head in the clouds?

"The boss's personality is just incredibly important," says Norm Meshriy, a career counselor and principal of Career Insights.

Equally important is understanding what your boss wants in an employee. It may be, for example, that a boss who is detail-oriented will expect his employees to be as well. But a boss who has no time for details may actually appreciate an employee who does.

6. Learn the boss's pet peeves. If your manager has said repeatedly that she hates being interrupted first thing in the morning, don't run to her office to give her a project update when you first get in.

7. Anticipate the boss's needs. Once you have worked with your boss for a while, you should be able to guess what information he will want before approving your purchase order, for example.

If you provide it ahead of time, "that's a gold star," Farner adds.

8. Think one level up. You still need to do your own job, of course. But when managers consider who deserves a promotion, they look for people who understand the issues that their bosses face.

9. Open yourself to new ways of doing things. When your boss comes to you with a new idea, don't simply dismiss it. If you don't think it will work, offer to discuss it further in "a mature, responsible, adult-like way," Beasley says.

10. Be engaged in your work. Arguing with your boss over every request is not a good strategy, but neither is simply shrugging your shoulders and agreeing with everything your boss says. "The manager would like to see an engaged individual," Beasley says. That means both showing enthusiasm for your work and speaking up when you see room for improvement.

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Eliminate Procrastination

Eliminate procrastination

The essence of procrastination is very well reflected in this quote by Bernard Meltzer: "Hard work is often the easy work you did not do at the proper time."

Are you affected?
Have you ever seen your most important tasks being put off until later and then later and later, while you are getting busy with many not so important activities? Did you hope that you may have more time and better mood in the future to start the task and do it properly? Does an approaching deadline mean a crisis for you? Do you keep hesitating every time you make a decision?

If you often see yourself in such low productivity situations, then there is a big chance that your life got under control of the procrastination habit. And those situations are only the most explicit symptoms.

What is it?
A basic definition of procrastination is putting off the things that you should be doing now. This happens with all of us time after time.

Yet, what makes a big difference for your success is your ability to recognize procrastination reasons and expressions in their different forms, and to promptly take them under control, before this bad habit steals your opportunities, damages your career and pride, or destroys your relationships. So why do not you do it now?

Causes of procrastination

What are typical reasons why you procrastinate? Procrastination: Do it now! Here are a few of the most common situations to consider in your anti procrastination efforts.

It can be as simple as

* Waiting for the right mood
* Waiting for the right time

Then look at the way you organize your work. You may notice other reasons for procrastination like

* Lack of clear goals
* Underestimating the difficulty of the tasks
* Underestimating the time required to complete the tasks
* Unclear standards for the task outcomes
* Feeling as the tasks are imposed on you from outside
* Too ambiguous tasks

And there are also many connections with

* Underdeveloped decision making skills
* Fear of failure or fear of success
* Perfectionism

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What employees want: getting the balance right

Earlier this year a series of chain e-mails circulated that showed off Google's mouth-watering office environment, with "colours, lighting, and shared room locations to encourage focused creativity and interaction", alongside massage rooms, deluxe cafeterias and games areas. As you take a look around your (possibly blander) office, the thought may have occurred to you: is this really what employees want? Or does it take more than a fancy office fitout and bright employee perks to attract and retain employees? What if the basic building blocks aren't in place - do the rules change?

The fundamentals
As in previous years, 300 candidates applying for jobs across a range of industries through the CareersMultiList network of employment agencies were asked a series of questions to determine what they wanted from their job, their insights into recruitment agencies, and why they left their previous roles. Candidates were able to choose the top three benefits or features (from a list of 10) that were most important to them when choosing a new employer.

The survey results revealed that the 'big three' (salary & remuneration, career development & training, and workplace culture & environment) remain firmly entrenched at the top of the list. When weighted responses were tallied (totals of those candidates voting one, two and three), the top three for 2008 emerged: work culture and environment (24%), closely followed by career development and salary/remuneration coming in equal second with 20% each. Given some minor reshuffling, the results are similar to 2007, when culture was number one (23%), followed by career development (22%) and then salary (19%).

Greg Riley, director of CareersMultiList, believes that by and large the market has moved on from looking solely at remuneration as a factor for switching jobs. "When we first did the survey two or three years ago we'd been through a quieter time in the marketplace, and candidates were less keen to move. I think now there's a fair bit of competition on salary, and over the last few years salary has built up a little more and most candidates are satisfied with that side of things. Their focus has shifted to other factors," he says.

To put it even more plainly, people will not take a job just for money - especially if they feel relatively secure in their current job. Indeed, concern over the economy has shaded many responses to this year's survey, as people 'make do' with their current positions. However, the fundamentals still ring true. "If candidates believe a company doesn't provide career opportunities and the sort of work culture they want to work in, then even if the salary is reasonably high they won't take the job," Riley says.

There is greater interest to be seen in fourth place, where values and ethics came in with 12% of votes. This has moved from sixth place just two years ago. With the focus increasingly on corporate social responsibility, sustainability and corporate branding to advertise these initiatives, this is hardly a surprise. It also demonstrates that employees and candidates are looking at these issues more than ever before.

"Organisations are increasingly promoting the values they stand for, and will actively demonstrate their involvement in social awareness programs and social responsibility programs. Candidates are becoming aware of those companies that contribute to the community and those that don't. We know from experience that there are some companies and industries that it's very difficult to recruit for. There are some that would prefer not to display their brand, for instance, in display advertising. They don't feel their brand is an attractor for candidates - that could be because they've got a reputation for cutting costs or people have been made redundant, there could be all sorts of reputational reasons why people don't like them," Riley comments.

Does age matter?
As most HR professionals and recruiters are no doubt aware, the attractors of a job will be different for different people - especially when it comes to age. It's interesting to note that the top priority specified by the 16-25 age group was career development. With these workers setting out on their careers and looking to fast-track their pathway to the top, it's hardly surprising that this is the case.

For the 26-35 age group the priorities shifted towards factors like management style and the ethics and values of the company. The two primary concerns for the 36-45's meanwhile were work culture and environment and salary & remuneration - no doubt as raising families and paying mortgages off becomes a priority.

Although only representing a small percentage of the overall survey respondents, for those aged 46+ there was a marked shift towards placing the values and ethics of the company as a top priority. Not only does this age group have many years of workplace experience under their belt and are aware of what works for them in terms of management style and work culture, they are perhaps in a position to look at their personal and professional legacy with a more critical eye.

Nice but not yet essential
Given the brouhaha and amount of time and resources dedicated to allowing workplace flexibility, it's surprising to see how low these ranked as priorities. Flexible work hours garnered only 5% of weighted votes while work from home garnered a negligible 4%. As the parental leave debate hots up and more and more people transition to retirement it will be interesting to see these results for these benefits in coming years.

Why are they leaving?
It's also apparent that the reasons why people leave one employer are different to the reasons why they join another employer. "The question of how you attract candidates cannot be answered by asking current employees why they're there, and that's why a survey of job hunters is useful," Riley maintains.

Again, it's not money (or lack thereof) that is the overwhelming 'push' factor. Only 14% of respondents listed that as a reason for leaving their previous employer. Nor is it conflict with a direct manager, which is frequently cited as a major reason why people leave. Coming out on top was simply the need for a change (21%) or improved career options (18%). Again, this is a strong indication that it is those organisations that can offer clearly defined career paths and the resources to help employees follow those paths that will stand to benefit. Interestingly, 13% of respondents listed 'job with more meaning' as a key reason for leaving their previous employer, indicating that those engaged with their work and aligned with the company's core raison d'etre could be factors in keeping them there.

Redundancies accounted for just 6% of respondents leaving their previous employer - a statistic that will no doubt increase in the coming year as more employers tighten their belts.

As for what organisation type is most attractive, large stable companies came out on top by some margin with 38% of the votes. Given the increasing likelihood of tough economic times ahead it's not surprising that the perceived job security of larger organisations is a factor. Fast growing dynamic companies took out 22% of the vote while SMEs accounted for 19%.\

"Obviously big and fast growing companies are very attractive, but having said that there's a large following for small companies. Whether big or small, it's really a worthwhile exercise for organisations to communicate to candidates exactly who they are and what they stand for so they can attract the right kind of candidate," Riley says.

General economic conditions have also likely influenced responses to the question regarding preferred salary/remuneration options. An overwhelming 84% of respondents selected 'strong base salary only' as their preferred remuneration package - indicating that cash in hand (or in the bank) is king.

"People like the strong base salary, and if they did have a bonus they preferred it to be on a personal basis rather than a company profit - and they weren't particularly keen on non-salary benefits," Riley concludes.

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Acting Like a Professional or Acting Like a Phony?

by Marshall Goldsmith

“It’s the avenue, I’m taking you to, 42nd Street!”

The singers sing, the dancer’s dance and the actors act. On Broadway there is always something wonderful on stage. In many ways, Broadway is the definition of “performance.”

I am inspired by great theater. Every night, great performers pour their hearts into each production. Some have headaches, some have family problems, but it doesn’t really matter. When it’s show time, they give it all they have. Although it might be the thousandth time an actor has performed the part, it might be the first time the customer sitting in the fourth row has seen the production. To the true performer, every night is opening night.

Like great actors, inspirational leaders sometimes need to be consummate performers. When they need to motivate and inspire people, they do it. It doesn’t matter if they have a headache. They do whatever it takes to help their organization succeed. When they need to be “on,” like the Broadway stars, it’s show time.

One of the greatest leaders I know is Frances Hesselbein, the former executive director of the Girl Scouts of America and now chairman of the Leader to Leader Institute. I am not alone in my assessment of her talents. Peter Drucker once noted that she was perhaps the most effective executive he had ever met. As a tribute to her leadership skills, President Clinton awarded Frances with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest award that can be given to a U.S. civilian.

Frances is also one of my best friends. Like all humans, Frances faces the same problems we all face. Just like you and I, she has lived through health problems, tragedies with friends and family issues. Like all great professionals, when it is time for Frances to work, she is always there. I have seen her turn down an invitation from the U.S. president to give a talk (at no fee) for a non-profit organization in a small town. When she makes a commitment, if it is humanly possible to be there, she delivers. It doesn’t matter that a “better deal” came along later. She not only makes an appearance, she is up, she is positive, she is inspirational and she gets the job done.

Until recently, I always had a dilemma. As an executive educator, who helps successful leaders achieve a positive change in behavior, I, in a way, teach people how to act. When is acting part of being a professional? When is acting part of being a phony? I want to help leaders learn how to be great performers, but I never believe that they should be phonies or unreal. How can I, as a coach, understand the difference?

My client Ted helped me answer this question. I worked with him for a year, trying to help him fit in a corporate culture where he really didn’t belong. At the end of the year, I finally said, “Why don’t you leave? You are so miserable that you are starting to depress me!”

He finally saw the light, left the company and is now doing something he loves. There was nothing wrong with the company. There was nothing wrong with Ted. He just didn’t belong there. It wasn’t him.

If you are in the right job in the right company, and you are learning how to perform to the best of your ability, you are being a true professional. If you are in the wrong job in the wrong company and you learn to act so that you can better fit in, you are just being a better phony. It still isn’t you out there.

Today Ted is a lot happier. He spends his time thinking up creative ideas in his new company, and he’s having a ball. He is not only adding value for the company, he is also adding value for the world.

Think about your job. As a professional, is your job consistent with the person that you really want to be?

If the answer is “yes,” be like the great actor. Be like Frances Hesselbein. Put on a great show. Be the consummate professional. Learn to keep developing your ability to perform, so you can get even better than you are today. If you love what you do, a great coach might even help you get better.

If the answer is “no,” change jobs as soon as you can. Why bother to become a better phony? Even if you do get a coach and learn to modify your behavior, it won’t count for much. Why? It won’t really be you.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mediatec Publishing
http://www.wpsmag.com/

Goldsmith's What Got You Here Won't Get You There is the Harold Longman Award Business Book of the Year for 2007. All of his articles and videos online are complimentary at www.MarshallGoldsmithLibrary.com.

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