Author: Staff (Page 49 of 62)

The emergence of leadership coaching for executives

September 4, 2011 / Staff

Executive coaching is the hot new trend as companies try to maximize the performance of their management teams. Check out this article on coaching from Fortune and consider whether coaching is right for you or for someone on your team.

Once seen as a last-chance effort to turn around flagging careers, coaches for top talent are going mainstream. They’re being brought in for newly hired senior executives, as well as for newly promoted department heads who suddenly must manage many more people. “Leadership coaching is the hottest thing these days,” says Kate Wendleton, president of the Five O’Clock Club, which has turned some of its outplacement and career coaches into executive coaches because demand has been so strong.
According to a July 2011 American Management Association survey, almost half of participating companies use coaching to prepare individuals for a promotion or new role. While half of companies provide coaches to midlevel or senior staff only, 38% make them available to anyone. Coaching’s three most common uses, according to the AMA survey: leadership development, remedial performance improvement, and optimizing strong contributors. “A coach is like a personal trainer for business,” says Erika Andersen, author of Being Strategic and coach to many media executives.

Coaches can run $200 per hour or more, and work can be done face-to-face, on the phone or both.

Your Business, Your Career, Your Team, Your Workplace

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New jobs: Data Scientists

September 4, 2011 / Staff

With the mountains of data being generated every day, companies are trying to mine it and make sense of it. The result is a booming job market in this area and a new career track for “data scientists.”

As part of a relatively new field, data scientists may come from many different backgrounds. Garrison says that employers are often looking for two things when considering a job applicant. “The first part is the technical background,” he says. Companies may want professionals with an industry background who are familiar with its specific jargon and trends. “If you want to work for a pharmaceutical company, you might need a degree in biochemistry,” he explains. Other jobs may require only a general degree in business.
In addition to the technical expertise, data scientists and competitive intelligence professionals also need to know where to find data and how to analyze it. Some colleges and universities offer graduate degrees or certificate programs in specialties such as data mining and data analysis. Professional groups such as SCIP also provide training opportunities for members.
Since data scientists spend a significant amount of time using computer programs and algorithms, it may seem logical that a computer science degree would be preferable for these professionals. However, many argue that a degree in physics makes more sense. Loukides writes that physicists not only have mathematical and computing skills but also an ability to see the “big picture.”
Daniel I. Shostak, President of Strategic Affairs Forecasting, has been tracking changes in the field of analytics for several years and says that those interested in working as a data scientist need more than just computer skills. “[They] need to demonstrate very good communication skills because many folks are very skeptical about the value of data driven analysis,” he said. In addition, Shostak suggests that potential job candidates become proficient in the statistical language R and have experience working with computer networks since they are often an integral part of working with large data sets.
As a hot new career, the government has yet to begin tracking data scientist occupational information. However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that demand for operations research analysts, who provide some similar services, is expected to jump 22 percent from 2008-2018.

Your Career

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Handling tough questions at a job interview

July 28, 2011 / Staff

If you’re preparing for a job interview, it’s impossible to anticipate all the questions, so on some level it’s more important to be relaxed and be comfortable about discussing your career goals, the potential job and your previous experience. That said, it’s important to prepare. Part of that involves doing research on the company and the prospective job, but you also need to be prepared for the tough interview questions that pop up often in interviews.

Forbes has an article about how to answer the 10 toughest interview questions. They don’t go very in-depth into the answers, but the advice is solid and it’s a good list.

Your Career, Your Compensation

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How to Work Smarter Not Harder

July 27, 2011 / Staff

A lot of people have developed the silly philosophy that to get ahead a person has to work as hard as they can. Now there’s nothing at all wrong with working hard, but working with some intelligence and a plan can do wonders for your success. You can do less physical work, less repetitive work and take up less of your day while you make more money if you plan effectively. You can also make use of systems that will make your work easier, and some systems will even do much of your repetitive work for you.

Making it Smarter

The first step in working smarter is to figure out the point of your work. What are you going to do with a particular day? A lot of people are so stuck on the dogma of doing a bunch of rote tasks in a particular order that they forget why they’re doing them. If you can’t figure out why you do something, try cutting it out entirely for awhile. The important tasks will show their importance if they’re absent for awhile because your work will be hurt without them. Useless tasks and busy work are expendable, and you won’t miss them after awhile.

Using Your Time Well

When you plan, you tend to get more done. Even a simple to do list scribbled on a piece of paper is a great way to put proverbial rockets on your day. The more organized you are the better prepared you’ll be to get your day’s work done faster and easier. While it might be easy to fire up a game of Angry Birds, setting up the latest MetroFax app for the iPhone is a far more effective way to use your time. The new app just released, and will be a big help in working smarter. Considering how many apps are out there you can do a lot without even having to move. Even rush hour traffic can be time productively spent with nothing more than your smart phone.

Use Systems to Your Advantage

Smart phones are great for systematizing almost everything in your day. However, computers are even better about it. You can automate everything from your business expense payments all the way up to your to do list, and you can even automate ordering dinner for those long nights of working. As well, you can make sure your cash flow figures are correct through a site like Mint.com. By that point, you’re working a whole lot smarter and probably not as hard.

Proactive thought and the use of systems can do a lot to make your work day a lot easier. Naturally, these require some thinking, so you have to work smarter. When systems begin to do a lot of the rote work for you it becomes a lot easier to get through your important work. When you know what your important work is you can do it a lot more effectively. The less busy work that clutters your day the more effectively you can accomplish your to do list. It all comes down to doing what you’ve got to do by the end of the day.

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4 Ways to Keep Your Job and Your Sanity

July 23, 2011 / Staff

Losing your job is one of the most traumatic financial events you can go through. While it isn’t as bad as a serious illness, the amount of stress losing your job could cause could become a serious health concern. So while you continue struggling to keep your job along with everybody else, here are some great tips for keeping cool and staying in the saddle.

Stick to the Fundamentals

Your boss wants to make sure your business’s core operations remain intact. This is a time when you want to be very careful where and when you rock the boat. If you rock it too much, your boss may decide you’re more of a liability than an asset.

Be Seen and Appreciated

There are two things you need to ask yourself before you do anything work-related:
1. Will it be noticed?
2. Will it be immediately appreciated?
While business is all about toiling away on the inglorious preparatory work, you need to do plenty of sexy work as well. The more obviously useful what you’re doing is, the more likely you’ll be kept around and rewarded when rewards are possible. Make sure you are always as visible as possible when you’re doing something constructive.

Be Proactive

If your boss isn’t handing out assignments, find useful work to do. Make sure it will obviously help the company and make sure everyone knows you’re doing it. The more obviously you benefit the company, the more likely you’ll get praise and profit for your activities. The more effectively you plan and manage for yourself, the more likely you’ll get the next promotion to come down the pike.

Keep Hope Alive no Matter What

Sometimes every effort you put forward won’t be enough to keep your job. In a case like that you need to rely on your wits. First things first, keep your expenses on track. If you need quick cash to hold you over, visit plaingreenloans.com. Drop your unnecessary expenses and keep your necessary ones as tightly in check as you can. Secondly, use your proactivity to secure your next source of employment as soon as you can.

This isn’t the best environment for staying employed or staying sane. However, this is a great time to test your mettle and give it everything you’ve got. If you struggle to be seen and use every ounce of your creativity beneficially, you may be able to keep your job and avoid going insane.