I have a question for you: How do you rate yourself as a leader?

In asking this question of people at leadership seminars through the years, I’ve found that most leaders rank their leadership style as at least an 8 on a scale of 10. Seldom do they give themselves a low mark.

However, when the tables are turned and people are asked to rank their boss’s leadership style, many grade their leaders as being merely adequate. At worst, some are seen as office autocrats who depend heavily on the often-referenced “seagull management” technique as their sole line of attack — they leave their people alone until something goes wrong, and then they fly in, make a lot of noise, dump all over everyone, and fly out. Read More

What’s your resolution for 2012? Want to improve your time management skills? Looking for ways to create more effective communication between colleagues? Or do you want to be known for producing professional results under aggressive deadlines to give your career more momentum? If you answered “all of the above” then this is your year to become a go-to person.

Whether you’re working with department members, cross-team or with clients, being a good go-to person can make you indispensable (and powerful) to them and your company. Read More

I’ve never been good at to-do lists. For me, a to-do list is more a theoretical approach than an actual tool. No matter how many times I’ve tried to put a daily to-do list into practice, it never becomes routine.

They’re too easy to ignore. They nag me only just enough to be annoying, not enough to help me to get stuff done. They put me in a grumpy mood.

Simply put, they don’t give me no satisfaction. I can see that there are just more items to get to, but I know that they’re never really going to stop. Life becomes a big monstrous hydra of tasks, where you cut off one head, cross off one item, and two more pop out. Read More

I quit my job in 2011 to build my own business. I was in for a bumpy ride – and I knew it. In an effort to obtain results at any cost, l adopted work habits that stressed me out and impacted my productivity.

Thankfully, I have pruned every one of them to a point where I can say that today I’m highly effective and at very healthy levels of stress.

However, in case you want to feel overwhelmed, guilty and stressed when starting your business or freelance practice in 2012, please pay close attention… hey, you may be practicing some of them already! Read More

If you’re like me, you meet someone and talk business, then you take their business card before you leave. “Hey, give me your card! We should have coffee sometime!” You exchange cards and go on about your way. Think about the next time you call that person.

Oh, wait! If you’re like me, you never call the person again! No, instead, several months later when you’re clearing out your George Costanza-sized wallet, you see a stash of old business cards – most of them faded and unreadable in places from the creases – and you wonder, Who the heck are these people? Read More

For the lucky ones, it’s only a matter of days whereas for others, it may take years to figure out how to get a job. Being unemployed is a crushing experience — something nearly everyone experiences at some point in their lives.

People may think they’re doing enough to aid their job search when in fact they could be doing a lot more. There are numerous ways to further your search, potentially shortening the time spent unemployed and increasing your chances of landing a full time job, some of which are explained below. Read More

Let me tell you what it is I’m up to in this post. I’m going to explain what would a typical work or job experience look like, and how that usually spans four years – more or less – of joyful times.

But first. . .

Who loves models? I do, but don’t get me wrong. . . this is not about fashion models.

With models, you can picture a scenario of life that’s usually hard to describe or imagine. A model may be simply a representation of, say, a job experience so you can reference to, compare to, and validate against. It helps you find out whether a scenario is right or wrong. Read More

Just like most people at work, I had ignored the book that lay in my drawer. Little did I know it’d teach me how to forgive. It wasn’t any self-help title or a bestseller that I was looking forward to reading. It was our company’s on-going series in lessons in effective management and leadership. That afternoon, during my lunch break, I opened my desk drawer to find something when I saw the little thing.

The mini-book was titled Inspire to Lead and had the first full-page quote that got me reading further. It said. . .

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Whether they are working in the same position for three months or five years, most people strive to know how to work better. Keeping your job is integral to the way you’ve built your lifestyle — without your weekly paycheck, you would never be able to make that car payment or hit happy hour every Friday.

I’ve found there are a lot of small things you can do once a day, once a week, or even once a month to boost your status from a 9-to-5 worker to keystone employee. Here’s how you can do it. Read More

Hey!

Miguel here from BrandPhoto.net. With New Year, come new perspectives, new aspirations. And hey, new business collateral and brand design!

Here’s a simple contest that will make your website, business cards, presentations – or wherever you stamp your brand – say out loud: Yes, You Are Dealing With a Professional.

How?

Leave a comment below telling us: What is your biggest challenge in gaining credibility for your small business practice or website? Read More

Whew! The holidays are over and you have either been enjoying some down time off to lounge around, or you have been going a million miles per minute. Now. . . it’s time to get back to reality!

Getting back into the swing of things can be quite jolting. Did you know post holiday blues cause about 25 percent of Americans to be depressed for a few weeks after the holidays? How can you combat the blues on the job?

Let’s look at some great ways to put a ‘hitch in your get-along’ once you get back to work. Read More

Although many professionals hold leadership positions in the workplace, not everyone is cut out for the responsibilities that come with the position of an effective leader. You might find yourself working for someone whose leadership skills are lacking—and you might believe you could do a better job at leading your team.

How to Unleash the Leader Within You

Although you’ll still have to follow your boss’s orders, it might help to find ways to exhibit your own leadership skills. Read More