BYPASSING THE OBSTACLES

 BYPASSING THE OBSTACLES

Bypassing obstacles often requires creativity, resilience, and sometimes a different perspective. Here are some general strategies you might consider:

1. Problem Solving: Break down the obstacle into smaller, more manageable parts. Then, brainstorm potential solutions for each part. This can make the obstacle seem less daunting and provide a clearer path forward.

2. Flexibility: Be open to adjusting your approach if you encounter resistance or unexpected challenges. Being rigid in your thinking can make obstacles seem insurmountable.

3. Seeking Help: Don't hesitate to reach out to others for assistance or advice. Sometimes, fresh eyes on the problem can provide valuable insights or solutions you hadn't considered.

4. Learning from Failure: Failure is often an inevitable part of overcoming obstacles. Instead of viewing failure as a setback, see it as an opportunity to learn and grow. Use your failures as stepping stones toward success.

5. Persistence: Keep pushing forward, even when the going gets tough. Persistence is key to overcoming obstacles, as many challenges require repeated effort and determination to conquer.

6. Adaptability: Recognize that circumstances may change, requiring you to adapt your approach accordingly. Being adaptable allows you to navigate obstacles more effectively in a constantly evolving environment.

7. Positive Mindset: Maintain a positive attitude and focus on potential solutions rather than dwelling on the obstacles themselves. A positive mindset can help you stay motivated and resilient in the face of adversity.

By incorporating these strategies into your approach, you can increase your chances of successfully bypassing obstacles and achieving your goals.

EMPLOYEES PERCEPTION TOWARDS HR

 

EMPLOYEES PERCEPTION TOWARDS HR

Employees' Perception towards Human Resources (HR) can vary greatly and aren't always negative. However, there are common reasons why some individuals may harbor negative sentiments towards HR:

1. Perception of being an advocate for the company, not the employee: Employees may feel that HR primarily exists to protect the interests of the company rather than advocating for the needs of individual employees.

2. Lack of confidentiality: Employees may worry that HR cannot keep their discussions confidential, leading to concerns about privacy and trust.

3. Perceived lack of empathy: Some employees feel that HR personnel lack empathy or understanding of their concerns, viewing them as bureaucratic or indifferent.

4. Inconsistent application of policies: Employees may experience frustration if they perceive HR to apply policies inconsistently or unfairly across the organization.

5. Bottleneck in decision-making: HR processes can sometimes be seen as bureaucratic hurdles that slow down decision-making or make it difficult to address issues promptly.

6. Ineffective conflict resolution: If employees feel that HR does not adequately address workplace conflicts or grievances, it can lead to resentment and distrust.

7. Impersonal interactions: Employees may feel like they're treated as numbers rather than individuals in their interactions with HR, leading to a sense of alienation.

8. Perception of favoritism: If there's a perception that HR shows favoritism towards certain employees or departments, it can breed resentment among others.

It's essential to recognize that these perceptions may not be universal and can vary depending on individual experiences within an organization. Effective communication, transparency, and a commitment to employee well-being can help improve perceptions of HR and foster a more positive workplace culture.

Leader Character Framework

 

Do You Have The Character To Be A Leader? 

Character is more than just ethics and is often overlooked or misunderstood by leaders. Research shows that organizations with leaders of high character have a significantly higher return on assets. The concept of character is defined based on 10 dimensions, and each dimension can function as a virtue or a vice depending on its deficiency or excess.

Which is the most important dimension for you?

Source: MIT

Motivating the TEAM...

"People deal too much with the negative, with what is wrong. Why not try and see positive things, to just touch those things and make them bloom?"
Thich Nhat Hanh (Vietnamese Buddhist Monk)

In our careers as hoteliers managing a wide range of people, we have all been exposed to people who enjoy being part of the "team" and others who are viewed as or seem to regularly act contrarian. While most of us as managers and supervisors would rather avoid conflict and confrontation, reality has shown us repeatedly that we need the "team" in a business that is open to the public 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

While leaders often may seem inspirational, they often do not have the interest or stamina to be involved in the every day necessity of managing the process of delivering results through other people.

Managers are the ones often responsible for handling, directing, organizing, monitoring and yes, motivating the team. Each of the global leaders in hospitality had a group of managers who assisted them in immense ways to launch the vision and thereby change the industry.

• Recognize that money is not the answer to everything.
• Provide meaningful work, not errands.
• Set and communicate team goals.
• Create and use individual scorecards for individual accountability.
• Practice Public Praise and Private Criticism.
• Consider Merit Increases rather than those based on seniority only.
• Coach your team as a strong way to help them reach beyond where they are.
• Counseling can be both a verb and a noun - learn to share both!
• Commit to a goal of 100% quality - every day!

Lets have a cup of coffee.....worth reading!!!

Lets have a cup of coffee.....worth reading!!!

I am sure this applies to many of us...." A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. 

Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to hot coffee. When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. 

It is, but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. 

 What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups and were eyeing each other's cups. Now if life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. 

They are just tools to hold Life, but the quality of Life doesn't change. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it." So, don't let the cups drive you... enjoy the coffee instead.

Build the Perfect Management Team

Building an executive team can be a daunting task, but recruiting, hiring and integrating the right people into a business are essential to growth and success. Most of the time, building the team is a strategic process - at other times, luck plays a big role. And just when the answers seem obvious something happens: Someone quits, a new competitor emerges, or the financial landscape changes. The process and adaptation to changes along the way is just as important as putting together the team. The talent leader has certain responsibilities to employees, since the people hired are a reflection of his or her leadership style, personal beliefs, values and organizational goals.

Here are 12 steps to help build the perfect team:

Step 1: Map an action plan.

Spend time planning to avoid wasting time and money in the long run, which will interrupt business operations.

 Step 2: Prepare the organization for prime time.

The most embarrassing and fruitless moments in establishing an organization or in the evolutionary phases of change in an existing organization often are the result of shooting from the hip and hiring familiar employees - perhaps those from sister companies - relatives or, worse, single-discipline focused, "pigeon-holed" individuals.

Step 3: Build organizational capacity.

Then overlay these talents with the technical skills for a specific position. This will make an organization more agile and better-equipped to share resources among departments. Job descriptions will be easily written after the talent manager thinks through the core competencies.

Step 4: Know budget and compensation specifications up-front.

Many executive placements are made via networking. Placing an ad in a trade journal or newspaper may or may not bring what the company needs in a candidate.

Step 5: Identify key management milestones early.

Once core competencies are identified, find the balance between hiring too early or too late. Knowing the milestones the company must meet will be a key factor in determining if putting in place an interim executive or outsourcing the executive's function would be better than hiring a full-time employee.

Step 6: Know it's OK to change your mind during the process.

That's the great news about planning and having core competencies established for a company: They ensure talent managers stay focused and create a framework to easily change courses should new information alter considerations about how the team should be structured.

Step 7: Stop.

Is the organization really ready to begin looking for team members? Let this process take as much time as necessary. Make sure all critical steps have been identified. If it's necessary to retool some aspect of the team-building process, now is the time to do it.

Step 8: Go.

Whatever recruiting strategy used, conducting the search and the interviewing process are the next steps. It may take a while to source candidates and schedule interviews. Be flexible. Use technology where possible - for example, webcams, video conferences and Skype

Step 9: Don't miss out on hiring opportunities.

Despite planning and searching, it's going to be hard to make a decision. Selecting a candidate means a commitment of people, compensation and personal chemistry. Choosing too soon or waiting too long will have a direct impact on the outcome of the search.

Step 10: Put your high performers together.

Don't expect new executives, whether it is one person or 10, to mesh instantly. Recruiting these people was the easy part. Now it's time to make sure they work together, share their talents and complement each other's ideas and experiences.

Step 11: Provide an orientation and training time.

Spend time with new team members, and have an orientation plan ready for them when they arrive. The plan could be as simple as spending time with some of the existing employees, or as extensive as visiting clients, reading briefs and interviewing staff.

Step 12: Remember to take care of yourself.

As the talent leader in charge, it's important to continue to develop yourself. Give a speech at a national or local conference. Participate in an industry council breakfast or lunch. Get involved in local efforts to link industry to education, such as giving a talk to high school seniors at career day.

Building a great team is time-consuming, but the organization payoffs are immeasurable. Following these 12 steps can promote success.

Business Anthropology Fuels Top line Growth

Helping Customers Know What They Want
Don't be intimidated by the term. Anthropologists study the origin, behavior, development, and interactions of people. They gain insight through observation in various physical, social, and cultural contexts. If you apply this skill of unstructured observation in your daily life, you can detect unmet or unarticulated needs in the marketplace, which can be converted into fuel for topline growth.

Spotting an Opportunity
To spot holes in the market, develop a keen eye to observe how consumers behave and what they are experiencing wherever you go. What do they like? What do they hate? You'll see it in their facial expressions and body language, not just their actions and words. What excites them and gets them to reach for their wallets? What situations are met with indifference?

Turning Observation into Action
What could you do with such an observation if you worked for Starbucks? First, you could double-check to see that the goods were being presented in the best possible way, and that their presentation matched the brand. You could visit multiple outlets to see if the problem was specific to one location, or was more widespread.

The Advantages of Business Anthropology
You experience personal growth and acquire a skill that can be applied to any business. Today, when organic growth is hard to come by, organizations appreciate those who can spot new opportunities based on unique insights.
Your experience inspires others. You show your direct reports the benefits of observation, enriching their collective insights and multiplying the likelihood that they'll spot growth opportunities.
You potentially create breakthroughs in value propositions for your company. Your observations and ideas might lead to new products or whole new trajectories for growth. They might even inspire a breakthrough product that changes an entire industry, like the iPod.