Teamwork 4 moves that will make your career take off

Teamwork 4 moves that will make your career take offTeamwork 4 moves that will make your career take offMonths ago, when you were introduced to your team in the office, everyone seemed like they would work together well and production would flow smoothly. Fast-forward months later, and instead of hitting benchmarks on time, you and your colleagues are lagging behind due to a variety of problems- including the fact that you dont work together well enough, including communicating well.Letting teammates fail is bedrngnis an option, since most teams share benchmarks. Depending on the situation, there could be many reasons why things slip through the cracks when teamwork goes awry. Heres how to manage. Our teams struggle when we dont maintain strong work relationshipsTheres a whole host of reasons whyyour teammight not be meeting their deadlines on time and/or working effectively. But most of it boils down to individual members failing to show respect or communicate well with others.Dr. David Chaudron explains personal causes of poor teams in a CEOWORLD Magazine article.These include ignorance of conflict resolution skills unwillingness to speak up when things are going wrong a poor mix of team members that result in insufficient skills, as well as conflicting priorities and personalities. If the team has a designated supervisor or task leader, their personality and management style has a significant effect. These person-related causes can often be symptoms of other issues, though they are often the focus of management training, Chaudron writes.He also writes about group causes of poor teamwork, including people not knowing what work each person is responsible for, communication problems within the group, and a disconnect between what is expected of the team and what the team wants to/can accomplish.A good employee is a good teammateHeres how to manage your performance when you dont like the hand youve been dealt in the office. Do your part to fix communication pro blemsOne of the most common problems with teamwork is communication. While many people bemoan bad team communication, we rarely take ownership of the problem. As a general rule, overcommunicating with teammates will improve things.A Forbes articleshows how to improve a lack of communication.Low-performing teams typically start with low levels of communication, rising to a central peak, followed by a plateau and final rise as they scramble to meet their targets. Instead, communicate early and often. High-performing teams start with an early peak in communication, and then plateau at a higher overall level than low-performing teams. Overall communication volume is greater and more frequent, the article says. Be transparent with colleagues who dont value your contributions Celestine Chua writes about this concept in a Business Insider articleabout dealing coworkers who are hard to work with. One thing that has worked for me is to let the person know my intentions behind what I am doing . Sometimes, they are being resistant because they think that you are just being difficult with them. Letting them in on the reason behind your actions and the full background of what is happening will enable them to empathize with your situation. This lets them get them on-board much easier, Chua writes.Let your supervisor know about a coworker whos dropping the ballThis could be a reason why you dont like your team. A Monster article provides insight on dealing with a coworker who isnt pulling his or her weight, and explores a potential last resort if things really get out of hand. You should try talking with your coworker before going to a supervisor, or else youre undermining them. But if you have that discussion, and it goes nowhere, its time to loop in someone who can help.You never want to be labeled the workplace tattletale, but some situations are just impossible to live with. If all else fails and you feel an intervention is needed to stop the behavior, tell your boss. If you go this route, make sure you speak in terms of how the behavior is impacting the organization. Reducing creative thinking, impacting productivity and damaging team morale are all reasons for a boss to get involved because it will impact his bottom line, the article says.Its also important to show good judgment in what you raise with a boss. There will always be people at work you dont like remember that no one cares. Whining to everyone who will listen that another teammate hates you, with no evidence, is unlikely to be effective- or interesting for a manager to deal with. Its more likely that theyll just see you as unable to manage your own relationships and ask you to fix it yourself.Instead of complaining about others personalities, focus on concrete problems that are holding back teamwork, and always connect them back to how they impact measurable results.What do if youre on awork team you dont want to be a member of Consult others in your fieldIf nothing at all is working , and you strongly feel youre on a team that youre not connecting with, it may be time to explore a transfer or a new job. Before jumping ship and plotting out your stealthy exit, or making a rash decision in the heat of the moment, use your network to figure out just how out of the norm your situation is.Talk to other colleagues in your field to get a better handle on industry standards (in terms of how their teams function). After consulting a bunch of your peers, compare their situations to yours to see how it stacks up in terms of team dynamics- just be sure to take outside factors into account, like the size of their team/company, allotted resources, and their descriptions of colleagues personalities and tendencies.

After-work anxiety Why we get stressed when we get home

After-work anxiety Why we get stressed when we get homeAfter-work anxiety Why we get stressed when we get homeSometimes work is so busy we dont even have time to be anxious. Then on your commute home, or on the family room couch at 8 p.m., stress hits like bricks. Without intending to, youve brought work home with you. Its sitting next to you, staring at you, and it feels like theres nothing you can do.In turn, people with high levels of work stress have poorer mental health than those with lower levels. Four years of chronic high stress can lead to a seven percent decrease in mental health compared to those who experienced no stress. Stress also makes people angrier, sicker and mora likely to be in unhappy marriages.Of course, after-work anxiety is so common that it is, to a degree, inevitable. But there are some things that make it worse than it needs to be. Here are three1. Unhealthy work-life balanceTheres a misconception about work-life balance. Some think of it as an hours-work ed equation. For example, one employee at Challenge Manufacturing Company Pontiac described an unhealthy work-life balance as 90% Work + 10% Home Life. Through this lens, work-life balance is a calculation based on how much time one spends on work compared to life.Ladders is now on SmartNewsDownload the SmartNews app and add the Ladders channel to read the latest career news and advice wherever you go.The problem is feeling balanced between work and life has very little to do with time spent on either. Unless you literally have no time for life (Get up and go to work, go home, sleep and get up and go to work, as one Mattress Firm employee put it in a kununu review) most full-time workers spend significantly more time on work than on waking life. And many are happy and minimally stressed doing so.Rather, work and life feel unbalanced if all your mental and emotional resources are going to work and you have none left over for life. After work, Im always tired, explained one Wal-Mart e mployee. One Target employee said in a review that they were constantly stressed and dreading my next shift, even while at home. These kinds of mental burdens- not simply time spent at work- derail work-life balance. Put another way, work-life balance isnt equal work time to equal life time. Its being mentally and emotionally able to savor the life time you do have.Fortunately, even if we cant dictate the number of hours we work, we have control over feeling balanced. Research shows that an end-of-workday positive reflection can decrease stress and improve health in the evening. Adopt a daily ritual, like taking a few deep breaths, practicing mindfulness on your way home from work, or working out, to add space and separate work from life.2. Career misgivingsAnother reason for after-work anxiety is existential career stress Am I in the right job? The right profession? What if Im not making the most of my potential? What am I doing here? Sometimes we feel the stress of these questions more acutely when were not in the office and have more time to ruminate.Consider the source of your misgivings. Maybe its a anfhrer you dont jive with, or a field youre not enamored by. Remember that anxiety evolved to help us make good decisions. What could your anxiety be telling you about your next career step? If you dread going back to work on Mondays and count down the hours until you can clock out, maybe youre in the wrong position. All careers are hard, and we all go through hot and cool spells. But if youve felt anxiety after work for more than six months and you sense it has to do with work, it could be worth looking into other options either within the company or outside it. Some research even shows that job mobility improves mental health.Regardless of your career decisions, labeling whats going on can alleviate your anxiety. If you cant discover the root of it, cognitive behavioral therapy could help. Research shows that it helps anxious workers reduce absenteeism and make important career decisions.3. Inadequate outside-of-work outletsYou may have inadequate outside-of-work outlets if you cant quite put your finger on the cause of your anxiety, dont want to do anything after work, and end up watching a lot of TV. Having, as one Angmar Medical Holdings Inc. employee review put it, No life after work, may explain why you feel anxious. Common coping mechanisms like holing up, binge eating and watching TV only exacerbate anxiety.For some people, work is an adequate creative, intellectual and social outlet. For many, however, we need outside activities to supplement needs not met at work. If you like your job but still feel anxious after work, consider what you still need. Maybe its social interaction and community. Maybe its physical exertion, or creativity. Maybe its romantic love. One outlet we desperately need but often lack is adequate sleep. In short, find ways to facilitate an outlet that meets your needs outside of work.If youre job hunting, look for companies that value after-work activities and supplemental passions. Good thing is you rarely worked past 5. Everyone had things to do after work, writes one Displays By Jack employee. Reviews like this can give you a sense for whether after-work outlets will be feasible at a potential company.If you think an anxiety-free after-work existence is mere fantasy, consider this review from an employee at VendiniThe employees absolutely rock. There is a real sense of community between coworkers. Everyone seems to have a real life and hobbies outside of work. People here are smart, talented, driven, but also know when its time to go home and relax. When youre not at the office, youre not working. Ive never lost sleep or gotten anxious thinking about work the next day.Its something to work toward.Caroline Beaton (cs_beaton) is kununus millennial career expert. Shes an award-winning writer and entrepreneur who helps ambitious millennials change their habits and behaviors to lead mo re fulfilling lives. Her writing has been featured in Forbes, Psychology Today, Business Insider and many others.Thisarticlefirst appeared onkununu.

How to Keep your Job Search Secret on LinkedIn

How to Keep your Job Search Secret on LinkedIn How to Keep your Job Search Secret on LinkedIn One of the biggest fears people have about creating or updating their LinkedIn profile is that their employer will see the changes. After all, you dont want your boss to know youre looking for another job until youve found one.The good news is that its perfectly possible to create a strong LinkedIn profile one that attracts recruiter attention without alerting your current employer. Heres how.Change your settingsNavigate to Settings and look for the option Turn on/off your activity broadcasts. Uncheck the box, hit Save changes and youre ready to start editing your profile without anyone knowing.musiknote that you should change this back once youre done, as these updates are a key way of keeping your name in front of your contacts (which might be important if one of them is looking to hire someone like you in the future).Write a smart headlineLinked In allows you to write a headline that ap pears right under your name. When a recruiter is searching for candidates, they see this headline first and it determines whether they choose to read the rest of your profile. So of course, you want it to be compelling. But make it too self-promotional, and your boss, should she stumble upon your profile might wonder why you are advertising your qualifications quite so prominently.For example this Highly effective marketing manager with 10 years of experience. Expertise in social media and web marketing definitely sounds like youre looking for a new job.Instead, start with your current title and then add information that would be important for recruiters to know, but in the context of your current work. For example Manager of Digital absatzwirtschaft for XYZ Corp Oversee social media, web advertising, email campaigns and SEO/SEM across 8 countries.Now your headline reads like a networking headline rather than a self-promotional one. And yet, it will be just as attractive to recruit ers or maybe more so, because they prefer candidates who are currently employed.Keep the hype out of your summary sectionExactly the same principle applies when it comes to writing your summary. You want it to convey that you are successful and content in your current role, so that no one at your current employer gets suspicious and so that recruiters see you as a desirable candidate.Remember, if you changed your settings before you started to write the profile no one will have been alerted about the changes. But that doesnt mean they wont see your profile some time in the future and its better safe than sorry.Start your summary by stating your current situation, for exampleI am the manager of digital marketing for XYZ CorpBe sure to express enjoyment of your workIve been in this job for 3 years and what I most enjoy is Weave in your experience and qualifications as part of the narrative, rather than as hype.When I was offered the job 3 years ago, it was a natural extension of what I had been doing for the prior few years. While I started my career in traditional marketing (in both companies and agencies) I had begin to develop expertise in the realm of digital marketing. I loved the combination of creativity and technology, and especially I loved the ability to measure and analyze every campaign in a way that just wasnt possible online.Keep this approach in mind throughout the whole summary, writing to describe yourself and provide information rather than to self-promote (all the while, self-promoting like militrischer abschirmdienst of course)Close with something that explains your presence on LinkedInId love to reconnect with old colleagues and Im always open to new connections, so please feel free to send me an invite.Thats itFollow these 3 steps and youll have a profile that attracts recruiters and potential employers without ever letting your current company about your search.If youd like a complete template for writing your LinkedIn profile, download m y Blue Sky Guide to LinkedIn. Youll get step-by-step instructions with screenshots for every aspect of the site. Follow the guidelines and you will get headhunted. Thats a promiseartwork by conveniencestoregourmet via Flickr