Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

How to Manage Your Micromanager

There are few types of managers more annoying than the micromanager. A micromanager is someone who has her hands in every detail of your daily responsibilities, refusing to grant you the slightest bit of autonomy and allow you to make any strategic decisions. She tells you how to do your job, when, and where. Here are a few ways to deal with a micromanager.

Bosses usually micromanage for one of two reasons—either it’s their natural inclination and they treat all of their reports this way, or they only treat a certain employee this way because they don’t trust that person. If you have a micromanager, what can you do to win some freedom?

Evaluate Yourself First

The first step is to take a close look in the mirror and ask yourself if you’ve given your boss a valid reason to watch you like a hawk. This includes having no self-discipline, treating deadlines as optional, and making the same mistakes over and over again. You should make an effort to improve in these areas before approaching your manager about granting you more leeway.

For more tips, please see the full post on the FlexJobs blog.

 

Is Your Culture Corrupt?

Most people believe that governments are corrupt. In fact, fixing corruption in the U.S. government ranked number-two in a list of the most critical issues that should be addressed in the recent presidential election.

Large corporations are no strangers to corruption either. In a 2008 global survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers and The Economic Intelligence Unit, an increasing number of large companies said they recognized their vulnerability to corruption and the benefits of effective anti-corruption programs and controls.

Sixty-three percent indicated that they had experienced some form of actual or attempted corruption, and 45 percent have not entered a specific market or pursued a particular opportunity because of corruption risks. However, while 80 percent said they have some form of an anti-corruption program in place, only 22 percent were confident of the program’s effectiveness.

Corruption on a smaller scale is much more likely to get swept under the rug. We are far more likely to tolerate corruption in our small businesses because it doesn’t seem to have any long-term ill effects. But “seem” would be the operative word here. Regardless of the size of your business, corruption—defined as the misuse of entrusted power for private gain via bribery, conflicts of interest, extortion, embezzlement and fraud—will damage your organization’s reputation and may even have severe operational, financial, legal and regulatory consequences.

It's in your best interest to expose and root out corrupt activities before they sabotage your culture. For recommended action steps, head over to the full post at the AMEX Open Forum.

How to Simplify Your Business Processes

Here’s the thing about many business processes: one person is usually in charge of the initial design, and then over time, everyone else has to add their two cents. Before you know it, the process is muddled and barely manages to accomplish its initial purpose.

As we’ve talked about, organizations also tend to rule by consensus, which means that various individuals have to sign off on every step of a project. This quickly results in an inefficient process.

If you have a business process in your jurisdiction, it’s worth considering if you or your team has over-complicated the matter. After all, processes that are unnecessarily complex slow down productivity and decrease profits. Here are a few steps to ensure that you’ve “cut the fat” appropriately and that your processes are as simple and streamlined as possible.

Revisit Your Purpose

Ask yourself: why was this process established in the first place? What is the business result you are trying to achieve? For instance, you may have created a peer review cycle for the purpose of catching mistakes in client documents that could cost the company business. Solicit your team’s feedback to assess if this is still a valid goal and/or if it needs to be modified.

Tweak the Process

Review the current process from top to bottom as if you were an objective third-party who is unfamiliar with it. What flaws do you see? Does anything take away from the original purpose of the process, and are there any steps where the team is not as efficient as it could be? For example, in the situation above, are most document errors being caught after the first peer review? If so, is it really necessary for the document to go through an additional two peer reviews? Look for places where you can remove process elements without diminishing quality or customer satisfaction.

For more simplification tips, head over to Intuit's Fast Track blog. 

How to Love What You Do

Although my friends sometimes accuse me of being unromantic, I don’t believe in the concept of soulmates. I just don’t think that there is one person out there with whom we are destined to spend our lives. Rather, I feel that there are a number of people out there who could make us happy.

It’s the same thing with careers. Far too often, I see people putting unimaginable pressure on themselves as they struggle to find their one true passion. But in fact, it’s likely that they could be satisfied doing a variety of jobs. A better solution is often to love what you do instead of endlessly striving to do what you love.

Marty Nemko is a friend of mine and a pioneer in the advice space. I have been reading his work for years, and I’ll never forget one article he wrote for Kiplinger.com. In the piece, Nemko agrees with me that finding career contentment is often a matter of diving in wholeheartedly into the job you have, or the best job that’s available to you. He suggests that the best path for most people is to pick a practical career with the following characteristics:

• Moderately challenging
• Meaningful work
• A kind, competent boss
• Pleasant co-workers
• Learning opportunities
• Reasonable pay
• Reasonable work hours
• A short commute

Nemko says that a job with even half of these will make you more likely to love your job than if you had pursued a long shot career. He illustrates the idea with the story of Gary, a mentee who recently graduated from Michigan State with no clue what he wanted to do. His cousin told him that a job was open in a dashboard manufacturing plant. Gary wasn’t passionate about dashboards; who is? But he was tired of living on his parents’ sofa, so he took the job.

Because Gary was bright and curious, he asked lots of questions and soon became the go-to guy on the factory floor. Soon after that, Gary got a promotion and a raise and felt genuinely excited about his future in the industry.

Apparently, feeling expert at something – even something as mundane as dashboards – and being recognized for that expertise, is more likely to create career passion than going after a pipe-dream career.Here are some tips for loving what you do and creating a more meaningful work experience where you are.

Jumpstart your engagement

Imagine you are one of the hundreds of people who apply for jobs with your organization every day. What is going through these candidates’ minds? What do they view about your job as desirable? Think back to when you first started your job. Pretend it’s your first day and echo your initial enthusiasm for your work. -

For more tips, check out the full post at Intuit's Fast Track blog.

Flexible Job Pitfalls to Avoid

If you are lucky enough to have a flexible work arrangement while raising a family, starting your own business, etc., you really have it made. The last thing you want to do is unwittingly put your job in jeopardy because you start to get too comfortable. Here five flexible job pitfalls to watch out for:

Taking Your Situation for Granted

If you’ve had a flexible job for a year or more, it’s easy to forget exactly how desirable your arrangement is. Because the grass is always greener, you’re envious of other people and lose sight of the fact that 90% of employees would kill for your set-up. You stop expressing gratitude and appreciation to your employer, and start complaining more.

Getting Lazy

Because you don’t have a boss watching your every move, and because no one will notice if one little deadline slips, you stop working as hard as you usually do. You don’t put as much energy and thought into your assignments, and the quality of your work suffers. Don’t let your flexible job turn you into a lazy professional.

For more pitfalls, have a look at the full post at the FlexJobs blog.

How to Spot a Job Scam

There are a lot of online job scams out there, but none are more pervasive than the infamous work-from-home scam. If you’ve ever seen these words in front of a job advertisement, you are probably looking at a job scam:

• Earn $25/hr at home!
• Earnings deposited daily to your bank account
• Work from home – thousands per day and no sales required

The best way to judge if a job ad is a scam is to consider what you have to do to get the money promised. If a job sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Think about it: If you were a legitimate organization, would you pay an employee to sit at home and do little or no work? Also, any company that requires you to pay money upfront is a scammer. Employers are supposed to pay you, not the other way around.

Because some job scammers are savvier than others, you should always do a thorough background check on any organization proposing to employ you from home. This includes reviewing records with the Better Business Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission, and Scam.com. It’s also a good idea to Google search “company name” + “scam” to uncover unsavory activity.

For more where this came from, head over to the full post at the FlexJobs blog.

Be a More Effective Telecommuter

Since I started my consulting business in 2008, I’ve worked with people all over the world. Realizing that my success lies in my effectiveness in collaborating remotely, I’ve tried hard to hone the traits that make me a great telecommuting team member. Here are a few of my favorite ways to be a more effective telecommuting team member.

Assertiveness

I take responsibility for my own results, and if something isn’t working, I know that I have to speak up and share my concerns. Teammates aren’t mind readers, especially from thousands of miles away! I also understand the importance of occasionally jumping on the phone to work through a conflict or just to catch up with a colleague with whom I’ve lost a personal touch.

Communication

When telecommuting, I define upfront what’s expected of me and make sure I fully understand my role and the roles of my fellow team members. I know how and when I should get in touch with teammates quickly, and how and when to share critical feedback. I never assume anything, listen (or read) carefully, and strive for clarity.

For the rest of the tips, have a look at the full post at the FlexJobs blog.

Networking for Remote Workers

One of the benefits of working in an office is the people. Every day, you are exposed to a variety of similarly-minded professionals from whom you can learn and grow. However, when you telecommute or are a remote worker, it’s easy to become isolated. Here are a few ways to keep your networking efforts up to par when you don’t have the crutch of encountering new colleagues as a matter of course.

Join a Third-Party Association

Scout out the industry organizations in your field and become a member. Attend their events and conferences, and volunteer to help organize activities. You’ll learn more about your business while simultaneously building your contact database.

Start a Meetup Group

Meetup.com is a terrific way to get acquainted with other local remote workers, share war stories, and pool resources. It’s also nice to have a group with whom you can go out for the occasional happy hour!

Like what you're reading?  Check out the rest of the tips at the FlexJobs blog.

How to Make Your Home Office More Productive

Are you setting up a home office or just trying to make yours a bit more efficient? I have maintained my own home office for nearly a decade, and here are my tips.

Use Another Floor

If possible, place your home office in a space that is seldom used by other people—perhaps an attic or a corner of your finished basement. By hanging out in an area that’s off the beaten path, you will be less likely to be distracted by your fellow cohabitants, chores, and of course, the call of the kitchen.

Plan Your Meals

If you were going to an office, you would bring your lunch to eat at your desk or in the cafeteria, or you would go out. Either way, your time spent on food would be finite. Keep yourself from lingering in the kitchen (and gaining weight) by considering in advance what you will eat during the workday. Stick to those foods only, and allot yourself only a short amount of time to prepare and eat them.

Like what you're reading?  Find the rest of the tips at the FlexJobs blog.