How To Develop Your Own Potential Quickly
www.enleadership.com Employee Engagement is top of mind in most organizations today and should be. Ed Oakley best selling author, speaker, CEO and leadership expert, discusses the importance of looking at engagement as a business leader and how to utilize your leadership skills to positively impact the engagement of your associates.
Did you ever wish you could be less shy or that you would spend less time worrying about how you’re perceived by others? Maybe you are all too familiar with the way that self-doubts seem to crop up out of nowhere, beyond your control?
While a good deal of stress is caused by worrying about important things like paying the bills or meeting that next deadline at work, recent psychological research has demonstrated that a significant portion of an individual’s stress comes from social anxiety, or the time and energy spent worrying about how one is perceived by others.
People with fewer insecurities seem to have a range of automatic thought processes that make them confident and buffer them from worrying about the possibility of social rejection. Fortunately, even people with low self-esteem can develop these beneficial thought processes that might allow them to gradually become more secure and self-confident.
Since persistent negative thought patterns are learned behaviors, that means that they can be unlearned too. Better yet, the mental retraining doesn’t have to be difficult or boring! Imagine you could play a computer game for five minutes each morning that would help you feel more secure and confident in yourself.
That’s the premise behind Mind Habits, a set of video games based on over a decade of social intelligence research at McGill University by Dr. Mark Baldwin and others. Through repetitive playing, the games train the mind to orient more toward positive aspects of social life and to give less attention to the negative feedback that one encounters—or thinks they are encountering—in daily life.
These video games not only boost self-confidence and naturally reduce the amount of focus given to perceived social slights or criticisms, but they have also been shown to reduce the presence of stress hormones in the people that play them.
In a recent study, Mind Habits recruited 23 employees of a Montreal-based call centre to play one of their games, which involves clicking on the one smiling face among many frowning faces on a screen as quickly as possible. These tests showed an average 17 percent reduction in the stress hormone cortisol compared to a control group that played a similar game but without the smiling faces.
“There are many possible applications for this kind of game,” said Prof. Baldwin, “from helping people cope with the social anxiety of public speaking or meeting new people, to helping athletes concentrate more on their game rather than worrying about performing poorly.”
These award-winning games and their beneficial effects have been written about everywhere from ABC News to the National Review of Medicine. But you don’t have to take our word for it—read more and play a while for free at www.mindhabits.com.
Dr. Baldwin is a psychology professor in the Department of Psychology at McGill University, in Montreal Canada, and is the Lead Inventor of the software licensed to MindHabits Inc.
One of the skills that successful leaders need to master is a bit of a dirty word these days. It’s not the sort of thing they offer leadership training courses on, but it lies at the heart of most business relationships. What I’m talking about is office politics.
When we call someone ‘a political animal’, we’re often not being complimentary. We tend to mean that they’re manipulative and untrustworthy, maybe even immoral or dishonest.
A person who’s good at politics, in our eyes, is someone who likes to score points over others, who tries to scramble to the top of the heap over his or her colleagues.
But politics isn’t all about manipulation. There’s more to it than that. And whether we like it or not, politics is everywhere in the workplace and a good leader needs to know how to make the most of it.
So what does politics have to do with good leadership? Well, to start with, politics involves being aware of the effects your words and actions have on others. And – even more importantly – it also means knowing how to influence people.
In an earlier article, we touched on leading change as a political process, but let’s focus for a moment on your interpersonal political skills in leading change negotiating, persuading, influencing. These leadership skills are essential for success and survival.
In a way, introducing change into an organization is like running a political campaign. If you get it right, your people will support you and your decisions.
How to get your people to accept change:
1. First, set up your campaign team. This isn’t just your fellow leaders, who’ve helped you draw up the plan behind the scenes, it’s also the movers and shakers in your organization. You need to identify them carefully and well. These are the people who can influence OTHER people. Perhaps the people that you can’t reach. If the movers and shakers know about and support what you’re doing, the job will be that much easier.
2. Now prepare yourself. You and your fellow leaders have been working on the plan for a long time. You know how much work has gone into it, and you know how vital it is for your business. Now is the time to get everyone else on board. But be prepared: not everyone’s going to like it.
3. Let the debate go on. Listen to what everyone says: be careful not to spend all your time with people who agree with you. Your fiercest opponents are valuable people: they help you gauge the level of resistance, they set out the arguments you need to defeat, and, if they eventually come round to your way of thinking, they will be some of your most valuable supporters.
The politics of business:
1. Find allies in ALL parts of the organization: you can exchange vital information that you might otherwise not have access to. And you can form coalitions, so together you can influence current and future developments.
2. Intervene in the political processes of the organization: share agendas, influence decisions and decision-makers.
3. Make sure you’re not simply surrounded by ‘yes’ men and women. You need to listen to the devil’s advocates – that way, you’re less likely to make mistakes.
There’s more, of course, there’s more. But deal with office politics on a project by project basis and you won’t go too far wrong. Leadership is sometimes described as a contact sport. It isn’t so much what you know as who you know.
So let me ask you this: who do YOU know?
If you want the leadership success you deserve, get the leadership training you deserve. Download more free articles and leadership training videos from Steven Sonsino, an international business school professor and author of the Amazon bestseller “The Seven Failings of Really Useless Leaders”
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Stress always goes hand in hand with health. Depending to the stress level of a person, the impact of stress in the body can range from minor sweaty palms right through to being fatal and causing death. In order to manage stress and health better, you must first be familiar with the severe effects of stress in the body.
*Physical & Behavioral Signs Of Stress*
Stressors can be either external or internal. External stressors involve situations in the workplace, death or illness in the family, or by simply becoming angry. On the other hand, most of the stress that people experience is self-generated or internal. A person usually creates his or her own stress but this indicates that the person has the choice or doing nothing or something about it.
Your major body systems are all affected by stress.
When a person feels stressed, there will be an increase in heart rate, and an elevation in the blood pressure levels. The continuous pressure in the heart can also make a person vulnerable to cardiac arrest and other cardiac-related problems.
The digestive system is also affected when you are stressed. Some people can experience diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, dryness of the mouth and the throat. Stress may also cause sleeping disorders, nausea and in some cases even a tightness of the chest, neck, jaw and the back muscles. You may also experience tooth grinding.
Often there are also changes in behavioral patterns noticeable in a person experiencing chronic levels of stress. Smokers normally experience an increase in smoking patterns. Aggressive behaviors and hostility towards others and even inanimate objects are sometimes linked to a person being easily startled. A person?s diet can also be affected by the irregular eating habits caused by stress.
Some people who cannot handle stress unfortunately resort to increased levels of alcohol and drug use. Additionally, unhealthy compulsive behavior, impatience and carelessness are also the behavioral effects of stress.
* Long Term Implications of poor stress management *
Long term stress in your life will badly affect your health and wellbeing overall. During stress the body produces hormones that enable the body to cope with the current situation. Short term effects of adrenaline, noradrenaline, and corticosteroids include tense muscles, queasiness and an in increase in breathing and heart rates.
The long term implications of these hormones include allergic reactions, digestive disorder, heart disease, fatigue headaches and migraine. Even some cases of impotence and premature ejaculation can occur in men or erratic menstrual cycles for some women. When the body continuously releases these hormones your sleeping patterns can also be affected and can sometimes lead to chronic insomnia. With severe cases of stress, it can cause eczema, ulcerative colitis, mouth and peptic ulcers and recurring muscular aches and pains.
* Healthy Lifestyle to reduce stress levels in your life *
How a person identifies stress is important to their overall health. When the stress becomes too much to handle, the damage to their physical and mental well-being can be irreversible. Living a healthy life can help a person cope with stress easily.
* Tips for Better Managing Your Stress *
Although a build up of stress can result in major risks, it can also be a positive catalyst for change in your life. Do not let stress accumulate without making the necessary lifestyle changes, otherwise the result can be fatal. By recognizing the stressors, you can put each of them in place and deal with them one by one. Remember that stress can be a healthy signal that you need to make some positive changes in your life, and that now is the best time to make decisions.
* Breathing And Relaxing to Control Stress *
Oxygen is obviously very important to the body. Taking a deep breath adds oxygen to the system, which can help you relax.
Take a short walk in some fresh air, go get a glass a glass of filtered water and do something that can change your focus onto something positive. Try smiling and take a short moment focusing on something else other than your problem. Watch some funny videos before you start your day or listen to comedy audio tapes when you drive in traffic. By the time you get back to your problem, it would not seem nearly as undefeatable.
* Enjoy The Good Things Of Life And Be Positive *
When you let stressful events build up, you can forget to enjoy the good things of life. Remember that life offers many more important things other than work. Reserve some time to actually recognize the good things in your life. Practice being grateful for what you have in your life.
* Know Yourself and Work on Your Limitations *
By recognizing your limitations, you can evade situations that can usually lead to the piling up of work. And you do not need to take responsibility for the work that some one else has left undone. Do not burden yourself with the problems of other people.
If you continuously beat yourself up with needless guilt, not only will you be unable to manage your stress but you will instead worsen the situation.
There are other several ways to help you manage your stress. If you are into self help books, sometimes taking time reading your favorite book can help you in putting the problem out of your mind, or help you to come up with creative solutions. Taking a warm bath and watching your favorite show on TV can also help you. Always remember that the keyword in better stress management is Relaxation.
* Strategies to Use for Avoiding Stress Build Up*
Stress build up can pose major health risks to you in the long term if you do not start to deal with it now. Often times, people who do not know how to handle stress find themselves in rehabilitation facilities that offer twelve-step programs that could help them recover. So have a policy that stress avoidance is always better than cure. Learn to avoid stress build up through simple strategies that you could practice in your free time.
* Learn To Have Fun *
Look into yourself and find something that you are into. There are bound to be some games or fun activities that you can enjoy by yourself or with friends and family. Find the things that you enjoy the most. Hobbies are helpful activities to enhance the overall relaxation process.
Drawing and gardening are great stress relievers but you are not limited to these two. You can practically put your hands on anything that you enjoy doing. Maybe start collecting something of interest as a hobby. Take some craft classes, or learn to dance. If there was a sport you enjoyed in school, you might be able to start getting back into shape with that interest again. Learn that it is fine to have a little fun after hard days of work.
* Taking Better Care Of Your Health *
If you have a predetermined health condition, stress can greatly aggravate that condition. Maintaining a healthy diet and physical activity levels can help you in avoiding the health risks from stress.
Healthy eating at home can help you lose some spare pounds around the stomach, since most people who are stressed-out tend to gain more weight than others. Planning ahead is an important step in eating healthy. Do your shopping for weekly groceries, and plan your home meals every week. Keep your cooking simple and fast to reduce your daily stress. Eating healthy does not mean that you need to prepare a four-course meal. A simple balanced meal with the combination of protein, fresh fruits, green vegetables, wholegrain bread and not too much fat is enough to get you going. You can even find healthy recipes online. Eating organic produce also helps to eliminate many of the toxins that can stress your body. Drink plenty of filtered water and reduce your caffeine and soda drinks.
Exercising can help you cope with stress easily. You can also enroll yourself in weekly gym classes or dance classes depending on how much free time you have. Through gentle and consistent exercise your body releases more of the endorphins that increase your feelings of wellbeing. It does not have to be overly strenuous, just enough to get a slight sweat and glow to your skin.
* Ask For Support When you Need it. *
Never blame yourself for the cause of stress as this will only worsen the stress that you are already feeling. Do not build a wall around you whenever you are feeling stressed and never let yourself feel helpless. Ask family or friends to assist you to cope. Stress is an enemy that you can triumph upon with the help of loved ones.
* You can use Spiritual Practices For Avoiding Stress *
Practicing meditation can help you clear you mind in stressful situations. Seniors use prayers as stress reliever. Prayers can also maintain emotional stability. Learn what you need to maintain your Mind, Body, Spirit Balance for your overall wellbeing.
These suggestions are a good start for learning stress management for better health. You can learn many more online tips at http://www.squidoo.com/Manage-Your-Health-And-Stress There are also some really helpful steps to reduce your stress levels covered online here http://www.squidoo.com/Personal-Stress-Management-get-rid-of-stress
There goes another one! It seems like every day a different retailer is falling by the wayside as the economy continues to struggle. Yet for those who are opening a dollar store, this is a time of opportunity – especially when you do the right things the right way. Yet as today’s marketplace continues to struggle, it is critical for every dollar store to have a leader with solid problem solving skills. It is a time when being able to recognize the market changes and then to react appropriately to those changes are absolutely essential to maintain control of sales, dollar store costs and dollar store profit. In this article we will explore problem solving skill is key to success when opening a dollar store.
As the economy darkens and the marketplace gyrates to and fro, success after opening a dollar store requires a keen eye. You must be able to recognize marketplace changes early on. You must be able to determine the many unimportant changes. At the same time you must be able to quickly recognize the important few changes that can wreak havoc on your business.
If you are opening a dollar store you must be able to quickly note changes in dollar store costs, sales and dollar store profit. After all, sales that are growing by leaps and bounds are important. Yet if your dollar store costs are also growing at the same or even a faster rate, you will soon find problems abound. As costs grow, your dollar store profit will be shrinking.
Recognizing there is a problem is only the first step however. You must be able to drill down and determine the exact cause of the problem. Often you’ll need to establish a temporary strategy to control the problem. Then you can quickly focus on developing a long term solution. Don’t forget to test your solution before walking away assuming all is well. Many have learned this the hard way. Those who don’t test are risking having the solution create new, even bigger problems. Then you have two problems; your original unsolved problem and the new problem created by your solution.
Those who are opening a dollar store must be good problem solvers. They must continually monitor the performance of their store to ensure sales, dollar store costs and dollar store profit are moving in the desired direction. They must be quick to react whenever problems arise. They must be nimble and quickly change direction to stay successful in today’s marketplace.
To your dollar store success!
Learn how you can Start your own Dollar Store Business.
Bob Hamilton is an entrepreneur, author, writer,
business consultant and trainer.
