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Pat Brill's Articles

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How to Handle Poor Performance - What If It Doesn't Work Out What do you do after you have coached and counseled an employee and they still do not meet performance expectations or correct the behavioral issue(s)? It can be a challenge to decide if an employee is going to succeed in their role. How to Handle Poor Performance - Organizing Your Discussion As a manager, you may spend significant time managing employees, specifically evaluating and handling employee performance. This is a challenging aspect of your job, especially since you have business deliverables demanding your attention as well. Do You Have a Career Development Plan? In today's business environment, you need to manage your own learning. When you are managing employees, you think about their development within the organization. What about yours? How to Handle Poor Performance - Managing An Employee's Performance Communication between you and your team is critical to everyone's success. Most employees are eager to perform at a high level and your early intervention will guide them to being more productive. Do I Have To Change? What do you think about change? We all have our reactions to change...some things we are ready to let go, others we hold on to dear life. The Power of Forgiveness There are two different types of forgiving: forgiving others and forgiving ourselves. Both are important in order to develop and increase compassion and love within us. Food Gift Baskets Quality food baskets are a great gift idea to give to others. Everyone loves receiving these edible delights. You can stay within budget and still present a beautiful gift by creating your own basket. All you need is a little bit of creativity and some time. There Is Too Much To Do How you manage your employees affects your overall performance. So how do you give your best when there is too much to do? Employee Goal Setting In business, this is how the "tree" of goal setting forms: Do You Have The Procrastination Bug? How does procrastination show up in your life? Do you delay doing something for no obvious reason? We all know that to optimize our productivity we need to focus on completion. What Do You Need From Your Recruiter Whether you depend on your Human Resources Department or outside recruiters to find the right candidates, it's important to know what you can expect from them. Cleaning Out My 'Guilt" Closet We all have a 'guilt' closet where we automatically open the door and take out our favorite guilt thoughts. It's hard to let go of our guilt because we have invested a lot of time in believing in it. Guilt is like a comfortable old pair of pants that we wear even if it doesn't look that great. Are You Managing Your Employee's Expectations? Managing employee's expectations is composed of open and honest communication with members of your team, as well as strong listening skills to what is important to your employees. How to Help Your Employee Handle Issues With Co-Workers Unless you have been working alone all your life, you realize quickly that not all people get along with each other. In managing employees, you have or will get the opportunity to run interference between two employees who are in conflict with each other. Manage Your Relationship With Your Peers Your employees watch closely how you manage them, your boss and your peers and they will emulate your behavior. How you manage your relationships with other managers will affect the relationship you have with your direct reports. You lead by example! A Very Hot Topic Whether you look online, turn on the television, or pick up a newspaper, you are likely to see something on global warming. Global warming is a "hot" topic. How to Deal With an Employee With an "Attitude" It doesn't take long for a manager to bump into an employee with an "attitude." Evaluating an employee as having an "attitude" also depends on what bothers a manager, as the same behavior may be just fine with another manager. Listening To Our Friends What I've been noticing lately is that we take our friends for granted; we don't always listen to them. Yes, I'm one of those sometimes non-listeners. Put a group of women friends together and you will see a big ball of energy; everyone is busy talking, sometimes listening, injecting similar like stories, and making tons of suggestions what you can do. Retaining Employees After The First Year Most employees start out as a new employee, develop competency in their roles, and then move forward to the expert stage. As you work with employees on development, it can be helpful to look at the stage they are in to appropriately plan with them their career development. Are You a "Burned Out" Manager? Responsibility for both the department's deliverables and managing employees can be challenging for any manager. Since you need to guide your team's well-being, make sure you are taking care of yourself. Releasing Stress in Small Ways The one thing that virtually all people have in common is the stress of living in this modern age. So much has changed in the last 25 years. Yet all generations had to grow up and take on the responsibilities of raising a family, making a living and figuring out their place in this complicated world. How To Build Trust With Your Employees To be successful in managing employees you have to build a repertoire of skills to motivate employees. Creating a strong working relationship with each of your team members occurs when you increase trust with each member of your team. A team is a group of people, each one influencing the effectiveness of the whole. Managing the Recruiter You're a manager and don't have the time to do the all of the recruiting for your open position, so you rely on other people to help you in your talent search. Whether you depend on your Human Resources Department or outside recruiters to find the right candidates, it's important to know what you can expect from them. Day Spas: Popular Body Treatments Are you in need of a little bit of "you" time? Would you like to take a few hours to escape from the real world? Would you like to be pampered, instead of you doing the pampering for someone else? If so, you may want to schedule an appointment at one of your local day spas. What Can You Learn From Your 'To Do" List? In this hectic, sometimes chaotic life, we push ourselves to do more without the satisfaction of ever completing our 'to do' list. Do you subscribe to the thought that more is better? I Can! Yet, I also know this is trouble for me because there is never enough. So...I made a decision! Recruiting - Asking the Right Questions Someone has weeded through hundreds of resumes to come up with a short list of candidates that potentially meet the requirements of the position. Now it's time to interview the candidates. How to Handle High Maintenance Employees Have you a "high maintenance" employee....one who demands a lot of your time? Every manager usually bumps into this type of employee. Is Exercise a Dirty Word? We all know that exercising is an important part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Yet...do we do it? What if you could give yourself permission to start small in your exercising efforts...and still feel good about yourself? De-Cluttering and Organizing Your Bathroom Bathrooms seem to attract lots of small items like makeup, medicine bottles, hair accessories, razors, hairbrushes, lotion, shampoo, product samples and the list goes on. Finding what you need as well as removing old products can be challenging. Here are a few simple ideas to help you create more space and be more organized. Are You A 'Snooze Button' Junkie? One of our readers sent in a request... "How do I get up early in the morning without hitting the snooze button?" I chuckled when reading this request because I can easily relate to this issue. I confess I too am a 'snooze button' junkie! Be a Food Shopping Organizer Have you ever gone shopping and then at home you realized that you forgot something. This happens ever day by thousands of people so you are not alone. Did you forget to take your coupons or didn't give them to the cashier at checkout? It's now time to focus your organizational skills on your grocery shopping and keep the money in your pocket. Here are ideas to support you on this road. Interesting Ways to Display Your Favorite Photos Photos of family and friends add warmth and personality to our homes. The more public the photo display, the more creative you need to be to exhibit your treasures. Great Gifts for Young Grads – From Pre-K to Middle School So your son or daughter has finally graduated middle school and is about to take that huge, nerve-wracking, terrifying but exhilarating step into high school. You can remember that feeling with almost perfect clarity, right? The fear, the excitement, the nervousness of the unknown … it was almost too much to bear! Great Gifts for Grads Ah, graduation. Remember that soaring feeling of freedom? That excitement of stepping out into a whole new world of choices and decisions, all made by you? There’s no doubt that graduation, whether it be from high school, college, or grad school, is a wonderful milestone in life. Fabulous Gifts for the Bride Buying gifts for the wedding or engagement party is almost as fun as buying gifts for yourself, but wedding gifts don’t have to break the bank. In fact, it’s usually cheaper to buy the couple a something for their new home rather than giving them cash. So, if you want some great gift ideas (because the thought of giving them a toaster just makes you cringe …), read on. We’ve got some great ones Fabulous Gifts for the Bridal Shower and Engagement Party With weddings come gifts. Lots of them. Between the bridal shower, the engagement party, and the wedding itself, gifts are showered almost continuously on the happy couple so they can start their new life together. Change the World One Purchase at a Time From this moment on, stop thinking about money in the traditional way. Let’s not think about money and spending habits from the ‘ME’ perspective alone. When your first instinct is to say ‘No, I don’t really need that’, try to stop doing the ‘responsible’ thing and start sharing the wealth. The Maze of Family Finances The family finance game no longer just entails paying the mortgage and other bills each month. With budget planning, college and vacation savings, and making smart investments, knowing the ins and outs of your financial situation is vital for a healthy home and a healthy future. Live With Passion â€“ Do What You Love Imagine the pride you would feel as a parent if you knew your children were involved in careers that really brought them joy. If you knew that they were involved in something that made them love getting up and working every day, that challenged them and filled their days with excitement and wonder. Wouldn’t that be amazing? Round-Robin Mealtime Structuring the conversation, especially with children at the table, can be a bit tricky sometimes, and that’s where the idea of the Round-Robin Mealtime comes in. Prepare to be amazed at the simplicity of it all. The Soul of a Home It's the room where your kids visit with you after school and tell you all about their day. It’s the room where your dearest friends gather for drinks, where your spouse makes you laugh after a long day, where you go to count your blessings, or to have a quiet cup of tea. Simple Childrenâ€™s Garden What better way to encourage your kids to eat vegetables than to plant a vegetable garden? Children will learn about where their food comes from, how seeds sprout, and how plants grow. They will do some work planting, weeding and harvesting and a lot of healthy playing. They will get a little dirty, and that's all to the good. Motherâ€™s Day Resolutions: A New Tradition While the dawning of a new year challenges us to look at every aspect of our lives, Mother’s Day is about one thing: mothers. Why not use the annual tradition of honoring mothers to set a few resolutions that nurture you, nurture your own mother, and nurture your relationship with your children? The Pitfalls of Over-Scheduling Your Child It’s no secret that American children have jam-packed schedules and expectations that most adults never had to deal with. But you might be surprised to learn that many children carry around a PDA to store schedules and contact information, and a cell phone to stay connected to parents who may be at work or attending a sibling’s scheduled event. How To Reconnect With Your Partner Through Taking Classes When was the last time you really felt connected with your partner? You know, that feeling that you share something special between the two of you? How about the last time you and your partner had a really good time together, just the two of you? The Golden Rules of Winter Vacations Taking a winter vacation with your kids always seems like a great idea, but it can often leave you feeling like you need another vacation when you get home! With a little planning, you can take a vacation with your kids this winter and return feeling as if you actually got the break you needed. Just follow these three golden rules: How to Recover From Holiday Spending and Prepare for Next Year Despite our resolve to “spend less next year,” most of us overspend during the holiday season. Perhaps it’s the twinkling lights that distract us from our bank balance, or the sugar high that makes us open our wallets with no thought to next year’s finance charges. Be Your Own Valentine This Valentine’s Day, why not take the time to appreciate someone who rarely gets your attention; someone who deserves a thoughtful gift and a few kind words? Someone like – you! Whether you are single or attached, Valentine’s Day is the perfect day to send yourself a gift of thanks and appreciation. This year, why not be your own valentine? Taking Stock Without Judgment As the New Year approaches, it is a perfect time to reflect on the events, accomplishments, and disappointments of the past year. Taking stock of the past twelve months helps you to see what worked and what could be improved upon. The Ultimate New Yearâ€™s Resolution: Doing Nothing As the New Year approaches, you may already have a short list of habits you would like to break, goals you would like to reach, and other changes you would like to see in your life. You may even have your resolutions written down and posted on the fridge next to your jam-packed calendar, grocery lists and to do lists. Is Your Weight Issue Controlling You? How to Add More Joy into Your Life with Small Changes When you look at yourself in the mirror, do you cringe, or just cover up the mirror? You may hear the statistics, know that you don’t feel physically well by having this extra weight, yet you aren’t able to move forward to make any changes. It feels overwhelming to handle both your extra weight and the negative thoughts you have every time you have to look at your body. What if you were to look at the situation differently?