Movin' On Up

What’s the Worst Kind of Boss?

Chances are you’ve worked for many different types of bosses. There are four basic boss personalities you’ve probably encountered on the job: the tiger, the fox, the chameleon, and the ostrich. Each boss has their own style, and there are good and bad elements to each style. But, when a boss only uses the negative sides of their leadership instinct, it can make work miserable. So, we want to know what you think.

Want to know what kind of leader you’d be? Take our quiz and discover your leadership instinct style today!

• Online Quiz
• Facebook Quiz

Set the Example

It’s safe to say that everyone is tired of this economy. And, many of today’s workers are feeling the strain because of increased workloads, longer work hours, and decreased salaries. It’s no wonder everyone doesn’t always have the greatest attitude, right?

Although you can’t control how your co-workers feel or act every day, you’re in control of your own feelings and actions. YOU can be the example you want to see in the office. You can take the initiative to make your overall office environment better and be a good example for your fellow colleagues. How? Here are a few acts of kindness you can do around the office to help relieve tension and make the day a little brighter. And, the best thing about this is you don’t have to be in a leadership position to do this. Anyone can do this.

Send a word of praise. For this, buy a greeting card. You can write a kind note on it about someone you work with, telling them such things as they did a great job on a certain project, tell the funniest jokes, are a great cook, have a wonderful fashion sense, etc. This is just a little way of letting that person know you’re glad to be their co-worker. Then, present them with the card! After that, the person who received the card has to keep the good times going by writing another positive note to another teammate and presenting it to them.

Recognize the “Stars of the Week.” Every Friday, recognize a few individuals you feel have done a great job for the week. Each week, you can recognize different individuals until everyone has been recognized for something. Include in the e-mail why you’ve recognized them for the “star” award, and if it’s OK with management, send the e-mail to everyone on your team so they can check it out. If you want, you can also award small prizes.

Find out how things are going. Find out how your teammates are doing. What are their interests, how is their family doing, do they plans for the weekend? Make it a point to just chat with them and get to know them. If they don’t want to share information with you, that’s OK too. But, at least you made an effort to learn more about them and that will mean something to them.

Get away from the office for lunch. Plan a lunch outing for you and your co-workers. Take a vote on where everyone wants to eat, and go there for your ENTIRE lunch hour. It’s important to use your break to relax. Make it a rule for the outing that no one can talk about work during lunch.

Potluck, anyone? Everyone likes food, so why not have a potluck one Friday? You could either do a breakfast or lunch potluck. This is a cost effective choice instead of everyone going to a restaurant to eat.

Bring cupcakes, just because. Surprise everyone on your team with cupcakes just to help brighten their day.

Start a book club. Despite the economy, you and your teammates still have an opportunity to learn and advance your skills within your current job roles. Purchase books on leadership and strengths development and start a weekly book club. This gives you a chance to get to know each other more and grow your knowledge and skills.

These are just as few examples of things you can do to help create a more positive work environment and help generate some happiness. Do you have other ideas of things to do around the office to increase morale? We want to know!

Finding Your Passion, Pursuing Your Dreams

The highly anticipated 2010 Winter Olympic Games are well under way. I’ve been eagerly awaiting this year’s games and have a few favorite athletes I’m following. It’s amazing to think about all the different sports that exist for people to compete in. Freestyle skiing, figure skating, short track speed skating, snow boarding, and ice dancing are just a few of the many sports the world’s best athletes will compete in during these games. I find myself wondering how these sports ever came to exist. Have you ever stopped to think about how these athletes discovered their talent and love for their sport?

With years of practice and dedication, these athletes have honed their skills. They’ve put in hours upon hours of practice to perfect their techniques. They’ve made sacrifices. They’ve changed the way they eat, sleep, and exercise to ensure their bodies are in top condition for competition. They’ve endured injuries and setbacks. They’ve experienced triumphs and defeats. But, in the long run it has all been worth it. Along the way they have become experts at their sport, well respected and admired for their skills and abilities.

These same ideas apply to you and your career. What things in life interest you? What do you have a passion for? What is your dream? Whatever it is, take a lesson from the Olympic athletes. Discover what you love to do and make it your goal to become the best at it. If there are classes you can take, mentors you can meet with, information you can read, or organizations you can join, make it a point to do it. To achieve your dreams, you will sometimes have to make sacrifices. Stay late to finish a project instead of heading out the door as soon as the work day ends. Save your money for a training seminar you’ve wanted to take instead of buying the latest video game. Change your habits to change your life. 

As with anything, we are always continuing to grow in our professions. You don’t just wake up one morning being the best. You have to work at it.  It takes time to develop those skills, trial and error, and hours, days, and years of gaining and applying knowledge. It takes focus to become the best at what you do, so figure out what that is and pursue it to the fullest. Like Apolo Anton Ohno, you too can blaze a course in your career. You can soar to new heights like Shaun “The Flying Tomato” White. Keep your eyes focused on the gold, and you’ll come out a winner. In the end, the dedication is worth everything.

Professional Lessons from the Barnyard

Some days, the hustle and bustle of cube life doesn’t seem all that different from a barnyard full of animals. The gossip group around the water cooler sounds like a henhouse full of clucking chickens. Your cube-mate’s laugh breaks your concentration like the hee-haw of a mule. And, the papers stacking up around your desk make you feel like a tired work horse. But, despite the negative attributes your daily routine may share with a brood of barnyard animals, if you look closely, there are also positive characteristics you can learn from all creatures – great and small – to improve your work environment and career.

Not sure where to start looking? Follow theses examples to be a whole different kind of employee that companies need to lead the pack.

Be loyal like a dog. Learn an old trick from man’s best friend and be a loyal and dependable employee to your company, your supervisor, and your team. Employers know that loyalty can be a hard thing to come by, so they value trustworthy employees with devotion. By being loyal, you will stand out as top dog. You can prove your loyalty by keeping confidential information confidential, ignoring and avoiding harmful office gossip, and being a dependable employee everyone can count on.

Every dog has its day. So, choose to be reliable and faithful in your daily tasks, actions, and attitude and your loyalty will be rewarded with the affection and respect of your employer and your entire team.

Keep cool like a pig. Pigs don’t have functional sweat glands, so when things get hot, they have to cool themselves down with water or mud before they overheat. Losing your cool at work can be a career killer. So, it’s important to always maintain your composure in the office. When you’re faced with stressful situations, don’t sweat it. Instead, take a deep breath and take everything in stride, because reacting inappropriately or unprofessionally will only add fuel to an already hot fire.

Since rolling around in a mud hole is not an option, if you’re having trouble staying calm under pressure at work, take a break, find someone outside of work to talk to, or listen to music to improve your serenity and keep your cool.

Rule the roost like a rooster. No matter what your title or job position, you can be a team leader who motivates your co-workers to succeed. Start every day by rousing your colleagues with a positive and energetic attitude and outlook that is contagious. Be sure to crow loudly about your co-workers’ accomplishments and triumphs with sincere praise and celebration. Protect them from the sly predator of negativity by carefully guarding your own outlook and approach to life, work, and your company.

So, next time work gets a little crazy and messy like a pig sty, keep your cool, be a loyal and dependable employee who motivates your team, and you will be the needle in the workplace haystack.

A Simple Goal-Setting Guide

Creating goals is a great way to keep yourself motivated, focused, and progressing throughout the year. As we approach the close of the year, goal-setting is a hot topic, especially in business. But you can set goals for yourself any time of year, for any reason. To get started, determine the areas you want to set goals in.

1) Select Goal Types.

Personal – As the most common type of goals, these  may focus on personal enrichment activities, health and fitness objectives, hobbies, spiritual enrichment, etc. Though the new year is a popular time to set these goals, creating short-to-mid-term , measurable personal goals may be more realistic and help you get the results you want. 

Job Search – Looking for a job? The job search can be a long and daunting process, so create weekly and monthly goals to keep yourself on track.

Work – Want to really enjoy your work? Create goals for yourself so you can enjoy the feeling of continual success as you accomplish your daily tasks.

Career – Want to move up in your career or even switch fields? Career goals can be mid-to long- term and help you advance in your profession.

Networking – Whether in social media or in person, creating networking goals can help you expand your network and deepening relationships with important contacts.

Education – Want to pursue a degree, vocational training, or apprenticeship? Educational goals are critical because they can help you make important decisions on coursework, programs, conferences and even career choices.

2) Create SMART Goals.

Once you’ve selected the areas you want to create goals for, use the SMART goals formula to set goals that will help you progress. This formula is a time-tested way to create goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based.

Specific – Make sure your goals are clear and well-defined. For example, instead of creating a health goal such as “work out more,” create a goal: “to exercise twice a week.” 

Measurable – How will you know if you’re accomplishing your goals? Make them measurable from the get-go! The goal “ to exercise twice a week” is something you can measure, as long as you can count to two! Let’s try a more complex goal, like an educational process. Instead of “to obtain a college diploma,” which is very vague, “complete 20 hours of coursework towards my bachelor’s degree this year,  is something you can check to ensure progress as time goes by.

Achievable – You don’t want to set your goals so high you can’t reach them. On the other hand, you don’t want to set them so low they don’t mean much. So, make sure you are taking into account personal, financial, and other factors. Make your goals something you can accomplish through diligent effort.

Relevant – This may seem like an odd component of a good goal, but especially when it comes to your work life, it’s important to have relevant goals. For example, if you want to become a manager, setting a goal to get a degree in philosophy might not be the best idea. So, make sure your goals are something relevant to you.

Time-based – Goals that have no deadline are little more than talk. That’s because without deadlines, you’ll find yourself procrastinating on your progress. Timelines are one of the most important parts of goal-setting, but it’s the thing most people leave out of the process. So, give your goals deadlines and stick to them!

3) Commit and Follow Through.

The final step in the goal-setting process is to write your goals down, share them with someone who can hold you accountable, and measure your progress. Also share your goal deadlines with a friend, colleague, family-member, or other trusted person. Have them follow up with you on your timeline to help keep you on track!

Are you setting goals for this month? Are you already planning goals for next year? Share your thoughts on goals in the comments section, and feel free to share a goal with us there, too!

Who’s Your Boss? - Understanding Leadership Styles

In every work environment, you encounter different leadership styles among managers. Some might have exceptional leaders, but others might experience a manager with not-so-great leadership. Leadership styles vary broadly from one manager to the next and from situation to situation. So, how do you know what type of leadership style your manager has? Here is a list of the most common leadership styles and a description of what they are to help you identify the type of manager you work for.

1. Authoritarian.

The authoritarian leader exudes extreme power over their employees. This leader calls all the shots and does not leave much decision making up to the team. They have a vision they want to achieve and know exactly how they’re going to get there … no matter what. With this type of leader they won’t ask employees to do something – they will tell you to do something. If so, to keep the peace, do what is asked without griping or complaining.

Leaders who fall under this category are also classified as transactional leaders. Basically, these are no-nonsense leaders who lay down the law to their employees from day one. Team members have no say and the manager doesn’t really focus on helping the team grow and develop – they just want the work done right.

2. Bureaucratic. This individual is a rule follower and makes sure that the team sticks to the rules. They don’t allow for team brainstorming or coming up with creative new ways to accomplish work. To stay on this leader’s good side, make sure you are following the rules. Over time, this leader may become comfortable with new ideas that you propose – just remember to relate them back to the company and show how they follow the rules and meet company standards.

3. Democratic. A democratic leader is the exact opposite of an authoritarian. They involve the team in decision-making processes, and take all suggestions into account when making the final decision. Also, a democratic leader is considered to be a transformational leader because they focus on the future and on positive growth at work. They want to help others become better leaders as well.

With democratic leaders, feel free to voice opinions or suggestions that you might have. Tell them why you believe in an idea or support or dislike something in the workplace. They will respect your interest in the business.

4. Laissez-Fair. A leader with this style tends to be hands off and allows the team to make all the decisions. In French, laissez-fair means “leave it be” or “let it be.” Basically, this leader leaves everything alone and puts the team in charge. However, this can create a stressful, chaotic environment that lacks direction and goes nowhere.

Unfortunately with this type of leader, they are not very interested in an organization, and there is little that an employee can do to improve the situation. An organization needs leadership to survive. If your organization is dealing with a laissez-fair leader, it might be in the best interest to elect someone into the leadership role who will be involved in the organization.

As you can see, the top leadership styles vary widely and range from the good to the bad. Apply this information to find out what type of leader you work for and to make the best of your workday.

Bad Boss of the Week: Wall Street’s Gordon Gekko

This week’s bad boss is corrupt corporate raider, Gordon Gekko from the 1987 film Wall Street. Gordon, played by Michael Douglas, is a dishonest Wall Street player who values the almighty dollar above all else. His unprincipled priorities leave no room to value companies or employees beyond financial profit. His love for money does not even flinch in the face of illegal activities.

>

Watch more Wall Street videos on AOL Video

If you’ve had a bad boss who would stop at nothing for a buck, here are some tips to help you survive the greed:

• Money can be a great motivator, but it can not buy you happiness. Don’t get caught up in the highly contagious greed.
• If faced with illegal or unethical demands, choose to do the right thing no matter what, even if means finding a new job.
• Help your boss realize how their decisions impact others.
• Find value in things outside of work.

Share your bad boss stories at www.100worstbosses.com. For more information about 100 Worst Bosses – Learning from the Very Worst How to Be Your Very Best and the Movin’ on Up Bad Boss of the Week, click here.

Bad Boss of the Week: A Christmas Carol’s Ebenezer Scrooge

Ebenezer Scrooge – the self-centered, tight-fisted, hum bug in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol – is this week’s bad boss. His constant malice, degrading demeanor, and entire lack of work/life balance make him the classic bad boss.

While there’s a great deal to be said for hard work, knowing how to balance business with life is an important and necessary skill that eluded Scrooge for much of his career.  He spent most of his life at work and expected his employee, Bob Crachit, to do the same, only reluctantly giving him Christmas day off.

Have you found that your work/life balance can be more work than life?  In order to keep pace with a workaholic boss, here are three things you can do to reprioritize your life and still meet their expectations.

1. Discuss and understand your employer’s expectations
2. Take time to evaluate your goals and priorities
3. Establish an agreed-upon plan in advance, including deadlines and time off.

To view a clip of Ebenezer Scrooge in action, click here.

Share your bad boss stories at www.worstbosses.com. For more information about 100 Worst Bosses – Learning from the Very Worst How to Be Your Very Best and the Movin’ on Up Bad Boss of the Week, click here.

Bad Boss of the Week: In Good Company’s Carter Duryea

In Good Company’s Carter Duryea doesn’t have any over-the-top quirks, personality traits or attitude issues that make him impossible to work for. In fact, he’s quite likeable – even charming. What makes him this week’s bad boss is his inexperience. His lack of work experience causes him to have tunnel vision and he fails to focus on his clients’ needs.

Carter replaces a highly qualified twenty-year executive veteran of an advertising company after a corporate takeover. When Carter takes a mature, and seemingly conservative, client out to a hip-hop concert, his ostentatious sales approach exposes his inexperience as he fails to connect with his client. To watch a clip, click here.

So how do you cope with an inexperienced boss? Start with these 4 tips.

1. Recognize and acknowledge the skills they have
2. Be patient
3. Guide and teach them
4. Give them time and space to grow

Share your bad boss stories at www.worstbosses.com. For more information about 100 Worst Bosses – Learning from the Very Worst How to Be Your Very Best and the Movin’ on Up Bad Boss of the Week, click here.

Bad Boss of the Week: Arrested Development’s Gob Bluth

Gob (pronounced “Job”) Bluth’s colossal incompetence and complete lack of qualification and experience make him this week’s Movin’ On Up Bad Boss of the Week. Gob is a deficient magician who is briefly appointed – by his mother – to be president of the family business, The Bluth Company, on the sitcom Arrested Development.

Hopefully, you’ve never had a boss so incompetent, inept, and unfocused that they’ve managed to make their office into a pool room, turn their desk into a massage table, and cost the company $45,000 in damages – all within their first three hours on the job. But, if you’ve ever had a boss who left you wondering what dark magic they used to get where they are, here are five tips to help you manage the situation and successfully work with a truly bad boss. 

1. Manage up
2. Don’t undermine their authority
3. Support the strengths they have
4. Focus on doing your best job
5. Take responsibility for the things you can

Have you worked with an incompetent boss like Gob? How did you work through the situation?

Share your bad boss stories at www.worstbosses.com. For more information about 100 Worst Bosses – Learning from the Very Worst How to Be Your Very Best and the Movin’ on Up Bad Boss of the Week, click here.