Monthly Archives: October 2009

Oops! 13 Management Mistakes

Posted on October 29, 2009 by | Leave a comment

13 management mistakesHuman behaviour. Fascinating. And with it comes challenges. In our day to day travels with our client companies as well as with our applicants we get a constant theme about people challenges. Some of these management mistakes were obvious ‘no no’s. Others however were enlightening.

Want an engaged team? Try this formula : Management Excellence = Awareness + Desire to Change.

Every manager will want to review this list of universally used, but ultimately ineffective, management practices—and prescriptions for how to change them.

Read on to learn about a baker’s dozen of widespread misguided management practices and how you can correct them, courtesy of Aubrey Daniels’ Oops! 13 Management Practices That Waste Time and Money (Performance Management Publications, 2009).

~ Sarah McNeill

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Posted in Employee Engagement, Leadership and Team Building, Management Excellence

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The fun theory

Posted on October 21, 2009 by | Leave a comment

You’ve all probably seen this video by now, as it has been making the rounds for the past few weeks.  At McNak, we just can’t help ourselves, but to share this…as FUN is one of our metrics.  It is one of our core values.

Enjoy.

TheFunTheory.com is an initiative of Volkswagen.  The site is “dedicated to the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better. Be it for yourself, for the environment, or for something entirely different, the only thing that matters is that it’s change for the better.”

~ Jessica Rozitis

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The 8th Habit

Posted on October 15, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Peanut butter cup heartI had the privilege to see Stephen Covey speak on the topic of Effectiveness to Greatness and how it can apply to the relationship between employee and employer. While a remarkable speaker and author, some of the things he spoke of  were not new so much as he brought our attention to what we should have known all along.

Most employees experience considerable emotional pain working in their organizations, he says, because they are treated as objects, not full human beings. To find full engagement Stephen described this new paradigm as the Whole Person Paradigm:  mind, body, heart and spirit – not just the part that works from nine to five. This paradigm allows an individual to harness their unique ability  and find their ‘voice’. Essentially an individual who finds their voice is in alignment with clarity. Individuals focused with clarity are most able to achieve corporate goals set out in front of them.

And speaking of habits, at McNak we think chocolate is our 9th habit!

~ Sarah McNeill

photo credit: Bob.Fornal

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Posted in Employee Engagement, Leadership and Team Building

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Make it personal

Posted on October 8, 2009 by | 1 Comment

hellomynameisSocial networking is great.  There, I’ve said it.

Connecting with like minded people on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook can be valuable. It simply depends on how you make it work for you. Social media defines McNak’s culture.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak with Gillian Shaw, Digital Writer for the Vancouver Sun, and I was able to provide my take on how McNak deals with social media policies and the use of social media sites with our employees.  I originally ‘met’ Gillian on Twitter.  Gillian wrote a great article in today’s Vancouver Sun on this subject. Interesting read.

I had the opportunity to meet Gillian in person today at the SOHO SME business conference.  She was speaking on a panel with Rich Patterson and Shane Gibson – “The Business of Social Media: How to Maximize Connections Using Social Communities on the Internet”.

I had also ‘met’ Rich Patterson of NinePointTen Social Media and Patterson Brands on Twitter, and was happy to meet him in person today.  Wherever you make those social connections – whether it be on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIN etc. – there is nothing like meeting these great folks in person.

McNak embraces social media.  It keeps us connected to our community, and keeps the conversation flowing.  It also provides another avenue for new connections.  It’s just nice to make it personal once in a while.

~Jessica Rozitis

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Orchestra to office harmony

Posted on October 7, 2009 by | Leave a comment

conductor hat

With my years of ballet training and participating as a board director for the Vancouver Opera I have a natural appreciation for the orchestra and for the magic of the conductor .  Earlier this year I posted the Benjamin Zander’s TED.com talk on The Art of Possibility.  There seems to be a pattern to the creative world of the orchestra and its ability to have a very cohesive, inspired team. On further notice, even one of our team members pointed out that our own Recruiters job titles are named Conductor. Such an appropriate fit as our Conductors are responsible for the smooth running of recruitment engagements! Our team chose this title many years ago when we looked at our business from 150 feet to see what the whole experience should look like.

Below are some of the key lessons Roger Nierenberg learned in his 14 years directing the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra in Florida.

  1. Lead, don’t cheerlead
  2. Share your perspective
  3. Encourage listening
  4. Say more with less
  5. Verify assumptions

Click here for the entire article.

“Leadership is really about listening and encouraging people to find their own creative way to perform,” Nierenberg says.

~ Sarah McNeill

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Posted in Employee Engagement, Human Resources, Leadership and Team Building