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5 Things Successful People Never Do

It's time to stop prioritizing perfection

He sifted through data from his company, TalentSmart - which tested more than a million people and found that the "upper echelons of top performance are filled with people who are high in emotional intelligence" - to uncover the kinds of things that successful do and don't do to keep themselves calm, content, and in control.

He found nine behaviors they consciously avoid. Here are a few of our favorites:

1. They don't live in the past.
"Emotionally intelligent people know that success lies in their ability to rise in the face of failure, and they can't do this when they're living in the past," he says. "Anything worth achieving is going to require you to take some risks, and you can't allow [past failures] to stop you from believing in your ability to succeed."

When you live in the past, that is what happens - and it's nearly impossible to move forward.

2. They don't dwell on problems or hold grudges.
Bradberry says your emotional state is determined by where you focus your attention. "When you fixate on the problems that you're facing, you create and prolong negative emotions and stress, which hinders performance. When you focus on actions to better yourself and your circumstances, you create a sense of personal efficacy that produces positive emotions and improves performance."

People with high emotional intelligence focus on solutions, he says. And they rarely hold a grudge.

Why?

When you relive an event or conversation that angered you, "you [send] your body into fight-or-flight mode," Bradberry says. "When a threat is imminent, this reaction is essential to your survival, but when a threat is ancient history, holding onto that stress wreaks havoc on your body and can have devastating health consequences over time."

Emotionally intelligent people know that stress and negativity are detrimental to their success - so they avoid holding grudges at all costs, he says.

3. They don't prioritize perfection.
Successful people don't aim for perfection because they know it doesn't exist. "Human beings, by our very nature, are fallible," Bradberry says. "When perfection is your goal, you're always left with a nagging sense of failure, and you end up spending your time lamenting what you failed to accomplish and what you should have done differently instead of enjoying what you were able to achieve."

4. They don't surround themselves with negative people.
Negative people - or those who complain all the time - are toxic.

"They wallow in their problems and fail to focus on solutions," he says. "They want people to join their pity party so that they can feel better about themselves."

It's human nature to feel obligated to listen to complainers because we don't want to be seen as insensitive or impolite, Bradberry says. "But there's a fine line between lending a sympathetic ear and getting sucked into their negative emotional spiral."

He says you can avoid getting drawn in by setting limits and distancing yourself from those people. "Think of it this way: If a person were smoking, would you sit there all afternoon inhaling the secondhand smoke? You'd distance yourself, and you should do the same with complainers."

5. They don't say "yes" to everyone, all the time.
Research has found that the more difficulty you have saying "no," the more likely you are to experience stress, burnout, and depression, he says. "Saying no is indeed a major challenge for most people. [It] is a powerful word that you should not be afraid to wield."

When it's necessary to say "no" to a request, successful people don't beat around the bush. They are typically direct and avoid phrases like, "I don't think I can," Bradberry says.

How To Dress Like A Leader In Any Work Environment

The 5 Levels of Business Attire


a business man in a suit

There was once a time when every professional, no matter his or her industry, put on a suit each morning.

But today, there are so many interpretations of formal and business casual that it can be easy to look sloppy or over-dressed if you're not aware of the environment.

Sylvie di Giusto, founder of Executive Image Consulting, works with executives looking to improve how they present themselves and professionals hoping to impress their clients and bosses. In her new book "The Image of Leadership," she breaks down the five levels of dress code that she uses with her clients.

We've represented them below, and included di Giusto's insight into how to make your clothes work for you in the office (click to expand):




If you're not sure which level is most appropriate for your work environment, the basic rule of thumb is "the more you deal with a client's money, the more traditional and conservative you should be dressed," di Giusto says.

That means that people in finance, law, and accounting, for example, should stick to traditional business attire, and those in creative industries, like entertainment and advertising, can dress flexibly within the casual levels.

If you're a member of the board or meeting with a member of the board, boardroom attire is most appropriate - regardless of the size of the company.                                        



    


Adjusting Your Management Style for Difficult People

Five types of trouble employees, and how to bring out the best in them


woman resting at work with the...
By Robert Half

Anyone who's been a supervisor for long knows that it's no easy task overseeing a diverse team of professionals. Even if you've hired well, you're faced with unique personalities that require you to apply varied management styles.

The big challenge is how to deal with difficult people - employees who otherwise meet job expectations but who also have a tendency to drive colleagues and supervisors crazy at times.
Here are some individuals common in any department and the management styles that work best with them:

The Wallflower
This employee is an introvert, preferring to work quietly and with minimal hoopla. You won't see this person pitching new ideas in a staff meeting or actively socializing at the office's monthly birthday celebration. In fact, you may not always notice the person is there at all, diligently completing projects.

The best strategy here is not trying to change The Wallflower but instead tapping into strengths. Rather than being frustrated that the person never offers ideas in a formal setting, ask for suggestions in writing or in small groups. Don't rule out this personality type, either, for leadership roles. Those who are more reserved tend to be great listeners, organized and thoughtful in their actions, making them effective at directing teams.

The Know-It-All
This person may be rude, impatient and frustrated that no one else has the same level of expertise. The Know-It-All may be one of the most challenging of difficult people because this employee always believes he or she is correct.

A firm management style is needed. Since this person will dominate staff meetings if given free reign, you need to step in and make sure others are allowed a chance to voice opinions or ideas. Also consider sending the Know-It-All to soft skills training and development to help refine interpersonal communication skills.

If the individual really does "know it all," think about whether he or she would make a good trainer. That way, the person's knowledge can be transferred to other employees.

The Panic Attack
When you think of this staff member, the phrase "grace under pressure" is the last thing that comes to mind. The person is fully capable of getting the job done and has a track record of meeting deadlines, but just the thought of that big project makes the individual nervous. Even you start to feel anxious being around The Panic Attack.

This personality type thrives on structure and predictability. The more organized you are, the less likely the employee will freak out at the onset of a new initiative. Providing a list of key steps to an assignment and citing all of the resources available to support the efforts can be calming. It can also be helpful to check in periodically on progress and provide feedback with reassurance all is on track.

The Laid-Back Pro
The opposite of The Panic Attack is The Laid-Back Pro. This person may be competent, but he or she often leaves others worried whether the job will get done on time. Can that lackadaisical employee really be committed to quality work?

The management style that's ideal in this case is a direct, but casual, one. Assuming the individual is meeting expectations and following company rules, resist the temptation to micromanage. Motivate through trust by giving clear instruction and then handing over authority. The Laid-Back Pro flourishes when given the freedom to tackle projects creatively.

The Competitor
Seemingly unimportant issues are big ones to The Competitor. This person views everything as a contest and sometimes steps on toes just to "win."

The solution to toning down the behavior? Give the person more work. The Competitor can't worry about games if there's a full plate of projects to tackle. Also consider ways you can use the competitive mind-set as an asset to your team. For example, you might charge this employee with the task of negotiating pricing with new vendors.

Dealing with difficult people is unfortunately part of leadership. In more extreme situations, you may need to have serious discussions about performance expectations and attitude. Think about whether the benefits outweigh the drawbacks of having certain people on board. Most of the time, though, you should find that the right management style helps you get more out of the most challenging individuals.      

Do You Feel Like a LinkedIn Fraud?

You acquire new skills daily on the job. Exploit them and promote them.


Modern Business center


During a recent mentoring session, a friend confessed to feeling a crisis of self-confidence where her professional skills were concerned. She had received a few inquiries from recruiters through LinkedIn based on her profile skills, yet she felt like a fraud. Although she had acquired a number of skills while working for her current employer, she didn't believe she could get hired by another firm because she didn't view herself as a "financial professional."

My friend felt this way because she did not earn a degree in finance, nor did she study finance while in school.

It was surprising for me to hear these concerns from my friend because I had worked with her professionally for years. In that time I always thought she was one of the most talented financial professionals I knew. It's sad to me to think she has put herself in a professional box because she didn't have a formal education in finance. However, I know she is not the only one out there who feels like a LinkedIn charlatan.

As someone who did get a degree in finance, and has worked in the field for 14 years, I can assure you, you do not always need a degree to be deemed a financial services professional.

I spent years studying accounting and management, yet I frequently laugh to myself about how very little of it I actually use in my professional career. The truth is, most of the finance training you need to do your job, is taught to you while you are working on the job.

There are certainly jobs in the field where the employer may require a degree in accounting, finance, economics or math. However, there are a number of entry-level corporate finance or banking jobs that will not have those restrictions. I even worked with a number of hedge funds who actually preferred a degree outside of finance because they wanted their team to "think outside the box" and come up with ideas that other funds were not using.

Finance is such a diverse field with so many nuances to each job there is no way a college professor, or even an entire major of study, can impart that knowledge to students. In fact, I believe the greatest tools you will have in your arsenal for success in a finance career are excellent writing skills, good communication skills, and strong people skills. From my experience, I gained all of these not in my business school classes, but in my liberal arts classes like English, Psychology and Public Speaking.

If you have these skills, typically your bosses and mentors can teach you the ins and outs of a balance sheet, regulatory reporting, or using an internal system to report profits and losses. For some finance fields, additional testing and training is required that you could never take while in school. When I worked as a financial advisor, I had to take the Series 7 and Series 63 exams to learn more about investments and federal and state regulations.

I see too many young and talented financial professionals leave the field because they assume they are not qualified to remain, or do not have the background to grow and gain even more skills.

They tend to not value the many years of on-the-job training that they have received, when those skills are far more valuable than any finance degree.

If you can honestly include a skill on LinkedIn, then you need to have faith in yourself that you are capable of not only performing that skill well, but also that others would want to hire you for this skill. Do not let a lack of self-confidence prohibit you from honestly building out a LinkedIn profile that will get the attention of financial services recruiters.

I spent most of my mentoring session encouraging my friend to embrace the skills she has acquired and accept reality. While she did not plan on a career in finance, she is actually capable of having a very successful career in this field. After accepting this feedback, she agreed to speak with more recruiters going forward, and in fact she just recently received a job offer and promotion from another company based on the skills she listed on LinkedIn.

So don't miss out on great opportunities by selling yourself short professionally. Remember, you don't always need a finance degree to be a finance professional. On-the-job training is often more valuable than any classroom lesson.      

5 Productivity Tools Administrators Will Love

Use technology to make your life easier 



Young woman using laptop while having coffee at restaurant

In the digital age, it can be taxing keeping track of employees, contractors, schedules, projects, what have you. If you want any growth or scalability, you'll want to wrangle that in as soon as possible; otherwise, you'll have a huge headache to deal with before you know it.

There are numerous productivity mobile apps, web apps, and software apps available on the market. Below are a few of my personal favorites.

Yammer (https://www.yammer.com/)


What it does: Yammer is an enterprise social network. And it truly feels like a certain large social network that's dedicated to your team/company. It's got all the benefits of that large social network -- feeds, private or public groups, polls. But it's also got the ability to give a colleague or team "praise".

Who uses it: DHL, Shell, Nationwide, 7-Eleven

What it costs: $3/user/month for basic Yammer; more for other Microsoft-related benefits.

Why I love it: As an Apple and Google diehard, it was difficult to buy into Yammer, given that it's owned by Microsoft. But after just a few days, it brought our almost entirely virtual team (that was merged together by two other virtual teams) together more than a weekly GoToMeeting ever could. It's got feeds, groups, chat, private chat, the ability to add files (!), and more. Like that big social network but better and not full of your annoying relatives

What it doesn't do: Outside of the chat feature, there isn't much real-time communication. The files area allows for some collaboration but it still feels a bit like email in that you have to wait for the person to see it, add comments, edit, etc. Its biggest benefit is having a running feed of posts and updates.

Sococo (https://www.sococo.com/)


What it does: Sococo is relatively new to me. It's a legitimate virtual office. And a bangin' one at that. I set up Yammer before our team found this in hopes of creating a virtual office. Then Sococo took it to the next level. You get a visual of an office, the ability to join other offices, video chat, voice chat, chat chat, locking "offices" for private meetings, and more. If they had an affiliate program, I'd be all over it!

Who uses it: Aptitude, G4S, Intuit

What it costs: Free – $199+ (When I initially saw the price, I was definitely put off. Whereas Yammer's pricing is so cheap it's dumb not to get, Sococo's service is so amazing that it makes the pricing seem irrelevant.)

Why I love it: It completed my vision of a virtual office. We are able to see who is online and when, are able to connect in real time, and have various sized meetings. They put a lot of focus into office floorplan design as well as the psychological effects/benefits of doors, windows, and scenery.

What it doesn't do: Unfortunately, it doesn't yet have any of the feed/post capabilities that Yammer currently has. Fortunately, I've been assured (after many voice chats with them) they have these types of features in the pipeline. It won't be long until Sococo completely obliterates Yammer from this list. Did I mention I'd be an affiliate of theirs?

Project Management: TeamworkPM, Basecamp, Asana, Etc


What it does: You're probably already familiar with at least one of these. They've been around the block a few times, had some revisioning, and are all pretty well used in the small business/startup world. They all have the same goal – efficient management of projects.

Who uses it: NASA, adidas, PayPal, Dropbox, Pinterest, etc. A lot of well-known brands...

What it costs: Prices vary from free to up to thousands, though most small companies can get what they need at $200 tops and often at far lower than that.

Why I love it: There isn't ONE that I love. They all have different bells and whistles. They all claim the best efficiency. And I've used most of them. The things that you have to think about are:

1) Is any group on your team used to one of them already (If nobody has used anything before but your developers use TeamworkPM, maybe that's the best bet)?

2) What is the best option for your team's workflow (do you really need a Gantt chart?)?

3) Which pricing best suits your company's financial status (find out how much money your company has to throw around)?

What it doesn't have: This is a general list... They all have something. They all don't have something. Like I said before, look at the benefits and costs of each before deciding which to go with. But get one. Because you can only keep track of projects and tasks mentally for so long before it's time to start looking for another job!

WeekPlan (http://weekplan.net)


What it does: I discovered WeekPlan just this week. While I pride myself in my ability to find the most efficient processes possible, I can't do it for myself. It's like the professional organizer with a messy house... WeekPlan is based on Stephen R. Covey's bestselling book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, leveraging what's important vs. what's urgent.

Who uses it: Everybody. Like me, and you, and your mom.

What it costs: FREE to $7/mo+

Why I love it: It allows me to define areas of my life in which I then define goals based on if they're urgent or important. I then set aside time each day for urgent tasks and important tasks. No matter how much your boss wishes you were a robot, you're only one person. Your productivity is based on a lot of variables and a variety of studies will support that.

What it doesn't do: I'm not sure yet. It's still new to me but I like it. You can customize lists, add a "parking lot" for off the cuff ideas, and more. It seems to be really flexible so this is TBD.

Google Calendar (https://www.google.com/calendar/)


What it does: This is the simplest one on the list. We mostly use it for staff meetings and availability; which has been a Godsend.

What it costs: It's part of your Google account and FREE. Unless you have Google Apps, like us. But the pricing is still worth it given the ease of use it gives your enterprise.

Why I love it: It's simple. Google Calendar allows us to easily add appointments, availability, and invitations. The best part is that it can sync across multiple platforms, operating systems, browsers, mobile operating systems, and integrate with practically any web-app. Its flexibility and price (free!) make it one of the best tools available to groups.

What it doesn't do: I don't know. You can set reminders for anything. Like brushing your teeth. It's a calendar, so as long as you don't expect too much more than that, there isn't anything it can't do. Seriously, dude. It's a calendar.