Tag: Maker

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I Am Your Everything

“God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.” (Exodus 3:14, NIV)

In Scripture God is called the Great I AM – to many – the greatest title for God. Through this title He’s saying, “I am everything you need. I am the Creator of the universe. I am the one who spoke the worlds into existence. I am your strength. I am your wisdom. I am your protection. I am your provider. I am your way-maker. I am your problem solver. I am your dream giver. I am your victory!” Hallelujah! 

In Scripture David says “Though I am surrounded by troubles, You will bring me safely through. Your fist is clenched against my enemies. Your power will save me” (Psalm 138). Do you feel like David today? Are you surrounded by all kinds of difficulties and enemies? Maybe you are tempted to just settle right where you are.  

Today, you need to get your fire back! Instead of focusing on how big your problems are, focus on God the I AM. Your water when you’re thirsty, your food when you’re hungry, your helper when you’re helpless, your hope when you’re hopeless. He is everything you need. He is the Great I AM, and He is the one leading and guiding you into victory! 

“God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.” (Exodus 3:14, NIV) 

Let’s Pray 

Yahweh, thank You for being the I AM – everything that I need to live. Father, I choose to focus on Your greatness today despite my difficulties and enemies. God, I receive Your provision and victory, in Christ’s Name! Amen. 

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I AM

As we come towards the end a year of uncertainty, one person that is certain is God! We serve a great and mighty God who is in control despite the chaos! He is the Creator of the universe, the one who spoke the worlds into existence. Scripture says He is the Great I AM, and He’s saying today, “I am everything you need. I am your strength. I am your wisdom. I am your protection. I am your provider. I am your way maker. I am your problem solver. I am your dream giver. I am your victory!” Hallelujah!  

In the Psalms David says, “Though I am surrounded by troubles, You will bring me safely through. Your fist is clenched against my enemies. Your power will save me.” Maybe you feel like David today.  

Today, you may be surrounded by all kinds of difficulties. You’re tempted to just settle right where you are. No, it’s time to get your fire back! Instead of focusing on how big your problems are, focus on how big your God is! He is everything you need. He is the Great I AM, and He is the one leading and guiding you into victory! 

“God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:14, NIV) 

Let’s Pray

Yahweh, thank You for being my certainty in the midst of all this uncertainty. Father, I declare today that I will focus on Your greatness. God, thank You for the reminder that You are in control – my I AM – my everything that I need to live the life of victory, in Christ’s Name! Amen.  

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BE A CHANGE-MAKER

Matthew 11:11-12 I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist, yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. (NIV)

When I was young, I could never understand that passage of Scripture. To me, it was so unlike the Spirit of the Lord. How could a God of love and peace allow this to happen? Forcefulness sounded so like the kingdom of darkness. But praise the Lord, for He is always faithful to show you the truth if you ask Him. So, why then is it, that this Scripture is there?

It all boils down to passion! You see if you are passionate about something there is nothing on this earth that will stop you from getting the thing you think about. The desire and the drive are so strong that oftentimes you will go without food and water in order to get it. It’s time to get hungry for the Lord and get your fight back and make a change.

Why do you not have the things you’re believing God for? Why is it that your life is not at the place you want it to be? Are you passionate about a change? Are you passionate to see your circumstances change? Or are you listening to the lie of Satan telling you, you need to sit and wait for your turn and accept everything that is given to you? Your turn is now! You don’t have to accept defeat because you are an overcomer. You were ordained to do great things. So, get up and make a change!

Joh 2:13-17 And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.

Jesus was very passionate about the temple, and that passion drove Him to drive out the unclean things in His Father’s house. The Lord may have passed by that temple before; but today, the Lord had enough of their foolishness. He was the Change Maker, and He caused things to change.

Well, isn’t time you allow your passion to rise and cause a change to happen in your life? I want you to get passionate today and let that passion drive you. Allow the Lord to work in you and for you so that you can become a new creation in Him and let all these things standing in your way be blown away by the power of the Holy Spirit. By faith take back everything the enemy has stolen from you. It’s time to be a change-maker for the Lord.

Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 

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10 Things Every Successful Leader Should Do Everyday

Jesus Christ as a Project Leader

As the new year begins the world is overflowing with resolutions and good intentions. We write lists, we vow to change bad habits and we feel that a ‘fresh start’ to the year can bring miracles and the success we aspire to. But how and when on earth are we supposed to do all that is the reply received from newly qualified project managers only weeks into their new positions when we describe some of the activities they should be focusing on to be successful as leaders.

You will know there are so many things to tackle on a typical day in the life of a project leader. Chances are you rarely end a day having done what you originally set out to do as day-to-day trivialities often get in the way. You spend most of your time solving unexpected problems. You might also feel very much out of control because what’s urgent–the daily work–always seems to take over what’s important–your ongoing work.

But with all of the idiocy that projects usually entail, did it ever cross your mind that between creating schedules and holding meetings that it’s important to make time to reflect? Most project managers are focused on routine and creating plans by nature and love the feeling of clearing the inbox and crossing things off lists as it makes them feel productive. However, there comes a time for most of us when we embark on a quest for greater fulfilment in our lives.

Here are ten things we ought to try to do every day. Cover these and you should be on your way to becoming a successful leader.

1. Sleep 7-9 Hours a Day

Slacking on sleep? Think six hours of sleep is enough? Think again. Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, revealed that some people have a gene that enables them to do well on six hours of sleep a night. Disappointingly, this gene is extremely rare appearing in less than 3% of the population. For the other 97% of us, six hours doesn’t come close to cutting it. Most of us know that getting a good night’s sleep is vital, but too few of us actually make those eight hours between the sheets a priority. According to research “sleeping on it” does improve decision making. Naps are great too as they increase alertness and performance on the job, enhance our learning ability and help us purge negative emotions while enhancing positive ones. The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) found that people who reduced their sleep time from seven hours to five hours or less had 1.7 times the risk of death from all causes.

So how much sleep do you need?

  • Newborns (0-3 months): Sleep range narrowed to 14-17 hours each day (previously it was 12-18)
  • Infants (4-11 months): Sleep range widened two hours to 12-15 hours (previously it was 14-15)
  • Toddlers (1-2 years): Sleep range widened by one hour to 11-14 hours (previously it was 12-14)
  • Preschoolers (3-5): Sleep range widened by one hour to 10-13 hours (previously it was 11-13)
  • School-age children (6-13): Sleep range widened by one hour to 9-11 hours (previously it was 10-11)
  • Teenagers (14-17): Sleep range widened by one hour to 8-10 hours (previously it was 8.5-9.5)
  • Younger adults (18-25): Sleep range is 7-9 hours (new age category)
  • Adults (26-64): Sleep range did not change and remains 7-9 hours
  • Older adults (65+): Sleep range is 7-8 hours (new age category)

2. Spend Time with Those You Love

Relationships are worth approximately £108,017 extra a year according to Daniel Gilbert, Harvard happiness expert. The longest-lived people on the planet all place a strong prominence on healthy relationships. Experts state that not feeling socially connected can lead to a heart attack, stroke, diabetes and people committing suicide. It is also proposed that 90% of the time we spend with our children is before they are nine years of age. In other words, there simply aren’t many things in this world more important than the connections we have with those we’re closest to, so make it a point to spend quality time with them every single day. Don’t take time for granted because you never know when yours will be up.

3. Pray and Meditate

Ever wonder why the world’s best leaders want to ‘meditate on it’? Well, there’s apparently a bright future for silence, especially in these shrieky, screechy times. We’re constantly cyber-connected, but never fully present. Rather than immediately checking your email and text messages in the morning, close your eyes and express gratitude for the new day. Appreciation unlocks a view of richness, as opposed to a  shortage. After reflecting deeply on your blessings, pull out your project journal and write down your goals for the day as well as your big picture “vision” before taking the plunge. According to research prayer and meditation improves our relationships and can build an environment for aha moments. While stress narrows your perspective and that of your team  and reduces empathy, negatively impacting performance. Prayer and meditation can help boost our mood and increase our sense of connection to others. Brain-imaging research suggests that meditation can help strengthen your ability to regulate your emotions. Steve Jobs did it. Hence the benefits should be considered by any smart manager.

4. Challenge Yourself

Do you think that successful people are just lucky or that they have a special potion they drink that propelled them to the finish line, no. They keep on keeping on, over and over and are not afraid to ask for help. The best way to stay competitive is to actively attempt to challenge your preconceived notions. Easier said than done, right? No. Increasing self-discipline just takes a little effort each day. Experts suggest that learning another language can keep your mind sharp and that music lessons increase intelligence. Challenging our beliefs reinforces our mind. Experts claim that not getting an education or taking advantage of prospects are two of the things people look back on their lives and regret the most. Make it a point to feed yourself knowledge every day, whether it be in the form of books, websites, television, etc.

5. Be Optimistic

Optimism is defined as “the belief that good things will happen to you and that negative events are temporary setbacks to be overcome.” – Mayo Clinic

Are you a “glass half-full” or a “glass-half-empty” kind of person? Have you ever met a successful pessimist? While the answer maybe no, we recognise that some people can be both. Optimism is the single most important factor to a leaders Success. Optimism can make you healthier, happier and extend your life. The Army teaches it in order to increase mental toughness in soldiers as being overconfident improves performance. Successful project leaders focus on the positive wherever possible — but not blindly!  Optimism helps us spot opportunities we would miss if we were focusing on the negative. While you must always plan for the future and for potential pitfalls, you must believe there is a way across the chasms. Otherwise, you will turn back long before the journey is complete. Mindsets are like viral infections. One of the best things we can do is to surround ourself’s with successful people.

6. Keep Failure in Perspective

“This proverb says that if a person fails once, they should not lose heart. They should observe the mistakes that led to the failure and try to overcome them in their next attempt.” — Proverb

Once a project falls apart, we shouldn’t rush to blame the client or the team, instead, we should own up to what went wrong and forgive ourselves. It may sound soppy, but it won’t do us any good to torture ourselves over what we ought to have known. We ought to remember that failure is feedback and feedback is breakfast for champions.
We have all probably met project leaders who take pride in having a zero failure rate — or so they claim! Those people are usually dishonest or not as successful as they appear to be. Maybe they just got lucky or came into a large inheritance.

“Whatever humans have learned had to be learned as a consequence only of trial and error experience. Humans have learned only through mistakes.” –  R. Buckminster Fuller

Never be afraid of failure. Remember, you’re trying to succeed brilliantly at something most people can’t do at all.

7. Learn to Say No

No is rarely celebrated unlike its cousin Yes that supports risk-taking, courage, and an open-hearted approach to life. However, sometimes you have to say “no.” Not every project proposition is a good one, and not all managers are right. Successful leaders know their limitations and will not take on every single project in the company. They know they sometimes have to back off and take care of themselves first.

Wielded wisely, no is an instrument of integrity and a shield against exploitation. It often takes courage to say no. It is hard to receive. But setting limits sets us free. Once you overcome your fear of saying no, you’ll realise how easy it is and how one little word can bring health, abundance, and happiness.

8. Laugh out Loud

“A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

Let’s face it: if we don’t like being at work, we’re just not going to do an amazing job. A day without laughter is a day wasted as humour is said to increase productivity and group effectiveness, trust, relieves stress, boost  morale of the team and creativity. On the other hand, failure to laugh at work can make the daily grind a painful process that drags on at the speed of a turtle. Nevertheless, if workplace stress is too much to handle, stop reading this and start hunting for a more satisfying job. And remember

“If you are too busy to laugh, you are too busy.” — Proverb

9. Eat Healthy

Some people swear by it and brag about mental clarity, through-the-roof energy and weight loss. They go all day without eating, then, come dinner, fill their pie hole with whatever they want, bad idea. There’s a direct correlation between the foods we eat and our level of happiness. Spend time preparing at least one healthy meal every day, including vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, whole grains and lean meats or fish.

10. Exercise  Everyday

Mounting scientific evidence supports the link between exercise and cognitive function. In other words, we cannot afford “not” to work out. Most successful leaders make physical fitness a top priority because a proper training program will help you have a better posture, exude more energy, and prepare you to handle the increasing demands of long hours and heavy travel schedules. Simply put, exercise is the single best thing you can do for your brain in terms of mood, memory, and learning. You’ll work smarter, not harder. President Obama breaks a sweat for 45 minutes, six days a week. Wendy Davis is no stranger to fitness. She’s “an avid runner and cyclist”. Warren Buffett doesn’t try to hide his less-than-nutritious food choices, but to make up for those indulgences, he’s taken to exercise, CNBC reported. Oprah Winfrey breaks a works out for 45 minutes six mornings a week. Exercise has been credited as Richard Branson’s No. 1 productivity secret and the No. 1 thing super-successful people do before 8 a.m.

Obviously, This list could be longer and represents just a handful ways good project leaders should use their day to fulfil the deeper imperatives of leadership, but you get the idea.

 

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Failure ‘Is a Stepping Stone to Success’

This proverb says that  if a person fails once, they should not lose heart. They should observe the mistakes that led to the failure and try to overcome them in their next attempt.

In the course of my life, I’ve had the  opportunity to discuss this concept with many people. And have learned that how you handle your failures, setbacks and mistakes  will ultimately determine whether you soar with the eagles or gobble with the turkeys.

Once a project falls apart, don’t rush to blame the client or your team, own up to what went wrong and forgive yourself. It may sound soppy, but it won’t do you any good to torture yourself over what you ought to have known. Just remember that failure is  feedback and feedback is  breakfast for champions.

Did you know that every successful person who has ever lived has experienced more failure than success!

You may have heard the story about Thomas Alva Edison an American inventor and businessman. Thomas invented the electric light bulb, but when experimenting failed over one thousand times. While most people would have given up after the fifth attempt, Thomas kept going, he kept stepping out of that dark cave called failure until the light turned on. He later said,

“I’ve not failed; I just discovered ten thousand ways that wouldn’t work.”  

Failure is one of the keys to success because it teaches us more.  Surely someone’s told you to ’embrace failure’ before.  If you find yourself in that place, you need to step out. But what might that involve?

It might mean making a phone call to confront a situation that you’ve been avoiding for a long time. It might mean opening a book that you’ve been meaning to study for a project because it feels so overwhelming. It may mean writing a letter or sending an email to get a new job that would be a dream to you or it may be trying to acquire a new skill that will lead to significant growth in your life.

Don’t listen to negative people. Fear of failure immobilizes you, restricts you to that dark cave, prevents you from moving forward in life and hampers your chances of success. If you get “knocked down”, get back up again.

“A  mistake is only a mistake if we fail to learn from it.”

Have you heard of a man called Ray Croft. Ray tried many business ventures  throughout his life and nearly every venture he tried failed. He was almost bankrupted. But he kept going and when he reached the age of 55 he had a brilliant idea to establish a restaurant. This restaurant would only serve burgers and milkshakes. The first one opened in the United States and people started flocking in. It was America’s first fast food restaurant. His logo was like golden arches. This restaurant was so successful that he said I have another idea, I’m going to build another one in another state, and he built another and another. In 1973 the first one was opened in Southeast London. Ray Craft became a millionaire because he refused to give up. Failure would not let him down, he said I’m going to keep going and out of failure came success.

Abraham Lincoln  is arguably the greatest president the USA has ever had. I don’t know whether Donald Trump will surpass him. When Abraham Lincoln started out in life, he failed in many things. His first job was working as a stock keeper in a shop and he failed at that. Then he became a surveyor, but he failed at that. He then entered the army  but failed at that. He started to practice law, but he failed at that. He then decided I’m going to enter into politics and he even failed at that, but he kept going. He kept trying until one day he was elected president of the United States. He didn’t give up and out of failure came success. It is the law of nature.

On the other hand playing it safe can also be risky. It puts you out of action. You choose to forgo potential opportunities and push yourself into mediocrity.  Buckminster Fuller, the renowned American philosopher, architect, and inventor, popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture once said,

“Whatever humans have learned had to be learned as a consequence only of trial and error experience. Humans have learned only through mistakes.”

Remember failure is not the greatest enemy. But in action is. Have you ever heard the phase, it is better to have loved and lost  than never have loved at all. It’s similar with failure. It’s better to have tried and failed then never to have tried at all, because in the end, in the act of trying there is exhilaration, there is power and learning taking place.

Never be afraid of failure. Remember, you’re trying to succeed brilliantly at something most people can’t do at all.

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7 Simple Ideas to Become a Better Leader

Successful leaders are hard to find. The culprit behind this enormous change is our increasingly selfish, self-centred, self-absorbed “Me” culture courtesy of our growing obsession with personal branding and social media.

While that’s unfortunate, there is an unforeseen silver lining. If you have a burning desire to accomplish great things and be a successful project leader, you’ve got less opposition than ever before. All you’ve got to do is break from the regular crowd and embrace the seven simply traits that I believe make great project leaders, well, great.

1. Successful Leaders are Highly Authentic

“I had no idea that being your authentic self could make me as rich as I’ve become. If I had, I’d have done it a lot earlier.” Oprah Winfrey.  It’s true; you can make it big with an enormous ego and an imposing personality. How else do you explain Donald Trump, with all due respect, of course? Customers, employees, and media all want to help authentic people to succeed.  Leaders never try to be something they aren’t. I’d like to think of it as standing in your own truth. If you don’t know something, admit it. This is not just an endearing quality; it’s an extremely underrated and powerful leadership trait, as well.  If you don’t agree with a statement someone else has made, don’t grin and bare it. Instead, honestly admit that you don’t see it the same way as the other person. Tomorrow’s leaders are transparent about who they are online, merging their personal and professional lives together. Warren Bennis had a knack for making stellar leadership seem both rare and attainable. “Becoming a leader,” he wrote, “is synonymous with becoming yourself. As a leader, you have no greater leverage than the truth.

2. Good Leaders Never Stop Learning

Are leaders born or made? The answer is both. Some amazing people enter the world with a natural ability to lead and attract followers, while other leaders are nurtured. However, I’ve never known a successful leader who lacked intelligence, critical-thinking skills, and an honest thirst for more knowledge. The key is to be curious.  If you can master this you will be in good company. Albert Einstein is quoted as saying  “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”  Curiosity makes you want to figure out why things happen and why people react in certain ways. It makes you want to read and write and talk to others about topics that interest you.

3. Successful Leaders are ultra-Likable

Most people have succumb to an incorrect belief that being likeable comes from natural, unteachable qualities that belong only to a lucky few—the good looking, socialites, and the astonishingly talented. However, I’d like to remind you that social skills, like any skills, are completely learn-able and will help you in your job and life. We often lose sight of the simple things – things that not only make us human, but can actually help us become more successful. Making a better impression on those around you and developing a stronger reputation can go a long way. The art of touch is equally important if you want to become more likeable. Touching eliminates the physical barrier of distance, and so it eliminates the emotional barrier that the distance represents.

4. Successful Leaders are Emotionally Secure

Insecurity runs through leadership in epic proportions.   The trick is to discover and intercept the warning signs of insecurity within yourself. Successful leader’s don’t come from a place of insecurity. If  you want to lead for the long haul, you need to be an emotionally secure person. You need to understood who you are, where you are from and where you are going and have an incredible clarity of mission and purpose. Start from a positive place and others will notice. Our insecurities kill our confidence. Learn how to recognize them within yourself, so you can eliminate them.

5. Successful Leaders are Fearless

I’m considered a very “safe” person. I tend to be very risk averse and only take a chance on something when I’ve analysed and calculated it to the extent that it is no longer a risk. Demonstrating leadership courage  – whether it’s having  an uncomfortable  conversation, communicating when you don’t have all the answers,  or making a decision to move ahead on a new project – can be scary.

However, I’ve never known a great project leader to back down from a challenge on an issue he or she felt strongly about.    It’s time to ditch the rose-coloured glasses and face the facts.  Real  conversations may be awkward and uncomfortable, especially if conflict is involved. Expect people to perform and deliver on their commitments, and have courage to call them out when they don’t follow through. Remember that accountability begins with you so model the behaviours you expect of others.

6. Successful Leaders are Positive

“The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change by merely changing his attitude.”  – Oprah Winfrey

Positive leaders have a natural tendency to look at the cup as half full, not half empty and focus on what they can do, not what they can’t do. Positive people also have a high degree of self-respect, but refuse to take themselves too seriously! They realize that assertive, confident  communication  is the only way to connect with others in everyday life.   They avoid judgmental, angry interchanges, and do not let someone else’s  blow up  give them a reason to react in kind. Positive people seek the help and support of others who are supportive and  safe. Isn’t it enough that we have persistent negativity in news, on our homepages, and on social media. Be a light in a world. Being positive will make you a pleasure to talk to and more people will want be around you.

“Leaders are called to believe and see a beautiful, bright and expansive future for those who can’t see one for themselves.” Dean Jones

7. The Best Leaders Know How to Listen

“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.” – Ernest Hemingway

Listening is a leadership responsibility that never appears in the job description. The workplace is fuelled with the stress and pressure of each day so when employees say they want their voices to be heard, they are really saying they want leaders who will not just hear them, but really listen to them. Great leaders listen to people and are open to new ideas. They know how to balance the head and the heart.  If you are an old-school leader, don’t be afraid to express sentiment or feel that it will weaken your stature or authority as a leader. Ronald Reagan was a master of showing empathy towards others.

If you foster the above qualities, you’ll join the ranks of those who spend their holidays with friends, their sunsets at dinner parties, and their workdays surrounded by people that love and respect them for who they are, not what title or position they hold.

“As a leader, you have no greater leverage than the truth.” – John Whittier

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3 Tips for Dealing with a Manipulative Project Co-Worker

Are you stuck working with a project manager who is manipulative and dishonest? If you are, you’re not alone!

Today’s workplace is a cut-throat environment with everyone trying to get ahead in some way, shape, or form. It’s no surprise that there are malicious, sneaky project managers who will do anything to get a leg up to succeed or survive, even if it means throwing you under the bus. Like a clever politician, these project managers keep their desires hidden, but underneath a friendly and charming exterior is a highly destructive individual whose goals are power and control. Pretending to pursue the greater good, he or she adopts the mantra of “company first” with a fervency that inspires admiration and respect, and most people accept his or hers claims of a selfless pursuit of noble causes.

Regardless of your industry, profession, experience level or company, these manipulative people exist and, if given the right opportunity, they can ruin your reputation and career prospects. They’ll tell you that the entire team hates you, thinks you’re arrogant, stupid, or incompetent, and attempt to manipulate you into believing that their opinions are objective facts. A study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology called it “social undermining” and “bottom line mentality.”

“According to a recent survey,  roughly 90% of folks who read this post are presently working with at least one person who, mentally, would be described as a manipulator”.

Proving yourself in a new organization is hard enough. When someone manipulates and lies about you, it can hurt your relationships, your reputation, and your career. Luckily, Project Journal has 3 tips for effectively dealing with this workplace danger.

1. Don’t Ignore Your Gut
I should’ve seen it coming. Unfortunately, there isn’t a clear-cut answer to the question “Friend or foe.” If you find yourself putting up your guard around a co-worker, you might wonder if you’re imagining things and being paranoid? Well, maybe you are, but under no circumstances should you ignore your feeling. From experience, this is often the very first sign of trouble. Weak leaders sometimes resort to emotional deceit as a weapon for getting things done. Try to consider facts objectively. Manipulation is normally felt, rather than heard or seen, so you must listen to your gut.

What makes you mistrust this person?  Do they constantly gossip? If so, be careful as those who gossip to you, will probably be doing the same about you too and like Mom always said, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Plus, you don’t want to get caught up in the drama when people find out about this control freak’s gossiping.

Trust that you will be thrown under the bus when “stuff” hits the fan. If you’re still unsure, you should run their behaviour by objective people you trust. As trust is built on the foundations of a good relationship, instead of basing trust on someone’s words, observe their deeds.

2. Dealing with a Bad Apple
There’s a lot to be said for the old saying, “One bad apple can spoil the whole barrel.” Not only is that true for fruit, but it holds a lot of merit in the work environment. Rude behavior is contagious. Toxic manipulative employees have an unhealthy ripple effect that harms co-workers, managers, and subordinates alike. They lack positive personality traits, such as genuine concern for others, a generous and understanding nature, a desire to teach and encourage, a desire to have straightforward dealings with others. They dwell in a very dark place lit only by their own ambition.

“It takes just one malicious employee among the ranks to wreak havoc on your team’s culture.”

Healthy human interactions are not dominated by manipulation. If you feel you can’t trust them, don’t. Manipulators do not communicate openly. Instead, they resort to flattery or play the victim to gain your trust and sympathy. Through artful, indirect and devious methods, they influence and control others and have a fair amount of social support, most likely because no one wants to be on their bad side. But that doesn’t mean their behavior isn’t harmful.

Your priority in this situation must be to protect your professional standing. Begin documenting every instance of destructive behavior and take it to a higher authority. When a co-worker starts manipulating you and ignoring the behavior doesn’t work, distance yourself, if possible and keep all correspondences. When colleagues try to sabotage you, they might tell you lies to cause you to make mistakes. The more you cover yourself, the less you have to worry about. Change your passwords, shut down your computer when you leave your desk, and keep sensitive documents under lock and key. Remember to “choose your words carefully when sending emails so that things you write can’t come back to bite you. Unfortunately, if you lose your cool, you will be in danger of looking undignified.”

“When you know what a man wants you know who he is, and how to move him.”
’- George R.R. Martin, A Storm of Swords

It can be tempting to excuse the antagonistic worker who seems zealous about his job, but clearly, those employees may be undermining the entire workforce. Being direct lets the other person know you’re aware of their manipulative behavior, and in some cases, that may be enough to nip it in the bud.  If you stay out of their world of negativity, you will be a much more difficult target for their manipulation.

3. Counteracting Sabotage
Manipulators are blind to the serious defects in their character, but keenly aware of the slightest weakness or imperfection in others. They are judgmental, suspicious, demanding and calculating, all negative personality characteristics. Even their outward charm is cold and calculated. Before you can deal with the situation, you need to understand the impact.

Is it a small lie with little effect? Is it a big lie that requires damage control or even legal action? Consider how others might view the situation. Although it may be difficult, the best choice might be simply to move on as the people who make it in the long-term are the ones who are honest, hardworking and able to maintain their professionalism.

“According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, workplace sabotage is on the rise in this difficult economy.”

If you choose to directly address the situation. It is critical to use neutral language and tone of voice. Do not stoop to their level, it is important to keep your integrity. Consider having witnesses to your conversation so it’s not your word against theirs.

Your final action can be accepting an apology and moving on, or it can be reporting the lie to a higher authority. In extreme cases, it can be making a formal complaint or hiring an attorney. It’s smart to search for job postings, even when you have no intention to quit. Obviously, you don’t want to let one bad apple lead to your resignation but, if nothing else, knowing you have options can help you feel more empowered and in control of the situation.

Other signs sabotage may be in the works: You don’t receive a promotion or responsibilities you logically should have gotten; cold or averse behavior from management that is (seemingly) out of nowhere; sudden and unexplained alienation by individual co-workers or even entire cliques; or unwarranted and continuous kind behavior from someone that was formerly aloof, ambivalent or even aggressive.

Manipulative behavior is widespread, but fortunately, it doesn’t exist everywhere. Do you have manipulative co-workers? How do you dodge their requests and still manage to pave a successful career path?  Tell us what you think?

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Politics and Project Management, a Lesson in Leadership

We all know that the more power you have, the better you are able to get the job completed. The problem is most project managers have lots of responsibility, but hardly any authority and since most projects exist outside core business structures, they are forced to develop other methods of influence.

One unspoken evil that is often ignored on project management training courses is the politics of project management. While most of us view politics with disgust; there is no refuting that effective project managers are often seen as those who are equipped and able to employ fitting political strategies to further their project goals. 

“In a Perfect World the Best Workers Would Be Promoted on Merit Alone and the Best Ideas Would Be Adopted Regardless of Personal Interest – but We Do Not Live in Utopia”

Have you ever included ‘office politics’ as a risk on your risk register? Probably not. Though, consider the potential implications of ignoring the ugly stepchild of project management?

“The Objective of Office Politics Is to Manipulate a Situation in Order to Achieve an Outcome That Will Benefit One Individual or Group at the Expense of Other Individuals or Groups.”

While it is unlikely that ‘office politics’ would be listed directly as a risk on your risk register, it is quite likely that one or more of the outcomes of it would. As a result, if you want to survive and prosper in the real world you need to combine good work with smart politics to ensure your own success and that of your projects. The biggest mistake a project manager can make is to assume that politics in project management doesn’t exist. After all, politics is human nature and has played an integral part in history since the dawn of civilization.

In a group where working interactions are fraught with tension and individuals have their own personal agendas or want to be “top dog” personal conflicts will often get in the way of the project aims. Issues between members of the team become the over-riding concern both for the individuals afraid and sometimes even the project manager. Meetings can consist of jostling for power or simply trying to justify your position and when that happens progress on the project will undoubtedly suffer.

For most project managers, playing politics is a form of slow, soul-destroying torture where logic, self-control, transparency and trustworthiness are replaced by deception, concealment, and sabotage. However, ignoring the external and internal politics surrounding your project or organization is dangerous. Successful project managers need to understand organizational politics and how to make them work for project success.

In the case of project politics you can use these key techniques in a constructive manner:

Carefully Manage Your Own Conduct

  1. The first rule is to at all times act in a way that commands respect and beyond that, respect others. That means not gossiping, spreading rumors or getting sucked into interpersonal conflicts and arguments. Maintain your honesty!
  2. Be positive as a positive outlook is a choice that you can always make and remain professional. 
  3. Be confident and firm but not hostile and make sure you take organizational perspectives, not a personal one when voicing objections or giving criticism.
  4. Always assume things will be disclosed, so don’t rely on confidentiality.
  5. Over time you will learn what works in your organization’s culture and what doesn’t. Try to watch other people and identify successful behaviors that you can model to navigate the political minefield.

Review the Organization Chart

  1. Sit back and watch for a while. Identify the real influencers, those who are respected, champions, those who have authority but don’t use it, the mentors and last but not least the true brains behind the organization. Then re-map the organization chart in terms of political influence as politics will often bypass the formal organization chart.

Understand the Social Network

  1. Once you know who’s who in the organization, you have to understand the social networks. This involves identifying who gets along with whom, groups or cliques that have formed and ongoing interpersonal conflicts. Over time you will learn who has the most trouble getting along with others and the basis for the interrelationship whether it be friendship, respect or manipulation, including how the influence flows between all parties.

Build Good Relationships

  1. Now you need to build multiple networks but avoid aligning yourself with one group or another this way you can keep your finger on the pulse of the organization.
  2. Don’t be afraid of politically powerful people and instead, develop relationships that cross the formal hierarchy in all directions.
  3. Build your relationships on trust and respect and avoid empty flattery.

Use Your Social Network

  1. You will need to learn to use your social network to stay clear of negative politics. You can do this through positive political action.
  2. Use your network to gain access to information, build visibility of your achievements and improve difficult relationships.
  3. Attract opportunities where you can shine and seek out ways to make yourself, your team and your boss look good.

Counteract Negative Play

“The Expression, Keep Your Friends Close and Your Enemies Closer” Couldn’t Be Any Truer When It Comes to Office Politics.”

  1. Your mapping of the organization will help you to identify those people who use others for their own political purposes, and not for the common good. Know that these people typically have low self-worth (that’s why they rely on destructive politicking to get ahead). Always be very careful what you say to them.  Understand what motivates them, their goals, and how to avoid or counter the impact of their politics
  2. Remember loyalty is not a reliable factor in the workplace!

“It is easy to become a target if you’re ambitious or if you strive for change. One of the biggest mistakes we make in our career is to assume that everyone likes progress. This is not true’Å —’Å many are content with the status quo and will defend it with their life.”

Projects are rarely easy and office politics can compound other sorts of problems that arise so they need to be dealt with swiftly and firmly. 

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Let Our Advance Worrying Become Advance Thinking and Planning: 20 Project Management Quotes to Live By

Wife Asked Hubby to Go on a Date With Another Woman, It Changed His Life Forever

Job stress or work stress is not always harmful, but it should be kept within limits. Within a limit, work stress forces us to stay on track. However, if your one of those people who think that stress doesn’t matter? That high-stress levels are somehow something to be endured? think again. Statistics Canada found that 62% of highly stressed workers described work as their main source of stress in a 2010 study, similarly, stress has been proven as a risk factor for numerous diseases, for example,  Health Canada reports that stress is a known risk factor for heart disease and it has been proven that stress is a major cause of absenteeism.

Similar to fear, stress has a biological purpose and is very useful. After stressful stimulation inside the body, chemicals are released that result in a fast heart rate, sweating and tightened muscles. However, if the body is exposed continuously to these natural responses, it will not only impact your cognitive and behavioral performance, it can also have a negative impact on your personal health, wellbeing, and family life.

Here are 20 timeless thoughts on stress and how to handle it from the people who came before us (and some from people who are here with us now).

  1. “I woke up this morning.   A lot of people didn’t.” ~ George Burns
  2. “Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning.”  ~ Winston Churchill
  3. “Being in control of your life and having realistic expectations about your day-to-day challenges are the keys to stress management, which is perhaps the most important ingredient to living a happy, healthy and rewarding life.”  ~ Marilu Henner
  4. “A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.”  ~ Proverb
  5. “It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link in the chain of destiny can be handled at a time.”  ~ Winston Churchill
  6. “It is not a daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials.” ~ Bruce Lee
  7. “If you don’t think your anxiety, depression, sadness and stress impact your physical health, think again. All of these emotions trigger chemical reactions in your body, which can lead to inflammation and a weakened immune system. Learn how to cope, sweet friend. There will always be dark days.”  ~ Kris Carr
  8. “Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.”~ Ovid
  9. “The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.”  ~ William James
  10. “Training gives us an outlet for suppressed energies created by stress and thus tones the spirit just as exercise conditions the body.”  ~ Arnold Schwarzenegger
  11. “Planning lies with men; success lies with heaven.”  ~ Chinese proverb
  12. “Long-range planning works best in the short term.”  ~ Euripides
  13. “It’s not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it.”  ~ Hans Selye
  14. “Just because something doesn’t do what you planned it to do doesn’t mean it’s useless.”  ~ Thomas Edison
  15. “Remember the two benefits of failure. First, if you do fail, you learn what doesn’t work; and second, the failure gives you the opportunity to try a new approach.”  ~ Roger Von Oech
  16. “For fast-acting relief, try slowing down. “~ Lily Tomlin
  17. “There are no failures – just experiences and your reactions to them.”  ~ Tom Krause
  18. “One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important.”~ Bertrand Russell
  19. “I feel that the most important requirement in success is learning to overcome failure. You must learn to tolerate it.”~ Reggie Jackson
  20. “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.”
    ~ Henry Ford
  21. “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.”
    ~ Bill Cosby
  22. “Rule number one is, don’t sweat the small stuff. Rule number two is, it’s all small stuff.”~ Robert Eliot
  23. “Managing to have a sense of humour makes it a lot easier to manage people.” ~ Steve Wilson
  24. “Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.”~ Winnie the Pooh
  25. “When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.” – Peter Marshall

What is your favorite quote on stress and how to overcome it? Feel free to share the best one(s) you have found in this article or in your life in the comments section below.

 

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The New Day: How Should I Think About My Failures?

Gratitude Attitude 2017 #22

Everyone wants to be a success. I have never met anyone who purposely set out to be a failure. Undoubtedly, this is why so much has been written on the topic “How to be a Success” and why these books are so popular.

However, The New Day daily newspaper closed just nine weeks after launching, Trinity Mirror confirms.

The New Day was a British compact daily newspaper published by Trinity Mirror, launched on 29 February 2016. It was aimed at a middle-aged female audience and was politically neutral. The editor, Alison Phillips, intended readers to get through the newspaper in under 30 minutes.

The new paper was initially available for 25p for two weeks, then rising to 50p.  Two million copies of the New Day was  given away on the first day, as the turquoise-branded upstart attempted to spark a revival in readership and gain ground against the mid-market Mail and Express offline.

Arrogance about their own ability to rescue a situation can prevent leaders from changing course

The New Day had no leading articles, no website, and columnists  and believed it could successfully  drag readers back to print?  The sad truth is that it did not attract enough attention and  failed to create  a daily newspaper that could  co-exist in the  digital age, especially as tabloids and broadsheets continue to  suffer a significant circulation decline.

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Shareholders at Trinity Mirror’s annual meeting called the failure “demoralising”. Analysts said it was “embarrassing”.

Assume for a moment that the leaders of The New Day  had no idea  about the changes swamping the print media as a result of the digital revolution,  and carelessly  decided to invest  millions into the venture without undertaking a risk assessment and  also decided to  ignore every indication that the paper was failing.  That would have been embarrassing and demoralising.

However, the leaders decided to fail quickly and  shut down the project they  started.

Abandonment is a rare, difficult and a valuable management skill. The natural instinct of most people is to persist, particularly  when the project is a collective commitment, as most corporate ventures are,  but then  it becomes even harder to hit the red “stop” button.

The New Day’s editor, Alison Phillips, said in a statement posted on Facebook that the team “tried everything we could” but were unable to reach the figures needed to make it work financially.

We dread failure. We don’t like talking about it. Some of us will internalise and rethink our failures in our heads time and time again. Others will swipe them away, moving onto the next thing immediately. In the public, we prefer sweeping our failures under the rug, silently, while nobody is watching.

While this might save our feelings momentarily, this is not the way learn and innovate.

the new day

According to Albert Savoia – ex Googler and innovation expert,  most project innovations will fail.

“Most New Things Will Fail – Even If They Are Flawlessly Executed.” – Albert Savoia – Ex Googler

Does this mean you should stay away from trying new things (and failing in the process)? Certainly not. It just means you need to accept failure will inevitably be a part of the process.

In most cases, however, a combination of arrogance about personal ability to rescue the situation and blindness to the lengthening odds of success stops  leaders from changing course.

The natural lifespan of most projects is finite, and the rarities are companies that survive.

The Art of “strategic Quitting” Will Become More Important as Careers Fragment and Companies Exert More Discipline

So if an idea is doomed, organisations usually treat the person who pulled the plug  early on as a hero right? Not exactly, it’s complicated.

Roy Greenslade, Professor of Journalism at City University London, wrote a report in The Guardian explaining how The New Day had failed. He pinpointed the error of marketing a newspaper to people who inherently despise  newspapers, and the short period of time  between the announcement and launch, leaving  no  time to advertise the product. It was also published early in the evening  thus missing out on late-night breaking news such as Leicester City F.C.’s shock win of the Premier League.

“Nothing so powerfully concentrates a man’s mind on innovation as the knowledge that the present product or service will be abandoned in the foreseeable future.” – Peter Drucker

The first thing the Bible wants to say is that all of us have failed. None is without failure. If you think you haven’t failed, two things are true of you. One is you are blind to your failures and the other is you probably haven’t taken enough risks to try enough hard things so that you would be aware of your failures.

Peter Drucker’s influence on business management is legendary.  Peter  realised  that “systematic abandonment”   a regular, unsentimental spring-clean is critical to the fostering of new business ideas.

Conclusion,  every organization needs to have a regular “rummage sale” to determine which products, services, and programs are worth keeping and which ones must be abandoned.

 

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Racism Is Still Alive and Well in the UK, 50 Years after the Race Relations Act

London Mayor Boris Johnson has said £1.3tn of investment is needed over the next 35 years in order for London to retain its world class status

Written by Denise Courtney

The truth is, we’re making slow progress, racial discrimination in construction industry is rife. Well, that was the finding of a report commissioned by the Construction Industry Training Board on the under-representation of ethnic minorities in the industry in 2014. The findings, published made for shocking reading. It stated that the construction workforce was only 1.9% black and Asian, compared with 6.4% of the working population as a whole – more than 70% fewer black and Asian workers than the UK industry average.

“There’s been some progress since 1965, no longer would signs of No Blacks, No Irish, No Dogs be allowed, but focusing on individual prejudice has avoided tackling endemic systematic racism, leaving significant inequalities in the UK and aboard.”

The survey proved that there is still much work to be done within the industry in order to attract the very best talent.

A painting contractor based in New England has been ordered to pay two former employees more than $1.5m each by a court in New Haven, Connecticut. The court ruled that the company had discriminated against the men on racial grounds.

The lawsuit, against Safety Marking alleged that Yosif Bakhit, a Sudanese-American, and Kiyada Miles, an African-American, were subject to “a pattern of abuse” for years, from racial insults and slurs to being passed over for promotions in favour of less experienced white employees.

There have been many cases both in  the UK and aboard, the evidence is overwhelming, just do a search on Google, the problem is most people suffer in silence.

“Is There a Glass Ceiling Where You Work? One in Three Brits ‘admits to Being Racist’, according to poll.”

Many people get attracted to the lucrative payments that usually accompany working in the UK and US. The need to explore what is beyond their boundaries is so tempting that one will use any means and any chance they get to ensure that they secure themselves a better paying job which is mostly found in the construction industry. However, their arrival is mostly characterized by hostility from the locals making their stay unbearable. In addition, proper recruitment practices in some cases have not been put in place to ensure that ethnic minorities are treated well.

The need for a diverse workforce in the construction industry by most governments is seen as a bid to fill the gap of an  aging workforce. Many organisations  have already become reliant on foreign construction laborers who are hungry for opportunities to further their careers.

Despite various measures and policies put in place to prevent or minimize racial discrimination, studies have shown that although the makeup of the population in the construction industry is in the process of changing, the picture still being painted is that the industry is still dominated by white people  instead of having multicultural diversity throughout.

Lewis Iwu, Director of the Fair Education Alliancec Recently Stated That ‘at Some Companies the Only Bme People Are the Ones Who Let You in the Door.’

Noticeable issues of racial discrimination which can be attested by ethnic minorities who comprise of blacks and people of Asian origin today are that most contractors and consultants are white with the stakeholders who are deemed to have stronger networks and connections despite the fact that there are equally qualified ethnic minority workers. This can be attributed to the fact that it will take a while for you to earn people’s trust which is hard, prejudice and stereotypes considered.

Strategic roles are also given to white colleagues and when there are opportunities for leadership roles, priority is given to the white counterparts despite the presence of more qualified Ethnic Minorities who are willing to avail themselves for the role. Another challenge is that even if an ethnic minority gets this position, their subordinates find it hard to take instructions from them making it hard for them to accomplish their tasks and achieve the set targets.

It is a common belief that there is power in a name and in most cases Ethnic Minorities will find themselves adopting English names just to make them seem white. Other instances of discrimination are that during submission of reports, the reports from ethnic minorities are criticized more.

Ethnic minorities have turned to the construction project management industry with the hope of building a career in construction to subsequently improve their lives but due to racial discrimination, they find themselves working in the same level for years without being promoted therefore making their lives hard. This can be attributed to a common perception that black people cannot bring anything substantial to the table and should instead be seen digging with a shovel and not in a management level, according to Kwasi Boateng who spoke to Nancy Cavill of Building.co.uk

Even with these cases being minimal today due to the policies put in place to see to it that there is equal opportunity for all; Ethnic minorities still suffer from issues of name calling which makes them isolate themselves from the rest of the workforce according to a report by the Equality and Human Rights commission.

“A State of  Racism Exists Between Some of the Citizens of the  United Kingdom, Studies Taken by the  BBC in 2014 and 2015 Claim Racism Is on the Rise in the Uk with More than One Third Actually Admitting They Are Racially Prejudiced.”

EM workers are reported to limit their contact with those from a different cultural or religious background whenever they can with some even missing work due to stress leading to reduced productivity. A finding by Juliet Bourke of Deloitte.com found that apart from racial jokes and racist gestures, ethnic minorities are in some cases denied time off to attend to religious or cultural ceremonies. A plus here is that this group is however satisfied with the multicultural working environment. “Why not take a legal action?” One may ask. This has been in the minds of many but the fear of the repercussions makes them cower and tolerate the discriminatory treatment. Coupled with that, low status workers with limited skills fear that they will be exposed to adverse working conditions.

Due to the plight of these workers, construction management organizations have come up with strategies that will see an improved working condition for all and key among them include;

  • A review of the current legislations which have been put in place to safeguard ethnic minority workers against discrimination in the construction industry. The review will help in deliberating on specific policies aimed at protecting them and to add on what has been overlooked. This involves punishing offenders who are found guilty of harassing or discriminating against members of a different religious or cultural background.
  • Implementation of equal treatment of all workers despite their cultural or religious backgrounds. This will see that all the workers will get equal opportunities with regards to leadership chances without considering their backgrounds but their qualifications instead. This will ensure that proper representations of these minorities are achieved.
  • Along with the policies of enhancing equal opportunities, policies that ensure that workers have freedom to attend to their various cultural and religious ceremonies have been put in place. This effort shows that their beliefs are acknowledged and appreciated which is motivation enough for them.
  • The need for a common language which is understood by all has prompted some constructions organisations  to come up with one which will help communicate its policies to the workers effectively without feeling that others have been left out. These organizations therefore encourage its workers to try and learn English which is one of the common international languages in a bid to support workers overcome the language barrier. This will also ensure that all the safety policies are communicated effectively and are understood by the entire workforce.
  • Thees construction firms also ensure that it communicates clearly and precisely all the work procedures to ensure that all the tasks are done well and in a safe manner. This includes training and putting in place properly laid out instructions to ensure that the workers understand and know what they are supposed to do.

With these policies and strategies being put in place by companies, noticeable impacts on improved delivery and quality of the services provided by a well coordinated and multicultural population will be realized. Without these policies, poor psychological working conditions which include discrimination and harassment as well as issues of excessive workloads, low job control and long working hours will lead to a worsening mental and physical health of these workers leading to poor delivery. The government and those in leadership positions should be brought on board on these issues of racial discrimination in the construction project management industry if any significant changes are to be realized. They should take responsibility and make it an agenda and not merely regard it as an issue which human resource teams must  deal with alone.

“Every Single Person Has a Unique, Inherent Worth.”

Even if industries put these policies in place, they should strictly follow them up and make deliberate efforts to create an environment that is inclusive of all the people from diverse backgrounds to curb direct and indirect workplace discrimination. Construction is part of a country’s development agenda because without it, infrastructure which is crucial will lag behind making production minimal as it is from construction that they will have roads to transport their goods and services. Companies should therefore understand that diversity is very crucial for their prosperity because it is through it that better business ideas as well as innovations will be realized. This is because a diverse team will bring in diverse perspectives to problems and customer needs will be best understood as they will be in a better position to tailor their products and services to meet those needs.

Do you believe  legislative change can end systematic discrimination in Britain and aboard or is  racism coded in to the DNA of the nation?

 

 

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