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Listening is an innate skill that we pick up as infants. Yet with all of the distractions we have in today's busy world, it is easy to lose focus when we should instead be engaged in conversation. Think about it. You come home from a long day and when your child is telling you a story about school your mind is still decompressing. Soon you hear the words, "Mom, you are not listening to me!"

Sure, you are listening to your child, but are you really listening to their words? Are you engaged in your conversation or are you distracted by the television, your other child or the sound your phone just made signaling that you have a new text? Perhaps you are thinking about not burning dinner or your to-do list. On the other hand, as parents, we know how frustrating it is when we are speaking to our children as they are focused on a show, video game or book and are only pretending to hear the words we are saying.

The same frustrations happen every day in the workplace. Are you really listening to your employees? Are your employees really listening to you? How is anything going to effectively get accomplished if the team is not listening to one another?

Listening is an important skill that is all too often taken for granted. Here are some tips for active listening:

Stop all unrelated activities before engaging in a conversation with someone. Turn down the volume or walk away from the other conversations so you will not be distracted.

Consider the subject of the discussion and quickly do a mental review of what you may already know about the subject. This will help you to keep your mind from wandering. You may also want to suggest that the conversation begins with a high level review of the topic.

Recognize your emotions and try to put them aside until after the conversation. If you simply cannot do so, consider acknowledging your emotional state to the person with whom you are speaking.

Focus your body towards the speaker. Face the person who is speaking and look him or her in the eyes.

Seek to understand what the speaker is saying to you. Try not to skip ahead or predict what the other person is going to say next.

Do not develop your responses while the other person is speaking.

Actively respond to the person with questions or reactions once he or she has finished. Do not interrupt as that is a clear sign that you are more concerned with what you have to ask than what the other person has to say.

Often it is helpful to summarize and paraphrase key points. This will confirm your understanding of the discussion and create a dialogue.

Listening is so much more than simply keeping your mouth closed. It is a sign of consideration and emotional intelligence. Whether you are having a conversation with your employer, employees or your family, active listening promotes mutual respect.

Happy New Year. It is 2012 and business leaders continue to face a more diverse, multigenerational workforce. This trend will continue for many more years so it is important to embrace these demographic changes and recognize the value they bring.

Generations really do not think the same way from one to the next. Each generation has a different set of expectations and preferences with regards to how they communicate, how they want to be managed, what they are looking for in their job and how they approach their work.

By now you have probably read something about the different generations. Perhaps you even attended a seminar or workshop. Fortunately, you can learn to leverage the strengths of each generation in your company to excel in business and exceed expectations.

Simply put, today's leaders will need to adapt to the multi-generational workforce. Rather than concentrating on problem areas, focusing on the unique strengths between the generations will allow you to connect with employees in an entirely new and productive way. As always, leaders need to respect all employees, providing everyone with equal opportunities and recognize both ability and accomplishment. Yet, leaders should be treating the generations differently. One of the primary tasks as a leader is to inspire and motivate the people who work for them. Their approach, communication style and personal interactions should flex depending on whom they are addressing.

Whether you are the CEO, an executive, a manager or a supervisor, you can utilize simple strategies to lead your multigenerational workforce. Here are the six strategies that I provide in my book GENerate Performance:  Unleashing the Power of a Multigenerational Workforce.

Strategy #1: Celebrate Differences
Strategy #2: Invest Time
Strategy #3: Leverage Strengths
Strategy #4: Show Respect
Strategy #5: Pay Attention
Strategy #6: Embrace Change

These strategies are simple yet critical and often times overlooked. Try using them on a consistent basis and you will be amazed at the impact you can have on others.

The generations in today’s workplace are different and those differences can be a source of great opportunity. Leverage your team’s strengths by doing a careful examination of your team. To do so, use the following four steps:

Observe
Spend time personally observing your staff. Find out which types of projects your employees want to work. Discover where they are applying extra effort. Listen to the issues or topics they bring up. By observing them you may just discover their power and their passion.

Ask
Don’t try to guess a person’s strengths. Ask them what they perceive their own strengths to be and find out if they think those strengths are being fully utilized. In most circumstances, individuals know their own strengths better than anyone else.

Focus
Having discovered what each person’s strengths are, it is also vital to then focus on leveraging those strengths. Too often, managers focus on what they think employees should be doing better. You will never turn weaknesses into strengths so focusing on the strengths will inspire and motivate.

Identify
Find the projects, opportunities and assignments which utilize each person’s key strengths. Try to funnel work to your team based on the tasks which will leverage their passion and their power.

With these steps in mind, ask yourself if you know each of your employees’ strengths and how you can leverage the generational strengths on your team. Think about what opportunities you can create for your employees to exercise their power and their passion. If you do so, your team will be energized with excitement and engagement at every level. Innovation will flourish. Team dynamics will improve and productivity will soar.

One of the primary tasks as a leader in the workplace is to inspire and motivate the people working for you. This means that you will need to partner actively with your employees and delegate responsibilities consistently. Here are six tips to keep your team inspired and motivated in their roles:

1. Be passionate. Your staff will always take their cues from you. If you are excited and enthusiastic, you will inspire your team to feel the same way. Always remember that as the leader you set the standard.

2. Keep their eyes on the prize. Clearly state and then reiterate the results you anticipate from your staff to consistently keep them motivated. Leverage each person’s strengths whenever possible.

3. Encourage a proper perspective. Celebrate small victories along the way while keeping them focused on the finish line. Always assume good intent and use verbal recognition to show your respect.

4. Build momentum for change when it is necessary. It’s easy to start strong and then start to see enthusiasm wane. To counter this, put a plan in place to realize the changes you want made and keep pushing each new phase forward to build and maintain momentum.

5. Match your walk to your talk. Too many times, companies declare a need for change but then take no active role in making it happen. Provide your staff with time, resources and feedback. Be fully committed. Be willing to learn and grow through the change.

6. Demonstrate respect for your staff. At our very core, we all want respect. Show your team that they are needed and valued. Solicit their input. Express to them that their concerns are heard and their recommendations welcome.

In the business world we live in today, employees are placing high demands on companies, particularly on leaders. As you implement these tips take notice of how productivity, retention, performance, teamwork and communication all dramatically improve.

When this economic downturn struck in 2009 we assumed that the economy would be back by now. While unemployment remains higher than anticipated there are definite signs of improvement appearing throughout in the job market. This is the time for us to remain patient and yet optimistic.

This is also the time for us to consider what will happen as the job market returns. Here is what employers should expect from employees of each generation:

Generation Y (those age 29 and under) will show their impact, representing 30% of the entire US workforce by next year. Generation Y comes with very different communication styles then previous generations. In addition, they have strong ideas and high expectations about how they want to be managed and developed. Generation Y wants employers to: be fun and flexible, offer opportunities to continue learning, show corporate responsibility, utilize technology and be a casual culture and work environment.

Generation X (ages 29-45) will move into their respective leadership positions within organizations, thus implementing a new set of management styles into the workplace. Generation X values flexibility, quality of products and services, efficiency and working with people they respect.

Baby Boomers (ages 46-64) will begin to move forward with plans to exit the corporate workforce, meaning that years of experience will leave with them. The Baby Boomers who are continuing in the workforce will look for company ethics, customer focus, a relationship oriented culture and healthcare benefits.

Traditionalists (age 65 and above) while ready to move on, are still looking for a sense of fulfillment. They may want to contribute to the workforce in some capacity, whether part-time, consultants or non-profit work. Traditionalists respect experience, clear roles and responsibilities, reputation of the company/organization and a sense of structure.

Leaders will still need to respect each of the generations, provide everyone with equal opportunities and recognize abilities and accomplishments. Yet company cultures will be forced to change to embrace these new workplace demographics that we will see in the emerging workforce. Leadership approaches, communication styles and personal interactions need to change depending on who leaders are addressing. Prepare today by truly understanding the similarities and differences among the generations.

Can you relate to the recently released movie, Horrible Bosses? Let’s face it. With unemployment still staggeringly high, many Americans have no choice but to deal with a horrible boss. According to a survey from OfficeTeam, a California-based staffing service, nearly half of the workers polled complained about having worked for "unreasonable bosses."

Here are some real life telltale signs of a horrible boss:

• The Micromanager has difficulty with delegating and is constantly double-checking employees’ work just to make sure it is being done to their satisfaction. A Micromanager pays excessive attention to minor details. These bosses are unable to develop other people because of their own need to be in control.
• The Poor Communicator offers little or no direction, forcing employees to guess what this boss wants. This lack of clear direction or expectations leads to frustration and lower productivity levels for both the employee and the supervisor.
• The Bully feels that intimidation is going to gets results. Bullies have a tendency to lose their cool with employees. They have a “their way or the highway” type of attitude and are easily dissatisfied with their employees.
• The Saboteur is one of the worst types of leader because they take credit from employees when it benefits them. On the other hand, if things go wrong, the Saboteur is quick to place blame an employee. As a result, Saboteur’s employees usually wind up feeling taken advantage of and unmotivated.
• The Emotional Wreck has a tendency to flip-flop in attitudes towards employees, whereby one moment everything seems fine and the next moment the employee can do nothing right. Employees are never sure what to expect in the workplace and ends up “walking on eggshells,” which causes employees undue stress.

In these economic times, many employees have no choice but to stick it out with a horrible boss. In fact, over half (59%) of those who said that they have a horrible boss stayed in their jobs, according to the OfficeTeam study.

Yet Leaders are the people who need to wholeheartedly embrace the changes necessary to take advantage of the strengths of employees, despite their own inherent methods of managing others. If leaders can actively partner with employees and delegate responsibilities effectively they will empower employees with the opportunities and resources necessary to utilize their strengths.

The “ideal” man of today is both a deeply involved family man and a truly dedicated employee, according to results of the Family & Work Institute's National Study of the Changing Workforce.

Today’s “ideal” men feel more of a conflict between family and the workplace; a strain which did not exist to the same extent previously. Men who still believe in traditional gender roles may feel out of touch in today’s family-centric world while those who are family-centric may feel that their workplace does not accommodate their lives. Interestingly, the same levels of conflict were present regardless of whether a spouse’s salary is lower, higher or equal to the man’s salary.

Not surprisingly, the more time a man spends working, the more he has a potential for feeling conflicted between work and family. This internal conflict is enhanced by technology, as there are many more ways for work to be handled outside of traditional office hours. These advancements have softened the line between work time and family time, perhaps creating additional stress for the “ideal” man.

The study shows that men who tend to make work a priority over family (those in more traditional values) are more likely to feel this work-family conflict than men who put family of equal or greater priority. Let me be clear that this is not implying that men with traditional values love their work more than their family, nor does it imply that those with more egalitarian values are not interested in having successful careers. Those with more traditional values may just feel added stress of maintaining their place on the corporate ladder while also being present at home.

Three in four fathers feel that they do not have enough time to spend with their children, and their conflicts vary by the age of the children. Not surprisingly, fathers of very young children and fathers of teenagers are more likely to feel conflicted, as those tend to be the most pivotal and trying times for a parent.

So, what can companies do to with this knowledge about the new male mystique? I believe that the key is getting to know your employees on a personal level to find out what they need and expect at work. The study shows that there are two items which would make a significant difference to men in today’s workplace. First is the ability to engage in a conversation with supervisors about family issues without being looked down upon. The second is the option for workplace flexibility without being perceived as a sign that employees are more focused on their personal life and less committed to their job. What we have learned from this study is that work-family conflict is as much a men’s issue as it is a women’s issue.

Workplace culture needs to signal that it is safe for men to be open about their conflicts without harming their opportunities for advancement. By recognizing societal and cultural changes, strong leaders can build up strong employees by leveraging their strengths and respecting their choices rather draining them and letting them down.

With the state of our economy, we hear a lot in the news everyday regarding unemployment.  While the high unemployment rate is certainly a concern, an even bigger issue is that of underemployment.  A recent Gallup poll indicates that approximately 19.7 percent of people in the workforce consider themselves underemployed. 

 

Underemployment is a situation in which a person is employed, but not in their desired capacity. A person could feel underemployed for a variety of reasons including position, pay, hours and experience.   Underemployment is impacting organizations today and has the potential to have a more significant impact when the economy turns around and the number of employment opportunities increase.   

 

Here’s what companies with underemployed employees need to know:

 

Don’t Lose Sight of Longer Term Goals – it’s easy to think about the short term gains of getting more experienced workers for less money, but always keep the bigger picture in mind or it can bite you later, when the economy does turnaround.

 

Set Clear Expectations – make sure that during the hiring process and once the employee joins the organization, there is clarity around what is expected of them. Ensure that communication is taking place regularly to avoid frustration and confusion. 

 

Focus on Retention – for those employees who you view as high performers or high potentials make sure they know how you feel. Find ways to keep all of your employees motivated and make them feel valued. 

 

Leverage Strengths – underemployment presents opportunities for businesses to add diversity to their teams. You can hire older workers who bring experience and expertise as well as younger workers who have great ideas and know technology. Find ways to leverage the strengths and diversity of each generation in your workplace for really positive results. 

 

Recognize Individual Concerns and Needs – get to know your employees and their needs. For those who are underemployed, they may be experiencing more stress. Offer support and flexibility as appropriate.