by Laura Heinemann | Jan 28, 2016 | Uncategorized
We all have experienced it at some point in life: passive aggressive behavior. Defined as the indirect expression of hostility, passive aggressive behavior can feel omnipresent at the workplace if leaders don’t actively work to prevent it. It can take many forms including a negative attitude, procrastination, stubbornness, sarcasm, gossip, withdrawal, unusual behavior, or the repeated failure to complete tasks. If passive aggressive behavior isn’t addressed, the costs to a team or an organization can be great. Decision making slows down. Resentment between team members grows. Communication breaks down. Potential risks are not identified. The organization becomes incapable of functioning at the highest level possible, and for individuals within the organization, the unaddressed conflict festers into animosity, disloyalty, stress, and sometimes departure. Team leaders and managers must be proactive by preventing passive aggressive behavior quickly in order to avoid the unintended consequences. Here are a series of strategies for handling passive aggressive behavior effectively in a team or organization: As a leader, reflect on your own feelings around conflict. Do you avoid conflict? Do you address conflict at the appropriate moment? Spend some time thinking about the biases you might hold towards conflict and resolution, and start developing a plan for addressing conflict more directly. Your understanding and ability to address conflict is 50% of the solution. Make team members feel comfortable openly expressing contrasting views. Explicitly encourage engagement and develop ground rules to maintain professionalism and healthy disagreement. Anger should be expressed in a factual, non-judgmental way. For example: “I’m concerned that we are not sharing all of our opinions. I would like everyone to share their thoughts...
by Laura Heinemann | Jan 21, 2016 | Uncategorized
Wall Street banking jobs have traditionally been some of the highest paying and most sought-after jobs for new college graduates. However, in recent years Wall Street’s culture has led to a slow and steady talent drain as more and more people choose startups and the Silicon Valley over banking. The problem for banks stems from many things, but one of the biggest problems is the culture. Social-media and technology companies are attracting new talent by appealing to their desire for global experiences, high levels of responsibility, reasonably fast advancement, a strong sense of ethical standards, innovative management techniques, and an attractive work-life balance. In order to compete, Wall Street must make changes to its culture. According to The Boston Consulting Group, these changes should be the immediate focus: Ensure that basic people-management disciplines are carried out. These include soft metrics (such as pulse-check-based overall satisfaction) as well as harder metrics (quality-of-performance reviews conducted at regular intervals). Create Personalized learning and development plans that offer training across silos and divisions and also provide necessary compliance content. Recognize that many high-performing individuals (such as traders) may not necessarily be effective people managers, and that forcing them into such roles can be detrimental both to the individuals themselves and to their subordinates. Address next-generation concerns such as better approaches to work-life balance (perhaps through part-time or flexible working policies), greater mobility, and opportunities for social initiatives (such as social-impact leaves of absence). Evaluate alternatives channels for recruiting Millennials. Build a more rigorous approach to managing career paths (including full transparency on titles and promotions). Reinforce active performance management and outplacement (aside from...
by Laura Heinemann | Jan 14, 2016 | Uncategorized
According to professors Edward Deci and Richard Ryan from the University of Rochester, employees work for six main reasons. Three of the reasons tend to increase performance, while the other three hurt it. The six main reasons people work are: play, purpose, potential, emotional pressure, economic pressure, and inertia. Here is a breakdown of each reason: Good (or Direct) Motives: Play is when you are motivated by the work itself. You work because you enjoy it. A teacher at play enjoys the core activities of teaching — creating lesson plans, grading tests, or problem solving how to break through to each student. Play is our learning instinct, and it’s tied to curiosity, experimentation, and exploring challenging problems. Purpose is when the direct outcome of the work fits your identity. You work because you value the work’s impact. For example, a teacher driven by purpose values or identifies with the goal of educating and empowering children. Potential is when the outcome of the work benefits your identity. In other words, the work enhances your potential. For example, a teacher with potential may be doing his job because he eventually wants to become a principal. Bad (or Indirect) Motives: Emotional pressure is when you work because some external force threatens your identity. If you’ve ever used guilt to compel a loved one to do something, you’ve inflicted emotional pressure. Fear, peer pressure, and shame are all forms of emotional pressure. When you do something to avoid disappointing yourself or others, you’re acting on emotional pressure. This motive is completely separate from the work itself. Economic pressure is when an external force makes you work. You work...
by Laura Heinemann | Jan 9, 2016 | Uncategorized
Executive Assistant We are looking for an individual with an entrepreneurial spirit: confident, intelligent and dedicated individual who is focused on making improvements and finding solutions. Someone who is detailed-oriented and proactive – willing to take the initiative to ask, learn, and make things happen. If you are looking for a part-time position that requires handling multiple requests, prioritizing and responding quickly and efficiently to team members and clients, let us know. Key Responsibilities: Manage day to day operations of office Plan and schedule meetings and appointments Manage projects and conduct research Prepare, edit correspondence, reports, and presentations Make travel and guest arrangements Financial: data entry, prepare invoices, make deposits Plan and coordinate events, workshops, conferences Provide excellent service to clients Maintain professional demeanor in all situations The ideal candidate will be a super creative team member and highly attentive to details. Other skills needed: 2+ years of experience in a business environments with administrative experience. A university or college degree Quickbooks Online Previous event planning experience preferred Must be able to work in a collaborative team environment. This position is 20 hours a week; hours and days flexible. If you are interesting, please email your resume. Entera+Partners Consulting is a boutique consulting firm poised for growth. We are dedicated to long-term relationships with our valued clients whose brands are synonymous with excellence, service, integrity and innovation....
by Laura Heinemann | Oct 2, 2015 | Uncategorized
High school award ceremonies in the twenty-first century are gratifying experiences for most parents. After years of trying to perfect their parenting, the symbol of a medal hanging from their child’s neck sends a reassuring message; it’s a message that says, “Just as the parenting book stated, you, too, could raise successful children.” Whether the engraving on the medal reads “Most Enthusiastic” or “Try a Different Sport,” every child leaves with an award in hand and a feeling of merit. Unlike previous generations, the generation of the late twentieth century and early twenty-first century – which I will refer to as Generation Z or Gen Z – grew up in a country where everyone is a winner- at least in theory. Consequently, Generation Z developed an elevated sense of self-worth that combined with technology and created a society of entitled humanitarians. One of the historical facets of the American Dream was that working hard and receiving an education would lead to opportunities for prosperity and happiness. For many, these notions manifested into images heavily influenced by 1950s iconography: a white picket fence; a yard for the kids to play in; a new ruby-red Chevy parked outside. For others, simply supporting a family and living a comfortable lifestyle was a sensible representation of the American Dream. However, for Generation Z, the American Dream is perceived through a lens that been hampered by the commentaries and respective experiences of previous generations. Due to technological and economic changes, members of Gen Z connect to the world around them in a way no other generation could. With a perspective that reaches far beyond...
by Laura Heinemann | Sep 9, 2015 | Uncategorized
In the fable “The Emperor Has New Clothes,” the emperor’s arrogance prevented him from seeing the truth about his situation. This arrogance can be seen in many company leadership teams as they refuse to see the truth about their organization’s culture. They either completely ignore the issue (too soft and fuzzy) or relentlessly project the image of being a great place to work. In reality their culture not only hinders productive and creative work, but also results in a highly disengaged workforce. According to Deloitte’s 2015 major study on Human Capital trends, there are two trending factors that should cause leadership teams to take a second look at more than just the profit and product and put the people factor in full play. # 1 We live in the age of the Glass Door. Our decisions, missteps, and other once-privately held discussions can, in a moment’s notice, be online and be visible for the whole world to see. Your organization is out there as well. Your culture, the real way your company supports or hinders your mission, can be discovered with just a few clicks. This spotlight can either be your best friend or your worst enemy. If you’ve got a strong, innovative culture, you will attract and retain the people who are best-suited for you. But, if you are looking for high performers and your culture is dysfunctional, it will be difficult to recruit and retain the best and the brightest. #2 The trending job market belongs to the employee. Your employees are now a new kind of customer. With talent wars and social sites, the market...
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