“The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers”Ralph Nader, American politician     Today’s rapidly evolving business landscape means that managers not only need to actively manage their careers, but they need to provide career guidance for their employees. Here are some ways on how good leaders help employees develop their careers: 1. Create growth opportunities Give your team new and professionally challenging work experiences to get them out of

Self-awareness is one of the keys of being a great leader. But learning to be self-aware does not come easy for most people. Being aware of your emotions, understanding your personality and what motivates you are some factors that are important to developing effective managerial ability. If you cannot manage yourself, you will not be able to manage anyone else. Here are 5 steps to increase self-awareness for managerial success:    1.  Seek honest feedback We may not always be

The most successful leaders are not those with the highest intelligence quotient (IQ) but those who demonstrate great emotional intelligence (EQ). The ability to deal with feelings may not come easily for most managers, so here are some practical tips to boost your EQ.   1. Have empathy By understanding others’ feelings, thoughts and behaviors, we can then create stronger and deeper relationships. Learn to read the emotions of others as you interact with them. One way to do t

We all know the frustration of searching for that crucial piece of information or losing files without a single trace. In today’s digital age, no amount of organisation can guarantee that you will be able to find everything, but being organised can save you a significant amount of time . As a manager, you will need to create an impression of being well-organized on top of operating at high efficiency. Here are 5 things good managers do to stay organised:  1.  Provide updates

“No great achievement is possible without persistent work”-Bertrand Russell In Singapore, Labour Day falls on May 1 every year. It is a public holiday that commemorates the effort of working people who have contributed to the success and strength of the economy. While you are enjoying the day off, take a moment to remember and acknowledge the people on whose your work and success depends on. Here are 10 employee appreciation ideas your team will love: Lunch with the CEO/Found

The traditional time to promote employees is during the annual performance review , but a promotion can and should happen when it is most appropriate.  When a key management position is coming up and an internal promotion seems obvious, the office comes abuzz with colleagues championing their peers and the managers already having a candidate in mind. There will be resentment from those who missed out. So what is the best way to handle a promotion? Here are some do's and don't

Every year, Earth Day is celebrated on 22 April to show awareness and appreciation for the environment. Celebrating Earth Day is not only good for our planet, but good for your employees too. One of the ways to level up employee engagement is through team-building activities and rounding up your employees for meaningful action and efforts that have a direct impact on their daily lives. Here are 6 ways your workplace can get involved and play a part in preserving our limited

Preparing for the performance appraisal meeting helps employees focus on examining their performance in a more objective way. Whether you are a manager or employee, overcome the fear of performance appraisals with our useful guide on how to prepare for the appraisal meeting! Try our bite-sized module here:  https://www.noodlefactory.com.sg/portal/module/4719a698-4bf7-11e7-8a48-06fb09d22481   For Managers Before the meeting Schedule it in advance Inform the employee at least

For many of us, the annual performance appraisal feels like we are being put in the hot seat where we and our work performance becomes the hot topic for discussion with our bosses. It can be an uncomfortable session for most of us as we go through menial paperwork and go face to face with our direct supervisor. While supervisors have the upper hand as far as performance appraisals are concerned, employees can also set themselves up for success by actively preparing for the pe

The average person spends 28% of the workweek reading and responding to email– The McKinsey Global Institute found that an average employee spends 13 hours a week reading and responding to email. That’s by far the most time-consuming work activity at 28% of our work time. We spend so much time on emails, yet emails are one of the largest causes of communication breakdowns. Sending emails is a fast and easy way to get our message out there, but emails do not take into accoun

New managers think that it is up to them to dominate conversations with employees. Hence, most of them fail to listen, especially to the concerns and ideas of employees, leading to poor communication. As Epictetus (Greek philosopher) famously said, “Nature has given men one tongue, but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak”. Managers who invest the time and efforts necessary for improving their personal listening skills not only experience an improv

"Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply." --Stephen R. Covey, author, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. We spend a lot of time in school learning how to communicate. We take classes in written and spoken communication such as business writing , presentations and debate. We learnt how to express ourselves. But there were hardly any classes that taught us listening skills. Listening is every bit as important as spe

Have you ever said or heard someone say, “That’s not what I meant” or “That’s not what I intended to say”? Wouldn’t it be nice if every time the person with whom we are speaking to heard us exactly the way in which we intended? We are constantly communicating. We may never speak a word, but we may have said a mouthful. Communication is not how and what we say, it is how we are heard. It is not about us, but how the other person perceives our messages and us. Communication is

It is true that the higher you climb up the corporate ladder, the lonelier it will be and most new managers can attest to this. They often grumble about not being able to confide in their team members or having no idea about how they are doing as a manager. When you are new on the job, you may not notice anything wrong until someone points it out or when your boss starts to doubt your judgement. To avoid all these uncertainly, you will certainly need to open up  feedback cha

Conflict is a natural consequence of human interaction and is inevitable in the workplace. When employees clash, they can become concerned with defending their viewpoints that they cease to communicate. Mutual distrust starts to build up and threatens workplace relationships. This does not mean that conflicts are a bad thing, as disagreements can be productive and motivate people to do better. Your role as the manager is not to prevent conflicts, but to prevent conflicts from

Imagine going for a hike in the forest without a map or GPS. Sure, it’s fun for a while- you feel adventurous and daring- but sooner or later, you will get lost and start to panic. Now imagine pursuing your career without clearly defined goals. What should your goals be and how do you go about achieving these goals? In defining what needs to be done, setting SMART goals can be a useful way to ensure that we do not get carried away. SMART is an acronym that is simple and usefu

In most companies, employees get one on one time with their managers only once a year during their performance appraisals . One-on-one meetings are about getting to know the people you work with better. They are about discussing higher-level things such as feedback, professional development and career goals. Ultimately, such meetings exist to help you figure out how you can make good employees happy and keep them around.  Here are 5 basic rules for planning and delivering eff

The performance review meeting is a formal conversation based upon the informal conversations that have happened prior. The goal is to make the meeting productive and produce outcomes that benefit both the employee and the company. Here is a guide to conducting performance appraisals in 10 easy steps: Click here for our interactive module: https://www.noodlefactory.com.sg/portal/course/dea5159f-4bf8-11e7-8a48-06fb09d22481 Set the climate for a productive interchange. Welcome

Another year, another office Christmas party. You book the office function room, pull out last year’s dusty decorations in the storeroom, flip through buffet catering catalogues and end up ordering everyone’s favourite platter of sausages and roast prime ribs. One word? Boring. This is not to say that being traditional is not a bad thing, but why not switch things up and do something a little different this year? Here are 8 fun alternative Christmas party ideas for your offic

The festive season is upon us. Christmas shopping, hosting and travelling are just some of the activities that are distracting us from putting in a 100 percent at work. Many of us look forward to spending more time with family and getting some well-deserved rest, away from the demands of work. Although it may be tempting to give a “motivational talk” to your employees to remain focused on work, the key is to have realistic expectations while ensuring a consistent level of out