10 Qualities That Will Impress Your Boss

reposted from Savvy Sugar

There’s no magic formula for wowing the boss, but there is a particular set of skills and characteristics that is universally attractive to employers and will serve you well in any workplace. Remember: learning and anticipating your manager’s needs, understanding her expectations, and talking to her about shared goals are the best ways to get ahead, but you can also get a head start by putting your best foot forward.

 Here are some helpful suggestions:

Be Dependable

Don’t be on the ball one week, then out to lunch the next. Be dependable in terms of your work flow, attitude, and effort so those around you know what to expect.

 Know How to Put Out the Fire

If something goes awry or a problem pops up, know how to stop and fix it. Offering up a game plan earns big bonus points with any boss, who may not understand the nuances of the situation the way you do.

Be Accountable

Did you mess something up? Admit it and help fix it if you can, or seek assistance from someone who can help. Everyone will appreciate you being honest and accountable for your actions. It shows you care.

 Be Friendly and Upbeat

Whether you’re chitchatting in the elevator or stopping by an office fete, try and be upbeat with your co-workers and boss. They care about you, but they don’t want to hear all your sob stories. Steady enthusiasm and effort goes a long way in the “interpersonal relations” department.

Be Time- and Deadline-Conscious

Showing up and being on the ball makes you stand out, but go beyond that. Make sure to hit deadlines and be aware of other people’s schedules. If you scheduled a meeting, show up on time. Round up the troops. Do your part to keep everyone on task.

 Be Flexible

Nothing ever goes as planned in business. Be flexible and hide your stress when things go awry or off plan. Your boss expects you to be able to keep your cool in intense situations and will be reviewing you on your ability to do so. Confront changes with a relaxed attitude.

 Be a Go-Getter

Once you’ve mastered the art of productivity, aim for “go-getter” status. You won’t be bored by your job if you challenge yourself, take on tasks, and hope to learn and grow in your position. Taking on new tasks and collecting a bag of tricks and skills will aid you throughout your career and impress your boss.

 Look the Part — or Try

Wearing the right work attire is vital for making a good impression and upholding professional appearances. Sadly, you are being judged for your attire whether it’s fair or not.

 Show Leadership

As important as it is to take initiative and prioritize your own workload, it’s equally important to show you can lead others. This is particularly important if you hope to rise in the ranks and someday manage a team. Your boss wants to know you can direct and delegate, and get your job done.

 Be Giving

Maintain a healthy work-life balance, but commit yourself to your job. If you don’t love it, or even like it, it will show. Give your talent, insight, time, and effort when you are on the clock and show you aren’t afraid to get your hands dirty. You’re being paid to work, so give it what you’ve got. Your boss expects it, but if you give enough she’ll be impressed.

Putting your Career on the Razor’s Edge

 by Wendi L. Wasik*

You’re having lunch with your best friend and he is telling you all about his latest promotion.  He is brimming with excitement about the endless possibilities he sees for his company, clients and himself.  Your friend clearly loves his job; he appears to be is in complete control of his destiny.  In fact, at this rate, it sounds like he will be president of the company by the next time you meet him for lunch.  What’s going on here?  There is no talk about office politics, unfair decisions, unmotivated employees, or finger pointing.    Your friend is on the razor’s edge of his career.  He is filled with enthusiasm, motivation and he sees endless possibilities in his career. 

Does this describe you?  Is your career exploding with possibilities, or you are floundering, trying to figure out how to breathe life into what appears to be a humdrum existence?  Here are some important steps to follow in order to be on the razor’s edge of your career.

 Arm yourself with the following: 

• A vision for the future
• A clearly defined game plan
• An ability to see opportunities
• Maintain a positive mental attitude

What’s your vision for the future?  Rule number one–know your destination point!  You can’t measure your progress, or expect to produce a specific outcome, if you have not defined your journey.  First, begin with the end in mind:  ask yourself, where do you want to be by X date?  This is your vision for the future.  If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.

 Next, identify where you are today, and what steps are necessary to reach your destination.  This is your game plan.  Once the starting point and the desired ending point have been identified, it is essential to define action plans for making progress, and any action plan must include milestones and a timetable.  Milestones help keep you on track and let you measure your progress.  If changes in course might be necessary, having a timetable with milestones will help makes this evident much sooner.

 Answering these fundamental questions is not easy.  Many of us may have followed career paths that felt prescribed for us, or perhaps we just haven’t asked ourselves these basic questions in awhile.  (While some people are quite capable at being objective in addressing these questions, others find it helpful to engage the services of a qualified executive coach.) 

 Keep your mind open to new possibilities.  Russell H. Conwell, the founder of Temple University, taught that there are “acres of diamonds in your own backyard”.  Look at clients, co-workers, projects, and business opportunities with a new set of eyes:  don’t be constrained by looking at things in an old and familiar way.  Ask yourself, what’s possible rather than relying upon what you think you “know”.  The moment we think we can predict outcomes, we slowly begin to shut the door on new opportunities.  Remember to examine old ways of thinking.   You can’t expect new results from old ways of thinking, so if you’re looking to breathe life into your career and produce new results, you have to start thinking differently.

 Finally, maintain a positive mental attitude.  Your attitude can ultimately determine your destiny.  Charles Swindall wrote that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.  You cannot change how others think or act, but you can decide how you will respond.  To climb a mountain, it is best to look upwards.

Ultimately, the choice to be on the razor’s edge is yours, whether you recognize it or not.  You’re in the driver’s seat.  Half the battle is recognizing it, and the other half is taking action.

 *Wendi L. Wasik, MSOD provides Executive Coaching, Wasik Consulting, LLC, wendi@wasikconsulting.com.

Goldman Sach’s 10,000 Women Initiative

10,000 Women  is a five-year investment by Goldman Sachs to provide 10,000 underserved women around the world with a business and management education. 10,000 Women operates through a network of more than 70 academic and non-profit partners to develop locally relevant coursework for students.

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‘Cause I’m a woman, Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That’s me.

-Maya Angelou

Women from around the world will gather in New York , March 12-14, for the Daily Beast’s three-day summit. Women in the World: Stories and Solutions is a celebration of collaboration and achievement—of how women pushed on beyond base camp, advancing their rights in the face of profound cultural complexities, inert bureaucracies, and endemic corruption. Through our coverage at The Daily Beast, you’ll meet these heroines. So join DailyBeast online this weekend to hear their stories and see the solutions they pursued with such courage and imagination.

At weekend’s end, it will be clearer than ever that it is women who hold the key to the future.

• What will Queen Rania say to Katie Couric, Madeleine Albright to Barbara Walters, and Valerie Jarrett to Lesley Stahl? What will activists tell Christiane Amanpour about how to eradicate the use of rape as a weapon of war? Watch it all on the live-stream here at thedailybeast.com.

• The Daily Beast thanks our founding sponsor, HP, for responding so quickly to the idea of the Women in the World summit.

• Thanks, too, to Exxon Mobil, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women, and the Conrad Hilton Foundation

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY CENTENARY 

International Women’s Day (IWD) was first declared in 1910 with the first IWD event held in 1911. 2011 sees 100 years of International Women’s Day having been celebrated around the world. Widespread increased activity is anticipated globally on 8 March 2011 honouring 100 years of International Women’s Day.

Vision
To get the whole world behind supporting and celebrating 100 years of International Women’s Day in 2011.

Why
The International Women’s Day Centenary should make the women of past proud, the women of current inspired, and the women of the future envisioned. Women have made great strides in equality yet there is still a great deal to be achieved on many fronts and the 2011 IWD Centenary will provide a unique and global opportunity to reignite, inspire and channel women’s equality for the future.

The challenge
www.internationalwomensday.com has been providing a useful service and resources for women, organisations, companies, governments and media all around the world for the past decade – and now we need your help.

How can you get involved?
We would love to hear your ideas, visions, challenges in the lead up to the 2011 IWD Centenary. We are actively looking for global supporters (corporations, charities, media partners, agencies, etc) to assist with the vision. We are calling for Global Partners to support various initiatives and opportunities.

* Establishment of International Women’s Day Foundation
* IWD Centenary global logo competition for girls
* IWD Centenary ‘100 women, 100 stories’ initiative
* IWD Centenary ‘100 women, 100 pictures’ initiative
* Worldwide gender-related “Charity of Choice” for global donations
* Further IWD Centenary opportunities available

Contact
Should your global organisation wish to express interest or initiate conversation, please contact us.

Excerpt from International Women’s Day website

Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign aound his or her neck that says “make me feel important”, not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life.

- Mary Kay Ash

The Right Way To Sell Yourself At Work

Forbes.com had a great article on selling yourself at work. Here are some great tips from the experts: 

• Peggy Klaus, leadership coach and author, recommends perfecting a “bragalogue”–a short, pithy story that incorporates a few bits of information about who you are and what you’ve done. Use it as an introduction when you meet people for the first time. When I flinched at the suggestion, she offered a convincing counter. “If you were asked to describe someone you care about, you could wax poetic,” she said. “Why can’t you do the same thing for yourself?” She encouraged me to think of a few positive things that I could say about my work, and be prepared to share them during fly-by encounters with my boss.
• Create a Word document to keep track of your achievements. Every time you accomplish something, jot down an entry. Include what you did and why it was important. When possible, show how that achievement helped your company. Include positive comments that other people have made about your work. Review your “brag bag” before sitting down for your performance review. In doing so, you may actually be helping your boss. “At this time of absolute chaos in the workforce, bosses are often doing two or three jobs instead of one,” says Peggy Klaus. “They don’t have the bandwidth to remember what you do every day.” Plus, bosses like good news. Klaus says that when you have a great success at work, you should send your boss a short, enthusiastic e-mail with the news.
• William Arruda, the president of Reach Personal Branding, says that the first step in artful self-promotion is performance. “Building a strong personal brand isn’t about telling people how great you are,” he says. “It’s about showing people how great you are.” He adds that employees should understand where they can contribute the greatest value, and then demonstrate those things that make them exceptional. If you’re creative, then draw on that creativity in team meetings. If you organize spreadsheets for every aspect of your personal life, then share your Type-A habits with your colleagues and become the office Excel whiz. Take on your organization’s biggest problem. No one else wants to do it, so if you embrace that responsibility and succeed at it, people will notice.
• If you’re an introvert, enlist other people to toot your horn. “Rather than tell everyone what you did, find other people who are comfortable describing your role,” says Arruda. The strategy works both ways. If you spread the word about your colleagues’ accomplishments, they should do the same for you.
• Accept recognition. When someone compliments your work, don’t belittle your achievement by replying, “It wasn’t that hard” or “It only took me a few hours.” Instead, practice saying, “Thank you.” Even better, show that you appreciate the recognition by saying, “Thank you. That’s nice of you to notice.”
• If you work hard, you need to make sure that people notice.

Office to Evening Grey

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