Building Comfortable Communities
Bob Bannister
by Bob Bannister on

Harvard has recently published a number of papers with some interesting titles. They include the following: Sleep Deprivation Can Make It Harder to Stay Calm at Work Time for Happiness Why You Should Work Less and Spend More Time on Hobbies Treat Your Weekend Like a Vacation Prevent Burnout by Making Compassion a Habit Stressed at Work? Mentoring a Colleague Could Help The Pros and Cons of Perfectionism What Makes Some People More Productive Than Others How CEOs Manage Time Are New Graduates Happier Making More Money or Having More Time? The titles alone make interesting reading, providing lots of food for thought.

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Learn effective tricks to build your personal resilience
Bob Bannister
by Bob Bannister on

We think that building personal resilience is a management foundation skill.  During your management career you are going to face many stressors, both people and situations that are going to test you, potentially to the limit.  Being able to ride these storms doesn’t happen by chance, it is a skill you can develop.

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5 tips for new managers
Bob Bannister
by Bob Bannister on

So you have been promoted or have just got that new management job.  Well done.  Here are 5 management tips for you that I wish I had been told in those early days.  There is of course loads of things that would be helpful to tell you, but Rome wasn’t built in a day, so these five make a great starting point.

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Simple tips for a stress free return to work after holiday
Bob Bannister
by Bob Bannister on

It’s a pain isn’t it?  You’ve just had a great holiday, managed to switch off pretty well and now you’ve just walked into hundreds if not thousands of emails.  There’s a todo list that’s overwhelming you and all those balls that you were juggling before your break are now rolling around on the floor waiting for you to pick them up.

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How intimate are you when managing your remote team? 
Bob Bannister
by Bob Bannister on

Why intimacy is a big deal when managing remote team workers and what to do about it.   Intimacy doesn’t seem like a very professional word does it?  It is, however, a crucial idea when we are managing remote team workers.   The Google dictionary suggests its definition is a ‘close familiarity or friendship’.

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Emotional intelligence: Lessons from the discomfort of a bad back
Bob Bannister
by Bob Bannister on

I’ve never been one to suffer badly with back pain.  The really painful stuff has only happened to me a few times over my near 55 years.  Memorably the first time I experienced debilitating back pain it was caused pulling my socks on, on my 30th birthday!  Prior to that experience I had carried around woeful, youthful disdain, belittling the grumblings of others over their sore backs.

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Ask vs tell – Your management style
Bob Bannister
by Bob Bannister on

We probably use ask-and-tell all the time in our management roles, but there’s something important about this that goes beyond just being polite or not.  There are times as a manager when I really need to tell, be directive and give individuals instruction.

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