Blog – Page 13 – Dr. Danielle Clark

4 meeting etiquette mistakes you don’t even realize you’re making

Your behavior before, during and after a meeting can have a big impact on your professional image. More often than not meetings are reoccurring giving co-workers the opportunity to notice your behavioral trends and associate you as either a positive contributor or a detractor. To ensure you’re not being associated as the latter, it’s critical to demonstrate good meeting etiquette.

While some meeting etiquette rules are obvious (i.e. don’t be on your phone, be on time, demonstrate good listening skills) some are less obvious. From my experience, there are four common types of meeting actions that damage people’s reputation without that person even realizing it. Continue reading “4 meeting etiquette mistakes you don’t even realize you’re making”

Become an email hero using these etiquette tips

Love it or hate it (I’m guessing the latter) we spend a large part of our workday reading and responding to emails. In a recent study, McKinsey Global Institute found 28 percent of the workweek is spent reading and responding to email. Because email is such a big part of our job most of us have created email goals in hopes of keeping us productive (and if you haven’t you should do this immediately).

However, chances are these goals aren’t lofty enough resulting in you never quite getting ahead of your email challenges. Wouldn’t it be great if you could tweak your email goals and behaviors and see instant long-term benefits? Well, you can! Continue reading “Become an email hero using these etiquette tips”

3 ways your desk setup can help you succeed at work

Yes, you read the title right. Your desk really can help contribute to your success in the workplace (and no, this is not a Feng Shui article). Here’s how your desk can help you.

Stay focused

Meeting goals and deadlines are critical to success but accomplishing everything you need to can be challenging if you are distracted. To avoid interferences from impacting your productivity, be prepared for them. Write a list of common distractors and then see what you can keep at your desk to help mitigate them.

Do you oftentimes get heartburn after lunch? Then make sure you keep antacids on hand.
Does the heat impact your ability to concentrate? If so make sure you have a portable fan at your desk.
Do your cubical neighbors get noisy in the afternoon? Keep earbuds in your drawer.

Continue reading “3 ways your desk setup can help you succeed at work”

5 ways to resign with class—and keep your professional network

Even though you are leaving your employer, you are not “leaving” your connections and reputation. Do everything you can to leave on a strong note. It’s a small world and you never know who knows who, who you may need help from and who you will be working with in the future.

These five tips will help you maintain and enhance your relationship with your manager and co-workers after you give your resignation.

Go above and beyond

Think about new conversations and tasks you can initiate. Do you have any ideas, suggestions or insights that could help your boss and team? Are there any processes you should document before you leave? Is there a project you could kick-start, make an impact on, and then pass on to another team member?

Continue reading “5 ways to resign with class—and keep your professional network”

How to channel your frustration at work—the right way

On average, people vent their frustrations four to five times a day in the workplace. While, at times, this approach may give us a feeling of satisfaction, the feeling is often short-lived. Reality soon sinks in… we start to realize the problem still exists and often regret what we said, how we said it and who we said it to.

While the easiest solution to avoid this dilemma is to stop venting, that just isn’t practical. We are human. It’s in our DNA to want to share our feelings and to blow off steam.

So rather than trying to stop our office ranting altogether, here are steps on how to productively vent out your frustration at work.

Continue reading “How to channel your frustration at work—the right way”

Why it pays to recognize your colleagues

We all work with talented colleagues who regularly impress, help, and support us. Without these individuals, our day-to-day activities would be challenging and at times impossible.

These people are instrumental to our success, yet, we often forget to acknowledge them. Not only do our co-workers deserve the praise but recognizing a colleague also comes with many benefits.

The next time a teammate deserves recognition be sure to show your appreciation and reap some of these added rewards.

It feels good

We all need more “feel good” moments in the workplace.

Recognizing someone is a fast and easy way to accomplish this. The next time you find yourself feeling down and out consider writing a deserving colleague a “Thank You” note or calling a co-worker to give some positive feedback.

Continue reading “Why it pays to recognize your colleagues”

How to kick ass at work without hurting your colleagues

In the workplace we all want to make a difference, achieve great results, get recognized and shine. While this aspiration is admirable it’s important for us to ensure we aren’t hurting our colleagues along the way. Here are three ways to avoid this mess.

In the workplace, we all want to make a difference, achieve great results, get recognized and shine. In short, we want to kick ass. While this aspiration is admirable it’s important for us to ensure we aren’t hurting our colleagues along the way.

Early on in my career I was determined to get noticed and get to “the top” as fast as I could. My strategy was simple; work hard, involve myself in the right projects and impress the right people. My approach worked and within a few short years I found myself in a leadership role.

But once I was in my new role I realized I had unintentionally bruised and injured quite a few people while on my journey.

Continue reading “How to kick ass at work without hurting your colleagues”

3 self-help skills that will help you set—and actually accomplish goals

To find success in the workplace it’s important to get into the habit of checking yourself for bad habits. Here’s what to look out for and changes you can make to find success.

Before a meeting or a team project kicks off do you ever pause and ask yourself: What are my goals? How do I want others to perceive me?

Not doing so because of stress, time struggles—or other lame excuses—leaves you unfocused, unbalanced and unprepared and even puts your reputation at risk.

I recently attended a meeting with guns a blazing. I was loud, combative and even a bit accusatory. The topic was one I was passionate about as it involved a project that impacted my team.

For weeks, I had voiced my concerns about the way we had been approaching the project but no one seemed to be listening or taking action. While my determination was on point, my style was all wrong.

Continue reading “3 self-help skills that will help you set—and actually accomplish goals”

Category: Blog