8 Daily Habits that Will Make You Stronger

These small changes in your daily routine will make a major difference in your life by helping you grow stronger and more capable in the long-run:

1.  Make yourself somewhat uncomfortable.

You may feel comfortable bobbing around in the little lake that you’re used to, but if you don’t stretch your comfort zone and venture out into the adjoining waterways, you’ll never discover the beauty and immensity of the ocean – you will never even know it exists.  Holding on to what’s comfortable may be the very reason you often feel like something is missing in your life.

Remember, just because you venture out into the world doesn’t mean you can’t return home whenever you want to.  It’s okay to come back to where you started, but it’s not okay to never leave.

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9 Ways to Be a Great Team Member

I recently shared a tweet about ways to be a great team member and was surprised to see that it was my most retweeted tweet ever. It occurred to me that deep down inside we all know we can't do it alone. We know that Super Bowls are not won by individuals. They are won by a collection of individuals who make a great team. It's the same with work and life. We are better together when we are surrounded by great team members. In this spirit I want to share 9 ways to be a great team member.

1. Set the Example - Instead of worrying about the lack of performance, productivity and commitment of others you simply decide to set the example and show your team members what hard work, passion and commitment looks like. Focus on being your best every day. When you do this you’ll raise the standards and performance of everyone around you.

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9 Subtle Traits Of The Most Talented Leaders

Good bosses look good on paper. Great bosses look great in person; their actions show their value.

Yet some bosses go even farther. They're remarkable—not because of what you see them do but what you don't see them do.

Where remarkable bosses are concerned, what you see is far from all you get:

1. They forgive... and they forget.

When an employee makes a mistake—especially a major mistake—it's easy to forever view that employee through the perspective of that mistake.

I know. I've done it.

But one mistake, or one weakness, is just one part of the whole person.

Great bosses are able to step back, set aside a mistake, and think about the whole employee.

Remarkable bosses are also able to forget that mistake, because they know that viewing any employee through the lens of one incident may forever impact how they treat that employee.

And they know the employee will be able to tell.

To forgive may be divine, but to forget can be even more divine.

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Now That I'am the Boss, Do I Have to Turn Evil

5 tips from an HR expert on how to keep from turning into the boss you hated.

Dear Evil HR Lady,

As an employee, I noticed that bosses tend to be highly irritable, unforgiving, and quite volatile at times. I’ve had my fair share of being blown up at for missing a deadline by 5 minutes. But now that I'm running my own company and have my own employees, I understand how someone missing a deadline can start to affect the productivity, effectiveness, and even reputation of the entire company. 

However, I have yet to berate someone in public or blast them in an email for making me look bad. Is that what I have to look forward to: turning into an evil, hate-mail sending grouch? How can I avoid this and still get the work done on time?

--Not a Grouch

Dear Not--

I hope you don't turn into an evil, hate-mail sending grouch. That's my job and, quite frankly, I don't cherish competition. There are simple (note, I did not say easy) ways to avoid the urge to send these types of emails. Here are 5 tips.

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3 Types of Poison Employees

Here are three types of employees that drag your company down, and how you can stop their bad behaviour.

Wouldn't it be great if every employee were an angel to work with? As managers and CEOs, it would make our jobs a heck of a lot easier, right?

Unfortunately, we've all had our own version of poison employees in our companies at one time or another. We try our best to weed out the suspicious ones during the hiring process, but how much do you really know about someone after a couple of interviews? And besides, bad behavior can take months, even years, to rear its ugly head.

The challenge is identifying poison employees and eradicating their behavior. Hopefully you can do this without eradicating them.

I've identified three types of employees that could be bringing your company down, but I'm sure there are others. Please add your own categories in the comments at the end!

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10 Horrible Excuses for Being A Lousy Boss

Do you have excuses--or more likely "reasons"--for not being a better boss?

See if you recognize any of these:

"I'm under incredible pressure."

Of course you are. Join the leadership club. Every boss is stuck in between, with employees the "rock" and customers, vendors, investors, and even you the "hard place."

If demands seem overwhelming and pull you too far away from your team, get your employees more involved in your projects and responsibilities.

They'll be glad to help, especially if they gain skills and exposure in the process.

"I don't get paid enough to deal with this."

You're right. Great leaders are chronically under-compensated and under-appreciated, and that will probably never change.

But great employers see the satisfaction they gain from praising, developing, mentoring, and helping employees reach their goals as a part of their total compensation package.

If you don't see it that way, rethink whether you want to run a business--otherwise you'll always be unsatisfied.

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6 Reasons Why You Hire the Wrong People

Hiring the right people is critical for any business, and that's especially true for a small company with relatively few employees.

Bringing in the wrong person not only not only wastes time and money, it also creates a ripple of negativity that impacts every other employee--and therefore your business.

Here are six reasons why you wind up with the wrong candidate:

1. You ignore the total package.

Every employee has to follow company rules and guidelines, whether formal or unwritten. Still, some people can't... or just won't.

The skilled engineer with an incredible track record of designing new products while berating support and admin staffs won't immediately turn over a new interpersonal leaf just because you hired him. The programmer who only works Selene hours as if she'll melt in sunlight won't magically transform into a standard-issue 9-to-5er.

Click Here to Read the complete article…

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