26 Ways to Improve on the Job Relationships

Today I read 26 ways to improve on the job relationships. This article really put somethings into perspective for me, and made me reflect on the way I treat people at work. One repeating theme in the article is the use of "we". The article talks about using we instead of you many times. Instead of placing blame or placing too much stress on one person I should use we. That means taking part of the blame and work load, too. It really drives home the point that we are a team here at the library and that we must work together to achieve our goals. One other point it made is involving people in the problem solving aspect. I think this would be a great tool to use with student workers. I know how I feel when someone considers my opinion to reach a solution. I think we should do that we student workers as well. They see almost everything that comes in here, and I am sure they sometimes have ideas and solutions that I may not consider. I think asking them what they would do in a certain situation would be a good thing. It would most likely make them feel like they are contributing and give them some pride in their work as well. I was a little convicted in one area. The article says think about how many times you remain silent in a conversation, and try to just listen more often. I am not always the best listener. I need to work on that and make sure that student workers and patrons feel like they get heard when they come to me with a problem.

MAX Performance Feedback

Today I read MAX Performance Feedback. The feedback article talked about the importance of feedback and how it is often not used enough in the workplace. It says that 43 % of employees dont get enough guidance. I think a lot of times workers dont do better because they do not know what they are doing wrong to begin with. Many times managers fail to communicate when their expectations are not met. The article really makes a big deal about the importance of positive feedback. It even gives examples of feedback methods that have great results. The Bear method was my favorite. First the B in bear stands for behavior. It says to give specific examples of what they are doing right or wrong. E stands for Effect. Give the student worker concrete examples of the effects of their behavior. A is alternative. Give the worker specific examples of what he or she could do differently to obtain better results. R stands for results. As a manager I should think of other ways that might be easier for the worker to do things the right way. this R section could also be used to outline any consequences of not doing things right. While I wont be deciding on consequences I do think it is important to consider the results section and how people have different learning and working styles. As a manager I should be considerate of that and think of ways to modify situation to accommodate everyone. They article also points out that When giving feedback i should make sure that I am giving at least 70% positive feedback and 30% negative. I think this is important. I dont want anyone to start feeling bad about themselves or resent me. One way it says this cam be put into practice is to give three encouraging words and then the one negative. I really like this article. It makes you think about how important feedback is. It reminded me how important it is to stay positive.