Tag Archives: Employment

Back to Basics: How Your Leadership Style Can Fit Any Team

The following is a guest blog from Tim Tucker, a Chamber member and franchise owner of Express Employment Professionals. All of the views and opinions expressed in this post are solely Tim Tucker’s and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. To submit a guest blog e-mail DeJohn Rose for more information.

Employees often have similar objectives: career growth, fulfillment, getting the job done. But achieving optimal results in a way that’s agreeable to everyone can be a major challenge. Goals may align, but their successful completion is partially determined by the day-to-day interactions that form individual leadership styles.

What makes a leader?

You’ve heard the saying that leaders are born, not made, but that’s only partially true. Integrity and intuition may be inherent, but people skills are sharpened through experience.

Establishing trust, resolving conflict, and being an effective listener are just a few of the many traits that can be developed through time and teambuilding. While some people’s skill sets are simply better suited for dealing with certain challenges, being able to handle diverse situations and personalities is part of most job descriptions.

Identifying your leadership style and understanding its strengths and weaknesses can help you decide what’s working and what needs improvement.

What’s your leadership style?

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) identifies three common styles: authoritarian, democratic, delegative. Beyond employee productivity, these varied approaches affect workplace ambience and morale.

Authoritarian

Strengths: Organization is the main skill of the authoritarian leader. His or her priorities are clear and employees are fully informed of expectations. These leaders work best with passive co-workers.

Weaknesses: Authoritarian leaders can be seen as micromanagers instead of team players. Neglecting to seek feedback and collaborate in a personable way can isolate peers and conflict tends to arise with differing opinions.

Democratic

Strengths: Communication and creativity are this leader’s strengths. The democratic leader wants to hear others’ perspectives and welcomes a variety of solutions. Their sense of priority allows them to focus on the details without losing sight of the main objective.

Weaknesses: Decision-making is sometimes problematic for the democratic leader. Too many viewpoints, heightened by a desire to please all parties, can complicate the process. Impartiality may also waiver as the employee becomes more emotionally connected to individual co-workers.

Delegative

Strengths: Delegative leaders instill confidence by allowing others to manage their respective tasks with minimal input. Their leniency allows for creativity and work best with those that are highly motivated.

Weaknesses: Priorities sometimes seem unclear to others, as the delegative leader is often more focused on the big picture than the details of how to accomplish it. The tendency to shirk from responsibility sometimes gives co-workers the impression that they are “on their own.” Delegative leaders can seem disengaged, which contributes to a sense of chaos.

Back to basics

Managing employees is a process unique to every organization and its corporate culture, but here are some guidelines to keep in mind:

  • Be flexible: Capitalize on your strengths, but be aware of others’ needs. Although you should strive to be consistent, tailor your approach in response to each employee and his or her personality.
  • Focus on the person, not the issue: Respect is the foundation of every great relationship. No matter what your management style, basic civility is always imperative. Remember that every employee is a human who deserves your respect; you are working with someone’s wife, father, daughter, or friend.
  • Find out what motivates your co-workers: Show genuine interest. Find out what they’re seeking in their current position and do what you can to facilitate their goals, whether you’re a supervisor or a peer.

Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your leadership style will help your team achieve optimal results. True leaders recognize that communication is a two-way street. Seek dialogue with the people around you to find out what’s working and what you can improve. Ask for pointers from a mentor and accept that all change takes time. Work on issues gradually to become the leader your team trusts.

Getting Back in the Job Market

The following is a guest blog from Tim Tucker, a Chamber member and franchise owner of Express Employment Professionals. All of the views and opinions expressed in this post are solely Tim Tucker’s and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. To submit a guest blog e-mail DeJohn Rose for more information.

There’s no time like the present to lay the groundwork, start networking, and update your résumé to get back in the job market.

Research indicates that hiring trends are on the upswing. A national hiring trends survey of employers conducted by Express Employment Professionals shows commercial and clerical positions will likely see continued hiring increases for the third quarter. Express surveyed 10,181 current and former clients across the company’s more than 550 locations in the United States and Canada. Thirty-four percent of respondents plan to hire full-time light industrial positions in the third quarter, while 28% plan to hire for administrative positions. The survey also reveals that 13% of respondents plan to hire for engineering positions and 11% plan to hire for information technology positions.

According to CareerBuilder and USA Today’s latest nationwide survey of employers, 41% of hiring managers plan to hire between July and December. One in five managers plan to hire full-time employees in the third quarter. The survey showed that employers are primarily focused on recruiting for customer service, sales, and information technology positions. Continue reading

Getting Students Excited About the Real World

If I could boil down the mission of The Chamber’s Franklin Initiative into one sentence, I would say it’s about providing real-world experiences that get young people excited about their future.

Our Franklin Initiative volunteers make this happen.  What better organization to provide real-world career learning than a Chamber of Commerce?  With connections to hundreds of businesses and thousands of people representing virtually every possible career field, The Chamber is uniquely positioned to play this important role.

This was a great year for FI.  Reality Stores, career fairs, company tours, employment fair, classroom speakers, service learning, mock interviews, WorkKeys testing – all these activities use the magic of real world experiences to spark interest in preparing for life as a working adult. Continue reading

2010 Graduates: Get a (Good) Job!!!

This May, about 1,000 high school seniors will graduate from Monroe County schools.  An estimated 750 of these will go off to college next fall.  Many of the remaining 250 will stay close to home and will need a good job as a new member of the full-time workforce.

The Chamber’s Franklin Initiative connects qualified young adults with entry-level jobs in the local economy.  We also teach them about the job search process and about what it takes to become a successful member of the workforce.  Franklin Initiative Graduation Coaches at each area high school work one-on-one with students to prepare them for life after graduation.

On Wednesday, April 29, the Franklin Initiative is holding the 3rd annual Employment Fair for Graduation Seniors.  At least 20 local employers from a wide variety of industries will be present to meet with soon-to-be graduates, tell them about their company, and accept applications.  Representatives from life sciences, manufacturing, banks, food and retail services, construction apprenticeship programs and others will be in attendance.  Ivy Tech and WorkOne will also be on hand with advice about continuing education and support for job seekers.  The event is open to seniors from surrounding counties as well, including schools in Morgan, Owen, Greene, Lawrence, and Brown Counties. Continue reading