Training Tools, Tips & Resources

How to De Stress this Holiday Season

December 14, 2011 Jonelle Comments off

4 Easy-to-use Stress Relievers

This year, give yourself the gift of relaxation.

Although the holidays are a time when you can enjoy spending time with family and friends, they often throw a curve ball in your regular routine which can cause stress and anxiety. Whether it’s booking and monitoring your travel arrangements, managing your budget, purchasing a last minute gift or balancing the demands of work and personal life, ‘tis the season to slow down and approach your stressors rationally.

This holiday season, take a temporary break from the hustle and bustle and implement these FOUR easy-to-use, stress-relieving methods.

1. Problem Solve.

Because it’s the holiday season, it’s tempting to ignore stress in order to keep your spirits high. Unfortunately, ignoring a problem doesn’t make it go away. Take a minute to reflect on what’s causing your stress and try to resolve it. Remember, trying to ignore stress can be, well, stressful!

Try to approach what is causing you stress rationally by asking yourself the following questions:

What is causing you stress?
What can you do to resolve the issue?
What is your desired outcome?

Learning to address what is causing you difficulty quickly and effectively will help you make positive changes in your life all year round.

2. Communicate.

Sometimes we cannot solve the problems ourselves and instead need the buy-in from others around us. While a letter to Santa may be ONE approach, I’d recommend focusing on communicating with those around you. Make sure you’re clear about your message, ask for feedback and listen to what others say in response. Try to keep your emotions to a minimum and keep an open mind. Remember, you are not the only one who is faced with way too many things to do during the holiday season. You may be an unintended victim of someone else’s issues. Keeping an open line of objective, constructive communication can help alleviate stress in the long run.

3. Build better relationships.

Get in the spirit of the holiday season and improve your work and personal relationships. Having people that you can trust and communicate with will help you talk out your problems and find solutions. Try to focus on the positive when building new relationships and work together to accomplish common goals.

Being open and honest with others can help you feel a sense of community with them, which will ultimately lift your spirits.

4. Be flexible.

Don’t forget to ask yourself, “Am I being flexible?” The holiday season is both busy in personal and work life. You may spend all night online shopping only to have forgotten about your 2012 budget planning meeting at work the next day. It happens. Remember, your co-workers and family members may be dealing with the same stressors. Try to see things from others’ perspectives before focusing on your own feelings and make a sincere effort to adapt to changing scenarios.

No matter what the time of year, it’s important to consider reducing the amount of stress in your life. The first step to doing this is to determine what exactly causes you stress. If you’re having trouble pinpointing the causes of your stress, consider taking a stress test. You’ll discover what life factors stress you out (family, health, work, etc.) and what exactly you can do to reduce the stress in your life.

For information about our behavioral assessments, please contact us at learn@corexcel.com or 1-888-658-6641 (M-F, 9am – 5:30pm Eastern Time).

Act Now – Save $50 on Leadership On Line Courses

December 9, 2011 Jonelle Comments off

Prepare for 2012 – Enroll your team in our Online Leadership Program

Management styles weigh heavily on overall employee satisfaction. While a savvy manager can inspire and motivate team members, a poor manager has the opposite effect, and the entire department — and company — will suffer as a consequence.

Productivity declines, employee morale diminishes and eventually the top performers will start looking for jobs elsewhere — perhaps with your competitors.

Our online leadership courses teach leaders of any level or industry contemporary techniques for effective leadership which improves their performance and increases productivity of both the team and organization.

Participants have one full year to complete the courses. You’ll have 24/7 access to ALL of the courses – you can complete each course one at a time, or visit each of the courses frequently. How and when you complete the courses is entirely up to you!

This does not apply to monthly online billing or existing customers. This online special will expire December 30, 2011. To guarantee this special pricing,call the Corexcel offices at 1-888-658-6641.

There are no limits or restrictions. Enroll 1, 10, 50 or 100 managers. But hurry! This offer ends Dec. 30th, so CALL to register today: 1-888-658-6641 (M-F, 9am – 5:30pm Eastern Time).

Inc.: 9 Things That Motivate Employees More Than Money

December 7, 2011 Jonelle Comments off

Don’t show ’em the money (even if you have it). Here are nine better ways to boost morale.

Inc. Magazine, Nov. 28, 2011:

The ability to motivate employees is one of the greatest skills an entrepreneur can possess. Two years ago, I realized I didn’t have this skill. So I hired a CEO who did.

Josh had 12 years in the corporate world, which included running a major department at Comcast. I knew he was seasoned, but I was still skeptical at first. We were going through some tough growing pains, and I thought that a lack of cash would make it extremely difficult to improve the company morale.

I was wrong.

With his help and the help of the great team leaders he put in place, Josh not only rebuilt the culture, but also created a passionate, hard-working team that is as committed to growing and improving the company as I am.

Here are nine things I learned from him:

1. Be generous with praise. Everyone wants it and it’s one of the easiest things to give. Plus, praise from the CEO goes a lot farther than you might think. Praise every improvement that you see your team members make. Once you’re comfortable delivering praise one-on-one to an employee, try praising them in front of others.

2. Get rid of the managers. Projects without project managers? That doesn’t seem right! Try it. Removing the project lead or supervisor and empowering your staff to work together as a team rather then everyone reporting to one individual can do wonders. Think about it. What’s worse than letting your supervisor down? Letting your team down! Allowing people to work together as a team, on an equal level with their co-workers, will often produce better projects faster. People will come in early, stay late, and devote more of their energy to solving problems.

3. Make your ideas theirs. People hate being told what to do. Instead of telling people what you want done; ask them in a way that will make them feel like they came up with the idea. “I’d like you to do it this way” turns into “Do you think it’s a good idea if we do it this way?”

To continue to full blog story, click here.

Related Resources

Entrepreneur Online Courses
DiSC for Managers
Online Management Courses – Business Skills