Category: Uncategorized

March 10, 2019

Become an Effective Communicator

One of the best qualities of good leaders is their ability to communicate effectively. Understandably, if your job is to guide and inspire others, it is necessary to convey your messages in a clear and direct manner. While there are many styles in which one can communicate, there are some best practices among successful leaders.

Make Things Simple – You need to be able to say what you mean in as few as words as possible. Your team is on information overload all day, which could make it hard for them to hear you. Eliminate the technical jargon and condense complicated thoughts into simple easy to understand messages.

Listen with your Eyes and your Ears – Communication isn’t only about how you convey your message, but also how you listen to the message being conveyed to you. Being in a leadership role means you may not always get the most honest and direct feedback. While it’s important to hear the words that are being spoken, it is equally important to watch for nonverbal cues as well. In some instances, a person’s body language will give you more information than what is being said.

Monitor Tone of Voice – The same words can be interpreted very differently depending on the tone they are said with. This skill can be very hard to master since many people don’t even realize they have a tone to their voice. An amazing coach (Kathleen Kurke) used this example with me, which was extremely effective… Say the following sentence: “I did not kill her with my car.” Now, repeat the sentence, placing a different emphasis on a different word each time you repeat the sentence, and notice the difference in meaning! Be sure to use the appropriate tone to communicate your message. It will be very hard to motivate and encourage your team if your voice comes across as condescending and derogatory.

Know when Enough is Enough – Mastering the art of timing is crucial in effective communication. Feel out your audience and determine if you need to repeat key points or if you’re just beating a dead horse. You will lose the attention of your team if you continually repeat yourself, causing employees

to miss important information after they’ve “tuned you out”.

Developing clear and effective communication skills is one of the most important skills you can have as a business leader. Engaging your employees helps them understand the vision and goals of the organization and ultimately increases effective productivity.

February 27, 2019

Avoid Office Politics

Rise Above the Negativity of Office Politics

Some will argue that office politics is an essential part of the workplace, while others feel its presence is destructive to the company culture and can have negative effects on morale. If you’re part of the ladder, here are some ways to prevent office drama from damaging your career and possible your personal life as well.

Communicate with Your Boss – If there are things that you aren’t happy with at work or would like to see changed, have a conversation with the person that can help to possibly change them. Don’t complain and bad mouth your company to your co-workers. If management gets wind of the negative talk, it could have unfavorable consequences for your career. You could also be the source of bringing down the morale of your entire team.

Stay Informed – Knowing what is going on in the office can help you decipher the office gossip. It’s easy to get sucked into rumors when you can’t distinguish fact from fiction however, when you know what you are hearing is false, it’s easier to ignore.

Identify Toxic Coworkers – As soon as you start a new job and begin forming work relationships, it’s important to know who the office gossips are and try and keep your distance. These people tend to talk poorly about most people in the office and they will do the same to you if they feel threatened by you. While they may seem to want to help you in the beginning, they usually have ulterior motives for their relationships and THEIR best interest always comes first.

Always Think Long Term – If you become the target of an office gossip or a coworker wrongs you in some way, try to take the high road and don’t get sucked into retaliation. While this is often a difficulty thing to do, you will look like the bigger person and the drama will stop with you. If you’re looking to advance your career within your company, it’s best to keep your name away from the office drama.

Office politics can become a cancer in an otherwise wonderful work environment. The best way you can reduce the impact it has on your professional life, is to walk away. Ignore the gossip, don’t get involved in cliques and focus on the job that you are hired to do.

December 4, 2018

Building Up Your Inner Self

so how do you build up your inner self, when it seems that the world around you is trying to pull you down? This can be a tough situation for many people to be in but it is not unsolvable.

The first step towards building your inner-self, is knowing what you want. Knowing what is acceptable to you helps you draw the line at things that are unacceptable. What are the things that matter the most to you and how do you prioritize those things.

Four Helpful Tips on Building Your Inner self

Stop the Self-criticism : It is not a hidden truth that we are the hardest on ourselves. That little voice can be either used for good or for bad, it is up to you really. Today, you need to stop that inner criticism. To do away with feeling discouraged, remember that you alone are the best champion of yourself and if you don’t think you are worth championing, no one else will.
Replace Negative Self-Talk with Positive Talk: This is going to take determined effort and you being in tune with your self. As soon as any negative self talk comes into play, immediately stop it and replace with something positive about yourself. when you actively continue to do this, you will find that it becomes easier and you are able to unconsciously nip negative self talk in the bud and think on positive things
Surround Yourself With Positive People- Who you have in your corner matters…a lot. If your inner circle is full of nay-sayers, chances are that after a while, you will unconsciously imbibe that and that is what you will becomes- a Naysayer.
Build Your Confidence: Find ways to build your confidence up. Start with the little things that you do and do well and keep increasing till you get to the bigger things. The foundation you create matters as it helps in building your confidence and being able to tackle on the bigger things.

There are very many self-help books in the market, online, hard copies, audio etc that provide topics on self-help.

NB-Hey Nursys, I know that I have not updated in quite a while. Duty called and got so immersed in it. Got all your e-mails and did not forget. Will be sure to update regularly from now on. Thanks for visiting this blog frequently 🙂

June 29, 2018

I hate my offer Letter!

Hello MNC,

I hate my offer letter and need ideas on negotiating. I recently decided to make a job change for various reasons.

I got interviewed at a hospital that I really want to work at. The interview went well and I received an offer letter from this hospital.

My problem is that I hate my offer letter! I like the hospital and I am going to be working on my specialty unit which are both bonuses. But I cannot seem to get over the offer they made me.

I am not a novice nurse by any means and I feel that I should be paid more. What should I do?

Annoyed Nurse

June 28, 2018

Frustrated New Mommy: Nursing vs Childcare

Hello MNC,

I recently became a new mommy and am loving it. But I am faced with a dilemma!My husband works a 9-5 job and I work 8 hour day-shift as well, so we discussed childcare.