Mentoring is one of the best ways to learn, to get feedback, and to take your career to the next level. Here are ten tips for making the most of your mentoring relationships.Tip #1Self-assess. Ask yourself, "What skills do I need to get where I want to go?"Tip #2Identify your learning goals. Put them in writing.Tip #3Decide together how the mentoring relationship will work - frequency and type of contact.Tip #4Commit the...

Sexual harassment isn’t fun. One man’s – or woman’s – idea of a compliment or a joke can start a mess of trouble that can cost companies big money.On January 9, 2006, the largest sexual harassment lawsuit ever, at $1 billion dollars, was filed in Manhattan against Dresdner Klienwort Wasserstein Services, the American branch of Dresdner Bank of Germany. The complaint cited lewd behavior toward women, entertainment of clients...

Why do some organizations achieve great success in rolling out a mentoring program, while others achieve only a modicum of success? We believe that the companies that are most successful view corporate mentoring as an organic process, meaning that they understand that mentoring programs evolve and grow. Our experience demonstrates that the difference between mentoring success and failure lies in the ability to build capacit...

Need an office manager or a front-desk person? Pay and benefits are important but a successful search may depend more on patience. Physicians — most of whom are accustomed to making quick decisions — often don’t put enough time or thought into hiring, says Elizabeth Woodcock, an Atlanta-based practice management expert. “Until physicians come to realize that they are leading multimillion-dollar businesses, they will tend to...

Recently, medical literature has caught up with conventional wisdom. People are less likely to sue doctors whom they believe have acted in their best interest and who communicate with them clearly and kindly. In plain English, doctors have discovered that good bedside manner is good business. This same principle holds true for the business—good bedside manner translates into sound risk management. A recent survey of 300...

The workforce demographics of the American workforce are a far cry from what they were 50 years ago, when more than half the American workforce consisted of white males who were the sole breadwinners in the household. Statistics show that as the Baby Boomers move into retirement fully 85 percent of the workforce will be comprised of women or minorities. The challenge that diversity poses involves how to manage this mixture...

Forget what you heard about “being one of the boys,” “having it all,” and “going for the jugular.” Here is how real women get ahead.Get In LineAccording to Catalyst’s 2002 Census of Women Corporate Officers and Top Earners, women fill less than ten percent of line positions held by corporate officers and just 5.2% of top earners at Fortune 500 companies are women. Is there a correlation? Absolutely. Half of women executives...

Think of a job description as a “snapshot” of a job. The job description needs to communicate clearly and concisely what responsibilities and tasks the job entails and to indicate, as well, the key qualifications of the job – the basic requirements (specific credentials or skills) – and, if possible, the attributes that underlie superior performance.Following is a quick look at the categories that make up a well-written job...

According to a study in The New York Times, being in a room full of strangers is the number one social fear, even above the number two fear - speaking in public. Being able to talk to people comfortably is highly correlated with success and affluence. And in today's job market, networking is essential because sixty-five to ninety-five percent of job openings are not advertised. They are found through networking. What I've l...

Every staff meeting at the school followed the same course: Someone or something would set off a teacher I’ll call Mrs. Smith, and her tirade would begin. Other teachers would slump in their chairs, glancing down the table at the school head I’ll call Dr. Jones, to see if she could rein Mrs. Smith in. By the time Mrs. Smith’s storm blew past, the meeting was derailed and the faculty members whose views and issues had been t...