Latest news with #supervisors
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Your Daily Work Horoscope for May 24, 2025
Your Daily Work Horoscope for May 24, 2025. Discover your Daily Work Horoscope for each zodiac sign here. Things look shaky at the start of the day, but persevere and you'll outlast the naysayers. You'll end up making surprising advances and possibly meeting deadlines you thought were impossible. Look at the larger issues before diving into the next battle or risky venture. You might see that there's good reason to play it safe for now, but if the coast is clear, advance with caution. Your observational skills are sharper than ever, and you will be able to see exactly where you need to act quickly to score the most points and drive home the biggest deals. Your ideals should lead the way for you now. Your mind is clear and strong and you should easily be able to guide your team in a more positive direction. Many small steps can create shifts in course. Group activities, from morale-builders to brainstorms, will go well with strong leadership and clearly articulated values. Your role will be pivotal, so take today's events very seriously. Find out what the cards have in store for you with your 2022 Tarot Reading. Supervisors will pose problems that are currently unanswerable, but a little creative stalling might be all you need to put them off while you wait for the solution to materialize. You'll have to choose sides when coworkers start feuding, but you'll be torn. It might come down to something small like personality or history. The issues are equally compelling on each side. Let go of certainties and let new ideas play around in your mind. You won't necessarily revolutionize your work, but you might bump up productivity enough to make the boss happy. Though a lot of players are on the field, the final score is largely up to you. If you stay clearheaded and flexible throughout the day, you'll be able to mix things up enough to win big. If you've been waiting for the right time to act, get busy now. You risk losing momentum if you wait any longer. The elements are all aligned in your favor for the time being. Change isn't always good, but recent shuffles or adjustments make the workday feel a little more adventurous to you. Try to convince your peers to let go of the old ways and share your excitement. It's not a good time to rock the boat. If trouble is afoot, try to keep yourself at least one step removed from it or you might find yourself swept up in unprofitable backbiting and intrigue. What does your moon sign mean? Learn more about your emotional world with a Moon Sign Reading! 🌙
Fast Company
19-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
Beyond managers: Why mentors are the real drivers of employee retention
Mentorship is foundational. Without it, workforce programs risk becoming just another short-term training exercise. Leaders serious about long-term talent development should treat mentorship not just as a learning tool, but as a lever for confidence, inclusion, and commitment. The idea of experienced workers guiding the next generation isn't new. But doing it well today takes intention. Good workplace mentors teach the job, model soft skills, and help people feel like they belong—and stay. Mentors should teach core skills, yes, but also how to communicate and understand workplace culture—skills often called 'soft,' but essential for success. Mentors can come from different parts of the business, depending on structure. Some companies have experienced staff nearing retirement. These employees can offer invaluable experience as mentors while opening space for younger staff to step up. But they're not the only source of mentorship. A line supervisor—still early in their career—can also mentor someone just starting out. Good mentoring takes patience and clear feedback, and knows when to let mentees lead. TEACHING THE JOB AND SOLVING PROBLEMS A mentor's first role is to teach. They help new employees build the skills to succeed in the role. They do this in a few key ways: • Clearly explaining what the job requires. • Then showing how it's done; nothing beats a good demonstration. • Letting the mentee try it with hands-on guidance. These steps work best together, and good mentors adjust as they go. Things don't always go to plan, which is why mentors should also teach troubleshooting—from figuring out what the problem isn't, to applying critical thinking and problem-solving. These are core job skills. TEACHING THE SOFT SKILLS THAT SHAPE CAREER SUCCESS Technical skills are just one part of the mentoring relationship. What makes mentors essential is their ability to unlock the soft skills that drive success. Take workplace culture: Mentors help new employees understand how things really work. If teamwork matters, they need to know it's OK—and expected—to step in and help. They'll also learn that support goes both ways. They don't have to solve every problem alone. Understanding the culture helps people feel like part of the team. Mentors also pass on workplace norms. For example, new workers don't always realize how important timeliness is. Showing up on time signals reliability and commitment to the job and the team. Communication is another key norm—asking questions, giving input, and doing both professionally. Mentors guide them in learning these norms, so they become valued team members. We often call these 'soft skills,' but that label downplays how critical they are. Employers want team players, communicators, respectful colleagues, and problem-solvers. Soft skills help people succeed—in any role, with any employer. And it's mentors who pass them on. SUPPORTER AND CONFIDANT Mentors also play another vital role: supporter and confidant. New employees, especially those from outside the mainstream workforce, often need someone to talk to when things aren't going well. Someone who'll listen and help them through tough moments. A mentor in their corner can be the difference between staying and walking away. My first real job was in a hotel kitchen. I'd just pulled on my crisp chef whites when the executive chef dropped a massive bag of onions on the bench and told us apprentices to start peeling. One apprentice bragged about being the fastest. Another talked nonstop. I just peeled—all day. The next day, the chef reassigned us: The talker went to the staff cafeteria, the speedster to banquet prep, and me to the fine-dining restaurant. That's when I realized: It wasn't about onions. It was about how we showed up for the work. He was mentoring in real time, watching, listening, and guiding us based on more than just output. That stuck with me: Sometimes the best mentors say little, but see everything. STEPS FOR LEADERS Mentorship has shaped my path from apprentice chef to leading workforce programs across continents. Here are practical steps to cultivate a robust mentorship culture in your organization: 1. Look for people who lift others. The best mentors aren't always the loudest. They're the ones who support others and share what they've learned. 2. Keep it simple and focused. Set clear expectations for time and purpose. Mentorship works best when everyone knows why they're there. 3. Be smart with pairings. Match people by shared goals. Fit matters more than hierarchy, and if it doesn't work, reset and try again. 4. Give them a loose framework. A few prompts or goal-setting tools go a long way—especially early on. 5. Acknowledge the effort. A thank you or public nod shows mentoring is valued. 6. Keep learning from it. Check in often. Ask what's working and what's not. Like any workforce strategy, mentoring should adapt to your people. A TWO-WAY STREET Mentorship isn't a one-way street. Mentors can also learn from new team members, who might have a new approach to the work or the workplace, bringing in fresh ideas to revitalize a business. The mentorship can be just as enlightening for the mentor as it is for the mentee.
Fast Company
13-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
How to emotionally survive a performance improvement plan
In large organizations, HR usually has a process for documenting concerns about employees' effectiveness that can be used either to help fix those problems—or to provide a basis for later termination. One of the central records used for this purpose is the dreaded performance improvement plan, or PIP. If you get called in to see your supervisor and get hit with a PIP, you're likely to experience a range of emotions. Understanding your emotional reaction and how to cope with it is an important part of moving forward successfully. Let's consider a range of emotions you might be experiencing and what you should do: Feeling Grief One possibility is that the PIP comes out of the blue. You may be thinking that work is going fine and you suddenly find out that there are concerns. Because work is often an important part of both your identity and your ability to maintain your life and lifestyle, it represents a tear in the fabric of your life story. And that will trigger a grief process. The five stages of grief described by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance) don't necessarily have to happen in that order, but you should recognize that they may accompany the news that you are struggling in your job. You have to resist the urge to act on the basis of these emotions. If you get angry, you should not lash out at your bosses or the organization in email or on social media. If you feel like bargaining, take a beat, and avoid making promises that you will regret later. Instead, give yourself a few days to reflect on the situation. Were you dismissing warning signs about your performance? Are there elements of your job that you have been ignoring? Do you think the organization is looking for a way to show you the exit? After that reflection, schedule a meeting with your supervisor to talk over the situation. In preparation for that session, make a realistic plan for how you will address issues discussed in your PIP. Develop a list of questions you have about the path forward. Wait to schedule that meeting for a time when you feel that you can really hear the answers to your questions. Feeling Relief Perhaps surprisingly, you may find that the PIP brings with it a feeling of relief. You may have been struggling to complete your job responsibilities. Perhaps you feel that you're in over your head. You might even hate your job, but were soldiering on by inertia. If the PIP brings a feeling of relief, it's probably time to look for a new job. The feelings you're having are helping you see that you can have a more fulfilling work life by changing paths. Make a list of the things you really like about your job, as well as those you don't. Think about the characteristics of a job that would be appealing. Consider talking with your supervisor or someone in HR about alternative paths. Often, your supervisor wants you to be successful—even if that success means that you should be working elsewhere. They may have great suggestions about a role that would best suit your talents. Feeling Clarity Sometimes—particularly early in your career—you have a nagging sense that there is something wrong at work. You're doing your work as well as you can, but feel like you're missing something. You may have the sense that everyone else is working from a different version of the script than you are. In this case, the PIP may actually help to clarify what is going wrong. This can happen when you have a supervisor who is not good at providing regular feedback and coaching. In this situation, you can really dive into the PIP (after taking a day or two to see this as an opportunity, rather than a punishment). Sit down with your supervisor and other team members and talk about the elements of your performance that have raised concern. Ask about training and classes you can take to improve your performance. Find a peer who is good at these tasks and ask for some mentorship. The people who emerge most strongly from a PIP are those who embrace the opportunity for growth and lean into the chance to improve skills. As this process moves forward, talk with your supervisor about how to get more timely feedback on your performance. This conversation is likely to help you improve, and may also provide some feedback to your supervisor that can lead to their growth as well.
