The 7 Secrets of Inspiring Leaders

The 7 Secrets of Inspiring LeadersThe 7 Secrets of Inspiring LeadersInsights into selling your vision, your value - and yourself.American business professionals are uninspired. Only 10 percent of employees look forward to going to work and most point to a lack of leadership as the reason why, according to a recent Martitz Research poll. But it doesnt have to be that way. All business leaders have the power to inspire, motivate and positively influence the people in their professional lives.For the past year, I have been interviewing renowned leaders, entrepreneurs and educators who have an extraordinary ability to sell their vision, values and themselves. I researched their communications secrets for my new book, Fire Them Up 7 Simple Secrets to Inspire Your Colleagues, Customers and Clients.What I discovered along the way were seven techniques that you can easily adopt in your own professional communications with your employees, clients and investors to motivate and inspire.1. Demo nstrate enthusiasm - constantly.Inspiring leaders have an abundance of passion for what they do. You cannot inspire unless youre inspired yourself. Period. Passion is something I cant teach. In fact, no one can. You either have passion for your message or you dont.Once you discover your passion, make koranvers its apparent to everyone within your professional circle. Richard Tait, for example, sketched an idea on a napkin during a cross-country flight. It was an idea to bring joyful moments to families and friends. His enthusiasm was so infectious that he convinced partners, employees and investors to join him. He created a toy and game company called Cranium. Walk into its Seattle headquarters and you are instantly hit with a wave of fun, excitement and engagement the likes of which is rarely seen in corporate life. It all started with one mans passion.2. Articulate a compelling course of action.Inspiring leaders craft and deliver a specific, consistent and memorable vision. A goa l such as we intend to double our sales by this time next year is not inspiring. Neither is a long, convoluted mission statement destined to be tucked away and forgotten in a desk somewhere.A vision is a short (usually 10 words or less), vivid description of what the world will look like if your product or tafelgeschirr succeeds. Microsofts Steve Ballmer once said that shortly after he joined the company, he was having second thoughts. Bill Gates and Gates father took Ballmer out to dinner and said he had it all wrong. They said Ballmer saw his role as that of a bean counter for a start-up. They had a vision of putting a computer on every desk, in every home. That vision - a computer on every desk, in every home - remains consistent to this day. The power of a vision set everything in motion.3. Sell the benefit.Always remember, its not about you, its about them. In my first class at Northwesterns Medill School of Journalism, I was taught to answer the question why should my reader s care? Thats the same thing you need to ask yourself constantly throughout a presentation, meeting, pitch or any situation where persuasion takes place. Your listeners are asking themselves whats in this for me? Answer it. Dont make them guess.4. Tell mora stories.Inspiring leaders tell memorable stories. Few business leaders appreciate the power of stories to connect with their audiences.A few weeks ago I was working with one of the largest producers of organic food in the country. I cant recall most, if any, of the data they used to prove organic is better. But I remember a story a farmer told. He said when he worked for a conventional grower, his kids could not hug him at the end of the day when he got home. His clothes had to be removed and disinfected. Now, his kids can hug him as soon as he walks off the field.No amount of data can replace that story. And now guess what I think about when I see the organic section in my local grocery store? You got it. The farmers story. Stor ies connect with people on an emotional level. Tell more of them.5. Invite participation.Inspiring leaders bring employees, customers, and colleagues into the process of building the company or service. This is especially important when trying to motivate young people.The command and control way of managing is over. Instead, todays managers solicit input, listen for feedback and actively incorporate what they hear. Employees want more than a paycheck. They want to know that their work is adding up to something meaningful.6. Reinforce an optimistic outlook.Inspiring leaders speak of a better future. Robert Noyce, the co-founder of Intel, said Optimism is an essential ingredient of innovation. How else can the individual favor change over security?Extraordinary leaders throughout history have been more optimistic than the average person. Winston Churchill exuded hope and confidence in the darkest days of World War II. Colin Powell said that optimism was the secret behind Ronald Reagan s charisma. Powell also said that optimism is a force multiplier, meaning it has a ripple effect throughout an organization.Speak in positive, optimistic language. Be a beacon of hope.7. Encourage potential.Inspiring leaders praise people and invest in them emotionally. Richard Branson has said that when you praise people they flourish criticize them and they shrivel up. Praise is the easiest way to connect with people. When people receive genuine praise, their doubt diminishes and their spirits soar. Encourage people and theyll walk through walls for you.By inspiring your listeners, you become the kind of person people want to be around. Customers will want to do business with you, employees will want to work with you and investors will want to back you. It all starts with mastering the language of motivation.

Why the Hybrid Resume is the Best Resume Format

Why the Hybrid Resume is the Best Resume FormatWhy the Hybrid Resume is the Best Resume FormatThe hybrid resume, also called a combination resume, is a combination of the chronological resume format and the functional resume format.The hybrid resume highlights the job seekers skills and achievements section first (like a functional resume) followed by work experience (the focus of a chronological resume format). While the chronological resume format seems a bit too traditional to some vermodern job seekers, the functional resume format is typically not preferred by hiring managers.Think of it like Goldilocks and the Three Bearsthe hybrid resume is the resume format thats just right.The Benefits of a Hybrid Resume FormatHighlights skills and accomplishmentsTakes the pressure off of work history/gaps (but doesnt hide it)Top-loaded style shows hiring managers the most valuable information firstThe neutral format appeals to both traditional and non-traditional hiring managersA hybrid res ume example that leans more towards the traditional side. (Download .docx vorlage)The functional resume template focuses on skills as well, but it is not preferred by hiring managers because it tends to leave out employment history and gaps in employment, which makes the applicant seem unforthcoming. Employment gaps happen, and most hiring managers will understand. The hybrid format helps diminish those gaps without totally hiding them.It also helps hiring managers see your best selling points (your skills) first. As Jessica H. Hernandez, Executive Resume Writer explains, Hiring managers are not reading the entire resume on the first pass. Theyre going to scan over it for lage titles, employment dates, keywords and metrics that stand out before deciding to read it thoroughly. The resume format you choose should make those areas of information simple to locate and read.Who Should Use a Hybrid Resume FormatThe hybrid resume is, most often, the best option for a job seeker, but it is p articularly useful to those starting out in the workforce for the first time, changing careers or re-entering the workforce.This format shifts the focus away from work experience and turns the attention toward transferrable skills (skills that you may not have picked up by working in a particular industry but still apply to the job for which youre applying), which is why its great for people who dont necessarily want to showcase their work history.If youre applying for a job in the same industry that youve worked in for many years, you can also consider the chronological resume format.Hybrid Resume Examples and TemplatesDownload Classic hybrid resume template(.docx)Download Mid-level hybrid resume template (.docx)Download Management hybrid resume template (.docx)Get additional templates here.Skills sections are an important part of any hybrid resume.Including skills also helps your resume make it past applicant tracking systems. Jobscan compares the job description to your resume an d lets you know exactly which skills youre missing. To write a great hybrid resume, this is what you need to knowWhich fonts will get the most out of your resumeThe difference between job duties powerful accomplishmentsHow to write your accomplishments (fill in the blank)How to top-load your resume

Billable Hours in Consulting

Billable Hours in ConsultingBillable Hours in ConsultingBillable hours represent work hours that a staff member reports as being chargeable to a client. The concept is not unique toconsulting, as a variety of professional services firms bill clients by the hour. For example,public accountingandlegal servicesfirms also traditionally bill by hours of staff time. Understanding the concept of billable hours, including its application and its ramifications, makes good sense for those considering careers in these fields. Tracking Time and Activities As a consultant, for example, you would track billable hours for each specific engagement. Additionally, each member of staff has an hourly billing rate reflects their job title and level of experience. Each member of staff must keep a detailed timesheet that breaks out their work hours by type of activity, client, and engagement. At any given time, a professional services firm could have multiple engagements running with a particular clien t. Billing Activities At its fruchtwein basic, a consulting, accounting, legal services or other professional services firm has employees allocate their time among several different categories of activity. Three of the most common internal billing categories include Billable work hours on client engagementAdministrative workUnassigned, vacation or sick time Depending on the firm, it may have further, more specific categories, but these are the most common and essential. Client Billing Rates A typical consulting firm may have a job hierarchy as follows, with hourly billing rates rising steeply from bottom to top PartnerManagerSenior ConsultantConsultant Moreover, within each rung of the hierarchy, there may be multiple billing rates. Thus, a second-year consultant might be expected to carry a somewhat higher billing rate than a first-year consultant. A senior partner who is recognized as a sort of guru with particular expertise, acumen or notoriety might command a premium rat e versus their fellow partners. It is not unusual for the top partner in a given consulting firm to bill at 3 times or more the hourly rate for the services of a first-year consultant. In any case, on a particular engagement, the client may have negotiated a discount off the standard billing rates, or some sort of cap on the total billings. Administrative Work Administrative, or admin, work contains a record of time spent that cant be associated with a specific client engagement. This category includes activities such as, but not limited to General office paperwork and filingEducation and training, including acting as an instructor for in-house classesProspecting for new clients and engagementsConducting research related to practice development As with the reporting of billable hours, members of staff typically are on an honor ordnungsprinzip with respect to categorizing time as administrative. Unassigned Time This category essentially means none of the above and often impli es that the staff member was sitting around waiting to be assigned something to do. It could also represent time out of the office due to vacation, illness or other personal leave. In some cases, reporting time as unassigned bears a great stigma because it produces no profit or other benefits to the firm, so staff generally avoids it at all costs. As a result, staff members who cannot assign billable hours to any engagement typically will characterize such unstructured time as devoted to administrative work, and thus must be prepared to justify this categorization if challenged. Implications for Compensation and Promotion Especially in firms with a strict up or out policy, reporting substandard levels of billable hours can be damaging to ones career progression. For one, each workers total billings frequently become a prime driver of compensation, especially at higher rank levels. Firms use a metric called utilization rate to judge the productivity of staff,and it often becomes a critical factor in decisions regarding compensation and promotion. Additionally, showing a significant proportion of unbilled time on ones timesheets gives the perception, fairly or not, that one is either not in demand as aworker or is not aggressive enough in seeking out billable work. As a result, staff often feel pressured to overstate billable hours, with the inevitable consequence that clients become increasingly skeptical of bills that they think are inflated.