Green Thumb Management: Advice for Growing Great Employees

The WICT Leadership Conference has been created to help the multi-dimensional leaders needed today to thrive in the industry.  Erika Andersen’s Growing Great Employees session will show an overall picture of what a good manager does and why it’s important– even a little bit of the how to do it, so that you’ll come away with a better understanding of the craft of people management, and be inspired to continue on the path of becoming a really great boss.

The WICT Leadership Conference has been created to help the multi-dimensional leaders needed today to thrive in the industry.  Erika Andersen’s Growing Great Employees session will show an overall picture of what a good manager does and why it’s important– even a little bit of the how to do it, so that you’ll come away with a better understanding of the craft of people management, and be inspired to continue on the path of becoming a really great boss. In this thought-provoking interactive presentation, you will discover the critical elements of the art and practice of growing great employees.  For a preview of what you'll hear from Erika at the WICT Leadership Conference, read on...

Green Thumb Management: Advice for Growing Great Employees
by Erika Andersen

At the heart of any organization is the non-linear, multi-faceted, ever-changing group of human beings that make up that organization – hiring them, motivating them, making sure they have the skills and knowledge they need to support the organization’s success.  And if you ask any ten people who have some responsibility for others’ work success what the hardest and most challenging part of their job is – nine out of the ten will say something about “dealing with the people stuff.”  And the tenth will say something else, simply because he or she has only been in the job two weeks and hasn’t gotten to the people-stuff part yet!

And employees, like plants, tend to thrive with skillful and consistent attention and wither without it. So, as a manager, how do you help you “garden” grow? Here are four essential strategies:

Remember that there is no such thing as a successful one-minute gardener. If you garden consistently, your garden will thrive. Going away for months at a time or trying to do it all at once simply doesn’t work. Just as gardens need a consistent cycle of support, employees thrive with skillful and consistent attention and wither without it.

Prepare the soil by listening. The secret of good gardening lies in adequate soil preparation. For a manager, listening is preparing the soil. It establishes an open, nourishing environment that allows ideas and people to flourish. Unfortunately, when people become managers, they too often think they’re supposed to talk and the employees are supposed to listen! But listening gives you the chance to find out critical information about your part of the business. Most importantly, it creates an atmosphere of mutual respect—and that’s when employees put down roots and grow.

Maintain the right mindset. Just as a successful gardener approaches the garden with confidence and care, believing in the power of nature and his or her own skill, a good manager needs to think like a coach—to believe in employees’ potential and want to help them succeed. Without cultivating this attitude, it’s nearly impossible to create a ‘garden’ of thriving and productive employees.

Don’t be afraid to prune. Gardeners prune plants to encourage them in the right direction and for more frequent blooms. Similarly, managers need to urge their employees in the right direction by providing both positive and corrective feedback. The key is to offer examples that focus on an employee’s specific behavior, so that he or she will actually hear and understand your input and be able to act on it.

It’s sometimes easy to forget that the simplest things can have a tremendous impact.   Finding ways to learn to manage your employees with skillful, consistent and practical attention will reap a harvest of good business results for years to come.

Erika Andersen's book, Growing Great Employees, is available from Portfolio Hardcover.  Order it online at Amazon.com [return to top]

WICT Leadership Conference

WICT Leadership Conference
March 7-8
Hilton New York

Are you ready to add high-impact successes to your career, department, company and the industry? Then now is the time to sign up for a brand-new experience in leadership training. You will pick up skills and strategies that will enable you to increase your visibility at your company and in the industry. Walk away with proven plans you can incorporate right away.

Visit the brand new WICT Leadership Conference web site at www.wictconference.org for up to the minute information on speakers, panelists and registration.

More than 30 Key Speakers and Panelists, including:

Gerry Laybourne, Chairman & CEO, Oxygen Media LLC
Debra Lee, President & CEO, BET Holdings, Inc.
Anne Sweeney, Co-Chair, Disney Media Networks & President, Disney-ABC Television Group
Padmasree Warrior, EVP & Chief Technology Officer, Motorola
Melinda Witmer, SVP & Chief Programming Officer, Time Warner Cable
Torie Clark, Senior Communications Advisor, Comcast
Collen Abdoulah, President & CEO, WideOpenWest
Cathy Avgiris, SVP/GM, Comcast Voice Services, Comcast Cable Communications, Inc. 

Plus…

Gain insights from 50 senior women executives during leadership development table discussions at the Town Hall Luncheon. (selected from Cable World magazine’s Top 50 Women in Cable and Top 50 Women in Technology lists)

Register Today!
WWW.WICTCONFERENCE.ORG

The 2007 WICT Leadership Conference is presented by: [return to top]

Women in Technology
Kim Martin, Executive Vice President and General Manager, WE tv

“E-mail her, Mommy.  E-mail her and set up a play date.”

This would have been striking enough if one of my pre-teens had said it, but a 3-year-old delivered this mandate — with a cell phone, a real one, tucked between her ear and shoulder. 

Out of the mouth of today’s babes, the future is divulged.  And this toddler’s words and actions underline the once gaping, and now narrowing, chasm between convention and technology.  They also tell us a lot about how, and why, women use technology.

Adults now spend as much time surfing the Internet as they do watching TV (14 hours a week), and young adults 18 to 24 spend more time online than in front of the television, according to Jupiter Research.

Today, 62 percent of women have Internet access at home and spend an average of 8.1 hours a week using that home connection, reports Women’s Worlds™ VI, a synthesis of primary data and analysis by 2006 Surveys Unlimited on women and the relationship they and their households have with traditional and new media.  Internet penetration is higher among younger women, women with a higher income, and those with children in the home, the study reveals.  Meanwhile, seven in 10 (68 percent) of women have a personal (non-work) cell phone, and more and more career women use BlackBerrys, mobile devices featuring e-mail, mobile phone, short message services (SMS), an organizer, address book and Web browser.

And women tend to use technology differently than men.  According to fall 2006 Mediamark Research Inc. data on women age 18+, women are more likely than men to go online to: obtain childcare, parenting and medical information; look for recipes; look up movie information and buy tickets; visit job Web sites; get directions and maps; and shop.  They are also more likely to access the Internet from home using wireless connections and to use instant messaging (IM). 

In August 2006, eMarketer reported that women envision themselves increasing their use of six key tech devices/activities over the next five years – digital cameras, cell phones, e-mail, camera phones, SMS and IM.

Given women’s roles in society and the increasing approachability of technology, this should come as no surprise.  Women tend to be multi-taskers, organizers and communicators, who are generally short on time, and bombarded with requests and needs, often from others.  We are looking to streamline our lives, and technology helps us do that.  With the assistance of computers, and mobile and digital technologies, we can now do everything from set our morning alarm and check the day’s news and weather, to communicate with family, friends and colleagues, download our children’s homework assignments, watch our favorite shows, pay bills, balance our checkbooks, meet a mate and buy this year’s holiday presents…along with our groceries for the week.  And we can pretty much do all of this whenever we want, whenever it’s convenient for us. 

Recognizing the increasing adoption and influence of technology, many cable networks are adjusting their programming, products and services to better reflect and accommodate their audiences.  At WE tv, we have increased our original programming to reflect the lifestyle of contemporary women, moving towards half-hour and hour series.  Our content is available on a number of platforms, including the Web, mobile and video on demand, to allow viewers to access us when and where they want.  Even our shows embrace technology, from the cell phone discussions and text messaging that goes on in Bridezillas, to Designer to the Stars: Kari Whitman, which profiles this consummate multi-tasker juggling her business, relationships and charitable endeavors using her BlackBerry, cell phone and computer.  In our newest show, Wife, Mom, Bounty Hunter, the protagonist uses her mobile phone, the Internet and various search engines to nab criminals who jumped bond, then she heads home and uses these same tools to organize and simplify her personal life.
 
Because women are ideal candidates to subscribe to bundle offerings, this past summer, WE tv helped cable operators promote bundled services through the Bridezillas Bundle, an affiliate marketing campaign targeting women.  The 30-second cross-channel spot showing a Bridezilla using her digital phone, television and Internet, then simplifying her life by paying one bill, resulted in increased system bundle sales in strategic markets.  Numerous cable operators requested the spot and collateral materials to drive their bundle sales.  

Whether we like it or not, technology is becoming impossible to ignore -- and foolish to avoid.  Personally, it is a boon; professionally, it is a must.  As women in the telecommunications industry, we must embrace technology, use it and work with our staffs and companies to promote it.  We must keep abreast of its trends and advancements, and we must plot strategic plans for our companies so that our industry can continue to create brands and businesses that are in sync with the times.

This is not about keeping up with the Joneses.  It’s about options and opportunities.  If we want to be leaders in telecommunications and the world at large, we must recognize what technology can do for us and use it to manage our lives, break down boundaries, and enrich our industry…and ourselves.
[return to top]

Celebrate Execeptional Women in Technology

Created in 1995 to recognize and honor leading women technology professionals, the annual Women in Technology Award acknowledges the achievements of one woman who has demonstrated outstanding personal and professional growth and significantly contributed to the cable telecommunications industry. The Women in Technology Award is presented in partnership with the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE), Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) and Communications Technology Magazine.

To be eligible, a woman must be in a technical position in the cable or telecommunications industry and:

• Demonstrate a meaningful contribution to the industry;
• Exhibit a high level of knowledge, skill and professionalism;
• Be committed to community and professional activities that enhance the perception of the cable and telecommunications industry, and women in technology;
• Exhibit commitment to professional development and education;
• Be a current WICT and SCTE member.

The 2007 Women in Technology Award is sponsored by

[return to top]

Only One Week Left to Register for EDS!

Executive Development Seminar (EDS)
January 31-February 2, 2007
Swan and Dolphin Hotel
Orlando, Florida

Start the New Year with a distinctive learning experience that will help you enhance your personal development and business successes throughout 2007 and beyond. At the WICT Executive Development Seminar (EDS), you will practice strategies to help build stronger industry relationships, discover new time management practices, focus on conquering workplace complications and learn to embrace and appreciate the differences among your peers. During this three-day journey, you will recognize your contributions, renew your true energy and reconnect with other industry women who face the same challenges.

Featured Facilitator: Cherie Buckner-Webb, The Yarbrough Group

Featured Speaker: Benita Fitzgerald Mosley, President & CEO, WICT

Leveraging Life's Choices
Benita will lead a life choice conversation by sharing her personal story--the choices, lessons, successes and challenges that helped paved the way toward personal and professional success. In a provoking and intimate setting of 25 participants, you will learn how life choices can help you achieve your own success and overcome your own obstacles.

Secure your spot today!

The Executive Development Seminar is presented by:

[return to top]

Oxygen Finds Out About Looks and Assertiveness

Janice Dickinson started a modeling agency and Oxygen Found Out:

•  When it comes to looks the vast majority of women (93%) prefer ‘models who aren’t perfect, but are unique and different’ (Only 7% prefer the more typical supermodel).
•  When it comes to business, women like Janice can have assertiveness misconstrued for “bitchiness"
• 88% of women agree ‘assertive women are perceived by society as “bitchy”’
• 87% agree that ‘sometimes being honest can be perceived as “bitchy”’

 Online survey of 1,054 women 18+ conducted by MRI for Oxygen regarding the Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency program airing Wednesdays at 10pm, 2007

  [return to top]

Start the new year off with new career possibilities!

Whether you are looking for a new job or a new employee, make the WICT Career Center your first stop in the new year!

The WICT Career Center, which can be viewed at careers.wict.org , is a member benefit that puts you directly in front of  job seekers or employers in your industry. 

Job Seekers:

• Job search control – quickly and easily find relevant industry job listings and sign up for automatic email notification of new jobs that match your criteria.
• Easy job application – apply online and create a password-protected account for managing your job search.
• Resume posting – make your resume available to employers in the industry, confidentially if you choose
• Saved Jobs – come to the site and quickly save up to 100 jobs to a folder in your account so you come back to apply when you are ready.

Employers:

• Incredible exposure for job listings –the largest audience of industry professionals.  
• Higher quality candidates –by searching within the industry, you not only get a job seeker, but a player in the profession.
• Economical pricing - highly targeted advertising exposure for a very reasonable price.

Employers- Save 15% on all single postings and posting packages now through March 1.  Simply enter the promotional code WICT07 at checkout.

To get started, simply view the WICT Career Center.
[return to top]