10 professional skills we should all master by 40

10 professional skills we should all master by 4010 professional skills we should all master by 40Becoming the perfect employee is probably a goal of the majority of women (we aim to please, dont we?). And while we desire to improve our professional selves, we also must set realistic expectations for making these improvements. There are certain skills that take time and effort to master, and we cant allow ourselves to get frustrated if we havent mastered them by the time were 25Weve laid out the 10 skills you should have mastered by the time youre 40. But if you arent quite there yet, not toworry. None of us will ever be the perfect employee.1. Identifying your strongest assetWhat are you truly good at when it comes to your professional career? Are you best at negotiating? Are you great at bringing positive energy to a team? Are you an amazing prioritizer? Are you best at working in a team? Are you an amazing saleswoman? You get the idea. By the age of 40, you should have identified your best asset and continue to build upon it, accessing this strength as much as possible.2. Identifying your biggest weakness.Similarly, you should have identified your biggest career weakness. Whether youre not a great delegator, you get frustrated easily, or you dont know when to rest, you should have identified your biggest weakness - the one quality that could potentially hold you back. And you should be working to combat it.3. Knowing how to learn from your mistakes.And mora importantly how to actually admit you made a mistake. No one is perfect (even though everyone sure wants to be). One of the most admirable qualities is self honesty, especially in the workplace. When you can admit you made a mistake, youre more likely to analyze and learn from it, as well as prevent said mistake from occurring in the future.4. Being able to take constructivecriticism.It feels like accepting constructive criticism is an almost impossible task at the beginning of ones career. But by the ti me youre 40, you should be able to put your pride aside and accept criticism and advice. You should be able to identify that the people you work with simply want you to do your best.5. Delegating.Delegating is important in order to prevent burnout and lessen the stress you experience in the workplace. You should be able to trust your colleagues with tasks rather than feeling as though you have to do everything yourself.6. Mediating.Regardless of how positive an office environment may be, there will always be conflicts. And some conflicts can be resolved without heading to HR. Being able to mediate a conflict in the office is a beneficial skill for maintaining office camaraderie, as well as showing younger employees that they can mediate as well.7. Crafting a strong portfolio.Not just aLinkedIn You should have a printed portfolio that best showcases your career, and your professional accomplishments. You may also want to create a digital version, like your own personal webpage to sen d over email.8. Eliminating yourimposter syndrome.By age 40, you should have worked to eliminate your imposter syndrome. Youve been in the game for a while now, and youve developed the careerconfidencenecessary to do this.9. Saying no.Its hard to say no at any age, but it does get easier the more you work on it. By this point in your life, you should be able to identify which tasks you need to (and want to) complete, and which tasks are unnecessary or can be delegated to others.10. Public speaking.Even if your job does not necessarily revolve around public speaking, everyone will need to make a speech in front of a group of people at some point in their lives. As with most skills, public speaking is mastered from sheer practice. Work your way into becoming a public speaking extraordinaire by starting small (speaking in front of your team at work) and gradually moving up (speaking in front of your entire company).This article originally appeared onFairygodboss. As the largest career community for women, Fairygodboss provides millions of women with career connections, community advice, and hard-to-find intel about how companies treat women.

How and Why to Create and Adopt Team Norms

How and Why to Create and Adopt Team NormsHow and Why to Create and Adopt Team NormsThe members of every gruppe and workgroup develop particular ways of interacting with each other over time. Effective interpersonal communication among members and successful communication with managers and employees outside of the team are critical components of team functioning. How a team makes decisions, assigns work, and holds members accountable determines whether or elend the team is successful. With so much riding on the outcome, it doesnt make sense to leave interactions to chance. If you form team relationship guidelines, or team norms, early on to ensure team success,you can shape the culture of the team in positive ways. Team Norms and Relationship Guidelines Team norms are a set of rules or guidelines that a team establishes to shape the interaction of its members with one other and with employees who are external to the team. Team norms can be developed during an early team meeting, preferably the first meeting, and more norms can be added as the team deems necessary. Once developed, team norms are used to help guide the behavior of team members and are used to assess how well team members are interacting. behauptung guidelines enable members of a team to call each other out on any behavior that is dysfunctional, disruptive, or that is negatively impacting the success of the teams work. Perhaps Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One Minute Manager, said it best when he equated a river without banks to a pond. Likewise, a team without relationship norms leaves itself open to expand into potential interpersonal problems. Team Norm Essentials Predictably, teams can have trouble with particular components of interpersonal communication and interaction because they put a lot of diverse personalities and backgrounds into one space. Following some essential team norms can help alleviate many of the problems that may arise Team members as coworkers All team members ar e equal every team members opinion will be thoughtfully considered each team member will keep all commitments by the agreed upon due date each team member agrees to constantly assess whether team members are honoring their commitments to the team norms.Team member communication Team members will speak respectfully to each other, will not talk down to each other, and will recognize and thank each other for their contributions.Team member interaction in meetings Team members will listen without interrupting hold no side or competing conversations follow the rules for effective meetings attend meetings on time end meetings on time work from an agenda useminutesrecorded at each meeting as reference points. Team organization and function Leadership will rotate monthly, the team management sponsor will attend at least one meeting a month.Team communication with other employees including managers Team members will make certain they have agreement on what and when to communicate, and compla ints about team members will be addressed first among teammembers.Team problem solving, conflict resolution, and decision making Team members will make decisions by consensus, but the majority will rule if a timely consensus is not reached, and conflicts will be resolved directly among the people in conflict. Team norms can be expanded for your specific needs and can encompass as many topics as the team deems necessary for successful functioning. Its best to departure with a few team norms and add more norms as needed. Make sure your team norms are written and posted where team members are reminded of their commitment.

July 2017 Jobs Report

July 2017 Jobs ReportJuly 2017 Jobs ReportJuly saw solid job growth, with employers adding 209,000 positions, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That marks 82 consecutive months of job gains. Updated figures for May and June show that 2,000 more jobs were added than originally reported by the BLS. The U.S. economy has gained nearly 1.3 million new positions in 2017. Since the beginning of the year, payrolls have increased by 184,000 per month, on average.Professional and geschftliches miteinander services and healthcare were among the top sectors leading job growth last month. The BLS reports that these industries added 49,000 and 39,000 new positions in July, respectively. Healthcare has added 327,000 jobs over the past year.The unemployment satz declined slightly to 4.3 percent in July, matching the 16-year low that was reached in May. The unemployment rate for college-degreed workers 25 and older, the professionals in highest demand, was unchanged at 2.4 percent.Me anwhile, after hitting a record high of 6 million at the end of April, the number of job openings has declined - but not by much. In mid-July, the BLS released its latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) and reported that 5.7 million jobs were still waiting to be staffed as of the last business day in May.