The Boss Effect: How Small Gestures Make Big Impressions

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The Boss Effect: How Small Gestures Make Big Impressions

via BLACK ENTERPRISE by Janell Hazelwood on 2/1/11

Company leaders and executives have a great deal of power in the workplace, and with this power comes increased scrutiny by employees. The slightest sigh, heightened tone of voice, or quip can translate into key executive amplifiers that can either motivate or mislead subordinates. BlackEnterprise.com talked with Cherry Collier, Ph.D., executive coach and CEO of The Fruits of Labor Inc., on how to manage amplifiers to benefit employee morale and productivity and facilitate a balanced, positive work environment.#####

Understand the impact you have as an executive or person of authority. In those positions, you can't afford to have things taken in incorrect ways, Collier says.  "Don’t make assumptions [about how you might be perceived]," Collier says.  "You might not have the intent, but you have the impact." #####

DO sweat the small stuff. Be aware of the way you carry yourself and the effect it may have on workplace interactions. You could inadvertently be sending the wrong message with even the slightest action, such as pointing when you speak or crossing your arms during meetings. "I realized I’m a very analytical person, so oftentimes when I’m in deep thought, I don’t smile," Collier says.  " People would look at me and say, 'What’s wrong with you?' I had to train myself, and my clients, to smile more." #####

Get feedback via a coach or outside objective party. Gaining insight into your mannerisms and the way you present yourself is a good idea. Have someone shadow you for a day or videotape yourself, and get honest critique on your strengths and weaknesses, Collier suggests. "When you become a leader, it's about influence," she adds. "You want to make sure your language [and mannerisms] are inviting and welcoming." #####

What might be OK for the employee may not be good for the boss. The trivial joke or casual  communication can be inappropriate from a person of authority such as an executive, supervisor or manager, especially if its ill-timed. "Eliminate things like sarcasm because again, you don't want to express anything that might be taken the wrong way," Collier says. You want your staff and those who work under you to take you serious as a leader, so staying away from anything that might hinder that is key.#####

Find ways to ensure your staff or employees have the correct impression of you and your management style. "Pick specific dates and time on your calendar to say hello and get to know people," Collier suggests. Communicate clearly with your staff about your leadership style and various personality characteristics.#####

Be self-aware and personally responsible. "Learn how to be more comfortable in your own skin," Collier says. The more you understand yourself, the more you can be comfortable in your mannerisms and the more comfortable people are going to be in their interactions with you.

• For more on executive success in the workplace:
• How to Deal with the Boss from Hell
• Step Your Game Up with a Career Coach
• How to manage your feelings
  

Dr. Boyce Video -- Dr. Byron Price Speaks on Black Male Mass Incarceration

Dr. Boyce Video -- Dr. Byron Price Speaks on Black Male Mass Incarceration

via BV on Money by Boyce Watkins, PhD on 2/1/11

Filed under: Dr. Boyce Money

Most of us think that slavery was abolished with the Emancipation Proclamation, signed by Abraham Lincoln roughly 150 years ago. Unfortunately, that's not the truth. The United States Constition, in the 13th Amendment, actually states that slavery is legal for those who've been convicted of a crime.

It is no coincidence that those who were enslaved over 150 years ago (African Americans) are also those who are most likely to be incarcerated today. One person who can help us understand this relationship is Dr. Byron Price, Associate Professor of Political Science at Texas Southern University. Byron studies the Prison Industrial Complex for a living and helps us to understand why our community must take a stand and be outraged over what is happening in our prisons.

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When prisons are full of black men, that means that fathers are being taken away from their children and potential husbands are being taken away from black women. In fact, economists have drawn a clear and consistent link between mass incarceration and the proportion of black women who never walk down the isle. Making matters worse is the fact that these individuals are marginalized from society for life after doing time, even if they committed their crimes at an early age: they can't vote in most states, they have a difficult time getting access to an education, and they can't find jobs. So, by thinking that we are tough on crime, we are actually making crime worse by increasing the risk of recidivism.

So, if you want to know why I've remained involved with the prison inmate strike in Georgia and created an organization to help create opportunities for formerly incarcerated Americans, you now know why. The truth is that although many of us may never serve time in prison, the prison industrial complex affects almost all of us in some significant way. Our boys are being led down a trail of death and misery and we must find ways as a community to shut this thing down by any means necessary.

The interview with Byron is below -- enjoy!

PRODUCTION PLAYER! DO NOT DELETE.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.

 

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UBR Morning Post: NuJak Entrepreneurs Share the Power of Partnerships

UBR Morning Post: NuJak Entrepreneurs Share the Power of Partnerships

via BLACK ENTERPRISE by Alfred Edmond, Jr. on 2/2/11

NuJak's city: Partners Jackson and Kendrick

This week on The Urban Business Roundtable, UBR Executive Producer TaQuoya Kennedy speaks with Frank Kendrick and Tim Jackson, the business partners behind NuJak Companies, winner of the 2010 Black Enterprise Small Business of the Year award. NuJak, founded in 1992, provides construction management, general contracting and real estate services.

WATCH: NuJak Companies Entrepreneur of the Week profile on the Black Enterprise Business Report

Based in Lakeland, FL, the epicenter of the Sunshine State's high tech corridor, NuJak specializes in the design and construction of commercial facilities, including those for religious, educational and financial institutions. NuJak implemented an extensive technology enhancement strategy that resulted in savings of about $150,000 per year. Kendrick and Jackson share how as fraternity brothers and buddies from college, they came together to pool their skills, knowledge, talent and capital to create one of Florida's fastest growing Black-owned construction firms. In addition, Kennedy will speak with them about what it take to create and maintain a successful business partnership between friends.

Grant shares wealth-building tips.

Also on this week's edition of The Urban Business Roundtable, contributor Renita Young speaks with Gerald Grant Jr., director of financial planning for AXA Advisors' South Florida Branch and author of Bold Moves to Creating Financial Wealth. Named Banker of the Year by the Miami-Dade Urban Bankers Association, Grant explains what he's found to be the key difference between wealthy and non-wealthy people, while sharing proven wealth-building tips.

My "Alfred's Notepad" commentary shares some of the key elements of a great elevator pitch for your business. This information will be very useful to entrepreneurs who intend to enter the 2011 Black Enterprise Elevator Pitch Competition for a chance to win prizes, including $10,000 in capital for the best business pitch. Finalists will earn the chance to deliver their pitch at the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference, slated for May 22-25, 2011 in Atlanta. The deadline for contest entries is March 31, 2011. Once again I'll also be sharing a special discount code that will allow UBR listeners to knock more than 50% off of the cost of registration for the Entrepreneurs Conference, if they register by February 12. (That's next week, folks!)

In addition, every week on UBR, you'll get motivation and inspiration from author and entrepreneurial icon Farrah Gray, a weekly wrap-up of business news from USA Today Business Correspondent Charisse Jones, our Patient Investor Report from Ariel Investments and key economic intelligence for small business owners from our UBR Economists Derrick Collins and Rasheed Carter.

If you have a question you want answered or a topic you want addressed on The Urban Business Roundtable, send me an e-mail at edmonda@blackenterprise.com or to me at Twitter or Facebook.

Alfred Edmond Jr.

Alfred Edmond Jr. is the senior VP/editor-at-large of Black Enterprise and the host of the Urban Business Roundtable, a weekly radio show, sponsored by Ariel Investments, airing CST Wednesdays at 8:30 a.m., Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. on WVON-AM 1690, the Talk of Chicago. You can also listen live online at WVON.com. Check back each Wednesday for The UBR Morning Post, which features additional resources, advice and information from and about the topics, entrepreneurs and experts featured on the show.

Half of Detroit Public Schools In Danger of Closing

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Half of Detroit Public Schools In Danger of Closing

via BLACK ENTERPRISE by Tamara Warren on 2/2/11

Detroit's school system is getting a failing grade (Thinkstock)

Detroit is in trouble—again. The city’s public school district continues to grapple with a $327-million budget deficit, resulting in painful cuts for staff and students. If an alternate solution isn’t implemented, the district will be forced to shut down half of its schools by 2014, pushing the average high school class size up to 62 students, run by offsite regional principals.

While decision-makers describe the plan as a draconian solution, time is running out and early stages are already in place as the school system buckles under the deficit. “That’s what the current law requires us to do,” says Steve Wasko, Executive Director of Public Relations for Detroit Public Schools. “We call it Plan A. We have porous boundaries and it would further drive parents away from our school system, but it is the plan to exist.”

In response, Detroit educational leaders are meeting with state officials, scrambling to advocate for at least two alternative plans. “We've been generating long term proposals to share with elected officials in Lansing,” Wasko says. One plan under consideration includes a proposal that was submitted for President Obama’s “Race To The Top” initiative, which includes the elimination of teacher seniority. Another plan involves taking existing debt and discarding it, similar to a General Motors style restructuring. Detroit officials have also been looking at models used in New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina for federal funding to drive academic reforms.

While Detroit residents pay considerably higher property taxes than the surrounding suburbs, the city’s population has decreased significantly in the last decade due to a host of quality of life issues—including the economic downturn, lack of jobs and an increase in crime. The decline in the state’s economy has deepened the problems for the city’s schools, where funding sources have dwindled. In 2000, 180,000 students were enrolled in Detroit Public Schools. That number has since decreased to 74,000. Of the students left, more than 80% are from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, according to the Detroit Free Press. Classrooms are already overcrowded—averaging 35 students from sixth to twelfth grade—so doubling the class size will be a nearly impossible undertaking for teachers to handle effectively.

“What I worry about are people who live in the Detroit district, because of the budget cuts and financial problems, they will have to change schools and go to another district,” says DeWanna Arrington, a local high school senior who will attend Eastern Michigan University in the fall to study nursing. “I’m really worried about students who will give up and drop out. You need a high school education and some type of degree in college in order to get a job. I worry about the teachers that will lose jobs. There are really good teachers here.”

Detroit’s school district has been in a state of turmoil for nearly a decade, when a state takeover was implemented due to mismanagement and constant infighting between the school board and the superintendent. In February 2009, consultant Robert Bobb was appointed as the Emergency Financial Manager. In a November 2009 Black Enterprise article “Can Detroit Be Saved?” Bobb told BE’s Editorial Director Alan Hughes, “the school system must put in place, aggressively and urgently, methods for 21st century teaching and learning.” At the time, he was considering having the city's school district file for bankruptcy, a proposal that was eventually abandoned.

Bobb's contract ends this spring, but it’s likely to be extended until the end of the school year. “I don't know if the state would appoint another financial manager, but it would be hard to imagine it without [one],” Wasko says. Under new state leadership of Republican Governor Rick Snyder, it’s unclear of how the change in governance will affect the city’s plight and what the next steps will be in the process.

Continued on page 2.