Excellence Never is Enough

Tag: team building for employees

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How Will Your Story Unfold from 2023 to 2024?

As we stand on the cusp of a new year, it’s an opportune moment for the members of our esteemed engineering community to pause and reflect on the strides we’ve made throughout 2023. Beyond the realm of technical innovations and project accomplishments, our personal journeys within the professional landscape deserve acknowledgment and contemplation.

Acknowledgement: Let’s take a moment to acknowledge the collective wins we’ve experienced within our professional and personal spheres. From successful project completions to earning certifications that elevate our expertise, each achievement contributes to the tapestry of our shared success.

Navigating Challenges – In the dynamic field of engineering and of course personal life, challenges are not roadblocks but rather opportunities for growth. Reflect on instances where adaptability, problem-solving, and leadership skills were put to the test. It’s in these moments that true resilience emerges.

Learning Every Day –Our commitment to excellence in engineering and personal aspects of life necessitates a dedication to continuous learning. Consider the new skills you’ve acquired, the courses you’ve engaged with, and the knowledge you’ve sought to remain at the forefront of our ever-evolving industry and the personal life you’re living.

Balancing Work and Personal Well-being: As we delve into our reflections, let’s not forget the importance of maintaining equilibrium between our professional pursuits and personal well-being. Strategies for a healthy work-life balance, stress management, and overall well-being should be woven into the narrative of our professional narratives.

Strategic Vision for the New Year: Now, let’s cast our sight towards the horizon of 2024. It’s time to set intentions and goals that align with our professional and personal aspirations. Consider formulating S.M.A.R.T. goals — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound — that will propel your career and personal life forward.

Being Positive and Open to Change In the face of challenges and opportunities alike, let’s collectively embrace a growth mindset. The professional and personal landscapes are ever evolving, and the willingness to learn from challenges, seek feedback, and continuously adapt positions us for sustained success. Its literally a fulltime job to have a positive mindset.

Cultivating Professional Networks Recognize the strength in our collective connections. Consider expanding your professional network, engaging with peers, and participating in industry events. Our collaborative efforts fuel innovation and mutual advancement.

Conclusion: As we bid farewell to 2023, let the insights gained from this reflection guide your path toward a future marked by both professional excellence and personal fulfillment. The journey is ongoing, and each step forward is a testament to our collective commitment to professional and personal excellence.

We would like to hear from you our esteemed community members, to share your reflections, goals, and strategies for the upcoming year. We believe in the exchange of insights; we strengthen not only our individual paths but also the fabric of our collaborative professional community.

Here’s to a new year filled with growth, achievements, and collective success.

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Effective management

The first thing a good manager must know is that the skill set is a process. You don’t become a good manager overnight. It takes time. It takes failure, but without that failure you’d never learn from you mistakes and grow. Here are some ways to be as effective as possible as a manager.

Time Management: A good manager can then manage that timeline and break it down into large phases of the project, called milestones, and then into smaller parts that are called tasks. But it’s not merely creating a plan, it’s also monitoring that process and adjusting accordingly to stay on schedule.

Communication – Communications isn’t giving orders, though that’s part of it. Communications is a two-way street, with as much emphasis on listening as there is on talking. If you can get your message across then you’re working efficiently.

Site meeting, Bushulo Ethiopia

Team Building – Individuals can work in groups, but not without some real bonding through team-building exercises like having meals together, having casual chats during breaks. If you put this work in before the project, you’ll have less issues during its run.

Be inclusive: To build a diverse team, you need to create an inclusive and positive organizational culture. When every team member feels respected and valued, you’re naturally going to boost employee engagement and (by default) produce better work. An engaged team is a happier team. 

Be decisive: As a manager, you are responsible for making decisions that affect the entire team. To avoid conflicts when making important decisions, it’s important to coordinate with your team and communicate properly by.

Negotiations – You need to attain negotiation skills and it’s your responsibility to find a technique that works. The better you can negotiate with your team, the more likely you are to stick to the planned project goals.

Conflict Resolution – When you put a team together and there will be conflicts, which you’ll have to resolve those conflicts fairly and quickly to keep the project on track. You should allow people to be heard and create an environment where people come together for the greater good of the project.

Work place etiquettes tips.

Some of the technical staffs during a planning retreat in Entebbe.

Your behavior in the workplace can dictate your success and reputation because how you present yourself to others in the workplace matters influencing the overall environment for you and your coworkers. A summary of some work etiquettes which will be helpful at a work place is shared below.

Make a Good First Impression: People often form impressions about others within seconds of meeting them, so it’s important to ensure you present yourself as a professional. Be aware of your body language and how others may perceive it. A good rule of thumb is to stand straight, maintain eye contact, and smile!

Understand your Work Environment: The values, policies, and procedures of a workplace can be difficult to discern at first. If you are in \ organization with a structured human resource division, you may have access to an in-house trainings to keep you informed of your organization’s expectations. Lastly, observing the atmosphere and actions of others can help you understand what’s appropriate and what’s not, and how to best navigate the workplace while maintaining your professionalism.

Communication is Key: Communication is an important part of workplace etiquette. It’s sometimes not what you say, but how you say it that counts so be mindful of how you communicate with your colleagues in meetings and one-on-one conversations. In regards to email, be sure your correspondence inside and outside of your workplace is written clearly and free of spelling errors.

Make it a habit to be prompt: Being on time offers an easy and manageable way to make a good impression. Consistently being punctual shows that you value the time of others in your work environment. When possible, plan to give yourself extra time between meetings so that you won’t be late if something unexpected happens.

Avoid interrupting: When you attend meetings or talk with others in the workplace, let them finish speaking without interrupting. Allowing them to complete their thought or presentation shows your respect for their opinion and efforts. If you have a thought you want to share while someone is talking, jot it down and stay silent until the person finishes.

Use people’s names: Using someone’s name when speaking with them can convey your respect and attention. You can ask them if you don’t remember or know their name. Use their name organically throughout the conversation without too much repetition. Next time you see the person, greet them by name for an additional sense of friendliness and respect.

Be Personable yet Professional: Sharing information about your personal life is your choice, but be cautious when it comes to what you share; some colleagues may be more open than others and might choose to keep their personal life private as well. Similarly, you may want to limit personal calls, emails, and other non-work related tasks to after work hours.

Dress appropriately: Regardless of the policies, you may benefit from dressing slightly more professionally than required to show your professionalism and commitment to the role. If you meet with clients or prospective clients, dress in more formal business attire. Striving to mirror your boss’s style or level of formality can help ensure you dress appropriately

Conflict resolution at work.

The fact of the matter is conflict in the workplace is unavoidable. The ability to recognize conflict, understand the nature of conflict, and to be able to bring swift and just resolution to conflict will serve you well as a leader , the inability to do so may well be your downfall. Here are some ways to manage conflicts at a work place.

Define Acceptable Behavior: Just having a definition for what constitutes acceptable behavior is a positive step in avoiding conflict. Having clearly defined job descriptions so that people know what’s expected of them, and a well-articulated chain of command to allow for effective communication will also help avoid conflicts.

Hit Conflict Head-on: By actually seeking out areas of potential conflict and proactively intervening in a just and decisive fashion you will likely prevent certain conflicts from ever arising. If a conflict does flair up, you will likely minimize its severity by dealing with it quickly. Time spent identifying and understanding natural tensions will help to avoid unnecessary conflict.

The Importance Factor: Pick your battles and avoid conflict for the sake of conflict. However if the issue is important enough to create a conflict then it is surely important enough to resolve. If the issue, circumstance, or situation is important enough, and there is enough at stake, people will do what is necessary to open lines of communication and close positional and/or philosophical gaps.

View Conflict as Opportunity: Hidden within virtually every conflict is the potential for a tremendous teaching/learning opportunity. Where there is disagreement there is an inherent potential for growth and development. Divergent positions addressed properly can stimulate innovation and learning in ways like minds can’t even imagine.

Laboratory block at Mater Ecclesiae Nursing and Midwifery School Luweero.

Bottom line is I believe resolution can normally be found with conflicts where there is a sincere desire to do so. Turning the other cheek, compromise, forgiveness, and compassion, empathy, finding common ground, being an active listener, service above self, and other approaches will always allow one to be successful in building rapport if the underlying desire is strong enough.

Self evaluation at a work place.

As the year comes to an end, employees needs to have a self evaluation in order to better in the different tasks in which they perform. Periodic evaluation is a chance for employees to review the recent past and discuss future expectations. An evaluation also serves as an opportunity to set goals as individuals and a team. we’ve created a sample self-assessment to guide you as you create your own.

Strengths: Clearly point out your strength that you feel is your strong point at work. Their is need to also get better ways to use your strength in order to meet your work goals.

Weaknesses: Every one has weaknesses and their is need to clearly list them especially when it affects your work. Every employee has to find away to work on their weaknesses since it always sabotages work.

Core values: Have a list of your values, beliefs and check if all you did through out the evaluation time period is in line with them, if not their is still a chance to align your self with them again.

Accomplishments: Their is need to look at your accomplishments and be proud of them, this is a source of motivation to strive better. No matter how the evaluation period was their was a point where you strived this means you can even strive the more.

Goals: During self evaluation at work their is still need to look at the goals set during that period and check if you aligned with them, their is also need to set more goals/targets higher than the ones set hence hard work.

Feed back: Feed back from superiors at work is also an important element during self evaluation, it gives you a genuine report about your performance and areas of Improvement.

Note: Keeping things simple and using short, declarative bullet points are key to writing an effective self-assessment. While the exact nature of your self-assessment might depend on your position and job description, this basic model can help guide you in writing a self-evaluation.

Team players and their qualities.

If you have chosen team members for a project in your organization,but still one feels their is need to make check list on the qualities of a good team player ,below are some of the few qualities of a good team player;

Communicates constructively Teams need people who speak up and express their thoughts and ideas clearly, directly, honestly, and with respect for others and for the work of the team. That’s what it means to communicate constructively. Such a team member does not shy away from making a point but makes it in the best way possible in a positive, confident, and respectful manner.

Works as a problem-solver Teams, of course, deal with problems. Sometimes, it appears, that’s the whole reason why a team is created to address problems. Good team players are willing to deal with all kinds of problems in a solutions-oriented manner. They’re problem-solvers, not problem-dwellers, problem-blamers, or problem-avoiders.

Functions as an active participant Good team player are active participants. They come prepared for team meetings, listen and speak up in discussions. They’re fully engaged in the work of the team. Team members who function as active participants take the initiative to help make things happen, and they volunteer for assignments

Shares openly and willingly Good team players shares information, knowledge, and experience. They take the initiative to keep other team members informed. Much of the communication within teams takes place informally. Beyond discussion at organized meetings, team members need to feel comfortable talking with one another and passing along important news and information day-to-day.

Exhibits flexibility Teams often deal with changing conditions and often create changes themselves. Good team players roll with the punches; they adapt to ever-changing situations. They don’t complain or get stressed out because something new is being tried or some new direction is being set. In addition, a flexible team member can consider different points of views and compromise when needed to offer.

Shows commitment to the team Strong team players care about their work, the team, and the team’s work. They show up every day with this care and commitment up front. They want to give a good effort, and they want other team members to do the same.

The festive season is back again.

2020 has been a difficult year, and most of us are looking forward to a well-earned rest over the Christmas break. However, the festive period can sometimes be a challenging time – especially if we are not able to see our friends or family as we usually would. Here are some tips to help you keep safe and fresh during the festive season.

Schedule some ‘me’ time the festive period can feel very busy, and demands can be put on us by others. Keep some time aside for yourself to catch up on your favorite shows, go for a walk, do something that will make you happy -you deserve it!

Look after your health the festive period can be a time for excess, but it’s important we still keep truck on our healthy eating and drinking, stick to good sleep habits, and exercise regularly. Regular exercise can help reduce the risk of getting the virus.

Keep yourself and others safe This year things will be different due Covid-19 restrictions, but they are so important to keep both you and your loved ones safe. Follow government guidelines and be assertive with anyone who asks you to break these – for their health and yours.

Ventilation One of the things you can do to reduce the impact of COVID-19 is to keep a couple of windows open and keep the house ventilated. Allowing the air to keep flowing around your house will reduce the risk of people catching COVID-19 if they are in the house mixing with people.

Social distancing Technically these rules can be scrapped over the Christmas period – but people who are worried about hugging vulnerable people should try and keep their distance anyway. Staying 2 meters apart from family and friends is a sensible way to reduce the risk. If you are concerned, wearing a mask would be another way to reduce any possible spread.

Washing your hands Is still an important tool to curb the virus. Especially if you’re going out before you meet others for Christmas, be sure to wash your hands regularly. This is even more important if you’re going to use public transport to get home.

Extra cleaning and don’t share items the guidance also recommends taking extra precautions such as cleaning surfaces and contact points like door handles over the Christmas period too. Ideally, Christmas dinner guests should be social distanced as much as. But if the table is small, experts say at least don’t share plates or cups.

At least reduce your contacts the best thing to do in the week before Christmas is to reduce your contacts with the outside world. That means cancelling visits to see family, friends, the supermarket and slashing the time you spend outside of the house. Even if you don’t catch corona-virus, there’s still a chance you could come into contact with a positive case and be told to isolate just before the holiday period starts – which would ruin any plans.

EXCELLENT IS NEVER ENOUGH

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A BLESSED 2021.KEEP STAYING SAFE