Exec Health: The heat is on
(December 2011)
According to NIWA’s latest climate outlook, New Zealand is on track for another scorching summer. But while good news for holidaymakers, the heat and dry weather can pose productivity issues for businesses. Ironically, balmy days can lead to chilly temperatures in the office. In many workplaces around New Zealand, office temperature is a well-chewed-upon bone of contention. In fact, in the ’90s the Department of Labour had so many complaints from office workers on this subject, it released an employers’ guide to ‘thermal comfort’ in the workplace.
Executive Health: A healthy incentive
(November 2011)
The ongoing effects of the global economic downturn might mean people aren’t leaving their posts at the moment – but it doesn’t mean they don’t want to. A survey of 7100 New Zealanders and Australians, carried out by Insync Surveys and Red Balloon in July and August, revealed the startling statistic that 45 percent of those surveyed were planning to look for another job within the year. While this might be a bit of wishful thinking for many, it points to worrying levels of job dissatisfaction. The downturn may have caused some complacency amongst employers when it comes to retention.
Top Tips: Inspire your team
(November 2011)
We all aspire to be great leaders. When we look at leaders, we admire one quality. That quality is the ability to inspire people. How do they do this? Is it a skill that can be learned, or is it just natural charisma? The good news is that the ability to inspire people is the same as any other aspect of leadership, a skill that can be learned. Here are some top tips that will help you develop this rare and invaluable skill.
1 Be passionate When an inspiring leader is described, you always hear the same word and that word is “passionate “.
Executive Health: Risk and relaxation
(October 2011)
When on holiday most of us expect bit of R&R and some great memories to take back home. What we don’t expect is to become caught up in a medical emergency. But the worst can, and does, happen when travelling overseas. And it’s then that a lack of attention to detail or “she’ll be right” attitude has the potential to become financially ruinous. Southern Cross Travel Insurance (SCTI) covers around 225,000 customers each year. In 2010 the most expensive individual claim paid came from a traveller to the USA who incurred over $1 million in medical expenses alone.
Top Tips: Dealing with the media in a crisis
(October 2011)
A crisis or adverse event can hit any business at any time. It could be as serious as a fire killing employees or less severe such as staff walking off the job. Crises can harm reputations and bottom lines. In some cases, they even trigger business failure. Often, it is how businesses respond to the crisis through the media that determines what impact it will have. That’s why it’s vital they are equipped to handle the media scrutiny they may suddenly find themselves under.
Executive Health: Rubbing salt into the wound
(September 2011)
In these days of upsized and king-size portions, it seems ironic that just a gram or two of a certain ingredient should be cause for such concern. But reducing sodium intake has become one of the key targets for improving New Zealanders’ heart health. The main source of sodium in our diet is salt (2.5 grams of salt contains around one gram of sodium). The World Health Organisation recommends we eat somewhere between three to six grams of salt a day – Kiwis average nine grams.
Top Tips: How leaders change hearts and minds
(September 2011)
Joseph Grenny and colleagues have spent 20 years studying what makes leaders influential. They wanted to understand what enabled leaders to change hearts and minds independent of their formal authority to demand compliance. To date over 25,000 people have been involved in their study which has found that one versatile skill accounts for a great deal of the most effective leaders’ influence. That skill is how they deal with crucial conversations – those emotionally and politically risky issues that seem to crop up nearly every day in an executive’s life.
