Have you ever left a performance review thinking, “My manager has no idea what I accomplished this year”?  Don’t let your achievements go unnoticed – and make sure that you are not keeping them a secret.  Keep a precise list of your completed projects, attained milestones and accomplished goals.  Then before your next performance review, share that list with your manager.  Not only will you ensure a more accurate review, but you will also be helping your boss with one of his/her time consuming administrative tasks: drafting performance evaluations.  After all, who knows what you accomplished better than you do?

Do you have any other suggestions as to how to make your annual performance reviews more accurate and/or productive?  We would love to hear your thoughts!

Last week we asked our Facebook community to weigh-in on the most important qualities that a manager can possess.  It is clear that individuals want their managers first and foremost to be strong leaders.  When you possess and display the following top 5 leadership qualities on a consistent basis, you will stand out from the pack as a highly effective manager.

• Strong Performance – Managers need to meet and exceed performance standards on a daily basis.  They must have a very narrow “say-do gap” and always live up to the commitments they make.

• Decisiveness – Managers must have the courage to make the tough calls.  While they realize that every decision might not be perfect, effective managers make well-reasoned and timely decisions.  They choose to live proactively – not reactively.

• Accountability – Managers are always accountable for their actions and the decisions they make.  When a problem arises they look first to their own contributing actions (or lack there of).  Accountability breeds trust.   An effective manager is one who others see as a go-to person who will listen to their problems and help them to find solutions.

• Strong Communication – Managers must be strong communicators.  They must clearly convey their expectations and consistently hold others accountable when those expectations are not met.  Effective managers do not shy away from confrontation because they understand that conflict is sometimes necessary to bring about resolution.

• Service-Based Leadership – Managers truly care about those they lead.  They seek to remove obstacles that prevent others from reaching their fullest potential.  They are empathetic to others’ needs; however, they avoid coddling or enabling others because they are focused on individual growth and exceptional performance.

Effective managers are excellent leaders.  Incorporate these 5 top leadership qualities into your daily life and watch your team thrive!

Let’s face it, everyone has at least one part of their job that they dislike.  Whether it is the mountain of paperwork on your desk that needs to be filed or the phone call to the unhappy client that needs to be made, each day you have something that you are required to do that you dread.

What do you do when you are faced with a task that you dislike?  Do you put it off, telling yourself that you will get to it later (only to find yourself still stressing about it hours later)?  Or do you tackle the dreaded task head on?

Leaders fight the urge to procrastinate.  To make the most of your most precious commodity – your time – you must make each moment count.  Every morning consider your to-do list and pick out the one thing that you want to do least. Make completing that dreaded task your first accomplishment of the day.  You will find that this simple, yet effective, technique will make you more efficient while also reducing your daily stress level.

My 4 year old has taken up Wii Bowling.  And to my surprise, she’s pretty good.  However, as this is her first real competitive endeavor (in my opinion, Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders have too much luck involved to count), it is my first opportunity to teach her about sportsmanship.

Like any 4 year old, my daughter has definitely grasped the concept of winning v. losing.  And of course, she prefers to win (don’t we all?).  However, when she bowls, she takes the need to win to an entirely different level.  Not only does she want to win, she wants to bowl only strikes.  Anything less is unsatisfactory to her.  At first I ignored the behavior.  I thought that as she continued to play the game she would realize that strikes do not occur every time you throw the ball.  I was mistaken.  And she continues to throw a fit when she doesn’t knock all of the pins down on her first throw.

What’s even worse is that she has started to display anger when her opponent gets a strike and she does not.  So, within the last several days, I have spent a lot of time explaining to her the old adage, “It’s not whether you win or lose its how you play the game.”  Does that sink in with a 4 year old?  Only time will tell.

And now to the real point of explaining my recent parenting challenges…  I received an email a few days ago from an individual who suggested that Lead Star write a Leadership Moment about how to handle colleagues who attempt to make incentives competitions all-out war among their team members.  It seems that at this individual’s workplace some team members are more focused on doing what they can to beat each other and win the prize than they are on their own overall job performance.  What’s worse, it seems as if some team members who are uncomfortable with the cut-throat competition are opting out and choosing not to participate at all.  Obviously the incentives program is not working as intended.

It is easy to get caught up in the heat of competition.  Just like my 4 year old, everyone likes to win.  However, the inherent nature of any competition (whether a sports endeavor or a workplace incentives program) is to challenge individuals to push beyond their prior personal best.  It’s about learning, growing and personally excelling.  It’s not about beating someone else.  After all, anyone who participates in competitive sports knows that it feels much better to play your best and lose than it does to play badly and win.  Hollow victories are unsatisfying.

So how do you change those who play only to win at all costs?  You don’t (well at least not directly).  As a leader, you must understand that the only two things that you can control are your own actions and your reactions to other people’s actions.  When you learn to focus inward, constantly striving for personal improvement instead of concerning yourself with how others are playing the game, you will ultimately be successful.  As others see you succeeding they will tend to follow suit.  Leaders are role models.  And you influence healthy competition by setting the consistent example of not focusing on winning or losing but instead striving to constantly perform better than you did the day before.

As for my daughter, while she may not learn the lesson today or tomorrow, I can be sure that she will over time based on the example that I set for her.

Do you have any additional advice on how to handle colleagues who display unhealthy competitive behaviors?  We would love to hear your thoughts.

The New Year brings with it endless possibilities and the desire for a productive and successful 2010.  Ensure that you make the most of this year by starting 2010 off on the right foot.  Make time this week to:

• Reorganize your space. Even the most well organized individual has something within his/her workspace that is screaming to be sorted through, de-cluttered or reorganized.  Take some time today to make a fresh start.
• Make a list of achievements. Think about everything you accomplished in 2009.  Write out a list.  Experience pride in all of your successes over the past year.  Start 2010 with the confidence in knowing that you have the ability to achieve great things.
• Create a mission statement. Take inventory of the most important aspects of your life: your relationships, your career, your emotional and physical well-being, etc.  Decide what you ultimately want to accomplish in these areas of your life and write out your mission statement on a note card.  Place the note card where you will be able to read and reflect upon it throughout the year.  Commit yourself to working toward your mission in 2010.

Make 2010 a great year by taking some time today to ensure that you start off on the right foot.  Here’s to leading yourself to continued success this year!