Workplace leaders and team members today are challenged to do more with less and to stay productive and positive while doing it. MagneticWorkplaces.com provides creative ideas and practical strategies for stressed-out, stretched-out people. When you attend one of psychologist Dr. Bev Smallwood’s seminars, use our study resources, or apply the tips found throughout this website, both you and your organization will experience benefits of great MAGNET-TUDE!

You will:
  become a more “magnetic” person…attracting others to you because of your positive attitude and energy;
  become more resilient, weathering adversity and bouncing back after setbacks;
  improve your ability to connect with people and to keep valuable relationships;
  discover strategies for dealing with difficult bosses, team members, and other humans;
  learn the secrets of avoiding burnout and making stress work for you;
  learn how to bring out the best in yourself and others.

Your organization will:
  develop caring and competent leaders;
  attract and recruit talented people;
  retain good employees, reducing turnover and building the bottom line;
  energize people for top performance;
  build teams aligned for a meaningful purpose;
  experience more open and clear communication;
  move toward becoming the employer of choice for employees of choice.

WE WELCOME YOU, AND INVITE YOU BACK!! Feel free to contact us by email or phone with your questions, suggestions, or requests.

Dr. Bev Smallwood

HOW TO MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES

The success of any business is determined by the performance of the individuals who comprise it – from the entry-level worker to the CEO.   While job skills are certainly important and necessary, they do not guarantee that the individual will perform optimally. In fact, in an extensive longitudinal study of job performance, it was found that ability accounted for 1 percent of performance, and that training and experience accounted for 14 percent.  The remaining 85 percent of employee performance was determined by motivation. Thus, the task of motivating employees must be a priority for every manager. More Here

HIDDEN CAUSES OF WORKPLACE CONFLICT

Conflict is a natural part of any team or relationship.  It can be healthy or unhealthy for the relationship, depending on how it is handled.  When conflict is handled constructively, it promotes growth and problem solving. The body builder knows that resistance actually grows and strengthens muscles.  Resistance can have the same effect on teams.  In teams, that resistance comes from the natural and necessary differences in such areas as background, training, personality style, values, pace, or priority.  Blended together, these differences can create a balanced team represented by all perspectives. More Here

ASK FOR WHAT YOU'VE EARNED

You've worked long and hard for years now, and you're still in the same position with no mention from "the powers that be" of your moving up or making more money. You know that the company has gone through some hard times, and some say that everyone is jut lucky to have a job. But you know that you really don't want to stay in a no-future job...especially since you've taken some additional courses and finished your degree. What can you do? More Here

CHANGE RESISTORS AND HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM

"I was watching the evening news when a reporter interviewed a man celebrating his 100th birthday. "You've seen a lot of changes in your 100 years, haven't you? Without batting an eye, the old gentlemen replied, "Yep, and I was opposed to every one of them!" What a miserable way to spend a century! I think I've met his cousins in my client organizations across the country.  Are there some in your workplace?  Oh m'gosh, it's not you, is it? More Here

HOW TO COMMUNICATE SO THAT OTHERS UNDERSTAND

Leaders share with the rest of the team the responsibility of sending clear, complete, and accurate messages.   Of course, sending messages well is only one half of communication; listening and receiving the message accurately is the other half.  However, the focus of this article is on the sender’s task of transmitting messages in ways that make it most likely they can be understood correctly. More Here

GOING BEYOND THE EXPECTED

I’d arrived in Jackson, Mississippi, on the 9:50 P.M. flight. Weary and loaded with luggage, I was standing in the median of the loading zone, not-so-patiently waiting for the shuttle from the Comfort Inn, where I’d stayed the night before I’d departed. “Hello, there, Ma’am.  Are you going to the Crowne Plaza tonight?” I turned around to encounter a big smile and twinkling eyes on the face of the Crowne Plaza shuttle driver. “No, Sir.  I’m waiting for the Comfort Inn shuttle.  Thank you.”  End of conversation…or so I thought. More Here

HOW TO REDUCE EMPLOYEE STRESSES THAT MAKE THEM THINK OF LEAVING

Organizations that want to keep good employees must consider not only the benefits that enhance employee commitment, but also the hassles that subtract from their job satisfaction.  Employees calculate whether it’s “worth it” by weighing the benefits against the “costs” of staying in the job.  There are many forces in the work environment that are “downers”.  The list could occupy volumes…e.g., overly critical supervisors, feelings of powerlessness, lack of input, being “in the dark” and without needed information, dog-eat-dog competition rather than teamwork, and unfair organizational reward systems. More Here

TALENT SELECTION: PART ONE
Any person who has been in management more than a few months has had the frustrating experience of...
(1) carefully reviewing and sorting through the internal and external applications;
(2) following up on the (often vague) references;
(3) conducting the interviews, sometimes involving several staff and team members in the process, and;
(4) selecting the person who appears to be the best candidate for the job...
Only to discover...More Here

DON'T BE A FRIENDLY ENEMY TO A HURTING PERSON
Have you ever found yourself searching for the words to say to a loved one or friend (or even a client or parishioner) when he or she was struggling after tragedy struck?
Many well-meaning people can actually harm the people they are trying to help with platitudes or psychobabble mantras that are supposed to make a difference, but don't.  At least, not a positive difference.  Even when there is truth in the advice, it may be ill-timed or lacking in critical how-to. More Here  

HOW TO DEAL WITH AN AGGRESSIVE PERSON

Each of us has had the experience of being on the receiving end of another person’s anger or aggressiveness.  Maybe it was an interaction with a customer who felt that service was below par.  Maybe the interaction occurred when a co-worker felt that you had mistreated him in some way.  Maybe it was with a relative you didn’t please.  The natural tendency when someone begins to attack is to strike back.  However, this is often not wise.  People who are in the heat of an aggressive attack are rarely successfully dealt with by counterattack.  Counterattack only adds fuel to the fire and rarely accomplishes anything with an angry person. More Here

FORGIVENESS:  THE PROCESS
After reading my newspaper column on bitterness the other day, a woman named Jennifer left this message on my voice mail: “Bitterness is like acid; it eats up the container that holds it.” 
If you’ve read the last two Magnetizers, you’ll know that I totally agree.  We’ve talked about the negative consequences to your health and emotional wellbeing of hanging onto hurts and harboring grudges.  We looked at some of the mental roadblocks that can keep you from the critical process of forgiveness.  If you missed the other two articles in this series, just request it and I’ll be glad to send them to you. More Here

HOW TO THINK LIKE AN EFFECTIVE TEAM MEMBER

It is no small task to build a team of involved, motivated workers who produce impressive results that “wow!” the customer, leading to ever-increasing profitability in today’s volatile marketplace.  To do so organizational leaders and team members must develop heart-felt beliefs in seven key principles. More Here