Tips for Building Successful Teams

Here are some great tips for working smoothly in teams (and getting past that pesky Storming phase!):

• Assign roles and tasks to make sure each team member has something to do and that everyone participates in achieving the overall goal.
• Generate a plan: Where are you today? Where do you want to be tomorrow? How are you going to get there?
• Keep the team small: Small teams have better communication, and it's easier to make sure everyone stays on task.
• Know the team norms: Teams will establish acceptable and unacceptable behavior. It's important for every team member to be aware of these guides and know the consequences for unacceptable behavior.
• Emphasize common characteristics and interests to foster team unity.
• Praise and compliment your team members for jobs well done.
• And remember, make sure to have FUN!

Get more tips on how to build successful teams here at KnowledgeCity.com, plus enjoy three FREE video tutorials on The Art of Team Building!

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The Five Phases of Teams

Many of us have experienced working in teams—in fact, when you consider playing games as a child, creating group presentations in school, or collaborating on the job, all of us have been a part of a team at one time or another.

When I think of the process a team goes through, I immediately think of three stages:

1. Assembling the team
2. Working together on the project
3. Disbanding once the project is finished

But did you know that there are actually five phases that teams go through? That may sound like a lot, but each phase is important and moves the team forward towards becoming a strong, successful unit.

The five phases are:

1. Forming: Where the team is created—people may be excited or anxious about the upcoming task.

2. Storming: I’m sure many of us have experienced this stage—this is where the team deals with conflict, confrontation, defensiveness, and competition. Unfortunately, many teams never get past this phase!

3. Norming: Where the team really develops a sense of unity and each person is able to express criticism constructively (sounds ideal, doesn’t it?).

4. Performing: Here, the team is able to collaborate productively. Members are satisfied with the team’s progress and have the ability to work through problems. Go Team!

5. Adjourning: Where we bid farewell to our team. Hopefully, you will have pride in your team’s success as you say goodbye.

For more insights on teams, and for an in-depth look at each of these phases, check out our exciting new course on The Art of Team Building and enjoy three FREE video tutorials to get you started towards building a successful team.

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Welcome, Word 2010!

After a three year wait, the newest version of Microsoft Word is finally here! Discover the new layout of Word 2010, with the return of the File tab (which you may remember from Word 2003) in place of the 2007 Office button.

With this newest version of Word, you can create professional, high quality documents, perfect for personal and business use. Word 2010 has all sorts of new and improved tools to enhance your documents, including:

• The ability to add formatting effects like gradient fills and reflections directly to your document text (the same effects you may have previously used for pictures, charts, and SmartArt graphics)

• New picture editing tools, including advanced color and cropping tools to perfect your document pictures

• Customizable Office themes to ensure the look of your document is consistent—you can even add your personal or business brand to your theme, giving your documents that much more of a professional edge

• A wide selection of SmartArt graphics, including additional layouts for charts and picture diagrams, to add an extra visual effect to your message

Word’s improved layout makes it even easier to navigate the program. You can recover draft versions of files that you closed without saving—that’s right, no more panic over losing a document!—and you can work with others on documents and projects with new co-authoring capabilities.

Get familiar with these new features and more at KnowledgeCity.com—we have training tutorials for beginning and advanced users, so you can learn all about how to use Word 2010. Coming soon are more of the new Office Suite, including PowerPoint 2010 and Access 2010.

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Best Computer Software Training Tutorials

http://www.knowledgecity.com/ is getting better and better by the day. With a large number of computer software training tutorials, Knowledge City is helping both businesses and individuals advance their careers by understanding the short cuts of programs such as Excel, Photoshop, PowerPoint, QuickBooks, Dreamweaver, Word, and much more.

If you would like to try http://www.knowledgecity.com/ absolutely free for one month, sign up for a single user using the coupon code: knowledge. You will gain full access to the entire website library of Business Skills and Computer Software training tutorials.

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How to Resign from your Job: The Wrong Way

When changing careers, you never want to leave your current position in a compromising situation that leaves negative feelings between you and your boss. You want to build your own social network, not burn them. When quitting, make sure not to resign:

In the worst way: If you can help it, try not to leave under strenuous circumstances.

When the timing is bad: Do not leave your current position without another job lined up or if you are under a lot of financial obligations.

When you don’t have negotiating power: As mentioned before, do not leave your current position if you do not have another lined up. You have some negotiation powers during your departure. You may have the opportunity to work out better terms with your potential employer or may even consider counter offers.

[Learn How to Resign from Your Job Gracefully]

By ways of email, fax, phone or post-it note: No matter how much you hate your job, you still need to be polite. Do not notify your employer that you are quitting via email, fax, phone or post-it note because that is the fastest way you burn your bridges. Your boss definitely will not appreciate it and your chances for good references become non-existent.

In a dramatic exit: Quitting a job in a dramatic flair should be avoided. Not only is it unprofessional, but it’s an easy way to get blacklisted in an industry as a “challenging employee.”

Suddenly and without warning: Be respectful and courteous by offering a two week notice for your employer to find a replacement who can take over your responsibilities. Do not ditch your job without fair warning.

Taking company’s clients and workers: Although not uncommon in competitive industries, it is though, unethical. Choosing a new career is your decision, but don’t bring others into it.

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How to Resign from your Job

Terminating your employment takes ingenuity. Just saying “I quit” isn’t the end of your resignation. There are steps to be taken to ensure that your soon-to-be former colleagues, supervisors and managers are still part of your own social network—references for future endeavors. Resign professionally and gracefully following these simple rules:

Avoid being a job hopper: Carefully evaluate your reasons for your departure. Invest some time in self-reflection to determine what keeps you at a particular job or what keeps you from staying. Be advised though when creating a resume, most companies frown upon too many employment changes in your work history.

Have another job lined up first: When changing careers, make sure to have a written offer somewhere else before turning in your resignation. Cover all the bases before making any moves.

[Learn How Not to Resign the Wrong Way from Your Job]


Resign in person: Provide both oral and written resignation when you are quitting a job. Your resignation letter should incorporate the following information: intentions, the date you are resigning, the date you wish to leave, and your signature. Basic resignation letter would look as follow…

Today’s date

Company Address
HR Department

Dear (Hr Manager),

I am writing to inform you of my resignation from (position/company name). As per my contract, I am providing xxx weeks notice and my last day will be xxx.

Sincerely,

(Signature)

Your Name

Be honest and tactful: For social networking solutions, you want to leave with a good relationship intact. Be truthful to the reason behind your leave, but do not go into details. Do not bad mouth your former superiors; it could come back to you later on in your career. You’ll be also losing important references as well. Basically, don’t burn your bridges.

Offer two weeks notice: When quitting job, make sure to offer two weeks notice—time for your company/boss/team to find a replacement for you. Offering transition time ensures proper knowledge transfer, tie up loose ends, and your work responsibilities to others. Don’t stay longer than the standard length of time (two weeks) to protect yourself from unexpected changes in both your old and new company.

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5 Reasons to Quit a Job and Start Choosing a New Career

Yes, the U.S. economy is in an economic crisis and jobs are hard to come by, but is it enough reason to stay at your current job position that is making you dread the weekdays? Start considering a mid career change when you start to feel these five factors…

Dreading work: If you can’t stand the people you are working with or the job itself is causing you chronic headaches, loss of sleep, constantly feel stressed, than it’s time for a new career exploration. Your mental/physical health, overall well-being is more important than any one position. Do not compromise your health. Quit before the job burns you out.

Find yourself marginalized: Marginalization is another good reason to quit a job when your responsibilities are slowing taken away or downsized by the upper management. Career exploration is needed when supervisors are excluding you from important discussions, meetings etc.

You outgrew your job: It’s time for a new job search when there are no more advancement opportunities within an organization or field. You may have started your current position as a novice, but now you have a lot of experience—more than your current position requires. To move up in your career, you must at times, quit.

A better offer is on the table: Money is another big factor when it comes to staying or going. If you’ve been stuck at the same salary level for a while with no hope of a pay raise, then it’s time for you to leave your current job position. When changing careers, if there’s an offer you are find difficult to refuse with all other prospective being a good fit, give the offer serious consideration.

There is a breach of trust: Do not get caught constantly waiting on the promise of “next time.” Voice your displeasure if you find yourself in a situation where your supervisor shows a lack of good faith toward you by failing to follow through on his promises. Trust is an unspoken contract and a violation of such should include reparations of some sort. If you find yourself in a situation similar to this, it is time for you to start packing your bags and looking elsewhere.

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