HOW TO BE EFFECTIVE AT WORK PLACE

The dictionary defines effective as producing the result that is wanted or

intended; producing a successful result. So, it won’t be wrong to say that being

effective has to do with living up to the standard or expectation.

Effectiveness at work place cannot in any way be compromise because it is a

place meant for business transaction. We are always expected to be at our

best in everywhere we find ourselves irrespective of the environmental,

social, political, religious, or family constraint.

There has never been a reason why anyone should not be effective because it

is demanded from every one of us.

The work place should be a centre for progressive, aspiring, result driven,

high achievers and not for non-challancy. No employer of labor will be proud

to keep paying a staff that is non-productive or effective because of the

negative resultant effect that staff puts on the company finances. Looking at a

football team on the field of play, each player is expected to bring into the

team his dexterity in order for the team to succeed. The opponent can only

win a match, when they discover a loophole and then decide to make use of it.

Being effective at work or in anything that we find ourselves doing, solely

depends on the individual and he/she does not need to be talked into it.

Effectiveness cannot be hidden because it radiates so much like the sun that

we all fell. It is the bedrock of every successful innovation or invention that

man sees on the planet earth.

Even though we are born into this world with our five senses, it still takes

time for us to fully develop the ability to master the role and functions of each

of the five senses. So being effective is a continuous exercise that we cannot

achieve in a day but we master each of the acts when we live by it daily.

The work place is meant for serious minded people that are able to turn every

opportunity at their disposal into profit making venture and above all creating

a healthy environment for everyone to live in.

Effectiveness at workplace comes from the employee and the employers:

FOR THE EMPLOYEES, the following details should be taken into

consideration:

1. Start with you:

You might be wondering why I said so? There is nothing that has ever

happen to a man with his fore-knowledge. In most cases, we are always

ignorant of our environment, thereby loosing out on the details of life.

You are the key to the greatness, success and retrogress that will ever

come your way.

For there to be success or effectiveness at work place, your mind must

be in participation. Like I said earlier, no matter the motivation, you

have the final decision to make when it comes to being effective at

workplace.

It is the you in you that makes you the you, you are. We are all unique in

our various ways and so for that reason, being effective at work place

can only be achieved when the you factor has been addressed properly.

Your character, perspective, level of information and most importantly

your mind determines what comes out of you. No human being is

quantifiable, you are priceless and for that reason cannot be deterred by

the circumstance around.

2. Early to bed:

“Early to bed they say is early to rise.” God has made it that no matter

how busy your 24- hour might be, there must be a time for rest or sleep.

Have you heard or seen a man on this planet earth that has been able to

cheat on nature or even sleep. You can avoid not sleeping at night due to

some engagement but that those mean that you’ve mastered the act of

not sleeping at night.

Having a good night rest is one of the ways in which one can be effective

at the place of work. Sleeping between four to five hours every night will

definitely boost our activity for each day.

I want to use myself as a case. During my university days, there is a day

of the week that I get so stressed up because lectures for that day start

from 8 am until about 6pm. What makes it so complicated for me is that,

I go to school from home and for that reason, I have to wake up early in

order to meet up with lectures and before the end of the day, I get

exhausted. Guess what I did? I decided to shun the first lecture of that

day in order to have enough rest before coming to school. Surprisingly,

I noticed that with that approach of mine, I feel so strong throughout

that day.

Whenever you sleep properly, the whole body system is at alert and the

blood flows properly, thereby giving room for effectiveness. But I must

say that I am not advocating for excessive sleep, which is the bedrock

for laziness.

3. Have a clear conscience:

“Clear conscience they say fears no accusation” while awake and ready

to face the day’s activities, you’re expected to clear your mind of every

burden that you slept with and even the ones that crops into the

morning. A troubled mind will definitely not produce an effective day at

work. This step is not easy but one has to learn the process in order to

remain focus and active for the day’s activity. How can there be an

increase in capital or finances when the mind is not at ease?

4. Eat right:

“You are what you eat.” How true is that statement? The importance of

food for growth cannot be denied because every living creature

including animals need food to survive. In other to be effective at work

place, you need the right food. When making the decision on what to eat

for breakfast it is advisable to take light food rather than heavy food.

The choice of your meal goes along way to determine how smart you’ll

be at work place.

It is also advisable not to go on an empty stomach during the breakfast

season but should rather have a cup of tea and some slice of bread. But

if you belong the school of thought that believe that breakfast makes

them dull, then go by what you believe. In case when your health

deteriorates, remember to visit the doctor.

If you want to be effective at work place, then eat right.

5. Dress smart and sharp:

Fashion is that accessory that compliment what you are wearing and it

communicate a lot about you. The world is evolving, so is fashion. If

your knowledge about fashion is poor, then get informed.

If your job requires that you put on a uniform, then; that should not be a

reason why you should dress shabbily. Always put on a dress that is

stress free, that gives you an opportunity to walk and run around the

office. Your fashion should compliment and above all give you the

opportunity to increase your productivity and capital. So, when going to

work, select that dress that gives you flexibility at work.

6. Put up a smile:

A smile doesn’t cost anything, it is not harmful, and it takes nothing

away from you. It does not need a special training to put it into practice.

Putting up a smile always brings out the real depth of your personality.

It attracts people towards you and keeps you healthy.

When your smiles finally attract people toward you, then wisdom is

needed to separate those that will be needful for the day’s journey. In

this wise, nobody has the power to make you feel bad, except when you

create an open door for that. If this step must be practice, then be ready

to mingle at work. With this, you’ll have several kinds of friends but do

accept the offer, don’t get close or intimate.

It takes relationship at work place to get the needed capital but you

must choose your friend. You can get friendly by making sure that both

parties get the desired productivity that will enhance the capital needed

at work. You can be friendly but do not get close.

7. Follow up on every assignment:

Before you get set for work, make sure that every inventory of the past

and present are put into cognizance. The work place is not meant for

indolent minds but for individuals that are ready to make good use of

the opportunity given to you. So, when you plan to put all your

assignment on a scale of preference, your productivity will

tremendously increase.

8. Be aware of your own speech:

Science has made us to understand that we hear with our inner ear, so

with this fact, it is possible for us to actually hear what we are saying

before any other person does. If we truly learn to practice this, we will

find it difficult to hurt people with our words and we’ll have a better

working relationship with our boss and colleague at work. I want you to

relax and take inventory of all your daily activities including your

speech, it will be amazing to know that before any words comes out

from our mouth, we are already of the know of how we our

conversation. We all speak from the thought and imaginations of our

heart, so with these facts we can not deny our very words.

9. Always ask questions:

There has never been a man on this planet earth that is a monopoly of

knowledge. It is not a crime to ask question when you are not been

clarified over a situation. If one must be effective and communicate well

at workplace, he or she must learn the act of asking questions when the

need arise. The man that asks a question and the person answering are

invariable learning if we look at the process very well. If you must

develop the habit of learning at the workplace, learn to ask questions so

that you won’t waste your time and energy over a thing.

10. Learn to manage your time:

Proper time management has been the habit of every successful man

and woman out there. If one must be relevant in the workplace, he

must learn to prioritize his time very well. Every boss and staff will

always want to hang around someone in the workplace that is a

master of time. The world that we operate in is being governed by

time, so no one can successfully live in this planet and ignores time.

Time is of essence and make sure that you make good use of it at all

time in the workplace.

11. Communicate with confidence:

Confidence doesn’t come from your physique or the outfit that you

are wearing but majorly comes from your speech. Confidence is

embedded in every one of us, so activate yours now. No boss will

ever want to retain or work with a staff that is not confident with

himself or herself. Every word that comes out from your mouth

should portray boldness and with this boldness you will enjoy each

of your working day. The way you communicate in public gives a first

impression about your personality.

12. Be a person of trust:

Trust is a factor to ones effectiveness at workplace. Our friends,

colleagues and boss should know us as a person that they can entrust

anything to all time. Trust in the workplace breeds confidence, so

you cannot afford to live without it.

13. Be a person of humor:

A good communicator without a sense of humor will definitely pull

people away no matter you looks. A little humor will always make

one to be stress free and invariably pass it on to people around.

Now the EMPLOYER also must be aware of these facts too to have an effective

workplace communication

14. Be a good listener:

Communication is a two-way thing and can only be beneficial if an

employee learns to listen. Being the boss does not mean that you

must speak at all time but it affords you the opportunity to be quiet

once in a while so that you can fetch from the well of knowledge of

your employee. Everyone wants to be heard but nobody wants to

listen. Do you know that a good psychologist is the one that listens

to his client’s challenges and then uses the complains to provide a

solution. If only we all learn to live like a psychologist, workplace

will be fun.

15. Be open to non-verbal signal:

Once a boss has learned to listen, he should also look out for those

non-verbal communications from his staffs because not everybody

will want to communicate their thought to you at all time.

This non-verbal communication could be in their facial

expression, body movement to mention a few and we must always

look out for it to boost workplace effectiveness. These non-verbal

signals are being practice by all at all times, so watch out for it.

16. There should be a goal and value:

As an employer of labor, the goal and value of your organization

must be made known to all your staffs at all time, so that they can

easily communicate it within themselves and to anyone that

comes around the organization.

17. Create room for feedback:

An atmosphere of freedom will only produce creative mind when

everyone is given an opportunity to contribute his thought to the

organization that they represent. Once this is encouraged, the

employee will have information that he can use positively to

express his own thought to his staffs.

18. Try to know the state of your employee on a regular:

An act of care will breed an atmosphere of happiness and love.

When an employer makes it a duty to always look into the welfare

of his employee daily, they (employee) will be ready to do

anything and communicate well at anytime of the day.

19. Have an open door policy:

Anywhere there is justice; it means that rules and regulations are

being adhered to. We should create a policy that will be favorable

to us and to the people around us, if we want effectiveness and

communication to thrive.

20. Celebrate achievement:

Everybody wants to be celebrated. It won’t be crime if you

people’s achievement to an organization is being celebrated.

When an employee takes this as one of his work ethics, he will be

able to communicate very well with his employer.

21. Use visuals to communicate important information:

The things we hear and see stays with us longer than when it is

just only audio. Visuals could come in the form of pictures or

videos and it will be a better way to communicate some vital

information to your employee.

22. Encourage one on one communication:

We all do not have the same energy level and temperament that is

why there are extrovert, introvert and the ambivert. So, one can

possibly have these three set of people in an organization and

learn how to manage each one of them. As an employee, it will be

nice if you notice an introvert in your organization and then

create the time to speak with that person one on one to boost

workplace effectiveness.

23. Create time for retreat:

A retreat should be encourage once in awhile because it is one of

the best way that employee’s and employer can easily bond

together and also share thoughts for productivity. If you have not

being engaging in this, it will be nice if you will give it a trial.

24. Build a bond between employer and employee:

Bond building is a process and not something one stumbles upon.

An employee should at all time be able to communicate his

thought to his boss in fear of nothing. Hierarchy does exist in the

place of work and can be respected even when an employer is

trying to build a bond between his employees.

25. Embrace social media:

Social media is changing the face of so many businesses and if you

are not connected to one, you are missing out from the cyber

space. There are several social media platform that one can

benefit from and it will be nice if an organization taps into the

“whatsapp application” to make communication easy within and

outside the workplace. So, check out for the social media platform

that will be of benefit to your organization and use it to boost your

communication.

26. Make use of e-mail effectively:

E-mail has been in existence for so long and it is still very effective

in workplace communication. You can decide to give out large

data of information to your staffs that are working out of office or

who are still in the office environment through e-mails.

27. Re-structure your office:

Re-structuring of your office is not all about changing of the colors

or the chairs in your office. You can increase communication at

workplace if you decide to pull down walls partition between two

offices, thereby making both staffs visible to each other.

28. Attend events together:

A family that stays together lives together. So it is with an

organization. If the boss makes it compulsory that everybody goes

to an event like seminar or conference together, the tendency to

build team work and better communication outlet will be

achieved.

29. Make a schedule of daily activities:

Schools have made it easy for us to understand that one cannot

operate successfully without a time-table. Daily schedule should

be given out to all employees through the foray in which you want

to convey your message.

30. Arrange for meetings at least once a week:

To foster effectiveness at workplace, meetings of all the staffs at

least once a week is of essence because it will help everyone

communicate and no each other better.

31. Create a relaxation room:

This idea might not be accepted by everybody but it won’t be a

bad idea to give it a try. One might get exhausted during long

hours of work and would want to rest. But when an organization

create a room where staffs can easily go into to rest and resume

later for the days activity after re-energizing, could be better. A

little sleep won’t cause any harm to workplace effectiveness if it is

being structured properly.

32. Discourage one way communication:

Since communication is a two way thing, one should discourage

any form that is not going in that direction. Every employee

should be given an opportunity to speak his or her mind at the

place of work to increase creativity.

33. Create room for recreational activities:

Recreational activities should be encouraged in the place of work

because it will help every staffs to communicate with each other

properly. There are different in-door games that can be

introduced into the company to help foster stronger bonds. This

can be done once in a while.

34. Encourage attire day:

Being fashionable at workplace is a must and it will also be good if

an organization will give her employer the opportunity to dress

casually to work once in a while.

35. Encourage video conferencing:

Video conferencing is a good way to communicate with your

staffs, most especially for those that are working outside the office

to get necessary update on the happenings around the company.

So if you have any information that is necessary to this update do not hesitate

to let me know.