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10 Ways to Spot a Truly Exceptional Employee. A recent international study surveyed more than 500 business leaders and asked them what sets great employees apart.

10 Ways to Spot a Truly Exceptional Employee

The researchers wanted to know why some people are more successful than others at work, and the answers were surprising; leaders chose "personality" as the leading reason. Notably, 78% of leaders said personality sets great employees apart, more than cultural fit (53%) and even an employee's skills (39%). "We should take care not to make the intellect our God; it has, of course, powerful muscles, but no personality. " - Albert Einstein The problem is, when leaders say "personality" they don't understand what they're referring to. Personality consists of a stable set of preferences and tendencies through which we approach the world.

Personality traits form at an early age and are fixed by early adulthood. Personality is distinct from intellect (or IQ). The qualities that leaders in the study called personality were actually emotional intelligence skills. They focus. Why Entrepreneurship Always Takes More Time Than You Expect. Join us in a city near you at Entrepreneur’s Accelerate Your Business event series kicking off Feb 23.

Why Entrepreneurship Always Takes More Time Than You Expect

View cities and dates » When you first decide to be an entrepreneur, you typically have a clear picture of how things are going to go. You may imagine yourself sitting back, making occasional decisions, but also going on vacations while your team makes sure your business remains stable. Related: Time Management Is Really Life Management Alternatively, you may imagine yourself working hard day in and day out, rarely taking breaks until your project or product has been perfected.

Nonprofit Career Profile: Program Management › Articles › Knowledge Center › Commongood Careers. Program management offers focused and dedicated people the chance to plan and implient an organization’s constituent-facing activities in a variety of ways.

Nonprofit Career Profile: Program Management › Articles › Knowledge Center › Commongood Careers

With titles ranging from literacy program coordinator to director of enrollment and beyond, no matter the issue that you are most passionate about, program management positions provide the opportunity to meaningfully and directly impact a community. What to Expect Just as nonprofits reach out to serve millions of people in millions of different ways, the program management position spans a broad range of responsibilities and opportunities. Nonprofit program managers work closely to carry out an organization’s mission, coordinating objectives, strategies, and goals to manage efficient, well-run projects that have high impact on the communities the programs target.

How the Future of Work May Make Many of Us Happier  We're headed towards a dramatically different economy in which most workers will be independent contractors.

How the Future of Work May Make Many of Us Happier 

Freelancers will work on demand for whoever needs their services rather than for fixed periods of time for a single employer. As The Economist describes, workers will be on a platform that matches them with customers and provides verification, security and payment systems. The secret ingredient that makes some teams better than others. Running a software company in Boston, I recognized — and my board told me — that we needed to reposition the business.

The secret ingredient that makes some teams better than others

Our product was too bland, too generic to stimulate excitement or loyalty. I needed a team to help me, and I ended up working through the problem with a motley crew: a young web developer, a seasoned and eccentric media executive, a visual artist, and me. We spent a week in the private room of a burger joint, exploring options, rejecting easy answers, pushing one another to find something none of us could see. Looking back, I recall that intense period as one of the most thought-provoking learning experiences I’ve ever had. The team was outstanding — and successful — but why? Talks on how to love work again. Percentage Of Women In Boardrooms Nears Milestone, But Has A Long Way To Go. SAPVoice: 5 Career Skills You Learn By Traveling.

By Jenny Marshall, TripIt Contributor.

SAPVoice: 5 Career Skills You Learn By Traveling

The New Goal of Women in Business  For years, the statistics about women in business have been disheartening.

The New Goal of Women in Business 

In the U.S., for example, 40 percent of small businesses are owned by women, but women-owned businesses account for only four percent of the profits. And less than five percent of the Fortune 1000 companies have female CEOs. And yet, a recent study showed that executive women actually have more ambition to reach the next level in their workplaces -- not less. Work smarter. Now playing Organizations are often run according to “the superchicken model,” where the value is placed on star employees who outperform others.

Work smarter

Rethink the way we run charities: A useful reading list. Dan Pallotta has an unconventional view of nonprofits: To innovate and really make an impact, he thinks they should function with business-minded acumen.

Rethink the way we run charities: A useful reading list

Says Pallotta (TED Talk: The way we think about charity is dead wrong), “You want to make $50 million selling violent video games to kids, go for it. We’ll put you on the cover of Wired magazine. But if you want to make half a million dollars trying to cure kids of malaria, you’re considered a parasite yourself.” Bringing principles of the corporate world into the nonprofit sector can be a tough sell. Here, eight articles Pallotta recommends that give more insight into the whys and hows of putting a value on effective philanthropy. 1.

“Leaders of two of the most successful nonprofit organizations argue that the sector needs to shift its attention from modest goals that provide short-term relief to bold goals that, while harder to achieve, provide long-term solutions by tackling the root of social problems.” Are you or your org guilty of Trickle-Down Community Engagement? Resilience Is Futile: How Well-Meaning Nonprofits Perpetuate Poverty. 9 Nonprofits That Are Making A Difference In The World.