Monthly Archives: August 2022

Business Advice, Careers, News

How Senior Level Business Leaders Can Push Themselves Further

Are you currently working in a senior-level position in the business industry? Do you feel like you want more from your job as of late, and want to push yourself further? It’s a common thing that can happen to people, especially if you’ve spent a significant amount of time in the same position. That initial excitement and challenge may be gone, and it can start to feel like you’re just going through the motions.

Whether or not you’re eying a promotion, wanting to push yourself further is achievable but tends to take a combination of steps. It’s all about creating a level of satisfaction that only you can judge. Here are some of the ways you can break out of the mundane and push yourself further in your career.

Extend Your Education – Head Back to School

One of the best ways people can push themselves further in an existing career, or a new one, is to learn more. Going back to school could be a great option as it expands your breadth of knowledge, skills and understanding. It can help you approach projects, tasks, research, and issues differently.

A Doctor of Business Administration from an esteemed school like Aston University can be ideal for those with an MA, MBA or MSc in management or business, as well as five years’ worth of experience in a senior role, and who want to build their research skills. The programme takes time and dedication, but it can be done online and part-time, allowing you to continue working while furthering your education.

By completing your DBA, you will be developing your applied research skills. These are imperative for solving even the most involved and complex problems. You may even want to use your DBA as a steppingstone for a career in higher education or consulting if that path interests you.

Talk to Your Boss – Take on More Challenging Tasks

Maybe you’re happy with your senior level job and don’t necessarily want to change employers or positions, but you still feel a bit bored. There could be a relatively simple fix and that’s to speak to your boss. Go ahead and let them know you’re ready to be pushed, you can take on more tasks, and you aren’t afraid of a challenge. This change in your routine could be exactly what’s missing, and enough to feed your desire for more.

Play a More Active Role in Projects

One thing that senior-level employees often do is delegate tasks. This is done to free up your time so you can focus on other issues, and it allows you to assign tasks to employees that have the necessary skills and tools to get the job done. At some point though, it can start to feel like you’re delegating everything, and there isn’t much of a challenge left. Let this be a chance to step back, re-assess and perhaps take a more active role in projects.

Taking an active role doesn’t mean you stop delegating tasks, rather you take part in it, communicate with employees more often, offer ideas and support and be more present in general. You want to be careful that you don’t slow employees down with micro-managing, but instead, help and add assistance to the process. At the very least, you’ll feel more part of the team, which can be very satisfying.

Start Building Strong Workplace Relationships

Relationships with employees and co-workers are different from what you would have with friends, but that doesn’t make them less important. Did you know that by building strong workplace relationships you can feel like you’re getting more from your job and have a better experience overall? Go ahead and step into the role of mentor, start acknowledging hard work, build a team environment and don’t forget to also build a stronger relationship with your boss.

Is It Time for a New Job?

Sometimes you can take all the above-mentioned tips and still feel unfulfilled in your current job. There’s no need to continue down that path, as you don’t want to look back on your career with regret. Instead, this may be a signal that it’s time to start looking for a new job. It could be the same position just with a different company or even in a different industry. Either way, the experience will be new, different and hopefully exciting.

For those in a senior role, you likely want to at least make a lateral move, meaning you won’t take a job that equates to a demotion. This means it’s important to start networking, work with your contacts and get a sense of what’s out there. Finding a new job may not happen in a couple of short weeks; it can take months, even a year or more. It’s important to keep up your efforts and stay positive. At the same time, you don’t want to leave your current position until a new job is secured.

Don’t Let Fear and Self-Doubt Be the Drivers

The final tip is easier said than done. People often allow fear and self-doubt to creep in and before you know it, it’s in the driver’s seat making all the big decisions. While it’s okay to be cautious and assess risks at work, and in your personal life, it’s not okay to let caution overtake everything, leaving you frozen and unable to move forward.

A good way to break this cycle is to start taking small risks. This will help to build your confidence level and your ability to assess situations. As your confidence grows, you will probably feel more comfortable taking bigger risks.

A Job Can Be Ever-Changing with the Right Steps

If you feel like you’re “stuck” in your current job and you want more out of it, the good news is that there are steps you can take. Without even having to find a new job, you may be able to push yourself further and feel challenged and fulfilled. Remember, it takes effort, patience and time, so you need to be willing to put in the work.

Health, Health & Safety

Six jobs that could cause hearing loss

There are many jobs that come with various health and safety risk factors and loss of hearing can be one of them. According to the HSE, from 2018 – 2021, there were 14,000 workers suffering with work-related hearing problems in Britain.

85 decibels is the limit for safety, therefore if an employee works with any noise above that for any length of time, ear protection should be worn.

We’ll explore some of the most common jobs where hearing loss can be a risk.

Airport ground staff

Ear protection must be worn by plane engineers, runway operations personnel and other ground staff at an airport. Planes generate a high level of noise during take-off and landing and, over time, this could have an impact on an employee’s hearing.

Construction workers

Construction work often involves using power tools and equipment that make very loud noise. It’s the responsibility of the employer to provide ear protection as well as take steps taken to mitigate the risk of hearing damage, such as with sounds barriers. Employees may seek legal advice if hearing loss is due to negligence at work, particularly if they’ve not been made aware of the risks or the employer has failed to provide them with the correct personal protective equipment.

Musicians and DJs

Loud music can affect hearing, especially when spending prolonged periods of time next to speakers. Musicians, DJs and staff in entertainment venues such as nightclubs or theatres can be at risk of hearing problems, especially as ear protection is not commonly worn.

Farmers

Farmers are susceptible to hearing loss due to working with heavy, noisy machinery for long hours and often from a young age. With many farmers taking little time off, the effects of agricultural noise on hearing can build significantly over time.

Another issue is that farmers might not consider wearing ear protection, especially if working in small, independent, family-owned environments with minimal staff.

Hairdresser

Although you might not think it, hairdressing can leave workers exposed to dangerous noise levels from multiple hairdryers. Over time, this can lead to hearing damage.

Pre-school teachers

Believe it or not, a chaotic classroom with kids shouting, screaming or singing can have a negative effect on teachers’ hearing. However, unlike in many other jobs, it’s more difficult to gain protection from the risks when it’s necessary to be able to hear children.

As well as the obvious physical effects, hearing loss can also lead to emotional issues such as stress, as well as tiredness, due to not being able to participate in conversations and the inability to concentrate in certain situations. It’s, therefore, crucial to use protection where possible or limit the time exposed to dangerous decibels.

Sport

The Premier League managers who will be desperate for a bright start to the new campaign

With a new Premier League season on the horizon, football enthusiasts will be licking their lips at the chance to watch England’s top flight once again after a short hiatus. This season will certainly feel unique — fresh faces in the division, five substitutions per game, and the small matter of a World Cup forcing the first ever winter break which sees the action paused over November and December for international commitments.

Since so much football is being crammed into the initial three months of the season, a fast start is essential for teams to avoid giving themselves too much to do come the business end. Despite catching up on Manchester City last term, Liverpool simply ran out of time to get the better of Pep Guardiola, and inconsistency over Christmas provided decisive, the same as at Burnley, where a poor start under Sean Dyche left Mike Jackson fighting a losing battle in the Premier League dogfight.

With just over a week until the season gets started, managers from both ends of the table will be craving a bright start to the campaign. Read on, as we have a look at a few in the dugout that we think need it the most.

Jesse Marsch

Any football fan scouring the latest Premier League odds could all but tell you what would happen in Leeds United’s favour for most of last season — they were going to concede. The solid foundations laid by Marcelo Bielsa were swept away by a combination of injuries and fatigue which ultimately cost the Argentinian his job. Leeds were a victim of their own overachievement in 2020-21 and while they beat the drop last season under Jesse Marsch, the Elland Road faithful look as though they’ll be in for another long nine months this term.

Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips have both parted ways with the club, joining Barcelona and Man City respectively, and while three points on the opening day against Wolverhampton Wanderers would be an encouraging start, American coach Marsch will need real consistency in his results, some of which are more than winnable — a trip to St Mary’s against Southampton and then Brighton and Hove Albion and new boys Nottingham Forest between Chelsea at home.

Frank Lampard

Another side who were dragged into a relegation scrap last season, Everton have endured a tough couple of years. The false promises of Carlo Ancelotti, who it’s fair to say made a smart decision leaving Goodison Park to win another Champions League with Real Madrid in his second spell with the Spaniards, was followed by Rafael Benítez and now current boss Frank Lampard, undergoing something of an identity crisis on Merseyside.

Lampard can’t seem to figure out what his best side looks like, and since losing Richarlison to Tottenham Hotspur he will be reliant on injury-prone talisman Dominic Calvert-Lewin to create the bulk of the chances. Having had moves for Christian Eriksen and a reunion with Idrissa Gueye spurned, expect another lacklustre season across Stanley Park, unless the Toffees can make an encouraging start to the campaign. A tough first game against Chelsea is followed by more favourable opponents in Forest and Brentford, with Lampard hoping to finally prove his doubters wrong in his first full season in the Everton hotseat.

Erik ten Hag

Although pre-season results aren’t always an indication of a successful season, Manchester United have made a bright start to life under Erik ten Hag, with the Dutchman enforcing his high standards from minute one of their tour to Bangkok. A great start saw his side win 4-0 against a makeshift Liverpool side, but you could already see his possession-based philosophy intertwine with the car crash that was left by Ralf Rangnick towards the end of last season.

Unless a suitable buyer is found for Cristiano Ronaldo, he’ll stay put at Old Trafford for another year, and alongside new signings Eriksen and Lisandro Martínez, United could make light work of Brighton in their opening fixture, with the real test welcoming Liverpool at the end of August, where they can try and get redemption for the 5-0 drubbing they received under Ole Gunnar Solskjær.