Bad behavior is contagious Beware of the company that you keep

Bad behavior is contagious Beware of the company that you keepBad behavior is contagious Beware of the company that you keepThe craziness displayed by senior members of U.S. President Donald Trumps administration - and Trump himself - provides a troubling demonstration that bad emotions and social norms are remarkably contagious. It still stuns me, for example, that non-partisan site Politifact has documented that 69% of Trumps statements are mostly false, false, or pants on fire while only 16% are true or mostly true.There is no need to replay how these and other destructive behaviors have infected, been excused by, and inflicted harm on so many current and past members of Trumps inner circle. It is impossible to avoid the onslaught of news about the dishonesty, incivility, and backstabbing that plagues almost everyone who enters this bizarre bubble. Of course, lying and nastiness have always been hallmarks of politics in the United States and elsewhere. But I fear that our curren t crop of top dogs is reaching new lows.Sure, part of the problem is that people who are prone to such ugliness are more attracted to and more likely to be invited to join teams plagued by bad behavior - birds of a feather do flock together. But this sh-t show offers another crucial lesson for each of us - no matter how good a person you may fancy yourself to be or how noble your past behavior.Bad behavior is an infectious disease that you catch from other people - and it is mighty hard to resist. Ive written about numerous new studies that reinforce this old finding. Experiments by Trevor Foulks team found that a single exposure to a rude person (e.g., an insulting email from a customer) turns targeted people into carriers who then infect others - rudeness spreads much like the common cold.Similarly, studies by Michael Housman and Dylan Minor found that workers who worked with or sat near toxic colleagues - who committed theft, fraud, bullying, or sexual harassment - were mor e prone catch such toxic behaviors and get fired. They found when an employee welches in a work group with a high density of toxic employees there was a 47 percent increase in the likelihood that person would become toxic. Minor describes this as a damaging form of ethical spillover and as a sort of virus.And, just a few weeks ago at the Harvard Business Review, management professors Stephen Dimmock and William Gerken described their study of the contagiousness of employee fraud among financial advisors who cheat customers. These researchers found that advisors are 37% more likely to commit misconduct if they encounter a new co-worker with a history of misconduct.For me, the takeaway here was best captured by the late Bill Lazier, a successful executive who spent the last 20 years of his career teaching business and entrepreneurship at Stanford. Bill visited one of my classes years ago and offered the students some wise advice about the company they keep. As I reported in The No A* *hole RuleBill said, when you get a job offer or join a team, take a close look at the people you would work with, not just at whether they are successful or not. He warned that if your future colleagues are self-centered, nasty, narrow-minded, unethical, or overworked and physically ill, there is little chance that you will turn them into better human beings or transform it into a healthy workplace even in a tiny company.Bill warned, instead, the chances are that you will abflug acting like them.I have been thinking about Bills advice, Trumps inner circle, and research on contagious bad behavior a lot lately. I am working harder to avoid spending time - especially working on joint projects - with people who are rude, arrogant, lazy, selfish, angry, or just no fun - no matter how successful or prestigious they might be. When I fail to follow my own advice, I start thinking and acting like the very people that I despise.After all, I am only human and few of us are immune to this contagious disease.The upshot is to take a close look at the people that you work and play with - and at those youve been invited to join. If you dont want to think and act like them, do everything you can to get out or, better yet, to avoid joining them in the first place.Bob Sutton is aStanford Professorwho studies and writes about leadership, organizational change, and navigating organizational life. Follow me on Twitterwork_matters, and visit mywebsiteand posts onLinkedIn. My latest book isThe Ahole Survival Guide How To Deal With People Who Treat You Like Dirt.Before that, I publishedScaling Up Excellencewith Huggy Rao.My main focus these days is on working with Huggy Rao to develop strategies and tools that help leaders and teamschange their organizations for the better - with a particular focus onorganizational friction.Check out my Stanford FRICTION Podcastat iTunesorSticher.Thiscolumnfirst appeared onLinkedIn.

How to Have a More Fulfilling Career

How to Have a More Fulfilling Career How to Have a More Fulfilling Career Success begins with being motivated to continually improve as an individual as well as improving upon your skill-sets and effectiveness at work.An engaging career entails a different reaction to events and a mora positive outlook on future prospects.There are certain aspects of your career that you cant change, such as your years of experience or where you went to college. However, regardless of what you may think, you are in complete control of your career.For just about all job seekers, having a more fulfilling position starts with implementing certain practices1. Learn to Manage Stress More Effectively- The pace of modern life makes it increasingly important for you to learn how to manage your stress.Many individuals never learn to set aside emotions and fear, analyze a problem logically and focus on solutions rather than problems. Because of this, they are less upbeat regarding their future prospects and are much less apt to attack their goals with high resiliency.Among other things, resiliency mitigates stress.Of all the virtues you can acquire to improve your career, the ability to transform adversity into an enjoyable challenge is one of the most crucial.Any major or minor setback can either force someone to create barriers around remaining goals or provide a new, more clear, and more urgent goal to overcome the challenges created by defeat.StressRemediesa. Understand that stress only impedes your competency and decision making skills. Continually remind yourself that consistent stress serves no beneficial purpose.b. According to the Mayo Clinic, the first step in stress relief is making a cognitive decision to change how you handle stress. Then, it is crucial to identify your stress triggers.Sometimes the solution to solving a stressful situation will be simplistic, such as finishing a report that is hanging over your head.Other times, you wont get as lucky.Regardless, begin to brainstorm ways to reduce that irritation factor and you will be happier, more productive and respected around the office.2. Define What You Want Out of Your Job with Specificity- Do you know what you want?Getting specific is one of the most critical steps to take in reaching any goal.Do you want a vorrcken to management?Do you want to be paid x more dollars?Do you want more responsibilities? All of the above? Until we know what makes us happy, we canleid map out a set plan of action to achieve our goals.Remediesa. Formal career analysis.Take a few minutes and write down what you want out of your job, what you can do to obtain those desires and a firm decision regarding the course of action(s) you are going to implement to get there.Once you make this decision, dont hesitate and attack the goal vigorously.b. Then, practice envisioning attaining your goal. How will it make you feel?How will it change your life for the positive?Continually creating a vivid picture of your world after these needs are met should aid in making you hang in there and keep trying until you succeed.3. Relentlessly Tackle Any Insecurity with Vigor- Insecurity is like a leash that tethers you to a limited experience of life and all but ruins your chances of being truly happy at work.Much of our insecurity comes from worry about the future.Its imperative to begin thinking of hurdles as events that can be overcome rather than catastrophes that threaten your ability to recognize success and happiness in the future.While hesitation and insecurity will twist your perceptions of reality and hold you in a vise, learning to not accept negativity will release positive energy, resiliency and unleash your true ability to execute.Remediesa. Posture can increase your confidence levels. By opening your chest, not hunching forward and rolling your shoulders back, you both can alter your thought process as well as how others think about you.Additionally, smiling is known to elevate moods and positively affect your mental function.b. Carry yourself with poise and confidence, paired with a warm, welcoming smile.Be open to new ideas be open to learning. The more knowledge you have, the more desired you will be by employers.In the EndA fulfilling career doesnt simply happen you have to work at it psychologically while consistently improving your set of skills.Remember, one of the most frustrating experiences you can have in your career is losing track of your desire to be happy. Take it one day at a time and youll get there.

4 Ways to Job Search Using Social Media

4 Ways to Job Search Using Social Media4 Ways to Job Search Using Social Media4Business Insider reports that Americans spend more time on social media than any other major Internet activity, including email. With so much of our time devoted to liking, commenting, retweeting, and sharing, it makes sense to utilize these powerful tools in our job search. Lets discuss different ways to job search using social media.If youre unsure about how social media can be used in your job search, check out these statistics according to Jobvites 2014 Job Seeker Nation survey, 76 percent of social job seekers found their current ort through Facebook. The same survey reports that 83 percent of recruiters are using Facebook and 94 percent are using LinkedIn to find candidates. Whether you have active social media profiles, or you have none at all, the current job search market demands its use.Embrace these four ways to job search using social media1. NetworkNo longer does networking only have to happen within your community. Social media provides a way to reach individuals in your career field, no matter where they are located. Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter can be great ways to interact with others professionally- you never know where those connections may lead. Be sure to connect with your friends as well, and keep them updated on your job search status. Perhaps the friend you went to college with can connect you to an HR director at a potential new company.2. Research and discover new jobsSearching for jobs on social media can lead to diamonds in the rough, particularly if youre searching for a freelance and/or remote job. Expand your horizons from the typical job board, and use Twitter to search hashtags to uncover jobs. Searching something as simple as freelancewriting can uncover jobs with companies you never even knew existed. LinkedIn is also a common place for companies to post their job openings. Utilize the same keywords to find new jobs and new companies.3. Cultivate your professional imageLike the above-mentioned study reported, recruiters are in social spaces searching for new talent. Make sure your profiles are findable and professional. Clear out those old college fete photos, review what pages and people you like or follow, and craft your about me sections. In other words, set up your social media accounts to reflect the best of your personal brand.4. Increase your professional knowledgeInstead of using social media to waste away your time, use it to grow in your profession. What are the latest topics of interest in your industry? Are there any new programs being used? What is the latest lingo? Look at others profiles in your industry, read their blog posts, join industry-specific LinkedIn groups, follow thought-leaders on Twitter, etc. These things will keep you at the forefront of your industry.Readers, how else do you job search using social media? Share with us below