Santhosh

Posts Tagged ‘student articles’

Blowing off steam may bring your Goal Closer to Reality

In CAREER ARTICLES on August 15, 2008 at 4:19 pm

When working toward a goal, it is common to encounter obstacles and stressful situations. The difference between those that go on to achieve their goals and those that do not is their ability to handle the stress and to move on. Therefore, it is a good idea to come up with a few different stress-busting ideas before starting your journey – and to avoid a few others that will get in your way.

[b]Exercise

Perhaps the best way to blow off steam and get rid of stress is through exercise. Many people that become stressed or angry begin to feel an adrenaline rush. If used inappropriately, this rush can be destructive. For example, if you yell at people or even physically harm people as a way to blow off stress, you will alienate others and perhaps find yourself in legal trouble. Exercise, on the other hand, provides you with a safe outlet for that adrenaline. It also releases “feel good” hormones that will make you feel better when you are done. In addition, exercise is healthy for you. The healthier your body is, the better capable you will be of handling stress when it hits you.

Meditation and Relaxation Techniques

Many people also used meditation and relaxation techniques to help themselves cope with stress. It is best to already have an established relaxation technique before you encounter stressful situations. Otherwise, you will have a difficult time successfully implementing these techniques if you only try to use them when you are angry or stressed out.

When you engage in a relaxation technique, you concentrate on clearing your mind and controlling your body. Many individuals who use these techniques find that their thinking is at its clearest after engaging in meditation or relaxation. Once you have mastered these techniques at times when you are not stressed, you will be better capable of clearing your mind and getting your body under control when you are stressed.

Talk it Out

Sometimes, simply talking to someone is a great way to relieve stress. The person you talk to doesn’t even have to offer advice or solve your problem for you. The act of simply talking out the problem and knowing that someone is lending a sympathetic ear is often enough. In addition, talking through the problem often leads to moments of clarity and can actually help you find the answers to your problem.

It is best to talk it out with someone after the initial adrenaline rush is complete. But, if you have an understanding spouse or friend, you might even be able to “vent” while you are still angry. Just be sure you are not verbally attacking or otherwise insulting that person while you blow off steam.

What Not to Do

Just as there are positive ways for dealing with stress, there are destructive ways. Those that utilize the destructive methods for coping are the ones that fail to meet their goals. Drugs, including cigarettes and alcohol, are a popular choice for those having difficulty achieving their dreams. Drugs of all types are unhealthy to the body and cause people to engage in destructive behaviors. In addition, most people who experiment with drugs become addicted. When this happens, the battle of addiction takes over and leaves no room for working toward goals. If you are someone who enjoys having a drink now and again, make sure you never do it in response to a stressful situation. Before you know it, you will become dependent on the alcohol in those situations and addiction will ensue.

Are you ready start looking for New Jobs – Ways for Job Search

In CAREER ARTICLES on August 15, 2008 at 3:56 pm

 

NEW DELHI: The spirit of professional growth keeps Infosys at the forefront of the fast-changing IT industry. This is quite evident in the fact that the company lays emphasis on its leadership development programmes designed to create leaders of tomorrow.

 

1.What is the vision behind Infosys leadership programme?

One of the areas for improvement was the need to have a structured way of developing leaders. So, the vision behind the leadership institute is to create leaders of tomorrow.

Our programmes focus on nurturing leaders with a global perspective. We groom leaders and provide them the opportunity to shape the future of Infosys. Every year, we groom about 700-800 employees.

2.How do you identify the leaders in your organisation?

There is no specific mechanism by which we identify leaders. We invite application from employees at middle and senior level management to undergo the leadership programmes.

We also have a leadership competency department which evaluates these applications on the basis of these nine leadership competencies and selects employees for different set of programmes.

3.Can you throw light on your grooming process and the stages that the participants go through after being selected?

Leadership is a continuous process. This is because leadership is all about mastering yourself at some level.

Infosys leadership modules cover all sorts of programmes where employees are taught how to manage teams, negotiating, handling conflicts and cultural diversity.

We have ‘Leaders Teach’ series where leaders actually share their experiences in particular area. Also, we invite speakers to discuss team strategies, share their experiences and involve teams in group activities.

4.How do you measure the success of these programmes?

For every leader we develop a leadership index which is the ranking or the rating that he has been given on a five point scale against each competency. We measure each leader’s score at the year end and draw analysis.

5.How is your leadership programme different from  other IT majors Wipro and Satyam?

Our aim is to ensure the proper execution of such programmes to groom potential leaders.

We have a leadership index which measures how you have achieved and what you have achieved. So our programmes rate each competency. Also, our leadership development is not time-bound. It runs parallel in our day to day functioning.

That is where Infosys makes a difference. We also emphasise that to develop a good leader, no one else can develop him, but himself. Only you as a person can develop yourself.

We provide the frameworks and the support mechanisms, but the responsibility for development needs to taken by each leader. The definition of leadership that we have is that a leader must go above and beyond expectations.

6.What are the typical challenges that you have faced?

The challenge is to get everyone spend an adequate time on development.

To keep telling people to further develop is quite a challenge. This is where rating competencies help and we discuss with employees about the skills they have developed and areas of improvement.

7.What do you think should be the role of a leader in tough time ?

In any situation, a leader should be able to bring in a lot of positive energy. A leader is someone who raises the confidence of employees and makes them believe that working in this team is a great experience.

Employees get motivated when they feel they are adding value to themselves and the organisation. Also, one of the most important qualities of a leader is to listen.