Homemade Calendar Papercraftin

Every week, my son constantly asks me what is on the schedule for the week.  Every week, my ten year old son says, "Mom, mama, MOMMY! What is going on this week? Why did you switch my eye appointment? Why is swimming at this time? I don't want to go to piano at 5 p.m.  I want to go at 5:30 p.m.  It is an endless cycle.  Finally today, I decided I needed a creative way to catch both of their attention and lay out the calendar on the fridge for him.  I wanted him to look at it.  I figure he spends a majority of his time in front of the fridge when he is home, opening and closing it.  Trying to decide what to eat, what not to eat.  Perfect place, right??

Obviously, it was the ideal location.  I went to hobby lobby thinking I would buy a dry erase board and call it good, but after visiting my sister in law two weeks before in Chicago I decided I wanted to do things more creatively like she had done with her calendar and it had been effective in helping my own brother remember things.  

Therefore, I had epiphany while standing in the aisle of the cork boards at Hobby Lobby on this beautiful Saturday morning.  

I purchased a small cork board,  a 25 pack of artist trading cards, a 36 pack of double sided pocket cards, a 24 pack of pocket cards with different designs as well, a box of push pins.  I then carefully laid out the next week and half of activities for my men to see.  I documented every appointment, football practice, birthday, football game, piano lesson, reading team program meeting, teacher conference.  I even made sure they both knew Tuesday was ST. PADDY"S DAY and to wear green to avoid being pinched by their sweet mother/wife.  

On each card, I wrote the date, I wrote the each activity or appointment we had for the day.  I plan to take them down once we reach March 25 then I will start fresh with another set of 10 cards.  I also realize I can use the plan white cards as well, but it was fun to splurge on the pocket cards and I know I can use the double sided ones and recycle them for the month of April/May.  I love how each of the pocket cards is different and I think my son will like that a lot, as it will help him differentiate each day and the activity for each day.  I love finding new, inventive ways to keep our family organized.  If you have any tips, let me know.  Happy Saturday! 

~ C. Emery Scott and Mini Scott

Be a Super Hero Candidate in Your Job Search

By: Christina M. Deck

So we all grew up with Batman, Superman, Thor, Spiderman, Captain America and WonderWoman, yes we watched in awe as they transformed from every day people into heroes in a minute. They rescued people from burning buildings and saved the world from the bad guys. We envied them and some of us wanted to grow up to be them. We would tell our moms and dads that we would be Superman someday and we would save the world.

In the workplace, we have the ability to be a superhero or as I would like to say a "superstar." We aren't performing death defying stunts or saving the world, but we are making a difference. Hiring managers like SuperStars candidates who rise to the challenge when things don't go their way. They want individuals who show tenacity.

They admire those individuals who have the drive to be a SuperStar in the workplace. In essence, that makes you a superhero in the workplace. You aren't the typical cookie cutter type of employee. When the computer crashes, the phones lines go dead for no reason and the fax machine is screeching out jamming messages to you, SuperStars don't lose their cool. When everything is falling apart, they figure out a way to solve problems and do the job no matter what and do it better. They become Leslie Knope. I apologize to my readers who don't understand my Parks and Rec reference.

How do you become a SuperStar Candidate in the Job Hunt Jungle? As you may know, we are coming out of the current recession, but the job market is still not an easy place to break into or navigate. How do you stand out from the pack of hungry job seeking candidates?

If you know of an individual who can mentor you during your job search, seek them out. They have knowledge and guidance to give you. Allow them to impart their wisdom upon you especially if they have been in the corporate world for decades. They will offer you great counsel like Yoda as you navigate the job market. They have been in your shoes too. They may be empathetic to your story or your circumstances. Allow them to share their experiences with you and offer their advice about addressing challenges.

Yes, I have read countless articles about how everyone sends their resumes to a hiring manager via email or via company web site. I have a couple tips so your resume doesn't end up in the blackhole of their inbox. Those hiring managers' inboxes are overflowing with candidates' resumes and cover letters. Here is my old school tip for you. Mail it. Fedex the package. Overnight it to the hiring manager. They will receive it the next day. They will open it, look at it and you will surpass their inbox with other applicants' resumes waiting to be read by the hiring manager. You will not be an email waiting to be deleted or overlooked. You don't want your resume to be an afterthought. You may well be on your way to an interview with them.

Many hiring managers are very selective about the hiring process. They are not going to waste their time in the current economy on the wrong hire. They do their research on candidates. In my last post, I stressed the importance of google'ing yourself. Recruiters now utilize google and Linkedln to find talent. Your google search is more important in 2014. Do not shove that under the rug. Also, post your information on zoominfo.com. Many recruiters utilize this site to find candidates and research candidates as well. LinkedIn offers job hunters a way to create summary and use it to their benefit. Many hiring managers highly recommend creating a LinkedIn account for yourself.

Customize your resume to the specific needs of the position. Target it to your audience. Yes, this takes more time, but sitting in your basement every day for 12 hours staring at the wall and wondering why you don't have job isn't productive either. Use specific terms and phrases related to their job posting. A hiring manager is more apt to look at a resume if it contains words and/or descriptions that fit the job description. Also, format your resume to a readable format for the hiring manager so if they do open it on their computer it is easily accessible and they don't have to spend 15 minutes trying to open it. Speak to their needs. The average time spend on a resume is 30 seconds so draw your audience in to your piece of writing.

Network. It's not what you know, but who you know. My mother use to tell me this when I was 22 and I had just graduated from college. I was searching for a job and applying to graduate school. At that time, I didn't understand the true power of networking. Tell everyone you know or meet that you are seeking a job. Seek out personal business connections. If you are applying for a certain position, meet people on the inside who can give your resume to a hiring manager. Find out who vendors and/or clients are of the company. Build a relationship with those people. I know this may sound silly, but make personal business cards to give to people. You can utilize Zazzle or another source for business cards. You can simply put a design on the front of the card and a name, phone number, email, web site on the back of the card. You can hand these out at business networking events. I recommend joining a young business professional group as well to network and meet other young professionals for those 22-40 in your area. Also, volunteer with your free time. It is another great way to network and meet people. It is also a resume builder. You can only devote so much of your day to finding a job.

Attend conferences/events where you can learn more about your field and/or changes and current developments. It never hurts to educate yourself. Also, if you have a local community college, it may be beneficial to enroll in a course to update your skill set too.

Feature and highlight the testimonials from LinkedIn on your resume. Ask your references to write a positive testimonial about you or ask a former client/colleague to write a testimonial about your skill set or your professional background. It will build your credibility and character.

Ask the right questions in the interview. Many candidates do not know the questions to ask or simply say they have no questions. Research online questions to ask or be prepared with a list of questions to ask the hiring manager. For example, ask what the job duties will every day? What is the company work style like? Do they allow autonomous work? Do they value teamwork? How long have they been in business? Do they allow volunteer work during company time? What are the benefits? Are the hours 8-5 or are they flexible? Do they allow overtime?

Lastly and most importantly, have patience.

C Emery Scott

Acing A First Interview

By: Christina M. Deck

So I like to compare job hunting to dating. You go on interview after interview looking for the right job like you do when you are dating. You date a number of people until you find the right person. You go on date after date sifting through numerous candidates hoping you will find Mr. or Mrs. Right. You are constantly interviewing people and seeing if their credentials fit yours. It took me a long time to find the right person and yes wehad a series of job interviews before we got married.

Job hunting is not an easy task. It is time consuming and in essence, it is like having a full time job, but you do not get paid. I recently read research online which indicated it took 10 interviews before an individual was offered one job. The job market currently is not easy to break into right now. I have worked with very well educated clients who have told me it took them between six to eight months to find a job in the current economic climate. I can empathize with their frustration, as my husband is going through the same process.

Recently, my spouse posed the question, "How Do You Ace an Interview?" I pondered this question for over a week and I read numerous articles on the topic before I started writing my post today. In June, my spouse decided to make a career change for the better and leave his company. He wanted to branch out and explore the world outside the politics of corporate America. We recently met with a family friend who is the Human Resources Director at Ameritas. She gave my husband helpful advice on his career path and the careers he should be seeking after he took a behavioral analysis assessment. With a better understanding of his personality, he knew which careers to pursue in the future with his job search.

Initially, my husband had a hard time finding what he did best. In the past, I utilized Strengthfinder, this book gives you the ability to decipher what your talents are and enhance your skill set. You also want to be in a workplace environment where you thrive and you are a good fit. Gallup now offers Strengthfinder 2.0 and it is a good source for developing and enhancing your talents. This book is a good starting point for anyone seeking to find out their natural born strengths.

Yet his question struck a cord. so you landed that job of interview of a lifetime...yay! But now you must ace that interview....so how do you do that? Where do you begin?

Tips and Strategies for Effective Interview Process

Personally, I strongly dislike phone interviews. You cannot see the person's face or make eye contact or directly make a connection with the person. I prefer face to face interviews. Before an interview, I remembered making lists upon lists. My strengths. My weaknesses. My answers to commonly asked questions. I was overly prepared. First and foremost, over-prepare for an interview.

Do your research about the company. Last week, I wrote about hiring managers looking at your social media accounts. Well, you should be doing the same. Google the company. Find out all the information about them. Get on their web site and read. Learn about the company, learn about the person interviewing you, understand the mission statement, understand its products, services, locations, look at their press releases, read about their history, read about their owners. Also, know the name of the person who is interviewing you. Learn his or her name. Pronounce it properly. Research the person you will be interviewing with and know their history. You may find a common ground with that person.

For example, you may have a shared hobby, you may have attended the same college, you may have children the same age. It never hurts to be overly prepared. And just so you know, they are human too. They are not famous people so do not allow them to intimidate you. Think about why you are a good fit for the job.

I am alway reminded of the episode on the show How I Met Your Mother where Marshall interviews for a new job as an environmental attorney and he realizes when he googles himself a video of him streaking shows up on the Internet. It never hurts to google yourself before an interview at the mere chance you have to combat something negative. We may have done something immature from our youth and you may have to be prepared to face it or deal with it. Be confident and calm if you are met with a challenge.

When you interview, you want to focus on how your skills will benefit them! Keep this in the back of your mind as you interview. Take an interest in your interviewer, keep eye contact, dress the part, don't overdress. Take your time to answer questions thoughtfully and carefully. It is ok to take a moment to think and pause to answer questions. I personally say "um" way too much when I get nervous.

I have also heard a thing or two about tattoos. I have read so many things on Facebook lately about tattoos being an expression of yourself and to respect those people. Yes, I respect you, but most hiring managers do not want to see your tattoos and piercings all over your body. I am being completely honest and straight forward. I have two employees with tattoos on their wrists. Both of my employees are beautiful women, but when they interviewed with me they both had enough respect to ask about tattoos and cover them with bandaids while interviewing with me.

I have read numerous psychological things about humans liking the sound of their own voice and we do. Follow your interviewer's lead. Do not talk too fast. You do not need to over share with the person interviewing you and tell your whole life story. When they ask you to tell them about you, focus on things related to the job and why your background makes you a great candidate for the position. List three or four skills related to the position and/or personal attributes which make you a great candidate.

When you are preparing for an interview, generally you will be asked these questions:

What are your strengths?

List three or four skills related to position.

Frame replies that demonstrate you understand their current issues or problems within the company. Also, demonstrate how your skill set will solve those issues. Visit their Facebook, Twitter, watch company videos, understand their wants/needs and see how your skill set fits in to their overall company structure.

What are your weaknesses?

You always want to focus on the positive in an interview. You may want to focus on a weakness you conquered. For example, you may have been timid and shy when you began working and you were afraid to give your opinion to others, but initially you found the confidence in yourself and your abilities and you blossomed in a company setting with great co-workers who served as wonderful mentors and guides to you. Also you can turn a negative into a positive, for example, you may say you have a hard time delegating tasks to others because you want the job done right the first time and you know you will do it right and correctly.

Be thoughtful about your weaknesses. Do NOT say you work too hard. This is the most cliche answer you could give you a hiring manager. Yes, everyone works and we all work hard. Do not mention any weaknesses which could hurt you. For example, do not say you are bad with math or you are a horrible speller.

What are your accomplishments?

Talk about specific projects. Demonstrate how they are relevant to the position. The goal is to link it all together.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Honestly, I do not even know where I will be in five years. This is a hard question. To any future employer, my advice would be to say something relevant to job and/or position. Never say anything unrelated to them.

How do you deal with conflict or a difficult situation?

We are human and no one gets along perfectly every day. Each day we are faced with different challenges and obstacles which make us think. We meet people who are often irrational and hard to deal with in every day life and who seek to create drama. Just turn on the Real Housewives of any city and you will see it. The best way to approach any conflict situation and resolve it is to be responsible and accountable for your actions. Admit when you are wrong and always remain rational and calm.

Finally, go over your resume before an interview and review it. Also, If you have the opportunity to do a mock interview with a family member or friend, I find this to be very helpful and you can practice reviewing your interview questions and answers. Yes, the questions may differ from what I listed above, but I wanted to give my readers a general idea of how to prepare for an interview. Good luck on your next date!

Hiring Managers Checking Your Social Media Accounts

By: Christina Cattau

Remember the good ole days where you would show up for an interview and the hiring manager only knew your name and a short biographical history about you. You had that initial moment to make your first impression with your freshly pressed suit, firm handshake and pristine resume.

Hiring managers did not have access to google, Facebook or Twitter. They were not able to act like Big Brother and tower over you knowing all the intimate details of your life. Social media has changed the hiring process. Now, hiring managers know all about you before the interview since they have the ability to check Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Vine, Instagram, Google and the list goes on....

When I was applying for jobs 12 years ago, I did not have a Facebook account or Twitter. The company did not have an inside view of my history when I was 24, but I honestly had nothing to hide. When I taught Business Communications, I stressed to my students the importance of checking their MY SPACE and the evolving Facebook accounts at the time, as employers checked these sites frequently to do leg work before an interview. It provided them with insight about a potential employee. I further emphasized that the photos of them doing a keg stand was not appropriate and in 10 years, they would feel differently about those photos. My students obviously were proud of their photos, but any future employer would say no, I don't think...next person please.

Every single post on Facebook and Twitter is scrutinized by a hiring manager. It communicates to them how you deal with life: joy, challenges, frustrations and difficulties. These translate over into the workplace as well. Would you have the same attitude with clients or customers when handling a situation? So why do they do this? Is is entirely fair to the population applying for jobs?

Yes, it is. You are obviously brazen enough to post the information to your social media account and put it out there into cyberspace then you should not be worried about anyone seeing it. Right? Hiring managers utilize the information to eliminate any candidates who could potentially pose an issue to their company or create drama. If your social media account is littered with comments bragging about you ridiculing another person, you may not necessarily be the person for the job.

My suggestion: Look over your accounts before your job search. That crazy night from the Justin Timberlake concert in the party limo with you doing shots may not be a selling point for a hiring manager. It may come back to haunt you.

Also, if you are constantly focused on your weight and your material looks that may communicate something to a future manager as well that you care less about getting ahead professionally and more about your exterior looks. Your inner talent and beauty are most important. Clearly, I understand looking professional and being confident, but constantly posting your weight and photos of your bare stomach is not professional. Posting a photo of you dressed professionally in an outfit that gives you confidence is awesome.

Also, when you click on a Facebook profile, even if you are blocked, you still can view a profile photo and some of those posts you think are set to hidden may be viewable to an audience. Remember to check your settings. Also, every single tweet is archived at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. Unless you are applying for a job in Siberia, you can count on hiring managers looking at your accounts.

Nothing is full proof. We live in an electronic age. If you put something out there, be prepared....it could go viral.

Determination: This is How We Do 34.....

By: Christina  Deck

Fun Sunday Fact: By the time you are 30, you can expect to have five to seven jobs. The average employee will have worked 12 to 15 jobs over the course of their career, staying an average of 3.6 years.

My business entails assisting my clients with resume writing and professional writing pieces for businesses. Recently, I have been working with two of my friends to revamp their resumes. Both of them are my age, 34. I quickly realized as I was composing their resumes how life evolves over 12 years. It shocks me sometimes how fast time flies by us and how in the blink of an eye we wake up and we are no longer 22 with no responsiblities, but 34 with kids, mortgage, spouse and the perks of being an adult. All of a sudden we were slapped in the face with all these realities that we thought our parents were accountable for over the years. We now go to bed at 9 p.m., do midnight feedings, a few of us are reinventing ourselves at this fine and respectable age and at times, the uncertainty of the future can freak us out a bit. Maybe I am generally speaking on my own behalf.

In reviewing my clients' resumes, I noted both had had at least five to seven jobs over the course of 12 years. I myself started to think about my previous employment history as well. I soon realized I have had six jobs over the course of the last decade. I have been in my current position for the last seven years at Deck Family Practice as their business manager. I launched C Emery Scott in May.

Yet when I was a freshly minted face out of college, I too was navigating the real world and attempting to steer my ship toward a career or post graduate school which was exhilarating and scary at times.

All of our experiences have made us the person we are today and shaped us. As business professionals, you have learned from your mistakes too as not one of us is a perfect human being. When you were 22, you may have been lost as to what your career path was in life, but over 10, 11, 12 years the journey led you to your destination.

The fact is that we should not be ashamed of our extensive job history or pursuing a career which gives us personal happiness.

This is quoted from an article by Eric Siu from Forbes.com, he states, "Professor Alex Edmans of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania discovered that businesses with high levels of employee satisfaction perform better than those without.  Research from the University of Warwick says happiness makes people 12 percent more productive."

Ultimately, we should all strive to find a profession where we are happy, which translates into productivity. We essentially do not want to waste company time or our time where we are miserable.

Personally, I am grateful for the last seven years, as I greet every challenge with determination. I embrace it more than ever, as I am able to think on my feet and help others solve a problem. I vividly remember the first time someone yelled at me about a billing statement and crying. Obviously, I had to develop a thicker skin to survive in my position. Unfortunately, not every person you greet is happy or nice or even RATIONAL.

As a business professional, you have to have determination to survive and thrive. 

If you need some song inspiration, I recommend Will.I.AM #thatPower or Katy Perry's new one, This is How we do.

~ C Emery Scott

Tips for Better Business Writing

By: Christina M. Deck

The final stage of the writing process involves revising, proofreading and evaluating.  It is the most important phase of writing.  Revising means improving the content and sentence structure of your message.  Proofreading revolves around correcting grammar, spelling, punctuation, format and mechanics.  Evaluating is the process of analyzing whether your message achieved its purpose.

I spend a vast majority of my time revising and proofreading my work over and over again.  I understand it has to read professionally to the audience I address.  For example, I wrote a 50 page prospectus for Midwest Medical Transport Company.  It was a lengthy process, as I kept going back to re-read everything I had written.  Did it make sense to my audience? Did it flow? Did I spell everything correctly? I am the type of person who does not rely solely on spell checker, as a good writer I have to be able to analyze my writing and check for correct spelling and grammar.  This piece I was writing was ultimately going to be presented as a proposal for a bid within the region.  Not only did I have to think about the business managers at MMTC, but the potential city manager or hospital administrator who would be reading my work.  It deserved careful revision and proofreading on my part to ensure it would be professional and appropriate. Lastly, it had solidify the bid for them.  

Although the writing  process differs for individuals and situations, this final stage of the process should occupy a significant share of your time.  Rarely, even for me or any other professional writer, is a first draft or second draft satisfactory or perfect.  When you are sending a message with significance, write the first draft, set the document aside, take a break then return to it.  I sometimes find if I have a clear head then I am able to do a better job of assessing my work.

You want to express, but impress as well.  One way to achieve your goal of clear writing is to eliminate the so called fog and use the active voice in your business writing, be direct and do not use pompous language.  With the active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the verb.  

Using Active Versus Passive Voice

Resource: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/539/01/

In a sentence using active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed in the verb.

The arrow points from the subject performing the action (the dog) to the individual being acted upon (the boy). This is an example of a sentence using the active voice.

Sample active voice sentence with the subject performing the action described by the verb.

The active voice sentence subject (watching a framed, mobile world) performs the action of reminding the speaker of something.

Each example above includes a sentence subject performing the action expressed by the verb.

Avoid language people do not understand, for example, slang or the latest buzzwords.   

Executives today will not read wordy emails or letters.  It is a waste of their time.  It is better to write a piece with value which articulates your point concisely and clearly.  Messages without redundancies are easier to comprehend.  

Removing Fillers
Avoid fillers to fatten sentences with excess words.  Beginning an idea with "there is" usually indicates writers are spinning their wheels until they decide how to properly begin the sentence.
Which sounds better to you?
- There are three vice presidents who report directly to the president
- Three vice presidents report directly to the president

Eliminate Redundancies
Expressions which repeat meaning or include unnecessary words are redundant.  For example, if you were to state the following, I received an unexpected surprised.  You are basically saying the same thing "SURPRISE, SURPRISE." The words have the same meaning.  

Excessive adjectives, adverbs and phrases often create redundancies and wordiness.
Reduce Compound Prepositions
What sounds better?
-as to whether
- whether
- at a later date
- later
- at this point in time
- now

Avoid Saying the Obvious
When it arrived, I cashed your check immediately versus I cashed your check immediately

Kick the Noun Habit
I have seen student writers addicted to nouns and transform verbs into nouns.  This little habit reinforces long sentence length, drains verb strength, slows down the reader and muddies the thought process at times.

Which sounds better?
-Conduct a discussion of
-Discussion

- Create a reduction in
- Reduce

-Engage in the preparation of
- Prepare

Dump Trite Business Phrases in the 21st Century
Yes, you want and need to sound professional, but let's not repeat the same stale expressions which writers have used for years.  Make your writing sound FRESH! Make it sound VIGOROUS AND ALIVE!  Eliminate certain phrases and create an original way to convey your thoughts.  I told many of my business communications students how smart and talented they were.  They simply needed to take the time to write a piece and not rush it.  

Which sounds better to you?
- As per your request
- As you request

-Pursuant to your request
- At your request

- In accordance with your wishes
- As you wish

Develop Parallelism in your Writing
How do you achieve parallelism in your writing? Match nouns with nouns, verbs with verbs, phrases with phrases and clauses with clauses.  

For example, I write clearly, concisely and correctly is parallel.  Why do you ask? All the adverbs which modify the verb "write" end in "ly." If you stated the sentence as I write concisely, clearly and with correctness.  It would seem off as the last item is not parallel to other adverbs. 

Writing is a learning process.  Be patient with it and know you are not alone in attempting to create better sentences, phrases and correspondence.  It takes time and practice.  It has taken me over 12 years to learn how to become a better writer.  I am truly thank for my experience at UNL where I learned a lot from Jeff Griesch and Shamus McKnight.  They were both incredible mentors to me and I am always thankful for the opportunity I had to work as a graduate assistant with them.  They taught me more about writing than in a classroom setting.  

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

~ C Emery Scott and the busy bees

Listen and Listen Well

By: Christina M. Deck

In the workplace, we spend more time listening than any other skill.  Think about it: When compared to talking, writing or reading,  you are most often listening.  Many of us have taken courses to improve our writing, speaking or even reading.  Now it is time for a short lesson in listening, probably the single most improvable workplace communication skill.

So what is the difference between hearing and listening? Hearing is a recognition of sounds, including words around you.  For example, when you walk around a busy office, you hear a lot of words from various conversations.  You catch words, phrases, sentences here and there.  When you actually focus in on the words in a particular conversation and begin to interpret, evaluate meaning and establish the words in a context, then BOOM...you are listening.  Hearing is one of those things done between the ears.  I often find myself repeating things to my father at work over and over again. He is hearing me, but not actually listening to me or the value of my words.  Then he will say I didn't know that was happening or why am I doing this today and I will say I told you that a week ago or three days ago.  When you listen, you remember conversations, dates, times, important things.

Are you LISTENING?
It is said most of us only listen 25 percent of the time.  The other 75 percent is just hearing or listening poorly.  Therefore, we all have tremendous room for growth in the listening department. In order to do my job well, I have to listen to my clients' wants and needs.  I specifically take the time to sit down and speak with them face to face and write everything down.  Yesterday, I had a conference call with a potential client and I went into an office, closed the door, unplugged the office phone and answered my cell phone.  I told my Deck Family Practice staff I was taking an important call.  I had to listen to this potential client and take the time to really listen to what they wanted.  It is so important to take the time to write down what they say as well and take notes.  I also am very meticulous about my note taking as well.  With no interruptions, I was able to listen and have a successful conference call and potentially form a partnership with another growing business.  In positive terms, even increasing your listening ability by 10 percent or 15 percent will give you a significant boost to your workplace performance.  

So what are the benefits of listening well and why is this so important? I mean doesn't everyone listen? No, not necessarily.  If you want to be an effective leader in the workplace,  you must listen well, as it beneficial to your personal and professional growth. 

First of all, you get your work done right the FIRST TIME.  A percentage of work is usually redone because employees miss key steps when a procedure is explained.  Listening well to instructions and following through on them properly provides you with a solid base for demonstrating explementary work to your superiors.

Secondly, you learn more.  Employees increase their value in a workplace setting by listening to others.  They understand their products, services, customers and they are able to answer questions appropriately and professionally if they are challenged.  Effective listeners also get the "big picture" more quickly in an organization because they have taken the time to review the materials and resources given to them, including speaking to co-workers, managers and supervisors.

Thirdly, if you listen, your words have more value.  You have earned the right to be listened to by others if you demonstrate you listen and care about others.  

And lastly, an effective listener is always better in an office conflict situation.  They are more likely to examine each viewpoint carefully after they have listened to each side of the story in a problem solving session.  They earn more respect by offering a few minutes to a co-worker by allowing them to speak and be heard.  This relieves stress and tension in an office setting.  It contributes to office harmony.

Although it appears to be a passive skill, listening is hard work and you must actively engage in it.