10 MOST IMPORTANT LEADERSHIP SKILLS FOR TEAM SUCCESS

10 MOST IMPORTANT LEADERSHIP SKILLS FOR TEAM SUCCESS

1. Ability to Lead

This skill refers to how clearly a leader sees his or her vision, shares it with employees, and inspires them to support that vision. The ability to lead also entails how well a leader can motivate employees in order to get the desired business results. For example, each employee should understand how his or her job contributes to the company’s overarching goals. Instilling this information is part of a leader’s responsibility, and will help employees feel motivated and have a sense of purpose.

2. Effective Communication

All great leaders are good communicators. They must understand how to get a point across, describe the company vision to their employees, make sure daily tasks are getting done, facilitate office conversations, and know when it’s the right time or the wrong time for a meeting. Leaders must also be able to communicate what a job entails before someone is hired, and explain the reasons for firing someone. For example, if the team has an unusually busy time coming up, a leader might email a timetable listing the most important tasks to make sure team members understand what needs to be done.

3. Relationship Building

Creating and fostering relationships with both employees and clients is one of the marks of a leader who is truly dedicated to his or her position and company. It takes an investment of time, emotion, and effort to maintain business relationships, and this isn’t overlooked by your team members or customers. These relationships will help inspire your team to work harder, possibly even going beyond their job responsibilities. A team member who feels personally mentored by his or her manager is more likely to go the extra mile for that manager.

4. Industry Expertise

It is difficult and demotivating to follow a leader who doesn’t understand what he or she is doing, or is less qualified than the employees. Great leaders must truly lead; both in the workplace and in their respective fields. They must be a voice of authority that clients, employees, and other industry professionals look to and respect. This expertise must also drive important decisions and help them understand what is and isn’t possible for each position. For example, a good website design leader won’t ask his or her team to build a website function that isn’t feasible. Instead, the leader should suggest an alternative, possibly better solution.

5. Perceptive of Team Needs

In addition to having important leadership skills, managers must make sure their teams also have the skills they need to succeed. Leaders should be able to determine the most vital skills for a position, and either find someone who already has those skills or hire someone who is a good company fit and then train them. Great leaders can identify all of the skills within the scope of a role, and then ensure that the new team member has the proper training and certifications, when applicable. You must also understand what your team needs in terms of equipment and logistics. For example, a leader shouldn’t ask employees to do intense Web-based research with a slow, outdated computer.

6. Trustworthiness

The most trusted leaders display integrity and honesty, gaining the trust and respect of their employees and clients. Being seen as trustworthy will increase your team members’ commitment to their goals, and inspire their best efforts. Many factors go into being seen as trustworthy, including competence and perceived intent. Being trusted by your team also helps the communication process, because team members will be more likely to take risks during brainstorming sessions and come to you with any problems that are hindering their work.

7. Time Management

Although time management is often seen as an important skill for employees, it’s even more important for leaders. Great leaders not only have to manage their own time, they have to manage an entire company’s time and efforts. Time management for leaders entails knowing how and where to spend their own time, understanding how employees spend their time, and what objectives each department should spend its time on. Leaders must decide where to invest the company’s time and resources; which clients have a good return-on-investment; which employees need a little more mentoring; which business ventures will benefit customers, and so on.

8. Commitment

Great leaders are committed to their business, their employees, and their customers. They understand that what makes a product or service great is an ongoing commitment to excellence. A leader who isn’t committed to his or her team may end up abusing them; one who isn’t committed to a company shouldn’t be leading it; and a lack of commitment to customers means that customer service will decline. For example, if leaders don’t listen to customer complaints and suggestions, innovation and satisfaction standards will go down.

9. Confidence

Confidence inspires trust and helps leaders present themselves and their company well. Leaders need confidence in order to make important decisions and stick to them. There is a lot of pressure in business for leaders to be decisive, and changing your mind often is usually detrimental. For example, deciding to offer a new product then cancelling it once the research and development has started will cost the business time and money, at the very least.

10. Problem Solving

Last but certainly not least comes problem-solving skills. All leaders must know how to solve problems for their team and company. The best companies solve a particular problem for their clients, and the best leaders solve problems at work. For example, if an employee comes to you with a problem, your number one goal as a leader is to solve that problem in the best interest of both the company and employee. Turning problems around for an employee can also inspire loyalty and retention.

 

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What happens when a bee stings you?

Home Remedies for Bee Stings: What Works?Medically Reviewed by Debra Rose Wilson PhD MSN RN IBCLC AHN-BC CHT on November 18, 2016 — Written by Annette McDermott

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What happens when a bee stings you?

bee on hand

Fast facts

Honeybees are the only type of bee that die after they sting.

When a bee stings you, it leaves a behind a venomous toxin that can cause pain and other symptoms.

Most bee stings can be treated at home.

For most people, a bee sting is just a nuisance. You may experience temporary sharp pain, swelling, redness, warmth, and itching at the sting site, but no serious complications. If you’re allergic to bees, or you get stung multiple times, bee stings can be more problematic. They can even be life-threatening.
When a honeybee stings you, its stinger is released into your skin. This ultimately kills the honeybee. Honeybees are the only type of bee that die after they sting. Wasps and other species don’t lose their stingers. They may sting you more than once.
If a bee stings you, it leaves a behind a venomous toxin that can cause pain and other symptoms. Some people are allergic to this toxin. Mild allergic reactions may cause extreme redness and increased swelling at the sting site.
Severe allergic reactions may cause:
hives

pale skin

severe itching

swelling of the tongue and throat

difficulty breathing

rapid pulse

nausea and vomiting

diarrhea

dizziness

loss of consciousness

If you have any signs of a severe reaction to a bee sting, get emergency help. You may be experiencing anaphylactic shock, a life-threatening allergic reaction.
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HOME REMEDIES
Home remedies for bee stings

Unless you’re allergic to bees or experiencing signs of a severe allergic reaction, you can treat most bee stings at home. If a honeybee stings you, remove the stinger immediately with the edge of your fingernail or the edge of a credit card. This helps curb the amount of toxins released into your skin. Wash the sting site with soap and water. Icing the sting site is the most effective way to reduce venom absorption. It also can also help reduce swelling.
Most home treatments for bee sting symptoms aren’t supported by scientific research. Yet they’ve been passed down for generations. These home remedies may help relieve bee sting symptoms:
Honey

Honey may help with wound healing, pain, and itching. To treat bee stings with honey, apply a small amount to the affected area. Cover with a loose bandage and leave on for up to an hour.
Baking soda

A paste made of baking soda and water can help neutralize bee venom to reduce pain, itching, and swelling. Apply a thick layer of baking soda paste to the affected area. Cover the paste with a bandage. Leave on for at least 15 minutes and re-apply as needed.
Apple cider vinegar

Vinegar may also help neutralize bee venom. Soak the sting site in a basin of apple cider vinegar for at least 15 minutes. You can also soak a bandage or cloth in the vinegar and then apply it to the sting site.
Toothpaste

It’s unclear why toothpaste can help bee stings. Some people claim that alkaline toothpaste neutralizes acidic honeybee venom. If true, however, toothpaste won’t work on alkaline wasp venom. Either way, toothpaste is an inexpensive and easy home remedy to try. Simply dab a bit on the affected area.
Meat tenderizer

An enzyme in meat tenderizer called papain is also believed to help break down the protein that causes pain and itching. To treat a bee sting this way, make a solution of one-part meat tenderizer and four-parts water. Apply to the sting site for up to 30 minutes.
Wet aspirin tablet

A popular home remedy for reducing the pain and swelling of a bee sting is to apply a wet aspirin or aspirin paste to the sting site. Results of one 2003 study showed that applying aspirin topically to bee stings or wasp stings actually increased redness and didn’t decrease the duration of swelling or pain compared to using ice alone.
Herbs and oils

These herbs have wound-healing properties and may help relieve symptoms of a bee sting:
Aloe vera is known for soothing the skin and relieving pain. If you have an aloe vera plant, break off a leaf and squeeze the gel directly onto the affected area.

Calendula cream is an antiseptic used to heal minor wounds and ease skin irritation. Apply the cream directly to the sting site and cover with a bandage.

Lavender essential oil has anti-inflammatory abilities and can help relieve swelling. Dilute the essential oil with a carrier oil, such a coconut or olive oil. Dab a few drops of the mixture onto the sting site.

Tea tree oil is a natural antiseptic and may ease bee sting pain. Mix with a carrier oil and apply a drop to the sting site.

Witch hazel is a tried-and-true herbal remedy for insect bites and bee stings. It can help reduce inflammation, pain, and itching. Apply witch hazel directly to the bee sting as needed.

Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia(fy-bro-my-AL-ja)

is a common and complex chronic pain disorder that causes widespread pain and tenderness to touch that may occur body wide or migrate over the body. Along with other symptoms, pain and tenderness wax and wane over time. Fibromyalgia (FM) affects people physically, mentally and socially. Approximately 10 million Americans (2-4%) have FM with a ratio of about 8 to 2, women over men. It occurs in people of all ages, including children. The literal translation of the word fibromyalgia is pain in the muscles, ligaments and tendons. But FM is much more than pain and presents with many other symptoms that vary from person to person. 

Healthcare providers diagnose FM based on a combination of relevant symptoms, or how the person feels, including fatigue, tenderness, functionality, and overall well-being. Lab tests may be needed to rule out or diagnose co-existing conditions (i.e., lupus, thyroid hormone resistance, rheumatoid arthritis).

Symptoms of fibromyalgia can vary in intensity. Fatigue, sleep disturbances (sleep apnea and/or waking up unrefreshed), cognitive difficulties (memory problems or thinking clearly), and stiffness are the most prevalent symptoms reported. Additional common symptoms may include depression or anxiety, migraines, tension headaches, pelvic pain, irritable or overactive bladder, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), TMJD (including tinnitus), and gastrointestinal reflux disease (GERD). Stress often worsens the related problems and symptoms. In a 2013 survey of people with fibromyalgia by Oregon Health and Sciences University and the National Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain Association, symptoms were measured as well as the impact of fibromyalgia on daily living. (To read survey results, please click here.) 

There is no cure for fibromyalgia. Multi-disciplinary approaches for management and relief of symptoms are often recommended. Medications, cognitive behavioral therapies, and gentle exercise are the most common combinations. In partnership with a healthcare provider, development of self-management strategies and long-term health goals may reduce the chronic symptoms and the frequency, duration, and intensity of periodic flares (rapid increase of symptoms). Cultural attitudes and stigmatization of people with chronic pain issues often cause people with fibromyalgia to become withdrawn from family and friends. Isolation and feeling alone to manage fibromyalgia can contribute to depression.
 Symptoms ->
HISTORY FM has existed for centuries, and our great grandmothers who experienced FM symptoms were probably diagnosed with rheumatism. In 1904 Sir William Gowers gave a Lecture on Lumbago: Its Lessons and Analogues, to physicians at the National Hospital for the Paralyzed and Epileptic in London, England. It was during this lecture that Dr. Gowers described “fibrositis” for the first time and the term began to be used as a descriptive word for the symptoms of soft tissue rheumatism. The word fibrositis indicated that inflammation was present which contributed to the patient’s pain experience. As science advanced and more was learned about the disorder, it became evident that the kind of inflammation found in arthritic diseases is not present in FM. It took until 1976 for the “itis”to be dropped and fibromyalgia syndrome adopted as the new title for this age old malady. Syndrome was added to fibromyalgia because the term offers a way to compile the different symptoms of fibromyalgia into one disorder, discernible by healthcare professionals. In the late 1990’s fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) transitioned into just fibromyalgia (FM) because research began to uncover more scientific evidence of FM being a distinct entity. Although FM has become a familiar medical term, it continues to baffle the professional community as well as the people it affects.
SCIENTIFIC PERSPECTIVE Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain state in which the nerve stimuli causing pain originates mainly in the tissues of the body. Hence the increased pain on movement and the aggravation of fibromyalgia by strenuous exertion.
Pain is a universal experience that serves the vital function of triggering avoidance. A few unfortunate individuals have a congenital absence of pain sensation; they do not fare well due to repeated bodily insults that go unnoticed. Physicians see patients with an acquired deficiency in the pain sensation (e.g. diabetic neuropathy or neurosyphilis) who develop a severe destructive arthritis–a result of repeated minor joint injuries that are overlooked. Thus pain sensation is a necessary part of being human. Pain sensation is a fact of life. Even the primitive amoeba takes avoiding action in the face of adverse events. In such primitive life forms, pain avoidance is purely reflex action, as they do not have the complexity of a highly developed brain to feel pain in the sense that humans do: (1)The unconscious reflex avoidance reaction that is so rapid that it occurs before the actual awareness of the pain sensation (as in all life forms), (2) the actual experience of the pain sensation (that can only occur in highly complex organisms). This is an important point, as it implies that different parts of the brain are involved in these two consequences of the pain reaction.
Over the last few years a number of important research discoveries have started to clarify the enigma of chronic pain. Many of these new findings have a special relevance to the chronic pain of fibromyalgia. The cardinal symptom of FM is widespread body pain. The cardinal finding is the presence of focal areas of hyperalgesia, the tender points. Tender points imply that the patient has a local area of reduced pain threshold, suggesting a peripheral pathology. In general, tender points occur at muscle tendon junctions, a site where mechanical forces are most likely to cause micro-injuries. Many–but not all–FM patients have tender skin and an overall reduction in pain threshold. These latter observations suggest that some FM patients have a generalized pain amplification state. There has been a recent plethora of experimental studies apposite to the pathophysiological basis of both the peripheral and central aspects of pain.
In his article “Fibromyalgia: A Clinical Review” published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), April 16, 2014, Dr. Dan Clauw, Director of the University of Michigan’s Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center expands on current scientific thought regarding the type of pain experienced by people with fibromyalgia:
“Fibromyalgia can be thought of as a centralized pain state. Centralized pain is a lifelong disorder beginning in adolescence or young adulthood manifested by pain experienced in different body regions at different times. Centralized refers to central nervous system origins of/or amplification of pain. This term does not imply that peripheral nociceptive input (i.e. damage or inflammation of body regions) is not contributing to these individuals’ pain but rather that they feel more pain than would normally be expected based on the degree of nociceptive input. Understanding centralized pain is important for surgeons and proceduralists because patients with these disorders may request interventions to eliminate pain (e.g. hysterectomy, back surgery). Not surprisingly, this pain-prone phenotype, best exemplified by a patient with fibromyalgia, predicts failure to respond to opioids or operations performed to reduce pain.”

PATIENT PERSPECTIVE Symptom severity of FM ranges from slight to severe. Fibromyalgia is life-altering. If you ask any person with fibromyalgia what fibromyalgia is, their response would be pain; from the top of their head to the end of their toes. Pain that “waxes and wanes” from day to day and persists even with the use of scientifically accepted medical treatments. The pain experience is described as deep muscular aching, shooting, throbbing, stabbing, pounding, along with many other descriptions, and at times it is unbearable. People with FM do not sleep well, waking up feeling like they have been hit by a “Mack truck,” with morning stiffness or spasticity that makes it difficult to move. Repetitive movement seems to accentuate the pain and forces many people with FM to severely limit their activities, including exercise routines. This lack of exercise results in people becoming physically unfit, causing their FM symptoms to become more severe. The other major complaint is fatigue so severe that people have a difficult time performing everyday tasks, enjoying hobbies, staying employed or taking part in their children’s activities. People may feel as though their arms and legs are weighed down by cement, and their bodies may feel so drained of energy that every task is a major effort.

The progression of fibromyalgia research has provided new knowledge about centralized pain that is already helping to open doors to better, more effective treatment for people with fibromyalgia.