7 Ways to Learn as a Busy Business Leader

Staying informed as a leader is crucial, and leveraging resources like Audible and Blinkist can be highly effective. Here are seven top tools to keep you in the loop:

  1. Audible: Offers a vast library of audiobooks across genres, allowing you to listen to books during commutes or workouts. Download Audible
  2. Blinkist: Provides concise summaries of nonfiction books, enabling you to grasp key insights quickly. Sign up for Blinkist
  3. Pocket: Save articles, videos, and stories from any publication or app, and read or listen to them later, even offline. Get Pocket
  4. Feedly: An RSS aggregator that compiles news from various sources into a personalized feed, keeping you updated on industry trends. Join Feedly
  5. Flipboard: Curates news and stories from around the world, allowing you to create custom magazines on topics of interest. Explore Flipboard
  6. TED Talks: Access thousands of talks from experts in various fields, offering insights and inspiration. Watch TED Talks
  7. Coursera: Offers online courses from top universities and companies, helping you stay informed and develop new skills. Enroll in Coursera

Integrating these resources into your routine can help you stay informed efficiently.

How to Be a Stellar Mentor or Advisor: Three Key Tips

Being a good mentor or advisor is one of the most rewarding roles you can take on in your professional life. Not only do you get to share your knowledge and experience, but you also have the chance to shape the careers and lives of others in meaningful ways. Here are three main points to help you excel as a mentor or advisor.

1. Listen More Than You Speak

One of the biggest mistakes mentors make is talking too much and not listening enough. To truly help your mentees, you need to understand their unique challenges, goals, and perspectives. Active listening involves paying full attention, asking thoughtful questions, and providing feedback that shows you understand their situation.

  • Practical Tip: Start each mentoring session by asking open-ended questions like, “What challenges are you facing this week?” or “What are your top goals for this month?” This encourages your mentee to share more and helps you tailor your advice to their needs.

2. Provide Honest and Constructive Feedback

Constructive feedback is crucial for growth, but it needs to be delivered in a way that’s both honest and supportive. Sugarcoating feedback can lead to complacency, while overly harsh criticism can demotivate your mentee. Strike a balance by being clear about areas for improvement while also recognizing their strengths and accomplishments.

  • Practical Tip: Use the “sandwich method” for feedback: start with something positive, address the area for improvement, and finish with encouragement. For example, “You’ve done a great job on this project. One area to work on is time management, but I know with your dedication, you can master this.”

3. Be a Role Model and Lead by Example

Mentees look up to their mentors not just for advice but also as role models. Demonstrate the qualities you want to instill in them, such as integrity, dedication, and a continuous learning mindset. Your actions often speak louder than your words.

  • Practical Tip: Share your own experiences and challenges openly. Talk about times you’ve faced difficulties and how you overcame them. This not only makes you more relatable but also provides real-life examples of problem-solving and resilience.

Conclusion

Being a mentor or advisor is about fostering a supportive relationship that encourages growth, learning, and development. By listening actively, providing balanced feedback, and leading by example, you can make a lasting impact on your mentee’s career and personal growth. Remember, the goal is to empower them to reach their full potential and navigate their professional journey with confidence.

By integrating these practices into your mentoring approach, you’ll not only enhance your mentee’s development but also find immense satisfaction in watching them succeed. Happy mentoring!

Free Learning from Intertech’s Technical Education Division

Times are changing and at Intertech, we’re helping our customers stay on top of the latest developments.  Last week, we held our first live online Summit Series presentation.   Designed with the goal to keep you engaged and on the leading edge, our new Summit Series presentations are just one of the ways we are working to support our customers in every way possible.

First Up,  Using The New Angular 9 Features Was A Success And Well Attended!

First up on the Summit Series topic deck: How To Use The New Angular 9 Features.  Angular 9 includes many new additional tools to help create applications more efficiently with a smaller memory footprint. Whether you are creating a new Angular application or update an existing one, this presentation highlighted many of the new features that should not be overlooked

We kicked off the presentation by talking about Angular versioning and the best practices for updating an Angular website. Then we looked at what Ivy is and why it is so important to Angular. We also discovered the new testing tools and new ways to manage service instances for better reusability and lifetime control. Also covered were the improved in-browser debugging tools. The updates to CSS-bind with Angular 9 were shown with new support for i18n international standards. We wrapped up with a brief look a couple of new Angular controls for hosting YouTube and Google Maps content.

Missed It? We’ve Got You Covered

Missed the presentation? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.  Download the slide deck from our presentation for a recap of the live online event.  Questions? Reach out to us! We’re here to take the worry out of software development.Download Slide Deck

About Intertech

Founded in 1991, Intertech delivers software development consulting and IT training to Fortune 500, Government, and Leading Technology institutions. Learn more about us. Whether you are a developer interested in working for a company that invests in its employees or a company looking to partner with a team of technology leaders who provide solutions, mentor staff, and add true business value, we’d like to meet you. 

Summer Training Discounts with Intertech

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If you work in software development, you can advance your career this Summer by taking advantage of discounted rates on some of Intertech’s most popular dev classes. Through September 2015, earn up to a $500 Amazon Gift Card* or up to $500 off the price of each class registration for any Intertech training class*. Class must be taken by end of September and registered for by August 31st, 2015.