6 WAYS TO INCREASE HOW ACCESSIBLE YOU ARE TO YOUR TEAM

“In the past a leader was a boss. Today leaders must be partners with their people. They no longer can lead based on positional power.” ~Ken Blanchard “Truly great leaders spend as much time collecting and acting upon feedback as they do providing it.” ~Alexander Lucia   Being accessible for your staff is the first step in getting feedback. After all, if they can’t find you, they can’t tell you what they think. Good managers make themselves available to their staff so that when the moment strikes when an employee wants to talk to you about something you can seize it. GREAT managers set themselves up to encourage those feelings of sharing amongst their team. Feedback is the breakfast of champions when it comes to management and here are six tricks of the trade from great managers: Walk around and engage about work: Great managers check in on their staff regularly throughout the day. The key is to not only engage your team with talk about last night’s football game, but to engage them about work related things as well. How’s that account doing? Any problems putting together that report? Has the marketing team been getting you what you need? Talking to your staff is fine, but opening the door to their feedback reaps amazing results. Take care of things when they are brought to you: A great manager takes care of things and takes care of them quickly. If you are a resource to your team, they will come to you with a VERY wide array issues/concerns. Dealing with issues your team brings to you always should get a high priority. Great managers understand the power of this on morale, support, and overall performance. Sit out in the cubes occasionally: It is INCREDIBLE what you can learn from sitting…

6 Tips to Dramatically Improve Your Productivity #YouthCan

There’s nothing worse than the clock turning 17:00 and realising your day has been incredibly unproductive. From meetings to the infinite amount of e-mails you were supposed to get through – being unproductive can ruin a day at work. This also means that some jobs can turn from simple small tasks into large and undoable projects simple because your productivity has been all over the place. So what ways can you become more productive? Take a look at the 6 tips below for ways to boost your productivity. 1. Back to basics: This is for those who are absolutely tech obsessed. Something that I feel wastes large amounts of time, is pointless back-and-forward email conversation. People often forget that they can clear up matters with a simple phone call or actual face-to-face conversation – you don’t need to rely on long and useless email conversations to sort out things with colleagues or clients. Instead just give them a quick call. 2. Turn off notifications: It’s obviously important to check your emails throughout the day – but it’s not productive to be checking them every 10 minutes. Turn off desktop notifications and alerts, as these act as distractions that can chuck productivity out the window. Turn off all unnecessary distractions – they’ll just bring your productivity down! 3. Lists are useful: To-do lists should be your best friend. If you have a physical list of things you have to do, it makes it clearer what you should be focusing on, whether your to-do list is daily, weekly or monthly (or all of them together!). Having a list to physically tick of tasks makes everything much clearer in your head, meaning you’re not constantly thinking about the next thing you have to do or what you have to remember to do tomorrow.…

Open letter to the Chairman National Resistance Movement as Youth. 

As NRM Youth leaders we have spent a considerable amount of time in the last 5 years selflessly building the party ideology among fellow youth and the Uganda Community at large, mobilizing for its expansion, strengthening and establishment to the day today trends. It’s unfortunate that at the climax of party’s opportunity to put to practice what we have worked so hard to build and campaign for youth participation in NRM processes, the youth where franchised by our own leaders who made the campaigns about money rather than ideology and brilliant ideas therefore made the campaigns about who had more finances. The youth participation in the NRM where supposed to be how the youth will promote the NRM ideology and leadership of the party plus mobilize to even they them selves engage in decision making above all leadership through the youth league. Today doesn’t matter how brilliant you are as a young person or how brilliant your ideas for job & wealth creation or development, women emancipation, governance, etc!! What matters is how much money you can mobilize and now NRM youth win because of how much money they have. Mr Chairperson it doesn’t mean that most of those of us who lost did not have ideas but rather we were out matched cause we didn’t have enough money like those who went through. We have been disempowered from participating meaningfully in the leadership of our party since most of it is all about which family you come from, wealth classification, or how well and dirty politics are you willing to play. Qualification in our party is reason for disqualification, above all there is no room for meaningful participation. Our Chairperson we ask you to lead and re-champion the campaign against the commercializations of leadership in politics and lead the…

My Dissatisfaction with NRM-Primaries

The National Resistance Movement recently organized a Delegates Conference which Included the Primary elections of the Youth League executive along side flag bearers for the #Youth Members of Parliament from East, West, Central, North and National (Female). The elections were by electoral hence voters who qualified to vote were Sub-county Chairpersons, District Executives members alongside 2 Out Going District Councilors, note that we were informed on the day of voting that part of the delegates/voters are not allowed to vote and these where the newly voted Youth Councilors. NRM was in charge of transporting, accommodating, feeding and as well as welfare of the delegates, hence for this to happen, accreditation of delegates was to be decentralized at district levels to save time & be orderly from the 28th (Which was Canceled a day to arrival) to 29th-30th (moved to 31st) October 2015. How Youth Leadership in the NRM-Primaries was Walled to Favor the Rich by the Party in the elections.As a contestant for Youth MP Eastern Region, I was shocked at the way the EC handled the elections. For starters; The election dates where pushed over 6 times, hence candidates had to spend more money to campaign and maintain their support since June even on the last day of elections. The nomination process did not exclude the youth, who were made to pay 2 million shillings just to show interest & subjected to a high fee of over 1/2 a million to certify academic credentials in UNEB. Accreditation of delegates on arrival was shady since short notice information was given for dates of arrival on the 28th as set before to the next day. Hence many of the delegates had were already in Kampala causing a rift. Accreditation did not begin until 1pm in the afternoon to 3am on the 29th…

Words From Father to a Son About #Marriage

1. My son, if you keep spending on a woman and she never asked you if you’re saving or investing, and she keeps enjoying the attention, don’t marry her. 2. My son, a woman could be a good wife to you, some could be a good mother to your children but if you’ve found a woman like a mother to you, your children and your family, please don’t let her go. 3. My son, don’t confine the position of your wife to the kitchen, where did you get that from? Even in our days, we had farm-lands where they worked every morning . . . that was our office. 4. My son, if I tell you that you’re the head of the house, don’t look at your pocket; look if you will see a smile on your wife’s face. 5. My son, if you want to have a long life, let your wife be in-charge of your salary, it will be difficult for her to spend it when she’s aware of the home needs and bills to pay but if it’s in your care, she will keep you asking even when all has been spent. 6. My son, don’t ever beat your woman, the pain in her body is nothing to be compared to the wound on her heart and that means you may be in trouble living with a wounded woman.

An Open Letter To The Girl Who Let The Nice Guy Go

I’ve seen it happen way too many times: The nice guy loses the girl for being exactly who he is. What’s even worse is if he’s really the nice guy, he’s going to lose her and say nothing about it. He’ll accept it as something she truly wants and give her his best wishes, as she walks away being everything he could ever want. On behalf of all the nice guys out there, this is to the girl who walked out on the best thing that ever happened to her: Dear Girl Who Walked Away, It’s not like you weren’t aware of what you were getting yourself into. He told you he was nice. He trusted easily and gave you all he could when he could. The nice guy believes in doing things right. He was there when you needed him to be, and he went out of his way to make sure you knew just how much you could mean to someone. We live in a generation where we all have to wear masks and play parts to make it through the battlefield of dating in the 21st century. There is no such thing as giving it your all. We like quotes on Facebook and post things on Instagram stating we want the masochist one day and the romantic the next. We play these games where being available can only happen sometimes, and playing hard-to-get must be our number one priority. Why? I thought the ultimate goal was to eventually settle down. I mean, what is the point of dating if you have no desire for it to go anywhere? If a one-night stand is what you’re looking for, leave the good guys alone and toy within the levels you lay down. Save yourself time and energy because the…

Open Letter to all Ugandan Youth. Let’s Start Critical Thinking and Yield into Action

Dear Young People, Over 50/years ago Uganda attained its independence which was fully instigated partly by youth at that time. It took concern and need for freedom that they took a move of that kind. Leadership passed on through arms struggle to different presidents who led with an iron hand. May youths at the time developed and others were killed. Through critical thinkers, a team of Youths joined forces to fight for freedom and freedom out of arms struggle, tho methods used were military. Either way it yielded a lot of results giving more opportunity to the young country to grow. Today we have a lot of peace and liberties since time memorial, we are now comfortable with all that youth of yesterday achieved for us! We on the other hand concentrate on pleasures, social media, movies, clubs, food, money, sleep, sex, games, sports among others. Each day we have been availed with 24 hours but question is are we accountable to it? We are faced with a reality of challenges which cut across, unemployment, poverty, ignorance, manipulation, lack of focus and so on. Question is….. Who is doing the thinking for us? Why should we at all times or seek to lean on the old to stand. We need to arise with our own solutions to solve our own problems, we need to speak for our selves and not others speak for us!! Out of the 24 hours we are given, we need to own time, embrace our own planning in building for the future. Reality is majority of the old by 2031 they should have biologically have left the planet and we the adults of the time. If we start thinking and planning now, we can make the best of our country, we don’t need budgets, or other…

My Aspiration for Youth Member Of Parliament Eastern Region (Inspiration)

For Youth? What I came do? Wow! What am going to give to them… That seems like a very ambiguous question to ask. I know everyone expects it…sometimes its not what the youth need that works for them but its what makes us alive… You and me! That’s what the world needs most… My biggest admiration for this country has always been to scratch my history and write anew story to for others, with new actions of Being my Brothers Keeper, Drawing close opportunities with no strings attached for your reach, helping in building young people’s dreams in their careers, business, talent, skill, passion and love above all. But we all have been shadowed by barriers…Politics has taught us to fear one another, I know who it has turn us against each other, how honesty is turned into a weapon to destroy each other just for self justification and gain, I know how we have been trained and reduced to handouts than reason, and am not saying its wrong but what makes it wrong is when we continuously choose only handouts over reason or rational thinking clouding our judgment into a stormy situation. We all have a free will just as simply as service can be. Innovation, passion, talent, love and teamwork if best put together you won’t need to ask what I will do for the youth. Question is what shall we do for our selves and not just individually but communally! There is a strength in togetherness, fellowship as we all know two heads are better than one. We are a Country, the people, the culture, the economy, the spiritual, the geography, the opportunities, the laws, the beliefs, hopes and aspirations.. Where you belong or where I do matters to all of us not just some of us.…

We are co-authors of Africa’s problems!

When I look at Africa, many questions come to mind. Many times I ask my self, “What would happen if Mwalimu where to Rise up and see what’s happening? Many times I would ask my self what would happen if Kwame Nkrumah, Lumumba, Mandela were to rise up and see what’s happening. Because what they would be confronted with is an Africa, where the Democratic Republic of Congo is Unsettled, there is a War going on there but is not on the front pages of our News Papers because we don’t even control over our newspapers and the media. As we speak to you, the Central African Republic is at War but we talk of it only mutedly, as I speak to you now, Kenya is at war based on religion and terrorism, young men and women are victims. In South Sudan the youngest nation in Africa, the Nuwera have risen against the Dinkas, as I speak to you now, Eritrea is unsettled, as I speak to you now…there is unease in Egypt as there is unease in Libya, in Niger its no better, in Senegal in the Kasamanzi is no better, Africa is at War with her self, this is what they would be confronted with. They would be confronted with an Africa which statisticians and romantic economics say is growing but which in truth is stagnated, that is the Africa they would be confronted with. They would be confronted with an Africa which as Prof. Mulama intimated in a presentation, “an Africa which is suffering from no self-awareness”, it does not know her self. They would be confronted with an Africa whose young men and women have no interest and no love for her continent. They would be confronted by an Africa where young men and women are…

#APPLY FOR COMMONWEALTH STUDENT ASSOCIATION’s EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE POSITIONS 2015/18 @CWealthStudents

DATE: 24TH MARCH 2015 The Commonwealth Students’ Association is pleased to issue a call for applications for the following positions in its soon to be established Executive Offices: 1. President 2. Vice President (Democracy and Participation) 3. Vice President (Advocacy and Partnerships) 4. Africa & Europe Regional Representatives (2 positions) 5. Asia Regional Representatives (2 positions) 6. Caribbean & The Americas Regional Representative (2 positions) 7. Pacific Regional Representative (2 positions) General Qualifications: a. Must have attained the age of 18 years at nomination, and not attain the age of 30 years during term of office (2015-2018) b. Must be a current student leader or one whose term has lapsed a year before the announcement for call for nominations. c. Experience in student advocacy. d. A national of a Commonwealth country. NB: Efforts have been made to ensure gender and regional balance of the incoming CSA Executive Committee. Specific Qualifications: 1. President. a. A national of an Asian Commonwealth Member state, though not necessarily a current resident.(Rotates from region to region in alphabetical order) b. A member of the executive of a national student body (where none exists, the President of a University Student Body.) c. Nominated by the student body that he/she has served/is serving. d. All genders are encouraged to apply. 2. Vice President (Democracy and Participation) a. A national of a Commonwealth Member state from any other region (except Asia), though not necessarily a current resident. b. A member of the executive of a national student body (where none exists, the President of a University Student Body.) c. Nominated by the student body he/she has served/is serving d. Only male candidates are encouraged to apply. 3. Vice President (Advocacy and Partnerships) a. A national of a Commonwealth Member State from any other region except Asia b. A…

28 ways to make her Smile :)

[1] Tell her she is Beautiful. not hot or fine. [2] Hold her hand at ANY moment even if it is just for a second…. [3] Kiss her on the forehead. [4] Leave her voice messages to wake up to. [5] ALWAYS tell her you love her at any & and all times. [6] When she is upset, hold her tight & tell her how much she means to you. [7] Recognize the small things ..they usually mean the most. [8] Call her Sweetie or BABY. [9] Sing to her no matter how horrible your voice is. [10] Pick her over all the OTHER girls you hang out with. [11] Write her notes.(she loves them) [12] Introduce her to family & friends as your girlfriend. [13] Play with her hair. [14] Pick her up, tickle her,& play WRESTLE with her. [15] Sit in the park & just TALK to her. [16] Tell her funny jokes, tell her stupid jokes, just tell her joke. [17] Throw pebbles at her window in the middle of the night just because u missed her. [18] Let her fall asleep in your arms. [19] Carve your names into a TREE. [20] If she`s mad. Kiss her ! [21] Give her piggyback rides. [22] Bring her flowers just because. [23] Treat her the same around your friends as you do when you`re alone. [24] Look her in the eyes & Smile. [25] Let her take as many pictures as she wants. [26] SL0W DANCE with her, even if there isn’t any music playing. [27] KISS HER IN THE RAIN. [28] If you`re in love with her tell her.

Letter To My Unofficial Boo

Dear Bae, I know you don’t like reading, so I’m gonna make this as brief as possible. And I’m not writing this the traditional style, I’m gonna number my points. (Yayy, Finally! I’ve always wanted to do this numbering thing on Twitter but I couldn’t. *sighs). Okay, here goes: 1. We’re in love with each other. (Ugh, I sound mushy) 2. But we’re not dating. And we can’t date now. (We already discussed the reasons) 3. Meaning we’re just friends. 4. And friends don’t make out. (You know what friends do- borrow your stuff without returning it, ask for money without saying ‘Please’, visit you and shorten your ration when you want to eat, tease you until you’re mad, and all that)   5. Friends that make out are ‘friends with benefits’. And hell no, I don’t want to be your ‘friends with benefits’. (I’ve always thought of them as horny people with no emotions, I mean… How can you make out with someone you’re not in love with?) 6. Yes, we’ve made out a couple of times before (I just said ‘a couple of times’ to trivialise this, we both know the truth). So my point is: we need to stop it. Both of us enjoyed it but it doesn’t make it right. We’re sinning against our bodies and it’s displeasing God. (Lawd, I sound like a hypocrite, I’m so ashamed of myself) 7. That we ‘love’ each other doesn’t mean we have to make out (or do that other one that starts with s and ends with x). Love is not a feeling; feelings come and go. Love is a decision. (Epic line yeah? Saw it in my dad’s write-up for his pre-marital class students). If we really love each other, we’ll decide to respect each other (our…

11 Signs that she is #Marriage Material!

1. If your Girlfriend come to your house and join you in drinking porridge, marry her. 2. If you take her to a restaurant and she picked soda/ pure-water instead of expensive meals, She is understanding marry her. 3. If she sees someone with Benz but decided to follow you with Tuktuk/BodaBoda bicycle, my brother that is your bone. 4. She come to your house and wash even your brothers and sisters clothes, marry her fast. 5. You gave her 50K for shopping but she went for mtumba(second-hand) and bring back 45K to you, marry her because she read economics. 6. She will call you everyday and ask if you need recharge card, brother claim her Ooh fast fast! 7. If the girl used to give you her pocket money every week, She loves you marry her. 8. If both of you enter bus she will pay, That is a good sign 9. Whenever the girl is eating with you and she’s eating only bone while you eat meat, marry her. 10. When you asked her what she want and she said nothing, brother she deserves everything. 11. Above all, if a girl goes with our food for 7 days fasting for you to be a success and best lover and fear God, now this one crowns. Emmanuel Wabwire (Editor)

Involve #Youth Voices In Political Party Manifestos

A Party Manifesto is one of the most important keys to the leadership of our nation. “Straighten a tree while it’s young so it may not be bent when it’s grown” Youth are the leaders of today and tomorrow regardless whether they have tittles or not. A Party manifesto is directly a Presidential Manifesto who in most of Africa is the supreme leader of government and makes vital major discussions. His manifesto at the time of elections directly shows what he is going to do for the people, however as we all know it a manifesto is meant to be simply the people’s pressing needs and how best they are to be solved. It becomes a greater deal when people vote their concerns to be addressed in the manifesto and later fulfill their interests thus making politics pro-people and ,ore participation. However, the challenge today is a few people seat in workshops, conferences or even worse in closed door meetings and form these political manifestos and manipulate others to adopt to it. This way it makes it very unrealistic and unsustainable since it is not owned by the community but rather imposed on the community. In the end of it all, development is compromised hence all its negatives kick in. Most governments take 5-10years in service and sadly others take more as we all know it, an average African man or woman life span is upto 60years of age, of which their active and productive years of age is 17-33years mostly the youth age which is my focus today. After that there is a meant to be a natural shift of life events as they take on the to roles at age 34 above to lead and manage. Meaning they have upto maximum 16 years to develop an understanding and…