The Ebola crisis and the way forward .....

Ebola Crisis and the way forward for Africa by Vincent Edward vincentedward@ieee.org

I am extremely surprise that most of my country fellows only got to know about the dreaded virus after a positive diagnosis was made on our home soil.

Ebola virus, Anthrax , smallpox , though deadly were leveraged upon in various laboratories scattered outside the shores of Africa to synthesis most of the existing biological warfare capabilities in existence today.

The weaponization of these viruses or agents led to the emergence of the various antidotes (eg the so called secret serum ) which is one out of numerous antidotes scattered across top European, middle east and Asia laboratories.

The west so quick to remind us that the virus was named after a Virus spread close to a river named Ebola in Congo former Zaire in 1976...But no on reminds us of the female American ethologist conducting an Ebola experiment or necropsy on a dead chimpanzee in a Tai forest in Cote d'Ivoire in 1994.She got herself infected in 1994. Numerous experiments and test are been carried out the soil of Africa daily with the awareness of our own authorities, which never be permissible in the west.

Many times we have had our so called rulers (not leaders , as Africa still have rulers and not leaders) importing radioactive waste from Europe and Asia to the detriment of their motherland and to their own gain.

If the USA can swiftly come to the rescue of two of her citizens and the Spanish did likewise.....then Africa is on her own...Mind you there are other nations like france, the UK.. all silent on a solution....The World health organisation no doubt is powerless.

Would the west yield to pressure from world concern citizens on a swift response to Africa's plea for the antidotes or replicas

Most of the developed nations are more scared of the antidotes getting into the wardrobe of their rivals that even the virus its self.

There's a school of thought that would argue that the antidote or so called secret serum have not been clinically approved. ...yet the only infected US citizens got the treatment. even when the death figures in Africa was climbing ....Please Tell us something NEW!

Some ignorant Nigerians were so gullible to the extend of having their morning bath with Salted water or Brime . Who knows , some may have given salt the place of sugar in their tea...all in the name of sms survival broadcast ...same for the kola nut myth.

The way forward...African leaders have got to realise that it is high time we started to be our own solutions .We need to be brave for our selves .We need to support neighboring African nations. We need to tell the success stories of those that survived the virus after weeks of been ill....Even though most cases of Ebola may end in fatality , we also have survivals who are well and back to their normal lives.

Wickedness and greed in leadership must cease .

Africa should liaise with developing nations like India,Pakistan and the likes of other developing nations , these countries are the reason why medicine remain cheap and sustainable in Africa.

Our nation have got lots of medical experts in Europe,Saudi Arabia etc...Its high time developing nations minimize dependence on the west and their likes.

Using my darling Nation Nigeria as a case study , Our striking medical practitioners don't have guaranteed or documented life insurance from the governement to fight the dreaded virus.

I would like to call upon the Authorities of the declared affected nations to suspend all academic activities in schools , avoidable public gathering until an epidemic certainty is ruled out...I must emphasis, we are all stake holders.

We should endeavour to sensitize our citizens and also observe all necessary precautions.

Africa would come out stronger again......Don't discriminate or stigmatise against those infected.

Together , We shall overcome.......Long live Africa.

How to feedbacks when you are the Leader

When you're the manager, it can be down-right difficult to get candid critiques or compliments that aren't coated with ulterior motives or filtered by fear. Your team doesn't want to tell you something that might put them on your "bad side", so they choose to tell you that which is more likely to land them on your "good side".

Getting honest-to-goodness feedback from reports isn't as easy as one might think. Yet, here's the thing: it's pivotal to a leader's success and development. Not only that, it's necessary for a team's success and development. The better the manager becomes, the better the team becomes. Exceptional leaders live this out; they know that it's their job to persistently and carefully request feedback.

Hearing the feedback

Most leaders wait to see if feedback comes their way; not only that, but typically, they hope it doesn't. If it does, it forces them to take action or be accountable - in ways that they never really wanted. Controlling leaders don't want it and shut it down when it comes. One sales executive told me he had an open door policy. Later that week, I noticed a sales manager go in his office. I overhead the executive yell: "Why are you interrupting me over this? If you can't handle it, I will find someone who can."

If you're wondering which camp you belong to, ask yourself now: What have I done in the last week to solicit feedback from my direct reports? Requesting feedback is ACTION-ORIENTATED. You must do something if you want to know what to do better. Are you worried that the report of your reports isn't going to be all that remarkable? That's understandable; it can be very frightening to open ourselves up to an open-ended question like, "What do I do as a leader that isn't so great?" The great news is that just by asking the questions and valuing the answers you are communicating a whole different kind of message to your team. You are becoming a better leader just by asking for their insights. Do you see how simple this is?

This takes a lot of courage and humility, but it's leaps and bounds above any other feedback soliciting approach. ASK and LISTEN. Keep encouraging your team to tell you the truth. Keep honoring their honesty. Keep creating a space that protects people's opinions. If you want to become the leader your team longs to follow you need to know what it would take for them to collaborate with you. Plus, you will gain new ideas and bolster your team's commitment to excel.

Acting on the feedback

Here's an example: Dave is CEO of a business of about 250 employees. He believes in people and their potential. He asks his employee team for formal feedback 2-3 times a year through individual departments meetings. He starts by explaining his vision and high expectations for their performance. He adds that all employees should expect the best from him, too. Then, he facilitates a session seeking ideas, and what they like or don't like about how he runs the business. He writes the comments on a flipchart, clarifies where needed and replies with thank you. He also schedules office hours for people to meet with him one on one or in small groups.

After a couple of weeks, Dave holds the department meetings again. This time he summarizes what he heard, entertains questions, and reviews what he will do or won't do and why. Dave's business has employee turnover 5x below industry averages, a waiting list of people who want to work with him. He is also a leader in his market every year in sales, profit and customer service. Robert Kiyosaki says, "Critics only make you stronger. You have to look at what they are saying as feedback. Sometimes the feedback helps, and other times, it's just noise that can be a distraction."

In reality, managers are always getting feedback in subtle ways from employees. The key is if they are paying attention to it. By asking for feedback regularly from others (co-workers and the boss, too), listening to it and acting on it leaders are more apt to create a culture of trust. This type of feedback increases leadership effectiveness. It will also foster a team that's more committed to becoming better in an honest and open environment. Soon receiving and hearing feedback will feel as natural as a wind that blows on a warm summer afternoon. Remember these words by Ken Blanchard, "Feedback is the breakfast of champions."

Happy and productive ...People-ism Vs Professionalism

I have been in some pretty fantastic workplaces and sadly, a lot of really sad ones. The Dalai Lama talks at length about the art of happiness at work...

But I want to talk about the word that is often used to crush any shred of happiness (and productivity) in the workplace.

Queue the "da daaaa" music: PROFESSIONALISM or rather something I call "Uber-professionalism"; when good management/professional strategies are taken to an extreme and not used in the right workplace context.

This is what professionalism means to some organisations:

1. Don't be real. Make sure you dress and look corporate and powerful, but don't be human.

2. Don't raise issues unless you do it in a dry monotone. You are not allowed to experience emotions here, and yes, expressing too much emotion may not be good - but none at all will be more destructive. I dub thee "uber-professional" communication. Dry, unfeeling and to the point, which ironically, nothing in the rest of life is. If your business has anything to do with people and their lives this is a clear double standard. You are not allowed to be human and we will respond with robotic automaton. Read more >>>>

Happy and Productive - People-ism vs. Professionalism

I have been in some pretty fantastic workplaces and sadly, a lot of really sad ones. The Dalai Lama talks at length about the art of happiness at work...

But I want to talk about the word that is often used to crush any shred of happiness (and productivity) in the workplace.

Queue the "da daaaa" music: PROFESSIONALISM or rather something I call "Uber-professionalism"; when good management/professional strategies are taken to an extreme and not used in the right workplace context.

This is what professionalism means to some organisations:

1. Don't be real. Make sure you dress and look corporate and powerful, but don't be human.

2. Don't raise issues unless you do it in a dry monotone. You are not allowed to experience emotions here, and yes, expressing too much emotion may not be good - but none at all will be more destructive. I dub thee "uber-professional" communication. Dry, unfeeling and to the point, which ironically, nothing in the rest of life is. If your business has anything to do with people and their lives this is a clear double standard. You are not allowed to be human and we will respond with robotic automaton.

3. Put up with aggression and bullying. Basically a professional in these kinds of workplaces just sits back and allows themselves to be abused in the name of supposed productivity. What happens in reality is the workplace becomes less productive, unhealthy. Walk outs are common and people proudly talk about how competitive the environment is. That's not competitive; to mean competitive it had better be Olympic standard and that involves fair play (even if lately the Olympics has had a lot of cheats they are actively screened for).

4. Follow chain of command (always). With almost military like precision (or so they think). Yes...we all know those people who think a conversation in a corridor with someone outside of your team is dangerous. In reality it opens up ways to share ideas, but to the uber-professional it is scary. Anyone who actually has been in military service will tell you an illegal or unlawful order is an illegal or unlawful order and you definitely don't follow it when lives are at stake. Rather than try and understand this, these are the people who smack their staff with the code of conduct then don't realise they are breaking the code of conduct by using it as weapon rather than a way of assisting people understand the parameters of behaviour. One slip in this world-view and your gone (unless of course you are the person wielding the code of conduct and then you are allowed to do whatever you like).

5. Make sure you are busy when you are just really busy being busy as a matter of survival. Busy in this sense doesn't necessarily achieve anything. Martyrdom seems to come with this uber-professional approach, they take on jobs that are not theirs and question expertise that is not theirs, work super long hours and then complain about everyone else. They are busy dammit! Busy fixing things that don't need to be fixed usually and not focussing on the content of the work.

6. Hard work is the driving force, but no one works particularly smart. I'm not sure where all of this ridiculous comes from, but my guess would it be from the perceptions of the glory days of the Trumps, Murdoch's and Fairfax's. Strangely enough they are perceptions only, the reality is something completely different. Efficiency is something altogether different. "Haste means waste". Ask any successful professional athlete that relies on speed - it requires focus, calm and practice, not rushing, pushing and forcing.

This kind of professionalism encourages a "dog eat dog" type thinking that ever since it's rise in the 1980's has created a lot of depressed and injured workers and lower productivity. This is the kind of professionalism I believe in, something I will coin "People-ism":

1. People are allowed to be themselves. In all their realness. If they have "inappropriate" behaviours from time to time because of the nature of the work or life generally - the assessment of this is determined by the team, not by a regulator or standard of behaviour that focuses on appearances rather than skills, abilities and perspectives. Everyone that appears "different" has a different perspective to offer, they are not to be treated as a threat. If the team votes Mr X or Ms X is too loud - they say so, collectively in peer feedback sessions. They support that person to tone it down with care and compassion and these are facilitated by the group and it's natural leaders, not an imposed "nanny" manager. The team is prepared to accept each other and work with each other, not against each other. No one is perfect and nor would we want them to be in this model.

2. Issues are raised. Not only is issue raising allowed, it is encouraged. Daily. BUT it is facilitated so that it is about issues, not people. There is a big difference and the parameters are easy to work out in a healthy workplace.

3. Encouragement is the norm. Bullying, stand over and intimidation is not tolerated. There will always be times when the workload is high and the pressure as well. "Your lack of planning shouldn't constitute an emergency on my part". Bullies can't seem to understand that their own fear, anxiety and lack of planning (usually) isn't everyone else's issue. If you can't do something for whatever reason - raise it in the issues raising at #2 and ask people for help and surprisingly, you will get it.

4. Planning replaces power plays. Chain of command is replaced with "protocols". Simple "what to do when" instructions. If an issue is sensitive people actually talk to each other. This is different to back to back pointless meetings, led by a dictator. This is different to "here is your task list and go and do it by this time". This planning is based upon a genuine engagement with people's skills, preferences and abilities - not an assumption of them. Let's face it, we have all heard the education metaphor about fish being asked to climb trees. Why on earth would you just randomly give out tasks to whoever based upon an arbitrary measurement of workload?

5. People are active as opposed to frazzled. Calm is the approach here. When workloads are high planning increases - not planning grinding to a halt and everyone flat spinning and flailing about. Planning is collective, not driven by one individual with a controlling mindset. If you are at work more than 8 hours a day, something is wrong. Your work life balance is shattered. You will not be productive, you will just be frazzled. If you are actively engaged in your work you will be able to have time to plan and workload crises will be a thing of the past.

6. Work smarter, not harder. See all of the above. The above requires hard work too - it's just a different more cerebral kind of hard work. It's more about commitment than hard work and it's more about wanting to do a good job, not just any job.

7. Finally and the most important "Conversations, laughter and communication are promoted not prevented". Of course, I hear the old school managers say, "not all day". We all know the destructiveness of working in competitive silos by now, surely? In that environment conversations are about relationship hassles, mortgages and car troubles. In the right working space conversations take on the right kind of buzz, fuelled by the work and environment. Some of the best conversations are those held informally not in the board room. They should inform the generation of ideas that end up in the board room. These conversations become agendas, plans, maps and solutions. If people are genuinely engaged and active in their work, happy and focussed these conversations won't be distractions, they will be productivity tools.

Note: I've had some awesome feedback on this post. One thing I would like to point out - constructive criticism and a more formal business approach is not what I mean here in the first six points. Sometimes aspects of what I describe will not fit the context of highly regulated business where task focus is more important and a primary goal. I have no issue with things like chain of command or constructive criticism when they are applied correctly.

EBOLA

How Do You Get Ebola?

You can get Ebola by coming into contact with the blood or body fluids of an animal or person who is infected.

People often get sick with Ebola when they care for or bury a person who has the disease. Someone also can catch the virus by touching contaminated needles or surfaces.

What Are the Symptoms of Ebola?

Symptoms of the Ebola virus show up 2 to 21 days after someone is infected. As the virus spreads through the body's cells, it damages the immune system and organs. Ultimately, Ebola causes levels of blood-clotting cells, called platelets, to fall, which can lead to severe bleeding.

Many of the early symptoms of Ebola look like the flu or other mild illnesses. They include:

• Fever
• Headache
• Muscle aches
• Sore throat
• Weakness
• Diarrhea

As the disease gets worse, people who are infected may develop:

• Bleeding inside and outside of the body
• Rash
• Trouble breathing

How Can You Tell if Someone Has Ebola?

Sometimes it's hard to tell if a person has Ebola from the symptoms alone.

Doctors may first test for other diseases that have the same symptoms as Ebola, such as:

• Cholera
• Hepatitis
• Malaria
• Meningitis
• Typhoid fever

Tests of the blood and tissues, such as the ELISA test, also can help diagnose Ebola. 

If someone might have Ebola, they should be isolated from the public immediately to help prevent the spread of Ebola.

How Is Ebola Treated?

Right now there is no real treatment or cure for Ebola. Doctors try to manage people's symptoms by giving them:

• Fluids and electrolytes through a vein
• Nutrition
• Oxygen
• Treatment is primarily supportive in nature and includes minimizing invasive procedures, balancing fluids and electrolytes to counter dehydration, administration of anticoagulants early in infection to prevent or control disseminated intravascular coagulation, administration of procoagulants late in infection to control hemorrhaging, maintaining oxygen levels, pain management, and administration of antibiotics or antimycotics to treat secondary infections

How Can You Prevent Ebola?

Although there is no vaccine to prevent Ebola but people can avoid catching the disease by not traveling to areas where the virus is found.

Health care workers can prevent infection by wearing masks, gloves, and goggles whenever they come into contact with people who may have Ebola.

What Causes an Ebola outbreak?

Usually an outbreak starts when someone comes into contact with the body fluids or waste of infected animals, such as monkeys, chimps, or fruit bats. Once a person is infected, he or she can then spread it to others.

There are five different types of Ebola virus that cause the disease. Four of them are known to cause the disease in humans.

The Ebola virus first appeared during two 1976 outbreaks in Africa.

Ebola gets its name from the Ebola River, which is near one of the villages in the Democratic Republic of Congo where the disease first appeared.

JOB HUNTING ON SOCIAL MEDIA

The employment landscape has significantly changed by the advent of growing technology and in recent times by the advent of social media. Despite the fact that the social media is the rave of the moment, many individuals and businesses are actually struggling to identify a return on investment for using social media to job-hunt (as job seekers) or to support their recruiting efforts (as recruiters or employers).

According to a recent Harvard Business Review publication “People may go online to goof off but before long, they talk shop. Social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Quora, and even Pinterest can be valuable job-hunting tools.”What’s more, most job seekers still are not sure how to leverage social media in their job search.

For many job seekers, the Internet presents two very different worlds. One consists of hanging out with friends via social networking, and the other focuses on the seriousness of a job search.Having the worlds collide could result in the playful social media environment posing problems for a job search since there is a growing number of recruiters and employers that now conduct online research to determine a candidate’s eligibility. job related social network briefly:

Read more >>>>

JOB HUNTING ON SOCIAL MEDIA

The employment landscape has significantly changed by the advent of growing technology and in recent times by the advent of social media. Despite the fact that the social media is the rave of the moment, many individuals and businesses are actually struggling to identify a return on investment for using social media to job-hunt (as job seekers) or to support their recruiting efforts (as recruiters or employers).

According to a recent Harvard Business Review publication “People may go online to goof off but before long, they talk shop. Social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Quora, and even Pinterest can be valuable job-hunting tools.”What’s more, most job seekers still are not sure how to leverage social media in their job search.

For many job seekers, the Internet presents two very different worlds. One consists of hanging out with friends via social networking, and the other focuses on the seriousness of a job search.Having the worlds collide could result in the playful social media environment posing problems for a job search since there is a growing number of recruiters and employers that now conduct online research to determine a candidate’s eligibility.

Job seekers need to embrace the job-hunting side of social media and learn how to harness them to their benefit. Shared below are a few useful job search tips to using social media to you advantage as a job seeker:

Start by knowing the purpose for each social networks

If the purpose of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable. As a job seeker, you have to know that each social network has its purpose and a job seeker must understand each social networks in order to use it as a job search advantage. Let’s pick the top three job related social network briefly:

LinkedIn: is the world’s largest professional social network. If you are a professional and you want to be known for what you are good at, then you need a LinkedIn profile today. Being on LinkedIn gives you the opportunity to access over 250 million professionals who use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas and job opportunities. Recruiters and employers spend most of their time on LinkedIn sourcing for talents. Why not have a LinkedIn profile so you can be found easily!

Facebook: Facebook is unarguably the world’s largest social networking site today. Facebook is really the definition of social as you can share ‘almost’ everything on it. I know, I don’t need to say much on Facebook as many of you can actually lecture me on Facebook. On Facebook, an employer can have a personal presence and a professional fan page. Although Facebook is thought of primarily as a personal networking site, many recruiters and hiring managers are leveraging its wide reach and large audience for influencing potential candidates.

Twitter: With Twitter you have 140 characters to express yourself. Twitter is seen by many as a ‘breaking news’ channel, information spreads faster with a single tweet. Twitter gives recruiters and hiring managers can promote job openings to their followers and target the message accordingly. Job seekers can get first hand job info when they follow the right employers on Twitter.

Build a competitive personal brand:

Getting a job in this social media era require online visibility – personal branding. Personal branding is one of the best way to advance in your job search. Hence, you would need to use social media in building your personal brand.We live in a brand new world of perception! You decide what others and most especially “what Google would say about you”. How you are perceived as an individual goes to affect your career as well as the type of job you get.

Hence, the need to take charge of your personal brand most especially online. In order to communicate the right personal brand message to others, you have to consciously decide what that message is going to be. Would you like to be seen as a professional in your field of interest or an amateur? You decide…

Expand your network:

Permit me to say, your social network is essential to your getting your desired job. So, make conscious effort to build relationships with organisations and individuals of interest to you and don’t be afraid to reach out through several social media platforms. The key point here is symbiotic relationship and not parasitic. Never be a desperate job seeker when networking on social media, add value to people on social media and value would flow back to you in return. That is the secret of social media networking at its best.

There is a growing number of success stories of individuals getting jobs by actively networking on social networking sites. Lots of recruiters, hiring managers, and industry networkers are swapping job leads and industry updates on social media platforms, why not join the flow and get your dream job!

Job seeker, social media is your friend, so embrace it!

Till next time, we are all work in progress...