Friday, November 29, 2019

Study Yes, you can be too smart for your own good at the office

Study Yes, you can be too smart for your own good at the officeStudy Yes, you can be too smart for your own good at the officeYou can, in fact, be too clever for your own good, according to a study on what hiring managers and direct reports really want in employees and bosses.A study in theJournal of Applied Psychology found that being book smart didnt necessarily lead to being seen as successful in the eyes of your peers and direct subordinates.Accounting for the effects of leader personality, gender, age, company, and country, researchers found that theres a point at which the effects of intelligence produce decreasing returns in perceived good leadership.Although intelligence does indeed matter to be an effective leader, theres a point when your big brain starts to get old for your direct reports and the influence of your super-intelligence diminishes.High intelligence doesnt always lead to being seen as a great leaderBy analyzing 379 midlevel leaders around the world - and their coworkers ratings of these leaders - the researchers found that the relationship of intelligence to leader style is initially strongly positive after hitting a peak, the relationship does not benefit in terms of a marginal difference and starts becoming negative.The leaders you remember long after you leave a job are the ones who inspire you, the ones who handled the red tape of bureaucracy so you could do your best work. The researchers called these leadership styles transformational and instrumental, and research has shown these styles to be the most effective ways to be a leader.In the study, leaders with a higher intelligence than IQ of 120 had lower scores in transformational and instrumental leadership than their less smart peers.The researchers were building off of previous studies that found that highly intelligent leaders can be bad communicators.Some of their pitfalls? These cerebral leaders can come off as less accessible to their peers, detached from their organization , and socially aloof. They can also be too hard to follow. Their arguments can become too verbose, making more sophisticated solutions to problems which may be much more difficult to understand.Maybe its not you, its themThe researchers concluded that theres no one-size-fits-all level of intelligence in leadership because the higher the mean intelligence is of a group, the higher is the optimal level of intelligence of the leader.To be a good leader, you have to be able to be understood by the people youre leading. Sometimes, Im too smart for them may actually be the reason you got a bad performance review, because if youre not speaking the language of your organization, the brainy, brilliant theories you put forth wont be persuasive.The study reminds us that being smart is only as useful as the people around you.What are the most important qualities you look for in a manager? Let us know in The Climb.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

IT Manager Salary and Job Description

IT Manager Salary and Job DescriptionIT Manager Salary and Job DescriptionTop IT managers have always been in demand, but with more industries utilizing Big Data and non-traditional IT solutions especially enterprise-centric mobile applications more companies are seeking candidates for these IT leadership roles.And if you dont yet have an IT manager on your team, thismight be the time to hire one. Any company that uses large databases needs an IT Manager, not just administrators and support staff. Its important to ask yourself this question Who do you want managing your companys geschftlicher umgang-critical data? If its not a high-caliber, skilled IT manager, your company could be missing out or at risk.More than just tech skills what it takes to be an IT managerIT managers need both a technical and a business background, as well as strong people management skills. IT managers must be effective advocates for the IT strategy as well as translate non-technical expectations into ach ievable IT solutions. In other words, these individuals must be fantastic communicators who can decipher business lingo and decode software speak.An IT manager who thinks analytically is also very important, as this position involves not just problem resolution, but process development around how to prioritize and remediate those issues. In addition, a strong customer service orientation is integral because IT managers often serve as the final escalation point for high-visibility troubleshooting.IT manager salaryAccording to the 2019 Robert Half Technology Salary Guide, the salary midpoint for this position is projected to be $128,500 in the coming year.You can use our Salary Calculator to adjust an entry-level IT manager salary for your city.What hiring managers wantThose hiring IT managers look for top candidates with a bachelors degree in an IT-related field, positiv at least five years of experience with the specific types of business systems, hardware and networking services ut ilized by the firm. Demonstrated leadership is also a must.Here is a list of qualificationsBe able to analyze workflow, delegate projects and meet departmental goalsDevelop and monitor performance standardsProvide input on hiring decisions for technical staffImplement and monitor new projectsManage performance of and delegate projects to team membersIn addition to information on a starting IT manager salary and job description, you can find information on compensation for 75 IT jobs in 150 North American citiesDOWNLOAD SALARY GUIDEThis post has been updated to reflect more current information.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Bioengineered Vocal Cord Tissue Produces Sound

Bioengineered Vocal Cord Tissue Produces Sound Bioengineered Vocal Cord Tissue Produces Sound Bioengineered Vocal Cord Tissue Produces SoundMost of us take for granted our ability to speakthis is not the case for about 20 million Americans who suffer from voice impairments. ansicht often result from damage to the vocal-cord mucosae, the specialized folded tissues that vibrate as air moves over them, creating sound. Although some medical treatments are available surgery, voice therapy, or injections of collagen or other materials, the results are generally unsatisfactory.Now, however, researchers at the University of Wisconsin in Madison have succeeded in growing functional vocal-cord tissue in the laboratory, a major step toward developing better treatments for people with voice disorders.Most people inherently identify themselves and others by the sound of their voices, can recognize a familiar voice, and can pick up on others emotion and intent based on the tone of their voice, say s Dr. Nathan Welham, associate professor in the Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the UW School of Medicine, who led the research team. Voice is part of who we are. Given this, the idea that a voice can be potentially regenerated or replaced in someone with voice difficulty is a fascinating and hopeful thing.Dr. Nathan Welham (right) and his colleagues were able to bioengineer vocal-cord tissue. Image University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public HealthComplex Tissue StructureVocal cords are made up of special tissue that is flexible enough to vibrate, yet strong enough to bang together hundreds of times per second. Its an exquisite system and a hard thing to replicate, says Welham.ansicht are the only tissues in the body that are subject to high-frequency oscillation (at rates exceeding 1,000 Hz for a soprano when singing, or 200-300 Hz for the rest of us most of the time) and repeated tissue collision with associated impact and shear stresses. Despite thi s, the tissues are actually quite delicate and have a low viscous modulus, so low, in fact, that traveling waves propagate across the tissue surface during voice production, says Welham. We had to consider all of these things when engineering a new tissue.The research team isolated, purified, and grew cells from mucosa tissue harvested from a cadaver and the larynxes removed from four patients. The cells were then transferred to a 3-D collagen scaffold, similar to the approach used to generate artificial skin in the laboratory. In about two weeks the cells had formed a strong, pliable, connective tissue with the same basic structure as vocal-cord tissue, including viscosity and elasticity. Physical testing showed that the epithelial cells had also begun to form an immature basement membrane, which helps create a barrier against pathogens and irritants in the airway.The cells are effectively talking to each other and producing the structural proteins that make this special tissue cap able of vibration, says Brian Frey, a UW-Madison associate scientist in chemistry involved in the research.The bioengineered tissue welches then transplanted onto one side of larynges that had been removed from cadaver dogs and attached to artificial wind pipes. When humidified air was blown through the larynges, a humming sound resulted. High-speed digital imaging showed the engineered mucosa vibrating like the native tissue on the other side of the larynges.Finally, the researchers tested the biocompatibility of the tissue in mice that had been engineered to have human immune systems. The tissue grew and was not rejected. It seems the engineered vocal-cord tissue is immune-privileged, meaning that it doesnt set off a host immune reaction, Welham says.Lab-grown and native vocal tissue. Image University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public HealthHuman TestingWe hoped for a good outcome, but were shocked at how well the engineered tissue created with human vocal fold primary ce lls performed, says Welham. These cells, originally exposed to the biomechanical environment of vocal folds when inside the body, seemed ideally suited to recapitulate the structure and function when used to engineer a replacement tissue.One disappointment was that the bioengineered vocal-cord tissues fiber structure was less complex than adult vocal cords. However, it also takes human vocal cords about 13 years to fully develop.Much mora research is required before bioengineered vocal-cord tissue will be ready for human testing. Welhams proof-of-principle study is a robust benchmark in the possible use of vocal-cord tissue as a practical therapy option for patients with severe vocal fold diseases who would benefit from a complete mucosal replacement. Getting to this point, however, will require substantially more safety and efficacy testing, as well as FDA approval, concludes Welham.Mark Crawford is an independent writer.Learn about the latest trends in bioengineering at ASMEs Glob al Congress on NanoEngineering for Medicine and Biology. For Further DiscussionThe idea that a voice can be potentially regenerated or replaced in someone with voice difficulty is a fascinating and hopeful thing.Dr. Nathan Welham, UW School of Medicine