Daily headlines are filled with companies dealing with crisis. Is your company prepared? Unlike Fortune 500 firms, smaller companies are often unprepared and usually do not have a crisis plan in place. They believe it will never happen to them. But what if it does?

Employee handbooks serve a crucial role in laying the foundation for an organization's policies and work environment. Handbooks are usually given to new hires on their first day and allow employees to get familiar with the norms of the organization. In addition to helping to onboard new employees, handbooks also allow an organization to standardize both old and new procedures.

As part of developing their interpersonal skills, project leaders should cultivate strong leadership skills. Project teams need sound leadership from their project leads to complete their objectives. Without robust leadership from the project leader, projects can fail or miss key deadlines.

For some project leaders, delegating tasks is the hardest part of the job. As a project leader, it can be tempting to try to perform all project work yourself (i.e., the "if you want something done right, do it yourself" syndrome) or to micromanage when you delegate work. For better or worse, projects are often far too big for any one person to complete, and delegating work is a project management necessity.

People are recognized as leaders for different reasons, but to be a leader, other people must be willing to follow you. Some people find the power to be leaders from their history of successes or their expertise. Others rely more on their personalities. Some demonstrate strong values or an ability to empathize that makes others willing to follow them. The most common bases of leadership are charisma, expertise, authority, success, commitment, values, and empathy.

We are always making a choice, no matter what. Not only is every action you take a choice, but not doing something is also a choice. There is a great quote from Stephen Covey: "Leadership is a choice, not a position."

No matter your role—whether you're a CEO or an intern—you have the choice every day to be a leader. Especially if you're working in a startup, there are countless opportunities to step up and make a 10X impact.

Dismissing an employee is always a difficult task, and it can negatively affect both the employee and the employer—especially if it is mishandled. Most employers will try to avoid dismissal and will employ progressive discipline (warnings and other disciplinary acts) in an attempt to improve the situation.

In the United States, the doctrine of employment-at-will allows employers to fire employees without giving a reason (as long as the reason isn't illegal, such as discrimination based on age, gender, or race). Most companies dismiss a worker for a specific reason.

This week, Skye Learning is spotlighting Dr. Jonathan Jefferson, the Chief Academic Officer and Provost at Lesley University. Skye was thrilled to include Dr. Jefferson’s expert commentary in Introduction to Leadership, a course within the Certificate in Leadership.

Formerly, Dr. Jefferson was Chair of Lesley’s Business Management Division and a professor of management. He was Managing Director of Jefferson Consulting Group for almost eight years, where he managed a portfolio of $200 million and over 130 projects. He was also formerly Director of the United States Coast Guard Academy’s Institute for Leadership. He also served as Dean of Albany State University’s College of Business and Dean of Clark Atlanta University, among other former positions.

Your employees will look to management for guidance on how they are expected to accomplish given goals. You will be called upon to decide the order or priority of tasks, the individuals responsible for completing them, the manner in which they are to be performed, and the tools that will be used to measure progress.

Managers must consider a number of factors when setting schedules and assigning work tasks, including the skill levels and experience of workers and how well a given set of employees work together. Flexibility is key when dealing with unanticipated scheduling problems.

Skye Learning’s Introduction to Emergency Management course provides an overview of fundamental concepts, including the four phases of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. See what a learner has to say about the course: