The start of a new year provides an opportunity to take stock of one's career and outline steps for advancing to the next level. Managers and employees must continually develop their professional skills and abilities in order to reach their full potential and remain engaged at work.

While no one should stay in a job where his or her efforts are consistently undervalued or unrewarded, changing jobs too often can affect your long-term career prospects.

Before resigning from a position, consider whether or not you can improve the situation. ...In many instances, employers are made aware of an employee's dissatisfaction only after that individual resigns.

A good manager identifies ways to mitigate routine problems and respond quickly to unexpected ones, freeing up more time for bigger-picture issues.

It can cause undue stress and leave you and your staff unprepared for a true emergency.

Is the situation really a crisis? Do not treat every bump in the road as a disaster.

Many companies may be hesitant to increase employee compensation because of other expenses impacting the business, such as rising health-care and energy costs. But an overly cautious approach can be detrimental, particularly as the competition for top candidates intensifies.