Current News At Developing People
Leadership Theory and Practice
27 Aug 2010
The Harvard Business Press recently published the Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice, edited by Harvard Business School Professors Nitin Nohria and Rakesh Khurana. The editors state that the purpose of the book is to fill the gap between the vast number of books and articles about leadership in the popular press and the lack of rigorous academic research about the subject.
The Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice brings together the most important scholars from fields as dive...
Developing Leadership and Strategic Thinking
20 Aug 2010
Would you like to improve your leadership and strategic thinking skills? If so, try out some of the following development ideas listed below:
* Read the business pages of a quality newspaper such as The Times, Financial Times, and Telegraph etc. Alternatively subscribe to the Harvard Business Review. Learn about strategies and actions that other organisations have taken to improve their performance. Determine which ones of these would work well within your organisation.
* Prepare a ‘str...
Team Development – Internal or External Focus?
06 Aug 2010
Managers who wish to improve the performance of their teams often tend to focus on the team’s ‘internal workings’. They focus on subjects such as clarifying the team’s goals and roles, building spirit and motivation, providing focused agendas and agreeing rules for decision making. However, a book written by Deborah Ancona (Professor at MIT Sloan School of Management) and Henrik Bresman (INSEAD) states that these attributes alone are not enough to ensure that a team is successful.
The author...
Management Development – Cutting Unauthorised Absences
30 Jul 2010
According to a survey undertaken by CHH, employers are losing ground when it comes to keeping workers on the job. Unscheduled absenteeism rates have risen to their highest level since 1999, and what continues to be of most concern is that almost two out of three employees who don’t show up for work aren’t actually physically ill.
It is estimated that employee absenteeism costs the UK economy around £12 billion per year. On average, this equates to around 8.5 days per employee at an average co...
The Benefits of Investment in Management Training and Development
23 Jul 2010
Have you ever wondered why the Management Development programme your organisation invested in didn’t deliver what was expected?
Have you personally ever attended a development programme or training course, but didn’t get out of it what you had hoped?
Have you ever delivered a Management Development programme, and found that your delegates were disinterested, unmotivated and disengaged?
Some of the answers to these questions can be found in recent research that has tried to explain how ...
Five Steps Towards Being an Effective Manager
16 Jul 2010
To be an effective manager, it is important to recognise the good habits that belong to the areas of personal effectiveness and priority management. It is equally as important to recognise that the opposite of these good habits are the bad habits that can sneak up on us all sometimes, and start to make us ineffective almost without us realising!
Here are five steps towards being an effective manager:
1. Use a diary, and plan your work schedule
It may sound simple and obvious, but using a ...
Leading Change Effectively
09 Jul 2010
With central and local government spending cuts starting to bite, many public and private organisations are experiencing further pressure to improve productivity and reduce costs as ever tougher demands are being placed on them.
These pressures will cause organisations to fundamentally rethink how they operate and as a consequence their leaders, managers and staff will need to think and act very differently from before.
However, no matter how clear the imperative for change might be, fo...
Leading by Example
02 Jul 2010
There is the boss who tells everyone that Health and Safety is of paramount importance to the company, but doesn’t turn up to the Health and Safety meetings because they are “too busy”. There is the Financial Director, who recommends cost cutting during the recession, but then takes delivery of a new BMW. There is the Team Leader who barks at people for poor housekeeping, who whose own work area is a disgrace.
Are you one of these people?
All leaders need followers. Leaders need followers ...
Networking - Top Tips to Improve Your Networking Skills
25 Jun 2010
In the tough economic climate of today, networking is probably an even more important marketing tool than it has ever been before. The wider your network, the more likely you will have contacts in businesses and organisations that are less affected by the general slow-down in consumer spending. People have always bought “people” people. We all like to know who we are dealing with, what they are like, how they can help us and whether we trust them.
It is therefore very important to be confi...
Management Training - Can you teach an old dog new tricks?
18 Jun 2010During 2009, the High Court upheld the decision that it was legal for the Default Retirement Age of 65 (introduced by the Government in 2006) to remain in place. As the Law currently stands, a British employer can therefore dismiss a member of staff without redundancy payments on their 65th birthday, as long as the employer sticks to the correct procedure for the dismissal. Employees have the right to request to continue working, but the employer can refuse this without giving any reason for the...
How to Evaluate the Impact of Leadership Training and Development
11 Jun 2010
In the late 1950’s, Kirkpatrick outlined four levels of training evaluation. His evaluation system consisted of four types of measures:
• Reactions – ‘liking or feelings for a programme’.
* Learning – ‘principles, facts etc absorbed by the participants’.
* Behaviour – ‘using learning on the job’.
* Results – ‘increased production, reduced cost’s etc’.
While a number of developments in evaluation have been made during the past 50 years, the basic tenets of Kirkpatrick’s work still remai...
Leadership Development - the Sigmoid Curve
28 May 2010Charles Handy in his book the Empty Raincoat discussed the Sigmoid curve and its implications for organisations. In essence, Handy was explaining that all organisations have life cycles that are fairly predictable and can be expressed in terms of 5 shaped curves, like a product life cycle. The curves show how organisations form and start to grow, before eventually reaching a peak and then starting to decline. The time span for the growth, maturity and decline may be very long or fairly short (th...
Leadership and Talent Management - Follow the Leader?
21 May 2010
Talent management is concerned with the long term success of a business by ensuring that it has the right people in place to fulfil all the necessary roles in the future. It minimises the risk to the long term future of the business or organisation by ensuring that there is a pipeline of people with the right skills, experience and behaviours to fulfil key positions in the future.
The job market is currently on a steady increase after the economic downfall that the UK has faced in recent mont...
Must a Good Leader Be Liked?
14 May 2010
In the workplace every day, we meet a whole range of different people. It is inevitable, therefore, that some of these people we will like, and some we will not get along with so easily. Of course, some of these people are going to be leaders - is it imperative that a good leader must be one of likeable character, or is it possible for a leader to be equally effective without the luxury of being liked by those they lead?
Good leaders must be many things in varying quantities – for example :
...
Management Training and Development – How to make it more impactful
07 May 2010
Why are some management development programmes and training courses more effective than others? Why do some managers come back from a course wanting to implement what they have learned straight away while others might as well not have bothered attending in the first place?
Perhaps some of the answers can be found in psychology research that has tried to explain how people learn. In other words how we come to know w...
Leaders - are they born or made?
30 Apr 2010
Over many years discussions have raged about leadership ability and whether great leaders are born to lead or whether they develop their craft through years of learning and experience.
One thing is clear, we are all born with an inherent set of capabilities and personality traits. Anyone who has raised children will marvel at their differences from a very early age - for example, the son who being interested in animals later becomes a vet, or the perennial bookworm daughter who loves reading...
Leadership – Imagining the Future
23 Apr 2010
Imagining or envisioning the future is a key aspect of leadership. Leaders need to ask questions such as :
* What will our organisation look like in 5 – 10 years time?
* What skills, capabilities and people will we need?
* How will we stand compared to others?
* What opportunities, risks and challenges does the future hold?
Providing answers to these questions requires “scenario thinking”, which helps leaders to imagine the future, especially during periods of uncertainty and transition...
Leadership Succession – Developing your high potentials
16 Apr 2010
You may have identified a number of people as high potentials in your organization, but how do you develop them to ensure that they reach their full potential? It is certainly not appropriate in today’s organisational climate to simply leave them to it. Organisations need to continually change and develop and their high potentials will need to change, develop and ‘move with the times’ as well.
So what should your organisation do? The following is a guide to help you to develop your high po...
Leadership Succession – Identifying your potential
09 Apr 2010
Do you know who has the capability to lead your organization in the future? Do know if you have the people with the capability and potential you need to succeed?
Leadership succession plays a vital role in ensuring that an organisation can fulfill its long term aims and objectives. But how does an organisation go about identifying people with potential?
The first step in the process has to be preparing a ‘specification’ of characteristic of someone with high potential. In other words a...
Leadership Succession
01 Apr 2010
Do you know who will be leading your business in the future? Do you have the people with the capability and potential you need? Or will you leave you leadership succession to chance?
Leadership succession is significant issue for many businesses, as too many do not have a systematic approach to succession planning and effectively leave it to chance. Succession planning is not just a business risk issue. In their research paper ‘Will Succession Planning Increase Shareholder Wealth?’ Shen, Ca...
Leadership is about pressing for change
26 Mar 2010
Two high profile strikes have been announced recently, one affecting BA (which has already started), and the other Network Rail. While the details of the disputes between the Unions and their employers is not in the public domain, it is clear that the main issue is the Management plans to change existing working practises.
However, leadership is about pressing for change, as no organisation can stand still in today’s rapidly changing environment. It is also therefore quite high risk, and ver...
Developing a Successful Succession Plan
20 Mar 2010
The reality of business today is that many key executives and talented professionals are coming up to their retirement. In addition, because of the recent economic pressures many organisations have had to reorganise and resize themselves, the consequences of which mean that the talent pool that would have been ready to step up into key roles are either not ready or no longer there. All of this represents serious implications for the business.
This issue doesn’t just affect large organisations ...
Is the leadership talent you need under your nose?
09 Mar 2010
For many businesses one of the biggest risks to their future success is having the right leadership talent in place as and when key leaders leave the business or retire. However, because of the changing nature of the world we work in, it is likely that competition for talent will get even stiffer over the next decade. It is worth noting that:
* Companies operating on a global scale will have the reach and ability to attract the best from around the world.
* Changing demographics means that...
Leadership Development
02 Mar 2010Busy professionals don’t always get the opportunity to rise above the demands of their day to day work to plan their careers of develop new skills properly. When the pressure is on to deliver short term targets, cost savings and efficiency improvements, longer term development activities can easily be put on the “back burner”. Indeed, research conducted by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) in 2008 identified that only two out of five business leaders are satisfied with ...
Leadership Vs Management
23 Feb 2010
Firstly which of the following words would you associate with leadership and which ones with management?
Giving responsibility to others.
reporting,
monitoring,
team-building,
having courage,
budgeting,
determining direction,
developing strategy,
measuring,
applying rules and policies,
discipline,
inspiring others,
You may have come up with a list that looks like:
Words associated with management:
reporting
monitoring
budgeting
measuring
applying rules and policies
disci...
How leaders can minimise the impact of their ‘weaknesses’
12 Feb 2010
Highly effective and impactful leaders do not succeed just because they are in the right place at the right time, or simply because of good luck or fortune. They succeed because they play to their strengths, and they work hard at maximising them. Effective leaders are very conscious of their strengths and know how to deploy them for their own advantage and for the benefit of their Organisation.
For example: Richard Branson likes to challenge the status quo of traditional businesses, Greg Dy...
Train your managers to manage sickness effectively
02 Feb 2010
According to research, the first Monday in February is the day in the year when staff are traditionally most likely to take an unofficial day off work.
Peter Mooney, of the Employment Law Advisor Services (ELAS) conducted the research and believes that taking a ‘sickee’ is becoming easier as some employers are dispensing with the traditional requirement to phone in sick in favour of other means of communication such as text messaging.
According to the CBI, sickness is causing organisations...
Leadership and Talent Management
08 Jan 2010
Talent Management is the process of identifying, developing and retaining current employees and attracting highly skilled individuals needed by the organization. Talent management requires the organization to be clear about what talent is, who they regard as talented and what their typical working background might be.
As Talent Management is concerned with the long-term success of the organization, the process has to primarily be the responsibility of the organization’s leaders. If Talen...
How ego can affect the success of coaching.
15 Dec 2009
We all have our egos and they can and do have a big impact on how we conduct ourselves, our communications and our relationships. They also influence our attitudes and how we relate to both the outer world and to our inner world of thoughts and feelings.
As a consequence we also take our egos into any coaching relationships – both as the coach and as coachee.
The coaching subjects all have their own egos to work with and most of them,in my experience, fit in towards the middle of a normal dis...
A Leadership Dilemma
11 Dec 2009
Your organisation is currently struggling. Revenues are down, profits are down and if the current trend persists the business may end up making a loss at the end of the year.
While putting the brakes on expenditure may be the only option the business has, depending on how this is approached can make a big difference to the motivation, commitment and engagement of managers and staff who have to implement it.
Consider the following scenario:
Your business invested in a leadership devel...
The benefits to Directors of coaching.
20 Nov 2009
More and more CEO's and Directors these days are receiving 1 to 1 coaching support. A recent Survey by The Hay Group about executive coaching revealed that at least 75% of FTSE 100 Companies have some sort of coaching programme for their most senior leaders.
So what is behind this rapid increase in coaching suuport for executives and what are the benefits that they and their Organisations get from it?
The need to provide hard pressed chief executives with a "lifeline" in the form of objective,...
Understanding and developing your Team
13 Nov 2009
Over the years there has been a number of people who have conducted research into team building theory. Team building was pioneered by Belbin in the early 1980’s. He observed teams undertaking a management game and identified that different people naturally undertook one of 8 different roles when working in a team. Subsequently other researchers have similarly identified 8 roles.
For example Charles Margerisson and Dick McCann conducted extensive research into what makes management team...
Coaching and the line manager's role.
03 Nov 2009
What is the role of a line manager when providing coaching to their employees?
If they are coaching them direct then it requires them to use their relationship and communication skills to help their employee to focus on the requirements of their job in order to maximise their performance or to resolve any other issues that they may have which are inhibiting this performance. The subject matter could also be about their relationships or about other changes in direction, approach or processes or ...
How to solve your organisation’s Management Training needs
28 Oct 2009
Many organisations send their managers on open training programmes, or sometimes to colleges or business schools to develop their management skills. Management training is a vital part of the development of a manager, as the skills need to lead, motivate and get the best out of staff are very different from technical skills.
However, there are a number of important issues to be considered using this style of approach.
? Firstly, the manager concerned must accept the course as given, which ...
How to solve your organisation’s Management Training needs
28 Oct 2009
Many organisations send their managers on open training programmes, or sometimes to colleges or business schools to develop their management skills. Management training is a vital part of the development of a manager, as the skills need to lead, motivate and get the best out of staff are very different from technical skills.
However, there are a number of important issues to be considered using this style of approach.
? Firstly, the manager concerned must accept the course as given, which ...
Customer service - how to become "easy to do business with".
19 Oct 2009
This may sound like a very basic phrase but when it comes down to it, the key thing that customers are looking for from any of their suppliers is the appropriate product or service
but delivered in a straightforward, user friendly way.
This applies to both external customers as well as to our internal customers and as much as anything it is based on our attitudes, behaviours and relationships.
When working with staff or managers on management development or customer service programmes we have...
Assessing the Potential You Need
16 Oct 2009
For many businesses one of the biggest risks to their future success is having the right talent in place as and when key people leave the organisation.
While finding good people may be less difficult during a recession, the demand and competition for talent will increase over the next few years because of a number of factors:
• The global economy will recover.
• Companies are operating more and more on a global scale and can attract the best from around the world.
• Changing demographi...
How to facilitate effective team development.
05 Oct 2009A key feature of our work with client’s is to help them with the building of effective teams. This ideally starts at the top of the organisation, with the senior team, but it can include teams at any level in the organisation and can be particularly powerful at the customer facing end of the business where the individual and team behaviours have the most direct impact on the real customers. In today’s article I will consider the approach and nature of some of the senior team building work that w...
Managing Performance - Tops Tips for Setting Clear Personal Targets
02 Oct 2009
The overall purpose of performance management is to maximise the contribution of individuals and teams to enable the organisation to achieve its strategies, and goals.
However, for performance management to succeed, it is vital that everyone in the organisation knows what’s expected of them. One way of clearly expressing what the organisation wants an individual to achieve is to set them personal targets (sometimes called objectives). Targets are analogous to a jigsaw puzzle. A single ...
How can Organisations decide if they need to change?
21 Sep 2009
What sort of indicators do Organisations look at to see if they need to change?
There are some very obvious circumstances or occurrences that drive Organisations to change the way that they are working - or the work that they are doing. For example when two businesses or institutions such as colleges or schools are forced to or decide to merge and integrate then there is usually a need to change structure and to decide which aspects of the different Organisation's culture to move ahead with. It...
Leadership Development and How to Identify Future Leaders
18 Sep 2009
Many organisations struggle with the dilemma of how to identify its future leaders. Who are the ones that an organisation should invest in? Leadership development and training programmes can be a significant expense and so no budget conscious organisation would wish to waste its valuable training budget.
Identifying future leadership potential is a complex issue; however there are a number of steps an organisation can take to improve its ability to identify its future leaders.
The firs...
Why is coaching often more effective than other forms of leadership or management development?
07 Sep 2009
It is often suggested that coaching is more effective in producing performance improvements for the subject than spending the equivalent time on a leadership or management development programme. This is a somewhat subjective statement and quite difficult to measure objectively but there is a fair body of evidence that supports this contention.
So what factors and differences are there between these two developmental learning experiences which produce a different outcome?
Firstly the coaching p...
The Benefits of Tailored Management Training Courses
03 Sep 2009
Most organisations are aware of the benefits that motivated, capable and focussed mangers can have on their business. These may range from driving improvements in bottom line performance (in terms of sales, service and profitability) to leading a challenging change programme that the organisation is going through.
However, no one became a star perfumer by accident. While everyone is born with a number of inherent gifts, it does not automatically mean that they will be a great manager. Man...
How to develop a new senior leadership team.
28 Aug 2009
There are a number of key aspects to consider when looking at how to develop a new senior leadership team. This starts with understanding the nature of the organisation, the business and the external marketplace within which it operates. Who are the customers and suppliers, who are the competetition or is it in a monopoly situation or secure Government regulatory environment?
Also where has the organisation come from, where is it now and crucially where is it going? These are some of the broad ...
How far should we push a coachee to establish their goals and objectives?
25 Aug 2009
When I meet with a new coachee for the first time one of the first, important items on my checklist is to review with them what their goals and objectives are for this coaching work.
I may well have already been given a brief or objectives for this coaching assignment by the sponsor or by the employee's line manager at the start of this process and if so I would discuss this with the coachee to ensure that they know about and understand this. Ideally the coachee will recognise, understand and a...
How coaching can help managers with performance management issues.
21 Aug 2009
In my previous article I looked at the role that management training programmes play in providing the context, policy and procedure base for good performance management. In this article I will look at how 1 to 1 coaching can help a manager to develop and implement an effective action plan to deal with underperforming employees.
A training course can cover the processes and theory and even relevant scenarios but it doesn't easily get into the individual details of specific cases and a review of ...
Can management training programmes help with Performance management problems?
17 Aug 2009
Yes management training programmes can help managers who are faced with performance management problems. These programmes need to be designed to cover a number of key areas of line manager's responsibility which relate to the effective performance management of their people such as:- the basic role of a line manager with respect to managing, controlling and developing their people.
It also needs to cover the company policies, procedures and guidelines as they relate to their employment contract...
Improving your management effectiveness
11 Aug 2009
Most people think that they are a good manager – but how many people ask those that really matter – their staff?
Several years ago a YouGov survey polled hundreds of staff and about one third of them did not rate the performance of their manager very highly! If you are a manager, how effective are you at motivating your staff? The following pointers may prove invaluable.
• Communicate where the business is going. If you want your staff to be committed to your organisation, they need to know...
Developing your talent
10 Aug 2009
In today’s competitive world organisations cannot just recruit a manager who will simply ‘fit the job’ and leave them to it. Business and organisations have to continually change and develop and their managers need to change, grow and ‘move with the times’ as well.
To make the most out of your new recruits and burgeoning talent, follow these key steps.
1. Make talent development a key issue for the Board. The Board should be able to clearly articulate the strategy of the organisation, w...
Top Tips To Make Your Presentations Memorable
03 Aug 2009
Whether it is public speaking, team briefing or formal presenting, standing up in front of others is often cited as one of the most difficult things that a manager has to do.
However, many of these difficulties can be overcome by following some simple guidelines. Using the tips below will help you to develop your confidence and deliver more memorable presentations.
1. Before making a presentation or briefing try to understand as much about your audience as possible. For example, what i...
Are you making the most of your networks?
30 Jul 2009
For many of us, networking, either online or face-to-face, can be a daunting task. The endless self promotion posted on social networking sites and blogs such as Twitter or Facebook and business networking sites such as Linked In can induce a sense of inadequacy in many of us.
So why the growing popularity of different networking techniques and can they really help people find another job or to build their business?
People ultimately buy “people”. We like to know who we are dealing with a...
What critical, developmental feedback to coaches get from their coachees?
25 Jul 2009
These are real examples of critical, developmental feedback that we received from a survey sent to coachees about our coaching style and inputs?
These were the aspects of the coaching approach that did not work so well for the coachees:-
Greater emphasis on tools to assist with inter-personal skills.
More time on a personal toolkit of management skills.
No issues yet.
Not sure.
Aspects that they would have us do differently were:-
Nothing, initially I was unsure what was expected of ...
What positive benefits and impact are there from coaching?
24 Jul 2009
The following positive feedback was taken from a sample of coaching review forms submitted to the coaches at Developing People Limited.
They said the following about the relationship that their coach had established with them.
Excellent, good, fine, open frank and easy to talk to, safe communicative, enjoyable, honest, confidentiality assured. Discussions have helped me to crystallise my thoughts on various topics.
The aspects of the approach that worked well for them were:-
The opportun...
Finding time to develop your managers
17 Jul 2009
Fifteen to twenty years ago it was not uncommon for organisations to invest a significant amount of time (and money) on highly structured learning and development programmes.
Companies such as IBM, WH Smith and BP had expectations around the number of days per year a manager should invest in their development programmes and syllabuses were set up either internally or in conjunction with Universities and other training providers and one, two or even thee week courses were the norm.
But in t...
Leadership Development
15 Jul 2009
Over the past few decades Leadership Development has changed from being primarily a classroom based activity to being supplemented by a range of activities as diverse as high ropes courses and charity based events.
While formal classroom learning is still an important element, development experiences that are likely to have the greatest impact will be those that are closely linked to a person’s ongoing work and development needs. Activities such as 360° feedback, performance coaching, action...
How to keep the business going during the summer holidays.
10 Jul 2009
Many businesses have quiet periods during the summer holiday months and also during the Christmas and New Year break. How should we plan, organise and structure a B to B business like a Management Training and Coaching business to minimise the impact of this slowing down of client activity?
The first consideration is to plan your revenue and workload accordingly. There is no point in planning to generate or receive significant revenues when your clients are away on holiday. Be realistic. Equa...
What to do if you feel that you are on different wavelength to your client?
09 Jul 2009
This interesting question poses a dilemma for any coach or management development trainer. There are a number of questions to consider here which usually entails you trying to get to the root cause of the problem or difference of opinion.
Is it a difference caused by personalities, philosophy, or style and approach?
If it is a problem caused by personality differences then either get over it - after all they are the customer - or replace yourself with another personality who relates better to ...
Are bosses worse at motivating since the recession began?
05 Jul 2009
During a recession logic dictates that managers need to work twice as hard at keeping their staff motivated, as not surprisingly, recessions cause people to be concerned about their jobs, security and future and as a consequence can become distracted at work.
However, a survey of over 1,600 workers by the campaign Keep Britain Working*, published last month, suggests that over half of all UK Bosses are worse at motivating their staff since recession began.
The survey cites some pretty appalli...
Successfully Managing Upwards can Improve Your Career Prospects
04 Jul 2009The relationship with you boss is a critical one, and just as one half of this relationship is the traditional ‘boss-subordinate’ part, the other part is the subtle and clever management of them. Many people forget this but getting the relationship right will benefit both your career and you organisation. Managing upwards is not about manipulation, it’s about managing the relationship. It is about understanding and anticipating your boss’s needs, going the extra mile for them, making their li...
How to combine coaching with management training modules.
27 Jun 2009
Management training and development is often provided to a cohort of managers via a series of modules which are linked together into a broader programme. Recent examples of these sorts of linked modules that we have recently delivered to a cohot of Managers in one organisation are:-
- Management fundamentals.
- Leadership skills.
- People management.
- Personal effectiveness.
- Finance and budgets.
- Quality assurance.
These modules are designed and delivered to a consistent core brief, w...
What to do if it looks like your coachee isn't going to change?
26 Jun 2009
This will mainly depend on how far you and your coachee have progressed with your coaching discussions and on what may be holding the coachee back from taking any actions.
The underlying purpose of coaching is to help a person think differently, raise their awareness of any new possibilities and help them to take new actions to improve their situation and performance and to help them move towards independence and self-sufficiency in their job role.
It is unusual for a new coachee to immediatel...
Being a Better Leader
20 Jun 2009
No matter what leadership role you are in whether it is heading up a multi billion pound organisation or leading a small sales or operations team, modern leaders are faced with constantly changing work and business environments. This makes it is impossible to adopt a single style of leadership which will suit all situations.
But what style and approach will be best suited for which situations? Below are some tips to help you traverse the pathway of becoming a better leader in a smoother and ...
Investing in Management Development Pays Dividends
19 Jun 2009
Even more than ever it is important to ensure that the investment a business makes in training and developing its managers pays off.
Management training can deliver real business benefits and help to improve business performance if the training is directed in the right way. Firstly the business needs to identify what new levels of performance are needed for it to be successful and therefore what new skills and behaviours it needs form its managers to deliver it. Once this is clear, the re...
How do you know whether or not your training module is working?
14 Jun 2009
Once you have started to deliver your training module, how do you know that it is going to plan?
To some extent it does depend on the type of training that you are delivering and on the content, objectives and delivery style that you are adopting. THis also assumes that you start off with a plan in the first place!
If it is a knowledge or technique based module and the objective is to get across a specific set of information or a specific technical skill then there are a number of ways of esta...
How do you get prepared to deliver a new Leadership training module?
08 Jun 2009
What are the key things that you have to consider as a trainer, when you are preparing to deliver a new training module to a management audience for the first time?
Understanding the purpose and business objectives for the Organisation and for the participants is a key starting point. These business objectives need to be translated into learning objectives for the participants and then related to the content sessions that you plan to deliver to the participants.
You need to draw up a training ...
The Role of HR in a Recession
07 Jun 2009
HR leaders have some tough decisions to face if they are going to help to lead their organisations out of recession. They have to decide whether they are willing to raise difficult questions about sensitive issues such as pay, benefits and performance.
In the light of the publicity last year surrounding City bonuses, and more recently the debacle over MP’s expenses, HR leaders need to have the courage to stand up and say if they believe that things are either, or how vital savings can be mad...
Engaging the Generation Y Workforce
04 Jun 2009
The so-called Generation Y (i.e teenagers to young adults) appear to have a very different out look on work and life when compared to those who have been working for 10-15 years or more. They care less about salaries and more about flexible working, time to travel and a better work-life balance. They appear to want to ‘work to live’ rather than ‘live to work’.
As a consequence they can be perceived by managers (many of whom are Baby Boomers or Generation X) as people who:
• Don’t want ...
Is there a difference between being coached by a man or a woman?
01 Jun 2009
When we consider the stereotype differences between men and women then we might expect similar differences to exist between the experience of being coached by a person of one gender as opposed to another. If we take the stylised view of the dominant, aggressive, controlling alpha male and compare it to that of the meaker, gentler, nurturing female then we could anticipate that there could be a significant difference.
I think that we can readily discount these biologically derived stereotypes, w...
What are the gender differences between men and women in coaching?
30 May 2009
I have just spent a very enjoyable weekend at the Hay Book Festival listening to an array of Authors, Celebrities, Academics and Political Commentators presenting and debating on important topics such as Climate Change, Aid to the developing world, The Environment, Freedom of Speech. They were also intent on promoting, marketing and selling their latest books. The audience was approximately 50% men and 50% women but there were more male than female speakers to the ratio of about 2:1. This got ...
Managing Your Talent
22 May 2009
The debate around talent management probably began about 20 years ago when a number of high profile businesses claimed the importance of finding high quality talented individuals for their organisations.
Since then the concept of talent management has evolved from being simply focussed on recruitment to cover a wide range of people management activities such as performance management, personal development and succession planning.
However, does talent management simply pander to those with ...
Managing the Performance of your Staff Effectively
21 May 2009
The effectiveness of an organisation depends on the contributions and activities of staff at all levels - from those who ensure efficient running of ‘front line’ operations up to senior managers who need to make the right strategic decisions about the direction of the organisation.
Performance management is therefore about maximising all of these contributions, from each employee, their teams and ultimately the whole organisation. It is the activity of setting targets and tracking performanc...
How do Assessment Centres differ from Development Centres.
17 May 2009
They differ in their purpose and in their objectives. Assessment Centres are designed to look closely at the attributes, skills, strengths and weaknesses of the participant’s and to match these against the requirements of current or future jobs in the organisation. They are usually designed for existing employees but are also sometimes used to aid recruitment decisions by providing all round data about candidates to supplement interviews. Participants in recruitment assessment centres are ofte...
When should the coaching come to end?.
15 May 2009
It doesn't have to come to an end if the coachee is still getting value and benefit from the coaching input, relationship and stimulation that the coach provides. Some of my coaching relationships have continued for up to 10 years.
However there is usually a natural "life cycle" to a coaching assignment which relates to the goal and objectives that the coachee is trying to achieve. Sometimes this period of time is influenced by the client or sponsor who has am objective, budget and timeframe fo...
Managing Emails Effectively
10 May 2009
Email is a great communication tool, but it is also one of the greatest challenges to business today. Many millions of hours are spent everyday in the UK by workers sifting through, answering and sending electronic messages. Across the working week many hours will be wasted on inefficient communications.
Just think, if each of your employees receives 50 emails a day and if they spend 2 or 3 minutes on each, every person will have spent a couple of hours on emails before they have even start...
Eight Steps to Making Talent Management Work
07 May 2009Many organisations talk about the importance of their ‘talent’ and the need to manage their talent effectively but how many organisations truly know what to do and practice what they preach? For example, many managers feel that all they need to do is to find and recruit a few ‘high flyers’ and the future of the business will be safe in their hands. But is it a good strategy to just let them get on with it in the vain hope that everything will turn out ok? Clearly not, if you really want your...
The next 5 Myths about coaching.
04 May 2009
Here are the next 5 Myths about coaching.
You should give the coachee what they want and ask for.
To some extent this is true because you are there as their coach to support and guide them to make the best decisions and to take the actions that they choose to move them towards their goal. So although coaching is a positive encouraging activity this does not mean that you will always agree with your coachee and what they are thinking of doing. You may well spot something that they may have...
10 Myths about coaching - the first 5!
01 May 2009
Here are five of the common myths about coaching in organisations that have grown up around this process over the last 15 years.
You need to be an expert - you must you know all the answers. As the coach no you don't. Your job is to help the coachee arrive at the best answer for themselves and for them to feel confident to put it into action.
You need to have a formal coaching qualification, to be an effective coach. No you don't. Success as a coach comes from the use of key interper...
Understanding Customer Account Management
24 Apr 2009
Most businesses understand that that it’s harder to find a new customer than it is to keep an existing one. This is compounded in the current economic climate as it is likely that buyers will become more risk averse, preferring to stay with who they know, rather than taking a punt with someone new. This makes winning business from new customers even harder.
However, this doesn’t mean you should be complacent. There is a big difference between ‘proactive’ customer account management and simp...
Management Training – It’s not just for the ‘good times’
23 Apr 2009
With news of short time working, redundancies and business closures, it’s not surprising that many employees have become nervous about what the future holds for them. Inevitably, this will cause some people to become distracted and therefore not completely focused on what needs to be achieved. A potential consequence of this is that they become less productive, less creative and take fewer risks, which is not what a business needs in the current climate.
It is important therefore that manager...
Do you have to like the person coaching you for it to be efective?
17 Apr 2009
This would be nice to achieve but is not essential with every coaching relationship and it is unrealistic to expect this in every case. What is essential is a respect for each other and for what you can bring to the coaching relationship. What is key is respect for your skills as a coach and for your communication ability. You need to help the coachee to think differently and to look at things with fresh eyes and to provide a new perspective and to be a catalyst for them to ACT on this new thi...
Can coaching just be "done" to people - or do they need to know that it is happening to them?
14 Apr 2009
Yes they do need to know that they are being coached. How else can they be expected to play their part in this complex process? How will they understand the approach and techniques that the coach is using? How else can they be expected to be willing to take responsibility for their own issues, learning, thinking and actions?
If you don’t tell them upfront that they are being coached then there is little or no chance that they will play their part in addressing their issues and actively and...
Selling Yourself at an Interview
10 Apr 2009
When your job application or CV have successfully earned you an interview, it is vital that you give yourself the best possible opportunity by preparing thoroughly for the interview in advance. Although you are unlikely to be able to think of every possible question or scenario that you will be presented with, preparation and planning will prevent a poor performance on the day.
Consider the following tips to help you improve your chances of success.
Before the interview
• Find out as ...
Do you have the potential to be a Great Leader?
08 Apr 2009
Great leaders believe that the results they achieve are a consequence of the actions they take and that their actions are a consequence of their own thoughts. It is the belief that ‘control over my success as a leader lies within me’, and ‘I choose how to react’ to the realities and problems of work and life, which makes them successful. Great leaders accept personal responsibility - they learn from their successes as well as their failures.
Unsuccessful leaders however, have a different th...
How may a line managers inhibit the effectiveness of external coaching?
03 Apr 2009Actions by line managers that can inhibit the effectiveness of this coaching work include complete disinterest in the person or coaching process, no clear brief, or an expectancy that I will “fix the person’s behaviour, approach or effectiveness at a stroke” of one coaching session. One of the most difficult areas to deal with is where the line manager gives me one brief for the work which is different from the brief that they have been prepared to give to the coachee. This often occurs when the...
Why don't line managers coach their people effectively?
31 Mar 2009I am often asked whether a line a manager can manage his people effectively and also be a good coach to them at the same time. In theory this sounds like a fairly straightforward and expedient role for managers to play with their direct reports, providing that they have the appropriate skills and understand a coaching model and technique. However, in reality it is a very difficult role to perform effectively alongside the line manager’s core role of getting effective and efficient job task and p...
How management training can make a difference to the performance of your organisation
29 Mar 2009
Businesses and organisations become successful because of their people, and the people that have the greatest impact on organisational performance are those that lead and manage it. After all no one ever won the Premiership with a second rate manager or a set of average players.
To be successful managers need the right balance of leadership and technical skills to fulfil their roles. Anyone who followed the highs and lows of Brian Clough’s managerial career will know how successful he was...
Make yourself an asset and not a liability
27 Mar 2009
Some people believe that if you put your head above the parapet at work it will only result in it being “shot off”. But is keeping a low profile at work really a good idea, or should we be more proactive?
On the basis that you only get out of something what you are prepared to put into it, then work is no different. Great sportsmen and women didn’t become great by waiting at home for someone to find them, they worked hard to improve themselves and put themselves about so that they were know...
What is different about coaching people as their line manager as compared to being an external coach?
20 Mar 2009As an external coach working with various coachees in organisations, I work in a non-directive manner. Whilst some of the coachee's agenda and goals should have come from a brief from the client sponsor or line manager there is also always room for them to work on issues and objectives from their own personal agenda or even personal lives. The aim of my coaching is to help a person to maximise their performance and to achieve their potential and the route to their achieving this and the agenda t...
What to do about training & development of our leaders during a recession?
16 Mar 2009
Good leadership and management of the business are more important than ever during a recession. We need them to keep us on track, to motivate our employees, to be positive and thoughtful about changing things for the better for the future.
Employees look to their leaders to be confident and robust during difficult financial periods. They look to their leaders actions as well as their words as examples of behviour to follow.
They are looking to be given direction, skills and knowledge i...
Managing Employee Performance
14 Mar 2009
The purpose of performance management should be to maximise the contribution of each employee, every team, and function which will ultimately maximise the performance of the organisation. However, while this is the ultimate goal, too many organisations fail to gain the full benefits from their performance management processes because they fail to ensure that a number of fundamental ‘building blocks’ are in place first. For example:
• Ensure accountability. Who is responsible for implementin...
Planning for the future
13 Mar 2009
An organisations strategic vision defines what the organisation wants to be and where it wants to go. An effective strategy guides the decisions made that affect the direction of the organisation.
In order to deliver the strategy it is necessary for managers to incorporate the vision into their plans and day to day operations.
Often the best strategic plans fail either because managers do not develop concrete action plans for delivering the plan, or because they are too bogged down in day...
Face to face or telephone coaching - which works best?
06 Mar 2009
I believe that the highest quality coaching work is done face to face – because so much information and meaning passes between individuals through non-verbal cues and body language. Well documented research has suggested that as much as 70% of the real meaning in communication comes from non-verbal sources.
Gestures, stance, finger pointing, facial expressions, proximity, smiling, scowling, laughing, crying, eye movements, eyebrows, use of hands, handshaking all play a part in communicating me...
What is my response when asked to coach someone out of a really bad performance gap?
04 Mar 2009
From time to time I have been asked to coach someone who has a performance problem or attitude or skills gap in the work role. They are sometimes presented to me as a “remedial” person who needs to improve in certain areas of their work, often accompanied by these sorts of words – “see what you can do with him/her”, “can you try to work your magic on them”, “I have done everything I can with them but is hasn’t worked – can you now have a go with them for me.”
Those last few words seem to sum up...
Building better working relationships
27 Feb 2009
Being a “technical expert” as a manager is essential to keep things running smoothly but building solid relationships is also critical because as a manager you must rely on others to support you to achieve your goals and objectives.
If you have poor working relationships with your peers or team it is unlikely that they will support your ideas. However the key to improving relationships with others is to be able to see yourself how others see you and to be able to understand the impact that...
Realising the value of networks
26 Feb 2009
In today’s hectic world, managers are very rarely self sufficient. They need the support, goodwill and cooperation of their bosses, colleagues and staff to deliver their goals and objectives. Those that consistently achieve results have invariably established a strong network and laid the foundations for gaining cooperation and support for their ideas.
It is important to recognise that businesses and organisations don’t “bequeath” networks to their staff. Networks are developed between peo...
Who should sponsor coaching in an organisation?
22 Feb 2009It should be helpful to the coachee, the coach and the Organisation for there to be someone inside the Organisation who cares about the coachee benefiting from the coaching process. Clearly the coachee must be committed and motivated to achieve a positive and effective outcome for themselves or the whole process will not be worthwhile. In most coaching relationships this is already the case but in some others it is not. In some coaching assignments that I have been involved in the coachee is the...
Coaching, Counselling and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (C.B.T.)
20 Feb 2009
The UK Government has recently allocated significant funding and resource to train and develop CBT professionals to help people with low level mental health disorders. It has been the driving force behind the new IAPT initiative (improving access to psychological therapies) being implemented for local communities, to help people suffering from common mental health problems - anxiety and depression being the most prevalent. This form of talking therapy is different from counselling, which goes ...
Good Boss Vs Bad Boss
12 Feb 2009
What is the difference between a good boss and a bad boss? Anyone who has experience of working for both might describe a good boss as someone who is:
• Supportive
• Flexible
• Empowering
• Empathic
• Inspirational
• Visionary
• Challenging.
Where as they might describe the worst boss that they have ever worked for as someone who:
• Talks but doesn’t listen
• Commands and controls
• Divides and conquers
• Plays at politics
• Treats you as a subordinate and not an equal
• Bel...
Developing Leaders for Tomorrow
10 Feb 2009
Many organisations discount the importance of leadership development, assuming that their leaders either have what it takes or they don't. However, there’s no such thing as a natural born leader, which is why leadership development is crucial to an organisation’s long term success.
As part of this process it is critical that organisations take into account the fundamental shift in the way a manager needs to think and act as they progress through their organisation into ever more responsible ...
How easy is it to learn to be a coach?
04 Feb 2009
“If it is that easy to understand and use the C.O.A.C.H. technique and model in a two day course - how come it takes a number of years and a load of coaching experience for me to become an effective coach?”
The answer to this is both simple and also complicated.
Yes you can understand what coaching is and is not about, examine the skills required, learn and practice the C.O.A.C.H. model and be ready to apply it for real within the relatively short time of a focussed training course. However ...
Coaching for teams.
02 Feb 2009When I have been asked to coach a number of people from the same team the question has arisen about whether and when to work with them as a group as opposed to working with them as individuals. The focus of my coaching work has always been centred around working 1 to 1 with individuals, in order to concentrate on them, their issues and agenda without the distraction or complication of other people being involved. This also applies to the responsibility of the coachee to focus on themselves and t...
Role of HR in a Global Organisation
31 Jan 2009
Many organisations now operate across the globe. But what is the role of HR in a global organisation and how can it best add value to both the global corporation as well as the local businesses? The key question is - what services and support should HR provide on a global basis, and what should it provide locally?
In a previous article we explored how this could be best achieved by organising HR on both a global and a local basis. The purpose of this article is to explore the difference in...
Managing HR in a Global Organisation
30 Jan 2009
Many organisations now operate across the globe. But what is the role of HR in a global organisation and how can it best add value to both the global corporation as well as the local businesses? The key question is - what services and support should HR provide on a global basis, and what should it provide locally?
This is the first of two articles which explores the role of HR in a global organisation and attempts to answer these questions.
Firstly, by their very nature, Global organisat...
Who decides on the value from a coaching assignment?
23 Jan 2009
The question of who should decide is an interesting one. Given that the non-directive coaching process is all about a 1 to 1 relationship between a coach and a coachee helping them to understand their reality, issues and opportunities, both inside and outside work, then this suggests that they should be the person who fundamentally decides whether or not the coach and the coaching process is working well for them.
However there are a number of other parties involved in this coaching work who c...
How do you know whether or not a coach is doing a good job?
19 Jan 2009
This is an important question to answer both during but particularly at or after the end of a series of coaching sessions. This question also leads on to some others e g who should decide, when, against what criteria and using what sort of evidence?
If we use the Kirkpatrick Model, commonly used to evaluate the effectiveness of training, this gives us a useful model to start with. This model suggests that there are 4 levels to look at when evaluating the effectiveness and value of a training ...
How to make your first management job a success
18 Jan 2009
It has been suggested that as many as 4 out of 10 newly promoted managers fail in their jobs n the first 18 months, so make sure that you are one of the 6/10 successful ones by following our few simple tips:
1) Brush up on your interpersonal skills – The ability to build relationships and to get along with others is vital in a management role. Having poor interpersonal skills will most certainly lead to failure. Key to this is having excellent listening skills and the ability to give and tak...
Why it’s important to invest in new managers
16 Jan 2009
Why it’s important to invest in new managers
Depending on who you listen to, as many as 4 out of 10 newly promoted managers fail in their jobs n the first 18 months, which is an appalling statistic, but why is this so?
People are promoted for what they know. But the mistake that is commonly made is that the best person in the team, (be that a salesperson, engineer, customer service rep etc) gets promoted to the role of manager. In one single move the organisation deprives itself of one o...
What makes an outstanding coach?
12 Jan 2009
These are the sorts of characteristics that outstanding coaches possess.
The confidence but not arrogance to support and challenge another person effectively.
The ability to be client centred, to set our ego to one side and thereby not to be thinking about ourselves or their own issues and to keep the coachee focused on their own reality, issues and opportunity options.
To be able to ask good questions, even if some are not fruitful and the skills to probe and help the coachee to distill the...
Which management training to do in-house and which to use external suppliers for?
11 Jan 2009
Some elements of management training are better to be done using your own in-house resources. These centre around knowledge elements and company specific policies, procedures and systems. Induction training is another element which is much better passed on by using employees from the organisation who understand and inhabit the culture and who know their way personally around the organisation and who have direct experience of the business.
The sorts of management training best supplied by extern...
How to ensure your organisation benefits from an investment in Management Training and Development
28 Dec 2008
Ever wondered why the management development programme your organisation invested in didn’t deliver what was expected?
Alternatively, have you personally ever attended a development programme or training course and didn’t get out of it what you had hoped?
Some of these answers can be found in recent research that has tried to explain how people learn and develop. In other words, how we come to know what we know, and how we change behaviour and performance in response to our development....
Will you take time off this Christmas?
23 Dec 2008
Are you working smarter or just putting in more and more hours? Taking time off is vital to improving productivity according to a paper published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, by Sonnentag and Fritz.
The research backs up what we all intuitively know – taking leave really does recharge your batteries. You are happier and more energetic when you return to work after a good break.
A professor of work and organisational psychology at the University of Konstanz in Germany, Sabrine So...
What types of warm up activity are suitable to use on a learning and development programme?
19 Dec 2008
If I am running a management development programme with diverse people from different organisations or from different parts of the same organisation who do not know each other then I will often make use of the initial introductions session to help people find their voice and to give them the chance to speak about themselves and their role and their experience. This can be expanded to include things from their past, current state or future hopes and expectations.
I might also use another neutral...
Warm up activities - what use are they in a development training programme?
17 Dec 2008
One of the first items on the Agenda on many professional or management development or team development events is often a “Warm up activity” of one sort or another.
What is their purpose, what different examples are there and should every training module include one?
There is more than just one purpose of warm up activities. They can vary from:-
- Giving people the opportunity to introduce themselves and say Hello to their fellow participants – which is particularly important if they are str...
Want to improve motivation of your staff? - Try these top tips!
10 Dec 2008
One of the basic human motivations is the need to have a high level of self esteem. We all have pride in what we do, we want to know that we have done a good job and have a need to be appreciated and recognised for a job well done.
However, in today’s busy world with so many demands on our time we often forget to realise the impact of our behaviour. How often do you recognise the efforts of your staff? Complete the following questionnaire and find out how good you are at recognising your...
How Management Training and Development can make a real difference to employee engagement and the bottom line
08 Dec 2008
Getting the full engagement of employees is key issue on many an executive’s ‘to do’ list. Most of us have experienced working in a team or for an organisation where people are ‘fully engaged’ – the buzz, excitement, and high levels of performance and achievement.
But how do teams and organisations achieve this nirvana?
Many organisations go down the path of paying huge salaries and big bonuses to attract, motivate and retain the best staff. However, this is it is not the way to build l...
How can a 360 survey help a Development Centre process?
05 Dec 2008
Most development centres are run using a range of different activities and assessments that are designed to encourage the participants to display both their strengths and any weaknesses and corresponding development areas for them. The centre process does this by providing individual, group, one to one and one to group presentation opportunities through a series of activities, simulations, questionnaires and business related tasks that test the participant's all round skills and abilities.
The ...
How should I choose a coach for myself?
01 Dec 2008
The answer to this question can be found by also asking some other questions first. For example, why do you want or need a coach and what are your objectives from this work with another person?
If your reasons are of a technical, industry specific or job specific nature where you are seeking the answers to some clear knowledge or technical skill based questions then I doubt that what you need is a coach. You may benefit more from a technical training course or module or from the input of a ment...
Networking in a downturn – Hints and Tips to Improve Your Networking Skills
30 Nov 2008
It today’s tough times networking is probably an even more important marketing tool than ever before, the wider your network, the more likely you will have contacts in businesses and organisations less effected by the slow down in consumer spending. People have always bought people ‘people’. We all like to know who we are dealing with, what they are like, how they can help us and whether we trust them.
It is important therefore to be confident and able to quickly build relationships, but u...
Managing Change Effectively
28 Nov 2008
In the current climate organisations are experiencing increasing pressure to improve productivity and reduce costs as ever tougher market demands are being placed on them.
These pressures are causing organisations to fundamentally rethink how they operate and as a consequence what they need to see differently from their managers and staff to survive.
However, no matter how clear the imperative for change might be, for it to be successful there are a number of prerequisites that need to b...
How can we measure the impact of Training & Development on the business?
23 Nov 2008
This is the bottem line question that is being asked by CEO's and F.D's across most leading organisations - especially in today's climate of recession. All businesses are under pressure to perform and any investments are scrutinised and questioned, especially those with a "softer side" and some times training is seen in this light.
So what is the business case for investing in training and development and how do we go about establishing and measuring it?
The key steps to follow are to establis...
What are the benefits to the organisation of training and development.
15 Nov 2008
Where should we look for evidence of the benefits and return on investment from training and development initiatives?
Any organisations growth and performance is largely influenced by the motivation, application and effectiveness of its employees. Therefore it follows that investing in them, their skills, knowledge, motivation and commitment to the organisation's work and goals should have a positive effect on performance - in the following areas:-
- better levels of knowledge about the busine...
Can Managers and Their Staff be More Productive?
14 Nov 2008
Tough times invariably cause businesses to review how productive and efficient their staff and processes are. But since the mid eighties, many businesses have had rounds of process improvement programmes and efficiency drives, so can the orange really be squeezed to get more out, or is there simply no juice left?
A report launched this week by the Management Consultancies Association (MCA) suggests that there’s still plenty of juice left in UK businesses. It claims that UK productivity coul...
Successful Marketing – How management training can help
11 Nov 2008
All businesses need to allocate a good deal of resources to market their products and services if they are to be successful. It will not be self evident to the average purchaser that you provide the best management training, IT equipment or conservatories! Potential customers need to be told.
However, successful marketing is not simply about buying a few branded pens and paperweights and investing in an advertising campaign. It is about getting the fundamentals right in the first place.
...
Can you coach a close friend or relative effectively?
10 Nov 2008
This is a tricky question that needs some careful consideration. If we look at some of the key characteristics that make for a good coaching relationship then there are some pros and cons.
Taking trust first then, taken at face value, this will probably not be a problem on the assumption that a high level of trust would probably exist between you both in the first place, but we should not take this for granted. The trust that exists between close friends or relatives has a slightly different fe...
Planning for Empowerment
30 Oct 2008
In a previous article we considered the rationale and benefits of empowering staff. However, it’s important to recognise that successful empowerment, requires careful preparation and planning, it not simply a case of giving someone a series of tasks and letting them get on with it. So what do we need to consider?
Use the following guidelines to help you plan your approach to empowerment.
1) Challenge yourself. The biggest barrier to successful empowerment is your own personal assumption...
Empower your staff and reap the rewards!
29 Oct 2008
So what is empowerment about and what are the benefits? Empowerment is quite simply a highly practical and productive way of getting the best form yourself and your staff. It involves not simply the delegation of tasks but decision making and full responsibility to.
Empowerment is one of the high leverage activities that a manager should engage in. Using Pareto’s 80:20 rule, empowerment is one of the 20% tasks that gives you 80% of the results you seek.
Why is this? Quite simply it i...
What does a Coaching briefing pack consist of?
24 Oct 2008
When I first meet and brief a potential or committed new coachee I go through a pack of basic information explaining the coaching process, roles and approach that I plan to use.
I do this in order to be as clear as possible to the new coachee about what they are likely to experience so that they start the process with the maximum knowledge available and so that they can decide whether or not to proceed.
This briefing pack includes the following:-
- a definition of the peformance objectives a...
How to get started with coaching a new team.
23 Oct 2008
When I meet with a new team of people that I have been asked to coach for the first time there are a number of things to consider and to prepare. Before starting the work I would want to be clear about who the sponsor is for it and who the team leader or team manager is. They may be the same person but usually they are not. I prefer to have the team leader directly involved with the coaching work, briefing their team members, having a view about their objectives and expectations for each perso...
Not achieving the results you want? Try these simple ideas to get better results
19 Oct 2008
Do you often find that at the end of your working day or week you haven’t achieved many of the things that you had planned? Perhaps this is because you have too much to do or it might be because you are doing too much! Whatever the reason try the following tips to get more from your working day.
1) Don’t accept other people’s problems. The first tip will be key for many people. Too often at work and in life we pick up other people’s problems in an attempt to help them out. However, the i...
How to Make a Good Impression at Interview
16 Oct 2008
You have applied for a new job and been asked to attend an interview. But how can you ensure that you make the right impression? What should you do? Try these top tips to improve your chances of success.
1. Research the Organisation. It may sound obvious but make sure you know as much about the organisation as you can before you go to the interview. The interviewer will expect you to demonstrate a degree of initiative and responsibility and will not appreciate wasting time on giving you ...
Can we coach ourselves?
12 Oct 2008
The theoretical answer to this question sounds like it should be yes - but in reality it is not as straight forward as it sounds. We should be able to outline and review our current reality about what is going well and what we are struggling with - but we would need to prompt ourselves to do so and then to isolate our issues, coaching objectives, and develop our own action plan.
The difficulties that we would face in coaching ourselves stem from the missing stimulus that a separate coach provid...
Where do you get the activities for a Development Centre from?
08 Oct 2008
There are a number of factors to consider when designing the activities for any Development Centre programme. You should start by considering the objectives for the Centre process and the backgrounds, experience and nature of the participants.
You must also decide how important the assessment element is versus the development element.
Any activities should relate to the behaviours, values or competencies that you are seeking to assess the candidates against and they should be designed to al...
How to get yourself promoted
04 Oct 2008
You have worked hard to get where you are but you fancy a promotion, perhaps it will be your first step into management, or you wish to make the move from middle to senior management. But how do you go about it, and what things should you consider?
1. Look at the bigger picture. Firstly ask yourself what you want to achieve, not just at work but also outside, with your family, friends, community etc. Will a promotion fit with your broader life goals? Taking on a more senior role will req...
Being a Leader in tough times
03 Oct 2008
Over the next few months, many organisations may face difficult times, but as a leader within your organisation what can you do to ensure your firm remains successful? The following are a number of tips that will help.
1. Don’t be fearful. To often individuals and organisations become paralysed by merchants of “gloom and doom”. However, the reality is that life still goes on; people and businesses still have needs. So its time to focus on your organisations uniqueness and adapt your offe...
What should happen next after the Development Centre feedback process is complete?
25 Sep 2008
By the end of the feedback process to the participants in a Development Centre you should have both individual data specific to each person and also group data relating to the cohorts of managers who have gone through the process.
This data will cover the strengths, weaknesses and potential development areas & solutions for each individual as well as for the larger group. It will have been further informed by the input of the line managers when they have been involved in the feedback discuss...
What is the best way of giving Development Centre participants their feedback?
23 Sep 2008
There a number of factors to considered when making this decision.
The timing of the feedback is important – it should be given as close to the Development Centre event itself, so as to be fresh & relevant in the eyes of the participant and also to be fresh and clear for the observer who has been allocated this role.
It is also important not to let a participant “stew” for a long time and to become stressed, fearing the worst, whilst waiting for the feedback.
I am presuming here that the pers...
Improve your effectiveness – learn to manage your staff!
19 Sep 2008
Too frequently managers find themselves dealing with their team’s problems rather than encouraging them to solve their problems themselves.
Consider the following exchange, between a manager and their supervisor:
“Hi John, I wonder if you can have a word with Fred. I have spoken to him a number of times about wearing his safety goggles in the lab and he still doesn’t wear them. I thought if you had a word with him he might take it more seriously from you?”
What happens if John accepts...
Improving your effectiveness through better Priority Management
17 Sep 2008
Do you find that your working days get longer and you end up working weekends and evenings just to keep up?
Try this simple experiment. Take a few stones and several handfuls of gravel and sand. Now put them into a bucket. What happens if you simply put them in the bucket in a random fashion, e.g. sand followed by gravel and then the stones? The sand fills up a third of the bucket, the gravel the next third and not all the stones fit in! What if you placed the stones in first, followed b...
Running a Development Centre
13 Sep 2008
In the previous article we looked at what needs to be done in planning and preparing for an Assessment/Development Centre. I would now like to go on to consider how to run them in such a way that will maximise the benefits for the participants and for the Organisation.
I make the following assumptions about how you have decided to set up these Development Centres:-
That you will have 8 participants and 4 observers on each one
That you are running at least 2 or more Centres
That you ha...
Planning for a Development Centre.
11 Sep 2008
Designing and running a successful Development Centre is as much about the planning and preparation as it is about the implementation.
There are a number of key decisions and elements to be put in place before you start that will determine the effectiveness of the events themselves.
What are the objectives for this programme - how much is at about assessment of performance or potential and how much is it about recognising strengths and highlighting areas for further development?
Who is it ai...
Improve your chances of selecting the right person for the job
07 Sep 2008
Most organisations endeavour to attract and retain the highest calibre of employees, but what formal processes can managers use to improve their chances of selecting the right person?
Clearly all potential employees must be selected for roles on the basis of merit, i.e. their capability to fulfil the job role requirements. However, it is also important to ensure that potential employees are provided with the necessary information to enable them to make appropriate decisions.
Firstly, all ...
Recruiting Mr or Ms Right
03 Sep 2008
How do you find someone that is ‘right’ for your organisation? How quickly will a potential recruit make a positive contribution? How will they fit with the existing team? Will they be committed to the organisation for a number of years or will they quickly move on in search of more money?
These questions are in the mind of many managers when they recruit a new person but how can they be answered?
Too many managers see a candidate and make a judgement on gut instinct. They are easily per...
Do leaders always respond well to being coached?
02 Sep 2008Some leaders do and some leaders don’t. In my experience if I get the chance to talk to a leader about their role and the issues that they are faced with I often then get to coach them. However they rarely approach me to ask to be coached, there needs to be some other stimulus that prompts their interest. For example I have never had anybody respond to my website to ask if I would like to coach them personally. This interest usually comes from another source e g person who is currently or has be...
What can coaching do to help leaders be more effective?
29 Aug 2008
If a leader is highly successful already, then what can coaching do to help them sustain their performance and to become even more effective?
Leaders get into their role through a combination of factors such as their innate abilities, technical competence, learned behaviours, life chances, organisational circumstances, personal sponsorship and even sometimes training and development. However many of the Chief Executives, Directors, Partners, Senior managers in organisations arrive in their...
Top tips for improving your influence at work.
20 Aug 2008
Influence is a key skill for managers as well as staff, but why is it some people have influence while others do not? If you struggle with your influencing try using the following tips to improve your skills.
• Be one of the first to offer ideas in meetings. Don’t back down quickly when challenged. Instead restate your position clearly to ensure that others understand your perspective.
• Informally talk with your peers and manager about their goals and concerns. Use this information whe...
What does the Executive team do next after establishing its Vision, Mission and Values?
18 Aug 2008
Having got agreement and commitment of staff and key stakeholders to their Vision, Mission and Values then the next step is to check that they are in alignment with other key elements of the business. They should go on to build the high level strategies that will allow the Organisation to move towards achieving its Vision. These strategies often include key functional business areas such Finance, Marketing/Sales, Commercial Operations, People, Technology, Production or Service delivery.
These ...
Leadership Vs Followship (Part 3)
15 Aug 2008
This is the final of three articles looking into the concept of Followship. The first two discussed the importance of Followship and the key characteristics of effective followers, while this article focuses on the personal development of followers.
Although the development of leadership capability is fairly well documented, how does an organisation develop the capability of Followship?
There are a number of points to consider here.
1. Firstly the organisation must promote the idea an...
Leadership Vs Followship (Part 2)
13 Aug 2008
This is the second of three articles looking into the concept of Followship.
The first article outlined the importance of both leadership and Followship in creating successful organisations, while this article explores the characteristics of Followship in more detail.
Firstly, effective followers are committed to high performance. For example followers:
• Work (effectively) with others. Followers balance personal interests with the interests of others to achieve a common purpose. The...
Leadership Vs Followship (Part 1)
08 Aug 2008
This is the first of three articles looking into the concept of “Followship”.
There are many books and articles that have been written about leadership, and how to become a great leader, but what about “Followship”, how can you encourage people to become great followers? After all it is important to recognise that successful leadership can only be achieved if there are fruitful interactions between those who lead and those who follow. Nevertheless many organisations focus their attention on...
How does the leadership team ensure the quality, deployment and motivation of its people?
07 Aug 2008
Firstly the leader needs to select and attract people with the right skills, knowledge and attitudes to deliver on the job. Of these characteristics it is often said that the “will” factor is usually more important than the “skill” factor.
You then need to give them the right role and responsibility, agree the direction with them and empower them to work with and without you to get the business running effectively and profitably, which is no mean feat in these ambiguous times. Providing them...
What elements does a business leader need to keep their eye on?
02 Aug 2008
There are a myriad number of elements that any leader of an Organisation needs to keep in view and on top of if they are to fulfil their role effectively. The first group of factors are concerned with the Product or Service and competitive marketplace that the business operates in. The second set of factors concern the high level Vision, Mission and Values that underpin and define the philosophy of the Organisation and the way that it would seek to operate.
The Vision is usually a brief stat...
What can you do when there is a conflict of leadership in the executive team?
01 Aug 2008This can and does arise from time to time in senior teams in organisations when a new member joins the team or when a new leader is appointed and the leader and a team member do not get on. This can be for any number of reasons such as – different views about the organisation’s products, services or marketplace – different views about the future vision, direction, business or financial strategy - or even different views about the key people, their deployment or potential. However the other area ...
Good Manager Vs Bad Manager – What is the difference?
25 Jul 2008
If you asked an employee what the difference was between having a good manager and a bad manager they might say:
A good manager is someone who is:
• Supportive
• Listens to my views
• Decisive
• Inspirational
• Empowering
• A good role model
• Concerned about their team and the individuals within it.
Whereas a poor manager is someone who is
• Task orientated
• A ‘teller’
• Over controlling
• Dominant
• The ‘expert’
• Dismissive
• Aggressive
• Concerned about themselve...
When Performance Appraisals Don’t Work
21 Jul 2008
For many people the performance appraisal ranks as one of the most unpleasant aspects of their job, as well as the most pointless. A recent study by Investors in People found that around a third of employees think that appraisals are a complete waste of time.
The same study found that half of those appraised believed that their bosses were being dishonest during the process, a quarter thought that it was just a tick box exercise and a fifth thought that their manager did not put any prepara...
How to prepare a new coachee for successful coaching.
18 Jul 2008Ideally there will be a clear brief to me and the prospective coachee about why the organisation has suggested that they might benefit from my coaching. However this is not always the case. So for me it all starts with a clear initial briefing from me as the coach to the new coachee explaining what this coaching is all about, what roles we are both to play and how I will coach them and the COACH model and the approaches that I will be taking. I don’t expect them to remember all of this, nor for ...
What can we do as coaches to increase the probability of coaching success?
14 Jul 2008
There are things that we can do ourselves that can help and there are also things that we can encourage our coachees to do or consider.
For us as coaches, we should plan and prepare ourselves as well as possible by ensuring that we have read through the last set of coaching session notes, thought about the coachee and the actions that they had been planning to take and to plan ahead the potential agenda for the coaching session to come. We also need to check that we have completed any action...
How well do you come across in a job interview?
09 Jul 2008
With increasing competition in the job market, it is even more important than before that you are able to clearly convey your skills and capabilities during a job interview.
If you haven’t attended an interview for a number of years or just want to “brush up” your technique, the following hints and tips will help you be better prepared, feel more confident and come across to the interviewer in the best way you can.
1. Research the Organisation fully before you go in. It’s basic but many p...
Preparing your own personal development plan
08 Jul 2008
Many organisations have clear processes and guidance to help their staff prepare personal development plans. But what it you work for a manager that doesn’t value personal development or for a small organisation that doesn’t have the necessary procedures or support in place?
It is not always easy to prepare a personal development plan on your own, but the following guidance will help you to identify your needs and prepare a plan that will enable you to take responsibility for your own develo...
How do we coach leaders who are already highly effective?
06 Jul 2008
What is it the C.O.A.C. H. process has to offer them?
No two leaders are the same - they all have their own unique recipe for success.
I provide a focus on the self-awareness of the coachee – helping them to understand and play to their unique strengths and to make the most of them. It is these strengths that have helped the leader to get where they are today rather than their weaknesses and flaws. However helping the coachee to be realistically aware of their weaknesses, not to dwell on them,...
Do successful leaders need coaching support?
04 Jul 2008
Can you provide effective coaching to leaders of teams? Do successful leaders need it anyway and if so how can it help them?
We need first to look at the nature of effective leadership, what it is and how people acquire it. One organisationally based definition of leadership is “the ability of a person to get things done willingly through others”. In the context of a business it means effectively achieving or over achieving on the business’ plans, targets and objectives. To do this requires a...
Talent Management – A top HR challenge
27 Jun 2008
Not so long ago, many organisations compiled confidential lists of their “Top Managers” or “High Potentials”. People on the lists didn’t know that they had been ear marked for future greatness and the process was cloaked in secrecy.
However, the pressures of globalisation and ageing workforces have changed all this with many organisations pointing to talent management as being a top priority and implementing highly visible talent management processes and programmes.
This is supported by a...
Retaining Talent
26 Jun 2008
Retaining talent is a serious issue for many organisations. Each time a talented manager or member of staff leaves, they take valuable knowledge an expertise with them. But why do some organisations struggle to keep their talent, and why do talented people become disillusioned and leave?
One of the main reasons is that talent and their managers are often striving to climb what appears to them as the same ladder to reach higher levels in the organisation. The consequence of this is that the...
Can the line manager also act as coach to their people?
21 Jun 2008
I am often asked whether a line a manager can manage his people effectively and also be a coach to them at the same time. In theory this sounds like a fairly straightforward and expedient role for managers to play with their direct reports, providing that they have the appropriate skills and understand a coaching model and technique. However, in reality it is a very difficult role to perform effectively alongside the line manager’s core role of getting effective and efficient job task performa...
When does coaching not work?
17 Jun 2008
There must be times, circumstances or people for whom coaching is not the right solution. When are these and how can we spot them?
Circumstances where coaching is not the right solution are when a person is looking for a specific piece of knowledge or technical solution or answer for a problem that they know has been solved before. In this case they should read a book, find a teacher or tutor or go to an expert or consultant for expert advice.
When an organisation wants to inculcate a consiste...
How effective are your communication skills?
15 Jun 2008
Communication is probably the most important skill a manager can have, but sadly many fail to recognise the impact their poor communication skills have on their team and colleagues. If you or someone you know needs to improve their communication skills, ask them to try the following tips to improve their interactions with others.
1. Always seek to understand others views and opinions first. When listening to someone always follow the order 1) listen, 2) understand, 3) interpret, and 4) re...
Top Tips for improving your briefing and presentation skills
13 Jun 2008
Briefing teams and presenting to others might be a key management task, but is it is also one of the most disliked responsibilities. If you struggle to present your views clearly to others try using the following tips to improve your presentation and briefing skills.
1. Watch TV’s weather forecasters. Examine how they present themselves, the body language and the words they use. What can you learn and copy from them?
2. Make a video of yourself presenting to others. How do you compare? ...
Energising your coachng clients.
09 Jun 2008One interesting and important thing that I learned in my early days of coaching arose as a by product of the coaching process itself. It came out of one of my early coaching relationships with a Chief Housing Officer employed by a Local Authority who I shared an interest with in playing squash. His job consisted of round after round of relatively tedious meetings with his boss the Leader of the Council, or of his peers or reporting management team. He would spend much of our first couple of coa...
Making our personality work for us in our coaching.
07 Jun 2008
Inevitably we take our personality along with us into any coaching relationship.
We cannot avoid this unless we decide to behave or act in a way that is fundamentally different fro our core personality.
I recognise that in preparing for and particularly when conducting coaching sessions then some of my senses and behaviours are heightened. I will actively listen more. I will really think about the coachee’s response, what it might mean and where to go next with the conversation. I will ask th...
What benefits can I expect from developing my managers?
30 May 2008
Ultimately the answer to the question ‘what benefits can I expect from developing my managers?’ lies in the answer to two other questions:
1) What is the business/organization striving to achieve?
2) How do managers need to think and act for the organization to achieve its goals?
Management development can only help to improve an organization’s performance if the development activities are directed in the right way and aimed at achieving a measurable change. For example, the outcomes r...
People before Product (or service) and Profit
29 May 2008
There is an acronym that all businesses and organisations should remember – the 3P’s.
People before
Product (or service) before
Profit (or performance).
In other words, if you ensure your that your people are skilled, capable and motivated, they will in turn produce a sound product (or service), which will lead to a successful, high performing and ultimately profitable business.
But how many businesses and organisations think in this way? Many have too much ‘top down’ thinking, they ...
Can you coach your own boss?
27 May 2008
I have been asked this question by some of the people I have been coaching and I have found it a tricky one to answer. This is because of various factors that affect the likely success of this activity. The fundamentals of this being a successful process would be based on the strength of the relationship between the coachee and their manager, their command of the skills required of a good coach and of the openmindedness of the manager to enter into this process with one of their own reports.
A...
How do you respond to the suggestion that "you should be coaching my boss"!
19 May 2008
What do you say if someone that you are coaching suggests that you should also be coaching their boss, or even be coaching their boss instead of them!
If you take this sort of request at face value then you could assume that it is a compliment to you skills as a coach and that your coaching subject genuinely thinks that his or her manager could benefit your coaching input in much the same way that they have. However in my experience this would be a naïve and simplistic conclusion to reach.
By ...
What is talent?
16 May 2008There is a big difference between having a talent, for example, being able to do mental arithmetic and being considered as “talent” by an organisation. This is because the definition of talent has two aspects to it. Firstly, a talented employee can only be talented if they apply their “talents” in a useful way, and secondly talent has to be considered in the context of an organisation. For example, a doctor may be a talented surgeon but put him/her in a garage and they will probably struggle ...
Are you training your talent?
15 May 2008
Racing people call it “training on” and it’s precisely what doesn’t happen to many individuals who are identified as “talented” or “having potential”.
“Training on” is the process of turning promise into achievement, turning immaturity into maturity.
In horses and in people, the process is similar, it is as much about internal mood, nature and temperament as it is about skills and knowledge. A horse that trains on changes its view of the world, settles down, becomes more confident and as...
The confidentiality complication of coaching people in the same team.
10 May 2008
These are some of the specific areas where complications can arise with confidentiality:-
When you are coaching a number of people in the same team then inevitably you will hear things about other team members, particularly if relationships between team members is an issue for any of the people that you are coaching. This does not mean that what you hear is the absolute truth about someone. Unless is it completely factual then It is likely to be an idea or perception about someone that is held ...
How important is confidentiality in the coaching relationship?
08 May 2008
How important is confidentiality in the coaching relationship and how complete should it be?
What are the key considerations behind this confidentiality agreement and is it more about the agreement that you reach with your coachee or should a “veil of secrecy” exist between you?
Let me be clear from the start that this has been and is the most difficult area for me as a coach, especially in the area of coaching a number of people in the same team or in the same reporting line where I may be ...
Who is Responsible for Talent Management in your Organisation?
03 May 2008
Over the past thirty years businesses have had to continuously improve what they do and reduce how much it costs them to do it. The result of this is that many large businesses have much flatter organisation structures, with managers who have much broader roles and many more demands on their time, than previously.
Because of this, managers sometimes want to hand over Talent Management to ‘specialists’ in HR. If this is combined with a Chief Executive who believes that Talent Management is an...
Setting High Expectations is the Key to Improving Performance
01 May 2008A recent study suggests that if you wish to the improve performance of your staff, then the key is to have high expectations of them. Researchers from Tel Aviv University lead by Professor Dov Eden have found that employees are up to three times more likely to have high levels of performance if their manager has high expectations of them. The team analysed research conducted over the last 25 years, which looked at improving performance in businesses, education establishments as well as various...
What is the right environment for successful coaching?
22 Apr 2008
Where is it possible to coach someone effectively? Must it be at their place of work or is it best done away from their usual work environment? There are some strongly held views about this which I will examine.
You Cannot Coach Someone in Their Office
Because they may be interrupted, observed by others and be conscious of this, be distracted by others or be thinking about their current work.
In their Office or normal work environment they may not be able to:- switch off, stand back, fo...
What do we do about our own ego and personality as a coach?
21 Apr 2008
The first thing for us to do as coaches is to recognise that we have one and to guard against letting it get in the way of our objectivity, focus of attention, or support for our coaching subject. We are there for their benefit and not for ours!
The danger signs of us puting our ego in front of effective coaching are - if we find ourselves telling anecdotes from our experience which have little or no relevance let alone benefit for the coachee and their agenda or circumstances. If we find that ...
Performance Management - Common Pitfalls to Avoid
19 Apr 2008
The purpose of a performance management process is to optimize the success and contribution of each employee, team and ultimately the business/organisation. However, too often organizations do not get the full benefits from their performance management processes because they make one or more basic mistakes.
Here are just a few of the most common pitfalls to avoid.
1) Nobody is accountable for implementing the process. When implementing a performance management process, appoint a project mana...
Guidelines for Understanding and Interpreting 360° Feedback
14 Apr 2008
360° feedback is a useful tool for helping individuals to gain a greater insight into their own performance and to help them to identify areas for personal development.
The process usually consists of a questionnaire which is designed to assess an individual’s performance and behaviour. The questionnaire is completed by the individual (job holder), as well as other people who know their work, for example their boss, peers and direct reports (all called ‘reviewers’). The outcome of the pro...
How does a person know who would make a good coach for them?
10 Apr 2008
Firstly the personal chemistry between the two parties is key to establishing the right relationship. This is not about friendship (although it could be) but more about trust, empathy, rapport, respect and understanding.
Secondly and most importantly, successful coaching depends mainly on the attitude, willingness, circumstances, timing and desire of the coaching subject themselves. They may not have all of these factors in place and proactively know that coaching is what they want and ne...
As a coach what do you do about your own ego and personality?
07 Apr 2008
The first thing for us to do as coaches is to recognise that we have one and to guard against letting it get in the way of our objectivity, focus of attention, or support for our coaching subject. We are there for their benefit and not for ours!
The danger signs are - if we find ourselves telling anecdotes from our experience which have little or no relevance let alone benefit for the coachee and their agenda or circumstances. If we find that we are drifting off mentally and thinking our own ...
How to recruit and select the right person
04 Apr 2008
Recruiting the right person can have a dramatic effect on your business, as can recruiting someone unsuitable who could cause real issues. So how can you improve your chances of employing the right person when recruiting staff?
1. Make up a detailed Job Description.
• What does the job entail?
• What sort of candidate you are looking for?
• What is the main purpose of the job?
• What will be their areas of responsibility?
• What are the key tasks?
• How many people will they supervis...
Continuing your success as a Leader
03 Apr 2008
Being a successful leader can be difficult to maintain. Success can be a step towards stress and burnout as the pressure of being a high achiever drives us to try even harder. Here are a few ideas to help maintain balance and survive your own success.
1. Learn to relax. Give yourself a break and take time out to relax and enjoy your success – you deserve it!
2. Know your limitations. It’s important to remember that success doesn’t mean perfection. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, ...
Is relationship chemistry important for a successful coaching assignment?
28 Mar 2008
Yes I think that it is. If you as the coach are expecting the coachee to be honest, open and even courageous in talking to you about their innermost hopes, fears and issues then it really helps if there is a good relationship chemistry between the two of you. If they are to share their deepest concerns and frailties with you in a way that they would not have dared to do with anyone else then they need to feel that they can trust you completely, that you will keep these things confidential even...
What feedback should we provide to the client sponsor about any coaching work requested?
25 Mar 2008
Feedback to the client.
If the client or sponsor of the coaching sessions asks for feedback about how the coaching is going, what should our response be? First and foremost we should regard this as a good sign of interest and respond to it as positively as we can.
This is unless of course we have a doubt about their motives in asking for it. It is helpful if you as the coach have established a clear relationship with this sponsor at the outset and discussed the subject of confidentiality a...
Developing Leadership and Creative Thinking Skills
22 Mar 2008
Do you wish to improve your leadership and creative thinking skills? Do you or your organisation struggle to come up with new or innovative approaches? If so try out some of the following development ideas listed below. The list is not meant to be exhaustive but if put into practise they will enable you to improve your creative thinking and leadership capability.
• Regularly practice brainteasers to help you get into the habit of challenging your assumptions.
• Approach problems with ope...
Developing Leadership and Strategic Thinking Skills
20 Mar 2008
Do you wish to improve your leadership and strategic thinking skills? If so try out some of the following development ideas listed below. The list is not meant to be exhaustive but if put into practise they will enable you to improve your strategic thinking and leadership capability.
Read the business pages of a quality newspaper such as The Times, Financial Times, and Telegraph etc. Alternatively subscribe to the Harvard Business Review. Learn about strategies and actions that other or...
Is there any difference between coaching or teaching and training a person?
13 Mar 2008
When you are teaching someone the implication is that you know something that they don’t. It is either some information that they don’t yet know about, have access to or understand or it can be about helping them make the links between different strands of information or complexities that when pulled together can be described as being learned.
This acquisition of knowledge or the understanding of the links between different data sources or concepts can then be described as learning a skill or a...
Is there any significant difference between coaching and counselling a person?
10 Mar 2008
During the course of coaching a person the conversation can turn into more of a counselling session than a performance focused coaching discussion. This is often a subtle and natural change of emphasis rather than a sudden, signalled change of topic and approach. The coachee doesn’t recognise that they have switched modes and why should they anyway and it is often only on reflection afterwards that as a coach I recognise that this switch of emphasis has occurred.
So what then is the difference ...
Improved Networking
09 Mar 2008
You don’t need to go on a management training course to improve your networking skills. These simple steps outlined below will help to boost your confidence and get the most out of a networking event.
Step 1 – Believe in it.
Networking is one of the best ways to enhance your business, because it gives people the chance to get to know and buy you. At the end of the day people buy people and how can they buy you if they haven’t met you yet?
Step 2 – Do the numbers.
Whatever business yo...
Better Presentations
07 Mar 2008
You don’t have to go on a management training course to improve you presentation skills. Here are 10 simple steps which if followed will improve the presentations you give.
Step 1. Research you audience. What is it they need to know? What do they know already? Make sure that you match your content to them and structure your presentation clearly by starting with the introduction, followed by the main content (facts, arguments, supporting data), and finally conclusions and a summary.
St...
Is there any difference between coaching and mentoring?
27 Feb 2008
These two terms are often used in the same sentence as if they are one and the same thing – but they are different processes and the experience and approach that you need have to be effective in either role are quite different as I shall go on to explain.
There are some similarities such as:-
- they are based on a 1 to 1 relationship between two people, one of whom is the subject and object of the process and the other of whom is the guide.
- they have broadly the same end result in mind ...
How important is note taking at a coaching session?
25 Feb 2008
Taking notes of the key aspects raised at a coaching session is an important feature of the coaching service that I provide. This is because it provides a number of benefits mainly for the coachee such as:-
- a note of the key themes and issues discussed
- a list of the options that have been considered
- key actions to be taken by the coachee are highlighted
- they serve as a reminder to the coachee of what was important to them at their coaching session which often serves to reinforce thei...
Psychometrics in Team and Leadership Development
22 Feb 2008
Psychometric profiles can provide a systematic approach to understanding both team and leadership development.
There are many tools currently available such as MBTI, 16PF, OPQ 32 and TMS to name but a few. The Team Management Systems (TMS) profile, for example, is a psychometric instrument which was developed by Charles Margerisson and Dick McCann in the early 1980’s. They were conducting extensive research into what makes management teams succeed or fail, and identified that all work teams ...
Leadership Training and Development – The role of leadership assessment
19 Feb 2008
How can an organisation identify its future leaders today?
Identifying future leadership potential is a complex issue; however there are a number of steps an organisation can take to improve its ability to identify its future leaders. The first step in the process is to define the characteristics needed by future successful leaders.
Some of this information may be collected by looking at the characteristics of successful leaders in the organisation. These characteristics may include:
...
When coaching someone how can you assess their personality?
13 Feb 2008
Before answering this question we need to consider some other factors, for example, is personality an important factor, why would we need to know bout it, how can it be measured, what can it add to the coaching sessions?
1. Yes personality is often an important factor in coaching a person because it has an influence on a number of key aspects of a person such as their motives, their styles, their ways of responding, their ways of learning and most crucailly their behaviours. It is also helpful ...
How important is it for there to be good relationship chemistry?
11 Feb 2008
This would be nice to achieve but is not essential with every coaching relationship.
It is unrealistic to expect this.
You may not actually greatly like or warm to the person that you are coaching, nor they you. We are all different individuals and there is ample scope for us to recognise the different persectives, ideas and beliefs that other people possess. Where this can become difficult is in the area of values, behaviours, management styles and standards. I would find it hard to coach a...
When should you train your managers in cross-functional groups.
07 Feb 2008
There are a number of circumstances when it is appropriate to train your managers in family groups which I described in my last article. Equally there are also other circumstances and factors which would lead you to organise your management training in mixed, cross-functional groups. These are the factors for you to consider:-
- the objectives and content of the programme eg how much is it aimed at one consistent message and theme that you want to get across consistently to all participants, re...
Should you do your management training with the actual team?
04 Feb 2008
There are a number of factors to address within this question.
Firstly are we talking about a manager and the team of people reporting in to them, or are we referring to a group or team of managers? For the purposes of today's article I will assume that we are talking about a team of managers. The second consideration is about whether or not and how much the individuals managers see themselves as a team and how much they interact, cooperate and rely on each other to do their work effectively as...
Do I have to go on a Management Training Course to improve my presentation skills?
31 Jan 2008
Depending on what you need to learn the answer may be yes or no! What exactly do you need to learn and develop? Do you need to understand the fundamentals, develop your confidence or just brush up on a few skills?
The following are some examples of practical tips that you can try out and practice to improve your presentation skills.
• Before presenting, ensure that you understand as much about your audience as possible (what is their knowledge of the topic, what is their background, what...
What are the alternatives to Management Training?
29 Jan 2008
Depending on what you need to learn there are a range of alternatives to attending the ubiquitous management training course. Firstly think about what it is you need to develop by asking yourself some simple questions, for example:
To do all aspects of my current job well, what do I need to be better at?
I would resolve an ongoing problem if I improved my skills and ability in the following areas?
In my appraisals and other feedback (e.g. from my team) I have been told that I could i...
How can a management training course help a person to address any management flaws?
23 Jan 2008
In my last article I identified the sorts of factors that can interfere with a manager’s ability to motivate, lead and manage their people and business effectively. In this article I plan to examine how well management training programmes can help participants to address their flaws and to indicate what else needs to be going on to support this learning and development process.
The first area to look at is the aims and objectives of the training course itself – what is the focus and content o...
What factors can derail a manager and how can any management training help?
22 Jan 2008
These are some of the sorts of factors that can derail a manager and can interfere with their ability and that of their people to work effectively:-
• A lack of self-awareness and or awareness of others
• Not appreciating the impact of their actions on others
• Poor delegation skills and the belief that they can always do the job better than their people
• Seeing the big picture but not having an appreciation of what is happening elsewhere in the Organisation
• Not having enough time for ...
Management Training – How much should you budget for?
20 Jan 2008
Many researches have proven the benefits of management training and development over the years and the impact that the right programmes can have on an organisation’s performance. However, the key question is often, how much time and money should I invest? As many organisations are currently in the process of preparing their budgets, this is an important question to answer.
Ultimately the investment needed depends on what you are trying to achieve and the current level of capability in the o...
Is the key to Successful Management just plain old Management Training?
18 Jan 2008Attending management training courses and seminars to learn about how the likes of well known business and sports personalities from Greg Dyke to Martin Johnson have successfully managed and lead their teams and organisations can be useful. However, they will not necessarily help you to improve your skills and be a successful manager. While a great deal can be learned from others, if you wish to be truly successful then it is equally important to focus on developing and correcting your own wea...
How to train managers to become effective coaches.
13 Jan 2008
Including a training module focused on coaching in a management development programme is one way of approaching the subject of training managers to become effective coaches. However it is not the complete answer and it is only likely to cover the basic technique, the communication and relationship skills required, the role and approach and to give some practice in peer coaching within the programme, if there is sufficient time available.
Explaining the basic technique or model of coaching wheth...
When the coaching has to stop!
09 Jan 2008
At what stage in the coaching process is it appropriate to stop? Who should decide this and what are the indicators that a coach, coachee or sponsor should look out for?
One simple answer is to say when the coachee has achieved their goal and or the goal set for them by their organisation and sponsor. Another basic answer is when the contracted number of coaching sessions has been completed. A business which is funding the coaching support will usually recognise when their goal has been achie...
How to evaluate the impact of Management Training and Development
06 Jan 2008
In 1959, Kirkpatrick first outlined four levels of training evaluation:
• Reactions – ‘liking or feelings for a programme’.
• Learning – ‘principles, facts etc absorbed by the participants.
• Behaviour – ‘using learning on the job’.
• Results – ‘increased production, reduced cost’s etc’.
While a number of developments in evaluation have been made during the past 48 years, the basic tenets of Kirkpatrick’s work remain. Ultimately the “acid test” of an investment in management training a...
Management Training and Development – the role of the Line Manager
04 Jan 2008
Too often management training and development is left to the province of HR or Training Specialists when in reality line management has an important part to play.
The potential advantages of line manager involvement in learning and development has long been recognised.
The line manager is in a unique position to reinforce learning from management training or other forms of development, by integrating them into an employees working life and promoting a positive approach to these types of ac...
Can you train different levels of managers on the same programme?
21 Dec 2007
What I mean by different levels of managers are the differences in experience, responsibility and competence that different managers demonstrate and possess at different stages in their career.
These differences can often mean that the individuals are at a different stage in their learning curve and that the more experienced of them may well have already learned and understood the concepts and approaches that are covered by the Programme or specific module. Whether or not they actively use the ...
Management training for men and women - is there any difference?
20 Dec 2007
We do know that men and women have slightly different characteristics, strengths and weaknesses. There are some observers who contend that in general women make better managers than men because they are usually more sensitive, responsive, organised and pay better attention to detail. Equally there are others who feel that men make better managers because of their general tendency to see the bigger picture, be more business like and more decisive.
So is this difference in style just a perception...
Management Training – Making it stick!
14 Dec 2007
How often have you been on a Management Training course and failed to implement what you were taught?
Many organisations struggle with the same issue – there is no point spending time and money on Management Training and Development if the participants don’t put into practice what was learned.
But how can you encourage your managers to ACT?
The key to ensuring Management Training is successful is quite simply to:
1. Make it relevant and useful.
2. Provide appropriate sponsorship, fo...
Management Training – Measuring the Benefits
12 Dec 2007
How does your organisation measure the impact of the investment it makes in Management Training and Development?
How much money was spent this year on Management Training and Development and what were the benefits?
To be able to measure the benefits from any Management Training and Development it is important to first be clear about what the objectives of the programme are and what particular people issues need to be resolved by the programme. For example, do managers need to:
• Have...
How can we identify and minimise the impact of our leadership flaws?
10 Dec 2007
We know that highly effective and respected leaders do not succeed just because they are lucky or in the right place at the right time. They succeed largely because they play to their strengths and they focus on and maximise these. They are usually well aware and conscious of these strengths and how to deploy them for the advantage of themselves and their Organisations.
For example Richard Branson’s challenge to the status quo of traditional businesses, Greg Dyke’s belief in the creativity and ...
Leaders - how to recognise and play to our strengths.
05 Dec 2007
Have you ever considered today's leaders in businesses or in other organisations and asked the questions - how did they get to be so effective and successful - how did they get to be where they are today?
I imagine that you have and when you did so you can come up with various answers relating to situational variables such as timing, luck, inheritance, being in the right place, sponsorhip etc. But you would probably also consider the personality, styles, intellect and drive that comes from with...
Linking Competencies to Personal Development Needs
29 Nov 2007
A competency is best described as "the underlying characteristics of a person that cause effective or superior performance in a job”. Competency is about an ability to do something and as such comprises a combination of skills, knowledge and personal motivation that result in particular behaviours (or outcomes) at work. For example, during a person’s life they have an increasing ability to communicate with their fellow human beings:
Increasing levels of ability to communicate
Behaviour...
Setting Performance Standards Using Competencies
27 Nov 2007
It is vital that managers and staff know what’s expected of them if they are to maximise their own and the businesses performance. Most organisations set expectations, in terms of what managers are responsible for through job descriptions and by setting personal objectives and targets.
However, it is also important to set expectations about how job responsibilities should be discharged and targets delivered as it is unacceptable for staff to deliver these at ‘any cost’.
Setting behaviou...
How long does it take to coach someone?
26 Nov 2007
When I first meet with a prospective coachee or their sponsor one of the key areas to address is the timing and duration of the coaching sessions that I plan to provide for them.
I will tell them that ideally I would like to provide 6 x 2-3 hour coaching sessions spread over 6 – 12 months – unless there is a specific development area that could be focused on in a more concentrated time frame.
The minimum number of sessions that I will offer is 4. This is because of the following factors:-
- i...
Coaching - is face to face better than over the telephone?
23 Nov 2007
When I first meet with a prospective coachee or with the line management or HR sponsor for this work, the conversation inevitably gets round to the coaching approach that I will take.
My response to this question is based on my preference to coach people face to face in a number of coaching sessions 4 - 6, spread out over time 4 - 12 months. This gives me and the coachee adequate time to establish the necessary relationship, rapport and understanding for them to do the necessary thinking that i...
Management Training – The Essentials for Success
16 Nov 2007
Most people think that they are a good driver, whether they are or not, and the same can be said for many managers. Too many managers think that they are good at their job and able to motivate and get the best from their staff, when the reality is often very different.
Unlike driving, where you have to take a test to demonstrate your competence before being allowed to drive, anyone can be appointed to a management position without any formal management training or development.
So what are the...
So what are the benefits of Management Training?
15 Nov 2007
Businesses that invest in management and leadership training and development will find that they are a range of financial and non financial benefits to be gained from it. For example recent research has demonstrated that:
Firms with high levels of HR practices demonstrate up to 200% greater profit per employee (1, 2)
Sustained management & leadership development improves organisational performance (3)
This arises from the fact that good leaders and managers have the skills to obtain ...
Managing remote teams effectively.
09 Nov 2007
Managing teams that who are closely in touch with us and each other can be difficult at times. Managing teams of people who work remotely from each other can be even more and differently complicated. Whether or not they are separated by local site, shift times, time zones, home working, region or country geography can create an entirely different interaction and dynamic between the individuals in the team and its leaders.
The sort of factors that are affected are:-
- face to face communication...
How do you know if your team is working well together or not?
08 Nov 2007
There are various ways of assessing how well your team are working together with each other, or not, but before we look at these methods it is worth asking the question "does it really matter how well they are working together if they ultimately get the job done?"
In the short term the answer to this question could be no - but in the longer term and particularly if your product or service delivery relies on people working effectively together to achieve the end goal then clearly it does matter....
Objective Assessment in Recruitment and Selection
04 Nov 2007
It is well known that the interview is a very unreliable means of selecting the best candidate for a job. The main reason for this is that interviewers tend to make subjective judgements about candidates without having the necessary evidence to back it up. For example, Walt Disney is reputed to have asked actresses to read passages from Snow White from behind a screen so that the decision he made was based on the actress’s voice and character and would not biased by their age or looks.
So c...
Recruiting the right person – define your criteria first!
01 Nov 2007
A survey last year by Right Management Consultants* found that almost 7 out of 10 employers say that it costs them between 2 and 3 times an employee’s annual salary to replace that worker if he or she doesn’t prove to be a good hire, with the higher the position, the more likely the costlier the mistake.
While the survey may have included a number of ‘subjective’ considerations such as recruitment, training, severance and reductions in productivity in the replacement cost estimates, the tru...
When to lead and when to manage?
29 Oct 2007
We have established that there is a difference between the activities of leadership and management. What we will consider in this article is when to choose to do which.
If leadership is primarily a big picture, large scale, vision, future oriented and proactive planning activity then it follows that a leader will be involved in these activities at key times and specific stages in the Business planning cycle i. e. at the start of and throughout this process which most organisations undertake on ...
Leading or managing - which one is it?
27 Oct 2007
Leading and managing are they different or are they just one and the same thing?
Both concepts have been around for Centuries, in Government, in the Military, in Education, in Sports clubs and in business organisations. It has become increasingly apparent and fashionable in recent years to talk about Leadership, its types and characteristics and its importance for the growth, survival and effectiveness of businesses throughout the world. So much so that most Management development programmes ha...
Managing the Performance of Someone with a ‘Bad Attitude’
20 Oct 2007
‘I have just had it with Fred’, said the Manager, ‘He has a terrible attitude to time keeping, he is always late, and I told him so! The problem is we have now fallen out. He claimed he has a good attitude to his work and time keeping, I told him that he hadn’t and it degenerated into an argument, what the heck do I do now?’
This scenario is all too familiar. Managers ‘know’ that a member of staff has a bad attitude towards some aspect of their work. They then decide to sit down with the ...
Performance Management Appraisal – Practical Hints and Tips for Managers
18 Oct 2007Many managers (and indeed staff!), dread Performance Appraisals, yet they are a valuable tool in helping people understand how they are currently performing as well as what they need to focus on to improve performance. Often the problem is that managers just don’t have the confidence or haven’t received adequate training to conduct appraisals properly. Sadly, the consequence of this is that too often staff leave an appraisal meeting feeling de-motivated or even angry and managers wonder why t...
Establishing rapport at a coaching session.
11 Oct 2007
Establishing good rapport with your coachee is absolutely crucial and fundamental to producing and developing an effective coaching relationship. This seems to be self-evident but WHAT do we mean by this, WHY is it so important and HOW should we set about achieving this?
Good rapport is about you as the coach understanding your coachee and about being in harmony and aware of their thoughts and feelings about their work, relationships, objectives and broader life agenda. It helps to have empat...
How important is it to establish current reality for a coachee?
08 Oct 2007Establishing current reality in the mind of the coachee is where all good coaching sessions start or should arrive at early on in a coaching session. Whilst it is very helpful for the coach to understand where the coachee is at mentally, situationally and emotionally - it is absolutely crucial for the coachee to develop this understanding. It provides a stable base for the coachee's thinking and ensures that they start of in a realistic - even if they then go on to think innovatively or to dream...
The importance of training managers to understand the cost of employee turnover
05 Oct 2007
Unfortunately, managers are often unaware of the high costs that employee turnover can have on their organisation. Yet traditionally, management training programmes have ignored this important issue. If more managers were aware of the true cost and impact that employee turnover can have on an organisation, a well thought-out management training program designed to retain employees will easily pay for itself in a very short period of time.
But how can the cost of employee turnover be calculate...
Do your managers have the skills and tools to do their job properly?
03 Oct 2007
There have been numerous research studies such as the Chartered Management Institute’s Management Development Works: the Evidence, which proves the link between organisational success and investment in management training. However, many organisations still do not make the necessary investment in management training to give their managers the skills and tools to do their job effectively.
A worldwide study of management practices and productivity conducted by the London School of Economics, Mc...
You have to like the person who is coaching you for it to be effective?
27 Sep 2007How true is it that as the subject of coaching you need to like the person who is coaching you for it to be effective. Obviously this would be nice to achieve but is not essential with every coaching relationship. It is unrealistic to expect this. I assume that the coach is likely to possess empathy, rapport building, good communication and relationships skills - the basis of all good coaching. There are some people with whom it is easy to establish a good relationship and the chemistry woks ver...
Aren't individuals who recieve coaching just failures at what they do?
24 Sep 2007
From time to time I have been asked to coach someone who has a performance problem or attitude or skills gap in their work role. They are sometimes presented to me as a “remedial” person who needs to improve in certain areas of their work, often accompanied by these sorts of words – “see what you can do with him/her”, “can you try to work your magic on them”, “I have done everything I can with them but is hasn’t worked – can you now have a go with them for me.”
Those last few words seem to su...
Are you challenging your staff enough or are they simply bored at work?
19 Sep 2007
A new book by Phillipe Rothlin and Peter R Werder suggests that up to 15 percent of office staff are on their way to something they call ‘Boreout’, because they are simply not challenged enough at work.
Their book entitled ‘Diagnose Boreout’ was published earlier this year and has been selected as a finalist for Business Book of the Year Awards 2007.
The authors describe ‘Boreout’ as being the opposite of ‘Burnout’, where as a consequence office workers spending part of their day pretendin...
Management Training – How do you make sure it’s effective?
17 Sep 2007
Do your staff attend management training courses but fail to take anything away from them?
Does your management training deliver the results you want, or is it just a waste of time and money?
Have you or a colleague attended a management training course but failed to take anything away from it?
We have all attended a course at some time in our lives and wished we hadn’t bothered! But why does this happen?
Most of the answers are quite straight forward and with the right amount of thought,...
Poor conduct - how should it be dealt with?
14 Sep 2007
From time to time some people have difficulties with their attitudes, behaviours and conduct at work. The problem for us as managers is when this behaviour has an impact on the work performance of that employee or on others working with them.
These difficulties can express themselves in many different ways,for example, anger or frustration, bad language, withdrawal of communication, non-cooperation with colleagues, inappropriate actions or negligence in performing the job tasks, disregarding of...
Performance management - whose responsibility is it?
12 Sep 2007
When an employee in your Organisation is not performing then whose job is it to improve this -is it the employee's job or is it the manager's job - or is it both?
It does depend to some extent on the nature of the shortfall or performance gap and it is often not clear cut. The sort of factors to consider are:- how clear are the job objectives, activities and responsibilities to the job holder and how well understood and communicated have they been by the manager?
- how skilled and knowledgab...
Team Development – Where do you focus your time and effort?
09 Sep 2007
Managers who wish to improve the performance of their teams tend to focus on the team’s ‘internal workings’, clarifying the team’s goals and roles, building spirit and motivation, providing focused agendas and agreeing rules for decision making. However, a new book written by Deborah Ancona, a Professor at MIT Sloan School of Management and Henrik Bresman, from INSEAD, state that these attributes alone are not enough to ensure that a team is successful.
The authors have harnessed decades of ...
Eight Steps to Developing a Successful Succession Plan
06 Sep 2007
Our experience of working across a large range of organisations has found that one of the biggest risks they face is having the right talent to enable them to compete in the future.
The reality of business today is that many key executives and talented professionals are coming up for retirement. Many organisations have reorganised and resized themselves to a point where the talent pool that would have been ready to step up into key roles are either not ready or not there.
This issue doesn’t ...
Coaching can just be done to people - they don't need to know that it is happening to them.
31 Aug 2007
Can coaching just be “done” to people – or do they need to be aware that it is happening to them?
Some managers believe that they can coach people into doing certain things or to behaving in certain ways without them realising what is going on. At best this is called influencing people - at its worst it is manipulating people.
In my experience yes people do need to know that they are being coached. How else can they be expected to play their part in this complex process? How will they und...
Can anyone make a suitable coaching subject?
30 Aug 2007
Within the spectrum of normal personality and behaviors then the theoretical answer to this question is yes, but there are some key factors that determine a person's suitability for coaching.
Firstly and most importantly is the coachees readiness, motivation and willingness to think about things differently and to want to learn and apply this learning in practice. If they expect the coach to do all of the thinking work and to supply them with a stream of perfect solutions the this is not goi...
Not getting the most from your staff? How much do they trust you?
24 Aug 2007
Trust has an important link with your own as well as your organisations success. Mutual trust is a shared belief between two people that they can depend on each other to achieve something that they both want. If you think about this in an organisational context, high levels of trust will generate high levels of commitment and sustain effort and performance without the need for management controls and close monitoring.
This doesn’t just impact on internal relationships, but mutual trust wi...
As a Manager - How Assertive Are You?
21 Aug 2007
Leading and managing others effectively requires you to think and act in a clear way. It is not helpful to either ignore issues or to say what you think but in an aggressive or rude manner. As a manager it is important that you let others know where you stand. Follow these 8 simple steps to be ensure that you make your feelings known and get the right response.
1) Understand assertiveness
Assertive behaviour doesn’t mean being aggressive, and it certainly doesn’t mean being passive. It ...
When requested to coach a person by an Organisation should you stick to the Organisation's objectives and agenda.
17 Aug 2007
YES. As a coach you do need to be aware of and to listen to the brief from the client organisation – you ignore this at your peril. Just as crucially you need to check out that the coachee shares and understands the organisation’s brief for them. There should be no secrets between you and the organisation that are then kept from the coachee.
NO. Your primary responsibility to and relationship is with the coachee. You should aim to help them meet their needs and not just the organisation’s...
Is it enough for the coachee to just "get things off their chest" at a coaching session or should we expect more than this?
16 Aug 2007
Clearly a good coach encourages a coachee to talk and explore their thinking and feelings about things that are important to them. To this end a coach acts as a “sounding board” and actively listens to a coachee as they sometimes offload their experiences and frustrations or elations to you as their coach. In my experience coachees often express their relief at having got these things “off their chest” with me, that they feel so much better for it, that they cannot be as honest as this with...
Must you coach someone face to face - or can you coach them as effectively on the telephone or by e mail?
13 Aug 2007
I believe that the highest quality coaching work is done face to face – because so much information and meaning passes between individuals through non-verbal cues and body language. Well documented research has suggested that as much as 70% of the real meaning in communication comes from non-verbal sources.
In more than 12 years experience as a coach I have exclusively practised face to face coaching augmented by the occasional telephone call or e mails between coaching sessions. In addit...
Should a coach make notes during a coaching session?
08 Aug 2007
One school of thought is that a coach cannot be attending and listening properly to the coachee if he/she is also taking notes at the same time.
After all a coachee doesn’t want to spend the entire coaching session talking to the top of your head.
The Benefits of taking notes during the session are that the notes are often a very helpful reminder to the coachee of the content of the coaching session:
particularly of the actions and commitments made by the coachee
it brings back to...
As a coach you must follow the coachees agenda and give them what they want.
08 Aug 2007To be truly “Client centred” a coach should aim to ensure that the coaching conversation centres on the coaches agenda issues, opportunities and objectives. This is not always as easy as it sounds in theory but it is essential that as the coaching relationship progresses the coachee takes responsibility for their thinking, their decisions and actions. Not to do so would suggest that the coachee is relying on the input, ideas, solutions of the coach rather than working through their own agenda ...
Motivation, Management and Training – How there are related?
03 Aug 2007
Whether we like it or not, gone are the days when an organisation could demand motivation, commitment and respect from their employees. The reality of modern life is that most people have a much greater choice about where they work, how they work and who they work for. The impact of this is that if employees feel that they are being taken for granted or not being engaged usefully, they have the very real option of ‘getting on their bike’ and working somewhere else.
So what should organis...
Management Training and Development – How much to invest?
02 Aug 2007
It’s a well known fact that management training and development can have a major positive impact on the performance of an organisation. But with the budgeting season upon us, how much time and money should you invest, and therefore budget for?
Ultimately the investment needed depends on the organisation and the particular managers concerned. This is because what is needed is governed by what the organisation is trying to achieve and how capable their managers are in delivering it. Our own...
Making the Most of Your Talent
27 Jul 2007
With the globalisation of markets and businesses, coupled with changing demographics, competition for high quality talent is set to increase. It’s not enough to simply find someone who has the potential and then just leave them to get on with it in the hope that everything will be ok. Your talent needs to be nurtured and their careers and expectations managed if you want them to stay committed to your organisation and add real long term value to it.
In addition, there is the added complic...
Continue to Grow your Business
23 Jul 2007
Any entrepreneur wants their business to continue to grow and develop, to win new customers and to develop new products and services. There are many ways of achieving this such as investing more money into sales and marketing or research and development or by employing staff with a wider range of skills and experience.
Over the past decade however, our experience has been that investment in management training, staff learning and development can really broaden the horizons of a company and...
You cannot coach people who report to one another.
20 Jul 2007
This was the received wisdom that I was told about when I just learned about coaching. The reasons for this concern are real and involve:
Confidentiality
Message giving
Manipulation
Indirect achievement of objectives
However, after a few years of avoiding these coaching relationships I was persuaded by clients to see this differently and to experience these benefits:
Increased contextual awareness and understanding
Insight into both ends of the relationship
Ability...
As a coach do you need to know all of the answers?
18 Jul 2007
To be an effective coach do you need to have the answers for your coachee?
Certainly in my experience of coaching people, many answers often spring into my mind – and I am clear about what I would do in particular situations – so why don’t I just tell the coachee what and how to do it and save us both time?
Although it may be true that I know what I would do, it doesn’t follow on that what I would do is what my coachee would or should do (there are no “you should” and “you ought to's” in a...
Is the potential you need under your nose?
12 Jul 2007
A number of organisations have already identified that the single biggest risk to their future is having the right talent in place as and when key people leave. However the demand and competition for talent will get even hotter over the next few years because of a number of factors:
• Companies are operating more and more on a global scale and can attract the best from around the world.
• Changing demographics means that an estimated one in four of the working population will be over 45 by ...
Improve your effectiveness – Learn to delegate!
11 Jul 2007
Too many people find themselves in a management position without learning the vital skill of delegation. The result – they become overloaded, because they are too busy “doing tasks” as well as managing their team (or worse, they forget to manage their team at all!). It is important to remember that management is the art of getting things done through others and not doing things yourself!
However, what is true delegation?
Delegation is entrusting responsibility and authority to others who...
The Key to successful leadership is within us
10 Jul 2007
Reading books about Richard Branson, Sir Clive Woodward or Greg Dyke successfully lead their teams and organisations can be useful, but they will not necessarily help you to improve your leadership skills. Up and coming leaders will be more successful if they focus on developing and correcting their own weaknesses rather than trying to emulate others, advises leadership development specialists Developing People.
Developing People’s Managing Director commented, “I believe that it is easy for ...
Can you coach people who are in the same team?
08 Jul 2007
You Can’t Coach a Number of People in the Same Team
Because of confidentiality conflicting aims and objectives, subjectivity
Why not if a team is a group of individuals working together to achieve the same or an agreed objective?
Potential issues
Confidentiality
Competition and competitiveness
Message passing
Over identity with an individual team member
Confusion about different team members perceptions
The alternatives – only one or some people receive coaching ...
Managers – brush up on your presentation skills!
24 Jun 2007
They should be enjoyable, entertaining, and informative, and they certainly shouldn’t be dull boring or a waste of your time. However, a recent study has identified that presentations can be one of the greatest sources of office frustration.
A survey of 1000 workers by Opinion Research USA, revealed high levels of resentment from employees having to attend presentations. The main gripe was the presenters themselves, as many were seen as dull, directionless and disorganised. In addition, so...
Coaching people at work - do you need to be an expert in their work?
20 Jun 2007
The question is can you still be an effective coach if you are not at ‘expert’ in the coachee’s field of work?
There are at least 5 black and white answers to this question and in typical coaching style I would like to examine these options further.
1. Oh yes you do
2. Oh no you don’t
3. It is better if you are
4. It is better if you aren’t
5. It doesn’t matter either way
1. Oh yes you do
The expert performer response from a person such as Geoff Boycott or Ian Botham in cricket o...
Can you coach someone effectively in their Office?
18 Jun 2007
There is a commonly held view that you Cannot Coach someone effectively in their Office.
This is because they may:-
• Be interrupted
• Be observed by others and be conscious of this
• Be distracted
• Be thinking about their current work
• Not be able to switch off
• Not be able to stand back and look at things objectively
• Not be able to focus and concentrate
• Not be able to think creatively out of the box
• Not be able to think clearly and feel intuitively
• May not be able to ac...
How Effective are You at Networking? – Try these 10 Tips to Improve Your Networking Skills
14 Jun 2007
Networking is an essential marketing tool. Ultimately, people buy ‘people’ and therefore we all like to know who we are dealing with, what they are like, how they can help us and whether we trust them. How can you build an effective relationship with someone if you don’t meet them?
Unfortunately, many people find networking uncomfortable, and possibly unnatural. However, our confidence and ultimately our success at networking can be dramatically improved by adopting a few simple techniques...
Managing Change - Key considerations to encourage your managers and staff to think and act differently!
13 Jun 2007
Essentially, managing change is about helping Managers and Staff to ‘think and act’ differently and in a way that will make the change successful – whatever the change is - be it a large scale business reorganisation, or a small scale improvement project.
After working with many organisations over the past 15 years, our experience shows that there are a number of prerequisites for successful change. For example, if I was a manager within Organisation XYZ, and the business was implementing t...
Personality questionnaires - do they really help you to predict management effectiveness and leadership potential?
10 Jun 2007
Personality questionnaires and profiles have been used extensively by H.R. Professionals and recruiting managers, especially in the last 10 years to help with the selection and development processes for the managers and leaders of the future. Clearly they add an additional dimension and more data to these processes - but how much decision value, as opposed to complication, do they add to that available from C.Vs., interviews, existing performance or appraisal data?
Personality profile data abo...
What are the roadblocks that may prevent the most talented people from helping your Organisation to succeed?
08 Jun 2007
We know that the success of our businesses depends mainly on the effort and achievements of the talented people that we employ – 80% of our success stemming from the motivation and effectiveness of the top 20% of our talent. So if we have identified who these talented people are what roadblocks or barriers do we have to remove to enable them to give of their best?
We should let them know that we value them and recognise the impact that they have on our business – you can bet that they know th...
You must know all of the answers if you are to be a good coach?
07 Jun 2007
To be an effective coach do you need to have the answers for your coachee?
Certainly in my experience of coaching people, many answers often spring in to my mind – and I am clear about what I would do in particular situations – so why don’t I just tell the coachee what and how to do it and save us both time?
Although it may be true that I know what I would do, it doesn’t follow on that what I would do is what my coachee would or should do (there are no “you should” and “you ought to” in a co...
Mediation - when and how might it help your Organisation?
06 Jun 2007
From time to time two or more individuals seem to get into extreme difficulties with each other and find it virtually impossible to work effectively if at all together.
This may have been caused by something that one or both people said to or about each other that they may have done or not done to each other, by a lack of trust or respect or by a combination of these factors. It could just be lack of personal chemistry between people that leads them to dislike them intensely.
One potential s...
Management Training Tips – Presentation Skills
01 Jun 2007
Ever wondered why your presentations occasionally don’t have the impact you wanted?
Or
Does the mere thought of giving a presentation make you come out in a cold sweat?
If you answered any yes to any of these questions then perhaps we can help you to deliver a more effective presentation, win over the audience or beat those butterflies with a few simple tips.
1) Remember a presentation is about winning hearts and minds. The first step therefore is to be clear about what you want to accomp...
Want to learn and develop? Get yourself a mentor.
29 May 2007
Modern organisations have to constantly change and adapt if they wish to stay ahead of their competitors and keep pace with their customers needs and we as individuals are no different.
If we wish to keep up with ever changing trends in technology, management issues and economic pressures, then we also need to be adaptable and capable of continually learning and developing.
Interestingly, those who are “good learners” approach unfamiliar or difficult challenges with confidence and “have a ...
What can we do to help our people to change and develop themselves?
25 May 2007
We could just TELL them of course and then stand back and wait for them to get It. If they don't get it first time then we just TELL THEM AGAIN and continue to do so but LOUDER until they finally do get it and acquire and adopt the skills, attitudes and behaviours that we want of them.
Does this soumd familiar to you in your Organisation? I do hope not!
All that TELLING PEOPLE LOUDER OR REPEATEDLY achieves is more resistance to the idea on principle.
So why is it that this direct TELL approa...
How can we find the time to develop our managers?
23 May 2007
10 or 15 years ago it was not uncommen for managers in larger Organisations to spend, (or to invest) large chunks of time in their learning and development. One or even 2 week long management development programmes were the norm.
Companies such as IBM, B.P., Fords, would have a minimum target number of days per annum say 10 that every "people manager" should invest in their development. Sales people in IBM would be expected to attend, study and to graduate successfully from the IBM Sales School...
Has Your Investment in Management Training Paid Off?
18 May 2007
Does your organisation review the impact of the investment it makes in Management Training and Development? How much money was spent last year on Management Training and Development and how did the organisation benefit?
Before these questions can be answered, the organisation must be clear about the objectives of any Management Training and Development. For example, what particular people issues need to be resolved? What is it that the business needs to see differently from a particular pe...
How Do You Develop Your High Potentials?
16 May 2007
In two previous articles we examined the importance of succession planning and how many organisations have identified that the single biggest risk to their future business is people – or more precisely the lack of people with the right skills and experience.
But how do you develop someone who has been identified as having high potential?
It is certainly not appropriate in today’s organisational world to simply identify ‘high flyers’ and leave them to it. Business and organisations have ...
Succession Planning – How do you assess your high potentials?
14 May 2007
Do you know who has the capability to lead your business in the future? Do know if you have the people with the capability and potential you need to succeed? In a previous article we examined the importance of succession planning and how many organisations have identified that the single biggest risk to their future business is people – or more precisely the lack of people with the right skills and experience.
But how does an organisation go about identifying people with potential?
C...
How much do our staff need managing by us these days?
09 May 2007
In this current environment of highly developed technology and hopefully more enlightened concepts of what constitutes good management, how much input and day to day direction do we really need to give to our employees?
Technology and the knowledge needed to use it efficiently and effectively now resides much more in the worker themselves than in their boss.
We usually have to rely on our people doing it right themselves and often have to ask them for guidance to complete some of our own task...
So what have Mourinho and Ferguson got in common?
08 May 2007
Apparently the answer is not a sense of humour - unless it is the occassional tongue or gum in cheek remark often uttered at the expense of their rival.
One is a dour Scot brought up in the tough environment of Glasgow who has spent all of his career as a player or manager in the Scottish or English Football League environment. The other is a younger, urbane well travelled manager with a background in Portugese football and life. They are apparently poles apart in their backgrounds and cultural...
How effectively can you coach someone in their Office?
07 May 2007
It is very difficult to Coach someone in their Office or at their desk because they may:-
Be interrupted
Be observed by others and be conscious of this
Be distracted
Be thinking about their current work
They may also not be able to:-
Switch off
Stand back
Focus and concentrate
Think creatively out of the box
Think clearly and feel intuitively
Act emotionally
Some coachees prefer and want to be coached in their Office and although I don’t encourage this I a...
Succession Planning – Is your Business at Risk?
02 May 2007
Do you know who will be leading your business in the future? Do you have the people with the capability and potential you need? We work with both multinational businesses as well as private owners and many have identified that the single biggest risk to their business future is people – or more precisely the lack of people with the right skills and experience. Sadly too many organisations do not have a systematic approach to succession planning and effectively leave it to chance.
Interesting...
Time Management – How you manage yourself?
25 Apr 2007
Time management is actually self management. It’s interesting that the skills we need to manage others are the same skills we need to manage ourselves: the ability to plan, delegate, organise, direct and control.
So here are some tips for turning your skills learned in management training courses on managing others to manage yourself.
Planning
How can you achieve your goals without a plan? Most people know what they want but have no plan to achieve it except by sheer hard work. Your y...
Active Listening – A tool for business communication
23 Apr 2007
Active listening is a vital communication tool for all business managers to develop and be comfortable using. It reflects back to the speaker that what they are saying is important and the listener will find that they retain more information about the conversation.
There are several key strategies when thinking about active listening. They are:
• Ask open-ended questions
• Reflect back or paraphrase
• Empathise
• Listen more than talking
Asking questions, which are open-ended, allo...
What makes delegates diificult to handle on training courses?
18 Apr 2007
Most delegates on most courses are open minded, keen to learn, easy to do business with and responsive to the learning on offer. However occasionally as trainers we encounter a delegate who is negative, unresponsive, very difficult to deal with and apparently not open to learning. This sort of person can be a problem in their own right and can also affect and infect the other delegates on the course with their disruptive behaviour.
The root cause of these difficulties can be quite difficult to ...
What is so important about Talent management?
17 Apr 2007
In today's fast paced Hi-Tec world, how important is it to identify and nurture the talent that exists within the people that our Organisations employ?
Many Organisations eg EMAP PLC regard this as a critical success factor for the future growth and success of their business and they are actively involved in identifying individuals with the creative and business development talent that they believe is required for their future. They are focusing both on existing employess who they currently emp...
Management Training - Know your audience to become more effective
13 Apr 2007
History has shown us that many great leaders are also great orators. One of the reasons why these leaders are good speakers is the ability to “know” their audiences; what makes their audiences tick, what motivates them and how to influence them to work towards your vision. The skill of “knowing” your audience is a powerful tool and can be used on groups of all sizes and in all types of organisations.
In today’s business climate we ask are managers to be leaders but are we equipping them wit...
Can you just be a manager?
11 Apr 2007
Management Training – Can you just be a manager?
Management as a word developed in the 1600’s. It means the act of handling, directing or controlling a person, object and/or project. So is management enough in today’s business environment or does everyone require further skills to fulfil today’s management roles? And has today’s manager become yesterday’s supervisor?
When we think of supervisors of the past we tended to think about specific skills in specific disciplines. Supervisors neede...
How effective are you at managing the performance of your staff? (Part 3)
06 Apr 2007
This is the final article in our series on Performance Management. In the previous articles we discussed the overall Performance Management process and the key elements associated with the process, such as setting expectations and reviewing performance. In our final article we will look at one particular aspect of Performance Management – the 360º feedback appraisal as well as the outcomes form the process, and common mistakes that organisations make.
360º Feedback Appraisal
A 360º appra...
What can you do to improve your team's development & performance?
06 Apr 2007
No two pieces of team development work are the same but there are often some basic groundrules and approaches that work effectively to help team members to get the best out of themselves and of their colleagues.
Developing and agreeing a Contract or Charter of behaviours to be adopted or avoided is a key tool.
Identifying and working on the skills of the leader and of the team members as followers is key.
Encouraging team members to be positive and "easy to do business with" helps the intern...
How effective are you at managing the performance of your staff? (Part 2)
04 Apr 2007
This is the second in a series of three articles on Performance Management. In the last article we looked at the overall Performance Management process and the key elements associated with the process. We will discuss these elements in more detail below.
Setting expectations
It is vital that managers know what’s expected of them if they are to maximise their own and the businesses performance. Most organisations set expectations, in terms of what managers need to deliver by setting pers...
How effective are you at managing the performance of your staff? (Part 1)
03 Apr 2007
This is the first in a series of three articles on Performance Management during which we will discuss what a ‘best practice’ performance management process looks like as well as key elements associated with the process. In the first article we will examine the overall purpose of Performance Management and what a Performance Management process should ‘look’ like.
What is Performance Management?
The purpose of performance management is to maximise the contribution of individuals and teams ...
Why bother to invest time in building relationships with our business partners?
01 Apr 2007
70% of partnerships and mergers fail because of poor culture fit between the parties or inattention to working well together.
Over 65% of performance problems in these mergers or partnership arrangements result from strained relationships.
42% of a manager's time is spent reaching agreements with others when conflicts occur.
So if only to avoid the wastage in management time and effort involved in resolving these issues but also to avoid the whole project crashing or the merger dissolving th...
Management training - to do the job right or to do the right job?
30 Mar 2007
Whenever we or one of our staff or managers attends a training or development activity then both we and they hope and expect that they will learn something new and relevant about how to do their job better now and or in the future.
On the assunption that the learning event is well planned, structured, described and delivered and that the participants are receptive then the learning activity should be successful. However even when all of these considerations are thought through and implemented e...
When does a Management training Course turn into an Event?
26 Mar 2007Most mangement training courses have an obvious set of learning or development objectives and an agenda approach and structure that aims to deliver learning for the participants within the course that can be applied by the participants back in the work place. As well as or within the course's key learning objectives there are often subsidiary objectives for the participants to derive some "fun or enjoyment" from the course. This is when the training course starts to look and feel more like an "E...
Management Training: Your business as a centre of excellence for management training
23 Mar 2007
All companies, regardless of size and industry, are management training centres whether for good or bad. Companies, even those without formal programmes, are managing their employees, have a company culture, have some training and above all have real-life case studies happening all of the time. So even without formal programmes your managers and employees are all experiencing your “management training programme” everyday they are employed there.
Exactly what is your “management training pro...
Tailored Leadership & Management Training Programmes
21 Mar 2007
Most organisations are aware of the benefits that motivated and trained mangers and leaders can have on their business. Organisations have all had their star performers who really outshine their colleagues and who help to drive the business toward its goals. The question for most organisations is how to get all of their management and supervisory team performing to the same standards as your stars.
In a recent article on www.PersonnelToday.com entitled Focus on staff saves brewer Green Ki...
Active Listening – A tool for business communication
19 Mar 2007
Active listening is a vital communication tool for all business managers to develop and be comfortable using. It reflects back to the speaker that what they are saying is important and the listener will find that they retain more information about the conversation.
There are several key strategies when thinking about active listening. They are:
• Ask open-ended questions
• Reflect back or paraphrase
• Empathise
• Listen more than talking
Asking questions, which are open-ended, allo...
Want to manage emails more effectively? Then start by properly managing yourself and other people!
16 Mar 2007
Many have come to the conclusion that email is a modern day curse and not the great asset it was designed to be. Every working day, millions of people spend a massive amount of time sifting through piles of electronic messages that fly in to their computer.
Part of the problem is that email makes it easy for everyone and anyone to quickly send a message. A few simple taps on the keyboard and it's gone. However the other half of the problem is you – the receiver and how you manage emails in ...
Leading and Managing a remote team? Here are some hints and tips that may help!
14 Mar 2007
Leading and managing a team is not as straightforward as it used to be. The reality today is that many of us have to have to lead teams that operate across countries with different languages, cultures and time zones.
The challenges to managing teams remotely can be considerable with different cultures, languages, business practices and attitudes to things such as hierarchy.
However, our experience shows that there are a number of practical things that managers can do to maximise team effe...
Leadership Today - are modern leaders born? Do they need development or should we give them training?
12 Mar 2007
Leaders get others to want to do things that they believe should be done. They make the difference between average and excellent performance. They deliver the bottom line.
However, leadership is not as straightforward as it used to be. The reality today is that many managers have to lead teams that operate across countries with different languages and cultures and even sometimes conflicting government regulations.
The risks to managing these teams remotely are considerable. Communi...
How much management do our staff really need from us?
09 Mar 2007
This can be tricky question for us as managers and one that should be addressed or at least referenced on any management training programme.
It is often quite a challenge for newly appointed managers or team leaders who are learning the "art" of management and feeling their way through the new relationships and challenges that taking on the responsibility for managing people provides. When first appointed a new manager is likely to be influenced by the example and role model set for them by the...
Do you need to have a formal coaching qualification to be an effective coach?
07 Mar 2007
On the one hand no, you don’t need to have gone through an extensive academic, knowledge based educational programme with a “graduation ceremony, certificate and letters after your name.
On the other hand, you do need to have learned about and understood many of the techniques and approaches and to have acquired and developed the personal skills and attitudes underlying a good coach. It also helps if you have some breadth and/or depth of life experience that provides you with the self confid...
How to help employees to use their initiative.
05 Mar 2007
Most busineess thrive on having their employees take the initiative and to act in an empowered way when faced with a tricky request from a customer. These decisions and actions cannot just come out of a rule book or be taught to employees on a staff or management traning programme. Two recent examples spring to my mind from my recent holiday.
One sitauation arose in the Kango Caves in South Africa when I was on a guided tour to the Regions most fantastic and ancient caves - which have been form...
Is your business suffering from high levels of unauthorised absenteeism?
02 Mar 2007
It is estimated that employee absenteeism costs the UK economy around £12bn per year. On average this equates to around 8.5 days per employee at an average cost to the business of £600 per employee. However these are not the only costs incurred by an organisation- other factors to take into account are disruption and lost work as other employees try to cover for their absent colleagues.
One of the areas that many people are unsure about how to tackle are unauthorised absence or lateness- som...
Communications - understanding the risks with Email
28 Feb 2007
Email is an extremely powerful tool in terms of communication but it is frequently misused or overused.
When communicating, irrespective of the medium used, we should always consider how the recipient might interpret our message(s). In business today Email has become an extremely popular way of communicating information but because we are reliant on the words and format (i.e, we cannot observe the body language behind the message to help us interpret the content) there is an increased risk o...
Delegation - an important skill to have?
26 Feb 2007
One of the most common areas of difficulties we come across when training managers is their reluctance to delegate. Delegation is about entrusting responsibility and authority to others to complete a task or activity.
Why Delegate can be beneficial?
Delegation is not easy: it requires courage, patience and careful planning. However, whilst initially time consuming there are a number of benefits including generating time for yourself, team members feeling that they are more trusted and sec...
Active Listening – A tool for business communication
23 Feb 2007
Active listening is a vital communication tool for all business managers to develop and be comfortable using. It reflects back to the speaker that what they are saying is important and the listener will find that they retain more information about the conversation.
There are several key strategies when thinking about active listening. They are:
• Ask open-ended questions
• Reflect back or paraphrase
• Empathise
• Listen more than talking
Asking questions, which are open-ended, allo...
Delivering difficult messages
22 Feb 2007
At one time or another all organisations have to deliver difficult or tough messages to their employees. Usually the challenge to communicate these messages falls to the organisations’ managers.
As part of a wider management training programme, Developing People Limited have created training tips to manage delivering tough messages.
1. Be prepared
Make sure you have all the up to date information before you go into the meeting. This could be very useful if the person has questions or co...
Management training for Mergers
16 Feb 2007
The time preparing for, leading up to and during the implementation of a merger of 2 or more Organisations is a difficult time for all parties involved – but particularly for the staff of the Organisations who may be concerned about whether their job, or an equivalent one, will exist for them in the new merged Organisation.
During the preparation time there is significant planning work to be done to schedule the various activities and actions to be taken to achieve the merger. This work need...
What factors can derail a Manager and how can any management training help?
14 Feb 2007
These are some of the sorts of factors that can derail a manager and can interfere with their ability and that of their people to work effectively:-
• A lack of self-awareness and or awareness of others
• Not appreciating the impact of their actions on others
• Poor delegation skills and the belief that they can always do the job better than their people
• Seeing the big picture but not having an appreciation of what is happening elsewhere in the Organisation
• Not having enough time for th...
Management training - can it help with mediation?
12 Feb 2007
This will depend on a number of factors and not just on the skills of the manager involved.
It will be affected by the nature of the problem, the depth of feeling involved and by the relationship of the people involved to the manager.
By definition the issue requires someone to help facilitate dealing with a problem that they cannot solve themselves, who is outside the problem and relationships. Often the problem is the relationship between the two people itself which is at the route of the...
Can leadership training make a difference to your bottom line?
09 Feb 2007
It has been recently reported* that telecoms company Genesis Communications has made £2m in cost savings by investing in leadership training.
80 managers and potential managers (20% of the staff) were selected and put through the training which comprised of a 360° feedback, coaching and individual action planning.
The £2m figure is made up of the changes managers made to the business after completing the training. One example is the design and implementation of an induction academy fo...
Is the manager necessarily the best person to coach his/her people?
07 Feb 2007
In our opinion, there is no straightforward answer to this because it really does depend on the balance of a number of different factors including:
Skills: Does the manager have the skills and knowledge to be a good coach? Often an assumption is made, mistakenly, that if you are a good manager you will also be a good coach but this is not always the case as the skills sets are distinctly different.
The solution: Coaching offers a flexible approach to developing an individual, but it is...
Work and Families Act 2006 comes into effect on 1 April 2007
05 Feb 2007
Below are a summary of the changes:
From 1 October 2006 when the law came into force, statutory maternity pay, maternity allowance and statutory adoption pay increased from 26 weeks to 39 weeks for babies due on or after 1 April 2007, or adoption placements from that date. These mothers will also become entitled to a total of 52 weeks maternity leave. This is regardless of the length of service with the employer.
Women returning from maternity leave and who want to change their return-...
Leadership and Management Development – Is your approach working?
02 Feb 2007
A recent article in the Harvard Business Review suggests that it is vital for organisations to provide development programs that take into account the fundamental shift in the way managers need to think and act as they progress through an organisation.
Most organisations have management development programs in place, but they are usually differentiated by the amount of training given, and quite often fail to take into account the different behavioural demands that accompany different levels o...
Time off work Management Training is time well spent!
01 Feb 2007
Are you working smarter or just longer hours? Tell your boss that time off work is great for your productivity, according to a paper published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, by Sonnentag and Fritz.
You might not feel that you need a university professor to tell you breaks are good for you, but the scientific data proves it. Taking annual leave really does recharge your batteries. You are happier and more energetic when you return to work after a good break.
Sabine Sonnentag, a pro...
Are you a Manager or Leader? How do you network?
29 Jan 2007
A recent study in the Harvard Business Review by Hermina Ibarra and Mark Hunter identified that true leaders appear to possess a set of ‘strategic’ networking skills that non leaders rarely possess.
The authors of the study found that there are three types of networking:
• Operational networking. This focuses on efficient working and most contacts are internal and related to current needs. In other words they are relationships that are built with others who can help them do their jobs. ...
Is knowledge and skill more important than attitudes and behaviours when considering the content of a management training programme?
26 Jan 2007A certain amount of knowledge is required in any business, occupation or profession in order for employees to perform their job roles effectively. The more technical, complex and procedural the job the more knowledge that is required to complete the work. The concepts of knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer are well known in today’s organisational environment and much of this occurs outside any professional or management training programme. Managers themselves do not have to have all of the ...
How helpful could management training be for the manager's of English Professional Football Clubs?
24 Jan 2007
If you were to ask Alex Ferguson, or Harry Rednapp this question then you might get a very short, sharp reply.
However given the wide ranging responsibilities that often fall on the shoulders of football club managers then it is clear that they would benefit from broader management training to deal with the everyday people management and business issues that they are faced with.
There are often a number of classical people management challenges that a football club manager is faced with ...
How much more valuable is experience than management training in the making of an effective manager?
22 Jan 2007There is no doubt that we can learn by our experiences and that taking the learning from different situations and applying it to new decisions and dilemmas is a good way of us becoming more effective as line managers. However when it comes to dealing with the human variable then we sometimes find that what we have experience that works well in one situation with one person does not work as effectively with a different person. This is due to the differences in personality, style, attitude and be...
Managers, Team Leaders and Supervisors – Management Training to give them the skills to succeed
19 Jan 2007
In PersonnelToday.com, Petra Wilton, head of public affairs at the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), condemned the state of leadership in UK businesses.
The Leitch Review told the government in December that UK skill levels needed to be ramped up to avoid a "lingering decline in competitiveness".
Wilton said training of managers should be a priority as only one in five has a Level 2 management-related qualification.
"There are lots of accidental managers in the UK who have been g...
Thinking and Acting Differently – Management Training
17 Jan 2007
Consider this scenario – Your management team or some of your managers have just finished a very informative and well designed management development programme or management training course. You meet with them the next day to evaluate how the programme went and they all seem highly motivated and ready to change the world or at least their own department. You think, great now I will see a marked improvement in their performance and leadership skills and the company will reach its targets! But u...
Using Psychometrics in Management Training
15 Jan 2007
Psychometric profiling is a means of assessing and measuring people’s personality preferences, behavioural characteristics and thinking ability that produces a picture or profile of a person typically covering the following traits:-
• Preferences
• Strengths and weaknesses
• Management and inter personal style
• Self perception and perception of others
• Current motivation
• Performance under pressure
• Thinking and decision making style
• Preferred team roles
When Psychometrics...
Management Training - Workplace Stress
12 Jan 2007
It has been recently calculated that absenteeism due to stress related illnesses is costing the UK over £3.7 billion a year. However the results of recent surveys* indicate that proactively managing workplace stress for many organisations still remains as a low priority on their agenda.
It has also been reported that the majority of the managers surveyed also feel ill-prepared when it comes to being able to recognise work place stress; secondly how to manage it effectively and thirdly, knowi...
Management Training- why is it important to ensure that the Appraisal process includes training and development objectives as well as organizational, team or personal objectives?
10 Jan 2007
One of key responsibilities of being an effective leader and manager is having the ability to motivate your staff, being able to help them to achieve optimum levels of performance and to fulfil their career aspirations.
When used effectively, one of the management tools which can help you with this is the Appraisal process. In essence the Appraisal Process should include looking back i.e. by reviewing achievements during the appraisal period and then looking forward i.e. by discussing and agree...
Is Coaching a substitute for Management training?
08 Jan 2007
The aim of coaching people in Organisations is to help them to give of their best and to unlock their potential to maximise their own PERFORMANCE.
It is about them LEARNING, becoming more aware of what their possible options are and discovering and deciding for themselves what their appropriate, chosen course of action is.
It is not about an expert coach deciding what is best for them and telling them what and how to do things.
In this way it differs from much management training which is oft...
Make management training your priority for 2007
03 Jan 2007
Doing so will motivate your Managers. This in turn should motivate their staff which should have a positive effect on their morale, work satisfaction, effectiveness and personal performance.
This should then feed through to the financial performance of your Organisation.
However there are other factors to consider before launching into a new management training programme which are as follows:-
• Executives & Senior Managers should modelthe required behaviours from the top.
• You should con...
Tips for Managers and Leaders
02 Jan 2007
Today’s managers and leaders are continually faced with a constantly changing work environment. Therefore it is difficult to adopt a single style of management or leadership which suits all situations.
Below are some tips to help you traverse the pathway of becoming a successful manager and leader in a smoother and potentially more rewarding way:
Recognise that the world is rapidly changing. You therefore have two choices – you can either resist change or become involved and learn from ...
Management Training - Open Customer Service Programme
22 Dec 2006
The aim of the programme
The programme is designed to provide participants with the skills and knowledge to deliver customer service that exceeds customers’ expectations. The aims of the programme are for participants to:
• Understand the theory around exceptional customer service
• Develop a customer focused attitude
• Explore communication within customer service
• Understand your own preferred “Working Style”
• Recognise the “Working Styles” of your customers
• “Recovering” difficu...
Management Training – Team Leader Development Programme
20 Dec 2006
One of the most difficult times in any Manager's career is when they first take on responsibility for managing people. Whether they are called Team Leaders, Supervisors, Chargehands, First Line Managers or something else the responsibility and the pressure is the same.
It is a time when you find yourself responsible for the behaviour, performance and output of others. Rather than just having to think about your own attitudes, behaviours, actions and motivation you have to consider that of oth...
Management Training – Cross-Cultural Team Training
18 Dec 2006
More and more organisations now have teams which cross cultural and country borders adding further layers of complexity to team management and performance. It used to be solely the realm of the big multi-nationals to have these teams but now it is becoming more prevalent for small to medium sized organisations to also have cross-cultural teams. For SME’s many of the challenges are the same as for any other organisation with teams spread over diverse locations. Some of these challenges are:
...
Should senior managers deliver their own management training?
14 Dec 2006
It is any managers responsibility to develop their managers and staff to effectively perform their job roles both now and to prepare them for the future. This includes giving them day to day guidance, advice and coaching help to encourage them to achieve their full potential.
They should also ensure that they have the technical knowledge and skills to do their jobs well and if they are also managers that they discharge their people management and development responsibilities effectively and fai...
Management Training – so how does the organisation know which courses to choose?
13 Dec 2006
First of all the organisation should consider carrying out some sort of audit or training needs analysis to identify the technical, managerial, soft and vocational skills required.
Training and development needs can also be identified at different levels:
• Organisational – focusing on needs against the business strategy, plan and goals of the company
• Departmental/Team – where bespoke solutions for specific departments or teams need to be assessed
• Job related – at this level train...
Management Training for recent promotees
11 Dec 2006
There is a popular misconception that individuals who display a high degree of skill, knowledge and/or experience in their specialised field e.g. technical, selling, service will naturally be good managers.
Individuals who are promoted into a supervisory, team leader or management role for the first time often under perform in their new role due to the fact that different skills need to be employed. The impact of which is three fold: from the company’s perspective the employee may not (be ...
Management training - who cares?
08 Dec 2006
I believe that at different levels we should all care about the quality and effectiveness of the managers and leaders in the Organisations that we do business with.
The Staff in these Organisations deserve to be given the best direction, guidance and motivation that they can be by their managers. They are most likely to get this from managers who have been trained for the job of management than by those who haven't. Would you want to be guided by an accountant or solicitor who had not been give...
Why Management training can help to improve business performance
06 Dec 2006
Management Training encompasses a number of different training areas, not just management and leadership training. Other topics might include communication skills, time management, performance management, finance training, report writing, team building, presentation skills, IT etc.
There can be direct business benefits from investing in management training – irrespective of the manager’s experience e.g.
• Less experienced managers can achieve significant improvement in their ability to m...
Do Directors still need management training?
04 Dec 2006
The most appropriate response to this is to change the questions emphasis to read slightly differently i.e. would they BENEFIT from receiving ongoing management training. The answer to this question is undoubtedly yes for the following reasons.
1. They should be keeping abreast of their responsibility as a Director to run the business with probity and to fulfill their obligations as a Company Director to their stakeholders. The Institute of Directors runs various courses leading to specific a...
Management Training Can Add Value to Employees and Your Business
02 Dec 2006
Survey after survey show that employees don’t’ want just good pay, they want to be developed, valued and work for an organisation that makes a positive contribution to their communities.
For example, earlier this year the Sunday Times published its results for the 100 Best Companies to Work For. It demonstrated that the best businesses value their employees, and as a consequence have low staff turnover. Their employees want to work for them and stay with them, a highly prized commodity in t...
Management Training Can Help Staff have Freedom They Need to Perform.
01 Dec 2006
Trusting your staff to do what they are good at is key to building a successful organisation, but sadly too often managers fail to recognise the significance of this.
Modern Management as well as modern life seems to be one of control. It is vital that budgets are hit, performance targets achieved, and often at the expense of freedom and creativity. That is not to say that these things are unimportant, because, clearly they are important, but what a manager should never do is over control t...
Boss a joke? Perhaps they should try some Management Training!
28 Nov 2006
What is the difference between a bad boss and a good boss? Most people will answer that question using the following or similar words:
Bad Boss Good Boss
Task orientated
One way communicator
Commands and controls
Uses direct & implied threats
Divides and conquers
Never follows through on commitments
‘Do what I say not what I do’
Plays office politics
Treats others as subordinates
Thinks that they are the ‘expert’ Inspirational
Provides direction
Supports,
Use intrinsic motiva...
Management Training – What makes a great leader?
22 Nov 2006
Management Training – What makes a great leader?
The Developing People Leadership Puzzle.
Effective leadership is one of those areas that most businesses are striving towards but few ever reach. What is it that causes some businesses to fail while others succeed? What qualities make a great leader and how does your business promote those qualities throughout the organisation?
Leadership has always been a bit of an enigma or puzzle. Many individuals and organisations have tried to solve ...
Management Training – Can you just be a manager?
20 Nov 2006
Management Training – Can you just be a manager?
Management as a word developed in the 1600’s. It means the act of handling, directing or controlling a person, object and/or project. So is management enough in today’s business environment or does everyone require further skills to fulfil today’s management roles? And has today’s manager become yesterday’s supervisor?
When we think of supervisors of the past we tended to think about specific skills in specific disciplines. Supervisors neede...
Management Training: Your business as a centre of excellence for management training
17 Nov 2006
All companies, regardless of size and industry, are management training centres whether for good or bad. Companies, even those without formal programmes, are managing their employees, have a company culture, have some training and above all have real-life case studies happening all of the time. So even without formal programmes your managers and employees are all experiencing your “management training programme” everyday they are employed there.
Exactly what is your “management training p...
Management Training – Can you train the next generation of workers?
15 Nov 2006
• They don’t follow the rules
• You can’t count on them
• They have short attention spans
• They have few or no manners
• They’re slackers
…and so on and so forth
This is the usual lament of managers and employees who work closely with younger workers. Every year we hear these same things from those industries that hire large proportions of young workers.
So what should you do? More and more businesses, regardless of size and industry, now see the value of training their staff. Th...
ILM announces FREE one year membership for students
13 Nov 2006
The institute of Leadership and Management, Europe’s leading provider of management training qualifications, has recently announced that with effect from 1 October 2006 everyone who signs up for an ILM course will receive a free ILM membership, ‘studying member grade’, for one year.
Detailed below are the membership benefits that you will receive as a ‘studying member’
• The ILM on-line resource centre - skills files on key management topics such as delegation, time management and motivation...
Management training - can you teach an "old dog" new tricks?
10 Nov 2006
Do older employees respond as well to management training activities as younger people?
Should companies still invest in the training of their managers into their 50's and 60's or is it too late by then to be of benefit?
In these times of age discrimination it is not legally appropriate to exclude older people from these development opportunites - even if it ever was justified in the first place.
There is still a strong case for including older employees in management training events.
a) th...
Is management training just a jolly?
08 Nov 2006
Clearly it is not - but occasionally some participants approach and treat it like it is.
It does provide a break in routine and something different from the "day job", and it should have some relationship and link back to the work place, either direct or indirect.
A key question is what are the conditions to establish before, during and after a management training event that ensure that it is not treated as a jolly by the participants?
BEFOREHAND - as a sponsor or provider of management train...
Are women more responsive than men to management training?
06 Nov 2006
Recent research has suggested that women may be more interested in pursuing their own personal development and in taking part in management development training than their male counterparts.
The evidence for this hypothesis is circumstancial and not entirely objective but none the less exists.
It has long been said by some observors that in general women take their management role more seriously than men and that they approach it more dilligently, conscientiously and with more inter-personal s...
Management Training – it can make a real difference!
03 Nov 2006
Ultimately, building a successful business or organisation relies on sound management and leadership skills, and these come through hard work and effective management training and development.
While some may think that paying huge salaries and big bonuses is the way to attract, motivate and retain the best staff, it is not the way to build a long term successful business. While bonuses may improve motivation and morale, they really only provide a short term ‘Hawthorn’ effect and are soon for...
How to solve your Management Training needs
02 Nov 2006
If your friendly local business school or university cannot provide you with the management training and development you need, the answer may be to create your own!
Often companies send their executives and managers to a business school or on a diploma course and they have little choice about it. He or she must take the course as given. The problem with this approach is that the learning is very generic and may not meet the needs of the managers or the business.
A way round this is to use yo...
Managers complain of too little management training!
31 Oct 2006
Imagine you own a plumbing or electrical contracting business and you buy each craftsman an expensive set of new tools so they have everything needed to do the job properly.
But it turns out the craftsmen only know how to use the screwdrivers and spanners, so it takes much longer to do each job than you had planned. Not to mention that most of the shiny new tools never came our of their box!
This is pretty much what happens in offices around the UK, research suggests, where staff say they lack...
Tailored Leadership & Management Training Programmes
27 Oct 2006
Most organisations are aware of the benefits that motivated and trained managers and leaders can have on their business. Organisations have all had their star performers who really outshine their colleagues and who help to drive the business toward its goals. The question for most organisations is how to get all of their management and supervisory team performing to the same standards as your stars.
In a recent article on www.PersonnelToday.com entitled Focus on staff saves brewer Green K...
Time Management – How you manage yourself?
26 Oct 2006
Time management is actually self management. It’s interesting that the skills we need to manage others are the same skills we need to manage ourselves: the ability to plan, delegate, organise, direct and control.
So here are some tips for turning your skills learned in management training courses on managing others to manage yourself.
Planning
How can you achieve your goals without a plan? Most people know what they want but have no plan to achieve it except by sheer hard work. Your y...
Cross Cultural Management Training
23 Oct 2006
Today, more than ever, management teams and project teams are working across boundaries, borders and cultures. Where as cross cultural teams used to be solely the territory of large international organisations many small to medium sized organisations (SME’s) are now finding themselves working in this environment as well. This cross cultural environment can take several forms including having different cultures, races or religions working on the same team in the same office, teams from differen...
Metropolitan Police Service changes its approach to the way officers are promoted
20 Oct 2006
The Times has recently reported on the changes that are taking place within the Metropolitan Police Service in relation the way officers are being promoted.
Historically, officers seeking promotion to sergeant and inspector had to sit a national exam followed by an assessment day that involved answering questions based on a series of 5-minute long scenarios. Chief Superintendent Charles Phelps comments “However, these lacked credibility with officers because they didn’t reflect the reality...
Talent Management – what may be driving your younger employees away from a management role?
18 Oct 2006
According to the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) British businesses are at risk of losing young talent because of poor management and leadership.
Kim Parish, Chief Executive of the Institute of Leadership & Management comments, 'It's imperative that we develop our young talent because they have no qualms about moving on. Young people will leave organisations if they experience poor management and that, combined with the increasing trend for portfolio careers, means that businesses...
Ageism is not exclusive to the older generation
16 Oct 2006
From 1 October, the Age Discrimination regulations make it unlawful to discriminate against employees because of their age. Many people have mistakenly drawn the wrong conclusion that this affects older employees only whereas in fact it equally applies to younger employees.
The DTI anticipates that there may be as many as 8,000 age discrimination cases brought to UK tribunals in the first year of the new legislation being introduced. Despite the publicity there are many organizations who are ...
How to provide management training and development through an assessment centre.
13 Oct 2006
A recent review of assessment centre tools published in the CIPD's People Management magazine outlined 7 clear principles to be followed when choosing the right assessment tools - but it not did not go on to consider how to build in an element of management training and devlopment into these programmes. This news article lists the CIPD's principles and then goes on to consider how to build these assessments into a developmental experience rather than just a "test" situation.
The principles are:...
Performance Management Training – The key elements
06 Oct 2006
Performance management is becoming increasing important in today’s service and knowledge based economy, and many organisations are turning to their training providers to help them.
While trainers and management consultants can help businesses implement a new performance management system and train managers to use it, organisations are often unclear about what performance management is or what should be included in a performance management training programme.
To try and provide some guid...
Management Training – What to Focus on?
05 Oct 2006
Most people think that they are a good manager, however, according to a poll recently conducted for Investors in People by YouGov, almost one in three employees would swap their manager if they could – with nearly one in four claiming they could do a better job themselves, given the chance!
However, that number's not surprising when you consider how few managers receive any kind of formal management training. If think you are a good manager then check out the practices below to see how you mea...
Management Training or Talent Development?
03 Oct 2006
It’s not enough in today’s organisational world to recruit someone who will simply ‘fit the job’ and leave them to it. Business and organisations have to continually change and develop and their staff their need to change, develop and ‘move with the times’ as well.
So what should you do as an employer? Here’s a guide to making the most out of your human assets.
• Make training and development and issue for the Board. The Board should be able to clearly articulate the strategy of the bus...
Active Listening – A tool for business communication
29 Sep 2006
Active Listening – A tool for business communication
Active listening is a vital communication tool for all business managers to develop and be comfortable using. It reflects back to the speaker that what they are saying is important and the listener will find that they retain more information about the conversation.
There are several key strategies when thinking about active listening. They are:
• Ask open-ended questions
• Reflect back or paraphrase
• Empathise
• Listen more than ...
Delivering the tough message
26 Sep 2006
Delivering the tough message
At one time or another all organisations have to deliver difficult or tough messages to their employees. Usually the challenge to communicate these messages falls to the organisations’ managers.
As part of a wider management training programme, Developing People Limited have created training tips to manage delivering tough messages.
1. Be prepared
Make sure you have all the up to date information before you go into the meeting. This could be very useful if ...
Do you employ less than 50 people? If so funding for training may be available to you.
20 Sep 2006
Organisations with less than 50 people may be entitled to some additional funding if any of their employees are attending training courses which have attracted full or part funding * . The Treasury has set aside a sum of money (£76 million over the next two years) which will enable employers, through an application process, to reclaim the wages (minus deductions such as National Insurance) of employees on work-time training courses.
*Learning and Skills Council’s Train to Gain scheme-
...
The National Training Awards reach their 20th anniversary this year
18 Sep 2006
The awards were introduced in 1986 and were designed to raise the profile of individuals, businesses and organisations, recognising their contribution to, and success through, training and development.
They are run by UK Skills on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills and this year there are already over 200 finalists from a broad spectrum of business sectors including many well-known organisations such as B and Q, Mothercare, the BBC, Ramada Jarvis Hotels, P & O Ferries and AXA ...
Our successful Team Leader Development Programme is relaunched
14 Sep 2006
We are pleased to announce another date for our hugely successful Team Leader Development Programme.
The aim of the programme
The programme will identify, improve and develop the management skills, knowledge and competency of the participants in the following key areas:
• Leading and managing teams – reducing workload of senior staff
• People management skills – ensuring willing co-operation
• Understanding of effective team work and motivation
• Applying skills developed in the prog...
Coaching or management training - what is the difference?
13 Sep 2006
When faced with the task of developing the skills, motivation, effectiveness and performance of our key people which of these 2 different approaches should we choose and what are the factors for us to consider?
Management training usually brings a group of people together with the aim of them acquiring some specific new knowledge, skills or techniques that they can apply in their day job.
To a large extent the sponsoring organisation sets the agenda and usually has a clear idea of the outcomes...
Management training for Leadership
11 Sep 2006
Can you train your managers to be leaders - or is it an innate ability that some people are born with?
DPL has undertaken some leading edge research to highlight the key factors that produce effective leaders and can show you how to assess and develop leadership in your existing staff.
If you would like to find out more about our findings and approach then please look at the attached article on the leadership puzzle or contact us direct.
How to get the most from your Management Training
08 Sep 2006
Ever wondered why management training sometimes doesn’t have the impact you wanted?
Have you ever attended a management training course and didn’t take anything away from it?
Perhaps some of the answers can be found in psychology research that has tried to explain how people learn--how we come to know what we know, and how we change our knowledge and behavior in response to experience. Decades of psychological research have established what good school teachers already know about the most effe...
Funding for Management Training and Staff Development in SME’s
07 Sep 2006
If you want your business to be successful, you need to be able to compete in your market, and if you want to compete, you need to have skilled and capable staff. After all, no football team will survive in the Premiership if they have players with the skills and capabilities of a Coca Cola League 2 team.
To achieve this, all businesses need to ensure that they put the right amount of effort into management training and staff development. However, it is important that this is done within a fo...
Management training guidance for SME’s
05 Sep 2006
Mark Evenden, director of management training and development company Developing People, takes a look at how small businesses can continue their rise to success by incorporating management training and development into their business plans.
An owner of any company wants the business to broaden its horizons and to continue to grow. There are many ways of achieving this such as investing more money into sales and marketing, employing staff with a wider range of skills or broadening the product ...
Management & Leadership
30 Aug 2006
A key factor in the success of any business, especially one that is looking to grow, is the capability of its management team in terms of their management, leadership and innovative skills.
The Labour Force Survey has recently reported that in the UK approximately 14% of the workforce has significant management responsibilities, but outside of the UK managers are still perceived to lag behind those in France, Germany and the US in terms of competence and experience (Institute of Management ...
Bullying and Harassment in the Workplace
28 Aug 2006
The Times has recently reported that in a recent survey 81% of employees said they had been bullied at work, whereas just 13% of employers believed bullying was a problem in their workplace- which suggests that there is a significant gap between what employees are think, feeling and experiencing and what employers believe is happening.
Only recently, Helen Green, Deutsche Bank, was awarded compensation of £828,000 (plus her legal costs) for bullying by colleagues, which resulted in her experi...
Team leader development
25 Aug 2006
One of the most difficult times in any Manager's career is when they first take on responsibility for managing people. Whether they are called Team Leaders, Supervisors, Chargehands, First Line Managers or something else the responsibility and the pressure is the same.
It is a time when you find yourself responsible for the behaviour, performance and output of others. Rather than just having to think about your own attitudes, behaviours, actions and motivation you have to consider that of other...
Are your managers equipped to deal with the impact of mergers or acquisitions?
21 Aug 2006
The last five years have brought about an unprecedented number of companies merging with or being acquired by other companies. However many companies have found that their performance post- merger or post-acquisition declines and that the organisation struggles to return to previous performance levels.
One of the reasons that can bring about a drop in organisational performance is that there are unresolved cultural differences between the two organisations. This can lead to confusion and frus...
Why you may wish to include ‘Workplace Stress’ within your Management Training Programmes
17 Aug 2006
It has been recently calculated that absenteeism due to stress related illnesses is costing the UK over £3.7 billion a year. However the results of recent surveys* indicate that proactively managing workplace stress for many organisations still remains as a low priority on their agenda.
It has also been reported that the majority of the managers surveyed also feel ill-prepared when it comes to being able to recognise work place stress; secondly how to manage it effectively and thirdly, kno...
Everyone's on holiday in August - how to make the best of this time.
16 Aug 2006
Research shows that over 50% of workers still take some of their holidays during the month of August. So apart from businesses who directly benefit from this eg travel, Hotels, holiday centres then most of industry and commerce has a slow month. Very little management training or coaching takes place during this month.
The question is what should you in a Service Business plan to do during this quiet month?
Here are a few practical ideas to help you manage this slow time of the year efficientl...
Funding for Senior Management Training in the Recycling Sector
08 Aug 2006
WRAP is a not for profit company created in 2000 as part of the Government's strategy to reduce waste across the United Kingdom.
Last month WRAP launched their Funding for Senior Management Training, designed to encourage personal development among senior managers and boost confidence in the recycling sector with the investment community.
WRAP have identified that the recycling industry will grow significantly to cope with increasing demand and that it can’t do that without the necessary m...
Investment in Management Training Pays Off
31 Jul 2006
Organisations that invest in management development and training will not only find it easier to recruit quality personnel, but they will also enjoy lower rates of staff turnover.
Management training can help to improve business performance if the training is directed in the right way. Training can cover many areas, such as leadership, personal effectiveness, managing performance developing impact and influence and team development.
There can be real benefits from investing in management ...
Training Courses
- Assertiveness Skills
- Appraisal Skills
- Coaching Skills
- Communication Skills
- Conflict Management
- Creative Problem Solving
- Customer Service Excellence
- Decision Making
- Facilitation Skills
- Finance for non Financial Managers
- Giving and Receiving Feedback
- Improving Impact and Influence
- Interviewing Skills
- Leading Teams
- Managing Diversity
- Managing Discipline and Grievance
- Negotiation Skills
- Performance Management
- Personal Effectiveness
- Presentation Skills
- Stress Management
- Target Setting
- Team Briefing
- Team Working
