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Management Development Secrets - Easy Coaching For Your People
There are many ways to develop those employees that you have within your team. Some are more productive than others and depend on your own, personal management style.
The easiest way is to ensure that you use the momentum each individual has within themselves and radically multiply that for them - and you & your team.
When we manage, we use the services of the individuals in our teams, to pull together to create a valuable return on our investment in them.
A lot of a manager’s time is spent focusing on ensuring that they do what we want them to do and chasing them till they do.
We can fire instructions all day long - and then tomorrow, come right back for more which, frankly, makes for a day’s hard work, every day of your career.
Or we can coach.
Over the last few years, coaching has got a bit of a reputation.
From a weird and wonderful ‘mumbo-jumbo’ new age activity (the ‘life-coaching’ thing), right through to seriously expensive executive coaching at the highest level, coaching comes in all shapes and forms.
For managers, it’s a behavior; a style of way of working that’s useful and effective and doesn’t require loads of time one-on-one and face-to-face with someone sitting across from you in your office for a couple of hours.
Coaching is best done in the informal relationships you have with your people, in the easy and regular conversations you have with them all the time.
The truth is that it’s not hard to find out for yourself what coaching is all about - and as you master it as a skill, you will have all you need to be a very effective - and attractive - manager style.
There are books and programs out there that offer instruction and advice about what to do first and second and last. The truth is that coaching isn’t that difficult at all - the experts and gurus just make it out to be!
Forget the huge expense and months, if not years, of exclusive and extravagant training, be it online, via conference call or as many away-days that you can squeeze in.
It’s always best to find ways to make it easy for you, with relevant, quick and simple action steps to use every day, to help you make the most of this amazing skill.
When you seek the information you need to understand what coaching is all about, you want to find only as much as you need to make this work really well for you. The information and skills you seek will be geared to simple application and practice, leading to a growing confidence inside yourself with results to boot.
Coaching is not at all complicated, whatever you might hear, especially at the level a manager needs. Good questioning and listening skills, mixed in with a healthy dose of effective relationship building and you’re there.
And it is probably the most powerful management skill you can use, in whatever business or organization you are in, at whatever level of experience or skill you currently have.
Because having a coaching attitude, overlays everything we do in the way we support guide and manage those in our care as managers.
And that’s very powerful indeed!
(c) 2010 Martin Haworth. This is a short excerpt from one of 52 lessons in management development at Super Successful Manager!, an easy to use, step-by-step weekly development program for managers of EVERY skill level. Find out more at http://www.SuperSuccessfulManager.com.
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Five Management Benefits Of Over-Delivering To Employees
Many employees have limited expectations of those that manage and lead them. Their life and work experiences tell them to be cautious about what might be realistic.
Giving your people what they expect from an employer is not a major challenge.
The simple things like getting paid the right amount and on time, having reasonable working conditions and being respected are pretty much the minimum (and so often what employers find a tough act to deliver on, simple though it might sound).
Going a bit further can have a profound influence on how employees respond. That extra mile will have a huge impact on how well they do their job, how long they stay with you and how they interact with each other and their customers too.
Over-delivering to your people has great advantages. They are ready and waiting for you to be like all the other bosses they’ve had before and as such, in a quirky and almost negative sort of way, they expect you to be no better.
So when you are, it’s a huge void filled. And they will love you for it!
Here are five key benefits that you will gain by going just that little bit further for them, each of which will make the difference!
• Building Trust - when you do a little more beyond expectations, it builds the trust between you and your team members. Trust is a critical aspect of the relationships that you build - and more. When you want to be trusted, over-delivery is a big plus, because employees recognize that you care for them more than they are used to.
• Developing Relationships - by doing that bit more than expected, the partnership is strengthened, extended even. With this you will be able to get back at least as much as you put in.
• Making Deposits - as Stephen Covey describes in ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’, by going that bit further with what you do, you create a deposit in the emotional bank account between you. These deposits need to be in there before you can ask for withdrawals, especially when you want them to go that ‘extra mile’.
• Showing the Way - if you want your people to behave in a particular way, you need to be an exemplar of what you want from them yourself. By regularly over-delivering - naturally rather than just when you want something - you will start to see them emulate your behaviors too.
• Being Innovative - and often the way you over-deliver will show that you can be creative in the way you work with others. This creativity encourages others to come up with their own innovative ways to respond to other colleagues needs as well.Overdelivery need not be rocket science for your people to feel special. If you are prepared to go a little further for them, there are rewards out there that will make it well worth your while.
(c) 2010 Martin Haworth. This is a short excerpt from one of 52 lessons in management development at Super Successful Manager!, an easy to use, step-by-step weekly development program for managers of EVERY skill level. Find out more at http://www.SuperSuccessfulManager.com.
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Management Development Secrets - Time To Reflect
If you decide to be pro-active in your quest to develop your management skills, you might find that it’s not easy to make the best of what you take on.
Fear not, it’s the small things that work best and there’s one tiny trick that will help make all the difference to how effective new learning is for you.
When you seek to improve your performance as a manager, you will find that there are a number of areas that you find there is value for you to make progress.
Some of these will be more challenging than others, which could, in some cases be off-putting and cause you to lose some of your enthusiasm and motivation.
Progress though, comes in many forms and quite often there are really quite small shifts in behaviors, that will make noticeable differences to the results obtained.
Changes in the words you use - even a single word or two - can create a significant shift in the outcomes you achieve, because the impact on others around you can be so significant.
On other occasions, what might seem to be a daunting change in the way you do things to integrate what you have learnt, can be split down into bite-sized chunks that are more easily do-able and will build confidence as progress is achieved.
As you learn and practice new twists to the skills you already had (because you will have had some, of course!), you will see changes and results and appreciate that the effort has been very worthwhile indeed.
It’s possible to pretty much double the return that you get from enhanced skills, by using one easy tactic that will take little time and effort, yet will not only embed the learning, but also drive additional benefits going forward
Whilst it is relatively easy for you integrate simple, new behaviors in your work, to make these stick you need to go a further step whilst you are on the case.
By reflecting on the changes you made as well as the results that came from that you will go a long way to recognizing what happened and how to replicate it
If you go a little further and get to the bottom of just ‘why’ the different approach made the improvements that it did, you will begin to uncover a significant secret where many others fail to go.
Careful and deep consideration of the reasons behind the enhanced outcomes which happened because you changed tack will really make the difference for you.
That said, management development is such a huge beast that you will be surprised at how often some of the changes you make - especially in the early days - will serve you well in the endeavors to come in the future as you progress.
(c) 2010 Martin Haworth. This is a short excerpt from one of 52 lessons in management development at Super Successful Manager!, an easy to use, step-by-step weekly development program for managers of EVERY skill level. Find out more at http://www.SuperSuccessfulManager.com.
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Management Tactics - No Winners With Win/Lose Or Lose/Win
In every relationship we have, we need to be focused enough to ensure that there is a balance between both sides. When there is not, that’s when the trouble begins. The workplace is definitely no exception…
The relationships that we make as managers with our people are the invaluable partnerships that enable us to deliver much more than we could alone.
The teams of individuals we bring together synergize to create results that are far more than the sum of the parts. When we manager others, it’s our role to do this.
The relationships we form to drive a successful team cannot be at group level. For the people in the team this is not enough. They need us to be prepared to engage in personal relationships with them, one-to-one, from time to time.
Whilst we can impact on the team as a whole for the decisions that we make and even impose on them, the effects are never at team level, they are always felt inside, by each and every one of those involved.
So, we have to make effective relationships with each person we manage and, there’s more, we have to ensure that the outcomes meet the needs on both side of that one-on-one partnership too.
If we seem to succeed and they feel let down (the win-lose), they will be less committed, because their needs are not being met. If this goes on for a time, they will feel used and that you are insincere in your words that encourage a close relationship. Trust starts to dissipate and the relationship will break down.
On the other hand, where you meet the needs of the person sitting opposite you and fail to achieve the goals you need to succeed, (the lose-win), the balance tips the other way and the relationship founders because you are not achieving the results that you are measured on.
With win-win, both sides get their very personally driven needs and goals met. The business thrives from successful results achieved and the individuals thrive as well, because their needs are understood and activities aligning them with the business requirements becomes much more effectively delivered too.
Indeed, if the only way you can work is where one side loses, it’s probably best that each side agrees that it isn’t working out and both sides walk away. Truly win-lose and lose-win are, in effect a win for neither side at all, because of the deeper consequences that will affect all.
Manager ‘Wins’
Let’s say a manager gives way a lot on meeting the needs of their team members. He is lax on discipline because the employees want ‘freedom to express themselves’ and gives it away.
This might result, if allowed to impact on deadlines for example, that sales quotas aren’t achieved. The manager could lose their job and individuals get a much worse deal from their new manager.
A classic example of Lose/Win, except in the bigger picture, it isn’t.
Employee ‘Wins’
The alternate view, might be where a manager rarely spends one-on-one time with his people, citing that his schedule is far too tight with the results he has to achieve.
Employees become less committed and the better ones find a new job with a manager much better suited to understanding their own, very individual, needs.
The first manager finds he struggles to achieve the results that the business needs and is challenged on his own performance (and has much less effective staff left behind to help recover).
A great example of a Win/Lose, but it isn’t even that at all.
The challenge for managers and employees is to acknowledge that the other side has to win as well, because a side that is losing is much more likely to have a significantly bigger impact all round.
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Management Development Secrets - Incorporating Your New Skills Quickly
Growing your management skills needs vision and action. In the busy workloads many managers have, they can find they struggle to embed any learning they get.
And, of course, there are ways to make sure that not only do you really ‘get it’, but that it works strongly in your favor as you progress.
One of the biggest challenges managers find when making the effort to learn and grow, is how to find the time to learn and then practice new skills, despite much learning these days being designed to be ‘on the job’.
So here’s a three-step (plus a stretch!) process, that seems to be how it works best for many of those managers who have taken their own steps to be better at their role.
It is an easy route to success, but not everyone will have the same challenges - we are all different and we learn in different ways as well, of course.
1. Read, Listen or Watch
Not everyone finds reading a book as easy as all that, so by learning in whichever mode you prefer, you will have an easier way to consider the contents.
Whichever way you work, try to find a short synopsis before the meaty stuff, so that you have a good overview of the contents in advance.
This will enable you to create a picture of the whole thing, which works well for many people.
2. Make Just Five Key PointsNext up is a more thorough read, listen or view, which is best done the same day that you skim it as above. When you go through it in the detail in which you decide upon, it’s a great advantage to make some notes as you go.
Because people learn more from less, you might need no more than 5 key points, just right for keeping you focused, as well as enough to get you excited!
3. Practice Soon Three Times
With the key points you’ve noted (remember, just 5!), take a look at the whole concept and, depending on its character, get into it as soon as possible.
Try to have a go at a small, relevant development activity ‘three times in a row’, where you can.
If there are a few activities you can think of, try each one three times before you move onto the next one.
Review what happened each time and notice what you learnt.
4. Stretch Bonus - Share With Someone Else
This is a great extra tip if you really want to make this a great learning experience for you.
They say that the most effective way to learn something is to get the instruction and then teach it to someone else.
Now you can’t manufacture opportunities all the time, but by being aware that opportunities might arise, you will ensure that you are ready to share just when the moment comes.
By giving these ideas a try out, you will be surprised how much more effective you will be as you learn and develop your management skills.
(c) 2010 Martin Haworth. This is a short excerpt from one of 52 lessons in management development at Super Successful Manager!, an easy to use, step-by-step weekly development program for managers of EVERY skill level. Find out more at http://www.SuperSuccessfulManager.com.
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The Valuable Management Benefits Of Effective Communication
Communication skills are vital in the way we lead and live our lives. The workplace needs effective communication too - and the rewards can be stunning.
For managers in organizations, the use of effective communication skills is the most likely activity to ensure success for their team.
It’s where a good manager needs to spend most of their time, in the conversations they hold, day-in, day-out with each of their people.
Conversely, where a manager is not blessed with the ability to connect particularly well with their people, there’s likely to be much damage done. Their people feel isolated, distrusted, demotivated and more.
When you try to evaluate in cold, hard cash terms what good communication skills are worth, it’s maybe not quite so easy. The numbers don’t tumble so easily out onto the bottom line like the sale of a product or service might.
That said, it’s there working for you all the time and possibly the most valuable asset you can have. The biggest margin of any of your products at all.
Still, the challenge is to understand better how you put an absolute value on:-
• Better relationships - where you interact closely with your people
• Understanding your people - so that you appreciate how to get the best from them
• Developing intuition - that helps you sniff out trouble well ahead of time
• Really listening - to show you care for and value their contribution highly
• Hearing the unsaid - that gives you inklings of where the conversation can go next
• Matching language so others understand - to make the most of everyone
• Clear messages - that they all ‘get’ and can work with, without frustration
• Few misunderstandings - so that what’s expected of them is always what’s done
• Better interpretation - demonstrating that you really know them - and them youTo name but a few, because the values of relationships that come from effective communication so consistently stretch across the whole area of people management, it’s hard to be comprehensive.
So then, this is all a bit of a minefield, especially when the bean-counters on the 11th floor want some numbers attached to the value of communication, as an area where you and your people need to develop.
Yet, instinctively, we just know that the best communication skills deliver the best results. It’s just a bit tricky to place a value on it.
And, we can all can reflect on experiences in the past, where something was misunderstood costing bottom line profit.
You see, getting communications right is a value-creating exercise, that is tricky to measure absolutely, and all the more important because of that.
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