The Mini Token Blog

As any effective managing director recognizes, people are the greatest asset of any establishment. And just like financial assets, if you don’t pay attention and take steps to elevate their growth and advancement, they often begin to stagnate and become less productive through time. Lack of employee involvement is normally not a highly visible phenomenon. A person can seem busy without being successful - doing his or her job without observable flaws, but also without significant accomplishment over time. Withdrawn employees aren’t usually complainers - in fact, they look to be content and trustworthy. Maybe they’ve even noticed ways your organization could improve its processes and cut expenses - but without a culture of employee engagement, they may not have a manager who is willing to listen, or be able to identify another outlet for their ideas. As a result, they may even be utilizing company time and resources to look for employment opportunities elsewhere. Here’s a list of potential best practices to implement: from the top Business Coach in Charlotte:1. Direct departmental or group-based research to learn how your employees feel about their jobs, and how they see the organization overall. This will often supply a wealth of data to guide you in your efforts to improve their line of work performance and the overall success of your organization thereby.2. Create involvement activities that reach out to all employees. Some examples: employee acknowledgment each quarter, rewards for wellness program participation, and incentive opportunities tied to suggestions for betterment.3. If your company doesn’t already have an employee engagement program, get one! Consult organization development sites and executives at other companies who have a dependable working model and can share worthwhile “lessons learned” that will shorten your trial and error process.The more that each employee is shown how your company values their input and daily contribution, the more your company can - and will - benefit from the creativity and enthusiasm that exists at the heart of every human being. People are your most valuable asset - so invest in them and harvest the rewards of that “win-win” approach to business!

Talent management skills are critical in order to achieve the best in your business success. These skills can be developed and studied. Having a innate affinity for dealing with people is an advantage, all the same there are some skills you can learn to facilitate the process. Build relationships: Remembering people by name can be a great start. Talk to people; look employees in the eye when you’re talking. Show respect, and pay attention to the other person’s point of view, irrespective of whether you are in agreement or not. The development of the ability to listen is among the most effective things you can do to improve your human resources management skills. Exhibit interest in what everyone can give to the team.

Keep your promises: Don’t give promises you will not keep. When you don’t keep your word, the fragile bond of trust is broken, and individuals won’t offer you their best if they do not trust you. Everytime you make a statement or give a promise, ensure you can keep your promises or it would really be more sensible not to give your word at all. The truth is, when you can’t be depended upon, you can be assured they will act in the same fashion. Feedback is essential: It’s a two way street. Human Resources management skills mean being open to all feedback. Being approachable and open shows that other people’s ideas count, and they should appreciate your opinions. Bona Fide discourse also boosts creative trouble-shooting, new methods of fulfilling the goals of the company, and develops the company in general. By giving the team some input, the project and the outcome becomes important to each member. Promote communication: Good communication is fundamental to managing employees skilfully. Maintaining an open door policy, use good listening techniques, be open minded, and allow team members an equal voice. The team must be encouraged to speak with each other as well as with you. The sharing of thoughts is necessary in the creative process, and in listening to each other, it’s simple to spot any issues early, and corrections may be implemented before matters get out of hand. Some time will be required, but the dividends achieved far outbalance the effort. Through establishing the bonds of a good team and demonstrating good listening skills, you can easily accomplish the best in business success.

People management skills are crucial in attaining the best in your business success. These skills can be acquired and learned. It can be an advantage to have a innate affinity for people, but there are a lot of skills you can do that will make this process simpler.

Forging relationships: Addressing co-workers by name will be a beginning. Talk to staff; look co-workers in the eye during a conversation. Have a respectful attitude, and listen to what the other person says, irrespective of whether you are in agreement or not. The development of listening skills is one of the best things you may do to improve your talent management skills. Exhibit interest in what they can give to the business organization. Keep your promises: Do not make promises you will not fulfill. When your word is not kept, it will destroy trust, and without trust employees won’t give you their best. Each time you make a statement or give a promise, make sure you can follow through or it would really be more sensible not to give your word at all. You’ll discover, if you can’t be counted on, they can’t be relied on to be there when they are most needed. Feedback is essential: It’s a two way street. Keeping an open mind with regard to other people’s views is very important in effective human resource management. Being approachable and open proves that other people’s thoughts are important to you, your opinions will be appreciated in return. Open discourse in addition furthers creative problem solving, innovative methods of achieving the goals of the team, and develops the team dynamic. When team members can express their ideas, every member takes an interest in the results. Communication is the key: Your people management skills come down to one thing — communication. Maintaining an open door policy, utilize good listening skills, keep an open mind, and encourage each of your team to express their views. Inspire staff not only to communicate to you, but also with each other. The growth of any business relies to a great extent on the open exchange of opinions, if the staff communicate well, you can spot problems early, and measures can be implemented before matters get out of hand. Some time will be essential, even so the rewards are worth it. Through building the bonds of a good team and developing good listening skills, a flourishing business can be achieved.

It’s felt in a significant amount of companies that, by giving each member of staff some education in health and safety, they are well equipped for any situation. Realistically though, basic instruction in safety regulations and risk asessment simply isn’t adequate. You must supply your employees with competent supervision, the appropriate equipment, and regular practice.

Every team needs a professional supervisor to oversee the shop floor, yet this person must also take an even larger purpose in the business. Whomever you choose as the supervisor needs to realise the importance of health and safety training and have the ability to share their enthusiasm about it.

On top of insuring conformity with health and safety regulations, the employee supervising as well must make sure that employees perform every task efficiently. This isn’t a simple undertaking. The supervisor is advised to possess a broad knowledge of the industry and production as well as an in-depth experience with the safety regulations, risk assessment, and first aid.

Simply having basic training in health and safety really is not enough for your staff. They need to have practical experience of risk assessment and the recognition of hazards. Staff need to know how to eliminate problems and understanding what to do if disaster strikes. Your staff are only protected when their training and procedures have become second nature. safety equipment is every bit as necessary to the well being of your staff as the education itself. When they don’t have items that is essential, or find that equipment is damaged when they are needed, even the most advanced instruction will not help them. You need to check every item regularly to ensure that all the essential apparatus is there and also that all the supplies are being properly maintained. If you have a fault with your supplies, make certain that it is fixed promptly and returned to the appropriate location. Your workforce need to have proper health & safety training, but they need good quality apparatus, regular practises, and a supervisor who can motivate your staff. And then abiding by health and safety legislation will before long become a normal component of life in the workplace rather than something troublesome everyone has to try to remember constantly.

Success in business depends on efficient people management skills. You can succeed in developing these skills. It may be an advantage to have a intuitive affinity for people, but you can do many things that will make the procedure simpler.

Developing relationships: Addressing staff by name should be a start. Encourage conversation; look employees in the eye during a conversation. Develop a respectful attitude, and be sure to listen to the other person’s opinion, even if you do not agree or have a different viewpoint. Listening to what others have to offer is one of the best human resource management skills in your arsenal. Exhibit interest in what people can offer the business.

Keep your promises: Do not give promises you can’t fulfill. If your word is not kept, it can destroy trust, and if they do not trust you employees certainly won’t perform at their best. Everytime you give a commitment or make a promise, ensure you can keep your promises or don’t bother giving your word at all. To be frank, when you can’t be depended on, your team will not be committed if you actually need them.

Be open to feedback: It’s a two-way street. Maintaining an open mind regarding other people’s views is an important skill in effective people management. Being accessible and open shows that you respect your co-worker’s ideas, and they should respect your ideas. Honest discussion also boosts original ideas, new methods of accomplishing the mission of the business, and develops the bonds of an excellent team. If team members can express their opinion, the project will become important to each team member.

Encourage all sorts of communication: Dealing with your team boils down to one concept — good communication. Be accessible, listen closely to other people, remember to welcome feedback , and permit all your employees a chance to express themselves. Encourage staff not only to communicate to you, but with each other. The sharing of ideas is imperative in the creative process, and when the staff communicate efficiently, it becomes easy to discover issues before they become a problem, permitting corrective action to be put in place early to prevent any further problems.

A little time is required, however the payoff is worthwhile. Through establishing the bonds of a good team and taking heed of what your team has to offer, a successful business can be achieved.

A significant amount of businesses feel that, when every employee has the necessary level of health and safety instruction, they are suitably equipped to deal with a catastrophe. Realistically though, an education in safety legislation and risk asessment simply isn’t sufficient. You must supply your staff with appropriate supervision, not to mention equip them properly and give them the opportunity to practice.

Please inspect this splendid webpage for risk assessments clues…

Those in a supervisory job has an even greater role to perform than simply general management. Any supervisor you employ needs to understand the importance of health and safety instruction and have the ability to share their enthusiasm. On top of enforcing all of the rules and laws, a supervisor’s role also often includes checking up on staff performance levels. This isn’t a simple task. Up-to-date product knowledge is fundamental in a supervisory role not to mention a very high standard of familiarity with the safety legislation, risk assessment, and CPR.

Simply providing health and safety training really is not enough for your workers. To effectively find a problem area they need to put their skills to the test. Staff must know the best method of eliminating hazards and also how to manage when disaster strikes. Your employees are only totally prepared when everything has become second nature.

Education is in reality ineffective without safety gear. When they don’t have gear that is needed, or learn that they’re broken when they are required, the education your staff have undergone is a waste of time and effort.

You need to perform detailed checks on a regular basis to make sure that you possess all the necessary apparatus and that it is all functioning correctly. If your equipment isn’t in good condition, be sure to get it rectified ASAP and put it back in the right place.

Your workforce need to get proper health and safety instruction, however they also need to have quality gear, scheduled practises, and an experienced supervisor who gets the workforce excited about working safely. Only then will observing health and safety legislation will before long become established in the culture of your business not something everyone has to attempt to remember.

“Only a man’s character is the real criterion of worth.” -Eleanor Roosevelt

You say you’re the boss and your employees should just “shut up and follow you.” Here’s a question for you, Leader. Have you taught them how to follow? Let’s examine the transforming aspects of discipling. You say you got a business to run and no time for a religious lesson. Let’s see. The right discipling process can change our biases, prejudices, and our culture paradigms. Adsit, an expert on discipleship, explains that a disciple is someone who learns by practicing the concept or teaching; this process can result in a lifestyle change. Discipling is the process that grows followers. Discipling is about character building and changing lives. Yes, you could view it as a religious concept; however, it also has corporate application. What if you inspired your followers in such a way that they were transformed into organizational zealots? Do you feel you would have a more productive organization? Therefore, organizations need to train employees in such a way that it becomes part of their lives. You teach them so that they will do the right things even when you are not around. Here are some steps in making organizational disciples:

Set the proper moral examples as a leader.
Conduct employee orientation with every new employee.
Communicate your organization’s values and beliefs.
Reward employees for doing the right things.
Take a personal interest in each employee’s development.
Get employees’ input on organizational changes.

Unfortunately, many managers will ignore discipling because they view it as a religious lesson. These leaders fail to understand this concept as a part of leadership principles. Don’t make the same mistake. Discipling goes beyond any spiritual context. It’s about teaching employees to do the right things. Discipling is an effective management tool. Don’t wait to late to use it. Start today!.

References

Adsit, C. (2005). Go and Make What. Disciplemakers, International, Retrieved October 4, 2005, from http://www.milmin.com/resources/discipleship/gomakewhat.htm

Bell (2002) Managers as Mentors. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler’s Publishers, Inc.

© 2006 by Daryl D. Green

Daryl D. Green has published over 100 articles in the field of decision-making (personal and organizational), leadership, and organizational behavior. Mr. Green is also the author of two acclaimed books, Awakening the Talents Within and My Cup Runneth Over. He is a columnist, lecturer, professor, and management consultant. Mr. Green has a BS in engineering and a MA in organizational management. Currently, he is pursuing a doctoral degree in strategic leadership.

For more information, visit his website at http://www.darylgreen.org

The popular junior Democratic Senator, Barack Obama, told Time Magazine
(2/20/06), “I probably always feel on some level I can persuade anybody I talk to.”

Wow. I wish I could do that. How do we get other people to do what we want?

When I was a kid, my life was all commands: “Clean your room.” “Get in the car.” “Put
some clothes on, people are coming over.” And if I ever asked “why,” I got the same
response: “Because I said so.”

Then you get a little older, and “because I said so” doesn’t work like it used to. My
folks had to negotiate a bit to get me in the car or to put some clothes on.

These days, “enlightened” parents often skip the command phase with their
youngsters for better or worse and try to negotiate with them or even jump
right to the highest level of influence: persuasion. A recent episode of South Park,
on Comedy Central, focused on the current trend of non-commanding parents when
Cartman’s mom gets help from the “Dog Whisperer” to tame her out-of-control son,
but only after Cartman stumps the efforts of some Super Nannies.

The three influence methods commanding, negotiating, and persuading are
each appropriate in different situations (though I personally wouldn’t try to
negotiate with a toddler who was loudly demanding a toy in Wal-Mart, it may work
for some).

Remember in “The Godfather” when Don Corleone made the big-shot Hollywood
producer “an offer he can’t refuse” by cutting off the head of his prize racehorse?
The producer was influenced, but did the Corleones command, negotiate, or
persuade him? Well, they “indirectly threatened” him by demonstrating their
willingness and ability to kill him at their leisure. This example, in fact, involves a bit
of all three influence methods.

When dealing with other adults, commanding is typically the least effective of the
three influence methods, because we order people to do things and who likes
that? We usually command others when we are more concerned with getting the job
done than we are with getting the person’s buy-in. Although it is perhaps the
quickest influence method, it also tends to make people resentful and usually
results in reluctant compliance at best.

When we negotiate, we seek to compromise; we give a little and the other person
gives a little. “I’ll do this for you if you do that for me.” Negotiation occurs all the
time, between politicians, between parents and children, between you and car
dealers, but it has significant limitations. Negotiating is basically adversarial. Both
sides meet halfway. But halfway is often half-hearted.

Persuasion is the influence method of choice when possible because it convinces
others to adopt or agree to your position. Persuasion changes the way people view
something. They change their behavior because they are convinced the change is
the right thing to do.

The difference between persuasion and other forms of influence is that persuasion
seeks to change someone’s attitude, which is far from easy (kudos to Senator
Obama who has great confidence in his ability to persuade).

Let’s say your boss comes to you one day and says, “You will be attending this
training class next Monday and Tuesday,” and walks away. What method of
influence did your boss use? Right.
And how does this affect your attitude toward the training?

Being commanded to do something might change your external behavior, but your
internal attitude does not change. If your view of training is negative, it will remain
negative. This method does not support long-term motivation and commitment.
(We say that commands build a house of straw, at least with other adults.)

Let’s say your boss comes to you and says, “I’ll let you have Friday off if you attend
this training class next Monday and Tuesday.” What method of influence did your
boss use? Right again I’ll do this for you if you do this for me. And how does this
affect your attitude toward the training?

As with being commanded, negotiation might change your external behavior, but
not your internal attitude. There is a strong external motivator (keeping your job),
but it doesn’t motivate high performance or ongoing commitment. (We say that
negotiation builds a house of sticks.)

Let’s say you and your boss sit down together and determine that a workshop on
coaching and managing performance is essential to your development as a manager
and will increase your job success. Your boss convinces you that the investment of
time and effort will make your work life easier. What method of influence did your
boss use? Three for three well done. And how does this affect your attitude
toward the training?

You are persuaded, and your attitude moves toward your boss’s position (note that
you must believe in what you’re pitching or persuasion will fail). The boss changes
your external behavior and your internal attitude. (We say that persuasion builds a
house of brick that holds up to the worst big bad wolves that come along.)

Attitudes drive behavior. Although persuasion requires more effort and skill,
behavior driven by the right attitude and mindset rather than command and control
makes a leader’s life much easier in the long run. You can collaborate for a solution
where both sides win, you don’t have to be in the room with sticks or carrots to get
work done, and great performance is much more likely, which we could probably
use more of on the Senate floor.

Maybe we can keep an eye on Senator Obama for some good influencing tips.

Dave Neal is Content Director of 4th Street Training (http://www.4thstreettraining.com).

He has over 15 years experience in adult-learning, instructional design, and leadership/
management development.

Many entrepreneurs and executives play the role of Chief Cook and Bottle Washer on the job. They feel that it is their responsibility to do everything and anything to expand their business. Although this is often appropriate in start-ups, there comes a time when the CC&BW approach to running your company will hold it back.

At a certain stage, your company needs a Chief Executive - a CEO. What is a CEO? My definition, pieced together from assorted dictionaries, is that a CEO is the person of the highest rank, with the power to determine or settle issues, and chargeable with being the source of the management and direction of the business.

Role of the CEO

I’ve compiled the following list of activities which comprise the role of a Chief Executive:

Craft the company vision and strategy

Foster key relationships with vendors, customers, partners and government.

Making the shift
Making the shift from CC&BW to Chief Executive requires three transitions.

Understanding your highest value contribution to your company and focusing on that role.

Delegating everything else, and holding others accountable. Without apology.

In this article we will focus on Transition One.

Understanding your highest value contribution

As CEO, you make the highest value contribution to your company’s growth by acting consistently with the list defined above. Providing leadership inside and outside of your company is an act of great leverage in the truest sense of the word. Through vision, strategy, enrollment and inspiration, you provide energy and the direction to expend that energy - dramatically multiplying the effectiveness of your team.

In your organization, you may hold other roles in addition to CEO, such as head of sales, or technical guru. Such roles exist outside of the CEO role and as soon as it is cost-beneficial, you will give them up. For now, it is important to distinguish the CEO role.

Time for a bit of introspection. Considering all your roles, make a list of your top priorities. Limit the list to no more than seven. Your list could include priorities such as developing new leaders, coaching middle level executives, closing key sales, and working with the board. Ask yourself this, “What am I directly responsible for and what actions do I take, which make the most difference?”

Review your list and test it - are the priorities you’ve listed 1) important, and 2) practical? Make sure the priorities you have defined are consistent with your values. Then ask yourself this key question: “If everything I did, all day long, was something related to this list, would that move the company forward faster?”

If the answer is yes, then 1) you’ve created the right list, and 2) why are you working on anything else?

Find out how you really spend your time.

What do you do all day long? Most executives think they know but in fact do not. Are you ready to find out?

Keep a time log. Commit to a two-week program. Carry around a small stack of 3×5 index cards or a small spiral notebook. Every fifteen minutes or so, make a note of what you’ve been doing. At the end of the day, sum it up. At the end of the week, sum it up. At the end of two weeks, sum it up again.

You will probably find the results surprising. Your time will fall into three categories:

Things inside the scope of your priority list. Keep doing these things. Find ways to allocate even more time to them.

Things to delegate. Find someone in your organization to do these things, or outsource them to a professional services firm or contractor.

Things no one should be doing. You will know these things as soon as you think about them.

There are two special categories of items which may show up on your list:

One is called “Things I Do Best”. Look closely and examine if this is true. Is there someone else in the organization who might do this thing just as well? Maybe it is time to train someone. Maybe it should be outsourced. Regardless of how well you do this thing, if it is not on your list of priorities, get rid of it.

If there is something your company counts on you, and only you, to do, particularly as part of day to day operations, you are a bottleneck. And if you are out on the road, or out with a client, or meeting with The Governor - that thing, whatever it is - will not get done. Get out of the way.

The other special category is called “Things I Like To Do.” These are things you really enjoy, but even you know could best be done by someone else. Give them up. At a certain stage in your company’s development, you simply have to stop debugging programs, or handling every customer complaint, or ordering supplies. Treat this category similarly to things you do best. Stop doing them.

Use your priority list to evaluate how you spend your time. If a contemplated activity will not forward one or more priorities, do not do it. Delegate it to someone else. Period. If there is no one to give it to, don’t do it.

The bottom line.

This sounds like time management. What does it have to do with being Chief Executive?

Everything! As Chief Executive, your primary role is source of the management and direction of the business. Your priorities should support this role. You are like an enzyme or an accelerant. You help other people make things happen. You are, in the words of General Colin Powell, a force multiplier.

When you act in the role of CEO, things speed up. When you don’t, things slow down or stand still. You are the true leverage in your organization. And you can’t be that if you are debugging a program or writing checks to suppliers.

Discipline yourself to spend a few weeks in Transition One. You won’t go back. You’re company won’t let you.

Transitions two and three will be covered in future articles.

Note for professionals or solo entrepreneurs: Everything said above about CEOs applies to you as well. The only difference is you will delegate to people outside of your organization. For everything you do outside of the list of highest value contributions, consider the following: If you were to hire an assistant, a contractor, or a professional services firm, while you spent your time concentrating on your highest value activities, would your net income go up or down?

Paul Lemberg is the president of Quantum Growth Coaching, the world’s only fully systemized business coaching program guaranteed to help entrepreneurs rapidly create More Profits and More Life for entrepreneurs. Guaranteed.

Learn about our Business Coaching Franchise.

Visit Paul’s Website for help with your Business Development Strategy?

Riding the subway home yesterday, my typically silent car was enlivened by two young girls and their mothers who hopped on. The girls, 7 years old or so, immediately danced over to the upright pole in the middle of the aisle and started twirling around it. After several minutes of this, giggling and talking and having a marvelous time chasing each other (paying no attention whatsoever to anyone else in the car), they settled into a rhythm directly across from each other. Still twirling, but more slowly, one said to the other … “everything’s blurry except for you” … and the other immediately chanted it back. Back and forth. Their delight in each other’s company was glowing in their conversation and lack of interest in anyone else on the train. They truly focused on each other, and discovered that everything else gets blurry! What a delightful example of focusing on someone when you’re with them, and giving them 100% of your attention … fully being there with them.

How easily do you focus on things? Are you able to tune out distractions, or do you find yourself readily sidetracked by things around you? As I pen this article, started during a break at the office where I work a couple days a week, there is a personification of “distraction” at work behind me … let’s call him Tom. Tom is a very vocal character who wanders into my shared office many times per day with comments, inane questions, and “lets toss a few” requests for my co-workers. I’ve learned to tune him out if I’m busy, and only stop to re-direct the nerf football when it lands on my desk. Hence the subject … how effectively do you focus on what’s in front of you? Something you’d like to do more, or less, of? Let’s take a look!

It seems we prize the ability to focus the minute a child is born … delighting in their ability to track an object, make eye contact, or spend 20 minutes discovering their own toes. What we focus on shows our attention, and often our respect as well. Do you focus 100% on someone when you talk to them, or are you planning tomorrow’s breakfast, braiding your daughter’s hair, checking your e-mail, and hunting for a pen that works all while trying to have a conversation? Sound familiar? I read recently that multitasking isn’t really doing several things at once, it’s just shifting rapidly between tasks. I’m afraid I’m very familiar with that one, having an overly-developed multi-tasking approach to life … which works well in many arenas, but isn’t always the most pleasant or effective. Half an hour of time, free from distractions, focused on one task, produces more than 2 hours of running in circles.

How about some tips or reminders for how to find, and keep, that focus when it really counts?

1. CHOOSE your focus. Don’t let it choose you, be proactive and conscious about how you’re spending your time. Choose only one thing at a time, and do it well and with your whole being.

2. Speaking of TIME, set a limit and stick to it! I focused on a computer screen for 7 hours yesterday, working on my husband’s website, and was rewarded with a splitting headache and rumbling stomach along with the snazzier site. Not a healthy focus at all!

3. MINIMIZE distractions! If you’re blessed with the ability to tune out everything and everyone around you, at will, you may find this one irrelevant, but the rest of us take note. You need silence to write or create or work well? Find something to block the surrounding sounds … close your door, put up a “do not disturb” sign, silence your phone, or use a fan or walkman or other source of “white noise”. I was on a long overnight bus trip last week (fulfilling one of my 10 goals for this year!) when my seatmate decided to flirt with the man across the aisle all night. I have a very poor ability to filter out words of any kind, and found myself unable to fall asleep … wishing heartily that I’d taken the time to pack my Walkman and some music!

4. Take BREAKS! Remember recess? That longed-for chance to escape the classroom and run around for 15 minutes? There are good reasons behind the practice … breaks have been proven to increase productivity and ability to focus. I find it much easier to focus on what’s in front of me if I clear my mind or “change the channel” for a few minutes.

Those may all seem ridiculously simple ideas, but whether you find it hard to keep focused or hard to shift away from it, they can help you find healthier ways to approach your day.

Bethany Rule is an experienced personal and professional life coach, championing human development, encouraging change, and helping you break your own rules. Based in NYC, she works with clients all over the world. Please visit http://www.bethanyrule.com to sign up for your FREE Trial Session, FREE monthly newsletter, or to learn more about coaching with Bethany.