by Lucy Cadman
I love gadgets.
There, I said it. I am a self-confessed gadget-fan. If it has a screen, buttons and some form of power supply, then I am right there with it.
Today is the day when I collect my new Blackberry smartphone from the shop. I’ve never had a Blackberry before, and to say that I am in a state of great excitement right now would be the understatement of the year. There has truly never been a morning at work that has ever before passed so slowly!
The SALVO Global “4th Annual Global Learning Summit 2011” will be held in February 2011 in Singapore. A wide range of senior executives from leading organisations will present their take on the latest learning strategies and required blend of learning methodologies that are necessary to overcome the challenges and requirement of learning needs in the light of a recovering economy.
Training departments need to respond to these challenges by adopting new approaches and developing new skill sets themselves. The wide loss of jobs during the previous year has forced people to ‘reinvent’ & ‘redefine’ their professional capability. Constant lookout for new methods, ideas, concepts are brought to the way the work is done, to keep each organization from getting stale and falling behind its competitors.
The Salvo Global summit will bring together learning and talent leaders from a variety of industries to discuss pressing concerns and successes about how learning drives business. The event promises to be highly interactive, providing opportunity to engage with practitioners who are advancing business results through leading learning strategies and practices.
Many companies in the UK think of a “classroom” environment when thinking of Management Development training. They picture their staff sitting in a room, listening to a trainer giving a presentation on the skills they need to acquire to be more successful and productive. They picture a whiteboard, or a flipchart pad, or at the very most, a set of Powerpoint slides being projected onto the wall. And unless the trainer is hugely dynamic, they picture the training remaining in the room and not being implemented into the day to day running of the business.
Is it any wonder that companies are therefore reluctant to invest money and time in training and developing their managers and leaders, and likewise that their leaders are reluctant to attend?
If companies want to see a succession of young, enthusiastic and capable managers and leaders progressing through their ranks to top executive positions, they need to look at possibilities for learning that go far beyond the whiteboard in the classroom.
Back in 1990 Tim Bernes-Lee created a language for use on the World Wide Web (WWW) called HTML (HyperText Markup Language). A year later WWW first became available to the public, and by 1995 there were 16 million (0.4% of population) users worldwide. By 2000 this figure had risen to 361 million users (or 5.8%) and a decade later there are 1,966 million users - or 28.7% of the world's population.
Who knew a 'radical' idea first proposed and dismissed back in 1945 would form such an integral part of the personal and professional lives of over a quarter of the world's population just over half a century later?!
Electronic and mobile learning is the way forward. The possibilities are huge … and probably 90% of them haven’t actually been discovered yet! Online learning seminars provide an interactive means of learning without taking an entire day out of the office to attend a presentation in person, distance and e-learning solutions provide the opportunity to study at the delegate’s own pace and at a time that suits them – a lark can work at 5am, or a night owl can work at midnight if they chose. Mobile learning solutions can be constant companions, and can serve as a fun reminder of learning tips and techniques as well as an important performance aid. Shortly there will be more smartphones than ordinary mobile phones in the UK, and it is something that more traditional training development companies, and indeed the companies who need their assistance, need to catch on to if they want to stay with the times.
Hopefully the next time that I view this Blog article, it will be from my new Blackberry! Watch this space …!
Showing posts with label management development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label management development. Show all posts
Friday, 10 December 2010
Friday, 26 November 2010
Management Development - What Makes an Amazing Managing Director?
by Lucy Cadman @ Developing People Ltd
I have worked with a number of different Managing Director’s over time. They range from brilliant to mediocre, from amazing to frankly quite awful.
At one end of the scale, a particular gentleman ruled the office with a rod of iron – he expected respect without giving any out, he kept clients waiting half an hour whilst he finished reading his newspaper with his feet on the desk, he had no plan for the long term future of the business, and despite him begrudging us buying a jar of coffee or box of teabags, the business was in so much debt that it ultimately ended up being taken over.
In the middle of the scale, I worked for a lovely man who had great plans for the business, who was astute in all aspects of financial control, and who was absolutely revered in his field of expertise. However, he lived in a whirlwind of pressure, stress, incredibly long hours and absolute exhaustion due to the fact that he had no concept whatsoever of delegating efficiently. The stress could make him unapproachable to staff, and often made for a nervous working environment. Sadly the pressure got the better of him in the end, and he passed away at a very young age due to a heart attack.
At the top end of the scale, I work for a fantastic MD who is able to lead the business forward, manage the budget, innovate new ideas, inspire the staff, instil total confidence in the clients, manage his workload effectively, delegate with great confidence, and all this whilst remaining cheerful, calm and approachable at all times. Amazing!
So, to be amazing at a job, it is first necessary to understand exactly what it entails, and what is expected.
The role of Managing Director is the ultimate leadership role. Those who make a success of this role need to have the ability to manage everything – they will demonstrate superb management, leadership and motivational skills, be highly organised, have excellent time management skills, be able to delegate, and have a sharp commercial and strategic brain. A Managing Director also needs to be an excellent ambassador for the company, and have a long term vision of where the company is going. Managing Directors tend to be highly qualified, often with a Business Degree and a recognised management qualification.
The Managing Director leads the company and develops the corporate culture for the entire organisation. They are responsible to everyone – the clients, the staff, the Board and the Shareholders. Other responsibilities include egal responsibility for the company’s affairs, control of the budget, managing the company’s assets and resources, and ensuring they deliver sustainable levels of profitability and growth over time. The Managing Director is responsible for both day to day plans and running of the company, and making strategic plans for the long term future.
No wonder it is a stressful and highly pressured top level job!
Is there a person in the world who can achieve everything listed above (and more!) without a little bit of assistance along the way? You would need to be Superman (or Superwoman!) if so!
Management Development, Training and Coaching can help a Managing Director to truly find their feet in their role. From hints and tips on how to manage email and phone calls effectively through to the art of delegation, from strategic business plans through to controlling the budget, from people skills through to the creation of new cultures, Developing People Limited can help your Managing Director to truly be at the top of their game – all day, every day.
If you would like more information on our Management Development and Managing Training or Management Coaching programmes, please email us or telephone us on 0845 409 2346.
I have worked with a number of different Managing Director’s over time. They range from brilliant to mediocre, from amazing to frankly quite awful.
At one end of the scale, a particular gentleman ruled the office with a rod of iron – he expected respect without giving any out, he kept clients waiting half an hour whilst he finished reading his newspaper with his feet on the desk, he had no plan for the long term future of the business, and despite him begrudging us buying a jar of coffee or box of teabags, the business was in so much debt that it ultimately ended up being taken over.
In the middle of the scale, I worked for a lovely man who had great plans for the business, who was astute in all aspects of financial control, and who was absolutely revered in his field of expertise. However, he lived in a whirlwind of pressure, stress, incredibly long hours and absolute exhaustion due to the fact that he had no concept whatsoever of delegating efficiently. The stress could make him unapproachable to staff, and often made for a nervous working environment. Sadly the pressure got the better of him in the end, and he passed away at a very young age due to a heart attack.
At the top end of the scale, I work for a fantastic MD who is able to lead the business forward, manage the budget, innovate new ideas, inspire the staff, instil total confidence in the clients, manage his workload effectively, delegate with great confidence, and all this whilst remaining cheerful, calm and approachable at all times. Amazing!
So, to be amazing at a job, it is first necessary to understand exactly what it entails, and what is expected.
The role of Managing Director is the ultimate leadership role. Those who make a success of this role need to have the ability to manage everything – they will demonstrate superb management, leadership and motivational skills, be highly organised, have excellent time management skills, be able to delegate, and have a sharp commercial and strategic brain. A Managing Director also needs to be an excellent ambassador for the company, and have a long term vision of where the company is going. Managing Directors tend to be highly qualified, often with a Business Degree and a recognised management qualification.
The Managing Director leads the company and develops the corporate culture for the entire organisation. They are responsible to everyone – the clients, the staff, the Board and the Shareholders. Other responsibilities include egal responsibility for the company’s affairs, control of the budget, managing the company’s assets and resources, and ensuring they deliver sustainable levels of profitability and growth over time. The Managing Director is responsible for both day to day plans and running of the company, and making strategic plans for the long term future.
No wonder it is a stressful and highly pressured top level job!
Is there a person in the world who can achieve everything listed above (and more!) without a little bit of assistance along the way? You would need to be Superman (or Superwoman!) if so!
Management Development, Training and Coaching can help a Managing Director to truly find their feet in their role. From hints and tips on how to manage email and phone calls effectively through to the art of delegation, from strategic business plans through to controlling the budget, from people skills through to the creation of new cultures, Developing People Limited can help your Managing Director to truly be at the top of their game – all day, every day.
If you would like more information on our Management Development and Managing Training or Management Coaching programmes, please email us or telephone us on 0845 409 2346.
Monday, 22 November 2010
Leadership Development - Managing Company Changes, Mergers and Acquisitions Effectively
by Lucy Cadman @ Developing People Limited
The last few years have brought about an unprecedented number of changes for many companies, including merging with or being acquired by other companies as well as internal restructuring. However, many companies have found that their performance post-change, post-merger or post-acquisition declines, and that the organisation struggles to return to previous performance levels.
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.
One of the reasons that can bring about a drop in organisational performance during a merger or an acquisition is that there are unresolved cultural differences between the two organisations. This can lead to confusion and frustration and result in employees becoming de-motivated.
A clash of cultures can be overcome but it requires strong leadership and collaboration between the management teams and HR to ensure that a common set of goals are in place and communicated to employees. This may also mean ‘changing the mindsets’ of employees as cultural changes may also require behavioural changes.
No matter how clear the imperative for change might be, for it to be successful there are a number of prerequisites that need to be in place. For example:
1) There should be a clear vision for change and everyone must understand what it means for them personally (e.g. will they have a job after the change). This should include key milestones and targets for the change journey.
2) Senior managers demonstrate their commitment to the change by regularly ‘walking the talk’.
3) Managers and staff understand what is expected of them and are clear about what they need to deliver, for example changes to working practice, increased productivity etc.
4) The way that managers and staff are measured and managed is congruent with the changes needed.
5) People are involved in the change and can help shape the outcomes within their areas of responsibility.
6) There are regular two way communications. Individuals are listened to and their expectations are managed effectively.
7) Managers have the skills, capability and confidence to manage the reaction to the change both in themselves and their team.
8) Everyone is encouraged to behave in line with the changes and consequential actions are taken if they don’t.
9) Individuals have the personal capacity to implement the changes as well as doing their ‘day job’.
10) The changes needed to existing people and business policies, procedures and measures are clear and known.
To address these issues, it is vital that the organisation identifies and plans the key interventions that are needed to ensure the implementation of the planned change is successful.
A key aspect of this that is often overlooked is the ability of managers to lead change and staff to absorb it. Managers and staff therefore need to be given the appropriate training and development to enable them to develop their confidence, skills and behaviour and adapt to their new roles. In this way managers and staff will be given the right tools to make the necessary changes and ensure that the changes required by the organisation are successfully delivered and maintained.
Leadership skills are therefore a critical element of any management training programme. Historically many companies have not put any onus on leadership training and often management executives have found themselves lacking in the necessary skills to manage and motivate their teams, let alone effectively communicate and guide employees during the merger and acquisition process. By providing them with the relevant training will give managers the necessary skills to help their teams quickly feel they are part of the new company and culture.
At Developing People Limited, we are skilled in developing your leaders and managers to deal with change effectively. Have a look at the Leadership Development page on our website for more information, or you can send an email to us, or phone us on 0845 409 2346.
The last few years have brought about an unprecedented number of changes for many companies, including merging with or being acquired by other companies as well as internal restructuring. However, many companies have found that their performance post-change, post-merger or post-acquisition declines, and that the organisation struggles to return to previous performance levels.
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.
One of the reasons that can bring about a drop in organisational performance during a merger or an acquisition is that there are unresolved cultural differences between the two organisations. This can lead to confusion and frustration and result in employees becoming de-motivated.
A clash of cultures can be overcome but it requires strong leadership and collaboration between the management teams and HR to ensure that a common set of goals are in place and communicated to employees. This may also mean ‘changing the mindsets’ of employees as cultural changes may also require behavioural changes.
No matter how clear the imperative for change might be, for it to be successful there are a number of prerequisites that need to be in place. For example:
1) There should be a clear vision for change and everyone must understand what it means for them personally (e.g. will they have a job after the change). This should include key milestones and targets for the change journey.
2) Senior managers demonstrate their commitment to the change by regularly ‘walking the talk’.
3) Managers and staff understand what is expected of them and are clear about what they need to deliver, for example changes to working practice, increased productivity etc.
4) The way that managers and staff are measured and managed is congruent with the changes needed.
5) People are involved in the change and can help shape the outcomes within their areas of responsibility.
6) There are regular two way communications. Individuals are listened to and their expectations are managed effectively.
7) Managers have the skills, capability and confidence to manage the reaction to the change both in themselves and their team.
8) Everyone is encouraged to behave in line with the changes and consequential actions are taken if they don’t.
9) Individuals have the personal capacity to implement the changes as well as doing their ‘day job’.
10) The changes needed to existing people and business policies, procedures and measures are clear and known.
To address these issues, it is vital that the organisation identifies and plans the key interventions that are needed to ensure the implementation of the planned change is successful.
A key aspect of this that is often overlooked is the ability of managers to lead change and staff to absorb it. Managers and staff therefore need to be given the appropriate training and development to enable them to develop their confidence, skills and behaviour and adapt to their new roles. In this way managers and staff will be given the right tools to make the necessary changes and ensure that the changes required by the organisation are successfully delivered and maintained.
Leadership skills are therefore a critical element of any management training programme. Historically many companies have not put any onus on leadership training and often management executives have found themselves lacking in the necessary skills to manage and motivate their teams, let alone effectively communicate and guide employees during the merger and acquisition process. By providing them with the relevant training will give managers the necessary skills to help their teams quickly feel they are part of the new company and culture.
At Developing People Limited, we are skilled in developing your leaders and managers to deal with change effectively. Have a look at the Leadership Development page on our website for more information, or you can send an email to us, or phone us on 0845 409 2346.
Monday, 1 November 2010
Management Development - Crucial Conversations
by Lucy Cadman @ Developing People Ltd
Have you ever had to have a crucial conversation? One where you know you are going to meet with an opposing opinion? One where the stakes are high because it is such an important topic to you? One where you just know that emotions are likely to get out of hand? One that you know will be challenging, frustrating, frightening or annoying – or even all four? One that will have a long term impact on your life?
I once had to tell my boss, after two very unhappy months in a new job, why I was handing in my resignation and going to a different firm. The fear factor about having to hold this conversation with him nearly made me turn down the amazing new opportunity I had been offered, and stick with the stressful and unproductive situation I was currently in! To begin with, I felt bold and confident, and was all prepared to tell him exactly why I was leaving, and what the faults were with the way he ran the office that made it so unbearable to be there. By the time I actually got in to the meeting with him, I meekly handed him a resignation letter, and spent the next half hour trying not to cry as he went through a barrage of emotions from outright anger at my audacity through to emotional pleading for me to stay. I never actually told him why I was leaving in the end, but I was inwardly furious with myself for vehemently shaking my head when he did his “puppy dog eyes” and asked me “Is it me? Did I do something wrong?” …!!
Human nature is to run away from tough situations. We are good at being ostriches, and “burying our heads in the sand” rather than having a difficult conversation.
Breaking bad or difficult news to an employee is something that Managers are called on to do from time to time, but most of us are masters at avoiding this kind of difficult conversation, or even worse, at handling it badly when we do attempt it.
Here are some tips on how to tackle this kind of crucial conversation head on and deal with it effectively, instead of running away or getting it wrong :
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 concerns.
2. Use a private area
Many times delivering difficult news can cause people to display strong emotions. It is important to preserve their dignity during and after the meeting.
3. Start by listening
Start by asking a few open-ended questions which allows you to build rapport. Use paraphrasing and empathy which demonstrates you are actively listening.
4. Explore perception
Ask the person about their perception of the problem. How do they think they are performing? Further explore their answers.
5. Define reality
Be open and honest when delivering the bad news. Use language that reflects how the person perceives the problem and also use empathetic statements that show you understand how they are feeling.
6. Offer to help
If you can help the person’s situation in any way, offer this help. This may help the person move on and may soften the blow.
Communicating difficult news (or holding any other number of crucial conversations) is never easy, but the structure above can make the meeting go smoother. By practicing this structure in a training environment managers can become more familiar and more comfortable in delivering difficult news.
Management Training and Development can help your managers to handle a variety of situations in a more productive way. For more information on our Management Development and Training services, please visit our website at www.developingpeople.co.uk, or contact Developing People Limited by email or by telephone on 0845 409 2346.
Have you ever had to have a crucial conversation? One where you know you are going to meet with an opposing opinion? One where the stakes are high because it is such an important topic to you? One where you just know that emotions are likely to get out of hand? One that you know will be challenging, frustrating, frightening or annoying – or even all four? One that will have a long term impact on your life?
I once had to tell my boss, after two very unhappy months in a new job, why I was handing in my resignation and going to a different firm. The fear factor about having to hold this conversation with him nearly made me turn down the amazing new opportunity I had been offered, and stick with the stressful and unproductive situation I was currently in! To begin with, I felt bold and confident, and was all prepared to tell him exactly why I was leaving, and what the faults were with the way he ran the office that made it so unbearable to be there. By the time I actually got in to the meeting with him, I meekly handed him a resignation letter, and spent the next half hour trying not to cry as he went through a barrage of emotions from outright anger at my audacity through to emotional pleading for me to stay. I never actually told him why I was leaving in the end, but I was inwardly furious with myself for vehemently shaking my head when he did his “puppy dog eyes” and asked me “Is it me? Did I do something wrong?” …!!
Human nature is to run away from tough situations. We are good at being ostriches, and “burying our heads in the sand” rather than having a difficult conversation.
Breaking bad or difficult news to an employee is something that Managers are called on to do from time to time, but most of us are masters at avoiding this kind of difficult conversation, or even worse, at handling it badly when we do attempt it.
Here are some tips on how to tackle this kind of crucial conversation head on and deal with it effectively, instead of running away or getting it wrong :
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 concerns.
2. Use a private area
Many times delivering difficult news can cause people to display strong emotions. It is important to preserve their dignity during and after the meeting.
3. Start by listening
Start by asking a few open-ended questions which allows you to build rapport. Use paraphrasing and empathy which demonstrates you are actively listening.
4. Explore perception
Ask the person about their perception of the problem. How do they think they are performing? Further explore their answers.
5. Define reality
Be open and honest when delivering the bad news. Use language that reflects how the person perceives the problem and also use empathetic statements that show you understand how they are feeling.
6. Offer to help
If you can help the person’s situation in any way, offer this help. This may help the person move on and may soften the blow.
Communicating difficult news (or holding any other number of crucial conversations) is never easy, but the structure above can make the meeting go smoother. By practicing this structure in a training environment managers can become more familiar and more comfortable in delivering difficult news.
Management Training and Development can help your managers to handle a variety of situations in a more productive way. For more information on our Management Development and Training services, please visit our website at www.developingpeople.co.uk, or contact Developing People Limited by email or by telephone on 0845 409 2346.
Monday, 18 October 2010
The Benefits of Bespoke Management Development
by Lucy Cadman @ Developing People Limited
A couple of years ago, I worked in the Finance Department of a very large travel organisation. Whilst I was there, I attended a standard “Team Development Course”, with the intention of … guess what … developing our team to work more closely together. It was a generic open training course, and none of us were particularly enthusiastic about attending. As it turned out, the only things that we really learned were the name of our Manager’s pet frog, and the fact that another colleague had once driven an articulated lorry. We also learned that eating fish and chips in the middle of the day lead to sleepiness rather than productivity in the afternoon. Vital information for building a team within a specific business environment … NOT!
Management training is a vital process in the development of a manager, as the skills need to lead, motivate and get the best out of staff are very different from the technical skills required to simply perform a job to a high standard. Many organisations chose to send their managers on generic open training programmes, or sometimes to colleges or business schools to develop their management skills. There is an ease to simply sending a manager out of the office to a structured course for a day or two, and particularly in the current economic climate, the lower budget required for this on-tap kind of training is appealing.
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, and therefore accept the fact that it may or may not meet their specific learning needs at that point in their development.
Secondly, generic management training courses do not take into account the culture, climate and needs of the organisation as an individual company.
Finally, most people learn best when they use materials and approaches that are relevant to their work. For example, discussing how to manage the performance and get the best out of a team of bus drivers will be very different from a team of creative magazine editors.
The ultimate consequence of the above is that the manager does not make the most of their learning and therefore that the organisation doesn’t get the required return on their investment.
To avoid this, an organisation needs to use management training firms with the expertise to develop tailored solutions. They need trainers who can work alongside the organisation’s own internal experts to develop the programmes. This ensures that the materials are prepared in a style, format and language that is 100% appropriate to the business, and that case studies, role plays and exercises are made relevant to the organisation by using realistic workplace examples.
The most effective training programmes are therefore the ones that are developed in collaboration between the organisation and their training partner. Indeed, it is often beneficial that programmes are delivered in partnership too, with the organisation itself delivering certain aspects of the programme. By ‘creating your own’ management training and development programme, organisations can ensure that their managers receive the development that is really needed and the organisation benefits fully from their investment.
Developing People Limited provides bespoke Management Development and Training. We work closely with your organisation at all stages of the process to ensure that the training delivered is right for your people and your business, and that you maximise both your staff and your investment through our training. If you would like more information on our Management Development and Training, or on any of our other bespoke services, please visit our webpage. You can also telephone us on 0845 409 2346, or email us at enquiries@developingpeople.co.uk .
A couple of years ago, I worked in the Finance Department of a very large travel organisation. Whilst I was there, I attended a standard “Team Development Course”, with the intention of … guess what … developing our team to work more closely together. It was a generic open training course, and none of us were particularly enthusiastic about attending. As it turned out, the only things that we really learned were the name of our Manager’s pet frog, and the fact that another colleague had once driven an articulated lorry. We also learned that eating fish and chips in the middle of the day lead to sleepiness rather than productivity in the afternoon. Vital information for building a team within a specific business environment … NOT!
Management training is a vital process in the development of a manager, as the skills need to lead, motivate and get the best out of staff are very different from the technical skills required to simply perform a job to a high standard. Many organisations chose to send their managers on generic open training programmes, or sometimes to colleges or business schools to develop their management skills. There is an ease to simply sending a manager out of the office to a structured course for a day or two, and particularly in the current economic climate, the lower budget required for this on-tap kind of training is appealing.
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, and therefore accept the fact that it may or may not meet their specific learning needs at that point in their development.
Secondly, generic management training courses do not take into account the culture, climate and needs of the organisation as an individual company.
Finally, most people learn best when they use materials and approaches that are relevant to their work. For example, discussing how to manage the performance and get the best out of a team of bus drivers will be very different from a team of creative magazine editors.
The ultimate consequence of the above is that the manager does not make the most of their learning and therefore that the organisation doesn’t get the required return on their investment.
To avoid this, an organisation needs to use management training firms with the expertise to develop tailored solutions. They need trainers who can work alongside the organisation’s own internal experts to develop the programmes. This ensures that the materials are prepared in a style, format and language that is 100% appropriate to the business, and that case studies, role plays and exercises are made relevant to the organisation by using realistic workplace examples.
The most effective training programmes are therefore the ones that are developed in collaboration between the organisation and their training partner. Indeed, it is often beneficial that programmes are delivered in partnership too, with the organisation itself delivering certain aspects of the programme. By ‘creating your own’ management training and development programme, organisations can ensure that their managers receive the development that is really needed and the organisation benefits fully from their investment.
Developing People Limited provides bespoke Management Development and Training. We work closely with your organisation at all stages of the process to ensure that the training delivered is right for your people and your business, and that you maximise both your staff and your investment through our training. If you would like more information on our Management Development and Training, or on any of our other bespoke services, please visit our webpage. You can also telephone us on 0845 409 2346, or email us at enquiries@developingpeople.co.uk .
Friday, 17 September 2010
Management Development in a Recession
by Lucy Cadman @ Developing People Limited
I am very fortunate that my own career has never yet been affected by redundancy, but sadly at the age of 43, my husband has proved not quite so lucky – tomorrow is his last day of work at what has been his job for the last four and a half years. Unfortunately his own redundancy (along with the twenty or so colleagues leaving with him tomorrow) is just the first part of a three-part wave of redundancies in the business scheduled for the next three months, so many others will shortly be facing the same fears around trying to find new employment.
With news of a “double dip” recession, more short time working, further redundancies and unfortunate business closures, it is not surprising that many employees – staff, managers and leaders alike - have become nervous about what the future holds for them. It is understandable that 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 obviously not what a business needs in the current climate. It becomes an ever-decreasing cycle of less productivity, poorer results and potential job losses, and it is hard to see a way towards breaking the cycle.
It is even more important now than ever before, therefore, that managers are trained not just to recognise the ‘mood’ of their staff, but that they are also given the skills and capability to influence the motivation and morale of their staff in a positive way. There is no doubt about the fact that some business will have to restructure and make staff redundant, but the way managers handle this sensitive and emotive issue can have a big impact not just on those who leave, but also on the morale and commitment of the staff who remain.
It would be an understatement to say that my husband has not had a good experience from his managers surrounding the news of his redundancy. Thankfully he does have an opportunity to retrain, but the news was not given sensitively or kindly, and he has recently learned that there will be no management staff in the office on his last day at work to wish him well after four and a half years of 3am starts. He feels unappreciated, uncared for, and would not jump to the front of the queue to recommend his current employer to anyone else considering embarking on a career with them.
One of the key characteristics of how successful organisations perform after any such restructuring is how the employees who remain feel that their colleagues who left the business were treated. Organisations whose staff felt that their redundant colleagues were treated poorly often subsequently struggle with low levels of employee motivation and productivity for a while after the restructure. Treating people ‘unfairly’ can range from a number of things. For example, redundant staff may have experienced:
* No sensitivity in breaking the new of forthcoming redundancy
* No apparent logic to who is made redundant and who is not
* Little or no support to find a new job.
* No opportunities for retraining.
* Redundancy payments handled incorrectly.
* Broken promises from managers.
* Leaving the organisation’s premises with out any recognition or thank you from their manager.
It is important therefore that managers are given the appropriate management training and support to help them deal with the consequences of a business restructure. For example they need to be able to:
* Give appropriate time, attention and sympathetic support to affected staff.
* Help staff to focus on the future and not dwell on the past.
* Give practical and useful advice and guidance about how to find a new job.
* Demonstrate independence and not collude with staff.
Management training and development can therefore play a vital role in a successful restructure. Cutting back on training costs will only worsen the situation, but investing in training will help managers deal with the effects of redundancies sympathetically and appropriately, and it will also enable them to keep an eye on the mood and motivation of their staff who remain. After all, you want staff who leave the business to be prepared to recommend it to potential employees in the future, as well as needing to maintain the productivity and commitment of those who remain, if the business is to have a hope of riding out the current recession and moving forwards into a successful future.
I am very fortunate that my own career has never yet been affected by redundancy, but sadly at the age of 43, my husband has proved not quite so lucky – tomorrow is his last day of work at what has been his job for the last four and a half years. Unfortunately his own redundancy (along with the twenty or so colleagues leaving with him tomorrow) is just the first part of a three-part wave of redundancies in the business scheduled for the next three months, so many others will shortly be facing the same fears around trying to find new employment.
With news of a “double dip” recession, more short time working, further redundancies and unfortunate business closures, it is not surprising that many employees – staff, managers and leaders alike - have become nervous about what the future holds for them. It is understandable that 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 obviously not what a business needs in the current climate. It becomes an ever-decreasing cycle of less productivity, poorer results and potential job losses, and it is hard to see a way towards breaking the cycle.
It is even more important now than ever before, therefore, that managers are trained not just to recognise the ‘mood’ of their staff, but that they are also given the skills and capability to influence the motivation and morale of their staff in a positive way. There is no doubt about the fact that some business will have to restructure and make staff redundant, but the way managers handle this sensitive and emotive issue can have a big impact not just on those who leave, but also on the morale and commitment of the staff who remain.
It would be an understatement to say that my husband has not had a good experience from his managers surrounding the news of his redundancy. Thankfully he does have an opportunity to retrain, but the news was not given sensitively or kindly, and he has recently learned that there will be no management staff in the office on his last day at work to wish him well after four and a half years of 3am starts. He feels unappreciated, uncared for, and would not jump to the front of the queue to recommend his current employer to anyone else considering embarking on a career with them.
One of the key characteristics of how successful organisations perform after any such restructuring is how the employees who remain feel that their colleagues who left the business were treated. Organisations whose staff felt that their redundant colleagues were treated poorly often subsequently struggle with low levels of employee motivation and productivity for a while after the restructure. Treating people ‘unfairly’ can range from a number of things. For example, redundant staff may have experienced:
* No sensitivity in breaking the new of forthcoming redundancy
* No apparent logic to who is made redundant and who is not
* Little or no support to find a new job.
* No opportunities for retraining.
* Redundancy payments handled incorrectly.
* Broken promises from managers.
* Leaving the organisation’s premises with out any recognition or thank you from their manager.
It is important therefore that managers are given the appropriate management training and support to help them deal with the consequences of a business restructure. For example they need to be able to:
* Give appropriate time, attention and sympathetic support to affected staff.
* Help staff to focus on the future and not dwell on the past.
* Give practical and useful advice and guidance about how to find a new job.
* Demonstrate independence and not collude with staff.
Management training and development can therefore play a vital role in a successful restructure. Cutting back on training costs will only worsen the situation, but investing in training will help managers deal with the effects of redundancies sympathetically and appropriately, and it will also enable them to keep an eye on the mood and motivation of their staff who remain. After all, you want staff who leave the business to be prepared to recommend it to potential employees in the future, as well as needing to maintain the productivity and commitment of those who remain, if the business is to have a hope of riding out the current recession and moving forwards into a successful future.
Monday, 13 September 2010
Talent Management - Talent Retention
by Mark Evenden @ Developing People Ltd
Is talent retention a serious issue for your organisation? Many organisations suffer each time a talented manager or member of staff leaves, as they often take with them valuable knowledge and expertise, and leave a void which can be time consuming and expensive to fill.
But why do some organisations struggle to keep their talent, and why do talented people become disillusioned and leave?
My own personal experiences have led me to a number of conclusions. Many years ago I worked for one of the UK’s largest nationalised industries which employed hundreds of thousand of people. While the organisation had many strengths, nepotism was rife, and those that got on the most were relatives and/or close friends of more senior personnel within the organisation. While I was there I witnessed numerous well qualified and talented individuals be ‘sidelined’ and not given the career opportunities they deserved.
In other organisations, I have seen talented individuals and their managers in ‘competition’ with each other. They both try and climb what appears to them as the same ladder in the organisation, and feel their personal career interests are in direct conflict. The line manager is usually the one with the power and I have seen them resort to ‘blocking behaviour’, which prevents the talented individual from progressing. The consequence of which is that they quickly became disillusioned and left.
Another main reason why talent leaves is because they become “turned off” by their line manager. A number of years ago I experienced a boss who was a ‘do what I tell you to’ manager. He wasn’t empowering, and didn’t like the idea of me (or anyone else in his team), demonstrating a great deal of initiative. However, talented individuals want opportunities to stretch and prove themselves, but some managers can perceive that giving their staff stretch opportunities to learn and develop is just too risky. They like to keep tight control as they are ultimately responsible for what their staff deliver, they do not want to risk their own reputation or career because a particular person has failed to deliver. However, the consequence of this is that the talented individual feels that they are not stretched, they become frustrated and leave. Which is exactly what I and a number of my colleagues did.
So how can businesses prevent talent from leaving? How can they prevent nepotism, blocking behaviour and over control from managers? The key is to have a visible talent management programme that is owned by senior managers where these issues can be highlighted and dealt with. In addition, businesses must provide their managers with the necessary skills to manage their talent appropriately and help them to understand the benefits of developing talent, for themselves, their team and ultimately the business’ success.
Is talent retention a serious issue for your organisation? Many organisations suffer each time a talented manager or member of staff leaves, as they often take with them valuable knowledge and expertise, and leave a void which can be time consuming and expensive to fill.
But why do some organisations struggle to keep their talent, and why do talented people become disillusioned and leave?
My own personal experiences have led me to a number of conclusions. Many years ago I worked for one of the UK’s largest nationalised industries which employed hundreds of thousand of people. While the organisation had many strengths, nepotism was rife, and those that got on the most were relatives and/or close friends of more senior personnel within the organisation. While I was there I witnessed numerous well qualified and talented individuals be ‘sidelined’ and not given the career opportunities they deserved.
In other organisations, I have seen talented individuals and their managers in ‘competition’ with each other. They both try and climb what appears to them as the same ladder in the organisation, and feel their personal career interests are in direct conflict. The line manager is usually the one with the power and I have seen them resort to ‘blocking behaviour’, which prevents the talented individual from progressing. The consequence of which is that they quickly became disillusioned and left.
Another main reason why talent leaves is because they become “turned off” by their line manager. A number of years ago I experienced a boss who was a ‘do what I tell you to’ manager. He wasn’t empowering, and didn’t like the idea of me (or anyone else in his team), demonstrating a great deal of initiative. However, talented individuals want opportunities to stretch and prove themselves, but some managers can perceive that giving their staff stretch opportunities to learn and develop is just too risky. They like to keep tight control as they are ultimately responsible for what their staff deliver, they do not want to risk their own reputation or career because a particular person has failed to deliver. However, the consequence of this is that the talented individual feels that they are not stretched, they become frustrated and leave. Which is exactly what I and a number of my colleagues did.
So how can businesses prevent talent from leaving? How can they prevent nepotism, blocking behaviour and over control from managers? The key is to have a visible talent management programme that is owned by senior managers where these issues can be highlighted and dealt with. In addition, businesses must provide their managers with the necessary skills to manage their talent appropriately and help them to understand the benefits of developing talent, for themselves, their team and ultimately the business’ success.
Wednesday, 8 September 2010
Management Development - What are the benefits of the development of managers?
by Lucy Cadman
A couple of years ago, I had to attend a management development and team building event run by a previous company that I worked for. We spent two hours eating fish and chips, and awkwardly asking each other for three random facts about our lives that no one else would know. At the end we had to report back on the random facts, much to the embarrassment of everyone present, especially those who had shared a little more information about themselves than was truly professional. We were all left wondering what on earth was the point of the training, and how it had impacted on our performance in any way – sadly, if not understandably, everyone came to the conclusion that the training had been a waste of time and had achieved absolutely nothing.
When thinking about the benefits of investing into the development of managers within a business, it is necessary to first consider the answers to a further two questions :
1) What is the business or organization striving to achieve?
2) How do the managers need to think and act for the business to achieve these goals?
Management development can only help to improve the performance of a business if the development activities are directed in the right way and are aimed at achieving a measurable change. For example, the outcomes required from the development activities may be around:
• Developing managers to have more impact and influence with the intention of leading to increasing sales revenue.
• Improving the performance management skills of managers to in turn improve the productivity of staff to increase capacity and / or reduce costs.
It is also good to remember that there are a range of less tangible business benefits associated with management development activities - for example, investment in training and development is often seen by employees as a sign of being valued by the company, as well helping to create a positive business and professional image. Businesses that are seen to invest in staff development will not only find it easier to recruit quality personnel, but will also enjoy much lower rates of staff turnover.
However, it is important to recognize that individual development is not just about “going on a course”. While training courses will enable a manager to address a specific skills gap, there are other alternatives to consider - for example:
• Secondments into other roles within other teams or departments to improve business understanding and team focus.
• Coaching.
• Mentoring
• Project work
• Research
• Networking
• Reading
This list is by no means exhaustive!
Whatever the reason for investing in management development, the impact on individual performance and the impact on the company's bottom line should always both be kept in mind, measured and regularly evaluated to ensure that the investment is worthwhile and that the full benefits have been gained.
A couple of years ago, I had to attend a management development and team building event run by a previous company that I worked for. We spent two hours eating fish and chips, and awkwardly asking each other for three random facts about our lives that no one else would know. At the end we had to report back on the random facts, much to the embarrassment of everyone present, especially those who had shared a little more information about themselves than was truly professional. We were all left wondering what on earth was the point of the training, and how it had impacted on our performance in any way – sadly, if not understandably, everyone came to the conclusion that the training had been a waste of time and had achieved absolutely nothing.
When thinking about the benefits of investing into the development of managers within a business, it is necessary to first consider the answers to a further two questions :
1) What is the business or organization striving to achieve?
2) How do the managers need to think and act for the business to achieve these goals?
Management development can only help to improve the performance of a business if the development activities are directed in the right way and are aimed at achieving a measurable change. For example, the outcomes required from the development activities may be around:
• Developing managers to have more impact and influence with the intention of leading to increasing sales revenue.
• Improving the performance management skills of managers to in turn improve the productivity of staff to increase capacity and / or reduce costs.
It is also good to remember that there are a range of less tangible business benefits associated with management development activities - for example, investment in training and development is often seen by employees as a sign of being valued by the company, as well helping to create a positive business and professional image. Businesses that are seen to invest in staff development will not only find it easier to recruit quality personnel, but will also enjoy much lower rates of staff turnover.
However, it is important to recognize that individual development is not just about “going on a course”. While training courses will enable a manager to address a specific skills gap, there are other alternatives to consider - for example:
• Secondments into other roles within other teams or departments to improve business understanding and team focus.
• Coaching.
• Mentoring
• Project work
• Research
• Networking
• Reading
This list is by no means exhaustive!
Whatever the reason for investing in management development, the impact on individual performance and the impact on the company's bottom line should always both be kept in mind, measured and regularly evaluated to ensure that the investment is worthwhile and that the full benefits have been gained.
Friday, 20 August 2010
Developing Leadership and Strategic Thinking
by Lucy Cadman
I sometimes suffer from what I fondly (or usually not so fondly) term as “Woolly Brain Syndrome”. I know what I want to achieve, and I know what I want to see my company achieve … but sometimes I just can’t figure out a logical thought progression to develop substantive plans to help these ideas to become a reality.
Would you like to improve your own 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 ‘strategic perspective’ for your business / function. Conduct some research - what will the likely key trends and changes be in the next 3-5 years? Look at things such as changes in technology, applications, competition, legislation, demographics, etc. What opportunities and threats are provided?
* Research your major competitors and develop a detailed profile of each competitor. What can you learn from them?
* Analyse the needs of your customers. What is it they need and want in your products applications and services, both now and in the future?
* Challenge the assumptions and beliefs that you have about your business – which ones are obsolete or restrictive? Which ones should you change? For example, the internet has challenged the belief that you can only purchase music on a CD / Tape, and the digital watch challenged the belief that all watches had to have hands to tell the time.
* Volunteer to work on a cross functional business / organisation improvement project.
*Learn to play chess.
* Discuss with a trusted colleague or manager your ability to strategize and see the ‘bigger picture’. Identify any weaknesses or blind spots. Discus ideas to force yourself to move away from details to the ‘bigger picture’ to gain a broader prospective.
* Seek someone who could act as a mentor (either internally or externally) and who could guide you through a strategic planning process.
* Discuss with your manager your ability to make sound judgements and business decisions. What feedback can they give you about your effectiveness? What decisions could you have made differently?
* Identify the most important decision that you have to make in the next 3-6 months. Discuss with your manager or colleague the key steps to making the decision and likely information you will need. Start gathering the relevant information.
This list is not meant to be exhaustive, but if it is put into practise the suggestions will help you to improve your strategic thinking and leadership capability, and will help you to avoid being a sufferer of “Woolly Brain Syndrome”!
If you require further help in developing your Leadership Skills or your Strategic Thinking skills, Developing People Ltd can help you. Please visit our website for more information, or call us on 0845 409 2346.
I sometimes suffer from what I fondly (or usually not so fondly) term as “Woolly Brain Syndrome”. I know what I want to achieve, and I know what I want to see my company achieve … but sometimes I just can’t figure out a logical thought progression to develop substantive plans to help these ideas to become a reality.
Would you like to improve your own 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 ‘strategic perspective’ for your business / function. Conduct some research - what will the likely key trends and changes be in the next 3-5 years? Look at things such as changes in technology, applications, competition, legislation, demographics, etc. What opportunities and threats are provided?
* Research your major competitors and develop a detailed profile of each competitor. What can you learn from them?
* Analyse the needs of your customers. What is it they need and want in your products applications and services, both now and in the future?
* Challenge the assumptions and beliefs that you have about your business – which ones are obsolete or restrictive? Which ones should you change? For example, the internet has challenged the belief that you can only purchase music on a CD / Tape, and the digital watch challenged the belief that all watches had to have hands to tell the time.
* Volunteer to work on a cross functional business / organisation improvement project.
*Learn to play chess.
* Discuss with a trusted colleague or manager your ability to strategize and see the ‘bigger picture’. Identify any weaknesses or blind spots. Discus ideas to force yourself to move away from details to the ‘bigger picture’ to gain a broader prospective.
* Seek someone who could act as a mentor (either internally or externally) and who could guide you through a strategic planning process.
* Discuss with your manager your ability to make sound judgements and business decisions. What feedback can they give you about your effectiveness? What decisions could you have made differently?
* Identify the most important decision that you have to make in the next 3-6 months. Discuss with your manager or colleague the key steps to making the decision and likely information you will need. Start gathering the relevant information.
This list is not meant to be exhaustive, but if it is put into practise the suggestions will help you to improve your strategic thinking and leadership capability, and will help you to avoid being a sufferer of “Woolly Brain Syndrome”!
If you require further help in developing your Leadership Skills or your Strategic Thinking skills, Developing People Ltd can help you. Please visit our website for more information, or call us on 0845 409 2346.
Friday, 6 August 2010
Team Development – Internal or External Focus?
by Lucy Cadman
I found working as a sole trader from home could be a rather a lonely existence. I used to come into contact with many clients daily – either replying to their emails, chatting to them on forums, answering their telephone calls, or meeting them in person at their homes or whilst doing demonstrations at various events throughout the UK. But whilst I loved my customers (and indeed, I loved being loved by them), it was still lonely. I had no team around me to share either my problems or my ambitions. If something went wrong, I fixed it myself. If something needed doing, I did it myself. If a goal needed achieving, I achieved it myself. All very self-satifying … but none the less, very lonely. To thrive, a business needs good teams within it, and for me, the two are irrevocably interlinked.
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 authors have harnessed decades of their research and documented their findings in their book X-Teams: How to Build Teams That Lead Innovate and Succeed. While Ancona and Bresman recognize the importance of the ‘internal workings’ of a team, they also saw that the most successful teams (which they dub the X-Teams) had team spirit, but that they also projected ‘upwards and outwards’ from the team. They established co-operative relationships, sought out key information from other teams and outside sources, communicated the team's mission to key stakeholders and actively pursued support from management. The poorest-performing teams, on the other hand, just focused on their own inner workings and relationships.
While the phrase ‘X-Team’ is relatively new, the idea that successful teams need to go outside themselves is less so. Margerison and McCann identified that all successful teams at some time in their life have to interact with others external to themselves. Margerison and McCann’s specifically identified two activities in their Types of Work Model relating to this issue:
• Advising - involves the team gathering information from others and disseminating it to the rest of the team so that it can be used effectively.
• Promoting - which means selling the ‘benefits’ of the team and what the team does not only to key stakeholders, but also to those who will be responsible for making things work further down the line, both internally and externally to the organisation.
So what are the implications for managers who wish to develop their own teams? Clearly the traditional ‘internal’ focus of goals, roles, team behaviours and team ways of working are a vital basis for building a team. However, this is only half of the solution. Managers also need to identify and build relationships with others both internal and external to the organisation. Managers should challenge themselves and their team by asking: Who does the team need support from? Who else has a stake in what our team does? Who might need to know about what we are doing? By doing this, as researchers have identified, managers can cultivate the type of environment that will make their teams more successful.
Would your Managers benefit from Management Development Training to help them integrate both internal and external working methods into their teams? If so, please contact Developing People Limited on 0845 409 2346 for more information.
I found working as a sole trader from home could be a rather a lonely existence. I used to come into contact with many clients daily – either replying to their emails, chatting to them on forums, answering their telephone calls, or meeting them in person at their homes or whilst doing demonstrations at various events throughout the UK. But whilst I loved my customers (and indeed, I loved being loved by them), it was still lonely. I had no team around me to share either my problems or my ambitions. If something went wrong, I fixed it myself. If something needed doing, I did it myself. If a goal needed achieving, I achieved it myself. All very self-satifying … but none the less, very lonely. To thrive, a business needs good teams within it, and for me, the two are irrevocably interlinked.
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 authors have harnessed decades of their research and documented their findings in their book X-Teams: How to Build Teams That Lead Innovate and Succeed. While Ancona and Bresman recognize the importance of the ‘internal workings’ of a team, they also saw that the most successful teams (which they dub the X-Teams) had team spirit, but that they also projected ‘upwards and outwards’ from the team. They established co-operative relationships, sought out key information from other teams and outside sources, communicated the team's mission to key stakeholders and actively pursued support from management. The poorest-performing teams, on the other hand, just focused on their own inner workings and relationships.
While the phrase ‘X-Team’ is relatively new, the idea that successful teams need to go outside themselves is less so. Margerison and McCann identified that all successful teams at some time in their life have to interact with others external to themselves. Margerison and McCann’s specifically identified two activities in their Types of Work Model relating to this issue:
• Advising - involves the team gathering information from others and disseminating it to the rest of the team so that it can be used effectively.
• Promoting - which means selling the ‘benefits’ of the team and what the team does not only to key stakeholders, but also to those who will be responsible for making things work further down the line, both internally and externally to the organisation.
So what are the implications for managers who wish to develop their own teams? Clearly the traditional ‘internal’ focus of goals, roles, team behaviours and team ways of working are a vital basis for building a team. However, this is only half of the solution. Managers also need to identify and build relationships with others both internal and external to the organisation. Managers should challenge themselves and their team by asking: Who does the team need support from? Who else has a stake in what our team does? Who might need to know about what we are doing? By doing this, as researchers have identified, managers can cultivate the type of environment that will make their teams more successful.
Would your Managers benefit from Management Development Training to help them integrate both internal and external working methods into their teams? If so, please contact Developing People Limited on 0845 409 2346 for more information.
Friday, 30 July 2010
Management Development - Cutting Unauthorised Absences
by Lucy Cadman
Have you ever had that Monday morning feeling? The weekend has been too good and you don’t want it to come to an end, or you have over-indulged in one too many pints, and you can’t face the office. Or how about that Friday feeling, when the weekend can’t come soon enough, and you really really can’t be bothered to do a day’s work before it happens? Maybe you’ve even had that holiday feeling, where you’ve still got a million things to wash and pack, and could do with an extra couple of days to do it all in before you leave on your vacation. What’s the easy answer? Call in sick, and pretend that you are dying of some inhumane form of contagious disease that has rendered you completely incapable of moving from your bed, when in actual fact you are right as the proverbial rain and you are in reality taking the proverbial “P”.
Acceptable? NO!!
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 cost to the business of £600 per employee. Of course, 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.
“Monday Morning Syndrome” (as described above) often starts with occasional lateness or absences which, if left unmentioned over time, can increase and become more regular. Trigger factors can also include:
• Problems concerning motivation.
• Quality of management and leadership.
• Working relationships.
• Working environment.
• Ergonomic factors.
• Health and safety issues.
• Job role.
• Lack of training and career development.
• Policies and procedures.
• Other factors outside of work e.g. personal or family problems.
If employees know that absence will be noticed and follow up on upon return, they are less likely to take time off without very good reason. From a Manager’s point of view therefore, it is essential to have measures in place which will reduce or prevent unauthorised absences. Some of these measures include:
• Regular monitoring of individual absence or attendance records.
• Clear procedures which are brief and understood by all employees e.g. ensuring that people ring in by a certain time if they are going to be late or absent.
• Hold ‘Return to Work’ interviews – informal discussion with the employee on the day after they have returned to work.
• A rule concerning absences immediately taken before periods of holiday.
• Taking disciplinary action against regular absenteeism. Whilst this course of action should always be very carefully considered, it may be necessary.
Developing People can help equip the Managers in your company to deal effectively with absenteeism, as well as many other Management Training and Development issues. Please call us on 0845 409 2346 for more information, or see our Management Development information on this website.
Have you ever had that Monday morning feeling? The weekend has been too good and you don’t want it to come to an end, or you have over-indulged in one too many pints, and you can’t face the office. Or how about that Friday feeling, when the weekend can’t come soon enough, and you really really can’t be bothered to do a day’s work before it happens? Maybe you’ve even had that holiday feeling, where you’ve still got a million things to wash and pack, and could do with an extra couple of days to do it all in before you leave on your vacation. What’s the easy answer? Call in sick, and pretend that you are dying of some inhumane form of contagious disease that has rendered you completely incapable of moving from your bed, when in actual fact you are right as the proverbial rain and you are in reality taking the proverbial “P”.
Acceptable? NO!!
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 cost to the business of £600 per employee. Of course, 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.
“Monday Morning Syndrome” (as described above) often starts with occasional lateness or absences which, if left unmentioned over time, can increase and become more regular. Trigger factors can also include:
• Problems concerning motivation.
• Quality of management and leadership.
• Working relationships.
• Working environment.
• Ergonomic factors.
• Health and safety issues.
• Job role.
• Lack of training and career development.
• Policies and procedures.
• Other factors outside of work e.g. personal or family problems.
If employees know that absence will be noticed and follow up on upon return, they are less likely to take time off without very good reason. From a Manager’s point of view therefore, it is essential to have measures in place which will reduce or prevent unauthorised absences. Some of these measures include:
• Regular monitoring of individual absence or attendance records.
• Clear procedures which are brief and understood by all employees e.g. ensuring that people ring in by a certain time if they are going to be late or absent.
• Hold ‘Return to Work’ interviews – informal discussion with the employee on the day after they have returned to work.
• A rule concerning absences immediately taken before periods of holiday.
• Taking disciplinary action against regular absenteeism. Whilst this course of action should always be very carefully considered, it may be necessary.
Developing People can help equip the Managers in your company to deal effectively with absenteeism, as well as many other Management Training and Development issues. Please call us on 0845 409 2346 for more information, or see our Management Development information on this website.
Friday, 23 July 2010
The Benefits of Investment in Management Training and Development
by Lucy Cadman
A week or so ago, I was lucky enough to attend a fantastic training course run by Business Link West Midlands, featuring Susan Hallam of Hallam Internet as the trainer. Susan was bright, knowledgeable, approachable, engaging and downright funny, and as such, I came away not only feeling like I had learned a massive amount that I wanted to dash back to the office and put into practise, but that I had also had a really enjoyable time.
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 people learn and develop - in other words, how we come to know what we know, and how we change our behaviour and performance in response to our development. Many years of research have identified a number of common practices that are vital to ensuring individuals benefit from their own development.
Whether you have a role in the organising or the delivering of Management Training, it is worth bearing these eight points in mind:
1) Make the learning relevant.
We remember things better when they relate to us, and we are more likely to take in what we are being told when we can apply it to our own work or home lives. It is therefore essential that abstract concepts or models are made personally relevant using practical examples and case studies that relate directly to the business in which we work.
2) Make sure the learning can be applied immediately.
We forget things that we don’t regularly practice. Conversely, we quickly embed our learning when we can use it regularly. Give solutions and recommendations that your delegates are going to want to go back to their office and use straight away
3) Keep the learning interactive.
This sounds simple, but sometimes trainers are unaware of how much they "talk at" rather than "discuss with” their participants. Ensure learning sessions are participative, and include creative ways of involving the participants through exercises and discussions.
4) Limit the use of film/DVD.
Few things are more passive than watching television. Of course, there are excellent resources available in this medium, many of which can be very helpful. It is just important to make sure this does not become the primary means of communication.
5) Regularly review.
Review each section of training before moving on to the next one, and provide a complete summary of the entire session at the end. Spend the first five minutes of every session reviewing what occurred in the previous one. This technique can help tie important themes together and promote integration of the training program as a whole, as well as providing the links back to the workplace.
6) Space out management training sessions.
Very little is learned by cramming things in. Make sure that after a training session the participants have an appropriate amount of time to put into practice what they have learned before embarking on the next piece of learning.
7) Encourage participants to read around the subject.
Provide additional reading materials, books, articles internet sites etc to enable the participants to further their development. E-Learning is an excellent resource to engage the delegates before and after training takes place, as can the use of a community such as an online forum, where delegates are able to talk to others who have undergone the same training, and who may be able to share experiences about applying what they have learned in their workplace.
8) Ensure participants are held to account.
Provide feedback forms for the delegates, and encourage their return. Assess the responses given, and make any necessary changes to the programme to ensure further delegate satisfaction, understanding, and ultimately learning in the future.
Finally, it is important to recognise that development is an investment and that an organisation has the right to expect a return on that investment. Managers must therefore hold their staff to account. How have their staff applied their learning? How has it improved their performance? When I returned from my training course a week ago, I produced an 8 page document detailing for my boss and my colleagues everything that I had been learned, which was useful not only in sharing the knowledge, but in keeping it fresh in my own mind. My boss would (rightly) have expected nothing less. In my experience, managers who show a genuine interest in their staff and their development will invariably get the most from their investment.
A week or so ago, I was lucky enough to attend a fantastic training course run by Business Link West Midlands, featuring Susan Hallam of Hallam Internet as the trainer. Susan was bright, knowledgeable, approachable, engaging and downright funny, and as such, I came away not only feeling like I had learned a massive amount that I wanted to dash back to the office and put into practise, but that I had also had a really enjoyable time.
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 people learn and develop - in other words, how we come to know what we know, and how we change our behaviour and performance in response to our development. Many years of research have identified a number of common practices that are vital to ensuring individuals benefit from their own development.
Whether you have a role in the organising or the delivering of Management Training, it is worth bearing these eight points in mind:
1) Make the learning relevant.
We remember things better when they relate to us, and we are more likely to take in what we are being told when we can apply it to our own work or home lives. It is therefore essential that abstract concepts or models are made personally relevant using practical examples and case studies that relate directly to the business in which we work.
2) Make sure the learning can be applied immediately.
We forget things that we don’t regularly practice. Conversely, we quickly embed our learning when we can use it regularly. Give solutions and recommendations that your delegates are going to want to go back to their office and use straight away
3) Keep the learning interactive.
This sounds simple, but sometimes trainers are unaware of how much they "talk at" rather than "discuss with” their participants. Ensure learning sessions are participative, and include creative ways of involving the participants through exercises and discussions.
4) Limit the use of film/DVD.
Few things are more passive than watching television. Of course, there are excellent resources available in this medium, many of which can be very helpful. It is just important to make sure this does not become the primary means of communication.
5) Regularly review.
Review each section of training before moving on to the next one, and provide a complete summary of the entire session at the end. Spend the first five minutes of every session reviewing what occurred in the previous one. This technique can help tie important themes together and promote integration of the training program as a whole, as well as providing the links back to the workplace.
6) Space out management training sessions.
Very little is learned by cramming things in. Make sure that after a training session the participants have an appropriate amount of time to put into practice what they have learned before embarking on the next piece of learning.
7) Encourage participants to read around the subject.
Provide additional reading materials, books, articles internet sites etc to enable the participants to further their development. E-Learning is an excellent resource to engage the delegates before and after training takes place, as can the use of a community such as an online forum, where delegates are able to talk to others who have undergone the same training, and who may be able to share experiences about applying what they have learned in their workplace.
8) Ensure participants are held to account.
Provide feedback forms for the delegates, and encourage their return. Assess the responses given, and make any necessary changes to the programme to ensure further delegate satisfaction, understanding, and ultimately learning in the future.
Finally, it is important to recognise that development is an investment and that an organisation has the right to expect a return on that investment. Managers must therefore hold their staff to account. How have their staff applied their learning? How has it improved their performance? When I returned from my training course a week ago, I produced an 8 page document detailing for my boss and my colleagues everything that I had been learned, which was useful not only in sharing the knowledge, but in keeping it fresh in my own mind. My boss would (rightly) have expected nothing less. In my experience, managers who show a genuine interest in their staff and their development will invariably get the most from their investment.
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
Management Development - How to Be An Effective Manager
by Lucy Cadman @ Developing People
I know I go on about it a lot when writing my blogs, but I really am lucky to be managed at work by such an effective manager. My boss is capable of seeing that every job gets completed effectively by the right person, that all problems are addressed and resolved swiftly, and that the working environment is a happy and productive one.
To be an effective manager like this, 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 diary effectively can have a massive impact on how you utilise your time. It is no help to your effectiveness to complete one task and then spend the next half hour deciding what to do next! A previous boss of mine taught me how to use a diary, and her words still ring in my ears ten years later – “Action every single item in your diary for today, either by crossing it off as completed or by bringing it forward to another day, but do not ever let anything vanish from your diary unless the task is totally complete and requires no further follow up at all”.
She showed me that a diary is not just for out of office appointments, but can be used to plan the tasks of each day and week to use your time to maximum effect, and to help you keep clear time for priorities, including those which sometimes crop up unexpectedly. It also helps to ensure that your “important but not urgent” tasks still see the light of day. Remember - If you don’t have a plan for where you want to be … don’t be surprised if you arrive somewhere you don’t want to be!
2. Maintain a clear environment
One of my colleagues works from home, and every time she visits the office, she never fails to exclaim in surprise at the tidiness of my desk. I am not sure whether her surprise is based around the fact that I can manage to maintain such a tidy environment, or whether it has some roots in astonishment that I have managed to train my boss to be almost (well, nearly … maybe not quite!) as tidy and organised as I am – a skill for which he has in all honesty never previously been renowned!
An effective manager operates a “clear desk” policy. Make sure that everything you need regularly is easy to find and close to hand, and that things which are not needed so often are towards the back of your desk or filed away in draws. Have an In Tray, an Out Tray, and ensure that your Out Tray is empty at the end of each day. Do not leave your desk covered in papers at the end of each day, as you will find it surprisingly unattractive to return to the next morning, and you will waste valuable time in sorting out yesterday’s work today. Efficient administration and filing systems are invaluable.
3. Delegate efficiently
Delegation does not simply mean “ordering someone else to do it”. When used effectively, it is a key tool for an effective manager. My boss is the King of Delegation as he is not only able to pick the right person for the right task, but he can also assign tasks without any air of “offloading” them, and even more importantly, he then has the capability to take his hands off the task entirely instead of trying to tinker with the results in advance of them being presented – something that as a control freak, I must confess I aspire to being able to do.
Delegation is about entrusting responsibility and authority to others, who then become responsible to you for their results. It gives more time for you to spend on important priorities, increases your own effectiveness and impact, develops others and equips them to solve their own problems, enables decisions to be made nearer the “front line”, and promotes involvement and motivation amongst your staff. Management is about getting things done through others – it is not about doing everything yourself!
4. Remove all interruptions
The two biggest distractions preventing people from getting immersed in their work are emails and the telephone. As a bit of a technical “geek”, I am all too easily distracted by the sight or sound of an email arriving in my inbox. I could quite cheerfully tell the phone to go to … erm, somewhere lovely for a permanent holiday … but I cannot resist the allure of sneaking a peak at every email when it arrives. My boss is the opposite – he finds it harder to resist the phone, but is capable of showing great self-restraint in only checking his emails two or three times a day at the most. Between us, we make a combination of good practise!
Turn off the “ding” sound when you receive an email so that you are not tempted to look straight away and break your concentration – set aside time at the beginning, middle and end of each day for reading and replying to emails, and do not look at them at any other point. Likewise with the telephone – batch outgoing calls together rather than making them randomly throughout the day, and where possible, turn your telephone to voicemail and collect messages at stipulated points throughout the day. Operate a “stand up” policy when colleagues enter your workspace – if you remain standing whilst they are talking, they will get the message that you mean to be brisk and brief so that you can get back to the task you were completing.
5. Do not accept responsibility for the problems of your staff
For a kind and caring manager, this can be a tricky one, but you do yourself and your staff no favours by taking over responsibility of their problems. This can be a fine line to walk between showing concern and support without overstepping the bounds of professionalism, but having experienced the boss who phoned me a week after I had undergone major surgery to ask why I wasn’t back in the office at one end of the scale, through to the boss who was quite prone to shed a tear with me if things were tough at the other end of the scale, I can vouch for the fact that the middle line is actually the best place to be from an employee’s point of view.
Help your staff by all means, but the moment you let their problem become your problem, you will have one more problem than you had before – if you do this for ten staff every week, you will have gained over 100 problems in the space of three months! Instead, meet with them at an appointed time, and help them to resolve the issues themselves – you will be one problem lighter, and they will feel a sense of achievement for having ultimately dealt with things themselves.
Keep these five tips in mind, and you will be well on your way to be an effective manager with a good work/life balance, who achieves great results and motivates their workforce to even better things each day.
I know I go on about it a lot when writing my blogs, but I really am lucky to be managed at work by such an effective manager. My boss is capable of seeing that every job gets completed effectively by the right person, that all problems are addressed and resolved swiftly, and that the working environment is a happy and productive one.
To be an effective manager like this, 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 diary effectively can have a massive impact on how you utilise your time. It is no help to your effectiveness to complete one task and then spend the next half hour deciding what to do next! A previous boss of mine taught me how to use a diary, and her words still ring in my ears ten years later – “Action every single item in your diary for today, either by crossing it off as completed or by bringing it forward to another day, but do not ever let anything vanish from your diary unless the task is totally complete and requires no further follow up at all”.
She showed me that a diary is not just for out of office appointments, but can be used to plan the tasks of each day and week to use your time to maximum effect, and to help you keep clear time for priorities, including those which sometimes crop up unexpectedly. It also helps to ensure that your “important but not urgent” tasks still see the light of day. Remember - If you don’t have a plan for where you want to be … don’t be surprised if you arrive somewhere you don’t want to be!
2. Maintain a clear environment
One of my colleagues works from home, and every time she visits the office, she never fails to exclaim in surprise at the tidiness of my desk. I am not sure whether her surprise is based around the fact that I can manage to maintain such a tidy environment, or whether it has some roots in astonishment that I have managed to train my boss to be almost (well, nearly … maybe not quite!) as tidy and organised as I am – a skill for which he has in all honesty never previously been renowned!
An effective manager operates a “clear desk” policy. Make sure that everything you need regularly is easy to find and close to hand, and that things which are not needed so often are towards the back of your desk or filed away in draws. Have an In Tray, an Out Tray, and ensure that your Out Tray is empty at the end of each day. Do not leave your desk covered in papers at the end of each day, as you will find it surprisingly unattractive to return to the next morning, and you will waste valuable time in sorting out yesterday’s work today. Efficient administration and filing systems are invaluable.
3. Delegate efficiently
Delegation does not simply mean “ordering someone else to do it”. When used effectively, it is a key tool for an effective manager. My boss is the King of Delegation as he is not only able to pick the right person for the right task, but he can also assign tasks without any air of “offloading” them, and even more importantly, he then has the capability to take his hands off the task entirely instead of trying to tinker with the results in advance of them being presented – something that as a control freak, I must confess I aspire to being able to do.
Delegation is about entrusting responsibility and authority to others, who then become responsible to you for their results. It gives more time for you to spend on important priorities, increases your own effectiveness and impact, develops others and equips them to solve their own problems, enables decisions to be made nearer the “front line”, and promotes involvement and motivation amongst your staff. Management is about getting things done through others – it is not about doing everything yourself!
4. Remove all interruptions
The two biggest distractions preventing people from getting immersed in their work are emails and the telephone. As a bit of a technical “geek”, I am all too easily distracted by the sight or sound of an email arriving in my inbox. I could quite cheerfully tell the phone to go to … erm, somewhere lovely for a permanent holiday … but I cannot resist the allure of sneaking a peak at every email when it arrives. My boss is the opposite – he finds it harder to resist the phone, but is capable of showing great self-restraint in only checking his emails two or three times a day at the most. Between us, we make a combination of good practise!
Turn off the “ding” sound when you receive an email so that you are not tempted to look straight away and break your concentration – set aside time at the beginning, middle and end of each day for reading and replying to emails, and do not look at them at any other point. Likewise with the telephone – batch outgoing calls together rather than making them randomly throughout the day, and where possible, turn your telephone to voicemail and collect messages at stipulated points throughout the day. Operate a “stand up” policy when colleagues enter your workspace – if you remain standing whilst they are talking, they will get the message that you mean to be brisk and brief so that you can get back to the task you were completing.
5. Do not accept responsibility for the problems of your staff
For a kind and caring manager, this can be a tricky one, but you do yourself and your staff no favours by taking over responsibility of their problems. This can be a fine line to walk between showing concern and support without overstepping the bounds of professionalism, but having experienced the boss who phoned me a week after I had undergone major surgery to ask why I wasn’t back in the office at one end of the scale, through to the boss who was quite prone to shed a tear with me if things were tough at the other end of the scale, I can vouch for the fact that the middle line is actually the best place to be from an employee’s point of view.
Help your staff by all means, but the moment you let their problem become your problem, you will have one more problem than you had before – if you do this for ten staff every week, you will have gained over 100 problems in the space of three months! Instead, meet with them at an appointed time, and help them to resolve the issues themselves – you will be one problem lighter, and they will feel a sense of achievement for having ultimately dealt with things themselves.
Keep these five tips in mind, and you will be well on your way to be an effective manager with a good work/life balance, who achieves great results and motivates their workforce to even better things each day.
Monday, 28 June 2010
Management Training - Can you teach an old dog new tricks?
by Lucy Cadman
Whenever the subject turns to anything technological in our Team Business Meetings at Developing People, I usually end up having to stifle a smile or two at the reluctance and the disinterest of our more mature team members. The response can be anywhere from a mumbled “Do we really need that?” through to “Can you say that again, as I really don’t understand it”, and usually finishing off with a grudging “Well, I suppose we must move with the times – but YOU can deal with it all!” (with the latter comment always being aimed at and embraced by myself – the 33 year old “wet behind the ears” member of the team!).
During 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 decision. An employer can currently also refuse to employ anyone over the age of 65.
However, the new Liberal Democrat-Conservative Coalition announced in June 2010 that they want to scrap the current default retirement age of 65, and that they plan to bring in an increase to this age – the state pension age for men is now due to rise from 65 to 66 in 2016, and up to 68 by 2046. Women are scheduled to move to a state pension age of 66 a few years after the increase for men. Steve Webb (Liberal Democrats Pensions Minister) says pensionable age should be a better reflection of life expectancy, which is currently 77 years for men and 81 years for women in the UK.
With this in mind, is it justifiable that some employers are still seemingly reluctant to offer Management Training and Development opportunities to their older employers in the age ranges of 50’s and 60’s? Is this a wise investment, or is it too late to be of benefit to either the employer or the employee? Do older employees respond as well to Management Training activities as their younger counterparts?
There is still a strong case for including older employees in management training events :
* They may still have the need, and they definitely still have the responsibility.
* They are likely to be just as motivated to grow and to perform on average and in general as their younger colleagues - indeed some may be even more strongly motivated!
* A "one team" approach is better than a divisive approach
* It could be strongly demotivational not to include them.
* Including older managers gives them and the other participants the benefit from their knowledge, experience and wisdom.
* They often set a good example to their younger peers - and any cynical responses are much more driven by individual attitude differences than by age.
There are many reasons to ensure that you include your older managers in management training that outweigh any concerns about less return on your investment or that they may "know it all already" - after all, they may still be working for you in years to come well into their 70's!
Mr M – long may your time with us continue, and we will get you addressing the masses on Twitter yet …!!!
Whenever the subject turns to anything technological in our Team Business Meetings at Developing People, I usually end up having to stifle a smile or two at the reluctance and the disinterest of our more mature team members. The response can be anywhere from a mumbled “Do we really need that?” through to “Can you say that again, as I really don’t understand it”, and usually finishing off with a grudging “Well, I suppose we must move with the times – but YOU can deal with it all!” (with the latter comment always being aimed at and embraced by myself – the 33 year old “wet behind the ears” member of the team!).
During 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 decision. An employer can currently also refuse to employ anyone over the age of 65.
However, the new Liberal Democrat-Conservative Coalition announced in June 2010 that they want to scrap the current default retirement age of 65, and that they plan to bring in an increase to this age – the state pension age for men is now due to rise from 65 to 66 in 2016, and up to 68 by 2046. Women are scheduled to move to a state pension age of 66 a few years after the increase for men. Steve Webb (Liberal Democrats Pensions Minister) says pensionable age should be a better reflection of life expectancy, which is currently 77 years for men and 81 years for women in the UK.
With this in mind, is it justifiable that some employers are still seemingly reluctant to offer Management Training and Development opportunities to their older employers in the age ranges of 50’s and 60’s? Is this a wise investment, or is it too late to be of benefit to either the employer or the employee? Do older employees respond as well to Management Training activities as their younger counterparts?
There is still a strong case for including older employees in management training events :
* They may still have the need, and they definitely still have the responsibility.
* They are likely to be just as motivated to grow and to perform on average and in general as their younger colleagues - indeed some may be even more strongly motivated!
* A "one team" approach is better than a divisive approach
* It could be strongly demotivational not to include them.
* Including older managers gives them and the other participants the benefit from their knowledge, experience and wisdom.
* They often set a good example to their younger peers - and any cynical responses are much more driven by individual attitude differences than by age.
There are many reasons to ensure that you include your older managers in management training that outweigh any concerns about less return on your investment or that they may "know it all already" - after all, they may still be working for you in years to come well into their 70's!
Mr M – long may your time with us continue, and we will get you addressing the masses on Twitter yet …!!!
Friday, 25 June 2010
Management Training - Improving Your Networking Skills
by Lucy Cadman @ Developing People
I freely admit that I probably spend way too much time on the internet. It seems to be one of those things that is just like Marmite – you either love it or you hate it. And my relationship with the internet is definitely a love affair.
In third place, I would say, is reading and replying to emails. They are such a quick and easy way to keep in touch, especially with those who don’t live locally, or indeed who are from another country altogether. You can cram so much into one single email that you couldn’t probably fit into an expensive international phone call, although I must admit that I ought to get off my sofa and walk round to see my friend who lives in the next street as opposed to emailing her!
Second place is likely to go to using forums. With a number of fairly diverse hobbies (ranging from Ballroom Dancing via Classic Car ownership through to the keeping of several Tarantulas, and all manner of things in between!), I am often on the search for information, supplies, and the company of like-minded people. Forums provide a wealth of information at the touch of just a few buttons, and it is pretty easy to get absorbed into the community feel of such sites.
Without a doubt, in top place is Facebook, and other similar networking sites such as LinkedIn. I can misplace hours at a time keeping up with what friends all over the world have been doing, and keeping everyone up to date with my latest dancing injury, my newest car purchase, or the hiding place of my most recently escaped Tarantula. I can relay news to a couple of hundred friends, old and new, again at the touch of just a few buttons.
In today’s technological times, social and professional networking sites are a quick and easy way to give you access to a large network of people via your computer. Here are five top tips to help you use the internet successfully for networking purposes:
1. Don’t mix business and pleasure. Be careful about the way you use your business networking sites (for example, LinkedIn) as opposed to the way you use your social networking sites (for example, Facebook). If possible, keep business and pleasure completely separate online – don’t invite professional contacts to link with you on social networking sites, and vice versa. The last thing you really want is your professional contacts to be reading all about how you got a bit tipsy at the weekend, or your poorly dog needing to be taken to the vets!!
2. Take the time to look up old contacts. By adding just one contact to your online network, you will often gain access to hundreds more people who are interested in a similar vein of work, or who have professional skills that may be useful to you. Take the time and trouble to look up people you haven’t contacted in a while, and make use not only of their skills, but also of the skills of the people they network with.
3. Be careful how you come across. Remember that the written word does not have the advantage of body language to emphasize its true meaning. Words can easily be misunderstood across a computer screen, so if in doubt, leave it out!
4. Think what your legacy will be. Where as the spoken word is gone the moment it has been said, the written word has a much more lasting legacy. Never type anything out in temper, as it may be difficult to retract it, by which point the damage is already done. Be polite, courteous and professional at all times.
5. Beware of addiction! Networking sites can be incredibly time-consuming. Whilst they are a very important and useful resource, stay aware of how much time you spend using them, and don’t let this become proportionally imbalanced to the amount of work you generate from networking in this way.
One of these days, I will take my own advice on that last point … promise!
I freely admit that I probably spend way too much time on the internet. It seems to be one of those things that is just like Marmite – you either love it or you hate it. And my relationship with the internet is definitely a love affair.
In third place, I would say, is reading and replying to emails. They are such a quick and easy way to keep in touch, especially with those who don’t live locally, or indeed who are from another country altogether. You can cram so much into one single email that you couldn’t probably fit into an expensive international phone call, although I must admit that I ought to get off my sofa and walk round to see my friend who lives in the next street as opposed to emailing her!
Second place is likely to go to using forums. With a number of fairly diverse hobbies (ranging from Ballroom Dancing via Classic Car ownership through to the keeping of several Tarantulas, and all manner of things in between!), I am often on the search for information, supplies, and the company of like-minded people. Forums provide a wealth of information at the touch of just a few buttons, and it is pretty easy to get absorbed into the community feel of such sites.
Without a doubt, in top place is Facebook, and other similar networking sites such as LinkedIn. I can misplace hours at a time keeping up with what friends all over the world have been doing, and keeping everyone up to date with my latest dancing injury, my newest car purchase, or the hiding place of my most recently escaped Tarantula. I can relay news to a couple of hundred friends, old and new, again at the touch of just a few buttons.
In today’s technological times, social and professional networking sites are a quick and easy way to give you access to a large network of people via your computer. Here are five top tips to help you use the internet successfully for networking purposes:
1. Don’t mix business and pleasure. Be careful about the way you use your business networking sites (for example, LinkedIn) as opposed to the way you use your social networking sites (for example, Facebook). If possible, keep business and pleasure completely separate online – don’t invite professional contacts to link with you on social networking sites, and vice versa. The last thing you really want is your professional contacts to be reading all about how you got a bit tipsy at the weekend, or your poorly dog needing to be taken to the vets!!
2. Take the time to look up old contacts. By adding just one contact to your online network, you will often gain access to hundreds more people who are interested in a similar vein of work, or who have professional skills that may be useful to you. Take the time and trouble to look up people you haven’t contacted in a while, and make use not only of their skills, but also of the skills of the people they network with.
3. Be careful how you come across. Remember that the written word does not have the advantage of body language to emphasize its true meaning. Words can easily be misunderstood across a computer screen, so if in doubt, leave it out!
4. Think what your legacy will be. Where as the spoken word is gone the moment it has been said, the written word has a much more lasting legacy. Never type anything out in temper, as it may be difficult to retract it, by which point the damage is already done. Be polite, courteous and professional at all times.
5. Beware of addiction! Networking sites can be incredibly time-consuming. Whilst they are a very important and useful resource, stay aware of how much time you spend using them, and don’t let this become proportionally imbalanced to the amount of work you generate from networking in this way.
One of these days, I will take my own advice on that last point … promise!
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
Good Manager Vs Bad Manager – What is the difference?
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 themselves.
Good managers earn their employees trust by doing what they say, demonstrating their competence and showing you that they care. A poor manager might know all the latest theories, and talk a ‘good game’, but they fail because their behaviour is incongruent with what they say.
But why do some people become good managers and others do not? Invariably the issue is that they have not developed the necessary skills and behaviours because they have not had any formal management training or management development. Too often people are promoted into management positions but are not given the right support and development to fulfil their role adequately.
In the absence of any guidance, the newly promoted manager may stick to do what he or she knows best, (i.e. their old job), and they simply remain ‘doers’ focussed on the task and not their people.
It is essential therefore that newly appointed managers and team Leaders are given the appropriate management development and support to give them every possible chance of success. This support should help them to understand the importance and development of appropriate behaviours such as:
Integrity – Leading by example.
Confidence – The appropriate self awareness and display of self belief.
Influence – The ability to encourage others to follow, to lead by example as well as by persuasion.
Communication -. Ability to listen and understand others. Ability to be understood by others both, verbally & in writing.
Challenge - Not accepting the status quo. Taking on the difficult things, and encouraging others to do so.
Collaboration – Working effectively with other people, their team, peers and boss.
Flexibility - Adjusting and adapting to changing circumstances. Learning from mistakes as well as successes.
Growth - Learning, developing themselves and others.
Motivation - Ability to get others to want to do the things that need to be done.
Providing the right type of support and management development will not guarantee success for a newly appointed manager, but it will increase the likelihood of them being successful and prevent them from starting off on the ‘wrong foot’.
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