Meetings can be testing, even for the most prepared manager, and most people will agree that the amount of time wasted in meetings could be drastically reduced if several steps are taken. And those steps are fairly simple and straightforward. (more…)
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Don’t think that Excel is just a spreadsheet. To excel at something is a pinnacle of achievement. Personal mastery begins with a vision of what you want to achieve in your life or at work. Some of us may have goals and objectives, but these...
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Meeting and talking with others is an excellent way of honing your thinking skills and becoming a person that others seek out for advice and information. So here are some ideas when we want to improve our hit rate when conversing with someone. (more…)
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Ever despaired at your team members’ lack of engagement at work? Ever wondered whether your key employees leave their brains at the office door when they come in and put them back in when they leave? You’re not the only one! Many managers wonder how...
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Expectancy theory suggests that motivation is based on how much we want something and how likely we think we are to get it. I often discuss this facet of motivation when coaching managers, as it answers many questions about desire, want and need for extrinsic...
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Many teams are actually just a group of people who happen to be working under the same roof. They may have similar jobs, work for the same company and aim for similar results, but are they all pulling in the same direction, meeting the same...
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Of all the skills managers want to have improved, communication pretty much comes up there at the top. Along with negotiating a higher salary, of course! But communication is such a broad subject. I often ask clients, ‘If there was one area of communication you...
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We had an interesting question this week on our management course that opened up a good discussion on leadership. The question came from a new manager who had been promoted from among his peers and was now managing people who were much more knowledgeable and...
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The European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model is based on the premise that excellent results with respect to performance, customers, people and society are achieved through partnerships, resources and processes. The model explains performance gaps and identifies improvement directions. I’ve used it a...
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Strange question? Maybe. Few people actually think about the style they adopt when they are listening to another person. But there is value in doing so, and I’d like to share some ideas that may help your communications in the future. (more…)
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One challenge that is often brought up in our courses is that of lack of cooperation between departments. Although you’re all working for the same company, other departments may appear to slow you down. Here are some tips in working with this situation. In dealing with other departments, begin...
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We had an interesting discussion on a recent training course about how continuous improvement within a department can be supported. One manager on the course was implementing a Kaizen Programme and his main concern was that the structure of the organisation, and especially his team,...
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