Archive for the ‘Managing Others’ Category

Employees, and indeed all of us, thrive on feedback. Giving feedback is sometimes seen as difficult but in reality there are some simple things you can do to improve how you give feedback.

Be specific with your feedback rather than generic. While any feedback is better than none, the more specific it is the better.

Give specific examples of what you noticed, especially when giving praise and positive feedback. Examples really re-enforce the fact that you really noticed something good that someone did.

Do it as a matter of routine rather than relying on formal appraisal or performance meetings to give feedback.

Ask for others’ perspectives as they may well see things that you don’t.

Prepare in advance of giving feedback. This is particularly important when you have to give what might be perceived as difficult feedback.

Step into the shoes of the recipient and look at things from their perspective. It might just influence the way you deliver your message.

Try to match the style or preferences of the recipient. Some will want a very simple “thank you” while others may want more detailed feedback.

Avoid making it personal by focusing on behaviours or impact of doing or not doing something.

Accept you will sometimes make a hash if it. You are human and cannot deliver perfect feedback all of the time.

Never underestimate how much people value feedback and a simple bit of praise. “Thank you” or “well done” takes seconds to say but can yield huge benefits in terms of motivation.

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps professional people to become highly effective managers. He invites you to sign up for his free e-course, Management Mastery, at www.goalsandachievements.co.uk.

If you are good at what you do, the chances are you will find yourself in a position where you have to manage a team sooner than you expected.

One would think that managing a team should not be that difficult, yet in reality there are many challenges. Here are 10 of the challenges I notice and have experience from managing teams.

1. Collaborating is not the norm. If you think about it, education, applying for a job and getting picked to represent your country in sports are all competitive. There are winners and losers.
2. Everyone has a view but not everyone is willing to take action or put in the effort to make the great idea a reality. It’s easier for some people to stand on the sidelines and criticise.
3. Trust is really difficult to earn and even tougher to maintain.
4. Hindsight is a great thing and people and the media are often always wise after the event.
5. People tend to remember the few times you messed up rather than the 99% of the time you did well.
6. People want to have influence but are not always willing to take responsibility for the consequences.
7. You rarely get the opportunity to hand pick your own team and more often than not you have to get by with what you inherit.
8. You have to be willing to delegate, which brings with it risk and insecurity.
9. People have short term memories and sometimes quickly forget what you have done for the team in the past.
10. You are piggy in the middle. By that I mean you have subordinates who have expectations of you as well as superiors. It can feel like a no-win situation at times.

The Bottom Line: Managing a team is both hugely rewarding and hugely demanding.

If you have enjoyed this blog post check out my Management Mastery For Professionals e-course at www.goalsandachievements.co.uk

In your role of leader or manager, it is vital that you can put your case forward in a compelling way that gets the result you desire.

So how can you better present your case and get the results you desire?

1. Be clear about the outcome or result that you want.
2. Think about the position of the other party and really understand possible objections.
3. When making your case, try to cover all of the key objections.
4. Develop a learning mindset and build on experiences.

The Bottom Line: No matter what level of leader or manager you are at, the ability to present your case is key.

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to achieve success and realize their professional potential through being highly effective leaders and managers. For more information and to sign up for his free audio e-course click here

As a manager, you will more than likely be required to set objectives those that you manage.

So how do you go about doing this?

Think about what results are to be achieved

There are probably some results that your team has to achieve. Chances are the results will be dependent on all of your team delivering their specific contributions so make a point of linking personal objectives to team results.

Specify outcomes, not actions

Start writing objectives in terms of outcomes or deliverables. A one day reduction in the monthly reporting cycle is an example of a clear outcomes based measure. Reviewing the month end process is an action.

Ask yourself, can I measure this?

If you cannot come up with a way of determining whether the individual is on or off track in achieving the objective, chances are it is not sufficiently clear.

Get the other person to tell you what they think they are being asked to deliver

Seems blindingly obvious but I wonder how many managers use this strategy? Simply asking the person to play back their understanding of what you are expecting can eliminate confusion.

The Bottom Line

Truth is, setting clear objectives can appear simple in theory but is often a real challenge in practice.

For the exhaustive reference on working with, leading and managing teams, check out the special pre-release on my latest book. If you are serious about your team, don’t miss this special Click here for more details

As a manager you know that to deliver great results consistently you need to get the best from those that you manage.  So what steps can you take to bring out the best from your team?

 

1.                  Set crystal clear objectives

 

The start point of getting the best from people that you manage is to make it clear to them what they are expected to deliver.  Often managers become stuck in the long list of activities that are contained in a job description.  While this provides some important content, make a point of spelling out the 5 key results that you expect individuals in the team you manage to deliver.

 

2.                  Help them solve their own problems

 

As a busy manager it is sometimes highly tempting to solve problems for people so that you get them away from your desk as quickly as possible.  The trouble is that if you always do this, people will stop thinking for themselves and just come to you for the answers.  Use questions to coach people to find their own solutions to problems and challenges.

 

3.                  Take the time to praise

 

Few people (if any) turn up for work with the intention of doing a bad job.  Yet managers often forget this and fail to recognise the efforts and achievements of their people.  Make a point of praising achievement and acknowledging efforts as it will motivate.

 

4.                  Delegate whenever you can

 

There are few managers who could be accused of over delegating.  In fact it is generally the complete opposite.  Delegating does not just provide benefits to you in terms of freeing up time but also provides scope for those that you manage to take on new challenges.

 

5.                  Treat people fairly

 

Treat people well and chances are that the majority will go to exceptional lengths to deliver for you. A good rule of thumb to check this out is to ask whether you are treating others the way you would like to be treated in the given situation.

 

Bottom Line – Managing is tough at times but by bringing out the best in others you can achieve greater success. 

If you are a manager or aspiring manager, sooner or later you will be faced with a member of staff who is not performing.  Here my 10 tips for dealing with this situation effectively and compassionately:

1. Review the individuals objectives and make sure they are clear
2. Identify where performance is falling short
3. Get specific examples to illustrate where performance is falling short
4. Arrange to meet 1 to 1 with the member of staff to discuss the issue
5. Prepare for the meeting
6. Present your case and supporting examples
7. Give the member of staff the opportunity to respond without interrupting
8. Identify clearly the improvements required, timescales, monitoring and consequences if performance does not improve
9. Ask the member of staff what support you or the organisation can provide to help them
10. Confirm everything in writing

When it comes to expenditure, the biggest single item for the vast majority of businesses is salaries and related costs.  In view of this, one would think that looking after that investment would be a high priority.  Many see it this way but many others don’t.  So why does people management matter?

Cost

It is not uncommon for 60% of the total expenditure of a company to be on staff.  If there were any other investments of this scale on anything else in the business, don’t you think it would be getting a high level of attention?

Talent shortage

Much has been written about talent management over the last few years about the war for talent.  For example, in response to The Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) eighth learning and development survey, 47% of respondents identified that there was a shortage of high quality talent in UK organisations.  In some professions these numbers are even higher.  Against this backdrop of talent shortage, people management takes on increased importance.

Without People There Is No Business

While there are some business (such as internet based businesses) that may be less people dependent, the vast majority still are highly dependent on people to:

• Attract clients or customers
• Make sales
• Provide the product or service
• Physically ship the product
• Manage customer relationships
• Keep on top of the finances
• Look after legal aspects
• Set policies
• Innovation
• Sourcing supplies and services

Without people in the above and many other areas of the business, the organisation would simply not function.

Retention

As well as the challenge to attract staff, retention is also a huge issue for many businesses.  The employment landscape continues to change.  Industries are consolidating which means that even big employers cannot give long term guarantees.  There is much greater mobility in the workforce.  Many more people are able to go and work overseas and keep in regular touch with people back home through the use of technology.  All of the above add to the retention challenges that businesses face.

Expectations

Our parents might have been happy just to have a job but those entering the workforce have much greater expectations.  They are looking for and expecting:

• Opportunities for progression
• Challenging and enjoyable work
• Work that has some meaning for them
• A good work environment
• A balance between their work and their life

At the end of the day, if you are an employer who wants to get results and is dependent on people to deliver them, people management needs to be given a high priority.

As a manager one of your primary goals is to get results through others.  So what mistakes might you be making in managing your team?

1. Not setting clear expectations
2. Not delegating work
3. Failing to provide challenging or motivating work for staff
4. Focusing all of your attention on getting things done without considering the needs of your people
5. Failing to stand back periodically and look for areas where you could improve how you work

Do any of the above apply to you and what else would you add to the list?

If you are a manager or leader, you need to be able to get results through others.  There is only one of you and you cannot be brilliant at everything, even if others believe you should be.

In truth, managers and leaders sometimes fall into the trap of getting the best from others.
One of the biggest barriers they create that prevents others being at their best is not giving people the chance to fail.

Think about it, people will only become competent through practise and application.  No one ever became an expert at anything just by reading, listening or watching.  If it was that easy we would all be experts at a lot of things.

So if you want to bring out the best in others give them the opportunity to get new experience, take on new challenges and bring their own uniqueness to the fore.  After all what’s the worst that might happen- they might fail.

Managers and leaders need to deliver results.  The extent to which they deliver results depends on how effective they are when it comes to influencing.  You might have to influence staff, your boss, the Board, funding bodies or lenders to name just a few.  So how can you achieve better results through better influencing?

Tip 1:  Be clear on your goals

People often go into situations where they need to influence without having clarity about what they want to achieve.  In any influencing situation you need to be crystal clear on the outcome you want from the situation.  It might be more staff, a new piece of equipment or a supplier discount.  Whatever, the situation, be clear on what you want in terms of outcome.

Tip 2: Be informed

Have you ever been in a situation or observed a situation where it was clear that they had not done their homework in advance.  With information and resources being so freely available these days, there is really no excuse for going into an influencing situation unprepared.

Tip 3: Order your thoughts logically

If you have done your research in advance, chances are that you will have collected a lot of information.  Presenting this information in a logical and structured way will greatly improve your ability to influence positively.  Make a point of thinking about the most logical way to present your thoughts.  It is even better if you can do it with someone else.

Tip 4: Tailor points to the decision makers

You may well be the expert in your field or area but chances are that one or more of the decision makers will not be.  When you are trying to influence and get a positive response, make sure that you tailor your points to things that will be important to decision makers.

Tip 5:  Highlight the key benefits

The party you are trying to influence wants to know what is in it for me, the organisation and other stakeholders.  The easiest way of addressing this is to highlight the key benefits of your proposition.

Managers and leaders will frequently find themselves in positions where they need to influence.  So what’s your next step in becoming a more effective influencer?