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Archives for January 2008

From Good to Great Manager – Part 5 – Knowing What Matters

January 29, 2008 by admin

Great managers know what matters.

They know both what matters to the organisation (vision, values, goals, behaviours, strategy in action) and what matters to individual employees.  Their families’ names. Who is terrified of flying. Their favourite hobbies and interests.  Who has expressed interest in a leadership role.

They take every opportunity to recognise and appreciate what matters to the organisation and to recognise and respect what matters most to the individual.  They help to connect the dots between what matters to people personally and what matters to the organisation.

In my work with Progressive Managers often the largest challenge is that of recognising the good stuff.  Often managers do not see enough of what people do to be able to observe (even less recognise) it.  And if they are in a position to observe it, often the subtleties go un-noticed and un-acknowledged.

The best managers know what they expect to see an employee doing to support vision, values and goals.  They look for it  – and when they see it they acknowledge it.  If they don’t see it then they will ask questions:

‘Is there anything more that you could do to put our values into practice?’

‘Are there any opportunities that you can see to help reach the goals we have set?’

Good managers know their stuff.  They know excellent work when they see it – and they know that they MUST appreciate it.  Lesser managers struggle to distinguish excellence from mediocrity – and unwittingly establish a standard that says mediocrity will do.

Filed Under: Leadership, management, Uncategorized Tagged With: feedback, Leadership, management, performance improvement, performance management, Uncategorized

PMN Partners With Doncaster CVS

January 28, 2008 by admin

Doncaster CVS
The Progressive Managers’ Network is partnering with Doncaster CVS to launch the network in Doncaster. PMN offers bite sized, fiercely practical, management training to help you succeed. The first training event is free of charge so that you can try it without risk.
Would you like to learn a management tool that is guaranteed to:
  • Save you time
  • Increase levels of trust in your team
  • Improve communication
  • Make you a noticeably better manager
  • Get more done – more quickly
  • Accelerate the professional development of your team, and
  • Reduce the pain of performance reviews?

Then come along to a free introductory session of the Progressive Managers’ Network at the Doncaster CVS on March 13th from 13.30 to 16.30.

At the event you will get a free gift to help improve your management worth more than £25.

Places are strictly limited so please book your place online here. Or call for more information on 0113 2167782.

If you know of a manager who might be interested please forward them a link to this page.

Future Dates for PMN in Doncaster:

April 9th – Giving and Getting Great Feedback

May 14th – Practical Coaching for Managers

June 18th – Effective Delegation

July 16th – Effective Time Management

All workshops run from 13.30 – 16.30.

Filed Under: Leadership, management Tagged With: 121s, communication, Doncaster CVS, event, Leadership, learning, management, one to ones, performance improvement, performance management, practical, Progressive Managers' Network

Great Management Quote

January 21, 2008 by admin

“Great work is not about ergonomically styled offices in different shades of blue and green. It is certainly not about all the processes of human resource management. It is not about leadership – not leadership from above, anyway. It is not about technology. It is about kindling the inner human spirit that makes us the people we are.”

Richard Donkin, Blood, Sweat and Tears; The Evolution of Work

 

Filed Under: Leadership, management Tagged With: Leadership, management

Right to Read

January 18, 2008 by admin

Right to Read

Right to Read is an excellent campaign being run by the RNIB.  Up to three million children and adults are being denied the right to read because they have a sight problem, dyslexia or another reading disability.  The RNIB are campaigning to put this right.

This sort of campaign can have a damaging effect on many potential entrepreneurs.  In the US around 35% of those starting a business describe themselves as dyslexic.  My guess is that people who struggle with numeracy and literacy are also over-represented in those who start their own business or become self-employed here in the UK.

Campaigns such as this can perpetuate the myth that unless you can read and write you can’t learn and you will never amount to much.  I taught in schools and  community homes (a wonderful euphemism for approved schools) for a number of years working with young people who struggled desperately with reading and writing. They often had real problems with concentration on such mundane tasks as studying.  These days we label them as dyslexic or having ADHD.  The one thing they did not lack was enterprise!

A study published by Simfonec, the Science Enterprise Centre based at the Cass Business School in London, found that entrepreneurs were five times more likely to have dyslexia than people in conventional management jobs. Business founders such as Sir Richard Branson, Sir Alan Sugar, Kevin Linfoot and Anita Roddick are/were all known to be dyslexic.

Instead of labelling weaknesses we should instead focus on the strengths.  Instead of saying that inability to read is a handicap we should ask people what they are good at.  Enterprise comes from strengths.

Filed Under: enterprise, entrepreneurship Tagged With: development, enterprise, entrepreneurship

121s and the Return on Investment in Relationships

January 18, 2008 by admin

Tom Peters encourages managers to obsess on R.O.I.R – the Return on Investment in Relationships.

Usually what has to be invested is not cash – but time. And the challenge is to invest that time effectively.

For me, without doubt, the most effective tool for ROIR with employees is the 121. These are structured, documented 30 minute meetings held with each member of staff, every week. They provide the most effective ROIR with employees that I have ever seen.

ROIR through 121s comes in many forms:

  1. increased staff retention
  2. improved productivity
  3. recognition and acknowledgement of progress
  4. appreciation of those who are performing well
  5. identification of under performance and early resolution
  6. promotion of behaviours that reinforce strategic goals and values
  7. increased tempo of coaching to develop potential and performance
  8. deeper professional relationships
  9. increased trust
  10. increased influence
  11. increased responsiveness
  12. better support of team members in their work
  13. conduit for ideas from the front line to be heard and acted upon
  14. management support for every member of the team – every week
  15. improved communication and focus on what matters
  16. progress made and recognised on a weekly basis
  17. increased sense of urgency in the team
  18. encourage individuals to think through their contribution to team or organisational objectives
  19. increased initiative and enterprise
  20. planning remains flexible and dynamic
  21. documentation makes performance reviews simpler and less contentious
  22. barriers to high performance are removed
  23. factors contributing to poor performance are identified and resolved
  24. formal opportunities for delegation
  25. feedback – both given and received
  26. increased employee engagement
  27. improved knowledge management and knowledge sharing
  28. better talent management and development
  29. increased creativity
  30. more responsibility taken voluntarily by more people
  31. reduced absenteeism
  32. more diversity as 121s recognise that ‘one size fits one’

Perhaps some of these are things that you as a manager need to work on. If you are already using 121s then think how you can use them more effectively for the things that matter most to you and your business.

If you are not already using 121s then you have a tremendous opportunity to improve your management practice.

By the way – additions to the list are very welcome!

Filed Under: Leadership, management Tagged With: 121s, change, coaching, communication, decision making, delegation, enterprise, feedback, Leadership, learning, management, one to ones, passion, performance improvement, performance management, training

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