Management-Coaching

Management Insights - Managing the Extremes
By http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Martin_Haworth Martin Haworth

Out there can be a dangerous place to be, yet we seek out challenges in all that we do in our lives. Where managers take the safe road, they'll get results that typify that straight line approach in what they do.

When they go for the outer edges of their security blanket, for sure there will be times of huge elation, as well as days where things don't go to plan and frankly, that doesn't feel too good.

When there's that straight line at the ER, we all know by now just what that means. Maybe it's tranquil, but there sure as heck is little life in it. There might be peace in the mortuary, but it's not a place where any of us want to be just yet now, is it!

Much more fun is the roller-coaster of the risky experiences where there may be that huge rewarding challenge to overcome. The intriguing gamble of possible downside, is just how far you have to go to be creative and potentially generate exceptional out-of-the-box results.

It's a time for you to go for it...
"Management is about using the extremes. Be defiant about seeking and rewarding the best performance and merciless when confronted with marginal performance." - Bob Nelson

For you to encourage your people to have a go, to be the best and to acknowledge when that's outside their comfort zone too. And, of course, reminding them that it's OK to find that things don't always go perfectly to plan.

As managers we have to encourage and facilitate our people to go the extra mile. We also have to be brave enough to confront them when they aren't up to it. They aren't bad people - they just haven't found the right place where they can be themselves and more.

Where they feel right to explore further and push their own boundaries to extremes. For them, it's not a wildly exciting place to be and you have an obligation not just to your own team leadership, but to them as well.

Often, when you tackle these extremes and the wrong end of the fun part of your business, you'll find that the honesty you show, as well as the respect you give them, will be a refreshing experience for them, that no-one else has taken the time to help them with, in the past.

To help their square peg find the right shaped hole - and for you to seek that too - it's time for you to be brave and true, get out of the security of your cozy chair and be strong.

(c) 2010 Martin Haworth is the author of http://www.supersuccessfulmanager.com Super Successful Manager! An easy to use, step-by-step weekly development program for managers of EVERY skill level. You can get a sample lesson for free at http://www.SuperSuccessfulManager.com http://www.SuperSuccessfulManager.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?Management-Insights---Managing-the-Extremes&id=4084749 Management Insights - Managing the Extremes

How's Your Corporate Discipline?
By http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Tim_Connor Tim Connor

There are average companies and there are good companies. There are poor companies and then there are the great companies. Each:

-operates in the same economy
-has the same pool of potential employees
-has the same opportunities to develop and train employees
-has competition
-must deal with the government in some way
-has opportunities for growth
-makes a variety of decisions each day

I could go on, but there are a few things that separate the poor, good or average companies with the great and outstanding ones.

For over 35 years I have been working with hundreds of organizations in a wide variety of industries and I can tell you from my unscientific but real-world research and observations that the good, poor or average companies could be great ones if they would only have the courage, discipline, will and commitment to operate with a few but basic premises or principles. In summary they are:

1. Find what you are passionate about and only do that. Resist the pull toward opportunities no matter how alluring or tempting that offer quick cash, fame, market share or whatever, if these opportunities are not at the core of your fundamental business. The opposite is to try and get passionate about what you do. See the difference?

2. Success in business is not about timing, products/services, your competition, the state of the economy or having good people. It is about having the RIGHT people in the RIGHT jobs doing the RIGHT things in the RIGHT way. And, it is getting the WRONG people out of your organization as soon as you realize they are the WRONG people.

3. Corporate culture is always a top-down issue. Great companies create a corporate culture that permits freedom and initiative while providing general guidelines whereby people can operate with minimum supervision and intervention.

4. Outstanding companies understand that the key is not to motivate people but to find people who are motivated and then management does it's best to not de-motivate these people.

5. Successful companies invest more in their people than they do any other corporate expense. And, if they are the right people step back and watch your company soar beyond your wildest dreams.

6. Managers and executives of outstanding companies understand six simple rules of human behavior:

-You get the behavior you reward.
-Behavior rewarded is behavior that is repeated.
-Give authority with responsibility.
-You have to inspect what you expect.
-If you don't trust your employees they wont trust you.
-You must hold people accountable for results.

Are you working for or running a great company or an average one?

Tim Connor, CSP is an internationally renowned sales, management and leadership speaker, trainer and best selling author. Since 1981 he has given over 4000 presentations in 21 countries on a variety of sales, management, leadership and relationship topics. He is the best selling author of over 70 books including; Soft Sell, That's Life, SOLD, 81 Challenges Managers Face and Your First Year In Sales. He can be reached at mailto:tim@timconnor.com tim@timconnor.com 704-895-1230 or visit his websites at http://www.timconnor.com or http://soldbook.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?Hows-Your-Corporate-Discipline?&id=2256115 How's Your Corporate Discipline?

Beyond Training
By http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Brice_Alvord Brice Alvord

Identifying and using the individual talents of the people who make up your team is perhaps the most important job of any manager or supervisor. As a manager or supervisor, you should aim to build a high level of competence across your entire team. You need to train your people in as many skills as possible; however, this is just the starting point. Developing their capability to increase their competence over time is critical to your team's success in the area of continuous improvement.

All improvement programs run out of steam unless you renew the team's dedication and commitment to the process. When you help people achieve their potential and reach new levels of competence, you build commitment and dedication.

Need For Effective Training and Development

Top quality training programs are vital to all organizations. It has been said that all companies have training programs whether they budget for one or not. You can train someone through formal training or by neglect. You are training either way.

Training only builds initial competence which is quite limited in positive impact on the organization. Managers and supervisors must define higher levels of competence based on the strategic goals and tactical objectives of the organization and the team. Defining these levels of competence is only the first step in the performance improvement process, how do you get your people to that level?

Mentoring and coaching are required to take them to each successive level of competence. This requires the understanding of human nature and needs, the application of highly effective interpersonal skills, and continuous communication and feedback.

Building Competence

Many organizations define the tasks required to perform a job and consider that they have defined competencies - they have not! Competencies are tasks with standards of performance included in the description. It is important to remember that competencies exist on several levels. You would not expect a newly trained individual to perform at the same level as a person who had been on the job for a year or more. Competence builds over time through experience and coaching.

All managers and supervisors coach. They tell people what they are doing right or wrong on the job, train them, assess them, and counsel them.

Coaching

Once the training has been completed, the supervisor's job of coaching begins. The start of the coaching process typically produces a decline in motivation as the individual's awareness of their level of skills becomes clear. It is at this point that the supervisor applies effective interpersonal skills in order to help the employee recognize their strengths and see the possibility of achieving the desired level of competence.

As people gain experience in their job, they see ways of doing it better. Your job is to promote this type of development through encouraging your people to come forward with improvement ideas and build upon their experiences to date. You have to make your people responsible for their attainment of each level of competence.

Final thought - When people feel that their own success and that of the company are linked, they will be motivated to give their personal best and will achieve the desired levels of competency. A word of caution here; it takes time to achieve performance, many managers and supervisors give up too soon. A common mistake is to abandon performance improvement initiatives before they have a chance to succeed. For more information on how to apply these concepts, check out "MENTORING FOR IMPROVED PERFORMANCE - How to Build Greater Performance In New Employees" by Brice Alvord available at the ALERA Publishing book store at: rel=nofollow http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=40068 or rel=nofollow [http://www.aleragroup.com/]www.aleragroup.com

Brice Alvord has over thirty years experience as an internal and external performance improvement consultant. He holds a BA in Sociology/Psychology from Central Washington University and an MBA degree from City University of Seattle. He is the author of over two dozen books on continuous improvement and training.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?Beyond-Training&id=674321 Beyond Training