JoAnn Corley's Seminar-in-a-Bite

Are You A Pack Rat?

2012-01-19T13:26:00.000-05:00

Are You a Pack – Rat?

Wc: 276

Audio lesson: 2 mins. 15 secs.

Well, I have a question for you today, are you a pack rat? In fact, there is a website devoted specifically to pack rats, www.packratsanonymous.com.

I went to that website quite a while ago because I teach classes on how to get more organized. And always in the quest to being more organized myself, I ran across this website with some really great tips I’d like to share with you.

First, let me start off with the definition of how they define a pack rat. A pack rat is a person who has the irresistible urge to buy and store more than they need or can expect to use.

One can be a little eccentric or full-blown obsessive compulsive. If you keep old newspapers until they are a fire hazard because you want an article, this is dysfunctional. The best therapy is to confront your demons with the help of a friend or professional.

Ever notice how easy it is to save everything but money? Well, here are three rules to follow that might help you be just a bit more organized.

0 Number one, never acquire anything that you can’t find a home for and that place should not be the floor. I bet you have some colleagues who violate that regularly.

0 Number two, if you do acquire something, something that takes up an equal or greater amount of space must be discarded.

0 And finally, number three, if you haven’t used or touched an object in one year, its necessity is questionable.

I think these are some realistic considerations in trying to clear out our space, three tips from www.packratsanonymous.com.

If you need help with this topic or anything related to time and organizational management, consider the new release Organizational Strategies for the Overwhelmed. It comes in a variety of formats. To learn more - click here: www.joanncorley.com

Talent & Retention Insights Going Foward

2011-11-18T12:48:00.000-05:00

HR Brown Bag
#SHRM #HR #ASTD

Talent, what’s next?

Moving beyond the recession as a retention strategy

This is an interview based on a world wide survey done my Deloitte - every HR professional & business leader should have knowledge of what's being shared. As a fellow HR Professional, I felt compelled to share!

Deloitte Insights podcast

Subscribe: E-mail | iTunes | RSS (What is RSS?)
For organizations still using the recession as a retention strategy, it’s high time for a rethink. Nearly two-thirds of the employees polled in Deloitte’s latest Talent Edge 2020 survey, “Building the recovery together,” are looking for an exit sign or at least are open to the idea of leaving their current jobs ─ an increase of 10 percent since 2009.

Listen to the latest episode of Deloitte Insights to learn more about employee attitudes around the world.

Source link:http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_US/us/Services/deloitte-growth-enterprise-services/3586c217350d0310VgnVCM3000001c56f00aRCRD.htm?id=us_twitter_deloitteus_talent_wk15tt_111711

Are You Using Your Brain to Be More Productive?

2011-06-30T11:30:00.000-04:00

The Power of Focus
Themes: Productivity, Performance Management

Audio: 4 mins. 14 secs. – Wc: 711
Transcript - Count On It
by Gary Lockwood

"What we see depends mainly on what we look for." John Lubbock

One of my clients (let's call him Mike) was telling me how important it is to him that he sell long-term maintenance contracts, not just ad hoc projects.

Makes sense. The long-term contracts provide some stability and predictable cash flow. They assist in getting closer to his clients. They also help him to borrow funds more easily.

So far, so good.

When I asked him how many of these long-term maintenance contracts he has already, he couldn't tell me. He didn't know! He said he's been too busy to track the number of such agreements.

Wait a minute! If this type of agreement is so important to Mike's growth strategy, how can he not know the status?

The fact is that most owners and CEOs know what's important to their enterprise, but can't (or don't) measure those things.

You've heard the old maxim: "You can't manage what you don't measure." You have also likely read the story of the "Hawthorne Effect".

In the late 1950s, the GE plant in Hawthorne, California brought in some consultants to measure the effect of brighter lighting on the productivity of their factory workers. The consultants first took productivity measurements to establish a baseline. Then they intensified the brightness of the lighting and measured again.

Productivity increased.

They increased the brightness even more and productivity went up again. After raising the brightness two more times, they saw two more increases in productivity. On a hunch, they lowered the lighting and measured one more time. Productivity went up!

They figured out that the productivity gains were not related to the brightness of the lights, but to the act of measuring. They were paying a lot of attention to the effectiveness of their workers. And guess what? The workers responded by working more effectively.

What do you pay a lot of attention to? What are you constantly measuring, asking your employees about, talking about and looking at?

When your team knows what's truly important to you, they'll likely pay more attention to those things, too.

Focusing on two or three key business metrics does something else for your behavior. It triggers your Reticular Activating System. Your brain is assaulted by thousands of messages each second. Everything you see, hear, smell, feel and touch is a message entering your brain. The Reticular Activating System filters through all these messages and decides which ones will get page one treatment - that is, arouse the brain.

One of the things we've learned from working with entrepreneurs is that you tend to pay attention to the things, which are important to you at the time. If your currently dominant thoughts are about creating a new brochure, you'll start seeing other brochures. You'll hear conversations about brochures. You'll pick up ideas relating to brochures and even notice colors that would be attractive for the new brochure.

In other words, the Reticular Activating System will pass through anything even remotely related to the important issue - the brochure.

From a practical point of view, this means that, if you want to solve a problem or achieve a goal, keep it at the top of your mind. Think about it, talk about it, write about it and imagine it completed. This is one of the reasons why affirmations work so well and why it is important to review your goals frequently.

If you focus on improving a specific key indicator of your business success, your Reticular Activating System will pass through sights, sounds, people and ideas even remotely related to that point of focus. In other words, if you measure it visibly, frequently and attentively, it will likely improve.

Here's my suggestion: Identify the two to five key measurements and key indicators that are important and essential for your business. Set up an active system to measure and track these indicators. Talk to your employees about it at every opportunity. Put charts and

graphs of these indicators on the wall of the lunch room. Make your interest in these metrics very active and visible.

Chances are, you'll get what you're looking for - improvements in these areas. Count on it!

Managers Brown Bag Bite - It's Not About You

2011-06-29T12:32:00.001-04:00

It's Brown Bag Wednesday and today's topic is for Managers and serves as an important management insight.

Topic - It's Not About You

What kind of mindset and understanding do you need to have about human behavior when you're entering a new situation? Learn here...
http://joanncorleyspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/11/its-not-about-you.html

Feel free to leave comments or share!

If You've Like the Brown Bag Bites - Share a "Thumbs Up"

2011-06-24T12:00:00.001-04:00

If you'd like any of the Brown Bag Bites so far, please give it a "thumbs up" recommend, so that others can enjoy them as well.

Here is a round-up of the topics to date:
The Heart of Time & Priority Management - http://joanncorleyspeaks.blogspot.com/2011/05/its-brown-bag-tuesday.html

Social Media in the Job Search - http://joanncorleyspeaks.blogspot.com/2011/06/career-strategy-managing-your-on-line.html

Are You Skilled at Listening - http://joanncorleyspeaks.blogspot.com/2011/06/brown-bag-bite-are-you-skilled-at.html

Are You Skilled At Listening?

2011-06-22T12:45:00.001-04:00

Are You Skilled At Listening?
Click here to access the bite

We all know that listening is an essential skill to having meaningful relationships, productivity in the workplace, and effective collaboration.

So what kind of listener are you? How would you rate yourself?

I think learning how to listen and what to listen for is a great use of time. This learning bite is a simple tip to an introduction in learning how to listen.

Remember: The greatest psychological need any human being has, is the need to feel heard. Effective listening is a way to accomplish that.

Career Strategy - Managing Your On Line Brand

2011-06-17T08:10:00.000-04:00

Related Themes: Social Media in Job Search, Recruiting & Social Media, Career & Social Media

James Snider from UNT, shares insights on working with Social Media to manage how you're seen and found on the internet. As a Career Coach (and former recruiter), like it or not Social Media is actively being used by recruiters.

Even though I posted several times about being conscious of what goes on your Facebook pages, being anonymous on line may no longer be an option either in the 21st century work world.

Duration: appx. 9 mins.

Learning to Learn the 21st Century Way

2011-06-16T12:23:00.000-04:00

I was having a conversation with a friend one day who'd known me for many years. The conversation surrounded something in my personal life and he said, "JoAnn, you're still thinking like you're in your 30s..(ok, yes I'm not)...update your files."

Update your files...what did he mean by that? He meant think like the age (year) you're in. Now, since he is a tech guy..update your files implied that your mind is a computer.

I really believe that is starting to happen and needs to happen in many contexts in our lives. The context for this post is - learning in the area of personal & professional development, more specifically employee training.

As someone who has been in the corporate training business for many years in the contexts of on site and pubic seminars as well as individual coaching, I can say we need to "update our files" regarding our approach to learning and the tools we use in light of the internet, mobility, and digital socialization.

What is exciting about these three resources is it makes learning easier, more affordable, and accessible. Those very elements can also be a down fall, but I won't focus on that in this post.

These three elements gives every person a chance to know, so that they can grow. Learning is the first step in developing a meaningful knowledge base and is the prelude to developing practical competencies in any area of life.

I do admit some people learn and don't grow or don't turn their knowledge into practical, measurable "know-how." But in order for growth and practical know-how to be obtained, the learning has got to be there.

The Power Three in Learning - Internet, Mobility, and Digital Socialization

The Internet - the worlds biggest library of information ever and it's still growing along with the ability to execute commerce with ease.

My experience: I look up something with a good set of keywords and poof!...I have the answers.

Mobility - get what you need to know, do what you need to do all at your finger tips; also with the ability to execute commerce with ease.

My experience: Man do I love some of my apps, Moviefone, Delta, The Weather Channel (nothing gives me a thrill more than seeing a radar of thunderstorms in realtime on my phone...ok...well there are more thrills in life than that, but it still has a cool factor).

Digital Socialization - collecting and sharing knowledge with others - saves time, builds needed networks.

My experience: I can't tell you how much my learning has accellerated with my connections on Twitter.

Want an example of how all three were used in my world? I spoke at the regional ABWA meeting in Albuquerque. A fellow colleague in the training industry and ABWA member, Dr. Kella Price, tweeted all the key points from my workshop on Strategic Thinking = real time learning.

All this brings me to my final point and full circle to "updating our files." Even as we still work with traditional learning deliveries of all day seminars, workshops, hour long webinars & tele-conferences (which I have always had a hard time sitting through), e-learning (and yes I consider this now traditional), how can we use the power three in even newer ways?

I do see much discussion and books percolating in the training community around Social Media & Training. Additionally I would like to suggest that in considering the most effective ways to train adults/help adults learn - creating accessible, easy to use adult learning avenues, the power three can play a crucial role in the area of accessibility, portability and duration of time.

In considering the 4 Key Principles of Adult Learning - the power 3 can provide targeted, manageable information that can be continually accessed for repetition and application to the learners real time challenges. It allows for self-directed, customized learning.

Additionally the internet gives ease of access to help even if that person is in a different country! I met my Internet Consultant on line; we skyped for several years - she is based in England.

I'm working on releasing a book later this summer with time management in mind and one of my biggest grips in traditional deliveries is time. When I open a public seminar, one of the first things I ask is what the attendees want to get out of the day. Usually the answers are all over the place.

Admittedly, I feel bad when I know that what they could use is a brief discussion with me where a solution is customized and offered quickly rather spending a whole day in a seminar and waiting until 1:00 to get to the segment that addressed their need.

Now are they still learning things, yes...of value yes...but, if someone also had the choice of targeted learning or customized advice...what might they choose? And that's the key word, choice....and that's what the power 3 provides - choice.

And that's the reason for this site. It's a test run on targeted learning. This site is also easy to access on a mobile device.

With this learning module, simple, actionable information can be accessed and applied with ease. I invite to subscribe to the test - try out some of the bites and look for the coaching points after each. All the content is taken from seminars I've conducted across North America over the past 13 years.

Feel free to pass on to colleagues, team members and those you lead. For now...it's all free...awwhh the beauty of the Internet!

Note: That is also the premise of the book The 1% Edge - check out it's companion blog.

It's Brown Bag Tuesday!

2011-05-24T08:36:00.000-04:00

It's Brown Bag Tuesday and here is your Brown Bag Bite for today.
Topic: The Heart of Time & Priority Management

This piece introduces the key to any other tip you'll want to use to be more organized or get better results.
http://joanncorleyspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/11/heart-of-time-priority-management.html

Lunch & Learn - Introducing Brown Bag Bites

2011-05-17T09:56:00.002-04:00

A couple of times a week, I'll be posting a short learning bite on a variety of topics releted to professional development; related to both career & management.

You may want to subscribe so you won't miss it!...and you're they are free to share... They'll be released around noon - 12:00 pm eastern time.

Todays Brown Bag Bite: The Cheapest Training Ever

Enjoy!
JoAnn

Going Beyond the Job Description

2010-12-11T10:51:00.000-05:00

Going Beyond the Job Description – Competencies are Essential

Wc: 425 – Audio duration: 3 mins. 34 secs.

“profits and growth are about performance and performance is about people – performance is behavior.”

Focus: Management Success, Professional Success

Audio Lesson - Duration: 3 mins. 21 secs.

1. Double click arrow to LISTEN NOW or download mp3 link for later

2. Read along with the transcript below or print and read for later

3. For additional lessons use the Search Box

Transcript

Business is really about two things: knowledge and behavior. This may sound strange, but when you think about it, a business cannot exist without pertinent knowledge and behaviors that generate desired results.

So what’s essential to the success of any company?... a conscious determination of what knowledge and behaviors are absolutely necessary (critical success factors) from each contributor for that particular business to be successful. The behavior piece can be defined in two parts: skills and competencies.

A skill (the capability to do something well) is usually framed and needed in the context of a job description. Example: someone who has the technical knowledge to create a blueprint of a house.

A competency relates to qualities and capabilities beyond the job description…the make-up of the person in the job (e.g. characteristics/traits, attitudes, beliefs, values, motives, character, emotional maturity, relational effectiveness) and how those elements influence how a job is done. Example: a customer service employee who is has the emotional maturity to be self-controlled when dealing with a challenging service call.

The examples above are representative of a skill and a competency. As an effective manager you need to know both, how to distinguish between the two and how to determine them for your role and the roles you are responsible for managing.

Also two additional items of note:

1. Each element (skill and competency) both contribute to the profitability of a company.

2. You’ll rarely find competencies, such as emotional maturity, on a job description.

One can see that in order for a business to stay competitive and profitable three critical assessments need to be made:

1. A determination of those behaviors needed for the success of the business.

2. A determination of where contributors are in possessing those needed behaviors.

3. A plan to close the gap where needed -

a. via training and coaching

b. replacing a contributor with someone who is a better fit.

So the question would be what are the competencies needed in your particular role and that of each of your team members?

Remember, a competency is the way in which the job is done…the qualities of the person who is doing the job.

Action: Make a list of competencies or qualities that are needed for you to do your job successfully.

Then do so for the roles of those you manage.

Next, determine the gaps and incorporate those in your coaching and performance management plan.

This will go a long way in helping to increase the performance of your team and thereby increasing the profitability of you company.

Management Training & Coaching - The 21st Century Way

2010-11-12T12:39:00.000-05:00

You're Invited to Join the Beta Group

November 12, 2010
Just Added: Mobile Coaching!
Subscribe to "My Portable Coach"
Currently in free beta format

Now no one can say I can't afford to learn and get help to develop my professional skills! Test it and tell me what you think!

Currently in beta, this is an effort to provide coaching at your finger tips. How does it work? 2 times a week (that's it - not everyday) you will receive a strategically worded text that will be a how-to tip, an inspirational insight, a coaching question, or a power principle to apply to managing your career or developing your skills as a manager.

In the next few months, a link will be included that will lead to aLearning Page. Each Learning Page will be a theme for a month, which will help and encourage you to focus on one area of knowledge for a cycle of 30 days.

My Portable Coach is not about random learning, but will provide continuity, continuous learning, reminders and well...coaching. It's a serious attempt to combine 21st century technology with the fundamental principles of adult learning. It's relevant, meaningful training and coaching all in one! Welcome to 21st training!

Additionally, this supports the premise of my latest release - The 1% Edge.

SPECIAL NOTE: During the first 30 days of this new launch, there will be about 1 text a week to give a chance for subscribership to grow. Because of that it's currently free.

Subscribe Here: https://mobilizeus.com/COACHINGBITE

Creativity - The Next New Skill

2010-10-16T15:52:00.000-04:00

Recently, I had the privilege of being a guest on KKZZ on the topic of Creativity. The segment was packaged with an interview with me, followed by an interview with Peter Tork of The Monkeys (remember them?).

Much of what I shared is contained in my creativity keynotes and workshops. The ability to innovate, generate ideas, and process improve is an essential capability every employee needs!

In fact in a article published by Business Week earlier in the year, the #1 leadership competency needed according to 1500 CEOs surveyed was the ability to be creative.
Access article here

Where do you, your team, your company stand in this regard?

This interview is truly a "seminar-in-a-bite." You can listen by clicking the link provided. Access Here

To find out more about my creativity workshop - Click here.

Management Success Tip - The 1% Edge - Do You Have It?

2010-10-16T13:01:00.000-04:00

Did you know you only have to improve by 1% a day to improve your effectiveness in 70 days?

These days, any improvement is a plus whether in our personal work performance or that of our team. The great thing is (and I hope you believe this) it doesn't take that much to achieve improvement.

Here's what it does take - a clear, meaningful, uncomplicated plan and committed action long enough to get the desired outcome.

Want a source to obtain ideas? Then you'll want to get the book The 1% Edge. It comes in either a handbook format or a workbook (expanded information and coaching questions).

What you'll find in the book are high-impact tips that when implemented, will generate measurable improvement! What you'll also find is that the tips are simple to use and understand and that just helps you get to your results faster. Isn't that what you want?

Management Success Tip - Find your 1%!

To order the handbook click here

To order the workbook click here

Not ready to buy the book?...you can follow the 1% group at www.the1percentedge.com

Target Your Management Success

2010-01-07T10:48:00.000-05:00

Target Your Management Success

MP3 File

Transcript
Management success is not random. As we enter a new year, this is a worthwhile reminder.

If you are a manager reading this post, I encourage you to create a plan of how you want to and will be more successful this year. In this ever changing economy, this is an essential career management strategy.

A plan is a target. I heard it once said, "Most people aim at nothing and hit it amazingly well."

Management Success Planning
Need some help? I have compiled a list entitled What I Wish Every Manager Knew. Feel free to use this list as your checklist of knowledge points and capabilities. Access here

Ask yourself these questions:
1. What do I know? What do I need to know more of or about? Do I have knowledge gaps?
2. What am I doing? What do I need to start doing?

In the spirit of helping, I invite you to use this site to support you in your quest. Check back here regularly for new lessons/podcasts and something new at this site - Mini Courses via podcast.

Additionally, you may want to consider performance coaching. You can learn more at this link - Performance Coaching

Management Success - Mini Course #1
Building A Foundation
Lesson 1 - Behind Every Team is a Great Coach
Lesson 2 - The Management Dilemma - Do You Really Want to Be One?
Lesson 3 - What the Heck is Management & Am I Doing It?
Lesson 4 - New Roles for Managers
Lesson 5 - Manager as Developer

Coaching Tip: To maximize your usage of these bite-size podcast lessons, start a training & development 3 ring binder for yourself. Print the lessons for additional notes you'll want to write and download the mp3 into your mobile device for on demand, "at your finger tip" reviews.

Behind Every Great Team is a Great Coach

2009-11-26T09:46:00.001-05:00

Focus: Management Success, Professional Success

Audio Lesson - Duration: 3 mins. 21 secs.
1. Double click arrow to LISTEN NOW:

2. Read along with the transcript below or print and read for later

3. Right click the MP3 FILE link MP3 File to download and "save as" your hard drive for continuous listening or to transfer to your mobile device.

4. For additional lessons use the Search Box (top left) or the Download Library (top right).

Behind Every Great Team is a Great Coach -The You Factor

Word count: 397

Read time: appx. 1-2 min.
Transcript - print now

Ever heard that phrase? Well, in the world of being a supervisor or manager (or even a corporate trainer for that matter) the same principle applies. You will go a long way in being the kind of manager or supervisor you want to be, if you understand this - YOU make the team!

What do I mean by that? The kind of person you are directly impacts the kind of team you will have. Have you ever observed or been a part of team or department in which the leader was dysfunctional?...not giving clear direction, ignoring employees not getting along, not doing what they say they’ll do, disrespecting team members.

These behaviors and many others impact the outcomes and performance of a team. The team’s lack of performance can be traced back to the kind of person/leader the manager was. The personality, the style in which they related to people, their ability to take charge and give clear direction all eventually impacted the team. Those qualities either help the team get results or impaired getting results.

The sad part?....in many cases the manager ends up blaming the team or specific members of the team for the lack of performance and it seems to be beyond them why things aren’t happening the way they think they should.

Applying C.P.R. - Not the Medical Kind

2009-11-26T09:35:00.001-05:00

Focus: Employee Motivation, Performance Management, Management Success

Audio Lesson - Duration: 3 mins. 21 secs.

1.....Double click arrow to LISTEN NOW:
2.....Read along with the transcript below or print and read for later

3.....Right click the MP3 FILE link MP3 File to download and "save as" to your hard drive for continuous listening or to transfer to your mobile device.

4.....For additional lessons use the Search Box (top left) or the Download Library (top right).

Applying C.P.R
Read time: appx. 2 mins.
Wc: 487
Transcript - print now

In this bite-audio lesson we’re going to be introducing a coaching and communication philosophy called C.P.R. That’s right C. P. R. Now I know you’ve heard of it in a different context – that is in the medical field, but it’s also a great technique and philosophy for managing a team and building great rapport with your employees.

So, what does CPR mean? CPR stands for – Compliments, Praise, and Recognition. Again - Compliments, Praise, and Recognition. Now there are three elements to applying, or administering CPR in the most effective way.

Those three elements include the following:

First, you’d like for your CPR to be timely. That is to administer it at a time when it’s going to be the most meaningful. I don’t think it’s nearly as meaningful, or perhaps even motivating, to give someone a compliment six months, maybe a year out from when something was actually accomplished. So timely is very important.

Secondly, you want it to be specific. It’s very important to remember that when you give specific feedback, you’re actually reinforcing the desired behavior – both on a conscious level and also on a subconscious level. So you want it to be as specific as possible.

And then finally you want to be able to share some benefits of the behavior, the action or the outcome. So consider the benefits to you, the team, or even the company as you determine what benefits you want to share.

Here’s an example of how CPR might be applied. Sue’s an employee who is asked to compile quarterly sales figures for a client meeting. Sue took on that responsibility with a great attitude, and in fact the report was handed in on time, looked visually appealing, the numbers were laid out in such an effective way that it was very to read, and in fact made the client meeting go much smoother than expected.

As a side not, there are many cases throughout our workday when those kinds of things happen and the opportunity to apply a little CPR is missed. Sometimes it’s in the little things that actually have the biggest and most significant impact.

So here’s how a CPR conversation might go – “Sue, I really appreciate the work you did on that report. It was handed in on time, it looked great visually, and the numbers were laid out so well that the client meeting went much smoother than expected. Thanks again for a job well done. We all appreciate it – there was a lot less stress because of your work, and it helped to reinforce a good rapport with the client. Thanks again!

It’s amazing how just a little CPR can go such a long way. So I want to encourage you to begin to look for opportunities to apply a little CPR to your team.

Supporting lesson(s): Are you making deposits?, Managing is Conditioning

Enable vs. Empower - Which Do You Do?

2009-11-26T09:24:00.000-05:00

Focus: Management Success

Audio Lesson - Duration: 2 mins. 20 secs.

1.....Double click arrow to LISTEN NOW:

2.....Read along with the transcript below or print and read for later

3.....Right click the MP3 FILE link MP3 File to download and "save as" to your hard drive for continuous listening or to transfer to your mobile device.

4.....For additional lessons use the Search Box (top left).

Enable vs. Empower – Which Management Style Do You Have?

Transcript - print now
Wc: 285

Read time: 1-2 mins.

Today, in our bite-size audio lesson we’re going to talk about two different management styles So, I’ll begin by asking, in your management style are you more of an “empowerer” or an enabler.

Ok, what are those two, and then, how are they manifested? First of all, an empowerer is someone who relates as a manager in a way that helps their employee or their team members actually become competent in doing what they need to do. So they might provide the proper resources, provide the proper coaching; help them work towards the decision versus telling them what to do.

An enabling manager is one that keeps an employee from developing their potential. A great example of that is a manager who does not delegate to an employee. Delegation helps an employee to develop, perhaps, a new skill set, a new sense of responsibility around a particular area.

Enabling means that we help someone continue in the behavior that actually we really don’t want! So let me ask you, in your management style, are you more of an enabler or more of an empowerer?

Now, I know, sometimes, that’s in context. We may be one in one context and one in another. But what I’ve found is most managers have a tendency more towards one than the other, and sometimes, that’s based on personality type as well.

However, for our bite-size tip for today, I’d like for you to consider which one you have a more natural propensity towards, being an enabler or being an empowerer and then consider how you need to adjust your relating style to get the outcomes you really want.

How People Operate

2009-11-26T09:17:00.000-05:00

Focus: Management Success, Performance Management

Audio Lesson – Duration: 3 mins. 20 secs.

1. Double click arrow to LISTEN NOW!

2. Read along with the transcript below or print and read for later.

3. Right click the MP3 FILE link MP3 to download and "save as" to your hard drive for continuous listening or to transfer to your mobile device.

4. For additional lessons use the Search Box (top left).

How People Operate

Transcript - print now
WC: 408
Read time: 1-2 mins.
I remember when I got a new car several years ago and it had many new gadgets and functions I was not familiar with. For the first time in my adult life, I actually pulled out an owner’s manual for a car. I needed to learn how to operate every aspect of this vehicle to experience its full potential.

You know that really is the same when it comes to managers and their teams. I wish that when someone was promoted to management, they received a book entitled – How People Operate 101. Because in reality, that’s what managers are doing - operating people in the context of a process to obtain an outcome that results in profit for a company.

Yet, the majority of newly promoted managers receive little to no training and are thrown out to fin for themselves…(kinda like those parents who want to teach their kids how to swim and just throw them in the water and say, “Now…swim!”)

Knowing how people operate: what makes them tick, how they are wired, what motivates them, what skills they possess and how to engage them is essential to the effectiveness of a manager. That effectiveness directly impacts the bottom line of a company and this is where there seems to be what I call – THE BIG DISCONNECT….the very thing that impacts the profits of a company is the very thing companies spend very little time and money investing in.

So for those of you managers, who already feeling the pain of resulting from a lack of knowledge in this area, here’s what I recommend. Step 1 in how people operate 101 is to use a temperament or personality profile. There are great tools on the market that are easy to use. Theses profiles provide a very useful framework to understanding people in the ways I listed above.

Here are some recommended resources:

Dr. Keirsey – book: Please Understand Me

The DISC Profile

Tony Alessandra - book: People Smart

Both books can be obtained at Barnes & Noble, Amazon…etc.

I believe having a working intimated knowledge of a personality profile is essential to a manager’s knowledge base.

You know many people talk about diversity training in our work cultures. I believe that in that context the single most important diversity issue today is not necessarily race or ethnicity…it is personality differences, of which employees get the least amount of training. Managers, let’s start with you!

The 3 Esteems to Highly Productive Teams

2009-11-26T09:05:00.000-05:00

Focus: Team Management, Performance Management, Management Success

Audio lesson: 3 mins. 20 secs.

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The 3 Esteems of Highly Productive Teams

Transcript - print now

Wc: 535

Read time: 2 mins.

Here’s a useful concept to know as a manager or supervisor to understand what it takes to have a highly productive team. I’ve coined this The Three Esteems.

As I traveled across the country working with teams, nurturing and developing managers and leaders, it’s been very apparent to me that one of the things we talk about a lot is self esteem. We know people as individuals need to have it to be a happy and functioning.

So what about “esteem” as it relates to teams being happy and functional? I’d like to add a couple of other esteems that need to be present to be able to have high functioning teams. I’ve coined these The Three Esteems. I believe there needs to be three esteems in place in order for a team to function at a high performance level.

First: every team member needs to have their own strong healthy self esteem: that means they like themselves - they feel comfortable in their own skin.

Number two: every team member needs to have good work esteem. What’s work esteem? Work esteem is how someone feels in the context of their role and their job. It means they like what they do at some level, they enjoy the job functions of their role, they feel like they are actually contributing to the greater good and they have a sense of accomplishment in their role as well.

Finally: the third esteem is team esteem. Team esteem can be defined as every team member feels like as a group they are able to meet collective goals and that as a group they are able to function with a productive rapport.

You know this doesn’t mean they necessarily have to love each other and be crazy about each other, but it does mean that there is a healthy respect among each team member and that they are able to work together productively in order to get their outcomes collectively as a team. It’s having the knowledge and appreciating the fact that the goal(s) could not have been met in the way they were met, unless everybody was present doing their part.

So there you have it, what I call the three esteems to a high performance team. Again its self esteem, work esteem and team esteem.

Let me suggest as an action item that you as a manager begin to monitor where you see each of your team members related to the three esteems. In fact, I suggest that you put together a survey of some kind to get a sense of how they feel. It might comprise something as follows:

-questions about their own self esteem (you can do it on a scale of one to five with five being the highest.)

-questions regarding how they feel about their job functions and how they feel about their work esteem

- and also their team esteem as well (this will gauge their perception of whether the team can and is working together.)

That information could be very telling and very useful as you work to cultivate a high performance team and a healthy team culture. Good Luck!

What the Heck is Management? - Are You Doing it?

2009-11-26T08:57:00.000-05:00

Focus: Management Success

Audio duration: 2 mins. 02 secs.

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What the Heck is Management - Are You Doing it?

Transcript - print now

WC: 233

Read time: 1-2 mins.

In order to find out the answer to this pressing question, I went directly to Webster’s – my ultimate source in definitions. Here’s what I found:
Manage is defined as follows: to handle or direct with some degree of skill…

Ok to handle or direct what – specifically?

Which brought me to wanting to gain a deeper understanding of the word skill … here goes: skill – the ability to use one’s knowledge effectively and readily in execution or performance - learned power of doing something competently: developed aptitude or ability.

Alright, there you have it. Managing is using knowledge effectively, readily, competently, from a developed aptitude to handle or direct…AND THERE IN lies the rub.

How many managers actually have knowledge, competencies and a developed aptitude? And ….how many managers really know what they are handling and directing.

Hey if you’re a manager reading this, I’m on your side! This is yet another case for management training. Here’s my tip as it relates to this information: I recommend you develop very precise answers to those questions.

I know that in many industries these days, those answers are moving targets – even more the reason to stay on top of them. Those answers are the keys to you being effective in your role. By the way, those answers may not even be in your job description…hum…

It's Not About You

2009-11-26T08:37:00.000-05:00

Focus: Management Success, Professional Success

Audio Lesson – 3 mins. 17 secs.

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IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU!

Read time: 1-2 mins.

Transcript - print now

WC: 341

Many managers come into situations where they inherit a team or a new team is formed due to their promotion.

Want a very important survival mind-set? It’s not about you! When you begin to interact with your new team, you’re going to get some reactions and those reactions many not be all good. In many cases, initially, the team member is not necessarily reacting to you, BUT to their former conditioning….even as far back as their childhood!

Think about it; how could they be reacting to you when they don’t even know you! What they are reacting to is the behavior that is a trigger to a similar behavior from their past experiences. They are reacting to what that behavior triggered in them...NOT YOU!

Now, after many months of managing them, where a relationship pattern has been established, it may then be about you. But initially - more than likely – it’s not!

You may want to put a post-it note on your computer that says exactly that, “It’s not about me!”

Related to this concept is that of newness and fear…

This is also important to consider when working with new team members: understanding the role that fear plays in the context of new. It’s all very subtle you know, but in many cases when a relationship is new, particularly when there is power involved, there is an unconscious fear of the unknown. The level of fear, by the way, depends a lot on the maturity and self esteem of the person involved.

What are they afraid of?...what kind of manager you will be, how you will use your power, will they be able to work with and get along with you...etc. Knowing this is very useful, acting on it is even more so!

Coaching tip: I would encourage you to actively develop a rapport of trust as quickly as possible so that the fear does not become an issue. By the way, the absence of “active development” can actually feed the fear, because the unknown persists.

Your Employees - Do You Really Know Them?

2009-11-25T20:27:00.000-05:00

Focus: Employee Motivation, Performance Management, Management Success

Audio duration: 1 min. 52 secs.

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YOUR EMPLOYEES – DO YOU REALLY KNOW THEM?

Wc: 170

Read time: less than 1 min.

Transcript - print now

Another essential element in motivating employees is knowing them – really knowing. I’ve found we work a lot on assumptions when it comes to knowing our team. In many cases we particularly assume they have the same values we do. Values impact motivation.

This assuming has really come to light in recent years due to the increase in generation diversity in the work place. Baby boomers are finding it hard to manage Gen-Xers and Gen-Ys. Why?...because their values are different. In a great book I highly recommend entitled, Generation X, there’s a quote worth sharing, “Baby Boomers work to live, Gen Xers live to work.” That quote reflects two completely different approaches to the role work plays in their lives. The difference in the role of work reflects different values and how and why they work.

So, do you really know your employees? It’s worth discovering what unique values each of your team members have, so that you can work with them in getting the outcomes you need from your team.

New Roles for Managers

2009-11-25T20:22:00.000-05:00

Focus: Management Success

Audio: 4 mins. 14 secs.

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5. Remember, the audios are loosely scripted to sound more natural.

New Roles for Managers

Wc: 495
Transcript - print now

As the challenges of the 21^st century workplace are changing, so is the role that a manager plays. In order for a manager to be competent and effective in today’s workplace a greater knowledge and understanding of an enhanced definition of manager is required.

Here are three functions that a few years ago, a traditional manager would not have had to be concerned with.

Function 1: A Coach & Developer

For all intense and purposes the traditional type of leadership has changed. (Though in my travels I am surprised discovered that in many companies this style exists; but to their detriment.) In the 40’s & 50’s the most common form of leadership was command and control. I define it as, “I think, I tell you, you do.”

Due to the dramatic change in workplace make up – more women in management, newer generations, and the arrival of the dot com era, that leadership style proved to be ineffective in meeting those specific needs.

What has proven more successful if a style of leadership – management role of coach? The coaching style of management comprises as element not found in command and control and that is development. When a manager is developing an employee they are helping that person grow in their capabilities to enlarge their capacity to contribute to the organization. This is quite beneficial in the long run, as the company’s return on investment for every salary dollar spent increases.

Function 2: Career Advisor

These days, with job descriptions and performance needs ever evolving managers with hiring authority have got to be able to hire the team members that are the best fit. And the definition of best fit goes way beyond can they just barely do the job. But additionally, how well will they work with the team, can they be flexible and adapt as new demands surface or does the job type match their personality. It takes an informed manager to be able to make those decisions in collaboration with their Human Resource department.

Function 3: Teacher

This is perhaps the most unique of the three. Here’s a shocking statistic – the average American reads at about a six grade level. No matter what strata, however, when we hire we make assumptions about capabilities. In reality, every person who walks through our corporate doors on some level needs to continue to learn, as does the manager. So continually educating our team members on a variety of professional needs serves them, you, and the company. In the long run, this could eliminate or at least greatly reduce many headaches. The mantra – “keep educating”.

One manager I met in my travels has a book of the month club for his team. They collectively choose topics that will improve the performance of the entire group. What a great idea!

I suspect that these three functions may not appear on many job descriptions, yet they are critical to the success of managers in the 21^st century.

Effective Management - Choices in Time Usage

2009-11-25T20:16:00.000-05:00

Focus: Management Success, Time Management

Audio: 1 min. 49 secs.

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Being Effective in Management
wc: 599
Transcript - print now

This lesson is in compliment to others on the topic of time and priority management. In other audios in the library, we talk about the principle of being efficient. And we talk about the differences between being efficient and being effective.

In this audio, we’re going to talk about being effective in the context of being a manager. You know, it’s amazing how you can get a lot of things done, and then, have essential elements of our job performance either fall through the cracks or not get the attention that it actually needs. And not giving attention to those things actually takes up more time in the long run and that speaks to being effective.

Here’s an example. Let’s say that a manager has a couple of members of their team that are not performing up to par. And instead of that manager taking the time to coach them, to give them attention, to help them in their performance, they, in fact, are sort of left dangling themselves. Yet that manager’s still very busy and getting a lot of things done.

In the long run, however, that’s going to cost the manager time because, let’s say, the manager does take the time to coach those employees, to help them improve their performance, or even find out that they’re not going to improve their performance. That is really being more effective; taking the time to do that though it might not be an immediate pressing issue.

So really the challenge of being effective is that sometimes the things that feel very urgent are keeping us from doing the things that we need to do to help us be more effective.

Effective is then defined as doing the best things at the best times. Or the right things at the right time so that you can, in an overall strategy, save time, improve your performance, and be able to get the outcomes that you want as well. So that’s a distinction between being efficient and being effective.

JoAnn Corley's Seminar-in-a-Bite

Are You A Pack Rat?

Talent & Retention Insights Going Foward

Talent, what’s next? Moving beyond the recession as a retention strategy This is an interview based on a world wide survey done my Deloitte - every HR professional & business leader should have knowledge of what's being shared. As a fellow HR Professional, I felt compelled to share!

Moving beyond the recession as a retention strategy

Deloitte Insights podcast

Are You Using Your Brain to Be More Productive?

Managers Brown Bag Bite - It's Not About You

If You've Like the Brown Bag Bites - Share a "Thumbs Up"

Are You Skilled At Listening?

Career Strategy - Managing Your On Line Brand

Learning to Learn the 21st Century Way

It's Brown Bag Tuesday!

Lunch & Learn - Introducing Brown Bag Bites

Going Beyond the Job Description

Management Training & Coaching - The 21st Century Way

Creativity - The Next New Skill

Management Success Tip - The 1% Edge - Do You Have It?

Target Your Management Success

Behind Every Great Team is a Great Coach

Applying C.P.R. - Not the Medical Kind

Enable vs. Empower - Which Do You Do?

How People Operate

The 3 Esteems to Highly Productive Teams

What the Heck is Management? - Are You Doing it?

It's Not About You

Your Employees - Do You Really Know Them?

New Roles for Managers

Effective Management - Choices in Time Usage

Talent, what’s next?

Moving beyond the recession as a retention strategy

This is an interview based on a world wide survey done my Deloitte - every HR professional & business leader should have knowledge of what's being shared. As a fellow HR Professional, I felt compelled to share!