Management

Apr 28 2014

How to control conversation hogs.

An old proverb quotes “Empty vessels make the most noise”, meaning there’s that vocal one amongst us who always has to be heard but doesn’t really have much to contribute.

Now I’m not actually a great believer in targeting all people who speak out as not having substance. What I feel is that others who also have important contributions are supressed before bringing it forward fearing rebuttal from outspoken individuals.

So the answer shouldn’t be about gagging these individuals, after all, their opinions do count, more so the question should be about how do you make your point when others are determined that the stage is theirs alone?

Here are some methods that will help.

From the individuals perspective

Go into neutral… The most vocal people often react to feedback. Refrain from nodding or rolling your eyes. Give NO clue and let them go, I can assure you, without fuel, their point will burn out quickly as there’s no engagement.
Continue… When someone butts in, don’t stop. Simply continue as if they were sat there with Gaffa tape across their mouth! They will soon get the point.
Boring!!!… Regardless of how inconsiderate and blatantly rude the other person is, if your subject matter is boring, people will switch off. Whether work or social, don’t go straight into finite detail. Give an overview and if the other party wish to know more, tell them but at their invitation.
Tell them… Frustrating though it is, we often allow others to run away with the conversation. Once they see an opening, you’ve given them the opportunity. So rather than being rude in return, simply inform them “John, sorry, I hadn’t quite finished what I was saying”

From the group Leader

In group meetings, know who these strong characters are. Don’t supress their ideas but allow others to take to the stage first.
- Start with those who will speak out but normally when addressed.
- Then the quieter members, often the ‘thinkers’. Having a gem of an idea but don’t offer it for fear of being shouted down. They will likely follow the lead of some but will not speak out following more ‘assertive’ (or aggressive!) members.
- FINALLY, offer the stage to the outspoken members. Throughout, control the conversation stopping these characters from railroading others!
- Allow people to finish. Give them the floor up to the point they stop. When someone attempts to cut in, as the leader state “Hang on to that thought, I’ll get to you in a minute”, if they persist, be more forceful “Jane, let Mike finish. we will get to your point momentarily”

All too often, people’s passion takes over so courtesy and politeness go out of the window. Rather than treating this as an unacceptable behaviour or trying to shut someone up … change it!

Coaching to success see this behaviour all too being invited to act as arbitrators. If this is something you feel your organisation could benefit from, contact Neil on 07761 187238 or email neil@coachingtosuccess.co.uk to see what further ways we can help you and/or your business in getting the best from ALL contributors.

Mar 17 2014

Management vs Motivation

For this article, I thought I would look at how Management can complement but also deter motivation and bring to your attention some key areas to consider.

I’ve combined Douglas McGregor theory on human motivation which describes two contrasting models of workforce motivation and Extrinsic/Intrinsic motivators.

To start, looking at McGeror’s theory. Simple in its delivery but look how it illustrates two opposing sets of assumptions underlining management policies and practices, can you see these within your own workplace:

Theory ‘X’ naturally exhibit:

Inherent dislike of work
Lack of ambition
Prefer to be directed
Avoid responsibility

Coercion, direction, punishment, monetary rewards needed to meet objectives

Theory ‘X’ managers typically use:

Time-keeping and close supervision
3^rd party quality control (Gets another person to check your work rather than allowing you to check it yourself)
Narrowly-defined jobs & precise, legalistic job descriptions

I find such managers may be autocratic, judgmental & over-bearing, and essentially ‘Controlling’. Companies/organisations with such assumptions are likely to be rigid and unresponsive to customer needs.

Theory ‘Y’ naturally exhibit:

Self-direction in serving objectives to which they are committed
Rewards associated with achievement
Accept and seek responsibility
Creativity, imagination and ingenuity
Intellectual capabilities are generally only partly utilised.

Theory ‘Y’ managers typically:

Affirm people, exhibit trust
Create conditions where individuals can achieve satisfaction while directing efforts to the achievement of organisational objectives.
Provide employees with scope to use talents & creativity
Believe in participation not prescription

Companies with such assumptions about people are more likely to be flexible in facing a changing world.

EXTRINSIC & INTRINSIC MOTIVATORS

Money helps attract and retain good people but consider this for yourself, is it enough to keep people motivated. Research shows these are the most important motivators.

Full appreciation of work done
Feeling of being involved / knowing what’s going on
Job security
High salary
Interesting work

EXTRINSIC

Cash, material benefits, holidays
Security
Working conditions
Career development

INTRINSIC (*)

Sense of purpose & achievement
Autonomy
Sense of knowing what’s going on
Feeling of job competence

(*) Team leaders need to concentrate on this area

CREATING A MOTIVATING WORK ENVIRONMENT

Set challenging targets
Fully inform your team about decisions
Involve more people in planning & innovation
Delegate effectively
Give responsibility for achievement
Clear linkage between effort and reward
Recognise achievements

My belief is taking theory ‘Y’ and combining with the motivators makes not only for a happy working environment but a much more productive one.

Coaching to Success looks at the way you or your team(s) manages the business and then help you to find the best way forward for all concerned.

Aristotle quoted “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” so we give you the means to make your company/firm better than your competition, all you have to do is take the first step by contacting Neil on 07761 187238 or email neil.nutburn@coachingtosuccess.co.uk to set up a free initial conversation to discuss areas you care to improve – take a step into Theory Y!

Mar 03 2014

Six hats to help you make that decision!

I would love to take credit for this but, alas, this is the work of Edward de Bono in his book ‘6 Thinking Hats’. What I have done here is illustrate the basis behind what he writes and will give you my thoughts as to how this style of thought process is great for helping make those decisions.

Often we think from a logical or rational thought process but so many other factors need to be considered and this tool brings them to the fore.

Now I’m a fan of wearing hats and have many different styles and colours. I’m not going to grab them all to carry out this exercise, besides which, the only white one I can think of is my wife’s garden one with a floral ribbon … not quite my style. So, let us look at this metaphorically.

White Hat: (Data)
This is all about looking at the information available to you, what logical things can you recall from past trends? Make deductions from these and what information do you require to complete your knowledge base? Assess, analyse and learn.

Red Hat: (Intuition)
Time to use your gut feelings with a good dose of non-logical emotion. How will your decision ‘emotionally’ affect others? How will they asses your reasoning for taking such action?

Black Hat: (Defensive)
Well, come on, it’s obvious why it isn’t going to work! And this is the voice in our head that normally wins over and we stop. However, this is a great way to look at potential weak points. Develop a plan to overcome them, ignore them for what they are or simply fix them.

Yellow Hat: (Optimism)
Positive thought process is the energy behind any decision. The benefit finder that sees the value in what you’re planning. It’s bright, like sunshine, helps lift you when other things may not quite be going as expected.

Green Hat: (Creativity)
Imagine sticking this one on your bonce to develop creative solutions to a tricky situation. A carefree way of open-minded thinking, void of criticism. Brain dump all yours and other people’s ideas and sift through even the wackiest ones.

Blue Hat: (Process)
Take control of the situation. If things are starting to look glum, order the Yellow hat brigade and their ideas to come forward, if contingency is the name of the game, grab the black hat etc. Blue Hat thinking is the over-view process and insures the idea remains on track.

All too often, we start an idea with ‘Yellow Hat’ optimism yet allow ‘Black’ gloom squash it rather than taking ‘Blue’ approach of listening to what both have to say then introducing White, Red and Green to the discussion!

Coaching to success use this and another similar tool to really explore decision outcomes and will dig much deeper into you or your teams pyche and deliver some amazing thoughts to give that edge over competition or just the betterment of your organisation.

So stick on your ‘Blue’ hat and make contact with Neil either by email (neil@coachingtosuccess.co.uk) or call (m: 07761 187238) to set up a discussion to discuss your fashion accessories of hats.

Feb 03 2014

The art of Delegation, a 5 step process … have you mastered it?

I was reading an article on BBC’s website this morning, fascinated by a leading car manufacturer taking the next step of automated self-parking cars (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25815244) which then got me thinking of how you delegate a responsible task that could potentially result in a very expensive outcome if not done correctly.

1. Learn to Let Go – First and foremost, much like the car, you have to trust that it will work. How many times have you heard it said “If you need something done, it’s best to do it yourself”? … It’s a ‘Must’ to let this go.

Difficult to begin with, so start with singular, low priority tasks. Remember, it’s the end result that’s important, not necessarily the route someone takes. Who knows, they may even find a more efficient way!

With continued examples of success, your own confidence will grow and further more complex tasks can be delegated.

2. Invest Time – Effective delegation is a long-term process needing guidance and patience. Short-term, yes, it is quicker to do something yourself but this seriously puts the brakes on development of the business!

I was guilty of this myself as a director. Once I realised that spending a little time helping and training those around me, I soon found I could let things go.

Invest time in training and teaching others. This may appear painful but in the long-term, benefits of not just saving you time can be seen. People respond better when they feel they are trusted to accomplish a task.

3. Clear Instructions – As with the earlier car example, previously, the input to enable a car to park itself filled the boot with technology, now it fits above the wheel arch. With experience and responsibility, less time is required teaching or training the person(s) you’re delegating too but clarity is necessary throughout.

As with delegation, to begin, some tasks may need constant supervision. This is not to say you micro-manage but help and give motivation that the task is being performed correctly.

Clarity of objective and expectations must be set so the delegated person takes the responsibility and not just the task.

4. Empowerment – All too often I have seen things forgotten or distasteful tasks dumped on someone else to deal with. Thoughtful delegation empowers an employee to develop their own skill sets enhancing knowledge and abilities. They will eventually take over a task without you even getting involved, becoming independent and even more of an asset.

5. Downward Delegation – Carry out a time-audit on what you do over a week/month. Assess how you are spending your time on tasks not necessarily fitting of your position! I too got caught in the chains of progressing through the ranks to the position of director only to find that I was still doing the tasks of the junior manager.

Know what is necessary (both unlikeable and ‘likeable’ tasks!) for you to do and what can be delegated. Set about passing these on to someone else which starts to raise their levels of responsibility as well as freeing up your time.

Clarity is the key throughout the whole process. Successful managers know the importance of delegation and the strength this brings. Coaching to success knows how delegation works best and we can help your company/firm to achieving the best way forward creating a happy workforce as a consequential outcome.

This is only a brief overview so contact Neil on 07761 187238 or email neil@coachingtosuccess.co.uk to set up a free, no obligation meeting or chat to see how you can benefit from the skill of delegation as part of ongoing development.

Jan 20 2014

5 Areas that can PREVENT you from long-term success!

Here’s a question for you… “Regarding business development, are you in it for the short or long term?”. May sound like a senseless question but consider the following article ‘Deming’s Five Diseases of Management’ which looks at 5 common problems that STOP organisations from succeeding in the long term!

It’s all about behaviours and attitude and I certainly know some managers with the latter. Here we’ll just cover what I consider to be the 5 most fundamental that any company/firm needs to consider.

1. Having no consistent purpose – All too often new strategies are introduced yet rarely seen through to conclusion before another strategy is muscling its way in due to ‘new ideas’ coming in from the top!

What generally happens is a lot of energy is initiated at the beginning but with minimal result. Staff become despondent and find it difficult to commit to anything long-term, why should they, it’s likely to change after all! Worse still, morale drops leading to dissatisfaction and even high turnover of staff. (some retail outlets are a great example of this)

Create and certainly promote your ‘Mission’ and ‘Vision’ statements for all to see and understand. Ascertain the ‘Values’ that drive them and get staff to buy into them making sure any changes or new strategies follow this path. Set specific goals and actions, then make sure it’s seen through to the end.

2. Emphasis on short-term profits! – It’s still tough out there with instant orders/profits taking priority over longevity of the business. Be warned that short-cuts are often taken with regards quality of service or product, innovation is suppressed and often replaced by fear. Be mindful that the economy is showing signs of improving so now is the time to start investing in your organisation’s long-term health and development plan.

3. Management by fear – Leads neatly on from the last heading. Often fear emanates from the unknown and, in turn, it’s easy to make threats. Fear can help people focus on short-term situation but at the expense of long-term success.

Carry out performance reviews/appraisals but in a manner of fairness with a good dose of honesty and sensitivity. Adopt a supportive, coaching approach giving them empowerment over their own success.

Also complete mini one’s throughout the year. I know I used to hate these as it always seemed to be used by directors to beat you rather than look for the most productive way forward.

Implement mentoring or coaching packages that focus on regular improvement.

4. Senior management high turnover – It takes time for any manager to gain an understanding of their role and equally as much to develop an understanding relationship with the team and those they are responsible for as well as expertise in the job itself, ergo, you will never have an efficient business if the key players aren’t bedded down.

Without stability from the top down, others will also adopt a short-term approach.

Start to consider long-term objectives with new managers. Looking at both short/long-term, create career paths or goals that align with the business’ objectives. SWOT analysis work well here to establish individual’s S & Os and look to embrace these rather than concentrating on W or T.

5. Looking at just the ‘Visible’ results – All too often I see how organisations simply look at the bottom line figures. Even in a sales environment, figures are important and as far as the board are concerned, yes, figures are critical but refrain from simply looking at these.

What is your organisation’s Critical Success Factor (CSF)? What are the key elements that drive your business? This should be created from your mission statement, from that, activities can be created to insure it. These aren’t all necessary figure based but can be around client/customer satisfaction, staff wellbeing etc.

This is a subject matter in its own right as are any of the aforementioned headings. Just to start being aware will make immense differences within your organisation and should you wish for long-term success, then please get in touch.

After all, Coaching to Success’ mantra is “… Our business is Your success” so take that first step and contact me to discuss some areas of concern or wanting to move forward at neil@coachingtosuccess.co.uk or call 07761 187238, where you’ll be assured a friendly and positive greeting.