With organizations demanding more and more from their people these days, time-pressed employees have to scramble to keep up. You may not be able to make the day any longer, but you can replenish your energy. Use these four simple tips to help you work smarter and prevent burn out:
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Sunday, October 16, 2011
4 Tips for Managing your Energy, Not your time
Exercise Ambidextrous Decision making
Do you rely on data and analytics to make big decisions or do you follow your instincts? While analytical decision-makers are usually more likely to make the right judgment call, intuition and gut feel can't be overlooked. In fact, many leaders have missed great opportunities because the data didn't support the risk, and the risk was actually worth taking. Great leaders adeptly use both inputs. If you are really good at collecting and analyzing data to inform decisions, find ways to check your data against a gut feeling. If you generally rely on creativity and an intuitive understanding of the customer, see if you can develop more analytic muscle. | |||
3 Tips to Re-Focus your team on the New Strategy
Most strategic change initiatives fail, or at least hit some major bumps along the road. It is really difficult to change behaviour. If your team is struggling to adapt to a new strategy, try these three things to get them back on track:
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Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Involve Frontline Employees in Creating Strategy
Involve Frontline Employees in Creating Strategy
Even brilliant strategies fail if they aren't executed well by frontline employees. Still, many leaders struggle to help their front line understand and buy into new ways of doing things. Next time you change your company's direction, don't relegate strategy creation to a handful of say senior people in your business/branch. Involve as many of your employees as possible, especially those who interact with your customers. Make them part of the process by bringing them together to think about the company's future. Ask them for input about how the company can achieve its goals. Frontline employees who helped make a strategy are far more likely to do a stellar job of executing it and that is what you want isn’t it…
Today's Management Tip was adapted from "Making Your Strategy Work on the Frontline" by Amy Gallo further adapted and brought to you by Edwin van Wyk via Harvard Business Review.
Even brilliant strategies fail if they aren't executed well by frontline employees. Still, many leaders struggle to help their front line understand and buy into new ways of doing things. Next time you change your company's direction, don't relegate strategy creation to a handful of say senior people in your business/branch. Involve as many of your employees as possible, especially those who interact with your customers. Make them part of the process by bringing them together to think about the company's future. Ask them for input about how the company can achieve its goals. Frontline employees who helped make a strategy are far more likely to do a stellar job of executing it and that is what you want isn’t it…
Today's Management Tip was adapted from "Making Your Strategy Work on the Frontline" by Amy Gallo further adapted and brought to you by Edwin van Wyk via Harvard Business Review.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Develop the 4 Qualities of an Inspirational Leader
Leaders need vision, energy, authority, and a natural strategic ability. But those things don't necessarily help you inspire your employees to be their best and commit to you as a leader. Here are the four qualities you need to capture the hearts, minds, and spirits of your people:
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Friday, September 16, 2011
Steer clear of the One-size-fits-all Management
When the job market picks up, the first to leave are often a company's most valuable employees. Unfortunately, you may be inadvertently encouraging these future leaders to say their goodbyes by treating them as cogs in a wheel rather than the individuals that they are. Instead of managing everyone the same way, do these two things to manage your star performers person-to-person:
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Thursday, September 15, 2011
3 Ways to Identify your Inique Skills
All of us have at least one disruptive skill — a capability that we are uniquely good at that sets us apart from others. You may have been honing yours for years, or you may be so innately good at it that you don't even notice it. It is important that you know that not only for self confidence and selfbelief, but also to consciously improve it further. Here are three ways to identify your unique skill:
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Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Forgive but Don't Forget
I know this is a difficult one… It is common wisdom that failure is inevitable, especially when innovating. If you want people to take risks and try new things, failure must be an option. But few organizations have actually created cultures that accept gaffes. To show your support for failure, encourage your people to make the most of their blunders. Try adopting a "forgive but not forget" approach. Forgive honest mistakes, but make sure employees learn from past failures so they don't repeat them. | |||
Monday, September 12, 2011
Make Shared Leadership Work
Having trouble finding the right person for that leadership role in your branch? Perhaps there isn't one particular person with all the necessary capabilities, experiences, and interests. Maybe you should consider spreading the responsibilities across several people. Allow the most qualified person — rather than the most senior person — to step up to the leadership task. This gives all competent people in your branch the chance to demonstrate their leadership prowess. To lay the groundwork for this type of organizational flattening, create a climate in which people feel free to take on new assignments and managers are thought of as resources rather than authorities. | |||
Friday, September 9, 2011
Motivate Employees Set in their Ways
Employees who are slow to react can be frustrating, especially in environments where it's imperative to respond and adapt to change quickly. Everything needs to happen quickly in the branches, isn’t it so…? However, don't assume these slow pokes are trying to undermine progress or resist change. They may have very good reasons for their response times. Next time you're waiting on someone's input, go talk to him/her. Explain that you are all under pressure and that you value knowing his response. Ask that he get back to you quickly — within a day or so. He may have a thoughtful rationale for proceeding cautiously, or when he realizes that the matter is in his hands, he may speed things up. This is what management is about. | |||
3 Ways to Help your Team have a GOOD FIGHT
Teams that always agree on everything rarely produce innovative and creative work. Effective teams fight, bringing in disparate views and challenging each other to think in different ways. To help your team have constructive fights, try the following:
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Wednesday, September 7, 2011
3 Steps to Turning Around your Performance
No one likes to be an underperformer. Yet, failing to meet expectations doesn't have to feel like the end of the world. Follow these three steps to turn your poor performance around:
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Avoid the 2 Pitfalls of Best Practises
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Saturday, September 3, 2011
3 Ways to Increase your Team's Performance
Successfully managing a team is a complex undertaking. Increase the odds of reaching your goals by doing the following three things:
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Thursday, September 1, 2011
Turn Stress into an Asset
Stress is unavoidable, but it doesn't have to be damaging. When managed correctly, strain can positively impact productivity and performance. Here are three things you can do to make stress work for you:
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3 Ways to create a culture of Innovation
3 Ways to create a culture of Innovation
It might sound difficult to manage innovation in the workplace. It could be because of limited resources, or because the consequences of failure are so high. Whatever the reason, it's not too late to start. Here are three ways you can take small but meaningful steps toward innovation:
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Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Sales Survey: Requirements for an effective initial sales interview in the retail banking environment
We will be pleased if you are a sales official / representative in the retail banking environment to take part in this survey. Just click on the link below. The survey results will be used for a Field Study, in order to obtain a MBA degree through the University of the Free State, South Africa.
Click here to take survey
Your participation will be much appreciated.
Click here to take survey
Your participation will be much appreciated.
Monday, August 22, 2011
3 Tips for handling surprise criticism
3 Tips for handling surprise criticism | |||
Criticism is tough to take, especially when it is unexpected. Unforeseen negative feedback can be unsettling, but also incredibly valuable. Next time you are blindsided by what someone has to say about your behaviour, take a deep breath and try doing these three things: • Move beyond your feelings. You're likely to feel hurt and angry. Notice those feelings and then put them aside so they don't negatively influence your reaction. • Look beyond the delivery. Giving feedback is really hard and very few people are skilled at it. Don't dismiss the feedback just because it wasn't delivered well. • Collect the data. Don't respond right away. You'll likely regret how defensive and angry you sound. Instead, listen. Take in the criticism. Once you've had time and space, you can decide how to react and whether to change. | |||
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Be a Realistic Optimist
Be a Realistic Optimist | |||
If you believe you will succeed, you will. Right? Not quite. Research has shown that optimism and the confidence it brings will help you reach your goals, but there is no guarantee. In fact, if you believe that success will come easily to you, you are more likely to disappoint. This is because you'll fail to put in the necessary work. You need to think positively but also be realistic about what achievement entails. Knowing that success is hard won forces you to put in the necessary effort. Don't spend too much time visualizing the end result only. Instead focus more on, envision the steps you will take to get there. In essence, it should still be done not dreamed. | |||
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3 Don'ts of Persuasion
3 Don'ts of Persuasion | |||
In today's business environment, it's not enough to tell employees to do something. You need to also explain why they should. This is why people who've mastered the art of persuasion rise to the tops of the ranks. When trying to influence others, avoid three of the most common mistakes:
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