When I was in high school, I dreaded team projects. I was the one who usually ended up doing all of the actual work, only to have another team member insist on giving the final presentation and, essentially, stealing all of the credit. Looking back, I realise that there was one major flaw with the team presentation concept – none of our teachers taught us how to work as a team. They just threw us together an expected us to know what to do.

Effective team building means more than finding a group of people who will work well together on a regular basis. A real team can work together and everyone will contribute equally when it comes time to give a presentation.

In preparation for a team presentation, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Will everyone participate in the main presentation, or will one person be responsible for this task?

2. If the answer to the first question is one person, are you able to identify one person on your team who has the skills necessary to give an effective presentation?

Regardless of the route you choose, your team must still work together. Giving the main presentation doesn’t make one person responsible for its success or failure. Every other member of the team must understand the entire presentation, be on hand to help support the speaker, be prepared with supporting documents, and help to respond to any inquiries the audience may have.

Effective team building involves knowing the answers to these questions in advance. A good team will be able to quickly and easily make these decisions, without developing feelings of jealousy or animosity towards each other. Your team will always work together as one unit, and your presentations will always run smoothly!

Thanks again,
Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

The life of a manager is always busy. Not only must you complete a number of tasks on your own, but you must coordinate projects your team has been assigned as well. During the course of your job you may end up having to give a training presentation to your team, or you may have to present a completed project to a group of superiors. No matter who your audience, there are a few things you can do to make sure your presentation goes off without a hitch.

1. Prepare in advance. By “in advance” I mean days or weeks before your presentation. The night before or the morning of will simply leave you frazzled and unorganized. Preparing in advance will give you plenty of time to make changes, if necessary. Besides, preparing in advance is an excellent time management exercise.

2. Visualise your presentation. Visualisation is an incredible way of creating success for yourself. Visualisation gives you the opportunity to practice your presentation before you are in front of a large group. Use your imagination to see your presentation the way you want it to appear to others and you’ll be one step closer to presenting it that way.

3. Don’t forget about eye contact. I remember the first time I had to give a presentation in public. I was so nervous I had no idea where to look. Up at the ceiling? Down at my shoes? Directly at my notes? All wrong. Making eye contact doesn’t mean you have to look at each person in the room individually. Choose one or two friendly faces and alternate your focus between them at different points during your presentation.

Of course, you’ll want to use a few visual aids and summary documents so that your guests walk away with a clear understanding of what was discussed, but we’ll talk about how to put those things together at a future date.

Just remember, as a manager, presentations may pop up out of the blue. Make sure you’re always as organized as possible so that, in the end, it’s never too difficult to give a presentation or report on your current projects or goals.

Thanks again,

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

It’s been a long week and I’m sure most of you are as happy about the upcoming weekend as I am. I thought we’d spend a few minutes today working on our communication skills.

One of the things I find disturbing is a lack of awareness when it comes to the differences in time zones. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve received an early morning phone call from an overzealous account manager in a foreign office who, in his eyes, was merely starting his afternoon.

So, let’s pretend you are a manager at an international corporation with an office in New York City. Your office has branches in San Francisco, London, Tokyo, and Sydney. You need to speak to the managers of each of the other four offices, but an email isn’t going to do the trick. You are going to arrange a conference call. So tell me – what time of day will be best for this call?

You’re going to need to start by identifying the time differences between your office and each of the others. You’ll then have to find a time of day that is still within regular business hours (or at least normal waking hours) for everyone in each of the other offices. Is it possible? What times did you find best for the conference call?

I don’t expect you to memorize the international time zone charts, but you do need to be aware of the differences and how they impact your ability to do business. Not paying attention to time zone differences could severely inhibit your ability to communicate with others and may, in some cases, cause you to miss a deadline or lose business.

Have a great weekend!

Thanks again,

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

Everyone within your organisation is responsible for effective information management, but it seems as though the higher up you are on the corporate ladder the more information you end up being responsible for. As a manager, it’s up to you to make sure that all of the information you receive is passed on to the appropriate parties in a timely manner.

At the lowest level, your employees, team members, or customer service personnel are most likely responsible for maintaining client or project files. The information they receive must be organised so that anyone who picks up the file can understand its contents and find the data he needs.

As a manager, you are responsible for receiving information from various sources. These may include upper management, human resources, accounting, or other departments that impact your work. You then have to sort through that information, organize it, and pass it on to the appropriate parties. Once a project is completed, you must take the information from your team members and create a final document to be presented to upper management or your clients. Information is constantly coming at you from all directions.

Thankfully, advancing technology has enabled us to move away from paper files and store all of our information electronically. This has allowed for increased process improvement but in the beginning most companies experienced quite a bit of resistance to change. Many employees were nervous about learning how to use the new software applications associated with better information management. Now that these programs have been around for some time, most people learn about them in high school and college courses designed to prepare them for the business world.

I urge you to take a few minutes out of your day to evaluate your information management skills. Are you an organized person or do you have to spend a considerable amount of time searching for the documents you need? You may need to simply spend a few hours organizing your information or you might need more training on the information management systems already in place. It’s up to you to identify your needs and take action to increase your effectiveness as an information manager.

Thanks again,

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

When I first started out as a manager I found myself spending hours upon hours coaching and training my employees, but at the time I had poor time management skills and wasn’t making enough time for my own personal growth. I quickly realized that if I was going to continue to grow I was going to have to find a mentor, but doing so was easier said than done.

At first, I was frustrated because I wasn’t even sure what I was looking for. After a bit of self-reflection I realized that finding a mentor, or even multiple mentors, didn’t have to be as difficult as I was making it out to be. Here are a few things I learned along the way:

You want to find a mentor with a similar personality to yours. You’ll want to learn from someone you can get along with, so look for a mentor with a similar (or better) work ethic and personality.

It’s ok to ask your coworkers and peers for help. Those you work with may have already been through the process of searching for a mentor, and there is no reason to be ashamed to ask for help with your own search. Even if they haven’t found the need for a mentor, your peers may know someone they consider an excellent resource or teacher. Ask for referrals and introductions, if necessary.

I’ve already had mentors and didn’t realise it. I am willing to bet that you’ve had a personal or professional relationship with someone, at some point in your life, in which that person acted as a mentor. He may have helped you in school, coached you through sports, or helped you find your first job. Do you still have a relationship with this person; and can he or she still help you?

There are a myriad of places you can look for a good mentor. Don’t forget to consider more experienced peers, upper management, and online forums. Businesspersons from any field of work, not limited to your own, are also great sources of information and mentorship.

Remember, you can’t grow your career without networking and continuing your education. A good mentor will be a valuable source of information and guidance. Do any of you have mentors already? If so, how do you feel they’ve helped you with your career?

Thanks again,

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”