Anger is a natural human reaction to a difficult situation. Humans use anger to convey a change in attitude and to signal others to modify their behavior or suffer the consequences, whether that consequence be in the form violence, loss of job, or some other punishment.

Unfortunately, many people aren’t able to control their anger and let it get out of control. They don’t properly convey their feelings and usually end up hurting themselves as well as others. Here are a few more anger management techniques you can use when you start to feel out of control.

Sit down and have a conversation with yourself. Find a place where you can sit down and tell yourself “I am angry right now because…” and fill in the blank. You can do this alone in order to get control of your feelings or you can use it as an opportunity to start a conversation with the person you feel caused your anger. Just remember – no yelling!

Meditation is a highly recommended stress reliever. Meditation gives people the opportunity to clear their minds and refocus on the task at hand. You’ll be able to revisit any situation without the negative feelings you had initially. You can take a class on meditation or even find a video or recording to guide yourself at home.

Find a reason to laugh. Laughter is, after all, the best medicine. Keep a funny book, picture, recording, or video saved in a place where you can access it at all times. When you feel angry, whip out your favorite funny piece and have a good laugh. It’ll give you a chance to rebalance yourself while diffusing some of your anger.

Remember, while anger is natural, it can be controlled. As a manager, courses in dealing with conflict or being assertive may also teach you new ways to control your anger in a difficult situation. In the end, though, be sure that you never let your anger get the best of you, either at home or at work!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

Workplace accidents can become very costly to an organisation. As a manager, it’s your responsibility to ensure that your employees and team members are trained on how to properly use equipment to avoid injury. You’re also responsible for ensuring that they’ve received and read any employee handbook material relating to safety rules and how accidents should be handled if they occur.

According to studies, the factors that contribute most to injuries in the workplace include employee errors, faulty equipment, and poorly planned procedures. Fortunately, each of these conditions can be easily addressed.

Consider adding the following steps to your regular review process in order to eliminate or prevent accidents amongst your team:

• Can you look at your job group’s functions and identify which activities they perform that might be considered high-risk? Is there a way to eliminate or reduce the risk involved with each activity?\

• Review your current safety-training programs to determine whether or not they are properly tailored to your employees and their current job functions.

• Monitor the routines your employees use and change them up a little bit if necessary. Someone who follows the same boring routine daily will pay less attention to the details as he muddles through it, especially if it never changes and he is able to commit it to memory.

• Look at the design of your workplace. Was it created with ergonomics in mind? Are there things you can do to make your office setting more comfortable and safe for your team?

• Make sure your training programs are available in multiple languages, or that you have a competent interpreter available to help with employees with language barriers. An employee who can’t understand your instructions will not be safe on the job.

If you encounter what you feel are serious deficiencies while going through these steps it may be time to make changes to your workplace safety management program. Even more important is making sure that all of your managers and team leaders have undergone workplace safety management training so that they can identify dangerous factors within their settings as well.

I challenge you to take a look around your office or warehouse today. How safe is your business operation?

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

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

All eyes are on you. The ethics you display at work are going to have a direct impact on the way your employees work. Today’s troubling economy has resulted in hundreds of lost jobs, decreased incomes, and vanishing bonuses and raises.

Take a few moments to ask yourself a few questions in an effort to assess your own ethics in the workplace:

1. Do I have a specific set of beliefs? If so, what are they? Do you think about your beliefs as you work towards the goals you have set for yourself in life?

2. What are my goals? Do you have them written down so that you can remind yourself of them whenever necessary? Having goals will encourage you to work hard and make sure that everything we do is of the highest quality.

3. Do I need to enhance my skills? Are there skills that you need to develop in order to reach your ultimate goals? Do you need to take a few classes or ask for additional training? Are you committed to developing those skills so that you can move forward?

4. What are my standards? Do you have a set level of standards that directly reflects the ethics you have put in place for yourself? Would you prefer mediocrity or only the highest quality of work? Is there ever a time to make an exception?

5. Do I practice what I preach? Do you tell your employees to set standards, deliver high quality work, and treat each other respectfully and then give them a model to look at? Do you act the way you want others to act and treat them as you would be treated?

Take some time each evening to look back at your day and ask yourself what you could have done differently. Think about what you can do the next day to improve yourself.

Are you setting a positive example for your employees?

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

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

According to Abraham Maslow, every human being has five levels of basic needs. Anyone who does not regularly see each of these needs met is subject to feelings of inadequacy or depreciated self-worth.

A strong understanding of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs should be incorporated into any management training program. Understanding the hierarchy will help managers to understand the behaviours of their employees as they move through life. The five basic life needs are as follows:

Physiological

Physiological, not to be confused with psychological, needs include food, water, air and anything that the physical body needs in order to be strong and comfortable.

Safety

Everyone needs and wants to feel safe. Children display their sense of insecurity by clinging to their parents, but it’s often more difficult to tell when an adult does not feel safe. Adults tend to react to safety concerns only when they feel they are in a threatening situation.

Love and Affection

We all want to feel love and affection and everyone wants to feel as though he or she belongs in at least some sort of group. Those without strong family networks or groups of friends often feel lonely or alienated.

Esteem

We naturally wish to feel as though we have a high level of self-esteem and wish to be respected, not only by ourselves but by others. The average human being will NOT focus on his level of esteem if he does not feel as though his need for physiological comfort, safety, and love has been met.

Self-Actualization

Self-actualization is the realization that each person has a purpose in life – each person has a goal that he or she was born to achieve. A person who isn’t doing what he feels is right will often appear restless or edgy. This need, again, will not be relevant unless all of the needs before it are met.

The needs at the top of our list would appear at the bottom of a pyramid, moving up towards self-actualization. We often strive for self-actualization, but feel hindered by roadblocks on each step up the pyramid of need.

As a manager, it is your job to recognize that each of your employees has needs. You won’t be able to help each person work through his life issues, but you can certainly help to support his or her professional growth by paying attention to these basic human needs.

Where are you on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs? Are you reaching towards self-actualization or are you stuck in a different place on the pyramid?

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

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

As a leader you’re responsible for setting goals and objectives and then making sure your team is able to achieve those goals. First, it’s important to clarify that goals and objectives are not the same. A goal is an idea or vision while an objective is the clear path you’ve decided to take in order to reach that goal.

Managers looking to set clear objectives commonly use what is known as the SMART plan, though it seems to me that not many use it properly. SMART is an acronym, defined as follows:

S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Achievable
R = Realistic
T = Time-Bound

Specific objectives are very detailed – you know exactly what you are trying to do.

Measurable objectives are those you can monitor for effectiveness. You can measure the outcome or compare it to a standard to determine whether or not you are successful.

Achievable objectives are those that make sense. They’re realistic and not just backed by hopes and wishes. You can take action and actually obtain an achievable objective.

Realistic objectives are feasible and possible. This means that not only do you have the talent on hand to reach your objectives, but you have the resources (computer software, research materials, etc) available to make it happen.

Time-bound objectives have a realistic timeline – one that you must follow in order to be successful.

As a manager you must not only develop objectives but you must have the communication skills necessary in order to outline those objectives when talking to your staff. The more detailed you are, the more they’ll understand, and you’ll always be on the same page when it comes to achieving your ultimate end goal!

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

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