Have you ever said or heard statements like these?

“It’s not far now”
“We need it quickly”
“I’ll call you soon”
“Can you get it to me sometime soon?”
“That will cost a lot of money”
“We need to communicate better”

If you’ve said these things, you have a clear idea of what you mean. You know what ‘quickly’, ‘soon’, ‘a lot’ and ‘better’ mean, don’t you?

The obvious problem is, of course, that the other person may not be working to the same timetable as you, so don’t be surprised if it doesn’t happen as quickly or as soon as you had hoped!

These statements are known as generalisations, with parts of the message being distorted or deleted, so they are open to ambiguous understanding.

When you hear someone saying these types of expressions, and it will cause problems if the message is open to interpretation, it would be good to offer some clarifying statements or questions;

• So I can be clear, exactly when do you want the report?
• When you say ‘a lot’, how much do you mean, precisely?
• What’s your understanding of ‘better’ communication?

Of course, you wouldn’t ask these questions every time someone isn’t 100% clear; only when it is important that your understanding is vital. Pulling someone up whenever they delete some piece of information will only drive them to distraction, and is not a good communication technique.

Keep listening for when you might say something that could be misinterpreted. It will make you more aware of your communication skills and allow you to build greater rapport in your conversations.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

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

In a previous blog, we discussed the benefits of listening effectively, a communications skill highly prized in all business settings. By improving our listening skills, we prove ourselves knowledgeable and create excellent rapport with the person we’re speaking to.

One of the best ways to prove we are listening closely to the other person is by analysing what has been said and keeping the conversation on a two-way footing.

We do this by asking questions and making statements to clarify the meaning of the other person. Asking the right quality questions at the right time is a pre-requisite to active listening. If you research what has been said, it makes your job as a listener simpler, because you get the speaker to open up and reveal inner needs, feelings, desires, motivations, opinions, facts and goals.

Quality questions ask the speaker to elaborate on what they are saying, or gets them to clarify something that wasn’t absolutely clear, or could have been ambiguous. This stops you from making assumptions about what the other person has said, and lets you understand the meaning without much effort.

Another way you can show you are actively listening is by using empathetic statements, which consist of three specific parts:

• Tentative testing
• Definition of feeling
• Situational context

One example would be: “It seems to me that you’re feeling frustrated by what that customer said to you”

“It seems to me” is the tentative testing of your understanding. “You’re feeling frustrated” is your definition of the feeling, and “what the customer said to you” is the situational context.

By stating back your understanding of what the speaker has said, outlining your belief of how they feel, you prove you’re actively listening and that encourages the speaker to open up and tell you more. It also allows the speaker to correct, refine or expand the message. And it creates a natural bond between the two of you, because the speaker feels you are on the same wavelength, making them feel comfortable and willing to share their ideas more openly.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

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

What are the characteristics of High-Performing teams?

Many companies have asked us to help build efficiencies and effectiveness within their teams, and we have noticed key similarities between the most successful ones. Here is our list of characteristics of team that tend to do well in all sorts of organisations:

1) They have the optimum number of team members. When a team goes beyond ten members in a business setting, they don’t appear to be able to develop a common purpose, goals, approach and mutual accountability that’s needed to create great results. If your team is larger, break them down into constituent units so that they report in to a team leader who has accountability and responsibility for results.

2) They have complementary skill-sets. The best mix of skill-sets we have come across are: technical skills, problem-solving and decision-making skills, and relationship-building skills. As teams develop, these skills multiply, but without them , the team is lacking ideas an progress.

3) They have a common purpose. Each team-member knows the direction, the vision and the purpose of the team. They discuss agree and shape the purpose so that everyone sings the same tune when under pressure.

4) They have specific goals. They translate the purpose into goals that drive them forward to achievement, energising them into performance.

5) They have mutual accountability. Members understand what they are individually responsible for and what they are jointly responsible for. There are no ‘slackers’ and everyone goes positively in the same direction. They achieve goals because, when there are critical concerns, all know what they individually have to do, and all rely on each other to do their job right.

So, ensure your team knows these five key components and support them in achieving their ultimate aim: that of achieving great teamwork!

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

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

Many managers practice strategic planning because it offers a clear vision and direction for their department. It’s necessary because, without it, you are driving in the dark with no lights. You’ll get to your destination, maybe, but it will be difficult and take a lot of effort and concentration.

So why should strategic planning be on your list of priorities?

Strategic planning serves a variety of purposes. Here are some of them:

1. It clearly defines the purpose of your business and establishes goals and objectives consistent with that purpose within a stated time frame

2. It allows you to communicate those goals and objectives to the stakeholders.

3. It helps you develop a sense of ownership of the plan.

4. You get the most effective use of your resources by focusing them on the key priorities.

5. You provide a base for measurable progress and establish a process for change when needed.

6. You can listen to everyone’s opinions and build a natural journey towards success for your department

7. You provide a clearer focus for your department, producing more efficiency and effectiveness.

8. It creates a link in working practices between the team and higher management.

9. It develops cohesion between all team members.

10. Everyone sings the same vision statement from the same song-sheet.

11. It increases productivity because of effective goal channeling.

12. It helps solve most major directional inefficiencies in the business.

So there’s many reasons why strategic planning helps you in the short and long-run.

Here’s what you should consider when you are making the strategy:

Mission and Objectives

This is your business vision, including your values and purposes and visionary goals that drive you forward.

You can then perform an industry analysis using a framework like Michael Porter’s five forces.

Strategy Formulation

Then you can match your strengths to the opportunities identified in Porter’s analysis, while addressing its weaknesses and external threats.

To get greater profitability, you seek to develop a competitive advantage. This can be based on cost or differentiation. Michael Porter identified three industry-independent generic strategies from which the firm can choose.

Strategy Implementation

The strategy is then implemented through a series programs, budgets, and procedures. You need to look at your resources and motivation of staff to achieve your objectives.

Evaluation & Control

When you put the strategy into operation it must be monitored and adjustments made as needed.

Take these steps when you evaluate and control:

1. Define parameters to be measured
2. Define target values for those parameters
3. Perform measurements
4. Compare measured results to the pre-defined standard
5. Make necessary changes

When all these have been done satisfactorily, you are well on your way to achieving the goals of strategic planning, and giving yourself and your team the opportunities to achieve the objectives you have aimed for.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

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

In a previous blog, we spoke of the barriers that exist when you are listening to another person. We know that listening is a key skill that great communicators have mastered, so it’s good to address the issues that occur in listening, and see what we can do about them.

One area that most people see as a promoter of good listening is the act of acknowledging the speaker’s words. By acknowledgment, I’m talking about giving the speaker time and focus. You show interest in what they are saying so that you can understand their point of view.

It doesn’t mean you necessarily agree with them. It simply means you acknowledge their viewpoint and you understand why they think, feel or act the way they do.

What are the most important things you like to see in another person when they are listening to you?

When we ask that question on courses, delegates often say things like:

“They ask me questions relating to the things I’ve said”
“They give good eye contact”
“They nod and give positive gestures at the appropriate time”
“They give me adequate time to finish what I’m saying without interrupting me”
“If on the phone, I hear them saying things like ‘a-ha’, ‘I see’, ‘go on’, and things like that”

All these are good signs that the other person is acknowledging you while listening.

Now if that’s what you want from others, you can guarantee it’s what they want from you.

So, give positive feedback to the other person by being interested in what they are saying, why they are saying it and offer acknowledgment so they know you have actively listened. Being listened to improves your self-worth and self-esteem; offer that gift to another person and just watch the respect they have for you soar!

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

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