In the past we’ve talked about workplace safety but from the standpoint of employee burnout and, more recently, the importance of having a plan if your organisation is affected by a pandemic like the H1N1 virus. Today, though, I’d like to take a step back and look at workplace safety from a more general viewpoint.

You may think that the fact you work in an office exempts you from workplace safety. You are, after all, simply sitting at a desk all day, right? Wrong. Employees trip and fall, burn themselves in the kitchen, and even suffer from health issues while at work. So what can you do to ensure you workplace is safe for everyone all of the time?

5. Keep Your Work Areas Clean

Whether you work in an office or in a warehouse it’s important to always keep your work area clean. Strewn garbage, unattended wires, and boxes piled floor to ceiling can create dangerous hazards for those who need to move around them.

4. Give Clear Instructions

Workplace safety is, as a manager, partly your responsibility. If you don’t give your employees clear instructions about what they need to do they may do the wrong thing, or put together an incorrect set of pieces of information - causing danger to themselves and others.

3. Show You Care

So you’re running on a deadline but the printer is smoking or an important machine is making a terrible grinding noise. Do you push through and hope the machines last or do you shut them down to avoid a potential safety hazard? Hopefully you show your employees that you care about them more than deadlines by shutting the machines down.

2. Ensure Everyone is Properly Trained

One of the best ways to avoid an accident is to ensure everyone on your team is properly trained. A new or inexperienced employee can easily make a mistake that a seasoned veteran might take for granted. Offer the right amount of training and then make sure new employees are supervised properly until they gain enough experience to ensure total safety.

1. Ditch Workplace Safety Incentives

Workplace safety incentives are some of the silliest things I’ve ever seen. Offering employees incentives to be safe is like saying you expect them to do stupid things and need to bribe them not to. I’m not saying you should punish them for being unsafe but I don’t think they should behonored for doing what they should be doing naturally to begin with.

Are you ready to start the week on a safe note? Good luck!

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Courses

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

In the past we’ve had several conversations about knowledge and how to manage the knowledge you have within your ogranization. We’ve talked about auditing information, storing information, and even making sure it gets back out to those who need it.

Today I want to talk about what I consider the four fundamental priniciples of knowledge management. They include capturing knowledge, validating knowledge, accessing knowledge, and then scaling that knowledge down. What do I mean?

The idea of capturing knowledge is pretty simple - in theory, anyway. Capturing knowledge is the process by which you determine what knowledge is available and then bring it together into some form of documentation. Knowledge that isn’t documented can’t be shared or used.

After you capture knowledge you have to validate it. Validating knowledge is about ensuring that the information you have is accurate and relevant. It won’t do you any good to have incorrect facts in your database and it’s just as bad to have completely outdated information as well.

After you capture and validate the knowledge within your organisation you have to create a way that makes it easy for everyone to access the pieces they need at any given time. They shouldn’t have to sort through an entire database. It needst to be indexed so that it can be easily found and used.

Scaling information is the process of making the information you have into something usable regardless of the geographic location of your business. If you are part of an international business, for example, your employees in New York City and Tokyo may need to access the same database. An employee in NYC can’t use one method of capturing, validating, and accessing if an employee in Tokyo is doing something different. If that happens, you’ll end up with a database of jumbled information.

How do your knowledge databases look right now. Could they use some improvement?

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Course

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

I hope you took a few minutes over the past couple of days to think about some of the coaching myths we covered on Monday. I think that after a while you’ll see how important it is to have a professional or executive coach in your life, especially if you want to continue to climb up the corporate ladder. Today I’m going to share 5 more myths and, hopefully, you’ll undertand what I’ve been trying to say.

5. I don’t need more feedback.

We all get feedback from our managers, peers, and even subordinates. The problem is that they aren’t giving you neutral feedback. They’re giving you feedback based on their personal expereriences with you and they can’t take a step back and look at you objectively. They’re also less likely to let you know if they think your behaviours or attitudes are inappropriate. A coach will give you honest feedback, whether you like it or not.

4. Coaching relationships are short term experiences.

On the contrary, if you seek a professional coach you should seek to build a long-term relationship. The cycle of growth and development never really ends and, as such, you’ll always need a coach to help you reevaluate your goals and objectives and make changes to your plans. Your goals will determine how long you need a coach.

3. I have a mentor. I don’t need another one.

Having a mentor is great but mentors and coaches aren’t the same thing. Mentors are usually people within the same industry you are in - with a focus on helping you learn the specific ropes of that industry so that you can build your career. Coaches, on the other hand, may have skills that complement yours - skills you need to learn that have nothing to do with your industry in general. Mentors focus on work. Coaches focus on you.

2. I’m not coachable.

Everyone who wants to be coached is coachable. It’s true that there are a few people who simply can’t be coached but it’s not for lack of trying. Their attitudes and behaviours simply make it impossible. You can’t expect a coach to do all of the work for you. Your coach won’t even be able to motivate you if you don’t want to be motivated. There are even days when the most coachable people simply can’t be coached. You’ll get over it - and you will learn.

1. Coaching forces people to form dependencies.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Working with a coach will not make you dependent upon him. Your coach is more likely to help you learn to be self-confident than he is to allow you to form a dependancy.

Stop making excuses about why coaching won’t work for you and start reconsidering your options. Having a coach in your life is likely to help you foster your career - and before you know it you’ll be a better manager with a promising future!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Leadership Training

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

Throughout my career I’ve learned two things. Successful people have had (or currently have) coaches and those who seem to be struggling with their careers are usually the ones who do not have coaches (or think they don’t need them). Over the next couple of days I want to take some time to dispell some of the myths circulating about the values of coaching - whether you’re on the giving or receiving end.

5. I’m successful, so I don’t need a coach.

Nope. Wrong. You may, at one point in your career, learn a certain set of skills. As you advance, you’ll need to build upon those skills and the higher you get on the management food chain the more important they’ll become. You need a coach by your side to help you learn how to get better at the things you’re not as strong at. And trust me - no matter what you think, you’re not already perfect.

4. I don’t need counseling or therapy.

That’s wonderful. The good news is that coaching is NOT counseling, nor is it therapy. Yes, you do get to have private conversations with your coach. Yes, you will get to talk about your goals and aspirations. The difference is that your coach is there to inspire you and help you build a successful career while a therapist would merely be trying to heal you.

3. I don’t have a problem, so I don’t need coaching.

What’s more effective - preventative medicine or medicine administered after you’re ill? The truth is that a coach can help you to build your career from the ground up, giving you advice and guidance along the way so that you don’t make a mess out of it. If you wait until you have problems (like a bad reputation) it may be too late to save your career - with or without a coach.

2. I can’t find a coach with the same experience I have.

Why on earth would you want a coach exactly like you are? Why wouldn’t you want a coach who already has a proven track record as a leader? Someone with technical expertise, amazing communication skills, and the ability to share insight. The truth is that you could have a coach from a completely different industry and the ideas he shares with you will be just as valid.

1. Coaching doesn’t matter because you can’t prove a ROI.

Contrary to popular belief, there are ways of measuring your ROI (return on investment) in regards to the benefits of your coaching experience. As a matter of fact, studies have shown ROI numbers ranging up to 600% in some cases.

Take a look at each of these myths, or misconceptions, and erase them from your mind. The benefits of coaching are many, and measurable.

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Leadership Development

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

Working as a manager and forming relationships with the members of your team is one thing. It’s easy to communicate with them because you do so on a regular basis. But what happens if you’re called to do a presentation in front of upper management, for a group of investors or - worse yet - for the entire organization?

Don’t panic.

There are several things you can do before your prentation that will allow you to prepare so that you can give your speach or talk without feeling overwhelmed. Your nerves may never go away but you can learn to control them.

Practice Out Loud

Practicing your presentation by giving it out loud is one of the best things you can do to ensure it runs smoothly. I have no idea why people think they can give huge presentations without practicing and unless you’re a seasoned speaker (speaking for a living) there is really no excuse for thinking such. The more you practice the less you’ll think about your presentation as you’re giving it, decreasing your odds of a mistake.

Find a Similar Venue

Do you know where you’ll be giving your presentation? Can you get into that venue in advance, after hours or early in the morning, to practice? If so, give it a shot. If you’re able to do so you’ll find you are more comfortable with your surroundings when the day of the actual presentation arrives.

Practice without Stopping with an Audience

This part is two-fold. If you practice with an audience of family or friends you’ll be more comfortable with a crowd watching you. The next important phase is to practice without stopping, even if you make a mistake. Stopping to correct yourself, and then starting over again, is really a very bad habit to get into. It’s better to acknowledge your mistakes and move on, making a note to correct them the next time your practice. If you stop and start over too many times you’ll a) get used to stopping and b) get really good at only one part of your presentation.

Follow these tips - essentially practicing as much as possible (oh, and use your props when you do practice) - and you’ll find your presentation goes much smoother than you anticipated. You don’t need to be a natural speaker to give a great talk - you just need to be dedicated!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Development

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