We’ve all been there…the meeting is going ok, then someone takes it off track and you end up spending a long time on subjects that are not part of the agenda and wasting everyone’s time. You need to be assertive and take control. What’s the best way?

Firstly, when you’ve become aware of the digression, simply say, ‘What’s the connection between this subject and our agenda item?’ This will bring the group back to what you were initially discussing and help people to see you’re interested in results and good time-keeping.

If the discussed subject is of importance and still off agenda, you might wish to ‘park’ it for another time, either at the end of the meeting if you have time, or make it the subject of another meeting, but only if it’s really important to do so. You may find some people bring obtuse subjects up simply so they can control the direction of the meeting, or set an agenda for another meeting.

Outside the meeting environment, you might want to raise this tendency to drift off subject sometimes, and get the team’s agreement to stick on the agenda items so the meeting isn’t hijacked.

You also might want to have a quiet word with the people responsible after the meeting, just to ensure they recognise that keeping the meeting on track is for everyone’s benefit.

Remember also to think back on why the meeting might have digressed onto different subjects…maybe not all attendees had agreed to the original agenda, or maybe there are pressing issues that need visiting and you haven’t addressed them efficiently yet. Whatever the reasons, be aware of people’s time and don’t allow the agenda to be ignored.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

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

It’s possibly the most puzzling and challenging decision you may have faced in a long time. How do you cope with a situation where a colleague has been promoted to be your boss? You might have put your name in the frame, yet, on this occasion, it didn’t work out. So what can you do to ensure the working relationship between you and your new boss starts off and continues in the right way?

Firstly, ask yourself, ‘what kind of working relationship do I want and need with my new boss?’ This proves you are acting proactively and want to establish a good foundation for working together in the future. Remember that, if you worked together well in the past, there is no reason why that shouldn’t continue…you just need to decide what kind of tasks you can complete now things have changed.

Then, discuss with your boss what you can do to make them appreciate your help. Their role will be different now, and it would be unwise to try to prove to higher management that they made the wrong decision in promoting your colleague. Higher management may well be watching your reaction to your colleague’s promotion, to see if you are also promotion material too. So if you approach the situation with an attitude of helpfulness to your new boss, you’ll be seen as promotion material in the future.

Discuss with your new boss where he or she sees you in the next five years or so. This gives you an accurate picture of how they perceive your contribution within the team and helps you identify the things you need to focus on in order to be in the frame next time.

Although you might see your new boss in a different light now, assisting them to be successful in their new role can only help your future prospects. Learn from their skills and you may see further opportunities open up for you.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

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

Personal and professional development is one of the most valuable uses of your time in your career as a manager. It’s only by growing and developing your skills within your current role that you convince others you are worthy of investing in for the future.

So, how much time do you devote to the development of your skills, knowledge and talents? And how regular and consistent are you in carrying it out?

Top managers recognise the need to expand their knowledge about their industry and products regularly. Zig Ziglar says that “Just 15 minutes a day reading books would enable the average reader to complete 15 books each year.”

But there’s so much development material out there, you have to be selective.

First, set aside quality time for this. It’s your career we’re talking about, so it’s worthwhile spending time solely devoted to this important task. A regularly-planned short period is better than leaving it for a large chunk of time once in a while.

Then, be selective in what you choose to read. Determine the areas where you must keep up-to-date, and select only those magazines, journals, books and websites that currently serve your particular areas of need.

When you find an article of interest, especially if it’s in a journal or magazine, take a copy of it or rip it out and put it in your reading file. A fabulous piece buried in a thick magazine will stay buried unless you make a conscious effort to make it more visible.

Consider joining your local Institute of Management library, and taking advantage of the wealth of material available there.

When you’ve spent some time reading, reflect on how you can use this new knowledge in your job and company. Is there something you can immediately apply? Can you share this knowledge with someone else? Is there someone in the organisation who would value this information as much as you?

Spend your commuting time reading or listening to new material that will improve your value to the company. Just 30 minutes listening to a development CD in the car or on your mp3 player on the train each day will give you over 100 hours of learning each year. That’s the equivalent of attending over 14 days’ training each year! Try asking your boss for that much time off to develop your skills! Yet you can easily do it in dead-time on the daily commute.

JJ McCarthy said that an organisation’s continued progress will partly be based on managers’ ability to increase their knowledge and skills and to keep pace with progress and change – through professional literature.

So, lead by example in this. Set the pace for change in your organisation by keeping up to date with reading material that will set you apart from others. Then you will improve your value as a manager, now and in the future.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

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

So, the World Cup is over, and most people would say the best team won the final. Whatever your viewpoint, we can see from the amount of interest in the finals over the last month that many people follow it all with a passion. As managers, is there anything we can learn from the World Cup that can be applied in our workplaces?

Well, here are a few ideas:

1) Situational leadership will always win through: Managing a team in the World Cup is like leading a short-term project, run by remote teams in a matrix format, not having worked that much with each other before. The roles and responsibilities need to be aligned, and the strengths and skills have to be utilised in the best way.

This obviously didn’t happen with all teams in the tournament. Even Spain didn’t have the best players in all positions, but the spine of the team was skilled and talented enough to compensate for any weaknesses the opposition might expose.

Spain stuck to their game plan, even after they lost their very first game of the tournament. There were no panic buttons pressed, as they knew their strengths would win through.

So, analyse the situation before you make decisions about change and sticking to the game-plan might be more effective than making change for change sake.

2) Variety and adaptability creates winning formulae: This sounds contrary to point 1, but stick with me. If you only have Plan A and no plan B (did I hear someone mention England?) it will only work if you are sure and have proof that this plan is the most effective. If not, and the results will bear you out, you have to have some kind of varied and proactive plan of action to change the situation. Without it, you are stuck up the creek without the proverbial paddle.

3) Commitment and belief drives performance: Watching the style that teams played in the tournament proved that the manager has a key influence on how they perform. You can imagine the dressing room before they go out onto the field, and how the manager is convincing them they have the ability, the will and the confidence to go and do the job. Without this belief in the team, any manager will lose respect and, eventually, the passion from the team.

Whatever your feelings toward sport, it’s plain that we can often pick up good analogies that we can use within a management context. Learn from the successes and failures of the World Cup and you can expand your awareness of how teams can be lead in business.

Well done, Spain! The best team won! Probably!

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

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

Many companies are telling us that business is growing, albeit marginally, after the challenges of the last couple of years. How can companies monitor and drive this growth deliberately and proactively, rather than relying on business improving by default?

An interesting model by Larry Greiner, who discussed growth phases that companies go through, should help us clear the fog.

Greiner suggests that organisations go through 6 stages of growth and need appropriate strategies and structures to deal with the changes as they happen. It also describes the appropriate styles you need to adopt as you go through the stages.

Firstly, there’s growth through creativity. This would be a start-up company, an entrepreneurial approach, progressing through hard work and long hours.

Second, growth through direction. This constitutes sustained growth, functional structuring of the business, proper budgeting and processes.

Then there’s growth through delegation. This involves management taking less responsibility, allocating profit centres, financial incentives, etc.

This is followed by growth through coordination and monitoring. This is where new product groups are developed, better planning is carried out, more capital expenditure is made, and more centralisation is developed.

Next, there’s growth through collaboration. This involves action-learning sets, cross functional or matrix team management, decentralised teams and advanced information systems.

Later, Greiner added a sixth phase to his growth phases model: Extra-organisational solutions, like mergers and networks of organisations.

By analysing what stage your company is at in the growth model, you can adapt your leadership style to match what is needed to produce results that will proactively drive you forward as growth continues.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

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