No matter what career path you’ve chosen, as a professional you need to have a clear understanding of exactly what steps you’ll take in order to further enhance your capacity for success. In doing so, you must create what is known as a professional development cycle.

The development cycle you create will include five main phases. Each phase will be as detailed as you wish depending on what goal you are trying to achieve. The development cycle pertains not only to your overall life and career but to individual goals as well.

The five phases include:
• Identifying your goals,
• Determining what skills you need to obtain those goals,
• Making a plan to achieve those skills,
• Properly recording the information you learn, and
• Reviewing your progress regularly.

The more you learn the better your chances of moving forward on a successful and stable career path. You need to do as much as possible to ensure that both you and your employees are getting as much management and leadership training as possible while at the same time ensuring each individual is able to focus on his personal goals as well.

Have you been able to incorporate the development cycle into your management training routines? How do you ensure proper balance between personal professional development and the development of the company as a whole?

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

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

I’ve been asked several times exactly what skills I’m talking about when we discuss the importance of technical skills, communication skills, or any of the other myriad of skills you need to succeed. While technical skills very from job to job, don’t get stuck in a rut by telling yourself that you only need “technical” skills if you’re working in an information technology environment. This simply isn’t true.

When it comes to functionality, there are quite a number of skill sets that can fall under the umbrella of essential job skills. Here’s a short list of essential job skills you should be looking for not only in yourself, but in your teammates and potential new employees as well.

• Communication skills – Alright, I know communication stands alone in a category of its own, but if you can’t communicate effectively (either verbally, in writing, or through listening) you won’t be able to share information about any of the functions necessary for success within your organisation.

• Research skills – The ability to analyze a problem is essential. You must be able to look at not only business systems and software in order to identify problems and solutions, but at your employees and their tasks as well.

• Computer literacy – As a manager you should know a little more about your computer than how to turn it on, check your email, and surf the web. You’ll need at least a small amount of program-specific skill when it comes to client management databases, word processing software, etc. You may not expect new hires to know about your specific database program, but they should know a bit about the more universal programs that are out there.

• Organisational skills – I once went on a job interview where I was handed an empty file folder and a pile of papers. I was told to review the documents and organise them before placing them in the folder. This was a simple test designed to judge my analytical skills (what on earth was I looking at!) and my organisational skills (how to put these strange documents in a useful order). You’ll find that organised employees are more productive and make fewer mistakes than those who lack this skill.

We’ll take a closer look at some more essential job skills in the future. Take some time to really think about these skills, though. Are yours as strong as they could be – and are you paying attention to whether or not your employees or potential new hires have these skills?

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

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

The Balance Business Scorecard, also referred to simply as the balance scorecard, started out as a way to measure performance but later evolved into a method by which we could begin implementing strategic planning methods along with full management systems.

What does the scorecard do? It actually gives CEOs, managers, and leaders a tool to use when turning a plan into a real course of action. It’s one thing to have a plan written out on paper, but an entirely different thing to actually implement that plan and see it work. What’s the point of having a vision or mission statement if you aren’t sure what steps need to be taken in order to reach those goals?

The Balance Business Scorecard looks at the following four main business perspectives:

• Learning & Growth – This category focuses on how well you train your employees, foster the appropriate organisational attitudes, and the steps you take to turn your staff into a group of valuable resources.

• Business Processes – This category directly relates to how in tune you are with process improvement and management. As a manager, you should know and understand how well the business is operating and whether or not the product you create meets the quality criteria you expect.

• Customers – This perspective focuses on whether or not your organisation is really making customers happy. Happy customers remain customers for the long haul.

• Finances – Keeping accurate financial records is as important today as ever before. Make sure your financial information is being handled effectively and that it is being treated as the sensitive personal information it really is.

Having all of this information in check will allow you to view your organisation as a whole and implement a plan to actually achieve your goals. The success of your organisation is only as good as your vision. Do you have a plan?

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

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

Last week we began exploring the concept of change management. Change is never a simple process, and those in managerial positions must be ready and able to deal with the questions and concerns that will inevitably be posed by their employees or team members. While these situations can be frustrating, it’s important that you keep a positive outlook at all times. Your employees, after all, will reflect your attitude within their own work.

Here are a few things you can do to help manage the changes your organisation is going through:

• Allow your employees to feel involved. If possible, hold a meeting to explain the changes that need to be made and ask for ideas as to how they feel the new changes might best be implemented. It’s often easier for employees to accept change if they feel as though they’ve had a say in it.

• Make sure you have a detailed plan for training your team members on any new systems or processes. There’s nothing worse than trying to stumble through the first transactions on a new system when no one has showed you what to do. Conduct as much hands-on training as possible.

• Prepare yourself for a few rough days or weeks. The quality of the work produced by your team may decrease, or the number of mistakes may increase, as they get used to the new system. Do not become frustrated and make sure your employees do not get discouraged.

• Be patient as you and your employees transition through the changes your company has implemented. Keep your attitude light, remain respectful, and show your support as everyone tries to understand and implement the new changes. Most important – remain positive at all times!

Change, within any organisation, is tough. Break out your strongest leadership skills and you’ll lead your team through the transition seamlessly!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

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

Your employees probably think that you, as their manager, already know how to do everything and are only looking to catch their mistakes and reprimand them or make corrections. This is (or at least should be) furthest from the truth. While it is your job to catch their mistakes, it is not your job to make them your employees feel bad about them.

Instead of criticizing, you should be correcting. In correcting their mistakes, you should be taking the opportunity to coach your employees so they can grow. The stronger you make communication skills, the more effective you will be at constructive criticism – or taking a mistake and turning it into a positive learning experience.

There will, of course, be a time when an employee or team member makes a really bad move – one where discipline is appropriate. For the most part, however, you’ll need to keep in mind that we’re all human and that we all make mistakes. Is the problem you’ve encountered something new; something that can be adjusted; something that you can all learn from? If so, take the opportunity to coach your employees.

Put the skills they already think you have to work and share your knowledge. The more you share, the better each team member will become, and the more likely it is you’ll all be able to work as a team further on down the road.

Remember, negative criticism only encourages dissent. Positive criticism and coaching means increased productivity and a happier workforce.

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

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