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”

Some leaders are born, while others are created. It’s often difficult, especially as a manager, to convince others to follow in our footsteps, but it is possible. Whether you’re a natural born leader or not, the following qualities can and should be nurtured in order to enhance your leadership abilities.

Vision

Do you have a vision and are you able to share that vision with your team? Having a vision means you know what path you want to take in order to achieve optimal end results. Your communication skills must be strong enough to effectively convince your followers that your path is the right choice given the current situation.

Dedication

Are you really dedicated to your work? Are you willing, if necessary, to spend extra long hours at the office to get the job done? Your dedication will inspire your team members to share the same level of enthusiasm.

Humility

Humility means being able to recognize that you are no better off than anyone else on your team, regardless of your salary or job title. You’re all human and you all make mistakes. Your job status doesn’t exempt you from error.

Fairness

A good leader needs to be able to make fair decisions regardless of how he or she may feel personally about a given situation. Fairness means looking at the facts, not each team member’s personal opinions about them, and then making an educated decision.

Humor

Let’s face it – laughter is the best medicine. People are happy when they are laughing, and laughter eases tension and increases productivity (in moderation, of course). Those stuck in a boring or hostile workplace won’t accomplish much. Put your sense of humor to work and keep the entire team happy.

These are, of course, only a few leadership qualities you should keep in mind but they offer you an excellent place to start. Take a look at your day to day interactions with your team and determine whether or not you need to tweak your leadership style. Good luck!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

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

We talk about communication quite frequently, but do you know how to encourage the development of your communication skills if you find you’re lacking in that department? What if one of your employees does great work but seems to have problems communicating?

Some people, while they seem to lack knowledge, are simply afraid of verbal communication. They may fear making a mistake or being judged based on their ideas. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to encourage enhanced communication.

• Have one-on-one discussions with your employees. They may feel as though they can better express themselves to you in a private environment. Frequent discussions may ease your employee into feeling better able to participate when there are group meetings.

• Whether you are in an individual or group setting, make sure that the person being questioned has a reasonable amount of time to respond before someone else jumps in. We always teach people to think before they speak, but a delayed reaction is often misinterpreted not as caution, but as a lack of knowledge.

• Journal. I’m not sure this is one you would recommend to employees unless they ask for help, but it’s something you can use to help yourself. If you have an idea you can’t express verbally, try writing it out. Seeing your ideas on paper may help you to verbalize them later on.

• Offer constructive criticism. When your team members speak, do not shoot down their ideas as invalid. Explain why you agree with their ideas or why you disagree, but never tell someone that he is wrong or allow other team members to make someone who attempted to contribute feel stupid.

A lack of communication is often a result of fear of failure. An employee that is comfortable with his team mates and work environment will be more likely to communicate effectively than one who is not. Keeping this in mind, can you identify an employee who might have a problem communicating – and do you think you can reverse the situation?

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

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

As I’ve mentioned before, learning to practice delegation of authority is one of the most difficult tasks for new managers. Part of the problem is that they don’t understand the main principles of delegation. Today I’m going to outline what they are so that you can think about them and make an assessment about your personal situation.

1. How well do you know your team members, and how well do you know yourself? If you don’t know each other well enough, you may be hesitant to delegate your authority because you have a lack of trust or experience.

2. Have you assessed the strengths and weaknesses of each person on your team? Everyone has strong and weak points. Making a quick assessment will enable you to properly delegate work to the person most suited for each individual task.

3. Does your organisation have written job descriptions? If so, know what they are and determine if there are any legal limitations to whether or not you can go outside of those descriptions when assigning tasks.

4. Understand the requirements of each and every job. If you don’t understand the instructions you shouldn’t expect that anyone else will either.

5. Evaluate your communication skills. Are you constantly working with your employees to make sure they understand the task and to ensure they are making progress?

6. After the project is complete, look back on the process you used and determine if you should make any changes the next time you delegate a task.

You’re almost guaranteed success if you can learn to incorporate the above principles into your day to day delegation interactions. As always, there’s no reason for you to try to do everything on your own. Start the delegation process as soon as you can!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

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

Anger creeps up on even the best of us. The real question is whether or not you have the tools to control your anger so that it doesn’t begin to negatively impact your work. Today I want to share a few techniques for you to implement in your daily life in the hopes that you will be better able to control your emotions in the workplace.

When you feel the rage boiling under your skin, try a few of these ideas:

• It may seem childish, but take a time-out. Close your office door, don’t answer the phone, breathe slowly, and count to 10 – count again if you need to. Always take a few minutes to regroup before returning to the scene of the crime.

• Get some exercise. Get up from your desk and go for a walk – take the stairs instead of the elevator or walk around the outside of your building. Physical exertion is a great way to relieve stress and tension; which is why being involved in an after-work sport or activity is great for your overall well being.

• Keep a journal. Writing out your feelings may help you to identify the sources of your anger and find ways to handle them better. Perhaps you’re getting angry over something silly – writing it out may help you to see things in a different light.

• Calmly and professionally express your anger. Let the person who offended or angered you know that he or she has done so, but do not lash out. Wait until you have calmed down and explain why you feel the way you do. If it’s not possible to speak to the person who upset you, seek out a friend or counselor and talk it out.

• Never speak in anger. You’ll say things you might regret and run the chance of ruining your career or team relationships. Always wait until you’ve calmed down to respond to any situation.

Being able to control your anger will contribute to your developing communication skills as well as ensure you keep your workplace under control. It only takes one or two angry slip-ups to completely disgruntle your employees or superiors – and those relationships will be very difficult to redevelop once they’re destroyed.

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

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