There are many leadership ideas out there that seem, at times, to be over-complicated and a bit unwieldy. Often, management is quite a simply design with some detail woven in among the fabric of complexity. But if we were to really examine the roles of the people within  our business, I believe we can divide them into three components.

The senior management team (MD, Chief Exec, Senior Board members, etc) should be spending a large proportion of their time working on strategy and vision. These are the people who drive the organisation, ensuring the plans are in place for the business to go forward. They create the vision for others to follow. They build the strategy for the business to run forward. They develop the values that everyone in the company lives by. They ensure everyone has confidence in the future. And they commit to the mission that will make the business profitable.

The middle management team consist of the people who apply the strategy, vision and values.They link in with the senior team to drive the mission forward, working to ensure the ideas generated from the people who hold the purse-strings are applied effectively. They provide the leadership for the teams working for them to actually carry out the work.

The final layer are the producers, the people who ensure the work is carried out, motivated and driven by the leaders above them who set the guidelines and ensure continuity of business.

Effectively, each layer should be ensuring they make it easy for the layer below them to carry out their jobs. By providing the correct vision, top management provide the tools for middle managers to lead the producers effectively. If the producers (the people actually going out there and selling, giving customer service, answering the phones, building the customer relationships, etc) don’t feel adequately led, they will feel unclear about their roles and responsibilities, and maybe not tap into their full productive capabilities.

If the leaders don’t feel their senior team have set the right vision or direction for the business to follow, they will not have the full commitment and positivity to drive producers forward to achieve.

It’s like a well-oiled machine that gives great performance when maintained properly, and causes alarm and distress when ignored and neglected.

Ask whether the Vision, Leadership and Production within your business is in complete harmony. If so, you have a smooth-running engine. If not, maintenance is needed to ensure its continuity.

Thanks again

Mark Williams

Head of Training

(Image by Renjith Krishnan)

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I’m delighted to let you know that we now have our own channel on youtube!

We’ve currently got 20 short training tips on the channel, with more being uploaded every week.

So when you need a quick dose of training in specific subjects, hop over to our MTD channel and download one of our programmes.

http://www.youtube.com/user/mtdtraining

With subjects like The Seven Deadly Sins of Emails, Running Effective Meetings, Effective Listening Skills, How to use the 7S Model, and many more, it’s a goldmine of bite-sized information that can be viewed whenever you have a few spare moments.

Watch out for new titles every week!

That’s
http://www.youtube.com/user/mtdtraining

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

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FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

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One thing that differentiates average managers from the really successful ones is their devotion to excellence.

When we ask managers how committed they are to excellence in their role, the majority tell us that they are ‘very’ or ‘totally’. But when we probe a little further and ask what they specifically do to show excellence in their work, there is a distinct lack of clarity.

Let me ask you the same question; how committed are you to excellence in everything you do?

Those we have worked with over the years who have demonstrated this commitment to excel in all they do, share one particular emotion that makes them stand out. And that is the passion they show for excellence.

By that I mean they see opportunities to show a very high work ethic in everything they do, and the passion they show for that level of performance outweighs everything else. All they do is stamped with high quality, and they approach their tasks with a resolute mind-set that creates a confidence in everyone who works with them.

So can you raise your standards whenever you need to get results? If you do that consistently, there is every chance you have a ‘passion for excellence.

Thanks again
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

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

The holidays can be a very stressful time for a lot of people. So much so, in fact, the symptoms of stress for some can easily spiral into moderate to severe depression. There’s something about the season, the shopping, and the pressure that makes dealing with the holidays a little less than pleasant.

Even our best and nicest clients tend to become more demanding during the holiday season, as they make their best attempts to cram as much last minute work as possible before the New Year. Your job as a manager is to remain aware of these changes and do what you can to make the holiday season as palatable as possible as your employees struggle to juggle their growing and changing work and personal obligations each day.

So what are some of the things we can do to help?

• Lighten up on the personal business rules. Allowing your employees an hour or two to shop online might help alleviate a bit of stress. You should, of course, make sure the exception for the holiday season is not abused, but your employees are probably going to attempt shopping during work hours anyway, so why not let them know it’s ok at certain times of the day?

• Flex those work schedules. With the holiday season comes a myriad of school functions, family gatherings, and work parties. Each of these involves a significant amount of prep and travel time, and trying to figure out how to get to each place on time can be a hassle. Allow employees to flex their schedules a little bit during the holiday season, if necessary. You don’t have to give away extra hours, but allowing someone to come in early or work through lunch so that he can leave early won’t hurt production.

• Review your dress code. Do you really need to be in business professional or business casual dress every day during the holiday season? Could you add a couple of less formal days to the schedule? Your employees will feel more comfortable, less stressed, and possibly end up being a bit more productive than usual.

The holiday season lasts from Thanksgiving straight through New Year’s Day, so you still have time to make some exceptions, especially if you’ll have a few employees working in the office over the next week while the rest of the office is on holiday.

Remember, happy employees are productive and loyal employees. Learn how to manage stress, not only for yourself, but for your employees as well, and you’ll be pleased with the results.

Enjoy your holidays!

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

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

Developed by Robert Dilts, the concept known as Dilts Logical Levels was actually adapted by a series of neurological tests and concepts designed by an anthropologist known as Gregory Bateson.

Robert Dilts took that research and applied it to what is now considered to be a map of the logical levels of change a person goes through when analyzing a problem or process. These levels can be applied on many levels, including personal, professional, and even in social situations.

The six logical levels include:

• Spirituality/Purpose,
• Identity/Mission,
• Beliefs and Values,
• Capabilities/Strategies,
• Behaviours, and
• Environment.

The away an individual feels about himself on each of these levels has a huge impact on the action he takes on a daily basis.

For example, let’s assume you must attend a holiday function at the home of your boss sometime this week but you’d rather go home and spend time with your family. You aren’t necessarily thrilled about the event, but you must choose how to react.

If you’re smart you’ll consider your behaviour before you walk out the door. The way you act will determine how successful you are at work in the New Year. Will you walk in the door visibly disgruntled, or will you put a smile on your face and act happy to be at the party?

Each of these six levels impacts the end result of any situation. The capability/strategy you choose will be a result of your beliefs and values. Your beliefs and values will be a result of how you identify with yourself as a person. How you view yourself as a person is directly impacted by what you feel your purpose in life should be.

Take a few minutes this week to sit back and reflect upon these six levels and where you feel you fit into the grand scheme of things. Look at yourself on both a personal and professional level. I think you’ll be surprised at what you are able to learn about yourself!

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

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