I’m going to keep things short and sweet today but I’m going to ask you a hard question and I want you to think about it over the weekend.

Are you a leader?

In my experience, I’ve found that leaders do two main things – and two things only. They have the skill and determination to get things done and they have the ability to inspire and motivate those around them.

Do you get things done?

Do you motivate others?

Take some time to reflect on your performance over the past year. Did it feel like you were pulling teeth when working with your team members or were they glad to work with you? And – there’s a question right there – were they working for you or were they working with you?

So, are you really a leader? And, if not, will you become one this year?

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management

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

As a manager you’re going to find that there are times when you feel a lot more stressed than you do at other times. You might even stop and wonder why you feel more stressed than those around you. The truth is that, as managers, we tend to believe we need to be perfect at everything we do. We need to be in control. We want to be right. We want our jobs done perfectly. In short, we put too much pressure on ourselves.

As you approach the New Year, take the following 5 points into consideration and see if you can begin to make tiny changes, one at a time. Eliminating some of the stress you’re putting on yourself might make your job just a bit easier to accomplish!

5. Stop Expecting Perfection

You are not perfect, nor are the people who work for or with you. If you stop expecting perfection you won’t be disappointed when you don’t achieve it and you’ll be better able to take a strong, objective look at the great results you did achieve after working on a project instead of the minute percentage you think you didn’t.

4. Keep Your Opinions to Yourself

Do you have a tendancy towards giving people your unsolicited opinions or advice? Stop. If people want your help they will ask for it. If you’re working with someone who doesn’t know you well, ask them if you can offer your opinion or advice so that they can get ideas from another vantage point. If you stop forcing your ideas on others they’ll be more willing to work with you.

3. Forget the Past

So you’ve made a few mistakes in the past. Stop letting them eat at you, stressing you out even more. Put them aside and move on. You can’t change the past but you can control what you are doing now and in the future.

2. Analyse Less

Sometimes, when we are given new tasks, we feel like we have to learn as much as possible about the background or procedures before we get started. We end up adding stress and wasting time when we realistically could have just jumped right into the project. Try to spend less time analysing projects – just do them instead.

1. Stop Caring about Who Likes You

The truth is very simple. Not everyone you meet in your life is going to like you. Their reasons may or may not be valid. You don’t need to stress yourself out or care about who likes you and who does not. It doesn’t matter and, to be honest, you can work professionally with people who do not like you as long as you are all respectful.

Ready to reduce the stress in your life? Start by taking a look at yourself and your habits. Once you can do that you’ll be half way home and your relationships with your team members will instantly begin to improve!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Leadership

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

Today’s ever changing economy means one thing – lots of change in the workplace. As a manager, you’ll be responsible for communicating changes within your organisation to your employees but you have a problem. The rumor mill is already running and most of your employees have already gotten themselves caught up in the buzz and may be worried about their jobs. So what can you do to help them stay calm and deal with change on a daily basis?

Explain Why the Organisation is Changing

Employees who understand why things are changing are more likely to accept change without high levels of anxiety. It doesn’t matter if you’re making a small change in procedure, if you plan to move your office location, or if you’re going to be part of a merger. Change is inevitable and the more we know and understand the easier it is to handle – regardless of where we are on the management food chain.

Remain Positive

No matter what type of news you deliver, remain as positive as possible. If you are a lower or mid-level manager you should never, under any circumstances, criticize upper management. The more respect you show for upper management the more respect your employees will show.

Remain Available

Make sure you stay available to your employees as much as possible, adopting an open door policy that will allow them to come to you with their questions or concerns. If your policy suddenly shifts from open-door to closed-door your employees will become nervous and upset and their work patterns will become disruptive.

Communicate with your employees as much as possible. The more information you can give, the better. The more secretive you are, the higher your odds of losing employees as they “jump ship” to find a more stable environment.

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Leadership

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

As managers we are constantly looking for new and innovative ways to bring our team members together, allowing them to get to know each other in a laid back environment. The next time you have a team meeting, consider breaking your members into groups of 2 or 3 and giving them a series of ditloid puzzles to answer.

Ditloids are small equations made up of letters or numbers that can usually be solved pretty easily. You can use some that are prewritten or have your teams make up ditloits to give the opposing teams. Offer incentives (extra time off) or prizes (lunch, gift certificates, etc) to the team that can answer the highest number of ditloids correctly.

Here are a few examples (and their answers):

• 3  B M (3 blind mice)
• 12 S O T Z (12 signs of the zodiac)
• 50 S I T U S A (50 states in the USA)
• 4 A 20 B B I A P (4 and 20 blackbirds baked in a pie)
• 4 S O A DB (4 strings on a double bass)
• 6 B I A O I C (6 balls in an over in cricket)

Remember, if you make up your own ditloids they shouldn’t be too obscure. They should be based on common phrases used within your organization, for example.

Have fun bringing your team together with a few minutes of entertainment. Who knows – they may just learn a little bit about themselves and about each other!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Leadership Courses

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

Some managers think they can lead by telling their employees what to do. Others know that real leaders lead by example. The greatest leaders, however, have special qualities that make them stand out from the crowd. Over the course of my experience as a manager I’ve identified some of these special qualities in others and I thought I’d share them with you today.

• Great team leaders are sensitive. They understand that everyone has didfferent concerns, needs, and interests and they do their best to address these differences.
• Great team leaders have awesome communication and listening skills. They know that everyone has their own set of ideas, plans, and dreams. They listen to everyone and try to find ways to incorporate those interests.
• Great team leaders share their own dreams, plans, and visions with their team members. They aren’t secretive and they refrain from merely working off of other people’s ideas.
• Great team leaders are awesome delegators. They are able to trust their team members and will give those who deserve it a significant amount of responsibility.
• Great team leaders allow their team members to participate in the goal-setting and problem solving processes. They allow everyone to become a part of the process instead of just telling their team members what is going to happen next.
• Great team leaders aren’t perfect and don’t pretend to be. They let their team members know about their own mistakes and use them as learning experiences.

What type of team leader are you? Do you treat your team members fairly and include them in the decision making processes that dictate what they do on a daily basis? Do certain aspects of team leadership work better for you than others? Please share!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Courses

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