As a manager you’re bound to find out that not everyday is going to be as pleasant as others. You may have problems with clients or deadlines but in my experience the worst days are the ones during which your own team has trouble getting along. If your team members are in the midst of a conflict it’ll be up to you to sort things out. Here are a few tips to help make that job a bit easier.

Determine the Actual Problem

Sometimes people argue and then things escalate until they no longer remember what the original problem was. Ask everyone involved to sit down and talk about what they perceive the problem to be. Once you all agree on a source you can start to find a solution.

Allow Everyone to Contribute

Make sure everyone involved in the conflict has the opportunity to talk about what he or she not only thinks the problem is but what his opinions are and how the problem can be solved. Give each person a set amount of time to speak and make sure everyone sticks to the facts – no berating other team members.

Reach for a Compromise

Identify the methods each member of the group thinks need to be followed in order to reach a compromise. Not everyone will be happy with the entire outcome but there is always a way to make as many people happy as possible. Identify both long and short term goals and find ways for everyone to work toward them together.

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Courses

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

Whether you’re working with a new customer or an existing one you’re going to have to talk about price at least once or twice. The problem, especially today, is that most people are incredibly concerned about their finances and most are looking for way to cut back instead of ways to spend more.

Your first instinct may be to lower your price but that course of action is really going to hurt you more than it will help. First, it tells your customer that your product isn’t really priced correctly to start with. After all, if it were you wouldn’t be able to give a discount. Second, it will leave your customer expecting discounts from you in the future – with every transaction.

You need to convince yourself, first, that the set price for your product is the right price. Then you need to make sure that every member of your sales team is convinced of the same thing!

After you are convinced, you’ll be better able to deal more effectively with your clients but remember the following:

• You have to make eye contact when discussion price.
• You need to ask your customers questions so that you can understand their needs and objections.
• You need to prove to your customer that he’ll get a return on his investment.
• AND you need to accept and move on if a client simply doesn’t want to pay the price you’ve offered.

After all, you want to close good sales – not just every one that walks through your door. A client not willing to pay the price for a good product and good service isn’t one you want to hold on to and, as a manager, you need to learn how to tell the difference!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Courses

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

We’re going to continue our study of body language by taking a close look at the eyes. The eyes play a huge role in an individual’s ability to express himself. They send several different non-verbal cues and if you know how to read the eyes you’ll be better able to anticipate the needs of your employees and clients alike.

The eyes are really amazing. You can look at someone from across a crowded room and instantly know whether or not he is looking back at your, or making eye contact. There are very few other communication gestures you can make with that same type of power. From a distance you can’t see what a person’s eyes are doing, aside from looking at you, but if you get closer you’ll be able to learn a lot more about what they’re thinking.

Here are just a few examples of how people move their eyes and what those movements mean:

• If a person’s eyes tend to look towards the right the person may be either guessing, creating a story, or formulating an outright lie. Children, for example, may be making up a fictional story, which is a sign of creativity. On the other hand, a person looking both to the right and down maybe thinking about how he feels about a situation – a response that may or may not be genuine.
• People who look towards their left when speaking are often trying to remember facts. They’re attempting to access their personal memory banks in order to participate in conversation. Those who look down and to the left, on the other hand, may be having an internal conversation.
• Those who shrug their eyes are typically frustrated with a situation. This type of shrug of the face may be accompanied with an upward eye roll, indicating a person is “looking up” for help or assistance.
• What if you see a person blinking frequently? These people are generally either very excited or are feelings the pressure of the situation. The average person blinks between 6 and 20 times each minute while an excited person can blink up to 100 times in that same time period.

These are just few examples of the things your eyes can say to others as you speak – and what the eyes of others are saying to you. Pay attention to the way you react to others and watch their eyes as you speak to them. They may not be telling you something you need to know!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Courses

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

Matthew Campling, a prominent psychotherapist, once completed a case study after which he created what is now known as Campling’s Age/Work Arc Theory (or CAWA). The theory was developed after Campling asked a simple question – can a job in today’s work environment be held for life or will you have to move on as your career goals change?

The first question we really must ask ourselves is whether or not we are talking about our jobs in terms of our lifetime or in terms of careers. In today’s day and age, it is less common to find a person who sticks with the same career for an entire lifetime. Many people change careers completely at least once and some will change three or more times.

There are two facts to consider when we think about our ages in relationship to our work are a) what will make us happiest longest and b) how long we will live. We already know that people are living longer lives, so will the same jobs our parents kept from their teenage years through retirement keep us happy just as long? Whereas people were once afraid of change, change in life (and career) is now almost guaranteed.

Here are a few questions you’re eventually going to have to sit back and ask yourself:

• Do you have consistent levels of talent or will you be considered a “one hit wonder” in your career field?
• Can you ensure that your career will never be sidelined?
• Why are some people very happy with their career choices while others seem to have a tough time finding one that works for them?

There are dozens of other questions but, in short, they look to bring an understanding to the realization that many people will have a low point, high point, and then a low point (forming an arc) in their career patterns. People tend to reach a “high point” and after that seem to spiral downwards as their career cycles end.

If you are “happy” at work you may be at the peak of your career and in a few months or years may suddenly feel as though you’ve lost track of your goals, sidelining yourself.

The real question is this: what can you do as you build your career, or before you get to that pivotal high point, that will ensure you’re always happy.

Do you think it’s even possible to remain truly happy at work – forever? Think on it and let me know your thoughts.

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Courses

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

I thought we’d end the week with a little exercise – perhaps one of the most thought provoking yet.

Imagine that you work for a company that, for whatever reason, had a workforce that consisted primarily of white males. Throughout the years you have managed to change the face of the workforce and the company now has a significant number of female, African American, Asian, and Hispanic workers.

Your organisation is experiencing severe financial difficulties and you will need to lay off about 1/3 of your 1,000 member workforce. If your plan works you will be able to hire them all back in approximately 6-9 months.

What will you do in order to:

• Choose which employees to lay off while not changing the diversity you’ve worked to hard to create?
• Communicate the decision to lay off a significant number of employees to the rest of the team? and
• Make sure your team understands the change is temporary in nature?

It’s a tall order, for sure. How will you handle the decision making process?

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Courses

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