Six Sigma Blogs

For many businesses and organisations money is still tight. You have to do more, with less; and one of the key areas of your budget you’re likely to prune is training - in particular, management training.

Trouble is, as a manager you’re likely to find increased challenges when you’re asking your people to work harder, change their working conditions and reduce the resources they have available.

And people problems need skilled, confident, inspiring managers - more than ever before! Having worked now with thousands of managers over the years, and still a practising manager myself, I see time and time again, managers struggling

- with “difficult” staff;

- with de-motivated staff;

- with underperforming staff;

- with appraising staff,

- with recruiting the right staff;

- with how best to develop their staff and even with unsupportive line managers of their own!

Whew! As I often say - when it comes to managing; heat and kitchen come to mind! I could go on but I guess you get the picture? When you look at that list above, it’s clear we expect managers to take on some extremely challenging situations and yet research by a number of organisations such as Gallup, CIPD, and others reveals many managers feel they are being asked to do things for which they have never been given training.

Bottom line is, many managers were promoted because they were good at the job they did before - not necessarily because they had the excellent people skills they’re going to need to deal with some of those daunting challenges.

It’s clear we expect managers to take on some extremely challenging situations and yet research by a number of organisations such as Gallup, CIPD, and others reveals many managers feel they are being asked to do things for which they have never been given training and for which they feel a distinct lack of confidence. And how many managers would own up to that? Too few. What are the implications of all this? Does it really matter? Does it make a difference to the outcome if a line manager is feeling uncertain how best to tackle some of the most common people issues? Ruth Spellman, CEO of the Chartered Management Institute says this about training:

“If you think it’s expensive to have really competent people, try incompetent.”

After all - how much does it cost you in wasted time dealing with conflict? (OPP Research , 2008, shows an average of 12 days a year are spent dealing with conflict in the workplace - that’s more than time lost to absence!) What’s that worth to you?

Study after study shows a huge proportion of employees leave bosses, not companies.

Are there managers who, despite tough circumstances still seem to inspire and motivate their staff and maintain loyalty and good performance? Absolutely! And if you had a company full of such skilled managers - what difference would that make to your bottom line? In my experience, as with all employees, managers want to do a good job. But with the exception of a very few, naturally talented and skilled communicators most managers come to the role with little or no understanding of basic human psychology and how to successfully and consistently apply techniques which will ensure they get the best out of themselves and others.

So as we begin 2011, rather than take the simplest, and least creative route of putting all management development “on hold”, why not take the time to ask a more creative question:

“How can we still support management training despite a lower budget?”

You may not be able to justify the “bells and whistles” programme you had planned - but that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways you can still give some support.

After all - you might actually find it more than repays your investment!

Shona Garner specializes in helping busy managers improve communication and productivity in the workplace. Whilst there will always be a need for in person training, Shona accepts that sometimes, lack of money, or time, (or both!) means managers just need some resources or support quickly, easily, and at low cost. Visit her site for plenty of information and access low cost management training and resources

Ever found yourself with conflict threatening your team performance?

It’s a manager’s nightmare - because it threatens the very fabric of your team, reducing employee motivation and threatening your own credibility as a manager.

How do you stop the rot, and regain focus and employee motivation?

Step 1: Don’t play ostrich!

A common reaction to conflict is to put our heads down and hope it will resolve itself! Most of us feel uncomfortable with conflict - it’s a normal human reaction to want to avoid instability! However, you have to ask yourself what avoiding the issue might actually mean.

My bet is the answer to this question includes such things as:

The tension won’t just miraculously disappear and people outside the team will start to notice too.

“It’s OK to behave like this.”

“Our manager is weak.”

Not exactly great for the long term is it? Do you really want to have employee motivation constantly damaged because of in-fighting or conflict? So, ask yourself, “What will be the consequence if I continue to avoid the issue?”

Take your head out of the sand; in fact - draw a line in it! Decide what you really expect in terms of behaviour from your team and then think about how you’re going to communicate this and get your team’s buy in. This is about setting standards - about rules, boundaries and limitations!

Step 2: Ask yourself: “Why am I avoiding this? What am I afraid of?”

In over 30 years, I’ve found very few people who really feel comfortable facing conflict so you’re almost certainly not on your own. It may be impossible to completely eradicate conflict (although the world’s best managers get pretty close - and in fact, understand how to turn it into something positive!), but the bottom line is, being a manager does mean you sometimes have to deal with politics, personality clashes, power struggles, and prima donnas!

So - what stops you from nipping this in the bud, or tackling the situation? Be honest with yourself. Whatever your answer, ask yourself how you can overcome this block. Talk it over with someone you trust.

Step 3: Plan your approach

Once you’ve decided you’re going to bite the bullet, now’s the time to make your plan of action. Here’s a few quick tips to get you started:

- Draw your line in the sand. What behaviour is unacceptable and what are the consequences for unacceptable behaviour?

- Think about when, where and how you have your initial conversation with the individuals concerned.

- In conflict people often say things they don’t mean. Think about how you’re going to say what you need to say. Try to avoid accusation and emotionally charged or potentially inflammatory words. For example, use “I” instead of “you”. Use “disagreement” instead of “row” or “battle”.

- We all say things we don’t mean when we’re in a conflict situation. Try to avoid accusation and emotionally charged or potentially inflammatory words. For example, use “I” instead of “you”. Use “disagreement” instead of “row” or “battle”.

No matter how hard it is, if you’re feeling frustrated or cross about the situation, there’s a danger you’ll see things through negative filters, and forget the positives each individual has to bring to the team.

It is these strengths which are most likely being lost in the middle of all the tension and bickering. Make a note to yourself you will remind the individuals of these strengths, and how you’d really like to focus on how these can be utilised for the benefit of everyone.

In the end it can be worth understanding that conflict, whilst often seen as something negative and to be avoided at all costs, can actually bring about positive change, better mutual understanding and greater harmony, if it is dealt with effectively.

One thing is certainly true - it gets easier with practice!

Shona Garner has over 30 years in coaching, training and helping busy managers to develop skills to enhance their career. Shona has a passion for managers who have tight budgets and need resources to help in any management situation. Her website, Increasing Managerial Success, has a wealth of information for managers to increase employee motivation with checklists.

Are you one of the many individuals who don’t possess sufficient hours in the daytime? We all lead demanding lives and strive to achieve enormous amounts every day. This results is an environment which is based around completing lists of tasks.

A number of individuals have mental lists, whilst others write down a list each day. Which ever way you work, you will observe that, more frequently than not, you have not completed the list. If this happens are you sure that you have fulfilled the most essential things?

If the unfinished tasks are preventing you from working effectively then it could be that you are not doing the jobs in the right order. If this is the case you ought to consider a time management course.

Good time management courses will assist you to prioritize your work and to lessen the time wasting tasks to make sure that you can then accomplish the key ones.

There are three ways to learn about time management.

1 Seminars at work - There are loads of companies which visit offices and instruct in time management. This is a very useful way to get a whole team up to speed rapidly. It is additionally an demanding course which should leave you enthused and raring to make changes.

2 Online courses - If you are self employed, or work for a company who does not appreciate the import of time management courses, then you can still learn about the subject. The online courses are great as they are versatile and you can complete them from the comfort of your own home. These courses are mostly designed with an individual in mind, not a team or department.

3 Books - If you go to your neighborhood library you will discover a whole section on time management. These are fine, however make certain that you select an up-to-date book. A number of of the older books include great techniques, but they do not utilize the internet to its full capacity.

After you choose a time management course you desire to be sure that you receive got the best possible one. Spend a little while on the internet doing your investigation. Read reviews of every one of the courses available, be certain to check out book reviews if you are going to learn this way, before you make any purchases.

Your time management course should be stimulating. If you are not motivated then you will find it enormously difficult to apply anything you have learnt. You will also realize that implementing your new skills will assist you to recollect and improve on them.

Whichever direction you use for your time management course it is critical that you go into it with the desire to change the way you think and live.

Now you just have to find out how to spend your additional time.

Review more about Employee Time Management at theprocrastinationsite.com/

categories: employee time management,time management,self improvement,business,coaching,team building,training,goal setting

Office workers’ attention is being diverted every three minutes by answering the phone, being alerted to an incoming email, responding to an alert on their BlackBerry, reacting to an instant message or a Tweet, or clicking on internet-based distractions such as YouTube or Facebook. These distractions consume much as 28% of an average knowledge workers’ day (Basex research).

As we receive more and more e-mail messages and other technology-based interruptions, it can feel like being hit by a digital deluge. Without the skills to manage e-mail and other devices effectively, many people are wasting time just trying to keep up instead of gaining productivity through technology.

These tactics for distraction management can significantly increase your productivity:

1. Turn off the alarm or visual alerts: You wouldn’t let the postman empty a mailbag on your desk 50 times a day and you certainly wouldn’t let them ring a bell with each delivery. That’s exactly what you are doing if you check each e-mail when it arrives. Turn off the alarm or visual alert and take control of your e-mail and your time.

2. Learn how to turn off or manage alerts on mobile devices: As more and more people synchronize their phones and mobile devices they are being distracted by email alerts, meeting reminders at all sorts of inconvenient times. These alerts can ensure you are being distracted at home as well as work!

3. Treat e-mail like regular mail: Try to check your e-mail at regular times in the day, i.e. early morning, mid-day and late afternoon. Even if you receive a high volume of e-mails, you shouldn’t check more than four times a day. Checking email regularly can give you a very busy feeling but it is deceptive as it is unlikely you are focusing on your key priorities.

4. Take control of your in-box: Subscribe to e-mail services selectively. Ask friends or colleagues who frequently send jokes or huge files to stop. Get a separate e-mail address for personal communication or one that you give just to key contacts, similar to an unlisted phone number. Set up rules to automatically delete or file low priority emails.

5. Focus on your priorities: Commit 10 -15 minutes each day to plan for the next day. Ensure as part of this process you make “appointments with yourself” to focus on key priorities and projects.

E-mail, mobile devices, instant messaging and the like can save businesses considerable time and money, but managing these tools is a skill that’s just as important to acquire as other essential management skills such as communication, planning and prioritizing.

You already own the greatest reading acceleration device that has ever been developed. It is simply your hand. People have spent thousands of dollars attempting to increase their reading speed. But no inventions or machines can do what your hand and your pacing finger can do for you to improve your reading speed — once you?ve been trained in our 4 special techniques.

What do your eyes do while you are “trying” to read? If you’re like most people, your eyes are jerking around, looking, searching, and bouncing here and there. Then they will fixate for a second or two and maybe move on again causing your brain to wonder what you’re doing. Sound familiar? Untrained readers go through this often.

Untrained readers experience this al lot. By learning speed reading, which includes the speed-pacing movement, you’ll learn how to control and then accelerate your coordination related to reading. A pacing technique, from the Evelyn Wood collection, is taught in Speed Reading in Only One Hour - and it’s going to increase your reading speed 50% in less than 10 minutes.

Aim for the best results for the type of reading material you read, but creating the best person environments: arrange your study area: textbooks, research material, and even a hi-lighter. Remove or unplug: magazines, unless study material, stereo, radio- just turn them off. If you wise, you’ll have an ipod with studio music without works, nature sounds or the like. Pachelbel Canon in D minor is one of the best. Get privacy, no brothers, sisters, friends, etc. And also remove you mate, spouse, lovers - they can easily distract you. Food can break your focus and reading patterns. Alcohol and drugs - don’t even go there, being stoned and studying is a sure fire failure. Cigarettes fog your thinking. Nicotine is a drug. Marijuana, cocaine, speed - don’t got there because your foggy brain is useless during an exam. Set your voice mail. Set the mood with relaxing baroque music, get your reading and studying materials together - and get ready for a study experience.

The stage is now set for you to have a successful reading experience; use the tools provided and enjoy your new found advantage to reading, retaining, and learning.