Managing People - For Your Career Success

Leadership

In this section we focus on Leadership and Coaching your People plus Key Relationships and how to:

Whether you are effective at managing others is crucial to you and your business success. As you get better and develop your skill at managing others, the environment in which you work becomes more enjoyable and more successful. Your aim is to become a more productive manager and leader, who motivates and coaches people to be more productive in their own work.

And please don't forget the importance of networking in your job search plus the value of good Cover Letter Writing

It may be that you are simply aiming to move from being a manager to being a true leader - here you will find out how to go about it. Do not think that this site in any way diminishes the value of managers, it doesn't, managers are essential for industry and commerce to function well. What I am looking for is the leader who can help make the next leap forward.

You can start by reading my most recent article about the Definition of Leadership. I believe leadership is entirely about being yourself and being "real" rather than by trying to copy some management guru's ideas.

These are the key behavioural characteristics of a Leader:

• Establishing a shared vision
• Building trust by example
• Sharing power and responsibility
• Resolving common problems of conflict
• Giving timely feedback to encourage improvement
• Clarifying roles & objectives
• Managing action oriented meetings
• Building support networks
• Being seen to lead
• Championing the team

When you are trying to understand what that means you need to take a look at the behavioural attributes of the 'Leader' and what happens around them. Below are just some of the visible attributes. The Leader:

• Actively promotes participation, openness, honesty and trust.
• Has a flexible style of leadership to suit given situations?
• Assesses strengths and weaknesses within team and encourages self and team development.
• Has the courage to make and support sound business decisions however unpopular.
• Admits mistakes and gives permission for others to make mistakes, having evaluated the risk beforehand.
• Leads by example, is highly visible and lives the vision, values and positive behaviours.
• Sets challenging and developmental targets.
• Displays confidence in team and self, evidenced by an empowered team with clear accountabilities.
• Disciplined, fair and consistent in approach with self and others. Is supportive of the team, externally to the team.
• Willing to accept responsibility for team actions/ideas.
• Displays knowledge, understanding and respect for the feelings and opinions of others and treats each associate as an individual.
• Gives praise and thank-you where appropriate.
• Shares success with other members of the team.

Obviously Leadership styles vary with ability and personality, so how can you be sure to do the right things?

The well developed Leader gives full ownership, responsibility and delegated authority, encourages participation and is flexible in their approach to target setting.

He/she also promotes accountability in associates to do a task their own way to an agreed standard. The developed leader also confronts and deals constructively with poor performance without hesitation.

The accomplished leader sets goals for performance improvement; praises solid achievements and recognises the quality of individuals’ contribution.

Establishes a monitoring system to ensure effectiveness.

He or she has the courage to make and support sound business decisions however unpopular.
Has personal charisma.

Is highly visible, leads by example and has a collegiate leadership style that brings the team along with them.

If you’re not there yet, the developing leader generally works hard to achieve a high level of 'buy-in' amongst the team and has systems/processes to regularly review individual and team performance.
He/she displays sensitivity to situations and individuals.
Generally leads by example and is regarded as a motivator of people.
Assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the team and encourages focused development; is competently able to deal positively with conflict situations.

Perhaps you are aiming to move from simply being a manager to being a true leader - here you will find out how to go about it: Definition of Leadership

To move into a more competent level of doing things means doing what the “Developed” leader does.

Effective Coaching

• Modelling excellence
• Understanding training
• Recognising effort
• Generously praising
• Criticizing constructively
• Linking to success

This is the most effective way of providing for the growth and development of people. Your skills here can have a massive impact on your business.

Effective coaching is not about delivering mini lectures based on your understanding of a situation or what we would do.

It is helping people find their own ways and come to their own understanding of the situation so that they are empowered and motivated to achieve the required objectives.

Effective coaches are able to:

• Communicate effectively with every level
• Observe accurately for clear guidance and feedback
• Deliver relevant feedback at the right time
• Adapt to differing learning styles
• Analyse situations and develop responses
• Model excellent behaviours
• Avoid being overly directive or domineering

Understanding this and becoming more effective yourself, is something you can learn and practise, once you are aware of what is involved.

Remember, the only behaviour you can change directly, is your own.

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