Set challenging targets, but make sure they are realistic and achievable. Try to involve people in determining their own objectives. People need to feel in control.
Brief the team regularly on progress and what is happening in the organisation.
Use on-going success as a motivator.
Get people involved in planning work and innovating: use ideas from individuals and the team.
Increase individuals' responsibility by delegating more. Allocate work in such a way that everyone has a chance to take on more responsibility and gain more expertise.
If possible allow people maximum scope to vary the methods, sequence and pace of their work.
Ensure that the relationship between effort and reward is clearly defined.
Provide opportunities to coaching, training and development.
Catch people doing something right and say so!
source:http://www.resultsthroughpeople.co.uk/topics.asp
Monday, February 02, 2009
Practical Motivation for People in Teams
Monday, December 08, 2008
Top 10 Resolutions for Workplace Success
The end of the year is a good time to reflect on your progress over the past year and plan how you want to develop. Do you want increased success in 2009 or the chance to enjoy the success you've achieved more? These top 10 New Year's resolutions are designed to help you strike a better work-life balance, so you can achieve a truly satisfying success in the New Year.
1) Learn how to delegate and do more of it. There are so many things to do it's easy to delude ourselves that we need to do all of them. Then we wonder why we're so tired and frazzled and have no time to do anything else! Determine your personal return on investment and decide to let someone else do some of the tasks for a change. Delegation is the key to a healthy work-life balance.
2) Promote yourself regularly and consistently.
Too often the task of promoting yourself and your skills slips to the bottom of the to-do list in the press of urgent tasks. If you want to get a raise, earn a promotion or just get noticed, you have to make self promotion a priority.
3) Make planning a weekly event.
Planning is vital if you want a healthy, growing professional life. Planning lets you take stock of what worked and what didn't work, and helps you set new directions or adjust old goals. So why do it just once a year or once a quarter? Set aside time each week to review, adjust, and look forward - or even better, make planning a part of each day. Not only will this help you avoid costly mistakes and stay on track, but you'll feel more focused and relaxed.
4) Learn something new.
What you choose to learn may be directly related to your job or completely unrelated. Learning something new will add to your skills and add a new dimension of interest to your life - another important part of achieving a healthy work-life balance. Depending on how you choose to learn, you may meet new and interesting people, who may become customers, colleagues, or friends. How will you find the time to learn something new? By delegating, remember?
5) Join a new volunteer organization or networking group.
There's nothing like talking to other people for sparking new ideas, refining old ones, and making contacts. Whether it's a group specifically designed for networking or an organization dedicated to a particular type of business, in person or over the 'Net, making the effort to be a part of a group will revitalize you.
6) Give something back to your community.
There are all kinds of worthy organizations that make a difference in your community. Make a New Year's resolution to find a cause that matters to you, and give what you can. Make this the year that you serve on a committee, be a mentor, volunteer, or make regular donations to the groups in your community that try to make the place you live a better place.
7) Put time for you on your calendar.
It is important to take the time to recharge and refresh yourself; a healthy work-life balance demands time out. All work and no play is a recipe for mental and physical disaster. So if you have trouble freeing up time to do the things you enjoy, write time regularly into your schedule to "meet with yourself" and stick to that commitment. If you won't invest in yourself, who will?
8) Set realistic goals.
Goal setting is a valuable habit - if the goals lead to success rather than distress. Make a New Year's resolution that the goals you set will be goals that are achievable, rather than unrealistic pipe dreams that are so far out of reach they only lead to frustration.
9) Don't make do; get a new one.
Is there a piece of equipment in your office that's interfering with your success or something that you lack that's making your working life harder? Whether it's an old fax machine that's a pain to use, or the need for a new employee to lighten your work load, make a New Year's resolution to stop putting off getting what you need. The irritation of making do just isn't worth it.
10) Drop what's not working for you and move on.
If a technique or a product or a business relationship isn't working for you, stop using it. Don't invest a lot of energy into trying to make the unworkable workable. Move on. Something better will turn up.
Achieving a healthy work-life balance is like maintaining a good relationship; you have to keep working on it. But if you apply these New Year's resolutions throughout the year, your success is guaranteed!
Adpated from an article from about.com.
December Theme - Making better resolutions
Monday, November 10, 2008
What Makes Change So Difficult?
A POETIC INTERLUDE:AUTOBIOGRAPHY IN FIVE SHORT CHAPTERS
by Portia Nelson
I
I walk, down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in
I am lost.... I am helpless
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.
II
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again
I can't believe I am in the same place but, it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
III
I walk down the same street
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it there.'
I still fall in.... it's a habit, my eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
IV
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
V
I walk down another street.
Friday, October 17, 2008
How Coachable Are You?
How do you feel about receiving feedback at work? Do you welcome it, or do you cringe?
Effective leaders understand the value of coaching and feedback, both giving and receiving, when it is done with care. Sometimes we need another point of view to understand how we are really perceived by others. If we are willing to accept feedback, it can make us feel more appreciated, and guide us to better performance. Those who are willing to accept feedback also become better at giving it.
So why do some of us get so nervous about it? Because we tend to worry more about negative messages than to expect positive ones. In fact, coaching can (and should!) be used to recognize success as much as improve performance. It can generate new ideas. What about ‘negative’ feedback? Most people who have been coached realize it is not so scary after all, and usually very helpful.
Here are some tips for becoming more coachable:
o Trust in the good intentions of the person giving you feedback. Even if they are not yet skilled in the process, they are making an effort to help you succeed.
o Recognize that it’s normal to feel nervous. Many people are uncomfortable hearing things about themselves, whether positive or negative.
o Focus only on listening. Breathe. Pay attention to the full message, verbal and non-verbal.
o Take time to absorb feedback before you respond. Don’t dismiss it or react defensively. Use what you hear as a starting point for more conversation, if necessary.
o Make sure you understand. The feedback process requires effort from the receiver as well as the giver, so ask for clarification and examples if you need to. By the end of the conversation, both parties should be satisfied with the result.
o Be honest. If it’s really not the right time, or if you feel overwhelmed, say so. Be prepared to come back and start again later.
o Ask for feedback. Requesting a coaching session when you feel ready can make it more comfortable for you.
o Look toward the future. Coaching can help you grow. If you choose not to accept feedback, not to change, will your current path take you where you want to go?
Advance Corporate Training Ltd. (www.actraining.com) is offering a new one week Workplace Performance Coaching certificate. Public workshope in Vancouver, Yellowknife and Inuvik - in house also available. Contact us at 604.521.5473 or events@actraining.com for more details.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Tips for a Winning Holiday Recruitment Strategy
6 Tips for Creating a Winning Holiday Recruitment Strategy for Hourly Workers!
When it comes to the holiday hiring of hourly workers, employers need to put together a recruitment plan well before the radio stations start playing "Jingle Bell Rock". Here's a list of six tips from SnagAJob.com you can use in your holiday recruitment process:
1. Get an early start. Advertise open positions as early as October in order to snatch up quality employees before other companies beat you to it. Use an integrated recruitment strategy including "Help Wanted" signs, newspaper ads and online job postings.
2. Interview equally. Use a similar interview process for temporary employees as you would for permanent ones. Remember: You want qualified workers with an interest in the industry, not just available bodies.
3. Keep an open mind. Although you're initially only looking for seasonal employees, holiday employees could become valued workers to whom you want to offer a more steady position later on – or at least invite back for future seasonal / temporary engagements.
4. Play up the perks. Highlight benefits in job postings and reiterate them during interviews. Keep in mind that job seekers are consumers too, and with family and friends to buy gifts for, they'll appreciate an employee discount on merchandise or free meals to help cut costs.
5. Focus on quality over quantity. Although the window of time may be tight when it comes to seasonal hiring, avoid offering jobs to just anyone who submits an application. Look for people who can stay focused during the holiday rush or who you would want to ask back next holiday season.
6. Give some direction. Set up a holiday orientation or training session before the rush starts. This will save you time training people on the job when business really gets crazy.
The holidays can be a hectic time both in your personal and professional life, so you can't afford to be shorthanded or hire the wrong employees. Use these tips when you're putting together a recruitment strategy for seasonal hourly workers and your holiday hiring season will go as smoothly a glass of eggnog after a Black Friday shopping spree.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Managing Multiple Projects
When evaluating and selecting projects, key business drivers and the organization strategic goals are often not considered. Learning to apply a set of “filters” to assess all projects prior to making a “go-no-go” decision to commence a specific project is one of the key skills. Another is the application of scheduling techniques such as buffer management, which can aid the project manager in producing more realistic schedules.
Challenges
Many organizations have adopted project management best practices to manage projects more effectively, but project management on its own will not bring about the changes in improved performance that organizations are looking for. Project managers might try to compete for resources that are working on other projects in order to force their own projects ahead of schedule. Some of the consequences are:
· Other projects are delayed even more.
· Key staff members are working 60-hour work-weeks.
· Priority projects that only require two months of effort now take two
years to complete.
· Most projects run late.
Where to Start?
The first step in managing multiple projects is to assess the long list of potential projects and apply a system to help in the selection of projects.
Projects are often selected and prioritized based on filters and criteria like:
· Business Case
· Strategic importance
· Benefit or value to the organization
· Return on Investment
· Feasibility
Project managers then prepare a report and make a “Go” or “No Go” decision with key decision makers to commit to doing the project.
Selection Techniques
The selection and prioritization of projects is a two-step process:
1) Develop a balanced portfolio of projects. By categorizing projects, senior management recognizes that there are separate and distinct types and classes of projects and can assign teh right people to the right projects.
2) To promote the organization's long-term health and growth, it needs to invest in projects from each category. Project selection becomes a strategic business decision.
