Writing reports - part 3 - Presenting the report

Welcome to Part 3 of this series on Writing reports.

We have looked at Preparing the Report, and at Construction and Style. In this post, let's look at the Presentation of the Report

The report needs to go to the right person at the right time. "Right" may be determined by a set schedule. You may have a schedule of reporting to a certain person at particular times. Or someone may have commissioned the report and asked it to be presented by a particular date.

Obviously you need to deliver the report on time. Other operations of the organisation may depend for their success on that timing. But whether the report is on time or delivered late will also impact on your image within the organisation. Do you want to be seen as reliable and efficient? Then report on time.

If the report is presented verbally, then all of the techniques of public speaking come into play. Speaking clearly and loudly enough to be heard are obvious, but make sure you can be heard, and understood, or your content will be lost. You will need to convince, again, of your image - sincerity and professionalism are important. Use eye contact to convince of your sincerity and commitment. Use it, too, to emphasise points you are making. Employ variation in pitch and pace, and use pause to emphasis points, too. But they will also keep our audience's attention, even if it is an audience of one.

Only read what is written. Keep extraneous comments, explanations or last minute thoughts for the time before or after the presentation.

Remember that no matter how hard you worked at your job, however efficient you may have been, however good your idea, if you cannot communicate effectively, it will have been lost. This report is your communication link, use it well.

The fourth and final part in this series on reporting will finish with a list of the main Taboos and Dos of Reporting.

Tags:

reports
organisations
communication

Trust in organisations - the morals of leadership

Trust within an organization, a community or a unit of any institution is primarily established by the leader. When leaders fail their people, or worse, betray them, trust is eroded or destroyed. Read on …

Tag:

leadership

Are you a teacher or interested in education?

Visit the Ed News Bytes blog for news and articles about education and teaching.

Tags:

education
organisations

Meeting Success Tip for the Week"

You can use confrontation. Turn it around. Approach it without apologies, avoid emotional involvement and use facts. Then turn it into a joint problem solving exercise.

Tags:

meetings

organisations

How Organizations Create Social Value

by Manda Salls

A recent study on the factors that contribute to successful high-performance social enterprises finds a connection between enterprises that link economic value with social value.

This was the focus of a study presented at the colloquium, "The Social Enterprise Knowledge Network: Seeking Success in Social Enterprise," ending August 1. This two-year study was the second carried out by SEKN since it was founded in 2001 as a research partnership between HBS and leading business schools in Latin America and Spain. SEKN's research centered on smart practices by social and business organizations in Latin America and Spain.

This research will be published in Harvard's David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies book series through Harvard University Press.
The goal of the colloquium is to help leaders in businesses and society create social value for their communities, while in parallel strengthening their organizations.

The study centered on forty organizations—twenty NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and twenty corporations—deemed to be high performers in social enterprise (SE). Through interviews, field research, and comparative analysis, HBS professor James Austin, HBS senior researcher Ezequiel A. Reficco, UNIANDES professor Roberto Gutiérrez, and INCAE professor Enrique Ogliastri presented what the SEKN researchers found to be smart practices for organizations wanting to create social value.

The researchers stressed the importance of synergies between Economic Value (EV) and Social Value (SV), calling them "two sides of the same coin." By aligning EV and SV, both nonprofits and corporations can: ...

Read on ...

Tags:

organisations
management

Web pages for kids

Whizz kids pages include games and puzzles, books and reading, homework help and an ezine.

Tags:
kids
organisations

Meeting success Tip

When you are using speech to convince at a meeting, use hard-hitting words like think rather than terms such as feel or hope.

Tags:

meetings
organisations
communication

Leadership self-assessment

This questionnaire is based on the 4E's Leadership Framework, and was designed by Mick Yates. It helps you self-assess how well you are doing in using the 4E's Leadership activities, and provides directional pointers on how you can improve.

Please answer each question on a scale of 1-5 (1 being the lowest score and 5 being the highest).
Consider the context in which you are answering the questions - are you answering to help yourself lead better, with a view to helping your work team, or with the aim of comparing notes with others taking the self assessment? Keep this context in mind as you answer each series of questions.

Check it out …


Tags:

leadership
organisations
management

Effective reporting part 3 - the presentation of the report

Welcome to Part 3 of this series on Writing reports.

We have looked at Preparing the Report, and at Construction and Style. In this post, let's look at the Presentation of the Report

The report needs to go to the right person at the right time. "Right" may be determined by a set schedule. You may have a schedule of reporting to a certain person at particular times. Or someone may have commissioned the report and asked it to be presented by a particular date.

Obviously you need to deliver the report on time. Other operations of the organisation may depend for their success on that timing. But whether the report is on time or delivered late will also impact on your image within the organisation. Do you want to be seen as reliable and efficient? Then report on time.

If the report is presented verbally, then all of the techniques of public speaking come into play. Speaking clearly and loudly enough to be heard are obvious, but make sure you can be heard, and understood, or your content will be lost. You will need to convince, again, of your image - sincerity and professionalism are important. Use eye contact to convince of your sincerity and commitment. Use it, too, to emphasise points you are making. Employ variation in pitch and pace, and use pause to emphasis points, too. But they will also keep our audience's attention, even if it is an audience of one.

Only read what is written. Keep extraneous comments, explanations or last minute thoughts for the time before or after the presentation.

Remember that no matter how hard you worked at your job, however efficient you may have been, however good your idea, if you cannot communicate effectively, it will have been lost. This report is your communication link, use it well.

The fourth and final part in this series on reporting will finish with a list of the main Taboos and Dos of Reporting.


Tags

communication
organisations
reports

Communication skill - consider personal space

Consider personal space when you are involved in communication. Look for signals from the other person or group that indicate that you may have violated personal space or made yourself too distant. Both have the power to detract from your communication success.

tags:

communication
organisations

Building expert power - lead from the front

By James Manktelow

There are many types of power that leaders can use.

These include problematic ones such as the power of position, the power to give rewards, the power to punish and the power to control information. While these types of power do have some strength, they put the person being lead in an unhealthy position of weakness, and can leave leaders using these power bases looking autocratic and out of touch.
More than this, society has changed hugely over the last 50 years. Citizens are individually more powerful, and employees are more able to shift jobs. Few of us enjoy having power exerted over us, and some will do what they can to undermine people who use these sorts of power.

However there are three types of positive power that truly effective leaders use:
Charismatic power, expert power and referent power.

This article teaches the technique of building expert power.

Read on


Tags:

leadership
management

Organisation Success Tip - hypermanics

Begin the Hunt for Hypomanics!

From Tom Peters

Reread: "These men were outrageous—arrogant, provocative, unconventional, and unpredictable. They were not 'well adjusted' by normal standards but instead forced the world to adjust to them. ... Without their irrational confidence, ambitious vision, and unstoppable zeal, these outrageous captains would never have sailed into unknown waters, never discovered new worlds, never changed the course of our history." To survive competitively in the turbulent decades ahead we need to find & cherish such people. What—exactly—is your "Hypomanic Recruitment Plan?" (No kidding. It may be the most serious question you ever try to answer.)

Tag:

Management

Organisation Success Tip - Do unto others

Do Unto Others ...

The goal of every action, every meeting, every project:MAKE OTHERS SUCCESSFUL!

Can you honestly say that the questions you asked at the very last meeting you attended were ... directly & unequivocally ... about making others successful?

Read on ...and click on Success Tips

Management

The Qualities Of Skillful Leadership

By Jim Rohn
If you want to be a leader who attracts quality people, the key is to become a person of quality yourself.

Leadership is the ability to attract someone to the gifts, skills, and opportunities you offer as an owner, as a manager, as a parent.

I call leadership the great challenge of life.

What's important in leadership is refining your skills.

All great leaders keep working on themselves until they become effective.

Here are some specifics:

Read on ...

tags:
leadership
management

Build your communication skills

Are you interested in developing your communication skills?

Do you love to write?

Are you interested in reading?

Visit my Pivotal Communication pages.

tags:
communication

Leadership Success Tip

Your planning and delegation will be so much more effective if you can estimate accurately the amount of work, time and effort needed to accomplish a task. Start by consciously evaluating your skills in this area.

Marketing Strategies

Marketing Strategies Revealed - ADMA Forum 2006
The Australian Direct Marketing Association's ADMA Forum 2006 offers marketing strategies from some of the world’s leading brands and a learning experience for the Not for Profit sector with a flexible conference program as well as free seminars and exhibitions.

The three-day conference program and exhibition is being held at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour from Wednesday 24th to Friday 26th of May.

Effective organisational reports - construction and style

This is the second part of a series of posts on Writing and Presenting Reports that are effective.

Part One looked at preparing for the report.

Part Two will give you tips on construction and style.

To get your report read and used, be sure to include the date and reason for the report.


Formatting can vary between organisations, and between reports, depending on protocol, precedence and the reason for the report. But in general the sequence should be:

The title must indicate who is reporting and the subject. Follow this, if necessary, with an address, if the report is addressed to the specific person or group.

The opening of the report gives the reason for the report - the terms of reference. It includes the problem to be investigated, who authorised the report, and the names of the person/people responsible for the report.

The body covers details of the investigation, including timing; and the points discussed, a summary of the information obtained, opinions formed and the action taken or decisions made.

Finally, the conclusion covers recommendations for action or results of action taken.

Style

Reports should be in the third person.

Use a logical structure to present the information so it can be understood and have the required impact.

Avoid long and complicated verbiage.

Be as brief as you can while keeping accuracy and covering the necessary points.

And be explicit, so that there is no opportunity for misunderstanding.

Truth leaders need truth tellers

When former Enron VP Sherron Watkins testified in court about her role in warning higher-ups that the house of cards was sure to fall, you realize the important role that truth tellers can play for leaders when they listen! Read on ...

Public speaking resources

Learn to make speeches with confidence, how to write a speech and how to create an impact with your audience. Pivotal Public Speaking has resources, tips, articles and courses to help you overcome your fear of public speaking and polish your presentations.

Leadership success tip

We must always be alert to the problems team members may cause, and their weaknesses. But the strength of the team and its leader will be based on the ability to also see the best value in each other. We must not waste that value. And as individuals, we will always rise to the best value people see in us.

Are you management material?

Many people end up in managerial roles by default, not necessarily because they had all the attributes that a great manager really needs. You have to have certain skills and abilities to manage others successfully.

Discover if you have what it takes to be a highly effective manager.

Take our Free Assessment today click here

Turn a massive breakdown into a powerful business breakthrough

There I was. Depressed, frustrated, and overwhelmed. Despite my best efforts to have a smooth running ship and organize my event, I realized I had a significant breakdown in my process. I admit, it wasn’t the end of the world, but come on, I teach this stuff! It was one week before we went live on our new program, we were preparing the workbooks for production, and I realized, no one ordered the right tabs! Yikes!

It got me thinking how a client of mine had shared a great story about their direct mail marketing campaign. A lot of money had been invested in buying a list of qualified candidates. But every step of the way there was breakdown in the process – the guy who formatted the list didn’t set it up right, the assistant didn’t have the proper envelopes, and they had no postage when they needed it. My client laughed as he told me this, but I knew he was frustrated!

Well, I’ve learned over the years that a breakdown means that something very valuable is happening – I have new insight into how I can improve my process, my attitude, or my belief so that problem never happens again.

Let’s look at a few examples of how breakdowns can occur in our business or life.

Read the whole article

Meeting success tip

The mover of a motion does not have to vote for it. Putting a motion on the floor is a technique to facilitate control of discussion and to focus the meeting on making that discussion productive.

NFP Communications Research and Toolkit offer

A recent US survey of Not for Profit organisations has found that many NFPs are lacking effective marketing and communications with current and would-be supporters.

The study, conducted by Not for Profit consultation group Cause Communications, found only one in five respondents knew what their peers were doing in the area of communications, and 90 percent of respondents said their organisations did no market research on their target audience.

Fifty-nine percent of respondents answered that their communications budget could be better; 12 percent said they had no such budget at all.

Lisa Witter, the executive vice president of a New York consulting firm says that while both large and small NFPs have been traditionally excellent with organisation, policy, and fundraising, communication and media relations remains at a deficit.

Those tasks, experts say, are essential to widening recognition of an organisation's goals and broadening long-term support.

The situation in Australia is expected to be very similar.

The result of this research has seen Cause Communications produce an exhaustive Communications Toolkit that translates well to the Australian scene. Called A Guide to Navigating Communications for the Nonprofit World the 70 page hard-bound toolkit offers information and advice - everything from research basics, branding and message development and budgeting to advertising, campaigns, guerilla marketing and media relations. It cleverly offers 'roadside assistance' sections in each chapter offering website addresses, publications and fast facts.It has work sheets, planning sheets and pro forma release forms…everything to make the NFP marketing and communications job easier.While some of the examples relate to the American scene, the information is non-country specific and there are plenty of websites links that are internationally based.

Apart from all this, it is a beautifully designed and laid out publication with a heavy duty cover that is meant for the hard work required in any Not for Profit organisation. The book was made possible by support from The Annenberg Foundation, The California Endowment, The James Irvine Foundation and The Marguerite Casey Foundation.

As well the electronic version of the Toolkit can be download FREE in PDF format from the Cause Communication website at http://www.causecommunications.org/CC/CC_news06_1.html. Just register your details.

(Editor's note: The registration form doesn't have a code for Australia so I chose sunny California, but all the other info was true and correct!) Hard copies are so far only available in the US.

From ProBono Australia: http://www.probonoaustralia.com.au/new/default.asp?a=2&b=1343&d=1

AOL to pay bulk email fees for nonprofits

AOL considers charging high-volume senders of eMail to ensure delivery

Update: Responding to sharp criticism about a proposed bulk-eMailing fee, America Online Inc. said nonprofit organizations will not have to pay to send mass messages to their members after all.

Article continues

Organisational reports - be prepared

Presenting a report involves all of the techniques involved in other forms of communication. They all involve getting a message across – and that may involve just your content, but it may also involve a message about yourself.

During any event or meeting or project, store notes on each stage to aid in compiling reports. These may be stored in your PC or laptop, or simply in paper form in a folder. Remember, information not reported is almost as though it never happened.

So a report is vital to the evaluation and growth of the whole organisation. It can motivate as much as it can inform. It keeps members informed so they are prepared for the future and are aware of the past. It gives higher officers the input they need to function effectively and to inform the Board. And because written knowledge can be saved, it is a record for the future.

Report writing and presentation is a vital aspect of any organisational member’s training. It provides practice in clear logical expression. Thoughts are organised so they can be presented in a more meaningful, accurate and complete form. It can also be practice in self-promotion and promotion of the organisation.

Meeting success tip

Before you go ahead with your meeting, ask “Is this meeting necessary?”  Look at alternatives in terms of cost effectiveness, what need is to be filled more effective formats, levels of accountability and the possibility of using policy or procedure checklists instead.  

Communication success tip - constructive criticism

Everyone appreciates constructive criticism.  But it is so much more palatable and therefore effective if it is couched between two layers of well-deserved praise.

More on Communication

Getting Noticed on the net

Getting Noticed on the Net- Web Site Registration
 
Have you "Googled' your Not for Profit and found that it doesn't appear on the search results? Or are you relegated to page seventeen among thousands of competing sites? Correctly registering a Not for Profit with major search engines and web directories is the way to get noticed on the Net!
Article continues

Discover the leader within you

"Learn to Lead: Discover the Leader Within You"
Everyone has seen a good leader in action. And, as we have all witnessed, he or she seems to easily create a vision, influence others to commit to the vision and then empowers these same individuals to succeed in achieving the vision.
Additionally, he or she simultaneously wears different hats, acting as teacher, cheerleader, even as a sounding board, as the “team” works to make the vision a reality.
In watching this phenomenon, most of us have wondered: Can strong, effective, productive, successful leadership be learned?
The answer to this question is a clear, definitive “Yes.”
In fact, some leadership skills and behaviors are already present in you. You just have to learn to tap into them fully. Some of them may be foreign to you now, but with a little bit of perseverance and application you can learn to cultivate them.
Article continues

Keeping up to date with critical issues

Westlaw Watch streamlines the process for keeping your organization up-to-date on critical business issues, legal topics and competitive matters. This easy-to-use, interactive tool allows the monitoring and management of clips across your organization with the ability to deliver results via e-mail distribution or through seamless links on your intranet or portal. Individual users, a select group of users or the entire organization can receive relevant news or legal information in their preferred format when they want it

Personal Internet surfing at works costs heaps

Personal Internet surfing at work costs Companies over $300 billion a year
According to a new survey by America Online and Salary.com, summarized by Dan Malachowski, the average worker admits to wasting 2.09 hours per 8-hour workday, not including lunch and scheduled break-time. The survey indicates that employees are wasting about twice as much time as their employers expect. Salary.com calculated that employers spend $759 billion per year on salaries for which real work was expected, but not actually performed.
The biggest distraction is personal Internet use by 44.7% of the more than 10,000 people polled. Socializing with co-workers came in second at 23.4%. Conducting personal business, "spacing out," running errands, and making personal phone calls were the other popular time-wasting activities in the workplace.
 
Read the whole article
 

National roundable of nonprofit organisations

Nonprofit Roundtable aims to enhance the extraordinary work and effort already undertaken by nonprofit organisations in Australia. It seeks to promote and strengthen the reputation and recognition of the sector and to increase the infrastructure and capacity of the sector to deliver important economic and social contributions to Australia and beyond. The objects of the Roundtable include:· - to encourage voluntary and philanthropic endeavour · - to enhance the recognition of and promote support for the work of nonprofit organisations· - to provide a national forum for the exchange of information, research and knowledge· - to undertake, initiate or coordinate research to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of nonprofit organisations· - to inform decision makers in respect of issues affecting nonprofit organisations· - to be a voice on issues which affect nonprofit agencies· - to enhance the cooperation and engagement between business, government and other sectors of society with the nonprofit sectorVisit the website

Corporate social responsibility

Corporate social Responsibility  -  Forum 2006

2-3 March Marriott Hotel, Sydney

Corporate Social Responsibility Forum 2006” is a highly interactive two day event addressing strategic issues confronting organisations dealing with the latest developments and challenges in corporate social responsibility. This forum brings together a group of leading practitioners from a variety of backgrounds to discuss key challenges confronting organisations. They will speak candidly about their experiences, sharing lessons on what worked, what didn’t and what the future might hold. Each in different ways, our presenters will highlight the strategies, key programs and the  infrastructure required to:

• Successfully engage stakeholders

• Measure the effectiveness of existing approaches and
identify areas in need of improvement

• Bring the values to life throughout the organisation

• Develop strategic partnerships

• Effectively communicate CSR

• Use CSR as tool for competitive advantage

• Attract and keep the right people

More Information

Launch of Australian Philanthropy Journal

From ProBono Australia



NSW Govt Promotes Corporate Philanthropy

The NSW Government is encouraging greater corporate philanthropy with the launch of a special NSW edition of the Australian Philanthropy journal.DoCS’ Communities Division Executive Director, Sonja Stewart, says that while there are signs that increasing numbers of trusts and foundations ware being established in the State, local research had shown Australians were not giving as much as they could.

Stewart says that with approximately 7,000 Not for Profit organisations providing community and social services in NSW, the potential for collaborative partnerships between these organisations and the philanthropic and business sectors is almost limitless.She says the NSW Government has recognised this great potential for cross-sector collaboration to make a significant contribution to the people of NSW; whether through direct financial assistance or donations, or businesses providing in-kind resources or encouraging their employees to volunteer their skills to non-profit organisations.Stewart says that combined with the growing interest in Corporate Social Responsibility in recent years, it is hoped that this new publication will spark further interest in this area.
The NSW edition focuses on philanthropy in NSW and includes a number of articles show casing partnerships between the philanthropic and business sectors, and NSW Government agencies.It provides excellent examples of how government agencies and the philanthropic and corporate sectors can collaborate on projects that contribute in to community and individual wellbeing.One innovative and successful project is the Lawyers Encouraging and Assisting Promising Students! (LEAPS!) mentoring program which has been making a difference in the lives of vulnerable young people in NSW since 2002.
Through this project, which is run through a partnership with the NSW Department of Education and Training and the Sydney legal profession, selected students are partnered with lawyers and other employees of participating firms and meet regularly to discuss career and life goals.

DoCS contributed $16,500 to the cost of producing the special edition. The journal is published by Philanthropy Australia, the national membership and peak organisation for trusts and foundations, and is usually distributed three times a year to its members.An electronic copy of the journal is available at www.communitybuilders.nsw.gov.au

How to give to your community

The new Giving Bikes page is just the latest in a series of improvements made to the Australian Giving Centre, which is supported by our alliance partner Westpac. The Giving Centre now has information on just about everything you need to know when it comes to giving to your community: from giving money and time, to giving organs and blood, to giving blankets, clothes and furniture, land, computers, and mobile phones. It’s
online at www.ourcommunity.com.au/giving

Nine Steps of Planning in your organisation

Nine Steps of Planning in your Organisation

Even though everyone in your organisation may be fairly aware of what is to be achieved, and what your organisational goals are, the goal-setting, planning process is useful to focus awareness on the aims and processes and to ensure that everyone knows exactly what their roles are. These steps can also be used in any decision-making situation, or any problem solving session.Planning, must, however, never stop. It is constantly adapting to new situations.1. Assess the situation2. Select objectives and strategies to realize objectives. 3. Develop action plans for entire long-range plan4. Develop detailed action plans for current year5. Establish a way to monitor activities and insure feedback (reporting).6. Develop a budget and implement ways to meet funding requirements.7. Measure performance; analyse feedback; compare progress with plan.8. Act on findings: give green light to successful activities, take corrective action when needed.9. Signoff on completed plans - abandon ones not achieving your objective or when the objective changes (as they do).

Leadership Success Tip

No person will ever be a great leader who does not take genuine joy in the success of those with whom they serve.

Fundraising - is hand-written best?

Steve Hitchcock discusses whether hand-written addresses on the outer envelope and hand-written notes inside are worth the expense and bother:
"Almost all of the organizations we work with at Mal Warwick & Associates are using some form of hand-written mailings. The percentage of donors who respond to these mailings is very high -- two, three, or even four times as high as in response to conventional lasered or printed appeals. These hand-written appeals -- which cost two, three, or four times as much as a standard appeal – are ….  Read on

The WHODO

The WHODO

Before you walk into a meeting, send an email or start a call, take a minute to think about what you want to achieve.1. WHO are you talking to? This is the decider, your prospect, the person who, by direct action, can get you the result that you want.2. What do you want that person to DO? This is your call to action – the single, specific action you want him to take.

Meeting success tip

Before you go ahead with your meeting, ask "Is this meeting necessary?"  Look at alternatives in terms of cost effectiveness, what need is to be filled, more effective formats, levels of accountability and the possibility of using policy or procedure checklists instead. 

Meeting success tip

 
If you want everyone's opinion, take note of those who have said nothing.  When everyone is quiet, ask those people for their ideas. 

Communication upwards

The Inside Advantage
Have an important decision to make? Your employees know more than you think. Open the lines of communication and get valuable advice from those who understand your company best.
The biggest challenge in communicating with employees today is not coping with a culturally diverse work force, overcoming the impersonalization of e-mail or battling information overload to get your message across. Instead, it's getting employees to trust you and offer ideas for improving the business.
Read On: >>>

Negotiating confidence

 

Negotiating can be a challenge. Sometimes we watch successful negotiators at work and wonder if it is an ability they were born with. But with a little time, information and preparation you can head for the negotiating table with confidence. Ten Steps to Win-Win Negotiating.1. Be prepared. Define your objectives and use lateral thinking to brainstorm possible ways they can be achieved.2. Research the other party’s objectives and brainstorm the methods they may use. “Find the edge” – any pressure points or hidden agendas. “Information is power.”3. Prepare yourself and the way you use the venue. Choose your seating for power, your clothes and your attitude. 4. Establish a cordial relationship on opening the meeting. Specify the aims of the meeting.5. Raise less contentious issues first.6. Promote harmony, minimise the negatives and articulate areas of commonality. 7. “Win-win” means compromises on both sides, so be prepared to bargain. Start with two lists – your must-haves and your might-haves, and start with a higher level than you expect to obtain. Highlight the contribution of your concession to the other person’s objectives. 8. Be prepared to release information at times beneficial to your cause. Use silence. 9. Listen for surprises.10. Articulate the agreed outcomes and any timelines, or they may collapse. Use detailed preparation and the win-win method and you have the tools to approach negotiation with confidence.

Follow a Leader to Become a leader

Follow a Leader to Become a Leader
When it comes to managing your employees, your leadership style directly affects your success. Put your business on top by following these proven HR strategies.
One of the best ways to become a great manager is to follow the example of another great manager. Adapting a "best practices" approach to managing your employees may be one of the best ways to excel in your market or industry. By studying what the top 10 percent of U.S. companies have in common, researchers have identified five HR practices these companies consistently use that make them successful. And each process, system or approach is a practice your company can easily adapt.
Read On: >>>

Murphys Law 6

Murphy's Law # 6

A meeting is an event atwhich minutes are kept and hours are lost.

The dead elephant in the middle of the room

The dead elephant in the middle of the room

"Many times in the corporate world, you will find yourself facing the "dead elephant in the middle of the room."This is the issue that everyone is aware of, but somehow nobody mentions. It could be emotionally charged; it could feel too big to confront; it could be that nobody is comfortable bringing it up. If you are a manager, it might very well be that you are the only one who doesn't see it."

Dave Grey has written a very useful article on that dead elephant.

His communication bias is very welcome.

I also found the idea of calling it a dead elephant or in the case of the comment by Dennis Arter, a "dead moose" and dealing with it as such, a very applicable strategy. Maybe here in Australia, we should call it a dead kangaroo!

Leadership Success Tip

Delegation helps to channel more of the latent strengths in other people. So if you can delegate, you will help the growth of both the individuals concerned and the organisation for which you all work.

Publicity - UGRs

From Just about Retail

Examine Your UGR's
(Reading time - 30 seconds)
The Chief Executive Officer of McDonald’s, Charles Bell, has produced some fascinating figures to revive the McDonald’s business.
In a recent address, he mentioned that if each McDonald’s store served one more hamburger every two hours, the profits for American stores would rise by a total of US$250m and each store would save US$20,000 in labour costs.
It makes you think how important it is to be proactive with the customer and have clear team and individual targets.
How many times have you been a customer and ignored by a team member or found a team member not interested in the add on sale.
Companies spend huge amounts on advertising to grow their business, but then team members fail to pick up on the opportunities …… why?
In my experience as a consultant and trainer, most individuals have the skills, but do not do it. Because of the business culture, they are not encouraged to do it, or they are not rewarded and if they do so, their feelings are “why should I bother”.
I recently attended an excellent talk by Steve Simpson on business culture and he discussed the importance of U.G.R.’s (Unwritten Ground Rules) and how they affect the performance levels in your business.
If you want to know more about U.G.R.’s do get his book - UGRs™ - Creating a Culture of Service
How many people could you serve your “french fries” to in the next week and what impact would that have on your bottom line and influence in your organisation?

Developing leadership skills by modelling

Follow a Leader to Become a Leader
When it comes to managing your employees, your leadership style directly affects your success. Put your business on top by following these proven HR strategies.
One of the best ways to become a great manager is to follow the example of another great manager. Adapting a "best practices" approach to managing your employees may be one of the best ways to excel in your market or industry. By studying what the top 10 percent of U.S. companies have in common, researchers have identified five HR practices these companies consistently use that make them successful. And each process, system or approach is a practice your company can easily adapt.
Article continues

Meeting success tip

It is in the interests of everyone concerned to take minutes of your meetings – whether they are a diary entry recording a meeting of two people, or the formal set of minutes of a Board meeting. It means that a record is kept of decisions made and agreed to.... and that you have details you can use to plan future meetings.

Publicity - using testimonials

Publicity
========================================
Article: Is There Too Much Sugar In Your Testimonials?
Read online at: http://www.psychotactics.com/artsugar.htm
========================================

Take a cup of hot, steaming coffee.
Add one spoon of sugar.
Add another spoon of sugar.
Then just for good measure, add three more spoons (yes, of sugar)

Now drink the coffee
Now, now, no 'yuck' from you. We both know the coffee is sickeningly
sweet. And ja, that coffee is headed straight for the drain in a few
seconds.

Nothing that sweet should be allowed to exist, right?

===============================================
Ahem...have you looked at your testimonials recently?
===============================================
Let's look at them testimonials, shall we, pardner?

==========
Example 1:
==========
"I loved your product. I bought it just yesterday, and your content
has been the most enlightening I've ever read. Thanks so much for
putting out this information. I don't know how I managed without it."

==========
Example 2:
==========
"Believe me, I'm so grateful to you for all your invaluable help.
I absolutely want you to know that your consulting made a big
difference to my life. You deserve all the good things that come
your way."

===============================================
Ooh, suddenly you can see the five teaspoons of sugar, can't you?
===============================================
The testimonials on your website, brochure and the rest of your
marketing material is starting to look
like...eyewwww...yuck...aren't they?

===============================================
Except, you're in a dilemma
===============================================
You didn't write the testimonials. You can't control what customers
say.

Or can you?

If you're getting icky, sugary-sweet testimonials, it's not the
client's fault. No sireeee, it's not!

It's your fault. You see, you've been asking the wrong quest*ions.

===============================================
Questions*? Were you supposed to ask questions*?
===============================================
If your question has been limited to: "Can you give me a
testimonial?", then go wash your mouth with Dove.

Because you're literally setting yourself up for a testimonial
that's coming zinging out from left field.

===============================================
You see, the client is not in the business of giving testimonials
===============================================
They haven't a clue in the world what to say or write, when you ask
for your testimonial. So to prevent you from looking bad, they
write something sweet and sugary.

===============================================
How to cut out the sweet and sugary stuff right away
===============================================
Ask the client three questions*:

1) What were your perceptions before you bought our product/service
and were you reluctant in any way?

2) How did you feel as a result of using the product/service?

3) What specific results did you get as a result of using the
product/service?

===============================================
So let's take apart the psychology behind each question
===============================================
1) The 'Perception' Question: The first question usually brings out
the bad stuff. Like "I thought you were too expensive." or "I
thought this product was just for the geeks" and other assorted
perceptions.

2) The 'What did you Find' Question: The second question is pure
emotion. Notice how it uses the word 'feel?' That trigger word
'feel' gets you a response that's based on feeling. The client
feels 'confident', 'reassured', 'ecstatic', etc. The feeling is a
response that other customers respond to as well, so emotion is a
vital part of your testimonial.

3) The 'Specific Results' Question: This clearly demonstrates that
we're past the touchy-feely stage. It's alright to feel good,
but hey, show me the buckeroos! A specific answer will have: '25%
growth', '$12,000', etc.

===============================================
There's a nice side-effect to this questioning method
===============================================
Suddenly, the testimonials you receive, won't be one measly line.
They'll be several paragraphs long. Some will exceed a page.

When customers are asked specific questions, they give long, detailed
answers. These answers not only enable you to post some real
testimonials in your marketing material, but also enable you to see
what your customer is thinking.

If you stop to read between the lines, you'll quickly see how you
can change your copy, graphics,etc., based on Question 1. Because
if the customer was reluctant for any reason, you can bet your
pink booties that you've got other customers who feel the same
reluctance. So, by asking the right questions, not only do you
get an insight, but you also get a darned good testimonial as well!

Leadership - Delegation

Leadership – Delegation - Part 3


In Part 2 of this series of posts, we looked at Preparation and Matching the Job to the Person.
Communicating the Vision
If the project is to succeed, everyone needs to see the broader aims of the whole project and the vision involved.  Information is vital, but so is communicating the enthusiasm and value of the vision.  Communicate the value of the project’s success – its value to the organisation and to the people taking on the various tasks. It is also necessary to make the members feel that the vision is theirs as well, that they can contribute to it, and feed it with their own creativity, enthusiasm and hard work.
Motivation 
Communicating the vision involves the use of positive, encouraging language.  Use words like believe, confidence in abilities, success.  The language needs to communicate strength and positivity both in the enthusiasm for the project and in the faith in the people involved and their ability to achieve their goals.
 
Each person needs to be given the responsibility to achieve the task delegated to them.  It will encourage them to contribute wholeheartedly to the job and its success.  If the person does not want the responsibility, then perhaps it was not a good decision to delegate to them.
And those who are happy to work with responsibility, will also be motivated by the knowledge that you have the faith that they can achieve the job they have been given.
 
Expect high standards.
 
Make sure each person has the resources and the moral support to achieve their tasks.
 
Albert Schweitzer said, “Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.  So lead by example.  Take your place on the ground floor and “at the coal face.”  And if you have middle level managers, give them direct experience of the work and the workplace.      

Leadership Success Tip

A leader must be willing to accept responsibility for the success of the project, for the actions of the members of the team and the goals selected. The leader is responsible to contribute. A leader must get things done, which means organizing others, setting goals, establishing procedures, and monitoring progress.

Leadership and Change

Good Managers Focus on Employees' Strengths, Not Weaknesses

Marcus Buckingham knows enough about good management to know he's not a good manager. The author of First, Break All The Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently and The One Thing You Need to Know, Buckingham says the best managers share one talent -- the ability to find, and then capitalize upon, their employees' unique traits. "The guiding principle is, 'How can I take this person's talent and turn it into performance?'" he asked during a presentation at the Wharton Leadership Conference on June 9. Buckingham talked about good vs. poor managers, and the need for leaders to display optimism, clarity, and an ego big enough that they can "build a future for their companies." Read the whole article

Free publicity space

Continuing the message

You probably get at least one of these among your monthly credit card bills. We're talking about a remittance envelope that offers you things you may or may not want to order.

But have you ever considered borrowing that same idea and adding helpful information to your own reply envelope?

Because on most fundraising packages, the back (and back flap) of the BRE is as bare as a baby's . . . well, you get the idea. So why not utilize that valuable — and empty — space to promote your group and its mission? Article continues

Meeting success tip

Choose clothes that say you are competent and successful. A rule of thumb: dress like the people you work with. If there is wide variation, dress like the decision-makers. People tend to trust, include, and help others who look like them.

Virtual teams roadmap

Virtual Teams Roadmap To High-Performance Collaboration: The Bioteaming Manifesto
 
Today’s virtual business teams don’t appear to be able to fully leverage the much touted opportunities offered by always-on interconnectedness, easy access to unlimited information sources and real-time communication and collaboration tools.  Post continues

Leadership - Delegation series Part 2

Be prepared before you Delegate

Ensure that you have your vision articulated very precisely. This is the vision that you will use to motivate and enthuse your members. Be very familiar with the place of this particular job in the organisation's plans and objectives.

Run the idea past other members of the Board, or trusted friends, so that they can find any difficulties or flaws. They can refine the idea for you, until it is stronger and more authentic than your original.

Check out the resources available for the job to be delegated.

Understand the whole scenario. Look for the fears that your members may feel, anticipate the problems that might occur, and think through how you will deal with those, what you will say. Look for flaws that might exist in the way you will communicate your plan, and the ways you might be misunderstood. Then you will be prepared enough to present a confident persona when you are motivating those who will share the work.

Match the Job to the Person

How many people will you need?
What kind of history does that person have on previous jobs?
Does this person show enthusiasm and interest in this appointment?
Does this person have the basic intelligence, knowledge and willingness to learn, necessary for the job?
Look for latent skills, strengths, and especially enthusiasm and willingness to learn.
________________________________________

Keeping Criticism Helpful

By Fred Smith

Keep criticism positive. Recently, I tried to analyze the reasons I criticize. Three of them were negative and one was positive.

If before 10 a.m. I have been critical of everybody, I stop and say: "Fred, what's wrong with you? What are you mad at yourself about?" And generally I have to go and make a call to apologize to somebody. But my environment won't straighten out that day until I quit being mad at myself. If I criticize too many, I'm just passing the buck on a self-grudge.

The second reason: To show superior knowledge. How often does someone show you a great idea and you are showing enthusiasm when you suddenly say to yourself, "I can't be too enthusiastic because he may feel he is as smart as I am." So you say, "This is a great idea, but . . . . " Many "yes-buts" come from the desire to show your superior knowledge.

The third root of negative criticism is usually a performer who didn't make the grade. Those who start well but don't make the A list usually become critics. You can't put a failed executive back into the ranks--he will become a critic.

Positive criticism is simply: A genuine desire to bring improvement. It can be done quietly. True positive criticism is not done in the earshot of others, unlike the three negative types that generally are done in public. Really strong positive criticism is specific and directed only to the point that needs work.

When you can positively criticize you are demonstrating emotional stability as a leader.

This week, review a circumstance in which you negatively criticized--at work or at home. Then think about what was really going on. Next,
think about an example of positive constructive criticism and how effectively it worked.

Leadership success tip

Leadership Success Tip:
 
Successful leadership is often a result of self-motivation.  Motivation is the instinct, desire or idea which moves you to action... Aristotle said:  "We learn by doing."  The beginning of success is when you are inspired to make the effort.  Each time you act, you will become more competent and productive.  The act will retype the motivation message and give you more confidence in your leadership abilities.

Why Use Humor in Your Presentations?

by Tom Antion

Why use humor?
• Why should I bother using humor in my presentations?
• Can't I just deliver my information and sit down?
You sure can! That's what most people do. The problem is that most people are not effective presenters. They are nighty-nite, snooze-inducing, say-your-prayers, hit-the-sack, unlicensed hypnotists. They are ZZZZZs presenters. They might be experts in their field and able to recite hours and hours of information on their topic, but is that effective?
According to Bob Orben, Special Assistant to President Gerald Ford and Former Director of the White House Speech writing Department, "Business executives and political leaders have embraced humor because humor works. Humor has gone from being an admirable part of a leader's character to a mandatory one."
A survey of top executives who earned more than $250,000 per year was conducted by a large executive search firm. The survey found that these executives believed their communication skills were the number one factor that carried them to the top.
Mastering the use of humor and other high-explosion techniques puts a fine polish on your presentation skills which can help propel you to the top of the speaking profession.
Benefits of using humor
There are many benefits you can derive from using humor in your presentations. Keep in mind that these benefits only help you reach your ultimate purpose for making the presentation. They are not purposes in themselves unless, of course, you are only interested in entertaining.
How humor helps you:
• Enhance your connection with your audience
• Makes you more likeable
• Arouses interest
• Keeps attention
• Helps emphasize points and ideas
• Disarms hostility
• Overcomes overly flattering introductions
• Gets your point across without creating hostility
• Helps relate facts and figures
• Makes a positive impression
• Shows that you do not take yourself too seriously
• Helps paint pictures in the audience's mind
• Makes information more memorable
• Lightens up heavy material
Tom's List of Top 4 Benefits of Using Humor
• You will be asked back
• You will get higher evaluations or more sales
• You will make more money
• You will make people happy.
The last one is my favorite benefit. I get great satisfaction from knowing that I have brightened someone else's life. I had an executive come up to me after one of my humor seminars and say, "You opened up a whole new world for me." I almost cried right on the spot. I'll never forget it. "
Tom Antion is a veteran of over 2300 paid presentations. His Great Speaking e-zine has the largest subscriber base (over 85,000 as of this writing) in the entire speaking industry.

Leadership – Delegation Series

Leadership – Delegation Series

If you have a task greater than you can handle on your own, then you need to delegate. Not a choice many of us choose to make, but one we can all learn. This post will be the first in a series on this task and how to best accomplish it. There will be 4 posts in total, but this is the first and covers Why, that is, the Benefits, Preparation and Choosing the right people for the job.

So let's start with the Whys.

The first is obvious. The task if too big for one person. Or maybe is beyond the skills of that one person.

The second is that there is more chance of success because using other people brings in extra skill-sets, and added enthusiasm.

The third WHY is that delegation gives the leaders in an organisation the chance to develop the latent strengths and talents of their members, giving the organisation a greater pool of skill and potential leaders.

Meeting Success Tip for the Week:

Whenever possible, be prepared. Know who will be at the meeting. Plan what you are going to say: keep it concise and clear.

WHERE GROWTH HAPPENS

By Dr. John C. Maxwell

If I asked you to rank your top five favorite leadership responsibilities, attending meetings probably would not appear on your list. It's not that some meetings aren't enjoyable; it's just that there are plenty of other activities that leaders find more thrilling, fun or productive.
That said, there is one kind of meeting that I absolutely love, and that is a creative meeting. For example, I once spent about four hours in a room with 11 people, doing nothing but talking about books. We discussed how to write better books, and we talked about which topics would add value to people's lives. In the process, we challenged each other. We built on each others' thoughts and ideas. We argued. We laughed.
Now I realize that to some of you, spending four hours brainstorming about books might sound about as exhilarating as watching paint dry. But for me, it was incredibly exciting. By the time I came out of that room, it was 5 o'clock in the afternoon. After a marathon meeting like that, a guy my age ought to be getting little tired. But I was charged up and ready to spend the evening writing. Click here to read the complete article.

Creating a Positive Professional Image

"In today’s diverse workplace, your actions and motives are constantly under scrutiny. Time to manage your own professional image before others do it for you. An interview with professor Laura Morgan Roberts.


As HBS professor Laura Morgan Roberts sees it, if you aren't managing your own professional image, others are.

"People are constantly observing your behavior and forming theories about your competence, character, and commitment, which are rapidly disseminated throughout your workplace," she says. "It is only wise to add your voice in framing others' theories about who you are and what you can accomplish."

There are plenty of books telling you how to "dress for success" and control your body language. But keeping on top of your personal traits is only part of the story of managing your professional image, says Roberts. You also belong to a social identity group—African American male, working mother—that brings its own stereotyping from the people you work with, especially in today's diverse workplaces. You can put on a suit and cut your hair to improve your appearance, but how do you manage something like skin color?

Roberts will present her research, called "Changing Faces: Professional Image Construction in Diverse Organizational Settings," in the October issue of the Academy of Management Review.

She discusses her research in this interview."

This is a technique that can gain publicity for your organisation in a three pronged approach.

Firstly, conduct a survey within your oganisation. This is a great way to discover what your people are thinking - get their opinions and maybe even their ideas. (You might even be able to harvest some testimonials - with permission, of course) But word it carefully and it can also be a very effective way of doing internal publicity as well. Word it so that the respondents are reminded of just how valuable their organisation is, what it does, and its brand. You are also then giving them fodder for their own PR activities.

Secondly conduct a survey about your organisation. This, too, may bring in opinions about your organisation and ideas for improvement. But, very basically, this is another way of bringing your organisation's name and brand to people's attention.

Thirdly conduct a survey on a particular subject. Choose something that is timely, or outrageous, or newsworthy, but preferably close to your own area of operations. Survey as wide a range of people and as large a population as you can, and voila you have a news item. Report that your organisation conducted this survey and report the outrageous or timely or newsworthy results of that survey and it is sure to make the news in your area.

Get publicity for your organisation with a survey

This is a technique that can gain publicity for your organisation in a three pronged approach.

Firstly, conduct a survey within your oganisation. This is a great way to discover what your people are thinking - get their opinions and maybe even their ideas. (You might even be able to harvest some testimonials - with permission, of course) But word it carefully and it can also be a very effective way of doing internal publicity as well. Word it so that the respondents are reminded of just how valuable their organisation is, what it does, and its brand. You are also then giving them fodder for their own PR activities.

Secondly conduct a survey about your organisation. This, too, may bring in opinions about your organisation and ideas for improvement. But, very basically, this is another way of bringing your organisation's name and brand to people's attention.

Thirdly conduct a survey on a particular subject. Choose something that is timely, or outrageous, or newsworthy, but preferably close to your own area of operations. Suvey as wide a range of people and as large a population as you can, and voila you have a news item. Report that your organisation conducted this survey and report the outrageous or timely or newsworthy results of that survey and it is sure to make the news in your area.

Some people are addicted to love, but most of us are addicted to e-mail.

According to a new survey conducted by America Online, the average e-mail user checks e-mail nearly five times a day. Yes, that's right. AOL's E-mail Addiction survey examines our e-mail behavior and frankly, it's a little obsessive. The survey found that e-mail users rely on e-mail as much as the phone for communication, spend nearly an hour a day on e-mail, and that 77 percent of e-mail users have more than one mail account.

Here are a few of the survey's more interesting findings:
--Forty-one percent of e-mail users check e-mail first thing in the morning, before they've brushed their teeth or trudged to the kitchen to make coffee.
--Forty percent of e-mail users report checking their e-mail in the middle of the night. (Downright obsessive, yes?)
--More than one in four (26 percent) of e-mail users say they haven't gone more than two to three days without checking their e-mail.
--Most e-mail users have two or three e-mail accounts (56 percent). The average user has 2.8 accounts.
--E-mail users check for mail anywhere: In bed in their pajamas (23 percent); in school (12 percent); in business meetings (8 percent); at Wi-Fi hotspots, like Starbuck's or McDonald's (6 percent); at the beach or pool (6 percent); in the bathroom (4 percent); while driving (4 percent); and in church (1 percent).
"Last time I checked God didn't have a Blackberry," says Chamath Palihapitiya, general manager and vice president for AOL's AIM. The survey results, he says, speak "to the fact that e-mail has become such a fundamental way that people communicate. People thought that e-mail was just a business behavior, but it is a social and commonplace behavior."

Palihapitiya says it's the first time AOL has conducted a survey of this kind, probing the actual behaviors and habits of e-mail users. AOL recently launched its e-mail service Web-wide.
"One of the things we took away from this is that people need accessibility everywhere. They may be at home, at a friend's house, at the office, in the street... one of the things we did with our e-mail product is we made sure it was accessible all over the Web," Palihapitiya says, adding "But just as important, we make sure that it works with your work e-mail. We allow you to use Outlook to get your AIM mail."

That's important because the survey finds that 61 percent of all e-mail users check their personal e-mail at work at least three times a day. By syncing with Outlook, AOL mail becomes part of a user's normal work e-mail application. AOL plans to offer mobile e-mail access via Blackberry, mobile phones, and other handheld devices by the fall. AOL says its mail service supports advertising in the body of e-mails. "Our competitors don't do that," Palihapitiya says. It means that embedded ads won't be stripped out when e-mail is delivered in Outlook.

The survey's results, Palihapitiya says, will help AOL develop e-mail features and applications that users may find useful. "One of the things that jumped out of us is that e-mail users are really interested in un-sending a message and knowing when a message has been forwarded." He says in AOL e-mail, a user can un-send right away and check the status of whether mail has been opened. AOL is working on a feature that would notify users as to whether a piece of mail has been forwarded to them.

More survey findings:
--Sixty-one percent of e-mail users check personal e-mail on the job an average of three times a day. About half of those who check personal e-mail at work (47 percent) check it sporadically throughout the day, while about one in four (25 percent) check it first thing when they arrive, 18 percent check it at lunchtime, 8 percent during an afternoon break, and 2 percent right before they head home.
--Women are more likely than men to check their personal e-mail at work throughout the day (50 percent versus 44 percent), while men are more likely than women to check their personal e-mail first thing when they arrive in the morning (28 percent versus 21 percent).
--Six in 10 of all e-mail users (60 percent) check their e-mail while on vacation, mostly for pleasure (47 percent) rather than business (13 percent). Of those who access e-mail while on vacation, 57 percent say it's very (21 percent) or somewhat important (36 percent) that they have access to e-mail.
Get this, AOL has provided a quiz to determine your level of e-mail addiction. It's available later today here.
The survey was conducted with Opinion Research Corp., which conducted online surveys with 4,012 respondents 18 and older in the top 20 cities around the country to measure e-mail usage


Tobi Elkin is Executive Editor, MediaPost.
Just An Online Minute

Managing conflict

Managing Conflict with Peers
________________________________________

Managing Conflict

What's Your Role?

Everyone has habitual responses to conflict, but these reactions are often not ideal. By understanding your conflict behaviors and hot buttons, you can see how you contribute to constructive as well as destructive outcomes of conflict.

"The first step to improving the way conflict is handled at work is to get clear on the role you play and why you respond the way you do," says CCL's Brenda McManigle.

Typically, people behave in a way that sets them up to play a specific role in the conflict, such as:

• Avoider — someone who ignores or denies conflict.
• Aggressor — someone who stokes conflict.
• Diplomat — someone who mediates conflict between others.
• Peacemaker — someone who tries to keep work relationships happy and calm.
• Director — someone who confronts or acknowledges conflict and works to resolve the situation.

"If you can see your behavior clearly, you have the chance to make changes," says McManigle. She suggests writing out a recent example of conflict that you experienced. Write as much detail as you can about what you said, and what you did — or did not do. Did you behave as an avoider, aggressor, diplomat, peacemaker or director? Consider how the role you played helped or hindered problem solving. Did your behavior strengthen or undermine relationships? What impact is your behavior likely to have on your effectiveness in the short term? What might the consequences be on your long-term career goals? What changes could you make?

You will also benefit from knowing what kinds of situations are most likely to create conflicts for you. In other words, what are your hot buttons? Hot buttons are behaviors that may irritate you enough to provoke you or compel you to behave in a way that is unproductive. For example, your hot buttons might get pushed when someone is unreliable or untrustworthy, abrasive or hostile, micromanaging or overly analytical.

There are many techniques, such as deep breathing, that allow you to stay in control of your emotions. You might need to give yourself a "timeout" to prevent your hot buttons from taking over. If possible, take a break from the situation (go listen to music or do something physical if you can). If you can't leave the situation, slowly count to 10 or 20 (or higher if necessary) and focus on not taking the situation personally. "The key is to identify your emotional triggers and recognize them in the moment," says McManigle.

Name Your Hot Buttons

Want to know more about your emotional triggers or "hot buttons"? In its Foundations of Leadership program, CCL uses the Conflict Dynamics Profile, an assessment developed by the Management Development Institute of Eckerd College. The assessment includes a section on identifying hot buttons. A portion of this assessment is online: http://www.conflictdynamics.org/hot_buttons.shtml.

About Brenda McManigle
Brenda McManigle is responsible for the quality and delivery of the Foundations of Leadership program at CCL's San Diego, California campus. She also conducts needs assessment, instructional design and instruction for custom programs.

Leadership

Leadership styles are always interesting as we seek to develop our own best practices in our organisations. This article gives some thought-provoking insights.

Asian and American Leadership Styles: How Are They Unique?

"Business leadership is at the core of Asian economic development, says HBS professor D. Quinn Mills. As he explained recently in Kuala Lumpur, the American and Asian leadership styles, while very different, also share important similarities.


by D. Quinn Mills

Editor's note: Political connections and family control are more common in Asian businesses than in the United States. In addition, says HBS professor D. Quinn Mills, American CEOs tend to use one of five leadership styles: directive, participative, empowering, charismatic, or celebrity. Which styles have Asian business leaders adopted already, and which styles are likely to be most successful in the future?

In a talk in Kuala Lumpur on June 15 at the invitation of The Star/BizWeek publication and the Harvard Club of Malaysia, Mills explained the differences and similarities between American and Asian leadership. Below is the transcript of his talk, "Leadership Styles in the United States: How Different are They from Asia?""
Read the whole article.

More articles on leadership

Conversation success tip

If you require elaboration in a conversation, use questions that begin with the words: How, Why, In what way, What.

For more ideas, tips, articles and inspiration to help you grow your organisation, subscribe to the ezine, Grow your Organisation. View the current issue Or subscribe now - just send an email to subscribe@consultpivotal.com with the words subscribe organisation in the subject line.

Inspiring Creativity

Don't think of your members as very creative? Read this article by David G. Javitch to find out why it's important to encourage them to think outside the box.

So you say you're not creative? And your employees aren't either? Then "physician, heal thyself." You may be the source of the problem!
Everyone can be creative--it has nothing to do with smarts. In fact, having smarts is no guarantee that you can or will be creative. But just what is creativity? Dr. Theresa Amabile of Harvard Business School defines it as the process of doing something differently that works. That's it. Real easy.Read the whole article

Leadership, creativity and fear

A candid conversation with the CEO of General Electric about leadership, creativity, fear -- and what it's really like to run the world's most influential company

"surviving a failure gives you more self-confidence. Failures are great learning tools -- but they must be kept to a minimum."

Now, four years into the job, with the company showing much stronger performance, Immelt is stepping out of Welch's shadow and developing a leadership vocabulary of his own. He speaks about creating "growth leaders," holding "dreaming sessions" with customers, developing "imagination breakthrough" teams and projects, and the importance of "simplification" in a big-company environment. And Immelt has won favorable reviews for a new and bold environmental initiative that will double the company's research on clean technologies.

Immelt recently sat down for a talk with Fast Company editor-in-chief John A. Byrne in the CEO's conference room at GE headquarters in Fairfield, Connecticut. Read the interiew

Speech Making Success Tip

"If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time~a resounding whack."
~Winston Churchill

Launch a FACE for your organisation

Have you thought about naming a "Face" for your organisation? This is not just for cosmetics companies, although they have certainly developed it as a marketing tool. You can do it too no matter what your organisation's role. Find someone who can speak well about what you do, preferably someone within your organisation so that you don't have to pay them fees to market for you. That face then becomes the human image of your operations. Their picture gives your prospective members and clients a person to relate to. Record that person's testimonials and use them on all of your materials. Business cards, letterhead, websites, blogs ... anywhere people are seeing your brand is somewhere you can feature the face of your organisation, and that person's powerful testimonial. They can then also attend your functions, meetings and conferences and speak there as well. This is a powerful marketing tool and one that is not just limited to "beauty."

Executing good strategies

I find that in many organisations, there are people who dream, who have a wonderful shining vision for the organisation. And then there are the doers, who will go along to events and meetings and are happy to fill the rosters, but who do not glow with the vision. One of the greatest challenges of an organisation is to link the two. Basically a matter of communication and delegation I would think. But a more detailed answer lies in this article by Lawrence G. Hrebiniak. While the title, Three Reasons Why Good Strategies Fail: Execution, Execution... is a teaser, that's all it is, because the answer lies in far more detail. YOu can read it at the Wharton site.

You can also check out my article on delegation for more simple tips on translating the vision into practice.

Speech making confidence tip

Confidence in approaching an audience is a powerful tool to have in your presentation kit. Implementing the old exhortation "Head up, shoulders back" not only expresses confidence; but also creates it. Try this, and you will see that it works. So does a smile. Posture and smile not only make you feel confident, but they also convey the image of confidence, sincerity and professionalism.

COMMUNITY GROUPS PREFER SUPPORT OVER DOLLARS - SURVEY

MORE COMMUNITY groups would prefer people to join their group as a member, serve on the Board, contribute to lobbying efforts or sign up as a volunteer than give money, a survey of community organisations has found.

The State of the Community 2005 survey, which was run as a lead-in to this week's Communities in Control conference, found that 33 per cent of respondents would prefer the community help them to lobby for support to achieve their mission compared to just 21 per cent who said they would prefer them to give more money.

A total of 28 per cent of respondents said that helping through volunteering was the best thing the community could do to support its work while the same number nominated offering to join the Board or committee of management as the most useful way people could help.

A further 26 per cent said the community could best help the organisation by becoming a member and 22 per cent said offering pro bono services.

Read the full report

International meetings made easier

Emailing members of your organisation in other parts of the world has become second nature these days, but it is not so easy to set up a meeting when they are all in different time zones.

Here is a device that makes it easier.

Go to www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html and enter the various cities. The website will then produce a table that shows you the local time in each city. Each cell in the table is color-coded as follows:
· RED represents nighttime or normal sleeping hours.
· YELLOW represents the second half of the day, when people are awake but not necessarily at work.
· GREEN represents the first half of the day, when most people are at work.
Search the table for the rows where most or all of the colors are green. You'll then know the best time to schedule your call.

For more tips and articles on holding successful meetings in your organisation, subscribe to our ezine.

Structure your speech for success

No matter what the occasion for your speech, it will always have the aim of communicating a message.

If the structure of your speech involves "Tell them what you are going to say, say it and tell them what you just said..." then the Introduction, Body and Conclusion are vital. But just as crucial, are the links between those parts - the bridging. They provide another opportunity to remind the audience of your message, and to link the parts together seamlessly. Often as you take breath to launch into the next point of your speech, the following utterance carries the weight of that breath or pause, and therefore is an ideal opportunity to reinforce your message.

Join an ITC club to receive training in developing your public speaking skills.

Teleseminars to improve your skills

I have been too busy to post recently - preparing for awards presentation at International convention in Baltimore and producing ITC Power Lines.

We have also produced a schedule of teleseminars to be offered on behalf of Communicators Logan City. You can visit the schedule and see that they cover both organisational and public speaking skills - something for everyone!

Are your online meetings effective?

Do you use teleseminars to train, or audio conferencing for your meetings? How successful do you think they are? Kolabora's blog recently cited the following reports:

More than 50% percent of the people surveyed in a recent study conducted by Russell Research found that meetings are worth neither the preparation nor the travel they demand.

"A survey sponsored by Raindance Communications, Inc., a premier provider of integrated web and audio conferencing services, indicates that 90 percent of audio conferencers multitask by doing things other than paying full attention to meeting content."

Stephen Downes, who quoted the Kolabora reort, writes "I once wrote a paper called Synchronous Learning on the Web in which I observed that "the less you want to be at the class or the meeting, the more you want to use some form of conferencing, because it's easier and - especially if you're online - you can do other things at the same time.""
It adds a whole new dimension to meeting planning, and making your organisation's meetings relevant and efficiently run.

For tips on making your meetings efficient and effective, subscribe to the Communication Edge , or visit an ITC club to learn and practice.

Leadership is a social function

Leadership is a social function. It is the ability to make people listen to you, follow you, and respect you in the process. Respect cannot be demanded -- it must be earned. Therefore, the more wisely and effectively you practise interpersonal skills, the more respect you will win.
From the ITC Leadership Development Manual

Meeting objectives and making progress in meetings

Thanks for the post on this topic, Lorraine. Need more information on being that strong chairperson? Visit the archived posts on this blog, or book a workshop at ITC

Leadership is ....

  "Whether a man is burdened by power or enjoys power; whether he is trapped by responsibility or made free by it; whether he is moved by other people and outer forces or moves them - this is the essence of leadership."
Theodore H. White ("The Making of the President")

Meeting success means funny business

For meeting success, develop a sense of humour. You can use humour more often than you think. It enables you to make a stronger statement than you would dare make any other way. You might also try fielding an irritating or sexist remark with a joke.

WHAT ARE YOU COMMITTED TO?

Commitment is what drives many of us. We are committed to our organisation, and that gives us the energy to go the extra mile for it. What else are you committed to? Interesting question ... interesting article from John Maxwell ...

What do you think of when you hear the word commitment?
Perhaps you picture a loving husband caring for his invalid wife. Maybe you envision a business owner who puts her resources and reputation on the line to lead her company through a crisis. Perhaps you see a dedicated teacher who spends hours of his own time tutoring underprivileged children. Or maybe the scene that comes to mind is one of a group of soldiers who willingly enters harm's way to protect their countrymen.
These are all wonderful examples of commitment. But have you considered the fact that individuals who act in less admirable ways also are committed? People who watch the clock at work are committed to making it through the day so they can go home. People who spend most of their free time in front of the television are committed to taking life easy. People who cheat on their income taxes are committed to beating the system.
Do you understand what I'm saying? When it comes to living a life of significance, the vital question isn't, "Am I committed?" It's, "What am I committed to?" Click here to read the complete article.

Leadership - "Get your hands dirty"

This tip comes from Ron Sargent, CEO of the big office resources firm, Staples. He made a point of being involved in customer service. "Get your hands dirty," he said. "Before you can be a great leader, you need to understand the inner workings of the business and where and how the greatest impact can be made."

Using email to promote your organisation

Do you use an email signature? This tool provides you with an excellent source of free publicity for your organization. You will have seen others using a signature at the end of their email messages. It is a tool provided by your email programme that allows you to put your contact details at the foot of your email. Here is your chance to publicise your organisation. Whenever you email, take the opportunity to add your website and your slogan, anything that you think might create a positive image of your organisation. Free PR!!

In October 2004 I posted a series on Delegation in the blog ITC Communication Edge. It was basically a "how-to," I have since found this article - gives much more detail on the advantages of delegation.

Why Entrepreneurs Should Delegate

Find out why sharing your responsibilities and authority with employees is essential for business success.

Do you need more hours in your day? Do you have so much work you're not even sure where to dig in? If so, you're like hundreds of other entrepreneurs who say they're overwhelmed with work. But why is that? Some of the most common excuses include these:

You're too busy to take the time to delegate or train someone else.
You don't have the time to explain tasks or projects.
You're the "best" or "only" person who can do the job right.
No one else is available or responsible enough.
If you delegate responsibility, you'll lose control over the project.

Read the whole article.