Every business professional needs to master the skill of networking. It’s essential to build a network of supporters who can help you navigate difficult business and personal obstacles. However, it’s not that simple to always ask for assistance. A network needs to be seeded, watered and cared for long term. Often misconceptions about the purpose of a network present barriers to growing one effectively. The following eCourse is about building your network.
Mar 06
Mar 03
This post is about getting to know yourself and how you can leverage your talents to build the culture you want within your organization. Believe you can! That has to be your first commitment. As you look at so many of our accomplishments as a species on this planet, nothing was ever accomplished by someone who did not believe this. Believing you can make a difference is a pivotal first step. Ford believed he could when he made the first automobile. Edison believed he could when he created the light bulb. We’ve eliminated deadly diseases from existence like polio. We put a man on the moon and beyond. We have photographs of universal realities that look as if they could only have been imagined by someone. Reality shifted every time someone believed they could do something and followed through. If you want a specific culture in your organization, you must believe you can build that culture. If you want to be a leader, you have to believe you can become that leader.
Feb 25
Recently I was asked to present a webinar for the Los Angeles Chapter of American Society for Training and Development. Although I am writing this blog post, well in advance, the purpose is to serve as a follow up for the attendees. The date of the webinar is May 6, 2010 at 12:30 Pacific Time. Although the link to register for the webinar is not up as of the publishing of this post, you can click on the ASTDLA link to stay updated. My goal for the webinar is to help Learning Professionals move beyond skepticism regarding the use of Twitter, and see it as a evolution to the learning process.
Feb 22
Trust is a big word that should never be thrown around lightly. It is arguably one of the greatest commodities any manager (or person of any status for that matter) can earn from an employee. When it is awarded, the manager deserves it. The same can be said when it is withdrawn. Trust is perishable and must therefore be handled with the greatest care. A decision, a comment, even a look can contaminate trust and begin its spoiling process. Although I don’t mean to minimize the tactic of achieving it, I will make an attempt to provide a starting point to strategically gain trust.
Feb 15
Hopefully after reading “Delegation: What’s In It For You”, you realize the benefits and the need for every manager to use a delegation strategy. First steps can be scary. Perhaps an absence of delegation has gotten you to this point. It’s difficult to adjust and change when your experience is telling you otherwise. One of the biggest obstacles to trying something new is having a plan to do it. Simply convincing you of the power of delegation is hardly enough to make the transition easy from the way you managed in the past to this foreign style of management that you are not accustomed. The Delegation Risk tool is designed to help you put your strategy in perspective and protect those concerns you have that prevent you from managing through delegation.
Feb 11
Delegation can be one of the most crippling tasks for a new manager. New managers often cling to their workload as if it were their first born child, or any child for that matter. They protect and hide these proverbial children as if protecting them from the evils of the world. They fear that it can never be done as good as they do it. Therefore their misplaced pride leaves a disengaged workforce on the sidelines. Delegation doesn’t have to be painful. In fact any seasoned manager will praise this strategy as necessary. An avoidance of delegation is a rookie mistake when managing. This blog post is one of two designed to help you overcome that hurdle.
Feb 10
When I was a boy scout in my early teens, my troop had taken a trip to canoe down the Delaware River. As I partnered with my canoe buddy, we had to develop our strategy to navigate the rapids. Every time we came upon new rapids, we had to work collectively to avoid capsizing and continue our journey. The rapids were inevitable. They were going to come whether we were ready or not. The only thing we could control was how well we worked together to make it through the challenge. Change is like this. We can close our eyes to the inevitable and hope we wake up from the nightmare or we can work together to navigate the obstacle and continue our journey. This blog post is about managing your team through change.
Feb 04
This post was encouraged by a conversation I had today with a wonderful young professional who reached out to me via Twitter. She is, like many today, searching for a job. Luckily she is in a position where time is slightly more on her side than others. She has a few months before her company relocates. She came to me asking for help with her resume. I was so impressed with her courage, how could I refuse. As I reviewed her resume and compiled my thoughts and comments, it dawned on me. This needed to be a blog post. Once again it may seem that I am giving away the secrets of management as I did with, “Acing the Interview”. I disagree. The information in this blog can work for the internal resume as well.
Feb 03
The title I am sure upsets a lot of vendors who provide customer service programs. Let’s give it some thought. Exceptional customer service is a value. Have you ever trained someone successfully on changing their values. If you have, you are one in very elite group of miracle workers capable of touching the inner soul of man. We use training to change behaviors not ideals and values. This blog entry will help you put customer service in the right perspective and create a culture conducive to that vision.
Feb 01
Difficult people can range from a speed bump to Armageddon when it comes to progress. They can interrupt meetings, cause mutiny, raise your anxiety and in some cases make you think the unthinkable. Lucky for you and us, you haven’t acted on the latter (we hope). Difficult people are a challenge. This is true whether managing or simply falling in the rank and file. This blog entry will help you de-code their behavior and perhaps even turn those difficult people into one of your top performers or advocates.
