Browse Category: Leading Well

Past issues of Leading Well ezine

How to get maximum results with minimum effort

Maximum Results with Minimum Effort

I guess that’s everyone’s dream. As a leader or manager your responsibility and role is to deliver set outcomes through the efforts of others – those people on your team. 

Your role is not to do the tasks, but to make sure they get done.

And that all sounds fine … until you are faced with an employee whose performance is not up to scratch.

Now you are confronted with the challenge of bringing their performance up to the required standard. And I’ve never met a leader who doesn’t experience at least a little sinking feeling at the
prospect of working through all the difficult issues that can be associated with changing the attitudes and skills of an employee who needs to do better.

If even one member of your team isn’t performing well, your whole team will suffer.

Not only will your team’s results be effected, other team members who are doing their best will become disheartened by the impact of any inadequate contributions and the whole team culture and morale will suffer.

Poor performance by any team member presents a situation you just can’t afford to ignore. It demands your urgent attention – and you had better get whatever you decide to do right, or the problems can just escalate.

So what should you do?

Faced with a poorly performing employee your options are basically to move them on or help them get better.

As the first option is an option of last resort (and one that is not always available anyway) I will focus on how you can help a poorly performing employee get better. When you do this properly, you in effect gain a whole new team member for minimum effort so this is a very powerful option.

You have three primary options available for helping a poorly performing employee reach your required standard of performance:

1. Coaching
2. Training
3. Performance Management

All are valid, but each is best used in somewhat different circumstances.

* Performance Management (or Disciplinary Counselling)

This should be reserved for repeated instances of poor performance and matters of a very serious nature.

If Performance Management fails to produce satisfactory and sustained improvements in performance, the employee needs to understand they will no longer have a role to play in your team.

When you initiate a formal Performance Management process, you should ensure you have the authority and support required to enforce this, should it be required. A discussion with your supervisor and with your Human Resources department will help protect you, should you need to remove someone if their performance doesn’t improve.

* Training is an often overlooked means of improving performance.

Many people who learn skills and tasks on the job could do things better with even a day or two of formal training.

This is even more so with ‘soft’ skills like leadership, communication and management. So watch out for courses and opportunities to expand the skills of all the people on your team.

Two disadvantages with training are that it is often necessary to wait for an appropriate course to become available and courses can be expensive.

* Coaching, on the other hand, is one of your most valuable  leadership tools.

You can use it every day, with good people who could be even better – AND with poor performers who need to improve their skills or attitude. Done well, it needn’t take very long, and it can show huge returns on the little time you invest.

Coaching doesn’t need any formal approval or additional funding and, by it’s very nature, when it is done well it builds team moral and makes employees feel valued and supported.

Of all your three options for performance improvement, coaching has huge potential to deliver maximum results for you with minimum effort. But it has to be done properly.

Once you have developed your own coaching skills you will have a powerful tool in your leadership toolkit. A tool you can apply not only to improve performance in poorly performing employees, but also to boost the performance of your best employees to exceptional results. All with minimum effort for maximum results – and who wouldn’t want that?

For more great ideas on how to improve employee performance through coaching visit: http://kmgsupport.com/PerformanceCoaching

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QUOTE OF NOTE

“Leadership, many have said, is different from management. Management is mostly about ‘to do’ lists – can’t live without them! Leadership is about tapping the wellsprings of human motivation – and about fundamental relations with one’s fellows.”

Tom Peters (American academic)

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How to Improve Employee Performance through Coaching:

Coaching is such a powerful leadership tool for improving employee performance – when it is done well – that I have written a new ‘Just the Gist’ Short Report on exactly how to do it to ensure you get effective results every time.

You will find all the details at:
http://kmgsupport.com/PerformanceCoaching

*** Remember if you are already a member of the Leadership Coaching Club you will get a copy of this, plus a huge range of information, leadership courses, audio programs, ebooks and other resources when you login. (If you aren’t a member yet, you’ll find all the details at: http://leadershipcoachingclub.com/ )

On the other hand if what you want to do is discover how to improve employee performance and boost team morale through effective coaching check out our new Short Report at:

http://kmgsupport.com/PerformanceCoaching

Kind regards

Kerrie

PS. We have a whole lot of things lined up to share with you this year. We hope you will be as excited about them as we are. Watch out for more details soon…

But for now check out How to Improve Employee Performance through Coaching and let us know what you think. That link again:
http://kmgsupport.com/PerformanceCoaching

Do you work with younger staff?

One of the most requested items from a recent survey I ran was for more information on how to motivate and manage Generation X and Y workers. So if that is one of your concerns as a leader and manager, you’ll be pleased to know we will be publishing something on that very soon.

As always, our aim is to produce practical and to-the-point quick action guides, rather than comprehensive tomes that no one has time to read. But I still want to ensure we cover everything YOU want.

So please do me a quick favor and take two minutes now to to tell me exactly what you want to know and I’ll make sure we include it.

All you need to do is reply to this email and let me know things like:
* what challenges you have working with Generation X and Y workers, and
* what you would like included…

If you would also like to share what you find works best or why you need to know about this topic that would be fine too.

Your reply doesn’t need to be long. Just a quick comment will help and then I can be sure you get the most helpful and useful guide we can produce.

Please take a moment now and tell me exactly what you want to know about managing and motivating Generation X and Y workers.

Thanks in advance.

Kind regards

Kerrie

PS. Members of the Leadership Coaching Club have recently been discovering things like:
• The Five Fundamental Ways to Please Your Boss
• What Everybody Ought to Know About How to Be Stress Free
• Management Leadership – How to Turn Problems to Profits
• The 4 Hour Work Week
• Achieving Great Results … and more
If you’re not a member yet you can join now at: http://leadershipcoachingclub.com

The secret to less stress … free for you!

Today I want to look at one of the key challenges I hear about, from Leaders and Managers, all the time.Whether I am speaking at a conference, consulting to organizations or coaching leaders, either one-on-one or through the Leadership Coaching Club, what I hear about is – Stress!

Stress is a huge part of the life of every manager and leader and how well you manage stress has a dramatic impact on your own life, your family’s happiness and the success of your team.

When you can manage stress effectively, not only will you enjoy your life and your role more, you will be able to ‘take charge’ and lead people through situations that others find distressing or even confronting.

If you can’t cope with the stress, you will struggle to do your job at all, let alone well.

Because it is such a huge issue for so many people I have put together the ‘Be Stress Free’ course to share with you how to get stress under control in your life.

It’s packed with useful ideas, practical tips, bonus ebooks and other resources to help you break free from the tyranny of stress.

It really is $97 in value – and I may well start to charge that for it soon – but if you sign up today it will always remain free for you.

Grab it here now, before I change my mind: http://stressfreecourse.com

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If you want more personal assistance than a course, you should consider the Leadership Coaching Club where you will find substantial assistance to manage all aspects of your role as a leader. http://leadershipcoachingclub.com

If you are already a member, don’t forget to visit to see all the new material that has been added recently. Here are some of them:

  • The Four Hour Work Week
  • Achieving Great Results
  • Quick and Easy Tips for Reducing Stress
  • Becoming and Innovator
  • Involving People in Change… and much more…

If you are a member you can login in to the Leadership Coaching Club at http://leadershipcoachingclub.com/members/ using your email address and member’s password.

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PRIVATE COACHING

And finally, I currently have a couple of openings for private one-on-one coaching.

I only ever work with a very small number of senior and high potential candidates at any one time, and rarely promote my Executive and Leadership Coaching Services, as the limited places tend to fill up automatically from the waiting list or through requests for me to work with someone else in the same organization.

But, as people finish the programs we design, vacancies can arise and currently I can accept a couple more people. So if you would like to work with me personally, one-on-one in my private leadership coaching program, you might like to Contact Us asking for more details.

Coaching is typically done by phone or Skype, with email and state-of-the-art online facilities for support, making it available to candidates located in a wide range of locations.

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That’s all for now, but don’t forget to claim your copy of the “Be Stress Free” course now at http://stressfreecourse.com and Contact Us for more details about my private coaching if you are interested.

Are Your Goals Effective?

Over the next few weeks we will hear a lot of elite athletes talk about the goals they set for themselves and how they worked to achieve them during the Olympics.

In this issue of Leading Well I want to remind you of the power of goals and how much more we can achieve when we set effective goals.

If you are already a member of the Leadership Coaching Club there is a full program to assist you to set and achieve your goals, both at work and at home. Check it out if you haven’t already done so. You can login in to the Leadership Coaching Club at
http://leadershipcoachingclub.com/members/
using your email address and password – or you can join now at
http://leadershipcoachingclub.com

Kind regards, Kerrie

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SETTING YOUR GOALS

The fundamental skill of setting a goal is an open secret known by top-caliber athletes, successful businessmen and businesswomen and all the top achievers in every different field.

Setting effective goals gives you short-term and long-term motivation and focus. Goals help you focus on the acquisition of any required knowledge and they help you to plan and organize your resources and your time so that you can get the best out of your life.

Goals are so effective that many organizations require managers and team leaders to set them. Yet many of us still don’t use them to their full potential.

Setting clearly defined short term and long term goals will enable you to measure your progress and achieve personal satisfaction once you have successfully met your goals.

Charting your progress will also enable you to actually see the stages of completion leading to the actual realization of your goals. This eliminates the feeling of a long and pointless grind towards achieving your goal. Your self-confidence and level of competence will also improve as you will be more aware of your capabilities as you complete or achieve your goals. The basics of goal settings will involve deciding what you really want to do with your personal and professional life and what short term and long term goals you need to achieve it. Then you have to break down goals into the smaller and manageable targets that you must complete on your way to achieving your lifetime targets.

Here are seven pointers that should be taken into consideration in setting your goals and achieving them:

Your Attitude

Attitude plays a very big role in setting and achieving your goals. You must ask yourself if any part of your attitude or your mind is holding you back from completing your simplest goals? If there are any parts of your behavior that are being a hindrance to achieving your goals this can cast your plans into disarray. If you do have problems in these areas then the immediate thing to do is to address your attitude.

Manage Your Time

Careers are made by good time management practice. A stalling career is often attributed to bad time management. Successful careers can require a lot of discipline from an individual in how you manage your time, so plan how far you want to go into your career and manage your time to ensure you do what is needed when it is required.

Invest in Yourself

Education is key in achieving your goals. If your goals require you to have a certain kind of degree or require a certain specialization or demand a certain skill to be developed, make plans and take action to get the appropriate education.

Your family

Your family should never be left out of your plans. If you are just starting out then you have to decide what relationships are important to you, if you want to be a parent or when you want to be a parent.

Money

Personal financial situations also play a major role in achieving your goals. Have a realistic goal on how much you really want to earn and what you will have to invest to achieve it. You also must be able to create plans or stages by which you will be able to reach your earning potential.

Sports goals

Physically gifted individuals may be able to achieve sports related goals like playing in the elite Basketball, Tennis or Football association. Determining your physical capabilities should be one of your priorities. Physical limitations may however be conquered with proper planning and training.

Fun goals

As the saying goes – ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’ – and this is very true, for hard-working Jills as well as Jacks. Giving yourself a little pleasure should be included into your
plans.

More on how to set effective goals in the Quick Tips below:

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QUOTE OF NOTE

“There are two things to aim at in life; first, to get what you want; and after that, to enjoy it.”

Logan Pearsall Smith (1865-1946)

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The Leading Well Bottom Line:

You don’t have to do it all on your own. Join us in the Leadership Coaching Club and leverage off all the wisdom, insight and experience of dozens of guest experts, other participants and your mentor Kerrie Mullins-Gunst. See http://leadershipcoachingclub.com for details.

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QUICK TIPS FOR SETTING GOALS

* To start achieving your lifetime goals, set a quarter of a century plan, then break it down to five 5 year plans then break the next five years down again to 1 year plans, then 6 month plans then monthly plans, then weekly, then daily.

* Then create a things-to-do list for the day.

* Always review your plans and prepare for contingencies.

The basics of goal settings should not be so difficult once you get to be familiar with them.

* The Core Training Modules in the Leadership Coaching Club http://leadershipcoachingclub.com take you through a proven process for setting your direction, articulating effective goals and then taking the actions that ensure you achieve them. Join today and tap the power of setting goals that work for you in your personal as well as in your professional life.

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“I started with the Leadership Coaching Club when it first became available. My initial reaction was that there was some work that needed to be done. After getting into some of the material however, I’m impressed with the content. It’s practical, useful information that should serve as the foundation of anyone who strives to take on he mantel of leadership. Thank you for your efforts and please continue!”

John Stefanski

Join now

Do People Listen to You?

In this issue of Leading Well we look at why it can be so hard to get some of those messages across to your team that should be really obvious, and what you can do about it…

Have you ever asked yourself… WHY DON’T PEOPLE JUST LISTEN?

Some things are so obvious you would think people wouldn’t even need to be told them. Or at least you should be able to tell them once and they ‘get it’ immediately!

Of course if you manage people or lead a team you know this is rarely the case… Take wearing their safety equipment in hazardous workplaces. Or taking stretch breaks for keyboard operators… Or lifting things properly… Or finishing one file before starting on the next… Or keeping the tea-room clean… Or whatever that annoying issue is for you…

Not every message you need to get across as a team leader or manager is a big picture or strategic vision one. Not all could be described as inspiring.

Some messages are not even very exciting or interesting ones.

And some are downright obvious.

But even the obvious messages can still be very important.

And as team leader you need to do what ever it takes to make sure everyone acts on any important messages you need to deliver. You are the one who will be held accountable for their mistakes if they don’t do the right thing, after all.

There are four things you need to remember when you are trying to get even obvious messages to stick… Find out what they are at:
http://leadershipskillcenter.com/products/gymacross.html

WHAT’S NEW IN THE LEADERSHIP COACHING CLUB

Recent articles added include:
* Ten top tips for motivating and inspiring through effective
listening
* Why do people resist change
* Making meetings work – and much much more…

Join at http://leadershipcoachingclub.com or login if you are already a member for details.

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QUOTE OF NOTE

“Meetings are indispensable when you don’t want to do anything.”

John Kenneth Galbraith

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The Leading Well Bottom Line:

You don’t have to do it all on your own. Join us in the Leadership Coaching Club and leverage off all the wisdom, insight and experience of dozens of guest experts, other participants and your mentor Kerrie Mullins-Gunst. See http://leadershipcoachingclub.com for details.

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That link again for the four things you need to remember when you are trying to get your messages to stick… READ MORE at
http://leadershipskillcenter.com/products/gymacross.html

Kind regards, Kerrie

Does your team despise that you do this?

First a huge ‘Thank You’ to everyone who has emailed, called, sent a card or posted a note on the Leadership Coaching Club blog with well wishes for my 15th business birthday. It has meant a lot to hear from you all, including so many I haven’t met face-to-face (yet).

Second – it’s not too late to join the party! The celebrations continue until the end of this month. Enter the competition for complimentary membership now at http://leadershipcoachingclub.com/free and join before the end of the month at http://leadershipcoachingclub.com – for a huge discount!

Third, if you have already joined the Leadership Coaching Club there has been quite a lot of new material added recently, including more ebooks, audios, videos and articles, so make sure you login and collect it all. You can login at http://leadershipcoachingclub.com/members/ using your email address and password.

Kind regards, Kerrie

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HABITS EVERY TEAM MEMBER ABSOLUTELY HATES IN A LEADER

There are a couple of habits leaders can have that drive team members absolutely crazy.

In this issue of Leading Well I want to look at one of the top two: Micromanagement.

You cannot grow as a leader until you learn to delegate effectively. Delegating means giving away control even though you retain responsibility, which can be daunting at first.

However, as a leader, there is no way you can do everything that needs to be done personally, so you must develop a positive attitude to delegation – and the skills you need to do it effectively.

Your role as a leader is to ensure your people have all the skills, resources and understanding they need to do a task, and then to let them do it. For some leaders that’s the hard bit: letting others get on with doing it!

Don’t micromanage.

Delegating tasks to people makes them feel trusted, wanted and responsible. Good workers like to be given responsibility.

Communicate your objectives and your vision and make them passionate about making it happen!

Guide your people, empower them, and instill confidence in them and they will become your strongest supporters.

More on how to avoid micromanagement and other habits your team leaders hate in the Quick Tips below:

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QUOTE OF NOTE

“The ‘sage on stage’ mode of teaching is being replaced by a new model: ‘the guide on the side’. “

Art Weinstein (American academic)

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The Leading Well Bottom Line:

You can have your own ‘guide on the side’. Join us in the Leadership Coaching Club and leverage off all the wisdom, insight and experience of dozens of guest experts, other participants and your mentor Kerrie Mullins-Gunst. See http://leadershipcoachingclub.com for details.

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QUICK TIPS FOR AVOIDING MICROMANAGEMENT:

  • You can become more comfortable with delegating to your team members by being selective about what tasks you assign, particularly initially.
  • As you delegate more complex tasks, arrange for regular progress meetings to ensure everything is going smoothly. If you make this an expectation up front – and don’t offer advice unless it is requested – the progress meetings will be focussed on coaching and encouragement rather than micromanaging.

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PS. You can find out what the other main habit is that drives team members crazy, at the Leadership Coaching Club. Join before the end of the month at http://leadershipcoachingclub.com for special rates.