Encouraging Positive Energy in Project Management

A positive team is a productive team. As a project manager, there are many different roles and tasks you must undertake. One of these is creating a positive working environment for yourself and all other members of your team. By doing so, you are increasing the chances of project success, reducing the likelihood of problems and potentially cutting the length of time it takes to project completion. If you have ever attended any project management training, you will know that one of the things you will be taught is how to transfer positivity to your team. Here are some tips for creating positive energy in project management.Be Positive Yourself
Every aspect of project management requires you to lead by example. Your employees will look at the way you behave and take their lead from this as you are their role model. If you are negative, this will create a negative atmosphere for the whole team. On the other hand, if you come across as positive to others, this will impact on their individual attitude and behaviour.Celebrate Success
There is nothing worse than working really hard on something and then your efforts going unnoticed. Staff will soon become demotivated and less productive as they will feel very negative about work. Instead, recognise the efforts, achievements and strengths of each individual member of the team. It doesn't take a lot of effort to say 'thank you' or 'well done'. Having their work recognised and knowing it is appreciated will raise positivity levels amongst the team. In turn, this will increase productivity and create a happier working environment.Avoid the Blame Culture
Sometimes mistakes are made or things go wrong. You need to know the cause of the problem to work out the best way of fixing things. However, you should not look to place blame on individuals. This only leads to negativity. Instead, focus on finding ways to prevent the problem from happening again.


Take a Flexible Approach
Just because your project management framework suggests that something needs to be completed in a particular way, does not mean that always has to be the case. This is guidance only, not a rigid formula for success. Allowing people a little flexibility in the way they work may suit their working style more and they will feel much more positive about the project. Insisting on a rigid way of working may stifle people and make them feel negative about the process.Be a Solution Finder
For every problem, there is a solution. Focusing on the problem itself can lead to negative energy. Instead, it is important to focus more on any potential solutions. You should encourage every member of the team to take the same approach.Build Strong Relations
Relations and communication in the workplace are key to creating positive energy. Of course, not everybody will like each other personally, but effort should still be made to develop strong professional relations in the workplace. Focus on people's strengths and encourage your colleagues to recognise these in each other.To find out more about creating a positive working environment or any other aspect of leading a team, project management training courses may be a good solution for you. They are a great way to learn new skills, find out what factors contribute to a successful project and progress in your chosen career and become a successful PM.

How to Leave Work on Time Even If You Feel Under Pressure to Stay Late

The rise in flexible working keeps happening. More and more people are becoming entitled to request this and are building their working lives around family and other commitments. But what if you're not one of these people, and you need to work full-time in an office? If you still want to have a life outside of work and not feel like you're selling your soul, there's a good chance you feel the pressure that comes from a culture of "presenteeism" (which is still widespread). You know what I mean. You've done your work but you're still expected to stay late, and you get subject to criticism or peer pressure if you don't. Here are some tips to help if you still want to see your partner and children in the evenings.1 Make Sure Your Most Important Pieces of Work are DoneOne of the key skills of effective working is to understand what you're fundamentally being employed to do, and to make sure it gets done. Often, people end up spending time doing things that are not central to their personal objectives or those of their employer. It's very important to get an understanding of this, because if you deliver on these tasks, then you're well on your way to showing that you're doing a good job2 If You Don't Have Enough Time, Say SoSome people manage to do this whilst others struggle. They seem to believe that no matter how little time they have, they should be doing everything they're asked to do. You may have a task that takes a whole day to complete, and yet you still think it's OK to say yes when you're asked to do it in two hours.


Remember - if you feel something will take too long or can't be done quickly, then say so. It doesn't mean you're being slow or lazy.3 Don't Let People Dump on YouIf you're prone to letting people do this, then stop right now. All it takes is to say no - and then stand your ground when people object. You can bet that the person who's harassing you will push back when they're asked to do something they don't want to do. So why shouldn't you? Keep that thought in your mind if this is something you struggle with.4 When It's Time to Leave, Just GoThis is the hardest part. You know you've done a good day's work, it's the end of the day, but everyone around you is still at their desks and showing no sign of packing up. You need to have the strength of your convictions, have the courage, and just get up and go. It's hard, I know, but once you've done it, you'll find that you gain the confidence to do it over and over again.5 Just take a standAnd when the inevitable negative feedback comes, then have your defence ready and state your case. Remember, it's other people's problem if they can't stand up to unreasonable bosses, not yours. Make sure you're doing a good job, and remember, no matter how much a boss pushes you, the people in your life outside of work need you too!

Non-Project Management Time Tracking Software

As a business owner with multiple clients and employees I've researched and used many different time tracking and invoicing solutions. My business is built around billing clients an hourly rate for work our employees have or will perform. The vast majority of time tracking and invoicing software available today does not fit my business model. While many of the solutions out there can be forced or hacked to be somewhat serviceable, there is a dearth of products actually meeting this fairly basic functional need.Let me back up and explain the basics of how my business works (I'm sure of many other companies are in the same boat). We offer outsourced virtual assistants to clients all over the world. We bill at a flat hourly rate, say $10/hr, for a set amount of time, lets say 20 hours, so a total of $200. With some clients we bill before the work is done, some after the fact. Some are one time jobs, others are on going. Some clients are billed on a specific date (example, the 1st of the month).What I need is a time tracking system that can relate an hourly rate to the amount of hours each employee logs. It also needs to be able to keep track of account balances, and let me know when they reach a pre-determined level. I also need to be able to send an invoice for a specified amount that will update the account balance when marked paid. I would also like to option to invoice for items that are not related to an hourly rate (lets call these flat rate items).


As an example of what I'm talking about lets consider my virtual assistant business and my example used earlier. I've billed a client $200 for 20 hours to be worked in the future. As the employee assigned to this client completes a 3 hour work session I should see the client's account balance go down from $200 to $170. I can preset a feature where when the balance reaches $0, I'm alerted that this client needs to be billed again. On the invoice I create I can add a non-hourly line item, which will not affect the clients hourly account balance.The problem with most time tracking/invoicing tools out there is they are so project management focused that doing these simple items in the example above become overly complicated. Many of these tools have clients, and under them, projects, under projects there are tasks, under tasks there are modules and milestones, and so on...These project management tools are ideal if you are doing a complex, one-off, complicated job, like building a website, or customizing a CRM platform, but if you need something that is simple time tracking for ongoing projects being billed at a flat hourly rate, they leave much to be desired.The cost associated with these more complex solutions is also much higher than a small business may deem worthwhile for what they actually are using the product for.

Defining Managed IT Services

Managed services is a broad term for outsourcing many functions in business. Typically, business owners hear the term the first time they investigate IT outsourcing. It is also the favorite term for IT support companies looking to generate a recurring revenue stream. Small and medium business owners will find that IT companies offer varying descriptions of what they consider managed IT service packages. So what is managed services?Managed Services DefinedWikipedia defines managed services as "the practice of outsourcing day-to-day management responsibilities and functions as a strategic method for improving operations and cutting expenses. This can include outsourcing HR-activities, production support and lifecycle build/maintenance activities."Over at the MSP Alliance, they describe it as "the proactive management of an IT (Information Technology) asset or object, by a third party typically known as a MSP, on behalf of a customer. The operative distinction that sets apart a MSP is the proactive delivery of their service, as compared to reactive IT services, which have been around for decades."And finally, Gartner defines a MSP as a company that "delivers network, application, system and e-management services across a network to multiple enterprises, using a "pay as you go" pricing model. A "pure play" MSP focuses on management services as its core offering. In addition, the MSP market includes offerings from other providers - including application service providers (ASPs), Web hosting companies and network service providers (NSPs) - that supplement their traditional offerings with management services."Basically, the industry defines managed IT services as a program in which some portion of IT service is done proactively and with some sort of monthly fee. However, the process and results may vary depending on how the individual company approaches their support package.Many IT support companies simply add some sort of service with a monitoring package for a nominal fee and call it managed services. On the other end of the spectrum, a full-time Managed Service Provider or MSP, will have an end-to-end platform in which they take responsibility for their clients' technology and a laser-like focus on improving the overall client experience and their technology results.The Theory and PurposeThe basic theory behind the value of the service is that as a company grows and relies more on their technology, calling an IT company to resolve problems becomes cumbersome and costly. Some companies begin looking to have some proactive IT management mixed into their current strategy. There are many levels of monitoring and review in a proactive strategy. The overall goal should be to utilize the proactive activity to reduce the amount of reactive issues and business risks.Alternatively, some companies opt to hire an internal IT person. Managed services, when done properly, should offer companies a cost effective solution that reduces reactive problems and helps the client plan for future issues and business changes. Using economies of scale and through best practices developed and refined across a base of clients, a good managed services approach should certainly be more cost effective than hiring internally and deliver better results.Variations of Managed ServicesWhile the definition can be somewhat vague, the variations are also sometimes confusing. Listed below are some of the more common "managed services" offering that a person may come across. While some would argue that the most basic offerings are not managed services at all, they are included if only to illustrate how much variation exists.Monitoring OnlyA monitoring only package is the least expensive and least effective of any managed services approach. It probably should not be considered managed services, however, many MSP's use it as an entry level service at a low cost. Once an alert occurs, the IT support company calls the client to schedule the necessary resolution at an additional fee. This method may shorten the response time by an IT company but does not do much to make a real positive change for the client.


Limited ResponseThe next step for many companies, this approach allows for some issue remediation. The boundaries are usually specific and somewhat restrictive. This approach may offer a set amount of hours for reactive network support per a time period or include limited response for specific server, computer or other technical issues. Any problems that fall outside of the defined perimeters incur a service fee.Hybrid ApproachThis approach allows for companies that employ their own internal IT personnel while utilizing the resources of a well-equipped and knowledgeable managed services IT company. Many times, a business has the need for a full-time technology employee for a specialized purpose. Typically, using this approach, the internal person can focus on his or her specific function and allow the managed services company handle the issues that occur outside of those perimeters. Using this model, the managed services company should be able to implement their process to positively affect the client's business while the employee is then not burdened by unnecessary distractions.Note: Many companies feel the need to have an on-site person to more quickly respond to employee issues. This approach is usually costly and is generally not necessary. When done properly, the managed services approach should focus on minimizing the need for a reactive response by avoiding most day-to-day issues, negating the need for an on-site technician. In fact, remote response can many times be faster than waiting for a person to respond, even if they are in the same building. In the rare occurrence of an issue that requires on-site personnel, an MSP should be well-equipped to respond appropriately.Remote-Only Help Desk SupportUsing this approach, the managed service company is able to implement their entire process with the only limitation being that any on-site service will be at an additional, sometimes discounted, cost. This model can be very effective for companies that require little on-site response or have a dispersed workforce. Most companies that use remote-only support can benefit from the higher level of service and results that a good MSP delivers and only pay for on-site response as needed.Full IT DepartmentThe full IT department package places all of the responsibility for the client's technology results in the hands of the MSP. When done properly, the MSP can utilize tools, technology, best practices and a well-developed process to:

Drive down reactive issues

Increase client productivity

Consult on technology decisions

Provide a multi-year budget

Reduce the client's overall business risk of data loss and downtime.
When a reputable managed service provider engages a client using this approach, they are committing to provide a positive result for a set monthly fee.What Do You Need?With the many variations and sometime loose definition of managed services, the typical business owner can be confused by multiple service delivery models. This can be especially daunting when pricing between companies can differ by large dollar amounts. Business owners can sometimes lump all IT companies into the same category, but usually there are large disparities in approach, methods and expectations.IT can be simple and an asset to your company, but making the right decision between MSP's can seem overwhelming. When evaluating a managed service provider to maintain your company's technology, focus on the results that the MSP promises. It is our belief that the best approach is for the MSP to be involved in all aspects of a client's technology. By getting to know our client's business and technology, we are more effective in providing the very best IT support and management. Managed service providers offering to partially manage your network are usually hoping for the big payday that comes when something equally big goes wrong.

What Do You Think Leadership Is?

A nice buzzword, but what does that mean exactly, leadership? What does it mean to be a good leader? We do not really know but we recognize it when we see one!I regularly give a "lunch and learn" conference on leadership. The first thing I do is to put pictures of people on the screen and to ask the audience, is that person a good leader? The answers are always surprising. Everyone seems to have their own definition of what a leader or a good leader is. Intuitively, we know when we like to work "for" someone. We like their ideas, we want to follow them, we want to move forward with this leader. We don't really ask why.WHAT DOESN'T DEFINE A LEADER?- Leadership has nothing to do with seniority or the hierarchical position in a company.- Leadership has nothing to do with titles.- Leadership is not being a manager.Because you are a manager or a vice-president, people think you're a leader, but that isn't the key, not at all. Leadership is the ability to influence, engage and motivate others in achieving success of a common goal. Here is a basic list of desired qualities in a good leader.QUALITIES OF A GOOD LEADER:- Competent, courageous, honest and credible.- Energetic, dynamic, positive and full of vitality.- Has the ability to translate their vision into reality.- Helps people discover their strengths, while delegating and inspiring.- Good communicator, knows themselfves well and trusts their intuition.Before wanting to be a leader, ask yourself, why? Remember that you can be a top executive without being a leader. Should you want to become one, how does it work? First, you need to stop gossiping, stop bitching about everything that bothers you and above all else, stop being passive. A leader looks for solutions instead of complaining, a leader acts. Second, you must get to know yourself. What are your strengths and weaknesses? What kind of person are you?


A test I know that is useful is the "360 review". You fill out the test, your boss, your colleagues and your employees as well. The test is completely confidential and the results provide you with a view of what you think of yourself versus the perceptions of everyone else. There are questions like: Are you a good communicator, do you delegate, etc. You can type test 360 in Google and you will have multiple examples (free or not) of the test.The Nova is also an excellent test to determine your personality type. It is based on the following types: organizing, directive, standard, coordinated, cooperative, easy, expansive, promoting. These types are separated into four colors: red, blue, green and yellow. This test demonstrates how to communicate as a leader, according to your profile versus the profile of the person you are with. Even if the other person has not been tested, we can assume their profile by using your knowledge of this person versus the test.Then to develop leadership skills, we must continue learning to be an expert in our chosen field. It's important to have credibility as a leader. We must also take risks and take our place, express our opinions and propose changes to improve our work environment.Is everyone a leader? No. Can people who want to become leaders do it? Yes, in my opinion. But do not forget to ask yourself, why would you want to be a leader?

How IT Managers Can Manage Millennials

IT managers are working in a unique time. We have three very different generations working on our teams and the way that we go about managing them has to be quite different - do you have the IT manager skills that will be needed to do this?. In addition to the Baby Boomers and the Gen X workers, more and more Millennials are joining our teams. These workers require a special management style from IT managers...Forget ItIt's not really very fair, but Millennials have been getting a bad rap even before they started to show up on our IT teams. As the story goes, the Baby Boomers who raised the Millennials spent way too much time trying to make them all feel "special".The thinking is that this has resulted in the Millennials having a feeling of entitlement - like the world owes them something. There have been countless articles written about how Millennials would all get trophies at events just for showing up and how this was going to make working with them impossible for the rest of us.Good news - it turns out that this is not the case - no special IT manager training is going to be required here. Just like every generation before them, they are going to make a great addition to your team. Millennials show up ready to get to work and they are going to turn out to be great employees.You've Got To Go Half-WayCan you remember back in the day when you were young? Yeah, I know it was a long time ago but we can all almost remember what it felt like. Now put yourself in the shoes of today's Millennials and you should feel a rush of old memories. You need to understand that Millennials are not just looking for a job, they really want to get started on a career.What this means for you is that in order to attract the best and the brightest of the Millennials, you are going to have to create an IT that has ideals that match theirs. It's not just all about the next big project that your team is going to be working on, but rather why your team is going to be doing the work. How will the world be changed by what your team does?What you need to be doing as an IT manager is to create a social mission for your IT team. A higher calling if you will. By doing this you'll find that you are able to attract the top Millennial talent that it's going to take to make your team stand out.


It's All About The Big PictureI can't remember, have we talked about the Millennial's wanting to change the world? For the Millennials it's all about making a difference. The one thing that they don't want to do is waste their time.This means that you are going to have to take the time to make sure that they understand that their contribution to the team matters. That their work is going to have an impact not only on your team, but also on the company as a whole. Consider this to be part of the IT team building that you were going t be doing anyway.The best way to go about doing this is to make sure that you share the big picture of what is currently going on with your Millennials. This means that you need to let them know what your high-level insights are and what the objectives for both the team and the company are.What All Of This Means For YouEvery IT worker is created differently. What this means for IT managers is that we need to have a different approach for how we manage different types of IT workers. One of the newest types of workers that we are still trying to figure out are the Millennials.These types of IT workers have gotten a bad rap in the press for being too entitled. They are good workers and they come ready to work hard. You need to meet your younger workers half-way by creating a social mission for your IT team that they can believe in. Millennials want to make an impact and so you need to be sure to share the big picture of what's going on with them.The good news is that Millennials are going to continue to be an even larger and more important part of your team. However, in order to get the most out of them, you are going to have to learn how best to manage them. Use these tips to help build a strong relationship with your Millennials...

It's Time to Help Your Team Embrace Creativity

Creativity is an important part of the success of a business or project. It is what makes work stand out and is vital to innovation. Being creative in the workplaces can take a project to the next level. While you may be creative yourself, it is important to maximise the creativity of the whole team to achieve greater success. While project management courses can't inspire your own creative style, they can help you learn how to inspire it in others.
As a project manager, there are several steps you can take to inspire the creativity of your team.Brainstorming
When one person thinks of an idea, it can then inspire even better ideas from other people. Soon, ideas are bouncing around the room. Getting everyone together to brainstorm ideas is a great way to inspire creativity, however some people find this environment difficult. Therefore, you must take steps to make sure everyone feels comfortable with putting their ideas forward and make sure that everyone is listened to without fear of criticism or rejection.Support and a Happy Environment
To help a team to tap into their creative sides, it is important that they feel a sense of momentum and progress. If a team feels positive, happy, rewarded and motivated, then it is more likely that they will be able to get creative. Therefore, as the project manager, it is your role to make sure that they already feel positive, motivated and rewarded before expecting them to supply you with a barrage of ideas.Improve Communication
It is often the case that teams only get together for formal meetings and then work alone for the periods in between. However, a formal meeting is not always the best place for creativity and people will often think of their best ideas outside of the boardroom. Therefore, it is important to keep lines of communication open with members of the team at all times. Make sure you are able to listen to any new ideas they have at any time.


Individual Coaching
Each member of the team has their own strengths and weaknesses, yourself included. While creativity is something that comes naturally to some people, others may find it difficult to get inspired. As a team leader, it is important to recognise this and get to know each member of the team to find out what their individual inspiration is.Develop Team Autonomy
Although a team needs to have a goal to aim for, the way they reach it does not necessarily need to be planned. People work in different ways and many work better if they have a sense of autonomy in their work. Even if a team member's methods seem unconventional to you, the important thing is successfully meeting your targets and goals. Giving the team autonomy may actually help them to be creative in their thinking and improve the end result.As creativity plays such an important role in the success of any project, it is vital that you use these tactics to inspire the creative side of each member of your team. It is only by doing this that you will be able to maximise the overall creativity of your team and make sure your project reaches its full potential. If you need more guidance on how to inspire creativity, you may find it beneficial to undertake some project management training; there are PM training courses available in a wide variety of subject areas that can help you develop as a project manager.

Leadership, Collobaration and Co-Creation

Shared and distributed leadership have proved to be very good in any organization (Murphy, Hunt & Wasonga, 2004). There are different types and degrees of leadership and there are also different people with different capacities in leadership. In recognizing this organizations may gain the ability to acquire other things management methods that will make the best out of a leader.The leader might choose to lead the group while at the same time; the group may lead along with the leader. Those who are led are not a mere group waiting to be led; rather, they help the leader to stay in control. This is referred to as correlation control where the CEO's authority is not just an arbitrary authority that has been imposed; rather, the authority will be as a result of many authorities coming up from different sources (Freshour, 1989). This is also called democratic leadership where the main goal is to work towards integration of all the stake holders in the house in order to achieve the main goals. At the end of the day, individuality is mobilized and made to count as a group and as a person at the same time.Leaders are supposed to capitalize on the human resource capabilities while at the same time acknowledging the members' potential. The leaders are also supposed to continue engaging the members in their conversations by using reaculturation and marshalling of interdependence. The leader dispositions that will lead to co-created leadership are; freedom and the trust of the employees, strong loyalty in team work, cooperation, listening and honesty. There are eight dispositions that apply to co-created leadership and these are active listening, collaboration, egalitarianism, cultural anthropology, resiliency, patience, trust and worthiness and humbleness. A leader with these dispositions will make the leaders to exercise power that is collective to recognize how important it is to organize the members into the leadership dynamic.


Since there is authority, power, information and talents in the organization, the leaders are supposed to be engaging the vast resources just as the members are supposed to engage the leader. Collaboration assumes that organizations are organized as communities that value interactions not to mention providing opportunities for colleagues to be able to work together (Murphy, Hunt & Wasonga, 2004) It requires that all the stake holders to interact with each other in mutual respect and in open communication so that all the problems and the any other information that needs to be passes from one person to the other can be passed.Collaborative exchanges in an organization will cut across departments meaning that the traditional way of communicating will need to be replaced with collegial- peer relationship that are based on openness, conditions of trust, problem identification, goal-setting and risk-taking (Murphy, Hunt & Wasonga, 2004). Collaboration allows people to be able to access more ideas; it encourages people to be more innovative while helping them to input various resources into the project.ReferencesFreshour, F. W. (1989). Listening Power: Key to Effective Leadership. Illinois school Leadership from Within. School Business Affairs, 20-21Murphy, J. F., Hunt, D., & Wasonga, T. (November, 2004). Co-Created Leadership: Research and Development, 26, 17-23.© All rights reserved copies and reprints without the author's permission is not authorized.

Importance Of Choosing Accredited Colleges For The Diploma Of Management Course

The managerial team is a crucial link in an organization in almost all job settings. Hence, employers are more vigilant when selecting individuals who will form the management team. A diploma of management equips students with a comprehensive set of skills and knowledge that allows them to perform in varied situations. It reflects an individual's roles in managing work on behalf of others to add value to it or with the aim of reviewing management practices.As a holder of this diploma, your job roles and titles can vary in different industrial sectors. The manager job title is the best job that you will get, but it could be a manager in different departments of an organization depending on the niche in which you operate. There are no prerequisites for entry into the diploma course.The individuals applying for a diploma of management are well-versed in the technical aspects of their trade. The management course is taken up simply to add skills to their work profile enabling them to advance in their respective careers. Therefore, it is important to pursue the course from a recognized college.The Advantages of Recognized College Training A person rises on his merit. However, the training imparted will also partially determine how good you are and how well you will fulfill your role in a real job setting. This is where the importance of a recognized college comes in. Their USP is their experienced and trained faculty. They recruit only qualified teachers who can provide the best guidance to students be it practical or theoretical teaching.


The second aspect that comes into play is the brand name. Accredited colleges have a name in the market based on their excellent quality of teaching and mentoring. All employers are interested in checking your educational history particularly the college where you pursued the diploma of management course. When you have a certificate from a recognized college, it becomes easier for the potential employers to trust in your qualification in terms of training as far as the diploma course is concerned. This means that it will actually be easier for you to get a job or even be promoted to a higher level. Also, you will get a genuine diploma certificate at the end of the course.Recognized colleges have the coursework structured into varied modules and units. Also, it is structured to be completed within a stipulated time period. Thus, it adopts a disciplined approach to teaching while also considering the convenience and capabilities of the students when it comes to learning.An accredited college or university for the diploma of management course will also help you get financial aid and grants from the government which might not be as easy if the institution is not recognized by a regulating authority.So, in order to enjoy all these benefits, you should settle for a reputable institution; one that is registered and certified by the right body. This will give you an assurance that your investment of time, money and efforts are geared to taking you higher in your management career.

On The Other Side of Control

"Everything in moderation" my father used to say. "Eat, drink and be happy but all in the right amount, time and place" his voice resounded. I lost my Dad when I was 34 years old. His voice still rings true in my head. Today I understand what he really meant.While control maybe fiercely guarded by our desire to succeed and to reach perfect outcomes, we do not realize that we have something else on the other side of the dichotomy that we are giving up.To me everything is a double-edged sword. The sword can heal or kill dependent on how we use it.So the question that begs in my mind is "what sits on the other side of control? What am I giving up over there that I am holding on to so tightly over here "In my mind it is "trust" As long as I control I am in charge and I decide the fate of events to occur. When I trust I let go and allow things to happen. By things I mean the ethereal forces of fate, time and energy.Leaders who trust once they have set up the infrastructure for their people to succeed are indeed getting the best out of their people. Others who seek to control by micro managing are doing so because their lack of trust is deeply rooted within themselves. When I trust myself I am able to trust others.And yet these are the people in organizations who say "Me? Who me?" when told that they could improve their metrics to higher performance especially on the trust scale.It is no wonder that trust has eroded the organization today. Unfortunately this stems from the insecurity of leadership that seem to want greater levels of control for their own benefit.As I walk through airports I often stop to scan titles of books on the best selling shelves. I observe today that there are more books on building trust in the organization that I have ever seen before.More than 30 years ago, Dr. Aubrey C. Daniels introduced the phrase Performance Management to his clients (and eventually the world) simply as a way to describe how to motivate people to enthusiastically do what the business needs them to do. Today he calls this positive reinforcement.


Simply put if you treated a person well they would want to work for you. If I as a leader give you the infrastructure to succeed like clearly defined goals, a vision of where I am heading and systems plus people who will add value to my output then I am positively reinforcing you to churn out repetitive behaviors.In my father's time employees worked for one organization all their lives. Their colleagues became family and the organization was deemed to be a second home. They built building block at a time in a harmonious way, thinking of the long-term sustainable road to achieve business objectives.Today leaders treat their people just like another file in the cabinet. They run counter intuitive to what they need to do because they want control rather than trust for self motivated reasons.Interestingly this has led to the departure of a large number of highly competent people from the corporate world. The offspring of this was the advent of entrepreneurs who felt they could do much better managing their lives with freedom and respect.With the age of Artificial Intelligence almost upon us we need to create unique positions for ourselves. In order for a leader to control me I must allow him to do so. If I have a niche market specialization I foresee a smart leader cooperating with me and trusting me.So the question for you is "do you have a specialization?" If not it's time to go out and create one. This will be your armor against control from your leader and will also give you great joy in your "almost indispensable" role.My ex-boss more than 20 years ago advised me "always take on as much work as you possibly can. This will make you almost indispensable. This will augur well for your future in the organization" I think he was right!

Why IT Managers Need To Build Teams That All Generations Want To Work On

IT managers dread the day that they have to manage certain generations - we don't have the IT manager skills to deal with this situation. Whatever generation the IT manager belongs to should be easy to manage - they know how that generation thinks. It's all the other generations that cause the problems. However, it turns out that what we need to be doing is building teams that are open to all generations. Just exactly how are we supposed to go about doing that?How We Like To CommunicateAs an IT manager one of the most important things that you need to realize about managing multiple generations is that we all communicate differently. In the modern workplace there are multiple different ways that we can share information with each other and we all have different preferences as to how we accomplish this.The younger generations, the millennials, like to use the most modern of communication tools. These are the employees who will tweet their questions and use Instagram and Snapchat to connect with other members of their teams. The slightly older Generation X members of your team will prefer to use email for almost all of their communications. Finally, the baby boomers will rely on voice conversations conducted over the telephone or in person.As an IT manager you need to appreciate that everyone will have their own preferred means of being contacted. Instead of trying to get everyone to conform to one method, your job is to facilitate the communication between team members. One way to make this happen is to create and distribute a spreadsheet that lists each person on your team and their preferred method of being contacted. It turns out that most people will get in touch with each other using the preferred method if they know that the person has a preference.How We Like To Be ManagedAll of that IT manager training that we've had dealt with IT team building but never really taught us how to deal with trying to manage people who had very definite ideas about how they wanted to be managed. When you are managing a team that has multiple generations on it, you're going to have a challenge because each generation has their own ideas about how they want to be managed.


You are going to be dealing with two differing approaches to how your team wants to be managed. The older members of your team are going to believe that everyone needs to earn their place on the team and that this takes time - you have to work your way up the ladder. The younger members of your team are going to want to have their voices heard right off the bat - they don't want to have to wait to reach a certain level for their thoughts to be part of the decision making process.One way to handle this challenge is to create a flat management structure to use for your team. This can allow leaders to emerge on a per project basis depending on each worker's unique set of skills and talents.What All Of This Means For YouIT managers are facing a challenge that has not been seen in the workplace before: we have three different generations that are all working together. It is our responsibility to build teams that are inviting to each generation and allows them to work together.A key part of making this happen is to understand that everyone likes to communicate differently. Acknowledge this and make it easy for everyone to know how everyone wants to be reached. Projects need to have a flexible management structure. The younger workers will want a way for their voices to be heard and you need to accommodate that.The good news is that as an IT manager you've got an incredibly diverse workforce to choose from. Your big challenge will be in creating teams that people want to join. Take the time to understand the needs of each generation and you'll be the IT manager that everyone wants to work for...

4 Reasons Smart Leaders Scrimmage

"We've got our first scrimmage." Players love to hear those words from the coach because scrimmages are much more fun than squat thrusts, windmills, or shoulder and hip rotations. Scrimmaging is as close to a real game as you can get without the hoopla, and it serves multiple functions in sports and at work.Scrimmaging Trains You to Think on Your FeetYou can do deep knee bends and squats, push-ups, and jumping jacks until you faint from exhaustion. You can pass, catch, bat, rebound from the boards, and sink free throws until you perfect the basics. But the real test is maneuvering with poise and purpose against your opponents. A scrimmage gives you opportunity to react appropriately to whatever unfolds on the court or field.At work, scrimmaging serves the same purpose. You need opportunity to train before getting in the game. Many people fail to follow through with tasks for the simple reason that they've had no training. They're told the mission, handed their equipment, directed to suit up, and sent out to face the project or client without a single scrimmage. Is it any wonder they can't think on their feet when faced with a tough situation? Is it any surprise that they drop the ball or fail to follow through?Scrimmaging Provides a Safe StructureThe score doesn't count on the season record. In fact, you often play your own teammates-first string against second string. When that's the case, you may not even keep up with the time or the fouls. Instead, your attention is-what happened,... what didn't happen,... what to do next time tomake it happen.At work, going without a scrimmage can be costly. Why not do a complete walk-through of the big customer briefing? Why not get input on the new policy statement draft from a few key suppliers before rolling it out it to a negative reception from all your vendors?


When scrimmaging, you can perfect a task or process and ask questions-before you lose a customer, blow up a project, or cause a lawsuit.Scrimmaging Allows Replays Until You Get It RightYou can stop in the middle of play without an okay from a referee and work on your technique. If you didn't handle the screen appropriately, the coach can have you run the play again. And again. And again.Learning at work must be a continuous mind-set. Real leaders know the value of always expanding their skill set. Whether facing mergers or acquisitions, recruiting for top slots, opening new markets, or developing new product lines, senior executives analyze, study, and bring in consultants to do the replays of what their own staff has recommended-just to make sure they're getting it right before making the final game move.The habit of replays should trickle down until everybody gets it right. What you knew last month has become outdated. Continual learning is your competitive advantage.Scrimmaging Builds Bench StrengthScrimmaging keeps everybody on their toes. For the second stringers, it's their opportunity to go one on one with the first string. As a first stringer, this is not the time to relax because someone else is itching to take your place. If you're not playing at your best, you can quickly find yourself back on the bench.Scrimmaging at work on stretch assignments provides perfect opportunities to increase your skills so you're ready to take on more responsibility. The best leaders make it a priority to build bench strength among the entire team-rather than depending on one or two star players.Leaders who can motivate their team during the scrimmages find that the tougher challenge-but are better prepared for the bigger win.

The 8 Minimum Requirements For Performance Management

Robert D. Behn is a lecturer at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a passionate advocate for public sector performance. His regular Performance Leadership Report is always succinct and salient. His definition of performance management, versus performance measurement, clearly puts the responsibility on leadership's shoulders.In his report What Performance Management Is and Is Not, Bob describes eight specific requirements of performance management in organisations.These eight requirements lend themselves as a framework for assessing the degree to which your organisation truly does manage performance. And with a bit more flesh on the bones of that framework, they become a recipe for the behaviours to nurture, practice and master to pursue performance excellence.I've repeated each of Bob's performance management requirements, and added my own fleshing-out of the behaviours that, to me, are in need of most practice.1) "Performance management" requires that members of the leadership team of a jurisdiction, agency or collaborative, to focus their efforts on achieving a specific public purpose.
This means no weasel words. It means talking about results in a language that everyone can understand. It means dropping the assumption that broad and vague goals are necessary to create space for people to create their own meaning from them. They're not, and they actually achieve the opposite.2) "Performance management" requires the leadership team to focus everyone on the task of eliminating or mitigating one of the important performance deficits that is preventing them from achieving this purpose.The Franklin Covey Institute talks about how the more goals we have, the lower our chances of achieving them with excellence. It's better to put our energy into talking about and acting on three or fewer results to improve at any one time. The sharper the focus, the faster and bigger the improvement. Too many strategic plans are complex and bloated and, incidentally, not at all strategic. A line must be drawn to separate the vital few results that must improve now, from the multitudes that should wait.3) "Performance management" requires the leadership team to define a performance target - a specific result to be produced by a specific date that, when achieved, will eliminate (or at least mitigate) this key performance deficit.Well-designed targets are a powerful statement about making change happen. But too often people set the target without first having a well-designed performance measure for the specific result and performance deficit. The measure has to come first, before you can understand the deficit and set a sensible target.4) "Performance management" requires the leadership team to develop a performance strategy that will engage employees, collaborators, and citizens in helping to achieve this target.
Targets should never be set for individuals to achieve alone. No one person has that much control over organisational results. But working with others, collaborating to design and create a change together will often produce results behind each person's wildest dreams.


5) "Performance management" requires the leadership team to track, regularly and frequently, data that reveal its progress toward achieving this target.Performance measures should be monitored as frequently as makes sense. Monitoring them annually, to match the planning cycle, is too little and too late. When you monitor measures more frequently, you get feedback faster and can detect signals sooner.6) "Performance management" requires the leadership team and staff to analyze this data to determine how much progress they are making towards achieving their target.It's almost a given that you should set a target for individual performance measure values, and compare the current month with the target to assess progress. Wrong! This ignores natural variability in performance, which exists for every single measure of performance. Using XmR charts solves this problem, and makes it a cinch to measure how far actual performance is from targeted performance.7) "Performance management" requires the leadership team to learn from this data - use its analysis of its data to make adjustments (or drastic revisions) to their strategy.Blame, passing the buck, and treating symptoms are behaviours too commonly in practice in how people approach performance improvement. The best kind of performance improvement is when we use our measures to guide us to improve or redesign our business processes. We need to make fundamental performance improvements, and not spend resources on compensating for unacceptable performance.8) "Performance management" requires the leadership team - after it has achieved its target - to select another performance deficit and create another target plus another strategy for achieving this new target.This is the philosophy of continuous improvement, the belief that standing still and avoiding change will only guarantee that we'll go backwards. All evidence is in support of this philosophy being true for the way the world really works.What if the leadership team isn't ready?Unless the leadership team is actively ensuring all these eight behaviours are being practiced and mastered, your organisation is not managing performance. But does it really have to start with the people in those leadership roles?Do you have to wait for the leadership team to step up to the task?I don't think so. Leaders are people too, and when people work in the same system, they can't help but influence and learn from each other. What can you do, that can show your leaders and colleagues that measuring what matters is the most powerful path to making what matters happen?DISCUSSION:How have you influenced your leadership team to embrace the behaviours required of performance management?

Ten Questions Owner/Managers Need to Ask About Their Business Regularly!

If you want to avoid the most damaging mental state afflicting business owners and managers and its consequent effect of poor to mediocre performance... then read on.That mental state to which I refer is complacency and laziness and it creeps up ever so slowly that most don't know they are afflicted. They just know that every day they get up and go to work in a sour and soulless business!As leaders, to stay sharp, enthusiastic and energetic you have to constantly think above the hum-drum daily grind and challenge your beliefs. Here are ten pertinent questions you should ask of yourself regularly.1. Customer Base: If I just bought this company, how would I sell more to this customer base?2. Cash: If I could invest extra cash in any one part of this business for the biggest cumulative return or profit over the next 5 years, where would I invest it?3. Market Leadership: To remain or become a market leader in this industry where should I invest my time and the businesses resources right now?4. Reputation & Perception: What can I do to significantly improve our current reputation, and have the marketplace recognize these improvements, within the next twelve months?5. Momentum: What's working well right now and how can I keep it working well?6. Key Staff: Who are the key people in my business and what game/plan can I create with them so they'll stick around for a long, long time?


7. Systems: Are all of our systems still appropriate for today's way of doing business?8. Responsiveness: How quickly and completely do we respond to changes in our customers, market, technology, staff needs or economic conditions?9. Resources: Do we have or can we easily access all of the resources needed to give us a big edge over our competitors?10. The X Factor: What do we have that's very, very special and are we maximizing our X Factor advantage in the marketplace? Suggestion: Why not create a template for yourself, whereby you and your key staff, consider these ten issues at the commencement of every month?There is a bonus eleventh question and it should be asked of all staff at the commencement of each month and it's this:Last month,what did we do right;what did we do wrong;what could we have done better;what could we have done faster with more planning;what shouldn't we have done at all andwho did we let down or disappoint?When staff members are required to submit written responses to these questions and they know their answers are welcomed and acted upon, you will be staggered at what tumbles out.

How CIOs Can Get Travel Expenses Under Control

As the person with the CIO job one of your greatest challenges is to find ways to keep your department's spending under control on top of the everyday challenge of letting the rest of the company know about the importance of information technology. One of the biggest drains on your budget can be travel expenses. What you need to do is to find a way to keep your travel expenses under control without appearing to come across as an overbearing boss.The Problems With MicromanagementLet's face it, expense reports are just one of those annoying things that are a part of everyday life in business. I think that everyone knows this. However, expense reports are also a gateway to misbehavior.All too often your employees will think that nobody is looking when they fill out their travel reports. What this means is that the story that their travel report tells may stray from what really happened on their business trip. The reasons for this can be varied.Sure, there is the employee who is just looking to scam some extra cash from the company. However, there is also the employee who feels that they've been slighted by the company because it wouldn't pay for a meal that was too expensive or a hotel that was not on the approved list. You can see that your employees can probably justify almost any expense to themselves.Right now your only line of defense against improper expenses on an employee's travel report is your finance department. Or should I say your overworked finance department. They don't know what kind of trip your employee went on or why they went. They'll be able to catch any glaring errors, but it's really the little stuff that will kill your IT budget in the end.How To Keep Travel Expenses Under ControlAs person in the CIO position you have the double challenge of trying to find ways to keep your IT budget under control while not coming across to your employees as being an overbearing boss. What this means is that you need to find a way to ensure that only accurate travel reports get turned in while keeping yourself out of the process.


A great way to go about making this happen is to make all expense reports public knowledge. Every time an employee turns in an expense report, convert it into HTML and publish it as a web page on your company's Intranet.What this is going to do, very quickly, is to make everyone realize that there may be a lot of eyeballs looking at their every expense report. People who went with the employee on the trip will be the first ones to be able to identify when there is something out of whack with an expense report. Your employees will quickly learn that if they try to pull any quick ones, they will be found out by their peers.What All Of This Means For YouIn addition to staying on top of trends in technology and what they mean for the company, as CIO you are also responsible for managing the IT department's budget. A key part of this budget can be travel expenses and finding a way to keep them under control is an important part of your job as CIO.The one thing that you don't want to do is to come across to your department staff as being a micromanager. If you devote a significant part of your time to reviewing people's expense reports and then asking them questions about the travel decisions that they've made, then this is how you'll be seen. A much better way is to make all expense reports public. By making it easy for other employees to view someone's expense report, you'll enlist more eyeballs to keep everyone under control and expenses in line.The trick to being a successful CIO is manage your IT department in a way that doesn't make your department feel like they are being managed. Making expense reports public is a great way to make this happening. Let the power of public inspection do your management work for you!

What Is Kanban

Anyone who has ever been on project management training knows that there are constantly new and innovative methods being introduced to help you become a successful project manager. These are often based on research within the field, and the observations of experts in the field of management. If you have recently been on one of these project management courses, it is possible that you may have come across the Kanban Method.Aims of the Kanban MethodThis approach was originally formulated by David J. Anderson and there are two main aims. The first of these is to help you to remove the chaos of a project by focusing and prioritising. The second aim is to make delivery more consistent by finding solutions to problems associated with workflow and processes.The catchphrase linked to the Kanban Method is 'stop starting and start finishing'.The Basic PrinciplesThis method uses four basic principles:1. Use what you already do now. You do not need to stop your current practices as the Kanban Method can be used alongside what you are doing now without making too many big changes in your workplace.
2. Make small changes gradually. This approach is designed so that you will get minimal resistance from team members. It encourages managers to make evolutionary and incremental changes one step at a time.
3. Respect and recognise the current roles and processes you have in place as these have value.
4. People at all levels can be a leader, regardless of whether this is their role or title.Core Properties of the Approach


The Kanban Method is divided into five core properties:1. You need to visualise the workflow to help you understand the process from beginning to completion. It is only by doing this that you can identify areas for change. One method of doing this is to use wall cards or columns to categorise your work requests.
2. Limit work-in-progress (WIP). The idea here is to keep work at each stage of the project limited by moving them to the next level before adding new work to that stage. This can help you to identify workflow problems.
3. Manage the workflow through positive change. Once you have identified problems, you need to implement a change to resolve the issue. This is a constant process, as when one problem is solved another may arise.
4. Make policies clear. To do this, you will need to make sure everyone understands the process by publishing, promoting and socialising the changes. If people don't understand they cannot make the improvements.
5. Collaborative improvement. Making the changes is not just the work of one person. Everyone in the team needs to be involved in identifying problems, finding solutions and making changes.On project management courses, you may have heard the term 'kaizen'. This is often used to describe continuous improvement which is the key idea of the Kanban Method. Overall, the Kanban Method is an approach that can be applied to many different working situations, although it is generally intended for improving project management.

How Leadership Training Can Help Leaders Get Better at Leading: These Four Tips May Help You

When I think of all that I have learned from reading leadership books, all that I have heard from leaders that I (and others) respect, all that I have experienced in my life (as a leader and as a follower when others are leading), I realize that, although the vision of what a great leader is may differ from person to person, we can likely agree that a great leader is someone who people believe in and want to follow.I suspect that many of us wake up each day and want to be somewhat better off than we were yesterday: we all likely want some improvements in our lives--our relationships, ourselves, our finances, our physical fitness. (If you wake up and want to be worse off each day, you should likely stop reading this article now.)To that end, this article explores what I hope will help us grow as leaders. Although certainly not an exhaustive list, these four suggestions will get us started:1. Learn what most people need to be successful at work: most of us will likely agree that four aspects of our work are important.2. Explore how you are perceived by others: To grow as leaders, we need to have awareness about ourselves as we are seen by others, and so leaders should continuously seek feedback.3. Ponder your strengths and consider your areas of opportunity: Once we have an awareness of how others perceive our leadership, we can consider what is working and what we might want to adjust.4. Seek resources to develop yourself: Although some of our growth can occur just by us wanting to change, we may also need some resources to assist us.Learn what most people need to be successful at workSince great leaders are likely addressing the basic needs of their followers most of the time, let's consider four areas of basic need that most followers likely want for their leaders to foster:1. A sense of belonging to the group/organization: Think of a group in which you truly fit in, a group that gave you the sense that you were part of their team, a group that welcomed you for who you are. What senses did you have in (or now that you are thinking about) that group: security, safety, involvement, liveliness, excitement, connection, motivation, warmth, hope, energy, comfort, satisfaction?What if you think of a time when you didn't get the sense that you belonged to a group or organization? What thoughts and senses did you have: apprehension, mistrust, impatience, unease, dislike, loss, detachment, trouble, self-consciousness, exhaustion, loneliness, depression, discouragement, anxiety, insecurity, doubt?When I think of times in my life that I belonged or didn't belong, I have strong feelings in both cases. But I greatly prefer the sense of belonging--and I suspect that most of us also prefer being connected with others.2. A feeling of being appreciated: What would our work be like if we never received any appreciation? What if our bosses, our colleagues, our significant others, our families, and our friends never appreciated anything that we did? How motivated would you be to keep doing your work?Not everyone, not every time, but with great regularity, many of us need some hint (or blatant praise to indicate) that our work is important, that what we do does make a difference.3. A feeling of being involved in meaningful work: Similar to appreciation, meaning is important for many of us. How tedious would our work feel, even if we did receive appreciation for it, if that work was useless; if, at the end of each day, our work were just thrown in the trash; or if others told us that what we do is pointless? How long would you be able to keep working on that "pointless" work?4. A sense of influence over (and input into) the things that directly affect them: The word autonomy comes to my mind as an important value for me, but even if autonomy isn't important to everyone, many of us likely still want to have a say--a voice--in our work, in any changes that affect us, and in any priorities that are important to us.


The alternative seems miserable: no sense of influence, no say--or worse--no knowledge of those things that may or will affect us. Have you ever worked for a micromanager--no fun?As I reflect on research from HR courses that I've taken and on the conclusions of a particular leader that I respect (Harold D. Craft, a former VP and CFO at Cornell University), most team members in just about any organization would likely agree that those needs are important--and maybe even necessary--in order for individuals (and teams) to be engaged at work.Explore how you are perceived by others:To grow as leaders, we need to have awareness how others perceive us: to learn what needs we are addressing well and what needs we may be overlooking.Agreed: we need to know how we are perceived by others. But how do we know that we are getting the truth? Have you ever gotten the sense that your direct reports (or their direct reports) are only telling you what is going well and are trying to conceal what is not working well?- Create an environment for feedback: My main suggestion is that you continuously try to create a safe, trusting environment so that your team members can give you the truth. (This article about forgiveness may also spark some ideas for you: http://blog.kevineikenberry.com/leadership-supervisory-skills/three-types-forgiveness-matter-us-leaders/ )- Ask people that you trust: Although you may be creating the right environment, some folks may still be hesitant, and so I suggest that you seek out those who you really trust, at work and outside of work. Get people to give you the hard truths.Ponder your strengths and consider your areas of opportunity: Once we have an awareness of how others perceive our leadership, we can consider what is working and what we might want to adjust.- Our strengths: Much has been written about leveraging our strengths (e.g., http://www.strengthsfinder.com/home.aspx ), and so I will only offer one thought here: celebrate what you've done well. Truly take a moment to be proud of what you are doing well, to fully absorb the positive impact that you have had. I make that suggestion because, if you are like many of us, you skip right over what you are doing well and look for what you need to do differently--"Where did I mess up and how can I fix it!?" It is almost as if we have a need to be perfect, and in pursuing that elusive perfection, we miss out on the joy that we have earned.- Our opportunities: Ah, yes, the areas that we simultaneously relish in working to eliminate and despise, due to our need for perfection. Thus, I have another suggestion: try to identify trends based on the data that you've collected (from one-on-one conversations, from 360 feedback, and from other sources). Then, choose only a couple of those trends as opportunities for growth.Once you select your top one or two opportunities, create a plan to address those areas.Seek resources to develop yourself: As you seek to address your areas of opportunity or just develop yourself in general, consider what you need to make progress. Do you need a mentor, a leadership coach, a written plan, some books, or other resources for inspiration and ideas?Or might you benefit from attending a leadership training, a corporate retreat, or a management retreat. Workshops offer an opportunity to meet (and develop relationships) with other leaders, to learn and apply some leadership models, and to challenge yourself mentally, physically, and emotionally.I encourage you to seek out whatever resources you need, and I am hopeful that you will make progress on your journey to become a better leader.

Team Building and Performance, Employee Retention and Partnership - Effective Mentoring

I speak for an entrepreneurial and dignified manner of managing your team.There is one salient feature about team performance; if someone on the team has nothing at stake in maintaining or promoting the team's performance, she will probably not maintain or promote the team's performance.The best driver for performance is creating a really good reason to perform - but most of these good reasons are secrets to you and for the team person. The trick is to ease and tease this secret out of the team person.Most people are too unaware, too shy or too scared to reveal what they really want in a job or team.You have to pull a 'ninja like' conversation on them to tease out this secret; what do they really want and what will have them not just satisfied, but compelled to perform for their sake and for the team?Step One: Safe and Workable PartnershipMaking it safe is the first key; to make it safe for them to share this secret with you. To make it safe, you create a context of fairness and partnership e.g. "I want to create a fair working partnership with you - one where you and I can ascertain and coordinate performance expectations; from me to you and from you to me. I want these expectations to be clear to both of us - sound fair?"Of course I am over simplifying (there are nuances), but this works because we treat each other with dignity and without letting anybody (you or them) off the hook for accountability to the company vision and objectives.Step Two: The Art and Science of Asking QuestionsThen ask questions about objectives - what objectives do they want or need to achieve and in what time frame and why are these so important to them?


Not going into verbose details here, but with training you can handle all the different kinds of responses (or lack of responses).Step Three: Measurable Game with Clear Progress MarkersOnce armed with what you want and what they want and in what timeframe, you have a measurable game.This game may change (and probably will if you manage it right), but you have a quantifiable and observable set of measures which takes the psychoanalysis out of the game.Step Four: Managing with Less Time and Less Unnecessary DramaThe next step is to make sure that you give them timely results and that they give you timely results. If the results are not happening, declare or prepare them for a stop loss - a fair ending of the partnership.The Advantages

No psychoanalysis required - having to deal with unnecessary drama

Finding out sooner rather than later - if someone is not going to work out on the team

Finding out sooner rather than later - if someone IS going to work out on the team

Saving time and energy
The InvestmentThe investment is a few hours a month to engage to see if you are both on track and what course corrections need to be made.Human Dignity at WorkThe greatest benefit and gift of this approach is the dignifying of the human relationships whilst uplifting the accountability to a honorable and rigorous level - in a measurable and observable manner, taking the guess work out of it or keeping it to a minimum.

Three Steps To Better Deal With Conflict

I am often asked by others with whom I work, how I am able to deal with stressful situations so effectively. It seems as though I maintain a cool composure and demeanor while others are losing their cool or even outright accusing me of something. This always makes me smile because I look at conflict very different from most people. First off let me say that in all cases I give the other person the benefit of the doubt that they are not intentionally trying to attack me. Rather that they are experiencing something that I most likely don't know about or they have gone through something fairly tragic. I take this perspective because I believe that people want to do well and succeed but sometimes they run into problems that they struggle to deal with. This usually results in blow ups in other areas of their lives. I also believe that most everyone has about 70% of the information regarding a circumstance when they begin to deal with it. This means they must fill in the other 30% with assumptions and experience.So with this understanding let's look at three simple ways you can improve how you deal with conflict.1. Tell it like you see it. If you see the person acting out of character let them know. Be gentle. Understand that they are in a highly emotional state and need your assistance with this particular situation. You becoming angry or defensive will only make the situation worse. Also, let them know how you see the situation. Not in an accusatory way but rather what you see not working and stress that you want to work more smoothly with them. Be compassionate and understanding.2. Get everything out on the table. First take the time to allow the other person to express what they feel at that moment. Do not interrupt or correct them. This will come off as condescending and close down the other person. You want open communication and trust. Provide a safe environment for the other person to express themselves. After they are done, take a moment to express your feelings and interpretations on the situation. Remember to honour their opinions and be compassionate and gentle. Do not be judgmental or accusatory.


3. Focus on the Future. Offer ideas on strategies to improve the situation. You can just listen to their ideas and build on what they have to offer. Remember in most cases the other person has moved outside their normal operating comfort zone and need someone to help give them perspective. They don't want to be told what to do, they just need someone to listen and fine tune what they most likely already know. This will often create an environment of safety for them to work through what they are struggling with.By using these three simple steps you as a leader can create a means for people to move through this situation and also feel that what they needed to say was taken seriously. You will also find that you will gain important insights into who that other person really is and what beliefs they have. The best part of perfecting this technique is that you create stronger bonds with others while really helping to develop them. Lastly, like all new skills be patient with others and yourself. You may go wrong once in a while but if your intention is to be helpful and you always go back to attempt a recovery you will always learn and be successful.

How Your Employees Can Thrive Under the Pressure When Facing Deadlines

Imagine working for someone who has constant deadlines. How will the employee behave in this process? Will he or she succeed or fail? One will discuss in depth on how to have employees thrive when under much stress in the work environment, so that deadlines are met with complete ease.Here are some tips to help management teach their employees, so that deadlines are achieved on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or annual basis. This will make all the difference on quality and quantity that each person puts into their work, so that all are a success.Management should consider the following techniques. Teach employees deep breathing exercises. When someone is under much stress, they tend to breathe shallow. This is because they may not realize that their anxiety is up, and that they need to relax as much as possible. Relaxation is imperative when having to meet the needs of others.Another area is to allow for meditation to occur. The individual can do this while using the deep breathing exercise too. He or she is focused and centered, which will cause him or her to think calmly and rationally. Management will immediately see a difference by the employee behaving rational and calm; furthermore, they may want to practice it themselves.


One should allow music to occur but at a soft level. This depends on the work environment, of course. Call centers this cannot occur because of how they are designed; however, management could allow headphones for everyone to use at their own discretion. When this method is allowed, people are able to relax, and some may sing out loud. One could consider having a karaoke night in order for people to work at their best.Management can teach their employees what it means to become a good steward of their time. This entails having a calendar and writing down the deadlines; furthermore, they can show them how to divide tasks into small parts, so the goals needed achieved are completed as scheduled. Always remember to have employees set short and long-term goals too.Deadlines are a part of life, and it is up to management and employees on how they go about meeting and exceeding the expectations of the one requesting them. At the time, he or she may appear overwhelmed, but it all will work out in the end because both benefit from what was put into it, which makes it all worth it.

Outsourcing Your Company's Janitorial Services

A clean office is an efficient one, where the health and safety of employees along with a general attitude toward organization is valued. Still, the question of whether to hire in-house staff to provide janitorial services or whether to outsource these services is an important one. Ultimately, you want to get the best bang for your buck while ensuring that your office staff can be as productive as possible. So what are the main benefits of outsourcing your company's janitorial services?ExpertiseYou might not realize it, but there are actually different kinds of cleaning companies often offering disparate services. There are even differences between companies when it comes to the experience of their staff. Depending on the type of company you operate, you'll likely find a number of cleaning companies that can provide you with the services you need. But remember to take care when selecting a janitorial service, traditional cleaning companies or even your own company may employ cleaning staff at minimum wage, while franchises are generally operated by their owners who invest their own time, money, and effort into the quality of service they provide. It should come as no surprise that owner-operators are often more dedicated to the job.AvailabilityBy outsourcing your janitorial services, you can generally find a company that can work within the parameters of your business. If you require cleaning staff on the weekends or evenings, or even on holidays, a contracted janitorial company will likely always adapt to your needs. This often means as a company owner you have peace of mind knowing that you never have to stress about replacing a sick cleaner or rescheduling cleaning jobs for any reason.


QualityJanitorial companies must provide a standard of quality or they won't be in business for long. If you opt to hire your own cleaning staff, you will be responsible for reviewing and managing the quality of the cleaning work. On the other hand, janitorial companies are motivated to ensure their standards are always achieved, or they risk losing business. Moreover, specialists are more likely to have the products and equipment to ensure the highest standards of hygiene and health.BudgetMost janitorial companies offer a range of services that can be tailored to the needs and budget of your company. Even if one company doesn't offer the services you need at a price you can afford, you'll have many alternative cleaning companies to consider. Ultimately, you'll be able to develop a schedule of cleaning services within your budget without concerning yourself with the day-to-day management of a janitor. More importantly, business owners often discover that they save money on maintenance, staff, equipment, and cleaning products that are related to cleaning services.

Too Shy to Network?

Being shy is something that holds many people back in their careers. They may have many other qualities that make them perfect for project management, but hold back due to their fear of networking. Although there are some project management courses that can help you to overcome this fear, it is still great to know some steps you can take to try to cope with this on your own. In the digital age, there are more solutions to this problem than you may think.Devise a Networking Plan
The key to many areas of success in life is to make a plan and then stick to it. Think about what you hope to achieve from networking and then devise strategies to achieve this. To a certain extent, some experimentation will be required to see what works for you and what doesn't. Think of every opportunity you have to network as being like an interview where you have to say something of value. If you are shy, then it can help to plan the content of these conversations in advance so that you always have something worthwhile to say.Use LinkedIn
This is the social media networking choice of business people. It is a chance to promote your skills and experience online while also taking advantage of the experiences of others. Setting up your profile to a high standard is vital on here. It is the first impression users get of you and they will usually make a judgement in seconds. Employers use this site to check out the talent available out there. Even if you have applied for a job in writing, it is not unheard of for an employer to search online to view your profile on LinkedIn. It is also important to make connections on this site, as the number of connections and the quality of these connections can also influence other users opinions of you and your eligibility for work.


Meaningful Contributions
The contributions you make in meetings will be remembered and showcases what you have to offer. Therefore, both what you say and how often you contribute is important. If you feel nervous about this, then think about the purpose of the meeting and its likely contents in advance. This way you can plan the things you want to say and ask.Blog!
Writing your own blog is a great way of showing off your knowledge and experience, while also connecting with other people. It is also a good option for anyone who finds conversation difficult. Instead of a lengthy talk about your areas of expertise, you can tell people about your blog and provide them with a link. Wait a few weeks before getting in touch and ask if they can give you their valued opinion on the subjects you have written about. This will keep you in their minds for several weeks and differentiate you from others they have met.No matter how shy you are, there is always a way to network and let people know about your skills and abilities. If shyness continues to be an issue for you, then project management training may be an option, especially if networking is one of the topics covered by the PM course.

BSB51107 Diploma of Management Units In Australia

Rising to the full potential of any career path is the goal of every person. This is a process that will usually be made possible by making educational elevations. You might even need to go back to school to take your skills and knowledge higher. Those in management careers will find the BSB51107 Diploma Of Management quite helpful. This is a course that helps in reflecting the individual role of managing personal work and work for other people and at the same time adds value to the practices of management. The course gives the students a chance to work in industrial or organizational settings successfully. Considerable experience is required in managerial positions if at all success is to be enjoyed in respective industries and vocational areas that are relevant.The Diploma This diploma needs a sound base of theoretical knowledge coupled with managerial competencies. This combination makes it easy to plan and carry out as well as evaluate individual work and the work of others probably in a team. Skills are developed by the end of the course to make sure that the qualifiers are able to face the challenges in the real world of business. Time management, operations understanding and successful project creations are some of the things that you will achieve by the end of the course. The position of manager also comes with daily working requirements and this course covers that too and gives you insight on a team approach and leadership to make your working environment more conducive.The Units The diploma units are divided into two; group A and Group B.Group A: This group is made up of several management units. They areBSBCUS501C: The unit handles managing quality customer service. You will understand how to handle all kinds of customers to offer quality customer service that can determine the success of any business.


BSBMGT502B: This unit teaches you how to manage people performance. This is considering that when you are a manager, you might be responsible for a team and you must know how to evaluate every individual performance.BSBOHS509A: This teaches you how to ensure a safe workplace. It handles everything from managing people so they get along and ensuring that the working environment is safe enough for every employee and customer as well.BSBPMG510A: The unit handles management of projects. As a manager, you will be handling plenty of projects and you must know how to plan them and strategize to get the very best of results with every effort you put into the project.BSBWOR501B: This management course unit provides you the knowledge of managing your personal work priorities as well as professional development. You will understand how to grow from one level of management to another.BSBMGT515A: The unit helps you manage operational plan. Operations are ever present in any working environment and the unit teaches you how to come up with successful operational plans.Group B: This group of BSB51107 Diploma of Management course has two units.BSBDIV501A: The unit helps you in managing diversity in the workplace. People have different beliefs and states of mind and you must know how to handle this to promote harmony in the workplace.BSBHRM402A: Revolves around helping you with recruiting, selecting and inducting staff.

The CIO Has To Know What Innovation Really Looks Like

As the person with the CIO job, you are probably under a lot of pressure to have your IT department be more innovative. CEOs everywhere are telling the press that in order for their company to be successful, innovation is going to have to happen within the company. This is all fine and good, I mean who doesn't want to be more innovative? However, does anyone know what real innovation looks like?5 Things To Look For When You Are Trying To Find InnovationThe rest of the company finally understands the importance of information technology, now they want us to be more innovative. However, you can't find something if you don't know what you are looking for. Innovation is like this - we'd all like to have more of it in our IT departments, but we're not 100% sure what it looks like. Here's a list of ways to identify innovation when you find it:Innovation Looks Like Failure: an ugly little truth that a lot of CEOs and other people who may be pushing you to introduce more innovation into your department like to overlook is that failure is a big part of innovation. Innovation is all about creativity and being willing to try new ideas and as CIO you need to realize that a lot of those ideas probably won't work out.
The ROI IS Ugly: The way that ROI is calculated for most IT projects just won't work when you try to apply it to something innovative - the ROI is going to look very, very bad. Being innovative is all about running experiments - lots of them. Many of these experiments will fail. It can be all too easy to view the failed experiments as being wasted money. Don't do this. These experiments are necessary stepping stones on your way to a real breakthrough.
Nothing Is Perfect: Even if the result of an innovative project is not failure, whatever it produces is probably not going to be salable. The reason for this is that more often than not what comes out of a project like this will be "just good enough". This means that the v1.0 product won't be ready for sale - there's more work to be done here.
Innovation Can Be Boring: We all like to get caught up in the iPhone / Facebook outputs of past innovation efforts. Don't. Instead you need to realize that more often than not innovation has to do with improving the way that things are being done today. No, this may not be revolutionary, but it can provide your company with long lasting results.
The Big Guys Have To Understand: In order for innovation to succeed at your company, the top management needs to understand what innovation looks like. Otherwise they will see you as a CIO who is in charge of a lot of projects that just seem to keep failing. If this is the case, then you won't be CIO for long... !


What All Of This Means For YouEvery person in the CIO position would like their IT department to be more innovative. However, the right place to start is to make sure that you truly know what innovation looks like in the first place.More often than not innovation involves failure - and lots of it. The ROI on innovation can be difficult to measure because more often than not, innovation consists of running many experiments. Innovative solutions are often just "good enough" the first time around. Innovation is not all about iPhones - it often involves small improvements in boring things. Finally, for innovation to happen you'll need the support of the company's top management.The good news is that yes, it is possible for you to make innovation happen in your IT department. However, you are going to have to keep your eyes open. Once you know what you are looking for, then you'll recognize it when it you see it.

How Focusing On Variation Frees Up Your Capacity

Work stress, projects behind schedule, and low productivity are all symptoms of an underlying problem with workload variability. You'll feel it as some months you can't get the important things even started, and other months you're pushing productivity past the redline. The solution lies in measuring the variation in workload, and not just the amount of it.I created an example of a performance measure that has more variability than I want. It's a measure of the amount of program work I deliver on a monthly basis, displayed in an XmR chart.When there's too much variability, you get bottlenecks. When you get bottlenecks, you lose capacity.Of course none of us can run our lives like clockwork. It would be ridiculous to expect an identical workload each month. But I can expect to reduce the variation from where it currently is, to something more enjoyable and predictable.In 2015 I'll focus on smoothing this variation out, and it will spin off a few benefits like lowering my stress, improving workload predictability, and increasing my availability to deliver programs. That's because a phenomenon happens when you reduce variation: the performance level improves as a natural consequence.Over on the right of my chart are my targets for reducing the variability over 2015. It's just a question of improving my marketing and scheduling processes. The targets might seem modest, but I know how much process redesign it will take to reach them. And when I do, I'll be thrilled.You can do this too. There will be plenty of opportunities in your organisation to reduce the variability of performance results that can improve your capacity. Here are a few ideas:Capacity-Building Measure #1: Time Spent on Priorities
Time Spent on Priorities is the percentage of your (or your team's) work hours that are spent on actually delivering your priority outcomes. Yes, you'll need to start keeping track of where your time goes each day!If you're not spending most of your time on delivering the results that are core to your role, then you definitely have a capacity problem. A colleague of PuMP Consultant Mark Hocknell started measuring this for an applications processing team, and found that they were spending only 30% of their time on their core business of processing applications. Not right.


Capacity-Building Measure #2: Average Task Cycle Time
Average Task Cycle Time is the average time it takes to complete a specific task type. Group tasks into similar categories based on how long they should take, and then see how much actual time varies relative to expected time.If you don't know how much time it takes to get things done, it's almost a law of the universe that it is, in fact, taking much longer than it needs to. Find the scope-creep, tangents, distractions, rework, and interrupted workflow that all have an insidious way of bloating tasks.Capacity-Building Measure #3: Demand-Deliver Lag Time
Demand-Delivery Lag Time is the average time from when your customers request you for a service to when you deliver that service. Whether we call them customers or not, we all have people who consume the outputs of our work, and in their own ways create demand for it.When demand is sporadic and unmanaged, it wreaks havoc with our workload. But demand can be managed so it can become more predictable and stable over time. The answer lies in how proactive you can be in establishing relationships with your customers, understanding their needs, and designing your business processes to respond with more ease and speed.TAKE ACTION:
Start monitoring your chosen measures using XmR charts, and pay attention to the amount of natural variability in those measures. Then set your sights on reducing that variability by streamlining and simplifying and standardising the underlying business processes.

Being Indecisive - The Quickest Way to Ensure Project Failure

There are many different factors that contribute to the success of a project. If you have ever been on a project management training course, then you will have probably discussed these at length. Some of these factors include teamwork, vision, dedication and realistic targets. Many of these elements are likely to be included on a project management framework during the planning stage of a project. Another important aspect of project success is ability of the person in the leadership role being able to make good decisions, quickly. A failure to make decisions can contribute significantly to the failure of a project.Confusion
One of the major problems created by a leader that is unable to make decisions is confusion. Members of the team may not be sure of what is expected of them or be completely unaware of what tasks they are supposed to completing. Some tasks may be duplicated while others are not completed at all. Confusion leads to disorganisation, resentment and the failure to complete the project successfully.Time-Limited Options
At the start of the project, there are likely to be many options available to move the project forward. By the time you reach the later stages, not all of these options will be viable. If a boss is having trouble making decisions, they may find themselves in the position of having their options significantly reduced. This can then impact on the overall success of the team and the project.Demotivating Staff
When a leader is indecisive, they lose the respect of their team very quickly. Employees will soon become demotivated as they see various elements of the project going wrong. This in turn will then lead to team members lacking enthusiasm for the project and this will then lead to a decrease in productivity. Employees need to see a leader that is quick thinking and decisive as this will motivate and inspire them.


Lack of Structure
Although flexibility is required in any project, some structure is needed to get everything done in time and on target. Indecisiveness of a leader can result in a lack of structure and this causes projects to be late or fail completely. By making good decisions at the start of the project, the project manager can set reasonable targets for different stages of the project. As different issues arise throughout the project, quick decisions need to be made that look for solutions to these problems as this will ensure the smooth running of the project.Overall, the decision-making process plays a vital role in successful project management. The ability to make good decisions quickly is the sign of good leadership, whereas indecisiveness is a sign of a poor project manager. A weakness in this area can have serious implications to the outcome of a project. If you are a project manager and you acknowledge that decision-making is one of your weaknesses, then it is advisable to consider some project management training to help you avoid some of the common mistakes project managers make.

Should I Hire an American Graphic Design Agency or Outsource Overseas?

Considering all the technology we have nowadays, outsourcing overseas seems to be a common choice. More and more American customers decide to look for freelance graphic designers or foreign agencies, mostly to save some money. But is outsourcing a good, cost effective idea or does it come with unforeseen issues?Regarding the prices in our industry, it is indeed possible to find it cheaper to work foreigners. However, keep in mind your money will contribute to a different country's economy instead of your own. And since we're talking about the costs, you should keep in mind that people who work in American agencies are well trained professionals that are committed to their work, therefore giving you your money's worth. Nowadays the American market is very flexible and offers quality work for competitive prices.Secondly, the language barrier is a common issue when it comes to outsourcing. Although there are many people that can speak and understand English, many of them will not fully understand the nuances. This often leads to longer conversations and explanations so that the people doing the job for you completely understand what you need. Working with an American graphic design agency, on the other hand, means having your project done in time by a team of professionals that understand exactly what you want, thus avoiding the stress of constant misunderstanding and additional explanations.Moreover, hiring an American graphic design agency means you're hiring someone who shares the same background and quickly understands your vision. It has been proven that it's harder for individuals to fully comprehend other cultures than their own; this means no one will be able to provide effective additional as well as someone who knows exactly what your culture is all about. Graphic design is one of the biggest tools you can use to enhance your business and the customer's perception of it, so make sure to choose the right people to take care of that for you.


Another thing to consider is the educational background of the people you hire. You want to make sure the people working for you know their business, have a strong portfolio and know graphic design subtleties like the back of their hand. It's true there are talented graphic design professionals all around the globe, but there are also thousands of beginners that can claim differently, and it's harder to check which one is right and which one isn't when you're outsourcing. Finding an affordable yet high quality service abroad can be stressful and time consuming.Last, but not least to consider is the availability of the ones working for you. American agencies are reliable from this point of view, since they share the same legal terms and probably the same time zone. When outsourcing, it's harder to keep control over your project, due to time zone differences and legal conditions. If there's an issue with your project along the way, there's no customer service department to complain to, you simply have to deal with the situation.All in all, hiring an American graphic design agency for your projects means less stress and more creativity from a team of well trained professionals that are efficient and always available for their customers, whereas outsourcing may be cheaper but can bring additional issues.