Posted by Celia Couture on Tue, Aug 03, 2010 @ 09:54 AM
You finally received the news you've been waiting for...you've been offered the promotion from Supervisor to Manager. Now you have a team of supervisors reporting to you. This team will be looking for leadership, strategy setting, and assistance with employee productivity and accountability.
You now have to deal with the transition from PEER to BOSS! Are these the SAME people you used to have coffee with everyday? Yes they are, but the stakes have changed.
Taking on a management role is challenging and demands that you think differently and act differently in order to be successful. More challenging is dealing effectively with members of your team that were once peers. You need to change peer relationships into manager-employee relationships.
Here are some transition tips to think about:
- Make sure your personal relationships and professional relationships are separate. You can remain friendly with a former co-worker, but you must make clear that the relationship can't cloud your decision-making or how you assess that employee's performance. You may need to change the frequency of your interaction with the employee as some may perceive your relationship as threatening. Perceptions about favoritism are also at risk.
- Make sure you discuss your role as a manager openly and candidly. Exercise your right to define expectations, goals and responsibilities. You may have had the respect of this team as a peer, now you need to earn their respect as a manager. You don't need to be heavy-handed, but you do need to make sure they now what you expect as it relates to their work responsibilities.
- Make sure everyone is treated fairly and equitably. Don't play favorites. Don't be influenced by what you think you knew when you were a peer. You may not have ALL the information or the background. Provide feedback and help employees improve in their roles and most importantly, make up your OWN mind about an employee’s contribution.
- Get HELP! There is no crime in asking for assistance. Being a manager and managing other employees in supervisory roles is a different animal. Use other leaders as mentors. They have more experience and most likely faced or a facing similar situations. Don't feel that becoming a manager means you have to have all the answers.
Making the transition from peer to manager can be a great move for you as you grow in your career. Like any other skill, management requires practice and training. Respect the position and respect the employees that now report to you.
Posted by Celia Couture on Wed, Jul 07, 2010 @ 09:18 AM
As much as our business school educations thought they would prepare us for management, we soon learn that whatever might have been placed in a textbook is NOT reality. Strong management skills are learned though experience.
A classroom is a place to share management practices, debate the latest styles of management, but it is not the place where managers learn how to be socially responsible business leaders. The recent BP disaster on the Gulf Coast is a good example. I'm sure the BP CEO is a great guy, but his choice of words and his immediate response to the disaster was not what people needed to hear.
Business leaders are under attack as a result of their response to the economic crisis. Many have been criticized for putting their own interests ahead of those of employees, customers, and even stock holders.
It's time for business manager to take an inventory of what they need to lead! Typically, business managers are promoted based upon their functional expertise. Is it fair to assume that if you are a wonderful sales person, you can easily make the transition to a great sales manager? A manager must have the ability to integrate skills that help to define effective and strong leadership ability as well as functional knowledge.
It took an educational crisis in the United States before curriculum change occurred. It may take the same effort to engage our prestigious, business schools to begin looking at how they prepare managers to lead. In a recent article written by Richard Barker for the Harvard Business Review, he writes, " The key is to recognize that integration is learned rather than taught: it takes place in the minds of MBA students, who link the various elements of the program. Business education is not one-size-fits-all, and, most important, it should be collaborative rather than competitive."
Posted by Celia Couture on Mon, Jun 21, 2010 @ 09:30 AM
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2. Communicating up and across your organization. You've worked hard and have finally achieved that well-deserved promotion. Suddenly, you find yourself having to present information to the executive leadership or you've been given responsibility to lead a significant project. Do you have the skills? Of course you do, but you may need to communicate things differently. I can help you gain the confidence you need to communicate with conviction.
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Posted by Celia Couture on Tue, May 11, 2010 @ 10:30 AM
We've all been there. We attend a workshop because it has a great title, impressive speaker, and a timely topic. We leave feeling that we didn't get our money's worth or we're bored half-way through because it is the same material we've heard about forever it's just been repackaged!
If you are a responsible for identifying appropriate workshop for your company or you are simply looking for a good program to enhance your leadership skills you need to be able to assess its viability for you as well as for your company. How do you determine whether a workshop is right for the people that work for and with you? How do you ensure that the facilitator of the workshop has a strong track record for engaging an audience and more importantly, how do you ensure that when your employees return they can put what they've learned into practice right away.
What is the anatomy of an effective workshop?
1. Is the facilitator a subject matter expert?
Make sure the facilitator has a background in the material being presented. Look for unique deliverables. Has the facilitator written articles, a book, a white paper about the subject matter. Is the facilitator a popular speaker at events? Does the person have the ability to translate or convert information into a form suitable for the audience?
2. Does the facilitator engage the audience?
Despite the fact that attendees tend to sit in the back of the classroom or conference room hoping to spend a few hours hiding out, most attendees at workshops what to be engaged. One of the goals of a strong workshop is provide learners with multiple ways to achieve knowledge. Does the workshop allow for working in groups, in teams, in some interactive way? Is the workshop designed to provide multiple analogies for attendees to grasp the material? Adult learners need variety in teaching techniques. Is some of the material designed for self-development? Very few workshops are successful if they just include a whole bunch of power point slides and little else.
During the month of May, CC Consulting, LLC is offering companies the opportunity to WIN A WORKSHOP. Go here to read details on how to enter: http://www.ccconsultingllc.com/win-a-workshop/
Remember: "Teaching is not about imparting information; it's about making learning irresistible"
--Larry Goldfarb
Posted by Celia Couture on Wed, Apr 14, 2010 @ 04:11 PM
Interested in Getting a $3500 Leadership Workshop for FREE? Read On.
I love conducting workshops. Why? Because I actually see change and progress happening right before my very eyes. And I'm not the only one who sees these changes happening either--the other participants do as well. Talk about a rush! Where else and how else can you create change so quickly and effectively?
You can't.
That's the beauty of workshops. Or, should I say, the right workshop conducted by the right presenter. Simply calling something a workshop doesn't make it one. And just because someone calls himself or herself a workshop presenter doesn't mean it's true. Conducting effective workshops takes a certain level of skill and experience. I'm proud to say we have that here at CC Consulting.
Now let's say you get all this. But maybe your organization doesn't have the budget to support a workshop during this tough economic climate. Or maybe someone in your organization who has final say over expenses doesn't see the value in workshops.
Well, that's what I'm here to talk about today. I'm excited to announce the launch of our http://www.ccconsultingllc.com/win-a-workshop, where you can win a half-day workshop led (and customized) by me for up to 20 people. That's a $3500 value, and it's free if you win http://www.ccconsultingllc.com/win-a-workshop-rules.
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Posted by Celia Couture on Wed, Dec 23, 2009 @ 12:43 AM
We all freak out at the thought of speaking in front of a group of people. No matter how practiced we are at delivering messages to large group, there is still this incredible anxiety that comes over you when you are standing in front of a group and all eyes are on you. It immediately means you are the expert and people are assembled just to listen to your message.
For some people, speaking in front of a group comes naturally, for others it can be a nightmare riddled with all kinds of disasters, but by keeping in mind a few key tips, you can make delivering a speech or presentation a much easier task.
- REMAIN CALM: I know easier said than done. No matter how many relaxation exercises I do...I'm still shaky when I get to the podium so I've learned that I need to find a way to get the audience on my side rooting for me. I typically, make sure I greet as many people as possible that are gathered to hear me speak. I try to engage in some conversation with them so that I can make reference to the conversation when I start my presentation. Nothing makes an audience or me calmer than having common ground. The more relaxed I appear, the more confident I sound and the influence I'll have over the audience.
- ARTICULATE: Nothing is worse than sitting in an audience and not being able to understand a speaker. Sometimes, when you are nervous you tend to keep your voice lower or you tend to mumble. If this happens you can lose your audience fairly quickly, so make sure you are careful about the words you choose for the subject. Don't use words that are obscure to your audience. Don't make understanding your point of view an intellectual exercise. Speak clearly so that you are understood.
- Show Enthusiasm: Can you imagine sitting through a presentation when the speaker is half asleep and not showing any passion for the subject matter. Part of your role as a speaker is to get the audience reved up to take action. That can't happen if you are lukewarm about your subject or you lack energy. If you want people to stand up and take notice, not resort to doodling or taking a cat nap, you HAVE to show enthusiasm and energy for your topic. If you can, make sure you use a wireless microphone so that you are not teathered to a podium. The closer you get to the audience, the more engaged they become in your topic.
Remember you are in the room because you ARE the expert. You've been given the role of presenter because you have something to offer that is new, different, controversial or interesting. Make the most of this time, enjoy it and have fun. The more you practice, the better you become and you will eventually turn the butterflies in to being able to relax!
Posted by Celia Couture on Wed, Oct 21, 2009 @ 09:00 AM
The Free Management Libary Recently published an article regarding Human Resource Management (HRM) and the importance of looking at HRM as a cost saving measure. In today's difficult economic time, many companies know and understand the importance of having an "expert" manage human resources and talent management. It is important, that companies protect themselves and their employees. There are a number of ways to do this, hire a staff or use consulting services with highly skilled resources. If you are a small to mid-size business owner, it may be more cost effective for you to hire part-time "experts" to help you get your human resource requirements optimized for your company.
The Free Management Library defines the Human Resources Management (HRM) as: including a variety of activities, and key among them is deciding what staffing needs you have and whether to use independent contractors or hire employees to fill these needs, recruiting and training the best employees, ensuring they are high performers, dealing with performance issues, and ensuring your personnel and management practices conform to various regulations.
Activities also include managing your approach to employee benefits and compensation, employee records and personnel policies. Usually small businesses (for-profit or nonprofit) have to carry out these activities themselves because they can't yet afford part- or full-time help. However, they should always ensure that employees have -- and are aware of -- personnel policies which conform to current regulations. These policies are often in the form of employee manuals, which all employees have.
The HRM function and HRD profession have undergone tremendous change over the past 20-30 years. Many years ago, large organizations looked to the "Personnel Department," mostly to manage the paperwork around hiring and paying people. More recently, organizations consider the "HR Department" as playing a major role in staffing, training and helping to manage people so that people and the organization are performing at maximum capability in a highly fulfilling manner.
Recently, the phrase "talent management" is being used to refer the activities to attract, develop and retain employees. Some people and organizations use the phrase to refer especially to talented and/or high-potential employees.
CC Consulting LLC has the resources and experts to help you with your Human Resource needs. Call us today and let us share with you how we can best support your needs in a cost-effective and expert way!
Posted by Celia Couture on Tue, Sep 08, 2009 @ 08:59 AM
No matter where you are in an organization, at some point you are going to have to face the reality that you need to speak in front of other people. Books have been written about the topic and many of us have been involved in many classes. Suzanne Bates has talked about how presenting yourself with confidence and skill can make a huge difference in how you are perceived as a leader.
For many of us, presenting in general causes our stomachs to hurt and sleepness nights. Others of us find presenting invigorating and influencial. How do you begin to make the switch so that you are seen as confident and prepared. Here are some quick tips to help you on your journey toward delivering a better presentation.
- Express Enthusiasm. Nothing is worse than a speaker who simply drones on without any emotion. The more energized and excited you are about your topic the greater the likelihood that your audience will find you engaging and interesting. Be physical in the environment. Use the whole space and make eye contact. Make it a point to meet your audience before you start speaking. Those friendly "hellos" act as an ice-breaker and gives you common ground with members of your audience.
- Speak Clearly. Sometimes when we're nervous we have a tendency to swallow words. Audiences become very frustrated if they can't understand what a speaker is saying. Practice out-loud, use a tape recorder so that you know how you sound. Practice difficult words if you have too! By speaking out loud you eliminate hearing the words for the first time in front of a live audience. The more you practice, the easier it will be when the actual presentation takes place.
- Know your topic. It is so much easier to present information to a group when you really understand your topic, can draw from experience or can quote other experts. The information becomes more powerful and you become more powerful as an expert in the field. Study your topic. Don't simply wing-it. Audiences are very good at spotting an unprepared speaker or presenter. If you don't know the anwer to a question--be honest. Get back to the audience with an answer once you've had the time to research the correct response.
- Speak slowly and Watch Tempo. We've all been to presentations when the speaker races through the material and you are left wondering what you were supposed to get from the presentation. Ideas are lost if you speak too fast. Remember your audience is hearling the information for the first time. You have been living with the subject for a while.
Posted by Celia Couture on Thu, Aug 20, 2009 @ 09:30 AM
The recent issue of HR Magazine had an interesting article with the following title: When Women Rank High, Companies Profit. The article talked about conducting a survey of 1,500 U.S. companies to investigate the connection between female senior management and company performance. David Ross of Columbia University Business School and Christian Dezso at teh University of Maryland examined such performance based on market-to-book ratio, return on assets, retun on equity and annual sales growth from 1992 to 2006. They looked at postion up to, but not including, the CEO level but separately studeis these performance measures in companies that had female CEOs.
The research suggests promoting women to top ranks may help the bottom Line. For those of us who are currently in executive roles in companies or for those of us who own and operate our own companies, these statistics are not at all surprising. Women work hard each day to prove that they belong in executive roles. Consequently, they typically pay more attention to the details, work very hard at creating a collaborative work environment and they hire people who share the same cultural values.
Ross and Dezso refer to the "female participating effect" as being of particular strenght in companies with a strong emphasis on research and development. "The positve impact is found in firms that are invovled with innovation, where a democratic and participatory approach to management is known to be important."
If you have an opportunity to work through your business plan and ensure that the women in your organization have the oppotunity to lead major initiatives, have access to decision-makers and can demonstrate their abilities to think strategically just having a single femail is positively associate with better company performance.
Posted by Celia Couture on Thu, Aug 06, 2009 @ 10:46 AM
I found the following e-newsletter written by Kim Dustman in a weekly publication I receive entitled HR Weekly Alert. I thought I would share it with my readers as I believe our biggest challenge coming out of this recession will be retaining our really good employees. How do we keep them challenged, passionate and rewarded so that they are ready to blast out once the recession is over.
By Kim Dustman
In difficult economic times, it's not the average performer who considers leaving your company - it's your star employees who are thinking about hitting the road.
So in this time of cost control, how do you retain top employees without running up a huge budget?
Though the choices companies are forced to make during a recession can frustrate all involved, here are some tips to keep top employees happy and at your company:
- Focus on their career development needs - A retention strategy that includes a strong career development focus can help you keep high potential employees at your company. By giving them challenging projects as well as training and development opportunities, your stars are less likely to seek other employment.
- Stress corporate ethics and values - High performers want to believe their company stands for something distinctive and special. Though cutting costs might be necessary in the short run, top workers want to be certain that management is focused on long term goals and values.
- Involve them in decisions - Transparency is key. Top employees want to know they've made a difference, so companies should consider allowing them to have input in important decisions. Sharing as much information as possible with these achievers will make them feel trusted and valued.
- Don't ignore compensation concerns - Though everyone understands what difficult times mean, high potential employees still want to know their interests are important to the company. When it comes to incentives, companies may have to get creative by offering employees a number of options, such as deferred rewards or accelerated advancement opportunities. And remember - it's important to maintain an open dialogue throughout the entire process.