Leadership and Beyond Blog
9 Tips to Prepare for the Holiday Season
by Helen Dyrkacz on 12/20/11
Develop Your Management Skills and Prepare For The Holiday Season
With each day, she was getting more stressed and wondered if she actually could take a week off from the office. In addition to work, she had a long list of social activities and holiday shopping. No wonder why she was feeling more tired in the mornings and had bags under her eyes!
In order to prepare for a peaceful and relaxing Holiday Vacation, these are 9 tips to help manage the demands of your personal and professional life.
Mary was looking forward to the holiday break. But as the days slipped by, it seemed like she was losing ground. The e-mails kept on coming, the meetings never stopped and staff kept on dropping into her cubicle.
With each day, she was getting more stressed and wondered if she actually could take a week off from the office. In addition to work, she had a long list of social activities and holiday shopping. No wonder why she was feeling more tired in the mornings and had bags under her eyes!
In order to prepare for a peaceful and relaxing Holiday Vacation, these are 9 tips to help manage the demands of your personal and professional life.
- Make 2 lists of tasks that MUST be completed between today and the start of your holiday break. Make one for the home/social activities and a second one for business.
- Prioritize the tasks in order of importance. Do the items on the low level of importance really need to be done?
- Review the list. Can any of the items be delegated (upwards or downwards), delayed or shared? If so, start the "sharing" process.
- Estimate the amount of time your most important tasks will take - now book a meeting with yourself. Block the time and schedule it into your day. (Sorry, no double booking!)
- Get all the resources and information you need, before you start your biggest projects, so you don't have to look for it when you are actually ready.
- Work on the first item on each list - both at work and at home. Toil on it until it is fully completed. Don't be tempted by distractions! It is amazing how many distractions come our way which eat up valuable time.
- Pat yourself on the back for doing the most important priority. There is a great deal of satisfaction involved, when you can check it off as...DONE! Place the next item in your immediate mindset and give it your undivided attention.
- Start new projects when you return from vacation. Give your unconscious mind some time to think about creative solutions to the projects during your time away from your post.
- Make note of any outstanding issues before you leave. It will put your mind at ease and help you get organized upon your return.
So there you have it folks, 9 ways to take a break and prepare for the Happy Holidays.
Helen Dyrkacz http://www.leadershipandbeyond.net is a professional speaker, trainer and facilitator. She specializes in helping managers engage, inspire and lead their teams. Visit her site for further information about her management training skills programs at http://www.leadershipandbeyond.net
9 “Free” Ways to Show Appreciation to Your Team
by Helen Dyrkacz on 11/20/11
Develop Your Management Skills Through Appreciation
People will work for money, but will go above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to praise and recognition.
Your management skills are telling you that you would never dream of letting your employees go without a computer or workstation for one day, and certainly not more than one week – but when was the last time that you provided a positive comment to one of your employees or peers? Was it within the last day, last week, or last year? If you gave a recent compliment – that’s wonderful! Is it something that you do on a regular basis? If this is part of your regular mantra – good for you! Many of us can take lessons from you.
Positive recognition increases motivation, productivity and teamwork. It boosts job satisfaction and personal self worth.
Many Managers would agree that praise and recognition are important, but the problem is that it is too costly. Not true! There are many ways of thanking folks that do not cost anything – other than their time to recognize the good work that others have done.
I am not talking about flattery – but honest, sincere appreciation. Flattery is meant for personal gain and is only words. Real appreciation comes from the heart and the sender truly means what he or she is saying.
How do you show honest, sincere, genuine appreciation? Tell the other person what you admire about them, the reason why and back it up with a situation when this quality was demonstrated.
Develop your Management Skills - 9 “Free” Ways of Showing Appreciation.
1. Say “thank you” and shake their hand
2. Send an e-mail with an expression of appreciation
3. Post an article in the company newsletter
4. Send a thank you card
5. Host a special celebration or party
• Happy New Year (When old year in finance is completed!)
• Potluck meal or coffee and donuts
• Special theme – Holiday Celebrations
6. Flexible work week or work from home
7. “Plum” assignment on a working group or team
8. Special award such as the “top banana”, “golden apple” or “employee of the week…month”
9. Family event such as sleigh ride in the winter or picnic in the summer
Please consider how the event or item will be presented, either in public or private. Managers, you know your employees the best, and what is most suitable.
Now sometimes the other person might be embarrassed by the compliment. (They might not be accustomed to receiving compliments or just shy.) All they need to say is “thank you.’’
As a management training expert, we did an exercise in which everyone gave a verbal and written compliment to others in their group. Ten years later, class members say that they still have compliment cards in their brief case or desk drawer. Some days, when they are having a difficult time, or their level of confidence needs a boast, they look at the cards and receive an injection of appreciation. These words are worth their weight in gold!
COST IS LOW – IMPACT IN PRICELESS
We would love to have your feedback! Tell us what you have done and the positive results that were achieved!!
Helen Dyrkacz http://www.leadershipandbeyond.net is a professional speaker, trainer and facilitator. She specializes in helping managers engage, inspire and lead their teams. Visit her site for further information about her management training skills programs at http://www.leadershipandbeyond.net.
Management Training Skills
by Helen Dyrkacz on 09/14/11
MANAGEMENT TRAINING SKILLS
7 TIPS TO CLARIFY EXPECTATIONS OF YOUR TEAM
by Helen Dyrkacz of Leadership & Beyond
7 TIPS TO CLARIFY EXPECTATIONS OF YOUR TEAM
by Helen Dyrkacz of Leadership & Beyond
Develop your Management Training Skills – Why Many Managers Fail
Do you know the number one reason why people and teams fail? You have delegated a task to an employee and expect it to be done. Or maybe it’s a chore around the house. It doesn’t make a difference if it involves the preparation of a major report or washing a car by an 8 year old child, there are some fundamentals in how the request needs to be made, according to a management expert and trainer.
As a manager, you have an objective and work plan to achieve the desired results. Your management training skills are probably telling you that delegating is one of the biggest keys to success. So, the tasks are delegated to competent, well-meaning employees, but sometimes the work does not get done according to standard, or maybe not at all. So what went wrong? Could it be in the asking?
According to seasoned managers, the reason why employees fail is due to unclear expectations. The individual or team member merely does not understand fully what needs to be done. Right at the onset, agreement of the expectations must take place. When they accept the work, it means that they understand what needs to be done, how to do it and when it needs to be completed.
Develop Your Management Training Skills – 7 Steps to Setting Expectations
The following are 7 ways to make your expectations crystal clear with specific questions to ask yourself, by a management expert and trainer. Additionally, the use of RAPPORT will strengthen the working relationship between yourself and the employee.
1. Relevant – Is this work relevant to them? Is it important? Would they want to do the work?
2. Agreed – Has the employee agreed to do the work or meet the goal? Is it a reasonable request?
3. Precise – Specifically, what needs to be done? Why does it need to be done? In delivering management training, I have discovered that managers often assume that their staff understand the task. While in reality, this is not always true. An explanation of the task will give them a deeper understanding of how it fits into the bigger picture, and how their part fits in. Also, if there is a specific order of the tasks, you need to explain it.
4. Pertinent - Is it within their authority? Will they require additional resources, training or support?
5. Outcome – How will you know when the job is done properly? What will the outcome look like? What elements will be displayed in the spread sheet? What will the washed vehicle look like?
6. Realistic – Is this the right person for the job? Is it within their job description? Is someone else better qualified? Do they have the time to fit it in with their other tasks?
7. Timing – When does this task need to be completed? What is the deadline? Will there be checkpoints along the way? Clarification is needed to ensure that the person knows exactly the timing expectations. For example, close of business by Friday, May 20, 20xx. When working with longer projects, request ongoing progress reports on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. This helps you keep on top of the issues and ensures that the project stays on track.
As a management training skills expert, I know that one of the cardinal rules is to clarify, clarify, clarify. Ask the employee to state in their own words their task. Confirm with an e-mail. When the expectations are clear at the onset, then everyone understands what needs to be done. Your job is easy!
Helen Dyrkacz http://www.leadershipandbeyond.net is a professional speaker, trainer and facilitator. She specializes in helping managers engage, inspire and lead their teams. Visit her site for further information about her management training skills programs at http://www.leadershipandbeyond.net.
