How Do You Manage You Boss?

As a manager, obviously a huge part of your role is to be able to manage your team effectively, take responsibility for their development and wellbeing and get them onside to working towards a common goal. This of course starts with managing yourself. Effective leaders are first of all effective in managing themselves, their time, their focus and their emotions. But if you are in middle management, have you considered that you may also be responsible for managing your boss?

Just being good at your job doesn’t cut it when it comes to your annual rise, bonus or promotion. If your boss doesn’t know you exist or what your do, what you want or you just don’t have that rapport with them, then you will always be overlooked.

Managing your boss is no different to managing your staff. It is all down to the way you communicate with them. Remember, that the one asking the questions is the one controlling the conversation. It shows that you are taking an interest, and coupled with practising active listening skills, makes the other person feel important, respected and interesting. If you can make someone feel like that, you will be remembered for it.

Your boss will also regularly ask you questions to find out exactly what is happening and to check that you are competent. Make sure that you are always prepared for their questions so that you are able to give them a direct answer with confidence.

Some bosses have been in business for many years and have got into a managerial rut. They may not have had the advantage of learning how to manage effectively and get the most out of people, and they are managing the way they have always managed and how they were managed. If this is not your preferred style, then take the responsibility in teaching them how to manage you by finding out exactly what they expect from you, how they would like to be kept informed and how often. This will help if they have a tendency to micro-manage. Learn to predict what information they will want and present it to them before they ask for it.

If have a disagreement with your boss then you must never confront them. Instead, organise a convenient time for a discussion and again, control the conversation by asking question, then put your view across calmly and methodically. Take any criticism as a lesson in how to perform better rather than a personal attack. If you have a difficult boss with unreasonable behaviour, then remember that there is nothing you can do to change their behaviour but what you can do is manage your own. Learn how to manage your negative emotions and self defeating behaviour.

It is up to you to take personal responsibility for your destiny.

Finally, look at your boss as a partner rather than the enemy. You are all in the same business, working for the same company, towards the same goals.

Yvonne Bleakley is the Manager’s Mentor and creator of The Silent Motivator System, a 10 step system designed to turn managers and business owners into effective leaders and maximise their staff.

To receive a free subscription to the monthly Silent Motivator e-zine go to http://www.coachuk.ltd.uk You will receive regular tips on managing and motivating your team as well as access to a number of free resources and articles which can help you in team meetings to get the most out of your staff.

See Yvonne's blog http://silentmotivator.blogspot.com


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Executive Assistant - What Executives Want in Their Assistants

Being an Executive Assistant isn't about money or glamour. It's about providing valuable support to a person and an organization you believe in. Being an EA is a unique position and it takes a unique set of skills to achieve long term success. It isn't easy and it isn't always fun. It takes commitment and a drive to succeed. Having said that, it can be extremely rewarding and give you a great sense of achievement.

You will need to constantly improve your abilities and update your skills, remain flexible and level headed, even in the face of chaos. The EA provides nearly invisible support for the executive, acting with little supervision, anticipating needs while managing the day to day workflow and prioritizing various projects.

Here are a few core competencies required for such a role:-

Adaptable
Organised
Team player
Judgement
Computer skills
Customer Skills
Communication Skills
Knowledge of Business Concepts

Yvonne Bleakley is the manager's mentor, director of
http://www.coachuk.ltd.uk and creator of The Silent Motivator System, the proven step-by-step programme to maximise staff and gain true respect and commitment.

Download your free e-book "How to Maximise your Staff and Gain Respect" at http://www.silentmotivator.com

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Traing Without Follow-up is Just Entertainment

We humans are very lazy. We let projects slip and make unfulfilled promises. We get easily distracted, come up against obstacles and always manage to find more interesting things to do, rather than what we should be and have committed to doing, even though these things will take us toward our goals.

So, you have recognised a need for training, you have found the right course, but how is the learning from the course going to be sustained by the delegates if there is no follow-up? Most delegates will return back to the workplace, be thrown back into the routine and pressures of office life with the usual practices that they know and are comfortable with.

Companies spend millions on training but is all this money wasted if the Training Providers do not provide adequate follow-up support or the line managers do not take the time to agree learning objectives with regular reviews to ensure the implementation of the new learned skills?

Training is only as good as the follow-up. Without follow-up, delegates will retain no more than 20% of what is learned. That means that they forget 80% of what they learned on the course if it is not followed-up and implemented straight away.

So how can you ensure that you are getting the most out of your training?

1. Firstly note that you are to follow-up not check-up. Follow-up requires commitment to an ongoing relationship, supporting the delegate to the end with their success in mind. Checking-up implies a lack of trust and often results in losing sight of the objective.

2. Help the delegate to devise a plan of action on how the learning will be implemented being sure to have an overall objective or goal.

3. Be responsible for holding others accountable. If they are not fulfilling their promises then it is your job to find out why and what might be holding them back.

4. Make sure that the follow-up is consistent and on time. A regular appointment should be made and stuck to.

If you or your line managers are not able to take on this commitment, then get outside help from a coach. Coaching works through a rigorous follow-up process and an accountable relationship. The coach is able to take an outside view in a completely non-judgemental way.

Yvonne Bleakley is the manager's mentor, director of www.coachuk.ltd.uk and creator of The Silent Motivator System, the proven step-by-step programme to maximise staff and gain true respect and commitment.

Download your free e-book "How to Maximise your Staff and Gain Respect" at www.silentmotivator.com

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Have you set your own objectives?

If you don’t know what you’re doing, where you’re going or what you want then you can’t expect anybody else to? What do you want out of your role as a manager? What do you want out of your team? How do you want to be seen? How would you like to come across? How will you know when you have achieved it?

Set yourself some goals. This is so important, I can’t stress this enough. If you are not working towards your own goals and agenda then you are working towards somebody else’s. This goes beyond your targets and objectives set in your annual appraisal or quarterly review, and I’m not talking about the goals that your CEO has set for the company.

Of course these targets and goals are important. If they are not achieved then your company probably won’t achieve the overall goal, you won’t get your bonus or rise and it will do nothing for your self esteem. But what I am talking about is having your own personal goals.

You can use your targets as a starting point and ask yourself:-

· “What sort of person do I need to become to achieve these targets?”
· “What do my team need to do?”
· “How can I support them/who do they need me to be?”

Once you have answered these questions you can then start thinking about how you are going to bridge the gap between where you are now and where you want to be. What needs to happen? What help do you need? Can the company help with this? Do they provide training or funding for help?”

Now set about drawing up an action plan and don’t be afraid to ask your boss for help, it is in their interest after all.
You can find an article in the membership area of the Coach UK Ltd website to help you write your goals using my SPADE™ criteria. If you are not currently a member you can join for free by clicking on resources

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Overcoming the Challenges of a Manager

Do you end up solving the problems that your team members are supposed to?
Do you finish the unfinished or half finished work of your team members?
Do you allow your team members to delegate their work upwards to you?
Do you check for or chase for progress of work every few minutes
Do you end up saying, "Never mind, I will do it myself."

If you were to watch many managers at work, you may begin to wonder whether the traditional notion of the manager being the one who gets things done through others still exists. The problem is that when an employee’s title changes and now contains the word manager, they are suddenly expected to start to act like managers, yet receive little help and support in making the transition.

The lack of training and mentoring shows up in their struggle to plan, organise, prioritise, delegate and solve problems. More important, it also shows up in their struggle with managing people, especially in influencing them to do what they want them to do.

Learn to give a good brief and allow your staff space to grow

If you need a task done, it is important for the manager to first give his employee a good brief. The brief not only needs to be clear, specific and actionable, it also needs to be inspiring. The inability of managers to set the task against the right context and be able to show the big picture leaves employees confused about why they need to do the job and how it will help them and the organisation.

Managers tend to swing between two extremes in their style of securing results — at one extreme, you have those that nurture their staff and are almost patronising in their style. They are so frightened of not being liked that they are too helpful and eager to give advice and complete the work on the employee’s behalf.

At the other extreme, we have managers who believe that employees learn to swim when they are pushed into the water and therefore offer little support and can come across and condescending and arrogant.

Another common problem is that managers can tend to micro manage their employees in the anxiety for results, thereby robbing them of the elbow room and the opportunity to learn.
All this can be very exhausting and does nothing toward gaining the respect of your team. Get into the habit of taking a step back and allowing your team to grow and perform at their best, asking them questions or opinions rather that constantly instructing them.

Yvonne Bleakley is the manager's mentor, director of http://www.coachuk.ltd.uk and creator of The Silent Motivator System, the proven step-by-step programme to maximise staff and gain true respect and commitment.

Download your free e-book "How to Maximise your Staff and Gain Respect" at http://www.silentmotivator.com

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How to Recognise and Deal with Stress in the Workplace

Stress, simply put, is a person’s natural reaction to the demands and pressures of everyday life, both in the workplace and in our personal lives. Appropriate amounts of stress can stimulate and motivate all of us into action. This in itself is not a harmful or dangerous thing; indeed it is quite necessary.

However if the demands and pressures we face are too great, or are prolonged, the stress we experience can become harmful. In this difficult economy, workplace stress is a very real occurrenceStress in the workplace reduces productivity, increases management pressures, and makes people ill in many ways, evidence of which is still increasing. Workplace stress affects the performance of the brain, including functions of work performance; memory, concentration, and learning.Typical causes of workplace stress

· Lack of job security
· Lack of recognition
· Bullying or harassment, by anyone, not necessarily a person's manager
· Feeling powerless and uninvolved in determining one's own responsibilities
· Continuous unreasonable performance demands
· Lack of effective communication and conflict resolution
· Long working hours
· Excessive time away from home and family
· Office politics and conflict among staff
· A feeling that the reward is not congruent with the responsibility

How to Recognise Stress

Stress can be the cause of certain behavioural changes and as managers, it is not only important to recognise this in your self, but also those around you. Here are some clues as to what may be going on:-
· It may be hard to concentrate and remain focused on tasks in hand.
· It can become easy to lose the thread of what is being thought or said, even in mid–sentence.
· Memory, even for familiar things, declines.
· As a result of all these above, more errors are made than was previously the norm.
· The ability to relax, to feel good or happy, to ‘switch off’ anxiety reduces.
· Personality traits or standards might change
· Feelings of self-esteem and competence might diminish.

How to Deal with Stress

· Improve communication
· Share information with employees to reduce uncertainty about their jobs and futures.
· Clearly define employees’ roles and responsibilities.
· Make communication friendly and efficient, not mean-spirited or petty.
· Consult your employees
· Give workers opportunities to participate in decisions that affect their jobs.
· Consult employees about scheduling and work rules.
· Be sure the workload is suitable to employees’ abilities and resources; avoid unrealistic deadlines.
· Show that individual workers are valued.
· Offer rewards and incentives
· Praise good work performance verbally and institutionally.
· Provide opportunities for career development.
· Make management actions consistent with organisational values.
Stress is just an emotion and it is important that we feel no attachment to it. When you notice any of these clues to stress, just allow either yourself (or your staff member if applicable) to become aware of the emotion and to feel it rather than try to ignore it. It is when we ignore and stuff down our emotions that we incur problems.

Yvonne Bleakley is the manager's mentor, director of http://www.coachuk.ltd.uk/ and creator of The Silent Motivator System, the proven step-by-step programme to maximise staff and gain true respect and commitment.

Download your free e-book "How to Maximise your Staff and Gain Respect" at http://www.silentmotivator.com/

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Do You Play The Blame Game?

When something goes wrong, most organisations and managers need someone to blame and almost instigate a hunt to put a name to the culprit without ever thinking of the impact that this has on employees. If this is what is going on in your organisation then all employees will do is try to cover up mistakes and hide problems hoping that no one will find out. Genuine mistakes may go unnoticed and un-reported which may lead to even greater problems in the future. The result is that nothing ever gets resolved.

However, the impact of harnessing a blame culture is far greater that unresolved issues. Staff will lack initiative and creativity in case they make a mistake and are more concerned with covering their own back rather than engaging in more productive actions. If any staff member receives negative feedback for their actions, then this will soon become common knowledge within the workplace, especially if they have been dealt with harshly. They will start to loose trust and respect for their leaders.

If you use or hear such language as “who is responsible for this” or “when will they ever learn?” then this is the language of a blame culture. Rather than being focused on learning how to improve the situation or on the solution, this is focusing on finding someone to blame because it is always someone else’s fault.

So how do you move from a blame culture towards a culture where people feel empowered to take responsibility and feel personally accountable to solving problems?

Recognise that everybody makes mistakes.
Thank people for bringing problems to your attention.
Praise what people have achieved.
Take responsibility for your own actions.
Clarify what lessons can be learnt.
Recognise staff for identifying problems early and for suggesting improvements.

There is no such thing as failure, only results. If we learn from our results, then we can never fail.
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