5 Things You Should Watch Out To Provide A Sense Of Stability And Steadiness At Work

As this is another work week where people engage in various commercial and institutional events, it’s imperative that you take positive action to provide that much needed stability in the midst of the busyness. This will also help your workplace acquire a sense of steadiness and fair predictability.

In some of my recent coaching and consultations to companies, I advised on certain elements that will be helpful to create a better workplace culture. Here are some of the things you should watch out for to create that dependability in your work environment.

1. Watch out for your display of Emotional Intelligence at work

2. Watch out for the way you communicate.

3. Watch out for how your work relationships are build.

4. Watch out for how conflicts arise and nip them in the bud before they escalate.

5. Watch out for the efficiency in your work responsibilities.

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7 Simple Steps To Negotiate And Network Your Way Through Life And On To Success

While yesterday was Saturday, I applaud the commitment of the different department managers who attended Day 2 of the in-house “Effective Negotiation Skills” training. We explored and discussed the various negotiation strategies and specific concepts that will take them further at work and in life.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with them and training them as everyone were highly responsive and interactive. There were laughter galore and lessons were imparted. They also took notes as we related real life experiences and examples.

And it’s obvious that in life, we do negotiate and interact with our network of friends. In the midst of all these interaction, we can take the opportunity to negotiate our way through life and on to success with the following steps:

1. Pay attention to what you are looking for in life.

2. Establish what you can offer to others that will benefit them, the greater the better.

3. Build up rapport and relationship with them as you interact and contact these people.

4. Request for a mutually beneficial collaboration with them.

5. Seek compromise on what both of you can agree on.

6. Put an agreed plan into place.

7. Keep each other updated and in contact for further refinements and continuing partnerships.

When you work on your negotiation skills, you can enhance your network to better benefit others and yourself to life’s success. Hence your life becomes one that Excels Beyond Excellence!

How Neuro-Linguistic Programming Helps You To Manage Your Human Resource Matters At The Workplace

I was invited to give a talk to a number of human resource mangers and leaders from various companies yesterday. The talk entitled, “Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Skills” enabled me to introduce to them the origin of NLP as well as sharing with them the various concepts and techniques that will empower them to become better HR managers.

The participants were highly interactive, fun-loving and made further enquires about this practical technology of human excellence. I was glad to provide the information which can direct them to what they are looking for. And their commitment to their jobs in implementing effective HR policies for their staffs earned my respect and salutation.

Similarly, when you apply the understanding of NLP technology and concepts unto your human resource matters and issues, you will discover that NLP:

1. Gives you specific strategies to build rapport and deepen relationships with the staffs at work, influencing them faster than before.

2. Guides you to better avoid, deflect and handle conflicts and tough situations arising from work.

3. Provides you the practical tools and relevant technology to better formulate human resource policies. It also takes you into effective implementation strategies that let your staff ‘buy-in’ to these policies or directives.

In short, NLP enables you to Excel Beyond Excellence!

Now, Who’s Your Mentor? Exploring The Beauty Of Mentoring

Having been a Mentor to various individuals and certain organizations for years, I derived even greater insights than before on the essence of effective mentoring. This improvement concept does bring with it a myriad of benefits, and they are all beautiful benefits:

For the Mentee,

1. Mentoring shaves of years of unnecessary mistakes in the process, shortening the learning curve.

2. Mentoring brings to him the ‘insider’ and “behind the scene’ look at how the organizations and industry is like, really like.

3. Mentoring allows him to be specific in reducing his actual weaknesses and extending his strengths, giving him a more powerful advantage in whatever industry he is in.

For the Mentor,

4. Mentoring allows him to practice his leadership and coaching skills beyond where he is now.

5. Mentoring lets him play out and experiment different concepts of subjects that he already knew.

6. Mentoring brings to him a sense of satisfaction knowing that he has played a significant role in grooming and changing someone’s life for the better.

For the Organization,

7. Mentoring provides it a possible leadership and managerial succession plan and evolving line of command.

8. Mentoring allows the organization to discover hidden talents within the organization, with likelihood of greater loyalty from the individual.

9. Mentoring saves the organization money in retraining and orientating a total outsider and reduced wastage of resources.

Most of all,

10. Mentoring allows everybody to Excel Beyond Excellence!

3 Simple Ways To Improve Your Persuasion And Influencing Skills With People

What I liked about yesterday’s training was the depth of the understanding on human psychology, the behavioral concepts and the discussion of the Persuasion Principles. I especially designed this intensive 2-day course, “How To Persuade And Influence People” to highlight how people can be persuaded as well as ways to get faster and intended influencing results than ever. I’m glad all the participants took something away from the training various ideas that they can use for greater advantage in their work and their lives.

Here are some of the ways you, too, can work towards improving these essential skills in persuasion and influence.

1. Talk to new people everyday and reflect through the interaction process.

2. Pay attention to your communication and its impact unto others’ behavior.

3. Be receptive to the outcome of human behavior and beliefs, whether they are intended or unintended. Accept that each one of your action affects the next reaction of others around you.

Do Dedicated Parents Make Better Managers And Leaders?

Moving back to the work week, we see people hurrying to their office. The bulk of this workforce will consist of staffs and managers who are parents. Being parents usually signify the demand of time and energy to take care of their children. Hence, the direct questions is, do dedicated parents imply that they will become better managers or leaders?

In Today’s paper, Marian Ruderman, a director of the Center for Creative Leadership, certainly think so. She cited studies that conclude that family-focused workers can make better managers.

The following is her article on this issue:

Dedicated Parents, Better Mangers?

PARENTS across the country can now hold their heads high when heading out of the office to attend a teacher’s conference or coach a football game.

Being a committed parent can enhance managerial ability, according to a study by the Center for Creative Leadership and Clark University.

Child-rearing develops skills that are useful for work, the study found. Being able to manage the demands of raising children and running a household helps people better manage the stress of work instead of adding to it.

Family experiences provide managers with positive feeling that carry over to the workplace and facilitate performance.

They also help managers to develop the ability to see others’ views — a capacity that is critical to supervising others, working in teams or relating to superiors.

The study contradicts conventional wisdom that parents are easily distracted by their responsibilities at home, in particular their children, and are therefore more likely to be ineffective at work.

Published last year in the

Journal of Applied Psychology, the study shows for the first time how raising a family helps develop skills such as negotiating, compromising, conflict resolution and multi-tasking, which are important traits of successful managers.

The study has important implications for employees and organizations alike.

While many organizations have adopted family-friendly policies, most still operate under the assumption that a family focus will detract from performance.

But the research suggests this assumption is wrong. In fact, a family-focused manager may be the leader your company should have.

Life beyond Work

Life outside of work is important for both women and men — and their careers.

Investing time in family relationships, friendships, volunteer work and personal interests has been shown to enhance on-the job performance as well as psychological well-being.

Roles and responsibilities outside of work can serve as creative and supportive sources for learning how to be a more effective manager.

Off-the-job experiences help people to hone interpersonal skills, handle multiple tasks and develop the ability to draw on relevant background and information.

Regular exercise and effective leadership also go hand-in-hand.

Time invested in regular exercise, even if it means spending less time at work, is correlated with higher — not lower — ratings of leadership effectiveness.

Research suggests that leaders who exercise regularly are rated significantly higher by their bosses, peers and direct reports than non-exercisers. It seems a healthy lifestyle can help executives to better cope with the stresses and demands of their positions.

An organisation’s attitude towards employees’ life outside of work is a factor in retaining them. Whether they are raising young families, preparing for retirement, caring for elderly parents or pursuing personal interests, employees often feel their organisations forget that they have a life outside work. Organisations and leaders can help all generations navigate their need for work-life balance by: Clarifying priorities. People have trouble figuring out their priorities when everything at work is deemed urgent. They struggle to give higher priority to family time when work pressure does not ease up.

Realistic resourcing. People have too much work to be done during normal work hours, so they routinely put in extra hours.

The perception is that their organizations do not care enough about employees to bother resourcing the work appropriately.

Reducing stress. Extreme stress is one reason people leave their jobs or turn down interesting positions.

Some people feel forced to choose between an interesting or challenging job and the kind of life they want to lead.

Creating flexibility. A flexible schedule allows people with children to get more work done and yet enables them to be with their families.

For older people approaching retirement, offering this would be a convenient solution and a sign of the respect the organization has for its employees.

Are You Ready To Excel Beyond Excellence? 5 Facts About Sustaining Your Drive Towards Excellence

Excellence must be a long-term commitment. It’s not a live-for-the-moment or flash-in-the-pan idea.

Excellence must be a sincere willingness from you and emit from your heart.

Excellence seriously means a clear focus and may demand some sacrifice in other areas.

Excellence must be well supported by yourself and the people around you.

Excellence will drive other aspects of your life to be excellent as well, hence, creating a snow-ball effect.

How You Can Negotiate For A Long Term Win? 5 Ways To Achieve The Long Relationship Through Negotiation

It’s an intensive weekend for me today as I conducted a full day of the in-house “Effective Negotiation Skills” training for a company. I admire the fact that despite today being Saturday, an official non-working day for most, they turned up in full force. And this is still Day 1. In exactly one week’s time next Saturday, I will be conducted Day 2 of this workshop, where I will teach them the various negotiation strategies and the advanced techniques of bargaining.

When you are in business, you should aim to see things through for the long term. After all, not many people want a fly-by-night business relationship if constant cash flow and profit is the ultimate aim.

Therefore, here are some ways you have achieve the long term relationship with effective negotiation:

1. Aim for win-win and appreciate this position of interest bargaining.

2. Ensure that both find value in working with each other.

3. Maintain that relationship, and make it special.

4. Create a constant compromise that allows both party to gain continuously, hence there is always incentive to keep working together.

5. Take the intangibles into account. It’s not just about money. It often beyond the cash.

Facilitating Thoughts: What Essential Items Must You Have BEFORE Your Meetings And Discussions Begin To Make The Sessions Fruitful

As you run your meetings, it’s imperative that the members are focused unto the meeting itself. Today, at the second day of “WITs Facilitators’ Course”, we kept these in perspectives as we discussed on the tough issues and essential items to apply in meetings.

One of the areas I got every participant to look at are the moments before the actual beginning of the meeting and discussions. These moments set the pace for the entire flow of the sessions, hence they warrant careful considerations.

In order to have a meaningful and fruitful session as facilitator-leader, here are the items that you must consider before your meetings and discussions begin:

1. Set the frame work and agenda of the meeting so everyone knows where the meeting is heading.

2. Get everyone to arrive prepared with their relevant information before the meeting begins.

3. Lay out the ground rules of the meeting where everybody must agree and abide.

How To Tell A Captivating Story And Get Your Audience Listening?

When I conduct Public Speaking and Presentation talks and individual speech coaching, I get to hear the participants share and practice what they have learned. And from time to time, some of them present their speeches in a form of stories. The impactful storytellers will end up captivating the audience, getting them to listen, tune in and be on the edge of their seats.

What then can you do to present effective storytelling speeches? Here are some helpful pointers:

1. Develop a strong setting and background within your story.

2. Create the deepening plots at the most unexpected places.

3. Frame your story in the context of your audiences’ lives.