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The 'Rich Right Now! Affirmations for an Abundant Life'ebook is an invaluable tool that can assist you in increasing your leadership skills through the creation and use of affirmations. To read more click here.
Leadership (7)
5 Tips For Effective Praise
Delegation Tips For Organizational Leaders
Sharpening Your Listening Skills
Unhelpful Criticism
The Effective Leader
Steps To Help Deal With Chronic Complainers
Tips On How A Manager Can Be A Great Leader
Some managers unintentionally treat those they manage in a way that leads to less than desirable performance. There are leaders who have difficulty delegating responsibility. There seems to be the programmed feeling that the only way to get the job done right is to do it yourself. While doing it yourself may appear to work, it tends to be a breeding ground for apathy, non-involvement, low motivation, and loss of commitment and enthusiasm. Sharing the work can be a great motivator, thereby strengthening the organization.
The way managers treat their staff is subtly influenced by what they expect of them. If a manager's expectations are high, productivity is likely to be high. If his expectations are low, productivity is likely to be low. It is as though there is a law that causes an employee's performance to rise or fall to meet his manager's expectations.
1. What a manager expects of their staff will combine to profoundly influence performance and career progress. What is critical in the communication of expectations is not what the boss says, but what they do. Indifference and noncommittal treatment communicate low expectations and lead to inferior performance. Most managers are more effective in communicating low expectations than in communicating high expectations, even though most managers believe exactly the opposite.
2. Superior managers create high performance expectations that staff can fulfill. People will not strive for high productivity unless they consider the high expectations realistic and achievable. If they are pushed to strive for unattainable goals, they eventually give up trying. Frustrated, they settle for results that are lower than they are capable of achieving.
3. Less effective managers fail to develop high expectations for their staff. Successful managers have greater confidence than ineffective managers in their ability to develop talent. The successful manager's record of achievement and self-confidence grants credibility to their goals.
If you need to build a more effective leadership style creating positive affirmations¹ around what you want to achieve can be a productive way of achieving that goal.
5 Tips For Effective Praise
Human beings thrive on praise. Although all of us require praise to help make us feel good about ourselves, you can't praise people indiscriminately. Praise should be reserved for accomplishments that are worthy of special acknowledgment. So, how do you deal with people who never do anything particularly praiseworthy?
As important as praise is in motivating people, it doesn't always work. Some supervisors praise every minor activity, diminishing the value of praise for real accomplishments.
Others deliver praise in such a way that it seems phony. To make your praise more meaningful, follow these suggestions:
1. Don't overdo it. Too much praise reduces the benefit that's derived from each bit of praise; if it's overdone, it loses its value altogether.
2. Be sincere. You can't fake sincerity. You must truly believe that what you're praising your associate for is actually commendable. If you don't believe it yourself, neither will your associate.
3. Be specific about the reason for your praise.
4. Ask for your colleagues's advice. Nothing is more flattering than to be asked for advice about how to handle a situation. This approach can backfire, though, if you don't take the advice.
5. Publicise praise. Just as a reprimand should always be given in private, praising should be done (whenever possible) in public. Sometimes the matter for which praise is given is a private issue, but it's more often appropriate to let your entire group in on the praise. If other staff members are aware of the praise you give a colleague, it spurs them to work for similar recognition.
Delegation Tips For Organizational Leaders
Integral to the success of delegation is the development of employees' self- esteem. The use of self-esteem as a motivator is a recent phenomenon. In the 1930s the issue was irrelevant. Back then, the issues were money, security and survival - the very things that were in short supply. Recent distinct improvements in the satisfaction of these survival needs have brought with them a whole new set of drives. Workers have begun to complain about a lack of dignity and respect. With increasing turnover rates, absenteeism and other forms of alienation and dissatisfaction, managers can no longer maintain that workers only care about getting a paycheck.
1. Delegation helps people below you in the organization grow and thereby pushes you even higher in management. It provides you with more time to take on higher-priority projects.
2. Find out what the talents and interests of your people are and you will be able to delegate more intelligently and effectively.
3. Never underestimate a person's potential. Delegate slightly more than what you think the person is capable of handling. Expect them to succeed, and you will be pleasantly surprised more often than not.
4. Clearly define what outcome is needed, then let individuals use their own creative thinking to determine how to get that outcome.
5. Clearly define the limits of authority that go with the delegated job. Can the person hire other people to work with them? What are the spending constraints?
6. Do not avoid delegating something because you cannot give someone the entire project. Let the person start with a bite-sized piece. After learning and doing that portion, they can accept larger pieces and areas of responsibility.
7. Clear standards of performance will help the person know when he is doing exactly what is expected.
8. Delegation is taking a risk that the other person might make a mistake. People learn from mistakes and will be able to do the project correctly the next time. Where would you be if no one had ever taken a chance on you?
The fact is that management experts and psychologists have shown that a salary increase is not necessarily the ultimate motivator. Unless you cannot live on your present salary, more money is often a weak incentive. In addition to providing money to live on, most people work every day to satisfy their need for structure and predictability in their lives. Look at the endless number of rich people who continue to work every day. Precisely because their basic needs are being met.
Sharpening Your Listening Skills
One of the most important traits of a good leader is to improve your listening skills. The key to successful listening is to adjust your attitude during communication. How wonderful the world might be if everyone shifted to higher levels of listening. How about you? As a leader do you need to become a more effective listener?
Here are 10 ways which can help you become a better listener...
1. Listen for ideas and central themes. Search for the speaker's central theme or main points instead of getting lost in, or reacting to, the supportive details.
2. Judge content, not delivery. Focus, to your best ability, on what the speaker is saying and try not to be unduly influenced by their way of saying or delivering the message.
3. Search for areas of interest. It is extremely easy to tune out from a speaker, so work on sharing his or her enthusiasm. Search for new ideas or insights which might be beneficial to you.
4. Don't jump to conclusions. It's easy to assume that you know the rest of a sentence or message after hearing the beginning. Avoid prejudging a message, so you can receive and evaluate the whole message.
5 Take notes. By taking notes you sharpen your reception, understanding, and, of course, retention of the information.
6. Concentrate and resist distraction. External distractions include non-related things you can see or hear, or which may be impacting your other senses. Internal distractions occur when your mind wanders into unrelated memories or shifts its focus to worries, plans, or anticipations. Stay focused.
7. Use the fast pace of thought to your advantage. Most people can think three or four times faster than they speak. Don't let your quick mind indulge in all sorts of thoughts unrelated to the conversation. Capitalize on your thinking speed by actively sensing, interpreting, evaluating, and summarizing the messages being received.
8. Check your emotions. It has been said that the intellect is the slave to emotions. Be sensitive to things that trigger your emotions and increase your efforts to focus on a clear reception and understanding of what is being said.
9. Exercise your mind. You can turn away and tune out from complicated or difficult subjects, or you can intellectually wrestle with complex information so that you will have a chance to grow and strenghten your own intellect.
10. Work at listening. Be an active listener. Follow the above suggestions. Ask questions and seek clarification. Actively share in the speakers efforts to improve your level of understanding, whether or not you think you agree.
Unhelpful Criticism
We shouldn't unnecessarily flatter, but we must encourage. Unfortunately, we tend only to appreciate results as opposed to effort. And many of us criticize much more than we praise, thereby dampening enthusiasm and squelching confidence.
Why do many people focus on another's mistakes or failures? Sometimes, it's because we want to prove that we are smarter, or better. Or, we want to prove that we were right or wrong.
There is another common reason some of us are very critical and impatient. Unhappy people vent their frustrations and resentments at handy targets. Criticism often serves as a ready made vehicle for the expression of your anger and your sense that the world has dealt you an unfair hand.
People need guidance. We need feedback designed to keep us moving in a healthy, productive direction. We don't need personal cheerleaders - we need to be told when we are being unreasonable and unrealistic.
There is one kind of criticism, however, whose effect is solely destructive. It is when we find fault with something about which we know nothing can be done. It can be cruel and insensitive.
Criticism, delivered properly, can be helpful when change is within grasp. Asking a person to change what is already etched in stone will only cause them to feel unworthy and resentful.
We should alwyas aim to be mindful of treating others with dignity, of relating to others as humans not objects, as equals not inferiors. we should aim to be people who encourage and not criticize.
To help you foster a more effective listneing style, creating positive affirmations¹ can be a very productive way of achieving that goal.
Steps To Help Deal With Chronic Complainers
Some people are always complaining. They gripe about the temperature in the room. They gripe about the work they're assigned. They gripe about everything you tell them or ask them.
These types of people work in every company. They get their kicks from complaining.
Sometimes they do have legitimate complaints, of course, so you can't just automatically ignore them. You have to listen.
One way to minimize complaining is to actually pay more attention to the people who complain. The reason for the complaints may be their desire to be the center of attention. By talking to them, asking their opinions, and praising their good work, you satisfy their need for attention.
Follow these 4 steps to find out what's going on:
1. Listen. Even if a complaint seems to be unfounded, in the mind of the complainant it's a serious matter.
2. Investigate. Take nothing for granted. Look at the record, and talk to others who know about the situation.
3. Report back. If the complaint is unfounded, explain your reasoning to the complainant. If it is substantiated, explain what you will do to correct it.
4. Take action. Do what must be done to correct the problem.
The Effective Leader
Many people have developed a deep distrust of bosses or managers, which can be due to their experiences with current or past managers. They turn to the informal leaders - fellow workers who have gained their respect and whose opinions and actions they admire and emulate. The effective leader recognizes the influence these men and women have in the acceptance of new ideas among their followers.
If you think that your leadership abilities require attention, check the following..
1. The job of the manager has changed. You can no longer be a "boss." You must become a leader.
2. Too often managers think their management style is working well, when in fact, it isn't working at all.
3. Evaluate how you are leading by identifying areas in which you must change.
4. Study the traits of great leaders. Emulate them.
5. Have a clear vision of what you wish to accomplish. Articulate it, communicate it, stick to it.
6. Commit yourself to take whatever action is necessary to become not just an average, but a great leader.
¹ Learn more about the P.R.A.I.S.E formula for creating powerful self improvement affirmations in the Rich Right Now! Affirmations for an Abundant Life ebook.
.
Some managers unintentionally treat those they manage in a way that leads to less than desirable performance. There are leaders who have difficulty delegating responsibility. There seems to be the programmed feeling that the only way to get the job done right is to do it yourself. While doing it yourself may appear to work, it tends to be a breeding ground for apathy, non-involvement, low motivation, and loss of commitment and enthusiasm. Sharing the work can be a great motivator, thereby strengthening the organization.
The way managers treat their staff is subtly influenced by what they expect of them. If a manager's expectations are high, productivity is likely to be high. If his expectations are low, productivity is likely to be low. It is as though there is a law that causes an employee's performance to rise or fall to meet his manager's expectations.
1. What a manager expects of their staff will combine to profoundly influence performance and career progress. What is critical in the communication of expectations is not what the boss says, but what they do. Indifference and noncommittal treatment communicate low expectations and lead to inferior performance. Most managers are more effective in communicating low expectations than in communicating high expectations, even though most managers believe exactly the opposite.
2. Superior managers create high performance expectations that staff can fulfill. People will not strive for high productivity unless they consider the high expectations realistic and achievable. If they are pushed to strive for unattainable goals, they eventually give up trying. Frustrated, they settle for results that are lower than they are capable of achieving.
3. Less effective managers fail to develop high expectations for their staff. Successful managers have greater confidence than ineffective managers in their ability to develop talent. The successful manager's record of achievement and self-confidence grants credibility to their goals.
If you need to build a more effective leadership style creating positive affirmations¹ around what you want to achieve can be a productive way of achieving that goal.
5 Tips For Effective Praise
Human beings thrive on praise. Although all of us require praise to help make us feel good about ourselves, you can't praise people indiscriminately. Praise should be reserved for accomplishments that are worthy of special acknowledgment. So, how do you deal with people who never do anything particularly praiseworthy?
As important as praise is in motivating people, it doesn't always work. Some supervisors praise every minor activity, diminishing the value of praise for real accomplishments.
Others deliver praise in such a way that it seems phony. To make your praise more meaningful, follow these suggestions:
1. Don't overdo it. Too much praise reduces the benefit that's derived from each bit of praise; if it's overdone, it loses its value altogether.
2. Be sincere. You can't fake sincerity. You must truly believe that what you're praising your associate for is actually commendable. If you don't believe it yourself, neither will your associate.
3. Be specific about the reason for your praise.
4. Ask for your colleagues's advice. Nothing is more flattering than to be asked for advice about how to handle a situation. This approach can backfire, though, if you don't take the advice.
5. Publicise praise. Just as a reprimand should always be given in private, praising should be done (whenever possible) in public. Sometimes the matter for which praise is given is a private issue, but it's more often appropriate to let your entire group in on the praise. If other staff members are aware of the praise you give a colleague, it spurs them to work for similar recognition.
Delegation Tips For Organizational Leaders
Integral to the success of delegation is the development of employees' self- esteem. The use of self-esteem as a motivator is a recent phenomenon. In the 1930s the issue was irrelevant. Back then, the issues were money, security and survival - the very things that were in short supply. Recent distinct improvements in the satisfaction of these survival needs have brought with them a whole new set of drives. Workers have begun to complain about a lack of dignity and respect. With increasing turnover rates, absenteeism and other forms of alienation and dissatisfaction, managers can no longer maintain that workers only care about getting a paycheck.
1. Delegation helps people below you in the organization grow and thereby pushes you even higher in management. It provides you with more time to take on higher-priority projects.
2. Find out what the talents and interests of your people are and you will be able to delegate more intelligently and effectively.
3. Never underestimate a person's potential. Delegate slightly more than what you think the person is capable of handling. Expect them to succeed, and you will be pleasantly surprised more often than not.
4. Clearly define what outcome is needed, then let individuals use their own creative thinking to determine how to get that outcome.
5. Clearly define the limits of authority that go with the delegated job. Can the person hire other people to work with them? What are the spending constraints?
6. Do not avoid delegating something because you cannot give someone the entire project. Let the person start with a bite-sized piece. After learning and doing that portion, they can accept larger pieces and areas of responsibility.
7. Clear standards of performance will help the person know when he is doing exactly what is expected.
8. Delegation is taking a risk that the other person might make a mistake. People learn from mistakes and will be able to do the project correctly the next time. Where would you be if no one had ever taken a chance on you?
The fact is that management experts and psychologists have shown that a salary increase is not necessarily the ultimate motivator. Unless you cannot live on your present salary, more money is often a weak incentive. In addition to providing money to live on, most people work every day to satisfy their need for structure and predictability in their lives. Look at the endless number of rich people who continue to work every day. Precisely because their basic needs are being met.
Sharpening Your Listening Skills
One of the most important traits of a good leader is to improve your listening skills. The key to successful listening is to adjust your attitude during communication. How wonderful the world might be if everyone shifted to higher levels of listening. How about you? As a leader do you need to become a more effective listener?
Here are 10 ways which can help you become a better listener...
1. Listen for ideas and central themes. Search for the speaker's central theme or main points instead of getting lost in, or reacting to, the supportive details.
2. Judge content, not delivery. Focus, to your best ability, on what the speaker is saying and try not to be unduly influenced by their way of saying or delivering the message.
3. Search for areas of interest. It is extremely easy to tune out from a speaker, so work on sharing his or her enthusiasm. Search for new ideas or insights which might be beneficial to you.
4. Don't jump to conclusions. It's easy to assume that you know the rest of a sentence or message after hearing the beginning. Avoid prejudging a message, so you can receive and evaluate the whole message.
5 Take notes. By taking notes you sharpen your reception, understanding, and, of course, retention of the information.
6. Concentrate and resist distraction. External distractions include non-related things you can see or hear, or which may be impacting your other senses. Internal distractions occur when your mind wanders into unrelated memories or shifts its focus to worries, plans, or anticipations. Stay focused.
7. Use the fast pace of thought to your advantage. Most people can think three or four times faster than they speak. Don't let your quick mind indulge in all sorts of thoughts unrelated to the conversation. Capitalize on your thinking speed by actively sensing, interpreting, evaluating, and summarizing the messages being received.
8. Check your emotions. It has been said that the intellect is the slave to emotions. Be sensitive to things that trigger your emotions and increase your efforts to focus on a clear reception and understanding of what is being said.
9. Exercise your mind. You can turn away and tune out from complicated or difficult subjects, or you can intellectually wrestle with complex information so that you will have a chance to grow and strenghten your own intellect.
10. Work at listening. Be an active listener. Follow the above suggestions. Ask questions and seek clarification. Actively share in the speakers efforts to improve your level of understanding, whether or not you think you agree.
Unhelpful Criticism
We shouldn't unnecessarily flatter, but we must encourage. Unfortunately, we tend only to appreciate results as opposed to effort. And many of us criticize much more than we praise, thereby dampening enthusiasm and squelching confidence.
Why do many people focus on another's mistakes or failures? Sometimes, it's because we want to prove that we are smarter, or better. Or, we want to prove that we were right or wrong.
There is another common reason some of us are very critical and impatient. Unhappy people vent their frustrations and resentments at handy targets. Criticism often serves as a ready made vehicle for the expression of your anger and your sense that the world has dealt you an unfair hand.
People need guidance. We need feedback designed to keep us moving in a healthy, productive direction. We don't need personal cheerleaders - we need to be told when we are being unreasonable and unrealistic.
There is one kind of criticism, however, whose effect is solely destructive. It is when we find fault with something about which we know nothing can be done. It can be cruel and insensitive.
Criticism, delivered properly, can be helpful when change is within grasp. Asking a person to change what is already etched in stone will only cause them to feel unworthy and resentful.
We should alwyas aim to be mindful of treating others with dignity, of relating to others as humans not objects, as equals not inferiors. we should aim to be people who encourage and not criticize.
To help you foster a more effective listneing style, creating positive affirmations¹ can be a very productive way of achieving that goal.
Steps To Help Deal With Chronic Complainers
Some people are always complaining. They gripe about the temperature in the room. They gripe about the work they're assigned. They gripe about everything you tell them or ask them.
These types of people work in every company. They get their kicks from complaining.
Sometimes they do have legitimate complaints, of course, so you can't just automatically ignore them. You have to listen.
One way to minimize complaining is to actually pay more attention to the people who complain. The reason for the complaints may be their desire to be the center of attention. By talking to them, asking their opinions, and praising their good work, you satisfy their need for attention.
Follow these 4 steps to find out what's going on:
1. Listen. Even if a complaint seems to be unfounded, in the mind of the complainant it's a serious matter.
2. Investigate. Take nothing for granted. Look at the record, and talk to others who know about the situation.
3. Report back. If the complaint is unfounded, explain your reasoning to the complainant. If it is substantiated, explain what you will do to correct it.
4. Take action. Do what must be done to correct the problem.
The Effective Leader
Many people have developed a deep distrust of bosses or managers, which can be due to their experiences with current or past managers. They turn to the informal leaders - fellow workers who have gained their respect and whose opinions and actions they admire and emulate. The effective leader recognizes the influence these men and women have in the acceptance of new ideas among their followers.
If you think that your leadership abilities require attention, check the following..
1. The job of the manager has changed. You can no longer be a "boss." You must become a leader.
2. Too often managers think their management style is working well, when in fact, it isn't working at all.
3. Evaluate how you are leading by identifying areas in which you must change.
4. Study the traits of great leaders. Emulate them.
5. Have a clear vision of what you wish to accomplish. Articulate it, communicate it, stick to it.
6. Commit yourself to take whatever action is necessary to become not just an average, but a great leader.
¹ Learn more about the P.R.A.I.S.E formula for creating powerful self improvement affirmations in the Rich Right Now! Affirmations for an Abundant Life ebook.
.