For help with with problem solving you could try a facilitation course. When planning and implementing change, problems sometimes arise. Problems will certainly arise during your life as a manager (if they haven’t already!).

Being personally effective means being able to face and resolve problems in a planned and proactive way. But not in a hasty and haphazard way. So how to go about it?

Effective problem solving depends on having a structure and a process which will act as a guide when you are faced with any problem.

Problem solving process

Here is a a clear and straight forward way of solving problems. It is made up of four stages:

1. DEFINING THE PROBLEM
2. ANALYSIS
3. OPTIONS
4. ACTIONS

Think for a moment about how you solve problems. Do you already follow this process? If not, what process do you use? It is not unusual for a manager when faced with a problem, to leap from PROBLEM to ACTIONS in one jump and, of course, the action chosen could be exactly the right one. BUT often it is not as you have missed the two important stages of ANALYSIS and OPTIONS.

For example, you think the problem with the city transport system is there aren’t enough buses! Action: buy more buses!

BUT what if you buy more buses and the situation is the same? The answer maybe that there are already enough buses but they are inadequately maintained, or that there is a shortage of drivers, or that the time-tabling needs to be revised.

What you have done in identifying the problem is to leap straight away to the solution to buy more buses which in this case would be a waste of time and money.

Problem solving strategies

Below are some questions which will help you through the process in a systematic way either on your own or with your team:

1 DEFINING THE PROBLEM

• What are the signs and symptoms of the problem?
• Who is the problem impacting?
• When is the problem occurring?
• What is your desired outcome?

Once you have answered these questions, you will be in a position to clearly and accurately define the problem. You should then write a Problem Statement which spells out this clearly defined problem. Once you know exactly what you are dealing with, you have a better chance of coming up with the most appropriate solution!

2 ANALYSIS

• What do I/we contribute to this problem?
• What part of this is mine/ours to own?
• What other data do you need to solve this problem?

3 OPTIONS

• What are all the possible ideas to solve the problem?
• What options constitute a viable Plan A & Plan B (consensus)

4 ACTIONS

• Specific steps to be taken?
• Time frame for each step?
• Who is responsible for each step?
• What specific criteria will be used to evaluate success?
• When will this evaluation be conducted? By whom?
• Who needs to know about this plan?

Silicon Beach Training deliver great instuctor lead Management Course and Leadership Courses

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Posted by Heather Buckley in Management Skills Training on April 15th, 2007 | No Comments »

“In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.” (attributed to Theodore Roosevelt)

It is generally accepted that more people prefer a manager who makes bad decisions to one who makes no decisions at all! Decision making is a key component in the functioning of any organisation and managers need to make decisions on a variety of issues. You may be involved in some or all of the following spheres of decision making and others:

• Financial – budget implications of spending
• Staffing & development – training and project work
• Product development – research, marketing
• Customer – developing a customer base
• Organisational – change strategies
• Policy & procedures – new systems and policies

Decisions only need to be made where there is more than one alternative. If there is only one way forward, then there is no decision to make!

Decision making skills

Within the culture of your organisation there will already be rules of both individual and team decision making and any competent manager needs to research what these are before introducing their own processes.

However there are some general guidelines that apply to decision making:

1. Be clear about what outcome you want
2. Consider what appears to be the most appropriate course of action
3. Look at the alternatives; consult your peers, team, colleagues for ideas
4. Explore the consequences of each alternative
5. Choose one
6. Implement it
7. Review it
8. Make any appropriate changes for next time

However you decide how to decide, you need a systematic process, a process you can refer back to if you don’t get the desired outcome or if you are asked to justify the decision you made.

A planned approach following a logical process as the one above will give you this.

Group decision making

Whatever your style of management there will be times when it will be appropriate to involve a group of people in the decision making process. If you involve your team in a decision that affects them, this will normally increase their commitment and engagement to that task.

Group decision making can be defined as the process of arriving at a judgement based upon the input of multiple individuals. As with individual decision making, the use of a decision-making model is a systematic way of establishing group decision making proficiency.

Advantages of making decisions as a group

• You can share information which is not held by all individuals
• The synergy (two heads are better than one) of the group leads to better decisions
• Hearing other points of view can lead to fruitful discussion and stimulate other ideas
• Group members will be more committed to the outcome

Disadvantages of making decisions as a group

• It takes more time
• Members do not always agree and compromise can be difficult to achieve
• Group members may not be willing to share information
• Groupthink may take over; this is a process by which groups put consensus and unanimity above the quality of the decision and fail to look at all the alternatives objectively.

Contact us to arrange a Decision Making training course.

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Posted by Heather Buckley in Management Skills Training on April 18th, 2007 | No Comments »

We all know about the importance of effective communication, don’t we? We don’t need to be reminded, do we?

If this is the case, how come so many problems in organisations are caused by bad communication?!

It’s worth recapping that when you are talking to others you must be:

• CLEAR: no jargon, straightforward explanations, check they understand, one thing at a time, don’t confuse
• CONCISE: short sentences, get quickly to the point, don’t waffle
• CONSISTENT: reinforce messages, repeat where necessary, use positive language

Remember that communication is a combination of speaking and listening or sending and receiving messages.

How to improve your interpersonal communication

Here are some general guidelines for improving interpersonal communication:

1. Check for understanding: As a sender of a message, check for understanding by asking the receiver to summarise what s/he has understood. Check for any assumptions.
2. Listen actively: Listening is not a passive activity; active listening demands focus. You need to concentrate totally on what the sender is saying and put aside your own noise .
3. Be aware: If you are aware of your own perceptions about your receiver, you are in a better position to prevent unintentional messages being sent. Also, your perceptions of yourself can impact on your communications.
4. Be empathetic: Your message may provoke an emotional reaction in the receiver. Be sensitive in your delivery and be prepared to acknowledge these emotions. When you are receiving, probe further if you suspect strong emotions underlie the “real” message.

Communication in organisations

In traditional hierarchical organisations, information flows only from the top downward. Whilst this can be an effective way of communicating information from senior management, this form of communication has disadvantages:

• It excludes valuable ideas held by junior members of staff
• It contributes to a culture of organisational inertia
• It demotivates more junior members of staff who feel excluded
• Current approaches and more modern technical practices are not passed up the line

Ideally information needs to flow upward as well as downward to maximise the communication process. As this is against the traditional method in hierarchies, it needs facilitation to make it happen. This can be achieved by several methods including:

• Quality teams from all grades in the organisation meeting to discuss a single issue
• Regular feedback up and down the line on progress and achievement
• Managers being prepared to genuinely listen to junior staff and take on board their ideas

As a manager you have a responsibility to improve the communication patterns around you, starting with yourself.

Take time to answers these questions:

• How does communication flow in your organisation?
• How effective is this as an aid to effective communication?
• What can you do to assist in the improvement of communication patterns within the organisation?
• What can you do to improve your interpersonal communication skills?

Our Communication Skills course will benefit those who want to improve the way they communicate with others.

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Posted by Heather Buckley in Management Skills Training on April 16th, 2007 | 1 Comment »

What competencies does an effective manager need to develop?

Competencies are usually divided up into clusters; that is, groups of similar competencies under a set of headings. Competencies are developed with the individual organisation in mind so it is not possible to give one definitive set of competencies here; within your own organisation these will vary somewhat. However, there are some general agreements about what makes an effective manager so we can extrapolate from these and find some common themes.

Competency clusters for managers

My work - managing my own work area and the service my section provides

My people – managing my team; ensuring they are skilled in their jobs, motivated and productive and that a good team spirit exists between them

Myself – managing the stress of my job with composure, being self aware and seeking development opportunities

My organisation – keeping up-to-date with developments at an organisational level, managing change positively, helping drive the organisation forward and achieve its objectives

Focus on competencies

My work:

• Maintains a thorough understanding of organisational dynamics and how to work within the culture to achieve results
• Maintains a broad knowledge of organisational policies and procedures and relevant legislation
• Plans and monitors the delivery of the service by accurately estimating needs and prioritising resources appropriately so that budgets are adhered to
• Delegates tasks to others and makes sure deadlines are met
• Relies on experience to understand and evaluate problems
• Gathers information from a variety of sources before making decisions
• Sets professional standards and develops procedures to ensure they are maintained
• Strives to ensure that a quality service is delivered in a fair and equitable manner

My people:

• Manages the team in a transparent and equitable manner
• Provides clear direction on a regular basis and adopts an approachable management style
• Deals with under-performance in a timely manner and ensures improvement where possible
• Communicates in a clear and effective manner, listening and ensuring that messages are clearly understood
• Ensures that regular two-way communication happens across functions and levels
• Promotes a culture of involvement and consultation within the team and rewards positive contributions
• Motivates staff towards the provision of a quality service
• Works with individuals to identify strengths and development needs
• Strives to ensure professional and personal development for team members

Myself:

• Inspires others to maintain professional standards and work towards common goals
• Leads by example and provides clear direction
• Accepts responsibility and accountability
• Maintains a calm and controlled style in all situations
• Demonstrates energy and enthusiasm for their role
• Is flexible during challenging times and perseveres despite setbacks and the pressures of the role
• Demonstrates a practical commitment to their own professional and personal development

My organisation:

• Promotes change actively and continuously strives to improve the quality and efficiency of the service
• Takes the initiative to proactively identify inefficiencies and implement solutions
• Encourages others to embrace change positively
• Makes appropriate use of technology to advance the quality and efficiency of the service
• Regularly updates their knowledge of organisational policies and procedures and relevant legislation

You need to find out what competency frameworks exist in your organisation ie. what are the competencies that are required to be an effective manager where you work. You will then know what the organisation expects of you as a manager.

This will provide a very useful pointer to determining your development needs and in enlisting your manager’s help in the realisation of your learning objectives.

Silicon Beach Training offer training needs analysis courses.

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Posted by Heather Buckley in Management Skills Training on April 15th, 2007 | No Comments »

Conflicts are an inescapable fact of life. They occur when the needs of one person differ from the needs of another, and the parties disagree on how to meet their needs. Conflict can be unpleasant and uncomfortable and it can hurt relationships. However, if handled effectively, it also provides the opportunity to enrich and deepen relationships and help us learn more about ourselves. Accept that conflict will arise in your working life whether it is with your manager, your staff, peers, your customers or other professionals and learn ways to manage it.

Conflict in management can be defined simply as:

two or more people who want a different outcome

Causes of conflict in the workplace

Almost all conflicts involve communication problems, as both a cause and an effect. Misunderstandings, resulting from poor communication, can easily cause a conflict or make it worse. Further, once a conflict has started, communication problems often develop because people in conflict do not communicate with each other as frequently, as openly, and as accurately as they do when relationships are not strained. Thus communication is central to most conflict situations.

Recognising sources of conflict in the workplace is the first step toward being able to do something about them. Apart from communication, there are other causes of conflict in business:

• Assumptions
• Competing for resources
• Putting personal agenda ahead of team agenda
• Individual differences
• Competing priorities

Think about the conflict situations in your working life. Who are they with? What is the real issue? How can you improve your handling of these situations? Find out from colleagues what their strategies are for handling conflict.

How to resolve conflict

Resolving conflict requires effective communication skills, tolerance, and the desire to find creative solutions. Here is a five-step process that you can follow to resolve conflict and improve your work relationships.

1. ACTIVE LISTENING for facts and feelings. Make sure you understand what the other person really wants and needs. Listen for more than facts. Set aside your assumptions of what you think is going on. Pay attention to non-verbal messages. Check that you have understood and repeat back to the person what you think he/she said. This will prevent misunderstandings and will ensure that you are both clear about the issues.

2. USE ASSERTIVE COMMUNICATION. State your wants and needs in a respectful and clear manner, while recognising that the other person also has legitimate wants and needs. Discuss the specific behaviour that is creating problems and do not focus on personal characteristics.

3. BE EMPATHETIC. Try to get into the other person’s shoes. Consider their viewpoint. Ask yourself: “What does she want?” “What might he be afraid of?” Adopt the position that people aren’t purposefully trying to be difficult, manipulative etc. They may not know how to communicate effectively to resolve conflict.

4. BE FOCUSED on the issue. Use effective listening skills. Stick to facts and don’t allow irrelevancies and emotions into the discussion which could escalate the conflict. If you find the conflict is getting worse, take a break and agree to come back and discuss the problem at a later time – when you both have had a chance to calm down.

5. KEEP POSITIVE. Approaching a conflict situation with a negative attitude will result in a self-fulfilling prophecy. You will put out non-verbal messages that you know the person won’t respond to reason and they will pick this up and respond to accordingly. Instead, tell yourself “there is a solution to this situation and we can work together to find it.”

Learn effective ways to manage workplace conflicts with our Conflict Management training course

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Posted by Heather Buckley in Management Skills Training on April 15th, 2007 | No Comments »

Some Leadership Training & Management Training by Silicon Beach Training that you could find useful are the Decision Making Course and Leadership Course

What is influence?

Influence is the ability of one person to get others to behave in a particular way or to carry out certain actions.

Many people are unaware of the influence they exert on others and many are unaware how necessary and constructive mutual influence is in building effective teams and effective working relationships.

Where is your sphere of influence?

Managers automatically think of having influence over their staff but not over anyone or anything else. In fact an astute manager can develop many levels of influence which can be much more far-reaching than that of their staff group.

LEVELS OF INFLUENCE

Level 1 – the level where you have complete influence and control eg with your team

Level 2 – the level where you have influence without complete control eg with your boss, in your department

Level 3 – the level where problems or forces that affect you are completely outside your influence

• Make a list of problems currently causing you concern at work
• Review each problem to decide which level of influence it falls into
• Try to find ways of extending the boundaries of levels 1 and 2 in order to increase your influences over the forces that are affecting the problem

Influencing strategies

“You make more friends by becoming interested in other people that by trying to interest other people in yourself” Dale Carnegie

Each one of us is dependent on other people in the organisation. We need these combined efforts to make our whole business successful. Once we recognise the importance of other people in our companies, we can really begin to use key influencing strategies to get things done.

1. COLLABORATION – successful people are skilful collaborators. They achieve the outcome they want by influencing others to support them, not by exercising power

2. WORKING TOWARDS WIN-WIN – in any negotiation situation seek to find resolution where no-one loses

3. LISTENING – effective listening is one of the most powerful forms of communication. Give the other person your complete attention and they, in turn, will be more inclined to listen to you and give credit to your ideas when you need their support

4. RESPECT – respect is a basic element in influencing. Develop and show genuine respect for those around you by showing consideration, honouring confidences and expecting others to act ethically and responsibly

5. INVOLVE OTHERS – people respond positively when you ask for their opinions and suggestions. Gain a position of influence by acknowledging that someone else has something of value to contribute and by acting on their input.

6. TREAT PEOPLE AS EQUALS – don’t abuse any power you may have from being in a higher position in the organisation; you will not gain their support his way!

7. GIVE CREDIT AND ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY – influential people give others credit for successes and take the responsibility when things go wrong

8. SEE OTHERS AS UNIQUE – get to know what motivates those people around you and treat everyone as special

9. BE CONFIDENT AND DECISIVE – people follow those who seem confident and who make sound, timely decisions

10. CULTIVATE EXPERTISE – when you have expertise, you gain credibility that allows you to influence others

Influencing senior management

You may have the best idea in the world but if you can’t sell it, it is worthless.

There will come a time when you will need the backing of those above you in the organisation so you need to carefully develop your strategy for success.

1. Prepare thoroughly before you meet with senior management- collect facts and figures to add weight to your arguments
2. Anticipate senior management’s reaction to your idea and prepare effective responses
3. Use appropriate language use buzz words and phrases so you appeal to THEIR areas of concern
4. Present a positive personality, committed and enthusiastic to the project
5. Any presentation you make should be short; about 5-7 minutes is enough to get them interested in a good idea
6. Don’t promise what you can’t deliver

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Posted by Heather Buckley in Management Skills Training on April 15th, 2007 | No Comments »

Why is there so much talk today about values in business? Because in a fast paced, changing corporate world, they are often the only things that don’t change! Clear corporate values can be maintained no matter what. Some of the most successful organisations go to great lengths to preserve their values and put them before profit maximisation.

Companies like Cadbury Schweppes, Johnson & Johnson, Hewlett-Packard for example have discovered that they make good business sense. These companies out-perform others that put profits first and provide a better return to their shareholders over time. Clear values communicated both within and outside the orgainsation help towards recruitment and retention as much if not more than any pension scheme or health benefits. They also help develop and keep customer loyalty.

Think about it! If you are clear about your organisation’s values and committed to their enactment on a day-to-day basis, you are in a good position to respond to change flexibly and effectively when it comes because your basis never changes.

What are values?

Values are basic human principles, the principles, which we as human beings, all know to be right and just. We did not need to be told these things by someone else; we have always known them to be true. They are not beliefs.

Beliefs come from our past and are accumulated through years of being told things by others and by confirmation through our own experience.

It is not to say that beliefs are unimportant; on the contrary, negative beliefs can inhibit our performance and limit our outcomes. Luckily, beliefs can be changed!

Remember values do not change, so no matter what changes come along or what business you are in, you have a set of values that can guide and determine your performance in the market place. These values will resonate with your staff and your customers because they too have the same values even though they may not yet be quite aware of them.

Key benefits of corporate values

Corporate values give a clear message to your staff and your customers of what you stand for. Customers will build up loyalty to these values, knowing that when the going gets tough, you will stick by them

Corporate values help increase and attract both customers and new employees. Research has shown that well-qualified candidates for jobs have a fair amount of choice but that, increasingly, they choose not by the most attractive benefits package offered but by the values of the company itself.

Personal values

Most people are incapable of separating their personal values from the corporate values, or if they do, then they often feel dissatisfied and unfulfilled within their organisation.

If you are in a position to formulate the guiding principles of a company or of your own business, you know that the two go together and you can put forward a clear values-led management strategy. If you are not (yet) a company leader, you can introduce the concept of values into your work with your team and your customers and can seek to influence the institution of corporate values at a higher level.

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Posted by Heather Buckley in Management Skills Training on April 18th, 2007 | No Comments »