Good leadership is not just about managing and maintaining what is. Great Leaders need not to be afraid to make mistakes. They need to have the confidence to take risks. Our Leadership Skills training course, will help you develop your outside of the box thinking.

Consider the following quotes:

"640K ought to be enough for anybody." - Bill Gates, 1981, rejecting proposal for larger computer memory.

"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out." - Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.

"Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?" - H.M. Warner (Warner Brothers) before rejecting proposal for movies with sound in 1927.

"The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible." - A Yale University professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.)

"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" - David Sarnoff's Associates in rejecting a proposal for investment in the radio in the 1920s.

It is important not to be confined to the present but to look to the future. Organisations today need to be organic, they need to grow and change. When the movie camera was finally accepted and became main stream, the camera did not move! The actors would run around the static camera like the theatre or still camera. The idea that the camera could move around the actors took a while to develop. To see great opportunities you need good leadership skills. Great Leaders look beyond current practises and markets.

Try this test to see if you can think outside the box! - Draw nine dots to make a square - three rows of three. Try and join the nine dots with 4 straight lines.

Do you need 5 lines?

The correct answer is shown here in this diagram.

Did you restrict yourself - impose the restriction that lines cannot go outside the box. Try not to give yourself self-imposed restrictions that prevent you and your organisation from reaching your goals and developing new ideas that will keep the company growing and changing.

This way of thinking is commonly called thinking outside of the box. Inside the box thinkers are very skilled at killing ideas. For example, Charles H. Duell, Director of the US Patent Office, said in 1899, "Everything that can be invented has been invented."

Great leaders think outside the box by displaying the following qualities:

• Listening to others
• Supporting others when they come up with new ideas and respecting them
• Valuing new ideas and not being afraid to act on them
• Willingness to look at new perspectives to day to day work
• Openness to different things
• Openness to doing things differently

Good leadership is not just about managing and maintaining what is. Great Leaders need not to be afraid to make mistakes. They need to have the confidence to take risks. Our Leadership Skills training course, will help you develop your outside of the box thinking.

Consider the following quotes:

"640K ought to be enough for anybody." - Bill Gates, 1981, rejecting proposal for larger computer memory.

"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out." - Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.

"Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?" - H.M. Warner (Warner Brothers) before rejecting proposal for movies with sound in 1927.

"The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible." - A Yale University professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.)

"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" - David Sarnoff's Associates in rejecting a proposal for investment in the radio in the 1920s.

It is important not to be confined to the present but to look to the future. Organisations today need to be organic, they need to grow and change. When the movie camera was finally accepted and became main stream, the camera did not move! The actors would run around the static camera like the theatre or still camera. The idea that the camera could move around the actors took a while to develop. To see great opportunities you need good leadership skills. Great Leaders look beyond current practises and markets.

Try this test to see if you can think outside the box! - Draw nine dots to make a square - three rows of three. Try and join the nine dots with 4 straight lines.

Do you need 5 lines?

The correct answer is shown here in this diagram.

Did you restrict yourself - impose the restriction that lines cannot go outside the box. Try not to give yourself self-imposed restrictions that prevent you and your organisation from reaching your goals and developing new ideas that will keep the company growing and changing.

This way of thinking is commonly called thinking outside of the box. Inside the box thinkers are very skilled at killing ideas. For example, Charles H. Duell, Director of the US Patent Office, said in 1899, "Everything that can be invented has been invented."

Great leaders think outside the box by displaying the following qualities:

• Listening to others
• Supporting others when they come up with new ideas and respecting them
• Valuing new ideas and not being afraid to act on them
• Willingness to look at new perspectives to day to day work
• Openness to different things
• Openness to doing things differently

Managers who know themselves well and who are aware of their emotions are in a better position to understand and empathise when managing others. This is something emphasised on many of our Management Training Courses.

So an important step to being an effective manager is self-awareness. This means, amongst other things, knowing:

• Your strengths
• Your areas for development
• Your positive and negative qualities
• Your prejudices
• Your feelings
• What effect you have on others

Read More

Managers who know themselves well and who are aware of their emotions are in a better position to understand and empathise when managing others. This is something emphasised on many of our Management Training Courses.

So an important step to being an effective manager is self-awareness. This means, amongst other things, knowing:

• Your strengths
• Your areas for development
• Your positive and negative qualities
• Your prejudices
• Your feelings
• What effect you have on others

Read More

Delegation is about letting employees make decisions and work on their own initiative. To be successful, employees must have the resources to complete a delegated task. This may mean providing training, tools and support.

Managers can delegate authority however they cannot delegate responsibility, this is important. Although an employee is responsible for meeting deadlines, goals and objectives, the Manager is still ultimately responsible for the success of the delegated task.

Delegation Benefits

• Employees may do a better job when they feel personally accountable, even though responsibility ultimately rests with the individual who made the delegation.
• Delegation can make an employee's work more varied and therefore motivate the employee.
• Managers have more time to innovate and plan.
• When delegation involves training and mentoring, the organisation will benefit from a more highly skilled workforce.
• Employees will learn to be better decision makers given more responsibility.

Delegation Drawbacks

• Managers may lack the knowledge or motivation to delegate.
• Managers may choose the wrong tasks to delegate.
• Managers may not communicate the task effectively, providing inadequate direction.
• Some managers get stuck in the belief that "if you want a job done right, you have to do it yourself."
• Managers may:
  • Lack trust in their employees
  • Fear being seen as lazy
  • Be reluctant to take risks
  • Fear competition

Any of the above may result in incomplete or incorrectly completed tasks.

The manager is ultimately responsible for delegation and must take responsibility for:

• Delegating the wrong task
• Delegating to the wrong person
• Not providing proper guidance.

The employee is ultimately responsible for:

• Doing the task incorrectly when given adequate resources, guidance or training.

Delegation is about letting employees make decisions and work on their own initiative. To be successful, employees must have the resources to complete a delegated task. This may mean providing training, tools and support.

Managers can delegate authority however they cannot delegate responsibility, this is important. Although an employee is responsible for meeting deadlines, goals and objectives, the Manager is still ultimately responsible for the success of the delegated task.

Delegation Benefits

• Employees may do a better job when they feel personally accountable, even though responsibility ultimately rests with the individual who made the delegation.
• Delegation can make an employee's work more varied and therefore motivate the employee.
• Managers have more time to innovate and plan.
• When delegation involves training and mentoring, the organisation will benefit from a more highly skilled workforce.
• Employees will learn to be better decision makers given more responsibility.

Delegation Drawbacks

• Managers may lack the knowledge or motivation to delegate.
• Managers may choose the wrong tasks to delegate.
• Managers may not communicate the task effectively, providing inadequate direction.
• Some managers get stuck in the belief that "if you want a job done right, you have to do it yourself."
• Managers may:
  • Lack trust in their employees
  • Fear being seen as lazy
  • Be reluctant to take risks
  • Fear competition

Any of the above may result in incomplete or incorrectly completed tasks.

The manager is ultimately responsible for delegation and must take responsibility for:

• Delegating the wrong task
• Delegating to the wrong person
• Not providing proper guidance.

The employee is ultimately responsible for:

• Doing the task incorrectly when given adequate resources, guidance or training.

McClelland identified three key motivating drives that work for everyone. He named these key drives as:

• The Need for Achievement
• The Need for Affiliation
• The Need for Power

He also identified how these needs each vary in strength between different people. Everyone, says McClelland, is motivated by all of these, but to motivate individuals, the manager needs to consider what the primary drivers in each case are.

Achievement

How to recognise the Achievement Motive in a person

• They like working by themselves and making their own decisions
• They like realistic challenges and getting things done
• They do not work well under close supervision

How to deal with them and arouse their Motivation

• Be factual, to the point and straightforward, minimise discussions
• Use a business-like approach, no unproductive encounters or 'passing the time of day'
• Offer ideas and suggestions and avoid telling them precisely what to do
• Let them play a significant role in making the decision as this will commit them to it

Affiliation

How to recognise the Affiliation Motive in a person

• They seek the company of others and seek to make friends
• They are eager to interact and need to be liked as a person
• They are warm and can appear non-assertive
• They may talk at length about family, friends and outside interests and engage in social ritual

How to deal with them and arouse their motivation

• >They respond to warm human qualities, a smile and interest in family, social activities
• Be prepared to spend time developing a warm relationship with them as they will do things for people they like
• They are motivated by friendship and relationships and do things for people they relate to on a personal basis

Power

How to recognise the power motive in a person

• They tend to be firm, direct and competitive, and they try to be persuasive in their dealings
• Thy like to impress and may express their status needs by displaying objects, such as trophies, medals and works of art
• Like to act as a representative and spokesman for other people and to give advice

How to deal with them and arouse their motivation

• Treat them as important people and recognise and refer to their status objects
• They are impressed by manner of dress, the size of the office, club membership, salary, type of car and status achievements of the people they associate with
• Ask their advice and opinion on matters, and listen to their point of view.
• They pay particular attention to the manner of presentation of reports of discussions, they like things to 'look good' as well as be good.

Read More

McClelland identified three key motivating drives that work for everyone. He named these key drives as:

• The Need for Achievement
• The Need for Affiliation
• The Need for Power

He also identified how these needs each vary in strength between different people. Everyone, says McClelland, is motivated by all of these, but to motivate individuals, the manager needs to consider what the primary drivers in each case are.

Achievement

How to recognise the Achievement Motive in a person

• They like working by themselves and making their own decisions
• They like realistic challenges and getting things done
• They do not work well under close supervision

How to deal with them and arouse their Motivation

• Be factual, to the point and straightforward, minimise discussions
• Use a business-like approach, no unproductive encounters or 'passing the time of day'
• Offer ideas and suggestions and avoid telling them precisely what to do
• Let them play a significant role in making the decision as this will commit them to it

Affiliation

How to recognise the Affiliation Motive in a person

• They seek the company of others and seek to make friends
• They are eager to interact and need to be liked as a person
• They are warm and can appear non-assertive
• They may talk at length about family, friends and outside interests and engage in social ritual

How to deal with them and arouse their motivation

• >They respond to warm human qualities, a smile and interest in family, social activities
• Be prepared to spend time developing a warm relationship with them as they will do things for people they like
• They are motivated by friendship and relationships and do things for people they relate to on a personal basis

Power

How to recognise the power motive in a person

• They tend to be firm, direct and competitive, and they try to be persuasive in their dealings
• Thy like to impress and may express their status needs by displaying objects, such as trophies, medals and works of art
• Like to act as a representative and spokesman for other people and to give advice

How to deal with them and arouse their motivation

• Treat them as important people and recognise and refer to their status objects
• They are impressed by manner of dress, the size of the office, club membership, salary, type of car and status achievements of the people they associate with
• Ask their advice and opinion on matters, and listen to their point of view.
• They pay particular attention to the manner of presentation of reports of discussions, they like things to 'look good' as well as be good.

Read More