Author Archives: Admin
5 Management Assumptions
Here are five management assumptions we’ve noticed over the last 10 years of helping leaders and their teams perform at their best.
IMPOSTER SYNDROME
Imposter Syndrome is a widely used term, but what does it mean?
Those who experience it describe it as a hampering self-doubt and often a fear that they will be ‘found out’ as a fraud, despite evidence of their capability and success.
Here we look at what causes it and how to combat it.
INCREASING TEAM PRODUCTIVITY
Productivity is a buzzword we often hear, but what do we mean by it?
Completing tasks in less time with less effort could be one description. We think productivity happens when individuals pull together as a team to get stuff done, all contributing their strengths towards a common goal. Collaboration, cohesion, communication, culture, and celebration all play a key part in sustaining productivity.
Here are nine areas worthy of focus if you want to increase or maintain productivity.
Top 5 things to stop doing as a manager
At the beginning of a fresh calendar year, we put pressure on ourselves with all that we plan to achieve and the To Do list can feel overwhelming.
Find out our recommendations to managers around what they could stop doing in 2024 here.
The 12c’s of Christmas
The end of a calendar year often prompts us to reflect upon successes and challenges and how we want the year ahead to be. With that in mind, our 12 Cs of Christmas will hopefully provide a useful list for managers and leaders to reflect upon.
Find out here what they are and consider how many of these Cs you have consistently ensured are in place throughout 2023…
The Art of Delegation
Many managers cite ‘time’ as a major barrier in their work. Beating the clock is impossible, there are only 24 hours each day, but changing our use of those hours is possible.
Learn about how effective delegation can be the solution and how this can be done successfully here.
MANAGING NEURODIVERSITY
An estimated 1 out of 7 people in the UK are neurodivergent, and yet 70% of those individuals don’t share their diagnosis for fear of a bad reaction. Titles such as Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia, Autism, ADHD and Tourette’s Syndrome can leave managers and colleagues treading on eggshells, so how do we best manage Neurodivergent?
Click here to find out!
Empowering Others – From Push to Pull
When things go wrong in our area, it’s easy for us to jump to the rescue. We don’t necessarily fix it ourselves, but we find ourselves giving lots of advice and steering our teams in the right direction. We push out a lot of our own energy and information, which can become tiring and frustrating.
Find out what’s getting in the way of them completing the task and help them draw up their own action plan here.
Dear Alison…
As leadership experts, we get asked an array of questions to help managers get the best out of their teams. To protect anonymity, this Agony Aunt style article shares useful insights into common challenges and potential solutions.
Dear Alison and team
I have a team of 5 people and find myself having to micromanage them. I really don’t have the time for this, and they don’t seem to like it much either! How can I get them to do the work without me having to breathe down their necks?
Yours sincerely
Frustrated of Southampton
Dear Frustrated of Southampton
We’re sorry to hear that your valuable time is being spent in this way. No doubt there are other matters that you want to focus your attention on, to help drive your business forward.
To improve this situation, consider the following and take action as needed:
– Do some team members need micromanaging more than others? If yes, why is that (Skill/ Will)?
– How clear is each team mate on the following:
- a) What you are trying to achieve by when in your business/ department?
- b) Exactly what they are required to deliver, i.e., KPIs as well as behaviour that is okay/ not okay?
- c) How well they are measuring up in helping with a) and delivering on b)?
– When you delegate tasks or projects:
- a) How well are you describing the end picture of success and checking their understanding of that? (Nb. “Does that all make sense?” won’t be a foolproof way to check)
- b) Do you make it clear what level of communication you want throughout?
- c) Do you explain that you are expecting them to own that task?
Remember clarity and honesty are the best policy, so make sure that you are playing your part in laying the right foundations for success and find a way to give feedback without demotivating them.
Best of luck
Alison & Team
Dear Alison and team
My team are generally pretty good but there is one person whose performance is inconsistent. One day they can be brilliant and on another pretty lacklustre! How can I get them to do more of the good stuff?!
Yours sincerely
Curious of Segensworth
Dear Curious of Segensworth
How great to hear that you have a pretty good team, and that this person also has the capability to deliver well.
To encourage more of the good stuff, you will need to give feedback and we recommend taking a strengths-based approach for this.
For example, “Yesterday you were brilliant, I particularly liked the way you did X, Y and Z”. Nb. Be sure to describe the exact behaviour you saw that was great and the positive impact of that behaviour. Then add “We’d love to see that every day, how could you achieve that?” This should open up a really good two-way conversation.
Remember Tim Gallwey’s quote “Potential – Interference = Performance”. Be ready to listen to the obstacles getting in this person’s way, there may be things that you/ colleagues or the business could do to help them consistently perform at their best. Equally, by asking a series of open questions, you can help them recognise what they personally can do differently to achieve greater success.
Happy coaching
Alison & Team
Delegation – Gain Back Time
Every manager feels under time pressure. When you analyse where you’re spending YOUR time, how much of it is spent:
- on tasks that should be dealt with by someone else?
- answering questions that team members should know the answer to?
- working ‘in’ rather than ‘on’ your business?…
Learn about effective delegation and its links to better mental health here.