April 11th, 2010
In an age of information overload, speed reading is one of the solutions
How can you increase your speed and understanding?
Inculcate the habit force of reading for an idea. This not only increases speed, but it also enhances understanding. A person who reads one word at a time and thinks in terms of the meanings of separate words slows down his speed. The synthesis of important meanings is lost in meticulous import of the separate words or small units.
The first and most important instruction for speed reading is – Read for ideas!
Develop the habit of lifting one thought unit after another and soon you will learn to glean the meaning out of the text.
Also visit our audio learning hub at http://www.first-level-leadership.com/AudioLearning
Tags: Speed Reading
Posted in Speed Reading | No Comments »
April 5th, 2010
How well you manage your emotions will impact your leadership effectiveness. By recognizing anger in yourself, and by being able to empathize with others, you will be able to influence others more effectively.
What is Emotional Intelligence?
In recent times, emotions, feelings , personality that impact your interpersonal effectiveness and leadership skills have been placed under one umbrella know as – Emotional Intelligence.
Emotional Intelligence has to do with your ability to manage yourself in your relationships
Psychologist Daniel Goleman’s extensive research indicates that most effective leaders are alike in one fundamental way, and that is – they all have a high degree of emotional intelligence.
Does that mean IQ is not important?
No doubt general intelligence, technical skills are essential or basic requirements for any executive position. However, without a high degree of Emotional Intelligence, you cannot be an effective leader. Look around, leaders who are star performers have higher emotional intelligence than average leaders.
Emotional Intelligence is linked to self confidence
Having a low emotional intelligence (including emotional control) can damage your reputation. You don’t have to show your outburst towards your managers or subordinates. You don’t want to come across as a leader who throws tantrum or someone who is unpredictable. You will appear to be out of control, and people will find it difficult to follow you.
The question that logically follows is – How do you develop Emotional Intelligence?
Tags: Emotional Intelligence, emotions, Leadership Skills
Posted in Emotional Intelligence, Leadership | 10 Comments »
April 5th, 2010
- He is born in 1929, Atlanta, Georgia.
- In 1934 the young boy has his first experience with racial discrimination, when he is refused to play with the white children by their parents.
- In 1953 at 24 years he marries a woman of uncommon intellect and artistic gifts. He is a graduate from Boston University School of theology. He receives his doctorate in systematic theology.
- 1956, his house is bombed. He is instrumental in forming the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He is responsible for creating a group to fight against segregation.
- In 1958 he is nearly killed by a female assailant who stabs him in the chest.
You must be wondering how this story is linked to employee motivation…
- In 1959 he travels to India to study the philosophy of Mohandas Gandhi. He lives in his ashram and then returns to the US with a better understanding of Gandhi’s philosophy of radical change through non violence.
- In 1963 he organizes protests and marches to bring basic human rights to African Americans.
- In 1963 he makes a historic speech – “I Have a Dream” speech.
- In 1964 he wins the noble prize.
- In 1968 he addresses a joyous crowd of supporters, the next morning he is assassinated on a motel balcony.
Whom are we talking about?
We are talking about inspired leadership. We are talking about a Civil Right Activist – “Free at last, Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.”
We are talking about the faith of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
He saw an opportunity to transform a society from repression to one defined by liberty and justice for all. If you ever wonder about the source of his inspiration, try to watch the film on the speech he gave. His speech has riveted generations of listeners. Half way in the speech, king leaves his scripted speech and goes into an improvisation that is one of the greatest moments in oratorical history. It’s the power of his sheer magic. With his words he carried the crowd with him to the mountain top so that each could see what he had see.
Employee motivation is linked to inspiration – such heroes inspire and motivate us with their vision
They make us see what we cannot see. They become leaders by dreaming things other people are afraid to dream.
Another tool for employee motivation – narrate such inspiring stories to your employees
Who knows when a word or a thought may trigger a change of attitude or a change in behavior? Leaders are great teachers, only if we are prepared to learn.
Employee motivation is linked to leaders who inspire us by their actions
Employees are more motivated and are loyal and supportive with inspired leadership. In nearly every business there are occasions when the manager must defend his or her people form criticism or attack by others. It is on those occasions that leadership replaces management. The leaders will defend his or her own people and will take full responsibility for the criticism. Such inspirational stories about great leaders of the world help us. Every time I read about such great figures, I am humbled and start reflecting on my employee motivation techniques…
Take away point on Employee Motivation: A leader becomes a leader with a vision. Show them what they cannot see and then inspire them with your actions.
Tags: Employee Motivation, Employee Motivation Techniques, Martin Luther
Posted in Leadership, Motivation | 8 Comments »
March 31st, 2010
In this post I will give you five facts of Leadership Development, which you must know:
1. You can make the difference between success and failure in your department. Yes you can…
2. Leaders become successful through the help of others, therefore, you have to learn how to seek help from your peers and followers. And you can only get this help through the practice of leadership.
3. You don’t have to be a manager in order to be a leader. In other words, you can be a leader immediately in which ever position you may be. You do not have to be promoted to be a leader.
4. According to me, the essence of first level leadership is very simple. It is to motivate people to perform their best.
5. Yes, leaders are born, but leaders can be made through leadership development. If you want to be a leader, you can learn how to be a leader like any other skill. Good leadership does not depend on cushy environment. Your ability to motivate people under any circumstances is independent of any limiting factors.
Tap your powers by adhering to these simple facts of leadership development. After all, awareness is the beginning of all learning.
Tags: Leadership, Leadership Development, Leadership Skills
Posted in Leadership, Leadership Development | 1 Comment »
March 30th, 2010
The Team - ‘Team work’ is a phase susceptible to over-use and abuse in the workspace. A true measure of the effectiveness of team work is when you leave the team environment for a time and on your return find that things are running as smoothly as when you left. To develop value within a team, consider three areas:
- Make the team feel like a team
Unless you include everyone equally in the day to day running of the team, favoritism, alienation and a lack of respect will develop. By letting the individuals see that you are a supporter and protector of the team. An effective vehicle to encourage this is a team briefing where everyone can get involved.
- Make the team think like a team
Choosing the right medium to communicate to the team is important. Memos, letters and the telephone can often be seen as distancing you from the team. Regular team briefings can open a two-way channel of communication.
- Make the team work like a team
Often as the size of department grows, jobs and sections of a team can become isolated and fragmented. Your job as a manager is to use your leadership skills to get everyone involved in the work place. Being enthusiastic about an individual’s input is important as it will encourage him to help others, and in so doing work together as a team.
Motivation when balanced with organizing skills will equal leadership
This will allow efficiency in completing daily routines and crisis management. However, leadership is not just organizing, it involves humanity, the human element; as a manager you require both if you are to lead and motivate your team.
Tags: Motivation, Team Work
Posted in Leadership, Motivation | No Comments »
March 29th, 2010
The Individual – How can you modify your managerial/leadership approach to employee motivation?
Each of us is a complex bundle of wants and needs when it comes to motivation.
To give you every opportunity of meeting these wants and needs you have to modify your managerial approach in three particular areas:
- Challenge: Unless you offer your team members a challenge they will never attain their true potential. By setting targets that will stretch them but are achievable, individuals will feel stimulated and involved in the team performance. This can be the further enhanced by asking them to develop special skills.
- Praise: It is not uncommon for someone receiving praise to reject with “I’m only doing my job’. The end result of this is that, as managers, we only give praise when and where we feel it is deserved and do not take into account the feelings of the individual who feels he requires some recognition for his efforts. Giving acceptance and appreciation for effort, stops people wasting their enthusiasm. You may know the team’s abilities and they most probably know themselves. But do they know you know?
Concern: Showing concern to individuals is a way a leader gives confidence to individuals. Management by walking about (MBWA) is one way we can find time for individuals, and make them feel wanted. Their response will be a desire to show concern for the job and the organization.
Posted in Leadership, Management | 1 Comment »
March 28th, 2010
Leadership is a combination of organizing and motivating. The confidence which is given by the manager to his team can be developed by giving value to:
- Their job
- Them as individuals
- Them as a team
The Job – As a manager it is important for you to maintain the motivation within the department. To do this, three aspects of the job need to be taken into consideration:
Context: All too often people are told to get on with daily tasks in their jobs without being given a reason for completing them. The end result is “telling” rather than ‘selling’ atmosphere generated by the manager. You must be able to carry people along by allowing them to understand the context of the job and where it fits into the organization. This will stimulate interest and initiative from the individual.
Example: ‘Leading by example’ is an everyday cliché, but it has merit. Team members will view you as an example to emulate and therefore, you must set a positive example and approach to all aspects of work.
Importance: A good leader will let people know how important their work is, and recognize the importance of that work. Regardless of how ‘low profile’ or ‘high profile’ the job is, emphasis of importance must be offered to the owners of the job, if they are to remain motivated.
In the subsequent posts, we shall dilate on the other two categories mentioned above.
Tags: Leadership, Leadership Development, Motivation, Team Work
Posted in Leadership Coaching, Motivation | 2 Comments »
March 25th, 2010
Leadership Coaching is also of great significance in an ever-changing business environment. The issue faced by many managers is how to minimize resistance to new working practices? For many individuals fear of failing or fear of the unknown are the barriers to change. Coaching is a practical way to overcome these problems-by providing individuals with knowledge and guidance which enables them to achieves difficult objectives. It is a method which delivers quick and often impressive results, where recipients of the coaching get instant feedback on performance. Through coaching, individuals share experiences with others, thereby dramatically improving the others’ learning curve and the time it takes to achieve competence.
Posted in Leadership Coaching, Management | 1 Comment »
March 24th, 2010
Effective coaching can bring the following benefits:
- Improved Performance-people do their jobs better.
- Staff Development – staff can be groomed for greater responsibility.
- Increased jobs satisfaction
- Better personal relations
- More delegation and empowerment-which leads to better use of time and increased motivation all around.
- A wealth of ideas are generated-in an atmosphere of continuous improvement those managers who can produce and implement new ideas will survive and prosper.
Posted in Leadership Coaching | No Comments »
March 23rd, 2010
Coaching is a vital part of any business. Indeed, it could be argued that coaching is a critical means by which a company ensures that it does not repeat the same mistakes and errors. An effective way for a leader to learn and share information is through consciously reviewing key learning points. This is what lies in the heart of coaching. A dynamic process, which focuses on doing things better, move intuitively – through learning. Its value is not in telling others what to do, but in getting people to learn for themselves through creating the right environment.
Posted in Leadership Coaching | No Comments »
