Value Creation through Career Paths and accessible Training Opportunities- Your people need to feel valued and this is a key step to achieving that. Ensure you have fair, achievable and accessible career paths and training opportunities that are supported by an exceptional leadership team. In order to make you the best leader you can be you need to embrace this key area and ensure you are supporting it. This is important for a few reasons; Employee’s will stay if they can follow a...

Learn to communicate and collaborate Communication and collaboration are vital to achieving a streamlined team. Every opportunity to foster teamwork should be embraced, this is a mindset shift for many leaders who are used to ‘telling’ instead of involving themselves. Group training that features Agile based games and exercises can also build bonds and be enjoyable, if you are struggling to achieve this. This aids in the development of effective communication. Be transparent (as much as...

The value needs around training are the biggest driver in the current and future workforce, so that means you need to be agile in your thinking as this is a big change from the previous 20 years. This is why building your leadership mindset, and being agile your self is so key to future proofing your leadership. Embrace Continuous Learning You no longer have all the answers, and if you want to be a future proof leader, you need to acet this and look at the solution. The solution is...

Introduction- Part 1- Ep49- Future Leadership- Why is it Different? Each Series this season builds on core knowledge that will help you develop a world class People Engagement and leadership tool kit. Many episodes interlink and support each other in order to allow you to gain in depth knowledge of the strategies and key people needs that you can focus on in your business. Make sure you download the show notes for each episode as I will always include the key strategies so you can take them...

Introduction People are the powerhouse behind everything, they are an intrinsic part of your business, and your everyday life. If you can't engage and work with them in a mutually beneficial style then everything suffers. I passionately believe in not only ensuring your people are engaged, but in putting people at the centre of the work equation. Whilst the business, or product, or service, is still vitally important, it is the people that will ultimately make or break your company's...

One of the biggest process mismatches I see regularly occur across business of all levels is recruitment and onboarding. The gaps here are often huge You can easily avoid this!!!! I have talked about good recruitment techniques in Part 2 to keep you out of trouble. However when recruitment finishes and onboarding starts, it is another key risk area, one where mismatches often occur leading to either disengagement or staff members leaving soon after hire. Good Onboarding Done by the hiring...

Think about the types of processes that run your business- the more you think about it the more you see just how many there are- recruitment, training, on boarding, payroll, tenders, Performance reviews, sales processes, manufacturing…….the list can literally go on and on…. Who is responsible for these processes? Who monitors there outcomes Does your business have an audit schedule for all processes? How do you know if a process is still serving your business or if it is causing a...

People mismatches and how to avoid them Who owns the people process?....or do you even have a people process Does your Organisation chart really match how the people in the business are managed? Is there accountability for this? Who monitors new starters? How are performance reviews structured? Is there a clear induction process with steps that need to be achieved? Do your employment contracts clearly outline legal implications, such as probation, arbitration, appeals, etc. Who reviews long...

Introduction People are the powerhouse behind everything, they are an intrinsic part of your business, and your everyday life. If you can't engage and work with them in a mutually beneficial style then everything suffers. I passionately believe in not only ensuring your people are engaged, but in putting people at the centre of the work equation. Whilst the business, or product, or service, is still vitally important, it is the people that will ultimately make or break your company's...

To help you solidify your coaching skills as an exceptional leader, you need to focus on how you can retain your leadership mindset into the future, through challenge, and stay relevant and up to date. To do this, the next step is developing your growth mindset. Growth Mindset: “In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a...

A good coach brings specific and well-defined issues to the attention of others. Being unspecific about problem areas, or failing to bring them up with the appropriate parties, suggests a reluctance to affect positive change and a lack of leadership. Confront issues in a positive coaching mindset, don't hide from them! A good coach is, • positive, • enthusiastic, • supportive, • trusting, • focused, • goal-oriented, • knowledgeable, • observant, • respectful, • patient • and a clear...

To make this possible you need some key steps to work really well for you, these are; Strong leadership in place that is focused on developing a supportive and positive people culture- regular 360 degree feedback and culture surveys Consistent and constant leadership training that reflects the company values, culture and empathic leadership Visible leaders Leaders walking the talk Available leaders- working teams can help with this A living breathing culture that is distributed through all...

Coaching is an often forgotten or unrated skill, which is actually a core need if you want to be an exceptional leader. I am not saying you are becoming a coach instead of a leader, but you are integrating the core skills of a great coach into your tool kit, allowing you to have more open and beneficial conversations with your people, allowing you to become their cheerleader without even thinking about, and ultimately leading you to a place of exceptional leadership and highly engaged people...

Stopping promotions being based on connections may not be at the top of your key issues right now, but as you can see if you don’t put the structure in to support and ensure that promotions are based on performance, you will allow bias to enter into the process and this can quite literally destroy your business. Think about this as a form of business insurance, you would not forget to insure your built assets, so don’t forget to insure your people by giving them the right tools to make your...

How transparent and consistent this system is across your company is the key to your success. For instance, if you have a sales professional you would have grading’s for things like Sales vs target, then you would have a scale within that grading, such as; a 1-5 scale 1- Not achieving- 80% or new starter 2- Competent but underachieving- 90% 3- Satisfactory- 100% 4- Highly Competent- 105% of target 5- Excelling- 110% of target Transparently measuring Behavioural parameters are key to an...

How do the best leaders drive perceptions of fairness in performance appraisals and promotions? 1. Leaders care not only about employees’ professional growth but also about their personal growth. 2. Give people the tools and opportunities to own and define their professional future, rather than deciding it themselves. 3. Performance ratings are transparent to all- they are driven/agreed by multiple leaders to remove bias and have rigorous behavioral and metrics areas for...

Becoming a company that has a clear focus on developing a culture of fairness, one that looks out for its people, and does not play favorites, is key to engaging the new value based workforce. You can capitalise on this and allow your people engagement and business results to soar! A focus on removing bias and how to structure it in your company to ensure it stays away, will allow your people to really engage with your business and provide unexpected yet beneficial ideas and results, which...

Continuous improvement is an ongoing effort to improve all elements of an organization such as processes, tools, products, and services, etc. The improvements can be small and incremental, or they can be more breakthrough in nature. Continuous improvement itself is a key ‘hidden area’ that many businesses miss out on, losing the massive gains it can give. Not because they don't want it, but because they don't understand how easily it can be included in the business structure. How it can be...

Key Issues Owner/Manager What is continuous improvement? Why continuous improvement? Does this process only look at things that are not working? Why do we need to improve if what we are doing is already working? What level of impact can continuous improvement achieve? What areas can continuous improvement be applied? Areas of possible Improvement Business Strategy Business Results Customer Service Customer Relationships Internal Relationships (Employee) Relationships with Suppliers All...

Steps to Support you Identify the problem that you are trying to solve Determine if Continuous Improvement can help you solve the problem. Create a culture of Continuous Improvement. All hands on Deck – Continuous Improvement is everyone’s responsibility Engage all employees in the continuous improvement process. Continuous improvement should be the responsibility of everyone in the company (not just for the process improvement team). Continuous Improvement has to become part of the identity...

Key Issues – Employee Perspective What is my role in the Continuous Improvement? Do I have an opportunity to make a difference and be recognized? This is key! How does my role in the organization impact the organization as a whole? From my perspective, what could improve my job, department, division? Are the tools available that could increase my/our productivity? What You Need to Do How difficult is it to start a Continuous Improvement process? Is the process complicated? Are there...

Good bosses matter more than you might think. Research shows that positive relationships with management are the top factor in employees’ job satisfaction—and, by extension, correlate with stronger corporate performance. But good bosses are also hard to find: 75 percent of Americans see their boss as the most stressful aspect of their job. And during the COVID-19 pandemic, both bosses and employees have been under more pressure than ever. Is your leadership team focused on continual...

You need career development, and proactive training as the workplace rapidly changes, but let’s drill down to give you the maximum benefit, and ensure you have this entire key area covered, you also need to ensure career development is not just a wish list, but is aligned to the company, the person and reality. In order to this you need to make sure your training has 3 key aspects, these are; Technical, - the black and white required training, often the basics of every role. Remember not just...

When it comes to getting the people right in your business and really capitalizing on your greatest asset, there are several areas you need to address to ensure your training programs are where they need to be to actually add the value needed. Not just to the business outcomes, but to the individual staff members, and culture of your company; you want to ensure maximum benefit, not just the possibility of good outcomes. This is a big mindset shift, as too many times in the past people felt...