November 2020

Ongoing Learning and Development is a Must for Employee Performance Improvement

Nov 24, 2020 Comments

Ongoing learning is a must for having employees improve performance and to keep the work interesting. I recently experienced this myself as I was becoming lethargic about one project that I had been excited about not too long ago.

I am working on an online learning training and was feeling overwhelmed by the task and confused about which software to use to develop one key module. I had decided on PowerPoint but was not fully convinced this was the best tool for this purpose.

I received an email from Training Mag about online webinars and training programs to make eLearning interactive, which is what I was concerned about.

After participating in just one webinar I found myself excited again and ready to dive back into my project. I also found that learning something new and clarifying my thinking about which tool to use, lifted a weight off my shoulders. This caused me to feel less stressed and happier. Now I look forward to the time I have set aside to work on my project.

All this to say that continuous learning is incredibly important especially in this age of knowledge workers where technology is constantly driving change. But even without external forces everyone can find something to be better at.

Everyone is using some tool to get their work done. How well do they know the tool? I know for a program like PowerPoint, I am only using it to perhaps 50% of what it can do for me. If I just learned to use 10% more of it’s potential, I would be more knowledgeable, productive, confident and known for being a cut about the average in PowerPoint design. This makes me feel good about myself.

One way to choose the right training for an employee is to look at their role description and for their key tasks list down the software or tools they need to use. Have a discussion with each employee and agree on which program or tool would be beneficial for them and the organization if they know it better.

There are so many online courses today for all types of software and subject matter. Many offer an analysis of one’s current knowledge to evaluate which level of training would be suitable. There are also standalone tests for software that are available for free.

A team training analysis could also be done to determine what training would benefit the team as a whole. If there is a new project coming there is usually some new things for everyone to learn and learning as a team can also boost team spirit.

Or there might be some problem within a specific team that training might solve. But be careful at throwing training at a problem as there could be other driving factors that training will not solve.

Employees are sometimes resistant to taking new training or courses especially if they are already stressed and feeling overworked. If that is the case, you have an opportunity to help the employee find solutions either through coaching or learning how to deal with whatever is causing the stress or situation. The key as a leader or manager is to be proactive in providing ongoing learning opportunities and make sure that employees see how they will benefit. Improving a skill to become even better at it is a marketable asset that everyone should be thinking about.

Practice Does Not Make Perfect, It Makes Permanent

Nov 17, 2020 Comments

The old saying practice makes perfect is flawed because practice really makes permanent. Whatever you practice becomes a habit and habits are awfully hard to change.

So, you need to practice the right thing the right way to get the outcome you want. A golfer needs to practice regularly to get good enough to qualify to compete in a tournament. But if the golfer has a problem with certain shots and keeps practicing the swing in the same way without correction then the results will not improve.

One way to fast track practice and produce better results is to practice mentally. This was explained by Maxwell Maltz, MD, in his book Psycho-Cybernetics. He refers to an experiment done by psychologist R.A. Vandell who had people practice throwing darts at a target each day only in their minds. The improvement in their aim was equivalent to having done the actual physical practice.

Another experiment was reported on the effects of mental skills in sinking basketballs. One group of students that practiced throwing the ball every day for 20 days was scored on the first and last days. A second group was scored on the first and last days but engaged in no sort of practice in between. A third group was scored on the first day then spent 20 minutes a day imagining that they were throwing the ball into the hoop. When they missed, they would imagine that they corrected their aim accordingly. The first group, which practiced 20 minutes every day, improved in scoring 24 percent. The second group, which had no sort of practice, showed no improvement. The third group, which practiced in their imagination, improved in scoring 23 percent! *

Artur Schnabel, the world-famous concert pianist, took lessons for only seven years. He hated practice and seldom did practice for any length of time at the actual piano keyboard. When questioned about his small amount of practice, as compared with other concert pianists, he said, “I practice in my head. *

These are just three examples of the power of the mind and using visualization techniques to practice correctly.

addition, I recommend using my goal planning worksheet to write down your goal for change or improvement. This will crystalize in your mind the change you want to make and to connect emotionally with the outcome benefits. There is a section for affirmation and visualization.

One of the biggest obstacles to change or improvement is the mechanical nature of a human being. Our habits make us like programmed machines that always operate in the same way. Practicing in our minds or visualizing helps us to break the programmed mechanical patterns.

Think of a leader or manager who knows he needs to listen better. Being an over achiever type full of drive and motivation this type of leader often has limited patience. Mentally practicing listening to employee’s everyday day would remind the leader to slow down when an opportunity arises to listen actively to an employee who needs to be heard.

Refer to this article on using my goal planning worksheet and download the worksheet. Start practicing your goal both mentally and physically and make the changes you want today.

*Maltz, Maxwell. Psycho-Cybernetics: Updated and Expanded (p. 40). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Everyone in the Organization Benefits when Leaders Share Their Thoughts and Feeling with Employees

Nov 10, 2020 Comments

When leaders share their thoughts and feelings with employees everyone benefits including the leader himself. Often leaders may be reluctant to share what is on their minds with staff for a variety of reasons. There might be a fear of letting people know too much or troubling them with uncertainties amongst other concerns.

However, holding back thoughts, ideas and feelings can be more detrimental as a lack of communication can cause people to speculate and misinform themselves based on perceptions rather than facts.

Leaders are constantly thinking of far reaching problems and opportunities that appear on their radar based on discussions with people in their industry or through reading about trends and other news. This information causes leaders to think of how that new or trend will affect the company in the short and long term and will spark some ideas for action. It may also cause some strong emotions that need to be processed.

If a leader shares what may be troubling them with their directors or key employees, it can act to clarify their thinking and to get input from their most trusted staff. It will also cause the employee to feel included in the strategic thinking of their leader and will help them to understand the current situation and how they can better contribute to making improvements.

Of course, leaders should have an internal communication platform to keep employees informed of plans, changes, and successes. But not every organization is structured well in this regard and often communication is reactive rather than pro-active. Regular one on one or small group communication sessions where leaders can express what is on their mind and discuss this with employees is thus extremely important.

This type of leadership style is easier for some leaders and harder for others. Every leader is different, but this way of communication requires a participative leadership style. Every leader can adapt a participative leadership style, but it takes understanding and self-knowledge. It means a shift in behaviour and can be attained with some effort.

Start by sitting down once a week with a manager or key employee and share your thoughts and feelings. See the reaction you get and sense if you find it beneficial. Ask the employee if they found the discussion helpful and why. Do this every week with a different person and then go back to the first person after a few weeks. You can also do this in small groups as you progress. In summary, sharing your thoughts and feelings with staff members rather than holding them in will bring new ideas to you, build trust with people and have them feel included in the plans for moving the business forward.

Teamwork Exercise

Nov 03, 2020 Comments

Start by reflecting on these questions to set the stage to launch this project and the exercise on teamwork.

How important is teamwork to you and why?

How important is teamwork to your company?

How do you or your company drive teamwork in normal times?

How have you generated teamwork while working remotely?

This exercise can be done in an onsite workshop or remotely using online meeting tools such as Zoom, Microsoft Team, Google Meet etc. You can even combine the two if you have some people at work while others are working remotely.

This teamwork activity can be used to solve problems that are currently affecting the company, while engaging people to collaborate in a fun and positive manner.

Step 1

Form an ad-hoc team of 4-7 people to discuss and agree on a priority list of problems or concerns that affects everyone. Choose your top 1-3 issues. Start with one

From the ad-hoc team name a project champion. This could be anyone, it does not need to be a manager, but this person should be well respected by their peers and needs to be given a clear mandate and authority to act.

Step 2

Form 5 cross functional teams of 5-7 people to work on the problem. Have them meet in the workplace or virtually and have them brainstorm causes of the problem. Then have them work on solutions and choose the best solutions that can be combined in an action plan. The action plan should be a one-page recommendation on how to implement the solutions. So, you would have the causes, solutions, and action plan from each team.

Step 3

Have the proposed solutions of the other teams distributed to each team. So, team one would have the proposed solutions for teams two to five etc. Then have each team review the work of the other teams and score them on a scale of 1-4 giving 4 points to the first choice, 3 points to the second choice and so on. You can choose the point system you want and have more than five teams. The champion or facilitator would collect the scores from all the teams and tally them up to determine the winning solution and action plan.

At the end you will have a winning solution and action plan that all team members would have participated in.

Step 4

The solution and action plan are then presented to management for approval and implementation. A new action team could be formed with a champion to implement the solution.

It is crucial to keep all the participants informed of the results and decisions to be implemented based on the teamwork activity. It is also important to publicize the activity and results to all employees.

The benefits to the organization from this type of activity are numerous and include engagement of employees, solutions to existing problems, improved teamwork and collaboration, continuous improvement and better working relationships.

Monthly Archives: November 2020