How to empower your staff

One of the most challenging skills to learn as a manager is how to empower your staff members. Some may say that it is something that comes with time and experience where others will state you have to be great with people in order to empower your team members.

All of the above are true on some level but experience does not necessarily equate to wisdom and being great with people does not necessarily mean being great at empowering people.

In order for the truth, we must dig a little deeper.

Empower your staff

What is empowerment?

Empowerment is certainly a word that is thrown around in the corporate world but when we really look at what empowerment means, it’s actually a number of things.  First of all it is knowing that your staff members are doing the work not just because they need to or have been told to, but because they want to.  Great work comes from empowered and inspired staff.  This means they have the right amount of management and freedom to feel safe but motivated in their job role.  Secondly, empowerment means the individual wants to continually improve, learn and develop.

The 80/20 philosophy

As a manager it can be a challenge to balance your time in the business, especially in today’s working world. Yet, this ‘balance’ of time is crucial if you wish to have a team who will work hard (and smart) for you day in and day out.

The 80/20 philosophy is based upon how much time you spend doing admin versus how much you are leading and motivating your workforce.

Which way round do you feel is more effective for empowering your staff?

80% leading and motivating with 20% administration or 80% administration with 20% leading and motivating.

There is no exact science behind this philosophy and it’s appreciated that many managers must spend a lot of time on the admin side of their job.  However, this can work as a simple reminder that people are inspired by people and great managers are remembered for how they lead, not how much administration work they do.

How much time are you spending hiding behind your computer?

The majority of people when interviewing for a management position state that they are great with people. Perhaps you stated it when you interviewed for your current position and it may have even been what tipped the balance for you being selected.

A simple but highly effective tip can be to put a post-it note on your computer screen that says something like the following “how many hours have you hidden behind your computer today?”  This can then act as a motivator to go and take a walk around your office to see how your team members are doing, engage in conversation or just to stretch your legs.

Important to remember, do not use this tip to micromanage your staff or be over the top with your support. Just do it because you want to do it, nothing more is required.

Train and develop

Great companies understand the importance of investing time into their most valuable resource, their people and there is no greater way of supporting your team members than continued learning and development. Bruce Lee had the perfect analogy and that was to be like water.  Water when moving stays fresh, it’s only when it stops that it becomes stale or stagnant.  The same can be said for the workplace, team members who are committed to learning and developing themselves stay fresh, however it’s down to the management to lead this process.

Learn to trust

Overall, empowering staff is a continual quest (with no finish line) of learning to trust your staff to do the best job possible because they want to do it.  Managers are always remembered for either making their staff members time at work great or tough.  Perhaps you are already that great manager but it’s always a wonderful thing to do to gently remind yourself that your success is a reflection of your team members' success and that of course takes trust, support and empowerment.

Written by Pete Scott, a learning consultant at Capita Learning & Development.

How to Lead a Team and Gain Respect After Internal Promotion

Most of us start at the bottom of the career ladder and work our way up. We become so proficient at our job, earning respect of the management and becoming a valued member of the team. Eventually promotion is offered, usually within the same team and we can find ourselves leader of the team we were once part of. This does have its advantages, however, doesn't come without its problems.

New to Team Leadership

There is nothing that can gain respect more than people knowing that you have been there and done the job for yourself. You know the systems and procedures, what is expected and the problems that your team may encounter. You can see things from their point of view. This can be a great advantage when leading a team. You know when to cut the slack because of genuine difficulties, but you also know an excuse when you hear one.

The problems arise though when some of the team members may have been there much longer than you, may be older with more experience, or may feel that they were the ones that deserved the promotion. You may find it difficult to be assertive and to feel that you are taken seriously as a manager. Since you were once in their position, you will know how hard the job is and may feel guilty for enforcing deadlines.

So how can you gain respect from your team and get them to do what you need them to without them thinking that power has gone to your head?

Firstly, stop beating yourself up and congratulate yourself on your promotion. It is quite normal to feel this way when you have been used to working on the other side of the fence, as it were. The dynamics of your team have now changed so now you need to embrace this change and take control.

In order to gain respect, you have to give it. Show your team that you value them and support them by listening to how you can help them. Listen to any ideas that they may have. Think back to when you were in their position. If you had a problem, how would you have liked your leader to have handled it? Remember that the only way to get what you want is to ask for it. Never assume that anyone in your team knows exactly what is expected of them. When enforcing a deadline, explain to them when it has to be done by and why, then ask how they think they can achieve it, what do they need to make this happen, how can you best help them? Once they know that they have your full support, then they will do whatever they can for you.

Capita Learning & Development offers a training course in New to Team Leadership, which will help you develop and grow your leadership and management skills.

Yvonne Bleakley
Learning Consultant, Capita Learning & Development

Predictions for Learning & Development in 2014

With the recovery of the recession in full swing, training is on the rise again.  With that said, we have a prediction for Learning & Development moving into 2014 which might just surprise you.

Before we press on with today’s article, here are a few questions you may wish to consider for your business heading into next year:

“How could Learning & Development help your staff members both individually and as a team in 2014?”

“What specific skills would help your business deliver an even greater service to your customers?

“What are the 3 main areas you would like to see up skilled within your team by the end of next year?”

“Combining all of the above, how could Learning & Development help your business rise to the next level?”

Training Predictions for 2014

You do not need to answer these questions in detail right now, however once you have read today’s predictions for Learning & Development you may wish to revisit these questions and see how closely they link to your business and aims for next year and beyond.

The prediction relates to an area which even just 10 years ago didn’t really exist in the Learning & Development world but in contrast, over the last 12 months has been bubbling up and by next year will be ready to explode. This area is called Intrapersonal Skills (relationship with yourself), this includes courses like Emotional Intelligence Training Course, Presenting Skills Training Course, Building Personal Resilience Training Course and Leadership Training Courses.

Presenting skills and leadership courses also relate to Interpersonal Skills (your relationship with others), which no doubt these courses are about that, yet we are realising more and more now that in order to influence others and communicate effectively, we must first own a confident and good relationship with ourselves, especially in the business world. 

Emotional Intelligence takes this one step further and delves into the depths of the subconscious mind, being present and understanding that we can control our emotions or at least manage them, something that is essential when working in a busy and high demanding office environment.

Why are these types of courses becoming so popular in the business world?

• Intrapersonal Skills courses are no longer considered fluffy or non measurable.  This is greatly due to training companies ensuring they are delivering to a higher standard but also because of the growth of the personal development industry over the last 5 years and the direct impact it is continually having on people’s lives for the better.  How many people do you know who have read at least one personal development book at your office?  Perhaps you have read one or more yourself?
  
• Stress costs the UK economy up to 12 billion per year - a recent study done by mental health charity MIND revealed that work is the most stressful factor in peoples’ lives, with one in three people (34 percent,) saying their work life was either very or quite stressful.  Therefore, companies are now being very proactive by investing in their staff members’ health and wellbeing.  Businesses are achieving this by offering staff courses such as some already mentioned in this article.  After all  ‘Prevention is always better than cure.’
  
• With technology making such dramatic advances over the last decade, the focus and emphasis has now been put back on ensuring team members are up to date on these technological advances.  This ‘change’ within a business can also come with a lot of resistance so once again this is where Intrapersonal skills play a vital role in staff members being able to be adaptable and open minded to change.
  
• The above point also relates to companies being fully aware of the uncertainty felt by many working Britons about their job security so by offering staff a variety of training courses team members can feel the company is investing in them and more so than this, the staff member can keep their skills sharp and even be up for promotion internally when the opportunity arises.

Overall, Learning & Development has the ability to bring staff members together in a fun but professional environment, it allows people to speak their mind about their views and vision with their current company. It can also work as a great motivator even if each staff member takes 2 or 3 skills or tips back to the office with them after a training day and finally, the one thing that is constant is change, training will always work as a facilitator to assist with that change.

Now could be a good time to return back to the questions at the beginning of this article.  However, this time when asking each question, have a pen & note pad ready and consider how Learning & Development could impact the mindset, skills and emotions of staff members within your business and even yourself.

‘All change starts on the inside.’ 

To train your team, have a look at what courses Capita Learning & Development offers in 2014. If you need any tailored courses please call 0800 022 3410.

Written by Pete Scott, a learning consultant at Capita Learning & Development.

As a manager, do you know your impact or are you relying on your intentions?

“It is not enough that your designs, nay that your actions, are intrinsically good, you must take care they shall appear so.” (Henry Fielding).

An effective manager is one of the most significant and valuable assets that the team can possess and the very things the manager does and says could increase the effectiveness of the team - the “Hawthorne Effect” (the increase in productivity and effectiveness that occurs due to the impact of the motivational effect on the team as a result of the interest being shown in them) is prevalent.

Effective Management

But there is a danger that the manager can be the single biggest thing that gets in the way of people performing. In their actions and behaviours, managers - who are human after all - may mean well but it is worth considering that it is the impact of what the manager does, not the intention behind actions and behaviours that ultimately matters.

“Impact not intention” – this must be the manager’s mantra.
Consider the manager who:

• always books things in their teams diaries “to save them the effort” 
• filters communications for the team because “they are too busy to do it themselves” 
• takes on the frequent checking of work with an individual “because it shows I am interested” 
• insists on a weekly one to one with each of their team “because it shows I care”
• pays special attention to underperforming individuals and allows the good performers to carry on without managerial input “because they don’t need me” 

Sound familiar?

“But I meant well, it’s just what they want, what they need,” is the cry that goes up. But who decided that? Are these the best thing for the individuals involved to help them perform?  What are these actions really saying to the team?

How do you know whether your actions and behaviours when managing the team are the ones that are most effective for them?
These managers may be misguided but all want the same thing – for the individual to perform. But what do individuals need from their manager in order to perform?  Why not start by asking the individual?

Whilst it is important to remember that managing people is a collaborative approach and the team cannot decide in isolation what they get, in the managerial process of seeking to ensure that people are developed, the team is built and the task is achieved it is valuable to keep in mind that we are talking about the individuals job and their performance so their voice is crucial.

“Seek first to understand. Then to be understood” wrote Steven Covey.
For a manager, getting feedback on own performance is often ignored in favour of giving feedback on others. But reflect on how valuable it would be to know those behaviours and actions that support and reinforce and those that disturb, disrupt or damage.

There are a few things worth considering:

• Developing and establishing a 360 (or 180) degree feedback system
• Building in time at the end of performance meetings to discuss what you do that supports or gets in the way of your people
• Getting other managers to observe your performance and feedback
• Having effective performance discussions with own line manager, ensuring that objectives relating to the management of people are agreed, measured and fed back on  

Samuel Johnson said "Hell is paved with good intentions."
No manager wants to live in hell so create the opportunity and take the time to check your impact matches your intentions.

Written by David Mathieson, a learning consultant at Capita Learning & Development.

How To Successfully Lead A Team Through The Difficult Process Of Change

Managing and leading employees through any form of change in an organisation can be a challenging, difficult and even unpleasant task. What change entails might even be misunderstood, as the video clip below shows, but leading a team through the process of change can be mastered…

In our globalised and interconnected economy, organisations deal with continually shifting market conditions, customer demands, technologies, input costs and competition. Organisations must continually adapt and ask questions such as: ‘How can we improve our strategy, tactics and business plan? And what can be improved upon in order to reach our long terms business goals?’ 

The biggest problem relating to initiating change in organisations, whether it be changes to the organisation, employees moving to different departments or taking on different roles, new systems being introduced or just a different way of doing things, is people don’t like change. People have been used to doing things in a specific way for a certain period of time. People are in general adverse to change and don’t like being told you now have to do things differently to what you have been doing up until now.

But surely change can be managed successfully? As the leader who has to manage the change, you have a difficult task ahead, but ensure the following and it will ease the process and lead to the change being implemented successfully faster:

1. Communicate why the change is necessary. Talk to your team and make sure they have a very clear understanding of why things need to change, how they need to change and how the change will be implemented and followed through. 
2. Give your team the opportunity to contribute, make suggestions and allow them to get involved in the decision making process. 
3. Facilitate and encourage questions to eliminate any uncertainty which will in turn reinstate confidence in their work and in themselves. 
4. Celebrate any successes and goals accomplished during the change process. Employees need to feel valued and should be thanked for the work they’ve done and their willingness to adapt to the change. 
5. Reiterate why the change is necessary and how it will benefit the company. Always have an open and clear communication channel, when there is a communication vacuum employees wonder what is going on and will feel left out. They might even think their manager is plotting something. 
6. Be as transparent as possible. 

Remember: Change is less scary when you are leading the change, making the decisions and monitoring the progress. When you are in the driver’s seat you are in control. But always consider your passengers and try and make their journey as pleasant as possible.

Are You As SMART As You Think You Are?

Each New Year we resolve to lose weight, quit smoking, or whatever. In the vast majority, these aspirations end in failure, but why does this happen?

The smart money, you might say, would probably be on a lack of goal setting. Without clear, measurable goals, the reasoning goes, we are doomed to fail. SMART goal setting has become such a staple of management training that it seems superfluous to remind you that the acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable (or Active), Realistic (or Relevant) and Time-bound.

Businesses and Government have enthusiastically embraced this goal-setting model and the world of work is now awash with SMART goals. But how effective are they?

First, a quick trawl through any random sample of business plans or appraisal documents will soon reveal that very few goals are SMART in practice. Setting a truly SMART goal is quite difficult; it takes time and thought to fashion something meaningful – time that managers rarely take, in my experience.

Second: the things that are most easily measured are likely to be of the least use, and vice versa. In practice, people often measure what they most easily can, rather than what they should. Thus, for example, we might know how many meetings staff members attended, but their effectiveness therein is less well understood.

Third: organisational emphasis on goals and targets understandably shifts management attention towards results; the monitoring of "how did they get there?" is often left undone, potentially leading to nasty surprises later, when managers find good results being underpinned by dubious practices.

Last: organisational metrics are often confined to management activities. I frequently ask my course delegates: "When was the last time you were measured on your coaching activities?". "Never" is the most common, depressing, answer. It seems many senior managements, despite espousing them in principle, routinely ignore a whole raft of leadership activities for measurement purposes, filling managers' schedules by default with management activities, and thus constraining time available for leadership.

And so, as we embark upon 2012, my question to you is simple: are you as SMART at work as you think you are? 

By David Soloman, Learning Consultant, Capita Learning and Development