Thoughts on Five Key Management Topics

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Taken from our five new training modules in leadership and professional skill development, here are tips and information you can use right now.

On Building Open Communication

Have you been tempted to divide your attention in a conversation—as an efficient way of working? For example, do you read your email while you are on the phone? Stop! When your attention is divided, you:

• Miss information.
• Hear information incorrectly.
• Have to ask the other person to repeat.
• Do a poor job on the task that is distracting you.

Conversing halfheartedly takes at least as long as talking wholeheartedly—and it's less effective!

On Delegating Smartly

Delegation can be a powerful tool for achieving results and developing people—particularly when good follow-up is incorporated. For effective follow-up, pay attention to these don'ts:

• Don't interfere. (Resist this temptation!)
• Don't let the employee delegate work back to you.
• Don't solve the employee's problems yourself.
• Don't take back the delegation—except in instances when failure cannot be allowed to happen.

On Working With Communication Styles

Communication style differences are as real and as permanent as differences in height and eye color. Some people focus on the personal; others on the logical. Some have a practical bent; others stress the creative. To achieve the best results with people who are different from themselves, employees must steer clear of these pitfalls:

• Avoiding people whose style is different.
• Ignoring the needs of people with different styles.
• Discounting the contributions of people whose style is different.

On Connecting With Your Career

Do your employees need encouragement to develop their careers? Professional networking can help them become more confident and more connected in the organization. Encourage them to try these steps to develop a professional network:

• Invite people to have coffee or lunch.
• Join teams, committees, and professional societies.
• Attend company meetings, conferences, and other events.
• Read company announcements and get to know who is doing what.

On Transforming Team Conflict

There are two kinds of team conflict: constructive conflicts, which result in mutual success, and destructive conflicts, which result in one-sided success or in mutual failure. To resolve conflicts constructively, teams need these five attributes:

• Open minds
• Clear ground rules
• A commitment to listening
• A focus on solutions
• A commitment to agreements.

If they develop these attributes, your team will transform conflict into mutual success.

For more information on our new modules, email us at info@netspeedleadership.com or call us toll-free at 877-517-5271.

Labels: building open communication  communication practices  connecting with your career  delegating smartly  leadership  managing and supervising  personal & career development  transforming team conflict  working with communication styles