A Real Business Coach

I try to write articles that will be of help to the business owner and I believe this one will, too. It may sound a little self serving at times because, after all, I am a business coach. However, I get many questions and there is some confusion as to what makes a good business coach.

Almost every life, fitness and spiritual coach out there who has at least one business person as a client has now attached the “Business Coach” moniker to their list of services. Are they really business coaches? Maybe some are. But most of them are life, fitness or spiritual coaches with a business client. And believe me there is a difference. Another area of confusion are the sales consultants or marketing experts or leadership counselors that are now calling themselves business coaches. After all sales, marketing and leadership are a huge part of your business. And don’t get me wrong, some of these are great business coaches with strong areas of expertise. Others are great sales people or marketing people and lack the expertise to help in other important areas.

So be careful when choosing a business coach. Spend some time finding out about the person and ask questions. See if there is rapport. See if the person you are seeking as a coach understands the entire business process. Read what he or she has written. Try and understand their philosophies on business.

In my opinion a good “Business Coach” should have a well rounded background in all areas of the business process. That’s why generalists, or General Managers, make good business coaches. A General Manager who has been in different business situations like turnaround, high growth, startup, etc will have experience in planning and strategic goal setting, financial management, leadership and team building as well as sales, marketing and customer service. There is way more to a successful business than sales. Personally, I and other good coaches work with our clients on 7 areas of business focus that, if mastered, will go a long way to insuring a long term successful operation.

Mike Shannon is the owner of Shamrock Business Coaching, a coaching practice that helps business owners increase profits. You can visit Shamrock Business Coaching on the web at: http://www.ShamrockCoaching.com.

Proactive High Performance Teamwork

Proactive High Performance Teamwork is made up of nine proactive components and will provide the growth you are seeking in your practice. Two of the nine components are Performance and Opportunities.

Performance=Profitability

High Performing Staff=High Performing Bottom Line!

Successful practices excel in the filed of Patient Services

**It’s not about product…It’s about Service!! ….your “Absolutely outstanding service”!

Opportunities

New service options and availability can create tremendous opportunities for revenue and profit from existing (as well as new) patients. Seek to provide so many services and benefits that patients choose to keep returning.

**Every patient is an Opportunity looking for a place to happen!

Learn to look and listen for Opportunities!

Patients must be made to feel important, appreciated and valued.

Focus on making each patient feel they are the most important patient you have….because they are!!

Position your practice to do more cosmetic dentistry. Although insurance doesn’t cover cosmetic dentistry, more and more patients are choosing cosmetic procedures.

All too often we think the patient in the treatment room knows what cosmetic procedures are available to them, when 95% of the time the patient doesn’t have a clue! Many times it is just a matter of mentioning what’s available.

Don’t speak in technical terms, speak in simple laymen’s terms so the patient will understand what you are saying. You’re the one who took dental terminology, not the patient.

Speak in terms like:

“Have you ever thought of closing the gap between your two front teeth?”

“Did you know those two ‘pointed’ teeth could be made to look as nice as the rest of your teeth?”

“You have such pretty teeth, you are a perfect candidate for making them whiter!”

Remember: Every patient is an Opportunity looking for a place to happen! Look and Listen for Opportunities.

There are 72 + million Baby Boomers in their mid-fifties, who’s children are now out of college (no more college education to pay for), who have more disposable income to spend, and who are extremely concerned about their appearance.

Strengthen and enhance your practice’s image by building a reputation of excellence and becoming an office that provides so many measurable benefits in services to your patients that is reinforces their decision to keep returning.

Services so beneficial to your patients that receiving care in your office offsets any inconvenience the patients may have (”You are not on my provider list”, “your fees are too high”, or Your office is too far away”).

Often your most creative ideas come from your employees and your patients. Learn to listen and understand both your employees and your patients.

You and your team are marketing a high quality service…and the patient defines quality. From their first telephone call through enrollment and treatment, make sure your practice presents an overall “Absolutely outstanding service” experience for your valued patients as a benefit from your….

Proactive High Performance Team (work)!

About The Author

Livvie Matthews, Business Office and Patient Relationship Specialist helps you FOCUS on narrowing the gap between your practice — your business. Visit http://www.LivvieMatthews.com Business Office News mailto:subscribe@livviematthews.com

officeconsulting@earthlink.net

Secrets of Mentoring

Mentoring can provide great benefits to any enterprise when implemented properly. The following article discusses aspects not often considered when introducing mentoring.

1. People like to mentor

People are flattered when asked to mentor someone. It is recognition they have an expertise, knowledge or skill that someone else has noticed and values.
The mentor does not have to be particularly senior in an organisation and can act as a mentor to someone more senior

2. Mentoring can be scary

When the mentor is new to mentoring, they worry about their abilities and the mentee’s expectations. All mentors require training to prepare them for their role and to give a structure to the process.

3. Mentoring is rewarding

The mentor gains from being a mentor in that it raises their self-confidence and helps them realise how much they know. When explaining something to a mentee the mentor sometimes realises an assumption may not be correct, re-evaluates a procedure, and implements a needed change.

4. Mentoring can be bi-directional

The majority of mentoring programmes assume a single direction, that of a senior person mentoring someone more junior. In practice senior people gain from the detailed and more up to date knowledge of junior people on the implementation of strategy, customer feedback and the use of technology.

5. Mentoring can accelerate your career

When your organisation recognises you as a mentor, it is recognising your value to the organisation. As you mentor more people, your mentees spread the word about your abilities and knowledge and more people consult you for advice. All of this recognition will help to accelerate your career.

6. Mentoring needs a structure

It is important that mentoring does not become a talking shop used to boost the ego of the mentor. The mentee requires specific goals and set timeframes to assimilate knowledge. The mentor should record agreed actions, for both the mentor and mentee and review these at subsequent meeting. A certain element of mentoring can be open ended and on-going but this should be relatively small.

7. Mentoring provides a high return on investment

The cost of a mentoring programme is relatively small even taking into account opportunity costs and administration. Research is producing statistics demonstrating higher employee satisfaction, higher employee retention rates and higher quality performance

Michael Daly is a highly experienced international executive coach and mentor. Details can be seen at http://www.ecam.nu

Thinking about Going Global? Some Issues to Consider

One issue facing many small business owners in the 21st Century is the vast marketplace created by internet commerce. When deciding whether to sell to, or setup shop in other countries, it is important to consider some key factors:

1. Do the nationals in the country you wish to export to have buying power?
2. How strong is the currency in the country in which you wish to export?
3. Are the foreign nationalists willing to buy?
4. In what stage of economic development is the nation?
5. Does the foreign government impose quotas or tariffs?
6. Does the government limit imports from your country?
7. Does your product need any modification to operate properly and fall within the country’s guidelines?
8. Does the government require majority ownership by nationals?
9. What are the characteristics of the population?
10. Is there anything about your product or service, which is not compatible with this country’s culture?
11. If you wish to set up business in the country, are foreign nationals available to employ?

This may seem like a lot to consider. In fact, it is the bare minimum. If you are exporting goods or considering opening business in another country, it is wise to do your homework before investing in the venture.

There are, thankfully, plenty of ways to tap into the global marketplace without having to take all these risks or do so much research. Thousands of companies have built a strong global business by operating in a marketing network. “Affiliates” or “Members” participate in the company’s growth and reap the benefits of sales without having to do any packing, shipping, or inventory management. By joining a network marketing company, it is possible to benefit from the globalization of the world’s marketplace with very little risk on your own. Generally, the risk is limited to your investment in the cost of membership (mostly minimal, often free) and/or advertising costs, which depend solely on how much you wish to spend.

Other benefits of Network Marketing

Your e-commerce target audience is the world, but you do not have to target customers at all. By putting yourself out there, backed by your networked business of choice, your customers find you. If they are looking for the best widget ever, your job is to make sure they consider yours. Many of these network-marketing companies have a great deal of support to back you and help you make decisions regarding promoting your business. A nice by-product of this is your “network” is often a source of emotional support and in some instances may even seem like extended family. The overall attitude is teamwork, and your success helps the team. Good customer service starts from within the organization. If you get a good feeling from the beginning, chances are you are in a good place.

Getting the Marketing Groove

Wouldn’t it be great to have a year where your marketing efforts
were streamlined and got the results you were after? None of us
want to struggle with marketing, and yet this is the one topic
that continues to be highest in the minds of small business
professionals. Let’s really consider some of the reasons that
can sabotage our marketing efforts, and how we can turn that
around.

Lack of a marketing mindset - we don’t see ourselves as
in the marketing game.

The truth is, if you are out there running a business, thinking
like a marketer has to become your priority. It’s no use having
a great service if nobody knows about it, or you. Lack of
knowledge is your enemy. Start by reading whatever you can.
Speak to successful people in your field and ask them what
strategies they use. The information you need is out there for
you to take.

Lack of investment

For many small business owners, the focus on cost control
prohibits them from ever investing enough money into marketing
and promotion. These activities are seen as costs rather than as
an investment. So this year I encourage you to reframe your
attitude towards marketing. Once you know what marketing
activity to do, and have confidence that it will bring results,
spend the money enthusiastically.

Lack of focus

Perhaps you do spend time and money on marketing, but you aren’t
happy with the results. Or your efforts are ad-hoc rather than
carefully planned. Whatever it is, 2005 is the year to take
charge. If what you are doing isn’t working - stop doing it! Ask
a professional for help (not your friends or associates!). Or
put yourself in your customers shoes and work out what’s going
to attract them to your business. If an ad-hoc approach is the
problem, take the time to complete the marketing plan in the
‘How to…’ section and become ruthlessly systematic this year.

Lack of over-riding marketing strategy

Marketing activity and tactics are all well and good but it is
like driving a rudderless ship if there is no grander plan. Part
of creating a marketing strategy is to clearly understand
exactly where you are right now, and where you want to be. Your
goal may be to have sales of $1,$5 or $50 million. Or you may
want to revolutionise your industry. Or you may want your
company to be acquired within 5 years. What matters most is that
you have a clear, precise vision of where you are, where you
want to be in 1year, and where you want to be in 5 years.

Not surrounding ourselves with the right people

All of the great books on success advocate spending time with
people who are already successful at what you want to do. Why?
By surrounding yourself with people several steps ahead of you,
you can absorb the attitudes and values that made them
successful, as well as picking up new strategies and ideas. So
If you are hanging out with people who also lack a marketing
mindset then it’s time to think about expanding your
professional network to include those who are already down the
track to success.

Marketing is more of an art than a science. Often times you
learn by systematically trying different activities and
approaches. The experts don’t always have all the answers . . .
and this is exactly why you need to give plenty of personal
attention to make sure your marketing is working as hard as it
possibly can. If you want to get serious about success in
business, then understanding marketing is an ongoing priority.

Here’s a quick list of 10 ideas to get you into the
marketing groove:

* Commit to reading one new marketing book per month

* Start learning about how to market online

* Make a list of people whose businesses inspire you, and
carefully study their marketing techniques. How many of these
are you using?

* Make a list of successful people in your industry and check
out their marketing strategy. Why not offer to take one of them
out for coffee to learn more about how they got where they are
(what’s the worst that could happen?)

* Revise your marketing budget. Look at your previous investment
in marketing, and ask yourself if this is the amount a truly
successful business would be spending.

* Review all of last year’s marketing activities. Work out which
ones brought new business in the door, or were successful in
some other way (building credibility for example). If you can’t
quantify how successful the outcome was, stop spending the money!

* Implement an ongoing ‘keep in touch’ program with existing
customers (much like this ezine)

* Ask 10 or more of your most loyal customers for a referral

* Stop doing those marketing activities that you know don’t
work, but you do them anyway

* Market research - ask 20 of your customers what value you
provide to them. Use what they say in your own marketing
materials

Writing The Query Letter

The query letter is simply a business letter that serves a dual
purpose. It is an introduction of you to an agent, and an inquiry
as to whether the agent would be interested in seeing a particular
piece of your work. The query letter is the first “picture” an agent
will have of you and your work; and is perhaps your strongest
selling tool.

Why the query letter? Basically it serves to save time. Agents and
publishers simply do not have the time to read unsolicited manuscripts,
and it is certainly a waste of your time (and money) to make copies and
send manuscripts out to numerous agents knowing that most, if not all,
will be sent back, left unread or perhaps discarded. So how do these
opposing forces finally meet up? The query letter!

Keep in mind the query letter is a sales tool. You will be selling yourself
and your work and you must do so in a polite and professional manner - but
sell, you must!

A good query letter has three basic parts. The first paragraphs focus on
selling the work. This part should be thorough and convincing, yet
brief (not always easy to do). It should contain the type of work your
presenting, where and when it is set, and a general idea of the plot.

The second part of your letter should be spent selling yourself. List
your writing credits and any information pertinent to that particular work.
If you do not have any writing credits, explain your expertise with the
subject matter. Mention any writer’s groups or associations of which you
are a member. However, only relate information that is pertinent to your
writing and the particular work you are promoting - do not include personal
information.

In the third part of the Query you should mention whether the work is in
progress or completed (rule-of-thumb: everything except non-fiction
should be in completed form.), when you can have it in the agent’s hands,
and your contact information. Suggest he/she contact you either by
telephone or by the enclosed SASE (always enclose a SASE, this is a
courtesy most editors insist upon.), whichever is most convenient.

Go over your letter with a fine-tooth-comb. You don’t want any typo’s,
or wrong information; and make sure you haven’t left out any pertinent
information. Your first impression must be a good one - a
professional one.

If you want to know how soon you will get a response, it depends on
the agent and his/her backlog. It could be anywhere from two to six
weeks, possibly more - which is why you query many agents rather than
waiting for an answer from one before sending to another. This is
normal practice. If, however, several agents ask to see your manuscript
you should not send it to more than one at a time. At this point in the
process you should have spoken with the agents and made a decision as
to who you feel would be best suited to your needs.

Copyright - All Rights Reserved

Diane Thomas is the editor of eBook Crossroads.com specializing in resources for writers, publishers
and promoters of eBooks and Audio Books. She publishes a monthly ezine,
the eBook Crossroads Insider, offering articles, tips, contests, free downloads
and much more!

Subscribe to the eBook Crossroads Insider.

Boost Your Productivity with 10 Minutes at the End of Your Day

Once you have completed your day you can boost your efforts for tomorrow with an investment of only 10 minutes. Apply these strategies at the end of your work day and you will definitely increase your productivity.

Quitting time. Schedule time at the end of your day; just like for your first 60-minutes, you need to block-out the last 10-minutes of your day to make time for your end-of-day routine.

Look ahead. Start your ‘to do’ list for the next day. The best time to do this is at the end of the day when your focus is still on the job - it’s far more difficult to do in the morning when you’re wondering where you left-off the day before.

Carry over incomplete tasks from your current day’s list and add new priorities. It helps to clear your head and put it to paper and you’ll be amazed at how much more effective you can be when your brain power is being put to problem-solving rather than trying to remember everything you need to do! It helps too to give you a clearer picture of what needs to be achieved and what you can delegate - and, there’s enormous satisfaction in being able to tick-off completed items and review your achievements at the end of the day!

What’s in store?Check your diary and commitments for the following day and be aware of what’s coming up, where you need to be and what preparation, tasks and projects you need to focus on.

Leave it clean. Clear and tidy your desk, throw rubbish in the bin, sort leftover mail and papers and put your files away; apart form being good housekeeping, it is good for office security to have valuable company information filed away in locked cabinets or drawers. By clearing your workspace you also signal the end of the day and clear your mind.
Wash up. Clean your coffee cup, empty your water bottle, wash any leftover dishes or containers from lunch, and start each day afresh.

Carry your reading. Put your reading file in your briefcase. If you don’t already have one, start a reading file and carry it with you on your way home. You can get through a surprising amount of reading while on public transport to and from work and while waiting in queues.

Shut down.Switch your phone to voicemail, remembering to change your message if you’re not going to be in the next day, or if you’re going to be in late. Close out your email, again, remembering to activate your ‘out of office’ message if you’re not going to be in the next day, and switch off your computer, screen & printer.

Neen is a Global Productivity Expert: by looking at how they spend their time and energy - and where they focus their attention - Neen helps people to rocket-charge their productivity and performance. A dynamic speaker, author and corporate trainer, Neen demonstrates how boosting your productivity can help you achieve amazing things. With her unique voice, sense of fun and uncommon common-sense, Neen delivers a powerful lesson in productivity. http://www.neenjames.com/

Negotiating Skills: Communicate Better

A negotiator needs to be a skilled communicator. His role is to deliver and receive information. If negotiating is an art then communicating is like the practice of architecture.

Learning to emphasize or reinforce what you are saying through your body language and demeanor improves your communication. Actors practice or rehearse their lines in front of mirrors to get their entire persona to deliver the “feeling” as well as the line. Attorneys preparing opening and closing arguments do the same thing. Prepare, review, and practice for a meeting until you have mastered the subject matter, know your objectives, and are confident to field issues as they are presented. You want to be able to control and direct the conversation; not be subject to the control of another person.

To be able to communicate your thoughts to another person you need to be organized, knowledgeable and prepared. Being prepared is the first step to good communications. Taking responsibility for communicating your position is the second. People seldom change their minds when being lectured. If they are not mentally preparing their response to you they are likely thinking of the upcoming evening’s activities; they are not on fully focused on what you are saying. Your challenge is to break through and help them actually hear and understand what you are saying.

The third step to good communications is to listen well. Get rid of your bad listening habits. Our minds continue to process other things while we are listening. Because of this, we are apt to be subconsciously trying to frame a response to the last point made, figure the odds on the baseball game this evening, concocting a strategy to get a raise at work and worrying about last night’s fight at home; all the while also listening to the other person making a point. With all this concurrent activity, actually hearing what is being said is at best difficult.

Hearing the subtle nuances within the context of the remarks is next to impossible. It is the context of the remarks, the non-verbal signs sent while speaking, the subtle inflections that give color and depth to the remarks. You have to be attuned to capturing these embellishments if you are to learn from what the other person is saying.

Everyone should always strive for improved communication skills. It is very difficult to forge an accord when one or both of the parties are not hearing and understanding the other. As an informal, small group leader, focus first on opening clear channels of communication.

The author is an assistant editor at How-to-Negotiate.com, a site featuring articles about interpersonal communication skills required in the dispute settlement process and how people negotiate everything in their daily lives be it personal issues, parenting matters, social conflicts, or business or work related challenges. The site promotes the fact that conflict is a natural aspect of everyone’s life and we should all work at improving our ability to negotiate the curves life throws our way.

F2 Leadership

People don’t leave jobs; they leave bosses. –
Anonymous

Congratulations. You’re the boss. That means either you own the company; you are related to someone who owns the company; or someone thought you had the technical expertise, experience, or potential to be the leader. One of these applies, or you know something regarding moral turpitude about the boss. However you got here, here you are. Chances are no one has really prepared you for this job. In college you studied, engineering, marketing, accounting, nursing, or some other job function. Maybe you even took a course or two in management, but did anyone every really teach you the skills it takes to be the boss? Probably not. You, like millions of others, are in this position but are not prepared for all the responsibilities that go with it. If you aren’t smart, honest, and hard working, this article won’t help. If you are, and you want to learn the requisite skills to be an F2 Leader, one that is both firm and fair, you will be able to make a difference in your life and the lives of your direct reports.

As the Baby Boomers look toward retirement, the Generation Xers are looking forward to filling the leadership roles that will be vacated. However, the next generation of leaders will face unprecedented challenges in the war for talent. As has happened in the past, people will continue to leave bosses, not jobs. But when people leave, there will be fewer top performers to fill key positions. The competition for talent will escalate, and only those companies who have hired bosses that no one wants to leave will be able to vie in the global marketplace. In general, research shows that in a good economy, an unhappy employee will bolt the company for a 5 percent pay increase, but it will take at least an increase of 20 percent to compel a satisfied employee to jump ship.

Although there seems to be universal agreement that people want to be better bosses, the task of determining what that means seems daunting. Perhaps one of the best ways to answer some of the questions that continue to surface is to describe to discuss some of the most important ways leaders can sustain F2 Leadership so that they attract and keep the best and brightest in their industries. One thing seems clear: bosses need to be concerned with both task accomplishment and people skills, the essence of F2 Leader.

Specifically, what does it take to be a good leader? In my experience, it takes a desire to lead, the intelligence to learn quickly, the analytical reasoning to solve unfamiliar, complex problems, a strong action orientation, integrity, and people skills. In short, it takes a balanced concern for task accomplishment and people issues, F2 Leadership. Intelligence and achievement drive are resistant to change and difficult to develop but people skills are easier to learn. The good news is, often leadership derailment is caused by flawed interpersonal skills, so bosses who possess the other characteristics can learn the one set of skills that is likely to have the greatest impact on their success. Becoming firm but fair leaders that others trust is at the heart of sustaining effective leadership.

One of the toughest aspects of developing better interpersonal skills is the tricky balance leaders need to have for concern for people and concern for results. Without a strong bias for action, leaders are not successful. Effective leadership demands dominance, the exercising of control or influence. It means being assertive, putting forward ideas, and striving to influence the way others turn ideas into action. Dominant leaders take charge, guiding, leading, persuading, and moving other people to achieve results. Instead of letting things happen, they make things happen.

Without a strong concern for the people who get the results, however, bosses aren’t effective either. Balancing dominance and responsiveness requires constant recalibration, a challenge that even the most seasoned leaders face. Here are some ideas to help you get results while still being responsive to others:

Demand results through involvement. Set tough goals and insist on analytical approaches.

Get to know your people, their strengths, their weaknesses, and their motivators, and then deal with each person as a unique individual.

Maintain an “us centered” mentality.

Demonstrate concern and responsiveness. Rather than merely trying to please direct reports for the moment, work with them to uncover their concerns and then balance these with the needs of the organization.

Put disagreements and problems on the table as soon as you perceive them. Don’t wait until you are angry or until a crisis is brewing to talk about things.

Sustaining a dedication to excellent results and a commitment to your people will be a huge step toward building trust, an essential component of strong leadership. Although personal integrity is essential for building a trusting, trustworthy organization, it isn’t enough. Developing behaviors that indicate that the integrity is there is also crucial. Like interpersonal skills, the behaviors can be taught and learned, even if the integrity upon which they are based is not easily changed.

Building trust within an organization is a complicated and fragile process that requires unwavering attention on the part of the leaders at all levels of the organization. Here are some actions any boss can take immediately:

Send consistent messages. One of the fastest moving destroyers of trust, inconsistent messages, can occur at any level of the organization. Often bosses are helpless to do anything about the strategic or organizational trust issues in their companies, but they can certainly make sure that they are not guilty of sending mixed or inconsistent messages. An element of trust is predictability. Direct reports want to know they can trust their bosses to do what they say they will. For instance, the boss who tells her direct reports how much she values them and then doesn’t keep scheduled appointments with them, takes calls or other interruptions when they are meeting, or shows up late for meetings, is sending the message loud and clear that indeed they are not important to her. Employees who have this kind of boss can be counted on to disengage, focus on rumors and politics, and update their resumés.

Keep policies and standards consistent. When bosses play favorites and allow a few pet performers to bend the rules, others notice. Consider the boss who doesn’t like confrontation. He turns a blind eye to the fact that a select few are not adhering to the company’s rules regarding flex time, signing in and out, using work time for doctor’s appointments, etc. If there is a rule, everyone should be required to uphold it. If it’s not important enough to have a company policy about, don’t bother with it. The HOT stove form of leadership applies here. No matter who touches the stove, it’s hot, and the person touching it will get burned, no matter the person’s position in the organization or the favor the boss feels for the person who touches it.

Don’t have a policy about something unless you are willing to fire your most valuable employee for violating it. In other words, if it is important enough to make a rule about it, it’s important enough that the company’s star will be fired for violating it.

Expect competence, high-quality performance, and decent behavior from everyone. Whether the person is a genius, technical expert, top salesperson, rainmaker, or company curmudgeon, the same standards should apply, but often they don’t. Bosses tend to leave alone people who operate at one end of the continuum or the other. Too often top performers get away with volatile behavior and tantrums, both appalling behavior in any organization. On the other hand, the difficult employee can also get away with unacceptable behavior simply because the boss doesn’t want the confrontation that is likely to occur if he addresses issues with the direct report. Once again, others notice, and they resent the company tolerating problematic employees.

Give honest, balanced feedback. How many times have I had conversations with frustrated human resource managers because obviously a person needs to be fired, but the performance reviews are glowing? A legitimate question a lawyer would ask in a wrongful termination hearing might be, “If this employee was bad enough to fire, how do you explain these scores on his last appraisal?” In addition to causing headaches for the company, this kind of dishonest feedback fails to help the direct report develop skills or take actions to better performance. Similarly, if everyone is given the same bonus and raises, what is the incentive for others to work hard to uphold stellar performance? It may come from within, but only for a while. People tend to object to unfair treatment that they can’t control. The boss who engages in flawed feedback is inviting others to weigh in by voting with their feet as they walk out the door.

Trust others. One of the phenomena of human behavior that often goes unnoticed is that trustworthy people are also usually trusting people. As the saying goes, a man only looks behind a door if he has hidden behind several himself. If a boss can’t trust his direct reports, one of two things is wrong. Either he is not willing to trust because of his own doubts, or the direct report has given him reason not to trust her.

Conclusion

Understanding more about how to become the boss that no one wants to leave begins with an understanding of what a boss is. Then, each person must ask the tough question, “Do I really want to be the boss?” Finally, the person who steps up to the plate needs to know how to do what it takes to succeed. Only after a person has this foundation can she or he begin the formidable task of learning what needs to be done to win. Specifically, this journey will require some skills related to taking care of oneself, some abilities to lead each individual, and a grasp of what it takes to lead a group of people, either a team of direct reports or an entire organization. The principles are the same, even though they are not easy to practice at any level to achieve F2 Leadership. But what worthwhile things are easy? As Tom Hank’s character said in A League of Their Own, “If it were easy, anyone could do it.”

Dr. Linda Henman teaches leaders to be the boss that no one wants to leave. She can be reached at Linda@henmanperformancegroup.com.

Dr. Linda Henman speaks from experience. For more than 25 years, she has helped military organizations, small businesses, and Fortune 500 Companies turn things around by getting the right people in the right place doing the right thing.

Linda holds a Bachelor of Science in communication, two Master of Arts degrees in both interpersonal communication and organization development, and a Ph.D. in organizational systems. By combining her experience as an organizational psychologist with her education in business, she offers her clients assessment, coaching, consulting, and training solutions that are pragmatic in their approach and sound in their foundation. Specializing in assessment for selection, promotion, and development, Linda helps organizations improve their succession and retention initiatives.

When Leaders Train: How to Avoid the Pitfalls

Almost all leaders are called on to transmit information to groups. To save costs
and to build the organization’s internal capacity, more and more organizations are
requiring their internal subject matter experts to train others. I empathize with the
attorneys, police, computer and financial professionals whose design and training
skills I’ve helped develop over the years. Suddenly, these content experts are prone
to wail, “I didn’t go to college (and through the school of hard knocks -) to be a
teacher, too!”

“Acquitting Oneself” vs. Facilitating Learning

A dictionary definitions of “to acquit” is “to release from duty or obligation -” i.e., to
get off the hook, to “cover the material.” This style of teaching ensures that students
are more likely to remember the lecture’s deadening effect, not its topic. In fact,
“Thiagi” Thiagarajan, the internationally recognized guru of instructional design,
says that in 20 minutes, participants forget 50% of a lecture to which they’ve
listened passively. Yet lecturers often feel that if they’ve “covered the material,”
they’re off the hook.

Yet most of us can also recall a compelling, interactive learning experience that
captures us on such a deep level that we remember it for years afterwards. Below,
I’ve gathered some “fail-safe” tips to help leaders design and present truly effective
training sessions.

Tips to Ensure a Great Learning Experience

1. “Hook” your students.
In the first five minutes of class, you must:

* Excite: demonstrate your commitment to, and excitement about, your subject.
Your participants will reflect whatever energy you put out.

* Involve: Ask a relevant question to get participants’ hands up, deliver a quickie
true-false quiz, or ask participants about a critical incident from their own lives.

* Inform: State the learning outcomes: tell the participants what specific things
they’ll be able to do by the end of the session.

(…and only after doing these three things, introduce yourself and establish your
credibility!)

2. Make it active.

Design activities that allow participants to bridge new knowledge with their past
experiences. Activities can include small-group work using case studies, skill
practice, or other problem-solving exercises. Make sure that the activities help to
achieve your stated outcomes.

3. Design a conscious closure.

Always design at least five minutes at the end to test participants’ abilities to DO
what you promised they’d be able to do. In many cases, all this takes is your asking
the class to list, describe or demonstrate what you’ve taught.

Forget about “acquitting yourself” and focus on what your participants need to
know. When managers find their topics compelling and are willing to go beyond
“just covering the material,” they can change a potentially boring class into a
memorable and compelling learning experience.

Send your questions about turning leaders into educators. to
connect@guilamuir.com

Article © 2005 Guila Muir and Associates

Guila Muir pumps up your training skills! Helping people to design and present
effective training sessions since 1989, Guila provides tools, tips, and techniques to
transmit your expertise effectively. Sign up for her free, quarterly e-newsletter, at
http://www.guilamuir.com.