We’ve all sat through countless meetings. Here’s how you can make them more effective.

Even Super Heroes need advice about holding constructive meetings

Thou shalt: Read the rest of this entry »

Despite the scary sounding name, users of psychometrics often report that they enjoy the process and feel encouraged by the output.

Psychometrics are not the daunting prospect many think they are. Facilitated properly they can be quite the opposite

In simple terms a psychometric is a questionnaire that helps the user better understand themselves. In a team this is an excellent way to identify colleagues’ strengths and preferences. For instance a questionnaire might say that Sue is creative and sociable who works best when given regular feedback by her manager whilst Dave is disciplined and analytical, preferring to be set a task and left alone to get on until he’s completed the work. Read the rest of this entry »

Summer holidays are a time when the pace of life slows enough for us take stock, reflect on the future and maybe catch-up with some reading.

Relax, Reflect & Resolve this summer

As you sit on a plane, a beach or in an armchair this summer, you might like to ponder one or two of the following: Read the rest of this entry »

Are you a “good” boss?  One of the most important aspects of an executive’s/manager’s/boss’s job is to manage employees; it is also the most challenging.

Bonus Rule 6: Don't dance in front of staff, especially if you can't dance.

A boss can either create a team unit or keep herself apart. All of us are given choices every moment of every day. How we respond to difficult situations is a choice. How we choose to react in a moment affects not only us but our employees. Employees perform best in an environment that is supportive, consistent, has good two way communication, and where everyone helps each other.

Follow these five tips to become a “good” boss: Read the rest of this entry »

It’s always going to be the case that you find some people easier to work with than others.

Rule 4: Avoid micromanagement

Sometimes you can pinpoint the problem immediately (if, for example, your employee is lazy or unresponsive, comes in late and leaves early, shirks responsibility, or constantly questions your authority without cause).

But there are times when your personality just isn’t compatible with those on your team. Unfortunately, you still have work with these people and find a way to motivate them so that the whole team can realize success.

To that end, here are a few simple ways to keep the peace and get everyone working towards the same goal: Read the rest of this entry »

Over the years we have asked numerous leaders in well known organisations What could be better? In virtually every case they say: “we don’t communicate as effectively as we should”.

How will Fabio Capello communicate with the England team this world cup?

It seems as though weak internal communication is a virus that has infected most organisations, often the larger the business the worse the condition. Strangely high tech systems and gadgets, rather than help seem to make the problem worse, so put your Blackberry in your drawer and try some of these low tech approaches: Read the rest of this entry »

Group. Project. These are possibly two of the most dreaded words to an Massachusetts Institute of Technology  Student, inducing fears of getting stuck with the slacker partner or pulling an all-nighter to throw together a half-effort project.

The biggest of these projects is a semester long research project in a lab class, for which I have so far invested upwards of 20 hours a week, one all-nighter and countless late nights with my two partners. The class has a required team building component, one that we were all contemptuous of at first. Team building? Setting ground rules? Why should we waste our time learning things like that when there was real work to be done? Read the rest of this entry »

Based on five dysfunctions of a team Patrick Lencioni pinpoints the issue of building a great team and group behavior.

Team building is not complicated, declares Lencioni, president of his own management consulting firm and author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.

I expect we have all at one time or another sat in a conference feeling bored. As our attention drifts from the indistinct slides and the speaker’s monotone soliloquy to the comfort or otherwise of our seat.

Don't let your conference be a waste of money

We begin to ponder whether the vast sums spent on such events will generate a worthwhile return. All too often expense and time come before imagination and courage. By this we mean that a little time spent thinking creatively about how your event will be sure to engage, inspire and motivate your audience will not only save money but, more importantly, extinguish boredom. Read the rest of this entry »

What would you put at the top of a list of characteristics that make a good team? Perhaps; trust, flexibility, empathy, communication, shared responsibility or effectiveness?

Trust and communication are very important in team work

What becomes clear if you look at these characteristics is that most of them are not the hard skills of industry or management expertise: most are attitudes rather than skills. Successful team players are defined by the way they relate to their colleagues, and the way in which they interact across a broad range of skills bases. In fact 80% of what makes a good team member is determined by these positive attitudes, and only 20% by the specific job skills they possess.

So why does industry spend around 80% of its training budget on developing often short-lived skills which need updating on a regular basis? Read the rest of this entry »