Leadership Training from The Learning Engine®

Getting S'More from Your Leaders

2011-11-29T11:27:00.000-08:00

S'mores, Mallomars, Moon Pies ... all have the tasty combination of marshmallow, chocolate and graham cracker that millions have grown to love. It's the perfect balance of flavors.

The name s'mores supposedly comes from a melding of the two words --- "some more" --and the idea that people will want more than just one.

When Leaders Are Like S'mores

Good leadership leaves team members craving s'more. And, if they move to another team, they want their new boss to be just as good as the last one.

Effective leadership is the result of well-trained supervisors, team leaders and managers who understand the essentials of management and communication. BLR's National Employee Attitude Survey uses an online survey to measure the feelings of employees in four key areas, which research shows are critical to morale, productivity and retention:

Communication
Teamwork
Supervision
Career opportunity

Other research shows that the potential for supervisors, team leaders and managers to become more successful (when measured by a more productive workforce) can be determined by the extent to which they accomplish the following:

Provide a free flow of communication to employees, with well-crafted messages
Provide development opportunities for team members
Keep employees motivated and engaged in their work and in the company's mission

Other components of good leadership include the ability to lead with a positive rapport and the ability to make quick and effective decisions. Nothing is worse than a team leader who is weak, indecisive and lacking in confidence. These leaders create uncertainty throughout the entire team, and team members become frustrated. They certainly don't want s'more of this leadership style.

Although a team consists of a number of team members and a single team leader, it's true that the team's success or failure rests with the entire team. Nevertheless, the team leader bears the bulk of the accountability.

Winning a Second Helping of Productivity

Effective teams are those that have the talent and skills to foster self-motivation and self-improvement. The key differentiator is the leader, whose support determines whether the team is inspired or lackluster. Leaders who can design and support balanced teams will have productive teams with members who are ready for s'more.

Beyond the essentials of leadership, the best leaders:

Build trust between team members
Inspire and motivate teamwork to achieve goals
Influence valuable changes
Are open to new ideas from team members
Establish an open system of discussion for decision-making on projects and consult key members frequently
Encourage independent thinking
Recognize exceptional talent, and then hire those employees and work to retain them
Recognize and value each member's strengths and continue to coach them
Define objectives and expectations for projects and ensure that each member understands
Work quickly to resolve workplace problems
Evaluate results in a timely fashion
Celebrate both individual and team successes

Getting S'more: Leadership Development and Talent Management

A global custom research company recently released findings of a national survey that indicated that 20 percent of currently employed Americans would change jobs if the opportunity arose. Obviously, this affects employee retention. However, the study points out, 53 percent of respondents would still prefer to stay with their current organizations --- even if they were offered a better job with another company.

The reason is clear: Those who would choose to stay are working for well-trained leaders who have "leadership plus" --- added skills that keep employees engaged and wanting s'more.

Vital Learning's Leadership Development and Talent Management Curriculum offers a combination of courses to take leaders beyond the essentials:

Leading Successful Projects
Hiring Winning Talent
Motivating Team Members
Solving Workplace Problems
Retaining Winning Talent
Developing and Coaching Others (Leadership or Senior Management versions)

Vital Learning will work with you to develop a customized curriculum for your organization, helping you to make your leaders' skills the best they can possibly be.

Thought for the Day

"Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value."

---Albert Einstein

Sources:
Leadership Series (2010). Vital Learning Corporation.
Bruce, S. (Aug. 2010). Which of Your Employees is About to Pull a "Steven Slater?" BLR HR Daily Advisor.
Hill, S. What Makes a Good Team Leader? http://ww.zineArticles.com
More Employees Consider Changing Jobs as Economic Optimism Grows, http://www.gfkameria.com

Employees Want to Be the Boss' Apprentice

2011-10-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

In last season's TV show "The Apprentice," they took a different twist. It was centered around professionals who have been affected by the economy. Each contestant had lost his or her job and was searching for a new one. When contestants won a project on the show, they received the opportunity to learn from the best in leadership with a leader from one of the show's corporate sponsors.

Apprenticeship is a system of training the next generation of workers. Traditionally, "prentices," also called protégés, enhance their careers from apprenticeships with training conducted on the job by working for an employer who helps them learn a trade or skill.

To put the idea of apprenticeship into perspective for today, consider that the 78 million Millennials, also known as the Net Gen and Generation Y, are nearly as large a group as the baby boomers. This new generation includes those born between 1980 and 1991.

What Do Millennials Want

The book The Millennials by Dr. Thom Rainer and his son Jess Rainer, details certain factors based on a massive research project led by LifeWay Research, involving 12,000 Millennials. The study concluded four major leadership focuses for "What Millennials want in leaders":

Mentoring. Millennials want to be led and taught in the workplace. They want to learn from their "heroes."
Gentle spirit. They are turned off by loud and divisive leaders.
Transparency. Millennials want to follow "real" or authentic leaders.
Integrity. They want leaders with standards and who aren't concerned more about their own personal gain than serving others.

Applying the Idea of Apprenticeship

Given these findings, organizations need to examine how their own leaders are leading and training managers, supervisors and team leaders to become relevant in the new workplace. Because Millennials want to learn from others, it makes sense to think in terms of apprenticeship in the workplace.

Today's leaders must be able to operate in an informal learning environment that positions them as mentors and coaches. They need exceptional communication skills, and they should be trained by good leaders in order for others to follow.

Millennials have a "can-do" attitude about tasks and work habits. They look for feedback about how they are doing, and they expect it frequently. They look for structure from older supervisors and team leaders, and they want these leaders to elicit and respect their ideas, as well.

Leaders can help Millennials become more engaged by providing development opportunities; members of this generation want to know where their careers are going and how to move up. They expect to be challenged, and they look for continual challenges on projects and opportunities for networking.

In the absence of the above, Millennials --- who are adept on instant messaging, e-mail, text and social media --- will network themselves into new opportunities outside their current organizations.

Helping All Employees Learn From the Boss

Research reveals that most employees, Millennial or not, look for common things fromwork. First, respect is a fundamental right for all employees. An important element of respect is recognition and feedback so workers know how they are doing. They want to be members engaged in the organization. They also want to learn new skills, develop their potential and grow in their careers. They want to be empowered and have influence on decisions.

And, they want good leadership. They want to learn from the boss.

The following tips can help employees learn from your organization's leaders:

Listen to their ideas and opinions.
Delegate challenging tasks that help them become a part of change.
Encourage networking on projects and teams.
Discover what really motivates them and elicit their ideas.
Coach them on-the-job and give them exposure across the organization.
Provide frequent and meaningful feedback.

As an example, the Conference Board, a global, independent business membership and research association working in the public interest, requires leaders to provide two written evaluations per year and strongly encourages managers to deliver informal feedback at least monthly. Researchers indicate that this type of frequent feedback helps Millennials become engaged in their jobs and improves employee retention.

Training Leaders to Adapt

Most organizations' supervisors, managers and team leaders will likely need more training to adapt to an apprentice-style workplace. Look for programs such as Vital Learning's Leadership Series™, which offers targeted, flexible programs that enable organizations to put leaders in action quickly. Vital Learning's flexible programs are available in online and traditional seminar formats to allow organizations to blend learning quickly with their existing approaches. Recommended titles include the following:

Essential Skills of Communicating™
Essential Skills of Leadership™
Delegating™
Developing Performance Goals and Standards™
Providing Performance Feedback™
Coaching Job Skills™
Motivating Employees™

Thought for the Day

"By providing Millennials with meaningful and growing experiences, respecting their contribution, utilizing mentoring, giving feedback and staying flexible, leaders can retain Millennials as followers who will develop into future leaders." --- David Burkus, Millennial and adjunct professor of business at several universities, executive coach, and a student in the doctor of strategic leadership program at Regent University

Sources:

Leadership Series (2010). Vital Learning.
Burkus, D. (2010). Developing the Next Generation of Leaders: How to Engage Millennials in the Workplace, Leadership Advance Online-Issue XIX, School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship, Regent University.
Heathfield, S. Managing Millennials: Eleven Tips for Managing Millennials. [Accessed Sept. 2010-About.com]
Rainer, T. What Millennials Want in Leaders [Accessed Sept. 2010-About.com]

Nightmares in Leadership

2011-08-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

If you are near the top of your organization, then chances are good that certain things keep you up at night. In 1984, Wes Craven's movie A Nightmare on Elm Street premiered, and with the 2010 remake, Freddy Krueger continues to haunt the newest generation of horror fans. The movie's premise is that insane Freddy, who was a sadistic child murderer in life, terrorizes people in their dreams.

Like Freddy Krueger, your leadership team's missteps could become an ugly and frightening tormentor that keep you up at night and plague your dreams.

What You Don't Know Could Hurt You

The question is this: Do you really know what your supervisors, team leaders and managers are doing and saying everyday? If supervisors are not properly trained, then they may make mistakes that put the entire organization at risk.

An example is a supervisor who hasn't been trained on the correct process for hiring team members. One inappropriate question can lead to a lawsuit. In addition, hiring the wrong people for the team can cost hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, in lost time and productivity --- especially if you have to hire someone new and retrain them.

Many supervisors, team leaders and managers shy away from the duties that need to be done because they don't know how to handle specific situations. For example, they may fail to give effective performance appraisals, avoid talking to someone about a poor work habit, or ignore conflicts between team members. Employees expect their leaders to deal with issues promptly and effectively. Avoiding issues or problems can lead to an unmotivated staff, and productivity will suffer because of lingering, unresolved issues.

When it comes to constant change in the workplace, many leaders freeze when dealing with their own issues with change. They are then unable to articulate change to their teams. The result is that the team becomes uninspired and even more demoralized because its members don't know what the change means for them and how it will affect their jobs.

Training leaders becomes the most important investment an organization can make to reduce leadership nightmares.

Leading Through a Nightmare

Today's work environment is more complex than ever before. Handling day-to-day situations with employees can become a nightmare for some leaders, especially if they are unprepared. Nevertheless, even though they are often the cause of nightmares, the following conditions are inherent --- some are even essential --- in complex internal and external environments:

Diverse workforce, business models and management systems

Ambiguity of information, conflicting data and decision points

The rate of change of circumstances, systems, people, processes and customer needs

Increased competition and innovation

An organization's leaders must meet the demands of a complex work environment through the effective management of organizational human capital. Exceptional leadership training promotes adaptability, continual learning and creative problem-solving. This results in a workforce that is motivated, engaged, and focused on the organization's goals and productivity.

Essential Skills for Sweet Dreams

In A Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy Krueger had the ability to murder people if they went to sleep. In the same way, your organization could be at risk if your leaders are asleep. It is important for leaders to assess whether they really know what they are doing and even to pinpoint areas in which they need the most skill development.

Consider using an easy assessment that can link to leaders' specific skill sets. The Vital Learning Leadership Assessment™ provides a personalized training program for each leader in an organization, identifying the skills they need to develop. Using this approach allows organizations to focus resources for training in the areas where they are most critical.

Skill areas that leaders need most can be addressed with the Vital Learning Leadership Series™. These programs can be delivered in both a traditional format and online, enabling organizations to blend their training and tailor it to each individual. Additional informal learning support, such as online coaching, knowledge databases and social links, can further enhance training.

The following are key areas in which Vital Learning addresses the complex situations that can cause nightmares for leaders:

Foundational leadership understanding

Effective communication

Change management

Coaching

Employee goal development

Providing performance feedback

Motivating employees

Delegating

Effective discipline

Managing complaints

Resolving conflict

Improving work habits

Combat nightmares in leadership and produce leaders who are focused on leadership training.

Thought for the Day

"I have had dreams and I have had nightmares, but I have conquered my nightmares because of my dreams."

--- Jonas Salk

Sources:
Leadership Assessment (2010). Vital Learning Corporation
Leadership Series (2010). Vital Learning Corporation
Billou, N., Corssan, M. and Seijts, G. (May/June 2010). Coping with Complexity, Ivey Business Journal.

The Wired Generation and Their Effect on Training

2011-07-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

These are wild times, and the new generations are wired for Learning 2.0, also known as social learning. The rise of social media based on innovative Web 2.0 technologies, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, has created a new paradigm for how we approach learning. Consider the following:

Total Internet users (PC and phones): 1.8 billion (25.89 percent) of the 6.8 billion people in the world.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the size of the U.S. workforce in 2014 will be 162 million. Estimates are that Millennials will make up an impressive 47 percent of the workforce in 2014.

Seventy-five percent of adults aged 18 to 24 who are online have a profile on a social network, according to a Pew Internet American Life Project survey.

CEOs and industry leaders of all ages are beginning to use Twitter to open dialogues with employees and customers.

According to Forrester, interactions online or through other technology and their effect on e-learning indicates that more than 80 percent of adult learning occurs outside the classroom.

Informal Learning Power

Social media and learning consultant Jane Hart said, "Once individuals and groups do realize they have the power, ability and tools to learn for themselves, then they will begin to address their own problems informally and quite spontaneously --- without the supervision or intervention of a teacher." It's called informal learning, and, according to an ASTD study, it takes place "without a conventional instructor and is employee-controlled in terms of breadth, depth and timing. It tends to be individualized, limited in scope and utilized in small chucks."

The Role of the Training Professional

Research indicates that learning professionals still play an important part in facilitating informal learning through social networking tools. It's something that organizations need to get smart about now.

Jay Cross, an informal learning expert, has indicated that formal training and workshops account for only 10 to 20 percent of what people learn at work. Interestingly, he likened formal learning to passively taking a bus and informal learning to riding a bike. The learner chooses the destination or detour.

Author and researcher Donald Tapscott says that Millennials want the following:

Customization

To be managed as individuals

Integrity and transparency

Value collaboration through social networking tools

Entertainment through games and simulation

In the workplace, performance management and training must reflect these needs.

Karie Willyerd, vice president and chief learning officer for Sun Microsystems, said "That social media presents a huge opportunity for the training profession to create strategies for informal learning." According to Willyerd, if the learning organization doesn't use social media, it will become "irrelevant and left behind." This heralds a call to action to become involved, and Willyerd said that it's an exciting place to be.

Getting On Board

In the April 2009 report, "Get Serious about Informal Learning," Claire Schooley of Forrester Research discusses steps to getting on board with Learning 2.0:

Examine how you conduct employee training.

Collaborate with business units to develop effective strategies.

Use employee performance results to measure successful learning experiences.

Keep track of how people rate informal and formal content.

The many benefits of social learning include the use of online training capabilities that you may already have through providers with comprehensive online training platforms, such as Vital Learning's, which includes online coaching and the ability to link to other content and giving participants the opportunity to share their stories and keep learners engaged. Other benefits include the following:

Find and reach new students through Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Promote your own training.

Create enhanced and timely presentations.

Stay on top of trends, competitors, market changes through social mining.

Increase opportunities for participant feedback and create solutions for a deeper experience.

Lessons from Leaders

Consider the following ways these top companies engage their employees:

IBM links participants before and after a formal training event. The company uses its intranet-based "Blue Pages" to help employees connect around business issues.

Sun Microsystems adds to formalized learning and harvests knowledge. The company's open learning exchange called Sun Learning eXchange (SLX) takes advantage of the expertise within the community to gather knowledge.

Southwest Airlines uses social media to foster professional networks. The company uses Twitter to foster communication among employees and customers.

John Deere use communities of practice (CoPs) to drive innovation, efficiency and lifelong learning. Since 2002, the company has facilitated connections among knowledge workers with a network of 300 communities that cover topics from Six Sigma to mergers.

Get Going. Get Wired. Get Social.

Researchers agree that integrating social learning into formal learning strategies represents a major change, but it will not replace all formal learning. Learning professions will still need to create, deliver and manage the learning function. The change means that organizations will be adding to what they already have and moving the infrastructure to support exchanges.

Formalizing informal communication can make employees more efficient and productive, reduce costs, improve sales and increase retention. The best part is that implementing social media is relatively inexpensive.

Social media and its uses are growing and show no signs of stopping. Joining those who are already wired in social media is an essential part of the job of learning professionals today.

Thought for the Day
"A social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations ... the groundswell trend is not a flash in the pan. This is an important, irreversible, completely different way for people to relate to companies and to each other."

--- Charlen Li and Josh Bernoff, Groundswell

Sources:

Vital Learning (2010). Online training seminars

Fyfe, K. (June 2010). Groundbreaking Book Explains the Power of Social Learning for Organizations, ASTD.

Jarche, H. (April 2008). Skills 2.0, T+D.

Lorens, J. (2010). Learning 2.0, The Best of Social & Informal Learning 2007-2009, T+D.

Meister, J. and Willyerd, K. (2010). The 2020 Workplace, HaperCollins Publishers, NY.

Millenials, Portrait of Generation Next: Confident, Connected and Open to Change, Pew Research Center

Nancherla, A. (May 2009). Knowledge Delivered in Any Other Form Is Perhaps Sweeter, T+D.

Paridise, A. (July 2009). Informal Learning: Overlooked or Overhyped? T+D.

Sauve, E. (March 2007). Informal Knowledge Transfer, T+D.

Schramm, J. (June 2010). At Work in a Virtual World, HR Magazine.

Wilkins, D. (April 2009). Learning 2.0 and Workplace Communities, T+D,

Woodill, G. (April 2010). Worldwide Mobile Learning Trends 2010, Brandon Hall Research.

Better Than Mom's Apple Pie

2011-06-21T10:27:00.000-07:00

Summertime means county fairs, and they're in progress now all across the country --- complete with pie contests. To some, there is nothing better than Mom's blue-ribbon-winning apple pie. Just one sweet, buttery bite makes you feel good.

Compare your organization's customer service to Mom's apple pie. Is it better? It can be if your organization has well-trained employees providing winning customer service.

Customer service is an experience so memorable for customers that it can help you retain them, even when your competitors are luring them with lower prices and incentives.

Today's economy is complicated; wooing customers during a recession is even more complicated. Today, people can research businesses via the Internet and social media. The way organizations interact with customers includes multiple channels: telephone, e-mail, text, Twitter, Facebook and other social media vehicles. The extent of customer service can be intense.

What the Research Reveals

Research conducted by McKinsey Inc. indicates that business performance varied the most in industries with high levels of interaction "intensity," such as in the financial services sector. Companies can differentiate themselves from their competitors by improving their ability to interact with customers and prospects through improved service.

A survey conducted by Dr. Jon Anton and Dr. Michael Hoeck, the authors of eBusinessCustomer Service, shows that customers who buy a faulty product but have the problem resolved through "world-class" service are more likely to purchase from that company again than someone who buys a perfect product in the first place. A representative from Forrester Research, Inc., adds that some of the best-performing companies are taking great care to preserve customer service during the recession.

Furthermore, a global survey of 900 executives from 12 countries indicates that barriers exist to customer service, including a lack of trained employees. Two important factors create a superior customer service experience. These include the quality and competence of service employees and their ability to address the problem on the first call or in the first e-mail.

Finally, a U.S. study called "Customer Loyalty: How to Earn It, How to Keep It" concludes that 87 percent of customers feel that companies don't listen to them.

The Importance of Training

Remember Mom's apple pie? We all know it has to be sweet. Think about your organization and the customer service your employees provide. Is it a sweet experience every time?

The key to retaining customers is also your most important asset: well-trained employees. One sour experience can mean the loss of the customer or client. When you consider the lifetime value of a customer, you can't afford to lose even one.

Training employees on the skills to meet customer needs is an ongoing proposition --- especially in today's interaction-heavy environment. Maintaining customer relationships requires listening to the customer's need and acting on it.

Bring Winning Customer Service to Your Organization

Vital Learning's Winning Through Customer Service™ has tested training principles through more than 10 years of product field research. This seminar provides a step-by-step process for conducting successful customer service transactions. It also identifies key competencies for world-class customer service:

Demonstrates professionalism that builds on the ability to work with customers proactively and solve problems.
Introduces essential communication skills, such as listening to understand the customer's needs.
Recognizes individual customer behavioral styles and opportunities to adapt to their personal styles.
Teaches strategies for dealing appropriately with difficult customer situations.

In addition to training, make sure that your employees know what is expected of them. Define clear, attainable goals that are measurable. Employees should also know your organization's policies and procedures for satisfying customer complaints in order to resolve situations more proactively.

Use coaching situations with successful service-oriented employees who can work through and practice real-life situations with new employees. Make these situations a part of the training to customize role-play scenarios to your business. Especially tough situations can become a source of some of the best information for improving service.

Better Than Mom's Apple Pie Service

Customer service occurs at more points of interaction than ever in the sales and service chain. Training employees about customer service can bring positive memorable experiences. High-quality customer service retains customers, expands business relationships, and increases referrals and sales. Sweeten the pie for your customers ... train employees for successful customer interactions.

Thought for the Day

"During tough times there are plenty of other pressures customers face ... We don't want a customer service issue to be what makes them blow their cork."

--- John Venhuizen, ACE

Sources:

Winning Through Customer Service (2010). Vital Learning Corporation
STAR Service (2010). Vital Learning Corporation
Horovitz, J. (April 2009). Leading in Turbulent Times: Managing Your Customers.
Industry Best Practices: Customer Service Challenges and Innovations in the Financial Services and Insurance Sectors (2007). eGain Communications Corporation.
Knowledge Management for Customer Service (2004). eGain Communications Corporation.
Krasovitzky, F. The Difference Between Hearing and Listening to Customers, Customer Service Management.
McGregor, J; McConnon, A.; Kiley, D. (March 2009). Customer Service in a Shrinking Economy, BusinessWeek.
Pophal, L. Ten Tips for Effective Customer Service Training, Customer Service Management
Sprague, B. Customer Service is Crucial in a Downturn, BusinessWeek.

The Ugly Truth About Performance Management

2011-05-17T11:19:00.000-07:00

What's Ugly

"Fewer Americans are satisfied with all aspects of their employment, and no age or income group is immune."

That is according to a Conference Board survey of 5,000 households. Those under age 25 had the highest level of dissatisfaction ever recorded by the survey for that age group. The report shows that dissatisfaction negatively affects employee behavior and retention, and that affects any company's success.

The state of performance management is bleak: A Towers Watson survey of 200 executives at mid- and large-size U.S. companies revealed that only 23 percent have a formal process for talent management. Only 14 percent use metrics to analyze and track their internal talent pools and connect that information with performance data.

Another study by the Corporate Executive Board's Learning and Development round table analyzed survey responses from nearly 20,000 employees and managers. Only 30 to 40 percent of employees said that their managers communicate performance standards and provide fair and accurate feedback in order to help them better do their jobs.

Are Motivation and Satisfaction Really Tied to Performance Management and Development Standards?

Yes. Studies show that managers who improve their effectiveness in employee development by only 20 percent can increase employee performance by about 5 percent. It translates this way: A company with a sales force of 2,000 employees who each average $1 million in annual sales can increase company-wide annual sales by about $100 million.

The widespread realization is that driving better performance depends on effective deployment, development and engagement of a range of people across an organization.

The Gallup Organization initiated a multi-year research project to try to define a workplace where employees were satisfied with their jobs. Using data from 200,000 employees and 36 organizations in 21 industries, five themes emerged: retention, productivity, profitability, customer loyalty and safety.

The study also measured employee desire for learning and growth; understanding the mission and purpose of the company; and leader encouragement for development. Among the elements cited as a key to retaining employees:

Clarify expectations to employees.
Give employees opportunities to focus on their talents and do what they do best.
Provide opportunities for employees to learn and grow.

Jim Trinka, Ph.D. and chief learning officer for the FBI, conducted a study of manager-employee surveys. Focusing on development of others and communication competencies, managers can increase their overall leadership effectiveness by up to 60 percent. Furthermore, of 250 managerial activities, 10 have the most potential for delivering high employee performance. Among these: managers who set clear performance standards.

Trinka's findings show that managers who become more knowledgeable about employee performance and provide fair and accurate feedback on performance strengths can significantly improve individual performance. Discussing weaknesses is also important --- but with the focus on specific suggestions for improvement or development, which improves team member performance.

From the Ugly Duckling to the Beautiful Swan

The following are ways in which organizations can improve performance management.

1. Upper management can set the tone for evolving a culture of development. These members of the organization are good role models. Rather than viewing performance management and development as an expense, consider it an investment that returns dividends in the form of employees who are more committed to the organization and willing to expend the effort necessary to do the job.

2. Create an environment that involves continuous coaching and performance dialogue within work teams. Vital Learning teaches that managers should use positive performance feedback to encourage self-motivation among team members. Another skill for leaders to develop is to encourage and obtain team member participation. Manager-employee relationships improves, day-to-day productivity increases, and individuals and teams offer ideas that result in groundbreaking improvements.

3. Involve employees in a higher purpose. Employees need to understand the organization's mission and vision and clearly comprehend their roles in achieving these. They must see how their work on the job contributes to their performance management. This makes work more meaningful and satisfying.

4. Hold people accountable by establishing clear performance expectations with the goal for employees to contribute to the organization. Another Vital Learning technique teaches leaders to work with employees by developing performance standards that are S.M.A.R.T.-based:

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Results-Oriented
Time-Framed

Employees feel motivated and satisfied if they are delivering on their work promises to the team, the manager and all company stakeholders.

5. Align the performance culture with engagement strategies, job design and reward systems to maximize motivation. Sonoco created a pay-for-performance system that establishes clear links between performance and rewards based on individual and group measurements. Employee satisfaction and engagement improved markedly. In 2005, Sonoco was named by Hewitt Associates as one of the top 20 talent management organizations in the United States.

Final Thoughts

Developing performance management and setting employee development standards may not be completely ugly in your organization. However, even if your skills are good, it is critical to your organization's success that you continually improve whenever possible. With a well-defined approach in these areas, employees will become more committed, engaged and satisfied --- and this results in less stress and greater productivity for everyone.

Thought for the Day

"The secret to high performance and satisfaction --- at work, at school, and at home --- is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world."

--- Daniel H. Pink, Author of

The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

Sources:

Barrington, L., Franco, L (Jan. 2010). Conference Board report on engagement.
Coffman, C. (2000). Is Your Company Bleeding Talent? The Gallup Organization.
Developing Performance Standards (2010). Vital Learning
Fairlie, P. (2010). 10 Ways to Make Work More Meaningful, Workforce Management.
Lockwood, N. et. al (2010). Motivation in Today's Workplace: The Link to Performance, Research Quarterly, SHRM.Schade, J. (2010).
Providing Performance Feedback (2010). Vital Learning.
Towers Watson (Oct. 2009). Managing Talent in Tough Times. A Tipping Point for Talent Management
Trinka, J. (2010). Action Plan to Achieve Breakthrough Improvement in Employee Productivity and Leadership Effectiveness, GovLeaders.org.
Trinka, J. (2009) What's a Manager to Do? GovLeaders.org

Leading Despite Chaos

2011-04-19T11:13:00.000-07:00

During the 9/11 crisis, the world witnessed tremendous courage and collaboration as the United States struggled to remain calm and collected despite the chaos, fear and resulting change. Leaders emerged from all walks of life.

The current global recession has brought about chaos in organizations, and organizations can learn from the way the government has handled crisis situations.

Today, many employees are unhappy at work, and job satisfaction has been on the decline. A recent Gallup report showed that more than 70 percent of employees are actively disengaged. Organizations are struggling to maneuver profitably amid economic uncertainty, and they're trying to find opportunity, retain customers and manage constant change.

According to chaos theory, chaos causes systems and people to function in ways that are often unpredictable and sometimes counter intuitive.

In order to be effective during times of crisis or chaos, leaders must maintain perspective and exercise good judgment. They must be actively committed to optimism and focus on the future.

In organizations, adapting to change during crisis and chaos requires a new kind of leadership that drives a culture of collaboration to understand difficult challenges and discover how to resolve them.

Crisis, Chaos and Change

During times of crisis or chaos, leaders have many choices and opportunities. They can remain frozen in a state of denial, or they can become proactive in their leadership. Although such situations are often painful, proactive leaders see these times as opportunities to make changes that can result in positive outcomes. These leaders guide others with the kind of courage and confidence that inspires them to press on.

Good Judgment and Communication

In their book Judgment, authors Noel M. Tichy and Warren G. Bennis wrote, "If leaders don't make smart judgment calls about the people on their teams, or if they manage them poorly, then there is no way they can set a sound direction and strategy for the enterprise, nor can they effectively deal with crisis."

Tichy and Bennis also wrote that making good judgment calls during crisis requires a leader to have clear values with an ultimate goal in mind. They cite open and effective communication among members of the senior management and the team as key elements, as well as the ability to gather and analyze data and effectively execute strategy.

Lessons From Leaders

Andy Grove was CEO of Intel during the turbulent early years of the computer industry. He wrote a book about his experiences, and in it, he explains that it is imperative for leaders to recognize the moments when basic changes are occurring and act quickly and decisively. As for his ability to keep Intel at the top, Grove credits communicating appropriately when slight changes are on the horizon, as well as responding correctly to crisis situations.

Former head of GE Jack Welch always looked for leaders who had the ability to make tough calls during a crisis by using both cognitive and emotional skills.

Both of these exceptional leaders demonstrate that good leaders spend time figuring out what is critical, frame their communications, and then mobilize and energize the troops.

A Case for Training

A leadership study conducted by the Center for Creative found that approaches to collaboration, crossing boundaries and collective leadership are gaining increasingly more importance than just making the numbers. As organizations face change, they must invest in training their leaders to meet challenges.

Training leaders to manage through change gives an organization greater speed and agility. Effective cross-communication between management and effective communication upward to executive leadership creates a forum for better decisions and increased productivity during the complexity of chaos and change.

Training leaders to communicate openly and effectively during crisis and chaos is essential. Vital Learning's Communicating Up™ seminar teaches skills that many managers and supervisors have never learned:

Understanding the importance of framing all communications with managers
Clearly linking well-thought-out and well-stated objectives with facts that support plans and goals
Moving conversations toward agreement using questions that focus on the benefits gained when the objective is reached

In addition, Vital Learning's Supporting Change™ seminar teaches that leaders must understand and interpret changes that affect team members. Leaders should also be able to accomplish the following:

View change and the anxiety it can cause team members as natural and inevitable
Assist team members as they adjust to change
Mobilize team members in the process of making the change

Train your leaders to lead despite chaos with effective communication that breeds good decisions and the attainment of goals. Then, these leaders will be able to manage through the change in the resulting aftermath of crisis.

Leadership and management styles are changing with the times. Help your organization's leaders become effective so you can not only survive difficult times but also emerge from them successfully.

Thought for the Day

"I think many correct decisions are messed up in execution ... because you've bet on people that you thought could deliver and they couldn't."

---Steve Bennett

Sources:

Communicating Up (2010). Vital Learning
Herman, R. (1995). Turbulence: Challenges and Opportunities in the World of Work. Are You Prepared for the Future? Oakhill Press, Akron, Ohio.
London-Vargas, N. Creating Teamwork in the Midst of Organizational Chaos, Workplace Institute.
Supporting Change (2010). Vital Learning
Tichy, N.M and Bennis, W.G (2007). Judgment: How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls, Penguin Group, New York, New York.
Yip, J.; Ernst, C., and Campbell, M. (2009). Boundary Spanning Relationship, The Center for Creative Leadership.

Keeping the Talent Pipeline Full

2011-03-15T11:03:00.000-07:00

The quest for finding top talent is not just an American phenomenon. Organizations around the globe are seeking top talent in order to remain competitive. This begs the question: Does your organization work to keep fresh talent in its pipeline?

Managing the Talent Pipeline

Despite global economic conditions, the search for talent worldwide is predicted to intensify in the upcoming years. In developed countries, organizations are finding it difficult to recruit and retain skilled workers.

Several factors complicate talent acquisition: aging populations, younger workers who lack skills and experience, the gap between education and the skills organizations need, lack of investment in training, and societal and generational changes in how people want to work are just a few.

A study conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit indicates that companies are implementing talent management strategies to address the following:

Globally, sourcing talent is more competitive in attracting talent.
Organizations expect to experience difficulty in finding talent with the success-driven skills necessary to manage change, think strategically, communicate effectively, and analyze and solve problems.
Talent management should be integrated with business strategy, implemented by business units and supported by HR.
Nontraditional approaches to recruitment will be needed.
Organizations will need to work more collaboratively with educational institutions to develop training programs to develop the skills they need.

Other studies identify an issue with younger generations and their high expectations for on-the-job development. This creates a problem because these workers are more likely to consider leaving if their talents are not developed.

Underscoring the need for talent management is identification of the skills needed in a complex work environment:

Acceptance and management of change
Strategic thinking
Communication and interpersonal skills
Analytic and problem-solving skills
Ability to work in teams collaboratively and virtually
Project management skills
Management skills
Industry knowledge

Is Your Talent Preparing to Leave?

In June 2010, the U.S. government reported that the number of people who quit their jobs for positions at other companies rose to nearly 2 million in April. This signals that many who clung to their jobs out of fear now feel more confident about the job market --- in fact, they feel more confident than they have in a year.

David Adams, vice president of training at Adecco, said, "The hangover is kind of over."This could signal a mass exodus of talent in the post-recession.

Results of a May 2010 Harvard Business Reviewsurvey questioned 20,000 workers identified by their employers as "high-potential." About 25 percent of companies' top performers indicated that they plan to leave their current jobs within a year.

The loss of talented employees can have a damaging effect on organizations because these workers usually possess key skills and knowledge. Moreover, covering a departed employee's work and finding a replacement is expensive.

Leaders and supervisors affect employee retention by influencing factors that lead to an employee's disengagement and disenchantment with the organization. In order to retain winning talent, organizations must leverage both a talent management system and train high-potential leaders to actively work with their best employees.

High-Potential Leadership's Effect on Talent

Teaching leaders effective talent management strategies is one of the most important elements of the approach itself. Organizations must train high-potential leaders to recognize potential in others. The Center for Creative Leadership has found that high-potential employees expect their leaders to recognize their potential, discuss it with them and develop them accordingly. The study states that high-potential employees expect the following:

Visibility and access
Special assignments
Training
Greater responsibility
Promotion and rewards
More opportunities in general
Freedom and flexibility

Leaders should be trained to communicate clearly with high-potential employees about their career paths. Training leaders to coach and delegate appropriately in order to provide talented team members with decision-making autonomy is also key to obtaining and maintaining employee commitment and engagement.

Recent studies have examined the ways in which employees become not only engaged but also embedded in their jobs. High-potential leaders can help high-potential talent by supporting them in community involvement, as well as in professional and community life. These leaders build a more positive team culture and provide more challenging jobs with well-defined career paths. They make team members feel more valued --- and leaving their positions is more difficult when employees have reasons to stay.

More than a Strategy

In today's complex environment, creating a talent management strategy can be tricky. A study in The Harvard Business Reviewindicated that most companies actualize only 63 percent of their strategy value because of lack of planning and execution. This is another indicator of the importance of well-trained leadership with a commitment to the talent plan.

When the recession is over, will your talent pipeline be ready and full? Talk to your Vital Learning training provider today about your strategy and Vital Learning's Hiring Winning Talent™ and Retaining Winning Talent™ programs, two valuable seminars that can help your organization prepare for the days after the recession.

Thought for the Day

"It is not just talent alone that is important...Talent without teamwork is not sufficient."

---Dave Ulrich, Author and Professor of Business Administration

Sources:

Allen, D. (2008). Retaining Talent, SHRM Foundation
Campbell, M. and Smith, R. (2010). High Potential Talent A View from Inside the Leadership Pipeline, Center for Creative Leadership
Hiring Winning Talent (2010). Vital Learning Corporation
Leonard, C and Rugber C. (June 2010). MSNBC.com
Murray, S. (May 2008). Talent wars: The struggle for tomorrow's workforce, The Economist Intelligence Unit
Murray, S. (May 2008). People for growth.The talent challenge inemerging markets
Retaining Winning Talent (2010). Vital Learning Corporation

A-Team Leaders Bring Their A-Game

2011-02-15T10:55:00.000-08:00

An A-Team leader heads a small group of people with unique talents and complementary skills committed to a common purpose and goals. These leaders have an approach that engages team members in producing and holding themselves mutually accountable.

The movie The A-Team is a remake of the television show that ran from 1983 to 1987, the movie has a few variations --- like the characters are Gulf War veterans rather than Vietnam veterans --- but the premise is the same. Although faced with their own challenges, these good guys are on a mission to help others and to succeed.

Although The A-Team movie may be a rugged example of how teams work together, the emphasis for leaders is the capability to build a team and keep it together and functioning optimally.

A-Team Leadership Competencies

If you work with A-Team leaders, you'll notice several proficiencies they all possess:

They create an inspiring culture and provide a clear, shared vision that enables people to achieve more than they dreamed.
They listen to the team's input.
They build trust and share their values.
They make decisions with integrity and reliability.
They are the primary forces behind successful change, which they consider an opportunity.
They use passion and intuition to achieve extraordinary results.
They can mold groups into a team that becomes a force of competitive business advantage.
They know how to influence individuals to function collaboratively, as well as how to motivate them to excel in performance and balance their individuality with others to create synergy.
They help each team member develop into an effective self-leader by providing the tools, training, coaching and incentives needed to help team members exercise and foster their own ability to set priorities and make decisions.
They have a competitive spirit and set an example for others to follow.

Setting the Example

Lessons from Jack Welch, an American Businessman and Author, indicate that great leaders create a vision and help people generate passion about what they do so they become excited about achieving results. These leaders don't micromanage, and they encourage the team's input.

In 1983 or in 2010, it would have been difficult for the leader of the A-Team, Hannibal, to produce the results needed without the ideas and unique talents of each team member. A-Team leadership never goes out of style. Welch says that we must lead by example and master the four E's of leadership: energy, energize, edge and execution.

There Is No 'I' in Team

A-Team leaders are all about the collective results of the team rather than "I." Gen. George Patton said it well: "An army is a team. It lives, eats, sleeps, fights as a team. This individual stuff is a bunch of crap."

What we see in the TV show "The A-Team" and now in the movie is that every member shares in taking responsibility for failures. When tough decisions are made, every team member buys in.

In any organization, success depends on the employees as well as the leaders. A-Team leaders help each of their team member recognize the importance of his or her place on the team, as well as in the company. They help others see that their hard work --- and sometimes sacrifices, during these tough economic times --- are essential to creating solutions and achieving results.

A-Team Leadership Training

Effective training can help managers and supervisors become successful A-Team leaders. Regardless of the method or the intensity of the training, employees perceive it as valuable. Along with coaching, organizations can adopt the necessary leadership competencies and use training packages to build A-Team leaders.

An example of how to customize A-Team leadership training is to cluster training into core training packages, such as those offered by Vital Learning. For example:

Leadership Essentials™ provides 12 core learning solutions that address the typical management challenges leaders deal with every day. This suite includes seminars such asEssential Skills of Leadership™, Essential Skills of Communicating™ and Developing Performance Goals and Standards™.

Leadership Plus™ provides learning solutions designed to build the key strategic capabilities that every A-Team leader needs in order to perform at the highest level. This package includes Leading Successful Projects™, Hiring Winning Talent™, Motivating Team Members™ and Developing and Coaching Others™.

Following Vital Learning's training courses, your employees will have the added bonus of applying for college credit through the University of Phoenix. Ask your training consultant how Vital Learning can help you build A-Team leaders in your organization.

Thought for the Day

"Leaders inspire people with clear visions of how things can be done better."

--- Jack Welch, American Businessman and Author

Sources:

The Leadership Series (2010). Vital Learning Corporation
Bruce, A. (2001). Leaders Start to Finish, American Society of Training and Development.
Lessons from Jack Welch
Sanibel, M. (Dec. 2009). It Takes Leadership, Entrepreneur.

Eight Strategies for Effective Meetings

2011-01-18T10:44:00.000-08:00

We've all been to "those" meetings --- the ones where it seems like nothing is accomplished or where the same old topics are discussed with no resolution. The most productive, effective and engaging meetings require clear objectives, open communication and strong leaders who understand the essentials of communication:

Design clear and concise messages.
Pay attention to nonverbal cues.
Listen to feedback.
Overcome barriers to understanding.

The way in which meetings are conducted to some extent determines an organization's culture. Beneficial meetings are productive, timely, useful and relevant, and they are the result of good leadership.

Case Study: UPS

UPS holds daily pre-work communications meetings at the beginning of every shift. This practice has been part of the company's culture at all of its centers worldwide since 1924. These highly structured meetings last only three minutes, and managers are responsible for delivering important information before drivers start the day.

UPS's meetings help reinforce the company's values on a daily basis, as well as provide relevant information, such as updates about weather and road conditions, safety reminders, and customer service tips. Employee anniversaries are also mentioned during these meetings. UPS has found a formula that works to provide timely information to and elicit feedback from a large workforce.

To Meet or Not to Meet, That Is the Question

Many organizations exhaust and overwhelm employees with meetings. Thanks to e-mail, everyone has at their fingertips the power to invite people to meetings. The problem is that nowadays meetings are often called when informal communication would work better and save everyone time.

According to one university professor, the best way to determine whether a meeting is appropriate and necessary is to find out whether the communication is one-way or if feedback and consensus are needed.

Consensus-building works best face-to-face; thus, a meeting is a good idea in these situations. If, however, feedback and consensus are not required, then an informative e-mail can work just as well.

Strategies for Effective Meeting

1. Plan the Meeting Objectives. If you are leading the meeting, you must know why you are calling it. Clearly write down 10 to 30 words about the purpose and objective of the meeting prior to completing your agenda. Preparing this at least an hour or so before sending the meeting invitation is helpful because you can set it aside and revisit it before you actually send the invitation. By reviewing the information, you perform a "gut check" to determine whether everything still seems necessary and relevant.

Along with the invitation, you should craft an agenda that provides a framework for the meeting length necessary to accomplish the objective. If you hold a regular weekly meeting, then a standard meeting format is also useful.

2.Invite the Right Participants. Invite only those team members who really need to attend to contribute, carry out action plans or make decisions. Including superfluous attendees may slow progress, or they may resent being invited to a meeting that they don't really need to attend.

3. Notify Invitees if They Need to Prepare. Meeting leaders and facilitators should ensure that that participants are informed about any advance preparation required of them or anything they need to bring to the meeting, e.g., reports, records, etc.

4. Start and End on Time. Always respect attendees' time commitments, especially those who are coming from previous meetings or who need to move on to the next meeting. End your meeting a few minutes early, if possible.

5. Preserve Order and Focus. Your organization should have established standard meeting practices or ground rules for meetings, as well as expectations to be followed. Always designate someone to be responsible for taking accurate notes and reviewing minutes with the meeting leader before sending them to meeting participants. Creating a standard format for meeting notes will also prove helpful.
Although conflicts and heated discussions sometimes occur, good leaders keep meeting participants focused on the agenda, give everyone a chance to be heard and redirect topics that need further discussion as action items to be resolved during a separate meeting.

6. Assign Tasks and Obtain Participant Agreement. As soon as consensus is reached on a subject, assign an action item to the person(s) who will be responsible and accountable for it, and be sure to set a deadline for the action item. Then, obtain participants' agreement that they understand and accept what is required of them.

Be aware of nonverbal cues given by participants during consensus, assignments and agreements. Probe and clarify directions so that participants understand what is expected of them and commit to the task. Recap during the last few minutes of the meeting and verify that everyone has the same understanding.

7. Follow up and Check Action-Item Status. Leaders should follow up with participants after the meeting minutes are sent in order to help smooth out any misunderstandings that may have occurred during the meeting. Status checks ensure that action items are on track, questions are answered, unanticipated roadblocks are discovered and better decisions can be made.

8. Keep on Track. Good leaders recognize issues or problems early on, and they attempt to correct such situations, e.g., participant conflict, task completion breakdown, lack of collaboration, etc. Failure to stay on course impedes progress, costs money, and affects delivery and quality.

Attendees and team members often perceive poorly run meetings as a waste of time. Meetings do have a place, and conducting a productive meeting requires that you invite the right people to the right place at the right time to collaborate, make decisions, and set the course for action items and project fulfillment.

Thought for the Day

"It gives them a guide to where you're going. It has a point of view and an action step. You're influencing them toward something, not just informing them."

---Bert Decker, Communications Consultant on Meeting Agendas

Sources:

Essential Skills of Communication, Vital Learning (2010)
Define Goals and Distribute an Agenda, B-NET
Kalvar, S.T. (May 2006). 10 Things You Can Do to Organize and Lead Effective Meetings, Tech Republic Project Management Newsletter.
Let's Be Careful Out There (Case Study), B-NET
Make Every Meeting Matter-or Don't Meet At All, B-NET
Mochal, T. (Jan. 2006). Use Time Wisely With Effective Meeting Management, Tech Republic Project Management Newsletter.

Keeping Cool When Things Go Wrong

2010-12-09T08:36:00.000-08:00

"He dozes off after lunch for 15 minutes in his cubicle."
"Her tattoos are distracting me."
"He rolls his eyes every time I speak."
"It's not fair that she takes all the credit for the team project."

You may hear complaints like these frequently in your workplace. According to a 2009 CareerBuilder national survey of 2,667 hiring managers, unusual complaints are commonplace.

In everyday life, communication breaks down and misunderstandings occur even more frequently in a diverse workplace. The varying perspectives about how to get a job done or directives from the top can become a breeding ground for complaints and conflict.

Effective leaders make it clear to all team members that they want to hear their complaints. Then the leaders deal with the complaints in an even-handed way to resolve the underlying problems. Constructive working relationships are maintained. The workplace remains productive.

Managers and supervisors must deal with three areas in order to keep the workplace cool: managing complaints, mediating conflicts and using discipline effectively. Without training in these areas, leaders are unequipped to handle these situations. Everyday issues become problematic and can explode like a powder keg.

Unresolved complaints and grievances cost an organization time and money. The flip side of this is that well-trained leaders know that complaints, conflicts and effective discipline provide an opportunity for open communication, produce better solutions and keep the workplace productive.

Intervening to Keep the Cool

Whether you work in a large corporation or for a small nonprofit organization, the potential exists for growth and development as a result of a complaints, conflict or discipline. There are four areas of interaction in which a leader may intervene:

Individual or between individuals
Team or groups
Inter-group
Throughout the organization

First, it is important to understand the style differences of individuals. People don't communicate in the same way, and this influences how they react to each other in the workplace. When leaders understand their own styles, they can better understand and value the differences of others. This is a self-awareness practice that leaders can use to articulate clear business goals and keep individuals and teams focused.

According to a global study, "Workplace Conflict and How Businesses Can Harness it to Thrive," 54 percent of U.S. workers, report a better understanding of others after conflict, versus 42 percent of workers globally. Furthermore, forty percent of U.S. workers find that conflict leads to better solutions to workplace problems, comparedwith 31 percent globally.

Leadership training for conflict resolution should focus on four key objectives:

Accept conflict as an inevitable part of all work situations and deal with it in order to maintain individual and team focus and productivity.
Recognize positive and negative impacts of conflicts so that they may be leveraged for all involved.
Recognize the sources of conflict so that they can be resolved fairly, effectively, respectfully and amicably.
Establish a cooperative atmosphere to resolve conflict as they arise.

When Discipline Is Necessary

When team members perform their jobs while keeping with the established standards, they do so out of a sense of self-discipline. Occasionally an employee may lapse, but a reminder from the team leader usually puts the entire team back on track. If a team leader overlooks the situation, then the issue may continue and the team member may not realize that a certain behavior is unacceptable. When the team leader fails to respond altogether, the situation can deteriorate. Co-workers may be watching a bad situation unfold. If it persists, then morale suffers.

The effective team leader approaches the team member on a mature level, presenting the disciplinary matter as a problem to be solved by the team member. Using this communication strategy elicits an adult response and a solution to the problem. The team leader obtains the team member's agreement to solve the problem, evaluate possible solutions and select the best course of action. This works because the team member is committed to, and has responsibility for, maintaining appropriate behavior.

Mediation as a Cool Strategy

Mediation is a strategy to use when issues have progressed without resolution through other means. Mediation involves the voluntary agreement of conflicting parties to consult a neutral third party to help them reach a resolution. Even if no resolution is achieved through the mediation itself, employers can demonstrate that solid steps were taken to investigate and evaluate the problem.

Mediation generally results in a quicker resolution, reduces costs and preserves relationships. Disagreeing parties often are able to resolve the dispute better than a third party issuing a decision. Mediation is particularly useful in addressing the underlying cause of a disagreement so that a resolution can be found and damaged relationships can be healed.

Some Final Tips

Keeping the workplace cool is not always easy. But, it is possible to encourage more harmony in a culture that values issue management. First, train supervisors to communicate more effectively. Train them in conflict-resolution, managing complaints and effective discipline skills. These should be treated as core competencies for leaders. Leaders should also be able to set clear expectations for their teams. Leaders also should have an open door for listening to concerns, and they should know when to intervene.

Contact your Vital Learning representative to learn how to create a training system for your leaders in the area of conflicts, complaints and discipline.

Thought for the Day

"Working relationships are less likely to be damaged when the individuals in dispute listen to each other, share opinions and feelings, and determine their solutions."
--- Jim Hanley, Adjunct professor and Mediator

Sources:
Effective Discipline (2010). Vital Learning
Managing Complaints (2010). Vital Learning
Resolving Conflicts (2010. Vital Learning
Gurchiek, K. (Aug. 2009). Big Hair, Magnetic Personality Among Oddball Co-worker Complaints, SHRM.
Hanley, J. (April 2010). Transformative Mediation, HR Magazine.
Mooney, J. (Jan. 2009). Coaching Can Help Counter Personality Clashes, SHRM.
Wolfinger, P. (Dec. 2008). Workplace Conflicts Differ by Persona and Locale. SHRM

Transforming Your Organization's Culture

2010-11-16T12:01:00.000-08:00

Using training to give your organization's culture a boost for current and prospective employees is imperative for 2010 and the upcoming decade. To remain competitive and increase productivity, businesses must hire and retain high-achieving employees. That's difficult to achieve if your culture has a negative reputation and does not engage employees.

The Disengaged and Dissatisfied

Disengaged employees create a culture of absenteeism, conflicts, turnover, declining work quality, loss of productivity and reduced customer satisfaction. This affects an organization's bottom line with loss of customers, diminished revenue and reduced market share.

In the Conference Board's annual job satisfaction survey, 22 percent of respondents said that they don't expect to be in their current job in a year. John Gibbons, program director of employee engagement research and services, said, "The data throws up a big red flag because the increasing dissatisfaction is not just a 'survivor syndrome' artifact of having coworkers and neighbors laid off in the recession."

Although many leaders consider recruitment and employee retention critical to business, few are actually prepared to address the issues with the appropriate training. A Towers Perrin study of 650,000 employees found that fewer than two out of three believe that management provides a clear business road, down from 1 out of 100 in 2008.

Communication Training: Road Map for a Better Culture

Training leaders for enhanced communication skills improves their ability to provide a clearer picture of what is expected from employees. Providing a roadmap for engagement boosts morale and helps transform the business culture for the better.

Studies show that improving employee morale creates an effective workplace culture regardless of organization size or industry. A Sears study, in conjunction with the University of Michigan Business School, linked employee satisfaction with customer retention. It found that as employee satisfaction improves, so does customer satisfaction, and this can increase quarterly revenue by about 1.6 percent.

So what does improving an organization's culture accomplish? Effective and productive cultures have the following characteristics:

• Effective workplace practices
• Opportunities for two-way communication and feedback about what is and is not working
• Flexibility in the workplace
• Supervisors and managers who treat employees with respect and dignity
• Effective problem-solving and conflict management skills
• Demonstrated value of employees
• Supervisor and co-worker support for employees
• Employee input into management decision-making
• Collaboration between management and employees in deciding schedules, developing customer service protocols and designing solutions for efficient business operations
• Managers who seek to bring out the best in workers by providing training and enrichment opportunities

According to a National Study of the Changing Workforce (NSCW) conducted by the Families and Work Institute (FWI), organizations that adopt effective workplace principles have employees who are more loyal, engaged and productive:

• Eighty-three percent of employees express high levels of job engagement and commitment.
• Eighty-one percent express high levels of job satisfaction.

Preparing Leadership

Driving the imperative for transforming a culture is a multigenerational and highly complicated workforce challenge. Stephen Parker, chief commercial officer of Healthy Companies, said, "Our research indicates widespread uncertanity about the future. Many CEOs will be severly tested in the decade ahead. CEO's are struggling to build trust with their employees."

Research is indicating that mid-level and first-level leaders are lacking in readiness to fulfill workforce challenges. The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) conducted a study called "Understanding the Leadership Gap." Among the competencies identified were the following:

• Building and mending relationships
• Compassion and sensitivity in showing understanding to human needs
• Acting resolutely when dealing with problems
• Being culturally adaptable
• Coaching and encouraging employees to develop their careers
• Inspiring commitment by recognizing and rewarding employees' achievements
• Leading people by directing and motivating them
• Managing change effectively
• Respecting individual differences

By training leaders in these areas, organizations can take the first step in achieving a better culture.

Prescription for Transformation
Vital Learning offers training programs and tools to help organizations get started in building a more positive culture:

• Start with the Leadership Skills Assessment™ to pinpoint the individual training needs of managers and supervisors. This assessment is linked to Vital Learning's Leadership Series™ programs that address critical leadership competencies
• Consider Essential Skills of Leadership™ and Essential Skills of Communicating™ as foundational training.
• Leadership mini-series packages are available to incorporate into training plans.
• Flexibility of both classroom-based and online training formats provides opportunity for creative learning opportunities, such as collaboration and coaching

Moving Beyond the Babble to a Climate of Open Communication

2010-10-26T12:10:00.000-07:00

Leaders are role models, trendsetters, visionaries and voices for change within their organizations. Change is everywhere, and today, there is constant babble about what should be done to improve an organization. But the message is unclear. Employees often don't know why a change is being implemented and how their jobs contribute to the intended result.

Employees want to know the answer to the question, "Why should I care?" They want to know from leaders what the plan is and what the outcome will be.

Most employees rarely learn the reasons for major change initiatives from the top of the organization, and they are not often asked for their input or involvement. Thus, major change becomes disruptive.

The culture becomes cold and unproductive.

Managers should share the organizational vision and explain each employee's role in the company's future. If leaders don't communicate, it shows employees that they don't care about them and that the employees are not a priority. In addition, many leaders are only interested in communicating operational or financial information to employees. Employees become frustrated with leaders who don't listen to them.

At this point, leaders lose their credibility.

Fostering an Engaged Culture With Communication

Curt Coffman, co-author of First, Break All The Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently and Follow This Path: How the World's Greatest Organizations Drive Growth by Unleashing Human Potential, said that when an employee first joins a company they are highly engaged. The first year with an organization is often their best.

Too many times, the jubilation doesn't last. Employees can become unengaged (wait-and-see attitudes, which are neither positive nor negative) or actively disengaged (against everything and sharing unhappiness with others every day). Gallup estimates that actively disengaged employees --- the least productive --- cost the American economy up to $350 billion a year in lost productivity.

Engaged employees consistently perform at high levels, and these are the employees organizations need to keep. To retain this winning talent, organizations must have strong managers capable of building relationships and able to construct clear communication. Furthermore, organizations must be clear about what they expect and ensure that managers or supervisors care about their employees.

How They Do It: Communication Lessons From Leaders

Former U.S. Secretary Colin Powell said, "Optimism is a force multiplier." Leaders should communicate to employees that things can change with outstanding results and that the company will be the best in class.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz likes coffee, of course, but he's also passionate about creating a workplace that treats people with dignity and respect.

Microsoft's leaders created a forum for sharing internal and external communication plans across the business to build a "one-company" approach that preserves the integrity of individual division plans where they are relevant to separate audiences but also enables employees to identify connection points between plans. Through the use of its communication technologies, Microsoft uses a "storytelling" framework that cuts through babble and clutter. Company leaders practice constructing messages that are respectful, essential, professional and unambiguous.

Cisco doesn't describe itself in technical terms; instead, leaders communicate the company as one that changes the way people live, work, play and learn. Employees want to become part of the bigger picture by contributing to the company. Cisco's leaders craft and deliver the company's vision in messages that are concise and specific and that draw on emotions.

One leader at Google holds office hours where anyone can sign up for time to provide feedback on topics or projects.

The Ritz-Carlton holds daily staff meetings where leaders share stories of employees' outstanding service. This is motivational for employees, and creates a positive attitude throughout the workplace.

Delivering on the Communication Promise

Employees are motivated indirectly through leadership and communication. However, research shows that less than half of employees are typically satisfied with communication from senior leaders.

"Leaders strategically use communication to produce enthusiasm and foster an atmosphere of open exchange and support," said James A. Trinka, Ph.D., chief learning officer at the FBI. "They are adept at energizing people to see pathways that get to goals-despite challenging conditions."

Leaders must learn skills to present themselves as principals who communicate well. The following are characteristics of leaders who communicate and deliver effectively:

• Communicate with transparency to show employees they are valued. When you communicate with open lines of dialogue, employees know they are appreciated.
• Deliver praise and provide feedback.
• Be honest. Talk straight. If something is critical, like quality, then say it.
• Be respectful. Don't talk down to employees. Treat them like adults.
• Listen to employee feedback without being reactive.
• Be open. Even during times of crisis, tell employees what they need to know.
• Be timely. Employees shouldn't be the last to know about a change or major company issue or announcement.

Harvard professor John Kottner, said, "First, help the group establish some sensible direction. ... Second, great leaders are all good at getting relevant partners align with, buying into, and believing in the direction they have set. ... Third, is the ability to create conditions that energize and inspire people to get off their fannies."

Vital Learning's Essential Skills of Communicating™ can help organizations build a successful culture, ensuring that managers understand the two-way communication process. During this program, leaders learn the following:

• Design clear, concise and interesting messages
• Manage nonverbal behaviors to reinforce the message
• Listen actively to employees
• Create a climate of open communication for greater employee motivation and engagement

Leadership in Action: Become an Undercover Boss

2010-10-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

The new television show "Undercover Boss" allows the audience to ride along as CEOs pose as frontline employees to find out what things are really like in their own companies. Through the magic of television editing, we see good people working hard for their companies, although sometimes a procedure breaks down here and there. The real story in organizations, however, could prove to be much different.

A new Towers Perrin Global Workforce study, "Closing the Engagement Gap: A Road Map for Driving Superior Business Performance," shows the complex nature of what actually goes on in most organizations.

The study reveals that employees do care about their work, and they want to learn and grow. They also want stability and security, and with the right opportunities and resources, they'll commit to a company. Although these are positive, there is a downside: The global workforce is not as engaged as they must be in order to drive results.

The Current State of the Workplace

The Towers Perrin study shows that four out of 10 employees surveyed said they were either "disenchanted" or "disengaged" --- which means they are not working to their true potential because they don't have any motivational connections to the organization.

Gallup polls spanning 1989 to 2009 show that 85 to 94 percent of respondents said they were completely or somewhat satisfied with their jobs. The Conference Board reports workers' job satisfaction dropped sharply from 1987 to 2009:

• Interest in their work decreased 18.9 percent.
• Job security decreased 16.5 percent.
• Interest in the people at work decreased 11.6 percent.
• Satisfaction with supervisors decreased 9.5 percent.

These results further define the underlying problem growing in the workplace: The growing disconnection for employees and their employer is exacerbated by layoffs, budget cuts and continued uncertainty. Employee confidence in long-term career opportunities has dwindled.

The Towers Perrin study defines engagement as "employees' willingness and ability to contribute to company success" and measures employee engagement based on three dimensions:

• Rational: How well employees understand their roles and responsibilities
• Emotional: How much passion and energy employees bring to their work
• Motivational: How well employees perform in their roles
The engagement gap is the difference between employee effort and the organization's ability to garner this effort from the bulk of the workforce.

Disengaged leaders stand in the way and are unable to recognize the changes needed to align with emerging workforce circumstances. Turning leadership into action requires focused training of an organization's leaders, so they can develop a culture that cares about the employees while understanding the importance of performance.

Author Michael Beer, in his book High Commitment, High Performance Management, indicates six leadership barriers:

• Unclear strategy, priorities and values
• Leaders who have a hands-off leadership style
• Ineffective leadership team that doesn't spend time on strategic and people issues
• Poor coordination and collaboration for value-creating activities, preventing effective execution
• Inadequate leadership development
• Closed vertical communication with employees about values strategies and priorities

Improving the State of Your Organization

Essentially, strong leaders can make a difference in motivating and engaging the workforce. This requires them to go "undercover" to really understand employee's needs, values and motivation, ensuring that they are performing the right tasks in the correct way for the proper business outcomes.

Furthermore, a highly trained and engaged leadership team can shape the work environment and culture aligned with business strategies, goals and priorities. This is what you will find as you close the gap: a better performing organization. Become the undercover boss and train your leaders. Put them in action and close the engagement gap with courses from Vital Learning.

Vital Learning's Essential Skills of Leadership™ online seminar, along with coaching, can help build strong, actionable leaders. Leaders learn to maintain team member self-esteem while managing, evaluating performance, improving work habits and resolving issues. They also learn to listen to employees and involve team members in decision-making and problem-solving to motivate employees.

Improve Customer Care in 2011

2010-09-28T11:34:00.000-07:00

As you start to make plans for 2011, consider making customer care a priority in your organization. Rid your workplace of old employees' poor customer care habits and train new employees the right way.

With the current economy and workforce demographic shift, learning programs must be aligned with business goals and challenges. Customer care should be one of those goals.

The 2010 Major Issues Survey from the Institute for Corporate Productivity illustrates the priority. Nearly 37 percent of respondents indicated that focus on the customer service is an issue to a high extent, and more than 55 percent indicated so to a very high extent. However, high-extent respondents indicated that their companies are only 38.80 percent effective in addressing it, while very-high-extent respondents indicated only 21.71 percent effectiveness.

In a Harris Interactive Study of 2,049 U.S. adults, 80 percent of respondents indicated that they have decided never to return to a company after a bad customer service experience. Customer care is a defining issue for businesses, and to grow, organizations must attract new customers and retain their current customers.

Frustrations with customer care have come into focus during the past 10 years, according to researchers at the University of Iowa. Dozens of studies confirm that today's organizations have less committed workers, have made cuts to customer service operations and have reduced hiring and training. To remain competitive, organizations cannot survive on pricing; they must offer outstanding customer service.

The technology revolution has brought new tools and software for customer relationship management, profiles, trends and customer history. But technology can't solve the fundamental need for trained employees to deliver the following:
· Increased consistency in creating positive memorable customer service experiences
· Increased customer retention
· Expanded business relationships
· Increased customer referrals

How They Do It

American Family Insurance recently turned to its education division to revamp internal training to provide a better customer experience. Agents are now required to attend a thorough training program that prepares them to help customers achieve financial security. The new training focused on performance-based learning, multiple learning styles, interactive hands-on learning and measurement. This has brought positive outcomes, including increased efficiencies and cross-divisional work.

The Walt Disney Company is well known for its superb customer advocacy and service recovery principles. "Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends," said Walt Disney. One of Disney's methods is to solicit knowledge of mistakes and rectify them so the situation becomes better than if no mistake occurred.

Aside from a focus on good merchandise at a reasonable profit, L.L.Bean, Inc., focuses on customer expectations, treating customers like neighbors and, thereby, changing the dynamic of the interaction. L.L. Bean said, "Self practical, tested merchandise at a reasonable profit, treat your customers like human beings and they will always come back."

Put Strategy Into Motion With Training

Giving customers what they want isn't enough; you must anticipate their needs, resolve their complaints and provide service that electrifies them. Preference for products and services goes beyond selection of the product. You want to rid your organization of poor service and become a company of preference by winning customer loyalty. Permanence in the personal relationships that your service employees create brings long-term commitment from your customers. At this point, customers recognize your value proposition.

Creating this sustainable differentiation involves training employees and communicating with them. Your employees must understand that customers are the center of your business.

Vital Learning provides training tools to assist organizations with their resolution to eliminate poor customer service. Winning Through Customer Service is a program designed to help employees to understand their role as a professional within the organization and promotes a problem-solving culture. Employees will learn essential communication skills and behavioral styles that will help them adapt their personal style. In addition, they will identify and utilize a structured process/model for conducting customer service transactions while at the same time mastering strategies for dealing with difficult customers.

Vital Learning's STAR Service is another program designed to improve customer care. It presents four key areas of learning:
S: Sync-up with the customer
T: Target to determine customer needs
A: Assist to meet the customer's needs
R: Reaffirm assistance and the relationship

Vital Learning and its team of affiliate training professionals offer classroom, online and blended learning options that are easily customizable to fit your training strategies. When your employees understand their role in the customer value proposition, your customers will come back.

Thought for the Day

" A sale is not something you pursue, it is something that happens to you while you are immersed in serving the customer."
---Author Unknown

Sources:

McCauley, L. (Dec. 2007). How May I Help You? Fast Company.com
Hartley, D. (Feb. 2009). Customer Satisfaction Through Training. Chief Learning Officer Media.com.
University of Iowa News Release. UI Business Professor Studies Lousy Customer Service (Nov. 2006).
Winning Through Customer Service (2010). Vital Learning Corporation
STAR Service (2010). Vital Learning Corporation
Preliminary Survey Results 2010 Major Issues. Institute for Corporate Productivity.

Retaining Top Talent in 2010 and Beyond

2010-09-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

If retaining talent is not high on your list of concerns in 2010, then it should be. We're half way through year, and to remain competitive, your organization must retain its truly talented people.
Some executives might think that with the current economy and high unemployment rate there's no need to worry about employee retention. This line of thinking brings a false sense of security.

The U.S. Labor Department recently reported that the unemployment rate dropped to 10 percent in November and December from 10.2 percent in October. Momentum to pass a new spending package for jobs may offer a fresh view of whether the 15.4 million unemployed people in the United States will start to land the jobs they have so desperately been seeking.

As the nation's job outlook improves, a 2009 Monster.com study of 1,600 workers reveals how the recession affects employee loyalty. Forty-three percent of those surveyed indicated some or significant decrease in loyalty toward their employers. This is a sign that employees may leave their current organizations.

The trend toward the decline in job satisfaction has been occurring for decades, and it may be accelerating. According to Monster.com, employers may be experiencing the "early warning signs of the pain to come" should they fail to manage talent effectively during the current recession. As workplace trends from the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) indicate, no aspect of the economy looks more precarious than the job market.

Two Sides to the Issue

Now is a difficult time for businesses, what with the economically driven burn of layoffs and downsizing along with the need to retain the most talented. Most team leaders are unaware of the total disruptive and financial impact the loss of a valued team member can cause. A key team member may be considering leaving three to six months before actually resigning. In the meantime, the employee's productivity and morale often decline. Some employers may have had to lay off employees and discover that they let go of too many. In this case, productivity and customer service also decline.

Cases in Point

One technical organization in California's Silicon Valley estimates that when just one team member leaves, it costs the company an average of $95,000.

Consider a national sales organization that must make up for millions of dollars in lost revenue due to losing a talented rep.

In health care, retaining talent is paramount. Over the next five years, hospital boards and senior executives face new and different workforce challenges, resulting in dramatic shifts in technology, demographics and economics. These organizations will need to allocate more resources to retain existing employees. The alternative is spending more on recruiting costs to replace employees who have already developed highly valued skills.

Facing an aging workforce, a skill labor shortage and changing demographics, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, a national federation of 39 independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurance companies, began offering a variety of training and professional development opportunities to older workers to extend their engagement. The goal was retain the most skilled and valuable workers and to better equip them to supervise a changing workforce. The result is that many employees now plan to work for the association well past their retirement years.

Washington, D.C., is a marketplace ripe with talent but one drawing on the same talent pool, offering a variety of high-paying public- and private-sector jobs. George Mason University recreated its culture to retain its talented by appealing to workers of all ages, to keep the educational institution's employee satisfaction high and turnover low. Among the strategies implemented were knowledge transfer programs to help with on-boarding employees.

A Time for Creative Culture

According to Sylvia Ann Hewlett, author, economist and founder of the Center for Work-Life Policy in New York City, in a tough economy, business leaders have greater opportunities to attract, retain, support and engage top talent.

Aside from a huge paycheck, leadership can improve employee satisfaction through flexible work arrangements and re-creation of pride and purpose through volunteerism. However, the most important reason talented people love their jobs, Hewlett said, is because of career development and important assignments that expand their skills and networks.

Retention Strategies Tailored to Your Organization
The factors influencing your talent retention may be similar to those at other organizations, b ut you must tailor your retention program to your organization and industry. The keys to this are creating retention strategies and ensuring that your leaders are responsible for tracking turnover. Companies must continue to invest in leaders; their skills can directly affect the bottom line and employee retention.

Can your organization's leaders identify the visible and hidden costs of losing its top talent, including productivity, missed deadlines, waning morale and poor customer service?

Vital Learning offers Retaining Winning Talent, an eight-hour workshop focusing on team leaders and their effect on the retention of key team members. The workshop teaches leaders to implement a retention action plan designed to increase retention for the entire team.

This program teaches leaders the following:

• Understand the scope, severity and cost of attrition
• Determine the risk of attrition for each team member
• Identify which retention factors motivate each team member
• Increase each team member's engagement and commitment

Don't wait to find out if you are facing a serious staffing shortage when the economy recovers. Develop strategies now to improve your organization's ability to retain its most important asset: top talent.

Thought for the Day

"It's absolutely clear that the reason people stay in jobs are the relationships that they have --- primarily with their supervisors."
---Irving Stackpole, President, Health Care Consulting Firm

Sources:
Retaining Winning Talent (2009). Vital Learning Corporation
AARP Outreach & Service (Feb. 2009). Age Friendly Work Culture Best Practice George Mason University, AARP.org
AARP Outreach & Service (Feb. 2009). Training and Development Best Practice Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. AARP.org
Bauer, J. C. and Flannery, T.P. (Dec. 2009). Strategies for the Hospital Workforce of 2010, Trustee Magazine.com.
CNN Money.com (Dec. 2009). Market Snapshot: U.S. Stocks to Get Another Run At Jobs and Retail.
Hewlett, S. (Dec. 2009). Creative, Recessionary Rewards, HR Magazine.
Kursmaker, L. (2009). What Do Good Employees Leave? Monster
Monster.com (2009). How Loyal Are your Employees?
Stinson, J. (Dec. 2009). Nation's jobs outlook improves. Democrat and Chronicle.com
Ware, L. (2009). The Challenge of Retaining Winning Talent: The Workforce Attrition Crisis,Integral Talent Systems, Inc.

Essential Communication Leads to Employee Engagement

2010-09-07T11:30:00.000-07:00

If you were to create a formula for productivity it might look something like this:

ESC + EE = P

Or in more elaborate terms:

Essential Skills of Communicating + Employee Engagement = Productivity

A new study from the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) on the subject of corporate productivity and engagement indicates that higher-performing companies are more likely to involve employees in the process of cost-cutting measures. In these uncertain economic times, it is more important than ever to keep employees involved in critical company issues. Communication plus talent management programs supports forward focus and engagement for the future.

The same study showed that 91 percent of higher-performing companies point to communication at the top as a way to reduce turnover.

One way to define employee engagement is to consider an employee's connection to the work, the organization, the leaders, the customers, performance and results. Engaged employees stay with their employers, have higher levels of job satisfaction and make significant contributions. Employee engagement is not a "nice-to-have"; it's an essential requirement to achieve organizational results.

A Glimpse at the Disengaged

Roger is a midlevel manager at a software sales organization. He heads up a team of salespeople and spends his day communicating with his staff by e-mail, even though they are only a few steps outside his door. Roger's main focus is sales, which are down. In addition, the company is suffering financially. Roger has been told that budget cuts, including staff, are likely. He is worried about his own job and is wholly focused on crunching the numbers and figuring out who he might let go to make his numbers look better.

Roger's team spends the day wondering why he isn't telling them what is going on. They've talked among themselves and have some ideas about customer focus groups to help re-energize their sales territories. Two people have scheduled time with Roger this week to share their ideas, but, for the second week in a row, Roger has cancelled because he doesn't have enough time. The team is deflated. They are worried, too, but at this point, they are not sure that talking to Roger will do any good.

What Could Have Been

If Roger had only come out of his office to talk to his team, he might have prevented the members from becoming disengaged. The fact is, employees are better able to deal with company downturns if they know what is going on.

Poor managers fail to communicate. They fail to involve employees in solutions. And because they aren't communicating well, they aren't listening to employees' needs, concerns or ideas.

Good managers share clear strategy and vision. They engage their team in discovering solutions, so employees feel as though they have a stake in making things better. Good managers have a relationship with their bosses, and they want to go the extra mile. They care about their bosses and the organization, and they are armed with the belief that they can make a difference.

Numerous studies indicate that engaged employees work harder to achieve within the organization, and they speak positively about their companies. In the process, they also please customers and are more productive.

One of the Most Important Steps You Can Take

If you are considering where and how to focus your training programs, you should know that choosing to develop managers and supervisors in the area of communication is one of the most crucial steps you can take.

Many managers have never developed skills to deliver clear, concise messages focused on the needs and interests of the listener. These are skills that improve their relationships with individual team members.

In addition to constructing clear messages, Vital Learning's Essential Skills of Communicating teaches managers and team leaders to the following essential skills:

• Communicate with a two-way process.
• Manage nonverbal behaviors to reinforce the intent of the messages.
• Listen actively.
• Create a climate of open communication, which increases team members' motivation and commitment.

The foundation of good communication in organizations rests in managers and supervisors who are open and support an environment that encourages the free exchange of transparent, honest communication. Such managers are able to reflect, probe, support and advise their employees. In return, your employees will respond and become more engaged, happy and productive. Get your managers involved in the essential skills.

Good Leader, Bad Leader

2010-08-24T11:17:00.000-07:00

Like the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch of the North in L. Frank Baum's book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , written in 1900, good bosses and bad bosses represent two ends of the spectrum in personality and deed. Some things never change.

It is possible, however, for people to hone their skills and become better leaders through self-understanding and training. One of management's roles is to provide opportunity for employees to learn from others who lead by example, thereby preparing themselves for professional growth. Good leaders create high-performing and high-producing teams. They also create safe and congenial work environments.

The Bad Leader

Poor leadership is prevalent in both the private and public sectors. In her book, Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, Why It Matters, Barbara Kellerman defines seven types of bad leaders:

• Incompetent
• Rigid
• Intemperate
• Callous
• Corrupt
• Insular
• Evil

The paramount nature of poor leadership, Kellerman points out, is compounded by poor followers. These are people who fall into a pattern of bad habits, which they model from their bosses. Thus, disharmony erupts in the organization, eventually leading to financial and productivity challenges as well as public scrutiny.

Poor leadership is ultimately expensive. It diminishes employee morale, and employees feel less commitment to the organization and its mission. They disengage from the business - and then they leave.

It has always been difficult for me to understand why poor leaders can't see that bullying, constant criticism and lack of praise for the team does not motivate anyone to do anything extra. Why would anyone feel eager to work harder under such leadership?

According to a 2000 study, reported in the Harvard Business Review, leadership affects six key indicators of the organization's working environment:

• Flexibility and freedom to innovate
• Sense of responsibility
• Level of standards
• Sense of accuracy about performance feedback and rewards
• Clarity of employee mission and values
• Degree of commitment to a common purpose
Considering these indicators, you can understand the effect that poor leaders have on employees and the business.

The Good Leader

In searching for the qualities of a good leader, we could discuss many qualities and topics. Leadership is a hot issue on millions of Web sites that currently include the keyword "leadership."

Many managers w ill never develop into good leaders. Others will. Good leaders are often prominent within the organization; others are quietly on the fringe but are, nonetheless, great leaders.

Harvard Business School professor Joe Badaracco said, "There are lots of people who look and act like managers, who have excellent managerial skills, and who don't make a lot of noise. Nobody is writing cover stories about them. But after they have been in an organization for a period of time, things are significantly better."

Former GE CEO, Jack Welch identified eight characteristics of good leadership:

• Leaders relentlessly upgrade their teams, using every encounter as an opportunity to evaluate, coach and build self-confidence.
• Leaders make sure people not only see the vision, but they also live and breathe it.
• Leaders get into everyone's skin, exuding positive energy and optimism.
• Leaders establish trust with candor, transparency and credit.
• Leaders have the courage to make unpopular decisions and gut calls.
• Leaders probe and push with a curiosity that borders on skepticism, making sure their questions are answered with action.
• Leaders inspire risk-taking and learning by setting the example.
• Leaders celebrate.

Making the most of leadership requires that you put the right people in the right place at the right time. It also means evaluating whether an employee has the right qualities and skills for leadership.

Organizations need to learn to measure the qualities and skills of their leaders. In addition, they must build an environment that encourages and develops good leadership skills through training.
The Right Training Tools

Vital Learning offers tools for leadership assessment that allow you to pinpoint individual training needs. One leader might be great in coaching but may have only a cursory understanding of overall leadership. Identifying these needs helps you pinpoint training and tailor it to your employees, so it is focused and relevant.

Vital Learning's Essential Skills of Leadership, for example, teaches participants the following skills:

• Maintain team member self-esteem
• Focus on behavior
• Encourage team member participation
• Listen to motivate
• Good leaders are who you need to drive and support your organization. Helping to develop their skills is essential.

Optimize Your Organization With Coaching

2010-08-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

Today's workforce is a volatile workforce. With dynamic diversity, a changing business environment and implementation of ways to re-energize a stressed employee-base, it's time to optimize your workforce.

Organizations must use creativity to resolve current issues while remaining productive and profitable. The way to change employee behavior and improve performance is to develop and coach them.

The Current Job Market

Although some sectors, such as manufacturing and services, expect modest employment gains for 2010, workplace forecasters indicate that recruiting is still difficult, and new-hire compensation rates remain down. The market is still tough for job seekers.

Survivors Need Coaching

What is happening in the workforce today is similar to what happens when a mass layoff occurs in an organization. Workers who remain have "survivor's syndrome" --- they likely feel lucky to have a job, yet at the same time feel bad that others have lost theirs.

At the same time, the tight labor market means that the survivors are probably doing much more work than before the layoff, absorbing the work of others. They are expected to perform better in order to help meet rising demands as the organization strives to remain competitive.

In addition to feeling the need to perform well, many workers may start to feel trapped under the current stress. Burnout and apathy ensue. Productivity wanes.

To combat this situation, employers need to provide training and coaching to optimize what employees' skills and talents and help them become more successful and productive.

Train Them, Then Coach Them

Today's work environment requires employees to use their full spectrum of talents. One way to encourage this is to make sure that your organization is still investing in training. Maximizing training also depends on senior managers' skills in coaching the supervisors they oversee. In addition, other managers and supervisors need to be trained on the same coaching skills in order to transform their teams into successful, productive members of the organization.

Managers who are effectively involved in the growth and development of their employees spark changes in behavior. In a positive and productive environment they practice the following:

• Provide continuous support and coaching for the development of their employees
• Ensure positive experiences before, during and after each element of employee training
• Handle "coaching moments" effectively, so employees are motivated to learn and teach themselves new things

Vital Learning's Developing and Coaching Others program teaches managers, team leaders and supervisors the essential elements of coaching their employees. This program teaches them how to achieve the following:

• Increase every team member's skills and capabilities.
• Handle coaching moments effectively, so team members make learning decisions themselves.
• Maximize on-the-job behavior change that results from training and development.
• Develop a work environment that encourages growth and development.

When these things occur, employees feel empowered instead of oppressed; they feel transformed and energized through training and supported in their jobs through coaching. Your workforce becomes optimized.

When the job market changes, you'll want to ensure that you retain your best employees. Thus, coaching them through these tough times is essential. Let Vital Learning show you how.

Training Needs Assessment: The Doctor Is In

2010-07-27T11:07:00.000-07:00

If you could wave a magic wand and give all your people the training they need so they would be performing at peak levels, then that would truly be a magical experience. It isn't, however, the reality. Nevertheless, you use assessment to pinpoint employees' training needs and devise personalized training to them.

For training to be effective, it must be meaningful to the student. The content must resonate with the individual and move him or her further along in career experience and job performance.
According to a Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) white paper, "The results of the needs assessment allow the training manager to set the training objectives by answering two very basic questions: who, if anyone, needs training, and what training is needed?"

The Right Prescription Can Cure What Ails Your Organization

Using a simple tool, you can become the training doctor, able to diagnose employees' training needs and identify and prescribe the cure. After performing a training needs assessment, you can prioritize training based on critical needs. Assessment allows you to determine the number of employees who need a specific type of training, and it helps you determine how to best use your available resources to enhance performance.

The Aches and Pains of Today's Changing Workforce

Providing the right training for managers, supervisors and team leaders is essential to every organization during these challenging times. Identifying areas of strength and growth can improve management in the following ways:

• Leading and developing teams
• Communicating more effectively with an increasingly diverse workforce
• Setting and achieving goals
• Resolving issues

By assessing training needs promptly, you can reduce difficulties in your organization, save time, reduce costs and build a culture that supports training wisely.

Diagnosis Helps Achieve Business Objectives and Goals
Human capital is the most important asset of every organization. Identifying whether leaders possess the skills necessary to lead that capital should be one of the training organization's most important tasks. Training needs assessment also serves to stimulate employees' awareness of their own areas for development. Identifying the gaps and then focusing the training to close those gaps can move your organization closer to fulfilling business objectives and goals.

The New Cure for Leadership
Vital Learning recently introduced the Leadership Skills Needs Assessment to help organizations identify the areas in which employees need training. The assessment's results are based on each employee's self-perception, and the assessment process evaluates certain areas focused on the essentials of leadership and beyond.

This easy, interactive assessment process provides each individual with a development plan that indicates the relative priority of the recommended courses. Combined with the power of Vital Learning's Leadership Essential Series and Leadership Plus Series, you can easily prescribe pinpointed training for any employee, leading to greater performance throughout the organization.

Examine the Vital Learning Leadership Skills Assessment by clicking on this link. It will take you to a brief contact information form, and then off you go!

Leadership Training: Not the Same Old Highway

2010-07-13T11:00:00.000-07:00

Your leadership talent is critical to your organization's success. During tough economic times, reaching goals and outpacing the competition is especially crucial. In 2010, the essential move for training divisions is to transform and change in order to keep up with the times. It's not the same old highway.

Investing wisely in new and existing supervisors requires focus on what is happening on the frontline and on the individual needs of that talent. According to Training + Development Magazine, three essential components for training in the New Year include organizational, analytical and interpersonal focus.

Harvard Business School professor and author Michael Beer says that CEOs who recognize the need to achieve "sustained high commitment from all stakeholders," recognize the value of high commitment, high performance (HCHP), and their organizations will stand out among others because of long periods of excellence. Beer points to firms like Southwest, Johnson & Johnson, Hewlett Packard and Toyota as leaders in excellence. Achieving commitment and performance is attainable in any industry; however, most companies haven't reached the HCHP club.

The differentiator, Beer says, is that these companies sustain performance because they achieve three goals:

• Performance Alignment: Organizational design, business processes, goals and measures, and capabilities targeted for a winning strategy.
• Psychological Alignment: Leadership toward a higher purpose, challenging work and making a difference. Human resource management policies and practices geared toward leadership "managing with heart."
• Capacity for Learning and Change: Honest communication at all levels about anything that is a roadblock for meeting goals. Creating a performing organization that equally values a strong learning system and a strong culture.

A Case for Changing What Highway Your Supervisors Are On

Consider this scenario: Ron works for a pharmaceutical company in Indiana. He's been with the company for five years as a sales representative. Six months ago, Ron was promoted to sales manager and relocated to the home office in New York. Upper management's rationale was that his success in the field would make him a top manager who would increase the productivity of three other regional teams.

It hasn't taken long for upper management to realize that Ron isn't the manager they'd hoped for. It took Ron's staff only a few months to come to the same conclusion. What went wrong?

Success depends on leaders who can create common purpose, identify opportunities and new markets, and motivate and engage their teams.

Ron is a great salesperson, but he is not a great communicator. He failed to articulate his vision to the regional teams and to involve them in the process. He managed by fear, setting unrealistic goals without input from his team. He sent a message in a memo, "If you don't like the goals, then consider looking elsewhere for a job."

It doesn't take long, either, for today's diverse employees to recognize a poor manager. Some of the company's top salespeople have already left the organization. Ron's heavy hand was his own style and did not reflect the values of the organization. As a result, the regional teams have missed their sales goals two quarters in a row. Ron has blamed the teams for poor performance, and he raised goals again without team input.

Innovation for a New Highway

Upper management at the pharmaceutical company is looking to replace Ron, but the damage is done. Having a great person from the field doesn't always translate to great leadership. The truth is that this situation is not only Ron's fault. This has been a pattern in this company for over a year.

The company has stalled along the highway. Due to the economy the company chose to drop its leadership training program and suspended other training programs, citing a lack of time and resources.

What the company should be doing is practicing innovation and transformation to boost its training division. Ron, and others like him, could have become a better leader if assessment and training had been in place to pinpoint needs for the following:

• Fundamental management and communication skills
• Goal-setting and performance standards skills
• Motivation for productivity skills
• Coaching skills

Time and resources need not be the fallback issues anymore. Today's technology provides innovative training options with blended learning with online training. In addition, asking seasoned leaders or team members to mentor junior leaders and staff through collaborative communication spaces, such as online portals, e-mail, webinars and online corporate communities, can give employees the precise training they need, when they need it.

These solutions can be transformational and cost effective, turning lackluster performance into leadership and teams focused on business processes. Realistic and relevant goals and measures as well as capabilities targeted for a winning strategy are within reach.

According to a study by Jim Trinka, Ph.D. and chief learning officer for the FBI, focusing on developing others and their communication competencies can increase overall leadership effectiveness by 50 to 60 percent.

Study evidence supports the establishment of a performance-managed organizational culture - not from a command and control perspective but rather one that involves a coaching environment and conscious attempts at continuous dialogue within work teams to achieve a balance between driving for results and interpersonal skills.

Transforming Training in 2010

Vital Learning's innovative training tools can put your organization's training on the new highway to optimize learning and maximize your return-on-investment (ROI). Armed with assessment, online programs and training strategies through its affiliate network of professionals, Vital Learning can help you transform your organization with sustainable leadership.

Boosting Business With Communication

2010-06-29T10:42:00.000-07:00

Social media is rapidly changing, challenging the way the world communicates. In corporations, we are seeing many more team and project collaborations, which alters the expectations of employees and customers as the new culture of social media entwines with traditional business communication. Books like The Conversational Corporation: How Social Media Is Changing the Enterprise provide insight into the social media phenomenon.

While keeping pace with the evolution of social media, many organizations have also spent time teaching their employees about the communication dynamics of a diverse workforce. Management is taught to recognize that no two workers are alike. Companies that practice one-on-one management are discovering the value of learning about the communication styles of their team members to understand what motivates them. For many employees, this effort by supervisors helps them become more productive.

The bottom line is this: Communication, which is constantly evolving, is crucial to businesses.

Over the decades, researchers have consistently cited communication as one of the most critical skills for managers to possess. Some studies indicate that managers spend 75 to 80 percent of their time engaged in written and verbal communication. Add to that today's engagement with social media, such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, and you see more emphasis on traditional "soft" skills that provide new and core links in business functions.

The Importance of Communication

Communication is important for three major reasons:

First, ineffective communication becomes expensive. Messages that have no clear objective lead to confusion or missing the mark, failing to win understanding on the part of the listener or reader. This lack of understanding of or sensitivity to how the message will be received can lead to poor reception of the message. Time is wasted and projects can fail. Customers may not receive proper customer service.

Second, today's business environment is increasingly complex, which makes communication that much more important. Diverse and participatory workforces require managers to build trust, promote understanding, remove barriers and encourage feedback. Furthermore, flatter organizations mean that supervisors are communicating with many people over whom they have no formal control. This requires you to break down complexities through effective listening: You must learn to probe, reflect, support and advise in order to communicate effectively.

Finally, the world's economy is increasingly global and competitive, and currently sluggish. Business is even more challenged, stretched and stressed. Every customer touch point, every negotiation, every purchase and sale, joint venture, adaptation, and product delivery involves communication. Thus, messages should be well designed, clear and concise. They should also avoid complex or pompous language, be logically organized and be directed at the receiver's interests. This breaks down barriers to understanding.

A key element to today's communication is building a base of hope and trust among employees. Supervisors who are trained properly build the kind of culture that facilitates productivity and reflects good communication. In turn, employees interact more effectively with internal and external customers.

The following list of "Leadership Tenets of Hope and Trust" presents the fundamentals of what businesses need and what employees expect today:

• Respect and honor others
• Be aware of what you say and how you say it.
• Practice what you preach, and do what you say you're going to do.
• Be true to yourself. Be authentic. Don't hop the fence for popularity.
• Listen and appreciate another person's point of view.
• Avoid using put-downs and zingers.
• Look for the good and reward the positive.
• Appreciate others' uniqueness. Embrace diversity and cultural differences.
• Acknowledge that hope and trust go two ways.
• Don't be afraid to show your human side and acknowledge your mistakes.

This sounds pretty simple, but if your supervisors aren't communicating effectively, then your workforce could be suffering at a time when it needs to be soaring.

Uncover the Essential Skills of Communicating

Vital Learning has debuted a new cover for its Essential Skills of Communicating program, and the redesigned cover reflects today's business environment. This program has been taught to millions of supervisors worldwide, and it is a staple of training for many organizations. The program is available in classroom, online and blended (online and classroom) formats, and it teaches managers the following:

• How to design clear, concise messages
• How to look for nonverbal clues
• How to listen to communicate
• How to overcome barriers to understanding

Only you and your training professionals can improve the skills of your supervisors, managers and team leaders. This program is easily customizable with current communication scenarios typical in your organization. The Essential Skills of Communicating can give your organization real communication skills for real-life business issues. Give your employees what they need now and re-energize your workforce with communication that is trusted, appreciated and authentic.

Build a 'High-Five' Culture Through Motivation

2010-06-22T10:36:00.000-07:00

When was the last time you asked your employees what they want and need in order to be productive?

Mitch McCrimmon, Ph.D. and author of Burn! 7 Leadership Myths in Ashes, suggests that the basic principle of employee motivation centers around individuals doing what they enjoy. Managers and team leaders should spend more time with employees to discuss what they enjoy doing, what they want or need to learn, and what gives them satisfaction at work.

Wouldn't that make your employees feel like they'd just been given a great big high five?

Asking employees these questions shows that you care about them. Some areas in which supervisors and managers can improve to generate a high-five culture include the following:

• Creating a sense of fairness and treating employees with respect
• Rewarding behaviors you want to see demonstrated more often.
• Showing that you value employee contributions.
• Challenging employees to keep them engaged and foster their learning.
• Collaborating with employees to solve issues.

No two employees are alike. Therefore, supervisors must uncover keys to what motivates each employee. Stop and think about what motivates you. If your own boss shows an interest in you, doesn't that make you feel great? When was the last time you felt like your boss had just given you a boost --- that high five?

Spending time on motivation is a small effort that results in a big outcome:
• Employees are happy and productive at work.
• Employees are motivated to think outside the box and develop new solutions.
• Employees serve each other and the customer well.
• The workforce focuses on mission and goals, not how badly they feel they are treated.

Energize Employee Belief to Grow Your Business

Former General Electric CEO Jack Welch advises energizing employees by helping them believe in the company's mission and understand how to achieve it. Motivation starts by engaging individuals and communicating effectively with them, as well as understanding their needs and what they need in order to enhance their performance. Then, when performance improves or an outstanding achievement is made, you recognize it. High five!

Having a motivated workforce and building a culture that fosters mutual trust and respect creates a foundation for employees to perform their work at levels expected. After all, employees are any organization's most important assets.

"For companies like us," an IT firm CEO said, "if employees perform their work with expertise and timeliness and provide good customer service, the employer will retain their customers, grow their business with them and get referrals based on their relationship with them."

Creating a Motivated, High-Five Culture

A highly motivated workforce starts with training supervisors and managers to understand the importance of motivation through self-assessment so that they can motivate team members.

Vital Learning's Motivating Team Members is a program that uses skill practice to build confidence and competence in motivational practices. Four stages of the process influence team members to perform a task while creating a work environment that motivates higher performance.

Motivating Team Members focuses on the following objectives:

1. Improving team member performance.
2. Understanding the factors that motivate team members to perform effectively.
3. Understanding individual differences in what motivates team members.
4. Distinguishing between motivation and dissatisfaction.
5. Creating a work environment for each team member that will motivate higher performance.

Your local Vital Learning training professional can help you implement a program that shows supervisors and managers how to identify what motivates each employee on the team, celebrate their positive accomplishments, involve them in ways to enhance performance, respond to their suggestions, and agree on the next steps and ongoing review.

Start creating your high-five culture today!

Motivated employees = engagement, productivity and high performance.

Coping With Change and Uncertainty

2010-06-15T10:08:00.000-07:00

Albert Einstein said, "The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax." So it is: tax time. You know, the only things certain in life are death and taxes.

We are experiencing a time of change and uncertainty in the workforce. Companies are cutting costs, laying off employees, freezing salaries and reducing pay raises. Companies are no longer able to stay on a steady course, and that is affecting employee morale and productivity.

The Workforce Amid Change and Uncertainty

Layoffs can often be counterproductive and lead to more turnover, creating anxiety among the "survivors." Productivity suffers. Thus, the roles of human resources and training professionals are important in realigning workforce strategies.

According to the Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM) 2008 survey report "HR's Evolving Role in Organizations and Its Impact on Business Strategy," the following are the top three HR areas critical for the support of organizations:

• Staffing, employment and recruitment
• Training and development
• Employee benefits

At the same time, reports reveal that employee job satisfaction centers around things like job security, communication between employees and senior management, and opportunities to use skills and abilities.

Some leaders may decide to reduce training and development as a part of their cost-cutting strategies, thinking that training is unimportant. Training, however, is one of the things that employees need in order to feel valued and productive. Some leaders may also have a false sense of security that their best employees will not consider changing jobs during a recession.

According to a recent national survey of 1,098 working Americans, 26 percent said they would look for a new job in 2009. Thirty-seven percent said the major reason they would look for a different job is money; 19 percent fear layoff; and for 11 percent, the grass is greener on the other side. Although this survey indicates that many workers are still happy in their jobs, even 26 percent looking to leave a job is an issue if your best workers are planning to leave.

Case Study

Marisol is a midlevel customer service manager who has consistently received high performance appraisals. She is working harder than ever and working longer hours. Recently, a mandatory layoff forced Marisol to eliminate two of her team members. Her staff is reeling from the loss and struggling to fill the gap. Customer service is slipping.

Marisol has asked for leadership training, as she believes it will help her better communicate changes. The company denied her request because Marisol's VP said the company is too busy right now. The VP also told her that if she doesn't improve her team's productivity, her performance review will be affected. Marisol feels as though her company no longer views her as a top performer.

She decides to check out jobs available online, and she is surprised to find several openings in which she is interested. She applies for three jobs, and a week and half later she receives a call to interview.

Marisol ends up leaving her company and rationalizes that she is going to a job where she feels wanted. The new company promises training, and she feels more secure in her decision.

Result: Turning over even one employee can cost about one-half of an hourly worker's annual wages and benefits. Losing a member of middle or upper management can cost three to five times his/her annual salary and benefits. Average turnover in organizations is 25 percent, so you can see how this adds up. Add in the cost of recruiting and hiring, and ... well, you get the picture.

If you are a leader, considering training now is one of your best strategies.

Training and Communicating Change

Studies show that lack of or poorly communicated information leads to distrust, dissatisfaction, disengagement, and increased and unwanted turnover. Watson Wyatt's 2007/2008 Communication ROI Study reveals that organizations that communicate effectively are four times more likely to report high levels of engagement than those that do not.

Vital Learning's Supervision Series offers a number of courses to train your managers and supervisors to handle these times of change and uncertainty, leading to a happier more successful workforce. For example, Supporting Change teaches participants the following:

• Understand that the anxiety that change causes is inevitable and can be dealt with through effective leadership.
• Understand the importance of planning change carefully to give team members adequate time to provide input and become accustomed to the change.
• Better assist team members' adjustment to change by being well informed and clearly explaining the reasons for the change.
• Involve team members in the process of change, encouraging them to ask questions and voice their opinions fully and honestly.

Building leadership skills in this area builds trust in the organization, helping to retain workers during these tough times. Vital Learning's training professionals can help you assess and train your workforce. Like taxes, pressures associated with change are hard to understand, but with training and communication, recovery is certain.

Supporting Change by Blowing Off the Dust

2010-06-08T10:31:00.000-07:00

Employees have had a rough time over the past year or so. Many are now wallowing in the dust of employees who have been downsized, and they are living in fear of experiencing downsizing themselves or trying to do more while they already feel overworked. Many have watched their benefits and retirement savings dwindle. At the same time, they may be seeing their opportunities for promotions, raises or new training waste away. When the economy recovers, some experts indicate that employee dissatisfaction --- and even anger --- will remain.

Human resources professionals know that "survivor syndrome" occurs after downsizing or rightsizing. Employees who remain after a layoff often quit their jobs, and retention becomes more difficult for the organization. This can become a dire situation because retaining employees at that point is critical to the business. Remaining competitive is difficult when human capital is crippled.

Changing Business and Employee Discontent

In "Fast Forward: 25 Trends That Will Change the Way You Do Business," Workforce.com says, "Employers who ignore workplace discontent run the risk of periodic productivity slumps as skilled staffers depart for higher-paying positions whenever the labor market surges. Smart companies that make employees feel valued will gain a crucial competitive advantage."

Training is one way organizations can make employees feel valued. Training your supervisors to manage their teams can enable them to help their workers combat the malaise that often accompanies tough times like these.

A few years ago, one CIGNA change agent said, "In any change effort, the real work comes in closing the gap between where you are and where you want to be." Training your supervisors to understand why change is occurring in the organization and how to help their team members cope can, in turn, help close the gap and advance organizations to where they want to be. With the training approach, barriers are reduced, workers become engaged and momentum picks up.

Embarking on Change Management

Organizations that are about to embark on change management will do so with a plan for engagement. This plan involves identifying important stakeholders, and recognizing that your employees are important stakeholders is the one of the first steps. Too often, leadership fails to devote time and resources to training, regardless of how limited. This is one of the controllable aspects of change and can lead to a higher success rate in closing the gap between where the organization is today and where it should be.

Vital Learning's Supporting Change seminar provides the tools managers need to understand and interpret change within the organization so they can more successfully communicate change to their team members. When team leaders work through change by involving team members, employees understand and own the change as well as the benefits to come. This approach generates excitement and anticipation of good things to come, and employees begin to see how the organization's investment in them is a part of the change process. This encourages them to contribute and reinforce their personal goals. Thus, employees are more likely to stay at the organization, they become more productive and they offer creative solutions for current issues.

Putting the Pieces Back Together and Blowing Off the Dust

Legendary racecar driver, Dale Earnhardt once said, "I've had confidence in myself all along. It was just a matter of getting the pieces back in place."

It's not rocket science or even racecar science that tells us we need to help employees blow off the dust left in the wake of the economic downturn. Train them, invest in them and encourage them to support change; this will sustain your organization during these difficult times and close the gap between where you are and where you want to be.

Go Green With E-Learning

2010-05-25T10:01:00.000-07:00

As organizations continue to tighten their belts with the overwhelming concerns of the economic crisis, it is time to consider "green" training strategies with e-learning.

Now more than ever is the time for organizations to take advantage of the opportunities associated with training programs delivered through easy-to-use learning management systems (LMS). Integrating e-learning into a training curriculum has never been more optimal for your strategies. Whether you are a part of a small, medium or large company, these resources are realistic and promising.

We've talked about the power of going green and the cost savings associated with it. Today, going green is also a way to attract and retain the best and brightest employees to maintain competitive edge. An example is the members of Generation Y, also called Millennials, who place a high value on the environmental ethics of prospective employers. According to Experience Inc., an Internet-based career services provider, a recent nationwide survey of 2,774 college students found that 81 percent believe it is important to work for a green company.

Furthermore, research also indicates that corporations with increased social responsibility tend to have longevity. E-learning makes environmental and financial sense because it reduces time away from the job, classroom energy use, costly travel and other resource use.

The need for communicating about and training employees on new business objectives in order to help them succeed in a more complicated business environment is imperative. It is also much easier to achieve these days because of the ease and immediacy of using technology. A Watson Wyatt Communication ROI Study 2007/08 of companies worldwide found that "firms that communicate effectively are four times more likely to report high levels of employee engagement than firms that communicate less effectively."

The tools used for communication and training enhance the business environment and are particularly important to younger employees, who have grown up with the use of computers and the Internet. I see this becoming a green engagement with employees --- a new partnership between the employee and the organization.

Leveraging Green in Your Organization

The world of electronic capabilities and portable computing and communication connected through wireless networks has facilitated mobility in learning. Mobility enables instruction and learning to extend far beyond the traditional classroom, thereby eliminating traditional inhibitors and boundaries. It offers increased flexibility and opportunity for interaction for those who might otherwise not receive the training they need.

E-learning supports experiences that are accessible to, collaborative with and integrated with the business environment. What can green learning bring to your organization?
• Increased training for busy employees
• Anytime, anywhere access to new content
• Enhanced interaction between and among learners and trainers
• Just-in-time training or a review of content
• Enhancement of student-centered training
• Greater engagement of tech-savvy participants in a media-rich environment
• Support of personalized learning
• Collaboration through asynchronous and synchronous communication
Researchers also indicate the benefits of training occurring in the individual's environment rather than in the classroom. It enables reinforcement of learner recall and reflection with others in the same technology space online. Some organizations can also use e-learning to increase learning within team environments.

A Green Strategy

Greener strategies may not have reached your organization yet, but chances are they will. If they haven't, then you may have an opportunity to take a leadership position. Obviously, global warming, high energy prices and other issues have many people wondering how they can make an impact. Organizations are beginning to incorporate green initiatives into their strategic planning initiatives. This is a great time to suggest e-learning as a greener approach to delivery.

The following are some reasons to consider e-learning in your organization's green strategy:
• Eliminate paper-based marketing materials and tools for inviting participants by replacing them with electronic components and the use of learning management system (LMS) tools.
• LMS tools offer self-service registration and confirmation components that save time, staff and paper.
• Offer training materials and resources through the online program.

Because training in classrooms requires time and gas commuting and time spent off the job, organizations can save energy in a variety of ways. Consider shifting to more e-learning components through blended learning, online coaching, performance support and stand-alone courses. While helping the environment, this also helps make training more transparent and efficient as well as increase skills development.
Consider moving course evaluations and assessments online.

Researchers indicate that greener training must start at the top by promoting a clear commitment to it as an overall organizational strategy to social and ethical responsibility. Nick Van Dam, Ph.D., suggested in his article, "Time for Green Learning!" suggested that this strategy involves early communication and planning for a green learning environment, and it requires the support of the organization's learning community. Again, transparency is important addressing trainee concerns in the shift from paper use and traditional classroom settings. Finally, specific goals and objectives for green learning must be matched with measurement of progress.

Go Green With Vital Learning

Vital Learning is doing its part to enable organizations to commit to green learning practices by offering online learning programs through a comprehensive LMS. With programs that incorporate e-learning and blended learning methods, your organization can save time and money while ensuring that your employees receive the training they need. Your local Vital Lerning training consultant can show you the best way to go for the green with e-learning for your organization.

E-Learning Buzz to Your Training Toolbox

2010-05-18T09:49:00.000-07:00

It's learning in a widely networked world. It's green, it's in cyberspace, it's blended and unblended, it supports change. It can save your organization money, it fosters interaction and collaboration, it's global, scalable, adaptable and part of the new learning fabric that goes hand-in-hand with revolutionary and technological change. That's the buzz of e-learning. But is e-learning in your training toolbox?

Content and Providers

The e-learning market is expected to surpass $52.6 billion by 2010, according to a May 2008 industry article. Shorter business cycles, mergers and increased competition are driving businesses to incorporate of e-learning in their training curriculums. Other drivers include quality instruction, cost effectiveness of new technology and increasingly supportive cultures of e-learning.

Another trend is not only in the purchase of software but also the added value of training vendors who can provide online facilitation, blended approaches and coaching. This increases engagement and customer learning satisfaction leading to outcomes contributing to the bottom line.

Scenario: A data processing company is rolling out supervisory training for its 200 managers. The company wants to deliver the same training to all managers, but because the participants are in five locations in three states, classroom-based training is not feasible due to the cost of bringing participants to one location.

The decision is made to use e-learning. A training vendor supports online training by interacting with students through threaded discussions. The online trainer is also available to answer participants' questions. Thus, students feel supported. They apply their learning on the job for a defined period and return to the online course fur further discussion and coaching with the instructor based on their real-life experiences.

Productivity levels are measured before and after the training, as well as at six months and one year. The results show that turnover is reduced and productivity has increased.

Learning 2.0 and Social Communities

According to research, the future of e-learning may be in workplace communities using social learning, which is a major change for business training. As a training professional or chief learning officer, you are responsible for managing and delivering training with classroom, online or blended approaches. The prospect of socialized learning adds to the formal approaches. E-learning lends itself well to this because it is already delivered via technology and uses features such as chat, asynchronous threads and document sharing.

How they do it: Social networking sites and blogs can be easily embedded into e-learning formats. The accessibility of posts for best practices and ideas are built upon and archived over time, becoming a wealth of collaborative knowledge for the organization.

Another way inject social learning is to wrap it around existing formal content and link to social forum spaces where they can discuss the training. These are public spaces where additional outside experts contribute so learning is further enhanced.

Learning Management Systems

Learning management systems (LMS) need not be expensive. They allow companies to register, track and catalog available courses for participants within the organization, allowing them to manage the function.

Choosing the right content and provider can bring resources to you without the expense of building or investing in large-scale systems beyond your reach or budget. This makes it easier to deliver value to your organization and mange results. For example, tracking the number of participants, courses delivered, and time spent in courses compared to the return on increased customer service or productivity following training.

Scenario: An auto parts store chain has rolled out training to its 257 stores nationwide. Through its LMS, the chain can track those who have received customer service training. Because the store also tracks customer service levels, it can draw correlations between those who completed the training and increased customer service ratings. Further return-on-investment has been shown through this tracking.

Vital Learning Brings the Buzz to Your Toolbox

Organizations are increasingly examining the incorporation of e-learning and the vast array of technology and Web-based tools strategically. Resources include planning and evaluation methods.

Vital Learning has been delivering online training courses and tools since 1996. With its affiliated training partners, Vital Learning offers a sate-of-the-art LMS and courses that can be delivered as stand-alone modules for self-paced learning or for blended learning solutions. Contact your Vital Learning training consultant today to discover how you can add e-learning to your toolbox.

Essential Communication Leads to Employee Engagement

2010-05-13T11:24:00.000-07:00

If you were to create a formula for productivity it might look something like this:

ESC + EE = P

Or in more elaborate terms:

Essential Skills of Communicating + Employee Engagement = Productivity

A new study from the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) on the subject of corporate productivity and engagement indicates that higher-performing companies are more likely to involve employees in the process of cost-cutting measures. In these uncertain economic times, it is more important than ever to keep employees involved in critical company issues. Communication plus talent management programs supports forward focus and engagement for the future.

The same study showed that 91 percent of higher-performing companies point to communication at the top as a way to reduce turnover.

One way to define employee engagement is to consider an employee's connection to the work, the organization, the leaders, the customers, performance and results. Engaged employees stay with their employers, have higher levels of job satisfaction and make significant contributions. Employee engagement is not a "nice-to-have"; it's an essential requirement to achieve organizational results.

A Glimpse at the Disengaged

Roger is a midlevel manager at a software sales organization. He heads up a team of salespeople and spends his day communicating with his staff by e-mail, even though they are only a few steps outside his door. Roger's main focus is sales, which are down. In addition, the company is suffering financially. Roger has been told that budget cuts, including staff, are likely. He is worried about his own job and is wholly focused on crunching the numbers and figuring out who he might let go to make his numbers look better.

Roger's team spends the day wondering why he isn't telling them what is going on. They've talked among themselves and have some ideas about customer focus groups to help re-energize their sales territories. Two people have scheduled time with Roger this week to share their ideas, but, for the second week in a row, Roger has cancelled because he doesn't have enough time. The team is deflated. They are worried, too, but at this point, they are not sure that talking to Roger will do any good.

What Could Have Been

If Roger had only come out of his office to talk to his team, he might have prevented the members from becoming disengaged. The fact is, employees are better able to deal with company downturns if they know what is going on.

Poor managers fail to communicate. They fail to involve employees in solutions. And because they aren't communicating well, they aren't listening to employees' needs, concerns or ideas.

Good managers share clear strategy and vision. They engage their team in discovering solutions, so employees feel as though they have a stake in making things better. Good managers have a relationship with their bosses, and they want to go the extra mile. They care about their bosses and the organization, and they are armed with the belief that they can make a difference.

Numerous studies indicate that engaged employees work harder to achieve within the organization, and they speak positively about their companies. In the process, they also please customers and are more productive.

One of the Most Important Steps You Can Take

If you are considering where and how to focus your training programs, you should know that choosing to develop managers and supervisors in the area of communication is one of the most crucial steps you can take.

Many managers have never developed skills to deliver clear, concise messages focused on the needs and interests of the listener. These are skills that improve their relationships with individual team members.

In addition to constructing clear messages, Vital Learning's Essential Skills of Communicating teaches managers and team leaders to the following essential skills:

• Communicate with a two-way process.
• Manage nonverbal behaviors to reinforce the intent of the messages.
• Listen actively.
• Create a climate of open communication, which increases team members' motivation and commitment.

The foundation of good communication in organizations rests in managers and supervisors who are open and support an environment that encourages the free exchange of transparent, honest communication. Such managers are able to reflect, probe, support and advise their employees. In return, your employees will respond and become more engaged, happy and productive. Get your managers involved in the essential skills.

Cutting-Edge Customer Service

2010-05-13T09:39:00.000-07:00

The Problem

Maybe your organization doesn't make cutting-edge products. You don't necessarily have to. But do your employees deliver cutting-edge customer service?

With today's uncertain economy and belt-tightening occurring on every level, people are scrambling to maintain profitability and grow their businesses. Add to that competition and a world that relies on social networking and word-of-mouth marketing ... well, let's just call it a tough sell.

Retaining and gaining edge hinges on the kind of customer service that brings people to your door, helps you through the economic downturn and creates customer advocacy.

Who should you be training to provide cutting-edge customer service?

• Sales and service representatives
• All employees who deal with your customers
• Anyone who has internal and external customer contact

That sounds like almost everyone in an organization needs training, doesn't it? In truth, every employee can use customer service training. Such training helps an organization shift its culture to one that encourages cutting-edge thinking and progressive service.

The following are examples of organizations known for delivering superb, memorable customer service.

Nordstrom

An American business more than 100 years old, Nordstrom is touted in a destinationcrm.com article as the gold standard for customer service excellence. The company now relies on word of mouth as a primary marketing tool.

Nordstrom makes customer service a priority, and customers know they will be treated special. One longtime employee said that he felt empowered to pave his own career path and to bring customers along with him. Nordstrom also gives employees on the frontline the ability to make decisions.

Ford

Ford was founded in 1903, and remains a leader in the American auto industry. A Ford division customer relationship manager was interviewed, and she said the company has been responsive by listening to what customers want instead of telling them what they need. The Ford philosophy has always been to focus on the customer experience at every touch point.

Men's Wearhouse

A FastCompany.com article, "They Sell Suits With Soul," shares the story of Men's Wearhouse's record of turning "reluctant shoppers into loyal customers." One top executive said that the company's training curriculum is less about how to sell suits than about understanding people. In addition, Men's Wearhouse believes in "the ability to move beyond the initial customer request and to satisfy a true need."

The Solution

Design Customer Service Training and Make it Happen

Consider the level of customer service your organization provides today. What might you consider in the way of training for employees so they feel the kind of empowerment that leads to cutting-edge customer service?

Assessment must be a part of your customer service methodology. Some assessment firms indicate that finding the right operational targets and customer satisfaction information to determine where service and delivery integrate is key. Next, design a CSR training program that builds service levels to satisfy your customers; this will have a direct bearing on your organization's productivity and profitability.

Vital Learning, in conjunction with your training representative, offers a variety of customer service training programs. Each program is flexible to fit your needs and provides both traditional classroom-based and online options.

STAR Service is a powerful, four-hour program that teaches participants how to achieve the following:

S: Sync up with customers
T: Target customer needs
A: Assist customer needs
R: Reaffirm assistance and the relationship

The STAR Service program offers maximum training in a short period of time to improve CSRs' consistency and create positive and memorable experiences for your customers. It also helps increase customer retention, expand business relationships and drive increased customer referrals.

Vital Learning's Winning Through Customer Service program offers four modules to train participants about professionalism that leads to a proactive, problem-solving culture. The program also focuses on communication skills while using a structured process/model for conducting customer service transactions. Furthermore, participants practice strategies for appropriately dealing with difficult customer situations.

Two complementary online programs, Delivering Customer-Focused Service and Dealing With Difficult Customer Situations, allow organizations to deliver training as either stand-alone, self-paced modules or blended learning to complement to the classroom-based programs.

There has never been a more compelling time to keep your organization moving and on the cutting edge with customer service training.

Leadership Lessons: Coaching During Tough Times

2009-09-22T19:59:00.000-07:00

With an increasingly diverse workforce, economically tough times, competitive demands and greater pressures of doing more with less, leaders are becoming stressed out, and in some cases they are mixed up about how to cope in the current climate.

In these times, employees at all levels need more communication and honest feedback through coaching. In some cases, employees are not even aware that their productivity has tapered off, and managers may wonder whether they are coachable. Right now, your leadership may be one of the most important elements of management, as well as for the culture of your organization.

With the current economic business environment predicted to last well into 2009, the idea that coaching is needed rests on a long-term commitment to employees. Team leaders should be keen to help their team members perform their best by motivating them, encouraging them, listening to them, shaping their values, challenging them, facilitating their needs and inspiring excellence.

A recent Northeast Human Resources Association survey indicated that more than 70 percent of human resources professionals in the Northeast believe that their employees are overloaded and distracted at work. And those distractions lead to loss of productivity.

Key Priorities

A survey of 514 employed U.S. workers in October 2008 shows that employees are witnessing how the current economic climate is impacting the companies where they work. Twenty-six percent of respondents said they believed that layoffs would occur, and 62 percent said their companies would have trouble meeting goals. This reiterates the fact that many companies may have declining engagement of employees, and this is forcing employees to wonder whether they will be able to meet their personal and professional goals.

"The focus of [managing talent] in the past has been on rehabilitating poor performers," said Laura Lea Clinton, GPHR, director of HR management for CARE USA. "The trend will reverse to a focus on the continued engagement and retention of top performers."

The Society of Human Resource Management's (SHRM) December 2008 report, "Key Priorities for the HR Profession Through 2015," states that coaching is a training method organizations can use to retain the knowledge of more experienced or skilled workers so younger employees can benefit from their knowledge and experience. This is key during these economic hard times.

Can You Relate?

It is 5 a.m. and Sheila is up at the crack of dawn waking her kids and sending them off to school. Sheila hurries to get herself ready and out the door for the morning commute. On the way to work, she receives a call from her boss informing her that an 8 a.m. emergency meeting has been called. She slides in the door with just enough time to make take the elevator and grab a stiff cup of coffee.

Sheila manages a team of account representatives. In the emergency meeting, she learns that the company's biggest client has laid off 400 workers. With the client cutting back, Sheila's boss says she'll have to reduce her staff by moving two people to another team. Meanwhile, Sheila has 10 other accounts, with major work coming due on projects over the next two weeks. Facing a disgruntled and deflated team, she wonders if she can step up to the plate and coach them through the change.

Already beaten down from her own company's downsizing the previous month, Sheila wonders whether she's still considered a good performer. She's not confident that she's up for the challenge of restructuring her staff and workload.

Moreover, she's not getting a warm and fuzzy feeling from her boss, whose last words were, "We've got to do what we have to do to stay afloat ourselves. If you want to keep working, just do it." Sheila isn't sure what the priorities are anymore. All she is thinking about is the extra hours she'll be working. Sheila is stressed out and in danger of shutting down.

The Value of Coaching

Research suggests that the main causes of stress in Americans' lives are juggling work and their personal lives, lack of job security, people issues, and workload. Generation Y and Baby Boomers alike take unplanned days off from work as a way to deal with stress, which increases over time.

The value of coaching can be measured in the overall improved performance of individuals and teams. Coaching helps people through transitions, clarifies priorities, boosts team members' morale and helps positively shape attitudes. A team leader who cares enough about his or her team members to help and train them will gain their trust, cooperation and confidence.

Coaching helps employees move beyond their limitations. They grow with their own sense of satisfaction as a vital part of the team and the organization, and they are optimistic about their future in the organization. Isn't that what you want --- positive, enthusiastic employees serving the customer?

Coaching is a valuable way to build teamwork through communication, shared goals and collaboration. It also keeps the team focused on running the business and serving customers.

With Vital Learning's Coaching Job Skills program, your managers and team leaders will learn the coaching process that is so often neglected. They will learn how to identify coachable performance problems early, before problems become out of hand. They will also learn to communicate in coaching terms that improve employee performance and productivity. For general supervisory leadership skills, we continue to offer you the award-winning series by Vital Learning. Available in Classroom, Online, or Blended delivery options, the Vital Learning curriculum includes the following essential topics.

Delegating - understanding when to use delegation and how to make it motivating
Complaints - being able to effectively manage complaints
Coaching - knowing how to productively coach job skills
Project Management - being able to run projects, both on-time and on-budget
Conflict - understanding how to successfully resolve conflict
Hiring Winning Talent- knowing what to do to consistently hire the right talent
Providing Feedback - understanding how to establish performance goals and standards and give feedback
And more...

Leadership Lessons: Cutting-Edge Customer Service

2009-09-08T20:16:00.000-07:00

The Problem

Maybe your organization doesn't make cutting-edge products. You don't necessarily have to. But do your employees deliver cutting-edge customer service?

With today's uncertain economy and belt-tightening occurring on every level, people are scrambling to maintain profitability and grow their businesses. Add to that competition and a world that relies on social networking and word-of-mouth marketing ... well, let's just call it a tough sell.

Retaining and gaining edge hinges on the kind of customer service that brings people to your door, helps you through the economic downturn and creates customer advocacy.

Who should you be training to provide cutting-edge customer service?

Sales and service representatives

All employees who deal with your customers

Anyone who has internal and external customer contact

That sounds like almost everyone in an organization needs training, doesn't it? In truth, every employee can use customer service training. Such training helps an organization shift its culture to one that encourages cutting-edge thinking and progressive service.

The following are examples of organizations known for delivering superb, memorable customer service.

Nordstrom

An American business more than 100 years old, Nordstrom is touted in a destinationcrm.com article as the gold standard for customer service excellence. The company now relies on word of mouth as a primary marketing tool.

Nordstrom makes customer service a priority, and customers know they will be treated special. One longtime employee said that he felt empowered to pave his own career path and to bring customers along with him. Nordstrom also gives employees on the frontline the ability to make decisions.

Ford

Ford was founded in 1903, and remains a leader in the American auto industry. A Ford division customer relationship manager was interviewed, and she said the company has been responsive by listening to what customers want instead of telling them what they need. The Ford philosophy has always been to focus on the customer experience at every touch point.

Men's Wearhouse

A FastCompany.com article, "They Sell Suits With Soul," shares the story of Men's Wearhouse's record of turning "reluctant shoppers into loyal customers." One top executive said that the company's training curriculum is less about how to sell suits than about understanding people. In addition, Men's Wearhouse believes in "the ability to move beyond the initial customer request and to satisfy a true need."

The Solution

Design Customer Service Training and Make it Happen

Consider the level of customer service your organization provides today. What might you consider in the way of training for employees so they feel the kind of empowerment that leads to cutting-edge customer service?

Assessment must be a part of your customer service methodology. Some assessment firms indicate that finding the right operational targets and customer satisfaction information to determine where service and delivery integrate is key. Next, design a CSR training program that builds service levels to satisfy your customers; this will have a direct bearing on your organization's productivity and profitability.

Vital Learning, in conjunction with your training representative, offers a variety of customer service training programs. Each program is flexible to fit your needs and provides both traditional classroom-based and online options.

STAR Service is a powerful, four-hour program that teaches participants how to achieve the following:

S: Sync up with customers
T: Target customer needs
A: Assist customer needs
R: Reaffirm assistance and the relationship

The STAR Service program offers maximum training in a short period of time to improve CSRs' consistency and create positive and memorable experiences for your customers. It also helps increase customer retention, expand business relationships and drive increased customer referrals. Vital Learning's Winning Through Customer Service program offers four modules to train participants about professionalism that leads to a proactive, problem-solving culture. The program also focuses on communication skills while using a structured process/model for conducting customer service transactions. Furthermore, participants practice strategies for appropriately dealing with difficult customer situations.

Two complementary online programs, Delivering Customer-Focused Service and Dealing With Difficult Customer Situations, allow organizations to deliver training as either stand-alone, self-paced modules or blended learning to complement to the classroom-based programs.

There has never been a more compelling time to keep your organization moving and on the cutting edge with customer service training.

For general supervisory leadership skills, we continue to offer you the award-winning series by Vital Learning. Available in Classroom, Online, or Blended delivery options, the Vital Learning curriculum includes the following essential topics.

Delegating - understanding when to use delegation and how to make it motivating
Complaints - being able to effectively manage complaints
Coaching - knowing how to productively coach job skills
Project Management - being able to run projects, both on-time and on-budget
Conflict - understanding how to successfully resolve conflict
Hiring Winning Talent- knowing what to do to consistently hire the right talent
Providing Feedback - understanding how to establish performance goals and standards and give feedback
And more...

Leadership Lessons: Leading Positively

2009-07-07T14:34:00.000-07:00

Conflict and Leading Positively

Conflict is an inevitable part of organizational life. Typically, sources of conflict can be found in competition for resources, different goals or priorities, task interdependence, unclear statements of responsibilities, status issues, poor interpersonal communication and individual traits. It's a lot like what is happening in today's politics and the economy.

The long-term ramifications of the current political climate and the failing banks and other failing industries are not clear. In fact, the outcome probably won't begin take shape for some time. What is clear is that the situation has everyone on edge, and this can increase the potential for workplace conflicts.

In the article "Following the Leader, What Makes the Great Ones So Good," Chris Cobb quotes professor and author, Joseph Nye, who said "A good leader has to have the ability to adapt his or her skills to different contexts." Nye points to the ability of leaders to adapt successfully to any conflict. It is imperative for managers and supervisors to have the ability, especially in today's political, financial and economic climate.

The Problem

In the current climate, human resources and training professionals will likely have an increasing role to fill with imminent fall out in organizations and rising concerns of both employers and employees.

Consider Tom, the employee who is worried about the economy and keeping things steady at home. He doesn't want to bring his anxiety to work but it is starting to overflow. Tom is more mistrustful of other individuals who are vying for the same resources he needs to get his job done. He's defensive now, when other team members question why he isn't getting his work done fast enough. They think it is impacting their ability to deliver as the next link in the workflow.

Tolerance for others breaks down because Tom feels his co-workers don't understand his need for additional resources. He questions why the managers of each area can't step in and resolve the situation. Performance for both teams is breaking down.

All managers and supervisors, even though they may be experiencing the same types of stresses posed in the scenario above, have a responsibility to lead their team members through the tough times. The best thing leaders can do is to be honest and forthcoming, and at the same time, manage conflicts appropriately, and align their employees with a shared purpose.

Laurence O'Neil is the new CEO for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), said in a recent article "I know how much more important HR is destined to become in all organizations, particularly during challenging economic times."

O'Neil pointed to both a changing workforce and economic anxiety in bringing among other things, labor relations and employee relations back into focus. This is why the proper training for supervisors and managers will become more important in the weeks and months ahead.

The Solution

Further Training May be Needed for Positive Outcomes

Organizations should examine the gaps in their training, and enhance managers' and supervisors' abilities to manage conflicts. And deal with the current changes in the workplace. Conflict can certainly cause frustration and discomfort, but it can also, present positive outcomes.

Conflict can lead to opportunity. Conflict that is managed effectively can lead to growth for individuals and teams. Organizations that have a culture of handling conflicts in a positive manner often reap the benefits.

Managers and supervisors need to make decisions by examining the issues while making a detailed analysis of options. This is accomplished through discussion where stagnant thinking and group or individual bias does not block a creative environment where a culture of team members thinks of new solutions for immediate and long-standing problems.

Skills Needed to Handle Complexities

Diana McLain Smith, author of "Divide or Conquer: How great Teams Turn Conflict Into Strength," said that people with the ability to turn extraordinary vision into good strategy make good leaders. These people have sharp analytical skills and a clear understanding of relationships.

In many organizations, leaders are ill-equipped at all to handle conflicts. Fundamentally, they don't understand the complexity of individual and team relationships and the conflicts that may arise.

The Right Toolkit for Managing Conflict

Vital Learning's Resolving Conflicts toolkit can provide managers and supervisors with an understanding of conflict management strategies. Different situations require different conflict-handling modes. For example, when managers and supervisors need team members' commitment, they can encourage team collaboration to merge insights from team members who have different perspectives.

Well-trained leaders can lift people from negativity to create a positive, productive environment. Without such leaders the work environment can become one of mistrust, lack of cooperation, poor customer service, absenteeism and turnover. The performance of individual employees and teams suffers and as does the performance of the organization.

Perhaps your organization hasn't examined the need to manage conflict as one that can have a major impact. Your Vital Learning training representative can help you identify gaps between where your supervisors' and managers' current conflict management skills and the skills they should have.

Well-trained managers and supervisors in a culture that handles today's challenging environment and conflicts can provide outstanding strategic and competitive advantages for your organization.

For general supervisory leadership skills, we continue to offer you the award-winning series by Vital Learning. Available in Classroom, Online, or Blended delivery options, the Vital Learning curriculum includes the following essential topics.

Delegating - understanding when to use delegation and how to make it motivating
Complaints - being able to effectively manage complaints
Coaching - knowing how to productively coach job skills
Project Management - being able to run projects, both on-time and on-budget
Conflict - understanding how to successfully resolve conflict
Hiring Winning Talent- knowing what to do to consistently hire the right talent
Providing Feedback - understanding how to establish performance goals and standards and give feedback
And more...

For detail go to www.TheLearningEngine.org

Leadership Lessons: Online Training

2009-06-30T14:25:00.000-07:00

Online Training: Generation 'Z'

Generation 'Z' of online training is happening now: New technologies, services, web tools and cultural changes driving interactivity and person-to-person learning. Web 2.0 makes it a very exciting time to discover the latest in instructional tools, learning infrastructures and development of online digital campus communities. With all of these developments, what do you focus on in this new age of capabilities and services? How do you tie this to meaningful issues for your organization?

There are four areas to understand: Emergence, Convergence, Onboarding and Further Engagement.

Emergence

Innovation has created a tremendous amount of thinking about what leadership means, now going on nine years into the new century. It brings in-depth opportunities for learning and solutions to a complex and culturally diverse workforce.

This is why training emerging leadership is so important. Current technologies facilitate interaction through Facebook, MySpace, Linked In and so many other networks creating a generation of users who are ready, willing and able to access online learning that is as individual as they are. Learners are expected to be connected to other learners and their trainers. I've seen this described as Connectivism, Networked Learning and Connective Knowledge. This allows learners to access what they need, apply it and share it with others. It supports greater problem-solving and informal leadership transferred from one person to another. It gives learners new connections, renewed relationships with peers and enables the discovery of new resources.

During training, organizations must harness the power of creativity and capacity with their learning management systems to connect supervisors with their team.

Convergence

Major organizations like Microsoft currently are working hard to simplify end user experiences in light of Web 2.0. According to Education Channel Partner, online platform structures supporting a processing environment bring together "content, commerce and community." In a nutshell, it is a boost in "anytime, anywhere" content models that support training content delivered to anyone, to any handheld or other device. According to Education Channel Partner, Microsoft's Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie proclaimed, the "power of the internet, and the magic of software" across a world of devices.

As trainers and training organization managers, you need to look at ways to use these resources to connect with empowered learners. Integrate learning across diverse channels, use learner-generated content and measure results.

Power of Onboarding

According to Workforce.com, in the fiscal year 2007, the federal government hired more than 195,000 new employees; however, high first-year attrition undermined its recruitment efforts. First-year attrition for firefighters at the U.S. Forest Service stood at 26.6 percent nationwide and 46.6 in Southern California where the country needs them the most.

First-year voluntary turnover between 2003 and 2007 increased from 10 to 18 percent; a dramatically high rate overall. For every two patent examiners hired at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the agency lost one-third within the first year. By 2012, federal agencies will lose nearly 530,000 employees including those in leadership and incritical-skills positions.

Think about your own organization and what you may be losing right now. A substantial study conducted by Partnership for Public Service and Booz Allen Hamilton in 2008 found that successful onboarding of employees during their first year increases engagement and raises retention by as much as 25 percent, improves performance and accelerates the time to full productivity. Onboarding is typically the process of acclimating employees to the organization beyond orientation. Organizations can impact retention using online training as an effective and efficient way to facilitate onboarding employees.

Further Engagement

Many organizations do not realize the key role of their managers and supervisors in the onboarding process. Quite simply, if employees do not feel engaged with their work and the organization, they may move on to the next organization who will invest in them. Workforce.com points to the Partnership for Public Service model which incorporates five phases: acceptance of job offer to start date, the orientation, the first week of employment, the first 90 days and the first year. "During each phase, the focus remains squarely on integrating the new employee into the workplace, communicating the goals of the organization and building engagement in the work."

Vital Learning's Leadership Series gives managers and supervisors the essential skills in onboarding to create further engagement in team members. The beauty of the Leadership Series is that it has both online and classroom-based formats to fit your training needs.

The Partnership report notes that few organizations are using online resources to onboard new employees early in the process. Using new technologies and online training is an essential part of ramping up your recruitment, retention and training strategies. Monitoring performance, providing feedback, reviewing performance objectives and setting individual development goals are all taught through the Vital Learning's leadership curriculum.

Emergence, convergence, onboarding and further engagement give us power you have when combined with web-based resources to stimulate training initiatives. Your training professional can show you how to get into the "next generation now" of training efficiencies impacting the bottom line of your organization.

For general supervisory leadership skills, we continue to offer you the award-winning series by Vital Learning. Available in Classroom, Online, or Blended delivery options, the Vital Learning curriculum includes the following essential topics.

Delegating - understanding when to use delegation and how to make it motivating
Complaints - being able to effectively manage complaints
Coaching - knowing how to productively coach job skills
Project Management - being able to run projects, both on-time and on-budget
Conflict - understanding how to successfully resolve conflict
Hiring Winning Talent- knowing what to do to consistently hire the right talent
Providing Feedback - understanding how to establish performance goals and standards and give feedback
And more...

For detail go to www.TheLearningEngine.org

Leadership Lessons: Company Culture

2009-06-16T14:14:00.000-07:00

Organizational Challenge

Below are some commonly quoted customer service statistics. Maybe you have seen them before:

A typical business hears from about 4 percent of its dissatisfied customers, while 96 percent just go away ... and 91 percent will never come back.
It costs five to six times as much to get a new customer as it does to keep a current one.
It takes 12 positive service interactions to make up for one negative interaction.

Whether or not these can be substantiated is another story, but it is safe to say that your organization's customer service culture is critically important to growth and profits. According to a study by The Wharton School, stakes are high as reducing customer attrition by 5 to 10 percent can increase annual profits as much as 75 percent. Author Jerry Fritz is quoted as saying, "You'll never have a product or price advantage again. They can be easily duplicated, but a strong customer service culture can't be copied." More focus is being placed on the power of customer service lately. One of the huge drivers of renewed attention is the impact of technology and the demand from consumers for instant access to goods and services. This carries over directly to the delivery of customer service in meeting those demands, especially in responding to e-mail. Technology can't, and never will, replace the human touch. Does your customer service culture touch your customers in the right way?

Slowing Economy ... Growing Customer Service

A study released by the Jupiter Research Corporation in August of 2007 entitled, "Experience-Driven Service Expectations," indicates that customer service must consider the impact as online marketing matures. And, a 2008 Contact Center Satisfaction Index released by Claes Fornell International indicates that as consumer spending weakens and the economy slows, organizations should focus more on retention and less on the more expensive customer acquisition. Contact centers, being on the frontline of the customer relationship, carry the bulk of the load in keeping customers. Jupiter Research, in its US Customer Forecast, 2007 to 2012, shows that spending on customer service will continue to rise with companies dealing with consistent increases in the number of customer service contacts.

A national employment projection report from the Department of Labor backs this up: Employment of customer service representatives is expected to increase 25 percent from 2006 to 2016. This is much faster, the report stated, than the average for all occupations. This same report echoes the call for customer service people who can, "build sales, visibility, and loyalty as companies try to distinguish themselves from competitors." Retention will become more important, especially in industries that already employ large numbers of customer service representatives, including those in the industries of financial services, communications and utilities. OK, so let's examine these ramifications. Word of mouth is powerful and it is causing change. The speed of technology increases the viability and impact of sharing customer service experiences. The spiraling economy sends organizations scrambling to retain customers, save dwindling profits and strive for growth. In the next 10 years, and probably beyond, customer service will be the differentiator as organizations staff up to meet the demand.

A Solution

My vote would be to train and re-train. And then do it again. Take a look at your culture: What is it demonstrating to your customers? Training customer service representatives should be seen as a must-do in any organization. It is possible to create a program that fits into busy schedules. Your training representative can help make this work. Two products fit into this scenario: STAR Service and Winning Through Customer Service, both from Vital Learning Corporation.

What I like about STAR Service is that it is a solid half-day program that isn't fluffy. It teaches a clear, practical, four-step process to transform negative and neutral customer experiences to positive and memorable ones. That is right on the mark for retention of customers and the increase of customer referrals. That ties us back to the power of word of mouth.

What I like about Winning Through Customer Service is the flexibility of the program for delivery, either online or in the classroom. Your training representative can additionally help you with some blended learning ideas. There are four modules that can help turn on your representatives to problem-solving, successful communicating, adapting to different behavioral styles and more. I leave you with this thought. Having a customer service culture will lead to long-term customers who are generally more profitable. In a Whitepaper published by CISCO, the headline reads: "Are you providing your customers with the satisfying experiences that will keep them coming back?"

For general supervisory leadership skills, we continue to offer you the award-winning series by Vital Learning. Available in Classroom, Online, or Blended delivery options, the Vital Learning curriculum includes the following essential topics.

Delegating - understanding when to use delegation and how to make it motivating
Complaints - being able to effectively manage complaints
Coaching - knowing how to productively coach job skills
Project Management - being able to run projects, both on-time and on-budget
Conflict - understanding how to successfully resolve conflict
Hiring Winning Talent- knowing what to do to consistently hire the right talent
Providing Feedback - understanding how to establish performance goals and standards and give feedback
And more...

For detail go to www.TheLearningEngine.org

Leadership Lessons: Frontline Managers

2009-06-02T12:59:00.000-07:00

Organizational Challenge As Peter Drucker advised us several decades ago, frontline managers are critical to an organization's ability to gain and maintain competitive advantage. These managers understand the skills, activities, and processes that are important to the organization. They also understand the needs of their customers. Despite this, many organizations have not fully tapped into this resource. Is your organization one of the guilty ones? Solution

There are several programs on the market today that do a good job of providing basic supervisory/leadership training. However, there is a major gap in these programs. They typically do not address business process improvement. Business process skills can help frontline managers improve the bottom line by producing clear, measurable outcomes in terms of expense reduction or increased revenues.

Thus, once armed with the knowledge of basic leadership skills, the next natural step is to train these frontline managers with business process improvement skills that help them to:

Clearly understand the key business issues and goals of the organization
Look for measurable opportunities to align current processes to more effectively meet the needs of the organization
Seek alternative resolutions through the help of customers, vendors, and the organization's employees
Select the best solution
Gain commitment from all parties
Execute a process that produces, clear measurable outcomes

Does this seem like a tall order for a frontline manager? Not really, if they are given the know-how, freedom, and support of upper management. Once frontline managers are empowered with the skills and management support, the opportunities to improve processes that produce measurable outcomes for increased revenues or reduced expenses are essentially ongoing and endless. Why? Because change is inevitable, and to stay competitive, your organization will either institute new technology and/or take on new products or services. And, these areas will continually need to be reviewed, tweaked and improved.
Future Implications

Recognizing a need to fill this gap, Robin Byrne, then a manager with Xerox in the UK, developed a business process improvement program. He subsequently refined the program and went out on his own to create Robin Byrne's Measureable Management™. This program is designed primarily for frontline managers and team leaders.

I was recently contacted by Robin who asked me to evaluate the program's content and design. I was very impressed with the concepts as well as the results he has achieved with clients. Consequently, I decided to become one of their founding corporate US licensees. I'm further working with Robin's group to launch an update of this exciting practical and effective program to meet specific needs and expectations of my larger corporate clients. We plan for this update to be completed by December 1st.

One of the things that appealed to me most about this program is their money-back guarantee. Your organization will achieve measureable results in expense reduction or increased revenue equal to or greater than the cost of the program. If that doesn't occur (and they claim that it hasn't happened yet), we will refund the difference between your program cost and your measureable results. To date, their experience has been typically been three to four times in expense savings or revenue generation over the cost of the program.

Stay tuned for more information on this as we get closer to launch. Click on the link if you would like to see the basic course overview and testimonials.

For general supervisory leadership skills, we continue to offer you the award-winning series by Vital Learning. Available in Classroom, Online, or Blended delivery options, the Vital Learning curriculum includes the following essential topics.

Delegating - understanding when to use delegation and how to make it motivating
Complaints - being able to effectively manage complaints
Coaching - knowing how to productively coach job skills
Project Management - being able to run projects, both on-time and on-budget
Conflict - understanding how to successfully resolve conflict
Hiring Winning Talent- knowing what to do to consistently hire the right talent
Providing Feedback - understanding how to establish performance goals and standards and give feedback
And more...

For detail go to www.TheLearningEngine.org

Survey Tools for Small Business

2009-05-21T10:18:00.000-07:00

Surveys on the Cheap!

When searching for information about small business, I found an interesting new web site. It takes a practical approach to helping a small business owner survey customers and employees at a very reasonable cost. And it has some interesting free stuff, too. I thought you might want to check this out since they are offering an unprecedented introductory offer.

This customizable survey tool makes it easy for you to find out what your customers and employees need. Surveys for Small Business gives you a cost-effective way to discover information critical to your business success. The software comes pre-loaded with surveys for employee opinion, customer satisfaction and individual performance. To find out more and take advantage of their introductory offer, Click http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=3030177

Leadership Lessons: Motivating Team Members

2009-05-19T13:19:00.000-07:00

Motivating all Generations

Oprah has topped the list of celebrities whom hourly workers, including teens, are motivated by to make their day more fun. Kathy Gurchiek, associate editor for HR News, reported in a September online brief results of more than 2,300 people completing the SnagAJob.com online survey conducted recently. Oprah was the top choice ahead of Angelina Jolie and Will Ferrell among workers in the age groups 18 to 24, 25 to 44, and 45 and older.

What does this mean? Perhaps nothing, but it is another indication of the inter-generational workforce and the little quirks that are emerging that may affect how we motivate, hire, and retain employees.

Some Perspective

The SHRM® Generational Differences Survey Report indicates that 51% of HR professionals felt that employees of different generations work effectively together. However, managers need to employ a variety of leadership styles to be better equipped to deal with potential conflicts and motivate employees.

Authors Lynne C. Lancaster and David Stillman in their book, When Generations Collide, say that effectively managing the new workforce depends on understanding the values and experiences distinguishing different generations:

Traditionalists, born prior to 1945, value loyalty and prefer a top-down approach to management. Information is something provided on a need-to-know basis.
Baby boomers, born 1946-1964, are optimistic and idealist. Success comes from challenging authority and creating open lines of communication.
Generation Xers, born 1965-1980, are more skeptical. As latchkey kids and/or the product of broken homes, they grew up in a time of political and corporate scandals. They distrust institutions and value individualism.
The Millennials, born after 1980, will change employers during the span of their career and they will change the type of work they do.

Understanding this diversity also means adjusting recruitment and retention strategies and training managers to motivate appropriately. Doing so will reap bottom-line results in the years to come.

The concept of how managers lead and motivate is complex and undergoing a major shift. The manager creates the environment - a climate positive for success. In reality motivation springs from within, but it is fostered in an environment in which people motivate themselves through reinforcement of confidence, trust, and satisfaction.
A Solution

When high performers have unresolved motivation issues their performance declines, or they leave for another job. When poor performers are not motivated to improve, they drag the team down and reduce productivity.

Competent leaders must motivate and empower the new generation of workers.

The Vital Learning curriculum is designed to meet your training and budgetary needs. Want to learn more about "Essential Skills of Communicating" or the complete Vital Learning leadership development curriculum? Available in Classroom, Online, or Blended delivery options, the Vital Learning curriculum includes the following essential topics.

Delegating - understanding when to use delegation and how to make it motivating
Complaints - being able to effectively manage complaints
Coaching - knowing how to productively coach job skills
Project Management - being able to run projects, both on-time and on-budget
Conflict - understanding how to successfully resolve conflict
Hiring Winning Talent- knowing what to do to consistently hire the right talent
Providing Feedback - understanding how to establish performance goals and standards and give feedback
And more...

For detail go to www.TheLearningEngine.org

Leadership Lessons: Resolving Conflict

2009-05-05T13:18:00.000-07:00

Engaging Employees by Resolving Conflict "Those in conflict are unable to sustain a productive and stable exchange," according to Craig Rashkis, a mediator who has a master's degree in Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine University's Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution. In his article Workplace Conflict and the Importance of Resolving Early, he explains that the amount of organizational resources spent on resolving workplace conflict early on is typically less than the resources used in just half a day of trial when defending a lawsuit. Perhaps more importantly, Rashkis lists benefits which include:

Increased morale and productivity
Greater employee loyalty
Greater retention
Clarification of organizational purpose and policy
Increased profitability
Better reputation
Success through superior products and services

Some Perspective

Conflict is not always easy to identify and must be distinguished from disagreements which can be a part of enthusiastic discussion or caring for the situation at hand. Conflict is associated with anger and frustration.
Effective leaders work from a viewpoint that keeps diverse work teams centered and successful. They know how to use courage and resolve to achieve goals and work with others. It's fairly shocking that according to research of 840,000 employees from the U.S. and U.K., 43% of employees report being disengaged on the job by their third year of employment because they become discouraged or dissatisfied in some way. Conflict in the workplace can only add to this and further disengage employees.

When leaders start to identify and then deal with situations that seem to cause conflict, issues can be resolved fairly and effectively.

There has been much reported about the new and growing diversity in the workforce. As this continues to be a factor, leaders need to be trained to recognize that personality traits and ego can largely influence the initiation of conflict.

Being aware of this and having the right skills to recognize and deal with conflict quickly and effectively will address the root cause, rather than getting bogged down in inflammatory outbursts, irrational eruptions, and inappropriate behavior. Without early resolve, this can become a continual cycle leading to the disengagement-- that we've already defined-- and broken commitment to individual performance.

By using effective techniques in communication and management, leaders help team members understand other points of view in order to move beyond the conflict.

A Solution

Your organization can impact a more positive bottom line characterized by productivity and profitability by improving morale and creating more functional and engaged employees. As Rashkis indicates, "The single most important benefit of resolving workplace conflict early is avoiding its debilitating and potentially disastrous effects." Resolving Conflicts is a program by Vital Learning, offered in both a traditional classroom format or online, that can teach your managers and team leaders the skills to recognize and deal with potential conflict situations early. Some organizations use the blended learning approach using a combination of online and more traditional approaches to deliver the training.

Take this simple quiz to find out if your leaders have the right point of view to deal with conflict. My managers and team leaders...

Accept conflict as inevitable in all work situations and deal with it in order to maintain focus and productivity.
Recognize the positive and negative impacts of conflicts and leverage situations to everyone's advantage.
Distinguish between the two sources of conflict so that the situation can be resolved fairly and effectively.
Establish a cooperative atmosphere to resolve conflicts when they arise.

If you answered any of these with a "No", it is likely that your organization needs some work in this area create a more engaged and sustained workforce in productivity and loyalty to your organization.

The Vital Learning curriculum is designed to meet your training and budgetary needs. Want to learn more about "Essential Skills of Communicating" or the complete Vital Learning leadership development curriculum? Available in Classroom, Online, or Blended delivery options, the Vital Learning curriculum includes the following essential topics.

Delegating - understanding when to use delegation and how to make it motivating
Complaints - being able to effectively manage complaints
Coaching - knowing how to productively coach job skills
Project Management - being able to run projects, both on-time and on-budget
Conflict - understanding how to successfully resolve conflict
Hiring Winning Talent- knowing what to do to consistently hire the right talent
Providing Feedback - understanding how to establish performance goals and standards and give feedback
And more...

For detail go to www.TheLearningEngine.org

Leadership Lessons: Delegating, Empowerment, and Strategic Alignment

2009-04-21T13:17:00.000-07:00

Getting your organization strategically aligned through delegation

There are good habits that we hope all of our supervisors and managers have to help them handle the often powerful and complex challenges of leadership. Bill Gates once said:

"Virtually every company will be going out and empowering with a certain set of tools, and the big difference in how much value is received from that will be how much the company steps back and really thinks through their business processes - thinking through how their business can change, how their project management, their customer feedback, their planning cycles can be quite different than they ever were before." --Bill Gates

Some Perspective

Leaders who regularly delegate are strategically aligned with their employees to improve business processes and provide feedback. This engages employees so that they are reciprocally aligned with their leaders.

Delegating demonstrates trust and encourages development. When you have these two factors at work in your organization, you have a positive environment in which empowered employees are focused on organizational goals.

By delegating responsibilities and projects with clear communication, the bonds of the team are strengthened, manager-employee relationships are improved and a synergistic relationship results. This ties managers and employees together in strategic alignment for the achievement of business goals. A Solution One of the most powerful tools a leader will ever have is communication. There is no replacement for being able to communicate well in the delegation process. Leaders must be able to communicate the "what" and the "why" of every task they delegate. Without taking the time to communicate correctly, misunderstandings occur, workloads become unbalanced, bonds are broken, processes stall, and strategic alignment with goals never occurs.

Therefore, to delegate and empower appropriately, managers and supervisors must learn the following skills:

Explain the need for delegation.
Use delegation of tasks to motivate.
Explain tasks and ask team member's view (getting feedback).
Specify responsibility and authority (empowerment).
Confirming team member's understanding and set up time review (process improvement).

In a perfect world everyone is going out and empowering as is alluded to in our quote from Bill Gates; however, delegating does more than that. It develops people who are able to work through processes and make things better. Then as people develop, they move through the corporate ladder. Delegating expresses confidence in team members and motivates them to achieve strategic goals and redefine their own potential. Delegating creates your leaders of tomorrow, who already are strategically aligned with leadership and goals. What could be better than that?

The Vital Learning curriculum is designed to meet your training and budgetary needs. Want to learn more about "Delegating" or the complete Vital Learning leadership development curriculum? Available in Classroom, Online, or Blended delivery options, the Vital Learning curriculum includes the following essential topics.

Delegating - understanding when to use delegation and how to make it motivating
Complaints - being able to effectively manage complaints
Coaching - knowing how to productively coach job skills
Project Management - being able to run projects, both on-time and on-budget
Conflict - understanding how to successfully resolve conflict
Hiring Winning Talent- knowing what to do to consistently hire the right talent
Providing Feedback - understanding how to establish performance goals and standards and give feedback
And more...

For detail go to www.TheLearningEngine.org

Leadership Lessons: Communicating Up

2009-04-07T13:17:00.000-07:00

Communicating upward to avoid productivity spiraling downward...

Interaction today comes in two ways: human-to-human and human-to-information. As a natural extension of the Information Age, the Interaction Age has come with messaging capabilities and real-time conferencing; however, with so much technology at our fingertips, it is easy to lose sight of what makes for productive communication between team leaders and employees. Of particular concern is the kind of communication that focuses on upward communication that leads to productivity and high performance.

Some Perspective

Great team leaders actively listen to employees. They also actively encourage employees to talk to each other, to customers, and to their leaders. The good news is that most people already have the skills to communicate to their team leaders; they simply need to apply them to their manager. This is the power of human-to-human dialogue that constitutes interaction. With it, employees are able to see the vision for the company and come closer to a sense of ownership in the company initiatives. In addition, this new interaction breeds an environment of teamwork, organizational flexibility, and corporate agility.

For employees to communicate effectively, they need to have a broader understanding of their manager's style and the work environment. For example, one manager may need communications provided in an "executive summary" format as an overview, while another requires more of the detail behind the summary. In any case, employees need to feel empowered with this understanding to alert their managers when issues, concerns, problems, as well as opportunities arise. Employees, who are engaged in the kind of interaction that uses 1) an understanding of style and 2) a process for communicating effectively, create a powerful framework that produces results and a positive working environment.

Take Jack for instance. Before receiving training on a process for communicating with his manager, he was stymied by what seemed to be impossible weekly meetings with his boss, Denise. It seemed to Jack that they were always butting heads because Denise constantly needled him for more details. Jack felt like she didn't trust him.

After training, he learned that everyone has a communication style and that his boss's style was different from his own. Jack deduced that their weekly interaction was not necessarily negative nor a personal attack; it was just Denise's need for more detail. Jack now has a greater understanding of what is required to satisfy his team leader's communication style and move the conversation forward to reach their objectives. Now, Jack looks forward to his weekly meetings.

A Solution

It's actually pretty simple. When employees are trained how to communicate up, they are more committed to the organization and naturally ask for more feedback from their team leader. Everyone takes the next step, listening to each other and responding appropriately. The environment changes, and old problems clear away to be replaced by productive interactivity and passionate employee involvement.

"Communicating Up" is a program by Vital Learning that can teach your managers, team leaders, and employees to be engaged in positive interaction. This program will help your people:

Enter meetings with well-thought out and clearly stated objectives.
Clearly link objectives that support plans and goals.
Move conversations toward questions that focus on understanding gained when your objective is reached.

These are just a few of the powerful tools for communicating up interaction. Putting your training plan in place to address the Interaction Age will keep the human-to-human communication on track and move it toward productive goals.

The Vital Learning curriculum is designed to meet your training and budgetary needs. Want to learn more about "Essential Skills of Leadership" or the complete Vital Learning leadership development curriculum? Available in Classroom, Online, or Blended delivery options, the Vital Learning curriculum includes the following essential topics.

Delegating - understanding when to use delegation and how to make it motivating
Complaints - being able to effectively manage complaints
Coaching - knowing how to productively coach job skills
Project Management - being able to run projects, both on-time and on-budget
Conflict - understanding how to successfully resolve conflict
Hiring Winning Talent- knowing what to do to consistently hire the right talent
Providing Feedback - understanding how to establish performance goals and standards and give feedback
And more...

For detail go to www.TheLearningEngine.org

Leadership Lessons: Coaching Job Skills

2009-03-30T13:17:00.000-07:00

High tech + Low change = No productivity

Singularity is the term that technologists and futurists use to describe the point at which rapid technological progress leads to a quick, completed transformation of the human experience. Are your employees prepared to embrace rapid technological changes and experience singularity?

Based on the rate of past improvements, some believe that technological advances are likely to be exponential in the coming decades. For those who work in HR and training, the impact is huge. A report issued by the Society for Human Resource Management, 2015: Scenarios for the Future of Human Resource Management, brings this to the forefront as an issue to be considered now.

Some Perspective

The rapid turnover of technological knowledge may well require that employee education be embedded and coached as a part of everyday working life. A shortage of supervisors, team leaders, and managers, who are capable of coaching employees in the face of increasingly complex technologies, is quickly becoming a reality.

Take the example of Steve. He's a supervisor for a cereal processing plant. He's faced with the addition of three new machines and the need to hire new staff. It's also budget time. He's finding that he has little time to coach his current team members through job tasks related to the new machines, much less showing the new team members what to do. It's all happening too fast.

Steve's team is not likely to be productive and may be destined to fail. Why?

A Solution

In order to achieve results every coach must go beyond simply showing how to perform a task. Coaching must involve observing, analyzing, demonstrating, and developing relationships with team members. This process is essential to help team members adjust and adapt to rapid changes, and it creates a foundation of trust and respect that is essential for optimal performance.

To achieve this, your managers and team leaders should be trained and prepared to:

Understand why coaching is important and how it supports company goals.
Prepare for a coaching session using observations and analysis plans for a successful dialog.
Hold a coaching conversation which improves an individual's performance and productivity.
Use coaching as a way to build a valuable sense of teamwork, communication, shared goals, and collaboration.

While rapid change, speed, and innovation continue to transform the workplace, it is imperative that leaders are ready for this challenge with the right coaching skills that help team members work appropriately and productively.

The Vital Learning curriculum is designed to meet your training and budgetary needs. Want to learn more about "Coaching Job Skills" or the complete Vital Learning leadership development curriculum? Available in Classroom, Online, or Blended delivery options, the Vital Learning curriculum includes the following essential topics.

Delegating - understanding when to use delegation and how to make it motivating
Complaints - being able to effectively manage complaints
Coaching - knowing how to productively coach job skills
Project Management - being able to run projects, both on-time and on-budget
Conflict - understanding how to successfully resolve conflict
Hiring Winning Talent- knowing what to do to consistently hire the right talent
Providing Feedback - understanding how to establish performance goals and standards and give feedback
And more...

For detail go to www.TheLearningEngine.org

Leadership Lessons: Retaining Winning Talent

2009-03-16T13:16:00.000-07:00

Managing talent for greater success...
If your organization is focused on growth, profitability, customer loyalty, new product introductions, employee engagement and shareholder value to name a few, you must also be in the process of managing your talent. This is a strategy that allows you to not only develop new leaders, but also retain the exceptional talent you hire. It is a tightly woven process, and what you do to retain talent must be threaded throughout all you do.

Some Perspective

The fine art of retaining talent has an effect on your ability to deliver business value. A recent survey by McKinsey & Company asked senior executives of global companies to rank obstacles that prevent them from having talent management strategies. Among the most critical, as defined by executives' response rates, were:

54% - Senior managers don't spend enough time on talent management
52% - Line managers are not sufficiently committed to people development
51% - Silos discourage collaboration and resource sharing
50% - Line managers are unwilling to differentiate high from low performance
47% - Senior leaders do not align talent management and business strategies

Here's one more statistic for you. A recent study showed that 85% of HR executives stated that the single greatest challenge they've had was their organization's ability to compete for talent.

If your organization is one of those facing obstacles with talent management, and you're concerned about your ability to compete for talent, then consider a plan to train your organization on how to effectively retain your best talent.

Most people can understand that turnover is costly in replacement expenses, but it also impacts productivity when other team members see good people leaving the organization.

Picture this scenario: Ray was an executive for a hotel chain that had lack-luster performance. Attrition of leadership was high in the organization. He decided to conduct an analysis of risk factors in retaining top talent. He identified new strategies and tactics such as creating an emerging leaders program, training future leaders, and providing more on-the-job training for line supervisors. As a result, they have recruited better talent and, more importantly, have retained that talent resulting in the value of their stock growing by more than 50% in the last five years.

A Solution

By training your managers, you will help them realize their ability to combat turnover in the organization. You will be giving them the tools they need to create a proactive and productive environment that values key talent.

"Retaining Winning Talent" is a new program from Vital Learning that teaches managers about the process of retaining talent.

Managers will understand that they need to be concerned with team member retention and how to identify individuals at risk. Managers will be able to:

Describe the scope, severity, and cost of attrition
Determine the risk of attrition for each team member Identify which retention factors motivate each team member
Increase each team member's engagement and commitment
Build and implement an effective
Retention Action Plan for their entire team

The Vital Learning curriculum is designed to meet your training and budgetary needs. Want to learn more about "Retaining Winning Talent" or the complete Vital Learning leadership development curriculum? Available in Classroom, Online, or Blended delivery options, the Vital Learning curriculum includes the following essential topics.

Delegating - understanding when to use delegation and how to make it motivating
Complaints - being able to effectively manage complaints
Coaching - knowing how to productively coach job skills
Project Management - being able to run projects, both on-time and on-budget
Conflict - understanding how to successfully resolve conflict
Hiring Winning Talent- knowing what to do to consistently hire the right talent
Providing Feedback - understanding how to establish performance goals and standards and give feedback
And more...

For detail go to www.TheLearningEngine.org

Leadership Lessons: Blended Learning

2009-03-03T13:16:00.000-08:00

Two for one... From a training perspective, sophisticated technologies provide endless opportunities for the delivery of training. They offer just about every combination you can think of between the classroom and online. In a recent study on lifelong learning trends, students preferred a moderate amount of technology in their learning programs, viewing it as supplemental to classroom instruction.

Technology can be one of the major keys to success when applied properly. It satisfies the need to keep employees engaged; it satisfies customers both internally and externally; it also offers employees learning opportunities.

Some Perspective

Originally, most people thought "blended" learning would save them time in the classroom. What we are finding is that rather than saving time, blended learning offers higher value and more effective training. Thus, when participants complete an online module prior to an upcoming class, they come to class armed with the basic terminology and skill points. This knowledge positions them to be ready for discussion and practice. With blended learning, they have the additional advantage of returning online for reinforcement and practice to further ingrain their new skills. This is what real blended learning is all about.

In a recent study conducted by the University Continuing Education Association (UCEA), more than 80 percent of Chief Learning Officers indicated that online learning strategies would play an increasing role in their companies over the next two or three years.

Studies also indicated that learners appreciated trainers, who used the technology wisely to guide participants through online learning and add value to the process.

It is also important to have high quality and alignment with the content -- There needs to be a strong connection between the material taught and the practices and objectives of the organization. When training and business practices are in sync, productivity and improved performance are not far behind.

A Solution Look for organizations that provide both online components and classroom elements that mirror each other. These components might include fully- accessible online videos and skill practice exercises that can support the classroom component and that can be replayed by the learner at a later time for reinforcement of the skills learned. The flexibility of the online component should allow you to structure the learning segments for use before and after the classroom portion of the course.

At Vital Learning Corporation we have readily available programs in formats that allow you to transition and blend traditional classroom training with online. Blended learning has gone strategic. Is it time for your organization to follow?

The Vital Learning curriculum is designed to meet your training and budgetary needs. Want to learn more about "Blended Learning" or the complete Vital Learning leadership development curriculum? Available in Classroom, Online, or Blended delivery options, the Vital Learning curriculum includes the following essential topics.

Delegating - understanding when to use delegation and how to make it motivating
Complaints - being able to effectively manage complaints
Coaching - knowing how to productively coach job skills
Project Management - being able to run projects, both on-time and on-budget
Conflict - understanding how to successfully resolve conflict
Hiring Winning Talent- knowing what to do to consistently hire the right talent
Providing Feedback - understanding how to establish performance goals and standards and give feedback
And more...

For detail go to www.TheLearningEngine.org

Leadership Lessons: Essential Skills of Communicating

2009-02-10T10:41:00.000-08:00

Promoting open and honest communication...

In today's world, we have communication innovations such as iPODs, Instant Messaging, Text Messaging and other technically savvy ways of communicating. However, it is the essential skills of communicating that really allow an individual to convey a message to their team that will inspire, create, and drive free-thinking and innovation.

Some Perspective

The foundation for great communication is openness. When a manager encourages the free exchange of open, honest communication, people are not afraid to offer up new ideas or disagree with an old one that could be improved. When this is done consistently by all your managers, it signals a change in your organization that brings innovation to the table. Innovation leads to better ways to serve the customer and eventually comes back to your bottom line in increased productivity and revenue.

Because of workplace diversity, managers also have to be cognizant that the way they communicate can't be a one-size-fits-all conversation. Managers have to be concerned with understanding individual team members' interests and tailoring their messages accordingly.

Great companies have managers who communicate openly and often, ask for feedback, listen, and then respond appropriately. Take Grand Circle Corp., a Boston travel company, which is one of HR Magazine's 50 Best Small & Medium Places to Work. Grand Circle defines what they celebrate as "open and courageous communication" as being willing to ask tough questions, give constructive feedback to others, and accept such feedback without defensiveness. It's one of the organization's values.

What happens when you have both innovative communication technologies and managers trained to communicate more effectively? Employees look forward to coming to work because the organization promotes good, open communication and innovation.

A Solution

Communication technology in conjunction with managers, who communicate well, will streamline work, accelerate transactions, release creativity, and empower employees. High Performance Innovation is one of the top ten forecasts of what every business needs to prepare for according to the Institute for Global Futures 2007 Global Trends Report.

Making the next step toward an innovative culture means you need to train your managers well. "Essential Skills of Communicating" is one program from Vital Learning that can help you to have a high performing, innovative organizational culture by:

Creating a climate of open communication
Design clear, concise messages
Listening to communicate

Delegating - understanding when to use delegation and how to make it motivating
Complaints - being able to effectively manage complaints
Coaching - knowing how to productively coach job skills
Project Management - being able to run projects, both on-time and on-budget
Conflict - understanding how to successfully resolve conflict
Hiring Winning Talent- knowing what to do to consistently hire the right talent
Providing Feedback - understanding how to establish performance goals and standards and give feedback
And more...

For details go to www.TheLearningEngine.org

Leadership Lessons: New Goals for 2009

2009-02-03T14:29:00.000-08:00

Tough Times

The economic crisis has brought a new business reality to today's leaders. The jobs of human resources and training professionals have expanded so that they are now in ensuring that performance goals and standards are in sync with this new reality. According to management issues.com and a research study of more than 1,500 high-income U.S. workers conducted by the Center for Work-Life Policy, managers will have their work cut out for them in maintaining the moral and engagement of those left-behind in the face of long hours, uncertainty and stress. These factors essentially drive productivity in the wrong direction.

Organizations must be smart about the kind of training that they provide for managers, supervisors and team leaders. With employees becoming increasingly more demoralized, encouraging them to work harder and step up to the plate to deliver is not enough. Organizations must maintain loyalty and trust in this scenario. An employee can be working very hard, but may not be doing the right thing. Often, the employee is the first to know it. The Center for Work-Life Policy's study indicated that employees who said they felt loyal to their companies fell from 95 percent to a little more than 50 percent over the past year. That's startling. Are your workers starting to crash?

What to Do Now

One of the most important things team leaders can do right now to turn the tougher environment in their favor or stop it from becoming negative, is to start preparing for 2009. Developing goals and performance standards that teams can look forward to makes them feel like they are a part of the plan and a part of the solution. They see that someone is actually asking them to define the issues and the goals to deliver results that they feel good about!

Manage the Knowledge A second issue associated with this is how you empower employees with knowledge to deal with new issues and pressures. Part of the planning process is to develop a system whereby much of the existing knowledge surrounding tough business issues is available for employees to find out what they need to know. The rise of the knowledge-based economy requires more attention to knowledge filtered through the organization for greater transparency in the planning process. Performance goals must encompass this aspect. Teams can then identify their needs and issues as well as and current and potential barriers to individual and organizational performance. This allows for organizational strategies to bubble up and for focuses to become solidified. Findings from performance standard sessions lead to further knowledge and better performance.

Key Behavior Modeling

Your training program for the development of performance goals should include highly practical and interactive components that provide participants with a clear framework to successfully prepare for a changing and challenging environment. Through exercises that are tailored to the environment, team leaders and employees gain insights into more competitive strategies, value opportunities and clear lifecycles for development. These are the practice sessions that identify and set performance standards that are specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented and time-framed using concrete language that can help employees justify sound business decisions when they are on the job.

Case Study

Marty has been a top performer in his organization. The economy has been tough and the organization made a decision to downsize, eliminating three of Marty's peers. In the re-structuring, Marty received three new teams to manage. He determined what some of his team members did, organizationally, but productivity is off because of the changes. Many individuals on Marty's new and old teams are disgruntled and frustrated. Marty is working longer hours and is finding it harder to be a team player. He feels like the re-structuring was a bad decision and no one asked his opinion about the plan. Now, Marty is being asked to create a strategic plan together and have it finished by the end of the month. He has vented to his team about it. "Nobody is taking this seriously," he said. "This is just a piece of paper; we all know that this isn't how it really works." Marty's collective team is now completely de-motivated and starting to see their frayed manager come apart at the seams. The result is that Marty might find it difficult to engage his employees in and individual performance development processes. Apathy rolls down hill. Nothing positive is occurring in this scenario.

If a good process of setting performance goals and standards were in place, Marty might have faired better by coming up with concrete solutions with his team members that could be integrated with a better strategic plan.

Developing a Roadmap

Increased demand and competition, a complex marketplace, tough workforce decisions and changing technologies are all impacting organizations today. A good performance and development planning process is the key to developing a clear roadmap to guide employees through the rough terrain ahead. This starts with well-trained managers, supervisors and team leaders. Train them with "Developing Performance Goals and Standards" by Vital Learning. Then ask them to commit to applying what they have learned immediately. Leaders benefit from the following:

Learning to influence future results from their team rather than leaving it to chance.
Planning that will increase job contentment among team members and eliminate confusion.
Improved quality of work through planning which ensures that work is conducted properly and in a timely manner.
Leaders who plan usually discover what works and what doesn't, then seek to improve individuals, teams and the organization.

For general supervisory leadership skills, we continue to offer you the award-winning series by Vital Learning. Available in Classroom, Online, or Blended delivery options, the Vital Learning curriculum includes the following essential topics.

Delegating - understanding when to use delegation and how to make it motivating
Complaints - being able to effectively manage complaints
Coaching - knowing how to productively coach job skills
Project Management - being able to run projects, both on-time and on-budget
Conflict - understanding how to successfully resolve conflict
Hiring Winning Talent- knowing what to do to consistently hire the right talent
Providing Feedback - understanding how to establish performance goals and standards and give feedback
And more...

For detail go to www.TheLearningEngine.org

Leadership Lessons: Improving Work Habits

2009-01-20T12:31:00.000-08:00

Work Habits that Sustain Competitive Advantage

The workforce is changing, and depending on what sector your business is in or what part of the country it is located in, you may be feeling the pinch of the growing labor shortage. Recent research from the Boston College Center on Aging and Work indicated what some companies were doing and that was: intensifying recruitment and reorganizing work flow so that they stayed productive with fewer people. In these tougher labor times, organizations will also need to address poor work habits of their current employees to increase retention and to improve quality of service and productivity.

Some Perspective

One of the greatest challenges for your supervisors is in knowing how to deal effectively with employees who have less than desirable work habits. There is even more pressure if the organization is going through change, and you are doing more with fewer people. Typical issues such as absenteeism, dress and grooming habits, and language issues can lead to poor morale for the entire team and become a real management issue.

Do these managers sound familiar to you? -Sheila stays away from dealing with issues such as grooming because they seem too personal in nature. -Jeff treats negative behavior with negative behavior himself. -Rob believes there are just too many larger issues to tackle.

Of course it is. More than you probably know. A chip here, a chip there, and the volume of poor work habits adds up in terms of lost time and money to the organization and the ability to retain employees; however, these issues can be dealt with through appropriate communication so that employee self-esteem can be maintained.

Robert B. Reich, former Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton and now professor of public policy at UC Berkeley, points out in a talent management article that on-the-job-training and on-the-job skill development can help retain your workforce. Your supervisors, managers, and team leaders may not already have the skills they need to help their employees improve their work habits.

A Solution

One of the keys you need in sustaining a competitive advantage is certainly training. Improving Work Habits is a Vital Learning training program for your supervisors to help them clearly and specifically communicate the nature of employee work problems and develop an individual plan for addressing the issue. The program will enable managers to:

Recognize the difference between job performance and work habits and the skills it takes to bring the situation to a successful resolution.
Understand that unsatisfactory work habits must be dealt with quickly and effectively before they require disciplinary action.
Explain clearly and specifically the nature of the issues with work habits by focusing on behaviors rather than attitude.
Use an action plan and ongoing reviews to help team members improve work habits and demonstrate personal accountability.

We can help you implement a solution that is right for your organization. The online, classroom, and blended versions make it easy to deliver the program, saving you time off the job while also training and reinforcing the skills needed to tackle poor employee work habits.

The Leadership Essentials Series is designed to meet your training and budgetary needs. Want to learn more about Improving Work Habits or the complete Vital Learning leadership development curriculum? Available in Classroom, Online, or Blended delivery options, the Vital Learning curriculum includes the following essential topics.

Coaching Job Skills - understanding why coaching is important and how it supports company goals
Disciplining - understanding how to discipline others to eliminate problem behavior
Complaints - being able to effectively manage complaints
Project Management - being able to run projects, both on-time and on-budget Conflict - understanding how to successfully resolve conflict
Hiring Winning Talent- knowing what to do to consistently hire the right talent
Providing Feedback - understanding how to establish performance goals and standards and give feedback
And more...

For details go to www.TheLearningEngine.org

Leadership Lessons: Developing and Coaching Others

2009-01-06T10:18:00.000-08:00

You're Accountable for Your Employees' Successes

I read an article the other day that was an interview with legendary UCLA basketball coach, John Wooden. It discussed how coaching for sports is similar to coaching people in business. Wooden said, "Every one of us is different. We are similar in so many respects, but we are not identical." The person in leadership must carefully analyze everyone under his supervision to the best of his ability.

Traditionally, many managers have not looked at each of their employees carefully on an individual basis and coached each one appropriately. This is one area that new and even seasoned managers have had very little training: How to effectively coach team members. Motivation, support, and coaching from managers can help an individual to develop, grow, and improve performance.

Some Perspective

Providing employees coaching early helps managers assess employees' bench strength and progress to find out who still needs help. Coaching helps employees develop and improve performance. Even more than that, it helps encourage employee decision-making, creativity, and skill development.

In sports, coaches put emphasis on practice and typically determine who is going to play based on how the individual practices. How you practice usually determines how you will play. Good, consistent practice skills translate into playing and actual performance. The problem is, how do you learn to become a great coach who can consistently reinforce the skills of a team member, while at the same time, help that individual to better grasp new skills?

Coach Wooden said that being accused of "not having much depth" on his team never bothered him. He was more interested in having a team of players working hard on the fundamentals. It was more important to have them well-trained and working together. Similarly, it is important to employees that their manager has a mind-set of developing and coaching. This promotes an increase of the skills and capabilities of every member on the team.

A Solution

If you are going to invest time, money, and resources into training and developing employees, it is worthwhile to focus on programs that lead to true behavior change and performance improvement. Teaching managers effective coaching skills is one of the best ways to get a great return on your training investment.

Vital Learning's "Developing and Coaching Others" teaches managers to use coaching to reinforce new skills. Then, employees become comfortable with the new skills; these new skills turn into habits.

"Developing and Coaching Others" teaches managers to effectively recognize and handle coaching moments so that they can make learning decisions themselves. This is a different approach to changing behavior and upping the score on performance by meeting two key objectives:

First, to provide managers with skills and strategies to guide their people through a learning process, including tactics to help them before, during, and after training. That way you can ensure that behavior change is made.
And secondly, to provide managers with a coaching moments model to help their teams gain understanding and insight about their actions. This way, self-awareness with opportunities to learn and improve is supported.

The Supervision Series is designed to meet your training and budgetary needs. Want to learn more about "Developing and Coaching Others" or the complete Vital Learning leadership development curriculum?
Available in Classroom, Online, or Blended delivery options, the Vital Learning curriculum includes the following essential topics

Delegating - understanding when to use delegation and how to make it motivating
Disciplining - understanding how to discipline others to eliminate problem behavior
Complaints - being able to effectively manage complaints
Coaching - knowing how to productively coach job skills
Project Management - being able to run projects, both on-time and on-budget Conflict - understanding how to successfully resolve conflict
Hiring Winning Talent- knowing what to do to consistently hire the right talent
Providing Feedback - understanding how to establish performance goals and standards and give feedback
And more...

For details go to www.TheLearningEngine.org

Leadership Lessons: Essential Skill of Leadership

2008-12-02T09:00:00.000-08:00

People Quit Managers... Not Companies!

The number one reason people leave an organization is because of a bad manager, not the company. Often, managers don't have the leadership skills to operate effectively in their position. This can lead to dissatisfied employees, low productivity, and high turnover.

Many organizations make the mistake of promoting a great employee to the management level because he/she performed so well at the task-oriented level. While these employees are thrilled about the new promotion, they find themselves lacking leadership skills, leaving them unable to meet the needs of their direct reports.

Does this scenario sound familiar?

Some Perspective

In many cases, managers do not have the skills to perform at the level that is needed to be an effective leader.

Project managers and supervisors have problems managing people for a lot of reasons. They may have the technical talent to do the job, but when it comes to dealing with other human beings, they often lack these skills:

They don't communicate clearly
They don't know how to effectively delegate and coach
They have a problem resolving conflicts
They focus on attitudes and not behavior

Let's look at a typical scenario, which is often played out time after time in organizations.

Tom is a member of a six-person software development team. Tom made two critical errors on a project that is quickly approaching its deadline. Jen, a team member, fell behind because of Tom's errors, and the other team members began to feel animosity towards both of them. Sharp emails were exchanged among the team members, and progress on the project was grinding to a halt.

Another team member finally came forward to explain the issue to the team leader, who had not been in communication with the team in the last week. The team leader called a meeting and sharply criticized Tom and Jen and then threatened punitive measures against the entire team if the project did not finish on time.

The situation could have been handled better if the team leader had the skills to better manage this team.

A Solution

Some of the most important skills a team leader can have are the abilities to: give direction, evaluate performance, correct work habits, deal with complaints, resolve conflicts, and maintain a team member's self-esteem.

With the proper training, most managers can be saved by resolving their skill set deficiencies. Then they can lead and manage a group of people so they are productive, effective, and more importantly, produce bottom-line results.

Utilizing the skills learned in the Supervision Series program "Essential Skills of Leadership," leaders and managers become effective and productive while encouraging their team members to work together and produce high-level results.

Do your leaders and managers have the essential skills to...

Maintain or Enhance Team Member Self-Esteem: supporting the team member's sense of respect and dignity?
Focus on Behavior - dealing with what people do rather than with their attitudes or personal characteristics?
Encourage Team Member Participation - involving the team in decision-making and problem-solving as a key motivational tool?

To learn more about " Essential Skill of Leadership " or the complete Vital Learning leadership development curriculum download this 4-page PDF or watch this brief video.

The Vital Learning curriculum is available in Classroom, Online, or Blended delivery options and includes the following essential topics...

Delegating - understanding when to use delegation and how to make it motivating

Disciplining - understanding how to discipline others to eliminate problem behavior

Complaints - being able to effectively manage complaints

Coaching - knowing how to productively coach job skills

Project Management - being able to run projects, both on-time and on-budget

Conflict - understanding how to successfully resolve conflict

Hiring Winning Talent- knowing what to do to consistently hire the right talent

Providing Feedback - understanding how to establish performance goals and standards and give feedback

And more...

For detail go to www.TheLearningEngine.org

Leadership Lessons: Leading Successful Projects

2008-11-18T10:54:00.000-08:00

Lights, Camera, Action... Flop!

You've worked hard, you've closed the deal, you're ready to start your new project, and now the planning begins. What would happen if a project wasn't well defined, tasks were not properly assigned, and results and timelines were not clear to each team member? (I hope you don't have to find out!)

Some Perspective

Welcome to the new world of management. Today's managers have been thrust into the new role of leading project teams that have a direct, significant connection to the bottom line. If each team member isn't doing his or her part, the project starts to unravel over a period of a few weeks or months. Why? It's because day-to-day tasks are now a part of a larger scheme, involving a whole project with a deadline, budget, and deliverables.

Unhinged projects can be avoided if the people aspects of the project are addressed. Let's look at Tony, a new manager of a print shop.

Just six weeks ago, Tony was a lead salesperson. Sure, he had come up through the ranks, operating the small printers and then the big presses. Tony was confident that he knew all the ins and outs of running a print shop. He was a well-liked team player and knew the business. But as Tony would discover, knowing the business isn't enough. Not anymore.

Just recently, Tony sold the largest piece of business the shop ever had. The deal involved a long-term contract for printing a series of catalogs for a major U.S. retailer. Tony felt lucky that he understood both the client perspective and the capabilities of the shop.

Tony plunged the team into setting up for the first catalog according to the typical schedule and workload. After a few weeks, the client came with the work for the second catalog. The shop and its employees were in turmoil between the regular projects and the new project. The team members failed to see how the projects could be integrated and completed. They were melting down, and other clients were beginning to suffer.

These were the first signs that the project was coming unhinged before it really went downhill. What went wrong? Tony had failed to implement any kind of project plan. Ideally, this begins with using interpersonal skills to win and maintain commitment, enthusiasm, and the support of the team.

A Solution

"Leading Successful Projects" is a training program that provides the structure, process, and tools necessary for team leaders to master the art of project management. Managers, like Tony, need to understand the critical four phases every successful project goes through. They also need to examine each phase through the lens of the questions that must be answered to assure project control and progress.

One of the keys to your business is having managers, who can assess the probable impact of a project on overall business goals. Are all your managers able to do this? Are they able to ask the right questions in each phase of the project?

If not, chances are that most of your managers will benefit from project management training. Successful projects are critical to the bottom line of the organization, and your teams must be able to orchestrate success. Keeping the project on track is a direct result of good management each step of the way.

In the "Leading Successful Projects" 2-day workshop, your team leaders and managers will learn skills from 4 modules:

Getting Started - the big picture, success factors and goals
Getting Ready - defining resources, roles and responsibilities
Building an Action Plan - aligning resources, roles and responsibilities
Executing and Closing - monitoring, controlling and completing

Our experience has shown that a manager's ability to direct projects and participate knowledgeably on a project team has a direct impact on business results.

To learn more about " Leading Successful Projects " or the complete Vital Learning leadership development curriculum download this 4-page PDF or watch this brief video.

The Vital Learning curriculum is available in Classroom, Online, or Blended delivery options and includes the following essential topics...

Disciplining - understanding how to discipline others to eliminate problem behavior
Complaints - being able to effectively manage complaints
Coaching - knowing how to productively coach job skills
Project Management - being able to run projects, both on-time and on-budget
Conflict - understanding how to successfully resolve conflict
Developing Performance Goals and Standards - understanding how to establish performance goals and standards
Providing Feedback - knowing when and how to give feedback
And more...
For detail go to www.TheLearningEngine.org

Leadership Lessons: Supporting Change

2008-11-11T10:15:00.000-08:00

It's Not the Strong That Survive, But Those That Adapt Best...

It was Darwin who first explained that the species which best adapted to its environment were the most likely to survive. In today's changing business environment, organizations also need to adapt -- or risk extinction.

Some Perspective

So how do you compete in the face of constant change? As the pressures of change build, the changes can become more complicated and difficult to control. When that occurs, managers often feel they are doing well to cross just one thing off their daily list! But what about your employees... how are they coping with daily changes?

Your managers need to deal with the emotions, fear and anxiety that come with change as they interact with their team members.

I've often experienced organizations in which strategies seem to change with the way the wind blows. At least that is how it is perceived by employees. For example, Ralph was a manager of a telemarketing firm a few years ago. Changes in the "No Call" listing as well as a shift from outbound to inbound marketing strategies caused a major disruption in the way the company was doing business. Employees lived in fear of losing their jobs and wondered whether or not they would fit in. Turnover was an immediate problem, and the "survivors" were left with more fear and oppression of re-training and new rules.

Ralph came to me with this fundamental problem: How could he give his team leaders the skills to lead call center teams through the change, with minimal turnover and maximum productivity? I told him that if team leaders could develop their skills to support and manage change, they would have a direct impact on the success of the organization.

A Solution

To make this kind of impact, team leaders need to:

Understand why change happens and how people react to it.
Learn how to support the team members as they struggle with change.
Involve team members in a change initiative by promoting their understanding and ownership of the change and its benefits.
Plan for individual or group follow-up sessions that support the change process and reinforce personal and organizational goals.

Supporting Change is a Vital Learning program that provides the tools managers need to understand and interpret change to more successfully manage their team through it. By working to support change and address the team's comfort level with that change, the manager can more effectively facilitate acceptance of a new way of doing things.

Change can be good! New initiatives can gain acceptance more quickly. Lost productivity, turnover, and decreased performance can be minimized if managers are trained to "manage change". In this 4-hour workshop, your team leaders and managers will learn skills such as:

Understand the phases of change
How to react to organizational changes
Strategies of supporting change
How to keep pace with flexibility

To learn more about "Developing Performance Goals and Standards" or the complete Vital Learning leadership development curriculum download this 4-page PDF or watch this brief video.

The Vital Learning curriculum is available in Classroom, Online, or Blended delivery options and includes the following essential topics...

Disciplining - understanding how to discipline others to eliminate problem behavior
Complaints - being able to effectively manage complaints
Coaching - knowing how to productively coach job skills
Project Management - being able to run projects, both on-time and on-budget
Conflict - understanding how to successfully resolve conflict
Developing Performance Goals and Standards - understanding how to establish performance goals and standards
Providing Feedback - knowing when and how to give feedback
And more...
For detail go to www.TheLearningEngine.org

Leadership Lessons: Effective Discipline

2008-11-09T11:16:00.000-08:00

Busting the Discipline Myths...

Most managers and team leaders don't like the idea of having to discipline employees. Even when they know it is desperately needed, they often can't bring themselves to do it. They operate in the world of the Five Myths of discipline.

Myth 1: Ignore it until later; it might go away.
Myth 2: Focus first on the positive and dance around the real issue. (This is known as the "Criticism Sandwich.")
Myth 3: Give the bad news quickly, and get them out the door; it will be easier for both of you.
Myth 4: Don't document the disciplinary action so it won't be on their record - you don't want them to get in trouble.
Myth 5: Once you've talked to the employee, breathe a sigh of relief as your work is done.

Some Perspective

The truth is that you can't dance around discipline. It is also important to treat employees with respect when it comes to discipline. For discipline to be effective, the manager and employee need to be fully engaged in recognizing the issues and being a part of the solution.

Performance professionals should know that engaged employees can make a dramatic impact on their company's bottom-line. Employees can't do that if concerns about their work behavior are ignored. There is no way that they can be fully involved with the team.

A recent study conducted by ISR, an employee research consulting firm, showed that there was a significant relationship between business results and the extent to which employees (a) stayed committed in company values, (b) felt pride in working for the company, and (c) were motivated to go the extra mile.

Here's an example of where discipline was needed to save a team from falling apart. Lydia and Jeff had been model co-workers in the past. Lydia developed a dislike for the way Jeff started to leave some of his work at the end of the day for her to finish up. They begin to exchange insults with each other every morning, and that led to more heated discussions. The rest of the team was getting distracted and taking sides. Productivity was slipping, and the rest of the employees didn't understand why their manager wasn't doing something to discipline Lydia and Jeff for their behavior. Lydia and Jeff started slacking off because of their distracting quarrel, and the team was not motivated to work hard when others were getting away with poor performance. The team had become disengaged.

A Solution

Having a practice of effective discipline can motivate employees to be engaged with clear and fair expectations of performance. This practice allows you to:

Prevent continued negative behavior
Make rules for discipline clear
Empower yourself and your managers to handle conflict effectively
Increase company productivity with more engaged employees
Ensure the company complies with legal requirements

As a manager or training professional in a position to deliver effective training on discipline, you should be looking at the following elements:

Discipline focusing on behavior
Teaching self-discipline
Using positive-discipline to encourage self-discipline
Documenting the discipline

Find out how to train your managers on discipline with Vital Learning's "Effective Discipline" program. Bring your managers out of the fog. They can learn techniques for effective discipline, such as communicating concerns about behaviors, minimizing defensiveness, reducing conflict avoidance, and focusing on solutions that include employee participation. Improve morale, engagement, and productivity!

To learn more about "Effective Discipline " or the complete Vital Learning leadership development curriculum download this 4-page PDF or watch this brief video.

The Vital Learning curriculum is available in Classroom, Online, or Blended delivery options and includes the following essential topics...

Delegating - understanding when to use delegation and how to make it motivating

Complaints - being able to effectively manage complaints

Coaching - knowing how to productively coach job skills

Project Management - being able to run projects, both on-time and on-budget

Conflict - understanding how to successfully resolve conflict

Hiring Winning Talent- knowing what to do to consistently hire the right talent

Providing Feedback - understanding how to establish performance goals and standards and give feedback

And more...

For detail go to www.TheLearningEngine.org

Leadership Lessons: Everyone Deserves Feedback

2008-11-04T11:15:00.000-08:00

Feedback is a gift that keeps on giving....

Whether constructive or positive, performance feedback lets employees learn what's working and what's not working. In today's competitive market, this is priceless information.

Some Perspective

Have you ever seen a team leader overlook a hard-working employee for a job well done? How many times have you seen a team leader fail to give appropriate feedback in the face of poor performance? Perhaps positive feedback is easier to give, but many managers avoid giving negative performance feedback like the plague. Either way, performance feedback is critical to the development of employees.

Unfortunately, all too often, employees don't get the feedback they need to improve. Here's an example I recently observed...

Jane was an employee in a major manufacturing plant. Jane and her supervisor, Ellen, had worked together for five years. Ellen began to notice Jane's productivity slipping, but she hesitated to discuss the issue with Jane.

Jane was having problems understanding a new procedure. Her lack of clarity was negatively affecting her performance, but she thought she was doing just fine. Three months elapsed, and Jane's productivity continued to suffer.

What was going on here? Ellen was avoiding the discussion, and nothing was getting resolved. Ellen's hesitation was partially about the uncomfortable feeling she would get when talking about poor performance. Ellen felt the feedback conversation would be a personal attack on Jane. The other part of Ellen's concern was that she did not have a clear process to follow to provide the feedback that Jane needed. Ellen did not know how to stay objective and handle the situation effectively, so she hesitated.

That hesitation did not give Jane a chance to explore her difficulty with the new procedure, and this situation led to months of low productivity for Jane and the group. In the end, Ellen was forced to take disciplinary action with Jane, rather than the "corrective action" she could have taken earlier. Ultimately, the issues were properly resolved, but along the way productivity went down, and both Jane's and Ellen's reputations were damaged. At least now, they were on the right track.

Do situations like this occur in your organization?

A Solution

Performance feedback has three basic benefits:

Structured regular updates on how well individuals are performing to standards. It's an opportunity to both address potential concerns and praise excellent performance.

Ongoing performance feedback leads to more accurate team member self-perceptions, clears up misunderstandings, and gives the team member a chance to ask questions.

Ongoing performance feedback provides an information base for later management decisions on human resource issues such as pay, promotions, transfers, assignments, or termination.

Think about your organization. Here are two questions you need to ask:

How accurate and timely is the current performance feedback?

Does it advance the goals of the organization?

With the proper skills, your team leaders will be able to provide performance feedback in a timely and high quality manner. This professional environment will increase the number of positively motivated employees who create momentum and productivity in your organization.

Our "Providing Performance Feedback" 4-hour skill building classroom workshop will help your managers effectively learn skills such as:

How to identify what maintains or improves performance in your organization

How to effectively provide performance feedback

How to make performance feedback a job function that managers won't dread

To learn more about "Developing Performance Goals and Standards" or the complete Vital Learning leadership development curriculum download this 4-page PDF or watch this brief video.

The Vital Learning curriculum is available in Classroom, Online, or Blended delivery options and includes the following essential topics...

Disciplining - understanding how to discipline others to eliminate problem behavior
Complaints - being able to effectively manage complaints
Coaching - knowing how to productively coach job skills
Project Management - being able to run projects, both on-time and on-budget
Conflict - understanding how to successfully resolve conflict
Developing Performance Goals and Standards - understanding how to establish performance goals and standards
And more...
For detail go to www.TheLearningEngine.org

Leadership Lessons: The Importance of Performance Goals and Standards

2008-10-28T10:32:00.000-07:00

How Can You Hit an Invisible Bull's-eye?

"We're falling behind. My team is not hitting its goals. Why am I the only one losing sleep over this?" Have you ever found yourself asking these questions?

Some Perspective

One of the most important things a manager should do is involve individuals or teams in goal setting. Together they can determine, agree upon, and document goals as well as the standards of performance. Employees need guidelines to tell them how they are doing.

With clear goals and standards, everyone understands performance expectations. Then it becomes a group effort to improve performance against goals--not just the responsibility of the manager.

The idea here is not for the manager to just set goals for others and expect compliance. Instead, the manager's role is to work together with team members to develop and agree upon goals and standards that everyone understands.

A Solution

I've worked with many organizations where managers did not understand the value of planning, and they certainly did not know how to set performance goals and standards. The bottom line is that thinking you can achieve success without planning and developing performance goals and standards is not wise.

Employees are likely to perform better and have greater job satisfaction when they are given clear performance expectations. Additionally, employees will benefit from understanding how their goals and responsibilities fit into bigger organizational strategy. With strategic alignment at all levels, the organization is more likely to achieve its set goals.

"Developing Performance Goals and Standards" is one course in Vital Learning's Leadership curriculum that helps leaders implement the SMART approach to developing performance goals and standards:

S - Specific
M - Measurable
A - Attainable
R - Result-oriented
T - Time-framed

Because SMART is a collaborative process to developing goals and standards, team members understand organizational performance requirements as well as their role in moving the organization forward.

With "Developing Performance Goals and Standards," the people your managers lead will know what they are expected to do, and they will know how to work together to accomplish the goals of your organization.

"Developing Performance Goals and Standards" is a 4-hour skill-building classroom workshop or a 2-hour online course that helps your managers implement the SMART approach. Also available is our option of combining online and classroom experiences in a Blended Learning approach. This approach maximizes learning and minimizes time off the job in the classroom.

To learn more about "Developing Performance Goals and Standards" or the complete Vital Learning leadership development curriculum download this 4-page PDF or watch this brief video.

The Vital Learning curriculum is available in Classroom, Online, or Blended delivery options and includes the following essential topics...

Disciplining - understanding how to discipline others to eliminate problem behavior
Complaints - being able to effectively manage complaints
Coaching - knowing how to productively coach job skills
Project Management - being able to run projects, both on-time and on-budget
Conflict - understanding how to successfully resolve conflict
Providing Feedback - knowing when and how to give feedback
And more...
For detail go to www.TheLearningEngine.org

Leadership Lessons: The Hiring Dilemma

2008-10-21T09:57:00.000-07:00

Getting the Right People on the Bus

Do your managers consistently hire good people, who hit the ground running and become really productive? The lack of good hires impacts productivity, morale and even turnover. Why can't they hire winning talent?

Some Perspective

How many times have you met with a new hire who you knew would not work out within the first few days? Once is one time too many. Hiring the wrong person has many negative ripple effects on a team. But why do bad hires occur? In my experience, there are four fundamental reasons: the people interviewing candidates are not clear, nor do they agree on what it takes to be successful in the job.

The people interviewing candidates do not know how to conduct an effective and legal interview that uncovers pertinent information so that they can make a well-informed selection decision. The interviewing team does not have the most effective members to interview and select the best candidates.

The candidate isn't provided an effective opportunity to understand what the job and work environment are like, so they aren't making a well-informed decision when they say "yes." When candidates are unclear and do not agree on what is required to perform well in the job, the interviews will lack inter-rater reliability. This means that three managers could interview the same candidate and feel three different ways about that same candidate's ability to perform well in the role. Unfortunately, it happens all too often and leaves the interviewing team unable to make the best decision.

Many managers do not use a structured process for interviewing candidates. This is often attributed to the fact that they haven't been trained in interview and selection skills and strategies. Additionally, they may use team members who also have not been trained. All that adds up to is the probability of inconsistent success at hiring.

Because of the pressures to be productive and effectively use time, many managers go through the interview and selection process alone, rather than seek the input from team members currently in the job. This happens a lot. The common reason is "we can't spare the time away from projects and clients without falling behind." Unfortunately, the time and productivity lost from one bad hire after another far outweigh the time involving knowledgeable team members in the interview and selection process.

Research has shown that job-person fit is significantly linked to job satisfaction. Thus, when new hires begin work and realize that they had the wrong impression of the job requirements, this disconnect will inevitably cause problems for them and the hiring organization. When this happens, the likelihood that the candidate will stay is low, and then the search starts all over again.

A Solution

There is a solution. "Hiring Winning Talent" helps managers, supervisors, and team members understand how to use a structured process to identify, select, and hire the best and brightest people - people who truly fit the work requirements and the organization's requirements.

Wouldn't it be great if all new hires hit the road running and then stayed around long enough to become really productive? "Hiring Winning Talent" can help your managers, supervisors, and team members hire the right people and do it consistently.

"Hiring Winning Talent" is available in an 8-hour classroom workshop, a 4-hour online course, or a blended approach option, combining the ease of E-learning and the traditional classroom experience. This curriculum includes the following essential topics:

Defining What You're Looking For - the position description, job competencies, and questioning strategies
Planning the Interview - hiring strategy, sourcing, resume screening, the interview team, great reasons to work here
Conducting the Interview - an appropriate climate, conducting the interview, responding to challenging interviewee questions
Making the Selection - decision making guidelines, evaluating candidates, communicating with candidates
And more...

To learn more about "Hiring Winning Talent" or the complete Vital Learning leadership development curriculum download this 4-page PDF or watch this brief video.

The Vital Learning curriculum is available in Classroom, Online, or Blended delivery options and includes the following essential topics...

Disciplining - understanding how to discipline others to eliminate problem behavior
Complaints - being able to effectively manage complaints
Coaching - knowing how to productively coach job skills
Project Management - being able to run projects, both on-time and on-budget
Conflict - understanding how to successfully resolve conflict
Developing Performance Goals and Standards - understanding how to establish performance goals and standards
Providing Feedback - knowing when and how to give feedback
And more...
For detail go to www.TheLearningEngine.org