Martin Haworth's Articles - Leadership Articles - A great resource for enhancing your leadership knowledge!

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10 Steps When You Need Help in Your Business You start off alone. Be it as a solo business owner or a manager looking after a part of a larger business. It gets busier, you get distracted from what you want to do, because there's only one of you and you've only got one pair of hands. So you need to find help... 10 Things A Manager Must Do On The First Day One of the biggest challenges for any new manager, is how to approach (and even survive) the very first day in their new appointment. Indeed what you do on day one, may well frame the relationship with your employees for years to come... 100% Successful Management – The Ten Winning Behaviours Management is all about being the one who facilitates business or organisational success. Delivering the required results. It can be daunting, yet with these ten simple ideas, it might not be the impossible challenge... 6 Simple Steps to Dealing with Difficult Managers Managing teams is tricky enough, but when you have a challenging manager to deal with as well - I guess you could do without it... A Complementary Team We all have weaknesses. Whatever our roles. In management positions, one of the bigger challenges is to recognise our own shortcomings and alter our own behaviours. Sometimes this can be very challenging... Accepting Thanks With Good Grace There is a huge value in accepting help in your business, to build your own capacity as well as growing your team too. And often, when we are given a compliment, or someone says 'Thank you', we feel it is polite to gently decline. We say things like 'It's nothing' or 'No, no - it was all you'. Yet there's much more to it than that... Accountable Or Responsible - That Is The Question Are you ready to step up to the big time? The reason I ask, is a lesson I learnt once when I got myself promoted... Agendas - The Key to Successful Meetings For meetings to consistently deliver the required performance and hence outputs, it is critical to have a prepared communication process in advance of the meeting. Asking for Help When we lead and manage a team, whether we are business owners, run a department or just supervise a group of people in our business, we are on show. And it's the toughest place, handling everything. Yet, what is there was one thing you could do immediately, to change all that... Business Development - the Importance of Just 'Talking' Building relationships with your people is the most valuable action you can take. And it's vital to make the time to get to know your people better. Business Relationships - Promises are for Keeping It's a small thing, but it is so vital for business relationships. Forgetting little things promised, causes erosion of trust and belief in you... Business Succession Planning - Three Fundamental Reasons You Need It Now! Succession planning is a simple enough process for managers and business owners to have the people they need, when they need them, all the time. And this brings them significant benefits. If that's what you want right now, here's three great benefits... Classic Leadership Styles Much has been said over the years about leadership styles. Yet research into the best and most practical overview leads to the easiest conclusion (there will always be variables on these, as well as mixes of them), are that there are four distinct leadership styles (plus an extra!)... Crisis Management In an ideal world, we would never have crises. Yet in the real world we do. Managing crisis is quite a challenge, so here are some thoughts on how to make it work best for you... Decision Making Processes - Doing the Best You Can Ever been frustrated by someone who made a decision that seemed to be the wrong decision? You need to know the consequences of handling this badly... Easy Tools Of Management You Must Know Management is not the easiest job in the world. If done correctly however, it has its many rewards. But what if you are in large scale management involving many people and situations? Would not that be very challenging? Here are a few steps to consider... Effectively Managing Meetings Making the most of meetings will free up your time, yet it important to check that you aren't just ditching them becuase they aren't working well - there are real benefits in getting together... Employee Motivation - The 8 Basics To motivate your employees, it is vital that you start off with understanding that there are some things that need to be fixed first, before you can get on with the above the line actions which develop a strong and engaged culture... Employee Motivation - The VERY Easy Way! Easy motivation of your people is possible, day-in, day out through the use of two little words - but you have to use them; and use them often. Feedback is a Gift Feedback is a gift – when done properly. The very word strikes fear into the hearts of millions of workers every day, yet it need not be that way... Getting Your Feet Wet Sometimes getting ahead means initial shocks and challenges to your system. And then you can really push on to make progress... Give A Man A Fish, Feed Him For A Day. Teach A Man To Fish, Feed Him For A Lifetime - Lao Tzu 101 Lao Tzu's famous saying, carried for over two millenia to modern times, is just as relevant today How has this wondeful phrase stood the test of time, to work effectively in the modern business world? Hands Off Management - Frying Pan, Fire or Neither? How tempting is it to fix things? You know, you are passing by one of your teams cubicles and they are doing something you know all about. So you give a hand... Hey - Just Do It There can be many frustrations in business and more especially in management. In this little article, we'll explore more about JDI and how this weekend, it made a magnificent difference to a small town on the Scottish/English borders How Showing a Little Appreciation Motivates Employees There are a whole load of resources you can find on 'motivation'. Books, tapes, internet etc. Yet it need not be so complicated... How To Build A Succession Planning Culture In Your Business Succession planning in any business, is vital to avoid major challenges later on when a key person in an organization has left their important position. And you need to start in good time... How to Make a Difference Every Day Every day, everyone can make the world a better place. It's simple; it's quick and it is free... It's Not What You Say, It's The Way That You Say It Sometimes in business there are constructive ways you can develop yourpeople and ways of saying things that will only contribute to their decline. How will you do it? Leadership - Ten Ways To Be Better At Leading Teams Building a team that works so well for you is a challenge, so here are a few ideas that will help you along the way. Making a Difference In Your Business Success - Ten Easy Skills To Practice We are all busy people. Our businesses depend on us and they require our full attention. Yet sometimes, it's of value to reflect on the bigger picture of purpose. What is a way to lead and yet, make a difference in your wake... Making it Happen How frustrating is it when things progress slowly? When you end up coming back to people and they haven't got on with things like you expected. And sometimes it seems to be the same people who you have this problem with. Read on for what happens next... Making Time for Team Building Relationships Whatever else you are doing - STOP! - whenever you engage with someone in conversation. Ignore pagers. Put off interruptions. At the very least make sure that you 'honour' the space that you have when you are in any sort of one-to-one with someone else. Management Development - Micromanagement Works! Ever been told not to micromanage your people? Because it irritates them and is a waste of your time, their time and leads to bad habits? Well it's all true. If you micromanage your people in all that they do, it will drive you and them nuts. But there is a way... Managing Your Boss - Taking the Initiaitve Building relationships is vital in business. When you are employed and have a boss it's even more critical, because you have an incentive to get the best from your boss - and the onus is on you. For bosses, try on this as a set of expectations your people have from you... Managing Your Time Effectively - Time to Stop Time is of the essence. And in business, time is money. We all agree to that, but what do we seem to have the least of? And what can we do about it.... Moving from 'Chiefs' and 'Indians' Management In many, if not most, business cultures, we still have pretty much vertical structures of hierarchy. Yet there is value in moving right along from this ancient creaking model... People Management - Ten Steps to Success! People management skills are vital for managers - it may sound simple, yet some managers find it so challenging. But there are just a few simple ideas that you can start to incorporate. To get the best results you have to be very good at people management...and it's not as hard as you might think. Here are the secrets of the very best managers:- Performance Management - Five Easy Steps To Success "Performance Management" refers to the way in which a business involves its employees and encourages those employees to help the business grow and improve. Here are a variety of methods of implementing this system and why it is important to the overall success of your business. Recruitment Standards - The Prime Test For Building Your Team Recruitment standards are a critical component of assembling a strong management team to fit your company's needs. Maintaining recruitment standards ensures you are getting qualified people, who fit well into the mechanics of your business. Why is this important and anyway, what can you do about it? Read on... Successful Succession Planning - Driven By Performance Management There are a number of areas to keep your eye on as part of your succession planning activities. Top of the list has to be that as you formulate your ideas to get those people organized to be top class performers, you need to know how they are doing, right now. Here are some ideas... Succession Planning - 3 Extra-Special Benefits For Managers Succession planning in your business is an easy enough project to start up. It creates excellent employees who are ready for the step up when you need it and not when you get caught short. Which will make a big difference to your business. Here's why... Succession Planning - A Bigger Solution Than You Might Think Succession planning is the process by which a company, in effect "hires from within." It refers to the way a company identifies employees and prepares them for moving up within the company confines. Here's more... Succession Planning - Vital For Your Business At All Levels There are so many issues in management today and one that so often gets missed is planning for every eventuality. If you have no idea what succession planning is then this article is worth a read - it could make all the difference... Succession Planning - Your Business Needs It Right Now! Succession planning is all about having a great team working for you and then more. It's about releasing the unlimited potential in the whole of your workforce. To do that you need to know them all very well indeed. Succession Planning Values - Time Invested Is Well Worth It In any business there is a careful balance between the 'day job' and the work you put in to make your business sustainable. If you use a succession planning activity, you will find your jig-saw fits together perfectly. Here's why... Sustainable Business Growth - It Is All About Building Your Team You want a growing and developing business and you also see that you are putting all the effort in. In fact it's a level of workload that you know, deep down that you cannot sustain. The answer is to stop - and build your team around you that makes this much, much easier. So, where to start.. Switch on Your Employees - Say an Unexpected 'Thank You' Unexpected recognition for a job well done is very, very validating for your people. Take Your Time - Make Time Of all the topics that are raised in arenas where management are discussed, Time Management is one of the most frequent, Here's some great thoughts on why - and how you can find great solutions to the issues raised. Team Building - Inherit or Create? Is it easier to have a bunch of people that are brand new to a team, or one that you mould from those you inherit? Team Building - The Route To Accelerating Your Business Development Building a successful team inside your organization is vital to the success of your company. Giving your employees the chance to feel they are part of something bigger than themselves offers your company the benefit of happier employees. Here's why, and some clues to how you do it... Ten Meeting Management Issues to Watch Out For Meetings are valuable components of organisations. Yet they need process, discipline and leadership/facilitation to work best. Here are some indicators to watch out for to highlight where things may be going wrong. Ten Ways to be Better at Creating A Winning Business Culture Creating A Winning Culture requires more than quick-fix actions, because it is a way of being. It is how things are... The Amazing Power of One More Question Building strong relationships is all about having two sides appreciate each other and want to build a bond that works both ways. This can generate the enormous benefits of collaboration. Here are twelve real benefits of this little tool... The Power of Groups Leading your people is a lonely place to be. They expect so much of you. Your business depends on you. And it's tough too. New evidence, from an intriguing book, indicates that this might not be too good for your health, nor may it be giving you the best results... Time Management and Your Big Rocks In Steven Covey's excellent book, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" he tells a well-worn story about the use of time... Time to Stop Yourself Doing Everything in Your Business You've been there and done it. You've got the tee-shirt and your experiences mean that you can cut so many corners. So you do. It's easier. You respond to all the requests, questions, challenges and mistakes of your people... Top Ten Tips for Outstanding Customer Service Keeping customer service focus simple is the key to enabling all of your people in the front line. Delivering the following Top Ten Tips for Customer Service well, will make sure your people make the very best of their customer relationships. Top Ten Ways to Motivate Your Employees As You Go Motivation is different things to different people. It is not need to be a 'thing' that you need to actively do. It's about a culture in the workplace - and here are ten ways you can do it without expensive pseudo team-building activities... What A Difference A Week Makes Sometimes a little tweak in how you manage your people can make all the difference. And sometimes, it's vital to look for something that will change relationships - and that can mean moving your focus slightly for a while... Yes and No - Effective Decision Making Every decision we make, in business, in life in general, is bounded by just two options. Like an on-off switch, we make one or the other - there are no variances to this. Because it's as simple as Yes or No - and so often we get it wrong... Your Business Vision - The First Step To Successful Succession Planning For Your Business One absolute business necessity, to enable you to develop a sustainable growing and evolving business, is to ensure you have a structured succession plan for your team. First step is to know where you are going - and that takes a little time and effort to create. Here's how...