Proven Techniques to Help You Develop Leadership Skills

I recently saw the movie 'Eat Pray Love' about a woman who took a 12 month sabbatical, following a difficult divorce, to learn more about herself and what she truly desires. The screenplay is adapted from the bestselling book, a memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert which I have not read, so I can't recommend one (book or movie) over the other. At the very least, you will enjoy the cinematography as the protagonist (Julia Roberts) journeys to Italy, Indonesia and India.

In one scene in Italy, a friend asks Julia Roberts to think of one word that describes her state of being. The word will change depending on the dominant theme in your life at that time. ( I believe hers was 'pasta- the 'Eat' part of her journey). This can be a useful exercise for coaches and managers. In your next meeting ask members of your team to come up with a word that describes them in their present state (at work) and another word that describes their ideal future state. Then help them to navigate the changes that are necessary to close the gap. Selecting only one word is taking 'less is more' to an extreme! However, distilling our hopes and dreams and sense of being into one word can provide a rudder as we strive to make changes going forward.

Enjoy this issue of talent talk.

Cheers,

Rebecca

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Proven Techniques to Help You Develop Leadership Skills - Guaranteed!

As Fall leaders of businesses, it is often hard to keep up with the times and mold yourself into a great leader. Many people look to people who are great leaders like; Bill Gates and Steve Jobs for inspiration. They study these people to see what they have done to make their businesses into international superstars. There are many leaders to pull from for inspiration. Finding the right niche to help you advance is an important factor to focus on. When you have the right motivation and niche to help you, you are ready to begin the process of becoming a great leader. It is going to be a long road full of difficulties and stress, but like so many leaders have discovered, it will be worth your time and investment. Here are a few suggestions to help you develop yourself into a great leader:

1. Look to the past - Whether this is through mentors such as Roosevelt, Truman, Gates, or Jobs, focusing information from great leaders of the past and the traits they carried is a way of developing great leadership traits of your own. Leaders in the past have had experiences that will help you to not repeat their mistakes and benefit from their successes. Granted, you are not running a country, but you are running something that is your livelihood. You can gain experiences when you listen to their counsel, identify the traits that are successful, and mimic their strategies.

2. Train like the rest - A great leader is also a great follower. By going to training with the rest of the employees, you can gain great insight to where your employees are in their development. You will be able to understand their strengths and weaknesses and help instruct each individual further in their career. This also looks good for you as the leader, owner, or supervisor. A higher authority that puts oneself into that situation is looking for ways to improve themselves too. As an employee, having an authority figure that is looking to improve themselves, their employees, and their company goes a long way to improve company morale. Not to mention, increase productivity and customer focus.

3. Listen - This seems simple enough, but it's not. Listening to your employees is the most important step of all if you want to develop yourself into a great leader. This leadership development strategy is practiced simply by hearing and responding to what employees have to say. Listening to complaints, suggestions, and overall compliments is very important to your employees. A great leadership trait is listening. When a leader wants to have a group that is efficient in their work duties, they listen to the employee's suggestion(s) as to what needs to be done to make the process less strenuous as well as the suggested resources they need.

Looking at the present great leaders of multi-billion dollar companies, you can see the many techniques they use. Having well organized methods to help you develop yourself into that great leader and a mentor or a coach to keep you focused is paramount. Keeping employees happy is how you can truly help yourself develop. This is through leading by example first.

Start today! What are the top 3 leadership traits you want to develop? What action steps are you going to take...and when?

If you have any questions about this article, or about how we can help you with your current business needs, contact us at 905-257-7227 or E-mail: info@leadership-insight.com.

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Who Needs to Use Personal & Professional Assessment Tools?

With society changing every day, it is important to look at other ways which can help us keep up with the rest of the world. Having personal and professional assessment tools in your everyday life is a great benefit. However, many people aren't familiar with what personal and professional assessment tools are. To understand what they are, you need to realize how they can help you. Acknowledging who you are, where you are going in your life, and how to get there are very important issues that personal and professional assessment tools help with. But first, here is some background information about the tools.

Personal assessment tools: These are simply an assessment on you. This is achieved by answering a wide variety of questions which assess qualities ranging from relationships, attitudes, work styles, and skills. One such personal assessment tool is the Personality Test. You can get a variety of types of tests if you do a simple search.

Professional assessment tools: Now these are a little different. They are instruments used to determine where you are best placed in your career or the type of career you should focus on. The test examines where you are in your life. They measure what your strengths and weaknesses are enabling you to set developmental goals to reach your vision. Having professional assessment tools is important if you are to advance further in your career. It is always important to stay one step ahead of your competition.

Now that you understand what personal and professional assessment tools are, you can see the benefits of using such instruments. These tools help you understand more about you as a person which leads to building confidence in yourself. With a strong appreciation of yourself you can truly understand and decide what you may need to change in your lifestyle. It is often difficult to hear what is contrary to your self-image. By using personal and professional assessment tools you will be able to get to know what is going on in your head. So many thoughts cloud our judgments as individuals and at times we tend to lose sight on what matters most.

Understanding personal and professional assessment tools is the first step. Putting them into practice is another. As we grow, our minds and experiences grow. We become better acquainted with what we need to do. Knowing the powerful information that these tools deliver provides insight on areas where you may want to seek guidance. Learn all there is about personal and professional assessment tools.

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Do YOU Need a Workplace Coach?

Fall

The Importance of Workplace or Business Coaching

Coaching is defined as an interaction intended to enhance performance and facilitate change. It focuses on sound inner judgment and that leads to the best possible outcomes. Workplace or Business Coaching has been practiced for years. When you have workplace coaching in your company, you are opening the door for advancement in the performance of your employees, thus your organization. Some benefits you will realize by implementing this well known practice of business coaching are:

1. Employees will perform at their best - When you incorporate workplace coaching into the employee developmental process, your employees will challenge themselves and seek to perform at a higher level. It is very important in any business to have efficient and effective employees. One-on-one interaction with a workplace coach provides the environment for employees to un-tap their hidden potential; demonstrate their additional capabilities and the added value their enhanced performance brings. This far exceeds the investment you have made in this person.

Under all circumstances it is prudent to stay ahead in the business world and this becomes more important in times of restructuring and uncertainty. When you want your business to grow, you need to think about how your employees will help secure this growth. Workplace coaching is your answer.

2. Recognizes their experiences - This goes along the same lines as employees performing at their best. With workplace coaching, the employee works with their coach to reinforce their current strengths and to surface new opportunities where these skills can be utilized, allowing the employee to expand their contribution to the company. Workplace coaching allows for employees to share their work experiences and feel more involved for doing so. Their attitudes change when they feel they have contributed something to the company. This benefit increases the level of the employee's engagement to the firm and has a multiplying effect throughout the organization.

3. Increases your bottom line - When you have workplace or business coaching available to your employees, you recognize and communicate their worth to the company. The main goal of coaching is to offer the tools and support individuals need to enhance their performance and to facilitate change. Outcomes that you can expect when you have workplace coaching in practice are higher levels of engagement, as well as, more efficiency and productivity. Investing in your employees is a sound business decision that will yield a high ROI (return on investment). Always thinking and staying ahead in the business world is what is going to make your business grow. Workplace coaching is what you need if you want to achieve this.