By Michelle Simms

According to the Harvard Business Review (Feb, 2007), self-awareness has just been recognized as the most important capability for leaders to develop. I would add that this is a quality that is beneficial for anyone to develop.

After all, we are all leaders somewhere in our lives aren’t we? Emotions can play an important role in our careers, education, at home, in our community, and in all our relationships.

Ever find that you get upset easily or fairly regularly? Maybe you feel overwhelmed most of the time, stressed out, or even tired?

Remember the old joke, "Doc, my arm hurts when I move it like this. What should I do?" To which the good doctor quickly responds, "Stop moving it like that." 

If your life, career, relationships… (fill in the blank) are not going the way you’d like…maybe it’s time you took a hard look at "yourself"… more specifically, your lack of self-awareness.

What is Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is knowing one’s internal states, preferences, resources, and intuitions, allowing us to plan our actions and develop proactive behaviors. People with greater certainty about feelings are better pilots of their lives, having a surer sense of how they really feel about personal decisions from whom to marry to what job to take.

Why is it Important

This is where constructive or critical thinking happens. As you work to develop your self-awareness you increase your self-confidence. A good leader knows when you understand yourself you are more likely to understand others.  Now that’s a skill that can come in handy. Any one striving to increase their skills needs a solid plan.

How Do I Make A Plan

The process is not a quick fix rather it is a life long commitment. Change happens over time. So be patient with yourself while you are learning. Self-awareness allows us to take responsibility for our outcomes, plan our actions, and develop proactive behaviors. Here are some suggestions to get you going in the right direction.

1. Assessment- Assessments can identify your strengths, challenges, and personal style. Also, they mark a baseline and measure growth.

2. Goal setting- Now that you understand your unique style you can create a plan that identifies specific skills that are congruent with your preferences and tendencies yet challenges you to develop new behaviors.

3. Accountability- We all need to be accountable. Recruit a friend, a mentor, or hire a coach. Who ever you decide to work with, collaborate on a plan that spells out exactly what you need from them.

4. Support/Feedback- Feedback is probably the most important dimension in your personal development plan. It is through feedback we can learn to "see ourselves as others see us."

By developing your self-awareness you are increasing your emotional intelligence. The knowledge and skills that you develop to accurately identify and express your emotions are vital for human performance not to mention, physical health.

Author bio
Copyright Michelle P Simms, personal development coach. Her ideal client is not defined by a specific profession, but by the passion she has to grow personally and professionally. At http://www.SimmsInternational.com Michelle works with women from all around the globe.

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By Michelle Simms

Did you know that, according to a recent study, most small businesses do not use strategic planning when marketing their businesses? Or that, according to a study by Ron Robinson, that businesses using strategic planning and management benefit from better decision making, objective assessments, and, ultimately, more progress?

In general, business owners want their success to come simply from their superior products or services. However, offering your consumers or clients best-in-class features and benefits is only half the battle. 

How do people discover your business exists? How do you retain customers? How do you plan on expanding?

It is easy to want your product or service to work for you. A new entrepreneur in town opening a small Italian restaurant may be relying too heavily on an up-and-coming chef he has discovered. 

From there, he may take the advice of others in the industry and hope for the best – that people will discover the great food and the business will flourish. It’s no accident that 60 percent of restaurants fail in the first three years of business.

To prevent against such failures, and to get the best results, it is vital to develop both a business plan and a marketing plan. These two documents will clearly delineate your strategies and tactics – your plan for future success and the actions that you will implement to create that success. 

Instead of blindly trying marketing campaigns or adding features to your product, marketing and business plans will not only help you keep track of what works and what doesn’t, but will also help you to make sure you are in the black financially as you begin new projects and try new plans.

What is the difference between a tactic and a strategy? A strategy is an overarching long-term plan. This plan should consist of big ideas. If we return to our new Italian restaurant, the owner’s business strategy could include a grassroots marketing campaign on the internet, sponsoring a local sports team, and finding a unique selling proposition that separates the restaurant from the crowd.

The strategy could also involve more abstract ideas, such as researching other restaurants in the area and famous Italian restaurants, or such as resolving to integrate innovation into your business at every step – from how you run your delivery service to how you keep your books.

Tactics, on the other hand, are smaller actions that work toward your larger strategy. For example, if you were working on your strategy of developing a grassroots marketing campaign on the internet, tactics might include advertising on popular local internet sites, posting in local forums, and creating a MySpace page. 

If you were working on your strategy of developing a unique selling proposition, your tactics might include experimenting with a family dining model, serving fusion food, or creating a dinner theater.

Tactics are more elastic than strategies – while your main strategies will usually stay the same, tactics can be molded, stretched, altered, expanded, or abandoned altogether depending on their success. 

If your grassroots marketing internet campaign is bringing in a significant number of new customers, you can put more time and money into that specific tactic – perhaps with online coupons or an expanded website that allows customers to make delivery orders online. 

On the other hand, if your local sports team sponsorship has not garnered results, don’t sign up next season and use your resources elsewhere.

Many business owners make the mistake of developing strategies but not implementing complementary tactics or trying out tactics without a larger strategy in mind. Neither works. 

Imagine going on a vacation without planning your stops or packing anything. Transversely, imagine going on vacation without having a clear idea of why you picked the spot, what you want out of the vacation, or what you want to bring home.

The ancient military strategist Sun Tzu wrote in his timeless guide, The Art of War, “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” Put more simply, having a plan but no call to action won’t get you anywhere, while acting without a plan won’t lead to any kind of result.

Here are a few more reasons it is vital for your small business to implement both strategies and tactics:

Both strategies and tactics will make you more aware of your resources. Do you remember how easy it was to spend too much money in your personal life before you outlined a family budget? Your business is the same way. 

If you spend money without a very clear purpose that leads to very clear fiscal results, you will run out of money. Outlining strategies is the perfect way to align your budget. Keeping track of how much your separate tactics cost and how much they bring in will give you a crystal clear picture of what works and what doesn’t.

Sitting down and formulating a plan can stimulate creativity. It’s easy to get caught up in your business and follow the same trajectories as your competitors. Taking the time to think about strategy and to formulate new and interesting tactics will foster innovation, fresh ideas, and new angles. 

Getting your employees involved in developing new tactics will also excite your workers and make them personally involved in your business’ success.

Having a hardcopy of your plan can lead to more money. Drawing up a clear, well researched, thorough business plan can act as proof that your business is viable and that those running the business are thoughtful, careful owners. These business plans can lead to bank loans and investors, which can lead to opportunities for growth and expansion.

Business strategies can solidify your mission and philosophy. The best businesses in the world are those with greater goals than simply making money. They are dedicated to innovation, to environmental concerns, to humanitarian purposes, to forwarding science. 

Even though your small or local business may not be trying to save the world or cure cancer, you can have larger purposes in mind. These purposes, which will begin to shine through as soon as you begin developing your strategy, can motivate employees, catch the eye of clients, and make you feel great about what you do.

Especially for small business owners, you may not feel like you have the time or energy to formulate a strategy and the tactics to back that strategy up – you are flying by the seat of your pants and often things are moving too fast to think. 

However, you will find that developing plans and plans of action will ground you and give you a much needed chance to take a deep breath and take a close look at what you are doing and why.

Author bio
Copyright Michelle P Simms, personal development coach. Her ideal client is not defined by a specific profession, but by the passion she has to grow personally and professionally. At http://www.SimmsInternational.com Michelle works with women from all around the globe.

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By Michelle Simms

You have been chosen to conduct the meeting next week…how are you feeling?

Nothing can frustrate your career faster than not being able to speak in front of groups.

Although CEO’s are expected to be successful communicators, speaking is not just for C-level executives but for all employees.  

Lets face it, the workplace is full of speaking opportunities; meetings, presentations, trainings, seminars, boardroom discussions, interviews, etc. and if you can’t articulate and present your ideas you will not be seen by your peers as a leader.

Public speaking can bring up the biggest fear in all of us. Even the most experienced speakers such as Bill Gates, Dr Phil McGraw, Mark Victor Hansen and others feel fear. In fact, it’s very common and natural to feel some level of fear when presenting. What’s more important is how you manage that fear.

The fear does not have to rule your experience. The more prepared you are the better your public speaking experience will be. Public speaking is a skill that can be learned and developed through practice.

It doesn’t matter if you are the president of an organization, an employee, or an entrepreneur looking for funding for a project…the time will come where you will have to articulate your ideas. 

Most people find they hit a glass ceiling in their career if they do not actively develop the leadership skill of public speaking. Learning to be a speaker or developing into a better speaker can open new doors for you.

Here are some quick tips to cultivate your public speaking skills;

1. Prepare – Make sure to do some research on current information if it is appropriate. Write your speech to include an introduction, some main points, and a conclusion. Decide if you will use the assistance of visual aids. However, don’t use the visual aids such as PowerPoint as a crutch. There are a lot of resources available online to help you when it comes time to write your speech so use them.

2. Humor – Your presentation should include stories, anecdotes, or quotes that directly relate to your topic. Humor embraces your audience and it helps to build rapport with them. Laughter can put your audience and yourself at ease. Consider your audience when determining how much humor to incorporate in your speech. Don’t worry if you’re not good at telling jokes or view yourself as funny, humor can be developed with practice and resources.

3. Eye contact – Be authentic and make eye contact with your audience. Direct eye contact shouts confidence. While in Texas earlier this summer, I attended a presentation on a topic of personal interest. When the speaker walked out on the stage, he never took his eyes off of his notes through the entire speech. Not only did I feel disconnected from the speaker but I could have read the notes myself.

4. Language – When practicing your speech record yourself. Listen for infection, rhythm, volume, pace, and pitch. You need to project your voice to be heard, maintain interest, and be perceived as credible. Body language can enhance your speech. So even if you are nervous you don’t need to show it. Try not to fidget. Keep you posture tall and straight, both feet planted flat on the ground, your head up, and don’t forget to smile.

5. Practice – Prepare your speech thoroughly and practice it often. Through practice, you will develop your confidence and calm your nerves. You want your speech to be authentic not canned so rather than reading your speech to the audience, prepare keyword notes. This will leave room in your presentation for spontaneity.

A good rule of thumb is to memorize your opening sentence, know your main points, know your stories, memorize your closing remarks, and practice for time. Practice your speech standing up it will increase your energy level. If at all possible, practice your speech in the room you will be giving your presentation. This will allow you time to get comfortable with the room.

When fear takes over it causes the speaker to react in one of three ways; bury themselves in their notes, find refuge in their visual aids, or fix on a point on the back wall behind the audience. The effectiveness of a business presentation, no matter how large or small the audience, is largely dependent on the manner in which it is delivered. 

Nervousness stimulates us so use it to your advantage to get fired up and focused. It is imperative that you prepare your material and yourself well.

Record yourself if you can. Recording your performance is the next best thing to coaching. On video we see ourselves as our audience sees us. Try to be objective, remember this is an opportunity to develop your skills. If you want professional support, consider hiring a coach.

Author bio
Copyright Michelle P Simms, personal development coach. Her ideal client is not defined by a specific profession, but by the passion she has to grow personally and professionally. At http://www.SimmsInternational.com Michelle works with women from all around the globe.

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By Michelle Simms

In case you haven’t notice there’s a new generational cohort entering the workplace and they are making their presence know.

Generation Y (aka iGeneration, Google Generation, Millennium Generation, and the Boomerang Generation), have grown up in a world of diverse Internet resources.

If you want to bring out the best in your Generation Y workforce you may have to begin by letting go of traditional methods in favor of a more creative approach. According to experts, Generation Y workers were born generally from 1977-2002. Their force is almost 80 million strong out numbering the Boomers by approximately 1 million.

In a recent survey conducted among hiring managers and Human Resource professionals, across all industries, the generation gap is more pronounced in the areas of communication styles and job expectations in the workplace. The business world as we know it is changing.

As the skilled Boomers retire, companies will have to go the extra mile to replace them. Gen Y workers will have a huge impact on the workplace. An inaccurate description of this group is since they have been pampered their whole life they are lazy.

They are not only high maintenance but high performing as well. This generation of workers comes computer literate and high tech ready. In addition they have very high expectations of themselves.

Employers are scrambling to implement new policies and programs that appeal to the new workforce. Those managers that hold steady to old belief about the workplace and how work is done in the business world—will find themselves out of jobs.

There is still much to be learned about this new cohort of workers but here’s a start on some basic principles to keep in mind.

Recruiting – Gen Y are civic minded and socially conscious and very aware of the world. They volunteer and feel personally responsible for making a difference in the world. Gen Y is all about choices and meaningful work and social networks. Don’t be put off by the tattoos or piercing, those are considered stylish and/or spiritual.

Motivate – They like to have choices focusing on output not method. They’ll get the job completed according to the deadline but will resent being reminded to. Members of Gen Y are not obsessed with work.Although they want to make good money, it is not what motivates them.

You will find social networks of friends are their preferred environment and they love to be decorated with their iPods, Blackberry’s, and laptops. Realizing anything is possible they are determined to live their best lives now.

Retain – Gen Y is known for gender bending. When creating new policies list the benefits with out assumptions as to which gender will use them (eg. maternity leave).  Don’t be surprised to find they need flex time to compete in some extreme sports activity or to travel. Expanding their experience, education, and mentoring are important to this generation.

This young workforce will job-hop when they see no other choice. They have a reputation for experiencing boredom and frustration with slow-paced environments, traditional hierarchies, and slightly outdated technology.

Telecommuting programs are in great demand allowing Gen Y to work remotely. They are also likely to be boomerang employees. Those who leave and come back, will return knowing the company and culture and bring a new perspective and institutional knowledge which will be an asset.

Trying to keep up with their demands could send any company into a frenzy but remember workplace diversity is not just about culture: it’s about the way people think. Expect to get professional consultation to transform your organization and coaching for your managers. This generation is very different from any other generation the workplace has seen.

Unlike Boomers who lived for their careers, today’s young workers are more interested in making their jobs accommodate their families and personal life. They place a high value on self fulfillment.

As Bruce Tulgan, author of Managing Generation Y, says, “If you thought you saw a clash when Generation X came into the workplace, that was the fake punch. The haymaker is coming now.”

Author bio
Copyright Michelle P Simms, personal development coach. Her ideal client is not defined by a specific profession, but by the passion she has to grow personally and professionally. At http://www.SimmsInternational.com Michelle works with women from all around the globe.

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By Michelle Simms

For years, researchers have debated over whether the entrepreneurial personality is an innate or learned behavior. Economists, sociologist, and psychologists have all weighed in on the issue in hopes of ascertaining whether successful startup businessmen and women can be made, or whether they are simply born with the skills to create innovative and thriving companies.

However, as scientists have found with so many other aspects of human personalities, tendencies, and even diseases, the answer in the great debate between nature and nurture often lies somewhere in the middle. 

Although some entrepreneurial traits are inborn and some people have the predisposition to become entrepreneurs, other traits can be taught and even those without the initial inclination toward business success can flourish with dedication, practice and hard work.

What are the central aspects of an entrepreneurial personality?

Whether entrepreneurial characteristics are inherited or learned, most experts agree on what these traits consist of. Generally, those with the entrepreneurial personality are:

• Independent. Entrepreneurs enjoy working on their own and being in charge of their own projects. They have difficult working for others or executing others’ ideas without adding their individual spin. They would rather work for themselves and chance failure than work for a regular paycheck and feel security.

• Willing to take calculated risks. While most people enjoy the safety and comfort that comes with regular work and a patterned lifestyle, entrepreneurs are willing to put themselves on the line for their ideas. However, they also understand how to calculate these risks and protect what they have worked so hard to create.

• Creative. Simply said, entrepreneurs think outside the box. They are constantly looking at the world in a new light and considering how a product or service could be improved. They often take fresh angles on old problems or harness new technology for novel uses.

• Hard to satisfy. Entrepreneurs are not satisfied with moderate success. They often think many steps ahead of where they are now and often quickly invest profits into new projects, businesses, marketing campaigns, and ideas. Even when their business is going well, they are constantly striving to improve and innovate it.

• Energetic, driven and passionate. Even if you have all of the other traits of an entrepreneur, it is almost impossible to succeed through the long hours and hard work needed to create a successful business with out energy, drive, and passion. Not only do these traits help businesses get off the ground, but they also improve the energy, drive, and passion of those working for him or her.

• Self-Confident. In business, being hesitant or unsure can quickly lead to failure and often prevent business deals and opportunities. The ability to convince others to believe in your product is sometimes as simple as sincerely believing in your product yourself. If you think you can succeed, you improve your chances of success significantly.

• Able to learn as they go. You often hear of this or that entrepreneur who never attended high school or who dropped out of college. However, this does not mean that they are not educated or that they cannot learn. It simply means that they often have the ability to learn through experience and extract practical lessons from real-life situations and ventures.

How can one hone the skills and traits of successful entrepreneurs?

While some of the above traits, such as a passion for what you do, have large intrinsic and innate aspects that we can’t altogether change in ourselves, many of the facets of the entrepreneurial personality can be practiced, improved upon, and learned.

For example, although some put forth that creativity is something you are simply born with, the truth is that you can hone and sharpen your creative mind. 

Many agree that the simple act of sitting down and brainstorming will improve your ability to think critically about the world around you – that is, even though some might be born with the gift of being creative without a concerted effort, all of us can learn the skills and steps that creative people take when developing ideas and detailing the particulars of a new venture.

The ability to learn as you go is another skill that, while it can be a natural ability, can also be perfected by those born without the inclination. Step back from a recent business transaction or plan that you were recently involved with. 

How could it have been executed more smoothly next time? How did the other person act, and what aspects of their business could be remodeled and molded to help your own enterprise? How could you have saved time and money?

Another step that you can take toward becoming a more successful entrepreneur is to simply become comfortable with aspects of the entrepreneurial personality that may seem uncomfortable, difficult, or awkward to you. 

Perhaps you want to act independently and take more calculated risks, but find that you are stopped by your fears or by other conflicting personality traits that you might have. In this case, you need to ease yourself into the idea of becoming more independent by taking small steps in that direction and by completing small tasks that familiarize yourself with these thoughts and actions.

In the end, the key to becoming a successful entrepreneur may lie in the ability to self-reflect and learn to emulate those successful entrepreneurs that have come before us.

Author bio
Copyright Michelle P Simms, personal development coach. Her ideal client is not defined by a specific profession, but by the passion she has to grow personally and professionally. At http://www.SimmsInternational.com Michelle works with women from all around the globe.

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By Michelle Simms

In its simplest form, mentoring is basically a transfer of knowledge. It takes place in a variety of settings ranging from ones home to the workplace.

Typically, in a corporate setting, a seasoned individual (a mentor) is assigned to a newer or up incoming protégé (a mentee) with the relationship focused on skills, career, and personal development.

These pairings can be extremely important in the transfer of knowledge. According to research, mentoring is a successful arrangement for the mentee creating job satisfaction, career mobility, opportunity, recognition, and higher promotion rate than non-mentored individuals.

I recently had the opportunity to observe the selection process of a small company located in the Midwest. During round two of their five stage hiring process, I was intrigued by the response of a prominent applicant when asked, “who was the most influential person in your life and why?”

This individual explained at great length that he accomplished all of his personal and career successes on his own, virtually without the help of anyone. He stating he had a great desire and personal need to have a mentor but the situation just never materialized for him.

Hearing that statement led me to examine my own success and how people formally and informally influence others.

Personally, I endured many challenges throughout my life at a very young age. I made the decision to leave home at about age 12. The next few years were spent being shuffled in and out of foster care and children centers.

As a young teenager, the state allowed me to live on my own based on my unique situation. Consequently, as I entered the workplace, I found myself struggling in business and personal relationships and feeling frustrated because of a lack of social skill and knowledge.

The feeling of frustration soon evolved into intense curiosity and I began consuming information and observing people that were living, doing, and being what I wanted in my life.

Eventually, this curiosity led me to become very passionate about learning and challenging myself spiritually.

By the third decade of my life, my learning curve closely resembled a steep mountain trek.

Today, I am in the final stages of completing my PhD and am committed to helping others with their personal and professional development. I realize that although I may have felt somewhat alone during my struggles, the fact is, many people influenced my life formally and informally.

So back to the question at hand…is it possible to go through life and not have been influenced by anyone?

Not hardly. There are many perspectives on mentoring as was demonstrated by the promising applicant in the selection interview that believed his success was of his own doing and my own personal experience of recognizing mentoring was all around me.

Mentoring can be delivered in a variety of ways. A more passive or indirect way of influence people would be through books, tapes, videos, observation, T.V., sports, seminars, idols, and heroes which is how I received mentoring and I suspect the promising applicant did too.

Whereas, a more intentional or structured process would include setting up a formal mentoring program with a specific agenda, outcomes, and ways of measuring and monitoring success.

Lets face it people become mentors in our life based on a variety of reasons and situations such as, providing a role, friendship, extra support, guidance, career and personal development.

In the workplace, mentoring has been studied and proven to be effective if implemented properly. If you are interested in establishing a mentoring program or becoming a mentor, consider these four options;

1- Informal. Informal mentoring takes place when someone more experienced takes someone less experienced under his/her wing, giving advice. This could also include a more passive approach to mentoring.

2- Positional. Positional mentoring occurs when the mentor is the mentee’s line manager.

3- Formal. Formal mentoring is a strategic pairing that spells out established goals and has measurable outcomes. This type of mentoring usually lasts about a year and involves expert training and support that directly benefits the organization.
 
4- Situational. Situational mentoring provides advice for a specific circumstance such as, a foreign posting, emotional intelligence, new computer system, etc.

Although research shows that mentoring can have positive outcomes, artificially creating such relationships when they do not occur naturally can be fraught with difficulties. Not all mentoring situations experience successful outcomes.

Some individuals may need to be trained to become effective mentors. Consider hiring a coach with the transition. A coach understands each person’s optimal learning approach has its own unique fingerprint and can be an asset to the arrangement.

Similar to a personal athletic trainer, a coach works with individuals to set goals that stretch them toward the limits of their potential by incorporating a regimen of practice, motivation, goal setting, feedback, and support.

Author bio
Copyright Michelle P Simms, personal development coach. Her ideal client is not defined by a specific profession, but by the passion she has to grow personally and professionally. At http://www.SimmsInternational.com Michelle works with women from all around the globe.

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By Michelle Simms

Ask the top toy company how they know what toy will grab the attention of children and they’ll tell you…we go directly to the source…the kids.

Ask the automobile industry how they design a car that will sell and they’ll tell you the same thing, we let our customers design what they want individually…choice is everything.

Ask a manager how he knows he is a good manager and…

Well if you’re asking Vineet Nayar, CEO of HCL Technologies located just outside New Delhi India, he’ll tell you to look on the company’s intranet where his grades along with the managers’ grades are published for all employees to see. In addition, HCL had developed is an online “smart service desk” where employees file complaints. 

However, this is not your typical IT complaint ticket process. Traditionally, a person would fill out a complaint ticket and it is sent to the IT department. Next, the complaint would be answered by the IT person and then the ticket is closed, making the assumption that the problem was handled. 

With Nayar’s employee system he has added a couple of twists; the complaint is read personally by Nayar, posted for other to see and then is closed only by the employee that submitted the complaint…assuring satisfaction.

Nayer’s management philosophy “employees first, customers second” has had a dramatic effect on turnover and employee satisfaction in his company. As a result, executives globally, from some of the largest companies, and professors from Ivy League business schools are taking note.

The idea is a simple one and one that is working in a variety of industries; if you want to know what “they” want …ask “them.”

Leadership is a relationship with people…and is found everywhere not just at the highest levels of organizations or society for that matter. Success in leadership, success in business, and success in life has always been and will continue to be a function of how well people work and play together.

Servant leaders are concerned with empowering the employee rather than dominating them. Trust is established through being honest and open, keeping action consistent with values, and showing trust in followers.

This type of leadership inspires others to become leaders. Leadership is also self-development. Just as the engineer has computers; a painter has canvas and brushes; a musician has instruments, the leader has self-development. 

In a survey conducted by the Center for Creative Leadership, 72 % of respondents indicated social skills as the most essential factor to business success.

How can your company get strong long-term performance from your people? Consider implementing a process that includes;

Commitment to the Growth of People – Commitment to personal and professional growth of human capital is the cornerstone of success. One of the most challenging tests is for the leader to acknowledge the importance of growth and development for each and every individual in the company. 

The leader can provide on-going learning by developing structures, programs, and activities where everyone can grow. Most importantly, a leader understands and accepts the need to create self-awareness, even when it disturbs more that it comforts.

Listening – Traditionally, leaders have been valued for their communication and decision making skills. Leaders must reinforce these skills by making a commitment to listen intently to others. They, identify the will of the group by listening receptively to what is being said and what is not said. 

Servant-leaders promote work environments where individuals can be accepted, authentic, honest, listened to, and productive. They understand that the organization’s potential is based on how well it helps people reach their capabilities.

Building Community – Leaders seek to identify a means for building community because they understand that people work best in communities. The leaders are actively involved in the life of the community modeling personal skills, setting examples, and developing everyone’s comfort level with a participatory approach to community efforts.

Creating Commitment – Leaders recognize that productivity emerges from commitment not control. People work best when they try to accomplish valued missions. It is passions for important purposes that bring out our best. Leaders are those who champion meaningful visions and encourage people to commit their best to achieve them. 

Persuasive is the preferred mode of influence. Decisions are reached through collaboration and open communication. Effectiveness is developed through enabling others to act. People should be directly involved in the discussions about the needs and direction of the community.

The collective intelligence always is far more superior than any one person’s idea. This model of leadership encourages individuals to step up on their own initiative because they see it as a worthy objective. 

There is a deep belief in the unlimited potential of each person and that it is the role of the leader to invite, develop, and encourage this valuable resource. Use daily challenges as opportunities to develop the judgment and decision making capacity of everyone.

Author bio
Copyright Michelle P Simms, personal development coach. Her ideal client is not defined by a specific profession, but by the passion she has to grow personally and professionally. At http://www.SimmsInternational.com Michelle works with women from all around the globe.

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By Michelle Simms

We all receive some sort of feedback in our lives, on or off the job, everyday. How we receive it, however is an extremely important adaptive skill; our success at this skill seems to be linked to our past experiences. 

If such an experience was painful or humiliating for us in the past, we are likely to resent receiving feedback.

In contrast, if we felt a certain amount of acceptance along with criticism in the past, we will tend to be less anxious and defensive about the process. It’s through feedback that we can "see ourselves as others see us."

Feedback is the lifeblood of performance in the workplace. According to research, providing feedback is an effective way to motivate employees to learn in training and increase the effectiveness of goal setting. With some tasks feedback occurs naturally.

For example, in baseball, a batter receives feedback on his swing by seeing how hard and far the ball travels. For other tasks, however, judging the correctness of a behavior without feedback is difficult. 

For example, you complete a project for you boss and he grunts at you or worse yet, never comments on the quality of the project, leaving you to wonder if you are meeting the company’s expectations.

Feedback is so important that it can have a profound positive effect on job satisfaction and reduce turnover.

A final consideration for feedback concerns what type to give. Research and common sense agree that positive feedback should be given when tasks are performed correctly. Praise provides an incentive to continue correct behavior.

To be most effective, negative feedback should be delivered by focusing on the behavior and should be accompanied by specific suggestions for how the individual can improve performance.

Because of the importance of feedback in the workplace, the process is likely to have some psychological and emotional effects on the person receiving the feedback. A balance must be maintained between giving too little and too much feedback.

An individual will not learn if too little feedback is given. However, too much or overly detailed feedback causes frustration, slowing down the learning process.

Feedback is constructive when it is given with the goal of encouraging and reinforcing positive behavior. For feedback to be effective, it must be given when individuals do things properly, not just when they make mistakes. Here are some tips for effective feedback.

- Identify the behavior and focus on it rather than the person’s personality. For example, if someone is often late for work, you might say, "In the past two weeks you have been late 6 times" rather than "We are tired of your lack of responsibility and commitment to your job."

- Explain how the behavior is impacting others. For example, "When you arrive 10 minutes late, customers get angry because there is no one to help them. When other employees cover for you, it causes them to get behind on their work, resulting in them missing part of their lunch break or being forced to work overtime."

- Ask the individual for suggestions on how the behavior can be changed.

- After arriving at a solution, together you should set a specific goal. For example, they could agree that the employee be on time everyday for the next week.

- After an agreed upon time, the two of you should meet to see if the goal has been met and to set new goals.

The basic question is what to do with the feedback we receive. Some people deflect it, deny it, explain it away, or in some other way try to protect themselves from the potential impact of the feedback they receive.

One’s personal goal ought to be focused on developing the capacity to stay open to feedback especially, during those moments when you are feeling defensive about the feedback. The defensiveness is a clue that you are about to learn something very important about yourself.

A person who is highly practiced in this skill will frequently solicit feedback from supervisors and work colleagues as a way to learn from mistakes and to make changes.

Author bio
Copyright Michelle P Simms, personal development coach. Her ideal client is not defined by a specific profession, but by the passion she has to grow personally and professionally. At http://www.SimmsInternational.com Michelle works with women from all around the globe.

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