No man is an island – this is how the saying goes. And indeed, regardless how well and proficient you might be, it is quite impossible for you to succeed all by yourself. Even the most talented individuals, regardless of how excellent they might be at what they do, can only go as far as the people around them would take them. We all need help and support – may these be from our relatives, friends, significant others, co-workers or business partners. In the smaller picture, yes, we can achieve success all by ourselves yet in the long run, an excellent support group will offer greater chances and opportunities. How many stories of downfalls have you come upon where people who used to be really brilliant had fallen trap to disappointment, strain and failures simply because they had no form of support group? Truly, this is where we can appreciate the value of group support and teamwork.
The business world is very complicated, plus the industry has globalized in so many levels. With these developments, employees and top company executives today have started to relate with, adapt to, and adjust with each other, including across traditions and cultural backgrounds.
As organizations grow, so does the group of people today and customers that we need to interact with. In the exact same way, the need to build teams, and departments to assign tasks have become even more important because the bigger the business is, the bigger are its obligations. Working with the entire organization alone is too large a job to deal with. Whatever your working environment is, the reality persists that you will need to co-exist with other individuals, and understand the significance of teamwork.
These days, companies are more willing to hire and promote persons with the ability to work together, along with good business acumen. So, if you are the type who wants to get a position within the top administration, it is certainly time for you to develop your teamwork skills. The most widespread and well-liked way to improve these skills is through joining team building classes and courses. These programs concentrate on promoting teamwork and camaraderie to better develop the interaction and cooperation abilities of participants. Another optional route is to acquire an MBA, which will likely be a massive step as it covers a whole collection of abilities that will prove useful to develop our capacity to communicate with, and manage persons, as well as the whole company operation in general. An example of this is learning more about the business acumen definition.
There are many techniques to build up teamwork and set up an exceptional support group. But regardless of whether you take an MBA or participate in group activities, keep in mind to make friends along the way.
By: Bart Icles
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
The Principles of Learning for Internet Marketing Leaders
In recent years there have been an increasing number of people setting themselves up as mentors and coaches with the aim of building an internet marketing business. During the excitement of launching a business, recruiting and retaining team members would seem to be a relatively straight forward process.
All their attention is focused on recruiting and marketing or website design and all the other activities that will achieve the short-term goals. Given time, determination and almost blinkered focus the network grows and suddenly they find themselves in the position of being the 'leader'. There is a now a new group of people looking for direction, motivation and encouragement.
It is only now that they realise that they need a new set of skills, a new strategy and a new focus that need to be implemented if they are to retain their team members. In most cases managing people is not a skill they have learnt before.
The reality is that it requires considerable skill and knowledge to manage; support and mentor people to ensure you meet your mutual goals and objectives.
One fundamental principle is to understand and implement the requirements for successful adult learning, learning styles and identifying the barriers to learning.
Ultimately adult learners have differing needs and it is possible to identify a number of key principles to achieve 'deep learning' in adults.
In the 1970's Peter Honey and Alan Mumford developed substantial research concluding in their model for assessing learning styles which are widely used today. They concluded that by using a questionnaire, it is possible to identify a person's preferred learning style.
These are:
Activists - those that act first and consider the consequences later. They like anything new and problem solving.
Reflectors - those that stand back and observe. They need time to review the information before formulating a plan.
Theorists - people who think through a problem in a logical manner. They like to seek expert opinion and conduct their own research.
Pragmatists - people who are keen to put ideas and theories in to practice. They like coaching, feedback and seeing if things work. Other principles of learning suggest that adults need a range of factors to be in place to ensure a successful learning outcome.
A range of these include:
* Independence and choice
* Intrinsic motivators and curiosity
* Feedback with time for reflection
* Active involvement in real world tasks.
* They are also concerned with:
* Higher order abilities (e.g. - critical thinking, problem solving)
* High challenge / low threat environments
* Practice and reinforcement.
However, as discussed not everyone has the same needs to achieve so these principles will be evident to differing degrees in everyone. Possibly more difficult to identify and manage is what can create a barrier to learning.
Some suggestions include:
* Lack of feedback
* Lack of Concentration
* No motivation
* Inappropriate Environment
* Level of Course
* Experiences
* Tutor/Group
* Forced to attend
* Age
* Memory
In conclusion, Learning and Development is a major area of study in the corporate environment and this is just an outline of the principles being used. However, it highlights the need to focus on the needs of the team members to ensure the long-term success of a business whilst adding value to the team members.
By: Giuseppe Saieva
All their attention is focused on recruiting and marketing or website design and all the other activities that will achieve the short-term goals. Given time, determination and almost blinkered focus the network grows and suddenly they find themselves in the position of being the 'leader'. There is a now a new group of people looking for direction, motivation and encouragement.
It is only now that they realise that they need a new set of skills, a new strategy and a new focus that need to be implemented if they are to retain their team members. In most cases managing people is not a skill they have learnt before.
The reality is that it requires considerable skill and knowledge to manage; support and mentor people to ensure you meet your mutual goals and objectives.
One fundamental principle is to understand and implement the requirements for successful adult learning, learning styles and identifying the barriers to learning.
Ultimately adult learners have differing needs and it is possible to identify a number of key principles to achieve 'deep learning' in adults.
In the 1970's Peter Honey and Alan Mumford developed substantial research concluding in their model for assessing learning styles which are widely used today. They concluded that by using a questionnaire, it is possible to identify a person's preferred learning style.
These are:
Activists - those that act first and consider the consequences later. They like anything new and problem solving.
Reflectors - those that stand back and observe. They need time to review the information before formulating a plan.
Theorists - people who think through a problem in a logical manner. They like to seek expert opinion and conduct their own research.
Pragmatists - people who are keen to put ideas and theories in to practice. They like coaching, feedback and seeing if things work. Other principles of learning suggest that adults need a range of factors to be in place to ensure a successful learning outcome.
A range of these include:
* Independence and choice
* Intrinsic motivators and curiosity
* Feedback with time for reflection
* Active involvement in real world tasks.
* They are also concerned with:
* Higher order abilities (e.g. - critical thinking, problem solving)
* High challenge / low threat environments
* Practice and reinforcement.
However, as discussed not everyone has the same needs to achieve so these principles will be evident to differing degrees in everyone. Possibly more difficult to identify and manage is what can create a barrier to learning.
Some suggestions include:
* Lack of feedback
* Lack of Concentration
* No motivation
* Inappropriate Environment
* Level of Course
* Experiences
* Tutor/Group
* Forced to attend
* Age
* Memory
In conclusion, Learning and Development is a major area of study in the corporate environment and this is just an outline of the principles being used. However, it highlights the need to focus on the needs of the team members to ensure the long-term success of a business whilst adding value to the team members.
By: Giuseppe Saieva
Saturday, February 12, 2011
The Quandary of Creativity in Leadership
As an executive coach I spend a fair amount of time working with clients to help them find a deeper understanding of themselves, their relationships, and their environments. To discover the disconnects that may occur between their perceptions and their actions. Through this process of cultivating self-awareness and social awareness, a new level of consciousness can emerge. Step-by-step, the competencies of self management and relationship management open the door for self-mastery to take root in business leaders. Leaders capable of inspiring, motivating, and fully engaging, both cognitively and emotionally, those they lead. Leaders that refuse to be constrained by dogma and outdated thinking. Leaders that have the courage to kindle and embrace not only their own creativity, but the creativity of their entire organization.
One of the most common disconnects I see is the one that occurs between our intentions and our behaviors. It is part of our human nature. How many of us intend to lose a few pounds but put off dieting or working out because we’re simply so busy? A classic disconnect between our good intentions and the behaviors that would deliver the desired results. This is why we incorporate the research from Applied Behavioral Economics in our process. The fact is, we humans simply aren’t all that rational in our decision making processes. How we feel about things, how we perceive things, strongly influences our corresponding behavior. I recently saw an astounding example of this playing out from the results of a new, Cornell University research study and a relatively recent CEO survey conducted by IBM.
Early in 2010, IBM surveyed more than 1,500 CEOs operating in sixty-six countries, identifying the most critical leadership competencies companies need for future success. The most important attribute identified was the need for creativity. Not just in the leader, but in the leader’s ability to tap into the creativity of the entire organization. In reading this survey I was greatly encouraged. Finally, I thought, business leaders were beginning to see that (to paraphrase Albert Einstein) the level of thinking that got us here is not the same level of thinking necessary to move us forward. Innovation demands creativity and the unique nature of the global economic climate we now find ourselves in demands it as well. This recognition for the need of creativity is, perhaps, an early indicator that businesses are recognizing the old paradigms of command-and-control management are limited in a world that is shaped by the rapid-fire development and commercialization of intellectual property.
Additional management research supports the CEOs’ desire for creativity in leadership. A canvasing of the literature reveals nine studies that concur; creative leadership enables leaders to steward companies in profitable new directions. Creative leadership is also proven to be more effective at championing positive change and inspiring associates than leaders that lack this attribute.
And then the disconnect was revealed...
In their study titled, "Recognizing Creative Leadership: Can Creative Idea Expression Negatively Relate to Perceptions of Leadership Potential?", Jennifer Mueller, Jack Goncalo, and Dishan Kamdar revealed a startling reality. Through their research, they suggest the expression of creative thinking by up-and-coming executives could be derailing their opportunities for advancement. Perceptions of prototypical leaders favors those that will sustain the status quo by maintaining the same level of thinking that created the status quo. In Applied Behavioral Economics this is referred to as a heuristic, or rule-of-thumb perception people use when evaluating complex decisions. To quote the study, "Indeed, this bias in favor of selecting less creative leaders may partially explain why so many leaders fail (Hogan & Hogan, 2001), and why so many groups resist change (Argyris, 1997), as the leaders selected may simply lack the openness to recognize solutions that depart from what is already known."
We live in an age defined by adaptive challenges, a concept first put forth by Ronald A. Heifetz and Marty Linsky in their book, "Leadership on the Line, Staying Alive Through The Dangers Of Leading" (2001, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA). Traditionally, companies faced technical challenges, fairly routine obstacles in which leadership had the answers at hand. Adaptive challenges confront leadership with obstacles in which they do not have the answers. These challenges emerge when seismic shifts (in technology, geopolitical influences, or macro-economic forces) occur that change the entire landscape. This is the landscape we find ourselves in today and, I think we can agree, will most likely find ourselves in for the remainder of our careers. The only way to address adaptive challenges is to discover the answers along the journey (there’s no pause button on a business) and to continuously seek innovative ways of staying ahead of the curve. Discovery requires creativity. Innovation demands it.
So how do we go about reconciling this disconnect? The first step towards resolution lies in awareness. The quote above points to the solution, "...simply lack the openness to recognize...". By elevating executive self-awareness and social awareness, professionals can begin to set down their limiting perceptions and rules-of-thumb. As the competencies of self management and relationship management emerge, leaders can more fully engaged both their own creativity and begin to cultivate the creative talent that is often lying dormant throughout their organization.
While management fads may come and go, the professional and personal development reflected in presence and awareness is constant to the human condition. Companies already are beginning to recognize the need for creativity in leadership. Those that move decisively to cultivate these competencies are positioning themselves to win in the twenty-first century.
By: Terry Murray
One of the most common disconnects I see is the one that occurs between our intentions and our behaviors. It is part of our human nature. How many of us intend to lose a few pounds but put off dieting or working out because we’re simply so busy? A classic disconnect between our good intentions and the behaviors that would deliver the desired results. This is why we incorporate the research from Applied Behavioral Economics in our process. The fact is, we humans simply aren’t all that rational in our decision making processes. How we feel about things, how we perceive things, strongly influences our corresponding behavior. I recently saw an astounding example of this playing out from the results of a new, Cornell University research study and a relatively recent CEO survey conducted by IBM.
Early in 2010, IBM surveyed more than 1,500 CEOs operating in sixty-six countries, identifying the most critical leadership competencies companies need for future success. The most important attribute identified was the need for creativity. Not just in the leader, but in the leader’s ability to tap into the creativity of the entire organization. In reading this survey I was greatly encouraged. Finally, I thought, business leaders were beginning to see that (to paraphrase Albert Einstein) the level of thinking that got us here is not the same level of thinking necessary to move us forward. Innovation demands creativity and the unique nature of the global economic climate we now find ourselves in demands it as well. This recognition for the need of creativity is, perhaps, an early indicator that businesses are recognizing the old paradigms of command-and-control management are limited in a world that is shaped by the rapid-fire development and commercialization of intellectual property.
Additional management research supports the CEOs’ desire for creativity in leadership. A canvasing of the literature reveals nine studies that concur; creative leadership enables leaders to steward companies in profitable new directions. Creative leadership is also proven to be more effective at championing positive change and inspiring associates than leaders that lack this attribute.
And then the disconnect was revealed...
In their study titled, "Recognizing Creative Leadership: Can Creative Idea Expression Negatively Relate to Perceptions of Leadership Potential?", Jennifer Mueller, Jack Goncalo, and Dishan Kamdar revealed a startling reality. Through their research, they suggest the expression of creative thinking by up-and-coming executives could be derailing their opportunities for advancement. Perceptions of prototypical leaders favors those that will sustain the status quo by maintaining the same level of thinking that created the status quo. In Applied Behavioral Economics this is referred to as a heuristic, or rule-of-thumb perception people use when evaluating complex decisions. To quote the study, "Indeed, this bias in favor of selecting less creative leaders may partially explain why so many leaders fail (Hogan & Hogan, 2001), and why so many groups resist change (Argyris, 1997), as the leaders selected may simply lack the openness to recognize solutions that depart from what is already known."
We live in an age defined by adaptive challenges, a concept first put forth by Ronald A. Heifetz and Marty Linsky in their book, "Leadership on the Line, Staying Alive Through The Dangers Of Leading" (2001, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA). Traditionally, companies faced technical challenges, fairly routine obstacles in which leadership had the answers at hand. Adaptive challenges confront leadership with obstacles in which they do not have the answers. These challenges emerge when seismic shifts (in technology, geopolitical influences, or macro-economic forces) occur that change the entire landscape. This is the landscape we find ourselves in today and, I think we can agree, will most likely find ourselves in for the remainder of our careers. The only way to address adaptive challenges is to discover the answers along the journey (there’s no pause button on a business) and to continuously seek innovative ways of staying ahead of the curve. Discovery requires creativity. Innovation demands it.
So how do we go about reconciling this disconnect? The first step towards resolution lies in awareness. The quote above points to the solution, "...simply lack the openness to recognize...". By elevating executive self-awareness and social awareness, professionals can begin to set down their limiting perceptions and rules-of-thumb. As the competencies of self management and relationship management emerge, leaders can more fully engaged both their own creativity and begin to cultivate the creative talent that is often lying dormant throughout their organization.
While management fads may come and go, the professional and personal development reflected in presence and awareness is constant to the human condition. Companies already are beginning to recognize the need for creativity in leadership. Those that move decisively to cultivate these competencies are positioning themselves to win in the twenty-first century.
By: Terry Murray
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