6 posts tagged “course”
There are a number of
circumstances when it is appropriate to train your managers in family
groups which I described in my last article. Equally there are also
other circumstances and factors which would lead you to organise your management training in mixed, cross-functional groups. These are the factors for you to consider:-
-
the objectives and content of the programme eg how much is it aimed at
one consistent message and theme that you want to get across
consistently to all participants, regardless of functional specialism
or level of responsibility and experience
- is it a specific skills
programme eg presentation, negotiation skills where all of the
participants are attending with this specific development need and could help and support each other
-
is it a programme where you want managers with different backgrounds,
experiences and responsibilities to share their experience,
perspectives and ideas with each other
- are you aiming to increase
cross-functional understanding and teamwork across different functions
and departments and therefore by definition need mixed groups
- if it is a management skills
programme about personal, leadership or management styles and it would
inhibit participants to talk about their individual experiences and
issues in front of peers who they work closely with ie where both
openness and confidentiality is a key requirement of the course
All of these factors combined with the practicalities around availability, travel time and costs and getting an optimum and efficient number of participants need to weighed up when you decide whether to organise your management training in cross-functional or family groups.
Before answering this question we need to consider some other factors, for example, is personality an important factor, why would we need to know bout it, how can it be measured, what can it add to the coaching sessions?
1.
Yes personality is often an important factor in coaching a person
because it has an influence on a number of key aspects of a person such
as their motives, their styles, their ways of responding, their ways of
learning and most crucially their behaviors. It is also helpful to me
as a coach to have some insight into a coachee's personality to help me
to understand more about them as a whole person and to adjust my
questions, style and challenge to them in a way that I judge to be most
effective. It is also useful to set their personality alongside mine
and to think about how my styles, personality and learned behaviors may
need to be assessed and modified in order to bring out the best in both
me and in the person that I am coaching.
2. Why do we need to know about it? Well there is no absolute rule in coaching
that states that a coach must know and understand a personality in
detail before they can start to coach them. But in my experience it is
an important factor to understand about a person and therefore in most
coaching situations I will make this assessment either intuitively or
in a more scientific way.
3. How can personality be measured?
We
can and do make assessments and judgments about a person intuitively,
whether we like it or not. We infer things about them from what they
say about themselves, from their language and use of it and from their
body language and cues that we pick up using our senses.
We also get
information about them from their goals and objectives for this
coaching that they explain to us, compared to those set out by their
sponsor and from the issues, barriers and potential actions and
approaches that they explain to us.
We can also measure a
personality more scientifically using one or more of the psychometric
tests that are available on the market for BPS (British Psychological
Society) Approved testers. The sorts of personality profiles that I
sometimes use when coaching people are the following, depending upon
the objectives and needs of the individual coachee:-
16pf, Myers
Briggs, Team Management Systems Roles, Belbin Team roles, Schein's
Career Anchors. I would only use any one or two of these profiles with
the open agreement of the coachee and I would give, explain the reasons
for its use and go through the details of this profile and its
mechanics, advantages and limitations to the coachee.
4.
So in summary the understanding of a coachee's personality has a number
of benefit's for both the coach and coachee's point of view and very
few disadvantages - providing that the coachee readily give their
agreement to it, that it has a purpose linked to the coachee's goal and
objectives and that appropriate confidentiality and professionalism is
adopted with respect to the use of any psychometric profiles involved.
Taking
notes of the key aspects raised at a coaching session is an important
feature of the coaching service that I provide. This is because it
provides a number of benefits mainly for the coachee such as:-
- a note of the key themes and issues discussed
- a list of the options that have been considered
- key actions to be taken by the coachee are highlighted
-
they serve as a reminder to the coachee of what was important to them
at their coaching session which often serves to reinforce their
commitment to taking action
- it also reminds the coach of what was
discussed at the last coaching session and helps us to prepare for each
new session appropriately. The next area to consider is who should take
these notes - the coach or coachee or both and whether or not it is
appropriate to take notes whilst the session is in progress.
On the
first point I feel that I should take the notes as the coach and then I
commit to get them typed up and sent on to the coachee within 3 working
days. Some of my coachees also keep their own notes - particularly of
actions that they plan to take, which in my view is a very positive
step towards them taking those actions. I still send them on my copy of
the notes because they may read slightly differently and because the
coachees really seem to value them. I have yet to encounter a coachee
who didn't want to receive a copy of their notes!
However there are some potential drawbacks to taking notes during the coaching session. These include:-
The coach cannot be attending and listening properly to the coachee if he/she is also taking notes at the same time.
A coachee doesn’t want to spend the entire coaching session talking to the top of my head.
The Benefits
The notes produced from the session are often a very helpful reminder to the coachee of the content of the coaching session:
particularly of the actions and commitments made by the§ coachee
it brings back to them the sense and atmosphere of the§ session
it acts as a check list for them and a reminder for me§
§ it means that they are more likely to take ACTION and DO IT
they act§ as a basis for catching up at the next coaching session
they round§ off the process
BUT I don’t write them out when I am coaching every person:
some coachees (a small minority) don’t like it and find§ it off putting
some subjects require me to feel completely in tune§ with the coachee.
I usually recognise this and put my pen down immediately and
symbolically.
some coaching environments e.g. lunch/dinner make§ note taking
difficult
There are only 2 copies of the coaching notes – mine and theirs. I never send a copy on to anyone else. HOWEVER – I do always write up my coaching notes as soon as possible after the coaching session and send them back to the coachee within a few days of the session.
I send them by e-mail or “snail mail” to the coachee’s home or work – it is their choice from a speed, convenience and confidentiality point of view.
These two terms are
often used in the same sentence as if they are one and the same thing –
but they are different processes and the experience and approach that
you need have to be effective in either role are quite different as I
shall go on to explain.
There are some similarities such as:-
-
they are based on a 1 to 1 relationship between two people, one of whom
is the subject and object of the process and the other of whom is the
guide.
- they have broadly the same end result in mind – helping the
subject to learn, gain satisfaction from their work and achievements
and ultimately to perform at their best.
- these relationships
usually have a time scale and dynamic that goes through the same
upwards learning curve and eventually plateaus or declines in value –
especially for mentoring where one of the long term success aims for a
mentor may be to see their protégé move past them in terms of knowledge
and expertise and performance.
- both coaches and mentors are
drawing on the same set of inter-personal and communications skills to
establish that committed relationship and focused discussions that will
lead to the subject thinking and acting differently as a result.
There are also some key differences for example:-
- a coach does not have to be an expert in the subject area, job or knowledge field of the coachee, where as a mentor does.
-
It is crucial for a mentor to have had experience in the organisation,
industry or marketplace sector that their protégé is working in. This
is less important for a coach and it is often helpful for the coach to
be innocent and naïve about the organisation – which allows them to ask
those idiot questions and not to feel hamstrung by what has gone on
before.
- The mentor uses their previous experiences and knowledge
to help guide their protégé by giving them examples and input from
their background which can help them to move more quickly up the
learning curve for their role. The coach is less likely to be focusing
on their past experiences and more likely to have a predominant focus
on their coachees experiences, problems and issues.
- The mentor may
make important introductions to Institutions or to key people who he
thinks could be a useful source of knowledge, expertise or sponsorship
for their protégé. The coach is less likely to do this.
Is there therefore room for a person to have both a coach and mentor at the same time?
Yes I think that there is because each provides something different to the subject’s learning, development and performance.
Depending on what you need to learn there are a range of alternatives to attending the ubiquitous management training course. Firstly think about what it is you need to develop by asking yourself some simple questions, for example:
- To do all aspects of my current job well, what do I need to be better at?
- I would resolve an ongoing problem if I improved my skills and ability in the following areas?
- In my appraisals and other feedback (e.g. from my team) I have been told that I could improve the following?
- In my next likely roles I need to be good at?
Take the example of improving your self management and planning skills. Rather than going on a management training course on time management consider the following:
· Prepare a personal vision for yourself. Many people who struggle to manage their time because they are not clear about their own priorities. Your vision should be an expression of your preferred future, something you feel passionately about. Write it down and break it down into key goals and timings. Include a small activity each week in your diary to take you towards your vision.
· Use ‘To Do’ lists and prioritise the urgency and importance of the task. Cross tasks off once complete.
· Use a diary more effectively. Record your time for 2 weeks. What does this tell you? How much time did you spend reacting to events? How much time was spent on planned events? How can you plan your time differently?
· Demonstrate commitment to yourself and your development by making time for yourself every week to reflect on what you have learned and what you want to focus on next.
· Do not take responsibility for other people’s roles. Be clear with them what you are responsible for and what they are responsible for.
· Do not completely fill your diary keep slots free for unplanned events.
· Spend 5 minutes every day visualising yourself obtaining your goals.
· Be proactive. Listen to your language and the language of those around you.
- How often do you use or hear, ‘If only’, ‘I cannot’, or ‘I have to’?
- Work on ways of eliminating negativity from your language. Act as a role model to others.
· Read a book such as The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey or Self Defeating Behaviours by Cudney, Milton and Hardy.
By thinking more deeply about what it is you need to learn you will be able to identify some simple actions that you can take on a daily basis to improve your management skills. While a management training course may ultimately be the right approach, don’t simply assume that it is the answer to all your development needs.
Management Training Course, Leadership Development, Executive Coaching
Developing
People offer first class management training and development, with a
business training course for every level of personnel, helping you
increase productivity through employee training, leadership training
Depending on what you need to learn the answer may be yes or no! What exactly do you need to learn and develop? Do you need to understand the fundamentals, develop your confidence or just brush up on a few skills?
The following are some examples of practical tips that you can try out and practice to improve your presentation skills.
· Before presenting, ensure that you understand as much about your audience as possible (what is their knowledge of the topic, what is their background, what will they be expecting?). Once understood, determine the approach you will take (what information to provide, what questions the presentation should answer, what tone should be adopted etc.). What questions might they ask?
· Outline your presentation by writing down all of the key points and in what order they should be presented.
· Make a video of yourself presenting to others. Critically review it with a colleague or friend.
· The best way to improve public speaking and develop confidence is through practice.
- Seek out opportunities that require you to make presentations to small groups, perhaps outside work with community or service organisations.
· To present opinions forcefully and directly, avoid phrases like ‘it seems to me’ or ‘it is likely that’. Use strong, ‘punchy’ verbs.
· Illustrate key points of your presentation with real life examples that your audience will understand.
· Examine the habits of an excellent speaker (for example, watch the weather presenters on TV). What is it that they do? What are their behaviours, body language etc? What can you learn from them? What are you prepared to try and do differently?
· Learn to read the reaction from the audience. Are they attentive throughout, do any look bored?
· Check your tone of voice and body language, is it consistent with your words? Ask others for feedback.
· Read the following books - Successful Presentation Skills by Andrew Bradbury, You’ve Got to Be Believed to Be Heard by Bert Decker, and The Definitive Book of Body Language, A&B Pease.
While the above is not meant to be an exhaustive list of tips to improve one’s presentation skills, it does serve as an example that a management training course may not be the answer to develop your presentation skills.
Management Training Course, Leadership Development, Executive Coaching
Developing
People offer first class management training and development, with a
business training course for every level of personnel, helping you
increase productivity through employee training, leadership training