Motivation Shots from The Doc

Tips and Techniques to Apply for a Healthy and Productive Workplace
Twitter Facebook RSS

Posts Tagged ‘Leadership’

Recruit People Who Think – Six Steps to Success

Posted by The Motivation Doctor on July 13th, 2010 View Comments

When you’re interviewing someone for a job, what do you look for? Perhaps you look for previous experience, technical expertise, a particular level of intelligence and probably many other qualities and characteristics.

Can I also suggest that you pick someone with the talent to think, the ability to control their own mind.

Old style management doesn’t encourage employees to control their mind, they aren’t encouraged to think. That was certainly the case when I started work back in the bad old days however it’s still prevalent in many businesses today.
It’s evident in many of the organisations that I work with that there’s a culture of – “I’m the boss – I tell you what to do – you don’t question it.”

The successful manager doesn’t react that way, they employ people who think; people with a mind of their own who aren’t afraid to say what they think and feel. You need people who question, and who challenge you as a manager. Now I know you’re getting scared but a successful manager needs courage!

I remember sitting in on a second interview with a manager colleague of mine who was interviewing candidates for a sales job. One of the candidates was a guy called Phil; he was a very strong character, full of questions and suggestions on how the job should be done.
John, the manager turned to me when Phil left the room – “That guy’s good, I reckon he’d be a good salesman for us, but I don’t think I could handle him.”

John, the manager, was a much quieter type of person than Phil, and I knew he felt uncomfortable with his style.
So I asked John – “What do you want this new salesman to do?” “I want him to bring in new business” says John. “Do you think he can do that” I asked. “Of course I do, I just think he’ll be difficult to handle.”

It all comes down to outcomes; of course, you’ve got to consider how you’re going to work with a new team member, but you sometimes need courage to take a risk.
John hired Phil and he brought in the new business that John needed. Phil always was a handful and a challenge for John but they learned to work together.
So look for clues when you interview a job candidate such as:

1.    Do they run their own mind or does someone do it for them. – You’ll be listening for clues such as: “My husband suggested I do this” or “My mother says that I should”…or “My family were all engineers so that’s how I ended up becoming one.” None of this is wrong in its own right but it will give you an indication as to whether this person runs their own mind or not.

2.    Can they solve problems - Do they think things through and try to find a solution? Or do they let someone else do it for them? You’re listening for – “When I get a difficult customer I believe its best to let my manager deal with them.” Or alternatively – “I had a real crisis on my hands so I considered what options I had and …..”

3.    Are they fairly disciplined – Is there structure in their life and work, or do they just react to circumstances. You’re listening for – “Before I start a job I like to plan how I’m going to do it.”

4.    Are they creative – Do they look for new ways to do things? You’re listening for – “We always used to fill out reports in a certain way but I suggested to my manager a way that would save time.”

5.    Can they arrange things – Do they have the ability to organise themselves and others? You’re listening for – “One of the team was leaving so I organised a going away party.”

6.    Do they think about their own performance – Are they questioning themselves and thinking about how they could do better? You’re listening for – “I was really unhappy with my results so I decided to…….”

Put this to the test right away and it will ensure you get the best people on your team.

If you want to listen to this article or download it to your MP3 player; please click this link

Enhanced by Zemanta
Posted in Leadership, Management

Difficult People Just Have a Different Programme

Posted by The Motivation Doctor on July 2nd, 2010 View Comments

Have you been late for anything or anyone today, or are you one of these people who is always on time?

In any interaction between people, there will always be:

The way they see it – The way you see it – The way it is.

Take the example of Dave who usually arrives about 10-15 minutes late for a meeting.

The way he sees it is - ‘We’re supposed to meet at 8 and I’m here just after that. I don’t suppose anyone expects me to be here dead on 8 o’clock.’

If you’re an on time person then:

The way you see it is – ‘Dave is so selfish, he just shows up whenever it suits him. I’ve been here since 7.45 so that we can start at 8 o’clock; he has no respect for me or any of his colleagues.’

The way it is – Dave arrived at 8.12am

Your programming tells you that people should show up early or dead on time for a meeting. Dave’s programming, tells him that; ‘It’s only a meeting, it’ll be boring anyway, so we’ll try to have a laugh, and I’ll get there when I get there!’

I’m the person who always turns up early for an appointment, be it business or pleasure. I have friends who are like me, and always turn up on time; and I have other friends who arrive just when they’re ready. At one time I might have allowed this to annoy me; but now I try to think rather than react. I realise that this is the way these friends are, and in no way does it make them any less of a friend.

Let’s pick on Dave again; he might say to a customer – ‘I’ll phone you back in a couple of minutes.’ He may intend to phone them back when he has all the information. That could be within ten minutes, thirty minutes, one hour or the next two hours. The other person on hearing that Dave is going to phone back in a couple of minutes, may sit by the phone waiting for it to ring. When it doesn’t, they phone back, in a negative frame of mind, and then Dave has a difficult person to deal with.

Personal relationships often come to grief because of this inability to see it the way the other person does. A man may stop for a drink with his friends after work and phone his wife to say that he will be home later. She translates later as perhaps 8 to 9 pm. But he believes later is – ‘you’ll see me when you see me;’ guess what happens?

We are all very different. How often have you been to a play or a movie and thoroughly enjoyed it; however, the person you were with, didn’t enjoy it at all. You think – ‘What’s wrong with them; they must be stupid, or perhaps they’re just being difficult.’

When someone doesn’t see things the way you do, there is potential for you to get stressed and collect negative feelings. What then happens is; you dump these negative feelings on the other person, and then you have a difficult situation. The way to avoid these negative feelings is to:

  • Accept people the way they are
  • Decide not to react to other people’s behaviour
  • Be responsible for your own feelings
  • Change you expectations
  • Ask for help when you need it
  • Think before you communicate

Some food for thought; next time you have to deal with a difficult person, remember, they may just be running a different programme from you.

If you want to listen to this article or download it to your MP3 player, please click here

Posted in Difficult people, Leadership, Management, Motivation

Fabio Capello Should Have Read This Book

Posted by The Motivation Doctor on July 1st, 2010 View Comments

Have you ever heard a manager say – “I don’t care if my staff like me or not as long as they respect me.” – What a load of baloney!

It doesn’t matter if you are in business or in sport. If you want a highly motivated team who produce results, then it makes a truckload of difference if they like you!

I’ve been reading reports about the football teams in the World Cup and the relationships with their manager.
Before England was so decidedly beaten by Germany, and in the build up to the Algeria game, one newspaper reported – “the squad have grown sick and tired of Capello’s off-hand attitude. One senior player complained that the Italian had walked past him in the team hotel without even saying hello.”

Now that may or may not be true, but other reports suggest that Capello may be respected by the team, but they certainly don’t seem to like him.

Phil Neville the Everton, England and ex Manchester United footballer once    commented – “If the players like you, then that decides ninety-five percent of your success as a manager.”

If you read my article ‘What Makes Good Managers Good’ you’ll see that successful managers such as Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho are very much liked by their team members.

That human connection is what separates the respected managers from the highly successful and liked ones!

‘How to be a Motivational Manager’ is available for all football mangers and anyone else who wants a successful team

Enhanced by Zemanta
Posted in Leadership, Management, Motivation

What Makes Good Managers Good?

Posted by The Motivation Doctor on June 24th, 2010 View Comments

“How do I motivate my team?” That’s the question, I’m most often asked by frustrated managers. They want some instant fix, a ‘magic bullet’ that improves team motivation overnight. But as we all know, life isn’t like that.

I understand and appreciate why this question is being asked, I was a manager for fifteen years, I’ve felt the pain, and I understand the challenges managers face every day with their people.

The answer is – “You don’t motivate your team, you create the environment where they motivate themselves.”

Effective motivation is intrinsic, it has to come ‘from within’. There is no instant fix; it’s an ongoing day to day process of small actions that build a highly motivated team. It’s like pushing a heavy boulder, you need some initial effort to get the process going, but once you’ve done that, it takes a lot less effort to keep it moving.

There is no point in a football manager having a shouting session in the locker room at half time; at best, that’s only a short term fix.

So how do the good managers create this motivation environment?

I’ve spent years studying successful managers whether they were in business or in sport, trying to establish what makes the good guys good. I also thought about the managers that I worked for, and the ones I respected. And I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that these managers and coaches know:

  1. How to do all the business parts of the job
  2. How to do all the human parts of the job

A manager can have a certain level of success if they’re good at the business part of the job, but not so good at the human part. Some managers can go through their whole career by being competent in all the business and technical aspects of the job.

But to be a really successful Manager, and build a self-motivating team, you need to be good at the human part of the job.

Now you’re probably starting to feel a bit uncomfortable about all this ‘human, touchy feely’ stuff, and you’re not alone, many managers feel the same way. They’re terrified of being seen as a soft touch. But if you want to be successful; get over it guys n gals!

Let me give you some examples of what has been said about successful football managers.

I read a newspaper report about the Manchester United soccer player, Wayne Rooney and his relationship with his manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
In Rooney’s words – “Sir Alex is a hard manager and a tough manager, but he also gets on well with the players. The players can talk to him and that’s important. That’s all you need in a manager, to know you can trust him and turn to him when you have problems.”

Jose Mourinho, the new manager of Real Madrid, is the World’s highest paid football manager. In an interview for Men’s Health magazine, he was asked what quality was most important in contributing to his success as a manager. “I think its love,” he replied. “Love comes first, and because of love, other things arrive. I think without my love for my wife and for my kids, I wouldn’t be the manager I am. I think life is about that.”

Mourinho’s love extends beyond his family: his love applies to his players as well; Mourinho speaks of them like favourite sons. He has undoubted love for them, as they, quite obviously, have for him.

Now I know what you’re thinking – do I have to tell the people in my team that I love them, should I buy them presents? Somehow I don’t think so!
However you do need to:

  • Spend some quality time with each of them
  • Listen to them and really get to know them
  • Coach them on the job, and help them find solutions to job related or personal problems
  • Find ways to make their job more interesting
  • Show that you appreciate them and have some fun
  • Let them know what’s happening in the organisation
  • Trust and believe in them, don’t keep ‘supervising’

You have to do, say or demonstrate behaviour to your team members that lets them know you care about them.

That’s what makes the good managers good, and if you want to join them, the question is: -

Are you tough enough to care?

Posted in Leadership, Management, Motivation

Managing Difficult People – Don’t Let Pet Peeves Hook You

Posted by The Motivation Doctor on June 8th, 2010 View Comments

Do you have any pet peeves that annoy you about other people?

When I’m running a Managing Difficult People seminar, I ask the participants to make a list of pet peeves that they have about other people, either in their business or personal life.

Some of the participants are reluctant to admit their pet peeves. They believe they shouldn’t have any, or they’re too embarrassed to admit to them. With a bit of encouragement from me, and some of the more outspoken members of the group, we eventually end up with a huge list on the flip chart.

People will talk about things that irritate them about other people, and drive them crazy. Things they disapprove of, find embarrassing, or just don’t like. Here are some of the pet peeves I’ve heard from seminar participants:

Speaking with your mouth full
Bad breath
Body odour
Not saying please or thank you
General bad manners
Answering a mobile phone in the middle of a conversation
Squeezing the toothpaste from the wrong end
Putting a toilet roll on the holder the wrong way around
Untidiness
Bad timekeeping
Smoking
Obesity
Drunkenness
Not looking you in the eye
Slurping food or drink
Not listening
Loud music
Loud people

As you will see, the list goes on and on.

Once we have all these pet peeves on our flip chart, I then ask the group to vote on each one. In a group of, let’s say, 20 people; 12 people might say ‘speaking with your mouth full’ is a pet peeve for them. Another 6 people might say ‘untidiness’ is a peeve for them.

What comes out of this, as you will see, is that not all of us have the same pet peeves. If you consistently arrive late, this can drive some people crazy, while others don’t really care if you’re late or not.

You develop these pet peeves based on how you were brought up; how you were programmed. You probably learned them from your parents and all the other people you grew up with.

When I was a child, I was never allowed to waste food. I had to eat everything that was on my plate before I could leave the table. This programming is so strong, that as an adult I admit to being a bit peeved by people who pick at their food and leave lots on the plate without eating it.

When we interact with other people it is highly possible that we allow our pet peeves to influence that interaction.

I was running a seminar for some bank employees and several of them stated the same pet peeve. They hate when a customer answers their mobile phone in the middle of a transaction or a conversation. Because the bank employee finds this behaviour annoying, it could potentially affect how he or she deals with the customer.

The staff member’s annoyance, albeit slight, may be transmitted to a customer by tone of voice or body language. It is then possible that the customer may become difficult. Any customer’s behaviour, which is a pet peeve for you, may hook you into negative behaviour, and that will potentially cause problems.

The other aspect of this is; we all have pet peeves, however, what may be a pet peeve for you may not be for the other person. You may think that being a bit late with your report is not such a big deal; but the other person does, and that, potentially, causes them to be difficult.

Some food for thought!

If you want to listen to this article or download it to your MP3 player; please click here.

Posted in Customer service, Difficult people, Leadership, Management, Motivation

6 Things You Must Know About Handling Resistance

Posted by The Motivation Doctor on June 3rd, 2010 View Comments

Do you ever meet with resistance from other people – I bet you do! It might be a customer, a colleague, a member of your team or even someone in your personal life. Dealing with resistance is one of the biggest challenges faced by business people; so let’s consider why we get resistance and how we can handle it.

I’m going to talk a bit about customers and sales but the same rules apply whether it’s a colleague or someone in your personal life.

Well there’s good news and bad news – first the good news. When someone says – “I don’t agree with you” or “I can’t accept what you say” or “You’re too expensive” or “We already deal with someone else,” then they may not be telling the truth.

The bad news is – most of them won’t accept what you say, or buy what you’re selling anyway. But don’t cut your wrists just yet because, there’s more good news.
If you can find out exactly what the other person means when they say – “No” then you have a much better chance of improving your success rate, getting more sales and more agreement.

What you need to realise is that, there is no smart answer to the other person’s resistance. People are always looking for the ‘things to say’ that’ll deal with resistance. How can you possibly have an answer if the other person isn’t telling the truth is the first place?

Many sales people believe the customer when they say – “You’re too expensive.” They then start offering discounts or walk away from the sale, complaining that their product or service isn’t competitive enough.

So why do people say “No”

Well I don’t want you to burst into tears but the First and most important reason is that – they may not like you! That doesn’t mean that they dislike you, it just means that they don’t know you, and they haven’t built any trust or a relationship with you.
So firstly – get them to like you, sell yourself, be trustworthy, don’t talk too much, be a great listener, smile, be friendly.

If you want to be intresting, then be intrested!

The Second reason people say “no” could be that they haven’t understood what on earth you’re talking about. Maybe you haven’t spoken clearly enough, or you’ve used too many technical terms or jargon. This can make you seem like a real ‘smarty pants,’ and that takes us back to our First reason.
The answer should be simple enough; use language the other person can understand and keep checking by asking questions.

The Third reason may be that the person wasn’t listening. They might have been distracted by something or somebody; perhaps your big bright eyes, or the fact that they’re tired, hot and need a comfort break.
The trick is to keep checking: “Did you understand that last bit, John or did I make it confusing?”

Fourthly, they may not be the right person. The person you’re speaking with may be telling you – “I’m not able to give you an answer at this time” or “We have another supplier” or “I’d like to think about this.”
However, they may not be the decision maker. To make sure you’re speaking to the right person, be brave and ask the question – “Is it you who’ll make the final decision or do I need to speak to someone else?”

The Fifth reason could be that they don’t like change.
Sometimes our staff, our potential customers, or even our friends, like to stay in their comfort zone and they don’t want you telling them they have to change their way of doing things. Even although they could possibly save money, or make their life easier; people are generally reluctant to change.

It’s therefore important to outweigh the other person’s reluctance by emphasising the benefits of what you’re suggesting, or the benefits of your product or service.

Also, keep selling yourself and appeal to the person’s emotional side, don’t be too logical. Always remember that human beings will almost always allow their hearts to rule their heads when buying something or making a decision to change.

So appeal to their emotions; keep telling them how much better they’ll feel (not necessarily using these words) when they accept what you’re saying! How good they’ll look or how others will feel about them.

Lastly, it may just be that the other person genuinely doesn’t want, or need, or have the money for what you’re proposing

The only way to find out which of these Six points is the truth, is to keep asking questions, listen carefully to the other person and watch their body language.

If you’re in sales; always remember that – “You’re too expensive” could mean. – “I haven’t understood a word you’ve said” or “I’m going on holiday tomorrow” or “My son-in-law works for your competitor.”

When someone resists what you say, make sure you know what they really mean before you deal with it.

If you want to listen to this article or download it to you MP3 player; please click here

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
Posted in Motivation

Don’t Recruit People Based on Experience

Posted by The Motivation Doctor on May 28th, 2010 View Comments

What do you look for when you’re interviewing someone for a job? I’m sure there are many factors that are important to you, and probably experience is one of them

A job applicant’s previous work experience is often used to judge whether they have the capacity to do the new job.
Many managers go through the resume discussing each previous job with the applicant. The applicant then goes on to tell the manager how clever they are and how successful they were in all their previous jobs.
It’s almost a case of – “Have you worked in our industry before?” – “Yes, I have lots of experience in your industry” – “Great, can you start on Monday?”

I’ve been in the situation where I’m interviewing someone for a sales job and they have several similar jobs on their resume. I’ve often asked myself – “Who on earth employed this person in a sales job, because I have no confidence in their ability whatsoever.”

Put your customer hat on for a moment and think about the people you’ve dealt with in the past who were pretty hopeless. The salespeople, the plumbers, the maintenance engineers or the customer service people on the end of the phone. When these people were interviewed for their job, they probably discussed with the interviewer about their experience, how good they were in their current job and all their previous jobs. However, based on your interactions with them, I bet you’d have something to add to that discussion.

Experience shouldn’t be ignored, but it’s not a reliable indicator as to whether someone can give you the outcomes you want.

What you’re really looking for is talent!

It doesn’t matter how long they have been in your industry, or how long they have been in the type of job you’re trying to fill. You need to establish whether they can give you the results you need.

Depending on the job you’re trying to fill, keep asking yourself, does this person have the talent:

  • To make customers want to come back?
  • To generate more sales for the business?”
  • To make customers say positive things to other people about my business?
  • To manage my people and make them top performers?
  • To make my life easier and help me achieve my outcomes?

Concentrate on the factors that you will ultimately be judged on and keep those at the forefront of your mind.

I’d rather have a lot of talent and a little experience than a lot of experience and a little talent.
John Wooden (1910-, American basketball coach)

Related articles by Zemanta
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
Posted in Customer service, Leadership, Management

The Truth About Intelligence and Recruiting People

Posted by The Motivation Doctor on May 27th, 2010 View Comments

One of the programs that was installed in my brain as I grew up was that ‘intelligent’ people could do almost anything due to the fact that they had the capacity to learn.
The education system when I was young was based on the understanding that, if you left school with a whole raft of qualifications, then any job was open to you.
If you wanted to be a doctor, lawyer, pilot, engineer or an architect then all you needed was these school qualifications and you could go on to learn anything.
Sadly, many people who did train to be doctors didn’t turn out to be very good doctors, as with lawyers, pilots or any other job you care to mention.

When I was an apprentice engineer I can remember working with young engineering college graduates. Some of them were really good, they had talent for engineering and it was really apparent. However, there were others who, if truth be told, were pretty hopeless. Their intelligence had helped them learn enough information to qualify for a degree in engineering but they just didn’t have the talent.

I once appointed a college graduate as a salesperson. I fell into the trap of not thinking but reacting to my programming and believing that because he was ‘intelligent’ then he could learn to sell.
I discovered that he had the capacity to learn all about our products but he didn’t have the talent to persuade others, or to go out and find new customers.
I was also stupid enough to believe I could teach him; however, as I’ve said many times before - “You can’t make people what they’re not!”
You can teach people skills and give them knowledge however, if they don’t have the talent, then their performance will suffer.

The successful manager looks for intelligence, but more importantly he looks for talent to do the job and achieve the outcomes needed for the business.

Related articles by Zemanta
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
Posted in Leadership, Management

Develop Your Talent as a Motivational Sales Manager – Seminar

Posted by The Motivation Doctor on May 20th, 2010 View Comments

A new Seminar designed to develop the talents of  Sales Managers.

It will show how to build a highly motivated team, who generate more sales and make a positive                          contribution to the business!

Posted in Leadership, Management, Motivation

HOW TO HOLD MOTIVATIONAL MEETINGS – Translated Version

Posted by The Motivation Doctor on May 16th, 2010 View Comments

This is one of my articles found on a blog, that has obviously been translated into another language, and then translated back into English.

It makes me smile, hope it does for you!

———————————————————————————————————————————————————–

How most times have we phoned someone to be told, “They’re in a meeting!?”

At slightest 60 per cent of a manager’s time is outlayed in meetings. Research in a single vast organization detected which a figure could be as tall as 90 per cent. And an additional consult found which most managers cruise meetings they attend, to be a rubbish of time. In fact, a little managers contend which – “meetings take ‘minutes’ as well as final for hours.”

If we have been a physical education instructor or group leader, afterwards we will have to reason meetings; here have been 4 stairs to have them unusually Motivational:

1. Don’t reason a assembly unless we unequivocally have to. Be really, unequivocally certain which a assembly is indispensable as well as which it has a transparent objective. By a finish of a meeting, however prolonged it takes, a shorter a better; we have to be certain which you’ve completed which objective.

2. Start a assembly on time. Don’t wait for for any a single as well as don’t go over what’s been discussed for latecomers. Of course, we unequivocally shouldn’t have latecomers as well as if we do, verbalise to them away after a assembly as well as arrange it out.

3. Have a structured bulletin display begin time, breaks as well as finish time. Don’t report meetings to begin on a hour; contend 1.20 rsther than than 1 0’clock. And if it’s a half day meeting, begin in a afternoon rsther than than a morning; people will keep relocating if they consider they will be late withdrawal work. Ruthlessly hang to which agenda; don’t concede people to wind or speak about things not on a agenda. If we wish to have jabber time – put it on a agenda! Keep people relocating as well as even get them out a doorway prior to a finish time on a agenda.

4. Make meetings fun. Supply snacks, drinks, ripened offspring as well as chocolate. Start a assembly with a fun energiser diversion or quiz. Let a single of a group chair a assembly spasmodic (as prolonged as they carry out a agenda). Allow people to have a laugh; emanate appetite as well as enthusiasm.

So there we have it; Motivational Managers run structured meetings with transparent objectives where people have fun as well as resultantly minister as well as get things done.

Alan Fairweather, ‘The Motivation Doctor,’ is an International Business Speaker, Best Selling Author as well as Sales Growth Expert.
For a past sixteen years, he’s been branch ‘adequate’ managers, sales as well as patron use people in to unchanging tip performers.
He is a writer of dual books:
‘How to be a Motivational Manager’ A practical beam for managers as well as group leaders.
‘How to Manage Difficult People’ Proven strategies for traffic with severe poise at work.
To embrace your giveaway newsletter as well as giveaway e

————————————————————————————–

If you want to check the original article, click here

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
Posted in Motivation
« Older Entries

Powered by WordPress | Log in | Entries (RSS) | Comments (RSS) | ilookgood! theme by iwritealot!