essential management skills - coroflots3images.coroflot.com/user_files/individual_files/...welcome...

MTD Training, 5 Orchard Court, Binley Business Park, Coventry, CV3 2TQ Web: www.mtdtraining.com Phone: 0800 849 6732 Email: [email protected]

Essential Management Skills2-Day Workshop

Untitled-2.indd 1 9/26/14 2:08:46 PM

1Web: www.mtdtraining.com | Telephone: 0800 849 6732

Welcome

Dear Manager,

Welcome to Essential Management Skills!

Being a modern day manager is exciting and at the same time is a challenge - it’s both an art and a science.

It’s an art in terms of the excellent communication skills that you need to possess to coach, manage and motivate your teams and it’s a science in terms of getting things done.

Over the next couple of days we’d like you to take a step back and look at how you’re currently managing yourself and your people.

Take the opportunity to reflect on what’s going well and what you could be doing better.To get the best out of the workshop we recommend that you take lots of notes, ask plenty of questions and go “full out” to improve.

We hope you get a lot out of the workshop and don’t forget to make full use of the resources we’ll be giving you in terms of access to our online management academy and on-going email tips – your workshop leader will provide you with the details.

All that remains to be said is to say thanks again for being on the workshop, enjoy making some new friends and don’t forget to have some fun too!

Yours Sincerely

Sean McPheatManaging Director

Untitled-2.indd 1 9/26/14 2:08:48 PM


Essential Management Skills

Contents of the Workshop

Leadership and Management - The competencies needed for both .............................Page 5

Your Management Style - What your style says about you ...............................................Page 6

Coaching as a Skill - The overview of a coach’s role ........................................................Page 7

The OUTCOMES Model - What are the stages behind OUTCOMES? .................................Page 8

Giving Quality Feedback - What to do to make it useful ..................................................Page 9

Communication Skills - The transmission of information ...................................................Page 10

The Ladder of Interference - How it works ..........................................................................Page 11

Resolving Deadlocks - Handling conflict effectively ........................................................Page 13

Active Listening Skills - How to improve your verbals and non-verbals .........................Page 14

Delegation Skills - The best way to engage your staff .....................................................Page 15

Managing Performance - Creating the foundation for greater quality .........................Page 16

Task and Self-Management - Getting the most out of your time ...................................Page 17

Building High-Performance Teams - Developing skills to improve team skills ................Page 19

Ideas on Motivation - Driving passion into the organisation ............................................Page 20

Notes and Actions .................................................................................................................Page 24

Exercises and Activities - Driving passion into the organisation ......................................Page 25

The Five Conflict-Handling Modes ......................................................................................7

Staff Conflict Exercises ..........................................................................................................Page 46

The Matrix ...............................................................................................................................Page 48

Task Management Questionnaire .......................................................................................Page 49

Scoring ....................................................................................................................................Page 51

Untitled-2.indd 2 9/26/14 2:08:48 PM


Leadership and Management

A Manager thinks short-term, tactically

A Manager plans how and when

A Manager looks at the bottom line

A Manager focuses on improving existing products and services

A Manager supervisors

A Manager builds success through quality

A Manager sets standards of performance

Principles of Super-Leadership

Super-leadership is leadership that inspires organisational success by showing team members how to lead themselves.

Super-leadership is a new form of leadership for the era of knowledge- based organisations distinguished by flat structures and employee empowerment. A super-leader is one who leads others to lead themselves through designing and implementing the system that allows and teaches employees to be self-leaders.

If super-leaders are successful in providing strategic alignment and coaching people, they develop followers who are productive, work independently, and need only minimal attention from the super-leader.

The best organisations have a theory and practice of leadership that subscribes to and promotes the concept that leadership exists at all levels within the organisation.

How do you think Super-Leadership could be applied within your team or organisation?

The Leader/manager question shouldn’t be either/or. It should be both/and.

Let’s look at both sides of the coin for some competencies:

A Leader has a longer-term, more strategic focus and thinking process

A Leader asks what and why

A Leader looks to the horizon

A Leader focuses on a vision for how products and services can be developed in the future

A Leader Influences

A Leader builds success through employees

A Leader sets new standards

To be effective, a leader must

successfully influence the way people influence

themselves

Untitled-2.indd 3 9/26/14 2:08:50 PM


Your Management StyleCarry out the analysis on the questionnaire. After having received your feedback, take time out to answer the following questions:

Are your results what you expected? In what way?

What styles would be the most appropriate for your team?

The Situations Leaders Encounter

The four leadership styles are designed to cover most eventualities in any management situation. Originally called ‘Situational Leadership’, it was designed to create awareness of what style could be adopted to get results. There is no ‘best’ style because development varies from person to person, from goal to goal and from task to task

A Leaders’ Role….

“I think people want to be magnificent…It is the job of a leader to bring that magnificence out in people and to create an environment where they feel safe and supported, ready to do the best job possible in accomplishing key goals. The responsibility is a trust that should not be violated. The opportunity to guide others to their fullest potential is an honour that shouldn’t be taken lightly. As leaders, we hold the lives of others in our hands. Those hands need to be supportive, ever increasing in their ability to bring the best out of our teams”

Ken Blanchard

The New Role of a Leader

The leader’s role has shifted dramatically. In the past the emphasis was more on the leader as being ‘boss’. Today, leaders must partner with their people; they can no longer lead with position-power alone. Leaders should move from a ‘command-and-control’ role of judging and evaluating, to a role of ensuring accountability through support, coaching and delegating.Leadership is not something you do ‘to’ people…it is something you do ‘with’ them.The four different styles are characterised by combinations of varying amounts of competence and commitment

?

Untitled-2.indd 4 9/26/14 2:08:50 PM


Coaching as a skill….

The New Role

The model of coaching is based on the belief that the question is the answer. The coach is responsible for people finding the answers themselves and developing their own problem-solving skills.

Coaching is a process of enquiry so that that people can access their own energy and inner strength to reach their own level of awareness. Tapping into a person’s previously unused strengths and talents advances personal growth and learning, which challenges people to always improve.

Coaching builds accountability by providing a safe forum for people to honour commitments they make. These commitments advance personal and company growth.

Coaching is collaborative as well as interactive. It’s more like a dance than a premeditated or prescriptive process. The shared experiences, insights, solutions generated during sessions move the person forward.

Coaching is about having people grow. Coaches help people become more observant so they can better respond to the events, problems or situations that spring up.

Coaching isn’t about giving information. It is about responding to the needs of other people. People may well resist if information is forced upon them.

Coaching consists of motivating people to reach their highest levels by offering opportunities and possibilities, not obligations. Coaching is the art of creating new possibilities that didn’t exist before.

Overview of a coach’s role

u Focuses on strengths, not weaknesses

u Facilitate, or makes things easier

u Brings out the best in people by supporting, assisting and maximising people’s strengths

u Drives change and growth Guides and informs

u Has the right questions, not necessarily the right answers

u Empowers people to be responsible for their own successes

Your Notes:

Untitled-2.indd 5 9/26/14 2:08:50 PM


The OUTCOMES Model

What are the stages behind OUTCOMES?

O= Objectives. What is the employee attempting to achieve? The manager will attempt to get an idea of what specifically the employee is trying to achieve from either the coaching session or from their business or sales objectives.

U= Understand the Reasons. This is an important step as it is vital that the reasons behind wanting to achieve the objective are understood. More often than not, employees either “under-stretch” or “over-stretch” their objectives. In caring professions, for example, one of the main “under stretches” is wanting to simply build rapport and fact-find as opposed to actually improve the health of the individual as quick as possible. By understanding the reasons behind the “rapport” objective, a manager can support and challenge a carer to achieve both the rapport and fact-finding objectives together with starting the improvement process.

T= Take Stock of the Present Situation. It is important to spend time analysing the reality of the present situation so that a manager can establish a baseline and then....

C= Clarify the Gap between where they are now and where they need to get to, in order to achieve their objective. An inexperienced coach or manager can perhaps jump from Objectives to Options without fully understanding the “gap” that has to be “crossed” or “filled”. They can go straight to the “how” without fully understanding the “what”.

O= Options Generation. Time needs to be taken here and not the first option taken. How many managers ask; “And if there was one other way you could do it, what would it be?” or “What would be the result if you did nothing?” The pros and cons of each option need to be discussed. This stage can take time and many managers “skip” through it, or worse, manipulate their employee with leading questions that enable the employee to come up with the options that the manager wants to hear! Take your time and allow the employee to generate his or her own options.

M= Motivate to Action. Once the options have been discussed and the best way forward agreed, the manager must check the motivation of the employee to move on the actions. Are they agreeing to actions because that is what they think the manager wants to hear or are they really motivated to move on the actions? The manager must have the ability to check this and challenge any signs of demotivation.

E= Enthusiasm & Encouragement – The manager must at all times show enthusiasm for the objectives ahead and encourage the employee to do as best they can.

S= Support. The manager must always show support for the employee in the tasks agreed and must also ask if there is any support that they have to put in, in order to assist the employee. An example of this could be a person asking their manager to sit in on an interview with a patient and be prepared to help them with any difficult questions the patient may ask.

Untitled-2.indd 6 9/26/14 2:08:51 PM


Giving Quality Feedback

It should be descriptive, not evaluative, and focussed on a specific behaviourThat way, both the giver and receiver can clearly and objectively identify what the issue is. If you want something to change, focussing on behaviour instead of evaluating that behaviour allows others to actually hear the feedback and use it as they see fit, eliminating the tendency to respond defensively

It is actionableFeedback should be directed toward behaviour the receiver can do something about, rather than a perceived defect in their character or personality

It is well-timedIf you wait a long time after the behaviour has occurred, the exact memory of what was said or did may be blurred. Feedback offered at the earliest opportunity may give the responder a clearer understanding of what is actually being fed back.

Make an exception when emotions are involved. If you’re feeling angry or resentful, your feelings will be communicated non- verbally. You may wish to ‘cool-off’ before offering feedback to avoid putting the receiver on the defensive

It is presented a little at a timeToo much feedback may be overwhelming and not useful. Ensure any feedback is done in bitesized chunks

Make it a suggestion rather than an

imperative command

Untitled-2.indd 7 9/26/14 2:08:51 PM


Communication is the transmission of information. But how exactly does it work?

Firstly, a person has some thoughts that they want to communicate. They then put all of these thoughts into a logical sequence. Then, these thoughts and representations are put into words and then they are spoken.

Your thoughts are represented in your brain by sequential analyses (‘streams’ of thought processes) that are then transferred into representations (images) that are formulated into words. These are articulated by you by way of speech. The words are heard by the second person and then are interpreted to make some sense to them.

The sense of the words is now understood by the other person’s view of the world and the filters that they use to understand information, and then these understandings are expressed as thoughts.

So, if communication is so easy, how come confusion, misunderstandings and miscommunication happen all too often?

LISTENER

EXTERNAL EVENTBEHAVIOUR

Speak

YOU

Thoughts Thoughts

Represent Understand

Words Interpret

Receive

The Filters WhichDelete, Distort & Generalise

• Meta Programs• Values• Beliefs• Decisions• Memories

UnconciousConcious

INTERNALREPRESENATATION

STATE

PHYSIOLOGY

Untitled-2.indd 8 9/26/14 2:08:54 PM


Here’s how the Ladder of Inference works:

I observe objectively - Observation by itself is not a biased activity. When I observe I see what happens, hear what was said, or experience a situation - no more and no less.

I select data from what I observe - Here is where the filtering begins. I create assumptions about which parts of the event I have observed are important. This assumption about importance is based on how the things that have been observed affect me, or fit into my cultural experience. A person from one culture may not understand the significance of events that occur within another culture. Culture can be large (a country, religious group, political party, or shared language), or small (individual, family, or workgroup).

I add meaning to what I have selected - At this point, I imply meaning using the norms of my culture, or experience.

I make assumptions based on the meaning I have added - - This process begins to fill in gaps in knowledge. Where I don’t know something about the event, I naturally assume that the motivations, behaviours, wants, desires, likes and dislikes should match my own. These assumptions take the guesswork out of understanding the situation.

I draw conclusions which prompt feelings - Now that I understand the situation, and have filled in the gaps with assumptions, I can draw conclusions about why the person is behaving that way. And, of course, I immediately begin to have feelings about these conclusions.

I adopt beliefs about the world - Based on my conclusions, I can now see that there are things within the world that are out of alignment (or in the case of a positive conclusion, in alignment). I am having either negative or positive feelings about the situation. And, at this point, I believe some form of action, whether it is a physical act, spoken words, or other behaviour on my part, is necessary.

Untitled-2.indd 9 9/26/14 2:08:55 PM


Here’s how the Ladder of Inference works:

I draw conclusions which prompt feelings - Now that I understand the situation, and have filled in the gaps with assumptions, I can draw conclusions about why the person is behaving that way. And, of course, I immediately begin to have feelings about these conclusions.

I adopt beliefs about the world - Based on my conclusions, I can now see that there are things within the world that are out of alignment (or in the case of a positive conclusion, in alignment). I am having either negative or positive feelings about the situation. And, at this point, I believe some form of action, whether it is a physical act, spoken words, or other behaviour on my part, is necessary.

I take action based on my beliefs and feelings - I now fully understand the entire situation and take the necessary action: I give the departing driver a negative hand gesture. Or, in the case of a work situation, perhaps I say something that I believe to be appropriate based on my conclusions about the current situation. This is often an emotional, rather than a rational response.This move up the Ladder of Inference takes milliseconds. It happens all day long. It happens when we interact with people, and when we read the news. It also affects how others see us as they climb their own Ladders of Inference.

There are a few things you can do to help cut down the number of times you run up the ladder:• Make your thinking process visible to others by explaining your assumptions, interpretations,

and conclusions. This is easier to do in the office where there are other people around to help you think through things than it is while you are alone, driving down the road. But, even when you are alone, you can take a moment to examine your journey up the ladder before deciding what action you will take.

• Invite others to test your assumptions and conclusions. When you have the opportunity to work with others, have them help you think things through.

• Use respectful inquiry to help others make their thought processes visible. Use open and non-judgmental questions, rather than questions that exhibit a bias.

• Explore impasses, and don’t agree to disagree too soon. This helps you avoid hidden or unspoken assumptions and conclusions that hide the journey up the Ladder of Inference.

Next time you find yourself having an emotional reaction to something, take the time to notice what triggered this feeling. Observe the events that have occurred. Examine the data you selected. Think about the filters you use to interpret information. Identify your assumptions and conclusions. Understand the root of your feelings. And then select the action you will take.

i

Untitled-2.indd 10 9/26/14 2:08:56 PM


Six steps to resolving deadlocks and unachieved outcomes

1= Define the issue and the stated positions of all the main parties involved

2= Chunk up by seeking the higher interests of all parties

3= Chunk down by asking what stops the parties from resolving this issue

4= Define the single leverage point for action

5= Create a new action goal based on addressing the leverage point

6= Check that the achievement of the new goal meets the interests of all parties

1 Define the issue - Create a statement of the issue, or unachieved outcome, as you see it. Identify who is involved

2 Chunk up - Identify the higher level interests of all the key parties. The word ‘interest’ means all those motivators or deeper needs that sit behind a stated position. There might be ‘hidden agendas’. Questions you can ask to help you identify them include:

“What does this idea or position mean for you?”

“What’s important about this position for you?”

“What would achieving this outcome do for you?” See the situation from their position.

3 Chunk down - Establish the main barriers that currently affect the resolution of the problem, or the achievement of the outcome.

“What stops this from being resolved?”

“What barriers stop everyone moving on?”

“What just stops us from getting on with it?”

4. Identify the ‘Leverage Point’ for action - This is the one thing that, if it was resolved, would have the effect of negating the impact of all the other barriers. Questions you can use include:

“What’s common to all these problems?”

“What the driver behind all these barriers?”

“What one thing would address all these barriers?”

5 Create a new goal - Any new goal emerging from the leverage point should be within participants’ control to make happen. This becomes a new outcome, and may have to

include steps along the way, as subsidiary outcomes on the way to its achievement.

6 Check the Outcome - Check the outcomes of the new achievements against the higher level interests of the parties involved. Test the commitment to actual implementation of the

decision and move on. If commitment is not there, revisit the leverage point and make sure that resolution of that point will eliminate all the other barriers and obstacles previously identified.

Untitled-2.indd 11 9/26/14 2:08:56 PM


Active Listening Skills

VERBAL

Repeat key words as an encouragement and confirmation that you have heard and understood.

Paraphrase: Briefly play back what has been said but in your own words to confirm your listening and check your understanding.

Encourage: Use simple phrases to encourage. ‘Go on,’ ‘And then what?’

Ask for clarification: Stop the speaker when you lose the thread of the argument or do not understand and ask for clarification.

Express sympathy: Reflect the speaker’s feelings; show that you understand them without necessarily agreeing with them.

Summarise the main points and any discussions taken at the end of a topic. This is more than paraphrasing as you are providing a summary of a section.

NON-VERBAL

Send open body language signals: Use nods and smiles to signal encouragement or agreement. Have a relaxed body posture. Lean forward slightly but do not invade the speaker’s personal space.

Use the right amount of eye contact: Avoiding eye contact suggests you are uninterested. Staring is threatening. Move your point of focus around between the eyes and the bridge of the nose.

Listen to emotions: Listen to the tone and how things are said, not just what is said. The tone conveys more message than words.

Use silence: Allow the speaker time to think. Let him or her end the silence most times. This also prevents you from rushing in with inappropriate reactions just to fill the silence.

Untitled-2.indd 12 9/26/14 2:08:56 PM


Delegation Skills

The Seven Levels

Delegation isn’t just a matter of telling someone what to do. There is a wide range of varying freedom you can confer on another person. The more experienced and reliable they are, the more freedom you can give.

Deciding what to delegate:One way of deciding what to delegate is simply to list the things that you do that could be more effectively done by someone either more skilled in a particular area, or less expensive. Alternatively you may decide to use your activity log as the basis of your decision to delegate: this will show you where you are spending large amounts of time on low yield jobs.

Select capable, willing people to carry out jobs:How far you can delegate jobs will depend on the ability, experience and reliability of your assistants. Good people will be able to carry out large jobs with no intervention from you. Inexperienced or unreliable people will need close supervision to get a job done to the correct standard.

However if you coach, encourage and give practice to them you may improve their ability to carry out larger and larger tasks unsupervised.

Explain why the job is done, and what results are expected: When you delegate a job, explain how it fits into the overall picture of what you are trying to achieve. Ensure that you communicate effectively:

• the results that are needed• the importance of the job• the constraints within which it should be carried out• the deadlines for completion• milestone reporting dates• internal reporting dates when you want information on the progress of the project

Then let go!

Once you have decided to delegate a task, let your assistant get on with it. Review the project on the agreed reporting dates, but do not constantly look over their shoulders.Recognise that your assistants may know a better way of doing something than you do. Accept that there may be different ways of achieving a particular task, and also that one of the best ways of really learning something is through making mistakes. Always accept mistakes that are not caused by idleness, and that are learned from

i

Level 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 5Level 6Level 7

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 2

LEVEL 3

LEVEL 4

LEVEL 5

LEVEL 6

LEVEL 7

Untitled-2.indd 13 9/26/14 2:08:57 PM


Managing Performance

In many ways there are no secrets to implementing effective performance management. Performance Management is a process which, if implemented effectively, should ensure that both employees and managers remain both productive and motivated.

The actual process itself should hold no secrets. There are simply a number of steps to be considered within the Performance Management process:

• Agree roles and responsibilities and the objectives and targets that go with the role. Ensure that both the manager and the employee know what success looks like in relation to each objective. Sales targets are easy to quantify but project objectives may not be so easy to define success.

• Ensure the actions needed to achieve the targets and objectives are agreed and achievable.

• If some of the actions needed are deemed outside the capability of the person who has to achieve them, then create a development plan in order that the person is trained accordingly.

• Agree a review process by which each individual is coached and supported to keep on track as regards both their objectives and targets together with their development plan.

• Mid and Year end appraisals should be simply a “tick box” exercise holding no surprises. If there are then the process building up to the appraisal is not working.

1. Objective and Target Setting – The biggest challenge here is where all the targets and objectives are handed down without any consultation and support. If a manager does not

take an employee through their objectives and targets then de-motivation and in some cases panic can set in. Employees need to understand exactly why they are expected to deliver various objectives and also what the exact manager’s expectations are. The aim of this stage of the PM process is to ensure clarity and focus. Leave people in the “fog” and they get lost! Do not simply “dump” objectives on people.

2. Once the objectives are set then employees need to be supported in being coached through exactly what they need to do in order to achieve these objectives. Very capable people will need less support than newer employees but all the same, time should be taken to coach them effectively. Again the challenges here are one of the manager putting time aside and also in relation to the ability of the manager to coach effectively. Most managers will advise and direct as opposed to coach and as such they really need to look at their skill level in coaching. Directing is quicker but can be very de-motivational and much less effective.

3. Training. Everyone pays homage to training and training plans but very few people actually deliver an effective training plan. Managers usually abdicate responsibility for the training plan leaving it to a training department or to the employees themselves. Even though training needs are identified, the only solutions to meet these needs may be the “sheep dip” approach of getting them on the menu of training events supplied by training department. But are they specifically what is actually needed? And what role does the manager take? Do they sit down with the employee and agree learning objectives? Do they monitor progress against these objectives? What about coaching the person post-training enabling them to implement their newly found skills directly into the workplace?

4. The aim of regular reviews is to ensure that the employee keeps on track with regards their

objectives and targets. If the employee enters into an appraisal not knowing exactly what they have done in terms of their objectives and targets or not knowing what their manager is specifically going to say to them in the appraisal then the performance management system has not worked and has to be reviewed to see where the faults have originated.

Untitled-2.indd 14 9/26/14 2:08:57 PM


Task and Self-Management

Ideas for getting the most out of your time

1. Heed the “Diamond Principle”; be crystal clear and rock solid about your ultimate aims Priorities can never be clear when the goals and the values they from which they stem are muddy. Your priorities must be clear because you simply cannot do everything expected of you. Competing priorities define modern work and the hard truth is that you can rarely resolve them easily.

When overwhelmed by an impossibly long list of to-do’s, ask yourself this clarifying question: Of all the things screaming for my attention, which will matter most over the longest term;

which will have the least impact on what is most valuable? Now you have your end points; everything in the middle is negotiable

2. Stop and consciously assess the value of what you are doing several times a day. At work and away from it, ask yourself these five essential questions:

• Is what I’m doing right now strategic? (Helping to fulfil my mission?) • What am I giving up or not doing so that I can do this task right now? (You really can do only

one thing at a time to the exclusion of everything else.) • Am I the best person to do this work? (Do you add unique value that’s at least equal to the

cost of you not doing other things so that you can do this activity?) • Who can I develop to assume this responsibility? (Develop others’ competence and then

delegate regularly!) • How can I turn this work into a process? (Anything worth doing more than a few times merits

a defined and refined process.)

3. Deal promptly with all the things that cross your path. Delayed decisions and action quickly drown you in stress-inducing piles of the undone.

Everything in work can be dealt with by using one of the following five primal tactics: • Act on it right now (especially the little stuff that piles up hopelessly when you neglect it) • Schedule a time to act on it later (It’s a good idea to have a Maybe someday category in

your time management system for logging things you want to do but can’t really schedule right now)

• Delegate it to some other appropriate person or firm (Exercise your delegation muscles often—it’s usually good for you and the people to whom you delegate)

• File it or store it (Do this if you’re confident you’ll want the item later, and have a method to retrieve it when you need it; see 4 below) Forget it (You must let many things go every day.

• Learn to say “no” graciously and often. If you truly are overburdened with vital obligations, change the situation)

4. Develop and faithfully adhere to a system for managing information in both its physical and electronic forms.

You can’t leverage your time if you squander it looking through countless scattered bits of data for the information you need. Whether you use off-the-shelf solutions or develop your own, find a system that works for you and adhere to it religiously.

5. Schedule reflection time. Non-stop busy-ness makes you neither important nor effective. You can’t think about the important issues when you are too busy tending to all the tiny ones. Taking time to think increases your effectiveness when it’s time to act.

6. Ask for help. There is no merit in pretending to have all the answers. In today’s world, no one does. So we can all spot a phoney. Leverage your strengths by pairing

them with those of others. You’ll accomplish far more with less effort and stress. It’s not a sign of weakness…it’s much stronger to synergistically bind knowledge with another person.

Untitled-2.indd 15 9/26/14 2:08:58 PM


Urgent and Important Matrix

Not IMPORTANT IMPORTANT

Importance

Urg

enc

y

Low

Low

High

Hig

hUrgent,

Not Important

Not Urgent,Not Important

Urgent and Important

Not Urgent, Important

REJECT (DIPLOMATICALLY)• trivial and ‘off-loaded’ requests from others apparent emergencies• ad-hoc interruptions• misunderstandings appearing as complaints• irrelevant distractions pointless routines

or activities• dealing with accumulated unresolved

trivia duplicated effort• unnecessary double-checking • boss’s whims or tantrums

RESIST AND CEASE• unnecessary and unchallenged routines ‘comfort’ activities; • computer games, net surfing, • excessive cigarette breaks• chat and gossip face-to-face and phone • Over-long social communications• silly emails and text messages • daydreaming and doodling • interrupting others• reading nonsense or irrelevant material • unnecessary adjusting, tidying, updating equipment, systems, screensavers, etc. • over-long breaks, canteen, kitchen visits • embellishment and over-production • passive world-watching, TV,• drink and other abuses!

DO NOW• real major emergencies and crisis issues• significant demands for information from superiors or customers • project work with imminent deadline• meetings and appointments • reports and other submissions staff issues or needs• problem resolution, fire-fighting, fixes• serious urgent complaints

PLAN TO DO• planning and preparation • project planning and scheduling • research and investigation • networking relationship building • thinking and creating • modelling, designing, testing• systems and process development • anticipative, preventative activities or communication• identifying need for change and new direction• developing strategy

URG

ENT

NO

T U

RGEN

T

Untitled-2.indd 16 9/26/14 2:08:58 PM


Building High Performance Teams

Your job as manager is to create a climate that encourages and values the contribution of each person to the team effort. Their energies should be directed towards problem solving, task effectiveness and achievement of your goals. Your energies should be directed at providing the best possible conditions that allow your people to contribute effectively.

There is a high level of interdependence among the team members

The manager has good people skills

Each person is willing to contribute

There is a relaxed climate for communication

People develop a mutual trust with each other

People are prepared to take risks

They are all clear about the goals

Their roles are defined

They know their strengths and weaknesses

They know how to read results

Each person is encouraged to create new ideas

People know they can influence the results of the whole team

The team works on important tasks in which each person has a commitment and teamwork is vital for achieving results

He is committed to developing a good team atmosphere, and people are encouraged to exercise leadership when their experiences and skills are appropriate to the needs of the team

Team members have various levels of information, skills and experience they are willing to share

People are direct, open and honest

People believe that others have skills and capabilities that contribute to the team effort

They are able to develop their skills and abilities in a safe environment

These goals are sold as challenging but achievable

Effective ways to solve problems are discussed, developed and supported by all team members

They are able to learn from experiences

The team results are noted, communicated and discussed at meetings

Good ideas are followed up and communicated with the rest of the team

Each person knows they are part of a team that is made up of more than the sum of the individuals

Untitled-2.indd 17 9/26/14 2:08:59 PM


Ideas on Motivation

Motivation can be defined as that which makes people act or behave in the way they do.

In a work environment, it is sometimes viewed as the difference between what people can do and what they will do.

Motivation begins with the needs that exist within us. If these are unsatisfied we establish a goal, consciously or unconsciously, and take action to achieve that goal. People sometimes make the mistake of trying to motivate others on the basis of faulty assumptions about their future behaviour. We observe behaviour and draw conclusions from it, but very often we do not know what the motivating factor is.

Much information has been published and theories put forward about motivation. We shall consider some of them here. The best way to assess them is to consider them from your own viewpoint. Are they relevant to you? Will they work in your environment?

Douglas McGregor: Theory X and Theory Y

In The Human Side of Enterprise, (1987, Penguin) McGregor stated that managers who use the carrot and stick approach held a set of propositions he called Theory X:

• the average worker does as little as possible• lacks ambition, dislikes responsibility and prefers to be led• is inherently self-centred, indifferent to organisational needs• is by nature resistant to change• is gullible and not very bright

He commented that workers treated as if they fitted Theory X were unlikely to perform effectively and he suggested that a new set of propositions should be considered. He called these Theory Y:

• people enjoy work as naturally as they enjoy play• most people are capable of exercising self-control and self-discipline if they are motivated to achieve a target• the average person will not only accept but will actively seek responsibility• many people have the imagination, ingenuity and creativity to help solve problems in the organisation• the capacity of the average worker is only partially utilised

.

Untitled-2.indd 18 9/26/14 2:08:59 PM


Ideas on Motivation

Abraham Maslow: Hierarchy Of Needs

In Motivation and Personality, Abraham Maslow concluded we are driven by our inner needs which form a series of steps, and people need to satisfy each one before they can move on to the next.People don’t necessarily move in a continuous movement upwards. They may be at a different level in their personal or social life, than in their working life. Also there may be exceptions to the rules stated, and some may be content to stay at a particular level, without it adversely affecting internal motivations. Fill in the sections below. Maslow’s theory may explain why some managers are unable to motivate some staff effectively. By aessessing an employee’s motivation, maybe by way of appraisal, a manager sould be able to analyse the next level that the employee should be aiming for

Frederick Hertzberg: Work needs

Hertzberg identified the following true motivators as contributing to high morale and job satisfaction:• achievement• recognition• responsibility• promotion prospects• nature of the job

He also noted these ‘hygiene’ factors whose absence or inadequacy in a job produces poor performance and dissatisfaction:• higher authority policy• pay• type of management• working conditions• relations with colleagues• fringe benefits

Hertzberg’s research led him to the conclusion that the ‘hygiene’ factors were rarely high motivators. People tend to take fringe benefits and good working conditions for granted, but when they are removed they had a highly demotivating effect. A salary increase had a short-term motivating effect when it was felt to be deserved, but rarely did the effect last very long, while what was felt to be an unfair salary was a long-lasting demotivator.

Untitled-2.indd 19 9/26/14 2:09:00 PM


Ideas on Motivation

David McClelland: Motivation Model

McClelland identified three types of people, and suggests in Human Motivation that each of us fit into one of the following:

• Achievement motivated: desire for excellence, likes doing a good job, wants a sense of accomplishment, wants to advance in career, needs feedback.

• Authority motivated: likes to lead, to give advice, wants prestige and job status, enjoys influencing people and activities, likes their ideas to predominate.

• Affiliation motivated: likes to be popular and well thought of, desires friendly relations, interaction, dislikes being alone, likes to help other people, is a team player.

Your notes:

Victor Vroom’s Expectancy Theory

This theory helps explain why a lot of workers aren’t motivated on their jobs and merely do the minimum necessary to get by. It states that an employee is motivated to exert a high level of effort when he or she believes effort will lead to a good performance appraisal;A good appraisal will lead to organisational rewards like a bonus, a salary increase or promotion; and the rewards will satisfy the individual’s personal goals.

One possible source of low motivation is the belief by the employee that no matter how hard he or she works, the likelihood of getting a good performance appraisal is low.

Many employees see the performance-reward relationship in their job as weak, because organisations reward a lot of things besides just performance. So, if salary is allocated on the basis of seniority, length of service, being co-operative or ‘sweet talking’ the boss, employees are likely to see the performance-reward relationship as being weak and demotivating.

The rewards also need to be tailored to individual employee needs. Unfortunately, many managers are limited to the rewards they can distribute, which makes it difficult to personalise rewards. Also, some managers assume that all employees want the same thing, thus overlooking the motivational effects of differentiating rewards.

So, the key to Expectancy Theory is an understanding of an individual’s goals and the linkage between effort and performance, between performance and rewards, and between the rewards and individual goal satisfaction. There is no universal principle for explaining everyone’s motivation.

Untitled-2.indd 20 9/26/14 2:09:00 PM


The New Concepts

Daniel Pink

Daniel Pink argues that there are three main elements of internal motivation, which he calls ‘Autonomy’, ‘Mastery’ and ‘Purpose’.

AutonomyOur default-setting, says, Pink, is to be autonomous and self-directed. Most management today conspires to change this setting from intrinsic to extrinsic motivation. To encourage intrinsic motivation, autonomy is the first requirement.

People need autonomy over task (what they do), time (when they do it), team (who they do it with), and technique (how they do it).

MasteryWhile external motivation techniques require compliance, Pink says that the latest motivation requires engagement. Only engagement can produce mastery, becoming better at something that matters. Mastery isn’t just the ability to be able to do things well; it revolves around being able to carry out optimal experiences where the challenges we face help us to grow and stretch our capabilities.

Smart organisations supplement day-to-day tasks with stretching tasks, not too hard but not too easy.

There are three elements to this drive to Mastery: It is a ‘mind-set’ – it requires the capacity to see the abilities you possess as infinitely improvable. It is a ‘stretch’ – it demands effort and deliberate practice. And it’s ‘progressive’ – it’s impossible to fully realise, which makes it frustrating, challenging and attractive, all at the same time.

PurposeHuman-beings seek purpose – a cause greater and more attractive than just themselves – and businesses are starting to realise this. Purpose- maximisation is taking its place alongside profit-maximisation, expressing itself in three ways:

a) Goals that use profit to reach purpose, b) words that emphasise more than self-interest, and c) policies that allow people to match their work with their passion.

Untitled-2.indd 21 9/26/14 2:09:00 PM


Your Notes and Actions

Things I should be doing more of……

Things I should change

Future development needs

Untitled-2.indd 22 9/26/14 2:09:01 PM


Exercises and Activities

Leadership Effectiveness & Adaptability Assessment

Below are a number of different scenarios. Your objective is to select the response that best describes how you would handle the situation and identify it by placing a circle around the appropriate letter.

1) In recent weeks, your subordinates have not been responding to your friendly conversation and obvious concern for their welfare. You have noticed a decline in their performance. Do you …

A. emphasise the importance of similar procedures and the necessity for task accomplishment?

B. make yourself available for discussion but not push your involvement? C. talk with your subordinates and then set goals? D. intentionally not intervene?

2) The observable performance of your group is increasing. You have been making sure that all members were made aware of their responsibilities and goals. Do you . . .

A. engage in friendly interaction, but continue to ensure that each team member is aware of his/her responsibilities and goals?

B. take no definite action? C. do what you can to make the group feel important and involved? D. Re-emphasise the importance of deadlines and tasks?

3) Members of the group are unable to solve a problem for themselves. In the past you have tended to leave them alone. Group performance and inter personal relationships have been good. Do you . . .

A. work with the group and together engage in problem solving? B. let the group work it out? C. act quickly and firmly to correct or re-direct? D. encourage the group to work on the problem and be supportive of their efforts?

4) You are considering a change. Your subordinates have a fine record of accomplishment. They respect the need for change. Do you . . .

A. allow group involvement in developing the change, but do not be too directive? B. announce the changes then implement them with close supervision? C. allow the group to form its own direction? D. incorporate the group recommendations, but direct the change yourself?

5) The performance of the group has been dropping during the last few months. Members appear to have been unconcerned with meeting objectives. In the past, re-defining roles and responsibilities has helped. Now it seems that they need continual reminding to have their tasks completed on time. Do you . . .

A. allow the group to formulate its own direction? B. incorporate the group recommendations, but see that objectives are met? C. refine the roles and responsibilities and carefully supervise the groups activities? D. allow group involvement in determining roles and responsibilities but not be too

directive?

?

Untitled-2.indd 23 9/26/14 2:09:01 PM




6) You stepped into an efficiently run organisation. The previous team leader tightly controlled the situation, You want to maintain a productive situation, but you would like to begin humanising the environment. Do you . . .

A. do what you can to make the group feel important and involved? B. emphasise the importance of deadlines and tasks? C. intentionally do not intervene? D. get the group involved in decision-making, but see that objectives are met?

7) You are considering changing to a structure that will be new to your group. Members of the group have made suggestions about needed change. The group has been productive and demonstrated flexibility in its operations. Do you . . .

A. define the change and supervise carefully? B. participate with the group in developing the change, but allow members to organise the

implementation? C. be willing to make the changes as recommended but maintain control of the

implementation? D. avoid confrontation. Leave things alone?

8) Group performance and interpersonal relationships are good, but you feel somewhat unsure about your lack of direction of the group. Do you . . .

A. leave the group alone? B. discuss the situation with the group and then you initiate the necessary changes? C. take steps to direct subordinates towards working in a well- defined manner? D. be supportive in discussing the situation with the group but not too directive?

9) Your superior has appointed you to head a task force that is far overdue in making recommendations for change. The group is not clear on its goals. Attendance at sessions has been poor. Their meetings have turned into social gatherings. Potentially they have the talent to accomplish the task. Do you . . .

A. let the group work out its own problems? B. incorporate the group recommendations, but see that objectives are met? C. redefine goals and supervise carefully? D. allow group involvement in setting goals, but don’t push?

10) Your subordinates, usually able to take responsibility, are not responding to your recent redefining of standards. Do you . . .

A. allow group involvement in redefining standards, but take no control? B. redefine standards and supervise carefully? C. avoid confrontation by not applying pressure. Leave the situation alone? D. incorporate group recommendations, but see that the new standards are met?

?

Untitled-2.indd 24 9/26/14 2:09:01 PM




11) You have been promoted to a new position. The previous supervisor was uninvolved in the affairs of the group. The group has adequately handled its tasks and direction. Group inter- relationships are good. Do you . . .

A. take steps to direct subordinates towards working in a well defined manner? B. involve subordinates in decision making and reinforce good contributions? C. discuss past performances with the group then you examine the need for new practices? D. continue to leave the group alone?

12) Recent information indicates some internal difficulties among subordinates. The group has a remarkable record of achievement. Long range goals have been maintained. They have worked in harmony for the past year and in turn overcame other difficulties. Do you . . .

A. try out your solution with subordinates and examine need for new practices? B. allow group members the opportunity to resolve the problem between themselves? C. act quickly and firmly to correct and redirect? D. participate in problem solving discussions while providing support for subordinates?

?

Untitled-2.indd 25 9/26/14 2:09:01 PM



Scenario 1) 2) 3) 4) a) b) c) d)

1 A C B D D B C A

2 D A C B B D C A

3 C A D B C B A D

4 B D A C B D A C

5 C B D A A D B C

6 B D A C C A B D

7 A C B D A C D B

8 C B D A C B D A

9 C B D A A D B C

10 B D A C B C A D

11 A C B D A C D B

12 C A D B C A D B

TOTAL

Effectiveness only multiply by: -2 -1 +1 +2

Added these numbers together to arrive at the total effectiveness score

Total Effectiveness Score =

Leadership Effectiveness & Adaptability (Score Sheet)

?

Adaptability Effectiveness

Untitled-2.indd 26 9/26/14 2:09:02 PM



Leadership Adaptability

1) Directive style of leadership. You scored ___________on this element.

2) Coaching style of leadership. You scored ___________on this element.

3) Supporting style of leadership. You scored ___________on this element.

4) Delegating style of leadership. You scored ___________on this element.

The most adaptable leader will score 3 in each element. If you have scored high in any specific style, your results suggest too much reliance upon this style. By adopting only one, or perhaps two styles, you are not being as effective as you could be. You may, therefore, need to consider your style when dealing with specific situations in the future. A low score in any particular category would suggest a need for applying that style more often in the future. For example, if a person has scored 7 for directive, 4 for coaching, 1 for supporting and 0 for delegating they may find their subordinates are de-motivated due to not being empowered.

Effectiveness

The range of scores for effectiveness stretches from -24 for the most ineffective type leadership through to +24 for the most effective type of leadership.

Your score for effectiveness is:

Untitled-2.indd 27 9/26/14 2:09:02 PM


The Four Different Leadership Styles

Directive Leadership

In the Directing Style, the leader provides specific instructions on how the project or the task should be carried out. There is close supervision, and most decisions are made by the leader. Descriptions for this style include:

Defining priorities Teaching, showing and telling how

Planning Checking and monitoring

Giving Feedback Micro-managing

Coaching (or Selling) Leadership

Here, the leader explains end-results, solicits suggestions from the individual, asks lots of questions, enables the individual to think for themselves, praises progress and identifies learning opportunities. Descriptions for this style include:

Exploring/asking Sharing feedback

Explaining/clarifying Encouraging

Praising Questioning

Supportive (or Participative) Leadership

With this style, a leader listens, encourages and facilitates self-reliant decision-making and problem-solving. Descriptions for this style include:

Asking/Listening Reassuring

Facilitating Encouraging feedback

Collaborating Appreciating

Delegating Leadership

Here, the leader empowers the individual to make decisions themselves, acting independently and providing the appropriate resources to get the job done. Descriptions for this style include:

Allowing/trusting Affirming

Confirming Acknowledging

Empowering Challenging

Untitled-2.indd 28 9/26/14 2:09:03 PM


Difference between Good and Bad Feedback (Missing Words Exercise) Defensiveness Recap Desired Outcome Feelings Problem

Blame Motivating Self Esteem Fear-Based Co-operation

Potential Judged Questions Person

Focuses on …………;creates…………………………..and confrontation

Does not improve skill

Undermines confidence and……………………………..

Leaves person guessing

Leaves personfeeling ‘………………….’

Focuses on improvements - achieved or possible; creates trust and………………………………

Improves skills

Increases confidence in ability and…………………..

Clarifies the current position and what to do next

Leaves person feeling ‘helped’

• Create a contract to discuss issues; use motivational coaching techniques• Acknowledge other person’s …………………….. and needs• Don’t emphasise the fault; suggest a remedy

• Focus on ‘……………………’ not the ‘……………………….’• Jointly paint the picture of desired skill• Jointly develop practical steps

• Jointly create positive - as opposed to negative - goals. Positive pleasure- oriented goals are much more powerful motivators than negative ……………………………. ones.• Balance negatives and positives - the right combination of both is the most powerful ……………………….. mix.• Teach the person the rules of self-motivation

• Verify with effective ………………………..; ask for person’s ………………..• Jointly develop an action plan

• Use the Action - Impact - ……………………………..(AID) model• Invite the person to assess their own performance first; guide him/her by asking effective questions• Offer support for future

?

Bad Feedback Good Feedback Helpful Hints

Untitled-2.indd 29 9/26/14 2:09:03 PM


The Incident In The Shop ?Answer the questions below based on the information provided by circling T if the statement is true and F if the statement is false. If you are unsure, or cannot decide, circle the letter U.

A businessman had just turned off the lights in the shop when a man appeared and demanded money. The owner opened a cash register. The contents of the cash register were picked up and the man sped away. A member of the police force was notified.

1 A man appeared after the owner had turned off his shop lights T F U

2 The robber was a man T F U

3 The man who appeared did not demand money T F U

4 The man who opened the cash register was the owner T F U

5 The shop owner picked up the contents of the cash register and ran away T F U

6 Somebody opened a cash register T F U

7 After the man, who demanded the money, picked up the contents of the cash register, he ran away T F U

8 The cash register contained money T F U

9 The robber demanded money of the owner T F U

10 The robber opened a cash register T F U

11 After the shop lights were turned off, a man appeared T F U

12 The robber did not take the money with him T F U

13 The robber did not demand money of the owner T F U

14 The owner opened a cash register T F U

15 The age of the shop owner is not revealed T F U

16 Taking the contents of the cash register with him, the man ran out of the shop T F U

17 The story concerns a series of events in which only three persons are referred to: the owner of the shop, a man who demanded money and a member of the police force T F U

18 The following events were included in the story: someone demanded money, a cash register was opened, its contents were picked up, and a man dashed out of the shop T F U

Untitled-2.indd 30 9/26/14 2:09:03 PM


Thomas Kilman Conflict Mode Instrument

Instructions

Consider situations in which you find your wishes differing from that of another person. How do you usually respond in such situations?

On the following pages are a series of statements describing possible behavioural responses.

For each pair, please decide which of the “A” or “B” statements is most characteristic of your own behaviour and put a cross in the appropriate box.

In many cases, neither the “A” nor “B” statement may be very typical of your behaviour; in these cases, please select the response that you would be more likely to use.

1 A There are times when I let others take responsibility for solving the problem

B Rather than negotiate the things on which we disagree, I try to stress those things on which we agree

2 A I try to find a compromise solution

B I attempt to deal with all the other person’s and my concerns

3 A I am usually firm in pursuing my goals

B I might try and soothe the other’s feelings and preserve the relationship

4 A I try to find a compromise solution

B I sometimes sacrifice my own wishes for the wishes of the other person

5 A I constantly seek the other’s help in working out a solution

B I try to do what is necessary to avoid useless tensions

6 A I try to avoid creating unpleasantness for myself

B I try to win my position

?

Untitled-2.indd 31 9/26/14 2:09:04 PM


Thomas Kilman Conflict Mode Instrument7 A I try to postpone the issue until I have had time to think through the issues

B I give up some points in exchange for others


B I attempt to get all concerns and issues immediately out in the open

9 A I feel that differences are not always worth worrying about

B I make some effort to get my way

10 A I am firm in pursuing my goals

B I try to find a compromise solution

11 A I attempt to get all concerns and issues immediately out in the open

B I might try to soothe the other person’s feelings and preserve the relationship

12 A I sometimes avoid taking positions which would create controversy

B I will let the other person have some of his/her position if they let me have some of mine

13 A I propose a middle ground

B I press to get my points made

14 A I tell the other person my ideas and ask them for theirs

B I try to show the other person the logic and benefits of my position

15 A I might try to soothe the other person’s feelings and preserve ou relationship B I try to do what is necessary to avoid tensions

?

Untitled-2.indd 32 9/26/14 2:09:05 PM


Thomas Kilman Conflict Mode Instrument16 A I try not to hurt the other person’s feelings

B I try to convince the other person of the merit of my position


B I try to do what is necessary to avoid useless tensions

18 A If it makes the other person happy, I might let them maintain their views

B I will let the other person have some of their position if they let me have some of theirs

19 A I attempt to get all concerns and issues immediately out in the open

B I try to postpone the issue until I have had some time to think it over

20 A I attempt to immediately work through our differences

B I try to find a fair combination of gains and losses for both of us

21 A In approaching negotiations, I try to be considerate of the other person’s wishes

B I always lean toward a direct discussion of the problem

22 A I try to find a position that is intermediate between the other person’s and mine

B I assert my wishes

23 A I am very often concerned with satisfying both party’s wishes

B There are times when I let others take responsibility for solving the problem

24 A If the other person’s position seems very important to them, I would try to meet their wishes

B I try to get the other person to settle for a compromise

?

Untitled-2.indd 33 9/26/14 2:09:06 PM


Thomas Kilman Conflict Mode Instrument25 A I try to show the other person the logic and benefits of my position

B In approaching negotiations, I try to be considerate of the other person’s wishes


B I am nearly always concerned with satisfying all our wishes

27 A I sometimes avoid taking positions that would create controversy

B If it makes the other person happy, I might let them maintain their views


B I usually seek the other’s help in working out a solution


B I feel that differences are not always worth worrying about

30 A I try not to hurt the other’s feelings

B I always share the problem with the other person so that we can work it out

Total for each column (equals 30)

?

A B C D E

Untitled-2.indd 34 9/26/14 2:09:07 PM


UNCOOPERATIVE COOPERATIVE

CO-OPERATION

The Five Conflict-Handling Modes

The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI) is designed to assess an individual’s behavior in conflict situations - that is, situations in which the concerns of two people appear to be incompatible. In such situations, we can describe a person’s behavior along two basic dimensions:

(1) assertiveness, the extent to which the individual attempts to satisfy his or her own concerns, and

(2) co-operation, the extent to which the individual attempts to satisfy the other person’s concerns. These two basic dimensions of behavior can be used to define five specific methods of dealing with conflicts. These five “conflict-handling modes” are shown below.

Competing

Avoiding

Collaborating

Accommodating

Compromising

ASSERTIVENESS

ASSERTIVE

UNASSERTIVE

Untitled-2.indd 35 9/26/14 2:09:07 PM


Thomas- Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument – The five key areas

A. Competing is assertive and uncooperative, a power-oriented mode. When competing, an individual pursues his or her own concerns at the other person’s expense, using whatever power seems appropriate to win his or her position. Competing might mean standing up for your rights, defending a position you believe is correct, or simply trying to win.

On a continuum from 0 to 12, your score was …………..

B. Collaborating is both assertive and cooperative - the opposite of avoiding. When collaborating, an individual attempts to work with the other person to find a solution that fully satisfies the concerns of both. It involves digging into an issue to identify the underlying concerns of the two individuals and to find an alternative that meets both sets of concerns. Collaborating between two persons might take the form of exploring a disagreement to learn from each other’s insights, with the goal of resolving some condition that would otherwise have them competing for resources, or confronting and trying to find a creative solution to an interpersonal problem.


C. Compromising is intermediate in both assertiveness and cooperativeness. When compromising, the objective is to find an expedient, mutually acceptable solution that partially satisfies both parties. Compromising falls on a middle ground between competing and accommodating, giving up more than competing but less than accommodating. Likewise, it addresses an issue more directly than avoiding, but doesn’t explore it in as much depth as collaborating. Compromising might mean splitting the difference, exchanging concessions, or seeking a quick middle-ground position.


D. Avoiding is unassertive and uncooperative. When avoiding, an individual does not immediately pursue either his or her own concerns or those of the other person. He or she does not address the conflict. Avoiding might take the form of diplomatically sidestepping an issue, postponing an issue until a better time, or simply withdrawing from a threatening situation.


E. Accommodating is unassertive and cooperative - the opposite of competing. When accommodating, an individual neglects his or her own concerns to satisfy the concerns of the other person; there is an element of self-sacrifice in this mode. Accommodating might take the form of selfless generosity or charity, obeying another person’s order when you would prefer not to, or yielding to another’s point of view.


Untitled-2.indd 36 9/26/14 2:09:07 PM


Interpreting Your Scores

When you look at your results on the TKI, you will probably want to know: “What are the correct answers?”

In this case of conflict-handling behavior, there are no right or wrong answers. All five modes are useful in some situations: each represents a set of useful social skills. Our conventional wisdom recognizes, for example, that often “Two heads are better than one” (Collaborating). But it also says, “Kill your enemies with kindness” (Accommodating), “Split the difference” (Compromising), “Leave well enough alone” (Avoiding), and “Might makes right” (Competing). The effectiveness of a given conflict- handling mode depends upon the requirements of the specific conflict situation and the skill with which you use that mode.

You are capable of using all five conflict-handling modes: you cannot be characterized as having a single, rigid style of dealing with conflict. However, it may be possible that you use some modes more readily than others and therefore tend to rely upon those modes more heavily. The conflict behaviours you use are the result of both your personal predispositions and the requirements of the situations in which you find yourself. Also, your social skills may lead you to rely upon some conflict behaviours more or less than others

CompetingAvoiding

CollabratingCompromising

Accommodating

Untitled-2.indd 37 9/26/14 2:09:08 PM


Graphing your profile scores

Your profile of scores indicates the repertoire of conflict-handling skills that you, as an individual, tend to favour when in situations you consider to be in conflict with your wishes. You can graph your score, and measure it against other managers, on the following page. Simply circle your score in the appropriate column.

The five modes are represented by the five columns. In the column under each mode is the range of possible scores, from 0 (very low use) to 12 (very high use).

Each possible score is graphed in relation to the scores of managers who have already taken the test. The vertical axis represents the percentage of people who have scored at or below a given number. if you had scored a number above the 75% line on Competing, for example, that would mean you had scored higher than 75% of the people who have taken the test, so you would be in the top 25% of scores for ‘competing’.

The thick lines (at the 25th and 75th percentiles) separate the middle 50% of the scores (from the top 25% to the bottom 25%). If your score falls somewhere within the middle 50% on a given mode, you are close to the average in your use of that mode. If your score falls outside that range, then your use of that mode is somewhat higher or lower than most of the people who have taken the test. Remember, extreme scores aren’t necessarily bad, since your situation may require high or low use of a particular mode.

Untitled-2.indd 38 9/26/14 2:09:08 PM



Your profile of scores indicates the repertoire of conflict-handling skills that you, as an individual, tend to favour when in situations you consider to be in conflict with your wishes. You can graph your score, and measure it against other managers, on the following page. Simply circle your score in the appropriate column.

The five modes are represented by the five columns. In the column under each mode is the range of possible scores, from 0 (very low use) to 12 (very high use).

Each possible score is graphed in relation to the scores of managers who have already taken the test. The vertical axis represents the percentage of people who have scored at or below a given number. if you had scored a number above the 75% line on Competing, for example, that would mean you had scored higher than 75% of the people who have taken the test, so you would be in the top 25% of scores for ‘competing’.

The thick lines (at the 25th and 75th percentiles) separate the middle 50% of the scores (from the top 25% to the bottom 25%). If your score falls somewhere within the middle 50% on a given mode, you are close to the average in your use of that mode. If your score falls outside that range, then your use of that mode is somewhat higher or lower than most of the people who have taken the test. Remember, extreme scores aren’t necessarily bad, since your situation may require

12

1110

98

7

6

5

4

3

2

10

1211

10

9

8

7

6

5

43210

12

1110

9

8

7

6

5

4

3210

1211109

8

7

6

5

4

3

210

1211109

87

6

5

4

3

210

90%

80%

70%60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

High 25%

75th Percentile

Middle 50%

25th Percentile

Low 25%

Scores are graphed in relation to the scores of 339 managers at middle and upper levels

100% Competing Collaborating Compromising Avoiding Accommodating

Untitled-2.indd 39 9/26/14 2:09:09 PM


Competing

Uses

• When quick, decisive action is vital - for example, in an emergency

• On important issues where unpopular courses of action need implementing - for example, cost cutting, enforcing unpopular rules, discipline

• On issues vital to company welfare when you know you’re right

• To protect yourself against people who take advantage of non-competitive behavior

Accommodating

Uses

• When you realise that you are wrong - to allow a better solution to be considered, to learn from others, and to show that you are reasonable

• When the issue is much more important to the other person than to yourself - to satisfy the needs of others, and as a goodwill gesture to help maintain a cooperative relationship

• To build up credits for later issues that are important to you

• When continued competition would only damage your cause - when you are outmatched and losing

• When preserving harmony and avoiding disruption are especially important

• To aid in the development of your employees by allowing them to experiment and learn from their own mistakes

Avoiding

Uses

• When an issue is trivial or of only passing importance, or when other, more important issues are pressing

• When you perceive no chance of satisfying your concerns - for example, when you have low power or you are frustrated by something that would be very difficult to change (national policies, someone’s personality structure, and so on)

• When the potential costs of confronting a conflict outweigh the benefits of its resolution

• To let people cool down - to reduce tensions to a productive level and to regain perspective and composure

• When gathering more information outweighs the advantages of an immediate decision

• When others can resolve the conflict more effectively

• When the issue seems tangential or symptomatic of another, more basic issue


Untitled-2.indd 40 9/26/14 2:09:09 PM


Collaborating

Uses

• To find an integrative solution when the concerns of both parties are too important to be compromised

• When your objective is to learn - for example, testing your own assumptions, understanding the views of others

• To merge insights from people with different perspectives on a problem

• To gain commitment by incorporating others’ concerns into a consensual decision

• To work through hard feelings that have been interfering with an interpersonal relationship

Compromising

Uses

• When goals are moderately important but not worth the effort or the potential disruption involved in using more assertive modes

• When two opponents with equal power are strongly committed to mutually exclusive goals - as in union bargaining

• To achieve temporary settlement of complex issues

• To arrive at an expedient solution under time pressure

• As a backup mode when collaboration or competition fails


Untitled-2.indd 41 9/26/14 2:09:09 PM


Manager 1

Sam has been late on four occasions over the last month, and you know that they have had personal problems in the past, and you thought they had now finished.

When Sam comes in late, there are apologies, and then they get straight on with their work, saying only that the traffic had been very bad.

It’s only a matter of minutes, 10 minutes yesterday, 15 minutes last week, but you know that others have noted it too.

You ask Sam to make up the lost time at the end of today’s shift, and they feels this is unfair, as it’s not their fault that the traffic has been bad recently.

You still feel it’s appropriate to ask Sam to make up the time, and have arranged to meet at lunchtime for a few minutes.

You might want to ask Sam how s/he is going to make sure s/he is on time in the future.

This meeting is about to take place…

Play the role in the way you normally would.

Staff Conflict exercise ?

Untitled-2.indd 42 9/26/14 2:09:09 PM


Staff 1

Your name is Sam and you have been late on four occasions in the last month. You can’t help it that the traffic has been so bad on the M25 on those mornings.

Your boss has not been happy, and has asked you to make up the time at the end of today’s shift. It’s a special night out for you tonight, and you don’t want to stay. In fact you think it’s unfair that you have to stay behind at all, as others take more time off during the day in messing around, gossiping and taking smoking breaks.

You are about to have a meeting with your boss in their office…

Play the role in the way you nor


Untitled-2.indd 43 9/26/14 2:09:09 PM


Manager 2

Chris has approached you to ask if they could change their contracted hours, as their current hours do not allow them to be with their partner often enough, as they are on different shifts.

You’ve looked at the rota and found it’s not possible to accommodate thisrequest at all.

You are about to have a meeting with Chris to tell them the bad news…



Untitled-2.indd 44 9/26/14 2:09:10 PM


Staff 2

Your name is Chris, and you have requested a change in your contracted hours of work. Your partner has got a job that takes them away on different shift patterns, and you are not seeing them often enough, so would like to change your shift times.

You’re not hopeful that your boss will change the times, as two other people have asked before, with no luck. However, you consider your request to be very valid.

You are about to get the decision from your boss, and would REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want this change!



Untitled-2.indd 45 9/26/14 2:09:10 PM


The Matrix

Urgent, Not Important Urgent, Important

Not Urgent, Not Important Not Urgent, Important

Untitled-2.indd 46 9/26/14 2:09:10 PM


Task Management Questionnaire ?Tick the box that corresponds to your answer. Try to be as honest as you can.

1 Are the tasks you work on during the day the ones with the highest priority?

2 Do you find yourself completing tasks at the last minute, or asking for extensions?

3 Do you set aside time for planning and scheduling?

4 Do you know exactly how much time you are actually spending on the various jobs you do?

5 Are you able to deal with interruptions effectively?

6 Do you use goal setting to determine which tasks and activities you should work on?

7 Do you leave contingency time in your schedule to deal with the ‘unexpected’?

8 Do you know whether the tasks you are working on at any time are high, medium or low value?

9 When you are given a new task or assignment, do you analyse it first for importance and prioritise it accordingly?

10 Are you stressed about deadlines and commitments?

11 Do distractions like incoming emails often keep you from working on critical tasks?

12 Do you find you have to take work home to get it done?

13 Do you prioritise your ‘to do’ list or action programme?

14 Do you regularly confirm your priorities with your boss?

15 Before you take on a task, do you check the results will be worth the time you have to put in?

Not at all Rarely Sometimes Often Very Often

Untitled-2.indd 47 9/26/14 2:09:11 PM


Task Management Questionnaire ?Circle the number that corresponds to the box you ticked on the previous page

1 Are the tasks you work on during the day the ones with the highest priority?

2 Do you find yourself completing tasks at the last minute, or asking for extensions?

3 Do you set aside time for planning and scheduling?

4 Do you know exactly how much time you are actually spending on the various jobs you do?

5 Are you able to deal with interruptions effectively?

6 Do you use goal setting to determine which tasks and activities you should work on?

7 Do you leave contingency time in your schedule to deal with the ‘unexpected’?

8 Do you know whether the tasks you are working on at any time are high, medium or low value?

9 When you are given a new task or assignment, do you analyse it first for importance and prioritise it accordingly?

10 Are you stressed about deadlines and commitments?

11 Do distractions like incoming emails often keep you from working on critical tasks?

12 Do you find you have to take work home to get it done?

13 Do you prioritise your ‘to do’ list or action programme?

14 Do you regularly confirm your priorities with your boss?

15 Before you take on a task, do you check the results will be worth the time you have to put in?

Not at all Rarely Some times Often Very Often

1 2 3 4 5

5 4 3 2 1

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

5 4 3 2 1

5 4 3 2 1

5 4 3 2 1

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

Untitled-2.indd 48 9/26/14 2:09:11 PM


Scoring ?Your total score …………………………………………..

Score Interpretation

Score Comment

46-75 You’re managing your time very effectively! Still, check the sections below to see if there’s anything you can tweak to make this even better.

31-45 You’re good at some things, but there’s room for improvement elsewhere. Focus on the serious issues below, and you’ll most likely find that work becomes much less stressful.

15-30 Ouch. The good news is that you’ve got a great opportunity to improve your effectiveness

at work, and your long term success! However, to realize this, you’ve got to fundamentally improve your time management skills. Start below!

As you answered the questions, you probably had some insight into areas where your time management could use a pick-me-up. The following is a quick summary of the main areas of time management that were explored in the questionnaire.

Goal Setting (Questions 6, 10, 14, 15)

Your Score out of 20? ……………………….

To start managing time effectively, you need to set goals. When you know where you’re going, you can then figure out what exactly needs to be done, in what order. Without proper goal setting, you’ll fritter your time away on a confusion of conflicting priorities.

People tend to neglect goal setting because it requires time and effort. What they fail to consider is that a little time and effort put in now saves an enormous amount of time, effort and frustration in the future

Prioritisation (Questions 1, 4, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15)

Your score out of 35? ……………………………..

Prioritising what needs to be done is especially important. Without it, you may work very hard, but you won’t be achieving the results you desire because what you are working on is not of strategic importance.

Most people have a “to-do” list of some sort. The problem with many of these lists is they are just a collection of things that need to get done. There is no rhyme or reason to the list and, because of this, the work they do is just as unstructured. So how do you work on To Do List tasks – top down, bottom up, easiest to hardest?

To work efficiently you need to work on the most important, highest value tasks. This way you won’t get caught scrambling to get something critical done as the deadline approaches

Untitled-2.indd 49 9/26/14 2:09:12 PM


Scoring ?Managing Interruptions (Questions 5, 9, 11, 12)

Your score out of 20?..............................

Having a plan and knowing how to prioritize it is one thing. The next issue is knowing what to do to minimize the interruptions you face during your day. It is widely recognized that managers get very little uninterrupted time to work on their priority tasks. There are phone calls, information requests, questions from employees, and a whole host of events that crop up unexpectedly. Some do need to be dealt with immediately, but others need to be managed.

However, some jobs need you to be available for people when they need help – interruption is a natural and necessary part of life. Here, do what you sensibly can to minimise it, but make sure you don’t scare people away from interrupting you when they should.

Procrastination (Questions 2, 10, 12)

Your score out of 15? ………………………………

“I’ll get to it later” has led to the downfall of many a good employee. After too many “laters” the work piles up so high that any task seems insurmountable. Procrastination is as tempting as it is deadly. The best way to beat it is to recognize that you do indeed procrastinate. Then you need to figure out why. Perhaps you are afraid of failing? (And some people are actually afraid of success!)

Once you know why you procrastinate then you can plan to get out of the habit. Reward yourself for getting jobs done, and remind yourself regularly of the horrible consequences of not doing those boring tasks!

Scheduling (Questions 3, 7, 12)

Your score out of 15? ……………………….

Much of task management comes down to effective scheduling of your time. When you know what your goals and priorities are, you then need to know how to go about creating a schedule that keeps you on track, and protects you from stress.

This means understanding the factors that affect the time you have available for work. You not only have to schedule priority tasks, you have to leave room for interruptions, and contingency time for those unexpected events that otherwise wreak chaos with your schedule. By creating a robust schedule that reflects your priorities and well as supports your personal goals, you have a winning combination: One that will allow you to control your time and keep your life in balance

Untitled-2.indd 50 9/26/14 2:09:12 PM

essential management skills - coroflots3images.coroflot.com/user_files/individual_files/...welcome...

Documents