4 Ways Personal Development Boosts Leadership Skills

4 Ways Personal Development Boosts Leadership Skills It is exciting to lead people and it is a critical role. According to experts, leaders can have a direct impact on their team’s happiness and self-esteem. That said, in today’s new reality, with fewer resources and a hybrid workforce, being in charge of a team presents unexpected and complex challenges that can leave even seasoned managers at a loss. The solution? Focused personal development training or coaching gives leaders the effective tools they need to navigate these challenging times. Personal development assists leaders and managers in critical ways. Here are 4 key reasons to take advantage of the “back-to-school” season and prioritize personal development to boost your leadership skills. 1. Identify and leverage your strengths and manage your weaknesses Personal development often incorporates assessments that allow managers to discover strengths and opportunities for development. It also teaches how to strengthen both. This assessment is an important first step toward more effective leadership. Self-awareness is one of the top key competencies for leaders, and I always say that an assessment is like a mirror. Even if you know yourself well and/or if you have used them before, it’s always good to take stock again from time to time…and who knows, you may have blind spots! You can choose any of these tools: a potential assessment, a psychometric questionnaire, a personality test, a 360° feedback process or a survey sent to your team. Pursuing personal development that includes identifying strengths to leverage, weaknesses to work on, and then after that targeting course corrections where needed, will give leaders huge opportunities to be more effective, retain employees longer, and meet or exceed goals. 2. Set goals and share with your team Another important way personal development through training or coaching assists leaders is by identifying and breaking a large goal into smaller, achievable steps. This is useful not only in preparing your action plan. It also helps you make sure that your development is on your radar and remains a priority. Communicating your plan with your team is also very impactful. It allows you to demonstrate authenticity and even your vulnerability. It also shows that you “walk the talk” when you say development is something you believe in and take seriously. This can inspire employees who would also benefit from personal development to take action as well. It helps boost team morale and improves employee retention. 3. Stay up-to-date We’ve probably all experienced sometimes being a little behind the times professionally. The best practices of yesterday may not all apply today. With the fast-paced back-to-back changes in today’s world, it’s necessary and inspiring to look for new ideas. The latest, science-based trends, advice and recommendations on how to adjust and adapt your approach will help you to be as successful as possible. 4. Discuss and share ideas with others Another way that personal development training assists management is through focused discussions. These conversations involve a trainer and other participants from or outside your organization. A [...]

By |2021-08-24T16:38:07-04:00August 24th, 2021|Leadership Tips|Comments Off on 4 Ways Personal Development Boosts Leadership Skills
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4 Reasons Leadership Requires Friendliness

4 Reasons Good Leadership Requires Friendliness Leadership requires a lot of different skills. In addition to expertise in a specific field, it requires the ability to manage resources, budgets, projects and most importantly, employees. One of the best ways to invest in the people who make up your team is to make friendliness a key component of your relationship with them. Friendliness isn’t the same thing as friendship. It’s possible, even beneficial, to craft a friendly management style and still maintain professional boundaries with your team members. Why does good leadership require friendliness, now more than ever? Here are 4 good reasons to use a friendly approach with your team in order to boost morale and reap the rewards of success together. 1. People respond more openly and positively to friendliness. Getting results through friendliness can take a lot less energy than getting results through direction. Task-oriented managers find it more difficult to motivating people. Think about it this way: if you use a positive, friendly approach when communicating with your team, they’ll be far more likely to leave a meeting feeling valued and energized. When team members feel like their boss is pushy or demanding, they may work more in the short term. In the long run, though, they’ll be less inclined to be fully engaged. They may also move on to a new job or boss more quickly than an employee who feels appreciated by a leader who understands them and shows that they care. 2. Friendliness increases the chance that others will buy in to the objectives. Friendly leaders believe that the way they address people is a key part of what creates a happy team environment. It cultivates the feeling that you’re all in this together and shows an investment in them. Friendliness also contributes to creating a safe environment for your team to ask questions. Employees are more likely to invest in objectives that they understand and believe in. 3. Friendliness in leadership sets the tone for your team. Whether leaders realize it or not, the people they lead carefully watch their words and actions. People model their leaders, too, so adopting a friendly style and using that approach with your team sets the tone for how they deal with each other. A warm tone and a positive approach reassure your team, especially in challenging circumstances. Bring out the best in people by showing them that you are not disproportionately results-oriented. As always, balance is key! 4. A friendly leader actually has greater impact on the team. A leader who approaches his team with intense emotions—displaying anger, stress or frustration openly—might hurt the team over-reacting. Venting might feel gratifying in the moment, but it can also reduce the trust between a leader and his team. It creates a leader-versus-team dynamic rather than a sense of facing a challenging situation together. Friendliness on the other hand, helps craft that sense of community and team spirit. A friendly approach shows the team that the leader views himself [...]

By |2021-05-25T16:01:14-04:00May 25th, 2021|Leadership Tips|Comments Off on 4 Reasons Leadership Requires Friendliness
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5 Tips for More Effective Meetings

5 Tips for More Effective Meetings Meetings: people seem to love them or hate them. Some see meetings as a time waster, while others thrive on the collaborative energy that comes from regular check-ins or stand-ups. Whatever the emotions that seeing a meeting on the calendar causes, meetings are an essential tool for an effective, successful team. Crafting effective meetings takes a little time and planning, but it yields great results. Here are 5 tips for more effective meetings that will boost your team’s communication and success. 1. Craft a clear and inspiring agenda. Before calling a meeting, establish the agenda. What are the meeting objectives?  These days, more than ever, we should remember to include a more personal goal. On top of “taking care of business”, we need to ask people how they are doing, show that we care and offer our support when needed. 2. Make sure a team meeting is the best approach. While meetings can resolve complex issues quickly, they also interrupt the workflow of the team. Before you schedule a meeting, ask yourself some basic questions. Is the issue best addressed in a team setting or one on one? Which people need to participate? We can inform the others after the meeting. Could the issue effectively be addressed via email or chat or via another medium? Don’t just have meetings out of habit. Meetings are time and energy consuming, and effective meetings should always add value to each person participating. 3. Inform the team of the meeting agenda ahead of time. Send a quick note to the team inviting them to the meeting and giving them an idea of the issues to be addressed. This gives team members a chance to think of questions or gather any relevant information before the meeting begins. 4. Make sure everyone is adding value and actively participating. It’s tempting to have a meeting to update people and share information, but that could be done in an email, right? In order to get the most out of a meeting, make sure it’s an opportunity for brainstorming and getting people’s ideas and input. 5. Send a follow-up reminder after the meeting. After the meeting ends, but while it’s still fresh in everyone’s minds, send a quick note to the team thanking them for their input and listing the highlights of the meeting. This list should include any questions that were raised that require follow-up and any tasks that were assigned to team members. Communicating these points to the team helps keep everyone on track and ensures that tasks get completed. Thanking the team also reinforces the value each member brings and offers much-needed appreciation. We all need that extra boost from time to time! Ingrid Kelada Owner of KCC Positive Business Psychology & Happiness Expert Join Us for a FREE Event March 23rd - How to Stay Connected While Working Apart Join us for a KCC Coffee Chat! This coffee chat will be an interactive presentation in which three of our team [...]

By |2021-05-19T16:21:11-04:00March 8th, 2021|Leadership Tips|Comments Off on 5 Tips for More Effective Meetings
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9 Positive Leadership Maxims

9 Positive Leadership Maxims Being a great leader is more than a job—it’s a way of approaching life. It can sometimes be a challenging lifestyle, and can even be discouraging. Here are 9 positive leadership maxims to energize you in your leadership role. 1. To make a difference, be the difference. Are you practicing the changes you want to see in your team? Leading your team by example is a powerful way to lead. 2. Leadership is showing people not that they MUST take a certain action but that they GET TO take that action. The way we word something can make a huge difference in perception and motivation. “I chose you for this and here’s why it’s an opportunity…” sounds and feels better than “I need you or want you to do something…” 3. To get the best out of people, embrace the best in them. What gifts and talents do your team members bring to the table? Are you leveraging those effectively? Consider making a list of each team member and what they do best, and look for new ways to use those abilities to enhance your team’s performance and success. 4. It's not so much what you say as a leader that's important; it's your ability to inspire action that matters. What are you doing to energize your team in meetings? Do they leave a meeting feeling excited to get to work on the next project? Use the last few minutes of each team meeting to inspire your team and instill some excitement for the tasks ahead. Connect what you’re doing to real life. How is your business making a difference in the world, and how do your employees’ actions directly contribute to that? 5. Half the art of listening is waiting. Sometimes just giving people that extra pause before speaking shows them you’re truly open to what they have to say. It can indicate that you’re not only listening but also processing what they share. 6. If you are always right, you are usually wrong. Nobody is perfect, and nobody is right all the time. One of the quickest ways to destroy trust with your team is by refusing to admit when you’re wrong. You may not always be ready to acknowledge it, but your team probably already knows you’ve made a mistake.  The great news is that being humble enough to admit mistakes and correct course with your team will actually help build trust and better position your team for success. 7. The best leaders make use of the simplest of ideas. Complex ideas can take a lot of energy to explain and to convey to others. But a simple idea that can be explained in just a few words? It’s more memorable, more energizing and easier to pass on to others. 8. Leadership is seeing hope in any adversity. In leadership, you don't have to expect the worst, you just have to make the most of it when it happens. It might take some [...]

By |2021-01-19T17:44:56-04:00January 19th, 2021|Leadership Tips|Comments Off on 9 Positive Leadership Maxims
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The Difference Between A Boss and a Leader – 3 Tips!

The Difference Between a Boss and a Leader - 3 Tips! Every leader is a boss, but not every boss is a leader. What’s the difference between a boss and a leader? It all comes down to how you do it. A boss is in charge because of his or her position and title. He may be the company owner, or a senior level manager. Usually, a boss has years of experience and familiarity with the job, which are great assets to bring to a job. What truly determines the success of the team working with him or her, though, is not how much they know about the tasks to be done, but how they lead the people on their team. A leader learns the tasks and familiarizes himself with the process, but the secret he knows that sets him apart and makes him successful is that he sees his team as the most valuable resource in his workflow. Here are 3 ways a leader inspires his team and earns the respect that distinguishes him as a leader and a boss. 1. Focus on Solutions. A leader inspires the people he works with. When they face a problem, the leader focuses his team members on fixing the problem, not on fixing blame. 2. Use Your Team’s Talents. A leader recognizes the gifts and talents of his team members and assigns them tasks based on those strengths whenever possible. When a team member brings forward a suggestion, a leader listens with an open mind. 3. Invest in Their Development. A good leader mentors and trains the people he works with, coaching others every chance he gets. This not only strengthens the team as a whole, but strengthens the whole company. Being a leader is a deliberate choice, and it’s one that impacts the entire team in a positive way. People work longer for a person that they trust and respect, and ultimately everyone wins as good leadership means the team is more happy, productive and successful. Tools to Help You Build Your Leadership Skills Looking for ways to grade your current leadership ability and target growth based on your potential? I recommend the DISC (What’s Your Color?) Leadership Report. This test takes about ten minutes and identifies your leadership strengths as well as potential that’s not being leveraged and opportunities for growth. The step-by-step results show leaders exactly what to do—and stop doing—to unleash their team’s potential and maximize personal effectiveness.   Ingrid Kelada Owner of KCC Positive Business Psychology & Happiness Expert

By |2020-11-30T14:01:23-04:00November 18th, 2020|Leadership Tips|Comments Off on The Difference Between A Boss and a Leader – 3 Tips!
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5 Ideas to Create an Atmosphere of Employee Appreciation in Your Team

Benefits of Employee Appreciation We all crave appreciation, even when we already know we’ve done a job well. When is the last time a coworker or boss showed appreciation for what you do? Do you remember how it made you feel? In the 1940s, Lawrence Lindahl conducted a study on employee motivation. The results may surprise you. During the study, supervisors and their employees were asked, “What motivates an employee?” The number one answer was “appreciation for a job well done.” This is pretty amazing for a number of reasons. One is that appreciation is free! Motivating an employee doesn’t always need to come from bonuses or pay increases. Simply noticing a good job and offering praise can be a huge motivator. You might be thinking that our culture and workplace culture may have changed since the 1940s. It was a long time ago, that’s true. But these study results have been replicated in multiple studies since then. Time and time again, employees have made it clear that hearing a leader show appreciation makes a huge difference in morale and happiness at work. Here are the 5 Ideas to Create an Atmosphere of Employee Appreciation Be an Appreciation Role Model. Compliment a team member in front of others. This both boosts the morale of the employee you’re complimenting and communicates to others that showing appreciation is something they can do, too. Give Regular Coaching Feedback. Be a coach and let people know that you want to help them perform and succeed. Try making suggestions, instead of criticizing. We all prefer recommendations instead of people told what we should and shouldn’t do! Give Immediate Praise on a Job Well Done. The closer the reward happens to the behavior that triggered it, the more powerful the association between the good behavior and the reward will be. Make sure to show appreciation as soon as possible so that an employee connects those positive feelings with the job they did well. This will increase their motivation even more. On the spot positive feedback is the trend now! Forget about waiting for annual review. Remember to “catch them doing something right” as recommended in the classic must read: The One Minute Manager. Send a Thank You Message When You Notice Someone Doing a Good Job. Having an encouraging message, note or email gives your team member a tangible reminder of your appreciation they can revisit again later. Make appreciation part of your daily routine. Set aside a few minutes each day show appreciation…whether it’s to jot a quick note or to simply connect with an employee or team member who’s doing a great job. Appreciation Doesn’t Need Bells and Whistles The most effective kind of appreciation is sincere and unstructured. Resist the temptation to create some sort of complicated employee appreciation program or tie words of appreciation with other incentives, like bonus programs. Those other ways of saying thank you are great for other purposes, but if you want your employees to receive the best [...]

By |2020-05-03T16:54:46-04:00March 11th, 2020|Leadership Tips|Comments Off on 5 Ideas to Create an Atmosphere of Employee Appreciation in Your Team
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Leadership Tools: Clarity in Communication

Clarity Begins with Our Mighty Minds Did you know our brains communicate information at the rate of some four billion neuron impulses per second? All that information feeds through our senses, and yet we're only consciously aware of about 2,000. That's only 0.00005%. If you stop to think about it, you'll begin to notice things you normally wouldn't be aware of. The feel of air moving in and out of your nose, throat, and lungs. The touch of clothes on your skin. The thrum of your pulse. The number of things in your field of vision- most of which you probably weren't actively looking at. Before I pointed these things out, you probably didn't even notice them. The good news is that our brains have developed highly sophisticated ways of sifting out the less important information and pushing the important stuff to the top of our notice. This keeps us from getting overwhelmed with the vast ocean of data being registered in our minds every minute of every day. Assumptions Create Gaps What isn't so great is the fact that this can allow us to make some wrong assumptions as our brains sort and filter the information. Some gets deleted, some distorted, and some generalized. Lots of times, those processes serve us well, but sometimes the mind connects dots it shouldn't. Sometimes we don't even realize that's happened. You've probably had an experience like this: you have a conversation with a coworker. You think you've communicated your ideas clearly. You think you understand his point-of-view, too. Only later do you realize what you thought your coworker was asking you to do isn't actually what he meant. You've made an assumption based on some vague information, and now you have to go back and fix the work. Our assumptions can create gaps in communication. Sometimes we realize we need more information and can ask for it right away. But other times we don't realize it until a problem arises. Pursuing Clarity Examples of vague statements can be things like, "Make sure everyone appreciates our efforts," or "Increase morale in the team." What do you think those statements mean? What action are they asking for specifically? There's a lot of room for interpretation! The best way to avoid problems arising from vague statements is to improve your communication skills.  Be aware of the pitfalls of miscommunication- loss of time, productivity, and frustration among your team members, for instance. Learn to recognize vague statements and ask clarifying questions. "What do you mean when you say this...?" "How would you like me to accomplish this task?" "What kind of results are you looking to achieve?" Asking these kinds of probing questions will help your team focus on the important tasks at hand and help filter out harmful assumptions. You'll build strong communication between yourself and your coworkers. All of these are key to successful leadership.   Did you know that 80% of people don't ask questions when someone's not clear?  Let's change that number...ask [...]

By |2020-08-02T14:25:55-04:00September 12th, 2018|Leadership Tips|Comments Off on Leadership Tools: Clarity in Communication
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Leadership Tools: Effective Listening

Effective Listening Isn't Waiting Your Turn to SpeakAll too often we are far more enthusiastic about talking than we are listening. Yet effective listening is vital for effective communication. Would you believe that most conflicts are simple misunderstandings?When we are actively listened to we feel valued and are far more likely to be engaged and compromise if necessary.Listening is about far more than words. Watching facial expression and body language is often a far more accurate barometer than the words that are being used. For example, think about the way you know a genuine smile from a false one. A genuine smile reaches the eyes of the person smiling. A false one is usually just an upturn of the lips.10 Tips for Effective ListeningHere are some practical tips to help you develop your listening skills and improve your communication with others.Make eye contact. Looking at a speaker's face helps you focus on them and tune out other distractions. It also helps reinforce to the speaker that you're paying attention. Here's a quick tip: notice the person's eye color.Consider the speaker's body language. Is the speaker relaxed, sitting back in a chair with an open posture? Is he anxious, fiddling with his hands and glancing around rapidly? Does he seem closed off with crossed arms or legs?Manage your body language. Angle your shoulders so they face the person speaking. Nod occasionally. Don't multitask...be 100% attentive!Ask relevant questions. Effective listening means asking the speaker to clarify when you are not clear what's being said. Asking questions shows that you are interested.Practice reflective listening. Repeat the main ideas back to the speaker, beginning with something like, "What I hear you saying is..."Use open-ended questions. Ask who, what, where, when, why, how? Give the speaker time to respond to questions.Monitor your tone. Be careful of the tone of your voice when you respond or ask questions. It is all too easy to come across as judgemental or as an interrogator.Use empathy. Acknowledge difficulties, but be careful not to fall into the trap of going into anecdotes from your experience. “I sense that you are finding this rather difficult,” rather than, “Oh, I know, it happened to me only like this...”Take notes. This demonstrates that what is being said is important to you and that you will follow-up to action items and requests.Take a real interest. If you are simply going through the motions the lack of sincerity will be obvious to others. Leave your ego behind, concentrate on the other person.Try these effective listening strategies at home and at work. Use them with peers, people you lead, and your bosses. Watch how it impacts your relationships. You'll find people feel more comfortable with you and trust you more, which can only help you be a better leader.Ingrid KeladaBusiness Psychologist/Happiness ExpertKCC Inc.

By |2019-11-05T07:31:41-04:00June 19th, 2018|Leadership Tips|Comments Off on Leadership Tools: Effective Listening
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