Enhance.training

Going from manager to director level is a big step and a difficult step. Firstly, there are few board director positions relative to senior manager positions. To secure one of the few director positions available you need to stand out and operate in a different way from your peers in senior manager roles.

I share 7 actions to take to get your first director role, going from manager to board director. 

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Additional Resources and Videos you will find useful:

 For coaching options to position yourself for promotion and prepare yourself to be successful when you get your promotion visit us at https://enhance.coach/

 Here is a free booklet explaining exactly how to market yourself internally professionally and skilfully to get the recognition, appreciation and promotion you deserve. https://enhance.training/lm-lp/market-internally-booklet/

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Moving from manager to director is a big jump in responsibility. The impact of decision making goes up plus you now don’t have anyone to check your functional decision with before making it. 

Going from manager to board director also means moving from one job into two jobs – you are joining the team running the company. All of these changes need several mindset shifts to be successful, which are a key part of leadership development. When you are a manager, creating a professional development plan and taking professional development training is very sensible. Being absolutely ready to take on a director role is super important so you will do a good job when you move into that role.

How to go from manager to director is a lot easier when you take specific actions to build your skills and demonstrate you are ready. Showing you are good at decision making is a vital starting point. I explain some of key factors to consider.

Next, for going from manager to director, show you are good at working cross functionally in your business and able to deliver results while working with anyone. This is a key skill to climb the corporate ladder and one of the key leadership skills for managers. 

Another very important skill is showing you are good at developing managers in the business. Another part of leadership development skills is showing you think strategically with the questions you ask and the suggestions you make. 

There are a lot of actions to take and skills to develop to be ready for a director position and then to show you are ready and a good choice to promote. Starting an executive coaching and leadership development programme is a great way to develop the right areas for you, build your confidence and take the right actions at the right time. Do get in touch to discuss how working with me will get you to promotion for director roles.

 Good luck in getting your first director role.

Jess Coles

Enhance.training

How to control your nerves when presenting is a big deal when you have to stand up in front of an audience and speak. You might be presenting to a small group, in a team meeting, or giving a presentation on a stage. You worry your nerves during a presentation will make you freeze, make mistakes causing you to look silly. 

I share 4 brilliant actions for how to control your nerves during a presentation. Make giving a presentation fun not an ordeal. 
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How to control nerves when presenting starts with are really powerful mental shift. Your physiological reactions to fear and nerves is exactly the same as your reactions to excitement. Your body doesn’t know the difference; therefore you can train your mind to think excitement rather than nerves. This is a brilliant mental shift that makes a huge difference to public speaking anxiety. 

Next when thinking about how to control nervousness when presenting focus on your audience and your message. You are communicating messages and ideas that will help your audience. This is serving your audience in the best way. When you are thinking about what might go wrong and the consequences of things going wrong, you are thinking about yourself. Keep yourself focused on your message and your audience and you lessen the pressure you put on yourself. Another great way for how to calm your nerves during a presentation.

Next, for how to overcome nerves when presenting practice visualisation exercises. Picture yourself speaking to your audience, them looking at your and your presentation going brilliantly. Keep visualising success and presenting in the way you want to present. Do this again and again. When you come to the actual presentation, it is just one more visual experience. No big deal. 

Finally, for anyone that has a fear of public speaking, nearly all your performance is from your practice. Put in a lot of good quality practice and your presentation will go really well. Practice at least 8-10 times over a number of days. Keep practicing until you feel happy and confident. I share public speaking tips for how to practice really well. 

If you have any questions on “How to Control Your Nerves When Presenting”, please email me at [email protected] and I will get back to you.

Jess Coles
Enhance.training

There are 4 key reasons that stop staff performing at work. Most of the time, the manager of a team can influence or remove the reasons that stop staff performing.

Learn different ways to reduce or remove the blockers to employee performance to reduce underperforming employees in your team. 
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The 4 main reasons why employees under perform are:

1.     A lack of direction and expectations

2.     Too few resources to do a good enough job

3.     Lack of skills

4.     The will is missing

 A lack of direction or far more common – confusion about direction is a classic example of what stops employees performing. When everyone is working in different directions, there will be conflicts and actions helping one employee but detrimental to others. Employees working in slightly different directions reduces co-ordination and with it, team performance. 

Every employee has to deal with less resources than ideal. Business resources are always going to be constrained. Real problems occur when individuals and teams start hoarding resources which definitely stops staff performing at work.

Another key to managing underperformance is to ensure that the staff have the skills they need to do a good enough job. A lack of skills, knowledge and help is among the top factors that stop employees performing. Employees might get the work done but miss deadlines, work slowly or produce lower quality than is needed. All contribute to poor performance. 

How to manage underperforming employees must address expectations, resources and skills. Cover all these areas and you have removed a ton of excuses that poor performers hide behind. 

Lastly, a lack of will also stop employees performing. There can be so many reasons for a lack of motivation. They might have character flaws, have difficulties at home, or feel they have been unfairly treated at work. Find out what the issues are and you have a reasonable chance of resolving them. 

If you care about improving team performance, you must address all the reasons that stop staff performing. Getting improvement is the quickest, cheapest and best way to improve individual and team performance. 

If you have any questions on “4 Key Reasons That Stops Staff Performing at Work & What To Do About It”, please email me at [email protected] and I will get back to you.

Jess Coles
Enhance.training

Developing a learning mindset and mastering self-learning at work are critical to developing a management career. Very few managers get formal training which means if you want to get good, a growth mindset is a massive help. 

I explain what a learning mindset is, why it is so important to develop for managers and give you 5 tips to help you building a growth mindset at work. The will to learn as quickly as possible is key in how to be a better manager.

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Additional Resources and Videos you will find useful:

Michael Jordan on failure leading to success https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_EyPX3CD-g


Team Management Course

Managing teams well is hard work, even when you know exactly what to do. When you have been left to figure things out by yourself, getting good at your job is ten times harder and slower. 

Learning great management approaches, knowledge and skills make a huge difference to your effectiveness, your enjoyment and your career progress. Invest in becoming a great manager through our Management Skills Accelerator courses – learn more here: https://enhance.training/msa-usp006

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I think developing a growth mindset for success is a must in leadership and management. There is so much competition, getter better quickly is a key way to stand out. Plus the quicker you learn and improve the more enjoyable managing will become for you and your team. 

In my experience, the power of a learning mindset is massive. Few managers get taught, even by their own bosses. Most have to rely on self-learning and get their growth mindset motivation into gear.

Developing a mindset for successful learning starts with your attitude and your mental approach. A growth mindset vs fixed mindset is one that is open to learning, that looks for opportunities to learn and improve from failures and successes. People with a learning mindset believe - at the core of their being - that when they work to learn and improve, they will keep getting better.

Developing a growth mindset does take work. Learning and improving does take work. An incredibly important question – “Do you view the goals you are trying to reach as worth putting in that work?” Is yes, work to build a growth mindset. If no, stop reading. 

How to develop learning mindset starts with changing the way you think and react to situations. You can absolutely do this. Look for opportunities to learn: from failures and successes; from all feedback no matter how negative or unrealistic; from others around you – their successes and mistakes; from any opportunity you have. 

Take this mindset and you will build resilience, determination and commitment. All very good qualities to have to be successful in whatever you do at work and outside. 

I share 5 tips that have been incredibly useful for me to firstly develop a learning mindset and to work at self learning at work; and then to keep putting in the work and effort to find ways to learn from as much as I can. 

To be successful, a learning mindset and the will to work are both vital attributes.

If you have any questions on “How The Best Managers Master Self-Learning At Work”, please email me at [email protected] and I will get back to you.

Jess Coles

enhance.training

The mistakes that lead to burnout at work are pretty easy to make if you are not watching out for them.  Some burnout happens because of specific behaviours of employees. Even more burnout is caused by the mistakes of managers. 

I share 5 mistakes employees make and 5 mistakes managers make that lead to burnout at work.
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To reduce the pressure on you and reduce your workload while strengthening your reputation and the relationships you hold at work, consider improving how you manage the expectations of all the stakeholders for you and your team. Learn practical expectation management skills here https://enhance.training/lp/skillfully-manage-expectations-usp004-12/
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To avoid the mistakes that lead to burnout at work, I share the common mistakes individuals make and the signs of burnout that are often ignored. Avoiding burnout is important for our mental health and physical health as individuals. It is just as important from the company perspective – burnt out individual can’t contribute to the company’s success.

There are a lot of actions that managers can take to reduce burnout risk in their teams. These are mainly within the manager’s control which I will cover in a bit.

Some common burnout symptoms include mental and physical exhaustion, lack of motivation and energy, difficulty thinking and more. Spotting the early warning signs are key to avoiding burnout in the workplace.

In terms of definition, burnout is the mental and physical exhaustion a person feels when demands being put on them are consistently more than they can deliver. Burnout is usually caused by prolonged periods of high stress levels.

A key mistake individuals make that leads to being burned out from work, is remaining poor at saying no. Saying no professionally is a mental state and a skill to develop. 

Another action for avoiding stress and burnout at work is to learn how to manage the expectations of others carefully and realistically. Managing expectations is learning ask questions, negotiate, challenge, and say no. 

Managers make all the same mistake individuals do plus they can contribute to workplace stress, anxiety and burnout by making another set of mistakes. Good management practices avoid all of these mistakes so learning how to avoid these mistakes is good from many different perspectives. The mistakes are:

1.      Managers ask for and expect too much 

2.      A lack of goals, expectation and direction creates stress and reduces output

3.      Managers don’t provide enough recognition or rewards

4.      Not providing enough support for team members 

5.      A lack of fairness across the team

For each, I explain what causes these mistakes to happen and give tips on how to avoid making them. 

If you have any questions on “10 Mistakes That Lead to Burnout at Work”, please email me at [email protected] and I will get back to you.

Jess Coles

Enhance.training

Managers use power and authority in so many different ways. The power and authority you gain from a position is only one type of power and I would argue, increasing ineffective - on its own - in today’s workplace.

How managers and leaders use power and authority are a huge part of their effectiveness in their roles

I explain how great managers use power and authority for the benefit of their team, not for themselves; including lots of practical tips for how to best use power as a manager or leader and 7 actions for how to build power as a manager.
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Team Management Course

Managing teams well is hard work, even when you know exactly what to do. When you have been left to figure things out by yourself, getting good at your job is ten times harder and slower. 

Learning great management approaches, knowledge and skills make a huge difference to your effectiveness, your enjoyment and your career progress. Invest in becoming a great manager through our Management Skills Accelerator courses – learn more here: https://enhance.training/msa-usp006

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Power itself is not good or bad. How you use power and authority is good or bad. Managing power in leadership is one of many incredibly important leadership skills and a real test of character.

Managers and leaders need power to enable them to do their jobs. Power and authority is part of the job description. There are many types of power, and a manager should aim to build several different types to be truly effective in their role. Some power and authority comes from their position. A key management skills in business is learning how to use this power and build others.

Think about “What is the role of leadership?” and “How should you use power and authority in leadership?”. To build happy, motivated, trusting and high performing teams, I believe you must use as much of the power and authority you have to help the team, to help others improve and perform better. 

As a manager or leader, there are so many ways you can use your power for the good of the team (rather than yourself). I share 10 great uses of power and authority, that will gain you appreciation, respect and loyal followers, not to mention a great performing team. Using power wisely will gain you more leadership power. 

Team member happily follow leaders that use their power to help the team. These team members work hard and intelligently to support the team. Employee reluctantly, grudgingly follow leaders who use their power to help themselves. These employees do the minimum. Managers are assessed on the performance of their teams, which is why it is so important to use your power for the good of the team. 

The power of leader ship comes through all the different ways a good leader builds power and authority. I share 7 practical tried and tested ways to build different types of power in the workplace. 

Power is neither good nor bad. How you use power is critical in building high performing teams.

If you have any questions on “How Great Managers Use Power And Authority – Fundamental Principles”, please email me at [email protected] and I will get back to you.

Jess Coles
Enhance.training

The goal of every manager should be to build a high performing team or at least a higher performing team. Team performance is how managers are assessed, and it is the core purpose of a manager’s role. 

I share 3 must do’s to build a high performing team based on my experience of turning around multiple underperforming teams and winning multiple “Best Team” prizes, again with different teams.
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How to build a high performing team starts with being there for your team. Building high levels of trust is a huge part of high performing teams. Being there for your team day in day out, even when it costs you personally, is a great way to build high levels of trust with your team. 

I share 7 practical approaches to demonstrating you are there for your team which will all contribute to create a high performing team. Implementing any of these 7 approaches will have a positive impact on the performance of any team.

The second must do to enable high performance in teams is to set really clear direction. Nearly every management book says this, yet the majority of managers send very mixed messages to their teams resulting in confusion, uncertainty and lower team performance. Most managers tell their team what they want. Very few managers align their decisions, actions and behaviours to fully reinforce those verbal and written directions and expectations. 

I give you tips on what to work in for help create a high performing teams culture with very clear direction and expectations. Setting and communicating direction and expectations without causing confusion etc is one of the key leadership skills for managers to practice.

The third must do to build a high performing team is the celebrate the differences. Team become great because they use to the maximum the differences between team members. To build high-performing teams play to team members strengths so two plus two really can equal six rather than four. 

Recognising and celebrating the differences within your team is a key part of team performance management. I share 6 practical approaches to demonstrate to your team that you accept and appreciated the different views, approaches, backgrounds, skills etc within your team. 

Building a high performing team is possible with nearly any team. Put into practice all the leadership development tips in this video and you will significantly increase the performance of your team. 

If you have any questions on “3 Must Do’s to Build a High Performing Team”, please email me at [email protected] and I will get back to you.

Jess Coles

Enhance.training

Promoting an employee to manager is a very big deal. A great manager enables and increases team performance. A poor manager reduces team performance and increases team costs. Choosing to promote the right person is a very big deal for you, the team and the business.

Learn 7 behavioural signs to look for when thinking about who to promote to manager plus more great employee promotion best practices.
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The skills needed to be a great employee or contributor are very different from being a great manager.  The employee to manager transition is not easy and many don’t make this transition successfully. Having a good employee promotion process to identify the most suitable management candidates will save you a lot of time, costs and frustration.

Business success and the success of the teams you look after depends on the strength of your managers. People are at the heart of every business. 

Becoming a great manager is very much a personal journey as it is a professional journey. Having good manager skills is only part of the picture. Knowing how to use those skills to get the best from teams is a much more important to increase team performance. 

As part of employee promotion evaluation, I suggest you look for 7 behavioural signs your potential manager should be displaying before they are promoted. If several of these are missing, I suggest delaying promoting or not promoting at all.

Good energy levels are also important as being a manager is a tough job and to be good needs hard work. 

I also think to be a good manager, you need good self-awareness. Without good self-awareness it is very hard to manage yourself well. Good self-management gives you an important platform to be able to manage others well.

Another essential for potential managers to look for is their ability to self-learn. The quicker and more independently they can learn, the more likely they will build the management skills they need. 

Finally, good organisational awareness is very important to be a good manager. We all work with others, other team and departments. A manager needs to coordinate and prioritise work and support other areas of the business. Good organisational awareness enables them to be a much better job as a manager.

Promotion at work is a big deal for anyone. Promoting an employee to manager, and getting it right is very much in everyone’s best interests, particularly yours!

If you have any questions on “Promoting an Employee To Manager – Who to Choose & Why”, please email me at [email protected] and I will get back to you.

Jess Coles

Enhance.training

How well do you deal with uncertainty at work? We all have to deal with uncertainty – businesses are always changing and adapting, so we do too. Yet humans hate uncertainty. Our brains translate it into a treat and our natural reactions are often unhelpful.

I share 8 different ways to deal with uncertainty at work – 4 for you personally and 4 to help your team through uncertainty.

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Team Management Course

Managing teams well is hard work, even when you know exactly what to do. When you have been left to figure things out by yourself, getting good at your job is ten times harder and slower. 

Learning great management approaches, knowledge and skills make a huge difference to your effectiveness, your enjoyment and your career progress. Invest in becoming a great manager through our Management Skills Accelerator courses – learn more here: https://enhance.training/msa-usp006

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It is not easy to manage uncertainty at work, particularly when the pace of change is much faster than we are used to. Change means learning new things and adapting – all of which takes effort and work. Good reasons why many don’t like dealing with uncertainty at work.

How to deal with uncertainty starts with accepting that change is needed and expected at work. It is part of modern life. Accepting a level of change is a good way of coping with uncertainty.

How to deal with uncertainty at work also include not worrying about what you can’t control or influence. Worry will not change the outcomes. Not worrying will massively improve your mental state. 

Another of the good tips for dealing with uncertainty is to focus on the present. Focus on what you can do today, what the next task or activity needs to be. Don’t think too far ahead. Keep yourself busy – another good tip for how to cope with uncertainty.

Another best way to deal with uncertainty is to create contingencies and action plans. Planning is 100% in your control. Work out what you are going to do if a certain situation happens rather than worrying about if the situation will happen. 

I also share 4 very valuable approaches for how to deal with change and uncertainty when you are leading a team. Imagine a group of individuals worry about uncertainty and the rumour mill working around the clock … how would you keep your team focused and delivering even in period of significant change. I have 4 great approaches for you, tried and tested in workplaces experiencing huge amounts of change.

If you have any questions on “8 Ways to Deal With Uncertainty At Work”, please email me at [email protected] and I will get back to you. 

Jess Coles
Enhance.training

I know how to ask for and get a raise, yet I hate asking for a raise. Asking for a pay rise is an emotional big deal for most of us.

Make sure you are using the best approach to absolutely get the pay rise you deserve – increase your salary today!
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Additional Resources you will find useful:

Get more FREE example scripts for how to ask your boss for a raise here: https://enhance.training/lm-lp/salary-raise-example-conversations-ulp028/ 
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How to ask for a pay rise starts with know two fundamental requirements to get a pay rise. 1 you are adding more value than last year. 2 you are a good employee and team player who your boss wants to keep.

When you are definitely doing both, when you ask for a raise, you should get it. 

The best way to ask for a raise is to do 3 vital bits of preparation first. You are much more likely to get a salary increase when you have done you job market research, can show your value and demonstrate your performance relative to your peers. Negotiating a salary raise with good research is a lot more successful and you are much more likely to get a bigger raise.

How to ask and get a pay rise must include looking at job adverts for your job and also speaking to recruitment consultants. You get great information AND you also hint to your boss that you could leave for another job. Without realistic market information you are very much on the back foot for how to negotiate a raise.

Another great tactic for how to ask for a raise and get it is to translate your top achievements over the last year into financial figures and compare these to your salary. The more value you can demonstrate you add to the business, the more likely asking for a raise at work will be successful. 

I have also include an asking for a raise example which walks you through what to say to your boss for how to get a salary increase.

Lastly, I include what you should expect after you have had the pay raise conversation.

If you have any questions on “How to ask for and get a raise - increase your salary today”, please email me at [email protected] and I will get back to you.

Jess Coles
Enhance.training