Enhance.training

Grow your team by coaching employees. There are so many benefits to investing your time to help your team members improve what they do and build new skills. Coaching your team is a great way to help build those trickier skills like people management and decision making.

I share employee coaching techniques for 5 high value skills to your employees that will make your job as a manager a lot easier.
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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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Coaching team members is not about telling employees what to do. Coach employees to get them thinking, to build their confidence, to come up with their own solutions. Coaching employees is a combination of listening, asking questions, challenging, and encouraging. How to coach team members starts with the goal of making them the experts.

Coaching team members good problem skills is amazingly useful to managers, as it takes some of the burden off their shoulders and helps the team work faster and get more done. Coaching team members to think through problems, consider options and create solutions with confidence. 

Coaching employees for success must include helping them get comfortable with making increasingly difficult decisions. When coaching employees in the workplace start coaching them through the easy often made decisions and progress them towards difficult decisions where there is no easy choice. 

When coaching your team members to improve team performance, gaining good project management skills is super valuable. Improvements and change are usually delivered through projects. Knowing how to organise, plan and manage projects, significantly increases individual effectiveness plus increase what a team can achieve. 

I know that coaching team members to improve teamwork and their people management skills is a very effective approach. Telling them what to do is a very good starting point. To build skills you need to practice. Through coaching, the individual is much more likely to learn 

Make time for employee coaching and mentoring. Doing so increases the motivation, skills and performance of your team as well as gaining a huge amount of respect and appreciation from them. Coaching your team to higher performance, I have found to be extremely effective in multiple teams in a wide range of companies. Make the time to coach your team.

If you have any questions on “Grow Your Team By Coaching Employees – Build 5 Amazing Skills For Great Team Performance”, please email me at [email protected] and I will get back to you. 

Jess Coles

Enhance.training

Get more recognition at work by learning how to communicate the benefits your work gives to your boss and colleagues. When you make the value you create clear and memorable, you really stand out at work and get a lot more recognition. 

I share 6 ways to get more recognition at work and clearly stand out from the crowd. 

How to stand out at work starts with doing the important things really well. You will have more work than you can do (unless you are very lucky). When you put more effort and time into the important tasks, activities and projects and less time into urgent but less important ones, you have a much better chance of standing out at work and getting a lot more recognition. 

It is horrible not getting recognition at work, particularly if you are working hard. Hard work is not enough. Rather work hard on the really important areas and communicate your achievements to your bosses. 

Second, for how to get recognition at work, it is really important to measure the impact of your work for the team and your boss. If you don’t know how much of an impact you are having, why should anyone else. Use financial numbers to quantify your impact to get more recognition in the workplace.

The third way to get more recognition at work is to link your results to team, function and business goals. Everyone should be focused on achieving these goals (and they are likely to be the more valuable work). Demonstrate how well you are supporting your boss and the team by clearly linking your results and output to moving the team closer to achieving goals. 

Fourth, to stand out at work, you must market your work to your busy boss. This is super important. Don’t expect your busy and under pressure manager to be tracking exactly what you do and appreciate the value you are contributing to them and the team. Spell this out for your manager. Make it easy for them to understand your contribution. 

Fifth, to get recognition at work, build relationships across the organisation and help others out. Making the time to do this massively helps your ability to do a great job, plus you know more people and are significantly more appreciated and respected. Reciprocity is a powerful group law. We share tips on how to practically build more relationships at work with those you don’t know. 

Sixth, for how to stand out at workplace, communicate how you are a team player. Every business wants and needs lots of team players to be successful. Team players help others be more successful as well as being more successful themselves. You get a lot more recognition at work from clearly being at team player. No recognition at work happens to those that only look out for themselves. 

If you have any questions on “6 ways to get more recognition at work - clearly stand out at work”, please email me at [email protected] and I will get back to you. 

 Jess Coles

Enhance.training

High performing teams are built not recruited. High performing teams produce amazing results because of how they operate; how team members work together; how they communicate and collaborate and how they support and help each other.

Learn what makes high performing teams at work, what amazing teams do differently and 4 things the manager needs to do differently in building a high performing team.

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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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There is a lot the manager can do to build high performing teams at work which produce great team performance.  What is scary is managers are told the characteristics of high performing teams, yet so few managers are taught HOW to create high performing teams.

Gaining the skills and knowledge to build high-performing teams is not easy – it takes time and work. Gaining these skills is nearly impossible if you don’t know what is needed in creating high performance teams. 

Becoming a great manager is a personal journey as much as a professional journey. Being able to manage yourself is pretty important when you are put in charge of managing others.

In this video we go through what makes high performing teams – 8 behaviours and characteristics that you would expect to see displayed in high performance teams. This gives you a starting point for what habits of high performing teams you need to instil your own team. An essential part of that process is for you, the manager, to display the behaviours and characteristics day in day out. Leading from the front is incredibly important. 

We then go on to explore what high performing teams do differently. I cover 6 things amazing teams do differently from okay teams. Again as a manager, you need to work to instil these behaviours – critical to what makes high performing teams.

For example, one of the things high performing teams do is communicate and collaborate a lot. There should be the hum of voices, team members at each other’s desks a lot. You can’t communicate and collaborate without some noise.

Then we go on to cover 4 critical approaches the manager needs to take in creating high performance teams. These are fundamental principles rather than day to day tactics.

If you have any questions on “What to do differently to build high performing teams at work” please email me at [email protected]  and I will get back to you.

Jess Coles

Enhance.training

What to get your team working on is super important as a manager. Possibly the most important thing. Choosing valuable team goals is the difference between delivering okay or great team performance.

Learn 4 actions for choosing the right team goals to increase your team’s performance. 

Choosing the right team goals at work is super important as goals provide direction, focus, purpose, and a fair way to measure performance. To choose valuable team goals don’t make them financial as few people relate to financial only goals. 

Start with the company goals when setting valuable team goals. Alignment to the wider business goals is very important in selecting the most profitable team activities to work on. Goal alignment ensures everyone’s efforts support and compound the impact of everyone else’s effort, creating a stronger overall result. Many managers forget the important of alignment when setting valuable team goals.

Next, in setting the right goals, focus on what you have control and influence over. The more the better. When you have control and influence over the activities needed to reach goals, you and your team will be happier, more motivated and more successful. There is nothing worse than having goals depend heavily on others with different goals to make yours happen. This is poor goal setting. Focus on what you have control over when setting team goals. 

Now the harder part – digging to find what is the most valuable work to select valuable team goals. This takes curiosity, open-mindedness and asking a lot of questions. This is joining the dots that others have missed. 

The good news – every company has serious value creating opportunities. They come about because the business environment is always changing and a very human habit is falling into patterns of thinking and behaviour. This creates gaps, sometimes very big gaps, and amazing value creating opportunities are in these gaps. 

Finally, create different levels of goals. These are good team management skills. Goals should focus on a team level and individual level. Then focus on team and individual priorities (which are not the same as goals). Goals and priorities should be communicated in non-financial terms. Focus on tasks, initiatives, activities and projects and make them easily relatable to each person and the team. 

What to get your team working on by choosing valuable goals is one of the most important jobs you can do as a manager. Choosing valuable team goals is a key part of getting the team to focus on work that is more valuable to the team and company. 

If you have any questions on “What To Get Your Team Working On - Choosing Valuable Team Goals”, please email me at [email protected] and I will get back to you.

Jess Coles

Enhance.training

Delivering bad news to staff is definitely one of the hardest jobs of being a manager. There is nothing nice about delivering bad news to employees and team members

I explain exactly what to do when giving bad news to employees - during and after sharing bad news.

Delivering bad news to your team at work is going to provoke an emotional response from multiple people. Before delivering bad news get your own emotions under control and rehearse how you are going to handle emotional outbursts. 

How to deliver bad news starts with what not to do. Don’t go through pleasantries, take time for small talk, or take ages building yourself up to deliver bad news. 

Research from the medical profession shows that the number one factor to how your message will be received is the news-giver’s attitude. Focus on making giving bad news to employees all about them not about you.

Exactly how to deliver bad news to employees I explain in the video in three simple steps. A critical part of communication skills is how you manage your tone of voice and body language. To have effective communication skills, you must be aware of these and be able to control them appropriately. 

Before you give bad news understand why you are giving the bad news. Then you are able to answer questions effectively, openly, and honestly. All key when having difficult conversations.

Another big part of how to deliver bad news at work is to manage the emotions of the receipts of the bad news. Allow them to vent and show their emotions. Be empathetic by showing your emotions but stay neutral. Don’t allow those you are giving bad news to start debating decisions they can’t change or influence. 

Another vital part of giving bad news to staff is what happens after the bad news. Bad news usually creates uncertainty. How are you going to create as much certainty in the situation going forward. What is your vision for future and how are you going to share this.

If  you have any questions on “Delivering Bad News To Staff - Make Difficult Conversations Easier”, please eamil me at enhance.training and I will get back to you.

Jess Coles

Enhance.training

Good teamwork at work is hugely valuable for both manager and company. Teams significantly outperform groups of individuals, in my experience. Signs of great teamwork point to a good manager leading the team.

I share 6 signs of good teamwork at work and how to improve teamwork in your team.

Teamwork in the workplace is hugely beneficial for the manager who’s personal performance is assessed on the performance of their team. Great teamwork at work is great for the manager because:

1. Teamwork enables better problem solving
2. Teamwork unlocks potential for innovation and sparks creativity
3. People are happier in teams with good teamwork
4. Teamwork increases personal and professional growth
5. Working in a team lowers stress and the risk of burnout
6. Individuals working as a team are a lot more productive

 All of these drive higher team performance. 

The power of teamwork starts with every team member understanding and believing in the team goals. Goals give the team shared purpose and direction, which is one of the characteristics of great teamwork.

Another of the signs of great teamwork at work is an environment of trust. With trust you don’t have a team, just a collection of individuals. Collaboration and knowing that colleagues will do what they commit to is a sign of great teamwork at work.

The third of the signs you have a great team is that team members will put the team first. All team members know that when the team does well, they individually do well. Good teamwork at work is doing the right thing for the team even if it costs you personally in the short term. 

The fourth of the signs of great teamwork at work is each team member will do their part. They will work through lunch, stay late, ask for help … anything they need to do to deliver what they have committed to. They won’t let their teammates down.

The fifth of the characteristics of teamwork is that open, honest and lively communication is the norm. Good teamwork at the workplace is noisy. Good teams are constantly asking for ideas and solutions and giving their own. They are asking for help, debating the best next step - all of which you can’t do in silence. 

Lastly, the power of teamwork always shows in how results focused the team is. Team performance is measured on outcomes produced not activity undertaken. Team work makes reaching goals and outcomes a lot easier, quicker and more fun. 

Throughout, I share tips and tactics I have used for decades to improve team performance and what I view as critical teamwork skills.

If you have any questions about “Unlock the power of Teamwork! 6 Signs of Good Teamwork At Work”, please email me at [email protected] and I will get back to you.

Jess Coles

Enhance.training

Building responsibility in teams increases team performance and makes working in the team much more enjoyable. A win for everyone. 

The manager has the biggest influence to encourage employees to take responsibility and knowing what to do makes a massive difference to your effectiveness as a manager. 

I share 5 actions for building a culture of responsibility in teams to increase performance.

How to encourage employees to take responsibility starts with how to give them permission. Taking responsibility can be scary as an employee, particularly if there are likely consequences if something goes wrong. 

Setting out what employees can do and can’t provides security and confidence, which encourages employee responsibility. Focus on your actions, decisions, and behaviours as much as what you tell your team. 

Next, to make employees more responsible visibly and actively ask for and value team member input. Responsible employees will jump at the change to be more involved in the direction of their own work. Everyone will be more motivated when the goals and plan are partly their own rather than just the managers. 

To build responsibility in teams stop telling and start coaching. When you tell a person what to do, the responsibility stays with you. When they tell you what they are going to do, the responsibility is theirs. Give team members responsibility by asking questions (coaching) rather than telling. 

When you get team members taking responsibility, you also have to protect them from external forces and criticism and ensure you don’t punish errors. Use learning errors to teach and improve, while not accepting errors caused by laziness or lack of attention etc.

Getting the team environment right to build responsibility in teams is a key leadership skill and super important to increase team performance. I share 10 factors to build responsibility and accountability.

If you have any questions on “5 Actions for Building Responsibility in Teams to Increase Performance”, please email me at [email protected] and I will get back to you. 

Jess Coles
Enhance.training

Learning safe ways to challenge at work can be career defining. Challenging at work is a crucial element of building better ideas and solutions. Being comfortable and skilled enough to challenge your boss without upsetting is one of the secrets to stand out at work.

Learn 5 safe ways to challenge at work and giving feedback to your boss.

How to give feedback to your boss can also be one of those difficult conversations at work. So few managers get useful and constructive feedback from team members. When you are good at giving feedback to your manager – it’s a great for how to stand out at work.

Firstly, try to challenge others at work in service of reaching business goals rather than for personal reasons. Most bosses support those trying to do good for the group and don’t support those challenging to be difficult, to annoy others, to avoid their fears etc.

Secondly when challenging your boss or others avoid being right. Positioning what you are proposing as being right, the best or the right way is very confrontational. You are implying the other person is wrong. Much better is to offer alternatives, improvements, and options. This is even more important when giving feedback to your manager.

Asking questions is a great way to challenge more subtly. Use questions to lead the other person to the problems, to the alternative routes, to better solutions. Using questions is great when safely challenging your manager.

Always seek to provide alternatives and options rather than highlighting only a problem or adding to the problem. This is always received better and also portrays you in a stronger way.

Lastly, seek to raise up rather than put down. Choose your words carefully and always aim to help, improve, build. This is key part of effective communication in the workplace.

If you have any questions on “5 Safe Ways To Challenge At Work And Giving Feedback To Your Boss”, please email me at [email protected]  and I will get back to you. 

Jess Coles

Enhance.training 

Managers … put your team before yourself to gain rapid promotion. This may sound a little counter intuitive, yet your performance is judged on your team’s performance. 

Learn 4 compelling reasons for why putting your team first will make you a much better manager and help you get rapid promotion. Plus get practical tips on HOW to put team before yourself.

Become a better manager by putting your team first. Management principles of give before you take is a compelling way to rapidly improve your management results which gets you promoted faster.

There are a lot of skills to develop to become an effective manager. Skills alone are not enough. How you use those skills defines great management. 

Your attitude towards your team is a crucial starting point. Managers and leaders create the most value through their teams. Their teams are a vital to that manager or leader’s success. View them with the importance they deserve. 

Mentally view you team with admiration and respect. Once your attitude and mindset are positive and respectful towards your team, your decisions, actions, and behaviours will communicate your positive attitude very clearly to your team. I view your management attitude a key part of your personal development in a management role.

Using power well is another crucial skill for manager success. One of the most important leadership principles is to use power for the good of others, for the good of the group rather than for your own personal gain. Look at any classic story in any culture for confirmation of this vital leadership principle.

Next, focus on helping your team before pleasing your boss. Doing both is vitally important for getting on the fast track for promotion. Your teams results and output are going to have a biggest impact on your boss’s appraisal of your performance. Put your team first to get promotion quickly.

Using 5 ways to leverage your time effectively is also essential as a manager, to do a great job and to get promoted. Get tips on how to put each of these ways to leverage your time into practice and gain a big jump in your and your team’s performance. 

If you have any questions on “Managers Put Your Team Before Yourself & Gain Rapid Promotion”, please email me at [email protected] and I will get back to you.

 Jess Coles

Enhance.training

What great managers do that okay ones don’t affects us all. Great managers create more than 8 times the value average managers do – that is a huge gap.

Learn 5 key principles or approaches and become a better manager.

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Gain Career Changing Management Expertise

Access over 200 articles, podcasts and videos dedicated to helping you gain people and management expertise to lead any team to their best performance. Get access to downloads, webinars, live workshops, offers and more. Click here to learn more https://enhance.training/management-skills-hub-ulp000/ 

Courses for Managers to Increase Team Performance & Results

The quickest, easiest and cheapest way to improve team results is to improve the management of the team. Learn the management skills and approach that created multiple high performing teams, won “Best Team” prizes and added millions in value. https://enhance.training/msa-usp006/

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How to be a great manager starts with how you view your job as manager. Managers create the most value through their teams. Your team is critical to enable you to do a great job. Great managers know this and work hard to make their team as good as they can be.

How to be a better manager starts by putting the team before yourself. Working in service to your team is the best way to work in service to yourself as a leader. This is more important than great manager skills.

What makes you a good manager is how much the team trusts you. Without trust there is no team, only a collection of individuals. Teams outperform groups of independent individuals. Working for the team is a brilliant way of building trust.

For how to be a better manager and leader, focus on the environment you are creating. A lot of management skills go into creating a great trusting team environment – most important are what your decisions, actions and behaviours communicate to the team. How to be a good manager is partly about how well you can manager yourself. 

How to become a better manager at work – learn to be comfortable with conflict. Every organisation will have a level of conflict. Resources are limited, different teams have different objectives etc, PLUS every person is different. Conflict is guaranteed. How well you manage conflict – both constructive and destructive is essential for team success.

Partnering with and valuing team members is vital for how to be a good manager and leader. Managers depend on their teams. You don’t have a job without a team. Admire each person’s strengths. Support them to develop further. Value what they bring to the team. Your beliefs about the team will be obvious through your actions and behaviours. Get your mental approach right – one of the key manager skills you need.

How to be a good manager at work must include being unfailingly results orientated. Results is what your company need your team to deliver. Team results is what you are personally being assessed on. Great managers always focus their teams of delivering results.

If you have any questions on “What Great Managers Do That Okay Ones Don’t – 5 Secrets To Become A Better Manager”, please email me at [email protected] and I will get back to you.

Jess Coles

Enhance.training