Enhance.training

Improving your problem solving skills at work is critical to improving your career prospects. Every business needs and loves good problem solvers.

 To help you develop good problem solving skills and to help you practice those skills, we are going through these 7 steps to improve your problem solving skills at work.

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Leadership coaching – to increase your impact, your confidence and your team’s results

Bespoke, flexible and confidential personal development for middle managers to board directors. To transition to more senior roles, to improve skills, to increase influence, to get more from those you lead … explore how leadership coaching will help you and your managers https://enhance.coach/

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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The first of seven steps for problem solving at work is to really understand the problem that you are trying to solve. Too many people rush through this step, miss vital information and insights and end up solving the wrong problem. Then they wonder why the issues haven’t gone away.

 The first step in any method to solve problems is to understand your underlying problem. 

 The next of the steps to solve a problem at work is to find the cause of the problem. Don’t rely on opinions and speculation. Dig into the details and the facts to find the causes. There may be one or many.

 The next of the steps for problem solving is to create multiple solutions. Make the time and effort you put into this step proportional to the benefits gained. For important problems with large impacts you should create multiple solutions. This gives you options and you can compare the pros and cons. 

 Of the many ways to solve problems or the solutions you have, choose a preferred option. 

 The next of the steps to solve problems is to choose who is responsible for implementing the solution. Choose one person only. The person responsible does not need to do all the work, just make sure the solution is implemented correctly and the implementation is finished. 

 For the more complex solutions with a lot of moving parts, build reporting to track progress of the implementation. Visibility of progress is a key tool in the methods for problem solving and allows you to spot problems and know when to jump in to help.

 Finally, the last step to improve your problem solving skills at work is to ensure the solution is implemented and the implementation finished correctly. 

 These steps will allow you to solve any problem and improve the solution to that problem.  

 Enhance.training

How to give a great presentation at work is a key skill to learn for any manager. I will be sharing 9 presentation tips to help you improve your presentation skills, and 3 tips to practice presenting so you can learn how to present like a pro at work.

You will be giving presentations regularly – informally to small groups of your team through to much more formal presentations to larger audiences.  Per a Forbes survey, 70% of managers say presentation skills are critical for career success. 

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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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When you need to use your presentation skills at work, there are three main areas to consider:

1.      The purpose of your presentation

2.      How to manage your emotions before and during the presentation

3.      Our body language and use of voice while presenting at work

 The first presentation tip is to really think about your audience and what they want from your presentation. Address what they want as clearly as possible. Or this might be educating your audience on what they need but don’t know about yet.

 When giving a presentation at work, it is very useful to know what the purpose is behind giving the presentation. This helps you structure your presentation to fulfil its purpose. 

 When thinking about how to do presentation at work, particularly when you are using slides, limit the number of key messages you are giving otherwise the audience will forget half of them. We also have a lot more tips on structuring so you know how to present like a pro.

 Managing your own emotions, fears and anxieties before and during giving a presentation at work is also key, particularly if you have not had presentation skills training. I share times on how to manage your voice and body language. 

 Then to end, I share tips on how to practice a presentation. There is lots that you can do to prepare and practice your presentation so that it comes across much more naturally and you are a lot more confident when presenting. 

 Presenting at work is a vital skill to progress your career (70% confirmed this in a Forbes survey) so do that the time to improve your skills.

Enhance.training

Being more conscious of our audience’s communication style enables us to flex our communication style, which improves our ability to communicate effectively. Improve 4 verbal communication styles at work, plus tips on improving critical factors affecting your communication effectiveness.

Ineffective communication at work is common and

1.      Wastes a lot of everyone’s time

2.      Wates a lot of everyone’s energy

3.      Damages relationships through misunderstandings

 Effective face to face communication skills is a lot more than just talking well. You audience has to receive what you are telling them and then understand it too. A great place to start improving face to face communication is spending time actively listening to your audience. 

 Flex your face to face communication styles to help your audience take in and understand what you are communicating to them. 

 Consciously understanding different communication styles and looking out for which styles your audience find easiest gives you a lot more control over how well you communicate.  Taking this step will help significantly in improving face to face communication.

 There are many models helping you understand different aspects of communication styles at work. We touch on the key indicators of

1.            Analytical 

2.            Personal

3.            Intuitive 

4.            Functional

 Communicators and how to adjust your style to best help them receive and understand what you are communicating. 

 Work hard on your verbal communication styles, while always trying to make your messaging as simple as possible to understand. Keep irrelevant information out of your communication so your audience will not be distracted or confused. 

 Simple messaging saves everyone time and energy while communicating face to face. 

 Finally, I touch on three huge influences on how well your audience receives and understands what you are trying to tell them. These will literally make or break your communication at work. 

enhance.training

Getting a bigger pay rise is an ordeal that most people hate going through. I share 8 ways of getting a salary raise that will make the preparation and conversations with your manager much easier.

Many people don’t do the right preparation before asking for a salary increase. We think in terms of ourselves – why we need get a bigger salary because we want to go on that holiday, get a new car etc. 

 This is the wrong approach. Our preparation should be thinking about the company and all the benefits they have got from employing, all the value you have created for them. 

 Taking this approach to getting a bigger salary is much more likely to be successful – you are subtly highlighting to the company what they would lose if you got a job elsewhere and look, the cost of the pay rise you are asking for is small in comparison. 

 Work out why you deserve to get a bigger pay rise in terms of the value you provide to the company.

 Next, look at the external factors that would support getting a bigger salary. Take a look at what other companies are paying for your role. Gather these adverts and use them to support getting a bigger pay raise.

When thinking about how to negotiate a salary increase, you should be realistic. Ask for a sensible figure and your manager will need to consider it. Ask for too high a figure and you lose trust and credibility with your boss.

 The next step in getting a bigger salary is to document your achievements, arguments, and evidence. This helps build your case and acts as a useful reference point for your manager.

 When planning how to ask for a raise at work always give your boss warning that you want to talk about salary. Ask for a pay rise in private, never in public. Ask for a meeting to specifically talk about getting a raise at work. 

 If you ask for pay raise and your manager immediately says “yes”, you have asked for too little. Expect some negotiation. I share salary negotiation tips which will give you plenty of options.

 If you get a no to a salary increase or only a small increase way below your expectations, have a plan B (and C). Steps to take include negotiating on areas other than your salary which will benefit you. Getting job offers from other companies paying more should also be considered.

 A final step in how to get a good salary must include helping your manager overcome objections from HR or those higher up in the company. Find out what the objections are and work out how to overcome or counter them. 

 There is a lot you can do stack the odds in your favour when in salary increase negotiations. Take these steps and get a bigger salary!

Good luck. 

Enhance.training

Negotiate effectively at work and you make your life a lot easier. I share 7 actions to negotiate effectively at work – all which make a big difference as a manager. Better negotiation skills will help you every single day at work.

As a manager, you are negotiating with your team, your manager, your stakeholders, your customers and suppliers. It is a long list and you spend quite a big part of your week using negotiation skills so it really does pay to learn how to negotiate well. 

 Learn 7 steps to negotiate effectively at work, each packed with negotiation tips. 

 When learning how to improve negotiation skills, the most important area to concentrate is defining what you want and then preparing. This probably remains the most important stage even when you are seasoned negotiator. Spend time thinking about what the other party might want from the negotiations. 

 The next action to negotiate effectively at work is to establish trust. Being open during negotiations is a powerful way to establish and maintain trust. Don’t put all your cards on the table straight away.

 Key to negotiation skills in the workplace is active listening. Be ware of the assumptions you make in planning and test this during the negotiations by questioning the other party. Most negotiation tactics require you to learn about what the other party wants.

 Tips for negotiating well include making the first offer. This does anchor negotiations or start negotiations from a point of your choosing. Making the first offer can also upset, frustrate, and derail negotiations – why is covered in this video. 

 How to negotiate effectively includes knowing how to deal with bullies or overly aggressive negotiators. I cover two proven techniques to stop aggressive negotiation tactics.

 Dealing well with price during negotiations – an area many dread – will be much easier with the right preparations and a few negotiation tips. Never give away price without getting something back in return. 

 Finally, successful negotiation is about getting to a win-win position. This is doubly important at work as you are likely to work with the other party into the future. Maintaining good relationships is absolutely in your interests.

 Enjoy being much more effective when negotiating. 

Developing your team is a key enabler of many benefits you get back when you invest in training and development for your team – I take you through 6 valuable benefits plus share 7 development options.

I know the investment you make in developing your team members will be paid back many times over.

 What you get from developing your team includes improved team dynamics. Everyone likes a manager that is keen to improve everyone’s skills and career prospects. 

 Another benefit you get from developing your team is better leadership, problem solving and decision making skills. This is great for higher performers and reduces these burdens on the manager. This gives everyone more opportunity to develop their skills and careers.

 What developing your team gives you includes increased team motivation and staff retention. The effort you put into developing your team you get back in goodwill and higher levels of effort – a very fair exchange. And when employees see their career moving forward, they are less likely to look elsewhere hence higher staff retention. 

 Develop your team and you will be able to attract higher performing employees. Most skilled employees want development opportunities. Demonstrate that you provide these and higher performing staff will want to work in your team. 

 Another benefit you get from developing your team is increased volume and quality of output. The better your skills and confidence, the less time is takes to do task and activities and make decisions. Everything speeds up, which allows you to produce more. 

 What investing in training your team does for you, in additional to all the above, is give you much better promotion prospects. Creating great performance in a positive way is going to be noticed and rewarded with more staff to manage. Enjoy the promotions!

 As you can see there are a lot of benefits of developing your team. Do take advantage of them. What investing in training your team does for you far outweighs the time and effort you invest. That has certainly been my experience over 25 years of managing teams.

 Invest in your team and have a nicer atmosphere to work in and everyone enjoys great success!

 IF you have any question on “6 Benefits You Get from Developing Your Team”, please leave them in the comments section below and I will get back to you. 

 Enhance.training 

There are absolutely times when you should quit your job – for your happiness, for your health and for your career progress. Learn 5 signs you should quit your job.

When you should quit your job is an assessment of the pros and cons of your current situation versus the benefits of moving to another job with a new team and new manager plus the effort of making that move.

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Leadership coaching – to increase your impact, your confidence and your team’s results

Bespoke, flexible and confidential personal development for middle managers to board directors. To transition to more senior roles, to improve skills, to increase influence, to get more from those you lead … explore how leadership coaching will help you and your managers https://enhance.coach/

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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 There is a lot of emotion when thinking “should I quit my job?” You have friendships and a group that you will be leaving. Joining a new group, getting to know everyone alongside a new job is exciting and tiring. 

 Yet when to leave your job should be seriously considered when you have any of these signs occurring:

 Firstly, you should think about when to leave your job when your career is stalling. If your rate of learning has really dropped; you are doing the same tasks and projects without any new challenges, then when to quit your job and get one with better development prospects is an important option.

 Secondly, when you have a bad boss, you should definitely be considering quitting your job. Your manager has a massive impact on your career and happiness at work. Don’t let a bad manager ruin both. 

 Third, when you and your work are not appreciated is another good indicator of when its time to leave your job. If what you do is not valued, then how are you going to get career building opportunities and promotions. They will go to those who are appreciated. 

 Fourth, another of the signs you need to quit your job is when your salary stays below market rates. You can earn more money elsewhere for the same effort put in. This is also an indication that the company does not value you and what you do. 

 Fifth, if you consistently have too much work you must think should you quit your job. Too much work leads to increased stress and anxiety, which in turns leads to physical and mental health issues. Leave your job and work for a company that looks after the health of their staff.

 At the end of the podcast, there are 8 questions you should ask yourself before you quit your job. These will help you frame why you are leaving, what you want from your next job and when is best to quit.

 Enhance.training

Managing teams working from home is harder than managing teams working in the office. To help you with managing remote employees, we are going through 8 actions for managing teams working from home.

When leading a remote team it is super important to set crystal clear expectations. If team members are not sure what is needed from them and when, when working from home, it become even harder to meet expectations. 

 When planning how to manage remote employees, establishing clear team rules and practices is another important step. Team members can watch your actions and decisions; thus it is hard to understand all the unwritten rules they are expected to follow. 

 Managing a team while working from home means you have to work harder at communicating with your team. Being more organised and using multiple communication methods helps massively. I share 6 ways to “over”-communicate. 

 When managing remote teams effectively focus on delivering against goals, rather than tracking activity. This is much easier to do when working remotely, much more motivational for team members and demonstrates trust. 

 Managing remote team members should be done in a flexible way. Being able to organise your own time is a big perk of remote working AND a big attraction and retention tool for companies. Be flexible in your approach to when employees do their work.

 When managing remote team members mentor more than manage. Focus on what you can do to help them complete their tasks and activities quicker and better.

 When working remotely, you are more likely to struggle with burnout – there are far fewer barriers between work and relaxing. When managing a remote team keep an eye on team members’ workload and pressures. Ask them regularly in one-on-one meetings to talk to you about their workload, pressures, and deadlines. Take supportive action quickly when needed. 

 The last action for managing teams working from home is to encourage social interaction between team members and within the wider business. I share 10 tips to help you do this towards the end of the video. 

 Enjoy managing your remote team more effectively!

 enhance.training

How to deal with conflicts at work is pretty scary if you don’t know what steps to take and what to look out for. Conflicts usually have anger, frustration, annoyance and other emotions flying between two or more parties and stepping into the middle of this takes some courage.

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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/ 

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As a manager it is vital that you manage conflicts at work carefully. Positive conflict can easily and quickly descend into disruptive, damaging, negative conflict if you are not able to manage conflicts within the team appropriately. 

I share 5 ways to deal with conflict at work, and take you through 5 steps to resolve conflicts in the workplace that are disruptive and emotionally charged.

In my view, not all conflict is bad. Heated discussions, constructive challenge, differences of opinion and airing different ideas and solutions can all be very productive – vital even for great team performance - if managed carefully. Know where the line is and constantly look out for individuals or teams crossing into negative conflict and take action immediately.

As a manager you have an important role as an impartial mediator to deal with conflicts within the team. You set the tone and behaviours in the team through your own actions and decisions. 

Many conflicts at work come about because individual or teams are competing for resources or have overlaps of responsibilities and goals. Managers and leaders can resolve conflicts at work before they even happen by taking action to remove overlaps and change operation or processes to minimise and remove reasons for conflict.

Conflicts at work often come about through behavioural problems or incompetent staff. Both increase the pressure and workload on others and/or make being at work less enjoyable. Resentment, anger and annoyance can quickly be created between individuals and teams, leading to open conflict. Tackle these areas to deal with conflicts in the workplace.

A key part of conflict management is to promote understanding between parties. Our emotions often get in the way of taking the time to look at the situation from the other party’s point of view. Understanding often removes the assumption that the other person is being difficult or creating conflict for personal reasons. Promoting understanding is a great way to deal with conflict in the workplace. 

When you have negative, disruptive conflict in a team or at work, there are 5 practical steps that you can take to resolve 95%+ of the conflict fairly quickly. Towards the end of the video, I take you through exactly what these steps are.

Take action quickly to resolve conflict at work.

Creating team accountability makes your job as a manager as lot easier. Creating team member accountability reduces the time and energy you spend in decision making, solutioning and planning out the steps to implement solutions.

 There are many factors that go into creating accountability at work. The first of 10 factors in creating team accountability which we are covering are setting crystal clear expectations. If don’t know what is expected of you, how can a manager be holding employees accountable or how can you deliver against expectations. 

 The second factor for team accountability is show the team the how. Goals are great. If you don’t know or are not sure how to achieve your goals it is pretty hard to deliver. To ensure accountability at work, make sure each team member knows how to achieve the goals they have been set.

 Thirdly when creating a culture of accountability, creating visibility is essential. This is like creating a scoreboard for a sports game – everyone is so much clearer how each team is doing and what progress looks like.

 When driving team accountability, creating psychological safety is a must. Without safety, team members will find it a lot harder to take ownership and take the small risks involved with accountability.

 The fifth factor in creating team accountability is to delegate problems as well as tasks. Delegating problems and providing coaching and mentoring support in tandem allows you to develop a whole host of skills in your team that make you life a lot easier. 

 Sixth, when creating accountability, encourage team level planning. Using the team to problem solve, plan the execution of solutions and spot problems gives all team members a chance to improve relationships and learn about each other. Great to create team accountability. 

 Seventh, always follow up to improve employee accountability. Focus on helping and supporting first which also allows you to check up on progress ad spot issues and challenges that may need intervention. 

 Eighth, leading by example and holding yourself accountable is a great way for creating accountability in a team.

 Another key factor for developing ownership and accountability at work is to resolve conflicts within the team quickly. There will always be some level of conflict. How you manage conflict within the team is crucial. 

 Finally, when creating accountability in a team, celebrate successes together. Everyone likes compliments, praise for work well done and rewards for success. Taking ownership and accountability involves taking some risk. It seems sensible to increase the upside to encourage a bit of risk taking – and praise and celebrating success is one way to increase the upside. 

 Enjoy creating a more accountable team.