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Invite Self-Managed Staff
"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them to become what they are capable of being." -Goethe Two hundred years ago, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, German poet and philosopher, knew how to inspire and interact with others: recognize the best in them and act upon those positive expectations. This takes conscious effort and constant vigilance to be self-aware of our actions. And we owe our fellow human beings nothing less. Successful supervisors live this sentiment daily in their connections with their fellow human beings. They believe in the basic goodness of people and consciously act upon their beliefs in every contact, every day. These staffers guide the people with whom they work toward self-esteem, self-confidence and self-determination. Effective supervisors, those who develop staff who are trusted, productive and stable, assist them to become what they are capable of: self-managed, productive and trusted. This requires a combination of the best of 'soft' skills, or how we treat people, and 'hard' skills, or how we engage and support their capabilities. Supervisors are stronger in one of these skills than in another, but the best supervisors become good at both and make a conscious effort toward a balance. The following ABC's make an immediate and measurable change in the workplace. The A's and B's, or act and believe, are the soft skills in practice, and the C, or coaching, employs the hard skills. A's & B's: Actions and Beliefs The seven back to basics beliefs which help us treat people the way Goethe intended: Wasn't it your mother who said, actions speak louder than words? Our beliefs dictate our actions, but most of us are too busy to really take each of these and hold them up to the light, inspecting their every attribute and power. We do business as usual without reconsidering our commonly accepted behaviors toward employees. Do our actions unequivocally manifest positive beliefs? Do our actions demonstrate that we believe that staff are trustworthy, or do we lock up our supplies? Do we act as if frontline staff are the most important worker in our organization because they do the work for which the company is paid, or do we interrupt a meeting with them to take a call or make them wait for us to arrive for an appointment? Do we hover over their work or insult them with insignificant gifts or raises? Do we recognize them for their daily efforts or thank them for being at their work station so we don't have to do their job on any given day? Do we educate them in the business side of the company and ask them for their opinion in big decisions? These soft skills and actions make the difference between humane or harsh workplaces, between bosses to whom staff will be loyal or bosses who staff plan to leave. All actions articulate our beliefs. C: Coach as Leader, Manager and Supervisor The workplace coach functions as leader, manager, and supervisor to support and elicit exceptional performance. Each of these three roles has distinct behaviors, intent, and purpose. The coach as leader: The leader imparts philosophy to create and support care-full staff. Philosophy is the only signpost to give guidance in unanticipated situations. Every coach must lead by imparting philosophy. Vigorously ask & answer "why" questions such as, Why does the company exist? Why does the world and our community need us? Why do we choose to join this endeavor? Why do we do something this way instead of that way? Every one of us wants to aspire to a higher purpose. To be part of something greater than ourselves fulfills our desire to belong and provides us with an important place where we can make a difference in this world. The coach as manager: The manager conveys knowledge to create and support staff who are mind-full and power-full. The coach in the role of manager answers "what" questions. What business are we in? What do we do to fulfill our purpose? What difference do we make to our customers? What are our goals? What are our expected customer outcomes and business objectives? The coach as supervisor: The supervisor establishes structure to support staff who are success-full. The coach as supervisor answers "how "questions: How do we do our business? How do we meet our goals? How is this task or activity performed and how do I prove it? How will we know when we get it right? A good coach supports direct-care staff who are care-full, mind-full, power-full and success-full through imparting knowledge, philosophy, and structure. Goethe gave us the answer to creating humane human service workplaces 200 years ago. Act, believe and coach your way to being a supervisor who staff will admire and want to work with. Focus on these basic ABC's, to develop a solid team of skilled, self-managed and stable employees. About The Author Linda LaPointe, MRA, has trained thousands in these simple but powerful practices. More free articles and pages from her book can be seen at http://www.thenewsupervisor.com; lapointell@yahoo.com
Virtual Assistance: A Money Saving Opportunity For Employers
What is a Virtual Assistant? A Virtual Assistant is a highly skilled, independent entrepreneur who provides business services in a remote or virtual environment. Some have used terms like telecommuter or working from home. Employers are looking for alternatives to having a full-time employee. Hiring a skilled Virtual Assistant helps to cut costs normally associated with on-site employees (no need for extra overhead and space, taxes, benefits, continued training), and frees up valuable time to focus on higher priority tasks that will inturn increase profits. Assistant For You!, a Puyallup based a virtual assistance and web design company, specializes in website design and promotion, Administrative and Real Estate Support. November 1, 2003 marks Assistant For You!'s first anniversary. Ms. Bresser attributes her success to keeping on top of the current trends in targeted industries allowing Assistant For You! to adapt to specific client needs. For those wanting to start a Virtual Assistance company, Ms Bresser suggests, "niche in an area that you are not only good at, but love to do." She urges finding an established Virtual Assistant as a mentor during these rough start-up phases. "Having a mentor will help you avoid pitfalls that many face," says Ms. Bresser. For more information about the Virtual Assistant industry and why you should hire one, contact Assistant For You! today. We can be reached directly by phone at (253) 537-7703, by email at heather@assistantforyou.com. About The Author Heather Bresser, Virtual Assistant and business owner of AssistantForYou.com, offers high energy and her outgoing personality to her varied clients, and has been able to help them with marketing and growing their businesses through providing innovative website design and marketing strategies.
Use Every Weapon You Have
One of the strongest weapons available allows business, non-profit and association managers to begin changing the behaviors of their key external audiences in ways that lead directly to achieving their primary operating objectives. The name of that weapon? The fundamental premise of public relations: People act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action the very people whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the public relations mission is accomplished. In short, people in your operating areas really do behave like everyone else - they take actions based on their perceptions of the facts they hear about you and your organization. So, you need to deal promptly and effectively with those perceptions by using every weapon at your disposal to reach them with the right message. Your job is to persuade your stakeholders to your way of thinking and move them to take actions that lead to the success of your organization. Here are typical behavior changes you might aim for. More frequent repeat purchases; increased membership applications or contributions; more prospects sniffing around; suppliers working harder than ever to expand their relationship with you, and elected officials starting to count you among the movers and shakers whose opinions they need to start taking seriously. This public relations action checklist can help you make it happen: You need to list your outside audiences and prioritize them by the severity of their impacts on your organization. Then, monitor the perceptions of members of the key target audience by interacting with them and asking lots of questions. Other important outside audiences will need similar attention. Use the data you collect to establish your public relations goal. For example, correct that inaccuracy, clarify that misconception or spike that damaging rumor. To reach that goal, you need a strategy to show you how to get there. Select from three: change existing perception, create perception/opinion where none exists, or reinforce existing perception. And make certain the strategy you select fits your public relations goal. Now, you must prepare a message designed to alter perception among members of that target audience. It must be crystal-clear about what it intends to correct, clarify or change, and it must be persuasive and compelling - all at the same time! Above all, as your message makes the case for your point of view, it must be believable. A daunting assignment for sure - alter what a lot of people have come to believe. It's a big job, but worth the effort. Now, you must deliver your message to the eyes and ears of members of that key target audience. And communications tactics will help you do it. The choice is broad and includes tactics such as customer or member briefings, brochures, press releases and radio/newspaper interviews as well as newsletters, speeches, facility tours and many more. Just be sure that the tactics you choose, have a proven record of reaching people like the members of your audience. How will you know if you're making any headway? By re-monitoring perceptions among, and asking more questions of those same audience members. This time, however, you watch closely for clear evidence that perceptions are being altered as you planned. You can always speed things up by using additional communications tactics, and by increasing their frequencies. Remember that you are using one of the strongest weapons available to any business, non-profit or association. Namely, the process for changing behaviors of their key external audiences in ways that lead directly to achieving their primary operating objectives. About The Author Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to business, non-profit and association managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communications, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net. Visit: http://www.prcommentary.com
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