5 Leadership Techniques For Challenging Times

We consistently face new and ever growing challenges in the workplace such as reorganizing, downsizing, and "left out sizing." We are faced with the question, "How do we lead in this storm of change?" It may seem difficult at times and the decisions we make define our short-term and long-term outcomes. I will share with you five leadership development techniques guaranteed to keep you on track during these difficult times.

1. Integrity.
I put this first because the lack of integrity will make or break you as a professional, as a leader, as a person in the long run. The lack of this will turn yesterday"s heroes in today"s villains. For example, "MCI was the apple of the business community"s eye. High revenues, high profits, and high growth; MCI was beating the competition hands down.

Then it was discovered that there were gross accounting irregularities that accounted for the astounding profits. You see, management made a decision, "Do I continue to sustain good growth and be able to look at myself in the mirror or do I cook the accounting books and spend the rest of my time covering up this integrity deficiency? The real shame of the MCI situation was that AT&T, Sprint, and others in the industry had to cut costs and lay off thousands of employees to compete with MCI"s false numbers. The lack of integrity at MCI not only affected the company but also the livelihood of thousands and the industry as a whole.

I was recently speaking with a recently retired City Council member who is well respected in the community. I asked her what the secret was to her success while on the council? She mentioned that one of her political adversaries said to her, "While you were on the council, I didn"t like the way you voted, but I respected the way you voted because you were consistent with your votes and had the city"s best interest in mind."

Ask yourself what decisions that you make are right for the long term? Be consistent in your actions, whether it is with management, your team, or your family.

2. Knowledge.
With change happening faster and faster every moment, it is extremely important that you gain the knowledge to master these changes. You owe it not only to yourself, but to your team and management. As I always say, "It"s not having the right answer, it"s that you have the right answer faster than before." Many times during my teambuilding programs a student will say, "I didn"t know where to find the answer."Then I will say, "That is an unacceptable answer." Because part of being a leader is acquiring the skills to find the right answers. With the Internet, classroom and online training, mentors, etc., the knowledge is at your fingertips.

Challenge your team members to use the same resources to acquire the knowledge to master their challenges. By acquiring this knowledge, you will be able to navigate your team through the ocean of change and achieve your goals.

3. Decisiveness.
You have seen them. They wait for information, then more information before making a decision. Then they need more information to support the information they already have.Then they need a committee to analyze the information. Then they wait for the perfect time to make the decision.

Well, you know what I mean. Anyone you know? Make the decision! Good things happen when you take action; you grow, you adapt, and your team grows. There is no perfect time to make a decision. Leaders make decisions based on past experience, putting into action the decision, and staying and adapting the decision if needed. But make the decision. The worst quality you can show your team is indecision. What do you think your team sees when you can"t make a decision? Make the decision and go for it.

4. Vision.
This is the ability not only to see what is the present - anyone can do that - it"s the ability to see the future. Outstanding leaders can not only see their team for what they can do now, but what they can become, and paint the picture for them. These leaders are consistently communicating and coaching their team members to that vision. One of the best ways, and least used methods, to convey your vision is the team meeting.

Every meeting should start out with the team vision, mission, and goals; and the rest of the meeting should tie into the vision. For example, the motivation portion of the meeting should tie into the vision, the information portion of the meeting should tie into the vision, the training portion of the meeting should tie into the vision, etc. Also, invest time to develop your team members" personal visions and show them how they can accomplish their personal goals by tying into the overall vision. By consistently communicating the vision, your team will move with purpose, feel they are personally making a difference, and achieve their goals sooner.

5. Unselfishness
Stephen Covey, in his successful book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, wrote that a true leader must be a servant to the ones he or she leads. The leader must be able to "give of oneself for the good of the team." In other words, be unselfish in words and action. Be unselfish in praise of others, in public, especially in front of management.

Be unselfish in the ability to take time to listen, really listen to your team"s concerns. A recent management survey said that the average time management invests doing "pure listening" to employees during the year is a mere two hours- just two hours! What was meant by "pure listening" time was listening with eye contact, acknowledgement, and not answering the phone while listening, not speaking with another person while listening, etc. Be unselfish in the ability to help your team. Whether it"s the ability to readily assist with a difficult telephone call, jump in and remove road blocks for team members, or "be there" for a team member during challenging moments. Believe me, your team will remember those moments and excel for you.

Now I challenge you to put into action just one of the leadership techniques I mentioned above to achieve your vision, your mission, and your goals in the future.

By: trinity.services015

Small Business Coach Vs Consultant

Everyone needs guidance and help in their personal and professional lives. Whether it is to improve relationships or to expand business, help can be essential. Responsible coaches are can be important to correct problems, and implement methods to improve matters. If it is about something personal, family friends can be consulted. However, when it is about business, a more reliable and experienced source is required to ensure positive results.

When problems crop up, businesses can resort to assistance given by two entities: a coach, or a consultant. Let us look at how the two function before moving on to how they differ from each other.

Small Business Coach

Small business coaching entails bringing about positive change in the working of an organization and the workers as a whole. It helps to determine goals that meet the best potential of the organization. Coaches devise plans to achieve these goals within a certain period. The main responsibility of the coach is to help ailing businesses regain their viability.

Without focusing on speed, coaches concentrate more on following an effective plan of action to improve the quality of business. Sharing a bond of trust, both the business owner and the coach, work as a team to attract more clients and retain better employees by boosting marketing efforts.

The main objective of the business coach is to promote continuous growth through personal development. People usually confuse coaching with psychotherapy, because the behavioral theories applied by both are common. However, business coaching is more business oriented and goal focused.

Coaching can be done over a period of time on contract basis. This depends on the goals, and the expected time required attaining them. After a plan is devised, the coach can even interact with individuals on the phone to keep track of the progress, instead of having to visit the company.

Small Business Consultants

The role of a consultant is to advise and work with the individual or company as a team. Consultants use their expertise in formulating marketing strategies and time management techniques. Devised after considerable analysis and discussion, this helps in achieving the required goal in a stipulated time. Consultants also create a definitive Internet marketing plan to create a strong base on the net to spread awareness wider.

Like coaches, consultants can also advise on the phone or via the net, depending on what action needs to be taken, and the time required. Since they have wide experience of working with many companies, they can easily find solutions to problems that arise in any business.

Difference between Small Business Coaching and Small Business Consulting

Coaches and Consultants seem to have the same kind of job, but there are certain factors that differentiate the two. For example, if it were about riding a bike, the business coach would explain the necessity of riding a bike, and why an individual is unable to.

On the other hand, a business consultant would demonstrate the distinctive and superior features of the bike, and explain how he or she can be good at riding it. Sometimes, they do this by riding the bike for you.

Whether it is an independent proprietor, or business owner with employees, both have to juggle with challenges, while managing to keep a check on the problems and find solutions to keep their businesses profitable.

The relationship of the individual with the coach or consultant is based on trust, respect and understanding. Confidentiality being important, they honor the confidence of the client by not disclosing any private information to others. Lastly, to decide whether they need the services of a coach or a consultant, the businessperson needs to short list his or her requirements and their work values, and choose whichever is suitable.


By: Ismael D. Tabije

Strategic Planning - The Leadership Team

One of the first steps in developing a great strategic plan is forming the leadership team. If you're the leader in your particular part of the organization, you probably have some subordinate leaders who you direct. You probably also have some people who you consider to be trusted advisors. But have you actually formed a team to help you with the day-to-day leadership of the organization? Silly question you say? Not really. I've found too many organizations in which the senior leader takes most, if not all of the leadership on him or herself. This not only places too much of a burden on one person, but also prevents the leader from taking full advantage of the expertise available in subordinate leaders.

For business strategic planning, it is essential to form a leadership team to ensure the planning process has the full advantage of experience within the organization. Though a good leadership team will make the everyday operation of the organization much smoother, I'll concentrate on the strategic planning process. This is where the team can really shine, and where they can develop a great synergistic relationship.

To develop a leadership team, the leader must first select the members. I've found it best to use leaders at the next level under me. These are the men and women who you rely on to make the organization work and they're the ones with the knowledge of each function within the organization. You may also want to include a few staff functions, though this is strictly optional and really depends on the situation. For example, you may decide the comptroller should be a member to ensure continuity. I also like to include my secretary for a couple of reasons. He or she can keep track of meeting minutes and administrative details. More importantly though, senior secretaries are often some of the best informed people in an organization. They will probably have insights that no one else does. Take advantage of that knowledge.

How your leadership team interacts with you and each other is a critical factor in the success of your strategic planning efforts, and that is largely the result of your leadership style. You want the team to be comfortable discussing things openly, and you must encourage them to do so. You must make it clear to them that their honest input is required in order to make the strategic planning process work. Actions speak louder than words though so you must also demonstrate this. The best way is to accept all input at face value and encourage frank discussion among the team members without adding your own thoughts. This is difficult, but as soon as the senior leader weighs in with an opinion, the discussion tends to stop.

I like to use the technique, sometimes called silent brainstorming, where each member writes down some ideas or key points. Then the leader or meeting facilitator asks each member to tell the group one of their ideas. Each is written down at the front of the room with no discussion until everyone has exhausted their list. Discussion can then begin on the merits of each point. This tends to remove the individual from the equation and concentrate discussion on the point. The senior leader must encourage this discussion.

When completing a strategic plan, I have found the best first step for the leadership team is the mission statement. Creating a mission statement allows each team member to discuss their area of expertise and how it fits in the bigger picture. By the time the statement is complete, the leadership team has usually developed a good relationship between themselves and the senior leader.

One of the benefits of using a carefully chosen leadership team to create the organization's strategic plan is that the experience will help to cement a great relationship among the leaders that will be an enormous benefit in the future. You'll get a great strategic plan and a dynamic team of leaders to implement that plan!


By Bob Mason

Business Models

If you're on your way to starting your business, thinking about how to raise capital, and looking for a private placement, then you may want to consider your business model. A good business model is not easily come by, and you want to make sure it is sound or at least secure enough for your purposes before you take on the big task of running a business, it is best to make sure that you are setting up your business right from the start for success. Economic value is only made through a successful business model, so it can be the most important part of starting your business. This should guide you through some of the aspects of a successful business model.

Many new businesses cannot rely on old or traditional business models, so instead of the new ideas coming through in whatever product or service the business is providing, but in the business model itself. There are many complex aspects entangled with business models, including markets, products, and environment, and it is the role of the business model to connect the specific area of technical inputs and the area of economic outputs. The first thing you want to have in a basic business model is the proposition, where you have to state what the customer needs, followed by the product or service that solves that need, and how valuable that customer will think the product or service is from their own specific individual perspective.

The next thing to factor in is the market, meaning that you will have to consider what specific group of customers or consumers you wish to target, and taking into consideration that different segments of the markets require different things and some of the most successful marketing strategies are ones that target different segments of the market that have not been targeted or that have been overlooked or have not been differentiated from other sections of the market in the past. Next, it is very important to settle on where your business falls in the "value chain," the chain of production to consumption, and to decide how you will both find the value in that chain and how you will capture that value. The next part of the business model you will want to consider is how your business will generate revenue, whether that is from sales, support, leasing, or subscriptions, and what your potential costs as well as projected profit margins will be.

Another thing to consider is where your business will stand in the network, ie. who your competitors will be for whatever market segment you are looking at, and any aspects of the network that you can exploit to defeat competition and get more value to your customers. This leads us to the strategy of competition your business will enact, whether it be by cheaper costs, utilizing a market niche, or something else to produce and maintain a competitive advantage. Following these steps makes a reliable approach to your business, making it easier for you to have success in whatever market you are trying for.

By Chuck R Stewart


Need help on your business model?

Busines modeling service at Future Africa insures your business plan is align with the visions and aims of your organization, company or business. Other services include business modeling, organizational transformation, leadership development, coaching and mentoring.

Advertising Ideas for Small Business

You touch any field in marketing and it is fiercely competitive. A developed economy like our country has too many players in every field making the task of a small business entrepreneur doubly tough to make profits and see a healthy bottom line. Perhaps the only savior for a small business man to survive and grow in this competitive market environment is to have some unique advertising ideas for small business which can make his product or services stand out in a crowd. The important thing to remember here is that customers are now bombarded with choices and unless you offer them something unique, chances are that they would immediately reject your product and go to someone else. Here are some advertising ideas for small business which have worked with most people:

• Online presence: Today more and more marketers are resorting to online advertising to promote their products and services, even for their offline businesses. This is not only one of the most cost-effective modes of advertising, but is one of the ways consumers prefer to buy products. Online shopping has come of age. Be that as it may, online presence has to be optimized using several advertising techniques by which your site can be among the top ranking sites on the net, easily locatable by your potential customers. This is called Search Engine Optimization. You can use videos, etc as an advertising technique to make your presence more interactive.

• Business cards done creatively can be one of the most trusted advertising techniques for a small business. A business card is not just a carrier of name and contact person, but can speak volumes about your company and its products. Does not cost much but the mileage it gives can be immense.

• Sponsorships and community involvement can go a long way to advertise your small business. Every one loves a company which is a concerned and conscientious corporate citizen and with community event sponsorships (especially relate events) can draw a lot of attention of local clientele. For instance, if you are marketing cookery tutorials, you could take up a stall at the local fair to promote your online business, offline.

• If your business goal is to get people involved in your product or services, one sure short way to do this is to engage them in some kind of activity. Everyone wants to win in contests, games and the like. So give them something to get engaged, while keeping your brand name in mind - and there is no other way as effective to make people remember your brand name and your business.

• Advertising in Yellow Pages is also a cost-effective way to advertise your small business. As incredible as it may sound, people do consult Yellow Pages to look for cosmetic surgeons to building contractors and everyone in between. So advertising in the relevant section can bring you new clients every day.

• Advertising in invoices of large shopping malls and other large retailers is also a way many small businessmen promote their products. Sometimes you might have to print the invoices with your advertising message, while some retailers allow you to use the small space at the bottom for advertising, if you pay them an amount for use for a limited period of time. this is one way you can reach a wide base of customers in a short time.

By: maggiedavid
image source: http://articletrader.com/business/small-business/tips-for-a-home-base-business.html

Click here for more business management articles.

Small Business 8 Survival Tips You Need to Read

I once conceived an idea, not original, but original to me, for a self help book that consisted entire of one line repeated over and over on each page of the book.

Do it yourself. Do it yourself. Do it yourself...

You get the idea, that no amount of self help information will be of any practical purpose if it is not put into action. While a self help book consisting of only one sentence might be tantamount to anarchy for a segment of the publishing industry, it has a modicum of truth.

It goes without saying that these are strange economic times. If our entire financial system is presently being renegotiated and reinvented, then where does small business reside in the pecking order?

The least obvious answer is at the top!.

Small businesses are really the economic engine that drives the health and well being for most capitalist countries. A countries economy is measured by their economic output or gross domestic product, but it is entirely made up of of small business owners like yourself.

Stated simply, the health of your business has a direct impact on the health of your neighborhood, your city and ultimately your country. Having said that, do not hold your breathe for that bailout cheque they are reserved for the businesses that made the biggest mistakes.

Here are some things to keep in mind while negotiating these tough times.

Keep your eye on the ball
Stay focused on the things that matter. Everything can be a distraction if you let become one. Set your goals commit them to a calendar. It is the only way you can to measure success or failure.

Connect the Dots
Of course, you have to be able to see the dots in order to connect them. Never miss a chance or opportunity to grow your business. Warren Buffet will tell you he made most of his money when times were tough.

Get Perspective
Get outside of your business any way you can. Ask a colleague for input. Being immersed in a problem is the hardest position from which to solve it. The forrest for the trees cliche rings true.

Stay Connected
You cant sell to yourself so now is definitely not the time to hibernate.

Knowing The Risks
Take the time to familiarize yourself with the inherent risks to all the actions you take. Remember inaction is a risk in and of itself. Acting rationally rather than reacting spontaneously is the order of the day.

The solution to most problems often lies in the question. If reckless spending has put you in a hole, chances are only reigning it in that will get you out. This is true in most cases unless your a federal government. We will soon see where spending your way out of a problem gets you.

Offer before Asking
Doors magically open when you offer to help or lend support to others. Not only will you feel better, you open yourself up to the unexpected good things that can happen. Always be cognizant that good things still happen in bad times.

Stick to your Plan
Stay committed to your plan, but know when something is not working. Remember that business cycles, so keep your words palatable. You never know when you have to eat them.

Get the Bad News up Front
Have you ever noticed that in the media, the bad news is always sugar coated? Sure it can always be worse, but sometimes things are bad enough that immediate action is required. Do not underestimate the size of a problem! Also, in the same vein, using past experience to predict the future is not a good idea. This time it really is different!


By: Blaine Arnot


Click here for more other related business management articles.

Business Management Consulting

Business management consulting is becoming more and more essential for any company who wishes to take their business seriously, and get on top of any problems they may have. Whether you are just starting your business, or have already been running for years, a consultant will always find areas of improvement and ways for you to increase your profits.

When you hire a consultant they will take a close look at your business and help you to discover ways in which you can change it for the better. This includes the management, employees and working methods you use. They will even help you to revamp the business should you be in need of a change, ultimately helping you to increase your profits. This may include training, personal development and other methods to help improve efficiency.

If you have noticed any problems in your business, whether that is a problem in managing your employees, or other problem, then consultants will help you to get past these. Sometimes all it takes is an objective outsider to notice what is really wrong and work out a solution. Just take advantage of all the ways they suggest to resolve any problems and get your business starting more efficiently.

If you are really serious about getting your business to the very highest level it can be, then business management consulting really is the service for you. The cost it takes is worth far less than the money you will save and make as a result of this invaluable insight. Just take a look online or in your local area for experienced management consultants.

By Scott Sheldon