You are constantly teaching, training, and developing other people. Every time you give someone an assignment or tell a person what to do, how to do it, and when it must be completed, you use some technique of instruction. By becoming more aware of these everyday opportunities for training and development, you can turn informal...
Anything that shapes one’s thinking or behavior is a conditioning influence. A conditioning influence may originate either internally or externally. The three most common conditioning influences are the family, the social environment, and personal attitudes toward mistakes and failure. Family We sometimes overlook the fact that we are most often conditioned by influence rather than...
To gain full mastery of your attitudes, time, and life, immerse yourself in a total program of personal and organizational goals. Many personal goals involve items money can buy, and your career is the means for earning that money. Other personal goals focus on satisfying such intangible needs as security, ego satisfaction, and self-fulfillment that...
Leaders and managers empower teams by teaching about self-responsibility and processes for creating, improving, and distributing products and services. Team members are encouraged to think about how work in the organization gets done and the best way to do it. As practitioners of the principles of human relationships, effective leaders also build strategic alliances with...
Maintaining a motivational climate sets the scene for maximizing the talents and abilities of the individuals who make up the entire organization. People who are motivated, who maintain a positive attitude toward the organization and their role in it, and who are enthusiastic about their work always look for opportunities to grow and develop. They...
Nothing contributes to a positive self-image quite like competence. One who seems uncertain of information, skills, or self quickly experiences an erosion of self-image. To become more competent, do your homework. Learn more about your job and your organization. When you know what you are talking about, it is easier to be self-confident and courageous....
Goal setting establishes a relationship between where you are and where you are going. It sounds basic. But few people have a goals program because they simply do not know where to begin. They have no idea where they stand now. They have no clearly stated priorities or values and cannot, therefore, determine where they...
Increasing productivity means surpassing your previous best. It happens only when you adopt new goals that build upon past performances. Adopt and nurture the “Let’s beat our best” attitude with team members on a one-on-one basis. Earn behind-the-scenes agreement and commitment from key group members before presenting new, challenging goals to the entire team. Lay...
Changes and adjustments are necessary whenever people work together. Equipment problems pale in significance compared to problems caused by people. A person cannot be discarded unemotionally just as a broken piece of equipment would. People’s problems are often difficult to solve. On the other hand, solving people’s problems offers immense personal satisfaction and professional benefits....
Self-image, or the mental picture you have of yourself, determines to a large extent the level of success you achieve as a leader. The level of success you achieve as a leader, of course, helps determine the level of success your organization will achieve. The more positive your self-image, the more opportunities you have to...
