Great Managers don't always know what's best. Sometimes they have to rely upon their team, sometimes they have to rely upon superiors and many times they have to go out and learn more to become more.
If you are not signed up for all kinds of newsletters and information from many different sites you might miss some vital information.
One giant area that can make or break your organization is how do your people communicate? Yes Communicate! Now I ask this simple question, how long does is usually take for someone to make a judgement about a new person they are meeting. Good! Yes! Three seconds! and where did you learn that information? And how have you utilized that information within your organization.
It's not just that you have the information but it is how you, your team and your organization use the information at your disposal. What good does that information do for you if you have no idea how to make it work for you.
So imagine how much you have not been exposed to because you are not subscribed to numerous newsletters you have no idea even exist. Imagine how you probably would not subscribe to a newsletter if you felt the topic was not in your general area of information or from a different industry altogether. And if you are a good manager you probably understand that there are many things out there that you could use to improve yourself, your team and your organization.
And here comes a new idea so basic that we have ignored it for decades. The flip side of this is that we may even know it but we have no idea how to utilize it. And again, what good is information if we don't have or or if we have don't use it properly.
Imagine how absurd it would seem to be trying to cut down a tree with a rifle. Using the same tools and knowledge to fix an electric car as we used to repair a combustion engine. Trying to read using a microscope instead of reading glasses. But we do this over and over at work because there are hundreds and hundreds of concepts we have never been taught to use.
Want your organization to take a giant step into the communication concepts of this next generation? Would you like to be the guru of your team or company because you learned and brought an exceptional concept for working together as a team to your organization?
If you want to help your team or company then you must step up and learn this next evolution into team communication and structure. How can you do this? It's easy, all you have to do open your mind to the Five Emotional Connectors that are either building or hindering your organization right now.
Five concepts so basic that we have looked right past them for a long long time and it's time that you not only learned what they are but how you can use them. Imagine how great a team can work together when some of the most basic communication has not only been ignored but misunderstood, miscommunication or worse yet used so poorly that we have already offended our co-workers and don't even know what we did. All we know is that they don't like us, we don't like them or they misunderstand who we are and how we treat them and we cannot seem to get past those barriers to re-establish the communication that is so VITAL to our teams success.
Now is your chance to grow and become a leader in your organization because I can teach you and your team all about The Five Emotional Connectors holding your team hostage.
Call me or write to bring me in to teach you, The Five Emotional Connectors that can change your teams and create a new atmosphere of cooperation and success!
Steve Sapato
steve@stevesapato.com
Monday, February 25, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Great Managers put aside personal feelings
What makes a manager great? It is how they utilize the resources that are available to them. I like to think that managers in corporate America are just like managers of professional sports teams. Many managers come in and find themselves with established personnel and they have to make a winning team out of the people they have on their rosters.
Managers are much the same. And when you introduce yourself to your team you are going find multiple personalities and attitudes that you might not agree with or even like. And in order to make your team into a winning team you need to put aside personal feelings, put aside your likes and dislikes and evaluate your team from the perspective of a professional and find their strengths and their weaknesses. Look for a combination of team members that will make one better and make one great.
I know what you are thinking, but some of my people are not good or some of my people are lazy or some of my people I just don't like. I heard one recently, this person doesn't represent my group with the professionalism I want.
And here's what I will tell you, that doesn't matter. I will say that again, that doesn't matter. Each individual of your group usually has something to offer. Something. Not a lot sometimes. Not everything that's certain. But typically each member of your group got there for a reason. You may not recognize that reason and it is for that very reason that you need to involve the rest of your team.
GREAT Managers always invite their team to participate: if there is someone you cannot stand; someone you cannot understand; someone that seems to be everything you do not want on your team. That is when you need to involve your team. Invite your team to talk to you about what they see in their team members: Without bias. Without your input. Without your faces or your thoughts prior to their meeting with you or especially when they are meeting with you.
Here are the two scenarios: One is an employee that you cannot see is of value to your team. In your opinion this person should be traded to another team or simply set off as a free agent. Let them go. Fire them. And in your opinion this is the only thing that should happen. But what happens if you involve your team. What happens if other members of your team share with you the value that this person brings to your team. What if they really want this person and their skills on the team and tell you their value as they see it? Will you look for the greater good? Will you be able to change your opinion? Or will you keep on your path because it's your path?
The second scenario is the opposite. You see the great abilities of one of your team. You understand this could be one of your superstars. And yet your team comes to you and says this member does not fit into the team.They tell you how this person creates conflict, doesn't bring team values, doesn't represent the atmosphere that they value What do you do then? There are many opportunities to delve into how you might make this person fit in. But what it takes is complete abandon of your typical abilities and requires you to create all new scenarios.
We all know that in both of these situations you as the manager is challenged. One, you want to stand your ground and be in charge and tell your team that you are letting this person go from the team. The other is you want to stand up, tell your team to suck it up that this person is an exceptional member and you want to stand your ground and tell your team that this person is staying no matter what, so get used to it.
But both scenarios require you to think out of the box. As a Business Coach and professional I have helped many managers apply new thinking to these cases and all of them have had exceptional results.
For example, in the first scenario you might find that a few of the skills of the person you thought didn't have any not only were highly valued by another member of your team but brought out the exceptional in them. And that when those to people were combined to work together they created a new dynamic in your team that not only raised their value but increased the team morale, value and abilities because of the energy that changed within the group.
In the second scenario nothing you could do would make the employee that came with exceptional skills fit into the group dynamics and nothing that happened with this terrific find helped the group to perform better and it actually can do more harm. Instead of the group dynamic raising it actually destroyed the group team and morale and the group foundered and in some cases the group may actually collapse.
Great managers realize that the individual abilities are not the only abilities that create a great team. Often times average or slightly above average abilities when combined with others abilities create exceptional team work and raise the team to never before achieved levels of success.
Now, if you are going to be a great manager, isn't it time you looked at your group slightly differently and helped them to become an exceptional team that will reflect you as an exceptional manager?
Managers are much the same. And when you introduce yourself to your team you are going find multiple personalities and attitudes that you might not agree with or even like. And in order to make your team into a winning team you need to put aside personal feelings, put aside your likes and dislikes and evaluate your team from the perspective of a professional and find their strengths and their weaknesses. Look for a combination of team members that will make one better and make one great.
I know what you are thinking, but some of my people are not good or some of my people are lazy or some of my people I just don't like. I heard one recently, this person doesn't represent my group with the professionalism I want.
And here's what I will tell you, that doesn't matter. I will say that again, that doesn't matter. Each individual of your group usually has something to offer. Something. Not a lot sometimes. Not everything that's certain. But typically each member of your group got there for a reason. You may not recognize that reason and it is for that very reason that you need to involve the rest of your team.
GREAT Managers always invite their team to participate: if there is someone you cannot stand; someone you cannot understand; someone that seems to be everything you do not want on your team. That is when you need to involve your team. Invite your team to talk to you about what they see in their team members: Without bias. Without your input. Without your faces or your thoughts prior to their meeting with you or especially when they are meeting with you.
Here are the two scenarios: One is an employee that you cannot see is of value to your team. In your opinion this person should be traded to another team or simply set off as a free agent. Let them go. Fire them. And in your opinion this is the only thing that should happen. But what happens if you involve your team. What happens if other members of your team share with you the value that this person brings to your team. What if they really want this person and their skills on the team and tell you their value as they see it? Will you look for the greater good? Will you be able to change your opinion? Or will you keep on your path because it's your path?
The second scenario is the opposite. You see the great abilities of one of your team. You understand this could be one of your superstars. And yet your team comes to you and says this member does not fit into the team.They tell you how this person creates conflict, doesn't bring team values, doesn't represent the atmosphere that they value What do you do then? There are many opportunities to delve into how you might make this person fit in. But what it takes is complete abandon of your typical abilities and requires you to create all new scenarios.
We all know that in both of these situations you as the manager is challenged. One, you want to stand your ground and be in charge and tell your team that you are letting this person go from the team. The other is you want to stand up, tell your team to suck it up that this person is an exceptional member and you want to stand your ground and tell your team that this person is staying no matter what, so get used to it.
But both scenarios require you to think out of the box. As a Business Coach and professional I have helped many managers apply new thinking to these cases and all of them have had exceptional results.
For example, in the first scenario you might find that a few of the skills of the person you thought didn't have any not only were highly valued by another member of your team but brought out the exceptional in them. And that when those to people were combined to work together they created a new dynamic in your team that not only raised their value but increased the team morale, value and abilities because of the energy that changed within the group.
In the second scenario nothing you could do would make the employee that came with exceptional skills fit into the group dynamics and nothing that happened with this terrific find helped the group to perform better and it actually can do more harm. Instead of the group dynamic raising it actually destroyed the group team and morale and the group foundered and in some cases the group may actually collapse.
Great managers realize that the individual abilities are not the only abilities that create a great team. Often times average or slightly above average abilities when combined with others abilities create exceptional team work and raise the team to never before achieved levels of success.
Now, if you are going to be a great manager, isn't it time you looked at your group slightly differently and helped them to become an exceptional team that will reflect you as an exceptional manager?
Monday, January 21, 2013
Without you your company would be out of control
I had an amazing experience a while back. I was driving next to a car that had virtually no shock absorbers. How did I know that? Because at ever little bump in the road the car would bounce happily up and down. The kids riding in the car were having a blast and probably contributing to the height of that bounce and they were just laughing and bouncing and bouncing and laughing.
Then a strange thing happened.. we came to a curve in the road and it went under a railroad overpass. Well you know those areas where the road dips quite suddenly? This car turned into the curve and hit that dip at the same time and suddenly the bouncing was completely out of control and for a few heart pounding moments I really thought they were going to lose control and crash into the concrete overpass.
Then they were through it but the driver was hammering his brakes... and pulled off the road and come to a complete stop... as I passed you could see the terror in their eyes because they realized how close they really did come to having a huge accident.
Well, I equate that event to you as a manager. Many managers allow their company to merely bounce along and when it hits a bumpy stretch the company and its employees are in serious trouble.
You see, a GREAT manager is like a good shock absorber. You have this massive weight of the car, in this case your company sitting above you and then you, the shock absorber, and then the wildly erratic happening of the springs and tires underneath it. It is your job to allow enough bounce to make the ride smooth but not enough bounce to make it lose control and crash.
You are that shock absorber. It is your job to balance the weight of the organization above you, maintain control, and accept responsibility for any actions happening at your level or below. It is also your job to absorb all of the shock coming from the springs and road, your people that you watch over and take care of. It is your responsibility to keep them from getting to bouncy wild, to make sure any potholes are absorbed and minimized, that any unforeseen thing that happens can be taken care of by you with little or no attention form the company above you.
A great manager listens to the hums, anticipates the bumps and keeps everything under control so that the organization runs smoothly and in the right direction.
You are the person that helps both of those things come together to make a wonderful working organization stay in control and keep everything moving in the direction it should.
So the next time you wonder… what makes a great manager? Just say…I’m here to absorb all the bumps. Until next time~ Many blessings and success in your managing! ~Steve Sapato
Then a strange thing happened.. we came to a curve in the road and it went under a railroad overpass. Well you know those areas where the road dips quite suddenly? This car turned into the curve and hit that dip at the same time and suddenly the bouncing was completely out of control and for a few heart pounding moments I really thought they were going to lose control and crash into the concrete overpass.
Then they were through it but the driver was hammering his brakes... and pulled off the road and come to a complete stop... as I passed you could see the terror in their eyes because they realized how close they really did come to having a huge accident.
Well, I equate that event to you as a manager. Many managers allow their company to merely bounce along and when it hits a bumpy stretch the company and its employees are in serious trouble.
You see, a GREAT manager is like a good shock absorber. You have this massive weight of the car, in this case your company sitting above you and then you, the shock absorber, and then the wildly erratic happening of the springs and tires underneath it. It is your job to allow enough bounce to make the ride smooth but not enough bounce to make it lose control and crash.
You are that shock absorber. It is your job to balance the weight of the organization above you, maintain control, and accept responsibility for any actions happening at your level or below. It is also your job to absorb all of the shock coming from the springs and road, your people that you watch over and take care of. It is your responsibility to keep them from getting to bouncy wild, to make sure any potholes are absorbed and minimized, that any unforeseen thing that happens can be taken care of by you with little or no attention form the company above you.
A great manager listens to the hums, anticipates the bumps and keeps everything under control so that the organization runs smoothly and in the right direction.
You are the person that helps both of those things come together to make a wonderful working organization stay in control and keep everything moving in the direction it should.
So the next time you wonder… what makes a great manager? Just say…I’m here to absorb all the bumps. Until next time~ Many blessings and success in your managing! ~Steve Sapato
Monday, January 7, 2013
Expectations?
I recently read a post that read 'the less you expect of me the harder i'll work to prove you wrong. The more you expect of me the harder I will work to exceed those expectations.'
While on some levels that could be possible, for instance, the less you expect the harder I will work to prove you wrong, typically comes from the realm of underachievers... the few that you run across who will react positively to this are people who need to prove themselves and have almost always proven that they have not excelled in the past and need to keep proving themselves because of reputation or earlier experience.
The second part of this is, the more you expect of me the harder I will work to exceed those expectations, also comes at the expense of too many people. By this I mean that high expectations can backfire. Along with high expectations there also must be high rewards, thorough explanations and understanding of what is wanted, needed, expected and why. Without those necessary understandings, most people feel that your high expectations are unnecessarily pushy. They will feel exploited, unappreciated and over worked. They will rebel, stop working or worse, quit and move on.
These expectations may be used to take rather unusual individuals and produce a motivated and exceptional employee but when dealing with the general population it should be noted that for most people this 'expectation' kills moral, depletes motivation and drives down production.
A great manager will treat each of their people as individuals. They will find out what their hopes and dreams are, find out what motivates them and do their utmost to find ways to keep their people happy within the realms of their employment.
I know of a company right now that when they hire their employees share with them how much they expect of them, how heard it will be and why they do it this way. They also explain one incentive that usually excites the type of employee they are looking for: after five years with the company they will receive an all expense paid trip to anywhere in the world for a month.
You see, learning what your employees want and better yet, hiring with the right incentives will help your company become or remain at the top of their food chain.
Learn more about the many different reasons people excel and what motivates your people as well as how to become a GREAT MANAGER by writing to me or subscribing to my blog at blogger.com/stevesapato
While on some levels that could be possible, for instance, the less you expect the harder I will work to prove you wrong, typically comes from the realm of underachievers... the few that you run across who will react positively to this are people who need to prove themselves and have almost always proven that they have not excelled in the past and need to keep proving themselves because of reputation or earlier experience.
The second part of this is, the more you expect of me the harder I will work to exceed those expectations, also comes at the expense of too many people. By this I mean that high expectations can backfire. Along with high expectations there also must be high rewards, thorough explanations and understanding of what is wanted, needed, expected and why. Without those necessary understandings, most people feel that your high expectations are unnecessarily pushy. They will feel exploited, unappreciated and over worked. They will rebel, stop working or worse, quit and move on.
These expectations may be used to take rather unusual individuals and produce a motivated and exceptional employee but when dealing with the general population it should be noted that for most people this 'expectation' kills moral, depletes motivation and drives down production.
A great manager will treat each of their people as individuals. They will find out what their hopes and dreams are, find out what motivates them and do their utmost to find ways to keep their people happy within the realms of their employment.
I know of a company right now that when they hire their employees share with them how much they expect of them, how heard it will be and why they do it this way. They also explain one incentive that usually excites the type of employee they are looking for: after five years with the company they will receive an all expense paid trip to anywhere in the world for a month.
You see, learning what your employees want and better yet, hiring with the right incentives will help your company become or remain at the top of their food chain.
Learn more about the many different reasons people excel and what motivates your people as well as how to become a GREAT MANAGER by writing to me or subscribing to my blog at blogger.com/stevesapato
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Great Manager are... 1
Whenever I am invited to train an organizations management team I first ask... what do you want them to learn? And most of the people who do the calling have no clue. If your organization needs help and you are looking to train your managers there are many methods and many reasons for training them. Let's start with why are you calling someone? Is your management team struggling with certain issues? Several of them lately running into belligerent team members? Are there a lot of managers not hitting their goals? Are you finding productivity falling? Is company morale low? Is your company suddenly experiencing increased overtime? Are your managers grumbling more? Is your staff overworked and suffering from stress?
I can go on and on but you understand that a management trainer doesn't just come and talk for three hours and presto! all things are fixed.
A good management trainer needs to know exactly what you are experiencing and maybe some reasons why before he can put together a method or event suggestions for how the problem might be addressed.
Notice I did not say fixed. One three hour seminar on management will not fix most problems. What is can do is take the managers that truly want to improve and give them tools and methodologies to really improve. Again notice I said the managers that WANT to improve. All the rest of your managers, which is probably a vast majority of them, will not think they can improve, have no motivation to improve and probably have the same laissez-faire attitude as the team they are leading. And still others come with their ego in high gear thinking they are God's gift to any organization and they are a major part of your management problems to begin with.
I always have told my organizations that they need to have one-on-one's with each manager before I get there in order to set the ground rules, establish parameters for who needs to improve and why and lay a foundation for what they need to bring away from the training they are going to receive.
Then that organization needs to have a session with me to tell me about personalities, who is struggling with what because those personalities will be shouting at me emotionally throughout the training and it will make a huge difference if I know situations, problem people and attitudes so that I can approach each person on a more personal level, not invade their space while at the same time creating in them a realization that some of the techniques I will impart might actually help them and make them better at their jobs.
I want to know which managers have asked for help or training, which ones are reading positive books or attending seminars and I want to know which ones have already received previous management training from an outside source.
All of these things are initial organizational development projects so that when their people come to my actual training we can actually make a difference in their abilities and help them improve in their jobs and assist the organization in the direction they need.
Remember, the training is only as effective as the people you have learning it.
I am Steve Sapato, corporate training and speaker wishing you the very best in your training and I will see you at the top.
I can go on and on but you understand that a management trainer doesn't just come and talk for three hours and presto! all things are fixed.
A good management trainer needs to know exactly what you are experiencing and maybe some reasons why before he can put together a method or event suggestions for how the problem might be addressed.
Notice I did not say fixed. One three hour seminar on management will not fix most problems. What is can do is take the managers that truly want to improve and give them tools and methodologies to really improve. Again notice I said the managers that WANT to improve. All the rest of your managers, which is probably a vast majority of them, will not think they can improve, have no motivation to improve and probably have the same laissez-faire attitude as the team they are leading. And still others come with their ego in high gear thinking they are God's gift to any organization and they are a major part of your management problems to begin with.
I always have told my organizations that they need to have one-on-one's with each manager before I get there in order to set the ground rules, establish parameters for who needs to improve and why and lay a foundation for what they need to bring away from the training they are going to receive.
Then that organization needs to have a session with me to tell me about personalities, who is struggling with what because those personalities will be shouting at me emotionally throughout the training and it will make a huge difference if I know situations, problem people and attitudes so that I can approach each person on a more personal level, not invade their space while at the same time creating in them a realization that some of the techniques I will impart might actually help them and make them better at their jobs.
I want to know which managers have asked for help or training, which ones are reading positive books or attending seminars and I want to know which ones have already received previous management training from an outside source.
All of these things are initial organizational development projects so that when their people come to my actual training we can actually make a difference in their abilities and help them improve in their jobs and assist the organization in the direction they need.
Remember, the training is only as effective as the people you have learning it.
I am Steve Sapato, corporate training and speaker wishing you the very best in your training and I will see you at the top.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Becoming a Great Manager
Most of us would like to think that we are great managers. Most of us believe it to our core. But have you checked? Do you actually do the 'litmus' test and find out what people think of you?
Invite typed input, in a secret locked box that your team can put comments into. After one month, take them out, read them, do not get upset, angry or defensive. People will say some nasty things.. but then, look at them objectively. Figure out what is right and what is wrong. Remember that you can't make everyone happy or unhappy... don't try to figure out who they are from but rather evaluate your own methods, strengths and shortcomings. Want to be the manager you think you are? Prove it... prove it to yourself and to your team. A great manager always wants to get better and never holds grudges or looks for people to blame. Are you as good as you think you are? Looking forward to hearing from you... Steve Sapato
Invite typed input, in a secret locked box that your team can put comments into. After one month, take them out, read them, do not get upset, angry or defensive. People will say some nasty things.. but then, look at them objectively. Figure out what is right and what is wrong. Remember that you can't make everyone happy or unhappy... don't try to figure out who they are from but rather evaluate your own methods, strengths and shortcomings. Want to be the manager you think you are? Prove it... prove it to yourself and to your team. A great manager always wants to get better and never holds grudges or looks for people to blame. Are you as good as you think you are? Looking forward to hearing from you... Steve Sapato
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Recognizing other strengths & limitations
Recognizing the strengths and limitations of others may not make a difference to you but will certainly make a difference to others. I recently recognized a limitation in a class participant. They had failed to pass twice already and I tried to explain tothe leader that this person was limited in their learning.. ESL issues, and when we gave them an oral exam vs written they passed with flying colors. Learn, grow and understand.... it's seldom about you.
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