This week, 23 new leaders came together to attend a frontline leadership class. They gained a lot of key learnings; the two most shared were:

1. The need for different communication styles; not everyone is like me.
2. The value of listening and how I need to get better at it.

The leaders came to increase their effectiveness in motivating team members and enhance performance. They left with powerful knowledge and skills.

Does your team need to develop robust leadership skills? 2-Way Communication offers 20+ courses you can use to jumpstart their progress. Licensing agreements are available, too. Learn more at www.2waycommunications.net/license-agreements/

I asked a classroom of leaders what it took to keep up with the demands of leadership.

One leader said, “Multi-tasking.” She explained further, “It means that you can efficiently switch back and forth between various tasks without losing your intention or focus; toggling between tasks.”

This is a great definition of multi-tasking. Leaders often handle many different demands of the workplace, including from team members and customers. 

Self-reflection question: How am I doing at toggling between tasks? How can I improve my ability to do this?

1.      Before leaving a task, decide to leave it and notice where you left off. Don’t let it be a reaction, but a decision.

2.      Keep what you are working on easily accessible; either on your desk or open on your computer.

3.      During the brief time you are doing each task, give it your full attention. Whether it is listening to a team member or completing a report, let it be the only thing on your mind.

If your team needs to develop stronger leadership skills, visit http://www.2waycommunications.net/license-agreements/ to discover 20+ leadership development courses you can deliver internally. Licensing agreements are also available.

Are you asking, “What content should I include in my frontline leadership training program?” The following topics were included in the two-day leadership class I taught this week. It was awesome!

Day 1

·       Simulation: Going From Individual Contributor to Supervisor

·       Organizational Values

·       Everything DiSC Workplace®:  My Style, People Reading, and Communication

·       Communication: Listening and Asking Questions

·       Giving Feedback

 Day 2

·       Giving Feedback, continued

·       Creating Accountability in Others

·       Managing Conflict

Understanding DiSC styles and a discussion of organizational values were part of each module. Listening and asking questions were integrated as skills to support each topic. We kept it active with simulations, partner and trio discussions, role plays, application, and self-reflection.

Does your organization need a leadership curriculum? Choose from 20 courses with options for licensing agreements.

•     Accountability
•    Be a THINKing Partner
•    Career Development
•     Communicate with Clarity
•     Conflict Management
•     Delegation
•    Emotional Intelligence
•     Feedback
•     Hiring
•     Personal Leadership & Influence
•     Leading Meetings
•     Mentoring
•     Performance Management
•     Quarterly Conversations
•     Presentation Skills
•     Problem Solving
•     Stress Management
•     Time Management
•     Unconscious Bias
•     Unlocking Innovative Thinking

Learn more at http://www.2waycommunications.net/license-agreements/

#leadershipdevelopment #professionaldevelopment #leadershipcurriculum #leadershipcontent #licensingagreements #EverythingDiSC #organizationalvalues

The quandary with delegation is that it is not required. It is a choice.

You decide.

1. Stay late, stunt your professional growth (and your employees’), miss your family gatherings, be overwhelmed, be a roadblock.

or

2. Go home on time, grow your team, take on more challenging projects, accomplish more as a team, enjoy life.

Delegation is necessary to maximize your productivity and that of your team. It is also necessary to have a life outside of work.

2-Way Communications, LLC has a mobile app for iOS and Android that is an excellent interactive read and gives a new perspective on why and how to delegate. Learn more at http://www.2waycommunications.net/delegation-app/

Learning and Development professionals, you can take it a step farther and introduce Delegation skills to your organization. Teach our half-day Delegation course to your leaders and reinforce the skills with the 2-Way Delegation mobile app.  http://www.2waycommunications.net/course-outlines/delegation/

#delegation #communicationskills #leadershipdevelopment

We often think of performance management as the year-end performance review. It is much more than that. Performance management starts with objective setting, followed by 365 days of dialogue, feedback, and coaching. Then, we have the year-end formal review that summarizes the objectives’ accomplishments.

“It is the leader’s job to assist his/her team members in attaining their goals and to provide the necessary direction and support to ensure that their goals are compatible with the overall objectives of the group or organization.” — Path-Goal motivational theory originated by Robert House

The reality is that if we don’t set objectives at the start of the year, we will have a difficult time assisting, providing direction, and tracking progress during the year and talking about achievements at the end of the year.

Below is a list of areas to set objectives:

·        Performance

·        Development

·        Roles and Responsibilities

·        Projects

·        Leadership skills

·        Team-building skills

·        Technical skills

·        Relationship skills

If you need to align leadership actions around performance management, 2-Way Communications, LLC provides a training course and facilitation that will support that need.  

View the performance management outline at http://www.2waycommunications.net/course-outlines/performance-management/

A spigot is a device that allows liquid to flow out of a container. A stress spigot is a coping strategy that allows you to release stress from your mind and body.

When leaders don’t control their stress, team members are often the recipients of the negative emotions, poor decision making, and critical conversations. This harms morale and team productivity.

Right now, as you are reading this article, take a deep breath and let it out slowly. This is an easy and quick coping strategy.

Here are nine more strategies you can use:

1. Take a 5-minute walk.
2. Think of three things for which you are grateful.
3. Drink a glass of water.
4. Say to yourself, “I can handle this.”
5. Play your favorite music for five minutes. Dance if you feel like it.
6. Invite a friend or coworker for a quick walk around the building.
7. Take the stairs.
8. Help someone who needs it.
9. Invite someone to lunch.

Don’t let stress rule your life. Get your stress under control so it does not control you.

2-Way Communications, LLC specializes in leadership training. There are many stressful situations that a leader handles. Develop leaders so that they skillfully handle tough situations; stress goes down and productivity goes up.

View our leadership curriculum on the left side of this page.

To fully understand this learning innovation you must experience it. It’s called appLearning; it is an entire course in an app. With appLearning you can learn anywhere, anytime, and at your own pace.

To experience the revolutionary way to organizational learning, email think@2waycom.net and ask for a free promo code. The possibilities are endless… You can also go to the App Store and download the first module for free.

It is not a quick, flip the screens, and be done. It is a robust app with content, prACTice exercises, and job aids.

The app, Be a THINKing Partner, can be a standalone or an accompaniment to the classroom version of Coaching: Be a THINKing Partner.

Is appLearning right for your organization?

• Does the learning requirement span most or all of your organization or do you have many employees who need the information?
• Is there value in quick reference tools?
• Are employees located in various locations around the US or world?
• Is there value in just-in-time use of information?
• Do you need an easy way to track usage, progress, or customer information?

If several of the above criteria are true for you, you might benefit from appLearning.

2-Way is a great resource to help you make the transition from classroom or computer-based learning to appLearning.

DOWNLOAD APP NOW TO BUILD YOUR CAREER & LEADERSHIP SKILLS

Last week, I was teaching a topic I understand well. When a student disagreed with a point I made, I instantly proceeded to explain why I was right and he was wrong. Of course, this resulted in a shutdown by him and others in the classroom. My ego was big, and it was negatively triggered when he started his point of view with, “I disagree with…”

Have you ever done that? Have you ever been so convinced of your own thinking that you refused to see another’s point of view?

There is a name for this type of thinking: Lack of intellectual empathy. Intellectual empathy is having a consciousness of the need to imaginatively put oneself in the place of others in order to genuinely understand them. This requires the consciousness of our egocentric tendency to identify truth with our immediate perceptions of long-standing thought or belief.

Michael Jinkins published an article in the Huffington Post about Intellectual Empathy. He tells a story of a professor who demonstrated outstanding intellectual empathy.   You can access the article at link.

Jinkins wrote: “Genuine intellectual empathy requires creativity and commitment — a commitment and a willingness to imagine others’ ideas from within. One has to come alongside another person. One has to be willing to say, ‘I may not share your perspective — in fact, I may disagree with you entirely! — but we share a common humanity and so I want to understand what you think.’”

This concept of intellectual empathy made me very aware of something that I have been struggling with but couldn’t put a name to. Now that I have a name for it, I will be able to do something about it.

If you struggle with a lack of intellectual empathy, here are a few actions you can take to improve:

• Go into each situation mindful of your approach and thinking; if you believe it is lacking intellectual empathy, take note and change your mind-set to one of curiosity.
• Change your goal; it is not to be the expert – but to be the learner. What will you learn from this person/group? How will they look at the information in a way you haven’t?
• Challenge yourself to see every point of view and to look for new ways to see the information you already know.

Diane is the author of the first-of-its-kind public mobile LearningApp to teach a softskills topic.  It is a book disguised as classroom learning with the interaction of social media.  The app teaches leaders the ins and outs of delegation. To preview or purchase the app, click on a link below.

It’s a war out there and you are not alone. You have a team of people on your side who will help you win the battle of mounting workloads and pressing deadlines – if, you ask them.

If you do it alone, you will eventually lose the war. You might win a few battles by working late and long hours, but eventually you will run out of steam and the workload will overwhelm you.

Three signs that you are fighting the battle alone are:

• You don’t go home on time and everyone else does.
• You don’t have enough time to meet with your team members and help them overcome their obstacles.
• You have thought more than once, “Why do I have to do everything around here?”

Your team members are ready and in position to help you fight the war on workload and deadlines – engage them through effective delegation. The 2-Way Delegation app has tips for winning through delegation. Download it, interact with it, and engage your team.