Enhancing your leadership with communication

 By Goke Ilesanmi

Leadership is developed not discovered. The truly-born leader will always emerge, but to stay on top, natural leadership characteristics must be developed. It is leadership that allows for innovation. Leadership results in well-run organisations that are known for efficiency and profitability.

Collaborative communication

Great leaders communicate their vision with passion, but they do not pretend to have all the answers. They also encourage and empower their followers to contribute to conversations without their feeling embarrassed or intimidated. What do conversations have to do with leadership success, you may wonder? They have a lot. Gayle Lantz, co-author of Irresistible Leadership and specialist in leadership and career issues, says, "Managers who lack opportunities to listen, really listen, to the issues expressed by team members, can create opportunities through regular conversations. The occasional ‘How’s it going?’ is not enough. A fresh approach is needed to engage the individual."

Regular conversations

Having regular conversations will go a long way in establishing trust and building healthy relationships between a leader and his followers. Informal meetings typically last half an hour or so and they allow leaders to stay on top of important issues, to be more attuned to the needs of individuals and offer necessary support. As a leader, your time is limited, so make the most of it. Being clear about the objective of the conversation will help to keep the discussion on track. Remember what may be an important issue to a team member may be less so to you. However, the individual may need your support working through that issue to focus on more important goals.

Creation and articulation of vision

The first of the secrets of becoming a great leader is to create a vision. The best leaders not only assign tasks or monitor performance.　 They plan for the future and motivate others to see the same vision so that they can all thrive to accomplish that vision. Ara Norwood, managing partner at Leadership Development Systems, a firm that specialises in educating today’s leaders and building tomorrow’s, says leaders should articulate their vision with zeal.

"The followers involved in the conversation should be clear that the leader maintains very deep feelings of excitement, commitment, belief – even a sense of urgency and determination about the vision in question," stresses Norwood. The leader who converses with intensity about his or her vision tends to inspire followers who adopt his or her vision as their own and voluntarily sign on to see the vision to reality.

Addition

A leader must hold conversations around the vision often and with regularity. If he or she fails to discuss the vision frequently, followers may get the feeling that he or she has lost sight of the vision, or no longer has the zeal to pursue it. Either option will kill results and damage the leader’s credibility.

Apart from articulating their vision, great leaders also communicate their mission statement.　 They know exactly what the mission is and understand its importance to the people they lead.　 Most importantly, they communicate the mission statement to their followers at meetings, coaching and feedback sessions, etc.　 Their actions are related to accomplishing the goals of the mission statement.

It is noteworthy that a conversation is not a monologue. Therefore, leaders who engage in a leadership conversation do not, by definition, do all of the talking. They must engage their fellow conversationalists. This is not always easy, nor is it always natural for subordinates, who may be afraid to speak their mind.

Empowerment strategies

Research shows that there are several strategies leaders can employ to empower their followers to contribute candidly to the conversation. For illustration, strategies employed by Rodney Browne as Chief Executive Officer(CEO) at Sterling Supplies, a good manufacturer in the medical supplies industry come to mind here. Sterling Supplies had enjoyed enormous growth and profitability for many years but later started to see some of their competitive edge taper off due to a variety of factors, including tougher competition, and the inability of its management team to grow at the same pace as the company.

Efforts

Browne did some things to turn the company around and get people back on track. He assured his company that while he brought much to the table, he did not pretend to have all of the answers and thus, he valued their perspectives. Browne encouraged them to share their candid views, even if those views were not an exact replica of his own.

Wherever possible, he shared stories of others who had contributed to the conversation in the recent past and explained how this effort had benefited the quality of the organisation as a whole. As followers offered their suggestions however tentative, Browne demonstrated a true spirit of inquiry and interest. He had an engaging smile and did not hide it. He simply appeared interested and curious.

Encouragement

Browne encouraged people to continue whenever their thoughts seemed to taper off. He asked earnest and non-threatening clarification questions. He also compli-mented others for the contributions they made to the conversation, and he did it sincerely. Browne also had a habit of summarising any contributions to the conversation others offered by restating the essence of what they said, and then taking those comments to the next level by adding the positive implications of their ideas, and how their ideas would likely play out over time.

For instance, he would say things such as, "So you feel certain that jump-starting our recruiting efforts with a professional recruiter would be the right direction. That sounds like a promising approach. I guess if we added a professional recruiter and a list of specific qualities we are looking for in new recruits, perhaps with some sort of written assessment to the recruiting process, this might result in just the right mix of checks and balances. Good! Thank you for that input."

Lastly, Browne spoke about a new vision of what the company could become. He did this in many, many conversations, formal and informal. The vision he articulated was clear, simple and powerful. People enjoyed coming to work at Sterling Supplies again, and many of them claimed to have a sense of renewal and purpose they had never felt in years.

Parting note

As a leader, you need to communicate your vision and mission with passion and consistency and seek contributions from your followers in a spirit of mutual respect so that you can achieve appreciable results.

http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/business/jobs/27816.html

Accomplishing success by avoiding time abuse

By Goke Ilesanmi

Time, they say, is money. We are working longer hours, sleeping less, yet achieving decreased productivity in the process. This situation has made the issue of how people use or misuse time worthy of attention. People are categorised in many ways. Some like to distinguish between extroverts and introverts. Others prefer to look at how people are willing to take risks. It is only in rare occasions that people are categorised according to their effective use or abuse of time, which is critical to accomplishment of success.

Failure to categorise people this way is surprising given the impact that effective use of time or its abuse has on an organisation’s productivity and profitability. Experts say anyone who has ever managed people who abuse time knows how disruptive time abusers can be to a business’s morale and operations.

Explanation

It is noteworthy that time abuse is very different from the common and well-covered problem of time management. Steven Berglas, a clinical psychologist and author of "Reclaiming the Fire: How Successful People Overcome Burnout" says while the vast majority of people can benefit from practical insights on how to organise their lives better, lessons in time management will have little impact on time abusers. Berglas adds that this is because real time abuse results from psychological conflict that neither a workshop nor a manager’s cajoling can easily cure. In his words, "Indeed, the time abuser’s quarrel is not even with time but rather with a brittle self-esteem and an unconscious fear of being evaluated and found wanting. That’s why you should focus your efforts on what makes a time abuser anxious instead of teaching him how to organise his day."

Classification

Berglas and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator say some people see time as elastic and are quite comfortable leaving their options open. Four types of time-abusers have been identified. These are the "perfectionists" who because of their psychological problem of perfectionism are naturally unable to meet deadlines; the "preemptives" who compulsively beat the clock and finish assignments far earlier than they need to, making themselves unpopular and unavailable in the process; the "people pleasers" who commit to far too much work because they find it impossible to (politely) reject any work given them; and the "procrastinators" who make constant excuses to mask a fear of being found inadequate in their jobs.

The clock

If there is one piece of equipment in the workplace identified as the most troublesome, it is the clock. It is not that it breaks down frequently or requires much maintenance. It is just that a clock causes trouble when we either ignore it or turn it into a god by being overly subservient to it.

Dan Bobinski, president and CEO of Leadership Development, Inc., and co-author of "Living Toad Free: Overcoming Resistance to Motivation" educates that the clock is essential in business and measuring time is fundamental for a great deal of trade and commerce, but misusing the clock is a common workplace ill which is all too commonly tolerated. Bobinski stresses that those who ignore the clock are often procrastinators, perfectionists or workaholics. In his words, "Some procrastinators carry the trait naturally. Other procrastinators may find an assigned duty extremely uncomfortable or they may be unsure of how to perform a task, so they keep putting it off. Or they may have fear of failure. Whatever the cause, their delays can bring other people’s work to a standstill."

Others

As regards perfectionists, they often hold high standards and wish to prevent criticism of their work. They are known to spend inordinate amounts of time double- and even triple-checking each nuance of every project while other aspects of the work start piling up. "Workaholics often overstuff their day with activities, believing that long hours equate to higher production, which increases their value to a company. However, research has shown that at the heart of the issue is either poor time management or not enough delegating, which actually creates the opposite effect: Lower levels of productivity," submits Bobinski.

According to Berglas, "Managing these types of people can be challenging, because time abusers respond differently from most people to criticism and approval."

Contrary views

Contrary to Berglas’ submission that solutions to time abusers’ situation are psychological rather than focusing on time management strategies, Bobinski says, "Procrastinators, perfectionists and workaholics can all benefit from learning to plan and prioritise better. It seems counter-intuitive, but taking time to plan and prioritise actually saves time during the workday. Disciplining oneself to set boundaries and budget time for essential, bottom-line activities pays huge dividends. This can include setting personal standards for handling interruptions, restructuring time-consuming meetings and delegating that which can be done by others."

Worshipping the clock

On the other side of the spectrum are people overly governed by the clock. They create a different set of problems by trying to squeeze the dynamics of work into tightly-controlled time segments. Because daily demands are often unpredictable, such strict time rules often appear unreasonable to a majority of people.

Research shows that there is a company that has a strict policy that everyone takes lunch between noon and one o’clock. Because this company offers services to the public, the only exception to this rule is a skeleton crew working during the lunch hour. The problem with this policy is that it lacks common sense. If an employee not assigned to work during lunch time assists a client past 12:00 noon, he or she loses that time from his or her lunch hour and still needs to be back at his or her desk at one o’clock. If you have attended to a client with twenty minutes of your lunch time and spend extra two minutes when you go for lunch, you will be sanctioned. The negative effect of this rigid observance of time is lack of commitment and productivity by employees. When people are so governed by the clock that productivity suffers, they need to take inventory of whether or not their behaviour is truly effective. Obviously, such people have taken their eyes off the big picture of organisational success through overall effectiveness. Their choice, however well-intended, is damaging to more than just themselves.

Last words

Success is defined in several ways. But time abusers often erroneously claim success by how much or how little time they devote to their work. You can stop time abuse by planning your day wisely while still maintaining a flexible, productivity-focused mindset. Do not waste time, but do not let the clock run your life, either. Effective clock use is common sense. Therefore, be responsible and reasonable. But also be real. Through this approach, you will achieve productivity and fulfilment, that is, success, with ease.

http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/business/jobs/28585.html

Job search fundamentals (III)

By Olu Oyeniran

Looking for a job is not fun.
Not at all. If can be lonely, frustrating and discouraging. And it can be tough on your ego. But then, it is something nearly everybody past the age of consent will have to go through; at least once in a life time. And like most things there is a right way of going about finding a good job …….. well not exactly – if what you are expecting is a foolproof mathematical formula!

The more accurate thing to say is that there is a way of looking for work that definitely increases your chances of finding a good job, and there is also a way that not only reduces these chances, but also makes your job search miserable and discouraging to the bargain. Find errors. Debug the system. Let’s continue doing this as we have been doing in the last two weeks.

Master job aptitude tests

A significant number of employers conduct job aptitude tests as part of their selection process. There are many reasons for this. It may be used as a more objective (and less prone to undue influence and interferences) means of reducing applicants to manageable proportion. You will understand why if you realise that there may be thousands of application received for just a few positions. It may be used to test the quality of applicants, especially in those days of falling education standard, with differing quality from institution to institution. The main reason, however, is to test the abilities of the applicants in the basic skills required to do the job effectively – comprehension, verbal and quantitative skills, quantitative ability, logical reasoning, speed and accuracy, specific job skills, etc. Broadly speaking, formal test falls into three categories – aptitude, attainment and personality tests.

Except you master these tests and perform well in them, your dream of getting a top flight job might suffer some set back at this stage.

Master the art of writing application letter

Dear Sir / Madam, I humbly apply for the post of ………………. as you advertised in the Guardian of July seventeen, two thousand and four.

Enclosed is my CV for your perusal.

Yours faithfully,

Above is an application letter from a job candidate. It is not worth the paper on which it was written in respect of aiding the job search.

The application letter (also referred to as Cover Letter ) is supposed to customise your Resume/CV for a particular job. That is, it should stress the most relevant positive aspects of your CV in respect of the job at hand. It should state how your experience and qualification meet the requirements of the job.

Prepare well for job interview

For any interview, thorough preparation is the cornerstone for making positive impressions at job interviews. There are some things you can do a day or so before the interview, but most preparations start weeks before the day of the interview. Many people make the mistake of waiting until the last minute to prepare, hoping to coast to success. It does not work that way most of the time. As usual, it is only hard work that pays. Let me point out that you need to have job/career target for you to do this effectively.

For a start, you need to be unformed about your potential employer; you need to have the global picture of the main issues in industry, key players, levels of remuneration, technology, success factors, etc. You also need to be informed about the company itself: turnover, products and markets, ownership structure, organisation structure, financial strength, culture and politics etc. If possible, also get information about the person you will be reporting to actually. Having information about the employer sends a message at the interview that you are serious about working for this company and boosts your confidence.

Part of the planning is for you to anticipate interview questions, and then formulate your answers to clime. Like it was mentioned in one of our past presentations the key questions are (a) why do you want to work for this company (b) what can you do for us? (c) What kind of a person are you? (d) What distinguishes you from the other 14 with similar qualifications? (e) Can we afford you? Formulate your strategies to shine.

And the small davids that can lead to the fall of goliaths: do you know the venue of the interview not to get lost, and get to the place late? Are you properly dressed? Do you have manners? So, you have all the things – written materials, credentials, resume, recommendation/reference, photocopies, etc that you may need? Do you know what is required of you at this particular interview?

Learn to conduct and present yourself

"Qualification is important" said one respondent in a survey, "but it is the whole person that I am interested in. How much does that person come across? How enthusiastic is this person. How positive is this individual? That is so important".

Findings indicated that within the first few minutes of any personal meeting with somebody who has the power to hire you or screen you out, the decision has pretty much been made. First impressions affect the hiring decision, and this is why the way you look is so important to your job strategy.

And now to your personality traits. For example, are you stable? Don’t answer yes or no. Employer has their way of discovering people with extreme behaviour of any type: inability to stay focused on an issue, disorganisation beyond the normal range. Other traits assessed include personal drive for success and achievement, honesty and integrity, people and interpersonal skills, dependability, loyalty, sense of responsibility etc.

You see, looking for a job is a serious matter. It is complex and you must master the complexity for you to succeed. Thankfully, it can be done, if you are ready to give it all it takes.

Let us pause on this topic this week. We will continue next Monday, God willing. Cheers.

http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/business/jobs/28587.html 

C-Set Consulting Nigerian Graduates / HND for an Engineering Job

C-Set Consulting recruits Condition Monitoring Engineer for Building Material Company
Our client is a large building material producing organization with state-of the-art plant located in the south-south part of Nigeria, it is currently expanding its production capacity In order to remarkably increase its market share. To achieve its goal and sustain it, it is seeking to complement its pool of talents by employing a highly focused and motivated CONDITION MONITORING ENGINEER:
Job Title: Condition Monitoring Engineer (Ref.CME)
JOB PURPOSE/SPECIFICATION:
• To assist the Senior Mechanical Engineer in obtaining vibration reading from all machines kept under condition monitoring.
• To analyze data obtained and generate report on machines In order to give end users guide on corrective maintenance.
• To meet scheduled requirement for condition monitoring of plant machinery.
• To ensure safety of equipment and take note of hazards in the work place.
• To regularly carry out laser alignment, situ balancing, scheduled thermo graphic survey and electric motor current survey on essential equipment
• To undertake scheduled oil analysis and generate report on equipment
• To undertake wear measurements on equipment in order to alert user department for timely replacement of worn out parts.
EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
• B.Sc/HND in Mechanical Engineering.
• Must be computer literate and conversant with AutoCAD programs.
• Must possess planning, scheduling and maintenance culture skills.
• Must have knowledge and experience in vibration monitoring services, laser alignment and balancing of machines.
• Must be proficient in various units of measurements in engineering and conversant with devices such as venier calliper etc.
• At least five years post graduation experience in similar position in plant maintenance industry.
RENUMERATION:
Our client pays above average market rate and is willing to pay enough to attract best candidate for the job.
METHOD OF APPLICATION:
send your CV in micro soft word format to csetconsultsearch@gmail.com by 3rd March, 2011, stating post applied for, qualifications, Institutions attended with dates, years of experience, current Job & organization, current total cash benefit per annum, email address and GSM numbers.
Only Suitable candidates will be contacted and interviewed.


Read more: http://ngcareers.com/2011/02/condition-monitoring-engineer-wanted-at-a-building-material-company/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ngcareer+%28Jobs+in+Nigeria+-+Jobs+Vacancies+in+Nigeria%29&utm_content=Yahoo%21+Mail#ixzz1EfnesP31