Why being able to coach employees makes you a better manager

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The findings of the CIPD Learning and Development Survey from 2015 show that three quarters of organisations currently offer a degree of coaching or mentoring to their employees. 13% were planning to introduce this in 2016, with most expecting that their use of coaching will increase by 2017.

But why?

Changing any aspect of your life, be it professionally or privately, does not only require a huge amount of energy and resolution but often a good advisor too – someone who is able to help you to judge things objectively, who has experience with comparable situations and problems, and is nevertheless able to suggest individual solutions.

In our private lives, we would naturally turn to a trusted friend or a close member of our family to help us work through these issues and arrive at a solution.

It is therefore not surprising to learn that more and more people who find themselves professionally stuck in a rut or at a crossroads turn to a coach. As a manager, you should expect to be – or become – the first port of contact for any developmental issues or when guidance is needed. …

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Influencing people at work

The power of persuasion: building influence in the workplace

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Have you ever wondered how some people seem to be able to persuade others to do anything? It can be awe inspiring to see this particular skill at work, but there are simple techniques that you can apply that will help you to build influence quite easily. Certainly some seem to have innate ability in this area, but there are plenty of influencers out there who have had to work on their powers of persuasion.

Here are some quick tips on how to build influence in your workplace: …

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Making teams work like legendary Basketball Coach Pat Summitt

By / Leadership, People Management, Personality Psychology, Predictive Index, Talent Management / 2 Comments

Sadly, Pat Summitt passed away in June 2016 after a courageous battle with early-onset Alzheimer’s. After 38 years as a successful basketball coach, she leaves behind a legacy of creating winning teams.

Under her leadership, the Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team never had a losing season. Pat Summitt accrued over 1098 career wins, the most in the history of National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball. Sporting News placed her at number 11 on a list of the 50 Greatest Coaches of All Time in all sports. Pat was the only woman on the list.

Pat Summitt elicited a consistently high performance from her team under pressure, the kind that all leaders – in sports or business – crave. She created success in a sport where teamwork is paramount, and her team had the greatest respect for her.

So, what lessons in leadership and team building can managers take from this winning coach? …

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3 Ways to Keep your Workforce Motivated in Times of Change and Uncertainty

By / Human Capital, Leadership, People Management, Personality Psychology, Talent Management / Leave a Comment

All business have to be flexible to survive the constant flux going on in and around them. We all know that change and uncertainty are inevitable on some level, but what is the best way to handle them?

Some people enjoy a constantly evolving work environment, however not all employees – or leaders – share the same level of enthusiasm.

For some employees uncertainty is their worst nightmare: Routine goes out of the window, jobs can look insecure, familiar faces might be replaced, they might have to work remotely and as a result of countless similar factors, some employees are left feeling lost at sea without a captain.

So, as a business owner, leader or manager, what do you need to do to successfully steer your crew through turbulent times? …

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Virtual Teams Part 2: A Workable Approach to Managing Remote Staff

By / Human Capital, Leadership, People Management, Talent Management, Uncategorized / Leave a Comment

Do you have a strategy for managing virtual teams?

The trends, motivations and statistics behind the rise in remote working in our previous blog highlighted why thinking about remote working is an important business consideration. In addition, we find ourselves in the midst of a global pandemic.

As a manager, you will therefore be faced with the challenges that come with managing telecommuting workers and teams. Finding a starting point to a workable management strategy in this context can be daunting.

Working from home – even some of the time – is not naturally suited to everyone. It requires discipline and organisation. Employees working remotely have to be happy in their own company, able to use their own initiative, prioritise and be fully aware of their abilities and limitations. Having the right personality is a prerogative to remaining motivated and being successful in those circumstances.

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Do You Have a Strategy for Managing Virtual Teams? Part 1

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Part 1: Why is thinking about remote working important?

This first section of this two-part blog highlights reasons why it is useful for your business to think about your approach to remote working now.  Next week’s blog will ponder some considerations that might serve as a starting point for your management strategy for remote working.

Are you a small company and feel that the scenario of employees working remotely doesn’t really apply? Do discussions on finding suitable technology or strategies for this context never quite get to the top of your agenda? Do you have a strategy in place, but it is not quite working? The following statistics, trends and motivations behind remote working might help to focus your mind…

An analysis of the survey issued by the Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) reveals that the number of people working from home increased to more than four million employees. This equates to 13.7% of the entire workforce of the UK. Put more simply, the number of people working from home has increased to almost one in seven over the past decade. The survey also estimates that, given the opportunity, a further 1.8 million people would prefer to work from home.

These figures and trends are increasing steadily. They signify huge changes in the composition and attitudes of any workforce and are bound to ask probing questions of traditional management strategies.

Your workforce is your biggest asset and also likely to be your biggest expense. So, is your business ready? Do you have a strategy for managing remote teams?

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The Link Between Employee Wellbeing, Engagement and Absence

By / Human Capital, People Management, Personality Psychology, Talent Management / Leave a Comment

In 2015, CIPD statistics told us that employee absence had risen to 6.9 days per employee per year on average in the UK, and only 25% of organisations achieved their absence target for 2014.

Unsurprisingly, the working world is now desperately trying to find out how to address this because of the huge impact that absenteeism has on productivity.

The Labour Force Survey results show that approximately 10 million days were lost to stress, anxiety or depression in 2014/2015, and statistics show that these figures are worsening year on year. Stress at work, leading to long-term absence, has more than doubled since the 1990s, yet only a third of employees receive any support to manage workplace stress.

This is bad news for business. Many organisations are now turning to wellbeing programs in an attempt to combat the ever worsening stress levels, but it has been suggested that for some companies, this is simply a move to tick a box as opposed to a reaction to genuine concern or understanding. The CIPD suggests that the majority of employers are more reactive than proactive in their approach to wellbeing (61 per cent), responding to persistent problems rather than predicting what health and wellbeing factors might impact the workforce in future.

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Gender or Talent Gap? The Example of the Working Mum

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“Mums are formidable in the workplace, we need to hire more.”

As a working Mum, the title of Melissa Jun Rowley’s blog published in the Women in Leadership section of the Guardian caught my eye.

Even a cursory glance at the media confirms that gender related issues in the workplace continue to figure prominently and are highly charged. And with good cause, as these recent examples show:

The recent study on the gender pay gap in the UK by Robert Half, which found that women earn on average £300,000 less than men over their working life, caused a huge stir. The reasons given for this disparity are varied. They include the relative shortage of female professionals who progress into those senior roles that are linked with higher salaries.

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In Memory of Mike Wood

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734561_553052868057961_1683825995_nIt is with great sadness that we share the news that Mike Wood, the Vice-President of Predictive Advantage, has passed away on Wednesday, 30 March 2016, after a long battle with cancer.

  Mike joined the business in 2004 when the office in Harrogate opened and was key in establishing this. He was instrumental in building the administrative team and in driving the growth of the business throughout Europe. Mike fought his illness with an amazing spirit, continuing to be involved in the business and remaining strong and positive throughout his treatment. He was a warm, caring and supportive leader and will be truly missed by everybody. The office will be closed on Friday 8th April 2016 so the team can attend Mike

Positive and Negative: The Power of Mindset in the Workplace

By / Human Capital, Leadership, People Management, Personality Psychology, Talent Management, Uncategorized / Leave a Comment

Have you ever considered the incredible effects of mind-sets on the ways in which our brains operate? Recent research is quite fascinating; in short, we can apparently change the way our brains work on a physical level, simply by altering the things that we think and talk about! On one level, this is amazing, because simply by practising gratitude, we can rewire our brains for positivity. …

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