Leadership And Effective
Business Relationships

• The importance of people and relationships in business success
• Using DiSC to interpret human behaviour
• Recognising your natural behavioural style
• Working with your strengths and weaknesses
• Understanding the behavioural styles of others
• Adjusting your style in order to become more effective
• Understanding behavioural changes under stress
• Recognising conflicts of style

The Differences Between
Leadership And Management

• What is leadership and what is management?
• When to lead and when to manage
• The characteristics of exceptional leaders
• Reviewing your management behaviours
• The 13 Fatal Errors that managers make

Principles And Strategies
Of Leadership

• Emotional vs cognitive leadership
• Articulating values and beliefs
• Achieving consistency between values and behaviour
• Inspiring a shared vision
• Selling the benefits of common goals and shared vision
• Enabling others and encouraging collaboration
• Taking initiative – opportunities for change and improvement
• Building credibility
• Sustaining high morale

Situational Leadership

• Varying approaches to leadership
• Leadership traits vs. style
• Blake & Mouton Managerial Grid
• Situational Leadership
• Developmental levels
• Four leadership styles
• Directing, Coaching, Supporting and Delegating
• Leadership – an integrated model
• Analysing your team

Delegation

• Delegation as a development tool
• How to delegate and avoid dumping
• What to delegate – letting go
• When to delegate – creating the time to do it
• The 12 Step Delegation Process
• Selecting the appropriate person to delegate to
• Understanding where the responsibility and authority lies
• Getting ownership and buy in
• Following up and creating accountability
• Selling the benefit to both parties
• Making delegation attractive to the delegate

Managing Individuals
Through Change

• Personal attitudes to change
• Answering frequently asked questions and objections to change
• Understanding individual responses to change
• Recognising innate change capacity and change fatigue
• Building proactive rather than reactive responses to change
• Dealing with resistance to change
• Overcoming denial and negativity
• Reducing obstacles and resolving issues
• Identifying each individuals barrier point to change
• Coaching and supporting others through change

Strategic Change
Management

• Key drivers of success in achieving change
• The Murphy Curve – the importance of planning change
• Applying the “10 Step Change Management” process
• Clearly defining the nature of a change
• Creating urgency – establishing clear, compelling reasons to change
• Tolerating ambiguity and managing the team through uncertainty
• Determining objectives, tasks and time frames
• Securing resources for the change
• Encouraging contribution
• Ensuring two-way communication at all stages
• Embedding and institutionalising the change
• Ending a change and celebrating success

Strategic Planning And
Decision Making

• The benefits and pitfalls of strategic planning
• What is your purpose and objectives?
• Situational analysis – where are we now?
• What are the key strategic issues?
• Barriers to success – the McKinsey 6 S model
• Identifying key stakeholders
• What is the preferred scenario?
• Strategy formulation – how could this be achieved?
• Mission, vision and values
• Developing measured objectives and targets
• Strategy implementation
• Writing action plans
• Tracking and performance measures

Innovation, Creativity
And Lateral Thinking

• The limitations of argument and adversarial thinking
• Values and uses for the 6 Thinking Hats
• De Bono’s 6 Thinking Hats – Black, Yellow, White, Red, Green, Blue
• Applying the power of parallel thinking
• Using the Green Hat to make time for creativity
• Controlling negativity and focussing thinking
• Increasing productivity and efficiency in meetings
• Systematic vs. occasional use of the hats
• Lateral thinking tools – how to increase innovation
• Harvesting ideas

Decision Making and
Problem Solving

• The decision making process
• Effective decisions = quality thinking x acceptance
• Low involvement vs. high involvement decision making
• Step by step problem solving
• Defining the problem and the pain
• Describing the desired state or goal
• Analysing potential causes and indentifying the true root cause
• Identifying possible solutions
• Brainstorming tools and avoiding limited thinking
• Selecting the best solution – weighted criteria
• Developing an action plan – gaining buy-in
• Implementing the solution and evaluating progress

Communication Skills

• Defining and interpreting expectations
• Modes of communication and technology – when to use
• Impression formation – projecting confidence and credibility
• Active listening techniques – demonstrating interest in others
• Strategic questioning techniques – seeking information from staff
• Demonstrating an understanding of your staff and colleagues
• Giving clear information and explanations
• Speaking clearly and fluently
• Overcoming barriers to communication
• The power of conversations
• Using appropriate language
• Reading body language and non-verbal communication
• Communicating in a high tech environment

Influencing Skills

• The difference between influence, persuasion, power & manipulation
• The behaviours and characteristics of effective influencers
• Recognising sources of power – personal and positional
• The law of reciprocation – what you give comes back to you
• The impact of scarcity – people will seize opportunities that are rare
• When to use authority – building knowledge and credibility
• Creating commitment – aligning your requests with their priorities
• Getting people to know you, like you and trust you
• How to use consensus – capitalising on group influence
• Planning your influence strategy
• Targeting your communication to the recipient
• Delivering persuasive and compelling messages

Building Assertiveness

• Defining your influence at work?
• The Interpersonal Influence Inventory (III) – self assessment
• Understanding your influence style
• Directness of communication
• Consideration for others
• The Interpersonal Influence model
• Openly Aggressiveness, Concealed Aggressiveness, Passiveness and Assertiveness
• Characteristics of assertive communicators
• Building assertiveness: the ASERT process
  • Analysing the Situation – dealing with emotions and perceptions
  • Stating Your Position – script writing for future situations
  • Evaluating Nonverbal Behaviours – yours and theirs
  • Receiving Feedback – identifying your ‘triggers’
  • Testing For Understanding

Presentation Skills

(Full Day, Maximum of 6 Participants)

• The first impression – get it right!
• The importance of planning

• • • • • Who is your audience?
        • What do they know?
        • What do they expect?
        • What are you trying to achieve?
        • How long do you have?
        • How many will there be?

• How much content?
• Understanding presentation styles, mine and my audiences!
• Using PowerPoint and other resources
• Body language, eye contact, personal presentation and image
• Getting your audience to listen
• Selling your message – the use of reinforces
• How to open/how to close
• Overcoming fear and nerves
• The 10 major mistakes presenters make

Business Writing

• Preparing and planning your documents
• Using appropriate language
• Choosing the appropriate style and tone
• Structure and layout
• Achieving clarity and brevity:
  • Avoiding ambiguous grammar, punctuation and word choice.
  • Writing shorter sentences.
• Memos, letters, reports and emails – what are the differences?
• Pitfalls to avoid
• A checklist for editing your work
• Guidelines for clear presentation of the report, proposal, or letter

Effective Networking

• What is networking? – dispelling the myths
• Understanding the benefits
• Changing your way of thinking
• When and where to network?
• Preparing and planning to get the best from your networking
• Overcoming your fears and reluctance
• Who to approach and what to say
• Explaining what you do in a clear and interesting way
• How to make important and exciting small talk
• Discovering people’s needs and wants
• How to deal with rude people

Negotiation Skills

• What goes wrong and why?
• The ten traits of successful negotiators
• Assessing strengths and weaknesses of sellers and buyers
• How to set winning goals
• Defining critical points
• Assessing what others really want without losing ground
• The importance of the win/win
• How to come up with creative solutions to problems
• How to satisfy different stakeholders
• Distinguishing real issues from entrenched positions
• The rules regarding concessions
• The 5 stages of a negotiation
• Tactics – which to use, which to avoid
• Overcoming intimidation and emotional obstacles
• When and how to take ‘time out’ to mutual advantage

Interviewing And Attracting
High Performers

• The challenges of recruitment in the current market
• Different types of interviews
• The 5-point interview plan to fill ANY position faster
• Preparing and planning for the interview
• Using Behavioural Interviewing questions
• Strategies to establishing rapport
• Describing your culture to ensure a fit for your organisation
• Selling your organisation to the candidate
• Nonverbal messages: finding out what they aren’t telling you
• Understanding laws relating to recruitment & selection
• Evaluating and selecting the final candidate

Communicating Performance
Expectations

• Why don’t people do what they are supposed to?
• Differentiating the causes of nonperformance from the symptoms
• When to have a performance conversation
• The power of one-on-ones
• Writing S.M.A.R.T. performance objectives
• Communicating with high and low performers
• What the performance meeting should cover
• Preparing for the meeting
• Running the meeting
• Focusing on performance not personality
• Role Play

Managing Ongoing Performance

• Where does responsibility for performance lie?
• What are we managing?
• Signs that a performance problem is developing
• What to do if you think you may have a performance problem
• When should you correct declining performance?
• Giving feedback – your strengths and weaknesses
• Overcoming resistance to feedback
• Guidelines for giving behavioural feedback
• Creating a feedback culture
• Causes of poor performance
• Setting the performance objectives
• Following up reinforcing the behaviour and skills

Effective Performance
– How to Give and Receive Feedback

• When and when not to give feedback
• What happens if feedback is not given
• Giving feedback – your strengths and weaknesses
• Problems providing feedback
• Understanding Frames of Reference
• Overcoming resistance to feedback
• Guidelines for giving behavioural feedback
• Perceiving feedback as a gift!
• The Power of Questions
• The responsibilities of the receiver
• Creating a feedback culture
• Starting the conversation – What to actually say
• Role Play

Running Effective Performance Appraisals

• Why conduct performance appraisals?
• Selling the vision and dealing with expectations
• What goes wrong – common appraisal errors
• Planning effective feedback
• Identifying positive performance – put the ‘praise’ back in ‘appraise’
• Differentiating the causes of non-performance from the symptoms
• Preparing for the meeting – the interview framework
• Keeping the appraisal focussed and on track
• Setting goal areas and agreeing upon the required performance
• Writing key performance indicators
• Building action plans and milestones
• Evaluating the results achieved
• Providing the necessary follow-up action to support performance appraisal meetings

Motivating Yourself
And Your Team

• The benefits of motivated staff
• External vs. internal motivators
• What people want
• 10 ways to reward
• Maslow and the implications of motivational theory
• The misconceptions regarding money!
• The importance of being valued
• Dealing with demotivated employees
• Personal motivation – where are you going?
• Where are you now?
• Your limiting beliefs
• Setting clear, well defined goals

Coaching As A Business &
Management Tool

• Coaching as a tool for accelerated development
• Coaching – its core elements
• Coaching skills and competencies
• Building technical skills and psychological readiness
• The Behavioural Coaching Cycle
• Informal coaching – when and where to coach
• 10 Step Formal / Contractual coaching
• Identifying who would benefit from coaching
• Addressing distorted thinking and self limiting beliefs
• Dealing with emotions and resistance
• The coaching toolkit

Financial Understanding for
Non Accountants

• Introduction to financial statements: content, terminology and relationships
• The balance sheet, profit and loss, and cash flow statements
• Overview of accounting “rules”
• Accounts receivable – valuation and recognition of bad debts
• Inventory – cost accounting and implications for profitability
• Market valuation and accounting for depreciation
• Borrowings – interest and principle loan obligations
• Profit and loss statements – revenue and expense recognition
• EBIT, EBITDA – calculation methods
• Cash flow classification – operating, investing and financing
• Ratio analysis – liquidity, management efficiency, financing, profitability
• Case studies calculations and discussion

Time And
Task Management

• Organising yourself – evaluating your personal work habits
• Planning ahead – day, week, month
• Must, should and want to do lists
• Using planning and scheduling tools
• Capitalising on your energy levels and prime times
• Dealing with deadlines
• Prioritising – distinguishing urgency from importance
• Negotiating interruptions and managing others
• How to say ‘no’ without damaging the relationship
• Managing paperwork and emails
• The importance of flexibility
• Strategies for overcoming procrastination

Running Effective Meetings

• Three essential meeting stages
• Meeting preparation
• Tips for scheduling meetings
• Team meeting roles (leader, facilitator, recorder, participants)
• Meeting responsibilities
• Key steps to developing an agenda
• SMART objectives
• Setting the ground rules
• Meeting minutes
• Closing a meeting – creating action items
• Evaluating your meetings

Work/Life Balance &
Stress Management

• Work related Stress – a world wide epidemic
• Deferred Happiness Syndrome – how does it affect you?
• Signs and symptoms of on going stress
• Optimism and its impact on resilience
• Don’t wait for a crisis before doing something differently
• Are you coping as well as you think
• Indentifying your values
• Changing your thinking and attitudes
• What are you prepared to give up?
• Financial savvy – how much is enough?
• The seven steps to sanity
• Change your behaviour, change your habits, change your life
• Using your support network

Building Successful Teams

• Components of a team
• Why teams do and do not work
• Making your team work
• What skills are necessary for a successful team
• Building a successful team – the teaming process
• Different roles with the team
• Increasing cooperation and support
• How to get the best out of difficult team members

Conflict Resolution

• The psychology of difficult people
• The consequences of avoidance and poor conflict management
• What is conflict and confrontation?
• Managing disagreements and conflict
• Emotion vs. logic – why people don’t listen
• Diffusing anger and emotion
• Handling with misinterpretation
• Negotiating the solution process
• Separating the person from the problem
• Getting to Win/Win
• Not taking conflict personally
• Letting it go – not carrying the conflict and stress with you