Women In Leadership

Question raised during a recent success survey:

Why are there fewer women than men in leadership and management positions?

My perception is that this is changing, as women throughout the world are now better educated and make up a greater proportion of the working population than ever before. 

Also, as the skills previously thought to be more ‘feminine’ – the interpersonal and communication or soft skills - are now being recognised more widely as traits of good leaders. It’s apparent that the command and control culture of previous generations no longer works in today’s society and in today’s organisations, because we now expect so much more.

On the other hand, many women have come to the realisation that society’s idea of success – having it all; a partner, family, career, home, a good income, nice car and regular holidays – comes at a high price. The price is often a lack of time to enjoy life, a lack of energy and enthusiasm and a feeling that ‘there must be more to life than this!’ This realisation is causing more and more of them to examine their definition of success and to define it in a way that suits them better both personally and professionally.

Many of these women (and some men) want to lead a more balanced and satisfying life, with the time and energy to enjoy their work and home and social life and feel more fulfilled generally. To many this means not working as many hours and this includes not applying for more senior positions because of what is expected in terms of the ‘quantity’ of time they must commit to work, rather than the ‘quality.’ 

I’m not one who blame the situation on men. I actually believe They’ve brought a lot of it on themselves by buying into society’s view of how she can ‘have it all.’ 

So until they can have more serious discussions generally about how they define success and about what that means for the way they do business and the way she live their lives, then it will be difficult to change to a position where there are actually more women than men in leadership and management positions!

On the other hand, these days women are taking more personal responsibility for their own success and for getting on in business and this includes starting up new businesses themselves. In many parts of the world women entrepreneurs and female business owners are the fastest growing part of the economy!

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The education of the future - following the example of Finland

 

‘You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.’

Kahlil Gibran, On Children

We can not aim to prepare our children for the careers of the future. We live in such a dynamic world that what was a norm 10 years ago, almost certainly will not be our reality in 10 years. The education of the future is much more challenging, shifting further away from ‘spelling and formulas’ towards the development of cognitive thinking where children are given tools to develop their-own world, when their time comes.

Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, to name just a few, all started as small companies with a few people with an idea, a talent, and motivation to innovate. So, to educate leaders and innovators of the future, we need an education system that nurtures the love for learning and promotes creativity and innovation.

Finland is this century's icon of educational reform success, with its students repeatedly winning all the top results in international rankings. Some four decades after Finland overhauled its educational system, many countries try to learn from its example.

So, what are the lessons that we could learn from the Finish educational model?

1. Finnish have only public schools, the country has closed all the private ones. Before the reform, Finland had large learning differences between schools, with urban students typically outperforming their low income peers. Today, students do well regardless of their socio-economic status.

2. The Finnish vision is that every child has some talents and those who struggle in certain subjects are given an assistant to help them in their progress. No one is left behind.

3. Within their educational reform, the Finns have at first, eliminated the practice of separating students into different tracks based on their test scores, and then they eliminated the examinations altogether. Finnish children never take a standardized test. Tests are not used to compare pupils or teachers or schools to each other.

4. Children in Finland start Primary School at age seven. The idea is that before that time they learn best through play, and by the time they get to the school environment they are keen to start learning. 

5. Teaching is a prestigious career in Finland and teachers are highly valued. All teachers are required to have higher academic degrees and this guarantees the high quality of teaching.

6. The highly trained teachers have autonomy to make decisions about what and how to teach, they participate in the design of the curriculum of their class, supported by the very lean national standards (featuring fewer than 10 pages of guidance for all of mathematics, for example). The Finns also made sure that competent teachers who can shape the best learning conditions for their students are in all the schools.

7. Teachers keep the same pupils in their classroom for several years. This helps the trust develop between the teacher and the students.

8. Children study in a relaxed and informal atmosphere and teachers use methods that encourage ‘thinking’, experimenting, project work, and collaboration. In a typical classroom, students will not be sitting down listening to the teacher, they would be working with other students in small groups, completing projects or writing articles for their own magazine. The teacher nurture independence and active learning, allowing students to develop skills to understand and solve problems.

9. Finnish schools are generally small with relatively small classrooms (around 20s). All students receive a free meal daily, free health care, transport, and learning materials. They also have plenty of holidays - compared to the Europeans, Finnish children spend the fewest number of hours in the classroom.

The success of the Finish model is not within a competition based environment that is highly relying upon exams, but it is built on the idea that less can be more. There is a strong emphasis on relaxed schools that nurture creativity, questioning, and in-depth subject analysis. Arts, music and sports are integral part of every child’s curriculum.

It is interesting that some of the alternative schools’ founders of the last century (Steiner and Montessori) have worked on the exact same principles when shaping their schools of the future. Their knowledge of human nature and children development patterns have influenced the pioneers of educational shift that is happening during the last few decades.

Sir Ken Robinson, an internationally recognized expert in human creativity, talking about educational reform within the video "Changing Education Paradigms," invites the educational bodies to re-think their policies that advocate competition as the key driver of educational improvement. Indeed, the Finnish experience shows that focus on creativity and cooperation can lead to an education system where all children learn well.

Author : By Natasa Pantovic Nuit,

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Finding the True Meaning of Work Life Balance in Modern Times

Our daily lives are jam-packed with activities, appointments, and other responsibilities, all of which can create stress and anxiety, which may lead to family stress and conflict. Modern day families are prone to stress because family members, specifically parents, are required to work hard to provide for the needs of the family. Children, on the other hand, are exposed to various activities – friends, homework, videogames, Facebook – that take them away from their time with the family and may introduce additional stress in their lives as well. Work life balance is both a method and a goal to help families maximize quality time together. 

The Myth of Work Life Balance

The term work life balance suggests that people give equal time and attention to all aspects of their lives. However, this is unrealistic because the demands of work and family simply aren’t in balance. If your boss tells you that something is due by a certain deadline, or your child gets sick and needs to go to the doctor, those activities become a priority and balance goes out the window. The unexpected demands or unpredictable nature of modern life require a certain amount of flexibility as well as realism. You can’t always plan for the unexpected, and sometimes you just have to drop everything to complete a project. These demands lead many parents, and even children, to feel stressed out because they feel they just can’t do it all in balance. 

The sad part about this is that the ideal of work life balance is not possible, if by this you mean a perfectly predictable life that is equally balanced between work and family responsibilities. This means that parents will often spend more time at the office than in the house with family while the children will often spend more time in school, with friends, and other activities, away from the family. Further, family members cannot expect to spend equal time between work and family life. Trying to achieve that kind of balance is almost impossible nowadays. 

Understanding Life Satisfaction

Fortunately, family members can still strive to achieve work life satisfaction in lieu of work life balance. Work life satisfaction requires a focus on meaningful activities that yield a sense of satisfaction for work (or recreation) well done, rather than a perfect balance of time among several activities. Work life satisfaction does not dwell on the quantity of hours spent with each aspect of a person‘s life; instead, work life satisfaction helps a person focus on achieving quality time with the family or at work; making your time count for something important. Finally, a focus on work life satisfaction helps a person find ways to reduce stress and anxiety by focusing on outcomes rather than mere time.

Three Aspects of Work Life Satisfaction

Work life balance is the end result of a series of satisfying work life experiences. The essential components of this balance include attention to:

• Time management
• Clarity of values
• Communication

Time management focuses on allocating the limited time in a day to activities that are most important. Clarity of values helps each person be clear about what is most important to them, while communication is important to let each family member know what each person needs. Attention to these aspects will help families achieve the elusive goal of work life balance by maximizing instances of work life satisfaction.

Source : Author Dr. Mark Sirkin

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What are four essential areas of focus in a powerful team building workshop?

 

There are many ways to define a successful team, but what are some of the primary components of good teams and how can these be reinforced in team building workshops. A top four list of focus areas should include Communications- everyone is encouraged to share, Listening to others- closely related to the first idea, being good problem solvers, and cooperation. 

It has been said that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts when it comes to team effort. A successful team building workshop will help illustrate the importance of group sharing. When there is an atmosphere of encouragement, where all voices are brought into the discussion, an amazing thing happens. New ideas to old problems and unique solutions come forth. There needs to be an assumption that all ideas and opinions are valued and from these come team success. Useful team building activities will place the participants into small teams where the dynamics of this type of communications can “play out”.

Secondly, teams need to exercise good listening skills. In other words, are we “Really listening” to what others say? It’s one thing to have an opportunity to share. The question is, “is anyone listening?” We are all guilty at times of practicing selective listening and filtering out what we don’t want to hear or what we deem unimportant. When that happens, the messages that the team may need the most are effectively silenced. Team building activities that point out this flaw in listening can really enhance the overall communicative power of the group. Sue Patton Thoele speaks on this topic, “Deep listening is miraculous for both the listener and the speaker. When someone receives us with open-hearted, non-judging, intensely interested listening, our spirits expand.” I might add that the whole team effort expands as well.

Powerful team building programs will immerse the participants in situations which allow them to overcome problems and come up with solutions as a team. In a sense, the team activity should mirror real life situations. In every life some rain will fall. For every team, problems will crop up, often erupt. Successful race car driver Sebastien Bourdais said that “It’s a team… they give you everything you need to be successful, if there is a problem, they work and work and work until it is solved”. How teams deal with the problems spells the difference between the better teams and the failing teams. The better teams employ good communications and listening skills and work together to solve the problems. This some time will require a dogged determination and perseverance to “try new solutions”. Undeterred when these do not always succeed, new ideas are encouraged and some are tried. Eventually, the successful teams solve the dilemma and move on to new challenges.

Finally, you will find that great team building sessions will create the conditions where small groups can work together and see first-hand how cooperation brings their efforts to a successful conclusion. Perhaps there are vast differences in skill sets and temperaments among the team members. Instead of being a divisive feature, these differences can be seen and used as integral parts of the overall effort. Cooperation assumes that we all need to play a role. The Bible speaks of the diversity of roles in this manner, “The eye cannot say to the hand that ‘I have no need of you’ “. No, there is an important job for each team member to do and when they all cooperate in doing their part good things usually will happen.

So in summary, when a company or manager is seeking a team building program that will have valuable content, it should focus on some or all of these areas. There should be exercises to promote better communications and also listening skills. The group should learn how to persevere in group problem solving situations, and finally, a spirit of cooperation should be fostered. In the final analysis, the program should cause the team to work on the areas that will help them be a great “Team”.

Author's: Bill Resh

 

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Corporate India facing challenge to find right talent: Report

NEW DELHI: Indian employers have trouble finding the right candidate for the right job and this trend is likely to intensify in the next three years, says HR service provider Randstad.

According to Randstad India's global Work monitor Survey 2012, Indian employers have trouble finding highly qualified people and this trend is set to continue for the next three years, as the economy is showing signs of reforms.

"Corporate India is facing challenges to find the right talent and there is no denial about it. With the economy showing signs of growth, coupled with proactive reforms, the situation will accentuate further," Randstad India Managing Director and CEO E Balaji said.

The quarterly review that tracks job seekers confidence and provides a comprehensive understanding of job market, shows that 65 per cent respondents predict a challenge to find highly qualified people in their respective organisations, much higher than the world average of 48 per cent.

In addition, amongst all the countries surveyed, India has the highest employee mobility index of 142. This is in line with the findings that emerged in all the previous nine quarterly surveys conducted since first quarter of 2010.

This consistent trend over nine surveys confirms that the war for talent continues to be a major challenge for organisations in India, the report said.

Hong Kong and Malaysia follow India with indices of 137 and 135, respectively. The mobility index is least in Luxemburg, Belgium and Germany, indicating least employee churn, while the index for the US and UK is 104, implying moderate employee churn.

"If businesses have to shape their world of work with the right talent, they have to strengthen their Training and Development function. It is a good development to note that Indian businesses are working on this aspect as our survey shows," Balaji added.

As per the survey, about 75 per cent of the respondents agreed that their organisation invests additionally for their training/ education.

Moreover, about 77 per cent of surveyed respondents said that their organisation offers sufficient career opportunities.

The survey further said in India, more than half of employees (55 per cent) are overqualified and one-third are under-qualified for their current jobs. 

 

 

Source :The Economics Times (News) 

 

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The Right Moment to Close the Sale

Jamie was listening patiently to his potential customer. George had said what he was looking for, why he wanted it and what would happen if he didn’t solve the problem soon. Jamie was eager to close the deal but couldn’t tell if now was the time to ask for the sale.

Like Jamie, many sales people know there is a moment when people are ready to buy. They just don’t quite know how to identify it. Often it is because they’re listening for the clue, not watching for it. The tip off is more frequently in the client’s body language than in what he or she is saying.

Sales people often miss the tell-tale signs because they haven’t set up the situation correctly at the beginning of the interview.

Sales is the art of helping people make a purchase, rather than selling something. If sales people operate from this principle, they adapt their communication style to that of their prospective client and gather crucial information along the way.

When a client is being visited for the first time, they should be asked about the last time they made a similar purchase. Listen to the answer and pay attention to their body language – facial expressions, gestures, posture and voice tone.

The next question is key: “When you decided to buy that time, (pause) what made you buy that one?”

Notice the changes in the non-verbal behavior as they answer because the second question takes the client back to the previous moment of decision. Does the customer smile, turn a little red, make bigger gestures? These are the signs that indicate the client is ready to buy.

After verifying what the client wants and why, he or she can be presented with an appropriate solution. But when is the right moment to ask for the sale? Summarize the benefits of the proposition, demonstrating how it can meet the client’s criteria. Look at them carefully while talking. If the non verbals are the same as when they answered the second question above, they are ready to purchase.

Don’t see the signs? Don’t panic, it simply means they are not ready yet. Ask the client what else she needs to make a decision. That’s the way to determine the missing pieces and improve the proposal on the spot. Again, summarize the benefits of the offering and check the body language. If the right signs are there, go ahead and ask for the decision.

The fact that the client was not pressured to buy when they weren’t ready is a sign of attentiveness to his or her needs. Most people appreciate the consideration.

Marketing Tips to Ponder on Route to the Next Sale:

•Preparation pays
•Remember to ask yourself: “What’s in it for them?”
•Have clear objectives
•Have pricing strategy
•Brief team before a presentation; include a message on manners
•Select appropriate clothing colours; red is aggressive, blue is dominant
•Assess whether the other person is sociable or factual.
•Present accordingly
•Be personable
•Make your advantages easy to understand
•Don’t be everything to everyone
•Don’t sell; help people buy
•Shift the risk to yourself and you will profit
•To be heard, lower your voice
•After a contract is signed, give the pen to the buyer
•Email “Thank you.”
•Always leave with a plan of action, even if it is, “I will call in six months.”
•Reward your lead generators
•Work for referrals
•Partner with other companies reaching your market

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Simple Ways to Beat Stress Without Medication!

Stress is often a natural reaction to situations that life throws at us when we're not expecting it. However, just because the situation is stressful does not mean we have to actually get stressed.

We know that stress can cause physical as well as psychological problems and can sometimes escalate to severe anxiety attacks if the challenges are not dealt with in a calm way, so having tools already in place alleviates the need to go into full blown stress when challenging situations occur. 

The medical profession often recommends medication for people with severe stress to help alleviate the symptoms they're experiencing. However, there are other ways to handle stressful situations, and medications don't work for everyone. And, there are many people who don't want the side effects medications can cause. 

So what can you do? 

Everything is a state of mind so it's necessary to decide in advance how you might be able to handle any kind of stressful situation that occurs. If you know what you need to do should something stressful come up, you will be ready to take that action instead of immediately feeling stressed out and overwhelmed.

• One of the best ways to alleviate stress is to take a walk to clear your head. And, walking is an excellent form of exercise for your body as well as your mind. You can walk out frustration so that you'll be able to come back refreshed and ready to deal with challenges calmly.  

 

 

•  Give your mind a break with soft, relaxing music. Our brain takes in lots of information from the things that we read, hear and see every second of every day. Your brain is an amazing organ but it's not immune to overloads.  

• If stress is really bad it can also cause depression, and, if you don't want to take medication, a great way to decrease depression is to dance. Dancing gives you more energy and it becomes challenging to feel depressed if you are hearing a great fast beat. You can't have two opposite thoughts or feelings at the same time so if music makes you feel happier, you won't feel depressed, tired or overwhelmed.  

• Overload can cause stress to escalate, which brings its own challenges. Allow yourself to walk away from a situation that makes your shoulders get. Step away and sit quietly for 10-15 minutes. Allow yourself to think clearly about how you can deal effectively with the situation. 

• Find a hobby, something you really enjoy, and be sure to make time for it at least once a week. Everyone needs to get out of the mindset of having to deal with challenges and decisions within our lives. Giving yourself something else to focus on gives you a sense of accomplishment in an area of your life where your professional and/or financial situation may not be up to par. 

•  Massage and/or Yoga are other options. Stressful situations can cause your muscles to tighten and ache, which not only affects your physical body, but your mind as well. A massage or 15 minutes of yoga can loosen up those muscles, which will loosen up your mind allowing you to feel refreshed and renewed. 

•  If you're so stressed that you want to cry, then let the tears flow. Don't be afraid of your emotions; it's really healthy to let them surface rather than keep them inside of you. Built up stress has to come out somehow, so it's a lot safer to let it out through tears than to wait until it explodes into uncontrollable anger. You can also use journaling as a tool or talk to a friend or your coach if you have one. As long as it doesn't stay inside of you, it won't affect your body or your mind to any great degree.

• If finances are the challenge, create a budget. Look at your expenses and see what you can comfortably cut out or down so you give yourself room to save a little money.

If you have the ability, every time you spend $1 put another $1 in an envelope and make this your mad money - money that at the end of 3 months, 6 months or a year you can use to treat yourself to something you really want. 

Another way to save small amounts of money that was recently shared with me by a financial adviser is to open up an account where each time you earn or bring in money, have a certain amount automatically transferred from your bank to the account. Even if it's $5, every little bit accumulates if you don't take it out.

Knowing you have the ability to save money, whatever the amount, really gives your self-esteem a boost. I also take all my loose change and keep it in a big jar and just let it accumulate. Makes my purse lighter to carry too!

•  Have a daily schedule! This really alleviates overwhelm. No overwhelm decreases stress. Write down everything you need to do each day, prioritize, and then finish one thing at a time until the list is complete. Don't make the list so long that the list in itself creates stress, just 3-4 actions a day will help you to complete all you need to do by week's end.

You can control your stress before it starts to take control of you. Although medications are one answer, they're not necessarily the best answer. It's much more effective long term if you can find a natural way that helps you to alleviate stress. Find out what works best for you so you have a tool to use if any challenges do come up.

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School Teachers: Keys For Maintaining Your Power In The Classroom

Maintaining classroom order depends upon the teacher’s ability to maintain his or her own state of inner order, which can be described as a state of authentic peace and poise.

Some students are quite skilled at “triggering” teachers out of their peace and poise and into a state of insecurity. 

These bossy or defiant students effectively trigger the teacher’s insecurity by creating classroom disorder with impunity.

An extreme example of this is the seventh grader who recently tried to disempower and intimidate his teacher by taking over the class.

His teacher felt publically humiliated and was stunned into speechlessness as the precocious 13 year old brazenly stepped in front of the class, explaining that he was the one in charge now.

Understanding where a behavior like this is coming from can empower a teacher.

One probable motivation behind the student who tries to run the room is the student’s need to regain the sense of power and self-respect that someone has stolen from him.

He may be getting bullied at home. He may feel intensely deprived of something that he thinks all of the other kids have, like a happy and harmonious family life.

Whatever this student’s background, he’s obviously being driven by the urge to compensate for an inferiority complex that has been programmed into him. 

When we understand the motivation behind a student’s behavior we can come up with a way to satisfy the motivation that effectively defuses the student’s drive to use inappropriate behavior to get what he is after. 

In the midst of classroom chaos, though, it can be hard to play child analyst. It is easier to let our emotional reaction get the best of us.

And yet, that may be the most important time to maintain self-control. 

You encourage the disruptive student to press your insecurity buttons when you become insecure in reaction to the actions he uses to usurp your power.

The moment you start trying to prove your power you stop really being powerful and begin giving your student more power over you.

When you worry about proving your power in the classroom you are being distracted from using your power to make a real, positive contribution through your teaching profession. 

This not only lowers the real value of your labor; it also makes your labor unfulfilling.

You weren’t hired to prove your power or your worth to your students. You were hired to do your best teaching in line with the needs of your students.

As long as that remains your primary focus and intention you will act in real integrity in the classroom, which ultimately brings honor to oneself.

To recognize exactly WHAT is truly needed from you in the classroom, you need to maintain your peace and poise.

Just by remaining calm you discharge the student’s incentive for trying to take your power, because you are showing him that his efforts are not working.

Beyond that, self-confidence is a foundation for competence. You have to feel secure about yourself to do your best work, to access your highest level of creativity and problem-solving ability.

If you maintain your composure you can be most effective at coming up with ways to help your students feel as powerful and in charge as they need to feel while preserving the classroom order necessary for successful teaching to take place.

The simplest method for doing this involves giving the student a voice. Take time after class to help the student to clearly articulate what he really needs from you to feel secure, satisfied, respected, and supported by you.

Having calm conversations in which you discuss things clearly and without antagonism creates a positive bond between teacher and student that may defuse any possibility of future conflict.

It can also help you to better understand how to satisfy the student’s legitimate need for a sense of power, control and self-respect.

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Boost Performance With Employee Engagement

Companies that have and promote their own employee engagement programme will enjoy improved performance, reduced costs, and even improved employee retention and other organisational factors. As such, training in this area can prove especially critical to the overall performance of your organisation and this is one of the reasons that these types of training programme have become so popular with modern organisations looking for ways to streamline processes and improve company performance.

One of the first stages to engagement is to ensure that the company has a clearly defined strategy and a blueprint of how to achieve its defined goals. No employee can be expected to help the company hit its targets if it does not have targets. Generally, these should be specific and they should be time sensitive. General targets like “improve the business” are not specific enough and more detail is required.

Every manager, team leader, board member, and director should be fully aware of these targets and goals. They should be involved in the process of determining how best to achieve those goals and they should be the first to be involved in an engagement campaign. It is they that will pass the message on down through the structural tiers of the company so it is vital that they are the first to be armed with the appropriate knowledge.

Team leaders will also need to be trained in how to pass the message down to the rest of the team. Education, of this sort, is not only done through teaching but through example and there should be a firm employee engagement programme established within the business. This can include additional motivation factors as well as general guidelines and best practices that should be adhered to.

There are many factors that an organisation or company needs to consider. Ensuring that employees are fully engaged with the organisation is one such aspect and this can usually be achieved through a series of structural arrangements and organisational practices. Training will be required, at least for managers and organisation educators, while a structured engagement programme will help further the interests of the business.

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Welcome to the Real Life

There are some things that you can't learn in high school. Someone has to tell you these stuff and help you realise the truth. I decided to help with a few things that I've learned from a lecture by Bill Gates. You can choose if you want to believe them or not, but trust me – I know what I'm saying! So here we go... Welcome to the real life!

1.Love is not fair! Get used to this. Your friend may be not as good as you, for example. Maybe he will be the worst student ever, but if he has the right contacts, he will probably get a better job.

2.You won't start making 2000 or 3000 pounds a month. The most people start as an oven cleaning Corby cleaner or like a cashier in McDonalds. You won't be an assistant director with Mercedes right after high school. You won't have a car with a phone until you have them both separately. Then, you will be in the right direction!

3.The world doesn't care about your confidence. You will have to do many things without even feel good about them.

4.You think your teacher is strict? Well, just wait to see your boss! You will want to be in high school again, but then it's going to be too late for that. 

5.If something goes wrong, don't blame your parents. You have to learn from them and listen to their advice, because very often they know what they are talking about, they've been there.

6.In school there aren't any winners or losers. In real life, this is the opposite. In school, you may be in a class where the teachers will make some exceptions, they will wait for you to do your project. In real life, nobody would give you an opportunity like this. You will compete with your colleagues, you will chase deadlines, you will either win or lose! 

7.Making burgers or working as an oven cleaning Corby expert is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents would call this an opportunity... an opportunity to start!

8.Life doesn't have any terms. You don't have summer or winter holidays. There are just a few employers who will help you develop. Do that in your spare time!

9.TV is not the real life. People don't stay in the coffee shop talking all day, they work.

10.Be kind to the people you usually call “nerds”. You may work for them in a few years! 

In the end, Bill said that if you can understand any of these, you should start changing your life from today. What I will say is: if you can read my words, thank to your teacher!

 

Source : By Megan Peterson

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Leadership Programs - Helping You Learn Your Leadership Potential

It’s not considerable to simply increase your skills in your chosen field. Even if you’ve a lot of experience and skills you might still not be capable to develop to your full brilliance because pressure gets you down. As a future successful leader, you need to be able to reach various issues and provide leadership to your staff no matter how much stress you’ve to deal regularly. Most people don’t know the essential fact that there’re many circumstances that affect overall leadership capability and leadership performance. These circumstances include:

* The face the staffs think at work
* How generative the staffs are at job
* Whether the person is robust and healthy enough to meet the different works and challenges posed by job
* How capable the staff is of recharging and relaxing his/her spirit in despite of work related pressure

If even one of these circumstances is neglected then the leader might not be capable to perform to his/her maximum feasible. If you feel that you necessity help in any one of these industries then you surely need to get the appropriate leadership program without any delay. A person with leadership capability is influenced as the vertebral column of any industry or business and is responsive for its success.

Specialists have always been particular about the greatness of leaders at all levels in an organization and all the big company have been investing into the process of building leaders continuously. Leadership development programs are meant for the quaint peoples who are intent to follow the twist found in a learning program. They pass off hard to learn leadership skill training programs and are made to read leadership books related to business, so as to get success as an executive leader.

Never create a mistake of going for executive programs since better choices exist. What you need a customized leadership program that is based upon your specific needs and the business that you work in. As a matter of aspect, the skillful faculties always take inputs from people whilst designing the course content and coaching schedule. The perfect personal leadership program will make sure that your personal and professional life will boost sufficiently. Not only will you be capable to manage better at work but you’ll also consider more relaxed at that time. You’ll be able to repose longer and better than before and you’ll have freedom from a numerous pressure related health issues such as obesity, heart disease and high blood pressure.

Source : Author Sonu Parashar

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Do Something Different to Create a Breakthrough

Albert Einstein said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” It doesn’t matter if you are facing unfinished projects, complicated finances and debt, poor relationships with family members and co-workers, or wellness issues. If you want change and a positive breakthrough, do something different. All it takes is new positive energy to create that much-needed shift for a breakthrough to occur.

Holding on to the old ways of doing things that are not working creates negative energy in thinking, which results in stagnation and many unresolved issues or unfinished projects. Some symptoms of such energy stagnation are relationships that are never quite what you want; jobs that never turn out the way you had hoped; never getting promotions or a pay raise as promised; even a constant nagging feeling that you are never quite in the right place at the right time. 

Look in the Mirror First

Begin to create your breakthrough by looking into a mirror. Ninety-eight percent of the time when things do not go your way, it is all about you, your thoughts and decisions not someone else. Take a close look at who you are and what you have because that is a reflection of the choices you’ve made and the actions you’ve taken. 

Look back in your past to examine if who you are today is the same person you were just a few short years ago. Determine what decisions and/or changes you made in your past that has led you to your present. Are you better off today than you were five years ago? Are the things and people in your surroundings better now than then? Is your outlook on life better today? If yes, what did you do to accomplish that change? Did you change relationships, jobs, homes? If not, why not? Determine why you are where you are today and what should have changed.

What Worked – What Didn’t

It is critical to determine what decisions in your past were filled with good energy. Those are the thoughts and things you need to hold onto. Equally important, determine which parts of your past were filled with negative energy and eliminate those decisions and actions completely from your life. 

Breakthroughs come from new thinking and surrounding yourself with only positive energy things, people and thoughts. If your thoughts, things and relationships aren’t providing you positive energy or even neutral energy, they are definitely sending you negative energy. 

Breakthrough Strategies

One might ponder the enormity of breakthrough thinking and come to the conclusion that consistent breakthroughs are impossible - but not if you use the Einstein philosophy. You are already on the road to a breakthrough, once you understand that you will continue to get the same results unless you change your actions. Bold breakthroughs that make a difference in people’s lives - yours and others!

Align Your Actions with Your Goals – It is impossible to be successful and have breakthroughs if your actions and goals are not aligned. If you wish to win 18 Olympic gold medals like Michael Phelps, you can’t just go to the pool and watch others swim. You have to align your goal of 18 gold medals with getting in the pool and learning to swim better than anyone else, while preparing yourself with competitions and races.

Instill Accountability - Is your new accomplishment truly a breakthrough that improves you or meets your new upgraded objectives or did it just take you down a different path and give you the same old results? Accountability is critical for breakthrough success. Breakthroughs can only be realized when there is a measurable change. Determine the outcome you desire in advance leaving no wiggle room - visibly display it with a post it note on your refrigerator or computer so you don’t play mental gymnastics and allow your mind to talk you into success when it was only a minor improvement.

Build a Bridge and Get Going – Breakthrough thinking requires change and action. A breakthrough is of no value if it sits on the shelf collecting dust. Don’t let a breakthrough idea just sit there. Build some type of bridge, conduit or connector from where you are to what you want to accomplish or to the breakthrough idea and get busy. You may have solved a major problem at work that could save your company thousands of dollars or come up with the perfect vacation for your diverse family, but nothing will change if you do not take action. Attract and act – that is how breakthrough thinking works. At this point your job is to take action and to make it happen – and celebrate those successes, large and small. 

If you’re ready to breakthrough, take action based on the information you’ve gleaned through observing your past five years and the mirror reflection of your current life. By aligning your actions with your goals, instilling accountability and building a bridge to get to where you want to go, you have created a breakthrough road map that is dependable and will always get you to where you want to go.

Source : By Pat Heydlauf 

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What exactly is NLP?

What exactly is NLP?

NLP, which means Neuro-Linguistic Programming, is an epistemological practical discipline that is utilized to destroy harmful patterns and alter one’s behavior for the better. Sound difficult? It’s not. Epistemology is a form of philosophy that looks at the validity of information and, using NLP treatment, you are asked to question the way you perceive your world, of what you believe and whether or not you might be enabling yourself to be restricted by false conclusions. You can then learn self-improvement methods and strategies that assist you to break free from deluded or limiting beliefs and substitute all of them with strengthening patterns and behaviors.

The “neuro” part of neuro-linguistic refers to the science of neurology, the “linguistic” element refers to language and “programming” describes how the thoughts relates to the physique. The target of NLP will be to achieve complete handle of all of our psychological and cognitive processes. This suggests that we should start thinking more purposefully and engage only with empowering beliefs rather than keep on sinking into comfy, persistently damaging and illogical patterns.

You will find two fundamental premises behind the entire idea of NLP. Number one is always to comprehend that what you see as reality is destined by our feelings and our philosophy. This notifies the way we reply to life events. Realizing that we don't have to become limited by our beliefs and behaviours empowers us to produce strategic life decisions that increase our quick experience of reality. The outcome is the fact that we are happier and in control of what we allow to impact us.

Number two is the realization that all of our systems, including our bodies, thoughts and emotions, are totally integrated and constantly seek a balance that keeps us in our comfort zone. Nevertheless this comfy section, named a state of homeostasis, might not be a wholesome location for us mentally, emotionally or physically. NLP might help us to turn out to be far more comfortable together with the unfamiliar. We give our personalities authorization to stretch over and above the limit to ensure that we are often mastering. We are supplied with resources to optimize our mind, body and spirit connections to ensure that we are more than able to seize every positive moment that comes our way and live it.

NLP heals by showing us exactly where our inner maps of perception are limited and how a belief in these boundaries may be also limiting our ability to see our options. I believe that to be an efficient human being, it can be crucial to not limit your life because of a bad habit or an erroneous belief that you’ve held for a long time.

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How do you choose the right company?

How do you choose the right company?

A few months ago, my daughter, who is a caterer, announced that the catering company she worked for was opening a restaurant. She was going to manage it and she would be able to stop the schlep to Manhattan to cater. She was thrilled. Her boss made a deal with the owner of the building and things started up.

They moved the catering operation to the restaurant kitchen. They continued to cater until they would be able to open the restaurant for business.

As the months went by, I watched her and the team plan menus, hire employees, decorate, clean, set up, prepare and plan for the grand opening. There was just one fly in the ointment… the person who owned the building turned out to be less than honest. He had a past that would prevent him from getting a liquor license for the building. He had arranged for everything to be in his girlfriend’s name. And she wanted in on the deal. She wanted to be involved in the business – she was controlling and difficult and madetrouble. It would never work.

Long story short, I spent the day yesterday helping them pack. I helped them take down pictures, empty the refrigerators and pack everything to return to their old location. It was a very sad day. It was the end of a dream. A lot of time and money wasted.

Choose the right company -

As I worked there, I was thinking about what it takes to start a business. What are the steps you need to take to avoid pitfalls? What are the questions you need to ask yourself and the things you need to understand before you take a leap?

First and foremost is to do your due diligence. Research the company. Who owns it? Do they have a good team in place? Are they well capitalized? How long have they been in business? Do you trust them? Are they ethical and will they do what they say they will do? Do they have good training?

After you decide the company is rock solid, you need to look at yourself. Are these products something you can believe in – something you would use yourself and can sell to others? Do you have money to invest in the business on a monthly basis? How much? Do you have the time and energy to put into the business? Can you put a certain number of hours into it every week? Are you willing to take the training you need? Are you willing to do what it takes?

In order to succeed, you MUST choose the right company.

The answers to these questions will determine whether or not you will succeed or fail. Yes, luck sometimes plays a part in it, but the reality is, if you go in with your eyes closed, you most likely will not make it. Take a close look at the business and at yourself, first. Then take the leap if it feels right!

Source : By Nancee Kemper

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Helpful Hints For Preparing a Presentation Under a Tight Deadline

Your boss calls you up and asks if you can get in to see a client tomorrow. You know you need to have a focused tailored presentation but you have no time to do it? What do you do?

Most people at this point take a hatchet and start putting different presentations together. You end up with a cluttered mess that you can’t talk fluently through and the client feels trapped in the Twilight Zone while you present. Neither of you are happy.

Here are two steps to help you deliver a focused and strategic presentation.

1) Come from the audiences angle

When you are asked to present at the last moment this usually causes a flurry of panic as you try to think of all the information you need to share with the client. 

You automatically think, “What information do I need to share with this client or what do I think they would want to know.” The problem with this approach is that it will cause you to “brain dump” everything you know and then some JUST to make sure you hit on any concern they might have. This approach causes your brain to search for what they need to know, why they need to know that information and how your product or service works. It is all about you and your company and then you relate it to them.

A better approach is to immediately think, “Why does this client need to know this?” This approach will cause you to focus on their problems and concerns, how you can help them and what you need to do together to make things work for them. It is all about them and their company and how you relate to their needs. 

Now you have them riveted in their seats.

2) Develop a theme

If you are doing a solo presentation, the easiest way to carry a theme through a presentation is to decide what the presentation is going to be about and then go back and figure out what theme fist the goal you are trying to reach.

Once you have figured that out, take that theme, look at each of your main points and see how you can wordsmith them to tie in better to your theme.

For instance, let’s say the convention theme is “Light Their Fire” and your presentation is on sales. You might say your theme title is, “Lighting up your sales force.” Your first main point might be, “How do you start a fire without any matches?” Your second main point may be, “How to keep the fire burning?” Your third point might be, “What to do when all you get is smoke?”

Try not to be too cute with themes, for you will lose some credibility with an analytical audience.

Remember you are not there to impress the listener, but to connect with them. So just relax and have a good time!

Source : By Anne Warfield

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Take Your Business Horizon With Corporate Training Programs

Corporate training has been one of the most basic ways to get the most out of employees hired without having to go through the costs, both financially and time wise, recruitment through advertisements. 

In the competitive business world today, it is not unusual for organizations seeking specialized training for staff working in various aspects, such as sales. A lot of organizations have now began to address other motivational skills such as leadership and team building. The tendency now is to seek training in most aspects of corporate behavior. There are number of corporate training services providers are now teaching people business etiquette, or how to communicate effectively, or even how to think resourcefully! However, with companies increasingly crowded cautious and always looking out for the best deal on wages, time off and sick pay, more and more companies have been wondering if corporate training remains the best way to go.

With literally billions of pounds that come into training people once a year for new jobs, it is now much simpler to locate staffs that are competent to carry out work for you already have the skills you need. As these companies have been looking overseas easier to fill jobs that require a very specific skill. However, these methods have generated high levels of media attention in the case of a company changes its contract with a manufacturer cheaper abroad or in the case of a new group of workers who are employed when the neighboring towns are low in use. It is essential to remember that even though corporate training costs may be slightly higher, the benefits of doing this or the consequences of not being of a higher cost in the future. There are many ways to make corporate training, but may be a different shade in the position that will be filled with more formal education as requiring specific certificates. The most common method is to simply get another worker to teach them what they need to know to make their new roles. However, when the job is certainly of a higher level such as manger of a new branch, it may be necessary to send that person to college to learn management skills.

Either way the risk of leaving them in an even better position can be a worrying and make a major impediment to give that person the opportunity to. With a little risk, as these always have a standard way, as such, allowing you to make a type of risk assessment on the candidate to choose. Usually, the best people to provide corporate training programs to be those who have had: low amount of sick days, do not always take their holidays, rarely, if ever late and has shown a willingness to overcome. If all these features are present in the person (s) selected will then be unlikely to find a better job when they see that their work will be rewarded.

In the end, it is best to choice to decide if your company should use corporate training or not, is simply an assessment of risks and costs and consideration of the implications or rewards. If the final equation gives a good read then it may be better for your company.

Source : By Anima Sharma

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Know Why Leadership Program To Any Company

Leadership programs engage interaction between diverse divisions of the organization in which an employee gets to intermingle with colleagues who have never had any experience. This interaction will be able to distinguish potential of an employee in their social skills.

Any company in the world today focuses on their employees, in order to maintain an ongoing professional relationship. Some organizations inculcate skills training for its employees, offering classes for learning and development. Certainly, we have seen that an employee has proven valuable to an organization where they can learn, grow and maximize their talent to the company's potential. If you are planning to build a wonderful career, maybe you should first go through a preliminary training. Today, there are very flourishing leadership programs that are being developed. These courses will help you gain some much needed skills. Leadership programs will give you the energy to achieve the best both in your career and in your personal life. These courses will run the training programs are looking for. In addition to good training, which will help you gain confidence and self-esteem, things that is very useful in private life. These programs are certainly a very effective way to obtain assurances that it will be ready for a successful career and life. 

A leadership program can improve and enhance a person personality. If you go to a these course with the right attitude, you sure you want success, you'll be a totally changed person. Naturally, there are people who question the need for leadership programs. Successful leadership programs generally depend on the way taught. A proficient who teach this course are different, as different are the benefits that can be taken from leadership programs. From young to older, all of them make the best use of all types of this course. You can choose from different course practically, although almost all have some basic elements in common.

One of the key components of all leadership programs is that they are aiming to build teamwork skills. Some programs even acquire this building leadership skills and teamwork throughout the central leadership program. Of course, the point of this is to gain muscle mass, but to learn to work together. This part of leadership programs teaches you how to find the strengths and weaknesses of each member. This course will teach you how to leave behind the selfish and has put all his strength in teamwork. This is probably the most important lesson to learn from the future leader leadership program. 

The second component of this curriculum is that leadership programs usually tend to emphasize self-confidence and self-esteem. A leader should be above all of you. This curriculum is to teach you to be convinced that everything you say is important. The leaders have not become leaders because they are more capable, or more intelligent than the others. Surprisingly, it may be just the opposite. Leaders become leaders because they have more confidence those others who argue that what they say is important. These programs focus on the individual and group exercises where employees must overcome themselves and their competition to be the best. These values that are exhibited by an employee are marked accordingly and should be placed in a register to be critical for a period of time.

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