Managerial Development

Defining Competencies

The term ‘competence’ can be defined as the capability of performing a task effectively or the behavior needed for a specific level of performance. There is a direct correlation between input in terms of abilities, attitudes, knowledge, etc., as well as output in terms such as good grades for a student. As Boyatzis (1982) argues, “competence refers to the ability to behave in a manner to meet job requirements within the rules and parameters of an organization’s environment, and thus to achieve the desired results.” Competency is essential for all levels within an organization. Competence is one of the most effective indicators of an employee’s performance. In this article, we discuss the core competencies of managers.

The authors of this study identify core competencies for managers as those behaviors exhibited by an individual at the managerial level to achieve the desired results. For better understanding, the core competencies for managers are set of specific desirable traits, skills, abilities, attitudes, knowledge, values, and motives that play a significant role in the development of the individual and in influencing others to participate actively in the organization.

Effective human resource management involves identifying and developing managerial competencies. Management competencies can also be referred to as management skill. As a result of the accelerated development and changes currently occurring, managers’ personalities and competencies are becoming increasingly important. All management levels, from the lowest to the most senior, consider them essential in order to achieve a competitive edge.

Producing organizational knowledge and its effective management will remain the most important competitive advantage in the future (Drucker, 1993; Grant, 1996; Teece, Pisano & Shuen, 1997). The business environment is becoming more globally integrated, which necessitates the hiring of executives from around the world. There are numerous cultural differences between them from country to country. In a global environment, Hofstede and McCrae (2004) point out the importance of understanding different cultural dimensions and their role in managerial competence.

Schröder divides managerial competencies into two categories- basic competencies and high-performance competencies. In this context, “basic competencies” define skills, attributes, abilities, etc. That determine the efficiency while high-performance competencies are characteristics of a manager that enhance the performance of the entire team led by the manager. Competencies for high performance are further divided into cognitive, motivational, directional, and performance competencies.

Core Competencies

There are no universal core competencies for managers.

Following their survey, Martina, Hana, and Jiri discovered that most managers believed that core managerial competencies vary according to the content of the work of each manager. In addition, core managerial skills vary with the characteristics of employees, organizational culture, and other factors, even if the job content remains the same. Additionally, core competencies may differ from level to level. Ion Bucur’s study on the same found that there were five core competencies for top management – influence and collaboration, strategic thinking, learning and motivation, as well as self-assessment of learning capacity. In the middle management level, the most important competencies were influence and collaboration, strategic thinking, team management, and transformational leadership. Team management was the only core competency that predicted managerial success in first-line management.

This survey was conducted in knowledge-based organizations in the Czech Republic and a few of the core competencies for managers can be found below.

• Leadership experience
• Effective communication
• Organizing skills
• Self-confidence and independence
• Reliability and accountability
• Dynamic and proactive individual
• Analytical abilities
• Stress tolerance
• Negotiation skills
• Decision-making abilities
• Goal-directed
• Time flexibility

Competencies for managers are essential to improving the performance of their subordinates and increasing productivity as a result. Therefore, it is necessary to have a system within the organization to monitor managerial competence. There are various methods for measuring managerial competence. Among them are review methods, direct observation, questionnaires, interviews, storytelling, etc. It is determined which method should be used based on its suitability in the given situation. Combinations of these methods may also be used.

Based on the results obtained from the measurement of the core competencies possessed by managers, organizations develop programs to develop the skills that are lacking in their managers. These programs include coaching, role-playing, storytelling, action learning, etc. Ideally, the organization should also consider the specific needs of managers and develop programs that would be suitable considering the job role and potential of the manager.

The identification and development of managerial competencies will be beneficial to the organization in several ways, primarily by expanding the potential of the manager which will, in turn, improve the performance of the work teams and the organization.

DEVELOPING FIRST TIME MANAGERS

Prioritizing, planning, and conduction training programs for first time managers and mid-managers based on competencies

Organizations have traditionally placed an emphasis on developing senior leaders and frontline employees. Mid-level managers are crucial in both fostering employee performance and developing future leaders. It is therefore imperative that managers are trained in both behavioral and functional management skills through specialized training programs. This would enable managers to be more effective, resulting in a more productive organization and team.

The management training programs for first-time managers differ from those for senior managers. Let us begin with first-time managers. To become a people manager, a person must transition from being an individual contributor. Many employees promoted to the position of people manager have difficulty adjusting to the demands of a management position. According to a recent survey, 60 percent of first-time managers fail within the first two years of their new position. Approximately 85% of managers fail to receive the training required for their position. Having been left unprepared for the next task, they are left in an uncertain state and can only manage and learn the ropes on their own.

Consequently, new managers should attend training programs that emphasize supervision, practice sessions, and basic management skills. As part of this process, a manager may be required to direct and delegate, create a motivational environment, deal with conflict, set goals, and provide constructive feedback. In addition to planning and organizing, self-confidence, assertiveness, influencing skills, and emotional intelligence are also addressed.

There is a strong emphasis on solving the dilemmas of first-time managers, aiding with identifying what aspects of individual contributorship are not relevant to their current responsibilities, and developing them as managers. For first-time managers, training programs are typically longer, lasting from a minimum of 3 months up to 12 months so that each competency can be mastered and applied.

FTMs and Their Needs

The need for growth is always fundamental and should be inevitable. With promotion and advancement also come responsibilities and expectations. As an employee climbs the ladder from an individual contributor to a manager, they face various dilemmas and questions. One of the greatest challenges is to translate a persona geared toward personal success into an environment where the success of the team is paramount.

Here are some common dilemmas faced by first-time managers:

• Task versus People-Orientation
• Leading oneself versus leading others
• Organisation versus team perspective
• Performance of the individual versus that of the team
• Org vs self-perspective (own internal value system)
• Strategic (long-term) versus tactical (short-term) thinking
• Delegate versus do the work yourself
• Delegate to develop versus delegate to accomplish (area of challenge versus area of strength)

A first-time manager may have difficulty adjusting to the changing demands of their new role and dealing with these dilemmas. To ensure success of First Time Managers, it is essential to equip them with key skills so they can deal with the demands of the job.

Why train FTM?

By investing in developing competent managers, one would develop cohesive and well-functioning teams. Dealing with a team and being accountable for team’s performance is a huge responsibility and it requires quite several skillsets.

Training First Time Managers benefits an organization majorly in three different levels. Training employees to lead teams is crucial for the organization and the individual as it helps determining the success of the organization by rightly tapping the potential employees and imparting skills. Organizational excellence, people manager training enables individuals to develop skills like strategic thinking, indulge in change management, and to plan and organize effectively. For Team excellence, training enables leaders to tap rightly into the team power, delegate effectively and mentor employees to form cohesive team. Personal excellence enables a manager to influence others with their communication, be manage situations with emotional intelligence and acquire effective facilitation skills.

Training people managers guarantees a managed and cooperative environment within the team leading to organizational growth. Managing Resources effectively is a key gain from such an intervention. People Managers learn how to effectively arrive at the delicate balance between task and people.

New Manager Challenges

New managers face several challenges and understanding how to handle these challenges is essential to their success as well as that of their team. For instance, they may have difficulty delegating or communicating effectively. You may find that they are unable to think like a boss or cannot effectively manage their former peers. The transition from being an employee who does his or her work well to becoming a manager, who must still perform the work while managing others, can be extremely challenging. First-time managers often do not understand the challenges they face and struggle to fulfil their responsibilities. Below are some of the challenges that new managers face, along with some advice on how to overcome them.

Getting a management buy-in

It is common for new managers not to express their ideas and concerns for a variety of reasons, including fear of repercussions, conforming to the company’s top-down culture, and even when they do, they often have difficulty persuading the people at the top. Managers may sometimes need approval from the executive team or business owner before beginning a project. Managers need to learn how to get a buy in of the management, build consensus, manage multiple stakeholders, and also manage their teams. Whenever the decision-making process takes longer than anticipated, progress for the team is likely to be slowed down. The solution to this problem lies in honest communication. You should inform the executive team that you are awaiting information and, if possible, allow your team to complete other tasks. Arrange a one-on-one meeting with the decision-maker in order to expedite the process.

Negativity in the air

Negativity is not inherent in a situation or an individual except for the emotions that accompany it. A person’s attitude or outlook contributes to the spread of negativity. The presence of a single negative employee can turn the positive working environment of an organization into a chaotic, unhealthy, and negative environment. Diverse perspectives and mindsets bring about a more diverse working environment. Optimism is crucial during times of adversity and the manager should always maintain this attitude. Therefore, it is imperative that managers resist these negative attitudes in the workplace. Employees often doubt the transparency of management when they feel distant from their supervisors, particularly if they perceive themselves as doing more than others. Trust is compromised when people feel that they are not part of the plan. Communicating clearly and being honest can help resolve scepticism in most cases since it establishes a bond of trust between manager and employee. Provide an explanation for why you delegated a task, as well as how it contributes to the overall objective.

Overcoming the individual contributor paradigm

Typically, first-time managers are promoted for their exceptional performance as individual contributors. Although an employee may have been an excellent individual contributor, that does not guarantee they possess the skills needed to be a successful leader. Employees may find the transition to leadership challenging. There is a widespread lack of leadership management training that takes place when people move into management roles, even though new managers are faced with a host of new responsibilities. To think like a leader, first-time managers need to consider the factors that led to their promotion, and then they need to re-evaluate all the skills and talents that will help them in this new role.

Managing Former Peers

Managers often manage former colleagues, some of whom may have competed with them for a management position. When a manager is promoted, all of these conflicts are exacerbated. In managing former co-workers, new managers need to strike a balance between being collegial and exercising appropriate authority. It is not necessary for new leaders to distance themselves from their former colleagues, nor do they need to compensate for their new roles by overcompensating. Rather, they should continue to confront the problem head-on. Be careful not to make your promotion awkward, because it would already be awkward if you were promoted over your peers. As new managers seek to build trust and communication among team members and assist them in adapting to the new power dynamics, it is vital that they remain authentic to themselves.

Finding and closing skills gaps

The first step to improving leadership skills is to develop emotional intelligence so that you can recognize your own strengths and figure out what parts of management you tend to dread. After you’ve identified their training needs, you can send them through a course or program that will help them learn new things. Many new managers have strong technical skills they acquired during their time as high performing individual contributors. The skills of a leader are judged and evaluated based on their people management skills, not on their technical skills. Manager training programs must provide management trainees with soft skills such as the ability to motivate, empathize, be vulnerable, and self-aware.

Developing Managers of managers

Training programs designed specifically for senior managers will not be concerned with fundamentals, but rather with developing advanced competencies, ones that will aid them in improving the performance of their team and demonstrate their leadership potential.

Competencies such as

• Performance management
• Developing strategies
• Making decisions
• Risk management
• Problem Solving
• Using critical analysis
• Emotional intelligence
• Management of change
• Mentoring and coaching

It is important for candidates at the senior level to possess competencies such as international business etiquette, cultural sensitivity, and cross-cultural communication. Senior managers must be promoted to higher positions of leadership and global responsibility by focusing on them. The training programs for mid-level and senior managers may be relatively short in duration, for example, two days to three months. The duration of the training program will be determined by the number of competencies to be addressed. There is a greater focus on coaching sessions for senior managers, which may not be necessary for first-time and mid-level managers.

Despite the differences in competencies and training duration, the methodology is the same across all programs. Throughout all training programs, multiple learning elements can be incorporated to create an effective learning journey. Various components, including classroom training, live virtual instructor-led training, eLearning, mobile learning, leader connects or industry expert sessions, storytelling, coaching and mentoring, seminars, learning cafés, projects and assignments can be integrated or combined in various ways to create holistic learning paths. Particularly for First-Time Managers, this is particularly important since the training duration is longer and different elements ensure greater adoption and sustainability.

Therefore, when planning a training program to improve managerial skills, it is important to consider the level of the managers. Based on a thorough analysis of the needs, the competencies that need to be addressed, the duration of training, and finally the methodology to be used with its various components.

Importance of Communication

Effective communication may be defined as the process of exchanging ideas, opinions, knowledge, and intelligence with the goal of reaching the most beneficial outcome. Communication is nothing more than the presentation of views by the sender in a way that is most clearly understood by the receiver. For the purpose of this discussion, effective communication is when all parties involved in the communication (sender and receiver) ascribe similar meanings to the message, listen attentively to what has been said, and make the sender feel heard and understood.

Why is Effective Communication Important?

To lead others, one must exhibit effective communication skills. Managers who communicate effectively are also more likely to become good problem solvers, which is an important skill to function well in the global workplace where diversity is increasing, and conflict is common. Managers who show the ability for verbal and written communication are more likely to get promotion, as well. Effective communication between managers and employees is necessary for a well-functioning workplace.

The subject of effective organizational communication includes both formal and informal communication at all levels of the organization, including communication with employees, to employees and from employees to upper management. A manager may have all the greatest tactics in the world for how to push the business further, but he cannot turn them into action if he has absolutely no connection with the staff members. Thus, for a manager to be effective himself, he needs to be able to motivate them to do more and be more, encourage them, inspire them and listen to their views and concerns. This is the core of communication in management. If a manager cannot communicate with his team, then leadership skills are as good as truant.

• Effective communication can contribute to organizational success in many ways. Effective communication –
• Builds employee enthusiasm, engagement and satisfaction.
• Helps employees understand the terms and constraints of their employment and drives their dedication and loyalty.
• Gives employees a voice to express their opinions—an increasingly significant part of improving employees’ satisfaction with their employer.
• Helps to lessen the chances for misinterpretations and potentially reduces unfairness, injustice, and lawsuits.
• Improves processes and procedures and ultimately creates greater planning and regulation and reduces costs.

In the workplace, communication occurs when the information shared among employees contributes to the success and performance of the organization. Effective communication involves not only the use of words, but also the ability to understand one’s own and the other’s emotions, non-verbal communication, the ability to speak assertively, active listening, etc. In this article we will discuss the requirements for communicating effectively as a manager.

Development Goals

“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” – Jack Welch

The purpose of goal setting, in addition to delivering business results, is to assist people in improving and enhancing their skills and competencies through workplace learning and development initiatives. As a result, it contributes substantially to the development of managerial goals as well as to the overall development of a manager. Managers devote most of their time to helping their employees and teams achieve their goals. This shifts the focus from individual goal achievement to organizational goals.

A majority of organizations state that they do not do a good job in developing leaders. Taking a step back, let us consider why goal setting is relevant to managers and how we can put these plans into action.

The goal of becoming a good leader is too vague. Pick small skills and goals that you would like to develop and create a SMART objective around them. Having a clear understanding of your goals and objectives is a great way to stay focused and connected. It will provide clarity to the team as well, which will in turn help them to reach their long-term goals. It is important to surround yourself with individuals who have different perspectives from your own, so that you can learn from them and gain some experience. You should be aware of your team’s strengths and weaknesses, and work on addressing your blind spots in order to make them work for you.

Once you have completed the goal setting process, you should focus on areas where you can improve. Here are some of the goals which will help managers improve their overall productivity and help them become better leaders:

Improving communication skills will facilitate a team’s overall development. Be sure that managers are clear and concise in both their verbal and non-verbal communication.

Developing coaching and mentoring skills is an effective method of identifying the strengths and weaknesses that your employees possess. Establish measurable and achievable goals for your employees, such as improved performance.

Increasing productivity is one of the most important goals for any manager. Make sure that you and your team set productivity goals that will benefit the organization as a whole.

Great leaders and managers are always willing to collaborate with others. They do not allow any personal issues to interfere with their work. They appreciate the importance of collaboration on a daily basis.

Leading and managing change is a vital skill for managers and leaders. To motivate and prepare managers for any upcoming change within the organization, it is fundamental to set change management goals.

Many managers are uncomfortable with leadership skills. First-time managers are not the only ones who face problems in managing the team, delegating work, providing effective feedback to employees, and resolving conflict. You should make sure that your goals are attainable and can be adjusted as necessary in order to achieve them.

The objectives of each organization are unique. Toward the end of the day, make sure you are working together with your group to identify and achieve objectives that will serve the organization in the long term.

Defining effective communication

Communication is the key to any successful relationship, whether it is personal or professional. It does not matter whether you are communicating with your managers or the employees you supervise, when you communicate effectively with them, you want to be heard and understood. For a business to grow and for your employees to feel happy, motivated, and secure at work, a manager must be able to communicate in an effective manner. Here are a few things that constitute effective communication for managers!

1. Understand the target audience – The biggest mistake a manager can make in communication is to assume that one size fits all. To become a good leader, it is necessary to be aware that audiences will vary from time to time, and that you should always adjust your message to suit the audience you are addressing at a given time. Hence, always consider the kind of audience you are communicating with and use that to determine the type of communication style you employ. This will enable you to communicate effectively as a manager.
2. Listen for potential – Active listening is one of the most important aspects of business communication. When we speak, you are repeating what we already know. Listening, however, gives us a chance to learn something new from others. Your staff members will be pleased to know that you are listening to their needs and concerns as a manager. Managers should answer any questions employees have and give them the opportunity to contribute to the running of different initiatives within an organization. It is crucial to listen to understand what each of the members has to offer so that action can be driven.
3. Make Yourself Available – We all understand the importance of an open-door policy in business. When employees worked in cubicles and managers remained behind closed doors, the open-door policy was designed to literally keep your door open so your employees could come to you at any time with questions or concerns. Although, in the modern era where office spaces are becoming more open and working together has become commonplace, the idea might seem outdated. However, it is still essential that managers remain accessible. Keep your door open as a boss, regardless of whether it is physically or technically. Ensure that your employees know they can talk to you at any time and that they do not feel unwelcome.
4. Give Your Employees the Bigger Picture – Whenever possible, help your employees to understand how their work is related to the achievement of the organization’s goals and success. When people feel empowered in the work they are doing, they tend to be more productive, motivated, and engaged as well as more engaged and motivated. Consequently, we know what kinds of goals they need to achieve, how they fit within the organization, and what contribution their work makes to the organization’s objectives.
5. Communicate with Sincerity – one of the requirements for effectively communicating with a manager is being sincere in your communication. Employees value integrity more than anything else in a supervisor. Therefore, as a manager, you should ensure that honesty is evident in all your interactions with your employees and that you speak to them in a sincere and upright manner. When communicating with your employees, you may feel tempted to hide or sugarcoat things to preserve their feelings of security and motivation or to present a positive image of yourself. Nevertheless, this approach is more likely to have the opposite effect than to be successful in the long run. If you fail to communicate effectively with your employees, they will lose trust in you, and their motivation and productivity will decrease. Therefore, a manager should maintain open and honest communication with his or her staff.

Effective Communication

A manager must not only communicate with his or her staff, but also have effective communication with them, where the message that is intended to be communicated is the one that gets to the recipient, thus enabling the employee to understand and interpret it immediately. There are several workplace related situations and areas in which managers must ensure effective communication.

These workplace related areas of application include:

1. Understanding the Need for Better Employee Relations – Managers who are the most effective and successful realize the importance of developing associations and communicating with employees throughout the organization. The use of effective communication skills is essential for overcoming obstacles and promoting the unified atmosphere that is necessary for an organization to be successful. Employees’ engagement and interest in their work varies according to the situation and context of their work each day. A good manager accepts this reality and can modify his or her communication style in order to motivate employees to achieve the desired outcome.
2. Gains in Productivity – Whether they realize it or not, managers are at the heart of a company’s productivity initiatives. It is crucial to communicate strategies and plans clearly so that staff understands exactly what needs to be done, and how the company expects them to be carried out. At the same time, each team member must understand his or her role, as well as why the task assigned to him or her is important. If the manager cannot ensure that this occurs, employees become self-approving and less interested in their work. Managers must therefore be aware of the role they play in ensuring the productivity of employees and the organization.
3. Globalization and the Impact of Cross-Cultural and Multilingual Work Teams – Cross-cultural and multilingual teams are becoming increasingly common in today’s globalized workplace. Another important aspect for managers to effectively communicate is to develop new communication techniques for interacting with the multicultural and multinational workforce of the modern age. Moreover, employees may identify with and feel connected to a multitude of national groups, which managers must consider when communicating a company’s goals and objectives.
4. Solving Problems – Effective communication skills are closely related to problem-solving skills. Employees who have difficulty on the job often look to their managers for guidance. However, a manager who lacks tact is unlikely to gain the trust he needs to deal with co-worker conflicts, declining performance, or other concerns. In turn, failure to deal with these situations threatens productivity and the ability of the organization to reach its goals.
5. Obtain honest feedback at all times – Communication is essential to receiving and providing honest feedback. Before expressing your opinion to anyone, it is very important to find out what others think. Managers may have difficulty handling these situations because they may not hear pleasant things and may not be able to handle criticism well. However, this is an essential requirement since it provides you, a manager, with a framework on how to improve your communication style. Request feedback regarding your communication style from your supervisor, colleagues, and staff. Let them know that they should be honest without having to worry about the security of their job, especially if they are your employees. Within a short period of time, you will have a clearer understanding of where you are going wrong as a manager. Employers can ask their employees for feedback in an orderly fashion, asking both what they like and don’t like. The next step is to work on your limitations, which will enable you to communicate effectively as a manager.

Leadership Skills for Managers

Choosing to become a manager is a natural progression for most professionals but comes with a host of responsibilities that many are not prepared to handle. Many organizations promote employees based on how well they perform technically as individual contributors and do not consider their people management capabilities. The result is skills gaps for early managers and supervisors. However, these gaps can be bridged if new managers and supervisors are trained in key leadership skills.

The following are key leadership skills that will enhance the success of new managers and supervisors:

1. Collaboration and teamwork – Every manager should be capable of building a strong team that works well together. Having worked as individual contributors for a significant portion of their careers, early managers are unable to move beyond the silo mentality. To achieve team results, it is important to hire the right people and build a supportive and collaborative culture.
2. Giving Effective Feedback – The ability to give effective feedback is vital to a manager’s success. Giving feedback, however, is not always easy. To improve performance, managers must overcome inherent characteristics such as biases and the desire to be liked and focus on providing timely feedback. However, most managers are unable to strike the right balance between providing constructive feedback and providing no feedback at all.
3. Time Management – Managing time effectively is another skill that contributes to the success of any manager. Since managers must balance their own activities with supervision of their teams, they are often overburdened. The result is either constantly working late hours or compromising on individual or team goals. Time management can enable managers to prioritize work effectively.
4. Delegating and Directing – Time management is closely related to delegation skills. A manager cannot succeed if he or she insists on doing everything himself. In addition to freeing up the time of the manager to focus on more critical tasks, delegation helps to develop the skills of team members, increases their independence, keeps them motivated, and helps in succession planning. To delegate effectively, however, it is necessary to consider various factors including team members’ skills, motivation levels, and the purpose of the delegation.
5. Emotional Intelligence – Poor management performance is a result of insufficient emotional intelligence. Managers ought to understand and practice emotional intelligence, which includes being aware of their own emotional triggers as well as those of others. An emotional outburst in a critical situation is detrimental not only to the working relationship but also to the manager’s personal brand.
6. Role of a Coach – Increasingly, managers are also expected to serve as coaches. Managers must enable their team members to get things done and deal with difficult situations as coaches. It is not always required of a manager to provide the solution to every problem, but to guide the team towards the right direction.
7. Development and Motivation of Teams – An essential aspect of a manager’s role is the development and motivation of the team. The manager should be able to identify the motivators of each team member and use those motivators to their advantage. In addition, the manager should be able to develop individual development plans for each team member based on their strengths and weaknesses. The most common mistake managers make is treating each team member equally – providing the same incentives and development opportunities to all. The manager should recognize the individuality of each member of the team and strive to personalize interactions with them as much as possible.
8. Decision-Making – Making decisions is an important skill for a manager to possess. There are many situations in which managers need to make decisions – sometimes in an ambiguous environment or sometimes unpopular ones. Management should possess the ability to navigate through such decision-making scenarios with the utmost professionalism and effectiveness by using a variety of tools and strategies.

People may believe that they are born with the capability and skills necessary to become successful managers. Even though some people have characteristics that may contribute to their development of management skills, leadership skills are best acquired through learning interventions. Managers should have access to learning and training opportunities, either before they are appointed to the position of manager or at the beginning of their tenure in the position.

SMART Goals

Goal Setting is a crucial aspect in every task. Goal setting is omnipresent in the sense, we set goals in our personal and professional life. Goals can be as simple as waking up at 7:00 in the morning or as complex as accomplishing something 5 years down the line. With the understanding that the world has become a highly competitive place, and everyone urges about what is next, goal setting becomes an integral aspect.

Given the importance and the role goal setting plays in this fast-paced world, it is even more crucial for manager. The reason being they not just need to work on goals for themselves but also set goals for their team members and guide them move in that direction.

Let’s start with understanding what is goal setting. It is a step-by-step process of moving towards a target that one wish to achieve. Goal setting as mentioned is a complex act, though the definition seems much simpler. Setting a goal is not difficult but measuring the pain and sacrifices that comes at each step and deciding whether you still want to pursue the goal is crucial. So, in short goal setting not only pertain to deciding the goal but analysing the price one is willing to pay.

As said managers need to set goals for oneself as well for the team and teammates. So, there are certain essential things to focus when engaging in the goal setting process.

It is essential to frame goals that are in line with the company’s overall objectives. If the team members are oriented about how they impact the company’s overall objectives, it is proven they’ll be more focused and tend to contribute better.

Instead of keeping the goal setting process as a one-way road, it is better to make it two way. As in, involve the individuals while setting their goals. The managers might have certain set of goals in mind, but it is always good to ask the individual and plan the goals accordingly. This way they’ll be more committed and perform better.

As known, set SMART goals. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timed. So, when a goal is set based on SMART goals, it becomes more realistic, visible, and quantifiable. This helps for both the managers and the individual to analyse their performance and optimize.

Being managers, it is also essential to keep in mind to set coherent goals for employees of same level. In case of setting goals that are way too different from each other for individuals with similar responsibilities give raise to unnecessary issues in the team.

Praising and appreciating top performers is as crucial as pointing out their mistakes. Rewards boost the employees and accelerate them to perform better. It might also make the other team members change gears and enhance their performance. In case their efforts go unnoticed there is a chance the employee loses their motivation, which is not a very good sign for the team.

Managers shouldn’t think their work ends with setting the goals for the team. It is crucial to constantly work with the team in their goal setting process and create an action plan. Goal setting for manager is a continuous process where they need to constantly work with their team and boost them to reach the goals.

Why Train Early Managers

 Every year, some of the most talented and top performing individual contributors are promoted to the role of managers by the organization in hope that this would replicate their earlier success in their new role. Although, it has been noticed previously that the enthusiasm that is expressed when announcing these promotions is not always followed by the comprehensive support and guidance that is required to navigate through this major transition in their career.

A Deloitte report of 2014 reported that an average of 29 percent of organization’s L&D budget is spent on training a first-time manager. It is not enough even if it sounds like development. Thereby, it becomes significant to recognize the factors that have a critical impact on ensuring that this investment is maximized and so there are no pitfalls to be experienced in the last-minute.

Grovo found that most of the first-time managers didn’t have the right training to be effective on the job despite the contrary expectations of leaders that newly promoted managers are aware of the expectations that come with their role. It was further found that 44 percent felt unprepared for the role and 87 percent wished they received more training.

The importance of training a first-time manager is as follows:

Due to the impact a manager can have on the team, they are expected to be successful. Problems could be created by a bad manager such as unproductive staff. Health issues can be caused by low productivity levels, lack of engagement and unhappiness which companies spend a lot of money on the treatment as a result of bad managers.

A study found that a high and unnecessary staff turnover occurs due to employee’s admittance to leaving an organization due to a bad boss. This could also lead to loss of high-quality talent that could be more expensive to replace.

Training Roll Out for FTM

1. Personality Assessments

Self-awareness is an important aspect in leadership. A proper understanding of individual differences, communication styles and modulation of inappropriate behaviour made critical skills effective. Before promoting the new employees to managerial position, it is wise to make them self-aware and provide better understanding of themselves. The profile created through the personality assessment could provide an insight on the type of manager they will be.

2. Strengths Profiles

Personality assessments should be ideally followed upon with good strengths profile. There are psychological assessments that will highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the manger, which will provide insight to in turn mange them and ensure that their work is effective. Training first-time managers through strength profile, that is providing them insight on their strengths makes them six times more likely to be engaged and effective in work.

3. New Manager Curriculum Courses

The fundamentals are deemed as important for the success of the mangers while training a first-time manager. Training a first-time manager can be carried out through in-person workshops, virtual remote workshops, or on-demand videos for self-paced learning ensuring that it covers everything a first-time manager need to learn.

The five primary skills are:

• Ensuring a smooth transition from individual contributor to first-time manager
• Effective feedback
• Coaching
• Delegating
• One-on-one meetings

It was found by Global Leadership Forecast that millennial managers loathe the long, traditional PowerPoint-driven lectures. They prefer or demand the training they receive be:

• Personalized
• Ongoing
• On-demand
• Mobile
• Coaching-based

It was found that podcasts, short on-demand webinars, book summaries, and even AI-powered chatbots are revolutionizing the online education world which is why one should consider incorporating these methods in training a first-time manager.

While training a first time-manager, the training and support provided to the first-time managers should stop on the account of the training being completed but it should continue despite the successful transition of the employee.

Aptitude Tests for Managers

Managers are crucial to the success of any organization. This requires them to handle many tasks efficiently. Their performance has a direct impact on the productivity of the organization. Hiring a manager who can increase the productivity of the business and manage the team effectively is very important. As part of the assessment of a candidate who has applied for a managerial position, he/she should take a psychometric test to gain an understanding of what he/she can offer the organization. Additionally, psychometric tests will assist in making an informed decision concerning whether to assign someone to a managerial role. Tests such as personality tests, reasoning tests, verbal reasoning tests, numerical reasoning tests, and others are useful to assess the skill set of a potential managerial candidate.

Managers, in general, should have good numerical reasoning, good verbal skills (communication skills) and the ability to simplify complicated situations logically. The above-mentioned psychometric tests may assist in evaluating those aspects of the candidate. In essence, these tests assess an individual’s ability to perform a variety of tasks (that is, test their abilities in various fields).

1. Numerical Reasoning – The objective of the numerical reasoning test is to determine a candidate’s ability to understand, interpret, and manipulate numbers. Testing questions are composed of numerical information, which is represented by graphs, charts, tables, etc. Typically, candidates are required to comprehend a pattern, interpret its meaning, and then select a response. Since managers are expected to analyse reports containing numbers, this capability will facilitate a better analysis of the data.
2. Test of Verbal Reasoning – This test is designed to determine the candidate’s ability to comprehend and interpret verbal and written material. This will primarily test the ability of the candidate to interpret a passage, assess whether statements from the passage are true or false, etc. The purpose of this test is to determine whether one can correctly interpret the information. For managers, this is crucial since they are required to analyse data from various reports.
3. Logical Reasoning Test– The objective of this test is to assess the candidate’s ability to understand different patterns, trends, etc. In addition, it is to investigate how abstract information is interpreted. Generally, this kind of test involves patterns, designs, sequences of images, series, etc. Tests such as these are used when the organization intends to hire someone with the ability to solve problems effectively, understand the connections between patterns and elements, and respond appropriately to new situations. Tests like these are used to evaluate candidates for positions in leadership and management.
4. Critical Thinking Tests– The objective of the test is to assess the candidate’s ability to think critically and interpret the information. This test emphasizes analysing, reasoning, and interpreting information. This type of test usually contains arguments and assumptions. Candidate must identify assumptions, infer meaning, and provide information. Typically, this test is taken by individuals who are applying for managerial positions.

Listed above are several general aptitude/psychometric tests which can be used to assess the skills of a candidate for a managerial position. You are welcome to contact us if you are looking for these types of assessments.

Psychometrics for Managers

Managing people is one of the most challenging aspects of management and leadership roles. There is only one thing we wish people or employees would come with an operating manual to manage them more effectively. As a result of the differences and complexities amongst individuals, every operating manual would have been unique. Thus, there would be hundreds of thousands of operating manuals available, each unique to the individual. Things would have been much simpler even then.

Unfortunately, there is no such operating manual, and people are not machines. As such, managers must learn the key skills of people management so that they can keep their employees motivated, develop them, and drive their performance. Personnel management is one of the key differences between an Individual Contributor and a People Manager. It is perhaps the most crucial competency. At the end of the day, as the saying goes, “People leave managers, not companies.”.

Within this context, assessing managerial potential and people management skills is of utmost importance. Therefore, psychometric tests for managers have tremendous value. Most organizations place a high priority on developing their managers, since they are responsible for recruiting, retaining, and inspiring the company’s assets. The following are some of the most critical people management competencies that should be assessed in managers.

List of People Management Competencies

Affiliation: Managers should be approachable so that doubts can be clarified on time and productivity is not affected. To be affiliated, one must be warm and friendly rather than distant and solitary.

Trust: This is the most important aspect of building a successful team. Especially if the trust is vulnerability-based trust, where each team member is able to express themselves honestly. Managers must also freely trust fellow employees if they wish to develop trust within the team. The practice of holding back tasks and completing them on their own indicates that managers do not trust their employees. Building trust can be achieved by giving away a task, providing structure, allowing the employee to speak up, and providing feedback.

Assertiveness and Control: These capabilities may or may not be separate competencies. In any case, too much people orientation may also be detrimental to productivity, so practicing assertiveness and control becomes vital. The manager must act when necessary and should not leave others to act independently. It is the manager who ultimately is responsible for the completion of each task.

Tactical: This is an extremely important people management competency that can be assessed using a psychometric test. Managers should be tactful and diplomatic in their communications with others and should be able to adjust their behavior based on the person with whom they are interacting. Managers who are tactical are straightforward and transparent when required and avoid disclosing too much information at other times.

Delegation: Managers are responsible for the productivity of their teams. Therefore, delegation is a competency that managers need to possess. Managers must be able to delegate effectively to develop their team members and to accomplish tasks.

Developing people: Managers are also called upon to act in the capacity of a coach or mentor from time to time. They need to take the time to support the people in reaching their full potential and becoming more efficient. To deliver value to the organization, managers are required to play to their individual strengths as well as create holistic teams.

These were some of the critical people management competencies that psychometric tests can be used to determine. Additionally, these tests can help us evaluate various other managerial competencies to arrive at hiring and development decisions for managers.

The Central Test Personality Inventory – Revised (CTPI-R) is one such psychometric test for managers.

Assess Managerial Potential

The manager is always interested in identifying the next generation of talent within his/her organization. However, determining whether a direct report is a management material is not straightforward. Management of people requires different skills than that of an individual contributor. Furthermore, if one wishes to promote the right candidate, how can one ensure that he or she is promoting the right candidate? The good news is that team management skills can be learned. A candidate is only to be evaluated based on behavioral evidence that demonstrates his or her potential to manage a team. The following examples may be helpful:

Verify Intent

A good place to begin is to determine whether the direct report or the candidate is genuinely interested in moving into management positions and is not just thinking that they are the longest tenured employee and should therefore be promoted. The simplest way to assess is to simply ask. Ask them if they would like to be in management, if so, what qualifies them for the position, etc. Asking alone will not suffice; the request must also be accompanied by their respective contributions over the years. Consider asking yourself, “Have I ever seen this person in a lead role rather than just a star performer role?”

Examine their work experience

It is advisable to find out whether the direct report or the candidate has previous management experience. Relevant experience is crucial since it demonstrates not only their experience, but also their key leadership skills.

Organisational knowledge

Once we have assessed the candidate’s skills and work history, we can evaluate their organizational knowledge with respect to the organization’s culture, needs, etc. A candidate must also demonstrate an understanding of the role and how they will lead a team. To assess candidates on their ability to see the bigger picture, connect the dots, think logically and so on, contextual intelligence is an important skill to possess.

Consult with others

Although it is your decision to promote a person, you must also consider other people’s opinions as well. This is referred to as a 360-degree feedback approach.

Observation

Observing the candidate’s actions is important. Are they curious, a learner, resilient in the face of setbacks, asks for assistance, or are they a loner or a team player?  It is also necessary to observe their weaknesses, what makes them angry, what side-tracks them, etc.

Evaluation

On top of these behavioral evidence, one must also use a highly reliable and valid assessment to measure a manager’s managerial potential. Central Test’s CTPI-R Report is one example of such an assessment. It is designed to assess a candidate’s managerial potential, their behavioral competencies, and their leadership abilities. The test assesses 19 personality traits of a good manager to provide a helicopter view of the candidate’s ability to act, think, and react in different situations.

This report can be obtained from Strengthscape.

DISC and Management

The role of the manager is very challenging, ranging from leading the team towards achieving business goals to managing individuals with varying personalities, priorities, and traits. Building cohesive teams, communicating with employees effectively, and preparing them for success are all aspects of effective management.

A DISC assessment provides an easy way to understand people, what motivates them, and what their fears and stressors are. This allows for better management. Therefore, it is imperative to be able to identify the DISC style of everyone to effectively communicate and manage diverse groups of individuals.

The DISC model is so integral to managing people that it is one of the Foundational Skills. For managers to be successful, they need to master the following fundamental skills: Performance Communication, Delegation, and Employee Development.

An important aspect of managing a team is recognizing different personalities and understanding what motivates them to perform at their best. Every individual learns, processes information, works, makes decisions, and communicates differently. People find different work environments motivating and productive.

Workplace conflicts are often a result of misunderstandings and differences in behavioral priorities. Effective managers are capable of defusing conflict situations by understanding each personality type and how they tend to behave in conflict situations. Through this insight, they can foster an environment that is both harmonious and productive. By understanding your employees’ DISC preferences, you will be better able to delegate, communicate, and lead them.

Managing people involves hiring, training, developing, and retaining employees. Organizational leaders are responsible for fostering workplace productivity and professional development. Managers oversee the processes and workflows for tasks and projects by managing people. By providing support to boost employee performance, they ensure everyone works to their strengths.

DISC assessment assists managers in identifying, evaluating, and utilizing their strengths to help each employee achieve their maximum potential. It provides insight on how to make the most of the employees they manage and build effective relationships with them.

Even though there’s no one DISC type that’s better suited to management duties, knowing our DISC style will help us be more effective managers. DISC types have specific management strengths and development areas for different teams or projects. It’s not the best idea to focus on just one DISC style.

Inclusive Leadership

The 6Cs of Inclusive Leadership

Diversity provides companies with the aptitudes, viewpoints, and experiences they require to be successful. Companies are under increasing pressure to hire people from diverse backgrounds, and this is not surprising. But diversity without inclusion is pointless. According to a recent report by Boston Consulting Group (BCS), even though 97% of organizations have a diversity program in place, as much as half of underrepresented groups remain biased in their everyday interactions at work. Why would a diverse population want to work in an organization that does not value inclusion? Of course, they would not. would not. A BCS study reveals that bias is still very prevalent in today’s workforce. Develop your strengths in these six characteristics of inclusive leadership so that you can serve as an example in your organization.

The 6Cs of Inclusive Leadership

See how inclusive you are as a manager by experiencing the “6 Cs” beneath. Ms. Davis, a 20-year HR veteran and diversity and inclusion officer, explains what the 6 Cs are. They represent “openness to a variety of methods of completing tasks, inclining toward some discomfort, and showing courage to grasp the unknown.” Once your goals are established, you will concentrate on ways to improve your scores so you and your team can capitalize on the remarkable thoughts and perspectives that diverse talents can contribute.

Commitment

Will you dedicate your energy, time, and attention to maximizing individuals’ unique contributions? High levels of commitment engage and motivate others to achieve their highest potential.

Courage

What are your views on challenging the status quo and speaking out against deeply ingrained attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that promote homogeneity? Fearlessness goes hand in hand with being courageous and humble. Management that is inclusive is aware of their own shortcomings and is willing to acknowledge them.

Cognizance of Bias

Can you demonstrate an intentional effort to identify your own biases and take steps to prevent them from impacting your hiring decisions? How well do you implement processes, policies, and structures to prevent your organization’s biases from choking diversity and inclusion? Managers who are inclusive believe that individual and organizational biases limit their field of vision and prevent them from becoming objective.

Curiosity

Do you possess an open mentality, and do you strive to limit your blind spots by accepting different viewpoints? Do you practice active listening and respectful questioning? An inclusive manager refrains from making rapid decisions that impede the development of ideas. Incorporating a broad range of thoughts, they enable individuals to feel valued, respected, and that they have a place.

Cultural Intelligence

How does your own way of life impact your own perspective? Are you aware of how cultural stereotypes affect your expectations of other individuals? An inclusive manager is capable of working in a variety of social settings. They know when and how to adapt while also maintaining their own cultural identity.

Collaboration

Do you provide a safe space for all individuals to express themselves freely without judgment or punishment? Management that is inclusive understands the importance of diversity of thought in driving team performance. Both group composition and group processes are taken into consideration.

Following your understanding of the 6CS of Inclusive leadership, it is time to apply these areas in your day-to-day activities to improve your performance.

Diversity & Inclusion Training

Employees who take part in diversity and inclusion training are instructed on how to work effectively with individuals from a variety of backgrounds. Research has demonstrated that diversity and inclusion training increases revenue, improves innovation and decision-making, and creates happier customers and employees.

As part of the company’s diversity and inclusion strategy, diversity and inclusion practices are integrated into the company’s norms, practices, policies, hiring practices, and retention approaches in a way that enables them to shape the organizational culture. It is crucial that managers are trained on diversity and inclusion to implement diversity and inclusion effectively within the organization, as they oversee decisions and have the power to set the tone for a new culture.

The manager needs to understand the “why” behind the program in order to be convinced to accept it. Moreover, it is consistent with adult learning theory that states one cannot maximize the value of a training unless they know why and how it might benefit them and their organization.

In the context of diversity and inclusion, managers can be trained in two main areas:

Developing an Inclusive Team

Training on building inclusive teams should provide managers with the tools for promoting inclusive behaviors. Among these are the approaches to communication, delegation, feedback and facilitating meetings. It will provide concepts, tools, and methods to improve business results. There will be a focus on improving the way diverse groups are managed.  As a result, managers will gain the key competencies required to lead a diverse team with inclusive behaviors and educate the team about the negative consequences of certain behaviors.

Using the skills and competencies the managers acquire during the training program, they can develop a checklist of attitudes and behaviors that will positively affect their team and develop an action plan to accomplish this goal. The action plan must include specific steps, strategies, timelines, and objectives.

Improving Innovation by leveraging Diversity and Inclusion

Managers are responsible for aligning employees with organizational goals and leveraging their abilities to accomplish organizational growth. This is accomplished by fostering trust, developing employees, and coaching them. Diversity and inclusion training for managers is designed to enable them to integrate diversity and inclusion strategies into all these processes in order to ensure long-term growth and success.

In addition to understanding the importance of diversity and inclusion within the team, the team members need to understand how diversity and inclusion will benefit the organization. They are then provided with tools that will aid them in attracting, developing, and retaining diverse talent, while fostering an environment that encourages diverse viewpoints. Consequently, the organization will be able to increase its productivity and innovation while maintaining a competitive edge.

Diversity and inclusion training programs for managers can contribute significantly to creating an environment of workplace support, respect, creativity, and productivity. Managers who participate in these programs receive the tools and competencies they need to create a working environment that will help them to achieve long-term success.

Everything DiSC for Development

Each individual’s perspective is integral to their identity. In many cases, behavior and personality are misunderstood and become sources of stress, affecting both work productivity and work-life balance.

Many people believe that a great employee, a great technical expert, a great accountant, or a great salesperson should make a great manager. However, it is not always the case. Managing involves a set of skills and responsibilities that are not all possessed by everyone and are difficult to develop or improve. The best managers typically undergo a variety of trainings, receive constructive feedback, and receive mentorship.

• How can new managers obtain the training they need?
• What can be done to support struggling managers?
• What are the steps to becoming a great manager?

In order to effectively manage complex and overwhelming tasks, new managers should understand and examine a number of aspects of their personalities. This can be achieved by asking questions such as:

• What is the best way for me to organize my day?
• Am I an effective communicator?
• How do I stay motivated?
• Is it easy for me to direct others?
• What is my approach to conflict?

In this context, DISC plays an important role. DISC provides a few tools that can be used to assist new managers in adjusting to the role and determining their strengths and weaknesses. By focusing on common management behaviors, such as delegating responsibilities and motivating employees, Everything DiSC Management can help a manager build a more accurate understanding of himself as a manager.

Managers can use Everything DiSC profiles to:

• Increasing their self-awareness. Describe how they cope with conflicts, what motivates them, what causes stress, and how they resolve problems.
• Establishes a positive working relationship by identifying communication patterns within the team. Facilitates a positive team atmosphere and resolves conflicts.
• Promotes good teamwork and conflict resolution.
• Focus on the strengths and weaknesses of your team members to manage more effectively.

Self-awareness is essential for managers to determine their own strengths and utilize them at work. This enables managers to understand how they can adapt their behaviors and contribute more to the success of the organisation. Managers who are knowledgeable about themselves are also better able to coach their staff and assist them in their tasks. As managers develop their ability to recognize their own strengths and weaknesses, they are better positioned to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of their staff.

Managers will not be able to make effective decisions based on a company’s mission or to train staff on their roles in achieving the business’s vision if they do not know where their unit fits within the company’s mandate. A company cannot expect a manager to understand or work in favor of the organization if it has not created or communicated a clear and comprehensive vision, the mission of the company and its values. The lack of clarity over the business can be very frustrating to managers and prevent the organization from thriving. By utilizing Everything DiSC Work for Leaders, business leaders can better align their managers and ensure that they understand the organization’s business and that their performance reflects a positive trend.

Managers should understand the importance of clear, concise, and consistent communication. By communicating in a transparent, technology-oriented, audience-friendly manner, executives can make the job of managers easier. Communication skills are extremely important when it comes to creating job descriptions, creating charts that are easy to read, delivering presentations or conducting effective meetings. It is not only important to deliver your message correctly, but also to pay attention to what you are saying. Oftentimes, new managers may hesitate to ask questions because they feel they should know all the answers. Inquiring can help build trust and produce insightful information. Leaders should encourage their employees to ask questions such as “what are the changes you would make if you were given my position tomorrow?” or “what are your expectations from me and my team for this project?”.

In order to perform their assigned tasks effectively, managers must ensure that their subordinates are properly trained. They are often held responsible for retaining employees. The employee is responsible for providing resources, additional training, new opportunities, work flexibility, and information regarding career opportunities within the organization. In order to achieve the organization’s goals, the best managers maintain professional relationships with former employees and make use of their network. Moreover, they are responsible for identifying and highlighting the talents and skills of their team members.  It is therefore imperative that they are trained to understand what motivates their employees in order to delegate upcoming opportunities and tasks accordingly.

The success of a team is critical to the success of a business. Managers are responsible for the success of their teams, which can be achieved by modelling effective team behavior. When new leaders receive an Everything DiSC Group Culture report, they can gain a head start on decoding team dynamics.

Everything DISC Management

The DISC Profile for Managers and Supervisors

Specifically built for managers and supervisors, Everything DISC Management is a personality assessment. The strategy combines the power of DISC with strategies that assist managers to manage more effectively and foster a positive workplace culture.

The Everything DISC series is published by John Wiley & Sons. As a leading behavioral profiling tool, it uses the DISC model to assist people in understanding their unique personality traits. Everything DISC Management Profile is an online DISC-based profile that generates a comprehensive 26-page report that addresses issues unique to management. Respondents complete a short survey and are provided with an instant profile report.

Most managers would like more management training. Managers are often promoted because of their exceptional work performance. Not all excellent employees make excellent managers. The individual will need to acquire a new set of interpersonal skills that may not be natural to them. Millions of people have benefited from DISC training, regardless of their title and position. Now managers have their own DISC profile.

This online assessment, which has been research-validated, asks participants to answer behavior-specific questions based on a five-point scale. Based on the DISC model, the results are used to determine the candidate’s Management priorities preferences and tendencies. By using the latest adaptive testing methodology, each participant receives personalised insights that enable them to optimise their experience.

With the Everything DISC Management Profile, managers can evaluate their own DISC style and learn to adapt it to make them a better manager.

Management skills that can be improved by understanding your DISC Management style are related to:

• The act of directing and delegating
• Creating motivation and a favorable environment
• That promotes the development of direct reports
• To manage their working relationship with their superiors

During each module, managers will receive training in specific strategies for communicating more effectively, delegating effectively, coaching effectively, and managing effectively.

How everything DISC Management works

The Everything DISC Management program has been developed to support a larger Management training program. Everything DISC Management enables your managers to develop social skills to make them more effective managers. With the support of the profile, the program seeks to apply insights for:

• Developing the next generation of leaders
• Improving Management Effectiveness
• Enhancing Employee Motivation
• Improving Communication with all direct reports
• The development of managerial skills at the front line and mid-level

Managers at every level can become more effective by using Everything DISC Management. You may find this profile useful if your managers have direct reports.

Also included is access to a free online learning portal called MyEverythingDISC. Each participant who has taken an Everything DISC assessment may access this portal to listen to a podcast on their style, create a free comparison report, and create a group map based on their DISC style. Additionally, it can be used in a guided setting after the training is completed.

You can easily customize the profile. The report can be rearranged or deleted, its title can be customized, or selected portions of the report can be printed.

Force Multiplier Program

Strengthscape’s Force Multiplier Program includes the following features:

Strengthscape’s first-time manager (FTM) program – “Force Multiplier Program” addresses these dilemmas and focuses on three levels of managerial development:

• Excellence in personal achievement
• Excellence in organizational performance
• Excellence in teamwork

The term Force Multipliers refers to tools that assist a person in maximizing their productivity. Investing in Force Multipliers will increase results with the same amount of effort.

First Time Manager training can help you:

1. Explain the role of a manager to the participants.
2. Develop a sense of ownership and commitment.
3. Provide participants with the opportunity to enhance their executive presence.
4. Drive customer centricity throughout all processes and actions to enhance the effectiveness of the organization.
5. Develop the ability to communicate effectively and persuasively with internal and external stakeholders.
6. Create effective methods for aligning individuals and teams to organizational goals.
7. Direct and delegate tasks to team members using a flexible and methodical approach.
8. Demonstrate behaviors that promote a high level of trust and collaboration.
9. Ensure high productivity and a motivated team, there must be a balance between task and people orientation.

 Who should attend this program?

• First-time managers and team leaders
• Individual contributors who expect to be promoted
• Leaders and managers of start-ups

Benefits of DISC Training for Managers

Management requires a customized approach to assigning, directing, motivating, and developing direct reports to gain their attention and commitment. An effective manager takes time to understand the needs of their direct reports and adapts their communication and work style accordingly. Everything DISC Management profiles can provide managers with valuable insight into the behavioral needs and priorities of their team members, enabling them to tailor their approach accordingly. Here are five reasons why DISC can improve management skills.

Know your people well to manage them better

Managers have difficulty managing people in their teams because they fail to pay attention to the behavioural style of their team members. Management must be able to orchestrate the direction of workplace interactions; therefore, it is imperative that they understand the “how” and “why” of those interactions. One of the primary goals of DISC training for managers is to develop an understanding of different DISC behavioral styles. An effective people manager is able to effectively influence and manage people once they have mastered this skill.

Learn to design objective performance management systems using DISC

Developing an objective, impartial performance management system is the key to retention. Performance management relies on feedback to maintain effectiveness. Throughout the DISC Training Program, clear, concise instructions are made available on how DISC can be used to create non-judgmental appraisal and feedback systems in an organization. This training is designed to assist in understanding the application of comparison reports for the purpose of highly objective comparisons between individuals, and group culture reports for group comparisons. Additionally, there are inputs provided regarding whether an individual fits a given role, and how to provide personalized tips as part of mentoring sessions aimed at improving an individual’s performance at work.

Using DISC tools to increase Team Collaboration

Managers frequently vacillate between improving individual performance and improving team performance. The current management and employee evaluation system requires managers and employees to be evaluated on how well their contributions contribute to the team’s goals or the organization’s objectives. Managerial drive has a significant influence on how team members collaborate and contribute beyond their personal goals. This course examines how DISC tools can be used to create cohesive teams that rank high on trust, commitment, and accountability. Additionally, they are briefed on other tools such as the Five Behaviours of a Cohesive Team or the Team Dimensions Profile, which are assessments that primarily focus on team building.

Learn the Art of Effective Delegation

Several studies have shown that people who are assigned tasks they are particularly skilled at exhibit greater levels of initiative, responsibility, and commitment. Managers may find it challenging to anticipate what each member of their team is naturally good at and what they enjoy doing. DISC training for managers includes sessions that address how to identify a person’s behavioural style and explore roles where he or she might excel. It is also possible to achieve your objectives by understanding how an individual’s approach works and finding their way through it. DISC training for managers also focused on providing strategies for how inputs from DISC Assessments can help put people into groups where they will be comfortable collaborating.

Interview training program for Hiring Managers

Programs designed to train managers in interviewing skills ensure that managers use best practices to select the best candidates with the proper knowledge, skills, and attitude. In this way, the organization can determine whether the candidate will be compatible with its culture.

Finding the right person for a position is crucial to ensuring your team can give their 100 percent to the work. In an interview, it is important to set the appropriate expectations for the interviewee. The interviewer and the interviewee should benefit equally from the interview. As a team or organization, you should ensure that you find the perfect match that will help you achieve your organizational goals.

In addition to the structure of an interview, there are certain behavioral competencies that are essential to establish a connection with the applicant. Below are the three most important behavioral competencies.

• Empathy– Having the ability to identify the candidate’s emotions during the interview and then converse accordingly will help the interviewer to gain a deeper understanding of the candidate.
• Listening skills – The ability to effectively listen to a candidate enables the interviewer to make a stronger connection with and better understand the applicant. Having active listening skills allows one to be empathetic and ask clarifying questions to the candidate accordingly.
• Inquiry – A successful interviewer should be able to ask effective questions. The way an interviewer frames and phrases his or her questions is very important and determines the quality of the responses they receive.

A bad hire can cost a whole lot more than hiring a qualified candidate. During the selection process, a significant amount of time, money, and energy is invested in the candidate. If that is not worth the resources spent, the process will be in vain. In many instances, managers are required to interview prospective candidates prior to describing the recruitment process, plan, level of experience and knowledge they should possess, etc.

It is essential that hiring managers be made aware of these hiring decisions and that they receive training in interviewing techniques. If they are familiar with the overall process, aspects to be considered and remembered during the interview, and what to do before and after the interview, they will be better able to conduct interviews. Below are some considerations:

• The hiring manager should ensure that the job they are communicating is aligned with the job description.
• Hiring managers should be trained to evaluate a candidate’s qualifications and skills by reviewing the relevant documents and asking the right questions.
• Frequently, candidates believe that hiring managers have not provided them with accurate information regarding the position and its responsibilities, the culture within the organization, the benefits they would receive while employed, and how the position will support their career development. It is important to provide this information because it allows the interviewer and the interviewee to make an informed decision and assures them that they have applied to the right organization.
• While recruiting, a legal perspective is very important to consider. Hiring is a complex process. Employing managers should be aware of what can legally be asked in an interview (i.e., questions that do not make the candidate feel uncomfortable) from the interviewee to ensure a positive interview experience.
• Hiring managers should be trained to identify and control their biases during the recruitment process.

Candidates view the hiring managers as brand ambassadors of the organization and, as a result, the experience they provide leaves a lasting impression on them. The interview training program for managers should convey the importance of this element to the hiring managers so that they are able to present themselves and the organization appropriately.

The hiring manager’s most important duty is to hire. It will have an impact on other aspects of the business and the functions if they do not do it properly. The organization should provide hiring managers with the skills and abilities they need not only for interviewing but also for understanding the entire recruitment process. By having better hires, the organization can achieve its long-term goals.

Business Ethics for Managers

Managerial ethics is closely related to a firm’s sensitivity to social issues. Ethics is the study of what is right and wrong, good, and bad, or what complies with moral duty and obligation. Essentially, this entails a code of conduct that guides the actions of managers in their daily tasks. Managerial ethics refers to a set of moral principles and rules that govern the behavior of an individual or a group of individuals. Business ethics refers to the application of ethical standards in business relationships and activities.

It is assumed that when managers assume professional responsibility, they will do so ethically, that is, they know what is right and what is wrong. It is crucial for managers to follow business ethics since they combine key qualities such as integrity, trustworthiness, and compassion, which are essential for successful management. It is the responsibility of the manager to ensure that everything is thought and implemented with the best interests of the employees, stakeholders, and the organization as a whole in mind. The purpose of this article is to discuss business ethics for managers.

Approaches to Business Ethics for Managers

Business ethics for managers can be categorized into three approaches:

Utility-based approach

Using this approach, managers analyze the effects of their decisions on the people affected by them. Rather than concentrating on the motivation, this approach focuses on the action itself. Management evaluates both positive and negative results, and actions are justified when the positive effects outweigh the negative effects. An example of management ethics code under the utilitarian approach is pollution standards and analysis of its effects on society.

Moral rights approach

An ethical code of conduct that follows this approach protects the most fundamental and moral rights of humans, such as freedom of speech, equality and freedom, safety and life, the right to express one’s feelings, etc. Organizations of all kinds disclose information in their annual reports that is necessary for the welfare of its members.

Social justice approach

A manager’s actions are seen as fair, just, and equitable across all groups and individuals, in accordance with this approach. The company does not discriminate against employees on the basis of caste, religion, race, or gender; however, the company makes distinctions based on performance or production. It is justifiable to treat employees who are more productive and dedicated differently than those who are less productive. An employee with the same skills should be treated equally regardless of gender, race or religion.

Managers should be aware of the importance of business ethics

Business ethics means doing business by self-accepted moral principles and standards. An organization’s or business’ code of conduct is made up of a set of moral guidelines. Business ethics aren’t just about how companies interact with clients, they’re also about society. From a business perspective, it is the value of right and wrong actions. Business ethics goes beyond workplace conduct; it includes how one interacts with clients and everyone in the organization.

Organizations with a high standard of ethical behavior are appreciated and recognized for their presentation of factual information, respect of everyone, and adherence to the norms, rules, and regulations. The principles of business ethics refer to the conduct of business in a way that serves both social and economic interests, and is fair and equitable to all, since every strategic decision has a moral consequence. The primary objective of business ethics is to provide individuals with practical methods of resolving moral dilemmas. In a business, ethical decisions can have many implications, such as a satisfied work force, high sales, absenteeism, low regulation costs, turnover, more customers, and high goodwill.

360 Degree Feedback for Managers

As well as an assessment tool, the 360-degree feedback method allows managers to receive feedback from their direct reports, managers, supervisors, peers, as well as partners and customers. Many 360-degree assessments are completed by individuals for their own evaluation.

The feedback from this survey provides managers with an opportunity to understand how their performance as a supervisor, colleague, employee, or peer is perceived by others. The purpose of an effective feedback procedure is to provide feedback that is based on behaviors that other employees can observe. In addition to providing feedback, organizations gain a clear understanding of the behaviors and skills they need to achieve their vision, mission, and goals, and to live according to their values. An organization’s commitment to exceeding customer expectations is firmly rooted in this information.

The people who provide feedback to the manager, i.e., the raters, are jointly selected by the manager and the organization. The raters are usually the individuals who interact regularly with the manager being evaluated. An objective of 360-degree feedback is to provide managers with actionable information about their strengths and weaknesses, and to provide information regarding their work that requires improvement.

Debated are going in the organization about how to:

• Decide on the feedback process and tools
• Select the raters
• Review the feedback provided.
• Accept and confirm the feedback
• Utilizing feedback to develop an individual

Advantages of 360-degree feedback

Jack Zenger reports that more than 85% of Fortune 500 companies use 360-degree assessments as part of their leadership development program. The following are some positive features identified by companies who have used 360-degree assessment feedback for their employees.

Team development

The team can work more efficiently when feedback is provided. A multi-rater feedback system makes them more accountable since they know they will be providing feedback for each other. The feedback process can enhance team development and communication.

Personal and organizational performance development

360-degree feedback is one of the most effective methods for understanding your personal and organizational needs. It is possible for you to comprehend what motivates your employees to work together and what impacts their success because of your organization’s policies, procedures, and approaches.

Career development responsibility

Employers are no longer responsible for the career development of their employees for a variety of reasons. Employers are increasingly required to provide an environment that fosters employee career growth and development. In addition, many employees feel that this feedback process is a more accurate method of providing feedback than simply receiving an appraisal from their supervisors. As a result, the assessment is more relevant to a person’s career and personal development.

Reduced risk of discrimination

A reduction in discrimination occurs when feedback is provided by employees on different levels, regardless of age, race, gender, etc. This will also reduce the “halo” effect, in which a supervisor evaluates an employee based on recent performance.

Enhanced customer service

Every employee receives feedback regarding the service or product’s quality, especially in a feedback process that includes internal or external customers. As a result, the individual will be able to improve the quality, reliability, promptness and comprehensiveness of these products and services.

It is all about the details in this assessment. Before you act, assess your organization’s readiness, and learn from previous mistakes. Upon receiving feedback, implement effective measures. You will be able to add a powerful assessment tool to your leadership management and enhancement arsenal if you do the right things.

The Importance of Problem Solving and Decision Making for Managers

Problem-solving and decision-making are integral parts of effective management. Though all employees are frequently faced with similar situations at work, it is essential that a manager can take informed decisions and resolve issues promptly because this is one of the responsibilities of their position. In addition, it is also crucial that a manager takes proper decisions and solves problems correctly, as this has significant effects on the functioning of the organization.

A decision could be defined as the deliberate choice of actions from among numerous alternatives. The act of solving a problem, on the other hand, involves finding solutions to difficult problems. Taking the right decisions is often a prerequisite for solving a problem tactfully.

Steps in Problem Solving and Decision Making

1. Defining the problem

This is an essential step since it is essential to understand the problem, and most people make mistakes at this stage. The problem is perceived differently by each individual and defining the problem clearly can help to achieve clarity. In case the problems are complex, it is best to break and absorb them into smaller parts. Likewise, it is advisable to discuss with someone one’s perception of a problem, as a form of verification. When defining the problem, it is imperative to remain free from emotion so that the problem may be as objective as possible. By defining a problem objectively, half of the issue is resolved.

It would be helpful to prioritize and address the most crucial issues if it appears that two or more problems are being tackled simultaneously. It is also important to distinguish between important and urgent issues.

2. Brainstorm possible alternatives

This phase consists of brainstorming the various possibilities for solving the problem. In a nutshell, brainstorming is the process of coming up with as many ideas as possible to address an issue. The more complex the issue, the more ideas are needed. In this regard, one could be very creative with the ideas as they would prove to be effective. In addition, it is beneficial to involve other people in this process so that different perspectives can be considered.

Many people make the mistake of eliminating ideas at this stage. Brainstorming is about coming up with as many ideas as you can – even the most outrageous! A process of elimination follows.

3. Choosing an alternative

After generating a pool of ideas, each is analysed, and the pros and cons are weighed. Through the process of evaluation, the options can be narrowed down, and the most effective and feasible solution can be selected. Evaluation should be based on merit alone. To achieve an unbiased and balanced perspective, it is essential to involve key stakeholders in this process.

4. Implementing the solution

It is now time for action. The narrowed down and chosen alternative is now applied to the problem. This requires a well-conceived and well-executed plan. The steps must be constantly monitored. Checks should be conducted to determine whether the steps follow the plan.

5. Results Evaluation

Evaluating the result leads to an understanding of the effectiveness of the alternative. It would be helpful to evaluate whether the plan was successful by investigating what ideas contributed to its success as well as incorporating any changes that may be needed. In the event it did not prove to be effective, just choose another option from the available options.

The characteristics of a good problem solver

• The ability to be flexible rather than rigid when considering alternative options
• An attitude of viewing problems as obstacles
• Ability to learn from a situation and avoid repeating mistakes
• Capacity to judge whether to use complex or short-cut methods to solve problems
• A willingness to listen to other people’s ideas and to accept them
• An approach that is future oriented. This would involve minimizing the future occurrence of the problem rather than addressing it for the time being

Characteristics of an Effective Decision Maker

• They usually base their decisions on reliable data and evidence
• Knowledge of a variety of subjects and maturity in handling problems
• Ability to communicate effectively with different parties involved in the process
• Despite the results, they are responsible for their choices
• Evaluates different options before deciding

Leader versus Manager

A great deal of literature has been written about the difference between a leader and a manager. While the article below summarizes the essence of the popular view on this, we prefer to consider leadership and managerial roles from the perspective of tasks. The management tasks involve one-to-one communication, while the leadership tasks involve one-to-many communications, for example, setting business goals, improving processes, developing organizations, maintaining partner relations, etc. Motivation, delegation, and upward management are all aspects of management.

Now the popular view.

Any group setting or organization contains individuals that others seem to gravitate toward. In general, these individuals are highly motivated, very good at communication and have a positive vision.

Leaders are not limited to the business world – they can also be found on the sports field or in non-profit organizations. One common quote outlines the difference between a manager and a leader: “Managers have subordinates, leaders have followers.” Leaders with outstanding qualities are those who not only have a vision but 9motivate their team members to achieve their objectives.

In general, leaders are charismatic, positive, and focused on ensuring their team members understand and embrace the vision. Managers, on the other hand, tend to have a vision and advise their employees on how to attain them.

It is possible for a person to serve as both a manager and a leader. In the role of a manager, you are working towards achieving short-term objectives and goals. When acting in a leadership role, you are imagining a vision for the future and laying out the strategy to motivate others to follow you.

Below are the key differences between a manager and a leader:

Leader inspires, manager directs. People frequently confuse management jobs with leadership roles. Management and leadership are distinct roles. In the context of leadership skills, the ability to encourage and inspire others, striving to work with sincerity and deliver an effective result, hence enhancing the success of their organization, can be defined. Both the leader and manager require certain leadership skills.

Managers appoint, leaders execute. Generally, a manager is the person who designates his or her leader. An individual may choose from a variety of deserving candidates who are then assigned the responsibility of leading the implementation of certain projects. A leader is responsible for setting guidelines, providing direction, and guiding a team to achieve the set objectives. A leader works alongside his or her team. An exceptional individual who has also proved to be a successful leader on different assigned projects may, in time, be considered for a management position.

The manager seeks efficiency, the leader is a coach. The leader mentors his or her team for success. An administrator or manager is primarily responsible for administrative or managerial tasks that require effective performance in the workplace. As a result, it is easy to understand why employees are generally more enamored with their leaders than with their managers. Managers generally delegate their responsibilities to employees. Nevertheless, a leader attempts to assist his/her team members in completing the project and distributing the workload among them as much as possible.

There can be no doubt that when considering the roles of both managers and leaders, there are both positive and negative points to consider. However, one of the differences between these two jobs is that employees who work under them can easily sense the intentions that motivate their behavior day in and day out.

There are various leadership styles. There is no way that one style is superior to another because each has advantages and disadvantages of its own. Leading like a coach is one of the leadership styles that has gained favor recently. By embracing a people-oriented philosophy, where leaders assist individuals in leveraging their unique strengths and talents to achieve organizational goals, leaders can lead like coaches by letting go of the traditional notion of leadership as controlling and administering a part of the organization toward a better future. Executive coaching supports leaders as they grapple with complex changes within their organization and their role. The process typically impacts the leadership style of the coach, improves interpersonal relationships, assists in transitioning into a new role, circumvents or corrects derailing behaviors, and builds on strengths. 

The team leader serves as a coach for the team members, assisting them in setting appropriate goals, recognizing and overcoming potential roadblocks, and enhancing performance. Coaching involves encouraging team members to become better versions of themselves. Individual coaching sessions with team members are required. It is crucial that certain times be set up for these sessions. Pushing these workshops into the weekly task meetings is not optimal. A competent team leader can assist the team members in addressing problems and accomplishing objectives by taking on the role of a coach. Additionally, coaching emphasizes talks and developing employee and career development initiatives. 

An individual or a group is trained, counseled, or given instructions on how to build abilities to increase productivity or resolve a performance issue through executive coaching. It is crucial to remember that coaching is a continuous process until the goal is attained. It shouldn’t be carried out as a disciplinary measure merely when the employee’s performance suffers. It should be applied to both employee development and performance enhancement. Otherwise, the process won’t gain your trust. 

When discussing the advantages of coaching employees, it has been discovered that employees are quite content with their jobs and that the retention rate is also very high in companies with strong coaching cultures. Additionally, coaching is more cost-effective in the long run than formal training programs because it has a bigger impact, although it is still technically very expensive. Furthermore, with the right coaching, mistakes and expensive errors can be avoided.  

Strengthscape is a coaching and leadership development company that offers services like leadership development, mentorship, and training. Numerous well-known businesses from a variety of industries are among our clients, and we collaborate with some of their top executives. We have worked with clients both domestically and abroad and are situated in Bangalore. More than 25 of the coaches on our team are certified by the International Coach Federation and have a wealth of coaching and mentoring experience. 

For the development and transformation of leaders into skilled coaches, Strengthscape provides a clearly defined approach, support system, and validated tools and strategies to assure dependability, sustainability, and broad-based effect. We help leaders develop their self-awareness, perspectives, and ability to identify their strengths and limitations before assisting other team members in doing the same. Our coaching approach, DANCE, which focuses on the aforementioned, was able to produce a number of beneficial outcomes.  

The concept of employee engagement in human resources (HR) refers to how enthusiastic and committed an employee is to their work. Employees who are engaged are concerned about their work and the success of the organization and believe that their contributions matter. An engaged employee is in it for more than just a salary and may believe that their performance and, by extension, their well-being, are directly related to and essential to the success of their organization. Given its obvious connections to job satisfaction and employee morale, employee engagement can be crucial to a company’s success. Engagement among employees can only be established and sustained via effective communication. Engaged employees are generally more productive and also perform better. They frequently exhibit a stronger dedication to a company’s ideals and objectives. 

Employers can promote employee engagement in a variety of ways, such as by setting clear standards, rewarding exceptional work, informing staff about the company’s performance, and giving frequent feedback. Other tactics include making an attempt to give workers a sense of worth and respect, as well as a sense that their opinions are being heard and understood. Employees who are engaged in their job feel that it is important, that their managers value and support them, and that they have been given responsibility for the company’s success. 

Employee engagement is a term used to describe how committed and enthusiastic employees are to their work and how involved they are in the organization. Employees that are engaged are more likely to be satisfied, and committed to the company. Organizations can guarantee that their staff members are happy and engaged, which will increase their loyalty to the company. Although coaching was first intended for personal improvement, it is now changing to support employee engagement. The use of coaching approaches and principles in employee engagement strategies has produced the desired outcome. As a result, it is frequently used in the field of employee engagement services. 

In order to help leaders, develop these abilities and increase staff engagement, a coach is required. Employee satisfaction and engagement are essential for any business since they have an impact on the output. Strengthscape’s employee engagement services help companies work on staff retention strategies and techniques to deal with problems that arise in the same context. We employ a special coaching style we call the DANCE methodology. Finding the areas for improvement in employee engagement comes first, then action plans are created to address the problems and increase organizational retention.  

In addition to coaching at the individual level, leaders can also coach at the group level to increase employee engagement. The DANCE approach from Strengthscape is adaptable and convenient for everyone. It has been demonstrated to be effective at raising current levels of employee engagement in the organization, which has an effect on the organization’s growth.