Managing Change

"We Must Become the Change We Want to See in the World" This is what Gandhi said to his aides as he went on a hunger strike after deadly clashes between his country’s Hindu and Muslim communities. The physically fragile man vowed not to eat again until the two groups stopped fighting. All the pleas of his aides were to no avail. Only when peace returned did he stop his fasting. His actions spoke much louder than any words. Such is the mark of great leaders. How do you communicate change in your organization? Publications, communication campaigns and training programs can certainly introduce and explain the change. But only when top management “become the change they want to see” in the organization will anybody else believe the change message. As a leader, manager, or staff specialist, ask yourself: "Have I become the change I want to see in this organization?"

How to Motivate Your Boss

Until recently, almost all writings on motivation were designed to give the manager techniques to motivate his or her staff. It was assumed that motivation was a one-way street that runs from top to bottom. The same thing used to be thought of communication, until someone discovered that it was a two-way street. The new thinking in organization and management development says that employees should be concerned about motivating their bosses, and should not take a passive role toward this issue. But how do you motivate your boss? Here are some of the most effective ways: 1- TAKE THE INITIATIVE: Don’t wait for your boss to “give” you work. Find out what needs to be done and suggest to your boss that you do it. 2- GENERATE NEW IDEAS: Think of better ways to do the work in your area and outside of your area too, and tell your boss about it. 3- OFFER YOUR HELP: Your boss needs your support and help. Show her that you’re there to provide full support. 4- ASK YOUR BOSS TO DELEGATE: Your boss might not be aware that you are ready to assume more responsibilities and take on new challenges. Ask the boss to delegate responsibilities you think you can take on. 5- OFFER SOLUTIONS: Don’t limit your contacts with the boss to the times you bring up a problem or a request for help. Bosses need to hear solutions, not just problems. 6- OFFER COMPLIMENTS: The boss is human. She needs to receive compliments when she does something truly outstanding, or when she helps you in a positive way. Don’t worry that it might sound insincere. Compliments, done in good taste and for a good reason, are always appreciated as long as you don’t over do it. 7- SHOW COMMITMENT: It’s important for the boss to know that you care about your work, about the organization, and about the boss. Show that you care, in words and in action. Go out of your way to provide good service and promote the company, and the department’s name. 8- STAY POSITIVE: Employees who talk and act in a negative way can depress people around them, including the boss. It’s important for your own mental health and for that of others that you stay positive and enthusiastic. This is the best way to make your relationship with others smooth and fruitful.

Why Use Coaching?

Why Use Coaching To Develop Self and Others? The great advantage of coaching as a developmental process is that it provides the opportunity for one-on-one training, guiding, instructing, observing, modeling, evaluating performance, and providing corrective action. All of this can be done on the job or even by phone. It occurs through regular sessions as the person is performing and applying the principles and ideas discussed in the coaching sessions, with immediate feedback from the coach. At work, coaching can be provided by a consultant, a training professional specializing in coaching, or the person’s own supervisor if versed in coaching techniques and equipped with its tools. The advantages of coaching over other developmental processes can be summarized in the following points: 1. It provides one-on-one interaction 2. It focuses totally on the person being coached and his or her developmental needs 3. It provides hands-on, real-life guiding of the person being coached, not preaching or teaching. 4. It provides modeling by the coach of the desired behavior in its best form. 5. The coaching process is modeled after sports, the most common experience people have of developing their skills at an early age in an enjoyable activity. 6. The close interactive nature of coaching provides close observation of behavior, and appropriate intervention in a timely manner. 7. Coaching focuses on results and therefore includes tools and processes for measuring these results in the real world, where the game of life is actually played. 8. Because coaching is experiential as opposed to conceptual, it enables an exhilarating experience of being fully engaged in the moment, aware of the presence of the new skills, and cognizant of the immediate results in real life. 9. Because coaching enables you to actually feel and see yourself getting better at what you do on a daily or weekly basis, it is the process that most quickly helps people feel more powerful and self-confident. 10. Because of its intensity and one-on-one interaction, coaching builds a powerful human bond between the coach and the coached. The power of this relationship is a value in itself.

Work or Play?

A master at the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which, he simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always seems to be doing both. Getting old is a state of mind. There are people who feel old at thirty something, and others who feel young at sixty something. One way to keep feeling young is to keep learning. You can learn new skills at work, new hobbies off work, and new ways of doing the things you do. Learning keeps the mind young and makes the spirit soar. At the end of each day, ask yourself: "What have I learned today?"