Weekly Diary

Effective Communication Skills

Last week, I did some training with a group of schoolteachers… on the terminology used in financial services.

As well as knowing your subject, good Communication Skills are paramount when you are training, developing or coaching others. There are many aspects to this, but here is one simple example.

When I asked which terminology they particularly wanted to discuss, a lady put up her hand and said that she couldn’t quite see how ‘Market Value Reductions’ worked. (There is something strangely satisfying about having teachers put up their hands to ask you a question….but I digress.) more…

Myers-Briggs®

Last week, I  was on urban safari. In the manner of David Attenborough, I have been observing the behaviours of a fledgling ENFP in its natural habitat as it prepares to migrate to sunnier climes for the summer.

Ok… so I’ve just been to stay with my little brother in London for a few days, before he goes off travelling, but it got me thinking…

ENFP is one of sixteen personality types used in the renowned Myers-Briggs® personality type model. All 16 personality types have their own unique preferences and blind-spots. This explains, to some extent, why we get on so well with some people, while others infuriate or baffle us. more…

Conflict Management

A friend returned to work after a week’s holiday on Monday, to find some of her staff staging a mini rebellion. They gave her a list of demands. I gave her some tips on conflict management.

“Give and take”, I said.

“But they’re the conflict. And I’m the management!”, she wailed.

more…

Coaching Skills

• No. of reasons coachee gave for his recent poor sales performance when we met this week:      Lost count after 15
• No. of real reasons why his performance was suffering: 1

I found myself giving an impromptu coaching session this week, to a usually top performing salesman who had temporarily misplaced his mojo. (Hey, I ‘m down with the kids, what can I say). more…

Myers-Briggs®

• No. of different personality types I have encountered this week:           16

• No. of different personality types I have got along well with this week:  16

This week, I have mostly been discussing Myers-Briggs®.

First, in a training session with 2 senior managers – to help them better understand the impact they have on their teams and how they can adjust their approaches for individual staff members, to get better results.

Next, in a discussion with an IT manager about how to improve his communication with the company’s executive team by making a few simple changes to the language he used. more…

Performance Management

• No. of salespeople under-performing in the company I am working with (year to date); 6 (out of 46)

• No. of these salespeople who need help rather than a kick up the bum: 5

When something like the snow gets in the way, it’s easy to use this as an excuse to fall behind with targets. In Financial Services, for example, successful salesmen and women will use such situations to their advantage. They might not be able to get out to see prospective clients but they can phone them. They can even use the snow as a conversational ice breaker (see what I did there?) to build an instant rapport.

Not everyone has the same level of drive, initiative or know-how though. It’s not that they deliberately come to work, hoping to fail. Usually people fail to deliver when they don’t know what to do or they lack confidence. This is where good team performance management comes in.

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Team Morale

• No. of centimetres of snow the weather men promised for Bournemouth:     21

• No. of centimetres of snow that actually arrived:      2

The Big Freeze is upon us. It fascinates me how different people react to situations like this. Some, like my brother in Kent, seized the opportunity to build a pink igloo (as you do) and convert various pieces of furniture into sledges. Others chose to add this turn of events to their list of post Christmas grumbles. more…

Self Motivation

• No. of friends merrily wishing me Happy New Year on 31 December:   14

• No. of formerly merry friends now deeply depressed at having to return to work today: 14

Why is it that people are generally so much happier as Christmas approaches? Supermarket cashiers smile and stop making you feel like an evil planet destroyer for forgetting to bring your own carrier bags. Motorists give way on roads with a friendly wave. more…