When You’re Put on the Spot in a Meeting, Don’t Panic

Being put on the spot during a meeting can be an unwelcome surprise. But if you’re prepared to speak up and say something useful, you can turn it into an opportunity to show your expertise. Before your next meeting, look through the agenda and write some notes about questions you have and any points you might raise. If you’re called on in the meeting, speak slowly and confidently, and introduce your comments with some context so that colleagues know where you are headed. Of course, if someone asks you a question that catches you off guard, don’t be afraid to say you don’t know the answer. Practice some simple responses for these moments: “I don’t have that information, but I will get it to you by 1 PM.” And always end by asking, “Did I answer your question?”

Adapted from “How to Respond When You’re Put on the Spot in a Meeting,” by Paul Axtell

Leadership versus Management Decisions

What is leadership decision-making versus management decision-making?

Leadership and management decisions need to coexist as a team even though management decisions specifically effect the employees, while leadership decisions effect the employees, customers, stakeholders, and the organization as a whole. Managers get to directly impact employees by keeping them clear on the business policies, performance levels and possible personal issues. Leaders have the responsibility of effecting the entire organization, customers and stakeholders through their actions, beliefs and values. Both roles are important, but one is much larger than the other. Managers have the responsibility of focusing on employees, while leaders have the responsibility of focusing on everybody involved. Managers help initiate employees into the business and help them keep the rules and their performance in tact. Leaders have the ability to provide a stronger environment by personal interactions, influencing others with a strong belief system and promoting a better future.

According to Rodriguez (2017), leaders value input from their employees and let them in on the decision making process which makes them feel important and included. Rodriguez (2017) explained management decision making as a dictatorship that did not allow for employee input, just putting new policies into place and expecting people to follow them. Rock Star Leadership (2015) provided the strengths that management positions can hold and that includes looking after staff, understanding the business, translating business information to the staff, and performance and management counseling. Managers need to keep the staff on track, and if they do not the cause could be employees leaving the business. Films Media Group (2014) includes the important roles of managers by explaining that they need to provide employees confidence to value their jobs, put the job in context for them, give positive examples and focus on the importance of the job. Rock Star Leadership (2015) provides a larger list of duties needed to be provided from the leader of the organization, and some of those include constant personal communication, being a role model of important behaviors and values, providing everybody the chance to share their ideas, translating others behaviors, focusing on the health and welfare of the organization, and the entire time all of their cares and information trickles down to others. The leader not only has to impact all of the employees, customers and stakeholders but also the culture of the organization. Leaders provide the direction of the organization. Business News Daily (2017) shares that leaders need to be effective while having an impact on employees, customers and the marketplace. It sounds like managers have a specific list of job duties that effect employees while leaders have to make constant and multiple decisions in different areas that effect everything.

In a previous department that I worked in, the department manager made sure we knew our job description, told us often the importance of our job and doing it correctly, and about the changes that were occurring. My co-workers and I worked closely as a team and were the most hands on with the customers compared to anybody else. We were never involved in any of the decision making and that wore us down. We knew what was best for the customers and the organization and the manager would make changes that either had a negative effect, or just provided extra work. There was a large turn over rate in that department and they all claimed to human resources that it was because of the negative impact of the manager. The department I work in now has a department leader. She comes in every morning, asks about how things are going and asks us about our ideas on process changes. We feel included in everything and know that we have a say in things any time we feel the need for a change. The people that work in this department have been there for years. The environment is more positive and employees seem more at ease. Also, the department leader constantly shows herself to be a good role model and she makes others want to be better themselves. She is also know by many others as a good person and leader because of the role model that she is. Whenever I mention who I work under people have nothing but good things to say about her.

References

Business News Daily (2017). Decision-Making Techniques. Improve your ability to make effective decisions. Retrieved from: https://myeducationmanager.tradepub.com/c/pubRD.mpl?secure=1&sr=oc&_t=oc:&qf=w_tecc73 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Rock star leadership [Video file]. (2015). Retrieved February 8, 2017, from http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=103246&xtid=93374 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. 

Rodriguez, I. (2017). What Differences in Decision-Making Approaches Might Occur Among Leadership Styles? Retrieved from: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/differences-decisionmaking-approaches-might-occur-among-leadership-styles-74048.html (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

What are the differences between Leadership and Management

Differences Between Leadership and Management

The difference between leadership and management lies in the actions that are taken in the process of change during the decision-making process. How the leaders make their decisions impacts the people around them, and also demonstrates what type of leaders they are based on these decisions. 

 Leadership is vision focused when making decisions, versus the day to day smaller decisions that management may make. Leadership and Management go hand in hand, you do need both.  As Coleman and Glover (2010) explain “leadership is closely associated with visions and values”, and “managing a change in vision and values is a prime aspect of a leader’s role” (p.14). Leadership is the process of understanding visions and values, and making decisions based on these vision and values. While management demonstrates the action that demonstrates the day to day decision within the process of change. In my own experience, when a new guideline is introduced, it is mandatory that we (as long-term care facilitators) put it into place. How we put the guideline into place is depending on our own systems that we currently have in place that go along with our vision. This demonstrates Leadership, based on leaders making decisions on how to put the guideline into place, while keeping our values and vision in mind when making the decision.  When leading, we (as leaders) align the new process with our current vision, and give those expectations to the facilities with a guideline to follow. Now each facility is different, so they will need to make some adjustments, by the main guidelines will still need to be followed. This decision made by the facility, show the management of the process. When the facilities manage this new guideline, they are making the day to day changes they need too as problems arise. If the facility finds that the system cannot adapt to both processes, they will be able to make the necessary changes needed in order to keep on task (the facility is demonstrating a managing technique). 

According to Burns, Sorenson, Goethals (2004) states that “most decisions are made behind closed doors, yet they often define an individual’s leadership better than public appearances”, also that “how decisions are framed, informed, and executed thus has much to do with the quality of leadership that results” (p.316-317).  This is an important indicator. Our corporate office is full of leaders, these leaders are the ones making the main decisions on how our process work every day. The facilities have their own leaders, but they see themselves as managers. When it comes to making the main decisions, the administrators are bound by what corporate sees is mandatory. How the process is to take place within their facilities is based on their own decisions, they are managing the process. The administrators are also seen as leaders because there are situations, where the decisions are theirs alone. The decision that Corporate, or the administrator, make are judged by the staff in how they affect them (staff). If the staff members feel as if the decisions that were made is not beneficial to them or their communities, they will see that leader as being an inefficient leader. When it is a decision that is forced by the corporate office, the staff do not look at the administrator as if they are an inefficient leader, they blame the leaders within the corporate office. 

The way in which the decision is made is important in how the decision will affect the people around them. If the leader does not take into account how the decision will affect the people around them, they are likely to make a decision that will negatively affect the people they are leading. The leader will be looked at as a bad leader, who does not have the peoples interest in mind when they are making their decisions. This will affect the leader’s ability to lead effectively. 

Burns, J. M., Sorenson, G. J., Goethals, G. R., & Sage Publications, I. (2004). 

Encyclopedia of Leadership. Thousand Oaks, Calif: SAGE Publications, Inc. 

Coleman, M., & Glover, D. (2010). Educational Leadership and Management: 

Developing Insights and Skills. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education.

Core Competencies in Business

Businesses Have Core Competencies

When you think of core competence within a business, you think of the expertise of the business. The core competencies within a business are structured to reflect its skill set and the knowledge needed to set itself apart from its competitors, thus, gaining the competitive advantage to succeed. Core competencies are comprised of an organizations leadership, decision making, ethics, flexibility, influence, analytical thinking, interpersonal awareness, management skills, personal credibility, problem solving skills, management skills, and thoroughness to name a few.  

When you associate what sets your business apart from others, and the definitive the business has that helps it to succeed over its competitors, this is the businesses competitive advantage. Having a competitive advantage means the company is able to maintain a favorable advantage over its competition, for instance, Wal-Mart is known for its low-everyday prices that can't be beat in its market. They are able to obtain this by being aware of the competitions prices and are willing to price match any item, that you can prove will cost less than their own.  

The three most important core competencies are decision making, flexibility, and problem solving. Being able to make decisions required to improve the functionality of a company is very important, it is also something that has to be done on any level of a company. The decisions which are focused on the progress of the company are usually made by the hire ups and are more complex in the decision-making process. These decisions may have to be made in short notices and require the personnel making them to be logical when coming up with a solution. Having the flexibility needed to run the business, can mean providing solutions that were less likely to be made had someone now been more flexible in their decision making. The two go hand in hand. For instance, it may be easier to train someone to do a particular job, than bring someone who has the required skill set but now has to learn a different approach to how a new business runs their own company. The person doing the training has to be flexible in its decision. Problem solving skill are needed in all levels of a company, as problems will need to be figured out as the company progresses.  

It is important to use positioning of the products with pricing and availability to get the customers to buy into the product. However, the proper use of core competencies'  cannot be gauged on sales improvement alone (Harvard Review, 1990).  There is also a need for flexibility, in determining if the pricing of a product is not sufficient for sales, then adjustments need to be made. Knowing the quality of the product is a starter point of assessing how the product will develop. If the quality is good, the customers will buy into it, no matter the pricing. If the quality is poor, the product will have to be sold on the lower segment. Keeping a competitive advantage in the marketplace is important when developing a product, if in fact the company is choosing to set itself apart from its competition. Competitive advantage needs to go well beyond aspects of business management (Strategic Change, 1997).  There should be an evolving of social, cultural, political, and demographical patterns.  

Harvard Business Review (1990). Gauging Core Competence.  

 O'Shaughnessy, N. (1997). The Idea of Competitive Advantage and the Ideas of Michael Porter; Strategic Change, Vol 6, 73-83. 

How to get a Salary Increase

Advice from the Napoleon Hill Foundation

Those who do more than they are paid for will sooner or later be willingly paid for more than they do.

 

If you consistently do more than you are paid to do — whether you are a professional, an executive, an hourly worker, or an entrepreneur — you will eventually be compensated for far more than you do. If you give more and better service than those around you, customers will beat a path to your door, and your boss will consider you irreplaceable. With the dearth of outstanding service that exists in the world today, you can instantly differentiate yourself from the competition simply by providing good service. 

Permanent link to this post: Those who do more than they are paid for will sooner or later be willingly paid for more than they do.

How to Get a Promotion

How to Get a Promotion

Show me how to save a thin dime on any operation in the plant, and I’ll show you how to get quick and adequate promotion.

Have you ever wondered about the best way to get promoted in your career? The Napoleon Hill Foundation has the answer...

When you search for ways to save money for your company, you are thinking like a manager or owner. Every manager worth his paycheck knows that in a high-volume manufacturing operation a savings of a few pennies on any process will quickly add up to thousands of dollars. And an individual who figures out a way to save the company thousands of dollars is marked for advancement; he or she is simply too valuable not to promote. The best person to improve productivity in your job is you. No other person knows your job as intimately as you do. Motivate yourself to improve continually by competing with yourself. As you perform a specific task, look for shortcuts that will help you finish it faster. Use the time you save to analyze other parts of your job, volunteer to help others with difficult or time-consuming tasks, or to tackle a new, more rewarding assignment. 

Permanent link to this post: Show me how to save a thin dime on any operation in the plant, and I’ll show you how to get quick and adequate promotion.

What is Search Engine Optimization?

Search engine optimization is the process of refining your website, using both on-page and off-page practices, so that it will be indexed and ranked successfully by search engines (Dodson, 2016). In order for a company to have their ad at the top of the list there are many steps that need to be taken. The main focus area should be on SERP (search engine results page). This is the main web page that a search engine returns that lists the results of a user’s search (Dodson, 2016). For instance, if you type in replacement jeep seats, you will see ads that are flagged with yellow first, these are paid ads, then you will see more sites that offer this product that best fit your search. Goals, on-page optimization, off-page optimization, and analyzing are the four key factors that will play a role in where your ad rates among the competition. When a company takes the time to set goals based on day-to-day tasks that will increase your businesses profitability as well as reach a larger client base. There are several kinds of goals that a company can set based on their expectations for the future from engagement, conversations, reputation, leadership, and competitive advantage (Dodson, 2016). On-page optimization refers to the keyword terms, long-tail keyword, and keyword research which basically all refer to the words that are used most often to discover your webpage. Utilizing the proper terminology can drastically increase the amount of online traffic that the webpage has over a given period of time. Now this is where the website ranking comes into play with the next step of off-page optimization. You want to engage the readers to maximize the number of times your webpage is viewed. After all of these steps are thoroughly planned out and researched, you will need to analyze a final plan to ensure that your website produces a well sought-after image that will be at the top of the search engine list.

Reference:

Dodson, Ian. (2016). Chapter 2: search engine optimization . The Art of Digital Marketing: the Definitive Guide to Creaating Strategic,    Targeted, and Measureable Online Campaigns. Retrieved from  https://purdueglobal.brightspace.com/d2l/le/content/61513/viewContent/5221762/View

Words to Live By in Life and Business

Words to Live By in Life and Business

 

Napoleon Hill Foundation Quote

 

Those who do no more than they are paid for have no real basis for requesting more pay because they are already getting all they deserve to earn.

If you look around you, it will be apparent that there are two types of people in the world. There are those who say, “When this company decides to pay me what I’m worth, then I will do what they want me to do.” The second is the person who says, “I’m going to be the best I can be because that’s the kind of person I am. I also know that if I consistently give more than expected, I will eventually be rewarded for my efforts.” It is easy to see that the positive person contributes most to the organization. Yet, very few people are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve success. Make sure you’re a member of that group.

Harvard Business Review: Use If-Then Thinking to Change Your Behavior

I like the Harvard Business Review emails. You should consider subscribing to them if you like them as well. Here is one of my favorites to date:

Use If-Then Thinking to Change Your Behavior

 

We all have habits and behaviors we wish we could change. But just being aware of a bad habit isn’t enough. To truly fix it, start by considering your goal (say, “I want my team to know that I trust them”) and the obstacles you expect to face along the way (“I struggle to delegate”). Next, frame what you will do about the obstacles as if-then statements. To address the delegation obstacle, for example, you could tell yourself: “If I start to feel uncomfortable about not completing the work myself, then I’ll ask for updates on it in our next team meeting.” Eventually the link between the cue (the “if” part of the statement) and the action (the “then”) will become strong enough to help you change how you react. By using if-then statements, you can think through what will get in your way and make a plan to overcome it.

Adapted from “Two Techniques for Helping Employees Change Ingrained Habits,” by Joel Constable

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