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Month Topic December 2004 Dealing with Difficult Part Two: Mind the Gap! Last month we showed that the initial stage of dealing with a difficult person was to first encourage the individual to acknowledge his or her own behaviour; then they can move towards taking full responsibility for changing it. This month we explore how, by using a structured three-step approach, ownership and commitment can be passed from the manager to the difficult employee. November 2004 Dealing with Difficult People Part One: Acknowledging Responsibility Whether you've inherited a difficult person or - to your lasting regret - appointed them yourself, most managers come up against a difficult individual whom they've had to manage. Does it always have to come to blows? Well, we're not saying it's easy, but in this, the first of two articles on the subject, we'd like to suggest how all is definitely not lost. September 2004 Ten Steps to Presentation Success Part Two Preparation over and everything is ready to go. If you followed Nina Lovatt's advice about preparation last month then you should be raring to go. Now the challenge is the delivery of the presentation itself. Once more Nina takes us through five key areas that transform your presentation from the routine to the highly memorable - for all the right reasons! August 2004 Ten Steps to Presentation Success Part One Sir Anthony Jay thought: " A presentation is an exercise in persuasion". But how do we persuade and prepare for an event that, recent research reveals, is feared by some as more frightening than death itself? In this, the first of two articles by Presentation Skills expert, Nina Lovatt, she takes us through the mnemonic 'PANIC' to help us ensure that each preparatory step is given full consideration. July 2004 Delegation: Are you getting enough? Part Two Before you even consider how you are going to delegate, you must first ask yourself "Who shall I delegate this to?" The ability of the employee will dictate the level of autonomy you give them, and influence that all-important first discussion as you pass the task from your desk… to theirs. June 2004 Delegation: Are you getting enough? Part One Delegation is - potentially - one of the most valuable tools any manager has. But so often we witness the curious paradox of an over-burdened manager leading a team of under-used talent. Why does this happen? Is it really that managers don't have the time, or is it the fear of sharing the spotlight? May 2004 An Appointment with Fear Part Three: Getting it Right In the first two articles in this series, we looked at the need for thorough preparation before interviewing and getting the questions right when you are interviewing. Now, in the final instalment, we turn to interacting with the candidate: exploring why two interviewing heads are so much better than one, and why it might be wrong to concentrate on just the filling in your sandwich! April 2004 An Appointment with Fear Part Two: The Question Cycle In the second of three articles, we build on the careful preparatory activities explored in Part One by looking at how questions can be carefully structured. Why? Well, it should be our candidate who is talking most of the time. Good questions make sure that happens! March 2004 An Appointment with Fear Part One: Preparation for the Interview Many people enjoy job interviewing. Yet many think of it as a nightmare: a cat's cradle of legislation and booby-traps all cunningly designed to ensnare the unwary. But does it have to be like that? In the first of three articles, we lead you through key moments of the process to help you get it right every time. February 2004 When Good Decisions Look Like No Decisions Whether it's in the front-line or in the boardroom: making decisions is the lot of all who manage. Few decisions are 'black and white', but some solutions to managerial problems look a lot more attractive than others. In fact, what looks like a good decision today might well come back to haunt the same manager tomorrow… January 2004 Assertion: It ain't What You Say… Knowing that you're being assertive is all very fine, but how do you put it into practice? Our second article in this short series on assertion points you in the right direction, with a little help from Stella and her truculent boss, Kathy… December 2003 Being Assertive does not affect your Statutory Rights Many individuals are often confused about whether they are acting assertively or aggressively during conflict situations. In the first of two articles on the subject, we explore the subtle difference that often separates the two and reveal the single factor that divides one clearly from the other. November 2003 Leading or Managing? Or why Hannibal Lector might have been called Cecil… The need for real Leadership is a constant cry from Business Gurus, Union Leaders and employees. But does that mean that Management is suddenly unfashionable? Or is the relationship between the two more subtle than we thought? October 2003 Raising Performance through Motivation Part Three: Personality Theory After taking us through the content and process theories of motivation, Chartered Psychologist Dr Lynne Whatmore briefly outlines the personality theory of motivation, explaining why its link with financial rewards is so often a favoured option. September 2003 Raising Performance through Motivation Part Two: Process Theories If the content theories of motivation are found to be wanting, to which theory can the manager turn? The answer may lie in the more complex process theories, as Chartered Psychologist Dr Lynne Whatmore explains in the second of her three articles that explores the issue of getting more from your people … August 2003 Raising Performance through Motivation Part One: Content Theories What is it that motivates us? Ask many employees this question and the most frequent reply is "money". But how effective is money as a motivator? Probably not as much as most managers would like to believe. July 2003 Looking for Warts All good managers give feedback. But how many managers welcome feedback about their performance? 360-degree feedback is a proven method of finding out what people really think about us, but some managers prefer not to ask… June 2003 Half Empty to Half Full: Dealing with the Mind Menaces Stress Management Consultant, Teresa Harrington, looks at the mental damage we can inflict on ourselves by allowing our thought patterns to go unchallenged, and offers a life-changing strategy. May 2003 There's a Place for Us Whether you are a team leader or a corporate director, you are charged with changing things for the better. But first you must define what ‘better’ is and communicate this in a compelling and persuasive way for your team. April 2003 Presentation Nerves: Churchill's Bitter Lesson Many people blame nerves for ruining good presentations. But nerves can have a very positive effect on our performance and even lift a presentation from the mediocre to the unforgettable. March 2003 Wake Up and Smell the Cliché We owe it to those we work with to make every effort to say what we are really thinking. The trendy buzz phrases used by so many deny our thirst for open communication and stop us saying what we really mean. February 2003 When A Question Is The Only Answer As managers we must get away from giving an answer to every question we get asked. Good managers bat most questions straight back to the questioner, for reasons that are not always immediately apparent...