6 tactics to improve the team's productivity

I came upon an on leadership and management from TechRepublic. In the article, leadership coach John M McKee provides tactics for leaders looking to ensure their team remains focused and positive. Here are excerpts. The article in full can be found here.

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“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.”
- Peter F. Drucker.

Keeping team members motivated and performing at the top of their game is especially difficult right now. It’s to the benefit of all concerned that you help them to keep working at full steam. Here are a few “best practices” we’ve seen used successfully by strong leaders:

1. Lead by example - You send messages to your team members with every action and statement. If you’re seen to be giving extra, it will inspire and energize others to do the same. The same holds true for the opposite: showing fear or frustration will only fuel similar results within the team.

2. Focus on communicating objectives rather than defining roles - With fewer human resources, we have to re-assess the key deliverables. Which of them make an immediate impact, and what can be postponed? Engage as many of the team as possible on the most important goals; even if that move takes them outside their old job definitions.

3. Sense of urgency - Keep goals, both individual and team, front and center to ensure focus. Broadcast and talk about results and achievements. You want each individual performing at optimal levels. Note that it's “optimal” and not “maximum”. The former is good management practice, the latter results in burnout and negativity.

4. Celebrate individual contributions - Sports teams are clear about the fact that certain players make a bigger difference, so they recognize those people appropriately. For high performers, hearing only about the “team’s performance” can actually demotivate and cause them to slow down to the “norm”.

5. Provide guidelines to reduce uncertainty - Trusting your team to do the right thing is well and good; but with uncertainties, team members can make improper decisions. Help them with frequent reviews of goals, new or successful past approaches, and preferred outcomes during regular team meetings.

6. Recognize that your emotions affect outcomes - Keeping one's cool in difficult periods serves to help the team maintain their balance and performance. People are de-motivated by constantly cranky or negative bosses. If you have a disappointment, or a major goal was missed, it’s fine and appropriate to say so; but don’t make it personal.

Being a leader is more than being a manager. It requires empathy, attitude, and skill. The effort is worth it.

GMA parody pics on the web

 

 

White Hair Chronicles V

"Life gives us brief moments with one another but sometimes in those brief moments we get memories that last a life time."

Last weekend I had a reunion of sorts with some people I knew from way back. Some of us have not seen each other for 35+ years, after spending together the first 1/4 of our lives. In a few years, the men in the group will turn 50. That will make us certified century eggs (do the math, 50 years * 2 eggs). On the other hand, the ladies who I last saw in their pre-pubescent youth, are now pre(post?)-matronly beauties (just joking, ladies).

So for a brief while, we tried to catch up how our lives went. Who married whom? Who's a grandma now? How are the parents? How did you grow so big? What aches? What happened to your hair?

How am I now? I am proud to say that despite that I am a few years short of fifty, I have the speed and agility of a senior citizen, the eyes of a septuagenarian, and the hair of an octogenarian. What can I say, I am ahead of my time. My wife complains of my high sex drive. She says it's all in my head, she wants it lowered to my loins (another joke).

To those who knew me as a kid and have not seen me hence, this 20 second video shows how I looked before I became a Richard Gere stand-in (joke again).

My women's tennis album 2

Ok guys, we all like sports. We like men's tennis too but why do pictures of women tennis players get to be viewed/downloaded much more than the men's. The same is true for beach volleyball. And we are more interested in the pictures alone and not on the results. We know how many grand slams the men have, but do we know how many slams the Williamses have? I don't. So again to the many fans of Maria, enjoy the photos. We're not pervs, just die-hard fans. ;)





See Also: Album 1

Mass media "kills" GMA; there might be a method to her madness

GMA has been president for too long that when some people say president they inadvertently say Arroyo afterward. If it's election time and you're a candidate, that's good. But if the people's reaction is it's as if they wish it to happen, then it's bad, election or not and candidate or not.

In the TV/radio broadcast of former President Cory's wake and burial several reporters have 'killed' GMA. But they recover in time and manage to correct themselves.

But recovery was not possible in the 'killing' of GMA by the Manila Bulletin, August 6 edition. The paper might have discovered a sure way to boost readership. They carelessly captioned a photo (shown here) -"with utmost care, military...moves the coffin of President Arroyo...". I think there is one proofreader looking for a new job by now.



The Internet version of ABS-CBNnews also managed to inflict cancer to GMA in its report dated July 24, 2009, a snap shot of which appears on the left. The website has not been corrected since.

Mistakes or wishful thinking?
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There might actually be a method to GMA's madness in the recall of President Cory's security. We all know that the former president has been gravely sick. Her medical history was no secret, and even if it was, it is easy to get medical details. Remember GMA's boob job?

Malacanang surely knew that Cory's cancer has spread to her other organs and that she had just days to live. And being a former president, Cory is entitled to a state funeral that means means lying in state at the Palace. And the wake would mean throngs of people will troop to pay their respects. Malacanang can be sieged! So what can the taray queen do? Well something that will offend Cory's kin enough for them resent the government and thus reject a state funeral. Like withdraw the security perhaps?

So rightfully, the family rejected a state funeral which made GMA look bad. But GMA has a bad image anyway. And in the end, the thousands who paid their respects to Cory did so but not in Malacanang, where they could have had the naughty thoughts of reclaiming it.