Week Six

Week Six: Leadership, Management Skills and Personal Effectiveness

Introduction

So here we are at the final week. I have set 5 exercises for you to work through. For the 5th exercise only, please email me a mini-essay (100-300 words) to rf.gesei|sbbig.b#rf.gesei|sbbig.b with your thoughts

Following on from last week, I found a Harvard Business School Ideacast which is relevant and interesting

http://blogs.hbr.org/ideacast/2010/03/the-skills-you-need-to-lead-ov.html

To start us off this week, we look at a Management Diagnostic offered by Management Today which you may find interesting:

http://masterclass.managementtoday.com/Diagnostic.aspx

Management Today offer an alternative approach to thinking about management which is based around 8 areas

 energise
 coach
 innovate
 direct
 relate
 calculate
 thrive
 execute

An explanation of these 8 areas can be found at:

http://masterclass.managementtoday.com/Masterclass.aspx

Exercise 1: What do you think of this approach?

Part 1 Performance appraisal

In our work, many of us are appraised. We may have job/performance appraisal (when an employee meets with their manager or employer to discuss their progress, aims and needs at work) once a month or once a year.

The UK Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) explains what performance appraisal is, how it might work and what it is for:

http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/perfmangmt/appfdbck/perfapp.htm

Exercise 2: How are you appraised? How often? Who by? How does the appraisal itself fit into a system for improving your performance or the organisation’s performance?

Part 2 Assessing management skills

In my experience, one of the best ways of developing my skills has been to observe other people e.g. my colleagues, my supervisors or other

In some companies, employees receive assessments from their manager, peers, subordinates, and customers, while also performing a self assessment. This is known as a 360-degree appraisal.

The UK Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) explains what 360-degree appraisal is, how it might work and what it is for:

http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/perfmangmt/appfdbck/360fdbk.htm

Exercise 3: At this early stage in your careers, some of you already have some management experience. All of you have experience of being managed. How would you design a system a 360-degree appraisal system? What are the 10 most important management skills?

BusinessBalls which has copies of assessment forms which might form the basis offer:

 Management skills
 Management behaviour

http://www.businessballs.com/managerskillsetassessment.pdf

http://www.businessballs.com/skillsetbehaviourset.pdf

You may also wish to revisit the Ashridge Management Skills Questionnaire

http://www.ashridge.org.uk/website/opsaq.nsf/web/self+assessment+questionnaire

Part 3 Personal Effectiveness

In this week’s Further Resources section, I have included a link to the Free Management Library which covers issues relevant to new managers and supervisors. I have always considered the key skills to be:

 Communication
 Time management
 Organisation
 Delegation
 Learning: getting coached/ mentored, gathering resources, developing my practice

Please visit the links in the Further Resources section at http://managementhelp.org/mgmnt/prsnlmnt.htm#anchor262914.

I have found two Podcasts which put these skills in context

Exercise 4: Please listen to these and read the articles that go with them. Are they interesting or useful?

1) Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life

Podcast
http://blogs.hbr.org/ideacast/2008/03/harvard-business-ideacast-87-b.html

Article
http://www.bnet.com/2439-13242_23-197383.html

2) Authentic Leadership

Podcast
http://blogs.hbr.org/ideacast/2007/05/harvard-business-ideacast-43-a.html

Article
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3495/is_4_49/ai_n5994728/

You may also want to watch a video interview of Bill George’s follow up book, True North: http://feedroom.businessweek.com/?fr_story=ff3d040da5a16d00e651fdb615b65051606cb47e&rf=sitemap

Part 4 Revisiting Management Skills

I liked a recent blog on the Harvard Business Review website- 12 things good bosses believe
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/05/12_things_that_good_bosses_bel.html

In the first session, we looked at 5 questions:

 What is management?
 What is a manager?
 What does a manager do?
 What makes a good manager?
 What are the key management skills?

Exercise 5: Have your views on any of these changed over the last 6-8 weeks? If so, how have they changed? Please email me a mini-essay (100-300 words) at rf.gesei|sbbig.b#rf.gesei|sbbig.b

Further Resources

Mindtools has useful information on 3 of the three key skill sets

Time Management
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/main/newMN_HTE.htm

Communication
http://www.mindtools.com/page8.html

Leadership
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/main/newMN_LDR.htm

The CIPD give access to a 360 handbook [online]. (2009) Bedford: Simply360. Available, free of charge on online registration, at http://www.simply360.co.uk/handbook

The Free Management Library has a good (but long) article on management aimed at new managers and supervisors

http://managementhelp.org/mgmnt/prsnlmnt.htm#anchor262914

Of particular relevance is the section on Managing Yourself (about halfway through the article), which covers how to:

 manage your productivity
 manage your well-being

For additional sources of information to manage your productivity, see:
 Delegation at http://www.managementhelp.org/guiding/delegate/delegate.htm
 Decision Making
 Organizing Yourself at http://www.managementhelp.org/prsn_prd/off_org.htm
 Problem Solving at http://www.managementhelp.org/prsn_prd/prob_slv.htm
 Time Management at http://www.managementhelp.org/prsn_prd/time_mng.htm
 Getting Coached at http://www.managementhelp.org/guiding/coaching/coaching.htm#anchor4294655486
 Getting a Mentor at http://www.managementhelp.org/guiding/mentrng/mentrng.htm#anchor4294745062
For additional sources of information to manage your well-being, see:
 Assertiveness at http://www.managementhelp.org/prsn_wll/assrtvns.htm
 Attitude at http://www.managementhelp.org/prsn_wll/attitude.htm
 Burnout at http://www.managementhelp.org/prsn_wll/burnout.htm
 Cynicism at http://www.managementhelp.org/prsn_wll/cynicism.htm
 Emotional Intelligence at http://www.managementhelp.org/prsn_wll/emotions.htm
 Financial Fitness at http://www.managementhelp.org/prsn_wll/finance.htm
 Job Satisfaction
 Motivating and Inspiring Yourself at http://www.managementhelp.org/prsn_wll/motivate.htm
 Physical Fitness at http://www.managementhelp.org/prsn_wll/fitness.htm
 Self-Confidence at http://www.managementhelp.org/prsn_wll/confdenc.htm
 Stress Management at http://www.managementhelp.org/prsn_wll/stress.htm
 Work-Life Balance at http://www.managementhelp.org/prsn_wll/wrk_life.htm

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