Management and Leadership - Tips from the Experts

The right way to give a critique

"The worst thing you can do if you want to get somebody to listen to you is to criticise him or her. As human beings we hate being criticised. When attacked we attack back. And we attack even when we are in the wrong. Right or wrong has nothing to do with it.

Many of us fall into the trap of thinking 'I know I am right, so I'm going to tell the others how silly they are!' It's tempting, but doesn't work.

If you have the self-control and the presence of mind to put aside your own ego-needs, and say, 'I've got a problem. Will you help me?' you are much more likely to get cooperation from the other person."

Want to find out more? People Management Skills For Supervisors and Team

Karen Hulme, Principle Consultant

Develop your management style

There is a natural temptation for people in charge to say 'This is how I deal with people - like it or lump it.' But if you want to influence others then it's about what motivates them, not what motivates you.

On the other hand there are bad managers who are so good at relating to people that they never actually get the job done. They are too soft and caring to inspire hard work and positive energy.

Build in accountability to your staff's responsibility

Setting expectations for each employee ensures that they will follow through. From the very beginning, let each person know exactly what is expected of them, why it is expected, how they can develop and how their effectiveness will be measured.

Jarrod Siegertsz, Consultant

Want to find out more? Managing and Improving Performance

Time management

Allocate yourself some undisturbed time each day to focus on your priorities and long term planning. Focus on one key thing only.

Want to find out more? Time and Priority Management

Write a charter

Defining your team's charter is perhaps the most important action you can take to ensure team success and customer satisfaction.

Making your teams, purpose, values and ground rules explicit gives a strong foundation for high performance.

Plan purposely

If you don't know where you're going the path you choose is irrelevant. Begin with your desired outcome in mind and work backwards to establish key steps.

Delegate effectively

Delegating increases your productivity and leverages your resources. By delegating the right task to the right person your team can achieve a great deal more.

Focus on your task

Successful leaders stay focused on the actions that will bring about success. They resist the temptation to spend time doing things they like and tackle the tasks that have the biggest impact. Successful leaders make sure that they succeed! They are not afraid of strength in others.

Check your performance

Great leaders check their performance. They record the vision of what they want to achieve and they come back and check their performance against it. This is how the find out what they did well and how they can improve.

Stay on target

Leaders let the people around them know what they are trying to do. They know how to establish a mission and they know how to say no. Leaders are pulled in many different directions, so the effective ones learn how to say no and stay focused on what it is they need to achieve.

Want to find out more? We have a range of management & leadership courses to help you meet these challenges.