Category Archives: Coaching

A Chairpersons Guide To Keep Meetings On Track

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Leadership Development, Management, Personal Development, Planning, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, Teacher, Uncategorized

Meetings are the greatest waste of time ever invented by man. How often have you sat in on a meeting, wondering why you were even there? Have you ever walked out after the meeting was over – having not accomplished anything? We aren’t born knowing how to run a successful virtual or in-person meeting, and unless you have been a member of a social club like Rotary, Kinsmen or the Lions Club, you most likely never learned how. Meetings can be productive if you don’t allow anyone to sabotage them. It takes a strong chairperson to keep meetings on track.

Worth Remembering … “All the real work is done by those low on the food chain. Everyone else just has meetings.” – Mick Herron.

Here are some suggestions on how to keep your meetings on track:

  1. Decide what type of meeting you’re going to have. Is it for sharing information or a group discussion to devise a solution to a problem? Does your meeting require a vote to reach a consensus?
  2. Successful meetings take planning. Have an agenda, who is talking on what subject and for how long. Keep your meetings 90 minutes or less. Anything longer than that, everyone will be asleep, and you’ll accomplish nothing.
  3. Distribute the agenda a week before the meeting to those attending so that everyone knows what is being discussed.
  4. Be sure to begin and end on time.
  5. Get everyone involved by having open discussions and healthy debates, and don’t allow anyone to take over the conversation. Make sure everyone gets an opportunity to express their opinion.
  6. If it’s not on the agenda – don’t allow anyone to introduce a new item.
  7. Does it require a minute taker to record all the items discussed during the meeting and the outcome of each item? If not, you should take notes for follow-up.
  8. Sum up the meeting. What was accomplished – what agenda times are still outstanding?
  9. Who should get a copy of the minutes if minutes were taken?

In the words of Dave Berry, an American author and humorist – “If you had to identify in one word the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that one word would be – meetings!”. Feel free to add to this list – but above all – keep your meetings on track.

Copyright (c) 2022. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. Brian works with people who want to develop soft skills to communicate and interact more effectively and discover how to get the best out of themselves and others. To find out more about Brian and what he can do for you and your organization, visit https://briansmithpld.com or email him at – brian@briansmithpld.com

Up Your Leadership EQ!

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Coping with Stress, Dealing with Difficult People, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, Management, Personal Development, Personality Types, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, small business owner, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized

EQ – Emotional Quotient – known as emotional intelligence or soft skills is the ability to understand, use, and manage your emotions in positive ways to reduce stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflicts. Daniel Goleman, in his groundbreaking book “Working With Emotional Intelligence,” said it best. “We are being judged by a new yardstick; not just how smart we are, or by our training and expertise, but also how well we handle ourselves and each other.” Sixty-seven percent of the competencies needed to manage or lead others are emotionally based. If you can’t make an emotional connection and establish a relationship with those on your team, you will be a lousy manager or leader. If you want to continue retaining and attracting talent, up your leadership EQ!

Worth Remembering … “One of the most important things about being a good manager or leader is to rule with a heart. You have to know the business, but you also have to know what’s at the heart of the business and that’s people.” – Oprah..

We may live in a hi-tech world, but your soft skills – empathy, patience, flexibility, open-mindedness and the ability to communicate and interact with others – play a more significant role in your success. For the first time in our life, we have the potential to work with four different generations at the same time. Each generation – Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and the newest Generation – Gen Zs; communicates, interacts with others, manages and likes to be managed differently. Each generation has different values, wants and needs. Each generation prefers to be managed, communicated with and led a certain way. The successful manager or leader will be the one who can adapt their management or leadership style to work with others the way they like.

Worth Remembering … “Soft skills won’t guarantee you the promotion. But not having them puts you at risk of not even getting the offer.” – Brian Smith..

Research by McClelland, Goleman, Kouzes and others tells a compelling story about the link between an organization’s success and its leaders. Emotional intelligence / soft skills are the magic ingredient that separates the mediocre from the exceptional performing companies. Senior managers or leaders with a high EQ component were 20% more profitable and had less staff turnover. How much fun are you to be around? People like to work with people they like. People want to work for an organization that makes them feel accepted and valued as essential team members. How often do you get out of your office and have a friendly conversation? How often do you sit in the lunch room, getting to know your team members for more than the job they do? If you want to continue retaining and attracting talent, up your leadership EQ!.

Copyright (c) 2022. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. To find out about Brian and what he can do for you and your organization visit: https://briansmithpld.com

The Leadership Imperative- How To Attract and Retain Gen Zs

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, Management, Mentorship, Personal Development, Personal Values, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, small business owner, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized

We are entering a new era of leadership. Generation Z – born between 1996 and 2012 – is the latest generation to enter the workforce. They are projected to make up 27% of the workforce by 2025. They are like no other generation that has come before them. They are the first generation to grow up in the digital age. The jury is still out, but there is one thing for sure, your business future depends on this generation. You must change how you manage and lead to attract and retain Gen Zs.

Here is what the research conducted by Deyan Georgiev, Beresford Research, Forbes and Extreme Research is telling us.

Connecting: Most Gen Zs see diversity as a significant factor in choosing a job. Employers should focus on inclusivity to tap into this future workforce. They want a job that will impact the world and work for an organization that believes in and shares their values. The virtual space has become convenient for hanging out with friends and family. To this generation – social media is a way of life. Gen Zs are interested in working in a place that allows fun, friendships and life-enriching activities. Is your organization a fun place to work? Having fun at work can lead to creativity, increased productivity, better decision making and collaborative teams. To attract and retain Gen Zs, you must make them feel welcomed and treat them like family.

Communicating: Smartphones are a natural extension of Gen Zs. As many as 98% of all Generation Zs own a smartphone. Fifty-five percent are on their smartphones for up to ten hours a day. They consider social media a valuable workplace tool. Fifty-one percent still prefer face-to-face communication, which explains why Zoom, Tik Tok and Teams have become popular ways of interacting. They don’t read traditional newspapers; they like to get their information online. To attract and retain Gen Zs, you need to be tech-savvy and comfortable communicating in a virtual world.

Educating: Gen Z is the most educated generation. However, because they rely on technology, they lack the soft social skills of previous generations. The good news is they are eager to learn how to communicate and interact face-to-face, resolve conflict, problem solve and learn how to work in a team environment. You must create an environment that is conducive to learning. They are comfortable learning online or watching an instructional video. To attract and retain Gen Zs, you must teach them the skills they lack.

Delegating: It is essential to provide opportunities to learn and grow. Still, Gen Zs lack the experience and self-confidence of previous generations, so you need to teach them how to perform a task. If the student didn’t learn, the teacher never taught. Give them autonomy and ongoing support once they’ve learned how to complete the job. You must learn to delegate and give up control. If you don’t delegate effectively, you rob Gen Zs of their growth opportunities. Upward mobility is important to them. To attract and retain Gen Zs, you must provide a path forward.

Copyright (c) 2022. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. To find out what Brian can do for you and your organization, visit https://briansmithpld.com or email brian@briansmithpld.com.

A Fresh Take On The Old Way

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, Management, Mentorship, Personal Development, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized

MBWA – Manage by walking around; you can’t do that by sitting in your corner office. A study by HayGroup concluded that sixty-seven percent of the competencies needed to manage or lead others are emotionally based. If you can’t make an emotional connection with those you work with and interact with – you stand little chance of successfully managing or leading. You can’t make an emotional connection and establish those all-important relationships with others by sitting in your corner office. You need to spend most of your time – talking with and getting to know them for more than their work. And you can’t do that sitting in your corner office.

Worth Remembering … “We are being judged by a new yardstick; not just how smart we are or by our training and expertise, but also how well we handle ourselves and each other.” – Daniel Goleman

Emotional intelligence often referred to as soft skills, is now considered essential. If you don’t like being around people and helping them succeed, you will make a lousy manager or leader. If your goal is to become a more effective manager or leader, you can learn to be more open-minded, flexible, empathetic, and patient and motivate others to perform at their best. You can learn how to communicate and interact more effectively and build collaborative teams. Managing or leading others is a learned behaviour.

Worth Remembering … “One of the most important things about being a good manager or leader is to rule with a heart. You have to know the business, but you also have to know what is at the heart of the business – and that’s people.” – Oprah.

Productivity is still the name of the game. Minimize the input and maximize the output. That formula will never change. However, we must learn to manage or lead differently to achieve that. For the first time in our lifetime, we have the potential to work with four different generations in the same workplace at the same time. Each generation communicates, interacts with others and likes to be managed differently. Your success will be based on your ability to manage and lead each generation the way they want – a fresh take on the old way.

Copyright (c) 2022 – Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. To find out more about Brian and what he can do for you and your organization, visit – https://briansmithpld.com