June 21, 2020

Are You Asking The Right Type of Question?

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Customer Service, Dealing with Difficult People, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, Management, Mentorship, Networking, Personal Development, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized

Are you looking for answers? Not getting the answers you are looking for? Maybe it’s because you aren’t asking the right type of question. If you learn to ask the right type of questions and listen, really listen to the answers, chances are others will tell you everything you need to hear.

Worth Remembering ... “I listen to understand – not necessarily to agree” – Dale Carnegie

Depending on what you want to know, you have four basic types of questions that you can ask.

Open Ended Questions – If you are wanting to promote dialoge then you need to ask an open ended question. Ask a question that requires more than a one word answer from the other person. – Example: “What kind of options are you looking for?”

Closed Questions – When a one word answer will do. A closed question gives the person limited options as to how to respond to your question. – Example: “What colour?”

Clarifying Questions – A non-judgemental question when you want to verify what was said. – Example: “So if I heard you correctly you said …..”

Problem Solving Questions – Sakichi Toyoda, the Japanese Industrialist, inventor, and founder of Toyota Industries, developed the 5 Whys technique. If you are looking to solve a problem try asking “Why”until you discover what problem, or problems need to be solved before you get the desired results. Some solutions may be simple, while others may be more complex. You might uncover more problems then you think you had. – Example: “The shipment didn’t get delivered on time – Why?”

Worth Remembering … “I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.” – Robert McCloskey

Are you asking the right type of question?

Copyright (c) 2020. 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

April 16, 2020

Why Women Should Rule The World

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

Why Women make better leaders can be summed up in just one word – “Empathy”. Empathy, the ability to be able to see a situation from another persons point of view. Women seem to be come by it naturally, while most men have to work at developing it. If there ever was a time for true leadership, it’s now. Dee Dee Myers, author of “Why Women Should Rule The World” believes that women are more successful running businesses because women can make people accountable for their actions, but they are also there to support them.

Women around the world are rewriting history. It’s easy to argue that men haven’t been doing such a great job lately. That’s not meant to be a political statement, I’m just stating the facts. Anna Crowe, CEO and Founder of Crowe PR believes that most women have a strong understanding of what drives and motivates people to perform at their personal best, and how to acknowledge different people for their performance.

“Many women, especially moms, are trained caretakers and know how to deal with crisis situations at home with compassion and patience. These attributes become very relevant when a women leader is dealing with crises situations whether this is related to HR or Clients.” – Huma Gruaz

Putting gender aside. Do you have what it takes to be a world class leader?

True leaders understand themselves and how their attitude affects others.
True leaders understand that they must communicate in a way that others will understand.
True leaders understand that every situation is different, so they know they must behave and respond differently. One leadership style does not fit all.
True leaders realize that they need their people more than their people need them. They understand that success is a team effort.
True leaders know they don’t have to have all the answers, so they need to surround themselves with people who do.
True leaders above all, understand that they must lead by example.
True Leaders park their ego at the door and do what they need to do to complete the task and to reach the goal.
True leaders understand that it doesn’t have to be just their way.

“Women make great leaders because we are flexible and agile. We can see the direction we thought we should take and we regroup and change course for the better. ” – Danita Harris

I could go on, but I think you get my point. Women deserve far more credit then they have been given. Gender shouldn’t be a factor in whether a person has what it takes to be a true leader. True leaders must master the ability to connect with others and build collaborative teams. True leaders must master the ability to communicate in a way that others will understand. True leaders must master the ability to teach others what they need to know and delegate successfully. If you’re looking to develop 21st Century leadership skills, then take a page out of their play book. You’ll be better for it and so will the people you lead.

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March 27, 2020

The Four Cornerstones of Exceptional Leadership

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Leadership Development, Management, Personal Development, Personality Types, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, small business owner, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized

Whether you are in a management position or play a leadership role in your organization, the challenges remain the same. New leadership skills are required for an ever-changing, multi-generational work place. For the first time in our lifetime we have the potential of working with 5 different generations at the same time. Today’s managers and business leaders must have exceptional people skills and master the ability to connect with others to build collaborative teams. They must communicate in a way that others will understand, educate them on what they need to know, and help grow others by delegating successfully.

Connecting: Exceptional leaders have the ability to make an emotional connection. If you can’t connect with others on an emotional level, then you stand little chance of capturing their heads, hearts and hands. Your success and the overall success of your organization begins and ends with your ability to bring people together.

Communicating: Exceptional leaders understand that communication is everything! If the essence of communication is to send the message and have it received as it was intended; then you must keep in mind that you’re not the most important person in the conversation. Ken Blanchard in his book – “The One Minute Manager” believes that communication is the breakfast of champions.

Educating: Exceptional leaders have the ability to teach others what they need to know to complete the task, to reach the goal. Behaviorists believe that we are born a certain style and that each style dictates or a least heavily influences how we like to learn. Exceptional leaders understand the learning style of the person they are working with and deliver the lesson in a style that they like.

Delegating: Exceptional leaders have the ability to delegate successfully. They understand that they can’t do it alone – that it’s bigger than they are. Exceptional leaders understand that if they don’t delegate some of their responsibilities to others, they are robbing them of their opportunity to grow.

Are you looking to become an exceptional leader? Develop your four cornerstones. Learn how to connect with others, communicate in a style that they like, educate them on what they need to know and help grow your people by delegating successfully.

Copyright (c) 2020. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. To find out more about Brian and what he can do for you and your organization visit: https://briansmithpld.com or contact him at: brian@briansmithpld.com

March 8, 2020

Establishing the T Word

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Customer Service, Dealing with Difficult People, Leadership Development, Management, Mentorship, Networking, Personal Development, Personality Types, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized

Trust – a five letter word that makes all the difference when managing and leading others. Without trust you won’t be able to do either one very well. Trust doesn’t come automatically just because of the title you’ve been given. You must earn it one person at a time. Establishing trust between you and the people you work with and interact with is a 3-step process that I refer to as the 3 R’s – Rapport, Relationship and Respect. It’s a process that everyone must go through before you can establish trust.

Worth Remembering .. “In organizations where people trust and believe in each other, they don’t get into regulating and coercing behaviours. They don’t need a policy for every mistake … people in these trusting environments respond with enormous commitment and creativity.” – Walter Wriston

Step One: Building Rapport. Find out something about the person you are working with other than the work that they do. Do they have hobbies? Are they married? Do they have children? What do they like doing in their spare time? You need to be able to carry on a conversation with them about a subject that they like. Idle chit-chat is important if you want to tear down any walls that may exist between you and them. Building rapport will help you do that.

Step Two: Developing Relationships. The second step in establishing trust is to develop a relationship. You can’t have a relationship with anyone unless you have built rapport first. Successful salespeople understand the value of building relationships with their clients. They understand that clients choose to do business with people they like. The same holds true for the people you work with. People like to work with people they like. If they like you – chances are they will follow you because no one wants to let a friend down.

Step Three: Establishing Respect. The third step to building trust is respect. You won’t respect anyone that you haven’t developed a relationship with first. However, keep in mind that respect is reciprocal – you can’t demand it. Respect is a two-way street. You have to give it to get it – and you have to give it first if you expect to get it back. You may not like or agree with everything that others have to say – but you need to respect the fact they they have a right to express their opinion. You can agree to respectfully disagree.

Worth Remembering … “I’m not upset that you lied to me. I’m upset because from now on I can’t believe you.” – Nietzsche

After respect comes the “T” word – trust. You’ll never trust anyone you don’t respect first. Sometimes managers and leaders need others to take a leap of faith. Sometimes managers and leaders don’t have all the answers and need others to trust them that they have their best interests in mind. If you have navigated the 3-step process successfully you will have established trust. Without it – you have nothing.