Monday, August 18, 2014

Ravinder Tulsiani: How Can Leaders Increase Employee Engagement?


This article has been selected to be printed by ASTD Press. As per their requirement, I am removing it from this site. Once ASTD features it on their site, I will update here with the link.

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Sunday, August 17, 2014

Ravinder Tulsiani: How to Align Your Training Initiatives With Organizational Strategy


What is the first thing that comes to your head when you hear people use the term ‘corporate culture’? Most people describe it basically as the way ‘things get done around here’. This is not exactly far from the truth. But there is a whole lot more that goes towards influencing or determining behaviour in the workplace. In other words, this definition barely scratches the surface. #business
Corporate culture becomes a focal point for attention during organizational transition periods. It becomes apparent during takeovers, mergers or alliances. It becomes crucial during period for organizations to embark on #training initiatives to redefine their strategies and chart new courses of change. #HR
It is a period where pre-existing culture becomes irrelevant and an impediment to progress. It becomes imperative to fashion out procedures that would boost morale and ward off cultural conflict. It is important to find a means of aligning training initiatives with organizational thrusts for success and increased output. If you do not do this, then corporate harmony would remain elusive.
Sustainability for the future is built on training programs that tilt towards leadership and talent. These programs harp on the diversity of strength but still find a local means of pooling resources together that meet urgent needs without fulfilling unnecessary protocol. This starts from the board or management team that ensures it trickles down to the people that work under them. They are the ones that will encourage training and provide the required drive or support.
A lack of alignment with the #management and the rest of the workforce is the reason why businesses do not make needed impact. It is in this vein that it is safe to assert that alignment from the leadership to the initiative team and spreading it down to the organization is critical to success.
The intent must be established and understood before training can follow. If this is not done, teams would be unable to come under one cause and move forward. Once an agreement is reached these teams must find a means to make the strategy work via effective training. This is what commits them to the cause and ensures that they dedicate their energy towards its success.
Strategy is the heartbeat of any business. If you do not strategize properly, your training initiatives would suffer. It does not matter how ingenious it might be or how much time it took to ponder over it. So when next you come up with a strategy and want to come up with training sessions that can drum It into the mind’s eye of your workforce, make certain that it meets organization objectives. In addition, make sure it is people-friendly and readily adapts to change and rewards learning as a mandatory ingredient for expansion.

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Ravinder Tulsiani: Your Leadership EDGE


'Your Leadership EDGE' training program will help you to develop the core competencies needed to become an exceptional leader to enable you to engage and develop your employees so that you can drive massive growth to your organization.

The book is not about making you aware of leadership competencies; awareness is only the first step to mastering anything. This is exactly what most books and programs on leadership do; and that’s why they fail.

In fact, we have had no noticeable improvement in employee attitude over the past decade. Surveys in 2000 and 2012 suggests that there has been no major shift in employee engagement attitude, 70% of all employees continue to be disengaged from their employer interest. In fact, 30% of employee are actively disengaged, that is, they intentionally work against the company’s overall core objectives.

How much more productive would your company be if you could reduce the number of disengaged employees? What would that do to the overall company morale?

The source of the problem is not employees. Numerous exit interview studies have found that employees don’t leave companies, they leave their managers. Yet, most companies focus on carrot and stick approach to effect employee behaviour and engagement levels.

Logically, if 70% of employees are disengaged in the workforce and most report leaving as a result of their experience with their managers - isn’t it time that we look at what the manager’s could do differently to improve employee disengagement situation?

So, is it the manager’s fault? No. Most manager’s became managers because they were good employees and were rewarded with a promotion. But, once promoted, very few organizations train their manager’s to manage properly. These managers rely on their past experience as employees themselves to manage their subordinates without any leadership training.

So, is the answer leadership training. Yes - in part. I firmly believe that training is rarely the silver bullet, however, a solid foundation is a prerequisite to leadership mastery. ‘Your Leadership EDGE’ will give you the foundation necessary to be an effective leader.

Using the step-by-step program outlined in each of the chapters in this book you will not only become more aware of the core leadership competencies; you will acquire the necessary leadership skills foundation that will enable you to develop and support a highly engaged and productive workforce.

Pre-order upcoming book 'Your Leadership EDGE' for these exclusive bonuses including free audiobook, ebook, online training, virtual training, live workshop and more...

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Ravinder Tulsiani: Benefits of corporate training on leadership skills

The main idea behind corporate trainings is that organizations are all about people and the way they respond to each other. Yes, businesses have a technical side to them too but the fact remains that in a typical organization people-related issues outnumber technical snags any day. This is a common occurrence since people in a particular organization have myriad backgrounds, different dispositions and come from different walks of life. #corporatetraining

The aim, therefore, is to pool in the resources for the mutual benefit of the company and the workforce, and resolving any issues that might arise in the course. This is where the leadership skills come to play their part. Effective #leadership is an inherent part of any organization and much of how the company looks and feels to an outsider depends on it. It can even be said that the health of an organization is a direct reflection of the kind of leadership it has. An attempt to sum up the largely diverse roles of an effective leader would look like this:

An out and out motivatorSomeone who practices what (s)he preachesSomeone who co-operates and inspires others to follow the suitA sound advisor for the #managementSomeone who lends his shoulders to push the wheels out of the mud

Corporate training focuses on the fabric structure of an organization and the various aspects associated with it, among which the leadership skills feature right at the top. As such corporate trainings have been widely identified and acknowledged as a medium for encouraging key leadership qualities and providing practical guidance towards putting those qualities to optimum use. In this respect, the virtues of corporate trainings are hard to miss. Some of the obvious benefits of corporate training in developing leadership skills are:

They empower you with a clearer vision as to where exactly you want to direct your actions. This is important as an elementary step to understand your goals.These programs help you to distinguish a realistic goal from one that you think will take you to the moon on a paper-plane. #HRThese programs teach you to remain focused and to stay positive when you are at it.An undeniable fact is: you have to have followers to become a leader. These programs help you to chisel those leadership traits that would make people want to follow you. #businessYou need to constantly grow and enhance your skills while playing your part as a management leader and these programs show you the way.

It must be remembered that in a corporate environment, leadership is seldom an innate talent and corporate trainings are a great way to find out the hidden gems of leadership in sources unexpected.


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Ravinder Tulsiani: If I were 22, I would open my arms to new knowledge


#IfIWere22
Many young people don’t know what they want to be “when they grow up.” They go to college and take a wide variety of classes, hoping something will “click” and that they will find a career in these four years of “higher education.”

I could never understand how people could not know what they wanted to do. Entering high school I knew that I would make a career as a lawyer, and so I focused on all classes and extra-curricular activities that would help me become the best lawyer I could be. I ignored subjects like science and math, because I thought to myself, when would I ever need math as a lawyer? (I’d hire an accountant to handle that part of my business!)

I still intended to be a lawyer when I graduated from university with a B.A. in law...but at that point I knew there was something missing from my life...after three years and that degree under my belt I then became curious about other fields, and helping people in other ways. All of a sudden the door to becoming a financial advisor opened up to me. Had I paid more attention to math in school, the path to my new career would not have been quite as rocky as it was, as I had a lot of catching up to do. But I was good with the principles, found I had a natural aptitude for it, and enjoyed it much more than being a lawyer.

The moral of this story is just because you know with certainty, at the age of 18, what you want to do with the rest of your life, don’t close yourself off to other knowledge and skills which can help you to expand your horizons, without having to take remedial classes to get where you need to be! #IfIWere22

Am I where I thought I’d be?

I am where I thought I’d be – working in a career field that I enjoy and doing what I love – but I achieved this goal in a different way than I expected.

I am an educator, a corporate leader, an author and an entrepreneur. I have the knowledge, now, that lets me stand out in each of those fields. My passion is showing other people how they can achieve the same success – I love to Educate – educate personnel on their current job, Develop – develop them for their next role, Guide – provide coaching, guidance, and correction along the way, and finally Empower – set a good example and then get out of their way to see what they can achieve. #IfIWere22

Advice for today and tomorrow

Many people think that school is over once they graduate with their degree. When they get a job there’ll be training specific to that job, of course, but overall they think their education is over. They get rid of their textbooks and don’t intend to open a non-fiction book again.

Learning should be – must be - a lifelong process. Embrace the opportunities to learn everything you can, it will help you in your chosen field and it can help in any other field that might come your way. #IfIWere22


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Ravinder Tulsiani: Five Ways to Inspire Your Team

This article has been picked up by trainingindustry.com on an exclusive basis. When it's uploaded on their site, I will post a link.


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Ravinder Tulsiani: How to Create an Effective Mentor/Coaching Program

Just like an effective business strategy is important for its growth, similar a well designed mentoring program is responsible for training the staff and invoking leadership qualities within them. Creating a proper mentoring program is not easy as it requires a lot of efforts as well as understanding to come up with a complete program. If you wish to enhance the skills of the staff, their training and development is very important. This can be best accomplished with the help of the mentoring program which is highly helpful and valuable too. So let us consider the different factors which need to be kept in mind while creating a #mentoring program. #traininganddevelopment

Define your goals

It is important to get familiar with the goals and objectives that you wish to fulfill. Once you know the goals, it becomes quite easy to frame the program and make sure that the goals are met keeping in mind the deadlines. So identifying the objectives is very important and can prove helpful in training your staff in the right way and making them more efficient to achieve their targets on time. #HR

A reason to be a part of the mentoring program

The staff will not show any interest in the mentoring program unless there is a benefit associated with it. Make them understand the importance of the program and how it can prove useful in taking their career to the next level. Guide them about the benefits of the program and how every individual will get to learn something new and unique. Creating interest in their mind is an imperative for program success. #leadership

Right implementation

Creating a mentoring program is not enough unless it is executed in the right direction. The mentor must take an effort towards executing the program so that the staff is happy and benefits from it in a number of ways. Properly follow the minute details of the program and make sure that the best comes your way. #business

Evaluation

This is the most important segment because the mentors must know what the staff is learning and whether they are utilizing it practically or not. So evaluation on a regular basis can definitely make a huge difference and can prove efficient too. As per the changing needs, the program can be altered so as to meet the current business requirements and survive in the competition as well.

So follow the above steps and create a mentoring program.


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Saturday, August 16, 2014

Ravinder Tulsiani: 5 Qualities of Superior Leaders

It’s hard to say what the exact formula behind becoming a superior #leader is. Either it’s an inborn behavioural trait or development of the personality or gaining expertise by adopting certain skills through practice is still a matter of debate among psychologists.

According Brian Tracy- “Followers think and talk about the problems; leaders think and talk about the solutions”. #briantracy

Being a leader is not an easy thing. You become one of the prime faces of your organization. While your company’s profit will take you to the peak of your success, its failure will make you befall simultaneously. #Leadership is a matter of great responsibility and superior leaders are those who have all the following aspects and traits in their characteristics. #HR

1. Mission and vision:

As a superior leader, you have to be in line with the mission and vision of your organization and how to accomplish it. The mission should be direct and to the point and it’s your duty to make sure all the employees are identifying with it and showing enough diligence to achieve it. Your vision should be categorically defined and redefined, so that every employee can instantly comprehend it. #leadership

2. Challenge and Initiative:

You have to face multiple situations every now and then that ask for challenge and promise. A superior leader always initiates himself/herself to face such challenging situations and win over it. When it’s a do or die scenario going on in your company, you just cannot afford to sit back; you have to come forward and take initiative. #business

3. Interpersonal Skills:

A leader becomes superior only when he/she succeeds in solving problems and convincing people quickly to get their jobs done. These depend a lot on the leader’s interpersonal skills. You have to make yourself approachable and friendly to others. Build rapport with almost anyone and everyone whom you may need for the benefits of your company. If your employees will find their boss to be cordial and congenial, they will come to you with their problems and discuss those with you at length. This will help you to develop a more cohesive team and a stronger team spirit. Not all leaders are adept at these skills, but very often you have to pay too high a cost, if you cannot master the interpersonal skills properly. For that you may take a course, hire a trainer or a therapist to develop the interpersonal skills within yourself.

4. Moral Values:

A superior leader is highly aware of his/her moral values. If you are not morally strong and integral enough, you cannot guide your subordinates through the right pathway. Every time make yourself a subject of self evaluation. Try to find out your loopholes and work on it. Develop yourself not only as a strong leader but also as an honest leader.

5. Inspiration:

You are the role model of your team. Employees will keep on looking up to you for guidance and encouragement. A superior leader always inspires his team. Hence come back to your employees time and again, praise them, trust them and show them how patiently you are depending on them. Your trust will make them respect and love you and they will try to give their best not to let you down.


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Ravinder Tulsiani: Using Pre-Work as a Training Strategy

The problem is a common one. You have been scheduled for a training session to explain a new policy or procedure. Unfortunately, you have time and budget constraints that mean you do not have the time or resources to have a session of the proper length or breadth. Whether you as a trainer or you as an employer looking to engage a trainer encounter this issue, pre-work may help alleviate the strain on the budget or the time table, while invigorating the #training process.

Pre-work is work that is assigned before a training session begins. It can provide the groundwork of the training session, be a way for employees to self assess their knowledge of a particular topic or practice before the training session begins, or simply lay out some of the basics the training session will cover in a more in-depth manner so that the employees have some sense of what the session itself will be about. Regardless of what the pre-work actually is, it is an effective way to drum up enthusiasm for the training session itself, while staying on time and on price point. #management

Studies show that typically during a training session, learners spend 70% of their time speaking, and 30% of their time listening and learning, which when time is of the essence, is not efficient. It is also important to energize and excite the learners about the material that will be studied and illustrate to them the ways it will benefit them in their work. Sending out content before the training session begins in the form of studies and reading, or pre-work, not only helps shift the paradigm of the learning/speaking balance of learners, it creates enthusiasm for the training session and encourages the learners to come to the session already engaged in the subject matter. Pre course activities can be as simple as some reading a self assessment questionnaire, or as complicated as a series of worksheets. Regardless, illustrating the relevance of the lesson to the work and the applications of it should remain a priority.

Once the #learners come in excited about the material, it is important to keep them engaged and enthusiastic. This can be done by considering the type of material you are teaching and what key information you want to impart to the learners. Consider approaching the training with real world applications, so the learners will know how to apply the knowledge you impart on them into real world work scenarios. Also try asking questions and constructing interesting engaging activities to reinforce the classroom lessons.

Learners need to be committed to the applying the learning process, and trainers need to enforce that enthusiasm through verbal cues such as relating the training procedures to successful real life individuals, and non verbal cues such as putting up training course work where others can see it for encouragement. #HR

Pre-work, and training, like many workplace strategies typically needs to be adjusted on a case by case basis for your business’s needs. However, when done successfully, using the tips we’ve outlined, pre-work can become a crucial part of your #business training model.


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Ravinder Tulsiani: What Trainers Need To Know About Project Management

Project management skills are essential when it comes to developing and applying a training program for employees; in fact, these skills are fundamental if the program is to be a success. Because we may have several projects on the go at any one time, as we bid to instigate a growth in our business, it can mean that certain projects either become neglected - or they run away with themselves. When this happens, stress can become manifest, and the training program we began with the best intentions begins to fall apart around us, with the staff becoming disillusioned. Project management, with skills centring around planning, organisation, and management, is something that can be learnt by all of us and its worth is invaluable. #projectmanagement

Training programs are important for both the business and the employee. It is important that the trainer shows enough respect to their employee by developing and sustaining a program that is successful, and which doesn’t get undercut or neglected simply because the trainer has poor project management skills. Project management’s basics are centred around planning and organising. At the start of a project need to write up your overall end goal for each aspect, as well as your daily goals. By writing up daily goals and tasks that you want to achieve with each of your projects, you will be able to better manage your time. You will know what you have to do each day, and you will be able to make sure that you never over stretch yourself. If you don’t organise your time daily, you can be sure that at least one of the aspects of your training program will take months, rather than weeks, to complete. Make deadlines, and stick to them. #training

Naturally, it may not always be possible to accurately calculate a finish time for each program, but by using previous experience (and you will gain experience as you go along), and breaking down your program into daily goals and targets, you will have a clearer vision of all your deadlines - including the final deadline. When we envision end results, we have a greater chance of meeting them. Each project will have a timeline, and if you clearly delineate where you want to be at the end of each week, and as long as you’re reasonable with your expectations, you will have a much greater chance of success. Being reasonable with our expectations is, in fact, a key factor; you don’t want to over stretch yourself, and you need to remember to always work within your means. There are boundaries for all things, and project management is all about setting yourself boundaries that you can work within. #business

Organising and working with your staff means that you will need good communication skills. To get the best out of your training program, you will need to be able to work well with your employees. You don’t have to be the most perceptive person to be able to detect who is good at what; finding out the key skills of your staff and using them to everyone’s advantage is part and parcel of what makes a training program successful. You will need to be constantly talking to your employees, keeping them updated, and you can do this through meetings. This doesn’t mean that you need to organise a plethora of meetings that cover just a few trivial points; the key is to make the meetings as effective as possible. #HR

Finally, project management teaches the trainer to think on their feet. It may be that, from time to time, things go wrong and your timeline has to be altered a little to compensate for lost time. You need to be ready for these kind of moments, and experience itself is often enough to act as a saving grace in times such as these. It may even be that the time you were given by the company simply wasn’t enough, in which case you can talk to them about future changes in the way your training program is scheduled. Project management breeds experience, and experience is what will ultimately shape your future success as a trainer.


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Ravinder Tulsiani: What You Should Know About Business Leadership

Leaders come from all different walks of life. Anyone can become an effective leader. It all starts with believing in yourself and having the determination to succeed. The following article has many great tips that will show you how to become the best leader you can be.

SHARE YOUR VISION

Talk about the vision of your team. Think of your mission the way you might think of a compass, and integrate company values into the daily workings of the company. It is critical that you show team members how they play a role in the larger picture of the company's workings. It is a great way to offer direction and build a healthy professional relationship.

DECISIVE

Be confident in a decision before you share it with others. If you look indecisive, that will cause your subordinates to question your authority and be indecisive themselves. Instead, deliberate in private before you make any announcements.

PART OF THE TEAM

Be sure that you spend some time each day out of your office, and in the midst of the workforce. Try to be a part of the group, while maintaining your leadership role. You can use this time to get to know your employees, ask questions or even join them for lunch.

WALK THE TALK

To be an effective, you need to walk the talk. Set a good example for others. You cannot sit around giving out orders and expect people to follow. The best way to earn respect is being a positive role model to others.

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Don't rely on email to manage your team. Over-reliance on email disconnects your from your team. You will not only build resentment among your team, but also miss out on the chance to build relationships that will improve productivity in the long run.

LEADERSHIP STYLE

One way to become a good leader is to avoid becoming a monarch. You should have a good and talented workforce under you if you are a good leader. Just make sure to avoid creating a "throne" by setting up restrictive guidelines that are unreasonable. You need to guide your employees, but not with a bunch of parameters that are unnecessary. Influence your workers without trying to "rule" them.

EMPOWER

Empower your employees. Leadership isn't just about decision making. It's also about knowing when to give up the power to your trusted colleagues. When you let them make decisions, you are helping to build their loyalty to the company. They'll feel respected, and most importantly, wanted. That's a big thing for the health of your business.

ACTIVE COMMUNICATION

Even if you're not a tremendous speaker, that doesn't mean you can't be a good leader. Communicating effectively can overcome lack of oratory skills. Let all your team members know what is expected of them and how they contribute to the organization. Communicate success stories and be precise when providing critical remarks.

OPTIMAL DRIVE

Do not push people on your team too hard since this can result in doing the opposite of what you are trying to accomplish. Instead of giving them motivation to do more work, it may make them feel demoralized. In turn, they will lose a lot of respect for you and negatively effect your employee turnover rate.

Remember, effective leadership requires a steadfast determination to succeed and belief in oneself that you can really be a leader. The article here presented you with very good advice that many people have used to better their leadership skills. Use this information in your life to help develop the leadership capabilities that lie within you.

NEXT STEPS

Check out my book: "Your Leadership Edge". It's an innovative step-by-step leadership training program that will help you develop a highly engaged and super-charged workforce... in stores this fall. Pre-order your copy today to get exclusive bonuses athttp://www.yourleadershipedge.ca.

Author Information:

Ravinder Tulsiani has over a decade of experience in training and management development. Tulsiani’s expertise has been cited and sought out on a number of major networks, such as CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and FOX. Tulsiani teaches leadership at his own consulting firm, Training EDGE. Effective Leadership, Manager’s Guide to Workplace and Safety, and Time Management in the Workplace are all books also penned by Ravinder Tulsiani.


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Ravinder Tulsiani: How to Evaluate the Impact of Training

In these tough economic times there are many companies that feel that they are wasting money on training their staff. They feel that it is only a necessary luxury when things are rosy and when there is plenty of money to burn. This is a wrong notion as training is the lifeblood of any business. If you increase the capacity of those who work for your company, you invariably increase the potentiality or value of your company. #training

And this has become crucial for sustainability in the marketplace. You need to adapt and remain competitive if you want to be in business for the long haul. And this starts with equipping your staffers with skill sets and attributes for the journey that lies ahead. But how do you know that the money that you spend is put to good use? How do you evaluate the impact of training organized for your workforce? If you work in a department responsible for this, how do you defend yourself against having your budget allocation trimmed down or scrapped altogether? #leadership

There are some smart ways that you can evaluate training results. Firstly, make sure that you can gauge participant satisfaction at the end of the learning period. Printed or electronic surveys can be handed out to attendees to find out how they felt about the course. Did you enjoy the training? How is the course relevant to your work? Would you recommend this course to someone else? These are some of the questions that you can ask to evaluate a participatory response. #shrm

The second level of evaluation should be an examination. It is important for an examination to come after the training to help determine if knowledge was acquired or not by those who attended. Many training specialists try to avoid this in order to justify their pay check and prove that their session was not an epic failure. However, this evaluation needs to be considered. It points out the people who have acquired knowledge and points out people who need extra #coaching or #mentorship.

If participants know that there is an examination at the end of a course, they tend to take it more seriously. If they know that after a week of training, they will be tested and their grades would be forwarded to their superiors, they brace up. #business

But when it comes to evaluating the impact of a training session, you need to look beyond surveys and examinations. You need to measure the impact that it would have on a business. This is a long term evaluation. But it is easily the most effective. In this case, you find out if what has been learnt is being applied in the workplace. In addition, you confirm if behaviours and skills are being adapted or altered towards the benefit of the organization. #HR

This demonstrates how well participants can apply their knowledge in the real world. And help management realize the people who are adding value to the organization and the people who are liabilities. Training is all about generating an improvement for your business. Ensure that you use key performance indicators (KPIs) to improve the results of your training.


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Ravinder Tulsiani: Retirement Boom: How to Handle the Boomer Retirement Bubble

As the economy stabilizes, many companies feel they are now back on solid footing, however, they may not be prepared for the next big bubble to burst: The Boomer #retirement bubble.

Over the next two decades, as countless experienced workers walk out the door, it is up to the companies and industries that employ them to take steps to avoid the knowledge vacuum as the best educated, most highly skilled aging #workforce in history prepares for retirement. Here are 5 steps to avoid the knowledge vacuum, and protect your company when your most skilled workers move on to the next stage of their lives.

1. Identify Key #Leadership Positions

This can be done by going over major roles in the company, determining their vacancy risk, as well as their responsibilities, functions, authority, and how those play into the greater operation of the company. For example, if you have a manager approaching retirement age, determine a timeline of her departure, what her tasks and responsibilities are, and which employees report to her for what tasks.

2. Identify the Skills within the Key Leadership Roles

Once you determine whose roles are key leadership roles, determine what skills, education, and experience is required to manage each position successfully. You can collect this information and file it for later use, but make sure to update it as needed. #humanresources

3. Assess Your Current #Employees

At this stage, it is important for the department or company to determine who, if any current employees could successfully assume the roles that are a vacancy risk. It is a good idea to think as far ahead as three to five years before the vacancy of the leadership position if possible. This allows the employee who may fill that role time to prepare and transition more seamlessly. #HR

4. Develop and Implement Career Development Strategies

Create opportunities for your employees to develop different skills within the company, and determine what career paths they would like to pursue and what options are available to them. If you have annual performance reviews, this may be an excellent time to discuss these options with them. Encouraging your employees to learn and grow, and making them aware they can advance in the company will create more prepared, able workers for when others retire. #business

5. Monitor and Evaluate Strategies

Monitor how the implemented strategies assist in closing the high priority talent gap. Succession planning is a difficult task, and your plan may require some fine tuning depending on the roles that become available. However, if you remain flexible, and plan well, replacing your key employees should go smoothly, and with minimal impact to your company. #successionplanning


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Friday, August 15, 2014

Ravinder Tulsiani: Characteristics of a great corporate leader

“#Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality. —Warren Bennis”

A corporate leader is someone who conducts, who guides, who takes his/her team through every thick and thin so that the goals are achieved and the team remains motivated and aligned with the company’s mission and vision. #leader

Here are some key characteristics of a great corporate leader that you must nurture -

INTEGRITY

Integrity or honesty is the primary attribute a corporate leader must have. You should abide by certain principles so as to establish yourself as the role model of your team. You have to establish yourself as a disciplinarian and your activities must reflect your business ethics transparently in front of your team members. #business

COURAGE

No great work can be accomplished unless you are courageous enough to take risks and face challenges. As a corporate leader you are responsible for running a whole business. You have to show enough courage to think and decide independently and take the right decisions even if you are being influenced and obstructed constantly. Your vision should be clear. #HR

SELF CONTROL

Another very essential characteristic trait of a leader is self control. A great corporate leader is one who has a tremendous control over his/her emotions. #business

CLARITY

Be clear and confident. Present your viewpoints explicitly. Come plain to your #employees regarding what you want from them, what’s your expectation for the company and so on. Always remember the more direct and distinct you will be with your employees as a corporate leader, the better will be the end result.

CREATIVITY

Be the painter, not the painting. Come up with new ideas that can open up new doors. Be innovative, be experimental. At the same time give space to your members as well to display their imagination. As a corporate leader, you should leave enough space for intellectual cultivation.

GUIDANCE

There is a narrow line of difference between guiding and dominating. Although often your motives are white but out of too much excitement of executing something accurately you may end up dominating and over-burdening your members which in turn hold up a very negative image and the respect and love for the corporate leader get replaced by fear.

TEAM WORK

‘Successful businessmen share the ability to hire people smarter than they are”. As a corporate leader you individually cannot bring sole success; you need a team for that. If you are a great corporate leader you must have the skill of recruiting smarter and more intelligent people than you are and assign them responsibilities, so that they can come up with the best results. #teamwork

INSPIRATION

Often the team members look up to their leader for inspiration and encouraging words. Those words motivate them, energize them and assure them of their credibility. Even when the work is going accurately, you should come up and inspire your team members individually.

HUMBLE

Unless and until you have a balance of humbleness and simplicity in your nature, you cannot get the best out of you members. You are their boss. Their love and respect for their corporate leader will be mirrored in their work.


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Ravinder Tulsiani: How to Develop an Effective Corporate Learning Strategy

This article has been selected to be published by ASTD Press. As per their requirements, I am removing this from this site. Once they print it, I will update here with the link.


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Ravinder Tulsiani: Having Trouble Leading Your Team? These Tips Can Help

Are you comfortable being the center of attention? Do people look to you for guidance on a regular basis? Are you talented, skilled and able to delegate work to the right people? Can you keep people motivated? If so, you may already possess the skills necessary to become a strong business leader.

SET AN EXAMPLE

When you're a leader, you are held accountable at a much higher level. If you make a mistake, admit it and move on. It can be easy to push the blame onto other people, but this must be avoided. If you're accountable when you've made a mistake, the people around you will feel the need to be more accountable if they've made a mistake. So, set a good example.

OPTIMISTIC

A good leader should always try to remain optimistic. Even when things aren't going as planned, a leader should be positive so that the people around you will remain positive. No matter what the problem is, a good attitude will give you, and your team, hope that the problem will be handled.

HUMBLE

Don't shift the blame for mistakes to others. Subordinates, outside contractors, and plenty of other people within the organization can cause a business transaction to go wrong. If you try to shift the blame, you will lose the confidence of your customers and employees. Remember, a good leader takes more than their fair share of the blame and less than their fair share of the credit.

INVEST IN TRAINING

If you are rolling out a new business process, train your employees effectively. That new business process might look all shiny on paper, but if your subordinates receive insufficient, or worse, no training, it will inevitably cost you money down the road. There are ways to make training relatively painless, so do your research.

DON’T BE A KNOW-IT-ALL

To better your leadership skills, don't act like an expert in everything. You might have good ideas, but you must also consider those around you. They may be able to provide ideas to facilitate your plans or identify issues that may arise during implementation of them.

BIG PICTURE VISION

When you're trying to be a good business leader, you'll need to be able to make difficult decisions. When making a difficult decision, you should understand the consequences and outcome of your decision. When making a decision, you should always consider what is going to be best for your business, not just for certain people or yourself.

THE BUCK STOPS WITH YOU

If you want to be a good business leader, try to treat everything as being your personal fault. This is ultimately about assuming personal responsibility for all that happens in your work. Never blame coworkers or the economy. Understand that at the end of the day, those who created their own fate are the ones eating dinner out at nice restaurants.

POSITIVE WORK ENVIRONMENT

When you are the leader of the group, you are responsible for the atmosphere. If you come to work in a bad mood and are disrespectful to your team, the atmosphere will be a negative one. Always try to keep things positive at the office, work site and in your communications with your team.

HIRE STRONG TEAM

Good leaders hire good people to work for them. If you refuse to hire individuals that you fear may become competition, you undermine your own chances for success. Search out people who are as passionate about your industry as you are and encourage their problem solving abilities and reward their successes.

THEY WON’T CARE, IF YOU DON’T

Remember that no matter how much you care for a business you work for or own, many of your subordinates are just there for a paycheck. This means that their daily behavior will often just subconsciously mimic and even amplify your own. That means that your good mood and passion can be contagious. On the other hand, so can your indifference.

Some people definitely have the personality to become great business leaders. However, you must also apply yourself to your leadership role. The tips in this article can give you a basic groundwork for becoming an effective business leader. Take this knowledge, continue learning new leadership skills and get some experience.

NEXT STEPS

Check out my book: "Your Leadership Edge". It's an innovative step-by-step leadership training program that will help you develop a highly engaged and super-charged workforce... in stores this fall. Pre-order your copy today to get exclusive bonuses athttp://www.yourleadershipedge.ca.

Author Information:

Ravinder Tulsiani has over a decade of experience in training and management development. Tulsiani’s expertise has been cited and sought out on a number of major networks, such as CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and FOX. Tulsiani teaches leadership at his own consulting firm, Training EDGE. Effective Leadership, Manager’s Guide to Workplace and Safety, and Time Management in the Workplace are all books also penned by Ravinder Tulsiani.


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Ravinder Tulsiani: All You Need To Know About Business Leadership

Attributes to great leadership is already within all of us, what we need to do is identify these key characteristics and hone in on them. Here are some basic tips to help you become a great leader.

THANK

Say thank you to your employees. Many studies have been done on the power of a thanks given from a manager to his or her employees. It increases productivity, often by a lot. Just a little graciousness really can help extend your power as a leader, so be active about it.

DELEGATE

Learn how to delegate and focus on supporting your employees. Work on being inspiring and encourage those around you. Instead of micro-managing, work on getting the most out of your team's potential by delegating and empowering your people. Tell them what to do, rather than how to do it. Then, get out of their way and let them do it.

PERSIST

Tenacity is an important quality in a good leader. When you have things that go wrong, your team will look to see how you react. You have to focus on the goals despite all of the obstacles. Your persistence will give the group all they need to become motivated.

BUILD TRUST

Give people reasons to trust you. As a leader, it's important that you are trusted. When that happens, people are more likely to follow you and to do what you ask of them. Make sure you keep your word, and say what you truly think. People will respect you, trust you and follow you.

ACTION-ORIENTED

Being a leader means taking action. It doesn't matter how many good ideas you have if all they ever do is take up space in your head. Develop a plan and put your idea into action. Focus on the outcome you would like to achieve and focus your energy on making it happen.

GIVE INCENTIVES

Give incentives for well done work. Sure, everyone is getting paid, but an incentive can be a great motivational tool. When employees exceed expectations, make sure you offer praise and a reward. Top leaders don't penny pinch on this.

COMMITMENT TO PERSONAL GROWTH

Real leaders are willing to learn. Many great leadership skills don't just occur from a sudden flash of insight or a great epiphany. Great ideas can come to anybody, but good leaders study. Try reading some books on how to be a good leader, going to seminars, and talking to colleagues to see what works best for them. It can take a long time, but the more knowledge you have about proper leadership skills, the better yours can become.

Adopt an eternal attitude of learning. While this article has great tips in it, there's always something more to learn. Business changes and evolves and you need to keep up with it. Always be reading books, newspapers and blogs. If possible, attend classes and workshops. Those are chances to learn and network.

HIRE THE RIGHT PEOPLE

Good leaders hire good people to work for them. If you refuse to hire individuals that you fear may become competition, you undermine your own chances for success. Search out people who are as passionate about your industry as you are and encourage their problem solving abilities and reward their successes.

MAINTAIN OBJECTIVITY

If you are the leader of a business, you should never let your personal opinions get in the way of how you do business. For example, never pass somebody up for a promotion simply because you do not like them. If they deserve to advance, you should set your feelings aside and make it happen.

Leadership is not only something each person is born with but skills that must be attained and skills that must be honed. You don't want to ever think that you have it all down. Instead, practice what has been given to you, and always look for other things that can help you.

NEXT STEPS

Check out my book: "Your Leadership Edge". It's an innovative step-by-step leadership training program that will help you develop a highly engaged and super-charged workforce... in stores this fall. Pre-order your copy today to get exclusive bonuses at http://www.yourleadershipedge.ca.

Author Information:

Ravinder Tulsiani has over a decade of experience in training and management development. Tulsiani’s expertise has been cited and sought out on a number of major networks, such as CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and FOX. Tulsiani teaches leadership at his own consulting firm, Training EDGE. Effective Leadership, Manager’s Guide to Workplace and Safety, and Time Management in the Workplace are all books also penned by Ravinder Tulsiani.


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Ravinder Tulsiani: Have Business Leadership Questions? Get Answers Here

Having good leadership skills is important if you are in charge of one person or 500 people. Good communication, people skills and many other things are required of great leaders. If you do not have these skills already, it is time to learn. Use the tips below to become a more effective leader to your team.

ALIGNMENT

Your team's vision should be communicated. Use your mission to guide the firm and incorporate a sense of values into all you do. Make sure your team gets an idea of what the bigger picture is about so they can feel good about their accomplishments. You want to make sure all members of your team are pulling in the same direction.

TEAM WORK

In order to be an effective leader, you must work closely with your team. Listen to them when they talk, encourage individuality and innovation, and let each member of your team enjoy their individual and group successes. Above all, don't ask a member of your team to do anything that you would not be willing to do yourself.

SEEK INPUT

If you're trying to make a decision, you should try to get input from your team. Your team may be able to help you find a great solution, or they could help you see if you're making a bad choice. A good leader should be interested in the opinions of others.

INSTILL CONFIDENCE

When working to improve in the area of leadership, it is vital that you develop competency. People need to trust that you know what you are doing in order to feel confident in your leadership ability. Instill confidence in those who follow you by finding a mentor to help you become truly proficient in what you do.

SOLICIT FIRST

When attending meetings, don’t be a know-it-all. Refrain from sharing your thoughts right away and solicit group input first. This will prevent others from just going along with your ideas. Brain storming ideas will enable your employees to feel involved and empowered. It will also ensure that you are making an educated decision after collaborating with the experts.

OPTIMISM

As a leader, you need to create a joyful atmosphere. Nobody wants to work in a place that is full of negativity. You must work to discover the possibilities in every situation and try to enjoy yourself every day. Remain positive and help others remain positive. Know that you can create something wonderful with your team.

How you behave will directly effect how your employees conduct themselves in the office. A leader that is hostile and aggressive can expect a combative atmosphere and lack of trust in the workplace. By displaying confidence and remaining calm in tense situations you set an positive example for your employees to follow.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Be prepared for conflict and try to deal with it before it gets out of hand. Ignoring conflict will make the problem worse and make you look too weak to handle it. Practicing good communication skills with your employees will help them feel more respected even if they don't agree with specific decisions.

Remember, understanding what motivates your employees and engaging them early ensures that you make an informed decision, reduce errors, empower your employees and create an atmosphere of cooperation.

NEXT STEPS

Check out my book: "Your Leadership Edge". It's an innovative step-by-step leadership training program that will help you develop a highly engaged and super-charged workforce... in stores this fall. Pre-order your copy today to get exclusive bonuses athttp://www.yourleadershipedge.ca.

Author Information:

Ravinder Tulsiani has over a decade of experience in training and management development. Tulsiani’s expertise has been cited and sought out on a number of major networks, such as CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and FOX. Tulsiani teaches leadership at his own consulting firm, Training EDGE. Effective Leadership, Manager’s Guide to Workplace and Safety, and Time Management in the Workplace are all books also penned by Ravinder Tulsiani.


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Ravinder Tulsiani: Building an Engaged Workforce

A sound working environment within the company is very important to ensure that the employees stay dedicated towards their work and fulfil the target as well. Engaging the employees in the work is helpful in numerous ways and that is why the companies are taking measures for the same. Steps are taken to invoke a positive energy in the office so that the employees are happy and they are able to focus on their work too. So if you want to transform the environment of your #workplace, here are the steps that you can follow. #business

Establish connection

A connection or a bonding is very necessary to make sure that the employees are pleased and love to work in the office. It should be the duty of the managers to make their employees feel comfortable, understand their problems and solve them as early as possible. The managers need to make an effort to engage the employees with the people so that they become a part of the company and are able to enjoy the work. Therefore, a connection is very important and it can bring a huge change in the mindset of the #employees.

Engaging employees on a local level

Different types of events can be organized to bring the employees together and make sure that they get in touch with another. This is a great idea because it helps them to understand each other in an informal environment, says Ravinder Tulsiani, a Learning Consultant with Training EDGE. The corporate events offer a common platform and an opportunity to the employees which help in reducing the bridge between the employees and their head.

Appreciation

Admiration for the work is one of the greatest factors that not only boost the confidence of the people but pursue them to work harder. This is the reason that the managers must appreciate their employees and reward them for their good work. In this way, you can easily motivate them and also inculcate the feeling of loyalty within them. #HR

Solve their problems

If the employees are facing any kind of problem in the office, it should be brought to the notice and solved as soon as possible. The head of the company must make sure that the employees are free to discuss their problems so that steps can be taken to improve the work culture. In this way, a healthy working atmosphere can be created which is definitely helpful for the employees. #leadership


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Thursday, August 14, 2014

Ravinder Tulsiani: How to identify potential leaders in your organization

At its very core, a business cannot thrive unless it has excellent workers and excellent leadership. Very few “excellent” workers will remain excellent if they find their efforts go unnoticed or unrewarded by management, or if they see the business itself spiraling into the ground because of inept management decisions. Rather than stay in such an environment, these workers will find more pleasant employment elsewhere.

Some will even start up their own businesses. Those that want to start their own businesses possess that intangible “leadership” potential – they know how a business should be run and what needs to be done to keep it successful.

It is important, therefore, that these particular employees, the ones with leadership potential, be identified and promoted into management positions where their abilities and skills will bear fruit.

Not everyone wants to be a leader

Many “excellent” workers thrive because they have no responsibility beyond their own specific job – they like being given instructions on what to do, and then they do it – very well. They would be lost if they were moved up in the hierarchy to a position where they had to tell others what to do.

To promote such individuals out of their comfort zone is usually a recipe for disaster.

Not everyone can be a leader

There are a subset of employees who are good (or even not so good) at their jobs, and want to be promoted into a management level because they feel they’d be good at it, but for whatever reason they won’t be. Either they have no people skills and are too overbearing, or they just aren’t good enough at their job and so will not be able to earn the respect of those workers under them whom they are telling what to do.

How to identify good leaders

Depending on how many employees are in your company, you will doubtless have people divided into teams. In a team environment, potential leaders will usually come to the forefront. They will be outspoken in weekly meetings, giving their opinions and advice on the project under discussion.

It is the responsibility of supervisors to be aware of the potentialities of team leaders. Are these outspoken individuals contributing good work? How do their fellow team members respond to them – are they browbeaten or do they recognize this leader as the best person for the job?

Open communication

Another way to discover employees with leadership potential is to foster open communication and programs where employees can suggest ways to improve the processes or procedures of their team, their division, or of the company in general. Anyone who comes forward with suggestions usually has the knowledge, the ambition and the drive to be a leader. If they have the people skills as well, that is usually a winning combination.

Leadership training

Many leaders are born with great people skills, and the ability to draw the best out of their employees. However, leadership can be taught.

Any business that is structured with team leaders, supervisors, and other upper management positions should also put in place a leadership training program. Many individuals who were excellent team leaders flounder when thrown into the larger role of a supervisor, but can find their feet with proper training.

Next Steps

Check out my book: "Your Leadership Edge". It's an innovative step-by-step leadership training program that will help you develop a highly engaged and super-charged workforce... in stores this fall. Pre-order your copy today to get exclusive bonuses at http://www.yourleadershipedge.ca.


View the original article here