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• EDITORIAL – “Training Employees to be Extraordinary”
• Mentor or Coach
• Assessment Tool for August 2009
• Watching The World Go By
• Bite Size - Fast Track to "Successful Meetings"
• Competency-Based Management Training
• Public Training Courses for September 2009
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Nido says “In business of the future, motivation will focus more on job satisfaction, the quality of work and team spirit. Supervision will look more like co-operation with greater emphasis on peer-group control.” So what sort of leaders are we looking at these days. Would you agree to the following qualities of a present day leader:

People become extraordinary only when they can learn and apply new ideas. A good leader should be able to develop their people to become an extraordinary workforce if you provide them with such opportunities.
Give them the opportunity and you will be surprise at their behavioral change. Challenge them to put a little extra something into their relations with co-workers, customers and clients. You will notice that these little extras will all add up to extraordinary performances.  

MENTOR OR COACH

Coaching and mentoring are increasingly being used by companies to groom middle and senior managers for a higher level of performance. A professional executive coach is usually hired from outside the organisation, while a mentor is usually an internal employee.
In discussions with prospective clients, coaches often find the terms ‘mentor’ and ‘coach’ used interchangeably. Although both refer to a person who is responsible for the professional development of another individual, their  roles are quite different in scope and application.
Organisations unaware of the difference may be using one, when the other is clearly more appropriate. There are fundamental differences between coaching and mentoring. Making the wrong choice is unproductive and expensive in the long run.

Old Hand
A mentor is most often senior to the person being mentored and in a different area of the company. The job of a mentor is to help the less experienced person develop his functional skills and to advise on the best way to achieve his work objectives within the culture and politics of the organisation.
The mentor is someone with whom to discuss ideas and problems, in order to receive advice based on his experience of handling similar situations within the organisation. The mentor will be aware of company procedures and processes, as well as the political traps the mentee may encounter when putting forward a proposal or implementing a plan.
In some respects, the mentor is the ‘oracle’ the mentee goes to for specific advice and help on the workings of the organisation and is usually an established ‘old hand’.

Sounding Board
On the other hand, an executive coach is usually an external party, who does not give specific technical advice on how to carry out a particular task.
The coach need not necessarily be familiar with the industry or the function within which his client is working. The coach, like the mentor, will act as a sounding board for ideas and tactical plans. Through skilful questioning techniques, he will then challenge those ideas, cause his client to think more deeply about his approach to an issue and prompt new ideas as to how the plan can best be achieved, or how the idea can gain support from seniors and peers.

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Key Differences
Some of the key differences between coaching and mentoring lie within the nature of the relationship. While in both cases the sessions are confidential, there is sometimes a feeling that a mentor may have a personal agenda or that company politics may preclude 100% trust between the mentor and mentee.
A professional coach, on the other hand has an ethical duty of confidentiality towards his or her client and is uninfluenced by company politics or power plays.
The coach may also possess tools to help his client deal with lapses in confidence or self-limiting beliefs that are holding back career progression. These feelings of uncertainty of self-doubt are unlikely to surface in a relationship with an internal mentor, but may be freely expressed within a coach/client relationship.
When launching a mentoring or coaching initiative, make sure the people doing the mentoring or coaching are qualified for the job. An in-house mentoring program can be an excellent step towards creating a learning organisation, but only if the mentors have received proper training to equip them with the requisite skills to be effective in the role.
Similarly, when hiring a coach, be certain you are hiring a professionally trained coach who complies with a code of conduct, such as the International Coach Federation (ICF) Code of Ethics. Accredition by the ICF is added proof that a coach has undertaken professional training, has a minimum amount of experience and has passed an ICF accreditation exam.  

 
(Click here or picture for details)

“No place for ego in promoting English”says Yap Leng Kuen, (Senior business editor-The Star). She continues by saying that “not all jobs require mastery of the English language. For technical jobs, it is more of the skills, basic knowledge of technical terms and the ability to communicate. However in the modern world of international business, a fluent command of English is important not just from the aspect of style but also substance. A wide vocabulary and high standard of linguistic skills can carry a person far in his career which of course, does not rely solely on the gift of the gab. But it enables him to articulate and communicate his thoughts to another person in as vocal and as resourceful a manner that is required. Together with his deep technical knowledge, a person’s ability in this respect will help a long way in ensuring his employability. Business in emerging countries and economic powerhouses like China are taking up English lessons in a big way, reflecting the high priority they place on the language that has gone beyond the status of just mother tongue to native British speakers. They realize there is no place for egoistic or backward thinking promoting the vibrant use of English in everyday commerce.”  
 

ASSESSMENT TOOL FOR AUGUST 2009.
HERE IS ANOTHER ASSESSMENT TOOL WHICH CAN HELP YOU TO RATE YOURSELF AS A LEADER.

Overview
As organizations embrace the notions of empowerment and team building, they must also stress the need for better leadership. Some individuals need a structured, controlled environment with continuous feedback to feel secure and to be productive. Others need a flexible, open, creative environment with little or no supervision. Successful leaders recognize these differences in themselves and others and then learn to adjust to optimize the performance of all individuals. The question is, “How do you determine your own leadership competencies?”

This 360 degree instrument identifies 20 characteristics or competencies attributed to successful leaders. It is important to recognize that not everyone will be exceptional or even very good in all 20. Based on their own innate qualities and preferences, most individuals feel more comfortable engaging in some activities, and prefer to avoid others. On the other hand, highly successful leaders understand their own strengths and weaknesses. They engage in developmental activities and also supplement and complement their weaknesses by drawing others. This instrument helps individuals to determine their strengths and weaknesses as well as the relevance of those strengths and weaknesses to current and future leadership roles. It also helps them develop an action plan for improvement.
Click here to go to 360 Degrees Leadership Development Assessment Instrument

ARTICLE(S) FROM THE INSTITUTE OF LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT, U.K.,
WATCHING THE WORLD GO BY

CREATIVE MASTERCLASS
In a recent television interview on popular Australian chat show ‘Enough Rope’, host Andrew Denton commented that his guest Jerry Seinfield was an ‘observational comedian’. Denton went on to ask if observing was something he had to consciously switch off. ‘I never really turn it off,’ Seinfield responded. ‘It’s just there. You just pick things out as they go by and think, I could do something with that.’
The more I hear people like Jerry Seinfield talk about their observation skills, the more I appreciate the fact that it’s something that we could all learn and make the effort to do in order to unlock our own great ideas.
Another examples of a great observer, and another comedian, is Billy Connolly. I’ve been to see Billy Connolloy a number of times now and have had the fortunate privilege of meeting him in a previous life when I worked in radio. One thing I noticed was that Billy was always looking out for the next great piece of comedy. I recently had coffee with a lady who has toured Australia with Billy for the last 20 years. She said that quite often they’d sit at dinner in the evening and have in-depth conversations about social issues, politics and culture. Then the next night, Billy would be on stage and do a whole routine around their conversation and she’d be sitting in the audience looking at him on stage thinking, ‘I don’t remember that conversation at all, was I really at the same table?’ It’s because Billy doesn’t have dinner like the rest of us. He, like Jerry Seinfield, is always observing what’s around him in order to create new interesting ideas and angles. That’s what makes them the comedians they are.
In an interview with talk show host Michael Parkinson, Sting was asked whether he enjoyed being the centre of attention at parties. Sting said he’d much rather be in the corner with a drink watching and listening to everyone else. He said that people like him are story-tellers and he’d rather be by himself, listening out for the next great story.
So how does this relate to you and I in our world of work and play? Most people are so caught up in getting the job done or getting from point A to B on time, multi tasking the way through their day, they never really get the chance to sit down, stop and observe. These days we feel as though we always have to be busy – if we’re not doing something productive, it’s a bad thing. But often, it’s during periods of inactivity where creative genius is born. Leonardo da Vinci once said

that ‘There is no room in a busy mind for creativity’, yet in this day and age we think we always need to be busy in order to be accomplishing something. Never confuse activity with accomplishment. What’s one bright idea worth to you, your company or your family?

Write on
There’s a lot to be said for stopping, observing and thinking. Seinfield said that he’s always ‘on’, that he’s always looking for things and thinking ‘what if’. It’s a natural talent we all possess that only improves if we choose to put time and effort into it. That’s why keeping a journal is such a wonderful tool to help expose and provoke great thinking. When you have a journal, you sit there and actually take the time to write down random thoughts, ideas, concepts and ponderings. It’s why we have great ideas when we’re on a plane, sitting on a bus, walking the dog or running through the park.
I recently hosted a creative session with an association of banking executives in Sydney. I started the day by asking them what they were observing recently among their friends, society, in their social circles or around health and fitness. We made a big list up on the board of all these observations. I then asked them to direct this thinking into the bank. How are current fashion colours being reflected in the bank’s colouring, brochures, website and styling? With the big push on health, fitness and obesity, where’s that being reflected in the company’s values and presentations? How are changes in technology affecting how they do business? I then asked them to look at their media spend and tell me how it was being reflected in current trends. Naturally, I drew plenty of blank looks initially because no one had really thought about what they were seeing. Too many people are walking the streets with their eyes glued to their crackberry or sitting in cafes with their ears stuck to their mobile telephones. It’s the person who takes the time to actually look around that will benefit the most in the long run and truly fire up their creative spirit. I remember seeing Billy Connolly in a shopping mall in Sydney the afternoon before one of his shows. He was walking around in moccasins with his hippy bag over his shoulder, observing and thinking. You guessed it, that night on stage, Billy rolled out a whole host of his strange observations gleaned from walking the streets of Sydney. Most of us would have rushed along in a hurry to get to our next destination, but for Billy it was fodder for a wonderful and entertaining routine.
Exercise your brain
Now you may well be thinking that it’s his job to find material. But it’s also your job to find new and interesting ways to stimulate your mind, and if you work for an organisation, furthering its success will only come from spending time with your eyes open, observing and thinking. The brain is the only organ in the body where the more you use it, the better it gets. When you’re observing, thinking and putting these thoughts into play, you gain the ultimate benefit – you exercise your brain and make it better. Now that is an incredible investment for the future.
(By Gary Bertwistle - Australia’s new pioneer in creative thinking)

There are many theories on leadership, but one of the most revealing is not a concept but a quote, attributed to Dwight D Eisenhower:
“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it”
The last six words are the key – however tactically brilliant you are as a leader, however inspired your decisions, you are not going to get anywhere unless you can persuade people to follow you.
Motivating employees, and sustaining that motivation over your term as leader, is a major challenge.
As recently as 30 years ago, the vogue was for ‘command and control’ leadership – persuading people to do want you want through intimidation and fear. These days, the most successful leaders appeal to far more positive human emotions.
Leadership academic John Kotter argues that leaders have to appeal to basic but often untapped human needs, values and emotions. We all feel a need for achievement, recognition, self-esteem and a feeling of control over our lives, he argues, and appealing to these emotions can elicit a powerful response. That said, during our research for What Do Leaders Really Do?, it quickly became apparent that truly motivational leaders, who know how to tap into human emotions , are born and not made. Of the 17 leaders we spoke to, a handful could be described as natural inspirational leaders (one or two, in fact, admitted that it was their predominant skill).
Others found that they had to work much harder at motivation – but all had found their own path, with excellent results.
Overall, motivation within an organisation is linked to a large number of factors. Employees will tend to be motivated if they believe in the vision, direction or objectives of the organisation and its leader, feel they are trusted and have been well-informed, have been presented with challenging but achievable goals and feel that their employer truly cares for their welfare. These four points are basic requirements for a motivated workforce, but can still be a challenge for some leaders. Trusting people to do their job is a fundamental element of motivation, but that also means that the leader should be willing to accept that mistakes will be made.
“Motivation is about convincing people that they are capable of great things” Greg Dyke told Quenn’sall goes wrong, so what? It’s about fear – you have to reduce the fear in their lives.”
The Power of Praise
As well as accepting that mistakes will be made, the recognition and celebration of success is a vital element of motivation. Kotter argues that rewarding successes gives employees a sense of accomplishment and helps them feel like they belong in an organisation[Tyar content. A sidebar is a standalone supplement to the main document. It is often aligned on the left or right of the page, or located at the Typically, the leaders we spoke to put this view into practice. Greg Dyke, for instance, told us that he consciously made time while director-general of BBC to celebrate with employees when something had gone well. “On the Monday morning following the concert we covered to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee, for instance, I came into the office and sent a quick email to everyone saying, wasn’t that wonderful? Didn’t we do well? It’s important to say it. Sue Campbell, Head of UK Sport, takes the same view – If someone handles themselves really well in a meeting I will bang on their door and say, well done, good job. It doesn’t matter if you’re six or 60 years of age, it’s good reinforcement when someone says you’ve done a good job.
Several leaders we spoke to made the point that it is much easier for a group of people to pull together if they are facing possible failure.
Martin Johnson, who captained the World Cup-winning England rugby in 2003 and is now the team’s manager, told us that it was much more difficult to keep his team motivated at half time if they were winning than if they were losing. In this spirit, Martin Glenn, the former president of PepsiCo UK and now CEO of Birds Eye Iglo group, said that he has often applied a tactic of creating an enemy if no obvious foe was available. When he became chief executive of Birds Eye it was one of the largest frozen food companies in Europe. “What benefit have any of us gained from being the biggest?” he asked. “We needed an enemy fast and that enemy was chilled food – it’s a bigger market than frozen food. It’s much more fun being an underdog in a turnaround situation than it is being the big beast. Terry Leahy (CEO of Tesco) talks about this all the time” he told us. “When you get to the top of the tree, what you have to do is define the forest as the next target. It’s always about giving people targets”.

Natural Born Leaders
Occasionally, a leader will emerge who could be described as purely inspirational, and we found one in Kevin Roberts, world wide CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi. Kevin;s leadership style is distinctive, but entirely natural. It would be virtually impossible for anyone to emulate it because it’s simply what Kevin does.
While Kevin’s language may not sit well within other organizations (he told us, for instance, that ‘the key to great companies is to unleash your people and inspire them against a dream to be the best they can be’), Saatchi & Saatchi takes, in fact, a structured and methodical approach to the inspirational environment. “You can nurture inspiration, you can demand it and you can coach it,” is how Kevin Roberts put it. “We all want to work for something bigger than a pay cheque or producing a new laundry detergent. The role of a leader is to share a dream and to provide a space where people can gain responsibility, can be recognized, work and have fun.
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Review and analyse the success of your meeting
While details of the meeting remain fresh in your mind, assess its effectiveness and review your own leadership style. Use the information to improve your performance next time round.
Follow up promptly
Concise minutes including a list of decisions made, tasks assigned and deadlines for action and follow up should be completed and distributed promptly.
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Hope this newsletter has benefitted you in some way or other.

End of News!
Cheers!
Jimmy ong