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The Leadership Approach Managers Should Avoid

“One size fits all” – using the same leadership style in every situation and for everyone in a team. This should be avoided because at any point in a team, individuals are at different developmental levels. Hence managers should vary their style of leadership based on each individual’s developmental level. This approach, developed by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard, is known as situational leadership.

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One Simple Way to Make Employee Training Pay Off

Reasons. If you could put in one word what makes employee training pay off, that would be the word. As humans, if we have enough reasons we could do the most incredible things.

Tell a child that if they do well in school, you’d buy them a bicycle, you will see their commitment and performance soar. Explain to a young accountant the opportunities that will come their way if they become chartered, they will put in extra effort in preparation to pass the requisite exams.

When it comes to employee training, the case is not different. Give employees enough reasons, they will take the training seriously and excel in learning and application. (more…)

The Inadequacy of Hard Skills

To do their work, employees typically need hard skills. For example, Customer Service Officers need to know how to solve customers’ problems, Computer Programmers need to be able to write functional codes, and Accountants need to be able keep and inspect financial records.

However, beyond the hard skills, which customer service officer do you go to? The one who is pleasant and takes time to answer your questions; or the one who treats you like a number in a long line of customers?

Which programmer do you retain when the economy is down? The one whose attitude is positive and upbeat, and who is always willing to help; or the one who is inflexible and has a hard time admitting mistakes? (more…)