New Horizons

Life Coaching & Mentoring Services

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Budgeting

February 10, 2016 /

DEBT IS LIKE FIRE! 

Take Action & Control Now

Your Budgeting Sheet & Record! 

For many years I have worked with clients ready to move into their first home or new tenancy.

My role would be to provide the coaching & mentoring to enable them to prosper, improve their quality of life and importantly sustain their tenancy.

I would support my clients through identifying with an assessment of need, then with agreement would compile a tailored support plan and setting realistic goals to achieve. In general supporting my clients to improve and develop their life skills in preparation for their life journey.

One area that many clients struggled with, –  money management.

So I provided a basic budgeting sheet to help with working on their income and expenditure. Below is an example of the budgeting sheet. This is for guidelines and may require tweaking or extending to meet with your needs, but this was a useful starting point that many found useful.

A  amount away from  B  =  £

If  A  is more than  B   you are in credit

If  B  is more, then you are spending more than you have and may get into debt.      

First time tenants soon recognised that when bills arrived in, they were often a lot higher than expected. Such as: *rent *electricity *gas *water rates and many others. All these bills are expected to be paid within a limited time scale, so successful budgeting is an essential part to maintain any tenancy.

Many of us find this very difficult due to low income, so taking extra care is vital in coping and avoiding anxiety and stress that can come with worry over money management.

There are many temptations for buying items beyond our means, with payday loans, bank loans, overdraft facilities, the usage of credit cards and of buy now and pay later, ideal for many of us. Unfortunately these bills still require paying and they often clash with other weekly or monthly bills when they do need that final payment.

 

INCOME V EXPENDITURE

It is important that any taken out loans are repaid at the times stated on any contract or written agreement. *[Do check that the written agreement is clear, understood and that you can meet the repayment plan].

My advice was always to buy and purchase what you only really needed, to go to discount stores, take the time to find the shops or markets that you may get some bargains or cheaper priced items.

It may take a bit longer through some research but in the long run you will know where you can save a little and this will help you.

So don’t buy what you cannot afford and seek ways to reduce costs. Don’t let debt escalate and spiral out of control.

Keep records of payments and receipts where applicable, this will  help you to identify where you are spending and how much.

Use a budgeting sheet to monitor your income and outgoings and make adjustments or amendments as you go. This will help you maintain the knowledge and understanding and helpful to maintain your finances, home and tenancy.

I have a further write up on budgeting under the heading, Moving To Own Tenancy [Life Skills For Young People] that you may find useful.

 

Wise saying/quote!

“If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you will find an excuse.”

 

 

 

10 Building Steps

January 5, 2016 /

Personal Development Steps

What needs your attention now? 

What are your challenges? 

What do you want to achieve and by when?

This is based on guidelines to help you assess where you are at and where you feel you need to be. This process can be used and described as a 1 to 10 building steps scale system representing balance. 1 = completely out of balance. 10 = totally balanced. This can be used in all areas of your life,  monitoring  your progress and considering what needs to be done or put in place to raise your level and achievements.

CHART RATING STEPS

10. completion / excellent / couldn’t be better

9. successful / reaching target / very happy 

8. achievement / satisfied / positive progression

7. improvement / progressing / achieving

6. building confidence / managing / coping

5. need to work on my goals / plans & actions

4. need more commitment / positive thinking / i can do

3. need constructive change / motivation / support 

2. need direction / self belief / use supporting networks

1. need total support / help / guidance / direction

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Through using a system like this many of us would aim to reach 10 in whatever we do, this is often extremely difficult to achieve and maintain.

However, this is what we work towards with a positive self belief and with ” I CAN DO ATTITUDE ”  and to have the motivation and willingness to progress and by using the support that is available can only assist in reaching your desired and achievable level.

We may differ on our perception to what is success and not everyone has ambitions to reach the top, some of us are very happy with a lesser level and may have reached that target and feel they have gone as far as they wish to go or can achieve through choice and or decision.

Although encouragement and support should prevail to assist in being,  “ THE BEST YOU CAN BE. ”  The more you can progress and achieve the better you feel, this will raise your confidence and will boost your ego.

Some people relate to their problems with a feeling of being in a deep hole. This is when the building steps can be a useful tool to implement.

Through viewing the steps as guidelines to what is needed to move forward and up.

With this in mind, some of us may take smaller steps and longer time to reach our required destination, that is OK. The GOAL remains the same to progress and to achieve. TO BUILD YOUR CONFIDENCE.

This assessment style has been drawn up as a means to assist in identifying the level you feel you are at [using describing words] and to monitor your progress at various times through starting out, through your journey and completing studies / assignments / projects / sport  / business etc.

The model is just one way of looking at self assessment and personal development using the chart rating  [BUILDING STEPS].

 

Do you need the tools and techniques to get ahead?

Do you have a life coach or mentor and role model?

Are you ready to take action?

 

We will apply a system designed to meet with your current and future needs, to strengthen the areas that need attention, for your confidence, progression, success & happiness, your BUILDING STEPS.

“ I agree to coach / mentor you to the very best of my ability, to believe in you, to encourage you and to give you 100 %  of my energy and commitment.”

 

Wise saying/quote!

“You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink.”

Confidence Building

September 4, 2015 /

Below is some building confidence steps that can help you to achieve and be more confident in everything you do.

8 Powerful Tips 

>Stop Comparing Yourself To Others

One way to help build your confidence is to stop trying to compare yourself with others. The reality is that we generally only know a small percentage of how that person really is.

Everyone thinks, feels, learns and sees things differently.

You are the only person on this planet with your ability, it may not be with special human power that you posses, but the possibilities in you and the way you do things will be endless and different to everyone else.

No two peoples fingerprints are the same.

When you compare yourself to other people you tend to compare yourself to the one person who you believe has it best in life, perhaps believing they have everything, perhaps someone you idolise or admire.

This is definitely not a good way to assess yourself. Instead worry about what it takes to be someone that you like within yourself.

Build upon your own strengths, skills, talent and further your prospects with what you really want to do and plan ahead to achieve, to be successful and to be the best you can be.

>Always Make Eye Contact

Eye Contact

Many people are afraid of how other people will view  or judge them in different situations. By making eye contact you tell yourself that you are worthy, unafraid and confident. You also send the message to other people that you are talking too.

A little trick I find that works is to look between their eyebrows in the centre of their head, this is less intimidating for you as you are not looking directly into their eyes but from where they are standing it looks like you actually are.

Just make sure you are not staring to hard and are not too up close and personal as this may intimidate the person you are conversing with.

Many people have difficulties making good eye contact and them maintaining it. However, you will find that once you get into the habit of making good eye contact you will naturally feel more confident and this will improve in all situations.

>Exercise & Healthy Eating

Keep Fit

Appearance can be a big factor and is a cause for low confidence & self esteem. Improving your physical appearance can do wonders for your confidence.

Exercising often is the best way to make yourself feel better and look better. Exercise of any kind enhances that feel good factor, mood and sends a pleasurable feeling through your body.

Exercising on a regular basis will improve anyone’s physical appearance and subsequently their self confidence. If you feel good, you smile more, you smile more you feel more confident. There is pattern here emerging.

Also drink plenty of fluids, [avoid being dehydrated]. It is a good idea to drink a bottle of water [500 ML] when you get up in the morning and have several more drinks of water at regular times  throughout the day and as you need it to maintain hydration.

Furthermore, eating healthy, monitoring your food intake and implementing an exercise routine that you are happy with and enjoy will work wonders, but make sure it is a routine you enjoy otherwise your fitness regime will be short lived and you will see little or no improvement.

>Dress Sharp

Dressing sharp is an easy and immediate way to increase confidence. Dress sensible for the occasion.

For example, if you are going for a job interview you want to feel comfortable in what you are wearing while giving out positive signals that you have thought about your appearance and you value yourself and the job you seek.

A smart appearance shows that you have good standards and care about your personal hygiene and personal appearance [first impressions can be very important] and we rarely get a second chance to make that first impression.

Furthermore, this can result in positive physiological effect resulting in improved interactions with other people. This in turn will enhance your level of comfort in everyday situations. This will make you feel better about yourself and confidence levels will be raised.

>Compliment Others Often

Get into the mind set of thinking positive. This will allow you to see the good in people and compliment them in things that they do well and praise their strong points.

So you ask, how is that going to help boost your confidence, self esteem.

Well when you compliment others you are many times more likely to get a sincere compliment in return. This will then boost your confidence. This will reinforce your strong points and push your positive characteristics to the forefront of your self assurance.

Of course don’t over do it and make sure they deserve that compliment you give them.

>Help Those Less Fortunate

Helping Others

Finding the time to provide assistance, support or help to someone less fortunate should be very rewarding.

Helping those less fortunate is one of the most empowering feelings in the world. Those who do community work and providing a support service to the public often have incredible high confidence and self esteem and have a positive outlook on life.

The empowering feeling of helping others builds self confidence in yourself, the feel good factor and helps you realise that you are able to make a positive impact in the community and beyond and giving you great satisfaction.

>Face Your fears & Don’t Fear Failure

Having a fear is a massive reason for why many of us have low confidence. Fears that we may have can impact and take control over how we are feeling about ourselves and can affect our life.

When we feel anxious, worried or fear something we can feel weak, we may not be in control and perhaps unable to cope.

In order to overcome fear, we need to face up to the fears. Do not avoid the things that you are afraid of.

Learn to understand the cause and fear of the problem you are facing, instead of running from it. Learn to never fear failure.

Everyone in life fails in something from time to time. A few failures will not define your life. The way you respond to these fears or failure is what defines you and can make you much stronger.

>Carry Confidence With You

Work on being confident and carry it with you in all that you do. For example,

  • Speak clearly and with a reasonable volume.
  • Give good eye contact.
  • Be conscious of your posture.
  • Don’t cross your arms as this can show insecurity.
  • Use your hands to explain things, this can help to draw your crowd a vivid picture of your explanations, [make sure you do this in a controlled way].
  • Key is to maintain a positive attitude, outlook and approach. To believe in yourself and be willing to make a change/s to better your situation.

Self confidence can be learned, practised and mastered just like any other skill. Once this has been mastered, everything in your life can improve and change for the better.

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Now ask yourself, are you implementing the steps and maintaining the skill?

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Set-up a successful workshop with clients using the Oakleaf Enterprise, charity in Guildford, Surrey.

Participants achieved learning skills, steps and techniques to become more confident and improve quality of life.

Participants given handouts, action plans and goals to implement.

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Do you need to build your confidence & self esteem and improve your quality of life? If so, don’t delay get the support you need NOW.  Call to Action.

Energise your life strategy 

 Meditation Sessions [Boosting Wellbeing]

[One-to-One or Group Sessions / Workshop]

Contact for a strategy session   

Email: lawrie.7@outlook.com                    

                                                                                                                           

        Wise sayings/quotes!

     “The most beautiful thing you can wear is confidence.”   

 “As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.”

 “With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.”

    

 

      Scenery can be a beautiful picture and take your breath away. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moving To Own Tenancy

June 5, 2015 /

My Experience, Life Skills For Young People

   Keys       House

Helping Those Moving To Independence & Start-Up

I have had the privilege of working with clients ready to leave residential adolescent homes, hostels or supported housing and preparing to take up their first tenancy, moving into their new rented home.

While this is an exciting time, for many it can be daunting with so much to do and may not have the support of parents, family members to provide assistance along the way. Therefore may rely on supporting organisation/s to provide assistance to help with this move.

There are some young people just 18 or 19 and are not aware of the many tasks that need to be undertaken prior and during the moving in process.

For example, when viewing a property it is important that you go along with one or two responsible adults or professional people that are experienced to guide you and provide the service in asking necessary and prepared questions to the landlord or housing provider that may need answering.

To check that the property looks safe and secure, that each room in the property has been viewed and assessed as liveable and in good state of health.

That there are no repairs needing attention and whether in need of any urgent decoration. If repairs need undertaking has this been made clear and will this be done before you move in.

Sometimes it has been known that if the decor is poor and you wish to do it yourself a decorating allowance has been provided, based upon so much per room. Otherwise, this should be done by the organisations professional workers and in good shape for any new tenant about to move in.

It is important that you ask and see that there is an up-to-date gas safety certificate in the property and updated every 12 months. Has the electrical appliances had safety checks, is there smoke detectors fitted and operating.

You need to have a  carbon monoxide detector alarm  fixed on the wall or ceiling in the same room as fuel burning appliances.  Additional  alarms can be located  where people spend most time. Check this  with your landlord that this is in place and will be replaced if needed.

Do check that any outstanding work will be completed before you are due to commence with your tenancy. Once you have checked the property over and there is no maintenance issues or concern, then you need to check thoroughly the tenancy agreement.

This is when it is sensible to have someone that you trust and responsible that can assist you to check through the legal tenancy agreement and fully understand before signing. Two heads are often better than one.

*Understand all the contents of the tenancy agreement.

*Don’t sign anything until you are happy, satisfied and agree with it.

After signing the tenancy agreement ensure that you keep this in a safe place along with other paper work documents and that you can easily find when needed.

It is important that you receive from your landlord, housing provider contact details. Especially in case of an emergency maintenance issue that may need attention out of normal office hours an [emergency call number].

It is important that you know where to find your stopcock, water mains supply, where to find your electric and gas meters and that you take a reading from both and find out who your suppliers are.

Often the landlord or housing association will know, if not you will need to find out and inform the suppliers that you are now the new occupiers of the property, confirming the date you moved in and to provide meter readings to enable you to start with a clean slate.

Suppliers such as: gas, electricity, water suppliers, rent and others all need to be informed of your new address and for you to provide some details to set up and activate accounts and payment systems under your name.

Put together a list of service providers telephone numbers and keep safe, stored on your mobile for easy access and keep in a folder as back-up.

Many people can be shocked at their costs, bills that can occur, so pay as you go or monthly bills can be useful especially at the start, but check what is available and what suits you best.

Money Management

Money

Many of the young people I have coached and mentored have struggled financially due to being unemployed or at university or college. This is why it is important to complete a budgeting plan.

INCOME  V  EXPENDITURE and to monitor monthly incoming and outgoing and to keep a track of your money and make any necessary adjustments as / when needed.

It really is essential to keep records and receipts of expenditure and have a plan and to have self discipline and to maintain control.

If difficulties arise with payments, I would suggest at the earliest point to notify the supplier or company and try and negotiate a repayment plan and or see if you can change the package deal or use a cheaper tariff.

An example of this can relate to mobile phones or Sky TV packages etc.

 One thing that I would provide for my clients, a shopping list of items they would need to purchase [fixtures & fittings] for their home. This was appreciated by clients, as they could see at a glance what they may need and try to get these things as and when money was available and over time.

The list is general and for guidelines and based on a 1 bedroom accommodation. Of course some properties may be partly or even fully furnished, so this list may not apply. This is based on nothing provided.

                                                 

Helpful shopping list of items to purchase for your home                    

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For your guidelines: Items would be priced based on an Argos catalogue. Many people would require initially to purchase some items through quality second hand stores or warehouse to reduce costs and to rely on other supporting networks for financial help.

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It is great when you have peace of mind and you can rest comfortably and recharge your energies for the next day!

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I provide inspirational quality coaching & mentoring to meet with your personal development and your support plan or programme.

Wise sayings/quotes!

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

“You can’t expect to be old and wise if you were never young and crazy.”

“Today is the first day of the rest of my life.”

                      

 

 

Anger Management

March 3, 2015 /

Don’t Let Anger Take Control

What Can Make You Feel or Get Angry?

Overcome Adversity

  • Unable to get what you want!
  • Being told to do something you don’t want to do!
  • The feeling of being put down, perhaps being shown up in front of others!
  • Perhaps being listened too, but feel you are being humoured!
  • Someone trying to wind you up and perhaps knowing your weak points!
  • Not being allowed the space, time or opportunity to communicate your feelings!

There are many others, the list can be endless, but this highlights some causes for frustration that can lead to anger and outbursts that can spiral out of control unless we can master or self-control how we deal with difficult situations.

We cannot always control others, but we can be responsible for our own behaviour, attitude and outlook. Therefore, if we all took a little more time to think and evaluate the situation early, then many problems would be greatly reduced.

Sometimes even against our better judgement, it can pay just to agree to disagree, in other words what you hear and understand you perhaps strongly disagree with.

However, the sensible thing maybe to agree to differ, then change the subject or move on or away, [particularly if it is getting to boiling point].

Furthermore, you may realise for several reasons it may not be the right time, place, or environment for such a confrontation.

Sometimes, just by hearing and seeing the other persons point of view, even if you disagree can lower frustrations.

As sometimes by our listening skills we pick up information and clues that suggest that they are not trying to be harmful or obnoxious it is how things need to be for one reason or another.

This point is to make clear that when we are angry and perhaps shouting we are often not very good at listening, we just want to put across our point/s.

Furthermore, facial expressions and body language can convey clues, signals to how people maybe feeling even when little or no communication is involved. All this should be considered during anger and moments of frustration.

We need to take responsibility for our own actions, even when it may appear we are being provoked. By being verbally abusive, or threatening or using physical behaviour will only take you down and the consequences can be dire for you in many ways in the here and now and into the future.

So thinking first and having a calmer approach will solve more issues for you and the result will be of better outcomes, even if you didn’t get what you wanted or win your case or argument on that occasion.

Overcome Adversity!

Thinking of coping strategies!

Often sitting down rather than standing up appears less threatening when communicating and shows you are in more control, [if both parties agree to sit down then a better chance for an amicable discussion].

If standing give the other person some space don’t constantly eyeball and be right up into their face.

If the conversation appears heated, step back rather than forward. Retreating doesn’t mean advantage the other person, it means that you are the mature one and trying to play down the conflict situation.

It maybe a good idea to end the conversation with the view that you can resume later or even the next day when tempers appear dissolved, [time out gives both parties the opportunity to calm down and gives thinking and re-thinking time].

Try to show some agreement with them as applicable to lessen the conflict, listen and show some understanding and respond in a way that is not patronising or being disrespectful.

Remember you can be assertive and illustrate your point but don’t get into an unnecessary challenging and un-tasteful event.

If a solution cannot be found at least try and find some common ground to end.

Know when to withdraw and or move-on, be mature and sensible and be in control of yourself. [If applicable, use mediation to help resolve conflict].

Ideally, it is good when apologies can be met and or with acceptance as it probably means that the relationship can be restored.

Make friends & build positive relationships

Sometimes personal problems come to light through other subjects or topics of conversation that may intrude on our thought process and at that moment in time it may hit a sensitive note and may spark a reaction.

Instead of having control and realising the innocence of the remark made, we respond badly and show extreme anger. [If this becomes a regular occurrence and or becomes out of control behaviour then this may need to be addressed].

Also, we know that excessive usage of alcohol and or substance misuse don’t help.

Furthermore, some people maybe affected by caffeine or certain additives in some food products that may put your brain and body into a hyper state and this may cause a reaction and behaviour change.

It may not always be noticeable but can create problems if not identified.

If there is a suspicion then worth discussing with your GP and or health service. This is just another example as to why aggressive behaviour may occur and you may not always be in control over.

 

Your anger may not intend to be personal, but may come across as such and can be seen as out of control.

Anger is an emotion that we all can display from time to time, but it is being able to use it effectively in a constructive way and moving on.

However, from time to time we generally communicate, act in a passive and or an aggressive way. The balance is being able to feel comfortable and confident in using assertive skills, a technique and positive skills in reacting and responding to information as needed.

Assertive skills aim to be neither passive nor aggressive in there interactions with other people. Being assertive can help to feel better about ourselves, this can improve confidence & self esteem.

Is this is an area that you need support in, then coaching can help you to overcome this problem by implementing assertive techniques and skills.

Although we can generally get things right, it can be helpful to re-visit our thought process and to remind ourselves of the positive steps forward that we need to take and keep taking to stay on the right track and that goes for many areas of our life as we go through our life journey.

Doing meaningful – regular activities, exercise and meditation are some helpful ways to reduce aggressive feelings and behaviour. Also helpful to have a regular sleeping pattern.

Talking therapy – communication  is always a positive way forward in finding ways to reduce and stop problems.

The fact that you can talk about a problem, can show that you identify that an issue exists and that you are willing to seek the necessary support to find a solution and to overcome the problem and this will make you feel much better for it.

[Motivation is a key factor in making positive changes]. So don’t let problems simmer, escalate and explode.  

ANGER  –  Doesn’t solve anything.  It builds nothing, but it can destroy EVERYTHING.

Need support with anger management. We can look at coping strategies / plans / goals and work together to make the necessary changes to overcome adversity. 

 

 

[One-to-One or Group Sessions / Workshop]

Contact for a strategy session        

Email: lawrie.7@outlook.com

 

Wise sayings/quotes!

“An eye for an eye, only makes the whole world blind.”

“Be sure to taste your words before you spit them out.”

“A bad attitude is like a flat tyre, you can’t go anywhere until you change it.”

 

                                                          

                               

 

 

Employee Assistance

December 22, 2014 /

Support The Wellbeing of Your Staff

Personal Problems Can Affect  / Professional Performance   

STRESS, ANXIETY and  DEPRESSION are the main reasons why staff, workers maybe absent and need lengthy time off work.

This in turn can put the remaining staff team, workers under more pressure and stress as they maybe required to take on extra work during staff shortage.

While management may endeavour to replace the voids with temporary agency staff, for one reason or another this may not happen.

One suggestion that could support the staff team and organisation is to have in place a life coach or mentor to assist with staff, workers to overcome any personal or professional problems that may intrude and or affect work performance.

As early intervention can prevent the problem/s escalating and in turn reduce time off.

So, by referring a worker for coaching, mentoring support as / when needed may prevent staff from having long term absence and will certainly reduce time off and will help with their general health and well-being.

Does your organisation offer this service to your employees?

Is this a service that can benefit your employees and organisation?

I can provide coaching & mentoring sessions and or a tailor-made programme to help employees to overcome personal barriers or issues that maybe holding them back.

To promote “self” to implement strategies and to re-establish confidence and raise wellbeing and to have the feeling of being successful. “The best you can be.”

Call to Action

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*Building Confidence & Self Esteem   

*Anger Management    

*Stress Management

*Motivation

*Relationships & Personal Issues

*Dealing  With Difficult People or Situations

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Quality Coaching & Mentoring Service Assured              

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

 Wise saying/quote!”

“You only fail when you give up.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Staff Skills Coaching

December 18, 2014 /

Organisation In-House Support

My mission is to provide impeccable standards of service delivery to enable your organisation to thrive and to achieve its aspirations and goals.

Do you need as a workforce to evaluate in-house work undertaken?

Do you need to upgrade current operational systems?

Perhaps you are interested or ready to introduce a new working set-up and would benefit from further assistance?

Perhaps you wish to review performance and to evaluate client needs, support methods and service delivery?

You may wish to consider a team building session, this will increase team skills, communication, morale and productivity?

I can provide supervision sessions, a tool that will benefit individual performance, appraisals and team growth?

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Over many years I have worked for organisations where as you would expect, the paper work is the bulk of the workload.

I have heard managers say to staff, if you haven’t done the paper work, then how do I know what you are achieving. 

This highlights the need for completing the paper work [record-keeping] and as soon as you can. Write ups are very important, recording client contact and with information on assessments, support plans and working towards achieving chosen goals and other areas as applicable.

The paper work implementation is very much an integral part of everyday work while supporting clients in any setting or project.

The purpose of recording is to identify with the work undertaken, in progress, being achieved, outcomes and on completion. To measure success, “to evidence”  the support or programme and service we deliver to clients.

Also, we need to continue to review and to update with any known changes to ensure we continue to meet expected standards.

Furthermore, we have a duty and responsibility to ensure the high standards are maintained and of course we can expect the work to be continually inspected.

With all this in mind, I have spent time looking at ways to reduce paper work [time], while still reaching the high levels expected and recording what is essential and required

Recordings need to be accurate but structured so we can spend more practical time providing support to clients, as I believe we need to be available to provide more face-to-face contact for establishing better working relationships, trust and for communication  purposes.

Less paper work will free more time to attend to other important issues that can already take up much of our working day, such as: phone calls, emails, interviews, meetings and sometimes other unexpected duties or tasks. 

The format I would implement is designed to reduce paper work, while still reaching the high levels expected of us as individual workers and as a staff team.

I can provide support with in-house working documents, best practice and to meet quality assessment criteria.

To help sharpen skills and motivate.

Do you have training modules in place?

Are they achieving desired outcomes and meeting your goals?

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*Assessments

*Risk Assessments

*Support Planning

*Setting Goals & Actions

*Recordings & Record Keeping

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Quality Coaching & Mentoring Service Assured.

                                                                       

                                                                         Wise saying/quote!     

“Do it now. Sometimes later becomes never.”

 

Team Management

December 16, 2014 /

A personal look at the role of a team manger

Organisational Expectations & Aspirations

What is a team manager?

A team manager is responsible for managing a number of workers or staff. He or she is basically described as a controller, monitor and trouble shooter.

This covers  3  prime areas, namely:

1. Task – the identification and meeting of the organisational goals.

2. Team – the interaction of the workers, staff or a group.

3. Individual – the personal and professional situation of the individual people in the team.

The quality of work in any organisation or setting is directly related to two discrete areas.

The first area concerns the philosophy and theory developed to attain the explicit goals of the establishment.

The second area, the subject of this write up, concerns the managers system adopted to attain these goals.

The team manager should be deeply aware of the interpersonal relationships and conflicts of the workers or group in which  he or she is involved.

The team manager requires to have a broad professional base which enables them to mobilise the skills of workers from different backgrounds. This of course is vitally important if the team, organisation is to carry out the work effectively.

The team manager should primarily get to know all individual members of his or her team and have a good knowledge of their strengths, needs and perhaps weaknesses before the team manager can endeavour to mould individuals to operate as a team.

[This should be backed up with regular on-going  supervision sessions, another write up I have discussed  under – supervision support or team leader].

It must be remembered that good practice and service delivery is all about good team work, pooling information together, working for one another, in this way developing and hopefully to unite as a staff team or group.

[Again, another write up I have discussed under – team building & development].

How effective the team or group operates can greatly depend on the kind of influence the team manager has on others. In whatever way the team manger operates, he or she is the one responsible for the final decisions.

The effectiveness of the team is the seal of his or her personality, the method and total approach.

To the organisation the team manager or head of operations must bring administrative skills and managerial competence.

The complexity of the work can demand planning, the codifying of procedure, the development of clear, systematic rules which allow the establishment to function smoothly.

Only then can it pursue it’s true goals without hindrance. When these qualities are absent, the result is often a drab confusion.

Why have a team manager?

A team manager is necessary to supervise staff and team members. To control and stabilise a staff team, to organise and plan a working system suitable to meet the needs of the establishment.

The team manager also has an instructional role to teach skills, personally and professionally, to increase team growth, to review and plan further work and to support the workers through the problems encountered.

Again, the team manager has a monitoring role to ensure the tasks of the establishment are carried out effectively. To see that the needs and service delivery is carried out properly and met.

It is primarily the responsibility of the team manager to ensure that people in subordinate positions are properly informed of decisions and have the reasons for those decisions on policies, practice, procedures, plans and progress explained to them.

The team manager is needed to pass management information down to the team or group members, but as a spokesperson he or she also has a responsibility for communicating upwards to higher management the feelings the suggestions and the reactions of the team or workers

Also the team manager has to delegate the workload to the team or group. For effective working and good professional relationships, the team managers role  as communicator is vitally important.

Communication can be handled in several ways, such as: phone calls, noticeboard, letters, emails etc, all important, but the most effective way is face-to-face communication.

Without this it is extremely difficult to perform and be successful as a team.

It is the duty and responsibility of a team manager to help develop and encourage good working professional relationships and trust within the team and organisation.

By honest polite and regular communication we should develop better working relationships.

A team manager attentively showing an interest, motivating, encouraging and being supportive towards the worker can go a long way towards achieving good working relationships and trust and that we hope may spread throughout the team and establishment.

One outcome from good team management which has improved staff relationships should be higher team and group morale.

It is important for a team manager to have contented staff. Hopefully with improved relationships, morale will be higher without the fear of underhand negotiations going on.

This should relax the staff team, workers and get away from feared pressures and ease any tension to boost egos and allow staff to concentrate on the task and of service delivery.

Another positive result of good team management should be increased staff motivation.

It is important for a team manager to inspire the staff or group. To involve the workers with the  philosophy and theory developed to attain the explicit goals of the establishment and of the system adopted to attain these goals.

Good management will encourage new ideas and methods, lift self esteem and ensure that confidence is higher, this helped by shared responsibility and delegations.

The good team manager recognises that the strongest motivators come from giving responsibility which achieves successful results and by recognising and giving due praise to such success.

It is the duty of every team manager to ensure that the team is able to explore ideas and to develop professionally, especially if the member of staff is taking on training, perhaps studying and working towards a qualification or is new to the team.

To aid the staff team personally and professionally it is important that adequate time is given to subordinates to air their ideas and to discuss them.

Time should be found to encourage their active involvement in the organisation of the work and to develop strategies to improve the efficiency of the team.

By such means, a good team manager will endeavour to develop personal and professional skills of the team and promote team spirit.

It is the role of the team manager to help develop and maintain the high efficient standards.

The team manager must develop a team to become more and more competent through being regularly and effectively supervised.

The team manager should develop staff potential and ensure that everyone is working well individually and for each other.

The team manager must ensure that all staff feel responsible for keeping up good working systems to help the smooth running of the establishment and that all workers continually feel valued as individuals and as part of a successful team.

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Hopefully we can identify that good team management will lead to a sequence of benefits.

Such as: improved communication and to successfully inspire the team, building upon better working relationships, trust and morale, developing individual and team skills, that can raise professional standards and promote team and service delivery.                                                                                                          

A TEAM IS A REFLECTION OF IT’S LEADERSHIP

Here, I have discussed some of my own personal thoughts and views on a team manager role, and in general management skills.

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Team management support tailored to meet your organisation aspirations.                                    

 

Wise saying/quote!

“Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.”   

  

Team Building part 1 of 2

December 10, 2014 /
Achieve Greater Team Work,
 Performance & Service Delivery

Team building can  be a useful tool in prospering as a team, while individual skills are very important, so too is performing together by bringing all the staff team skills, experiences and knowledge to share as one, with the old saying two heads are better than one and so on.

This is about discussing the work, sharing identified problems or issues, to look at what is going well and praising such success or achievements, while perhaps identifying what could be improved.

To explore together new ideas and to put into practice the decisions made. The session/s allow for group discussions and to discover improved ways, possible changes that can benefit the team and in turn the organisation.

The Benefits
  • A feeling of identity!
  • Your not alone!
  • Brainstorming ideas as a team!                                                                 
  • Pooling information together!
  • Things can improve through team effort!
  • Goals can make sense!
  • Goals achieved!
  • The team can address many issues and fix together!
  • Increased confidence!
  • Making the workplace a better place to be!

Team building can improve communication, build upon better professional working relationships, trust and morale. This can raise professional standards and promote team and service delivery.

 Now ask yourself the following questions?

Would your team, organisation benefit from a team building session?

Do you have a balanced team?

Are there things that are going well, but could be improved upon?

Are there issues or areas that are holding the team back?

Perhaps you are in the process of in-house operational  changes or review and seeking an unbiased perception through  coaching support?

TEAM BUILDING can be hindered just by denial that a constructive change is needed.

In times of change, coaching serves as a solid background of support. Receiving an unbiased viewpoint serves not only as a strong sounding board to bounce ideas off, but also as a reality check to ensure those ideas are not just the calm before the storm.

Do you have training modules in place?

Are they achieving desired outcomes and meeting your goals?

 

Wise sayings/quotes!

“The biggest communication problem is we do not listen to understand, we listen to reply.”

“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” 

 

 

Team Building part 2 of 2

December 10, 2014 /

Understanding Groups

In order to become effective each team generally needs to pass through a number of development phases.

  • Phase 1 – The undeveloped team
  • Phase 2 – The experimenting team
  • Phase 3 – The consolidating team
  • Phase 4 – The mature team

The Undeveloped Team – Is present where people have come together to complete a common task, but have devoted little or no time to thinking about themselves as individuals who have now joined a group.

One of the main characteristics of this stage is that feelings are neither acknowledged nor discussed openly.

Problems or mistakes are used as “evidence” to help convict people of incompetence rather than used as opportunities for everyone to learn.

The result of this is that mistakes are often covered up by individuals, which in turn can lead to a lack of communication and ultimately isolation. Often outside threats to the team can be met by defensiveness.

The Experimenting Team – The distinguished characteristics of this team is that it has made a decision to review it’s operating methods and wishes to improve it’s performance.

This phase of development is characterised by listening and thinking and less talking.

Things in the team come to life, people who have said little suddenly begin to have quite strong feelings and views about things. This can become an uncomfortable time for the team as inter-personal issues begin to emerge.

The Consolidating Team – Now there are better relationships, the basic foundations and frameworks within which the team operates must be regularly serviced and maintained.

*Clarifying the purpose of the task or activity.

*Establishing the objectives which need to be  met.

*Collecting the information needed to make an appropriate decision.

*Considering the options open to the team.

*Produce a mutually agreed plan of what needs to be done.

*Reviewing the outcome and use it as a basis for improving future operations.

It is the improving channels of communication which allow for such active and constructive discussion to take place.

The Mature Team – Flexibility is the main characteristic of this phase of development.

All team members energies are utilized for the teams benefit and individual commitment to the team exists. Individual initiative is encouraged by the team as a whole. Trust, openness, honesty, co-operation, confrontation and a continued review of results becomes part of a way of life.

How often do we see a team operating in phase 4 the mature team.

Due to the high levels of staff turnover within organisations it can become difficult for the mature team to operate for any sustained length of time. Frequently large parts of the teams are lost at the same time, leaving gaps and needing time to rebuild again.

However, the importance of stage 4 of development is something to be aimed for, even if the experience is short.

Here, I have just provided a summary of my views.

This may demonstrate in theory a model of a balanced team. 8 types of team members.

1. Chair  2. Shaper  3. Plant  4. Monitor  Evaluator  5. Team Worker  6. Company Worker  7.  Resource Worker  8. Complete finisher 

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[Should you require a team building session, then this would be explained and become clearer].

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Team work is a vital component whether this is in sport, business or other if you wish to succeed at high levels. Therefore team building should be an active part to develop and sustain. It can be seen that team work is the mechanism of the workplace.

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TEAM BUILDING tailored to meet your needs.

Wise saying/quote!

“An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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