How to Lead and Manage People

In organizations we must work with and for others. To be able to mutually achieve our goals we must be able to relate to others effectively. These Effective Leadership Skills Training tips will help you do just that.

-- Catch people doing things right and then let them know that they are doing things right.

-- Use feedback to stay informed about what other people are doing in your area of responsibility and authority.

-- Have regular, focused meetings regarding the projects that you are responsible for.

-- Provide adequate instructions. Time is lost if things are not done correctly.

-- Train others to do jobs. You cannot do them all, nor can others do them if they have not been trained.

-- Expect others to succeed. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when you believe others are loyal, dedicated and doing a good job.

--  Help others see how they will benefit from doing a job. This is when they truly become motivated.

-- Do not avoid talking to a poor performer. It hurts them, the organization and yourself if the situation is not dealt with.

-- Do not over control others. It is frustrating for them and time consuming for you.

-- Focus on results, not on activities or personalities.

-- Reward people for the results that they produce.

-- Manage by walking around. See what people are doing and listen to what they have to say.

-- Make quality an obsession, especially on smaller items.

Send thank you notes and memos.

-- Provide workers with open, direct, and immediate feedback on their actual performance as compared to expected performance and they tend to correct their own deficiencies.

-- Practice naive listening. Don't talk, just let people explain why they are doing the types of things that they are doing. You will learn many things.
Manage by exception. When things are going well, leave them alone. When a problem occurs, then help.

--  Never seek to place blame. Always focus on the problem.

-- Never ignore a concern of one of your people. While it may seem trivial to you, to the other person it is a problem that will continue to destroy their train of thought.

-- Make it a personal rule and a challenge to respond to someone within 24 hours of hearing their request.

-- Keep memos on bulletin boards to a minimum. People will spend less time standing there reading.

-- Give employees an opportunity to speak their opinions and suggestions without fear of ridicule or reprisal.

-- When you are going to make a change that affects others, get them involved before making the actual change. This increases commitment to make the change work after it is implemented.

-- Put key ideas on small posters to hang around the office.

-- When the environment and your sincerity permit, give the person a hug or a touch.

-- Employees are the only organization resource that can, with training, appreciate in value. All other resources depreciate.

-- People want to be involved in something important. Give them a whole project or a significant piece of the project to work on.

-- Have salary tied into performance appraisal and accomplishing of objectives.

-- Consider sharing distasteful tasks to reduce resentment and hard feelings.

-- Ask, "Will you please do this for me" instead of telling someone just to do it.

-- Eliminate private secretaries in favor of shared secretaries in order to make it easier to even out the work load.

-- If you give employees a basic employee handbook, you will not be interrupted with their questions.

-- Pay attention to small details, the big ones are obvious and get taken care of.

-- Stay open in your thinking. Be open to all new ideas. Do this and you will not be setting up barriers that do not exist.

-- Avoid asking others to do trivial personal items for you.

-- Say thank you to those with whom you associate.

-- A warm smile and strong handshake break barriers.

-- Smile. It helps you feel better and is contagious. The whole organization shudders when the boss is frowning. Likewise it smiles when the boss does.

-- Keep things "light" and have fun rather than being too serious. Seriousness blocks productivity.

-- In order to fly with the eagles you must "think lightly."

-- Work with each person to create standard operating procedures for their specific job. It will eliminate repetitious questions.

-- Let people know why they are doing something. It then becomes more meaningful when they recognize their part in a greater vision.

-- Provide soft, lively background music not slow and not rock.

-- To get a disorganized coffee drinking crew started off more efficiently, begin each day with a 5 to 10 minute meeting just at starting time. They will be focused, set in the right direction and can get right to work.

-- Practice the golden rule in business: Do unto others the way you would have them do unto you. Fairness will then be in your business.

-- Practice the platinum rule in interpersonal relationships. It is "Do unto others, the way they want to be done unto." They will be more apt to stay comfortable when interacting with us when we are able to do things their preferred way.

-- Get others to commit to deadlines by asking, "When can you have that for me?"

-- Nail down commitment by asking, "Do I have your word that you will have that for me then?"

-- Set the stage for cooperation from others by:1) Introducing the idea; 2) Continual stimulation by talking about it; and 3) get others to make an investment by having them participate in the planning.

-- If you are unable to reach agreement or get a commitment from another person in a meeting, agree to disagree, but summarize your understanding in a confirming memo.

-- Giving people recognition generates energy within them. They will then direct that energy toward increased productivity.

As Soon as You have Determined what Kind of Company you want to Begin and The investment requirements, you're prepared to decide
on a location. The number of aggressive companies already in the region should influence your choice of location. Many regions are
overloaded with service channels or certain types of restaurants. Check on the amount of your kind of business from Census
figures, the yellow pages, or by personally checking out the place.

Factors Aside from the potential market, availability of employees And number of competitive businesses must be considered in
selecting a place. For example, how adequate are utilities - sewer, water, power, gas? Parking facilities? Police and fire
protection? What about housing and environmental factors like colleges, cultural and community actions for workers? What's the
normal cost of the place in taxes and rents? Assess on zoning regulations. Evaluate the enterprise of the neighborhood
business-people, the aggressiveness of civic associations. In short, what is the town soul? Such aspects should provide you a clue
into the city or town's future.

Chambers of Commerce and nearby universities Normally Have created or Are knowledgeable about local surveys that can provide
answers to these questions and the a number of other questions that will occur to you.

Then you have to decide in what part of city to find. If the city is Very little and you are establishing service or retail
business, there will most likely be little option. Just 1 shopping place exists. Cities have outlying shopping facilities along
with the central shopping area, and shops spring up along main thoroughfares and neighborhood streets.

Consider the shopping centre. It is different from other locations. The shopping center construction is pre-planned as a
merchandising unit. The website has been deliberately selected by a programmer. On-site parking is a frequent feature. Clients may
drive in, park and do their shopping in relative safety and speed. Some centers offer weather protection. Such conveniences make
the shopping center a valuable site.

There are also some limitations you ought to know about. As a renter, You become a part of a merchant team and has to pay your pro
rata share of their budget. You have to keep shop hours, light your windows, and place your signals based on established rules.
Many communities have restrictions on evidence along with the middle management might have additional limitations. Moreover, if
you are thinking about a shopping center for your first shop you could have an additional issue. Developers and owners of shopping
facilities start looking for successful retailers.

The type and Wide Range of merchandise you take helps determine the Kind of purchasing area you select. By way of example,
clothing stores, jewelry shops and department stores are more likely to be more prosperous in shopping districts. On the flip
side, grocery stores, drug stores, filling stations, and bakeries usually do better on principal thoroughfares and neighborhood
streets outside the shopping districts. Some sorts of shops customarily pay a low rent per square foot, while others pay a high
rent. At the"low" category are furniture, grocery and hardware stores. In the"large" are cigar, drug, women's furnishings, and
department stores. There's no hard and fast rule, but it is helpful to see in what type of area a store like yours most often
appears to flourish.

After deciding an area ideal for your type of business, Obtain as many facts as possible about it. Check the competition. How many
similar companies can be found nearby? What does their sales volume appear to be? If you're establishing a store or service trade,
how far is it that people come to exchange in the region? Are the visitors patterns favorable? If most of your clients will be
local inhabitants, research the population trends of the area. Is population increasing, stationary or declining? Are the folks
native-born, blended or chiefly foreign? Are new ethnic groups coming in? Are they predominantly laborers, clerks, executives or
retired persons? Are they all ages or principally retired, middle aged, or young? Judge buying power by assessing average home
rental, average real estate taxation, number of phones, number of automobiles and, even if the amount can be obtained, per capita
income. Bigger shopping centers have this sort of information available, and will ensure it is available to serious potential
tenants.

Zoning ordinances, parking availability, transportation facilities And natural barriers - such as bridges and hills - are
important considerations in finding any kinds of company. Possible sources for this information are Chambers of Commerce, trade
associations, property companies, local papers, banks, city officials, neighborhood merchants and private monitoring. In the event
the Bureau of the Census has developed census tract information to the specific area where you're interested you'll find this
especially helpful. A census tract is a small, permanently established, geographical place within a large city and its environs.
The Census Bureau provides population and housing characteristics for every tumor. This information could be valuable in measuring
your marketplace or service potential.

Choosing the actual site within an area might well be accepting what you May get. Not too many buildings or plants will be
appropriate and in the same time, available. If you do have an option, be sure to consider the chances carefully.

For a production plant, think about the condition and suitability Of the building, transport, parking facilities, and also the
sort of lease. For A store or service establishment, check on the nearest competition, traffic Flow, parking amenities, road
location, physical facets of the building, Kind of lease and cost, and the rate, price and quality of transport. Additionally Look
into the history of the website. Find answers to these questions as: Has the Building remained vacant for any length of time? Why?
Have various Kinds of Stores occupied it for short periods? It may have proved unprofitable for them. Sites on which many
enterprises have failed should be avoided. Vacant buildings Don't attract traffic and are usually considered poor neighbors,
therefore check on nearby unoccupied buildings.