The role of a manager isn’t always smooth sailing. Whereas at the beginning of your career it’s likely that you were purely responsible for your work alone, it’s is now your duty to inspire, lead and motivate your team to accomplish a set of goals for the organization. That is where this most important skill for success comes in picture “People Management”.
Quotes on People Management
Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of clients. –Richard Branson
A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way. — John C. Maxwell
The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers. –Ralph Nader
Ways to practice People Management:
Understand other people’s point of view:
Many of Sales person fail because they want to sale their product instead of making Customers to buy the product. So the only way to influence people is to talk about what they want and show them how to get it.
Avoid Arguments:
Only thing you can do with argument is to avoid it.
90% of the arguments ends with each of the person more firmly convinced than ever that he is absolutely right.
Better give your path to a dog than be bitten by him in contesting for the right.
So what is the Solution, the Solution is “Discussion”. Because Argument is adverse, but Discussion is advantageous; because arguments are to find out WHO is rights whereas discussion is to find out WHAT is right.
Admit your mistake:
“A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.” – John C. Maxwell.
All of us make mistakes—it is part of learning and growing. The only people who do not make mistakes are the ones who never try anything new. As a leader it is also a mistake to think that you need to have all the right answers all the time. Trying to be right all the time is stressful, slows progress and causes procrastination.
Ask Questions instead of giving orders:
A] This is powerful strategy for dealing with people. Not only does this one tactic help to empower the other person, but it does so in a way that does not make me come off as bossy. So instead of telling someone to go draft a letter than says such-and-such, you might instead ask them “what do you think of drafting a letter that says this and that?”
B] Simple example in everyday life could be
Bring that note book v/s Can you please bring that note book for me.
Open the door now vs Can you please open the door.
Come with me to the market vs Will you come with me to the market.
Importance of Body Language, Gestures and Postures for people management:
Always Smile – Don’t underestimate the power of smile
Keep Eye Contact
Call people by their name: Everybody want to be called by their name, when you call them by their name to communicate, you have already won half battle.
Listen carefully:
One of the biggest complaints of employees everywhere is that they don’t feel heard. They don’t feel as though they have the ability to express their opinion or positively make a change in the organization. When they speak up, they feel ignored, and that makes them unhappy and unmotivated.
Put your phone away
Make the other person feel important :
Ways to make people feel important
Accept people the way they are.
Show your sincere appreciation for others.
The most welcomed people in every situation are those who are generally agreeable and positive with others.
In business as well as personal relationships, the most harmful force of all is destructive criticism. It lowers a person’s self-esteem, makes him feel angry and defensive, and causes him to dislike you.
Questions and praise alone fall short if they are not accompanied by genuine caring. What do you do when you ask a question and discover a need? Sometimes it takes effort to truly engage with someone at the point of need.
Be More Transparent:
Transparency shows your integrity as a leader, and builds trust with the individual members of your team. If you lie about something, or withhold information, you could jeopardize your relationships and the respect you command as a leader.
Praising and Rewards is important for People Management:
To be a good leader, you have to give feedback to your employees, especially praise and rewards. However, Avoid vague or broad language. Be specific in what you appreciate. Don’t say “You’re awesome”, say “I appreciate that you’re so punctual.
Example of specific praise:-
I really appreciate you taking the time to help us get started on our year-end inventory.
Thanks for your valuable input in web designing project.
Learn How to Effectively Communicate with Anyone:
Principals of effective communication:-
Clarity About the purpose
Compose your message with care
Consistent with the purpose of communication
Simplicity
Compose your message to attract attention
Know the Receiver
Select mode of communication with care
Provide for feedback
Act promptly on receiving responses.
Manage conflict an important step for People Management:
a. When there is conflict in the workplace, it should not be ignored. As turning a blind eye could lead to a negative atmosphere, which could have implications for staff productivity and communication among the team may suffer. When an issue arises it’s important that it is addressed straight away before it builds.
b. “If you get into a fight with someone, try not to think of it as you vs. them rather, approach it as you two vs. the issue.”
Effective delegation:
Know your team’s strength and weaknesses and choose a team member for particular task based on his personal Strengths and weaknesses.
Invest time in teaching
Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to. — Richard Branson
Make your expectations clear
Give and receive feedback
Give proper directions: Directions are more important than speed in Life.
We are so busy looking at the Speedometers, that we forget the “Milestones”..!!
If we are running fast, but running in a wrong direction we will reach at wrong place faster.
Conclusion:
If we understand and practice these simple principles in our life we can definitely make difference is our life and influence people around us.
Have you ever came across someone and after knowing a bit about that person you are like what a confident and mentally strong person? It is not just that they are confident, moreover they have the incredible mental strength that sets them apart from the rest. However, what gives them that mental strength?
Today I will share with you some things mentally strong people do that you are probably not doing but you most certainly can do.
Here is what mentally strong people do:
Mentally Strong people Move on:
They people do not waste time feeling sorry for themselves. Moreover they very quickly come out of a bad situation or a bad experience and move on to better things. “The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward.”
They practice gratitude:
Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for. —Zig Ziglar
It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change. –Charles Darwin Learn to adjust yourself to the conditions you have to endure, however make a point of trying to alter or correct conditions so that they are most favorable to you. –William Frederick Book
Mentally Strong people accept challenges:
They view adversity as an opportunity to grow stronger. With each obstacle they overcome, they gain confidence in their ability to become better. Their Mantra is “Challenges are there to make you not to break you”.
They focus on the things they can control:
They do not complain. Mentally Strong people do not waste time and energy on things, which they cannot control. Instead mentally strong people stay productive and effective by focusing on the things they have control over.
They celebrate other people’s success:
Mentally strong people do not get jealous of other people’s success. Their Mantra is “Our time will definitely come, but also learn to clap in other people’s success”.
They take calculated risks:
They do the risk and benefit analysis before taking action. Mentally Strong people are willing to step outside their comfort zone and seek opportunities that will help them reach their goals.
If you want to learn how to come out of comfort zone, read below post…
Mentally strong people reflect on the past so they can learn from it, but they do not dwell on it. Moreover they refuse to live a life of regret and they let go of grudges. “Your future needs you, your past does not”.
They see failure as ladder for growth:
They do not give up after failing; instead they see every failure as chance to improve.
“Failure is not the opposite of success, it is part of success”. “Setback is a set up for comeback”.
Mentally Strong people practice solitude:
Solitude is a great way to recognize all the things that make you feel confident. Your self-esteem will experience a major boost when you dedicate time to yourself and realize your own potential.
“The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.”
They practice perseverance:
Mentally strong people do not expect fast results; they know that the best things in life are worth waiting for. So they exercise patience and persistence as they strive for their goals.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.”
Mentally Strong people practice Self-discipline:
Self-discipline is about controlling your desires and impulses while staying focused on what needs to be done to achieve your Goal.
Mentally strong people become comfortable with discomfort.If you are in comfort zone then come out of comfort zone.
They know time and energy are worth more than money:
“Most people spend more time and energy going around problems than in trying to solve them.” –Henry Ford
Mentally strong people devote their energy to productive tasks. They do not waste limited resources, like time and energy, on things that are not helpful. Mentally Strong people try to make things better rather than just complaining about it.
They stay true to their values:
Mentally strong people keep their priorities in line with their beliefs. They are courageous enough to live according to their values, even when it is not the popular choice. They do not compromise on their beliefs and values.
“Values are the deeply held beliefs that drive and direct your behavior”.
Mentally Strong people reflect on their progress:
They take time to consider what they have achieved and where they are going. They always keep eyes on their Goals and measures the milestones. Mentally Strong people celebrate the small successes and milestone and keep themselves on track to achieve the overall Goal.
“Success is steady progress toward one’s Goals.”
Conclusion:
The good news is that we can all build our mental strength. Find your own role model for higher motivation and start consciously by emulating above significant traits that define them.
“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles, and less than perfect conditions. So what? Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident, and more and more successful.” — Mark Victor Hansen
In my previous post Understand resilience, its attributes and your own score, we have understood what resilience means and what are the attributes of resilient people. Now, In this post we will learn how to build resilience.
So today we will discuss some simple, smart and practical ways in which each one of us can build and improve resilience. As we all know resilience is very important in tough situation like this pandemic.
10 ways to build Resilience:
1. Make and nurture good relationship:
Good relationships with close family members, friends or others are important. Accepting help and support from those who care about you and will listen to you strengthens resilience. Moreover, this gives a sense of feeling that we have people whom we can discuss our problems.
2. Do not see crisis as undefeatable problems:
You cannot change the fact that highly stressful events happen. However, you can change how you interpret and respond to these events. Try looking beyond the present to how future circumstances may be a little better. In addition, note down any subtle ways in which you might already feel somewhat better as you deal with difficult situations.
3. Take crucial actions:
Act on adverse situations as much as you can. Take decisive actions, rather than detaching completely from problems and stresses and wishing they would just go away. So, you need to remeber this
Always remember, the outside environment is same for all, what makes us different is what lies inside us.
4. Keep things in perspective:
Even when facing very painful events, try to consider the stressful situation in a broader context and keep a long-term perspective. Avoid blowing the event out of proportion.
5. Attitude of Gratitude to build Resilience:
Always count your blessings rather than focusing on your difficulties. Moreover, you have survived and thrived till now, you will survive this also. Try to see what all things and people you have in this difficult situation and be grateful of those.
Gratitude plays significant role in building resilience, Therefore you might wish to understand more on gratitude, these two posts will help you.
What kind of small changes can you invest in to improve your health? (Better sleep, better nutrition, hydration, exercise, etc.)
Moreover list one small change you can make now and do that consistently and you will see improvement in your life.
7. Identify and Use Your Strengths:
Describe a time when you were able to overcome or handle a major challenge in life.
What did you learn about yourself? What personal strengths did you draw upon?
Moreover, focusing on the strengths gives you power. And remembering a situation which you conquered last time helps you in improving your resilience and give you strength to fight the current situation.
8. Build Goals to Build Resilience:
Having a sense of where you are going in life is important. Therefore, set some realistic Goals and regularly work towards them. Setback will happen but resilient people keep the destination in mind and always work toward reaching the destination.
Engage in new things and actively look for new opportunities that put you out of your professional and personal comfort zone. These experiences help people learn about themselves and in addition will surely provide a feeling of growth and achievement.
Pay attention to your own needs and feelings. In addition, engage in activities that you enjoy and find relaxing. Exercise regularly. Taking care of yourself helps to keep your mind and body informed to deal with situations that require resilience.
Key Takeaways on how to build Resilience:
One should have people with whom you can share yourself and take guidance. Apart from good relationship one should have capacity to take some decisive actions in time. A sense of Gratitude is very important in building resilience, as until we become happy and grateful for things and people we have we cannot build resilience to fight the situation.
Last but not the least, One need to take utmost care of himself/herself and focus on developing some key skills and try to figure out the opportunity in disguise.
