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We provide resources for Training and Development professionals and those in other professions who have a need to improve the skills of themselves and their colleagues |
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February 2008
The groundhog tells us there is another six weeks of winter. This means that some of us spend our free time inside just waiting for Spring. I can only watch so many movies or so much TV before I think my brain will turn to mush. So, to stimulate my brain I turn back to maybe learning something or start on one of many projects. The problem is, there is so much to learn that I don’t know where to start.
Do you have a mind like a sponge; it just wants to soak up anything around it? I do, just this weekend I had to put trim up in one of my rooms in the house. How hard can it be, right? I know how to measure and I can run a saw; do it all the time. When I got the trim all nailed in place, I stepped back to look at it and realized I should have beveled one of the ends to somehow tie into the wall (the house is 200+ years old and nothing in it is square). Why is it, hind sight is always 50/50? It’s because sometimes you don’t know, what you don’t know, until you’re already involved in it.
So what do you do? Well you can “phone a friend” or you can research the job or project before you start. But without a job aid, or specific training, sometimes how you see something working out in your head doesn’t translate to the hands and you’re already involved in it. So my thought process is this; visualize “it” all the way through, whether it’s training a class or starting a project. Do a “mind” walk through all the steps if possible. This will help keep your brain stimulated while we wait for Spring to get here. Find something to help keep your brain sharp and you might just add more knowledge to a mind you think is already full to capacity. On another topic, for those of you looking for work, don’t forget to check on our website for job postings. If you’re an employer looking for help, you can contact us to have your job posted. Thank you again for your support of CTASTD. Stay warm, Spring is coming.
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National Training Dates |
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Volume 2, Number 2 |
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Letter From The President — Patricia Charles |
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Management is only Leadership When You Lead by Example
“Example is leadership!” - Albert Schweitzer
The best side to learn leadership from is not the management side, but the employee side of the manager/employee relationship; for by being forced-fed an education about management from management, you often learn the wrong tenets and greed driven philosophy other detached managers want you to know, whereas learning leadership from the employee side drives you passionately to learn what not to do from the pain of experiencing bad management practices.
The first thing I learned about management from my experience as a trainer is that most managers are poor leaders. This is not entirely because of their lack of passion or desire; but it has more to do with the lack of time that front line managers have to learn correct leadership principles. For the most part, managers or supervisors are thrown into their given roles and expected to perform with little training involved and once they are in their roles they are caught-up in the madness of the “machine” driven by unreasonable demands to meet targeted results from out-of-touch C.E.O’s or company heads, resulting in managers playing a catch-up game in which they never get caught-up. In fact, most management or supervision is so far removed from what true leadership is that a book could be written on the subject entitled, “Managers are from Mars, and Leaders are from Venus”.
The most important quality which stands in glaring contrast from the two groups is the quality of leading by example. In fact today’s quote featured on our website, cyreousquotes.com is something Albert Schweitzer once said. Eloquent in its simplicity the saying goes, “Example is Leadership!”
If you want to teach an employee good working habits for example, you can elect to draw up a list of things for that employee to do. Heck, you can put your employees all in a room for a day and cover the material and call it training if you wish; but that is not going to get the best results. That is tantamount to telling your teenagers what to do. You see how far that has gotten don’t you? Telling people what to do just doesn’t work. Here is what will work - leading by example. Instead of always beating that drum about attendance, weather it is showing up late for work or missing days, set the example yourself by being the first one in and the last to leave each day and don’t miss a single day from work. You heard me, you can’t miss a single day.
Herein lies the explanation as to why many managers don’t succeed; it is because doing what they say and saying what they mean seems too difficult. You can’t miss a day? That’s right! The only way your leadership will work is if you can prove it can be done. You see most of American doesn’t believe you can have perfect attendance; which is why attendance is the #1 cause of employee termination in this country. It is the single biggest problem leading to a company’s lack of performance, customer service breakdown, lost profits, communication problems and a whole lot of other related problems. Because of this, attendance is the #1 issue with employers.
Don’t think that just because you haven’t been spoken to yet that your boss hasn’t noticed your missed days, or showing up 15 minutes late every morning, or leaving early before your shift ends. Believe me when I say this, as sure as the sun rises each day supervisors know precisely when you are not there and they have duly noted your lack of enthusiasm for the job. For most employees, the subject is never brought up when they are fired. Other excuses are offered and employees never learn that it was their attendance that was the issue that led to their termination
For this reason I always counsel workers to go beyond the call of duty. Give the employer more than they expect. Wow them! If you keep a perfect attendance record, I guarantee that you will impress your employer. Your example will be one of a leader and in affect you will be acting in the role of a manager by doing what a manager ought to. Your raises and promotions will come quicker than most and your new position of power will give you the opportunity to lead others by example.
This applies to every aspect of life, no just work. If you are a spouse, your leadership is needed. If you are a parent your leadership is needed. You see in many homes the duality of the dysfunctional families when parents tell their kids to say no to drugs, but they do this while they are puffing on a cigarette or drinking a martini. The cliché “Do as I say, not as I do” is far too well known. This is not leadership. You must lead by example if you expect success.
Today as you take on the world, remember that you are a leader. As a leader you must lead by example. Remember Schweitzer’s easy-to-remember words, “Example is leadership!” If you do and you practice it you will be empowered and you will succeed! Take that to the bank!
John L. Cyr
860-584-9787 j_cyr@sbcglobal.net
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JOB SEEKERS - job positions are once more being added to our website. This can be a useful tool in your employment search. |
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The Board of Directors of CTASTD is currently seeking a member who would be interested in the position of Vice President of Communications. To learn more please contact Pat Charles at plcshetucket@hotmail.com.
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CTASTD does not have a members meeting scheduled for February. |
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Dear ASTD Chapter: |
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ASTD TechKnowledge® 2008 |