One of the best decisions upper management can make in healthcare or small business is to promote from within when hiring  managers. Nursing managers, administration managers, operations managers, finance managers – you name it – finding a person within your organization who is suited for management is no easy task.  But promoting from within saves enormous time when trying to acclimate someone to an organization’s culture.

It also is an incredible motivator to those seeking more in their career.

Here are 5 Tips for Choosing the Right Person for Management
* Have a very clearly defined set of expectations for yourself and them before choosing a manager.

What is it you REALLY want them to do? (help make money  is a key component)

Write down those roles and responsibilities well in advance of choosing a manager so the candidate fits the job, not visa versa.

Make sure these roles and responsibilities align with your mission.

* Management is a people job. Look for a people person first and foremost. They  should have  that positive attitude necessary to lead others.

Identify those  folks with good people and organizational skills, and with the ability to see the big picture.

Identify those with a positive outlook and a good sense of humor who demonstrate a “can do” spirit. They will need these traits when things get tough.

Look for people who seek out the best in others.

* Determine who may be interested in accepting more responsibility and taking on a leadership role by asking.

Tenure, loyalty and friendship are not reasons for putting someone in management positions. As a matter of  fact, those are the three worst reasons to promote someone.

Leave no stone unturned. The quietest person may be just the one. It’s just no one ever asked them.

Who are those people who are self starters and take personal responsibility for all their actions?

* Seek out people who challenge you and the status quo -  you don’t want a “mini me”.

“Yes people” are followers – not leaders.

Find the person who understands where you are going and why and wants to be a part of making that happen.

* Develop a management preparedness program so the right people are ready when the opportunity presents itself.

Have a written training plan for those interested in becoming a manager so they earn the right to be considered. This is a natural weed out process.

Begin delegating people and project responsibilities to those you are grooming with a follow-up process to measure their progress.

Remember taking the extra time to choose the right person on the front end will save countless hours of wasted time for you in the future.

Hiring the right person to help you manage your practice or business is but the first step toward success. The next critical yet often overlooked step is using a qualified management coach to develop those necessary habits, attitudes and behaviors of an exemplary leader once you have made your decision.

To your continued success,

Coach Nancy

Want to be more successful? A leader is successful how…?

Success is defined in so many different ways but one fairly consistent theme we hear people say about success is everyone wants IT. Describing that IT is what becomes sticky. It means different things to different folks.

We put so much of our time and effort in to achieving success yet when asked if success equates with happiness, many people look bewildered. Ever hear people say, “I am successful because I have a big house, a good job with a title, a neat bunch of cars but I am so disheartened and unhappy. I am always looking for something more. What am I missing?”

Success is not a destination; it is a journey, a state of being, and a way of living.

We may attain parts of success as a result of our work, our personal endeavors, our thoughts and actions. But true success is not measured in tangibles as much as it is defined as the achievement of our anticipated outcomes.

Success is really the accomplishment of our own predetermined goals and ambitions, surrounded by our beliefs and values.

Mother Theresa was one of the most successful people in the world. Why? She had little, if no personal possessions, yet she fulfilled her dreams by knowing what she wanted to do and why. Her goal of diminishing poverty and struggles for children around the world with a driving sense of purpose defined her success.

Defining success becomes much easier if we clearly identify what it is we truly want and why. If whatever that want and why is leads us to long term happiness and satisfaction, we will have achieved success. Knowing the why becomes the driver for true success and the more clear that is for a person or an organization; the easier it becomes to achieve success.

Need to discuss your pathway to success with an empathetic mentor? Go to my website to signup for further info . www.profitablebusinesscoach.com

Ever notice the body language of those we are speaking to? You can tell in an instant whether they are listening or not? Suppose they notice that in you too? Of course, they do.
We have to develop the art of listening through a process. The process  is called active listening, this process involves the listener paying full attention to the speaker, and then summarizing or reflecting back what he or she has heard without evaluating or interpreting. This allows further clarification from the speaker if necessary. It also brings in this important element into the exchange:
Speaker A knows what Listener B has heard, AND knows that Listener B is taking the time to fully understand before responding.
This rarely seems to happen in our fast-paced environments where people talk over one another and interrupting is no longer the social faux pas that is was.
In active listening, it is important to learn to summarize and reflect smoothly, without appearing to mimic or repeat back in a robotic fashion. Useful phrases are:
• “As I understand it, what you are saying is…”
• “So your point is that …”

Another way to ensure you stay focused as an active listener is to keep eye contact when face to face and slow your internal thinking so you can genuinely HEAR what is being said, not what you think is GOING to BE said. Just this simply technique can save mounds of misunderstood discussions.

How do you become a better listener? The same way you become a better cellist- practice , practice , practice. Your people will learn to listen by watching you. Why not even discuss how to listen more effectively with them. Sure can’t hurt.

Next time , we will cover non verbal communication and how this affects the responses people get.

To your continued success,

The Profitable Business Coach Nancy

In our last post we discussed the fact that listening is one of the most crucial, if not the most crucial aspect of communication. So why don’t they listen to me? Maybe because people speak 130 words a minute but our thinking speed is 500 words a minute…lots of time to become distracted. Chances are THEY listen the same way you do.

One important way to improve is to figure out what interferes with your active listening skills,  aside from the above statement. How do you slow your processing so you hear what is actually being said?

First, let’s talk about what other things interfere with effective listening — and consequently result in poor communications and poor interpersonal relationships:
• We don’t clear our minds before entering into a conversation or listening to a person’s presentation. Many people will multi-task, especially while on the phone. Even in a face-to-face exchange, some people multi-task in their heads, solving problems and making lists while the other person gets to their point (which we have decided we already know)!

• We experience emotions which distract us from listening further. It doesn’t take much of a trigger for our feelings to pop up. A look, a phrase, and we are off and running with anxiety, fear, or anger. Our ability to listen is seriously impaired when we are distracted by feelings, especially those we wouldn’t want to admit to.
• We are thinking about our reply. We are so concentrated on making a rebuttal, or on sharing a similar experience, we cease listening to the speaker, and may not even hear important information that makes our response inconsequential or inappropriate. We miss opportunities to build and strengthen relationships by jumping in and speaking too soon.
• We are thinking about the subject from our own perspective rather than trying to understand it from the speaker’s point of view. Our perception may so differ from the perception of the talker that a totally different interpretation of the information may occur. Our minds need to be open and exploring new information rather focusing on what we know.
While everybody “knows” how to listen, not everybody practices effective listening techniques which can rapidly improve communications, strengthen relationships and form strong interpersonal skills for work and family success.

Next time let’s discuss what is involved in active listening. Until then, remember that leading others starts by leading yourself first.

TO YOUR CONTINUED SUCCESS -

Your Profitable Business Coach Nancy