Learning the Art of Self-empowerment !!

Have you ever met someone who has such a friendly disposition that he or she is able to almost instantly make friends with people, even in a room full of strangers? This type of person is normally known as a people person and is genuinely charismatic and charming and can have a positive influence on anyone who comes into their contact.

A person with this natural charm is able to earn trust and support of the people and, because of this, is able to achieve greatness. He is always able to get help and can do anything because of the flood of people in his social circle…in other words, he is able to maximize his social potential.

So, if you are aware of your social skills and you use them, you will attain a state of self-empowerment. Self-empowerment is about recognizing your social attributes and using them to turn yourself into a happier and more successful person. If you can become a people person, and we all can, you can be successful. You just need to know how to get started on this journey of self-empowerment.

1. The first step is to be genuine.

Hypocrisy will just bring you all the way down. Be genuinely nice and interested to people. Once they perceive that you are a hypocrite with selfish intentions, you might as well say goodbye to self-empowerment.

2. Learn to be a great listener.

One of the most proven ways to earn love and trust from people is to be open to listening to their problems. This doesn’t just mean hearing them out but truly listening. Treat this person as though everything they are saying is important, and it is. When they find out they can confide in them, they will trust you without doubt.

3. Don’t forget to have a sense of humor

This does not mean that you must laugh at every joke someone cracks but simply to not take everything in life too seriously. People with a great sense of humor can normally attract a crowd and eventually, success.

4. Remember to look after yourself as well as others.

In the process of fluttering around like a social butterfly, you might forget yourself, allowing everyone to push you over. Remember, love and value yourself before anyone else. If you deem yourself respectable and worthy of affection, people will flock to you and not trample on you.

5. Be kind to others.

Remember, it’s the little things that matter the most and a simple gesture such as helping an elderly or infirm person across a busy street is all it takes. It’s not that long ago that kindness was taught and practiced as a matter of course. Perhaps its time to revive these good deeds.

6. Make contact with old friends.

Sad how some friendships are destined to goodbye, but thanks to technology, you can do something about it. Relive the good old days by flipping your yearbook and look for the great people whom you want to communicate with again. Adding these old friends to your roster of support peers will surely make you feel good all over.

7. Cultivate your temperament.

Look at what traits you have that are holding you back. Do your friends see you as a grouch? A grumpy disposition can only hamper your growth. After all, nobody wants grumpy friends around.

8. Confidence not arrogance.

It’s great to be able to go around a roomful of strangers and introduce yourself to people with that winning smile. Just be sure it is confidence, not cockiness or arrogance.

9. Practice self control.

In order to have a positive effect on people’s view of you, you must show that you can be relied upon to remain calm and collected. If a person thinks your anger takes on volcanic proportions, they will immediately find it difficult to approach you and then you have lost that trust you have nurtured.

10. Nurture the relationships with those you care about.

The most precious relationships you have will be with the significant others in your life such as family and friends. Enjoy your time with them and never take them for granted. You will always know happiness with those you love close by you.

Ultimately, using people for self-empowerment means becoming a better and more lovable person. It's a win-win situation: the people know they can turn to you anytime and vice versa.

By: Anne Wolski

Bouncing Back To Move Forward !!

Every person who has ever actively worked on self improvement and bettering themselves and their lives will have suffered setbacks. The most successful people in the world did not become successful overnight. They will almost certainly have suffered more disappointments, setbacks and even unmitigated disasters, than most people.

Successful people will definitely have made wrong decisions and expensive mistakes, and taken wrong turns on their journey to success. Things may have been going extremely well and they then encountered events beyond their control, or made choices, which caused them to lose everything they had built up.

Often when we try something new, things can go wrong and everything may not go according to plan. When this happens, we may well question our abilities and ambitions, or think we were misguided in trying to a build a better life for ourselves and our family. Many people consider themselves failures at this point and just give up and retreat to their comfort zones.

However, it’s worth remembering that the only way we can guarantee we will never fail is to never try anything. But just think, if we gave up at the first or second hurdle, or never tried anything new, we wouldn’t be able use our computers, drive our cars, play sports - or even read, walk or talk!

Successful people are also disappointed and affected by setbacks, and certainly get knocked down more often than most, if only because they try more things. This may happen not once or twice, but dozens or even hundreds of times. But successful people refuse to stay down - because they are resilient and will not be denied their dreams and goals.

Many successful people had to go to extreme lengths to achieve their goals. Walt Disney was turned down for finance to build Disneyland by more than 300 banks. They all thought he was mad and that his vision for Disneyland would never take off.

Colonel Sanders had a great chicken recipe and believed he could teach people how to cook his chicken to increase their businesses. He spent two years driving across America, sleeping in his car, and calling on restaurants who weren’t interested. He was often mocked and laughed at, and apparently he was turned down over 1,000 times before he heard his first yes!

The greatest inventor if the twentieth century, Thomas Edison was also one of the greatest failure of all time. For every invention of Edison’s that worked, thousands of attempts over many years didn’t work. But Edison didn’t consider these failures. He confidently expected to find the right solutions after he had learnt from and eliminated all the unsuccessful methods!

How many people would have had these levels of perseverance and persistence and would have been able to bounce back from so much rejection and disappointment?

These men had dreams they believed in and were committed to, and were prepared to do whatever it took to achieve their goals. They learnt from their setbacks and changed their plans or revised their approach, and did whatever was necessary until they got what they were aiming for.

It is, however, important that we recognise that resilience and determination are not the same as stubbornness. There is no point doing exactly the same thing again and again and expecting different results. We must be prepared to be flexible and to adapt our plans and goals accordingly.

Studies have shown that 95% of goals people set will be ultimately achieved if they learn from their difficulties and don’t give up. Lack of talent or opportunity has almost nothing to do with people not reaching their goals and becoming successful. Instead, the main reason is that people lack the determination and persistence to overcome setbacks and obstacles.

Resilience is essential, and there are learnable techniques and strategies that can help develop this characteristic. Successful people know there are no failures because there are lessons to be learned from everything that happens to them, both good and bad.

In fact, it is usually our failures and mistakes - what we learn from them and how we react to them - that build our character and determine our levels our success. The only real failure is to give up altogether.

Quote of the Day

"The majority of men meet with failure because of their lack of persistence in creating new plans to take the place of those which fail." - Napoleon Hill

By: Garry Zancanaro,

7 Dynamic Strategies for Creating a Life that Works !!

Everyone wants a life that works effectively, whether that means harmonious relationships, a happy family life, a successful career, or the achievement of an important mission. People with successful lives take certain actions consistently.

These seven strategies can bring more success and satisfaction to your life. There is a question after each strategy to bring insights that apply specifically to you.

1. Follow the Rules

We may not always like the rules, but that does not make us an exception to following them. Rules lend order and organization to everything we do. When followed, they also bring peace and harmony to our relationships. When rules do not work, the successful person works to change them, not break them.

Where might you be overlooking the rules and sabotaging your peace of mind and chances for success?

2. Turn Rejections into Reflections

We cannot please everyone nor conduct our lives based on what others think of us. However, we can achieve our maximum potential. Rejections and failures are learning experiences. Reflect on your strengths and on the advantages in every situation.

Realize that you will experience resistance when you attempt to do great things. Allow rejections to fortify your resolve to become more skillful.

What will you do to focus on your desired outcomes regardless of the well-meaning opinions of other people?

3. Use Your Strengths to Outshine Your Best

Think creatively instead of competitively. Rather than comparing your weaknesses to another's strengths, look at your best performance to date. Think of new ways to out-distance yourself. Respect your uniqueness by focusing on new ways to use your gifts and talents. Set a new benchmark that is all yours.

What are your greatest strengths, and how can you fine tune your performance, attitudes, and beliefs to become even stronger?"

4. Tell and Acknowledge the Truth

Truth is the foundation of integrity and character. It allows us the dignity to make mistakes, admit them, and apologize. The truth keeps us aware of our current abilities and brings a tremendous sense of freedom.

To get where we want to go, we also need to be honest about where we are now. Acknowledging the truth about what does not work allows us to begin doing what works.

What truths do you need to acknowledge that could bring more peace of mind and freedom to your life?

5. Set and Keep Boundaries

We need personal rules and limits for what we will expect and accept from others and ourselves. Boundaries are like compasses that help to guide our actions. They allow us to make decisions with confidence. They add integrity and consistency to our lives. Set firm boundaries that will guard you and guide your daily decisions.

What are the boundaries for each important area of your life?

6. Live with a Purpose in Mind

Living our unique purpose makes us feel joyfully alive. It allows us to envision and enthusiastically dedicate our time to worthwhile missions of our choosing. Living purposefully, we focus on our objectives with the resolve needed to finish what we start.

You already have a purpose. However, it is important to recognize it and keep it clearly in mind. Think about the things for which you would like future generations to remember you. Give yourself permission to embrace and achieve them. Become the master architect of your life and those things you will leave behind.

What is your action plan for fulfilling your life's purpose?

7. Balance the Roles You Play

Functioning well in our careers, families, and communities depends on allocating enough energy to each of these areas. To care for others, we need to keep ourselves fit mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

Staying balanced keeps priorities in perspective and brings success and enjoyment to all the roles we play. Look at where you expend most of your energy now.

What are your most important priorities each day?

The Importance of Personal Responsibility

Woven throughout these actions is a theme of personal responsibility. People who live successfully do not shift the responsibility for their circumstances to other people. They accept ownership of their actions, consequences, and experiences.

Successful people are proactive. Instead of waiting for breaks, they make their own breaks. They identify and fine-tune their attitudes, beliefs, and actions. They search for ways to do more of what they enjoy. Proactive people meet challenges head on and affirm that they will achieve the desires of their heart.

Responsible individuals are life-long learners, always seeking to increase their skills. They welcome change, and they change with the times. They communicate with others clearly and live with a spirit of cooperation throughout the many changes life brings.

What personal challenges repeatedly hold you back? What are you willing to accept ownership of in order for your life to work?"

A Call for Action and Commitment

Think of several ways you could apply each of these strategies. Reflect on each of the questions and write an answer for each one.

By doing so, you will begin to outline a strategic plan that belongs to you. Work your plan, and keep fine-tuning your actions to point toward the results you want to achieve. Commit to turning these actions into life-long habits beginning today. Imagine how attractive your life will be when you have designed it to work the way you want!

By Steve Brunkhorst

Ten Top Performance Management Tips !!

Sadly, Performance Management has got itself a bad reputation. Dreaded by those on the receiving end and considered an unproductive chore by the manager, the value and benefits have been lost. But there is another way and here are Ten Tips to help.

Talk to Your People Often
By building a great relationship with your people you will bring trust, honesty and information. This gives you a head start in Performance Management of your people.

Build Feedback In
On the job two-way feedback processes gets rid of the nasty surprises that gives Performance Management such a bad name. By building it in as a natural activity, you take the edge away.

Be Honest
By being frank and honest, which the preparation work in building a great relationship has afforded you, both parties treat each other with respect and see each other as working for everyone's benefit.

Notice Great Performance
When you see good stuff, shout about it! Let people know. Celebrate successes and filter this into formal processes.

Have a System
Performance Management is a process and needs some formality - especially for good personnel practice and record. This need not be complicated, but it needs to be organised and have timescales.

Keep it Simple
But do keep it simple. If you have a relationship with your people that is strong anyway, you already know what they are about. Formal discussions can be friendly and simple, with formality kept to a minimum.

Be Very Positive
Celebrate great performance! Focus on what's going well. It's about successes and building on strengths, not spending ages on their weaknesses - that serves no-one. Go with the positives!

Achieve Their Needs
Remember that we all have needs that we want fulfilling. By working with your people to create outcomes that will do this, you will strengthen your relationships and channel effort in a constructive direction.

Tackle Discipline
Whilst it often happens, Performance Management is not about managing indiscipline. That has to be managed in a different way. By setting clear standards in your business that everyone understands and signs up to, discipline becomes much, much easier.

Learn from Mistakes
As part of regular on-the-job and informal review, mistakes will come to light; things will go wrong. By using the 'What went well? And 'What could you do differently?' format, the unsatisfactory performance becomes controllable and a positive step.

Try these ten out, maybe not all together, but one at a time. Have fun! There are other benefits apart from just improving the performance of your people - can you spot them?

By Martin Haworth

Why Your Employees Are Losing Motivation

Why Your Employees Are Losing Motivation

by David Sirota, Louis A. Mischkind, and Michael Irwin Meltzer

Business literature is packed with advice about worker motivation—but sometimes managers are the problem, not the inspiration. Here are seven practices to fire up the troops. From Harvard Management Update.

Most companies have it all wrong. They don't have to motivate their employees. They have to stop demotivating them.

The great majority of employees are quite enthusiastic when they start a new job. But in about 85 percent of companies, our research finds, employees' morale sharply declines after their first six months—and continues to deteriorate for years afterward. That finding is based on surveys of about 1.2 million employees at 52 primarily Fortune 1000 companies from 2001 through 2004, conducted by Sirota Survey Intelligence (Purchase, New York).

The fault lies squarely at the feet of management—both the policies and procedures companies employ in managing their workforces and in the relationships that individual managers establish with their direct reports.

Our research shows how individual managers' behaviors and styles are contributing to the problem and what they can do to turn this around.

Three key goals of people at work
To maintain the enthusiasm employees bring to their jobs initially, management must understand the three sets of goals that the great majority of workers seek from their work—and then satisfy those goals:

• Equity: To be respected and to be treated fairly in areas such as pay, benefits, and job security.
• Achievement: To be proud of one's job, accomplishments, and employer.
• Camaraderie: To have good, productive relationships with fellow employees.

To maintain an enthusiastic workforce, management must meet all three goals. Indeed, employees who work for companies where just one of these factors is missing are three times less enthusiastic than workers at companies where all elements are present.

One goal cannot be substituted for another. Improved recognition cannot replace better pay, money cannot substitute for taking pride in a job well done, and pride alone will not pay the mortgage.

What individual managers can do
Satisfying the three goals depends both on organizational policies and on the everyday practices of individual managers. If the company has a solid approach to talent management, a bad manager can undermine it in his unit. On the flip side, smart and empathetic managers can overcome a great deal of corporate mismanagement while creating enthusiasm and commitment within their units. While individual managers can't control all leadership decisions, they can still have a profound influence on employee motivation.

The most important thing is to provide employees with a sense of security, one in which they do not fear that their jobs will be in jeopardy if their performance is not perfect and one in which layoffs are considered an extreme last resort, not just another option for dealing with hard times.

But security is just the beginning. When handled properly, each of the following eight practices will play a key role in supporting your employees' goals for achievement, equity, and camaraderie, and will enable them to retain the enthusiasm they brought to their roles in the first place.

Achievement related
1. Instill an inspiring purpose. A critical condition for employee enthusiasm is a clear, credible, and inspiring organizational purpose: in effect, a "reason for being" that translates for workers into a "reason for being there" that goes above and beyond money.

Every manager should be able to expressly state a strong purpose for his unit. What follows is one purpose statement we especially admire. It was developed by a three-person benefits group in a midsize firm.

Benefits are about people. It's not whether you have the forms filled in or whether the checks are written. It's whether the people are cared for when they're sick, helped when they're in trouble.

This statement is particularly impressive because it was composed in a small company devoid of high-powered executive attention and professional wordsmiths. It was created in the type of department normally known for its fixation on bureaucratic rules and procedures. It is a statement truly from the heart, with the focus in the right place: on the ends—people—rather than the means—completing forms.

Stating a mission is a powerful tool. But equally important is the manager's ability to explain and communicate to subordinates the reason behind the mission. Can the manager of stockroom workers do better than telling her staff that their mission is to keep the room stocked? Can she communicate the importance of the job, the people who are relying on the stockroom being properly maintained, both inside and outside the company? The importance for even goods that might be considered prosaic to be where they need to be when they need to be there? That manager will go a long way toward providing a sense of purpose.

2. Provide recognition. Managers should be certain that all employee contributions, both large and small, are recognized. The motto of many managers seems to be, "Why would I need to thank someone for doing something he's paid to do?" Workers repeatedly tell us, and with great feeling, how much they appreciate a compliment. They also report how distressed they are when managers don't take the time to thank them for a job well done yet are quick to criticize them for making mistakes.

Receiving recognition for achievements is one of the most fundamental human needs. Rather than making employees complacent, recognition reinforces their accomplishments, helping ensure there will be more of them.

A pat on the back, simply saying "good going," a dinner for two, a note about their good work to senior executives, some schedule flexibility, a paid day off, or even a flower on a desk with a thank-you note are a few of the hundreds of ways managers can show their appreciation for good work. It works wonders if this is sincere, sensitively done, and undergirded by fair and competitive pay—and not considered a substitute for it.

3. Be an expediter for your employees. Incorporating a command-and-control style is a sure-fire path to demotivation. Instead, redefine your primary role as serving as your employees' expediter: It is your job to facilitate getting their jobs done. Your reports are, in this sense, your "customers." Your role as an expediter involves a range of activities, including serving as a linchpin to other business units and managerial levels to represent their best interests and ensure your people get what they need to succeed.

How do you know, beyond what's obvious, what is most important to your employees for getting their jobs done? Ask them! "Lunch and schmooze" sessions with employees are particularly helpful for doing this. And if, for whatever reason, you can't immediately address a particular need or request, be open about it and then let your workers know how you're progressing at resolving their problems. This is a great way to build trust.

4. Coach your employees for improvement. A major reason so many managers do not assist subordinates in improving their performance is, simply, that they don't know how to do this without irritating or discouraging them. A few basic principles will improve this substantially.

First and foremost, employees whose overall performance is satisfactory should be made aware of that. It is easier for employees to accept, and welcome, feedback for improvement if they know management is basically pleased with what they do and is helping them do it even better.

Space limitations prevent a full treatment of the subject of giving meaningful feedback, of which recognition is a central part, but these key points should be the basis of any feedback plan:

• Performance feedback is not the same as an annual appraisal. Give actual performance feedback as close in time to the occurrence as possible. Use the formal annual appraisal to summarize the year, not surprise the worker with past wrongs.
• Recognize that workers want to know when they have done poorly. Don't succumb to the fear of giving appropriate criticism; your workers need to know when they are not performing well. At the same time, don't forget to give positive feedback. It is, after all, your goal to create a team that warrants praise.
• Comments concerning desired improvements should be specific, factual, unemotional, and directed at performance rather than at employees personally. Avoid making overall evaluative remarks (such as, "That work was shoddy") or comments about employees' personalities or motives (such as, "You've been careless"). Instead, provide specific, concrete details about what you feel needs to be improved and how.

• Keep the feedback relevant to the employee's role. Don't let your comments wander to anything not directly tied to the tasks at hand.
• Listen to employees for their views of problems. Employees' experience and observations often are helpful in determining how performance issues can be best dealt with, including how you can be most helpful.
• Remember the reason you're giving feedback—you want to improve performance, not prove your superiority. So keep it real, and focus on what is actually doable without demanding the impossible.
• Follow up and reinforce. Praise improvement or engage in course correction—while praising the effort—as quickly as possible.
• Don't offer feedback about something you know nothing about. Get someone who knows the situation to look at it.

Equity related
5. Communicate fully. One of the most counterproductive rules in business is to distribute information on the basis of "need to know." It is usually a way of severely, unnecessarily, and destructively restricting the flow of information in an organization. Workers' frustration
with an absence of adequate communication is one of the most negative findings we see expressed on employee attitude surveys. What employees need to do their jobs and what makes them feel respected and included dictate that very few restrictions be placed by managers on the flow of information. Hold nothing back of interest to employees except those very few items that are absolutely confidential.

Good communication requires managers to be attuned to what employees want and need to know; the best way to do this is to ask them! Most managers must discipline themselves to communicate regularly. Often it's not a natural instinct. Schedule regular employee meetings that have no purpose other than two-way communication. Meetings among management should conclude with a specific plan for communicating the results of the meetings to employees. And tell it like it is. Many employees are quite skeptical about management's motives and can quickly see through "spin." Get continual feedback on how well you and the company are communicating. One of the biggest communication problems is the assumption that a message has been understood. Follow-up often finds that messages are unclear or misunderstood.

Companies and managers that communicate in the ways we describe reap large gains in employee morale. Full and open communication not only helps employees do their jobs but also is a powerful sign of respect.

6. Face up to poor performance. Identify and deal decisively with the 5 percent of your employees who don't want to work. Most people want to work and be proud of what they do (the achievement need). But there are employees who are, in effect, "allergic" to work—they'll do just about anything to avoid it. They are unmotivated, and a disciplinary approach—including dismissal—is about the only way they can be managed. It will raise the morale and performance of other team members to see an obstacle to their performance removed.

Camaraderie related
7. Promote teamwork. Most work requires a team effort in order to be done effectively. Research shows repeatedly that the quality of a group's efforts in areas such as problem solving is usually superior to that of individuals working on their own. In addition, most workers get a motivation boost from working in teams.

Whenever possible, managers should organize employees into self-managed teams, with the teams having authority over matters such as quality control, scheduling, and many work methods. Such teams require less management and normally result in a healthy reduction in management layers and costs.

Creating teams has as much to do with camaraderie as core competences. A manager needs to carefully assess who works best with whom. At the same time, it is important to create the opportunity for cross-learning and diversity of ideas, methods, and approaches. Be clear with the new team about its role, how it will operate, and your expectations for its output.

Related to all three factors
8. Listen and involve. Employees are a rich source of information about how to do a job and how to do it better. This principle has been demonstrated time and again with all kinds of employees—from hourly workers doing the most routine tasks to high-ranking professionals. Managers who operate with a participative style reap enormous rewards in efficiency and work quality.

Participative managers continually announce their interest in employees' ideas. They do not wait for these suggestions to materialize through formal upward communication or suggestion programs. They find opportunities to have direct conversations with individuals and groups about what can be done to improve effectiveness. They create an atmosphere where "the past is not good enough" and recognize employees for their innovativeness.

Participative managers, once they have defined task boundaries, give employees freedom to operate and make changes on their own commensurate with their knowledge and experience. Indeed, there may be no single motivational tactic more powerful than freeing competent people to do their jobs as they see fit.

[David Sirota is chairman emeritus, Louis A. Mischkind is senior vice president, and Michael Irwin Meltzer is chief operating officer of Sirota Survey Intelligence. They are the authors of The Enthusiastic Employee: How Companies Profit by Giving Workers What They Want (Wharton School Publishing, 2005).]

The Power of a Group

You are the leader of your team, your department or your organisation.
Maybe you are the owner and amongst you all, no one can do the job; run
the place, like you do. We all know that and have been there.

It's tough because someone has to do it.

In fact it's a struggle and because you are building something
worthwhile, someone once told you that you don't get anywhere without
hard work.

Period; full stop; whatever.

In fact there is a lot of research now that shows you are wrong. Not
just a bit wrong. Horribly wrong. In 'The Wisdom of Crowds' by Robert
Surowiecki, he quotes a number of sources of information. Like, if you
compare the performance of a team of experts with a team of half
experts and half not experts, which gives the best results?

It's the second one.

If you have a bunch of people working on a problem will they find a
better solution than just one person. They will. In fact as long as
they have the following attributes
Diversity of Opinion - each has their own private information
Independence - from other decision makers
Decentralisation - can take into account local (and hence diverse from
the big picture)
Aggregation - the capacity to bring together all this variety of
opinion
A crowd will always generate the best result - even if they are
disparate and not connected in any way!

So, how can you go about getting the best from a group of your people,
to enhance what you do?

The findings that Surowiecki brought up are no different in your
business and organisation than the many examples he shares. Such as
elections, marketing, gambling etc.

There are dozens in the book. Yet, how many organisations truly involve
their people in making vital decisions about how the business can do
better?

So, as a starter for 10, try asking them.

Next time you face a problem or challenge in your business, gather a
group of people - as random a group as possible and give them these
three tools and let them get on with it.

Ensure that they are different, empowered and encouraged to contribute.
>From the evidence from Surowiecki's book, your people are almost
definitely going to produce a better result than you alone ever could.
Then you have to go with that flow.

Remember they must generate a solution that works, that doesn't
generate new problems and is cost-effective. If you give them their
head, it is almost a given that they will do just that.

The challenge for you is not whether they will do well; more that you
are willing to let up your own control and give them the opportunity to
test their solution.

And that's a big ask for you - not them.

The book is a worthy read too!

Making it Happen

How frustrating is it when things progress slowly?

When you end up coming back to people and they haven't got on with
things like you expected.

And sometimes it seems to be the same people who you have this problem
with.

'Making it Happen' is a simple tactic to ensure that progress on a
topic is made clearly, quickly and precisely.

Ken Blanchard has a great little (and as always, easy to read) book
called 'The One Minute Manager meets the Monkey'. Today's newsletter is
all about the 'monkey'.

By ensuring that there is always a 'next step' in any discussion, issue
or problem, which is clearly defined, owned by someone and timescaled,
you will be much more likely to have progression.

So what is this 'next step' and how does a monkey fit into all this?

Well, the 'next step' is some actual piece of activity that someone
(and it is best if it isn't you! I'll come on to that later), takes
accountability for delivering, demonstrably and in a certain timescale.

If you've come across SMART objectives, it's along those lines and very
tactical. It happens and happens fast - usually.

This 'next step' in a process, means that things keep moving and
someone is signed up to the progress by doing the next link towards the
final outcome. Think of it as a monkey jumping from each person's
shoulder to the next. The 'doer' takes the monkey with them - and you
ensure that it isn't usually you!

By keeping this as the goal, step by relevant next step, the overall
outcome is achieved.

Who is the 'doer'? Well, that depends on who is best placed to do the
doing! In developmental management and team cultures, as many
individuals as possible get involved in taking the 'next step'
(carrying off the monkey!).

Whilst it is easy for a manager to take the brunt of these, it is very
useful to help others take these 'next steps, even if they are not
experts in that area of their work.

Using 'next steps' as a developmental exercise can be very valuable for
individuals who want to stretch their experience and develop their
capabilities.

Without just 'dropping them in it', by providing ongoing support,
whilst giving them the accountability to deliver (a strong learning in
itself), a manager can evolve a highly skilled and broadly experienced
team around who will enable continuity when times get tough.

And a succession planning process which evolves without too much
effort.

Things get done, people get developed, the manager delegates
effectively, making the best of his or her time.

Now how great a solution is that then!

Martin Haworth
http://www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com