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Excellence in inter-personal leadership

by Dr. K. Kuhathasan, CEO, Centre for Leadership Excellence and Personality Development

Leadership areas in Inter-Personal skills are wide and varied. A short list of such skills would include at least the following Counselling Group Skills, Assertiveness, Social Skills, Interviewing skills, writing skills, using the telephone and group facilitation skills. Examples of how such skills are used in a range of settings are also numerous and would include the following among many others.

1. Counselling skills: counselling colleagues, friends, clients and customers.

2. Assertiveness skills: returning bad goods, saying 'no', keeping to contracts and agreements.

3. Social skills: introducing yourself, conducting meetings, working with the general public, with customers and clients.

4. Facilitation skills: Group dynamics, building Teams, chairing discussions and organizing meetings.

Personal qualities for interpersonal effectiveness

Certain personal qualities are necessary for effective interpersonal relationships. A basic cluster of such necessary qualities may be identified as: kindness, genuineness, empathy, and positive thinking. These personal qualities cannot be described an 'skills' but they are necessary if we are to use interpersonal skills effectively. They form the bedrock of all effective human relationships.

1. Personal qualities are equally as important as interpersonal skills, themselves.

2. Kindness, the ability to empathize and the tendency to be non judgemental are important attitudinal qualities.

3. We probably learn about our own interpersonal skills when we fail to achieve results.

Kindness

Kind people are likely to get on better with others. Following consideration are involved in demonstrating kindness.

* Equal worth.

* Absence of blame.

* Non defensiveness.

* Closeness.

Genuineness

Genuineness is another important aspect of the professional interpersonal relationship, In one sense, the issue is clear; we either genuinely care for the person in front of us or we do not. We cannot easily fake professional interest.

Empathic understanding

We should to be able to empathize with other people in order to understand them. Empathy is the term usually used to convey the idea of the ability to enter the perceptual world of the other person: to see the world as they see it. It also suggests an ability to convey this perception.

Empathy is the ability to perceive the feelings of another person and to communicate this understanding to him;

Counselling skills

Counselling skills can be used in a variety of settings. They may be used to help the person who is suffering from a temporary emotional crisis of they may be useful in helping the person who has longer-term problems. Counselling skills are also useful in everyday business and administration situations when dealing with colleagues, clients or customers. They may also be practical and useful as a set of interpersonal skills of everyday use in every client-practitioner situation.

Group facilitation

Another type of interpersonal skills is group facilitation - the process of enabling groups to run effectively. Such skill serves two purposes. First, it is the application on interpersonal skills in professional context. Second all the aspects of facilitation, will help effective Team approach.

Trust

Trust forms the bed-rock of interpersonal relationship. In his book, the Seven Habits of Highly Effective people. Stephen Covey uses the metaphor of an "emotional bank account" to describe the amount of trust that has been built up in relationship. To Covery, trust refers to the overall feeling of safeness that you have with another person. You make "deposits" into an emotional bank account with another person through kindness, honestly, and keeping commitments.

Covey suggests six major deposits to build up emotional bank accounts.

* Understand and honour people's needs and priorities, which may be very different than our own.

* Attend to little things, like showing kindness and being courteous, because they make big positive deposits in relationships.

* Keep commitments. Breaking a promise can be a massive withdrawal that may prevent future deposits because people won't believe you.

* Clarify expectations so that others don't feel cheated or violated if you don't behave in ways that they assumed you knew they desired, even though they never overtly told you.

* Show personal integrity by keeping promises, being honest, fulfilling expectations, and being loyal to all people equally, including those not present.

* Apologise sincerely when you make a withdrawal, without rationalising or trying to shift some of the blame to the other.

As trust builds in our emotional bank account, it becomes the foundation of regenerative relationships with others. People learn to put all their cards on the table to deal with issues and solve problems without wasting energy focused on difference in personality or position. Without trust, you lack the credibility and safety for open communication, creativity, problem solving, or mutual learning.

Human relations

Human Relation is an important component of inter-personal relations. The most successful people in service, business or politics are those who possess, in addition to their knowledge and qualifications, the ability to communicate and win over people.

What is Human Relations?

1. A study of human behaviour and motivation.

2. The science of influencing positive human behaviour.

3. The ability to get along with people.

4. The expertise of selling yourself-your ideas, hopes, and ambitions-to others.

5. A culture of decent, civilised behaviour and respect for the views, thinking and dignity of others.

6. Treating people, not as commodities, but as individuals.

7. Being sensitive to the feelings of others.

8. The art of making friends and maintaining friendships.

This art of Human Relations when applied can help you to.

1.Make and retain friends.

2. Enhance your influence and prestige.

3. Make others like and respect you.

4. Become an effective leader.

5. Develop expertise to tackle difficult and complex situations.

6. Be a better person - employer, employee. 7. Make others around you cheerful.

How to market yourself (for success)

by Prasanna Perera

Marketing principles and concepts can be applied to "Marketing persons", just as in the case of goods and services. How can you successfully market products and services, if you cannot market yourself? Marketing one self is critical for personal success, in terms of career, social life, leisure pursuits etc.

The starting point to marketing yourself, is to "know" yourself. This seems to basic, but do we really know ourselves, in terms of strengths, weaknesses, personal qualities, special talents etc. This is essential so that you could develop rational personal objectives and strategies. Therefore, spend some time and try to understand yourself. You could consult your loved one's, to clarify certain observations.

Consider yourself as a "brand"

In marketing a brand is referred to as a name, sign, symbol etc. which is intended to provide a distinct identity and differentiate one brand from another. Hence, brands helps to identify and differentiate. We have all been given a name by our parents. This is because they wanted us to have an identity in society, so that we could also be different from others. As such it is upto us to capitalise on "our brand", in terms of brand marketing ourselves.

Just as in the case of a commercial brand, "our brand" is made of distinctive elements. Let us briefly examine them.

Brand Value - We all have certain personal values such as honestly, integrity, truthfulness etc. It is important to identify these values and examine how they help you, as a person.

Brand Image - What personal image do you have as a person? It is positive or negative? Does it correspond with the image, others have about you? Your personal image is an important element to market yourself. Hence, a positive image is a must.

Brand Name - What is the meaning of your name? Have you ever contemplated about this. When your name is called out, what message does it give. (Positive or negative). If you are fortunate enough to have a name which is sweet music to the ear and favourable in meaning, this must be exploited, in one's own marketing endeavours.

Even in the commercial world, certain brand names are special, because their "meanings" have been exploited for competitive advantage. For example "Rhino" roofing sheets. Rhino is an animal, that is tough and durable. Hence, you have a natural springboard, to market the "Rhino" brand.

Brand positioning - What mental picture crops up in the mind of others, when your name is mentioned? Is it positive, negative, obscure or confusing? Do they conjure up a positive, likened, respectful, mental picture or a negative, disliked, untrustful, mental picture? You will now realise that you must position yourself firmly and successfully, amongst your target audiences. i.e. superiors, peers, subordinates, professional associates, customers, friends, family etc.

Brand Perception - How do your target audiences perceive you as a person (personality brand)? A positive perception is required or success, but it is not easy to achieve this, across a diverse audience. This is a real challenge to any person, who wants to market himself or herself successfully.

As outlined briefly, you will understand that the first step in marketing yourself successfully, is to truly know yourself.

Understand your core competencies

When marketing a product or service commercially, an analysis is carried out to determine the characteristics of same. Similarly you need to understand clearly your strengths, weaknesses etc. Your strengths should naturally be consolidated further. For example, if you are a very creative person, this is a facet of your personality, that is extremely helpful to market yourself successfully. Weaknesses on the other hand should be eliminated, as far as possible.

This is not an easy task, but must be done in order to strengthen yourself as a brand. By understanding your strengths and weaknesses, it is now possible to determine what goals you should peruse in life. These goals could be multifaceted such as career, social, hobbies. Many persons simply float around, because they have no idea about what they want to accomplish in life. As such, for these persons, life is a misery and more often than not, they make it a misery for their loved ones as well.

Another important aspect is to identify your "special talents". These are your USP's (Unique Selling Propositions). These special talents should be effectively utilised, in marketing yourself and achieving your personal objectives.

Establish objectives for yourself (brand)

When establishing objectives, it is important to categorise them in to the following:

3.1 Academic/Professional objectives.

3.2 Career objectives

3.3 Special interests/hobbies related objectives.

3.4 Personal life and social objectives.

For example, a Professional objective could be to achieve a Master's Degree by year X. In terms of career, it could be, Head of Marketing in an established organisation. In the setting of objectives, special interests/hobbies, should not be neglected. These objectives help to develop a more "rounded" personality. Social objectives such as marriage, offspring and family life, are most important.

By developing objectives across a wide spectrum, you have provided yourself an opportunity, to lead a meaningful life. Further you have committed yourself to "self development", which is essential for people. In a commercial context, organisations set objectives for their products/brands. These objectives help develop and strengthen these brands, so that they remain competitive. The same applies to yourself as a "brand".

Develop strategies to achieve your objectives

Objectives would never be accomplished, unless action is taken to do so. For every objective you set yourself, a suitable strategy should be identified and implemented.

As in the commercial world, strategies require resources for implementation. Hence, it would be prudent to determine what resources are required to achieve your personal objectives. These resources could be finances, time, skills, personal qualities, self discipline etc. Since resources are limited, you need to budget same for the strategies selected. For example, in order to achieve a marketing qualification (Professional objective), the strategy selected could be to follow a suitable program of study. In order to complete this study program, you need resources and these should be budgeted accordingly. Not to do so, will result in poor strategy implementation and non-achievement of objectives.

Measure your achievements against the set objectives

It is important to evaluate how you are fairing against the set objectives. Two measurements per year would suffice, but needs to be carried out seriously. This activity helps in determining if the objectives are required to be amended, if the strategies implemented are working and if resources are adequate or need to be boosted.

Of course, do not make this exercise tedious or unnecessarily stressful. It should be done with all seriousness and purpose, but enjoyed as well. (What is life without happiness and enjoyment). In the real world of business, brands should be nutured and developed with passion and commitment. However, in doing so, the entire process must be enjoyed. The same appeal is for yourself as a person.

In marketing yourself, the critical steps are as follows:

1. Understand yourself clearly.

2. Understand your current situation.

3. Set objectives which are rational and realistic.

4. Develop strategies to achieve objectives.

5. Implement the strategies and allocate adequate resources.

6. Check progress through regular feedback.

Treat yourself as a special person (brand). Then, take the necessary steps required to market yourself, as a valuable brand.

There are of course, no shortcuts in the process, only hardwork and perseverance will get you success. The fruits of success will be sweet, although the labour is stressful.

The choice is yours. You can either be a brand that also ran or a really successful brand, that has made a mark on society in a positive manner.

"An ounce of image, is worth a ton of performance"

"Things do not change, we change"

"Goals are dreams with deadlines"

Talent management - current trends and challenges

by M. U. Jayadeva de Silva

(Paper highlights the importance of the adoption of "human talents" midset and deals with the challenges and issued of Talent Management)

In the 1940s and 1950s, conditions outside the organisation were relatively stable. Most work demanded little by way of specialised training and expertise. People matters were not much more than personnel administration. Personnel work basically concentrated on attracting and retaining people as administering benefit and welfare systems. Influence of the militaries the oldest known organisations on structures systems and procedures of industrial organisations could be clearly seen.

With the development of industry term "Manpower Planning" also began to appear in increasing frequency. However this function was most of the time carried out not by Personnel Managers but by those who were in the planning and budgeting departments. Forecasting of manpower demands was necessary for long and medium term business planning. At that time this exercise was not concerned with the enhancement of productivity etc.

During the 1960s, the term "human resources" began to surface as people were viewed as corporate assets or as a part of corporate capital which could be either used or wasted. This view was consistent with the strategic emphasis of resources allocation to sustain growth of the businesses. It was also considered as being possible to be developed and enhanced in value which process was named 'human resources development'. The 'human resources school of management thoughts grew in importance throughout the 1970s. The term human resources planning and development supplanted manpower planning. Many personnel departments were renamed human resources departments.

In 1980s through 90s to-date we see the process of automation, computerisation signifying the emergence of a new economy - the knowledge economy succeeding industrial age.

In the industrial age people were used an extension of the machine. In the knowledge economy the physical labour input of people is being replaced by the robots whilst the mental labour input is replaced to a larger extent by the computers leading to a great liberation of the working people, a phenomenon that would transform our thinking about the people and work.

Paradigm shift of talent management

Newest concept in the sphere of people at work is really a paradigm shift and can be named Human Talents Management. It is a leadership concept that is being developed. Successful companies have already adopted the idea that Leadership is The Art of Managing Peoples' talents and not just getting things done.

We are of the view that the expression "Human Resources" is misleading and dangerous "People are not resources and resent being treated as such" according to this concept. They are not pieces of Equipment to move around according to needs Contrary to what some Managers claim, people are not "Human capital"! Challenging of Talent Management

Employee's expectations have drastically changed over the years due to more knowledge-based business, social transformations and economic evolution. New psychological needs are evolving inline with the new profile of people entering the workforce. Now employees want:

*To Know more about what is happening in the organisation. Who is doing what? New Objectives? New Priorities? New Strategies? Threats, Problems and Opportunities? Managers have to explore new methods and techniques of communications to create an impact here.

* To understand why leaders have made decisions? Why not another decision? What is behind the decision? What are the implications of the decision made? More and more participative methods of decision-making are called for.

To contribute their own ideas and use their talents in a mutually beneficial way?

Job design, job enlargement, job enrichment are becoming relevant and meaningful now more than ever before. Organisations will also have to devise methods to manage their knowledge resources with the active involvement of the employees.

To know what could be tomorrow?

Involvement of practically all levels of employees in determination of strategic direction of the company is becoming a reality.

*Feel important and have a meaningful role to play with the company. Who am I within the organisation? Do I count? Am I receiving the recognition and respect that I desire? Do I have a fair chance to grow and develop as a person using my talent?

Introduction of innovative and creative recognition programmes would be an ongoing activity. Effective leaders have to look at practical ways to maximise the release of individual, team and company talents. The Leader therefore is becoming a nurturer of talents, and a catalyst in search of "Synergy". People are not resources. They have resources. Resources they possess are their talents i.e. knowledge, skills and their creativity etc.

Conceptual Framework for the Talent Management Process

We would like to define talent management as the managerial art of creating and maintaining an atmosphere that supports people working together to accomplish a mutually-agreed-to-vision, mission and set of goals using minimal time, money and materials using their talents. Talent management is like gardening. The job of supervisor or team leader is to "prepare the soil" by creating a supportive environment in which employees or team members can function effectively and efficiently - and do their best work.

Of course, the job way also involve other responsibilities such as managing technical and financial systems, producing orderly workflow, and developing automation and accounting systems. But Talent management goes beyond systems. It involves people. Managing systems often means taking charge. Managing talents has more to do with letting go.

Talent management comprises four distinct activities: Clarifying Expectations, Giving and Receiving Feedback, Coaching and Performance, Appraisal. These four activities, and the behaviours and skills they require, can be described as the Talent Management Process, Research indicates that the most effective supervisors and team leaders differ from their less effective counterpart by their ability to successfully perform these four activities.

Clarifying expectations

This step is the starting point in the process. When expectations are not clear, employees may not see the purpose in what they are required to do. They also may not be in sync with their job's current demands and priorities. They tend to "go through the motions" but not invest their heart and soul in their job performance. They do what they are most comfortable doing or what they've done in the past neither of which may be right for the current situation.

Likewise, a team cannot function very well without a clear understanding of its boundaries and expectations. Lack of clarification results in things continually going in circles, little being accomplished, and frustration and disillusionment developing among team members.

Feedback

Research shows that employees and team members want to know how their performance measures up. Providing feedback is one way to reinforce the importance of achieving expectations. Feedback focuses on specific events, not overall performance, it can be delivered almost any time or place and typically needs no formal meeting. Feedback should be given for both positive and negative aspects of performance. When delivering feedback, the role of supervisor or team leader is like a cheerleader recognizing accomplishments and encouraging people to achieve even more. This role requires skill at giving as well as receiving feedback.

Coaching

Coaching sessions are held to improve a person's future performance. The purpose of coaching is not to "chew our" or threaten a person if performance is not improved. It is to help individuals overcome a job-related problem (Problem - Solving Coaching), or redirect on-the -job behaviour when they do not see their performance as a problem (Developing Improved Performance Coaching).

Coaching can help employees or team members improve in areas where their performance is below expectations, or to perform even better in areas where performance is already satisfactory. Keep in mind that coaching is the third activity in the talent management process.

This means coaching usually should not take place unless specific, measurable, mutually agreed to performance expectations have been established and the person has received feedback at least once that this or her performance needs improvement. Until these two activities are completed, coaching is generally inappropriate as a managerial action. Coaching generally focuses on patterns of behaviour-not on single events. Because of the time needed to conduct an effective discussion, coaching usually requires a formal scheduled meeting.

While most supervisors and team leaders are aware of the need for individualized coaching, few actually feel comfortable doing so. All too often, they respond by verbally attacking the person, ignoring the situation to avoid a confrontation, or ordering the person to take action. None of these approaches, of course, are likely to help the employee achieve peak performance in the long run.

Appraisal of talent usage

Unlike feedback or coaching, Talent appraisals cover the full range of a person's performance. In contrast, feedback focuses on a single event and coaching focuses on a pattern of behaviour. The proper focus of an appraisal meeting is the "big picture". A appraisal is the place for employee and appraiser to look critically at all factors affecting the employee's ability to perform. The meeting has a two-fold purpose: to discuss openly and in-depth the employee's performance during the past performance period, and to develop a plan for improving performance in the upcoming period and beyond.

The appraisal discussion should center on all of the employee's previously established performance objectives, any appropriate performance standards, plus specific behaviour on the job. The goal of the meeting is to align supervisor and employee perceptions with the employee's actual performance. Sharing perceptions is key to an effective performance discussion because no two people perceive the same situation in the same way.

The appraisal that consists only of reviewing a completed form and being asked if there are questions is a less than valuable experience for the employee.

The effective talent usage appraisal should cover three areas:

Accomplishments during the period. Performance concerns encountered during the period. A specific plan for improving future performance through effective utilization of employee's talent and talents of others in the organization. The meeting should also serve as a forum for both parties to look critically at all factors affecting the employee's ability to perform, and determine whether any factors need change or improvement. All aspects of the job should be considered (e.g. talents, tools, procedure, materials, systems, and relationships).

During the appraisal of talent usage, both parties should resist the temptation to accept things as they are simply because "they've always been that way". No element should be considered sacrosanct or outside the realm of potential change. This is important! Openly considering all factors places the focus exactly where it should be-on the continuous improvement of everything affecting the employee's ability in perform. Identified Issues of Talent Management & Talent Development

In order to identify talent in your company you should combine the results of the performance and potential evaluation with the documented characteristics of the talent (knowledge, skills and attitudes) in order attract and retain talents what a company should do can be summarized as follows.

* Attraction of right talents would necessitate

* To have an ambitious recruiting project; - Ability to attract key talents required is a decisive factor as right talents are going to be the competitive advantage in the coming era

* To implement modern selection techniques: - Success of the talent management process hinges on the capability of the organization to select the candidates with right talents

* To search for talents in companies who are leaders in their market and the best universities and other learning institutes

Competition is increasing between companies in unrelated industries as well in this field

* Retention of the right talents development would necessitate

* To present a flexible horizontal/vertical career plan; Individuals too will be required to manage their talents to remain employable or to launch themselves as independent contractors. These plans will have to be innovative as no individual can expect lifelong employment

* To have an attractive compensation plan;

* To present constant challenges;

* To act accordingly with the corporate values;

* To invest in training and development;

* To provide an international projection perspective for the talents;

* To promote big challenges;

* To involve the talents in projects inside the organization;

* To implement a job rotation program;

* To invest in continuing education; specialization, post-graduation, etc;

* To develop competencies in management and technical skills

* To promote talent interchange between the business units or areas;

* To elect a mentor or tutor for each talent.

Thus Talent management is more than just another name for human resource management of Personnel management it is an iterative process consisting of specific activities. There is evidence that the most effective supervisors, managers with the most highly committed employees or team members, and high performing work habits-spend more than half their time on those key activities, all of which involve teachable, learnable skills and behaviours. Mastery of these skills and behaviours will be essential to organizational success in the future through human talent management. Author is of the view that Talent Management would lead to higher levels of productivity in organisations and perhaps would eliminate the need for so called painful exercise of right-sizing, down-sizing etc.

This conference dedicated to Talent Management is expected to deal with these issues in detail.

(The writer is the Director Human Resources of Browns Group of Companies; Sri Lanka. He is also the author of the book "Human Talents Management" and founder of the e Group "humantalents".
http:/www.geocities.com/jayadeva de silva/

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