I was recently discussing which is the best management style out there and while I’m all for a “coaching management style”, I vote for an eclectic one that uses different styles in different situations.

If I had to give it a name I’d call it “Recognition-based Management Style”. And – if you’ve been here before – you know that by Recognition I do not mean “Rewards” which many people misinterpret at first.

The Recognition Based Management Style

If we recognize what employees expect of their manager – information, decisions, support, recognition (of their needs more than their achievements) – we’ll always know what style is called for in a particular situation or with Read the rest of this entry »

An thought provoking clip by Youngme Moon that many of us can certainly relate to…

At last night’s New Year’s party, a friend of mine asked me what my priority for 2011 was, and after a short think, I said “Me!” She nodded and said, “Yes, same here!”

Sometimes, we get so distracted by our daily lives – reacting and responding to other people’s demands (be it our boss at work or people in our private lives who need our attention or help) that we forget to take a step back and think, ‘What do I want? What is important to me? What do I want to create in my life?’

So, let’s first get you into the mood of starting to pay attention to yourself. Let’s call this the “Ode to Me”.

Read the rest of this entry »

Imagine yourself one year from now, thinking, “Wow! What a ride 2011 has been! I wanna go again!”

Is it easy to imagine that? Or is the sarcastic part of you jumping in right away, snorting, “Well, if it’s anything like 2010…”

How has the past year treated you? Did good stuff happen to you? Or not so good stuff?

Notice how above questions address you like “a victim”. Someone, who things happen to. Someone who can only react to what life offers him or her.

Would you like to keep reacting in the new year, or would you like to take ownership of your life and just scramble up the very word “reacting” by simply moving the “c” to the beginning of the word…

What would you like to create for yourself in 2011? Read the rest of this entry »

“Can we only keep our good employees by giving them a raise or are there other ways?”

I was asked this question today by a manager who works for an organization that couldn’t give raises to their staff in a while, due to the financial crisis. Here is my response:

People do not only have a need for money – there are other motivational drivers that are way more important (as long as they have enough money to cover their basic needs – see Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs or Dan Pink’s Talk on “The surprising truth about what motivates us”).

Employees want to feel heard, they want to be respected for who they are and what they know and they want to feel valuable by making a difference. So my recipe for your particular situation is this:

1. Share & Communicate openly

Explain to them that you are aware they haven’t received a raise in a while and that you can’t foresee when you’ll be able to give them one. Give them reasons for it. The “why” is very important (in as much as you can, without giving away confidential information). If it “makes sense” to them, it will lead to acceptance.

2. Make your staff feel valuable & appreciated

Tell them how much you appreciate them and that you’re concerned about them leaving. Tell each individual what you appreciate them for, so they all go, “Wow, my manager DOES see me and recognizes my talents, knowledge and needs.”

Do NOT generalize, as in “You’re all appreciated.” You need to reach every individual, even if you speak to them in a group meeting.

3. Involve them Read the rest of this entry »

I recently posted on the Virtual Anja Facebook page how a client went from “F%$& 2010! Bring on 2011!” to “Thank you, 2010. Welcome 2011.” in one of our sessions.

I was taking her through a process of reviewing the past year and making inspired plans for the next one.

Normally I only do coaching programs with a minimum of 6 sessions, but seeing how fast valuable insights and positive change can happen sometimes, I decided to offer a special package of only 3 sessions just for this purpose – to help you make the coming year your best one ever and to kick start it with a positive outlook and bucketloads of inspiration!

No, I will not call this package The Bucket List

What will our three sessions be about? Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a great Wall Street Journal article by Mike Michalowicz on involving the significant others of your employees into motivating those same employees…

What would it do for your employees if they came home to partners every evening, who tell them, “Wow, you’re so lucky to work for that company!”

What would it take for you to achieve that? Get some ideas here.

Recognize the significance of the significant others

Find out what and who is important to your employees.

Respond.

This comes straight from today’s newsletter of manager-tools.com. I agree 100% and have nothing to add…

Smiling At Strangers

I spend a lot of time in other company’s offices. And that means I walk up and down hallways, and make eye contact with people I don’t know. I’ve been doing this for 20+ years, and about the only thing that’s changed is the dress codes. One of the things that hasn’t changed, even though I had hoped and wished it would, is how so many people look right at you without smiling. For some it’s a personality thing, for some I’m pretty sure they’re engaging in a power move: “I don’t have to smile at you, I outrank you.” Regardless, though, it’s all ineffective. It happened to me recently. I was in a hallway, and walked right by a guy. He looked right at me, looked into my eyes, and gave no indication that he had seen anyone. He certainly didn’t smile. He acted as if I didn’t even exist.

An hour later, though, he knew I existed. Read the rest of this entry »

You know I get Steve Chandler’s daily messages straight in my inbox every day, and sometimes they are just too good to keep to myself.

Here’s today’s message – sooo related to what we’re doing here.

I co-wrote a book with Duane Black called The Hands-Off Manager.  Duane is an inspiration. He taught me to think of life as a mathematical equation.

I first saw the fun and benefit of this when I solved the equation of life on two flip charts in front of a grateful gathering of managers. Read the rest of this entry »

Don’t you just love it when you learn something new about yourself? When you get a new insight and suddenly everything makes sense?

Well, today I found out I’m an Audi. Yes. An Audi.

Yesterday I got a great exercise from Marie Forleo and Laura Roeder, which asks you to think of 2 or 3 brands that you admire. This helps you to determine which values are important for you in business and to check if in fact you are incorporating them in your own business. Read the rest of this entry »