Six tips on how to question management without rocking the boat

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Nick Williams gives the community some good advice on how to be tactful with the management team.  Questioning the decisions your manager has made can be awkward, however with the right approach it can be done without rocking the boat. It is important to remember that a good manager will want you to show initiative […]

Gamification in modern day learning and project management

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Glyn Davies gives us some gamification advice for project management success. Techniques borrowed from games are now increasingly boosting corporate training. Research company Gartner has predicted [1] that more than 50% of organisations that manage innovation processes will ‘gamify’ those processes by 2015. Gamification is the use of game design elements and mechanics to enhance non-game contexts. […]

Coaching models explored: VISTA

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Tim Hawkes is back with another entry in this occasional series dissecting the industry’s popular (and not so popular) coaching models. I’ve written before in this blog about the uses and value of models in coaching, but I won’t apologise for repeating myself: Models are a great tool when coaching, particularly when you are fairly […]

Top tips for leading remote teams

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Martin Baker shares best practice from the Toolkit for Managers. Managing employees in different locations is an increasingly common challenge. These tips will help you support your remote team members. Create a team plan Creating and sharing a plan for your team will help prevent misunderstandings which may arise across different sites. By having a […]

TrainingZone interviews: British Safety Council’s Neal Stone

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Health and safety at work is more important than ever. We interviewed the British Safety Council’s Neal Stone to find out why. Health and safety regulation has changed considerably in the past few years.  How difficult is it to keep on top of these important changes? The regulatory requirements concerning workplace health and safety in Great Britain have undergone significant review […]

Assessing Performance – the devil is in the detail

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For many organisations, the annual performance review is just around the corner. This can be a formidable challenge for over-stressed managers with little time to complete the appraisal process. Assessing performance creates difficulties in getting the Appraiser and Appraisee to see ‘eye to eye’. When done right, the result can be a motivating experience for […]

The psychology of risk management in business

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Thinking of taking a few risks? Read Dr Lynda Shaw's advice first.  Psychologically, male and female leaders are programmed differently when it comes to risk-taking in business, but both are taking more calculated risks in 2014 following the battering the UK took in the last recession. Taking risks comes with its pros and cons – it […]

Job titles of the future

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Resilience expert Joao Bocas muses over a few future job titles. Today, having a job is not just a necessity but a question of pride and endeavour. If you think that 50 years ago the focus would be on a much needed wage to deal with hardship of life, this still applies today but its […]

Culture shock: Looking at Gen Y and their managers

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Sue Honore and Dr. Carina Paine Schofield from Ashridge Research give us some practical advice about how to engage Generation Y. A global survey from Ashridge Business School of almost 3000 managers and graduates shows that although managers admire the intelligence and energy of young professionals they dislike their strong focus on the self and […]

How do you double your workforce without chaos?

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Saeed Sheikh shares his experience of increasing the business’s workforce.  Doubling the workforce doesn’t mean doubling your headache. That’s not blind optimism; I know it can be done because I have done it myself in recent months. Opening a new office or doubling headcount in existing premises may seem like a recipe for stress, hassle […]

Coaching models explored: SCORE

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Read this latest entry in Tim Hawkes’s occasional series dissecting popular (and not so popular) coaching models. In this continuing series exploring coaching models, some are widely applicable, some are more specifically ‘business’ oriented, and some – like the SCORE model – are perhaps best suited to working with an individual who is experiencing specific […]

How to hold on to talent in tough times

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Martin Baker shares some good practice from the Toolkit for Managers. During periods of economic change, organisations must fight harder for survival and are dependent on top performers to give them the edge over their competitors. However, when the future is uncertain, the risk of losing key individuals is especially high. Here’s some practical advice […]

Coaching models explored: STAR

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Here’s the latest entry in Tim Hawkes’s occasional series dissecting popular (and not so popular) coaching models The STAR model The idea of working to a model is especially useful when starting out in coaching, as is often the case when an organisation starts to develop and build a coaching culture. It provides both focus […]

Want to build your business? Prioritise your project managers

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Project management is key to commercial success, but delivering the organisational bottom line depends on valuing and retaining people over skills, writes Lindsay Scott. In recent years project management has emerged from the traditional bastions of construction and heavy industry, permeating pretty much every sector. The Project Management Institute (PMI) predicts that we will need […]

Coaching models explored: POWER

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Here’s another entry in Tim Hawkes’s occasional series dissecting popular (and not so popular) coaching models. The POWER model The POWER coaching model owes much of its origins to gestalt methodology and uses the same gestalt to shape the coaching process. Perceive: Based on the present moment, perception is that to which you pay attention. In […]

Six digital roles you never knew existed

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SEO Rock Star? Dream Alchemist? Nick Williams looks at some ridiculous job titles. The rise of the internet has meant that hundreds and thousands of people now have job roles that didn’t even exist a couple of decades ago. It’s weird to think about what people would be doing as jobs if the digital world […]

Coaching models explored: Introduction

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In the first of a series of many, Unlimited Potential’s Tim Hawkes tells us about the myriad coaching models that are out there. Which one will pique your interest?   Coaching, whether as a one-to-one transaction or as part of an overall coaching culture, is a learned skill, and the learning process often makes use […]

Tips for managing effectively

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In today’s highly competitive business environment, being an effective manager requires a diverse set of skills. As such, if you have just been appointed to a managerial position or are currently serving as a manager and want to improve in this capacity, you should read the following from Alice Harrison. Managing your time To accomplish […]

How to make young people ready for the workplace pt2

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It’s a story that’s popping up across many different industries, but Kasmin Cooney has a few ideas of how to get the next generation workforce ready for action. Read part two of her feature here. Start with the end in mind Covey’s phrase ‘start with the end in mind’ is a good place to start. […]

How to use profiling tools successfully

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Profiling tools are rightly viewed with scepticism in some quarters, but Mike Cooney tells us how to use them effectively in conjunction with other methods. There are few activities in the learning and development world that have a more consistent and broad appeal than personality profiling questionnaires or psychometric tools.  The profiles of which reveal […]