Leadership | Teik Oh

Decluttering Your Business

Feb 02 2015

Every now and then, it’s time to declutter!

Whether it’s your home, your office, or your life, over the years you build up “stuff”. When you buy that cute vase or an extra office chair or you accumulate responsibilities, it all builds up. Personally I find it refreshing to just get rid of stuff from time to time.

It clears your mind, there’s less visual and intellectual junk to manoeuvre around, and you can see fresh and new ways to move on and ahead.
Well, decluttering works in your business as well.

Think for a moment, and I’ll bet you will recognise the clutter that has built up around you without your knowing it. Management guru Peter Drucker said “much of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to work”. This is so true. Management demands better (or is it more?) communication so our email inbox is bulging, we are in touch 24/7 on smart phones and tablets. Management is careful to avoid inefficiency, so everything is check-listed, and has to be signed off step by step adding layers to “efficiency”. Management is all about planning so half our day is filled with meetings. Management is all about achieving goals so we end up with endless objectives and to-do lists to tick off.

Some of this clutter in our business lives is actually a necessity. Read More

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Communication – Part #172

Jan 30 2015

I talk about communication a lot, which is why this is probably part 172!

However joking aside communication is probably one of the most critical skills anyone in business, or working in a customer-facing role must master.

It is communication that allows you to convey your vision to your team and to your customers. It is communication that leads people, communication that melds a team into a productive group of people working as one, rather than a group of individuals working “together”. It is communication that builds trust in you, and it is communication that tells your customer you are on his side.

In “Communication – Part 172″ (and I am being facetious) I’d like to deal with how professionals communicate with their clients. I have already written elsewhere about how you should avoid jargon, but this time let me talk about how communicating your skill needs more than knowledge about your skill, it needs experience about how your skill is used to help.

Let me set the scene.
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5 Steps to a Happier and More Productive Workplace

Jan 26 2015

These are lean times. Many businesses are letting go of staff and expecting greater productivity from those left. Businesses that have resisted the temptation of cutting costs by cutting the salaries bill also need to make sure the team is more effective than ever.

A productive and effective business is comprised of team members that are both happy and productive.

So, how do you create such a workplace?

Indeed, there are “happy” places, but not all are also productive. The trick is to ensure that workplace satisfaction, or “happiness” is linked to the creation of an effective and productive workplace.

While there are studies that list 6 or 10 or 12 factors, I believe the following 5 are the key factors to create a workplace that attracts and retains the most effective and productive staff.

1. A workplace with a strong Vision and Mission, and which values reinforce pride in membership.
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How to Prepare a USEFUL Strategic Plan

Jan 19 2015

Does this sound familiar?:-

It is about 5 years since your company did its last strategic plan, and you, or your Board have been reminded that it is good governance to renew it. You can’t actually see a reason to do it in practical terms – the economy has been what it is and the business has been doing what it can. After all, was your last prediction of the future any good?

Nevertheless you decide to do it. You hire a facilitator and ask for a quote. When the facilitator (if they are worth the money) asks for preparation time that may include research into your industry and company, along with interviews with stakeholders, and prices her quote accordingly. You receive the quote and negotiate it downwards, removing these “extraneous” tasks and leaving the task of facilitating a day’s workshop and writing it up.

You organise a day’s retreat for the Board and senior staff. You hold the meeting, everyone has a good time away from the office, you all contribute to discussion and feel satisfied that you have thrashed the issues. The facilitator writes up the plan, you review it and “implement” it.

In a few months, the exercise is forgotten.

Familiar?
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Why Teams Fail

Jan 12 2015

Many articles have been written about how high performing teams are formed.

My personal favourite is the “PERFORM” model, which is about:-
PURPOSE – high-performing teams share a strong sense of purpose
EMPOWERMENT – members collectively have a sense of power and feel that they have the necessary skills and resources to get things done
RELATIONSHIP – members have strong relationships, open and honest communication, and accept leaders’ moderation of conflicts
FLEXIBILITY – Individuals in the team share responsibility for leadership in a given situation and can fulfill different tasks that the team need to move forward
OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE – there is evidence that tasks are accomplished quickly and effectively through use of problem-solving skills and the use of each others’ differences in perspective
RECOGNITION – members respect and appreciate the membership of others and individual and collective accomplishments are frequently recognised by each other and by the leaders
MORALE – members feel pride and excitement about membership and confidence is strong.
On the other hand, less is written about why teams fail. Indeed, you can say that teams fail because they do not possess all of the above 7 characteristics, and you would be right. However team failures are often caused, not by lacking in positive traits but more by possessing negative behaviours.
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Category - Leadership

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Decluttering Your Business

Communication – Part #172

5 Steps to a Happier and More Productive Workplace

How to Prepare a USEFUL Strategic Plan

Why Teams Fail