Get Help To Eliminate Blockages In Your Business
Article date: Nov 4 2014
Marcus Straub
I introduced in my previous column several all too common
blockages most businesses confront in their pursuit of excellence and
success. I identified, defined and elaborated on these blockages and
some of the negative results these barriers bring to a company afflicted
with them. In case you missed it, the column appears on the Business
Times Web site at www.thebusinesstimes.com.
In this column, I’d like to continue where I left off by
asking some key questions. Did you use these last two weeks to become
more aware of the blockages in your business? If so, what barriers did
you identify? Did you come to understand where and why these blockages
to the smooth and efficient flow to your operations exist and how much
they cost you in real terms? Are you now solidly focused on eliminating
these blockages for good? If not, why not?
If all of this seems overwhelming or you don’t know where
to begin or how to go about addressing barriers to the success of your
business, you’re not alone. Answers and solutions exist, and that’s
where enlisting qualified professional help comes into the picture.
Communication: Ineffective communication poses a leading
barrier to personal and professional success. The first step in
overcoming the limitations inherent in poor communication is to become
an effective listener. While most people believe they’re excellent
listeners, that’s typically not the case. When individuals listen to
reply rather than to understand, their own mental agenda limits their
ability to take in the body language, tone and words necessary for
communication success.
Training team members to be effective listeners will
position them to realize, typically for the first time, just how much
information they’re actually missing. As this blockage is overcome with
training and persistent effort, miscommunications begin to disappear.
Professional assessments provide vital information that,
when applied correctly, position team members to understand their
differing communication styles like never before. When this newfound
understanding is combined with improved listening skills, gaps in
communication are all but eliminated.
Attitude: Positive team member attitudes are invaluable to
any business that wants to achieve lasting success. Most business
owners, however, hire for skill and fire for attitude. This discovery
takes time and, typically, corrective action is taken only after the
damage from extensive negativity has been done.
With the guidance of a qualified professional and proven
assessments, owners and managers can make informed decisions as to
whether or not a candidate should be hired in the first place. In
addition, these leaders can accurately gauge the potential return of
investing in the development of individuals with bad attitudes to help
them improve and become a solid member of their teams. Owners and
managers also can make solid decisions regarding the dismissal of a team
member who has a bad attitude and is unwilling to change.
Desire: It’s imperative that team members want to be
active, skilled and positive parts of the businesses for which they
work. When an individual’s motivation aligns with his or her position
and the vision of the company, success and job satisfaction become the
norm rather than the exception.
Understanding the keys to managing and motivating a team
member is invaluable to any manager who desires to bring out the best in
his or her people on a consistent basis. Assessing motivations and
using this information to help people be their best positions team
members and companies for greater success.
Talents and skills: How do you really know if the person
you’re hiring for a position truly has the talents and skills necessary
to perform the job? The truth is, most of the time you don’t. Using
statistically accurate and proven assessment tools allows you to know
with certainty the talents and skills a person possesses before you hire
them. This saves a tremendous amount of time and other valuable
resources.
In addition, professionally administered assessments
reveal where individuals have weaknesses in their skill sets. Whether
for a new hire or with a seasoned team member, engaging a qualified
coach with proven assessment and training skills can help these team
members develop their skills to become more productive members of a
successful organization.
When these and other blockages are identified and then
removed through professional assessments, trainings and coaching,
barriers to excellence and business success are eliminated. Team morale,
collaboration and customer service improves, costly errors decline,
customers feel genuinely appreciated and cared for and your business
will forever stand out in their minds.
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