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Apr 23, 2019
1 min

Give Your Staff a Voice

Article: http://bit.ly/Feedback-HBR This short study by the HBR shows the effect of allowing staff the opportunity to provide feedback. As well as reducing quit rates, it has also been found that those who are given a voice work better. Face-to-face with key and other staff is obviously best, but even a short online satisfaction survey has beneficial effects. With high employment and a shortage of skills nationally, could this be a quick win for you/your company? #Engagement

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Ian Kirkby

Oct 12, 2018
1 min

The Number 1 Quality of Great Managers

It is well known that working practices have changed rapidly and will continue to do so. In an age of flexibility, cross-departmental/-national team-working and increased autonomy, managers have had to expand their skills from resource planning and allocation to include much more in the way of leadership. Specifically, the ability to motivate their teams to achieve more with less is what marks out great managers, and a key element to doing this is by coaching. This may sound

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Performance Review Biases - And How To Avoid Them

Ian Kirkby

Jun 21, 2018
1 min

Performance Review Biases - And How To Avoid Them

Performance reviews get a bad press these days. However, they can still be a great tool if done properly and used as part of an ongoing performance review and management system rather than as an annual quick-hit or box-ticking exercise. The article linked below explains how to avoid common biases. One of the key lessons I learnt from the NLP Business Practitioners Course is that 'people like people like them'. That's understandable, but good leaders see beyond that and gain a

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Ian Kirkby

Jun 11, 2018
1 min

Asking Great Questions

The ability to ask great questions is a key leadership skill: they unlock/reveal information, stimulate thinking and boost engagement. Knowing how and when to ask closed ('yes' or 'no') and open questions will empower your leadership. Here's an article that expounds the subject: https://hbr.org/ideacast/2018/05/ask-better-questions Aspire MCL can help you develop coaching and analytical skills. Call us on 020 3904 7501 to learn more. #Coaching #Engagement #Communications #Mee

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How to Manage an Employee who Always Makes Excuses

Ian Kirkby

Mar 15, 2018
1 min

Employee Surveys are Still Important

They used to be common but a modern trend is to use computer algorithms to measure metrics such as email response times to gauge employee engagement levels. However, surveys remain a hallmark of high-performing HR systems. They serve at least 3 useful functions: they are great predictors of behaviour, they give employees the chance to feel heard, and they can be a vehicle for changing behaviour. I meet many leaders who are convinced they are doing a great job and are leading

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Ian Kirkby

Feb 7, 2018
1 min

Have a Nice Conflict!

Healthy conflict or opposition is essential to generating better ideas and securing buy-in. I find this tool really helpful in promoting it (and in helping to prevent unhealthy (personal) conflict). Get in touch for more information on how to generate great discussions and enjoy productive meetings: enquiries@aspiremcl.com #Engagement #ConflictManagement #Meetings #Management #Leadership #Teambuilding

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Ian Kirkby

Jan 16, 2018
1 min

Creating Executive Team Norms

Your team already has its norms. The question is: Does it have the norms you want? It's down to the leader to ensure the answer is 'yes'. Here's a short article that will help you to set them and make them stick: https://goo.gl/gojBmB #ExecutiveLeadership #Meetings #TeamBuilding #Leadership #Management

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Ian Kirkby

Jan 10, 2018
1 min

Leaders Make Hard Decisions

It seems that managers DO put off hard decisions if there is no competition or accountability: https://goo.gl/Fght73 Lots of applications in light of this finding. Good leaders will make those hard decisions (and be prepared to have tough conversations). #ActionCentredLeadership #Management #Leadership #Effectiveness

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Effective Leadership - Tip 9 - Make Time for your People.

Ian Kirkby

Jan 2, 2018
1 min

Effective Leadership - Tip 9 - Make Time for your People.

Despite the costs in money, time, stress and effort, too many firms still rely on 'stick and carrot' (put in that order intentionally) motivational methods rather than sound leadership. Interactions between leaders and their teams are usually formal and brief. However, making time for your people when they need you will not only save your time in the longer run, it will foster many other positive spin-offs. Most people leave firms not for more money, but to get away from thei

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Effective Leadership - Tip 6 - Always Exercise Accountability

Ian Kirkby

Nov 28, 2017
1 min

Effective Leadership - Tip 6 - Always Exercise Accountability

Once you have made a decision and allocated the tasks, always hold people to account for delivering. To do so, it is important that they are clear about what is required and have adequate resources (including time) to do so. It is usually helpful if they have had a say in delivery targets as well. Of course, things may change, and the original goal may no longer be desirable and require amendment or cancellation. If that decision has been made below your level, that’s fine (a

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Effective Leadership - Tip 5 – Learn to Coach and Mentor.

Ian Kirkby

Nov 22, 2017
2 min

Effective Leadership - Tip 5 – Learn to Coach and Mentor.

Coaching and mentoring are 2 essential tools in the leader’s arsenal. The vast majority of large, successful companies now expect their managers to be able to use these skills to motivate and develop their teams. This results in much higher levels of employee engagement with attendant business benefits (higher profitability, lower staff turnover, greater agility, etc.). Coaching is used to help the coachee articulate the root cause/s of the problem and generate solutions to a

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Ian Kirkby

Nov 21, 2017
1 min

What is Conflict Costing Your business?

What is unhealthy conflict costing your business? Here's a tool to help you quantify: https://goo.gl/5qmdHq Aspire's programmes help reduce unhealthy (personal) conflict and PROMOTE healthy (issues-based) conflict to get buy-in. Call 020 3904 7501 for more information. #ConflictManagement #TeamBuilding #PersonalDevelopment #StaffDevelopment #Management

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Ian Kirkby

Nov 14, 2017
1 min

Effective Leadership - Tip 4

Delegate effectively. There are 2 main errors leaders can make: delegate too little, too late and continue to micro-manage, or delegate too much and to the wrong person. Both are very damaging. The first error severely limits the both individual and organisational capacity. It also ensures that ideas and staff engagement will be sparse and condemns the manager to, at best, a stressful tenure. The second error lacks control, puts the subordinate in a difficult position and car

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Ian Kirkby

Nov 10, 2017
1 min

Why Bother With Teams?

Simple but useful reminder on how teams help businesses: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-teams-matter-jo-keeler/ Belbin is a great tool for facilitating the right mix of team skills and it is particularly effective when used in conjunction with other behavioural/psychometric tools such as DiSC and TSDI. As always, good leadership is the glue that holds it all together. Call Aspire Management Consultancy Ltd on 020 3904 7501 for more information. #TeamBuilding #Productivit

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Ian Kirkby

Nov 8, 2017
1 min

Effective Leadership - Tip 3

There are many exciting aspects to leadership: making decisions, growing your staff, setting the vision, etc. Communicating the same message again and again may not be one of them, but it is no less important. Studies show that employees need to hear a message 7 times on average before they really believe the senior management means it and that it is important. Many an organisation has launched a bold new strategy with great fanfare only to find that little really changes in

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Ian Kirkby

Oct 30, 2017
1 min

Effective Leadership - Tip 2

Be consistent but tailor your style. It is important to be even-handed and consistent when dealing with your team whilst also understanding that each person is an individual with different motivations and preferred behaviours. The good leader will behave consistently and apply common, high standards when holding others to account or praising them for their behaviour. However, he will tailor his style according to the needs and preferences of individual team members (also taki

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Ian Kirkby

Oct 9, 2017
1 min

Effective Meetings - Tip 10

Okay, as this is the last in the '10 tips' series for meetings, here are 2 to finish with: 1. Debrief with self and others after a meeting. What went well, what didn't work? How could you do it differently next time? Of course, this is a really helpful thing to do not just after meetings but after pitches, projects, programmes, etc. It's amazing how many companies have to relearn the same lessons because they don't review. Incidentally, choose objective and constructive peopl

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Ian Kirkby

Oct 2, 2017
1 min

Effective Meetings - Tip 9

Be prepared. Lots of aspects to this, of course, but I find it helpful to focus on the following 2 activities: Research the attendees by checking out their profiles on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Then, look at the wider picture: For example, if they are representing other companies, what are the big issues and opportunities those other companies are facing? This is particularly helpful during sales meetings: If you can show an awareness of your potential client’s motiva

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Ian Kirkby

Sep 18, 2017
1 min

Effective Meetings - Tip 7

Save yourself a lot of time and stress by managing communications properly: Ensure the agenda is sent out in good time to allow people to prepare and have the minutes distributed as soon as possible after the meeting whilst all is still fresh. Maximum is usually within 5 working days, but the shorter the better. ALSO, and crucially, before everyone rushes off at the end of the meeting, spend a little time summarising the decisions and agreeing what will be communicated across

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