Category: Management Notes

Creativity is something which cannot be taught as well as not something you are born with either. But it certainly is the most important part of any brilliant innovators success. When talking about creativity the conversation can’t be constrained to artists like musicians, dancers, painters, etc. It is a broader term under which multiple segments flow and it includes everyone from a school student trying to embellish his school project to an entrepreneur with his budding brilliant idea. But why some turn out to be amazing while some fail? Well there are several factors that influence one’s creativity, have a look at them and find out why you are so creative or why you are not. It also includes the reason why one’s creativity levels fluctuate.

• Experiences: Experiences are a key player in creative thinking, the more you experience more influenced you get. These experiences define your ideas and creativity which are presented through your work.
• Fearlessness: Fearlessness is a major factor having impact on one’s creativity. A person who thinks that he is not creative can never be. Having doubts is ok, but being worried about the success of an idea clearly shows that you lack faith in your ideology. Experts say ‘Be fearless with your creativity and you’ll open more doors for new ideas.’
• Desire: Desire is factor of creativity which is often overlooked but it is as vital as any other criterion for growing as a creative individual. Science bluntly states that, if you simply don’t want to change things (or solve problems or inspire others or do new things) then you won’t.
• Atmosphere and Environment: Yes! It all about the world around us. Atmosphere and environment both go hand in hand to influence an individual’s creativity levels. ‘Environmental Factors Affecting Creativity and Innovation’ says: Although innovation and creativity can emerge in a variety of settings and situations, some environments are more conducive to the creative process. In one large study, it was found that having a vision, being task-oriented, and engaging in external communication had a strong relationship to creativity and innovation.
• Space and Time: Productivity may increase under pressure but creativity has no positive influence if the undisturbed space and right amount of time is not provided. John Cleese’s talk on creativity states: That having a start and end time to keep your creative space open is essential. Without a dedicated time block, it is easy to leave a creative mindset to focus on trivial matters that are easier to deal with than to take the time to do things that are important. It also takes time to get into your creative mode.He says that you must realize that it will take time to achieve something truly original and creative. There is a sense of discomfort.

Creativity can be enhanced through many creative techniques. In fact, creativity can not only be enhanced but also directed and focused on a branch of study or craft. For example, people in sales and marketing may utilize a different set of creative techniques, as compared to those in quality management.

Attempts to enhance the creativity in the minds of people can be put under two important classifications:

Techniques suited to enhance creativity in individuals, and

Creativity enhancing techniques for a group of individuals, which suits the needs of the working force.

Improving creativity for individuals is the act of enhancing the powers of intuition and removing mental blocks, such as fear of criticism and ridicule. At the basic level, enhancing creativity in work circles is not possible without first enhancing team building. This will bring a change in group dynamics and will pave the way for creative thoughts and innovation.

All group creativity techniques can be applied to individuals successfully. That is because Creativity is an attribute of an individual person, however it can be developed more efficiently in a group or a team because individuals need to interact with other individuals to express their creative ideas and make a practical working model based on it.

Creativity

There are many computer-based creativity supporting tools, such as artificial intelligence models, information systems, etc. which can be used to enhance creativity, explore alternatives to fixed ideas and to encourage imagination.

Analytical Techniques

Analytical Techniques involve a linear approach to thoughts as in a sequence of steps to follow. A prime examples of this technique will be the “Wh-question” technique, where the participant is encouraged to carry his thought forward by asking him leading questions such as, “Who, What, When, Where, Why and How). These questions are known to stimulate different directions of thought and help in organizing all the points of these thoughts under one context or narrative.

Intuitive Techniques

In comparison, Intuitive Techniques are less structured techniques, where the instructor has the option to skip a few steps and allow the participant to give a whole answer at the end, as per his narrative. It is often compared with the “Wishful Thinking” technique.

Divergent and Convergent Thinking

Thinking

A third classification of creativity, apart from the Analytical Approach and the Intuitive Approach, is dependent on Divergent Thinking and Convergent Thinking.

Divergent Thinking is the process of encouraging generation of free-flowing ideas, which are then channelized in different directions depending on the requirements of the process.

In contrast, Convergent Thinking is all about filtering all the free-flowing thoughts generated during the Divergent Process and subjecting them to further filtration to single out those ideas that have a truly innovative and practical value.

Both these thinking processes are complementary and help people find numerous alternatives to seeing the same situation and finalizing the one that can be implemented. Caution must be observed in comparing divergent thinking with combination thinking, which may sound the same but are different.

In combination thinking, the conflicting ideas of people are put in a coherent context, so that everyone agrees to the final suggestion without feeling that his/her idea has been stifled or compromised with.

An individual needs to possess certain skills for effective managerial communication.

• Body Language and overall personality of an individual play an essential role in effective communication. It is essential for managers to express their thoughts in a positive way. Remember shouting at team members and quarrelling with them lead to no solution; instead make the situation all the more worse. There are several other ways of expressing your displeasure. Make sure you do not lose your temper while communicating. Take care of your pitch and tone. Speak in a convincing way for people to understand what you intend to communicate.
• People generally like to communicate with someone who is nicely dressed and presentable. No employee would ever like to communicate with a shabbily dressed manager. Be an idol for your team members. It is really important for managers to dress well for co workers to look up to them. Clothes must be clean and ironed properly and you really need to create that much needed first impression.
• Take care of your facial expressions and gestures. A smile on your face will attract employees and they would readily come to you to discuss their problems.
• Be Honest. Pass on information to your team members in its correct form. Playing with information and data tampering lead to ineffective communication. Communicate directly with your team members rather than appointing middle men.
• Speak Relevant. The choice of words is really very important in verbal communication. Do not use slangs and abusive words in your speech. Loose talks must be avoided at the workplace.
• Be Focussed. Know what you intend to communicate. Managers must prepare their speech well in advance before addressing their team members. Do not communicate just for the sake of communicating. Deviating from the topic only confuses recipients. Managers must ensure their team members are able to understand them well.
• Be Confident. You must believe in yourself for others to believe you. Learn to stick to your words. It is really important for effective managerial communication. Never be low on self belief.
• The pitch and the tone need to be taken care of. Do not be too loud or too soft. A manager must know how to keep a control on his anger. Stay calm and composed. Do not overreact.
• As a good manager, you ought to be impartial towards all your team members. Giving special attention to one of your team members just because he is your friend is something which is not at all expected out of a good manager. As a manager you are responsible for all your team members and you need to interact with them on a regular basis. It is your duty to address their grievances and problems. Be available to them and let them express themselves.
• Know when to communicate. Avoid calling your team members at late evenings or early mornings. They would never pay attention to your communication and the message gets diluted. Prefer not to interact with them during lunch hours unless there is an emergency.

Tips for Effective Managerial Communication

It is essential for employees to communicate effectively with each other for better understanding as well as increased productivity at workplace. Employees doing everything on their own are generally overburdened and eventually fail to deliver their best.

Effective managerial communication enables the flow of information and knowledge among employees in its desired form. Managers need to interact with their team members to extract the best out of them. Problems remain unsolved if employees do not communicate with each other. Discussions go a long way in reducing confusions and also improve the relations among employees.

• Remember a manager’s task is not only to sit in closed cabins and shout at subordinates. He needs to interact with his team members on a regular basis. Speak to your colleagues more often. Find out what they are upto? Treat all your team members as one. There is absolutely no harm in taking lunch with your team members. This way you tend to discuss lot many things apart from routine work.
• Promote the concept of morning meetings at workplace. Morning meetings help you interact with your team members on an open platform where everyone has the liberty to express his/her views. Communicate with your team members and help them plan their day. Let them come out with their problems. Walk up to their workstations once or twice in a day.
• Increase your listening skills. A good listener is always a good communicator. It is really important to listen to the other person carefully before speaking. Interrupting a conversation breaks the momentum and the message loses its impact.
• Working in a team leads to effective managerial communication. Employees working in isolation hardly interact with their fellow workers and superiors. Make sure your team members discuss things amongst themselves and work together. Instruct them to keep you in the loop as well. The employees must mark a cc to their immediate reporting managers to keep them updated of the latest developments at the workplace.
• Master the art of writing emails. Also train your team members how to write an official mail. There is a huge difference between a personal and official mail. The subject line needs to be relevant for people to open the mail.
• Do not call your team embers one by one for any kind of communication. Address them together.
• Think before you speak. Make sure whatever you communicate is relevant. Avoid using complicated words and terminologies in your speech. The message has to be clear and precise for effective managerial communication. Be straightforward and communicate clearly as to what you expect out of your team members.
• No communication is complete unless the message is understood clearly by the recipients. There should be absolutely no room for confusion in effective communication. Once you are through with your speech, give some time to your team members for them to ask whatever they have not understood.
• Never communicate at a noisy place. Choose conference room, meeting rooms or any noise free zone for communication.

Communication is an essential skill in business and in life. It’s important for employees to be able to clearly send and receive messages with one another to work efficiently, reduce misunderstandings and meet business goals. Businesses should diagnose communication problems, reduce the barriers to effective communication and create an environment where open communication is valued.

Identify the Barrier to Effective Communication

If your employees are having issues communicating with one another, it’s important to figure out the root cause of the problem. By doing so, you will be better equipped to outline the solution and prevent such miscommunication from taking place.

There are several different kinds of barriers that lead to a communication gap in an organization:

• Physical barriers. Cubicle walls, closed doors and geographic distance can make it difficult for employees to communicate.
• Perceptual barriers. People’s experiences frame the way they perceive the world, which means employees may perceive certain elements differently. This can lead to misunderstandings.
• Emotional barriers. Employees may be fearful, nervous or distrusting of other employees, and as a result may not communicate clearly.
• Language barriers. Language applies to both the language spoken in the workplace, as well as to the terminology used by certain groups of people. Technical terminology may sound like jargon to someone who is not familiar with that industry.
• Cultural barriers. Cultural norms of behavior affect the way people speak, both verbally and with body language. Employees may not be familiar with other cultural norms.
• Interpersonal barriers. The way an employee feels about herself may affect how she interacts and communicates with colleagues.

Set Employees Up to Communicate Successfully

After identifying the cause of the communication breakdown between your employees, it’s important to set up infrastructure within your organization that enables them to succeed. In many organizations, communication training can help employees to work better with each other and with customers. If the marketing department and the product development department are having communication issues because of the use of jargon, for example, communication training can show employees how to use words that both groups will understand.

A communication gap in the organization may exist because employees don’t know which communication method is right for the task at hand. An employee might set up a face-to-face meeting when the message could be sent via email, for example. Or an employee may send an instant message when a phone call would have been a better choice. It’s critical for the organization to coach employees to use the right communication method for the messages they want to send. This way, employees can reduce miscommunication and increase productivity.

Prevent the Communication Gap in Your Organization

To reduce the number of communication gaps in the organization, it’s important for employers to create and enforce communication policies. These guidelines help employees understand what is expected of them in the workplace. Communication policies should cover how to use the various methods of communication available, what kind of language to use in the workplace, how often to communicate on specific kinds of projects and who to communicate with.

Your workplace culture can help to reduce the communication gap in the organization as well. If the company invites open and honest communication between employees, and the leadership team leads by example, then the front-line employees may feel more comfortable and empowered to communicate effectively with each other.

Employers should consistently monitor the effectiveness of employee communication and develop strategies to improve upon it. For example, if the sales department often has issues with people missing targets because they weren’t aware of the specific goals, it could be there is a gap in communication. As a result, the management team should sit down with the department members to assess their communication protocols and channels and provide processes to improve the situation.

Know Your Audience

Learn as much as possible about the audience and the event.  This will help you target the insights, experience or knowledge you have that this group wants or needs:

• Why has the audience been brought together?
• What do the members of the audience have in common?
• How big an audience will it be?
• What do they know, and what do they need to know?
• Do they expect discussion about a specific subject and, if so, what?
• What is the audience’s attitude and knowledge about the subject of your talk?
• What is their attitude toward you as the speaker?
• Why are they interested in your topic?

Choose Your Core Message

If the core message is on target, you can do other things wrong. But if the message is wrong, it doesn’t matter what you put around it.  To write the most effective speech, you should have significant knowledge about your topic, sincerely care about it and be eager to talk about it.  Focus on a message that is relevant to the target audience, and remember: an audience wants opinion. If you offer too little substance, your audience will label you a lightweight.  If you offer too many ideas, you make it difficult for them to know what’s important to you.

Research and Organize

Research until you drop.  This is where you pick up the information, connect the ideas and arrive at the insights that make your talk fresh.  You’ll have an easier time if you gather far more information than you need.  Arrange your research and notes into general categories and leave space between them. Then go back and rearrange. Fit related pieces together like a puzzle.

Develop Structure to Deliver Your Message

First, consider whether your goal is to inform, persuade, motivate or entertain.  Then outline your speech and fill in the details:

1. Introduction: The early minutes of a talk are important to establish your credibility and likeability.  Personal anecdotes often work well to get things started.  This is also where you’ll outline your main points.
2. Body: Get to the issues you’re there to address, limiting them to five points at most.  Then bolster those few points with illustrations, evidence and anecdotes.  Be passionate: your conviction can be as persuasive as the appeal of your ideas.
3. Conclusion: Wrap up with feeling as well as fact. End with something upbeat that will inspire your listeners.

You want to leave the audience exhilarated, not drained. In our fast-paced age, 20-25 minutes is about as long as anyone will listen attentively to a speech. As you write and edit your speech, the general rule is to allow about 90 seconds for every double-spaced page of copy.

Spice it Up

Once you have the basic structure of your speech, it’s time to add variety and interest.  Giving an audience exactly what it expects is like passing out sleeping pills. Remember that a speech is more like conversation than formal writing.  Its phrasing is loose – but without the extremes of slang, the incomplete thoughts, the interruptions that flavor everyday speech.

• Give it rhythm. A good speech has pacing.
• Vary the sentence structure. Use short sentences. Use occasional long ones to keep the audience alert. Fragments are fine if used sparingly and for emphasis.
• Use the active voice and avoid passive sentences. Active forms of speech make your sentences more powerful.
• Repeat key words and points. Besides helping your audience remember something, repetition builds greater awareness of central points or the main theme.
• Ask rhetorical questions in a way that attracts your listeners’ attention.
• Personal experiences and anecdotes help bolster your points and help you connect with the audience.
• Use quotes. Good quotes work on several levels, forcing the audience to think. Make sure quotes are clearly attributed and said by someone your audience will probably recognize.

Be sure to use all of these devices sparingly in your speeches. If overused, the speech becomes exaggerated. Used with care, they will work well to move the speech along and help you deliver your message in an interesting, compelling way.

Career awareness describes your career attitudes, knowledge and your life’s experiences. Career awareness is using all of these considerations when making active decisions about your career.

Your level of career awareness will directly influence how important and impactful the Power Moves you make will be.

The best and most talented jobseekers prioritize applying to companies that are known to have solid career development programs.

Therefore, these companies will not have much difficulty attracting applicants when they have an open position, because they will be lining up.

Boosting employee motivation and job satisfaction.

Employees who work in a company with a strong and positive stance on career development will feel more motivated to work. They will stay with the company, since it holds promise that there is a clear career path for them to follow.

Otherwise, they will simply look elsewhere for other, better, career opportunities. Their job satisfaction will be high, and this will have a domino effect on his individual productivity, and the overall organizational productivity.

Career development promotes equity in the workforce.

Thanks to career development programs, the playing field at the workplace may be leveled a bit. It promotes equity, where employees can have equal opportunities to improve themselves and advance their careers.

A similar situation is that of a multi-cultural workforce in an American company. The assumption would be that the American workers will have more opportunities to be promoted and rise up the ranks. But with a career development program firmly in place, even non-Americans can compete.

Personal traits and characteristics of the individual

People have varying personalities, and it is these differences that make others more responsive to career development than others. It is possible that someone who is too shy will end up advancing slower in his career in the field of marketing, as compared to someone who is outgoing and a go-getter.

Knowing your quirks and personality traits early on will give you a head start in your career planning and development. Today, self-assessment tests for purposes of career planning are being conducted for high school students so that, early on, they will have an idea what workplaces they are interested in, and what line of work would be a good fit for them.

Skills and knowledge

People who are skilled and knowledgeable about a job are the ones who are most likely to be hired by a company, while those who don’t may not even make it past the second round of screening.

This means that, for those who made it, their mental abilities aided their advancement in their career. For those who did not, their lack of skills and know-how served as a barrier to their career development.

Physical abilities

Physical limitations may also be hindrances to getting further up the career ladder. There are jobs that have specific requirements with respect to the physical abilities of the person who will perform the involved tasks.

Those who are able will have great chances for advancement; those who are not should look for other career paths that will match their physical abilities and accommodate their limitations.

Social and economic factors

An individual may have grown up wanting to become a physician. However, financial constraints and other socio-economic issues may have kept him from going to med school and getting the career that he originally wanted. Family situations and other similar circumstances are also factors that may impact an individual’s development in his desired career.

Some of the activities you should do to help you choose a career:

1. Perform a self-assessment.
2. Identify your must-haves.
3. Make a list of jobs to explore.
4. Research jobs and employers.
5. Get training (if you need it) and update your resume.
6. Find and apply for jobs.
7. Continue growing and learning.

Perform a self-assessment

Before making any important decision, it’s a good idea to take time for self-reflection. Choosing a career is no different. In this step, you’ll reflect on what kind of work environment you want to be in, what type of work you enjoy, who you want to work with, and more.

As you’re reflecting, you may want to write down your notes. These can be helpful references as when you’re evaluating job descriptions later on.

Here are a few questions to get you started. Try not to dwell on the questions for too long. Instead, write down the first thoughts that come to mind. If you’re not sure of some answers, trusted friends or family members may be able to guide you.

Self-assessment questions to consider:

• What are your key values?
  Example answers: Financial stability, helping others, independence
• What soft skills do you possess?
  Example answers: Time management, communication, confidence, problem-solving
• What technical skills do you possess?
  Example answers: Data analytics, planning, research, multilingual, photography
• What natural aptitudes do you have?
  Example answers: Writing, leadership, selling, project management, communicating, planning, technical problem-solving
• What’s your personality like?
  Example answers: Myers-Briggs (MBTI) personality type, quiet, outgoing, confident, aggressive, loyal
• What are you interested in?
  Example answers: Technology, writing, medicine, design

Identify your must-haves

Next, take some time to identify your must-haves in a job. These can range from anything like salary or travel to benefits and location. It might be helpful to return to the question-answer activity when recording what you can’t be flexible with when it comes to your career:

• Do you need to earn a certain salary?
• Do you require certain benefits like specific healthcare coverage or a certain amount of time off?
• Could you take a job that involved travel?
• Do you need to work in a certain location?
• Do you require any sort of flexibility to work from home?
• Do you need to adhere to a specific job title or level?
• Are there certain tasks you need to do or do not want to perform?
• Is there a certain work environment you cannot operate well in?

It is important to know what you need from a job ahead of time. For example, if you need to earn a consistent salary, you may want to avoid freelance work. Once you’ve determined your must-haves, you can use the research phase to determine jobs that might not work for you.

Make a list of jobs to explore

After understanding a bit more about yourself and your needs in a job, start looking for jobs that sound interesting or desirable to you. If there’s a job you don’t know much about, write it down and research it later. You may end up finding an interesting career path. Additionally, remember that job titles don’t always represent the actual job perfectly. While a title might not seem desirable, the job description might be a good fit for you. To start making your list of jobs, here are some considerations:

• Use your network. Do you know friends or colleagues with jobs that seem interesting? Tap into your network to explore jobs both they might hold, as well as jobs they think you may be interested in and/or good at.
• Find interesting industries. Is there a particular industry that seems appealing? Are you naturally drawn to a particular category of work like design, fashion, business or education? Think about friends, family members or acquaintances who have compelling or attractive jobs.
• Identify things you enjoy doing. Are there any activities or tasks that you love doing? These can be anything from designing presentations to organising information to working as part of a group. For example, if you enjoy designing presentations write down careers that might involve doing this type of work.
• List your goals and values. Consider where you want to be in two, five and ten years. Is there a particular title or level you want to achieve? Is there a location you want to be in or a certain lifestyle you want to have? Taking time to think about your future can help you identify jobs that will be a long-term fit.
• Evaluate your strengths and talents. What are you good at? Whether you identify soft or hard skills, determining your strengths paired with things you enjoy can help you find a career that sets you up for success.

Research and narrow down your list

After you’ve explored jobs that seem interesting, start researching each one to create a short -list of serious career possibilities. The goal is to arrive at one or two career paths that you’re excited about. You can use the following steps as a guide for your research:

• “A day in the life.” To get a better idea about whether a certain career might be a good fit for you, look into what the day-to-day responsibilities of each job looks like. Get example job descriptions and common tasks and responsibilities. You might also consider asking to shadow people in your network with jobs on your list.
• Salary. Whether you have a specific salary requirement or not, it might be helpful to learn about average compensation for the jobs you’ve identified.
• Job requirements. Before choosing a career, you will need to know what certifications, degree, training or other credentials are required. You might decide that fulfilling certain requirements isn’t a good fit for you. Thus, narrowing down your list to careers that are more suitable.
• Growth opportunities. It’s important to know if there is an opportunity for growth in your chosen career. This means the availability you’ll have in the career to advance, gain skills and take on more responsibility. Read job descriptions carefully to learn about job requirements and growth opportunities.
• Job outlook. Another key piece of information is how your selected job stands in the labour market. This includes data like hiring trends and job growth. Search for news stories about the industry or job title that interests you. You will want to give preference to jobs that have steady hiring and growth.

Get training and update your resume

Once you’ve narrowed your list down to one or possibly two career paths, you’ll need to assess whether you need additional training or credentials. While some employers are willing to provide on-the-job training, others will look for candidates who already possess their requirements. For details on a specific job, carefully review the job posting. Pay attention to sections labelled ‘Requirements’ and ‘Education and Experience’.
Once you’ve determined that you are qualified for this career path, update your resume to reflect your relevant strengths and skills. It can be helpful to explore job postings to understand what employers in your industry and position are looking for in candidates.

Find and apply for jobs

You can begin looking for opportunities on Indeed—on desktop or on mobile. To add filters, select the “Filter” button. From there, you can set your search distance, job type (full-time, part-time, contract, etc.) and experience level.
If you’ve successfully accepted a new job, we’d love to hear about it.

Continue growing and learning

As with any change, it can take time to adjust to your new career. During this transition time, pay attention to the parts of your job that you’re enjoying. You’ll continue growing, learning and changing as you understand more about yourself, your industry and what works best for you.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you step into a new career:

• Make the most out of your first year. In a new job, it can be overwhelming to take in new information, learn the industry and become an established member of the team.
• Keep track of your goals. If you are feeling uneasy or unsatisfied in your career, it can be helpful to go back to your future goals. If your career no longer aligns with what you want in your future, consider shifting your tasks or looking for other roles that might be a better fit.
• Pursue your interests. If there is a certain task, activity or role you particularly enjoy, spend time developing and exploring those interests. Following what you enjoy and are good at can help you advance in your career and get the most out of your day-to-day role.