Summary

All the information in this book is good common sense but, as they say, common sense is not very common! We all know what we should be doing; we just don’t do it.

We’ve explored the basic groundwork of attitude and approach and looked at the benefits that creating a positive environment can make to you as a manager and to your team. It will certainly focus them on what can be done rather than on the problems and setbacks. Just watching your own language to ensure it focuses on positive rather than negative messages will help create this environment. Make sure you are not preparing people for failure instead of setting the scene for success.

We have also dealt with focus and knowing where you’re going. This may seem obvious – but over many years I have come across very, very few companies that actually let their people know what they’re trying to do. There is often an expectation that they will just ‘know’, or, worse still, a belief that too much information is dangerous!

The importance of having goals and someone who will offer support throughout the change process cannot be emphasized enough. For a manager there is nothing that can be substituted for time spent gaining co-operation and ownership at the beginning. If it isn’t there to start with, everything else will be a real uphill struggle and it will need far more effort to keep everything moving forwards.

In order for your staff to perform at their best they will almost certainly need to gain additional knowledge and skills. Certainly, as time passes and responsibilities grow and change, there will be a need for more information and development of existing skills. Don’t just send them for someone else to force-feed information. Think about how they might best learn and use their preferences to get the best results in the shortest time.

Remember that there is a before and an after to training. Your input to this will make a real difference to the results you get – not in one or two percent terms, but in 80 and 90 percent terms!

Finally, prepare to develop yourself – be ready to move onwards and upwards and enjoy the challenges that will be yours if you really do grow your own achievers to carry on when you move up!