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Category Archive: Training

Dec 10

The Principles Of Personal Success

Knowing what the ingredients of a successful life are is important in terms of our social, professional and personal lives. Taking these principles to heart will also ensure that we reach obtain the maximum benefit from all relationships that we forge on these three levels.

productivity-increaseHere are some of the principles that drive successful people:

  • Successful people know how to optimize what they have

They fully understand what their strong points are and the value these have in terms of their careers or business success. They know how important it is to develop their skills and leverage their strengths in their growth and development.

  • They know how to manage their energy levels

Successful people monitor and prudently ration out their energy. They do not depend on stimulants like coffee to get them going or depressants like alcohol to help them wind down.

  • They are firmly rooted in reality

Successful people spend their time and energy in things that can be controlled, like the present and the future. They know how to avoid impulses that relate to things they cannot control. In other words, they do not allow themselves to become resentful, complain, blame or engage in wishful thinking. They accept the difficult and harsh realities of life and know how to deal with challenging situations.

  • Successful people take responsibility

They understand that what happens in their lives is based on their own choices, not those of others. This means that they take responsibility for what has happened, is happening and will happen in their lives.

  • Successful people are consistent in their interactions with people

They know their weaknesses and strengths of character, and this helps them to change how they think, feel and behave with others. This allows people to feel safe and grounded in their presence.

  • They have a clear vision of the future

They know what they want and what they need to do to achieve it. They identify their goals, determine how to attain those goals and act accordingly.

  • Successful people know they have personal freedom of choice

They take this fact as a constant given, and not something that they need to earn. At the same time, they fully accept the responsibility that is part and parcel of this freedom. In other words, they feel free to make their own choices but are also completely willing to accept responsibility for the results of these choices.

  • They have developed the fine art of prioritization

At all stages and in all situations, successful people either know instinctively or reason out what is most important, what comes after that and what should come last.

  • They have inquisitive minds

Successful people are not satisfied with garden-variety or popular answers to certain questions. They have the ability to see beyond the obvious, discern the intricacies of a given problem and apply lateral thinking in finding solutions.

  • They are capable of change if the situation requires it

At the same time, they are also capable of remaining firm according to what a given situation requires. This means that they can admit that they are wrong and correct an erroneous course if required. At the same time, it also means that they have the strength of character to stand by their convictions if they know that they are right.

In short, personal success is based on self-awareness, self-acceptance and self-responsibility. A success-oriented mind-set requires great discipline and constant reinforcements. Because of this, you will invariably find success-oriented people attending whatever trainings, seminars, coaching opportunities and counselling sessions to maintain their focus and forward momentum.

Use the above as a check-list to determine if you are on the path of success. If you feel you are not, remember that it is never too late to change course and set sails in the right direction. All the best on your success journey!

Keep the faith!

Jappreet Sethi

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Jappreet Sethi

2 comments

Oct 08

Human Resources Jobs: Skills And Qualities

Human resource professionals are important personnel in an organization. This is because they contribute to the viability and the success of the business through the strategic organization of human capital. While most people think that ‘people’ skills are the main ingredient of a successful human resource professional, one actually needs to have a perfect mix of ‘people’ and technical skills. Most of jobs in human resources entail collecting data, dealing with complex paperwork, analyzing information, and presenting the findings of this information to the top management.

Human resource professionals require a clear understanding of applicable laws as well as of business administration. They also need to be very conversant with the goals and missions of their organization. Because of this, a majority of employers prefer hiring human resource professional possessing a diploma or degree in any field that is related to human resources.  The fields that are generally considered as related to human resource include commerce, business administration, industrial relation or any other social science.

Personal Characteristics

Hr Jobs call for a wide range of skills. A background in social sciences and a broad base of business skills and knowledge are particularly important. The best human resources professional normally possess excellent verbal and written skills as well as proficiency with computers and basic Information Technology. Not all HR jobs ask for all these skills; however, it is incumbent upon applicants to learn them as soon as possible after landing the job, or in specific training courses.

Human resource jobs fall in various categories such as selection, placement, recruitment managers, training and development managers, compensation and benefits specialists, labour and employee relations specialists and safety, health and security specialists.

Human resource jobs in the category of selection, placement and recruiting normally call for someone who is a good judge of character, is tactful yet self-confident and has excellent written, verbal and presentation skills.  HR professionals in such roles also need to be capable of ‘selling’ the organization, making cold calls and building relationships within and outside the organization.

Training and development specialists’ jobs require persons with excellent verbal, writing, and interpersonal skills. Such people also need a good sense of humour, a fertile imagination, cutting-edge knowledge in training fields and good understanding of the future knowledge needs of the organization.

Compensation and benefits specialists’ jobs require persons with strong analytical and quantitative skills, writing and verbal skills, knowledge of local and state level laws, a flair with statistics and the ability to communicate in plain language the meaning of statistical numbers.

Labour and employee relations specialists’ jobs require, above everything else, persons with high levels of integrity, the ability to speak comfortably with people irrespective of their education levels, negotiation skills and communication skills.

Lastly, health, safety, and security Specialists’ jobs applicants ought to possess outstanding levels of attention to details, honesty, communication skills and familiarity with the various human resources laws at the local and state levels, not to mention familiarity with regulatory agencies concerned safety, health and wellness.

Jappreet Sethi
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Jappreet Sethi

7 comments

Jul 25

Tips On Enhancing Team Effectiveness

Very simply put, a team is nothing but a system of getting people in a company to work together effectively. The idea is that a group of people working together can achieve much more than if the individuals of the team were working on their own. In a team, we bring together people who have different skills that somehow complement each other, agree on a common code of conduct, assign different roles in a group setting, create interest in the company objectives, help increase productivity and help the team solve conflicts without compromising work flow.

For world-class results in a corporate environment, a company needs to have teams that can face all challenges. Joint efforts always attain and generate the best results. Winning teams harness their members’ talents and energy to ensure that 1 plus 1 equal 3 or more. In short, when a team is working well, the total is far greater than the sum of its parts.

Being a member of a team not about being efficient individuals. The team must be singularly focused on the company’s objectives and goals. In a team-oriented atmosphere, an individual contributes to the overall success of the company by working with other team members to attain these objectives. Individuals are assigned specific tasks within particular departments, but they have to unite with team members from different departments to achieve the overall targets.

Once one has one’s teams in place, one must focus on creating enhanced teams to achieve the company’s targets. Team enhancement actions must match set targets – if they don’t, team leaders must question themselves to find out what is lacking.

Guidelines On Enhancing Team Effectiveness:

  • The leader should convey a clear message to the team members regarding the company’s expectations. He or she must ensure that the team members understand what the team has been created for and continuously underline these objectives via internal communications.
  • Team members must acknowledge their comprehension of and participation in the achievement of the company’s objectives. They must know how the team is supposed to help the company to achieve its targets.
  • The team leader must establish how many of his team members are actually interested in participating in teamwork, and how many tend to be ‘lone wolves’ who do not operate well in a team setting.
  • The team leader must ensure that all performing team members perceive their service as valuable to the organization. He or she must find out what it takes to keep the team motivated, and establish workable means of fulfilling reasonable expectations.
  • The team leader must ensure that the team members are sufficiently knowledgeable, skilled and capable to face the issues for which the team has been created.
  • The team leader must ensure that the team has appropriate resources, initiatives and support required to attain its goals. The organization must, in turn, empower the team with sufficient authority to accomplish its charter. However, team members must also understand their limitations clearly.
  • Sometimes, team members may do or say things that seem out of synch with the team’s overall mission and goals. This can result in resentment, confusion and lack of communication. If this happens, the team leader must establish how these words or actions were meant to add to the team’s ability to fulfill its set objectives. If the reasons are not immediately apparent, he or she should ask for clarifications to avoid clashes.
  • Team leaders must also have patience. Not all teams perform at 100% efficiency once they have been presented with their targets and objectives. Also, some individual team members may not move as fast as others, even though they do not lack capability or motivation. The team leader must take on the role of a mentor and ensure that such members have sufficient breathing space, nevertheless keeping them focussed on the deadline.
  • The team leader must plan team meetings meticulously. Meetings consume time and money as well as physical and mental energy. The team leader must optimize returns on that investment via clear objectives and meeting plans – and by copying all concerned on the agenda of the meeting in advance.
  • All team members should feel free to ask for help on a specific decision or task. There is no place for egoism when help is offered. Such an attitude creates better relationships and helps the team succeed faster. In this spirit, the team leader must also assign the right people within the team to make decisions, and the appropriate people to comply with those decisions.
  • Team members must share views, ideas, experiences and thoughts with other team members. Sharing is significant to team development, since a team is a compilation of uniquely thinking individuals. After accomplishment of a task or goal, team members must share the success as a unit.
  • There is no place for the blame-game in a cutting edge team. Problems will arise and must be seen as means to evaluate progress and obtain knowledge. Setbacks should never been seen as opportunities to accuse others.
  • Every team occasionally requires external expertise and help to move further. There must be no delay in doing so.
  • To achieve a common goal of success, importance has to be given to increasing the skills of team members, so training plays a large role in enhancing the effectiveness of a team.

Jappreet Sethi

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Jappreet Sethi

2 comments

Jul 11

How To Get Yourself Noticed At Work

Have your talent, potential and resourcefulness on the job gone unnoticed while those of other have been rewarded? Have others of equal experience risen on the corporate ladder much faster than you? You have probably not mastered the fine art of increasing your visibility at the workplace. Adeptness at getting noticed at work in a positive way is a major professional resource.

Increasing Visibility Vs. Self-Promotion

This does not mean that you should get busy advertising yourself, which would only make you unpopular. That said, you still need to become more prominent – albeit diplomatically – with the authorities. You do this by indicating that you are ready to contribute to the business in more responsible ways.

Obviously, a great deal of tact is involved in this. The last thing you want is to find yourself labelled as over-ambitious. Getting noticed at work begins with learning more about:

  • The business
  • The organization’s objectives
  • How the organization functions administratively

After familiarizing yourself with these aspects, your credibility quotient when approaching the managerial echelons increased multifold.

Experience Speaks Loudest

However, just knowing how a business works is often not enough – you need hands-on experience, too. Lack of this will show up, especially if an opportunity is given to you to prove yourself on the job. However, it may not be the best idea to experiment with untested management theories in a ‘live’ work situation.

The best way to gain experience is by:

  • Volunteering for charity work
  • Participating in a family business
  • Involvement in local charity or social/environmental improvement work.

Such work gives you a chance to acquire managerial and general people-related skills under non-threatening circumstances.

Effective Communication Skills

The degree of your communication skills has a direct bearing on the image and potential you project. Any business will value the presence of an employee who has good communication skills. These are most evident in one-on-one interactions and written communiqués (such as emails or even memos). The art of effective communication does not depend on getting noticed with the use of impressive words. Rather, it is reflected in your ability to get a point across as concisely, politely and clearly as possible.

Trying to get noticed at work by razzle-dazzling others with impressive terminology doesn’t work. That, and the use of complicated sentences, will only mark you as a snob. That’s not what you need to get noticed at work for.

Improved communication skills are useful while outlining your career objectives to your superiors, too. If you feel that your verbal technique needs working on, find some useful reference material to study and also observe how effective communicators around you handle themselves.

Creative Input – A Sure Attention Grabber

A tactical suggestion at the right time and under the right circumstances can work wonders. To get noticed at work, such a suggestion should not be trite or superficial. It should have a genuine bearing on a situation. If your input is valid in the context of overall business goals, you will get noticed.

A suggestion should not be centered only what you could do to resolve a given situation. A potential manager, team leader or supervisor can never be a one-man/woman show. The ideal suggestion involves team work.

Teamwork And The ‘Common Touch’

Have you taken steps to get noticed as potential managerial material? Well, now your interactions with colleagues will be evaluated by your superiors. You will be judged on:

  • Your willingness to occasionally get your hands dirty
  • You ability to take suggestions positively
  • Your resourcefulness in motivating people in the workforce

These are the traits that you get noticed at work for. The canvas on which you paint your new job profile is the shop-floor, not the director’s cabin.

Keeping Track Of The Highlights

Finally, keep a log of your work – especially the kind performed over and above the call of duty. This is both for your own reference as well as a record on which to make a pitch for promotion. You the right of getting noticed at work by your superiors for your noteworthy achievements. However, make sure that this is done discreetly. Most managers would be more than willing to give you a monthly appointment to review your performance. This is the best time to outline your professional goals, too.

Your objective in getting noticed for possible managerial post in an organization also matters. If the idea is plain one-upmanship, it will show up as a black mark on your record. The idea should always be to be an asset to the company and be justly rewarded for being a valuable resource.

Jappreet Sethi

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