How to overcome procrastination

Most people are guilty of procrastination at work for one of a variety of reasons:

• The task is difficult or unpleasant so you either don’t want to or don’t know how to do it
• The task is a small one, it won’t take long and can wait until later
• The task is huge, it’s difficult to know where to begin
• The task is low priority, you will do it when you’ve finished more urgent things
• If you delay the task, it might not need doing at all
• You don’t want to run out of work; you might look expendable.
• You do your best work under pressure so let’s wait for the task to become a more urgent matter

To deal with procrastination, focus on the result, not on the process. Think about how satisfying it will be to get that monkey off your back and do this any time you start to feel unmotivated or negative about the task.

If you are tempted to leave the task thinking if you ignore it for long enough it will go away then you are taking a risk. It could suddenly become something that needs top priority and you end up having to start from scratch to get it done quickly – meaning the quality suffers. 

Try the following recommended techniques for overcoming procrastination:

• Tackle the job you least want to do first thing when you get to work. You will experience a great sense of achievement and the day can only get better after that.

• If you’re not sure how to do the task, analyse exactly what information you need and where to get it. Seek help now rather than on deadline day when no one is around.

• The task may be simple but sometimes the unexpected happens and you have no contingency time left. Schedule a start time for the task on your ‘to do’ list and get it done.

• Break down large tasks into manageable chunks; scheduling each with both a start time and finish time, and tick them off on completion.

• You may believe you do your best work under pressure, but this attitude can convey an arrogant disregard for others whose input or participation is needed. Set a new earlier, deadline to allow for any unavoidable delays.

• Promise yourself a reward on completion of the task. This works well if you are a ‘towards’ person – someone who is motivated by moving towards the attainment of targets and goals. This is also known as a pleasure motivator.

• You may, however, be an ‘away from’ person, in which case, the painful consequences of not completing the task may be so dire that they give you a real kick-start to get it done. To activate this kind of motivator, imagine the worst consequences of not doing the task, and then multiply the seriousness of these consequences 100-fold. Not surprisingly, this is known as a pain motivator.

• Finally, you could set yourself a challenge. Decide how long you are prepared to work on this task for and then use a digital timer to count down the minutes until it alerts you with a ‘ping’ that your allocated time is up. This works particularly well with mundane tasks such as filing or a housekeeping activity on your PC. You will find yourself competing against the clock to see how much you can achieve before the time goes.

There is an unwritten law around the concept that work expands to fill the time available. However, if you do complete all your workload, this leaves you time to be proactive and seek new opportunities that could enhance your career and professional standing.

Post courtesy of People Alchemy – for access to the Alchemy for Managers online resource visit http://www.peoplealchemy.co.uk/catalyst

 

Feedback or criticism?

One source of feedback that we all use, when available, is other people. We notice how other people react to what we are doing. Their reaction might be positive, negative, planned or spontaneous.

Whatever their response, or lack of it, we will draw conclusions about what that response means. We are then likely to modify our behaviour based on those conclusions, especially if we consider the other person credible. Feedback drives us to change.

We modify our behaviour based on the conclusions we draw about someone else’s behaviour. How do we know our conclusions are correct? How do we know for sure that their behaviour was in response to ours?

Maybe that smile was a sign of approval for our actions, or maybe our actions just reminded them of something funny, or maybe they were daydreaming about a joke from the pub last night and didn’t even notice what we were doing.

Unintentional

Most feedback we get from other people is unintentional: that is, they don’t have a planned outcome in mind. They just react, and we then react. It is an informal process, but nonetheless very powerful.

As a manager, you need to be conscious of this power, and to be aware of what your body language and behaviour might be saying to people, because they will use it as feedback. To improve your informal feedback to others, you should be consistent in your approach and behaviour. 

Intentional

A small proportion of the feedback we receive from other people is given by them on purpose. And this kind of personal feedback can be incredibly useful.

In an ideal world, the other person gives us valid and useful information about what we are doing with our best interests in mind. In a less-than-ideal world, we sometimes get criticism.

Criticism

We all know about criticism and the damage it can do to us – to our confidence and self esteem. But what is criticism and how is it different to feedback?

The simplest way to tell the difference is to consider whom the comments will benefit. Are they for the benefit of the giver or the receiver?

Feedback is for the benefit of the receiver. Its purpose is to help them grow and develop, and reinforce positive behaviour or actions.

On the other hand, criticism always benefits the giver. In most cases, it is done to make the giver feel in some way superior to the receiver. It is often negative and judgemental. It is in many cases subjective rather than objective and it is usually destructive.

Types of feedback

• Purposeful feedback can be divided into two types:

• Positive feedback

• Constructive feedback.

Positive feedback

Positive feedback is also known as ‘praise’. This type of feedback is mainly used as a motivator. It recognises the good work that someone has done and rewards them for it.

Constructive feedback

Constructive feedback is letting someone know that they did not do something in an appropriate way, or that they did something incorrectly. The message is constructive and helps the individual to improve, rather than just being a message about what they shouldn’t do.

 

Time Management – how you can be more efficient at work

Time is something we all have and that, famously, waits for no one. “I just haven’t got the time” is a common workplace complaint and it can be frustrating when everybody wants a piece of your time, tasks start to build up and it can become overwhelming.

So, here are some tips and on how you can better manager your time, get more things done and ultimately feel more satisfied at the end of your working day.

Group and prioritise your activities

• Use lists. Create a list of all the activities you are involved with and put them into groups/categories
• Prioritise. Think about what your main objective is and which group is most important in terms of achieving that goal

Make a daily To Do list

• Get into the habit of updating it at the same time on a daily basis. Remember, human beings are habit machines so do this regularly and it will become second nature.

Set your priorities 

• Label them as High, Medium and Low Value and keep the list in a prominent place  where you will always see it and it’s always accessible.

Tackle each item based on its value, starting with the High ones

• It is also a good idea to have a list of small tasks to be completed for when you need a break or you have some spare time – which you are sure to have when you follow these time management tips!

Make sure you limit your To Do list to one that is achievable for that day

• That way you will have that overwhelming sense of achievement when you finish work at the end of the day.

Don’t put off the things

Don’t be tempted to postpone the tasks that you dislike and, by the same token, include things you do enjoy. It will help give you the juice to keep going.

Allow for unexpected interruptions

• Have a contingency plan in place for those interruptions which are unavoidable. If you deem any of them unnecessary then see what can be done to minimise them or at least the chance of them happening.

Set time limits

• For when people ask for your time such as a meeting request, and be firm about it. If it’s not suitable offer up an alternative solution such as a different day.

What do you find works well when it comes to time management? We’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.

 

The role of the manager in employee engagement

Employee engagement is not only affected by how the organisation as a whole treats and values its staff, but by all the interactions an employee has in the work place. Managers have a significant impact on employee engagement; they play a key role in sustaining it and undoubtedly can also turn it off.

Think about two roles that you have had: one where you loved going to work and performed at your best and one where you didn’t want to go to work, underperformed and frequently looked for another job.

What was it in each case that supported the way you felt about that role? Was it a great manager or a poor manager? Was it the role itself that you felt passionate about and were interested in? What did the organisation do to support staff? Was there anything else in the role that was affecting your performance?

Armed with the answers to these questions, you’ll have a clear view of some of the key requirements for employee engagement.

Below are some more practical tips for ways to support employee engagement and maximise your team’s performance. So that you can decide where to concentrate your energies, take time to consider in which particular areas there is room for improvement within your department or team. There is plenty of more detailed information in several topics.

The following tips are by no means exhaustive. These are just some ideas about what managers can do to engage with their staff as a team. This can be expanded to all your interactions with other staff in the organisation and your customers too.

Communicate

Talk to your team about what’s happening in the business, about work in the team and, importantly, them as individuals. Get to know your team members and what is important to them; don’t just play lip service to this – they will know if you are faking an interest, so be genuine!

Remember they are all unique, just as you are, so they might not like the same things, feel the same way or want the same things! Failures in communication can often arise because it’s too easy to assume that everyone else thinks as we do.

Hear them – listen to what they say, seek their thoughts and don’t just dismiss their views, opinions and ideas. 

Make time for your team – ensure you are available to members of your team when they need you and help them to find their way around the organisation.

Have fun!

This might sound odd, but having fun at work breeds excitement and energy and these are some of the key signals of engaged employees. Imagine an excited employee talking to a customer versus a disheartened employee talking to one – which customer do you think would come back again?

Development

An important part of your responsibility as a manager is to take an interest in developing the individuals in your team, making sure they feel valued, they have the opportunity to hone their existing skills, acquire new ones and generally feel a sense of purpose.

• Actively support them in their development, seek opportunities and ways to help them grow and reach their goals. If you don’t know what their goals are, find out!

• Empower them to make decisions and take ownership of projects

• Trust them to do the job and to come to you if they need to

• Ensure they have everything they need to do the job and do it to the best of their ability

• Be flexible, open to new ideas and ways of working

Post courtesy of People Alchemy – for access to a the Alchemy for Managers online resource visit http://www.peoplealchemy.co.uk/catalyst

 

We could be heroes: Self coaching and how to go about it – Part 2

Self coaching is a very useful tool and if used correctly and appropriately can be very effective in helping you take the initiative and make a positive change. If you missed Part 1 of this blog post, it can be found here.

Now we will continue to look at what tools you can use for self coaching. 

Action Learning Sets

An action learning set is a group of individuals who gather together over a period of time to explore a particular topic. Between meetings, the members of the set go away to explore issues back at work that are related to the topic. They then bring their experiences to the next meeting and discuss them with the whole set. Coaching yourself can assist you in getting the most out of an action learning set and vice versa.

During a 360 degree feedback process

Some organisations use either ad hoc or regular 360 degree feedback processes. If you are actively coaching yourself, this is likely to assist you in completing the 360 degree questionnaire, getting the most out of the feedback from the whole process and acting on it to further develop yourself.

Mentors (real or virtual)

This might be someone within or outside the organisation that can act as a mentor. You can test out with them the ideas and reflections that have come from your self coaching. Nowadays, mentoring can be face to face, on the phone or via email. 

You might be asking what virtual mentors could be. Well, even if you don’t have an actual mentor, or if you cannot contact them when you need to at a particularly challenging time, there is an exercise that can help you to tap into a mentor’s wisdom. Virtual mentors are people who you call on in your mind, rather than in reality. They could be dead, alive, fictional or real, mythical, historical, known to you or famous. Your mentor could even be an animal: for example, some people have a courageous lion or wise owl as a mentor.

The following exercise works well if you have a decision to make or are facing a difficult problem. You can do it either in your head or on paper, and it can work very well if you walk around and step into the different mentors’ shoes. The latter tends to be the most effective way of doing this exercise, so you will need a private space for it.

Exercise

Step 1	Think about the issue or question you are facing.
Step 2	Think of three virtual mentors whose wise words about this particular issue you would like to hear. Perhaps mark a space with paper on the floor where they would stand.
Step 3	Take one of the mentors and step into their shoes, onto the piece of paper on the floor. As you stand in their shoes, imagine you are them. From their perspective, look at you, back where you were first standing. From their shoes, give yourself some words of wisdom, encouragement, support and/or inspiration to help you in the situation you are facing or the decision you are making.
Step 4	Step back into your shoes and take on board these wise words.
Step 5	Repeat steps 3 and 4 with each of the other two mentors.
Step 6	When you are back in your shoes, take on board the wise words from all three of your mentors. Then look up and visualise yourself acting on these wise words.

If you want more information on our coaching courses, or indeed any of our leadership and management seminars and workshops, visit our website or you can speak to one our team on 0207 436 3636.

Post courtesy of People Alchemy

 

NLP – how can it help you succeed? Part 2

NLP, or neuro-linguistic programming to give it it’s more intimidating title, is all about changing the way you approach situations, they way you think about them and then your behaviour in dealing with them. Ultimately, the end goal is use certain techniques in order to be more successful in everything you do.

Part 1 can be found here for the first six presuppositions of NLP or remaining six.

7. People are not their behaviours.

This means that you accept the person, even if their behaviour is unacceptable to you, given your map of the world. If the behaviour is not useful to them, you can support and assist them to change that behaviour.

There is a distinction between self, intention and behaviour. We often get these muddled up. Take the time to separate these, especially in difficult situations with other people.

Consider how you would want others to view you. How many times have you done something and thought later ‘I don’t know why I did that. It just wasn’t me’?

8. People have all the resources they need.

People do not lack resources. They can, however, experience  less resourceful states where the resources are out of reach. This means that in a different and more resourceful state, they can accomplish whatever they choose.

9. If someone else can do it, then I can do it.

If someone can do something, then, barring physical limitations, it is possible for anyone. There are no limitations to a person’s ability to learn. 

10. The part of a system with the most flexibility will have the most influence on the system.

This is the sometimes called the Law of Requisite Variety. It means that the more choices you have, the more options you have and therefore the more likely you are to be successful within the system you are operating in.

11. There is no failure, only feedback.

If a person does not succeed in something, the key is to learn something; treat what’s happened as feedback and thus do something different next time around.

Consider failure as simply meaning that you have not succeeded yet, and make it an opportunity to learn. Failure is just a label for the result you did not want, but it is a label with a sense of finality and dead end. Feedback is another label for the result you did not want and it offers hope of eventual success.

12.If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got.

So if what you’re doing isn’t working, do something else!

And remember, it is easier to change your own behaviour than anybody else’s.

True?

Remember, we are not saying that all these are true, though they might be. We are simply saying that they are a useful set of beliefs that offer you a more successful approach to life, an approach that will bring improved results if you act as though they are true.

 

NLP – how can it help you succeed? Part 1

NLP, also known as Neuro-Linguistic Programming, essentially is just a way of thinking. NLP has identified a set of beliefs that have proved useful; in other words, it has been observed over time that you and I will get better results if we act as though these beliefs are true.

Have you noticed that some people get consistently better results in their lives than others? Ever wondered how they do it?

You probably already realise that it is largely about their approach to life, their way of thinking about life. So, what do they do that is different?

Presuppositions of NLP

1. The other person’s model of the world deserves respect.

In NLP, the set of beliefs we develop over time is called our ‘model of the world’. Since we each develop our own model of the world, based on our own experiences, our model is true for us.

Another person’s model is equally true for them, and just as valid as ours. It thus deserves respect in the same way that we would wish them to respect our own model. It is not our responsibility to change another person’s model of the world through an attempt to convince them that ours is better. 

2. The meaning and outcome of communication is in the response you get.

We are generally taught that if we clearly communicate our thoughts and feelings through words, the other person should understand our meaning. We know from experience, however, that this does not always happen. The only way you can determine how effectively you are communicating is by observing the response you get from the person you are communicating with. If you get a response that indicates that they did not understand, then your communication was faulty. You therefore need to find a different way to get the concept across.

Acting as though this is true means that you accept 100 per cent of the responsibility for effective communication. You cannot ‘blame’ somebody else if your communication does not succeed.

3.The map is not the territory.

The model of the world which we create is what we use to navigate through life. We use it like a map to navigate through our reality. The map we use is not the actual reality, any more than the map in your car is the real countryside. It is simply an incomplete representation, which includes inaccuracies and errors, just as your road map can get out of date and not show absolutely everything that is there.

Each of us acts according to our personal map of reality, not reality itself. We operate and communicate from our maps. Most human problems are caused by the maps in our heads. Think about this; it is easier to change the map than the territory.

4. The mind and the body affect each other.

The mind and the body are one unit, fully interconnected. It is not possible to make a change in one without the other being affected.

5. People are doing the best they can with the resources they have available.

People set out to do well, not poorly. We do the best we can with what we have at the time in the way of resources.

6. Every behaviour has a positive intention.

A person’s behaviour has a positive intent for them at the time of the behaviour. From the perspective of their map of the world, the behaviour makes sense and seeks to provide a benefit.

The intention behind a behaviour may not be obvious to others or may not be considered positive by others.

Consider how things would be different if you assumed that everything anybody did was for a ‘good’ reason. Good by their standards that is.

I will post Presuppositions of NLP 7-12 later in Part 2

Post courtesy of People Alchemy

 

Successful communication is a two way street

There’s no doubt about it, effective communication is a two-way street – it needs a sender (speaker) and a receiver (listener) and both of these people have responsibilities.

Effective communication means the receiver has understood the message conveyed by the sender – otherwise there is no point in communicating at all. Whether or not the desired outcome is achieved is a reflection of how effectively the information was passed on.

For all the statistics that go around about how much of what we communicate is non-verbal (body language and the like) there is still an awful lot of importance to be placed upon the words we choose when speaking to one another.

The thing to remember is that each person will, to some extent, have their own interpretation of the words they hear. Many other factors come in to play as well – just imagine how much you can completely alter the meaning of a sentence just by changing the following:

• Tone
• Pitch
• Volume
• Pace
• Emphasis
• Inflection
• Intonation

Now back to that old chestnut of body language. Consider the following and their potential impact on the listener:

• Facial expression
• Stance
• Posture
• Gestures
• Proximity to receiver
• Eye contact

As I said before, the person on the receiving end has a responsibility as well. It is important to be an active, rather than passive, listener. Show that you are interested in what is being said by using:

• Posture – keep it open and lean in slightly towards the other person
• Questions – encourage them to clarify their points
• Repeat back to them what you understand their message to be

Matching and mirroring things like posture, mannerisms and the type of language they use also helps because it gives the impression you are more in sync with the other person.

Catalyst deliver courses in soft skills such as effective communication which can help you and your business become a more harmonious and efficient environment. Our website can tell you more about our ILM accredited leadership and management courses as well as our FREE interactive workshops:

http://www.cbduk.biz/Book_Leadership_workshop.asp

 

A business has to deliver quality – but what does this mean? Part 2

Organisations are in the business of delivering quality and in this post we aim to look at what this means in practical terms.

In Part 1 we looked at we looked at how your business can deliver quality through things like preparation, encouraging a customer focus and considering competitors. Here in Part 2 we begin by looking at…

Assessing current performance 

You need specific data. This will help you decide what to concentrate on, and estimate the work involved. You may be able to get it from an existing management information system, or you might need to do some fresh analysis.

For example, you might want to reflect on the things you think you are especially good at (or not), and the effect of external influences on how you might address those characteristics. A useful technique for doing this is SWOT analysis, although there are others, such as the RADAR^® self-assessment tool, which is used within the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Business Excellence Model.

This process should give you valuable insights, but it will be an internal perspective. Surveying customers, suppliers and employees will all add fresh dimensions to your view – provided you ask questions that matter to the organisation and prepare the ground so people believe you really want to know the answers.

If you intend to use corporate statistics, look under them to check they tell you what you think they do, and that what they measure matters. 

Decide which aspects of your business to improve

What you tackle first will depend on your business priorities, your position in the company, and the time and resources available.

Find some areas for improvement that people will notice. Some that will capture the imagination of people in different levels and functions of the organisation. Some that will signal change to customers and/or suppliers.

People sometimes say the first thing to tackle is those few processes at which you really must excel. This is as true of a small team as it is of the whole company. You may know them as Critical (or Key) Success Factors (or even Mission Critical Factors). The idea is that these are vital to achieving your business aims and objectives, so tackling them will make the greatest difference to your business results. That’s true, but you might like buy in some expertise you can trust, or to get some practice first.

Tackling a cross-section of issues with high, medium and low priority, including some easy targets, will develop and maintain vital motivation while enabling you to attend to the issues that matter to the company’s results.

Plan your action

You might be working within your own area. You might have been offered responsibility for some or all aspects of quality improvement across part or the whole organisation. It doesn’t matter. Planning and (if you can) delegating the work will make life a lot easier. It’s much like any project.

If there are several projects going on, someone should coordinate work. Whether it should be you or someone else depends on circumstances. Only you can decide that.

If you’re in charge of a programme or project of any size, you’ll need to allocate resources. Even if you’re going to do it all yourself, you’ll need to know what resources are available and what you are responsible for. It is normal to make sure people are clear about their responsibilities, what they have to deliver by when and that they have the skills and motivation to do so. Check out how things are going at sensible intervals, and offer your encouragement and support or get help, or whatever is needed, when appropriate.

It makes sense to include project tasks in job descriptions, particularly if people are working on the tasks part-time. You should also incorporate work on the project into the normal performance management appraisal and accountability system.

It makes sense to identify (and take steps to minimise) the risks, and make contingency plans in case things do not go as expected. This basically involves imagining what could go wrong with each task, assessing which are the most likely or potentially calamitous setbacks, and thinking up alternative ways of reducing the risk or dealing with the fall-out if it happens. The advantage is having time to propose sane solutions when you are not under pressure because it has all gone horribly wrong.

All interested parties should regularly be told what’s happening. It is important to establish at the outset what the key stages are at which to check in with the team, and when and how to report progress and obstacles to senior management.

Remember it should be a two-way conversation though, not a broadcast. If you don’t attend to this, rumour will take over. Unless you control any tendency to broadcast, you might find conflicting or negative messages circulating, instead of positive ones. Then you will get bogged down in dealing with whinges, instead of getting on with the job.

Training may be needed, for you or your colleagues. It’s helpful to consider the cost of external trainers and the time ‘off-job’ of trainees. For example, it may suit your circumstances to pay for external training for a small core of employees, who would then be expected to train/coach their colleagues.

Some will just need to understand the concept. Others may need technical skills, if they are likely to use ‘quality techniques’ in their work. Some say that everyone should know about the techniques. It can send helpful messages about openness and common purpose if delegates on a course come from various levels in the company.

Post courtesy of People Alchemy

Catalyst Business Dynamics deliver have a reputation for delivering courses that develop many of soft skills mentioned here. For information on what we offer or to book a place on one of our FREE interactive workshops check out our website: http://www.cbduk.biz/Seminars.asp

 

A business has to deliver quality – but what does this mean? Part 1

You will have heard at people say that business is all about delivering quality. But what does “delivering quality” actually mean? How can you play your part in that and where do you even begin?

Here are some tips and insights to help you understand more about delivering quality within your organisation:

Prepare

You may have some formal responsibility for quality improvement. On the other hand, it may be going on around you. Either way, especially if you have some managerial or supervisory role, you can influence the developments more effectively if you prepare yourself and others around you. In quality speak, become a Quality Champion.

The point is not only to increase your own influence, but to positively affect people’s attitudes. This is because, if techniques are the vehicle of improvement, people’s attitudes are the fuel. Only once you have fuelled the corporate atmosphere with motivation and involvement is it time to redesign the systems and perhaps the organisational structure.

Sell the idea within your work area

Whatever your role in the organisation, it will be an uphill struggle if your colleagues are pulling in opposite directions. So it makes sense to start with internal communications and meetings. Having continuing conversation with (rather than broadcasting to) employees and other interested parties is a key part of preparing the ground. The idea is to engage everyone’s creativity and commitment, without which any attempt at quality improvement is, at best, likely to turn into a box-ticking exercise.

Overcome resistance 

You may notice this in colleagues or in yourself. People may have natural anxieties. Their fears may be about having to change roles and learn new skills, or even about actually losing their jobs. For example, will it undermine your/their own position if you encourage more junior staff to take on more responsibility? Their fears will be real to them, whether or not they have any foundation. Either way, it’s important to talk about these things openly. Then you can deal with the issues, and they will not remain hidden and festering.

Talk to people about what is happening. Become informed about the things you don’t know. Share what you do know with colleagues. If you have responsibility for launching a quality initiative, be aware that grand launches can be counter-productive. Some places have tried way-out fun razzamatazz launches with great success, while others have tried the same to the horror of their employees. You can start the ball rolling with some low-key techniques.

Become a role model

Your personal behaviour and working style will influence everyone around you. Even if your company has no quality aspirations, you can improve results just by the way you act. If you have any formal responsibility for quality, you will find progress much easier if people trust you. Good ways of influencing others in this respect are to

• Walk the talk
• Focus on results and what enables them to be achieved
• Minimise the bureaucracy/documentation (making it more flexible, where sensible)
• Encourage everyone to
  • think about the procedures and how they might be improved
  • be open about things that ‘went wrong’
  • take responsibility for their actions
• Recognise people’s contributions, whether through formal appraisal and reward, employee of the month schemes or a simple word of acknowledgement.

Whatever suits your context, do it, and keep doing it.

Encourage a customer focus

Help your colleagues to raise their awareness of the needs of whoever uses the result of their work, and to seek to meet those needs. It’s often the simple things that count in changing attitudes.

Involve customers in the process

At the very least, conduct surveys to find out what they would consider quality or excellence in doing business with you. You might also wish to consult some of them about your procedures and products. This reinforces their relationship with the company, and encourages future sales.

Talk with key suppliers 

They will feel part of the show if you take them more into your confidence. You might want to share training with them. That sort of thing can reduce the volume of defects markedly, and they are more likely to help you out in a crisis.

Consider competitors

It may seem weird to talk cooperation with competitors, and there will be areas of commercial sensitivity. Nonetheless, there will be many areas of mutual benefit, and the concept is the basis of benchmarking – a technique for learning from others by comparing notes in a structured way.

Post courtesy of People Alchemy

In Part 2 we will look at assessing your current performance, deciding where to improve and putting an action plan into place.