Reviewing my Blogs for which ones are generating any value

Reviewing my Blogs for which ones are generating any value 

I created this Blog to sharing a variety of articles that I was writing.

To date 106 posts

according to e Blogger

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but only 1 follower

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Alan

WHY EMPLOYEES DON'T DO WHAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO DO PART 1 OF 4

WHY EMPLOYEES DON'T DO 
WHAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO DO
PART 1 OF 4


thank you to all of you who have VIEWED this BLOG over the past few years and any NEW ones recently.

I set up this BLOG to share ideas and knowledge I gained from 1980 to 2010 while I gave Keynote speeches, concurrent sessions, workshops from 90 minutes to 1/2 day to full day to 6 or 7 to 10 day long programs and then taught a 40 hr masters degree course that covered these topics:

Coordinating:      Leading Styles & Skills
Communicating: Styles & Skills
Collaboration:     Teaming
Conflict
Cre8ng:               Creative Thinking & Problem Solving

other commitments diverted my time,

001 - Why Employees Don't
         Do what they're Supposed to Do

I found this book back in 1990 and used it as a topic of discussion
in my longer programs to get supervisors to managers to leaders
to talk about their understandings of Why or Why Not Employees Do or Don't Do What They're Supposed to Do.

It led to several interesting discussion.

Perhaps sharing 4 of the author's discoveries a day will start some discussion among you.

He claimed to have found 16 different reasons in the 1980s.

Perhaps there are more today in your workplaces.

1.  They Don't Know Why They Should Do It.

2.  They Don't Know How to Do It

3.  They Don't Know What They Are Supposed to Do

4.  They Think Your Way Will Not Work

Discussion Questions

Who is to blame for these reasons?

What might supervisors, managers, team leaders, leaders
do to correct for or eliminate these reasons?

#5of 50 It is usually little things that stop creativity

#5of 50 It is usually little things that stop creativity. http://www.cre8ng.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Little-Things-Can-Stop-Cr.pdf

here is the article...


Little Things Can Stop Creativity

No money can stop a creative project.
No resources can stop a creative project.
No support can stop a creative project.

Yes major things or forces can stop creativity. Yet when we look at the history of
invention or in general the history of new ideas we can discover that these major forces
truly do not stop the devoted, committed, dedicated creation person.

No money, resources, support did not stop:

Ghandi
Mother Teresa
Charles Goodyear
Harriet Tubman (underground railroad during the Civil War)
Henry Ford
Chester Carlson (inventor of the Xerox process)

nor many others from the distant or recent past.

One key difference for them was their determination. Yes eventually money, resources
and support came or was acquired. They enabled the creative person to take their idea and
turn it into a larger and larger solution.

Yet the little things are what stop most of us from utilizing our creativeness long before
we get to tapping the big resources for future giant success or breakthrough.
While reading Alexander Lockhart's book: POSITIVE CHARGES, recently I came
across the following item:

#79

Understand there is only a letter difference between change and chance.
It got my attention as another small thing that often stops my creativeness or the
creativeness of others I know and work with.

Being creative produces change. Many to most people resist change or at least resist
being "changed". Being creative often requires that we take a chance or chances. Being
creative requires that we venture into unknown territory and chance failure.
To be more creative we need to accept change and chance and that with either the other
will occur. If you change something you take a chance of potential failure. If you take a
chance change will normally be the result. Examine the changes your ideas will produce.
Explore and test the chances you will be taking. Do not change or chance stop you.
About a 18 months ago I had an aha that came from another small difference. While
teaching Fundamentals of Marketing courses for the American Management Associations
one issue that I stressed, similar to many presenters, speakers, and professors; was that as
Americans we tend to be REACTIVE rather than ACTIVE or better yet PROACTIVE.

An emphasis and purpose of marketing and marketing plans is to help people take charge
and be PROACTIVE.

Often becoming PROACTIVE requires many paradigm shifts for individuals,
departments and entire corporations or even industries.

The "Aha" I had was a simple change. Instead of being REACTIVE, simply rearrange
one letter in the word and become CREA TIVE or creative. I have always found it much
easier for people to be creative than for them to change and stop being reactive to become
proactive.

Still another simple change has to do to a major barrier to success or creativeness. That is
"limitation".

I can't be creative I can't draw. I can't sing. I can't dance. I can't understand computer
software. I can't. I can't. I can't.

If you are a fan or reader of motivational books you no doubt have read the quote always
accredited to Henry Ford....

"If you say you can or you say you can't, in either case you will be right in the end"
(paraphrased)

Making the philosophic choice could be a simple chance that would greatly affect your
creativeness.

That is not the simple change I am referring to related to "limitation".

Look at the word "limitation". It has 10 letters. 9 of the letters are the root cause why so
many people are not creative. The 9 letters spell "imitation". Too often we copy, mimic,
reproduce and do not think for ourselves and create.

Still another simple change can be discovered by examining the word "RECREATION".

Back up in linguistic history and respell the word as it would have been originally spelled
as a hyphenated word...

RE-CREATION

Re creation. Creating again.

Many highly creative people discover that when they experience "a blank wall", "writer's
block", "creative staleness" or other forms of creative blocks that if they simply stop and
take time to recreate they will then be able to re-create and re-tap their creativeness and
move on.

Graham Wallas referred to the space between the second and third stages of his creative
process as a good time to relax and play or recreate. By doing this you allow your
subconscious to work on the challenge and provide you an aha or enable you to be in a
state that makes you open to discovering an aha.

Oz Swallow in 1978 shared a simple change that has major implications and effect on the
creativeness of people. One night as a group of 100 or more people crowded into a small
classroom at Buff State College during the Annual CPSI meeting, Oz encouraged us to...

"Change the metaphors in your life."

He followed by explaining that all words in all languages (nouns, adjectives, and adverbs
used as adjectives and possibly verbs) are metaphors. They are not the thing or action but
rather a word referring to your interpretation of it. Therefore he suggested that we
examine the words we use. See them as metaphors. Then change our metaphors. Or
change our definitions.

An example I have used with students from elementary school to college and with
participants in workshops of a range of ages was the one

"I Can't Draw"!

First we clearly defined the word draw as making lines, shapes, marks, or shaded areas.
In turn the results could be used to represent existing or imaginery things. Then we would
redefine the act of drawing as the making of lines, shapes, marks, or shaded areas with
materials such as pencils, pens, chalk, crayons, etc using our hands, feet, arms, teeth, etc
to hold them.

The simple change in this case is establishing a realistic defintion and comparison. Most
people tend to compare themselves and their actions or skills with the "giants" in the
particular field such as art, music, dance, engineering, etc.

To learn to draw is a simple act.

To learn to draw at the level of a major artist is generally not.

Still one more simple change that can be discovered by examining the word we use. Most
to all of us have problems with daily communication. The root cause for most of us is
poor listening, either on our part or the other person's.

The change. To improve your communication listen. To better listen simply re-arrange
the letters for the answer.

listen becomes silent!

Therefore to improve your creativeness. . .

1. Accept that being creative will produce change and that simple change
often will produce creativity.

2. Accept that creativity requires some chance. Continually work at taking
bigger and bigger chances. One small step at a time.

3. Work at not reacting and instead work at creating.

4. Work at reminding yourself over and over "I Can, I Can, I Can" and ask
"How Might I or How Might We So That I Can or We Can?"

5. Stop imitating. Look for new ways for yourself. Examine the principle or
main idea behind successful creative ideas and adapt them rather than
simply adopting or imitating them.

6. Take time to recreate: relax, play a game, have fun at least for awhile.

7. Look for the metaphors that are stopping you and change them or your
definitions for them.

8. Take time to truly listen to others, yourself, nature, your problems. Learn
from Eero Saarinen, famous Finnish and American architect...

"The solution lies within the problem.

Continue looking it will tell you."

Look for your own "small changes" that will release and expand your creativity and
creativeness.

Being creative is your choice!

DEVELOPING CRE8NG COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT ENTIRE ORGANIZATIONS AND CORPORATIONS

DEVELOPING CRE8NG COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT ENTIRE ORGANIZATIONS AND CORPORATIONS For 30 years I taught or made leadership development focused sessions from keynote speeches to breakout sessions to workshops ranging from 1/2 day to full day to week long (40 hrs in a week) to training programs that lasted a week or 7 days over months or 3 integrated programs (Level I, II and III) or masters degree programs that lasted a week, 5 days 8 hours a day but unfortunately there was never this type of evaluation done to show true growth and development. That has been the missing element looking back over all of them. I truly would have loved to have been part of a program or gave a program I had evidence produce such results for the participants and the companies. Instead I have immediate evaluation form feedback, testimonial letters or follow up emails or face to face interviews with random graduates, which I have done with a few hundred out of 1500+ alumni of the masters degree program I was involved with over 15 years for CSU and the Georgia Police Chiefs Association. Not being an official in-house trainer or training director for a corporate training department or leadership development program, nor an active ASTD member that was rarely part of my program. Over the two year period when I was seriously trying to become one of Bob Pikes external consultants as those I got to know in the mid-90s I did learn from one of his longest consultants and colleagues Lynn Solem a TRAINING for IMPACT MODEL that she and Bob had created for planning training programs that produced true, measurable results. Though I only did a few programs for Bob and CTTI I did use the 9-cell model with some clients who I generated who wanted to develop a significant results producing training program, plus I shared the model with every class or program on Leadership Development from 1995 onward. Alas none of my clients were willing to spend the time and money to do benchmark measurement: quantitative or qualitative; and follow-up measurements of growth, development and application of the principles or lessons of the courses. Looking back at my 32 years, especially the first 17 prior to my focusing mostly on creative thinking skill development and working mostly internationally I now question the validity of much of what I supposedly did or accomplishment. Basically I see what I saw in the mid-80s when I was focused mostly on keynote speaking or weekend retreats....I was mostly SPEAKER-DU-JOUR who made interesting and funny speeches or made introductory learning fun Though for many years from 10 to 15 to 20 and in one annual Executive Development Program's case, this year 33 years in a row I have been asked back again and again and again. All this is why I truly would be interested how Shelden truly does analyze company's programs and truly measures their results. Over the 15 years I was an external consultant and member of the training team for the Management Development Division of the UGA Institute of Government we talked about this issue over and over and eventually created tests, final exams for our 6, 7 and 12 day long programs (Level I, II, & III) put never any true follow up to assess true growth and development. Oh well....BACK TO BEING SPEAKER TO DU JOUR. During the past 15 years since 1998 I have focused on creative thinking development, primarily doing annual creativity conferences as a key presenter each year with a small mix of individual corporate clients in different countries but... still like SPEAKER DU JOUR who comes in and does 90 minutes, 2 to 4 hrs or in some cases an entire day still not truly part of long-lasting skill development program though that is what I have talked about from the platform or front of the room and written about now for over 15 years. DEVELOPING CRE8NG COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT ENTIRE ORGANIZATIONS AND CORPORATIONS OR S.P.R.E.A.D.ng Cre8ng & Creative Thinking from the Front Door to the Top Floor. Hmmmm?! Oh well back to the drawing board or ivory tower to think and try again in 2013.

Some Thoughts About Traits of Leaders

Some Thoughts About Traits of Leaders

Warren Bennis started and created a mythical simplistic way of looking at leading and leadership with his list of polar opposites managers do things right leaders do things right though i taught that type of thinking in the 1980s over the next 30 years i stopped. leading and leadership are far more complex than a list of 12 traits or 22 rules. the people the place the purpose the timing and so many other variables impact whether someone truly leads productively too often people use hero level leaders: Jack Welch, Walt Disney, Steve Jobs and use external, at a removed distance information not actual first hand knowledge or experience to make their assessments. very few people who have written or currently write about leaders, leading, leadership have actually interviewed or done valid and reliable scientific studies into their behaviors and personalities. over the 30 years i taught programs about the styles and skills of leading i went from the idealistic and overly simplistic to general theories that can lead to principles to use as gauges to measure the development of someone as a leader. in the end it is still conjecture and theory... an old joke/story about General George Patton may serve as an analogy... When George suddenly died following WWII, whether by an accident or assassination he arrived at Heaven's Gate where St. Peter welcomed him. St. Peter said to George do you have any beginning questions? "St. Peter.who was the greatest general that ever lived?" George obviously expected St Peter to say, "Well of course you were George." instead he responded..."oh that is an easy question let me show you." St. Peter guided George to an area where 3 or 4 angels were busy fluffing clouds and pointed at one of them, saying, "the man on the right there." George responded, "St. Peter I do not mean to be disrespectful but that can't be. I made it my life commitment to study all of the greatest generals that had ever lived and he certainly was not one of them." "That is true George. But you see if had things been different and had he been given a chance to lead during his life he would have been the greatest general." situation, timing, location, followers, etc along with many other variables help people become leaders beyond birth and education or personality. All that said I believe that people can learn, be taught, trained to be better leaders from supervisors to CEOs. The other variables we can not control. Steve Jobs in some ways is a perfect example...timing, situation made the difference even though he was cruel, arrogant, selfish and many other negative traits. At the same time he was obcessively committed to a mission a dream that others could buy into, at least for a little time.

12 Cornerstones of Productive Leading

12 Cornerstones of Productive Leading 

From 1980 to 2010 I taught hundreds of workshops, gave hundreds more breakout/concurrent sessions, keynote speeches and taught my university course on Leading in Today's Workplaces and facilitate hundreds of Community Leadership Retreats...

One of the key points I learned through all these and reading is that there are LEARNABLE TRAITS that all of us can learned to varying degrees of skill that will help us be Productive Leaders.

I collected lists of such traits from several hundred groups over the years and from the hundreds of books about leadership that I have read.

One study I did was based upon reviewing 100 best selling books about leading, leaders or leadership.  I collected all the traits mentioned in the books.  When I did a review of which were the top traits I discovered in these various ways I found what I labeled the 12 CORNERSTONES OF PRODUCTIVE LEADING.

Are they the ONLY 12?  NO

Does every leader need them at all times?  NO

Do they serve as a good structure of foundation to develop skills as a Productive Leader?

I believe they do.

Here are the 12.

They are not in any specific order other than the 11th and 12th are the foundation that support all the others.


1. Commitment
2. Control
3. Consistency
4. Challenge(s)
5. Competence
6. Centered (focused)
7. Confidence
8. Compromise
9. Creativity
10. Caring
11. Communication
12. Credibility

12th of "12 Cornerstones of Productive Leading"

almost forgot...

12th of "12 Cornerstones of Productive Leading"


12. Credibility
work at and continually
develop & expand our Credibility
while surrounding ourselves with
credible people.

#3 of 50 articles... CREATIVITY-GREATEST RESOURCE

#3 of 50 articles...
CREATIVITY-GREATEST RESOURCE

Employees have had many names from apprentices to workers to slaves to HUMAN CAPITAL...yet still they are not seen for the GREATEST RESOURCE they truly are....Creative Thinkers who can have ideas that can lead to great solutions, products, services and success for any company.

http://www.cre8ng.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Creativity-Greatest-Resource.pdf

Not sure why the link will not work...

Here is the article instead as it was written...

The Greatest Resource any Organization has is the Creativeness of Peopleby Robert Alan Black, Ph.D., CSP, DLA

For too many years people have been treated as expense items instead of highly valuable resources. The leading organizations from small shops to corporations and government agencies throughout the United States have tended to look upon people as resources of creativeness. In the September 1985 issue of Business Week the cover story was devoted to how companies were training and developing the creativeness and creative thinking skills of employees. Yet still today, eight years later, companies and agencies continue to overlook this excellent resource.

Research has shown continuously over the past forty years that people can be taught, encouraged and coached or counseled to be more creative. Four basic creative strengths and skills can be easily taught:

1) flexibility, 2) fluency, 3) elaboration, and 4) Originality.

You as an effective leader can help develop creativeness through setting the right climate that will tell people that creativeness is accepted and encouraged in your department or company.

First, start asking for many more suggestions when you are discussing a problem with anyone in your department or company: CEO to clean up crew.

Second, keep track of their suggestions and tell them how you are using them. If their ideas are being worked on, keep them aware of the current status of

their ideas. If their ideas have been shelved (temporarily) make sure they understand why. Knowing why an idea is shelved might spark additional thoughts on how to improve or modify an idea to make it more immediately useful. From now on NEVER KILL AN IDEA: use it, improve it or temporarily shelve it with a specific date to reconsider it again.

Third, allow failure or non-success to happen. Encourage people to learn from their un-successes or non-failures. Fearing failure is one of the biggest causes for lack of progress in the U.S. today.

Fourth, celebrate creativeness. Give out rewards, awards, trophies, plaques, print announcements in your local news-paper. Hold celebrations. Have Fun being creative and encourage it! It is a proven fact that creative people given the chance to be more creative are happier and more effectively productive.

Fifth, teach, coach and counsel for creativeness in your department or company by developing four expandable skills:

1) fluency- ability to produce many ideas;

2) flexibility- 3) elaboration-
4) originality-

ability to produce a varied mix of ideas:
ability to add detail, depth, mixtures of viewpoints or perspectives; and
uniqueness, novelty, newness, creativeness (new) or innovativeness (improvement of existing).

Practise Fluency during staff meetings by holding fun creative thinking sessions: Brainstorm for 100 different uses for everyday objects (sponge, toothpick, eraser, brick, paper clip, etc.). After you reach 100 with a few everyday objects begin working on work-related objects just for fun first until you can reach 100 easily then begin applying your knew fluency to every day work situations or problems.

Practise Flexibility during meetings once a week or month by listing 50 totally different kinds of uses for everyday objects. Then move on to work related challenges.

Practise Elaboration by taking turns describing something with a minimum of 75 separate details using all the physical senses (hobby, TV show, tree, cat, an athletic event, etc.).

Practise Originality by picking one household item or something you could find in any convenience or hardware store and list 25 to 50 uses for it you have never heard of before (spoon, toothbrush, napkin).

The key to developing creative thinking abilities is practise, practise, practise, and practise, while working at helping yourself and the people in your department to become more creative every day! If you encourage people to spend simply 10% of their week (4 hours, 240 minutes/48 minutes a day) focusing on developing and being creative you will see fantastic growth and expansion in your department and will experience a worthwhile side benefit: increased morale and dedication. Creativeness is one ability that knows no limit. Good luck in continuously improving your creativeness from now on!

Robert Alan Black, Ph.D., CSP, DLA ❖ P. O. Box 5805 ❖ Athens, Georgia 30604 ❖ 706/353-3387 alan@cre8ng.com  http://www.cre8ng.com

11th of 12, "12 Cornerstones of Productive Leading"

11th of 12, "12 Cornerstones of Productive Leading"

11. Communication
thoroughly and honestly
communicate (visually, verbally,
physically & emotionally

10th of "12 Cornerstones of Productive Leading"

10th of "12 Cornerstones of Productive Leading"


10. Caring
CARE about our people as total
human beings: mind, body, spirit.
(respect, appreciate, praise & reward).

STOP SHOULDING AND FOCUS ON CHOOSING

STOP SHOULDING AND FOCUS ON CHOOSING

Many years ago I heard speaker tell a story about Eric Berne. Afterward I read the story in a mix of articles and books.

Eric Berne was commenting about the AMERICAN HABIT or TENDENCY to "SHOULD" a lot.

He was sharing that he believe we need to stop SHOULDING and ought to be CHOOSING to do things.

Around the same time my late wife and I had almost simultaneous AHAs about 4 witches and 4 warlocks of LIMITATIONS

SHOULDA, COULDA, OUGHTA, GOTTA
MUSTA, HAVETA, WILLA, WOULDA

These are based upon my "fuzzy memory" from 1977 or 1978 when we experienced these simultaneous AHAs during workshops or training programs or our graduate classes in guidance and counseling we were attending on a weekly to daily basis then.

back to Eric Berne story told by Thomas A. Harris in his book I'M OK, YOU'RE OK.

Eric Berne is standing on stage telling the audience of Americans to stop SHOULDING.  He makes a gesture about SHOULDING indicating that Americans allow SHOULD to pile up on their shoulders (hmm? shoulder / should-er...I had never noticed the sameness of these two words before).

He demonstrated the imaginary removal of PILES OF SHOULD (SHIT) from our shoulders.

Ever since the first time I read/heard that story I have CHOSEN TO CHOOSE what I do rather than should, could, ought, have, must, will, would, got anything in my life.

9th of "12 Cornerstones of Productive Leading"

9th of "12 Cornerstones of Productive Leading"


9. Creativity
support, promote,
recognize/reward, encourage,
apply & develop creative thinking
throughout our entire organization
continuously expanding &
  enriching it.

Teaching Time Management to your Staff and Team

Teaching Time Management to your Staff and Team


This is a response to someone asking me for EXERCISES to use in a TIME MANAGEMENT class.

First what are the key points you are trying to share.

Use activities that reinforce your key points or are sample simulations.

I did Time Management workshops ranging from 1/2 to full day in the past.

Are your goals to

a. generate laughter, lighten the mood to increase their attention
b. demonstrate time management techniques or methods
c. break-the-ice, get the participants to feel more comfortable in the session
d. develop some team-man-ship or team skills

Over the past 36 years I have developed my general approach of

Tell - Show - Involve - Reach

based upon a quote often given credit to Confucius

"Tell Me and I will forget"
"Show Me and I may begin to learn"
"Involve Me and I may learn"

I have added...

"Reach Me - let me get to know you (and some of the others in the group) while you (and some of the others in the group) get to know me and we will BOTH BEGIN TO LEARN TOGETHER."

Over the years I sporadically taught Time Management sessions and studied books about Time Management I discovered that

1. there are some simple lessons to learn that apply to most to all people
2. that thinking style and personality impacts whether or not someone truly learns to improve time management
3. that learning how to work more effectively with others thru learning how to understand styles of thinking and learning will improve our success with time management.

also you may do a GOOGLE of YAHOO search for

teaching exercises for time management

I just did and received nearly 7,000,000 hits.

Take a look at the first 5 to 10 hits they may provide you some great exercises to use.

Alan

Is Creative Thinking Important in Your Workplace?

Developing the Creative Thinking in ALL Your Employees More Important NOW

I have been committed to helping leaders and managers to accept that their greatest resource is the uptapped, under-utilized or mis-supported creative thinking capacities and potential ideas that will lead to solutions of ALL OF THEIR EMPLOYEES.

Today during these very challenge economic and social times this is more true than it has since the Great Depression of the 20th Century.

How are you helping your people to be creative today?

How are your people trying to be creative?

For 14 Years I used this Learning Pyramid

For 14 Years I used this Learning Pyramid

Useful Model

Yes I have also used that in my university or executive development courses that last 40 hours in one week often.  Initially when I got to the point in the course/week when I introduced other roles of leaders (supervisor to CEO).  Over the past 5 to 10 years I began introducing it during the second day after all the participants knew each others names and had worked with each other in pairs, teams (4 or 5) or the total group.

My basic structure for the course consisted of covering a series of topics that interrelated to leading highly diverse workforces:

Coordinating - Leading
Communicating
Conflicting (mis-communication or not communicating)
Connecting (getting to know your workforce and team well)
Collaborating - teaming
Cre8ng - creative thinking and creative solution generation

for 15 years while I taught it 5 times a year at Columbus State University for Public Safety officers from police, fire, emt, dea, fbi or state bureau of investigation, mostly Georgia, or state troopers.

They were either working on completing a bachelors degree or a masters degree.

The students (usually 30 to 50+ with 5 to 30+ years of on the job experience) ranged from those who hadn't been in college in several years or were returning only after a short break due to their jobs.

Over the years I learned to focus also on helping them discover how they apparently learn and how the various employees learn differently often from them.

Even with all the years of research behind the LEARNING PYRAMID, most teachers/trainers/leaders/bosses TELL, the bottom of the pyramid, they have seldom had experience with most other methods.

So my approach evolved over the years of

1. welcome them
2. give a brief schematic overivew
3. have them begin to get to know each other (on going process throughout the course)
4. let them gradually get to know me
5. have them learn from doing using the content
6. then periodically have them review what we did
7. then share my approach and design to help them spark ways that they might use their own version of what they are experiencing.

Also over the years I introduce Benjamin Bloom's Hierarchcy of Learning, initial and more recent revisions of it plus my own revisions of it.

Also I learned that

attention + intention produces higher retention.

the teacher/trainer/leader needs to get, develop and maintain the attention of the students/trainees while learning what their individual intentions for the course are and integrate them with my intentiions in order to increase their retention.

You are talking about training

I am talking about educating.

You are focused on finite pieces of knowledge or skills

I am focused on developing understanding to help them to BEGIN TO LEARN and CONTINUE TO LEARN by their own choice and initiative after my course or their degree program is finished.


making people leave or throwing them out...Eugen


Eugen

"In a situation of misbehaviour always exist a posibility to apply "i will invite you to leave the room" or "i will write to your boss to inform about your attitude" methods."

Some of my colleagues who are trainers of trainers or have done much of their training or even complete doctorates in TRAINING TRAINERS how to TRAIN include a short exercise after

1. welcome
2. overview of course
3. let's set up the rules, requirements and expectations of the trainer and the participants.

The trainer facilitates the group in generating a list of

a. rules
b. requirements
c. expectations

THEY generate and agree on them that they will follow and use during the program

Then the trainer facilitates the group in generating a list of

a. rules
b. requirements
c. expectations

THEY want the trainer to work by.

This approach seems to work with some groups and trainers.

I find it too Behavioristic.

Over the years I have learned to EARN RESPECT by GIVING RESPECT.

When problems arrive we/I deal with them as a total group or one on one.

Years ago, 1985 I used the THREAT APPROACH and did invite, actually threw out a participant or two from one or two lengthy programs.

(joke) unfortunately one turned out to be the boss of the department....I hadn't developed the habits of getting to know the people ahead of time then.

About 3 years ago I was working with about 50 people, all CWA local union leaders in a two, 8 hour day program on Presentation Skills and Public Speaking.

I had been doing 2 different classes for the Annual CWA Leadership school for 16 or 17 years.

1) 2nd year students - basic course on the topic consisting of two, 1/2 day sessions back to back (4 hrs per day)

2) 3rd year students - more advanced class on the topic consisting of two, full day sessions back to bac (8 hrs per day).

Typically the only resistance I ever got in the 2nd year class (my first time with them) was some people and their FEAR of speaking on their feet.  Over the years I experimented with ways of getting them to get up on their feet at least at the table they were working at if not in front of the room.

Due to many factors in our economy and country the 3rd year class had not been held for a few years.

3 years ago the CWA did hold one.  It had 50 people in it instead of the usual 10 to 15.

10 to 15 as your probably know is a much better size for a truly effective training course, especially advanced.

Instead I had 50.  3 times too many.

I couldn't reschedule or change it or break it into two or three sub-groups for many reasons.

So I modified my course design and plunged ahead (my mistake).

One student resisted getting up and giving the then only 3 min required prepared speech.  I kidded her. I teased her. I joked with her.

Then I gave her the ultimatium of two choices

1. you give your speech as best you can now
2. you learn this course and deal with your superiors about what would happen because you did not complete this REQUIRED course.

I have not been asked back to teach the courses since.

One threat may work. It may not.

You do not earn respect uniformly if at all by using threat.

You develop more resistance.

S.P.R.E.A.D.ng Creative Thinking Throughout Your Team, Department, Entire Organization


Over the past 31 years I have interviewed many people working for highly creative and innovative companies and consultants who have worked with many of those same companies and others among the tope Fortune 500 and discovered that

SUPPORTing creative thinking is generally sporadic, hit-and-miss, inconsistent if done at all. In the design studios/labs/areas perhaps creative thinking is encouraged, but not in the secretarial pools, accounting departments, drafting rooms, showroom floors, warehouses, shipping departments.

People want to own their jobs
People want to create solutions for their job's problems
People take great pride in using their own creative thoughts to solve or eliminate problems.

So beginning today go SUPPORT the creative thinking of every employee you talk with.

Alan
alan@cre8ng.com
http://www.cre8ng.com

8th of "12 Cornerstones of Productive Leading"

8th of "12 Cornerstones of Productive Leading"


Compromise
strive to use all the tools
of Negotiation: Collapse/Avoid,
Challenge, Cooperate,
Compromise & Collaboration,
while continually striving for
Win/Win Outcomes aiming
towards the best for all.

First 7 of my "12 Cornerstones of Productive Thinking"

First 7 of the 12 Cornerstones of Productive Leading

Over the 30 years I taught workshops, training programs or university courses and facilitated Community Leadership Development Group Retreats for Chambers of Commerce around Georgia I collected the 12 through doing many different exercises about TRAITS or SKILLS of Productive Leaders (Efficient, Effective & Creative).

I have been sharing them one per day.

This morning I noticed on one of my Facebook professional pages that my sharing had been erratic so I am posting the first 7 to fill in any I may have not shared.

1.         Commitment

            to our purpose and goals

            and to win over the commitment

            of our people.

2,         Control

            need control of the resources and

            earn the trust and respect to

            control the actions of our people.

3.         Consistency

            be consistent in our

            actions, our messages, our

            beliefs, values and require

            consistency from our people.

4.         Challenge(s)

            need Challenges, goals,

            objectives, missions, purposes,

            plans we believe in that are

valuable & meaningful

            to our people.

5.         Competence

            surround ourselves with people

            with the competencies that are

            needed and expand our own.

6.         Centered (focused)

            be centered (focused)

            in our beliefs, values and actions

            toward the best we can

            accomplish and ask the same of

            our people.

7.         Confidence

            have Confidence in

            ourselves and our people.

7th Cornerstone of Productive Leading

7th Cornerstone of Productive Leading

Confidence

            have Confidence in

            ourselves and our people.

Discover your LEVEL of Confidence

work on it when it slips

Help to develop the CONFIDENCE levels of all your people.

Pay compliments more often than criticisms.

6th Cornerstone of Productive Leading

6th Cornerstone of Productive Leading

Centered (focused)

            be centered (focused)

            in our beliefs, values and actions

            toward the best we can

            accomplish and ask the same of

            our people.