Outlook Training Courses - 5 Great Outlook Tips and Tricks

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Seven Great Skills You Need To Be The Best Leader Your Team Ever Had!

My favourite boss was handsome and charismatic with a wicked sense of humour. He walked the floor each Friday, stopping by a hundred or so desks just to say hi and ask what we were working on. He made a point of remembering our names and memorized snippets of personal news about each and every one of us. Jack Steele MBA didn't get to the top because he was a natural born leader. He got there because he watched how others operated, copied their strengths and worked hard to hone a few key skills. These are just seven of those skills he passed on to me and over the years, I've done my best to polish them.

Hold your people in the highest esteem - for as long as you can. That doesn't mean you condone failings. Every person you lead has massive potential. It is your job as leader to nurture, develop and encourage their growth, learning and their personal development. On the other hand, if your people continually screw up then deal with it. Mentor them, coach them, chastise them then get rid of them if you really have to. But don't forget that there are rarely bad workers, only bad masters.

Focus on the end game. If you can't see where you are going then how will you know you've succeeded? Having a clear vision of the future is vital if your team is to succeed. But please don't keep it to yourself. Present your vision with passion. Enthusiasm is infectious so fire up your team with a clear, well articulated picture of the destination. And when you do communicate it, make sure that everyone understands what the vision is. Ask for feedback. Prompt them to describe the vision in their own words. Don't assume that just because you design great slides, that everyone can see the road ahead.

Plan six weeks ahead. If there is a crisis at the end of the month, you are already set for the next cycle. This is one of the best pieces of advice I ever got. And planning is not just about listing down all the things you need to do. It is about taking your vision and mapping out the smartest way to achieve it. Mindmapping is a great tool to do this. Once you have created your list of planned activities, date them. Type every activity into a spreadsheet. Sort on the date and hey, you have a schedule. Now you can go into the detail and build your team's weekly task sheets and your daily To Do lists. Simple. Try it then practice it. But remember, only perfect practice makes perfect.

Be as organised as you can be. Build your daily task lists from your six week plan. But don't make your To Do lists too long. Unrealistic task lists become a stinging whip for even the most energetic teams. Make room for upsets and unforeseen demands that always shoot into your inbox, out of the blue.

Automate as much as you can. Don't waste time hunting for information. Build your PC dashboard with RSS feeds so you don't have to research stuff. iGoogle? is a great way to do this. Every contact should be on your phone and regularly sync this with your PC. Insist on reports in WORD so that you can cut, paste, highlight and review on screen within the team. Set your screen for a comfortable brightness and font size. With a solid folder structure and disciplined filing, all you need is a click or a tap to keep information under control.

Confront conflict before it gets out of hand. In my experience, the only folk who enjoy conflict are soldiers and psychopaths. The rest of us normal people avoid it at all costs. No-one wants a fight at work. But sometimes, you have to face that dismal boss, chastise that irritating colleague and call to account a poor performer. And if you want to be a good leader, you have to learn how to manage conflict. Wrapping up criticism in praise is always the best way to start the conversation. If you are on the receiving end of a vitriolic volley then smile, apologize and ever so gently walk away. When your attacker is calm, that is the time to bundle up your issues among the nice words. One warning though. If your target is a psychopath, don't try this tip. It doesn't work. Find yourself another job instead.

Use your wit whenever you can. Seeing the funny side of things in stressful times, laughing at yourself and bringing a sharp wit into play can make a massive difference to every team. People spend half their waking hours with people they didn't choose as friends. As their leader, if you make those eight hours productive AND entertaining no team will ask much more of you. Although if you work for an undertaker, this may not apply. Good leaders are neither born nor made. They work hard at it, with passion, with commitment and then over time, build up trust and respect so that everyone wants to follow them. Take these tips on board and you will soon be the best leader your team could ever wish for. Good Luck!

Charlotte StClair has thirty years experience in managing people, projects and companies. She has worked in many different organizations, in government and in the private sector. Charlotte is a writer on a wide range of business and IT related topics and can be contacted at http://www.772consulting.com/.

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10 Top Traits for Great Customer Service Whether You Are a Man or a Woman Entrepreneur

Let's begin with a reminder of the principles of customer care and the attributes we all need to have!

10 Top Traits for Great Customer service (whether you're a woman or a man)

1. Transparency

2. Honesty

3. Professionalism

4. Communication

5. Respect

6. Dedication

7. Reactivity

8. Follow-up

9. Feedback

10. Knowledge about customers and their needs

So are women entrepreneurs different then? The history behind the majority of women entrepreneurs is similar. More often than not women decide to set up a business because they have a genuine passion to provide a particular service or they want to develop and market a particular product. Sometimes it is from economic necessity but not as often as you might think but it is interesting that the woman who sets up a business from her kitchen table is somehow not regarded as highly as a man who works from his spare bedroom for two years before buying their first premises.

There is also the internal attitude, how we, as women entrepreneurs, view ourselves and our business ideas. At the risk of over generalising, the following facts hold true for the majority of women who set up in business: They want to build their business over the long term, not just get it up and running and successful and then sell it off and go onto something else They see customer satisfaction to be the cornerstone to this growth They are risk managers rather than risk takers and pay great attention to event he smallest aspect of their business They tend to set up on a shoestring, finding as many ways as possible to do something for no cost/low cost possibly because they know they will not be financed by venture capital or perhaps because they need to prove to themselves that their business will work before they go and ask for help They are highly motivated to succeed and determined not to give up These elements, except perhaps the last one, are not traditionally characteristics of male entrepreneurs. So where does this take women entrepreneurs when it comes to customer service and how does it affect their attitudes towards customers?

Do women treat customers differently from men? Women entrepreneurs see the customer as central to their enterprise and will consistently do whatever it takes to keep customers and add customers, sometimes to the detriment of their families and their health; for example, they will work through the night to get a job finished and may be less able than men to keep the boundaries between home and family life separate. Of course, male entrepreneurs also work all hours when it's necessary but they don't often have the additional responsibility of home and family to take care of which, traditionally, women do.

This is great for the customer, in the short term at least, but the downside of this commitment to customers is that many women entrepreneurs see a need to 'over deliver', to do more than they are being asked to do at the risk of other aspects of their business. Whether this is because of an innate lack of self belief, an upbringing as 'people pleasers' or something else is debatable; it could simply be a genuine desire to offer whatever it takes to keep the customer happy. But it is common that women will accommodate the needs of customers even if this means more effort and less remuneration or will accept tight deadlines and not even think of charging a premium price for the service.

On the upside, women are generally better listeners than men and are genuinely interested in their customers as people rather than /$ signs. So they will really listen to what the customer wants and try to provide it and, as they pay attention to detail, they can provide perhaps the smallest of add-ons which make the difference and help the customer feel an individual. Once customers get used to this, they will go on expecting it so beware the woman entrepreneur who gets so successful that, in time, she puts automatic responders into action to deal with customers- this takes away the personal touch and can result in a dropping off of customer loyalty.

What key lessons do women entrepreneurs need to take on board about customer care?

Choose you ideal client and target market and stick to it - you can't be all things to all people and if you try, you will end up being pulled in all directions. Later you can develop into other marketsBe clear about your boundaries between home and work and stick to themKeep your focus on your customers and confidently deliver what it takes to keep them coming backDon't lose the personal touch when your enterprise gets bigger or you will lose those original customers who supported your business when it started up

Action!

Make sure you have a written customer service policy rather than just something in your head. It needn't be long and complex but should note how you will treat your customers, what you will do if things go wrong and how you will systematically keep in touch with them.

Don't wait! Sign up for a FREE two-part webinar series for women when we will look at the issue of self confidence and how to get more of it. Places limited so book here for a place "Get Confident, Get Going or How to Take Tactical Steps To Build Confidence" https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/855277462 I am a qualified coach, training consultant and careers counsellor with special expertise in women's development and leadership.

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10 Tips on How To Create Great Looking Publications

Creating great looking brochures, flyers, or even an advert can be a daunting task to most people. But with the right help and guidance you will be surprised how quickly you can turn mundane documents into professionally looking publications.

A successful document is one that effectively communicates your message. Good design contributes to the overall effectiveness and usefulness of your document by making it more visually appealing and more readable.

Good design is not just a matter of aesthetics; it involves choosing the most appropriate design elements for your document. Good design choices produce lively and interesting publications and help communicate your message.

Following what I call my 10 commandments, you will avoid the pitfalls that most people fall into when they first start to put together their publications.

Here are my 10 commandments

• What is the purpose of your communication?

Every document has a purpose. Some are meant to persuade (such as advertisements, sales brochures, posters, and flyers). Others are designed to inform (such as business reports, bulletins, and newsletters).

• Who is your intended audience?

Identifying your audience helps you choose design tools and techniques that grab the readers' interest. As you develop your publication, take your readers' perspective. Consider their needs and reactions. Your goal is to interact with your readers, not talk at them. By writing and designing from this perspective you will grab their attention.

• What is the image or impression that you want to project?

How do you want your audience to perceive you? What is the overall look and feel of your publication? Is it formal or informal? Is the content serious or fun? This overall image is supported by your choice of fonts and graphic elements, and your writing style.

• What elements are needed to enhance your design?

Create a list of parts that will go into the final composite of your documents. Will you use headlines and subheads, photographs, or graphics? Will you use rules, or borders, or boxes? How much text will you use? How many pages?

Once you have a good idea of the pieces you need, organising them into an eye-catching page design is much easier.

• Make it easy for readers to find their way about

Think about the flow of the text. Have a logical structure with text going up and down the columns.

• Choose appropriate fonts

Using the right fonts will help to get your message across. Stick to only using a maximum of 3 different fonts per publication. A mixture of serif and san-serif will add more interest. In general, serif type is considered more readable while san-serif is more legible.

• Don't be afraid to use white space

People feel the need to fill every part of the page with information. Unless you are designing a newsletter, consider adding lots of white space around your images and text. It might be the most boring information you have to write about, but at least make it attractive to look at.

• Avoid undesirable "rivers" of white space or "white" holes in the page

A very distracting visual effect. This occurs in poorly set text where large type is justified in narrow columns. This often appears when pressing the spacebar twice after each full stop. To remedy this, alter the type size, or adjust the line length, or change the column width, and stop pressing the space bar twice.

• Avoid a busy page layout

To many bordered elements or rules tend to compartmentalise the page and break up the natural flow of text.

• Be consistent in your publication

What you are looking for is consistency. If you stick to using my 10 commandments then all your publications will look as if it's been designed by a professional.

These tips are just a small sample of what we cover on our Design Principles and Techniques Training Course.

Wishing you success

Neil W Mason
neilm@in2-training.com
I am the owner of In2-Training (UK) Ltd and I have been helping customers increase their design skills for over 20 years.

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