Tips for Conveying the Structure of Your Organization
The business plan often starts with an organization chart. The structure of the group may grow with time, or responsibilities may be tweaked, but start with a basic plan.
- One way to explain your organizational structure in the business plan is graphically. A simple diagram or flowchart can easily demonstrate levels of management and the positions within them, clearly illustrating who reports to whom, and how different divisions of the company or organization relate to each other.
- Roles and responsibilities. Of course, you need to surround yourself with good people, but you also have to set things up to enable them to work well with each other and on their own. It’s one thing to have an organizational chart, but another to have the skills needed to carry out your mission. You must define the people who will be providing the service. Who is responsible for what job, and to whom do they report?
- Training needed. The plan should also include a description of the training that will be needed to accomplish your mission.
- Adding talent. It’s important to recognize the types of people you’ll need, how many, what their qualifications should be, where you’ll find them, and what they’ll cost. If your organization plans to use outside consultants, freelancers, or independent contractors, mention this need in your plan as well.
- Future expansion. It’s also helpful for long-range planning to discuss positions and experience you want to add in the future – if you are successful enough to expand.
We can help organizations reach goals by providing the training needed for employees to succeed. Look to Leah M. Joppy & Associates for leadership, personal development and computer training. We help break down barriers to productivity. Give us a call at 301-670-0051 and let us help you achieve faster results with your team.
Intelligent Workshops
Our workplaces today have had an eruption in technology. How we work and how we deliver our products and services has shifted. We need to maximize the ability of our employees in order to create efficiencies. The workshops listed below help to break down barriers to productivity.
Give us a call at 301-670-0051 and let us help you achieve faster results with your team.
| Word | Excel |
| Access | PowerPoint |
| Outlook | InfoPath |
| OneNote | Project |
| Publisher | WordPerfect |
| Crystal Reports | Adobe Professional |
| SharePoint | SharePoint Designer |
| Office 365/One Drive | Skype for Business |
| Visio |
SharePoint: Empowering Teamwork
Businesses and organizations must be able to work intelligently. We have to be able to communicate rapidly, change directions when needed and manage projects and staff simultaneously. Work requires agility. It’s a tall order. To be productive and efficient, we need to invest in solutions that are tested. The applications we use must be reliable and still provide flexibility for the particular work we do.
We spend money and time investing on our infrastructure. Our expectations are that these investments will improve performance and reliability. And we expect these systems to expand as we do – providing future needs as we grow in different ways.
Still, our investment in infrastructure depends largely on our workforce and our adoption strategies. Given the right application, and the training needed to utilize its capabilities, organizations have the power to collaborate, manage projects, and work more intelligently than ever before.
SharePoint, the web application designed by Microsoft, is probably the most highly configurable application used to reinforce the work processes throughout organizations. Here’s how SharePoint can help your organization.
Content management. Nearly everything that you can do with documents and content is easier with SharePoint. You can store files and then retrieve the information. You can search that information for certain content. You can manage these files intelligently and even track who’s accessing them. The application is designed specifically for record keeping purposes, legal issues, compliance and work processes.
Collaboration. SharePoint allows people on the same team to share documents. Process management is centralized with every member of the team sharing the same knowledge. Departments are more productive with easy file sharing.
Project Management. Projects are more easily managed. Communication within the team is easier and less cluttered when everyone can have access to documents and leave comments as needed – all within the same platform. Schedules are less likely to slip with reminders in place and hand-offs that are communicated more efficiently.
Intelligent Data. All companies and organizations have data. The problem is finding the data when you need it. How do you search through emails effectively? How do you find the latest version and feel confident that you can make changes and they will be seen and absorbed by all? SharePoint allows centralized access to enterprise information and applications.
The power of SharePoint is empowering teamwork. Every member can find, share and communicate content from any place, to any device.
You have the power. Leah M. Joppy & Associates has training capabilities that can help your organization build effective communication skills that ultimately lead to better teams and better productivity. Check out our new offerings on the following computer training. We have training in these applications at all levels, and in any version! We’re standing by. Give us a call today at 301-670-0051 or send us an email at leadership@lmja.com.
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Connecting With People
In this fast paced world of email and text messaging, we somehow leave out the “connecting” part of our communications. And yet, the connecting part is very important to our own success. How we relate to others, and communicate our desires, makes a huge difference on how the message is received. Have you ever noticed that HOW we are asked to do something, either makes us excited to do it, or makes us roll our eyes and dread the project? It’s all about understanding how human behavior works. We can elevate the performance of those around us if we CONNECT.
In your job, and in your future. Recently I read an article about being a successful entrepreneur. The author mentioned that one of the keys to success revolves around the network of the business owner. Those owners who had a more varied network, with closer ties, were more successful. It wasn’t the NUMBER of contacts that determined the success of the owner, but rather the variety of contacts and the depth of the relationships. Some of the most successful entrepreneurs had close contacts in many different areas – people with whom they could discuss problems, or bounce around some ideas. The sincere advice that was given from this network helped the business owner find answers to various problems.
Not a business owner. Whether you work for the government or have a job in corporate America the concept of keeping close ties with a varied list of contacts is not a bad idea. Even retiring successfully and happily may be influenced by your circle of contacts.
Are you listening? When we truly connect with someone, even if it’s someone we’ve just met, the person we’re talking to feels involved. The connection is subtle. Our body language gives us away. Sometimes I see it at networking events. I’m talking to someone, but I see him or her looking casually around the room. Obviously, we’re just NOT connecting. When we’re not truly paying attention, the person we are talking to reads our body language. And not paying attention is a real hit to the person’s confidence.
Telling stories. I have a friend who always interrupts my conversation with a story about what has happened to them. Admittedly, the stories she tells are always on topic to the discussion we were having, but it’s her story. So my conversation or my discussion gets turned around and is quickly forgotten. The focus is now on her!
Those little words. I notice this mostly when I’m on the phone with someone, but it can happen in person too. The person I’m talking to may use words like, “Uh-huh,” “Really,” “gosh,” or “interesting” – all words that signal to me that they are not really involved in my conversation. Something is distracting them. I’m not connecting.
We all bring value. Can we just agree to that statement? Instead of trying to impress everyone with our knowledge and expertise, it’s so refreshing when someone openly admits that they learned something new for the first time! Such a response makes the person talking feel valued.
Talk about the familiar. In some situations, you may feel out of your element. You walk in a room and don’t recognize anyone, or you see that you are outnumbered – you’re a women and the room is almost entirely men (or vice versa). The situation can be nerve wracking. So rather than try to come up with something clever, just be yourself. Talk about something that interests you – a recent movie, a team that you are following, or an upcoming vacation. People are just trying to connect with you, and even if you never mention your expertise, you’re connecting with them on a more personal level – which is actually better!
Does your organization lack connectivity? Better communication leads to less conflict, decreased ‘silos’, a sense of trust , better collaboration and more fulfilling work. Let us help elevate the performance of your team. Give Leah M. Joppy & Associates a call at 301-670-0051 or email leah@lmja.com and let’s discuss solutions that work!
Success or Significance?
Working hard from day to day, our lives just unfold. Layer after layer, page after page, we strive toward success and financial independence. And we’re certainly not unhappy. Or, at least if someone asks us about our job, we’re probably pretty optimistic. And then one day it hits us – we’re just not as passionate about what we are doing as we expected to be. Is this all there is? Is this what I can expect for the next 5, 10, 15 years?
Somewhere during our years of productivity, we will ask ourselves this question. It’s a scary thought. Have I been alluding myself all these years? Or have I just veered off track? Each of us is different. But before you jump ship and take a drastic turn in your career, consider your options.
Our resumes are full of our skills and virtues. They help reinforce our self-esteem and they provide concrete measurements of success. But what if our success was measured by the value we bring to others? When we focus on significance rather than success our passion reignites. Our jobs become more meaningful as we search for ways to help others. Focusing on significance doesn’t come at the expense of other areas of our life. Instead, it’s a challenge to round out our lives and make them fuller.
What’s significant for you, may even change from time to time. Depending on your position and your responsibilities, we can add significance to the lives of others and have even greater fulfillment in what we are doing.
So how do we do that? Some say that a good way to start is to think about what you want people to say at your funeral. (I know, nice thought). But it’s true. Few of us want the people closest to us to say things about our income level or mention the profit and loss statements. Instead, we would like to think that we affected people’s lives.
Making the change from success to significance starts with goals. Experts tell us that our brain is naturally a goal seeking organism – we want to achieve our goals. So start with how you want to affect the lives of others and list the goals you want to achieve in order to make a difference. Some of these may be short term goals and others will be longer. The short term goals will actually help inspire you and keep you directed in order to reach your long term goals.
Need help putting these goals together? Read our article below on Tips for Becoming Significant. And if you’d like to engage your organization in talks on Professional and/or Personal Development, Leah M. Joppy & Associates can help. Give us a call at (301) 670-0051 and let’s discuss your needs.
Tips for Becoming Significant
Moving from a success oriented career to one focused on significance starts with setting goals. Here are some ideas on how you can get started.
- Create a list of goals that you would like to achieve. For each goal, consider the value of the goal to others.
- There are no boundaries to this list. For example, you may still create a financial goal, as long as the stated goal brings value to others. “I will make a contribution of $5,000 to my favorite charity by the end of the year.”
- There are certain key words that might come in handy as you create your goals. Some ideas: Giving, Mentoring, Showing, Leading, Providing, Helping, etc.
- Write the goals down some place where you can view them every day. For some, that might mean writing them on 3”x5” index cards that you can read through daily. Or you could create a vision board, where each goal is represented by a picture. If you like social media, perhaps you could create several Pinterest boards illustrating your goals. Not only will you have fun with these tasks, but the goals will become more real when you’ve spent time writing them down.
- Check off the goals as you achieve them. Celebrate the fact that you have accomplished something!
What’s the end game here? To find significance in your life. But don’t wait until it’s too late. Starting now gives you time to enjoy even more wonders in your life. If you’re interested in engaging your entire staff or department, consider a one-day workshop on Professional and/or Personal Development. We’d love to discuss the possibilities with you. Give us a call at (301) 670-0051 or send us an email at leadership@lmja.com.
Can You Advance Without Becoming a Workaholic?
Your boss spends at least one day out of the weekend in the office. Or your boss is on the job till 7 pm most nights. Does this make you think, “I have to do the same if I’m going to succeed!” Maybe not everyone thinks that way, but I sure did! One of my bosses was in the office every Saturday. And nearly every evening, he was there when I left. I started to think that this was what was expected of me. But I had a family, and kids still at home, I wasn’t sure this was really what I wanted to do.
I decided to mention it to my boss. I wove it into the conversation when we were talking about someone junior to me. He mentioned that he didn’t think this particular employee was dedicated to his job. So I asked him to tell me what he meant when he said “dedicated to his job.” Did he expect overtime? Working on weekends? To my surprise, and relief, he told me that he didn’t expect long hours, and certainly not weekend job responsibilities. He did those things because his family lived in another city and it was easy for him to spend long hours at work. Instead, he wanted to see passion in his employees. He said,“people who work for this company should have a real desire for their work, and demonstrate value.”
So what is expected of most employees? How do you get ahead, without dedicating your life to your organization? Here are some tips from career coaches.
Be engaged. If you are engaged, you’re part of the solution. How can you help? Your attitude shows through and more people want to be around you.
Be a person who takes action. Have you ever been in a meeting where someone keeps telling you, “it won’t work.” It drives you crazy, doesn’t it? Instead of saying it won’t work, try coming up with a solution. You take ownership. Demonstrate the creative problem solving skills you have.
Work smarter. Long hours don’t necessarily mean you are more productive. Take a minute to think through your project and see if there are overlapping areas that aren’t necessary. That’s what business process re-engineering is all about. Companies and organizations start fresh. They look at a process and determine what activity is no longer productive. Working smarter means planning your time more effectively.
Focus on relationships. Advancement rarely happens in a silo. Instead, managers what to know that the relationships you’ve built are solid. It’s important that people who work for you think highly of you. And in building relationships, you never know what gems of knowledge you’re going to uncover.
Take on new challenges. Do you hide from new projects? Instead of thinking of the work that new projects entail, think about how, if done right, that new project might just help you learn new skills – skills that will be important to the business as you move forward.
Think Big. Instead of being mired in the details, think about how you can achieve more. If you’re going through a checklist, you’re probably thinking of tasks. Look at the big picture instead, and come up with ideas that might grow the business.
When it comes right down to it, the one thing that separates successful people from others is the smart decisions they’ve made – not the hours they’ve spent on the job.
More successful employees result in a more productive organization. Does your organization need help with career development? Leah M. Joppy & Associates provides training at all levels. Give us a call at 301-670-0051 and let’s discuss your needs.
What are the top things that successful people do well?
Successful people tend to think big – looking at the entire picture instead of their particular role. Here’s what they do well.
- They stick to ethics. Whether you are dealing with fellow employees, learning the game of golf or downloading a report, stick to ethical behavior. People will appreciate your professionalism.
- They are social. The most successful people know how to draw out others. They know what questions to ask and what compliments to extend. In the end, they put people at ease. The result is that people want to interact with you.
- They invest in people. Whether it’s someone working for you, or a peer, investing in their future is as important as investing in yourself. Successful people often mentor or coach. They realize that when everyone around them is happier and more successful, they will be too.
More successful employees result in a more productive organization. Does your organization need help with career development? We provide training at all levels. Give us a call at 301-670-0051 and let’s discuss your needs.
Career Growth – Who’s in Charge?
Think about when you took the job you have now. Did you have a vision of where this job would take you? Has the job lived up to your expectations? Whether you’re close to being in the position you envisioned, or not, you can still get there. Your vision can be realized if you have the commitment to learn. The more you know, the more you are respected. The more you expand your boundaries, the more valuable you are to those around you. You can even widen your career opportunities.
Think back over the last 5-10 years and realize how your job has changed. It’s amazing, isn’t it? The skills you’ve acquired, the technology you’ve come to appreciate, the resources available to you – all of these factors are good reminders of just how important continual learning is. Change, as they say, is constant. If you feel stuck in your present position or if your career is not expanding as rapidly as you would like, you have to find ways to get additional learning.
How do you find ways to learn when you’re already feeling overwhelmed? First off, you have technology on your side. And secondly, realize that learning can be done quickly – you don’t need that big block of time anymore. Lastly, use all available resources. Here are some fairly painless ways to learn on your own time.
- Go online. There are courses you can sign up for. Research you can have access to. Blog articles abound – follow your favorite blogger. And then there’s YouTube – what CAN’T you learn through this site!
- Schedule something special for your break! Take the time to view a video or listen to a podcast. Devote a few hours every week and pick up some new knowledge!
- Schedule a brown bag session. Sharing courses or topics benefits all and saves money.
- Get wiser about your commute. Whether you’re in a carpool, on the metro or driving yourself, there’s a way to get informed. Turn on a podcast or pop in a CD from your local library. Download it to your iphone for the metro or carpool. You can even add video – as long as you’re not driving!
- Find an hour on the weekend Plan to watch a video, do some online research or browse the library. Chances are, once you get started the time will fly by.
- Take a walk. With today’s technology, get your exercise and expand your career at the same time by downloading a bit of professional training to your mobile phone.
- Learn as you watch your kids practice. Are you a soccer mom? Do you drive your kids to the basketball game? Instead of being bored watching practice, consider plugging into an online learning opportunity.
- Exercise your rights to learn at the gym! Listening to a CD, podcast or video will not only increase your knowledge, but make the exercise routine less boring.
Make it a Plan. The idea here is that one year from now, your knowledge, skills and experience should be greater than it is today. Write out your plan to get there and review it monthly.
What Does Career Growth Mean to You?
Career growth is personal. If you have a clear definition of what career growth means in your own mind, you will be able to take advantage of growth opportunities. More than likely, there are opportunities both within your present organization as well as opportunities that are provided by outside resources. Both are valuable.
Define career growth for yourself. That could mean the ability to learn new skills and use them in your job. Career growth for some might be to work for an industry leader. For others, growth is the opportunity to take on new challenges and responsibilities. What is your idea of career growth? Remember that your career growth, while mostly a map of your career goals, can also include some personal goals. Once you’ve defined your career growth plan, write it down and start working toward your end result.
LMJA Can Help
LMJA can help with Individual Development Plans (IDP). An IDP is critical to your future. It is fast becoming mandatory in Federal Government for all employees – whether senior level or entry level. All employees are being highly encouraged to take responsibility for their own career growth. Give us a call at (301) 670-0051 and let us discuss our step-by-step action plan to achievement.