Rhett Power hits the all important nail on the head. If you’ve ever read a Dale Carnegie book, checked out a blog or attended a course, you might find one main concept that spans all content: we train you on you first. When Carnegie wrote his books and his training courses, the focus was on to best think, talk and act in order to influence those around you – in your place of employment and in your life.
Power must have been inspired to write this article after attending one of our trainings (Just kidding, though we would welcome him with open arms).
But, in all reality, the only person you can control is you. People typically respond to how you manage your own life and how you manage your interactions with others.
Power hits a few components we want to share with you as they are directly correlated with our beliefs, and because they are a great reminder that employee engagement often starts with numero uno.
1. Time Exploitation
Power gives the example of understanding your employee strengths and most productive work hours. Dale Carnegie encourages you to listen to your employees and giving them an opportunity for excellence. These might seem like totally different ideas, but the truth is the same – set up your employees for success by understanding and listening to how (and when) they work best.
2. Setting Goals
Power talks about the importance of setting specific, defined goals and clearly letting employees know what they are responsible for within that goal and mission. Dale Carnegie says to “ask questions instead of giving direct orders.” This is a great approach to achieving those clear goals you have set. Share the goals and mission as Power suggests and then ask your team questions on if they want to reach those goals and how they can best achieve them. This requires patience, good communication skills and the ability to listen and set up others for success – once again, all personal skills.
3. Rewards
Power makes this simple – you reward yourself, so reward your team when they hit those set goals. Carnegie goes about it a little differently, but the idea is the same: praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. It’s not monetary like Power’s suggestions, but the focus (and therefore the skill) is the same – which is, learn how to focus on your employees and make them feel valuable and appreciated for a job well done.
To see Power’s other points, visit his whole article here:
http://www.inc.com/rhett-power/manage-yourself-first-then-you-can-effectively-manage-others.html?cid=readmore
This post is brought to you by the good folks at Dale Carnegie Training of Western and Central PA, providers of professional development and management development courses and information in Pennsylvania. We would love to connect with you on Facebook and Twitter @dalecarnegiepa.
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