The Navigator is published by Greg Smith,
Lead Navigator, Chart Your Course International Inc.

View this newsletter on our website:
http://www.chartcourse.com/Enav-170.html

See the bottom of this newsletter to subscribe or to unsubscribe.
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PERSONAL NOTE FROM THE LEAD NAVIGATOR

Bittersweet. This is the word that best captures Cathy's life and mine over the past couple of weeks. As you know, my daughter, Heather, was pregnant with triplets. The babies came early, and sadly, Baby Oliver was not strong enough to live and he died three days later. His sisters, Charlotte Ann and Eliza Lynn, remain in the NICU at Duke University Hospital in Charlotte, N.C.

I want to extend my deepest appreciation for all of you who have offered prayers and support while our family is walking through this difficult time. And yet, while we mourn the loss of Oliver, we are so joyful and thankful for Eliza and Charlotte, and for my daughter's continued good health.

Become My Facebook Fan

I cordially invite you to join up and share your thoughts and questions by clicking the link below:

http://ow.ly/21r3q

To your success,

Greg
President and Lead Navigator

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GOOD MANNERS MAKE GOOD MANAGERS

People spend years and thousands of dollars to learn how to excel in a particular industry or trade, yet one of the most critical components of success in the workplace — indeed, in life— cannot be learned in college or through professional seminars. That is, in a word, manners. Those who consistently exhibit simple kindness and good manners tend to stand out from the crowd.

I once overheard a conversation between two co-workers. One of the women said, "He's a nice guy. He makes me feel good about working here."
This young lady was talking about her new boss. Like many employees, she was more influenced by her employer's "soft" skills than his technical skills. His interpersonal skills were what mattered most — his ability to communicate, motivate and show genuine concern. These soft skills are an important aspect of creating a good place to work. When a manager lacks these skills, or actively cultivates their hard-edged opposites, workers who have choices will jump ship.
Soft skills reign supreme and are critical for success.

For employees or job candidates, the simple act of sending a thank-you note can give that person a competitive advantage. Joyce E.A. Russell, director of the Executive Coaching and Leadership Development Program at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, wrote an interesting article published Aug. 20, 2010, in the Washington Post. In this article she states that some studies have found that more than 50 percent of people don't say thanks and few express any appreciation at all. Managers say that manners practiced inside a firm, especially thank-you's, reveal a lot about how a person might be treating customers outside of the firm, so to managers, manners are especially important.

Unfortunately, most businesses do a miserable job selecting and training their managers. Many management development programs focus entirely on technical aspects of the job and not people skills. Some managers are tyrants and make life miserable for those they are supposed to lead. It is people skills that make the difference.

Some of the assessments I provide through Chart Your Course measure those soft skills as well as personal attitudes, interests and values. Russell said many managers who have taken these and similar assessments do not exhibit high rates of providing recognition to their employees.

"Generally, with these executives, their own staff rate them low in providing recognition or thanks to employees," she wrote. "In fact, some of the employees said they hadn't heard a thank-you from the boss in quite some time."

Management guru Peter Drucker has said that practicing good manners, like saying "please" and "thank you," ease working relationships while bad manners can cause relationships to sour quickly.

Here's a personal example that has left an indelible mark on my life and my approach to leadership:

I joined the Army after I graduated from college. My first boss was an exceptional leader. He was a combat veteran and a former Special Forces medic in Vietnam. He was the type of person who always put the needs of others before his own interests. He would not ask you to do something he would not do himself.

As one of the junior officers in my company, I had the odious responsibility of having to "pull duty." Pulling duty consisted of working a 24-hour shift. As luck would have it, my shift fell on New Year's Eve – the worst day of the year to have duty. It was considered the worst day because the young soldiers I was in charge of were partying and getting in general mischief all night long. They did all the things young soldiers typically do on New Year's Eve.

The next morning did not arrive soon enough. I was a victim of a long, sleepless night and could not wait to get home. It was early Saturday morning and I still had several more hours to go before I could leave. The phone rang. It was Joe, my boss. He wanted to know if I had made any plans for lunch. He informed me that he and his wife had prepared something for me to eat and wanted to know if it was OK to bring it over. I want you to know I don't remember what the food was, but it was a meal I will never forget.

That one small act of kindness showed me he really cared. That one small act taught me more about leadership than all the degrees and diplomas hanging on my wall. There is an old saying in the military: "If you take care of your troops, your troops will take care of you." The point is, management is an 8-5 obligation, but true leadership is a 24-hour-a-day responsibility.
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UPCOMING EVENTS

Individual DISC behavior styles and preferences have a direct impact on our interpersonal relationships at home and at the workplace. People differ from each other in fundamental ways including their values, behaviors, talents, temperaments, wants and beliefs.

DISC Certification Training Program Webseminar
October 12, 14, 18, 20
3-4 p.m. EDT
Cost: $695
Includes slides, assessments, manual, workbook and our online assessment delivery account.

The webseminar program has been approved for 5 (General ) recertification credit hours toward PHR, SPHR and GPHR recertification through the HR Certification Institute.

Call 770-860-9464 or click here for more information
http://www.chartcourse.com/disc_certification_training.html

Master Certified Professional Behavioral Strategist Program
(Atlanta)
Sept 28-29
Oct 26-27
Cost: $1950

Call 770-860-9464 or click here for more information
http://www.chartcourse.com/disctraining.html
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DID YOU KNOW….

Seventy percent of 1,017 workers say workplace friendships create a more supportive atmosphere and 69 percent say they increase teamwork.

Source: Randstad USA, Atlanta

Widening Workloads

In a new survey of 1,300 full-time employees, 40 percent say their workload has increased in the past 12 months.

Source: GfK Custom Research North America, New York and MetLife, New York

Senior Success

According to figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of workers ages 55 or older in management, professional and related occupations increased 5 percent, from 10.9 million in 2008 to 11.4 million last year.

Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Chicago

(These quick facts reported by Human Resource Executive magazine)
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Greg on Television -- Fox5 Atlanta

Click on the image to see the debate about too much or too little vacation time.

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/newsmaker-vacation-time-080910
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PRODUCTS

MANAGEMENT TRAINING COURSES
Online & Facilitator Training Kits

If you need a ready made leadership development program, we encourage you to visit our Supervision Series which equips supervisors and managers with the fundamental skills required to enable individual and team performance. The Supervision Series has been used globally by thousands of organizations in all industry segments.

Our courses are available online, in-house, or as a facilitator training kit.

The modules are:

Essential Skills of Leadership
Delegating
Communicating Up
Essential Skills of Communicating
Developing Performance Goals and Standards
Providing Performance Feedback
Coaching Job Skills
Managing Conflict
Effective Discipline
Managing Complaints
Resolving Conflicts
Improving Work Habits
Professionalism in the Office
Motivating Team Members
Retaining Winning Talent
Solving Workplace Problems
Hiring Winning Talent

More information:
http://www.chartcourse.com/supervisory_training.html

Customer Service Training Video Library

Train your entire workforce in the art of exceptional customer service. The Service First Video Library is a powerful video-based training system making it easy to train any number of employees - with no limits - with immediate results. The program includes 12 videos, slides, facilitator guide and handouts. The videos are appropriate for any industry.

Save $100
Includes free shipping globally
$1495
http://www.chartcourse.com/servicevideo.htm
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HOW TO USE ASSESSMENTS TO HIRE, DEVELOP AND RETAIN GOOD PEOPLE

Have you ever made a bad hiring decision? Did the person you hired turn into someone different than how he presented himself during the interview? A properly designed interviewing and hiring process could have prevented the mistake and saved you time, frustration and money.

Assessments provide you an unemotional evaluation of a candidate's behavior, attitude and motivations – qualities difficult to judge in an interview alone.

We provide a comprehensive portfolio of hiring and development assessments. Please contact us if we can provide a customized solution to your hiring and
development needs.

Contact us at 770-860-9464 for additional information.

http://www.behaviorprofile.com
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Daily Cartoon

For those of you needing a little laugh, we invite you to visit the Daily Cartoon page on our website. The cartoons are provided by Ted Goff and Scott Adams.

More information
http://www.chartcourse.com/dailycartoon.html
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WHAT WE DO: HELPING ORGANIZATIONS CHART THEIR COURSE

Greg Smith is a dynamic keynote speaker, author and organizational improvement consultant. He is the CEO and Lead Navigator of Chart Your Course International located in Atlanta, Georgia.

http://www.chartcourse.com/whatwedo.html

Contact us to arrange a complimentary discussion on how we may be able to assist you.

http://www.chartcourse.com/contactus.htm
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FORWARD TO YOUR FRIENDS

If you find our information interesting, please send it to your friends. The Navigator newsletter is received by over 35,000 subscribers in 60 countries.

Click here to join the Navigator
http://www.chartcourse.com/emailnavnews.htm

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Copyright 2010, CYC International Inc.

Published by Greg Smith
Chart Your Course International Inc.
Phone: 770-860-9464/800-821-2487
Address: 2814 Hwy 212, Conyers, GA. 30094

http://www.Chartcourse.com

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Posted by Chart Your Course International We show businesses how to hire, retain and engage the workforce. http://www.chartcourse.com 770-860-9464