Code of Professionalism

 Leadership Development  Tagged with: , , ,
May 132012
 

Background and explanation

During leadership development courses, I often facilitate the development of a ‘Code of Professionalism’ where the team starts from scratch and through conversation decides what the main points in their ‘code of professionalism’ should be.  Starting with ‘we will at all times’, participants populate their ‘code’ asking ‘what do we really mean by this’?  

I stress the importance of discussing behaviours which are congruent with that principle and those which are contrary to the principle.  Interesting points emerge from the group and members often become aware of how differently others may perceive aspects of their own behaviour.
 
Where courses run over a period of a few months, by sporadically going back to their ‘code of professionalism’ and redefining the main points, we see how the document reflects the rising maturity of the group. 

Athol Davies – Post-matric Director

I’m currently running a communications skills course, emphasising ‘leadership development’ for the 2012 Treverton Post-matric group.  It is interesting how different their updated code now is, four months after the start of their programme.  I’m also fascinated at how different this ‘code’ is from those I have facilitated for teams in the business environment where the emphasis is on behaviour needed to get the job done in the most professional manner.  The Treverton group definitely has a greater emphasis on values and life skills.  And that is appropriate for their needs.
 
Below is their (still draft) ‘Code of Professionalism’ capturing my understanding of their main points from our session this week.  In knocking it into shape, I have needed to incorporate the intention of the various groups and taken editorial licence in adding a few of my own comments.  So, this is a ‘living document’ and may very well be further modified at our next session. It is very interesting looking back and seeing the first stages of developing the ‘code’ four months ago at the beginning of their ‘Post-matric year’ when they were a group of diverse people – and now they are a team working together towards a common goal!
 
I feel they have done an excellent job in developing this code.  And, if you’d like to know more about the Treverton Post-Matric course, please visit their website.  The Post-matric Director, Athol Davies is to be commended on the wonderful way in which he leads this group of young people, achieving magnificent shifts in their ‘way of being’. 
 
Code of Professionalism:  Treverton Post-matric – May 2012

We will at all times:

  1. Behave in an ethical way

Choose to do what is right, not what is easy.  Abide by the rules, working within an acceptable framework.  But, expand your horizons.  Be adventurous by questioning and stretching boundaries where it will cause no harm.  

  1. Show respect

Showing respect to the environment, animals, others and ourselves leads to protecting what is good and consciously doing no harm.  Tidiness (of the environment and self), dressing appropriately, speech, and manners are all part of respect – and so are punctuality, respecting other’s ‘space’ and belongings.  

Respect helps to build positive relationships. 

  1. Lead by example

Self-leadership and leading teams are part of leadership development.  Leadership involves setting a vision, motivating others to achieve the goal and helping others to reach potential.  

Leaders need to set an example for others to follow.  Push beyond current limits both mentally and physically.  Aim at the highest from a head, heart and action perspective thus setting standards of excellence.  

  1. Encourage others

Encourage others by acknowledging their achievements and motivating them to do their best.  In addition, by exposing them to things they would not normally do, they might find something they will be unexpectedly good at or really like. This will help them to grow and reach higher levels and cause a ‘ripple effect’.  

  1. Treat others with empathy

Be mindful of their needs.  Empathy promotes action, enhances capabilities and builds people. It is important to go beyond differences and negative feelings and to ‘tune in’ to the person, their situation and their current needs.   Be nice to others, treat them with kindness and caring. They have the right to be treated with respect. 

  1. Practise tolerance

Be patient.  Accept people and allow their differences.  Tolerance leads to greater understanding.  Try to understand why people think and behave the way they do. Listen to their ideas and accept their choices.  

Looking beyond differences, we’ll find similarities as we ‘share the same space’.  We can use other people’s positive differences (their strengths) to enhance ourselves. 

  1. Listen to others

It is important to go beyond hearing what people are saying. Listen actively.  Validate others – ‘I see you, I hear you and what you say matters’. This shows support and builds relationships, generating further growth. 

Listening promotes understanding of others and is a skill needed for self-growth. 

  1. Cultivate a positive attitude

Be careful of negative self-talk and limiting beliefs.  Consciously see the good in all things and in others.  But be objective.  Look for value.  Cultivate and maintain a positive attitude. 

  1. Be inspired

Believing in something greater than ‘self’ helps to ‘keep you going’.  Look for inspiration.  Being motivated stems from being inspired.  Maintain a level of motivation and results will be better. 

  1.  Keep up appearances

Maintain high standards for the group and individually.  Make sure the ‘outside’ is not a veneer.  Allow your authentic self to shine through.  

And don’t judge a book by its cover. The cover is not the book – the contents may be very different. 

If you are interested in finding out more about our ‘leadership development’ programmes, or any of the other services we offer, you are welcome to contact us directly on brenda@strategy-leadership.com or Phone: +27 33 3425432, Mobile: + 27 82 4993311.

 Posted by at 8:38 pm

Branding: The wrapping

 Coaching  Tagged with: , , ,
Apr 182012
 

Each of us is a gift to the world.  At first it is only the outside wrapping that the recipients see.  Yet, often the ‘authentic self’ lies deeply hidden beneath layers of protective wrapping, containers and other necessities that will help the gift to remain intact.  Sometimes the numbers of layers can be part of the ‘game of life’.  At children’s parties, there are often shrieks of glee as the game of ‘pass the parcel’ ‘hots up’ and we wait to see where the present ‘lands’ and who will be the next person to rip off another layer.  Usually it is only at the end that we discover the content. 

Wrapping impacts on many aspects of our lives and the way we present ourselves and our products is important.  Just as we might give a Kruger coin to some-one in recognition of an achievement, we might give the same gift on the birth of a baby.  However, in most cases we’d wrap the gift differently so that it is appropriate to the occasion and best suits the recipient. This concept applies directly to our personal branding and also to our corporate branding.  These two need to be congruent in order to build trust. 

Let me tell you a story to illustrate my point: There has been a slight shift in my life and I’m excited to now be certified as an integral coach.  Recognising an opportunity to combine my love of ‘coaching’ and of ‘speaking’ I have just developed a new keynote, ‘What you say matters’.  On Thursday April 12 I presented this talk for the first time in Sydney, Australia and today, Wednesday April 18 it will be launched in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.  But these are very different organisations and the audiences have diverse needs.  How can my keynote best solve a challenge in their lives?  The content is virtually the same.  But how do we attract people there so that they can hear the message?  The key is in the wrapping. 

So, as an example, click here (The Wrapping) to see the two different adverts – one for the City Business SWAP group (emphasis on professional selling) and the other for the Leadership Forum of the Chamber of Business which attracts mainly organisations, corporates and educators. 

My questions for you are:

  • What are you doing to ensure that your personal brand is a true reflection of yourself and not a veneer?
  • How congruent are your personal branding and corporate branding?
  • Is the ‘wrapping’ appropriate for the intended recipients?

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be more confident in showing your ‘personal brand’?  What is holding you back?  For help in developing your ‘personal brand’ (group training or individual coaching) or to book this keynote please contact me – Phone: +27 33 3425432, Mobile: + 27 82 4993311, brenda@strategy-leadership.com

 Posted by at 8:33 am

Get your message across – creatively!

 Communication Skills Training  Tagged with: , , , ,
Apr 102012
 

Poor communication is often stated as a major problem in business and prevents progress.   This applies to both the organisation’s internal and external communication. 

In ‘Brenda Eckstein International’s’ training programmes, we help individuals to enhance their competence in this field.  By improving their personal effectiveness, productivity increases. The ripple effect can be enormous. 

I usually consolidate participants’ input after each session and reflect on what I can learn from it.  That way I can ‘continuously improve’ on my own performance as a trainer and also explore ways to ‘self-generate’. 

Recently after one of our most popular EYES (Enhance Your Executive Skills) Communication Skills Workshops in which we cover ‘effective delegation’, ‘giving instructions’ and ‘how to be more assertive’ I was updating the input from ‘Lessons from the Tree’.  In this exercise, participants observe and then instruct their partners to draw a specific tree.  There are many lessons to be learnt from this simple exercise.  And the CEO’s in the group learn as much as those in less senior positions!  Improving their communication skills through these concepts enable them to generate more time to spend on strategic issues. 

What fascinated me after this particular workshop was that I copied-and-pasted the participants’ combined input into a ‘Word Cloud’.   Have a look at the picture!  It came out looking like a tree.  What a co-incidence! 

Yes, creativity adds energy and can help to broaden our perspectives.  We constantly need to find new ways of ‘getting our message across’.  Different people vary in the way they of absorb information.   So, use a range of ways of providing information and you have more chance of closing the gap between your intention in sending your message and the recipient’s perception of your message. 

Most of our training is ‘in house’ and specially tailored for companies.  However we do run occasional ‘public’ workshops on this topic.  The next will be held in KwaZulu-Natal in May 2012 - Pietermaritzburg on Thursday, May 10 2012 and Mooi River on Thursday, May 17 2012. 

For more information on our training sessions on this topic please contact me – Phone: +27 33 3425432, Mobile: + 27 82 4993311, brenda@strategy-leadership.com

 Posted by at 7:00 am

Botswanan safari: customer service at its best

 Customer Service  Tagged with: , , , , ,
Apr 032012
 

In the previous article I gave an example of flexibility in the African bush. I also spoke about how the team at Chobe under Canvas manages to quietly maintain excellent levels of service while coping with extraordinarily difficult circumstances. 

Here, I’m providing a different example from the same trip and emphasising how the teams of ‘&Beyond’ live up to their name in going ‘way beyond’ the norms that we usually experience in customer service.  They most certainly more than ‘go the extra mile’. 

Another camp that we stayed at was the Nxabega Okavango Tented Camp.  The photo below outlines some of the restrictions which impact heavily on the normal ways in which staff can usually serve their customers (please read it – this is real!):

 And yes, at dawn on Day 2, the guides spotted fresh leopard ‘footprints’ within 10 metres of our accommodation!  So, instilling a sense of safety is inherent in the staff’s way of operating.  If guests don’t feel safe they can’t enjoy their African Experience.  They need a ‘secure base’ from which to function.  

A different aspect of safety gave yet another example of the staff’s service ‘going the extra mile.  Let me tell you about it: 

My husband, Edgar is unfortunately handicapped and we knew that this would most probably limit his ability to go on many of the game-drives, or boat trips that the rest of our party would enjoy.  And after all, our main purpose in being there was to explore the Delta with the seasonal and permanent swamp areas.  However, our personal guide Max found ways of helping Ed to participate in many of the activities.  In the Delta area he and Thembe even carried Ed from the boat.  Whenever we stopped at islands in the swamp for coffee or brunch picnics, they chose places where they could safely carry him and enable him to participate.  We are very grateful.

Brenda Eckstein photographing Thembe and Max carrying Edgar from the boat.

We are all serving others.  Every day of our lives there are opportunities for us to ‘go the extra mile’.  What are you going to do today to enrich some-one’s life?  How are you building your business through really caring about others?  Whom are you serving in your personal life and how can you improve your service to them?  How can you be your own ‘best customer’? 

‘Brenda Eckstein International’ specialises in Customer Service Strategy and training in Customer Service.  For more information please contact me – Phone: +27 33 3425432, Mobile: + 27 82 4993311, brenda@strategy-leadership.com.

 Posted by at 7:00 am
 Older Entries
© Copyright 2011 Brenda Eckstein International
© 2011 Brenda Eckstein International Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha

WordPress Website by Gary