Leadership Skills: Developing others

Posted on October 30, 2016 by Angela Amess

Leadership has many qualities but there is one that is often overlooked –  supporting the personal development of others.

I have always been passionate about personal development and, having been in the financial services industry for over thirty years now, have been through enough performance reviews and listened to plenty of colleagues’ moaning about lack of progression, that I know it is not always   given the attention it deserves.

Whilst this post focuses on the benefits of supporting others in their development, don’t forget that the bottom line is, each of us is responsible for our own personal development. It is others that can help us take it forward.

Selfish or selfless?

It is all too easy to concentrate on yourself and forget those around you, yet one of the most rewarding parts of being a leader is to know that you had a hand to play in helping someone else becomes the best that they can be.

In an industry where jobs always seem to be at risk, I do think there’s a risk of being selfish, protecting ones’ own interests over that of others’. After all it is difficult to get to the top of the career ladder, why should you help someone else when they could end up taking your job?

Even if you are typically someone who believes in supporting others, if you’re working flat out all the time, always playing catch up on those emails, keeping on top of projects  and attending meeting after meeting, it can be easy to forget how you can contribute to the development of others.

Don’t let those opportunities pass.

Value

Being a leader that supports the personal developing others within your organisation adds value all round.

  • Improved staff morale: staff that know their own development and career goals are taken seriously and supported will be happier and more likely to follow you as you their leader
  • Improved performance: Skills, knowledge and experience that is continually stretched can lead to more efficient working and better processes
  • Enhanced reputation: for you and the organisation. If you become recognised as a pro-active supporter of personal development, individuals will be keen to be a member of your team/organisation
  • Pay it forward: supporting others will encourage them to do the same, causing a ripple effect of positive behaviours

And finally, for purely selfish reasons, it makes you feel good.

How?

  • Mentoring: working in partnership with your mentee, supporting them through regular discussion and positive actions
  • Coaching: teaching others on specific skills or enhancing their knowledge
  • Supporting the study of formal qualifications
  • Structured career discussions and action plans
  • Giving talk and sharing your skills, knowledge or experience

What next?

I will expand on the “How” in another blog, in the mean time – take a look at your team,colleagues and professional network. Is there at least one person you could give a helping hand  in their personal development?

Go on – you will be amazed as to how much it will mean to them (and you)……

 

 

 

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Language matters: choose your words carefully

Posted on August 8, 2015 by Angela Amess

I had the privilege of being Grammarian on Tuesday at Guildford Speakers Club – A role that does not come naturally to me. I expect there will be grammatical errors on this page.

As with many of my passions, in speech writing I follow my heart and not my head. I do not have a grasp of the technical side of the English language, yet I understand the importance of the way words are used. In preparation for my role, I needed to remind myself of what adjectives, alliteration and analogies are, making notes on my smartphone for later reference.

When I introduced my role at the start of the evening, I also explained that I had set myself a challenge ….. to come up with a concise and interesting description of my job. I am a compliance professional and whilst there is never a dull moment in this world, to others it probably sounds rather boring.

Throughout the evening I listened intently to the participants, whether they were introducing their supporting role, delivering their prepared speech or taking up the challenge of topics. I made notes of any words or phrases that I thought added interest or impact to what the speaker was saying, then, during the short break, looked up my own reference notes to ensure that I would be able to accurately describe the form of grammar the words or phrases demonstrated.

I managed to deliver a successful summary of the evening and went home happy, having learnt that pattern or rythm adds interest and can help make something more memorable (alliteration or trios for example); and that the use of well chosen descriptive words (adjectives) can create imagry or cause an emotional response, whether it raises a laugh or brings a tear.

Language matters.

Oh yes…I did come up with a concise desciption of my job:

“As a compliance professional I relentlessly risk assess against regulatory requirements”

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On a cold and frosty morning

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Angela Amess

The frost was determined to make a real entrance yesterday and was still evident at midday. We went for a stroll over the fields, through local woodland and onto a lovely country pub. Coat, hat and gloves kept out the cold, until I decided to take a few pics.

I was not expecting to see such fascinating structures and shapes formed by the frost, i-phone at the ready, hubby sighs deeply as he realises this is now going to be a walk of many parts, as I regularly pause to take “just one more” photo.

My dodgy shoulder makes it difficult to hold the phone too high and can impact steadiness, which is very frustrating.

When taking shots of frost/snow covered leaves, ideally you need a darker background to highlight the contrast. Not always easy.

My efforts resulted in a picture of holly leaves, grasses and small branches edged with frost, that looks like tiny shards of glass.

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Time for change

Posted on November 3, 2013 by Angela Amess

We all reach times in our life when we feel the need to change direction or focus, well this is such a time.

Keen to continue my compliance profession, which I love because there is never time to get bored; I am also determined to find time to follow my other passions. It is for this reason I have re-ignited my blog pages and giving them a bit of an overhaul.

Oh what fun, how do I add a page? How do I change the photo at the top of the page? How do I add a link? What does push notification mean?

I get the feeling I am at the beginning of a rather large learning curve.

Mastered this weekend – changing blog names, adding pages and even linking a Twitter feed. I have surprised myself.

Be patient dear readers, I think this may take a while to get up and running but I am loving it already.

 

 

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