Are you a manager by chance or by choice?
The reason I ask this is because most managers become managers only by a matter of their vertical growth (by chance) in the organization and not necessarily because they can manage people well or that’s what they’d like to do (by choice).
I believe that most people are not prepared for the transition from managing self to managing others. Being successful as an individual is no measure of success for being successful as a manager. And I have seen several failures where the past glories and successes of individual contributors could not be replicated once they had a team to look after. It seemed as if they lost their own edge and couldn’t do a good job at getting others to perform either!
So what is it about becoming a good manager that is so illusive? Well, hardly anything! We have articles and books galore about how to become a good manager. They talk of leadership, managerial skills, trust and team-building skills, time-management skills and plenty more!
In my view, here are top 10 qualities of a good manager:
1) It is about people. People make companies not the other way around. Let no one tell you otherwise. So, effective managers focus on developing their people. Good managers know the skills and talents of their team and assign work accordingly.
2) It is about management. Good managers can’t do well if they don’t understand the business! Strong project management skills lead to an effective manager. If you have a great team but bad business – you can’t be a good manager.
3) It is about mutual respect. Good managers never flaunt their position or power to gain respect. They give respect and get it in return. Effective managers earn respect by their confidence, honesty, and skills at work.
4) It is about work ethics. Good managers have values and ethics and they live by them irrespective of the type of situation. They have high expectations from themselves and people who work with them. They are a living example to their team.
5) It is about being responsible and accountable. Good managers never shy away from taking responsibility and being accountable for their actions – no matter how good or bad. They are ready to face the consequences, accept mistakes, and learn from their actions. Their teams are able to follow the same.
6) It is about letting go. Good managers never micro-manage. They assign tasks, ensure the team has the right resources, and then let go. They delegate and they trust. And their team thrives.
7) It is about communication. Good managers know that communication is a two-way street. They are available to their team, listen openly, share information readily (not hoard it), and enable their teams to feel free to discuss any issue. They share feedback on time and expect to receive feedback from their teams too!
8) It is about thinking out-of-the-box. Good managers never shy away from processes but also don’t let processes and rules stop them from innovating. Good managers enable their teams to think creatively and are willing to take the risk.
9) It is about developing yourself. Sounds cliché – but good managers can’t develop people if they don’t focus on developing their own skills. Effective managers don’t end their learning at becoming the ‘boss’. Infact they just about start it there.
10) It is about still being friendly. Good managers don’t stop being friends just because they are the boss now. Instead, they are able to maintain a professional relationship at work without destroying their personal relationships. They are direct and never ‘use’ their friendships to get ahead.
Good managers are not born. They are made. And they are made by years of experience including both success and failures. Just remember to practice being a good manager, prepare yourself for the role, and don’t be like the boss you always disliked!
Blended learning is not a new thing. It is not a radical concept. It is not a new-age way of thinking about learning. As Elliott Masie puts it: “We are, as a species, blended learners.” So, the blend existed much before we understood and (re)defined it.
What does blended learning mean?
There are many definitions of blended learning. Some focus on the technology (aka Internet) and others focus on the theories to be blended. For yet others, a blend is all about the media – combination of instructor-led and elearning. There are a few who only call it a blend when it’s a combination of different types of elearning:
• Blended Learning is a blending of different learning environments. This can mean also blending methods, techniques or resources and applying them ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blended_learning
• Learning methods that combine e learning with other forms of flexible learning and more traditional forms of learning such as face to face classes.
www.flexiblelearning.net.au/aboutus/jargonbuster.htm
• Learning events that combine aspects of online and face-to-face instruction.
esut.edu.ng/Glossary%20B.html
• A Learning approach that includes the use of appropriate combinations of information technologies--videoconferencing, audioconferencing, Internet, CD-ROM, and other media, combined with appropriate learning technologies, on-site facilitated activities, and strong learner support systems.
web.worldbank.org
• An educational formation the integrates elearning techniques including online delivery of materials through web pages, discussion boards and/or email with traditional teaching methods including lectures, in-person discussions, seminars, or tutorials.
www.teach-nology.com/glossary/terms/b/
• Learning that involves both online and in-person activities.
www.fastfind.com/Education/EduGlossary.aspx
I like the definition by Heinze and Procter who have developed the following definition for blended learning in higher education:
"Blended learning is learning that is facilitated by the effective combination of different modes of delivery, models of teaching and styles of learning, and is based on transparent communication amongst all parties involved with a course."
For me, this definition is more complete since it allows instructional designers to create a blend of many more aspects that just Internet-based vs. face-to-face learning. And it focuses on transparent communication – more on that later.
So, what can you blend?
Well pretty much everything! You can blend theories of learning and use different learning models for different learning outcomes. You can blend the media components (perhaps most common) and provide enough variety to the learning process. You can also blend different styles of learning as understood today. The important thing to remember is that it needs to be integrated and seamless. That’s where good communication or transparent communication (from the definition above) comes into play.
This is not an exhaustive list. But here are some possible components of a blend:
Synchronous face-to-face
• Instructor-led classroom training
• Workshops
• Conferences
• Coaching/mentoring
• On-the-job (OTJ) training
• Work teams
Synchronous online
• Webinars
• Live elearning (Virtual classrooms)
• E-mentoring
• Chats
• Work teams
• Immersive technologies (such as SecondLife)
Asynchronous online
• Email
• Bulletin boards
• Communities
• Discussion Forums
• Documentation
• Job-aids online or on PDAs
• Online assessments
• Web-based learning modules
• Online resources
• Simulations and virtual labs
• Audio, video, and mobile learning
• Workbooks
• Social media
Is there the perfect blend?
Is there a single blend that prescribes the best way of producing the right mix? No. They can never be. This is because the term ‘blended learning’ and what it means keeps changing depending on the context in which it is used. Today, the blend is of face-to-face and Internet-based media. Tomorrow, the blend will be based on mobile and social learning, Web 2.0, and 3D immersive environments. Today, the social media elements are a probable component of the blend. Can’t say this was a possibility 10 years ago.
Is blended learning for everyone?
Blended learning provides the much needed extension of learning in both space and time. It has been proved to be an effective way to learn. But it is still not for everyone. Like Garrison and Vaughan, 2008 put it:
“Blended course redesign requires a willingness to step back and consider the goals and range of possibilities, strategies, techniques, and tools.”
There are many things to consider before designing a blended learning intervention for example:
• The learning outcomes or objectives
• The design and content of the course
• The learner analysis – motivation and comfort with multi-media
• Use of technology and new media elements
• The degree of collaboration/interaction
• The degree of feedback and level of instruction
• Assessment and evaluation of training
• The role of the instructor/facilitator
To make blended learning a success think why before you think how.
We cannot underestimate the value of feedback. Feedback is an important aspect of building a constructive relationship - personal and professional. It is an invitation to interact. It can help improve our performance and change our behaviour. It can help us become self-aware and also allow us to help others discover themselves.
Most of us know and understand the importance of feedback. But when it is time to give or receive it; we are not at our comfortable best. I can assure you, it is not easy and it does not come naturally. Giving and receiving feedback is a skill that needs to be developed consciously and our minds need to be trained for it.
Several articles and books explain the right method and process to give feedback. I will restrict myself to sharing tips about giving and receiving feedback that have worked well for me. Also, people generally don’t have much difficulty in giving and receiving positive feedback so some of the tips are better suited for constructive/developmental/negative feedback.
Giving Feedback
- Any time is a good time for giving feedback - Don’t wait for the end of the assignment/project/year to give an important piece of feedback that would have made the difference along the way. Remember, feedback is not an annual process! If you are ready and the individual is ready, the time is right!
- Plan the feedback session – It is not a good idea to give feedback on an ad-hoc basis, in between other meetings, in the hallway, when surrounded by other people etc. Make it planned. Make it personal. One thing that helps me is to note down my observations (good and bad) when working with my team. Keeping a note of what could possibly be used for a feedback session later always helps. I don’t trust my memory as much as I trust my notes!
- Be prepared – Don’t start or end in an abrupt manner. Before the meeting, make a note of all the things that you want to discuss and ensure that you use list to conduct the meeting. Keep your body language calm and open. Keep your intentions clear.
- Focus on performance not the person – This is by far the most important aspect of giving feedback. Remember ‘making it personal’ is different from ‘making it person-specific’! Remember to use references to specific actions or behaviours that were good or unacceptable in a certain situation. Do not judge a person when giving feedback.
- Describe, don’t prescribe - Ensure that you give descriptive examples of how/when/where you observed the good/unacceptable behaviour. Describe the situation objectively and use objective words rather than judgemental words. Do not generalize the behaviour. Keep it situation-specific and avoid using the terms always, never etc. Describe the impact of the behaviour on the individual, on the job, on the team, on you etc.
- Pause, observe, and reflect –Generally, when people set out to give feedback, it almost always seems rushed, one-way, and like a task that has to be completed. It is not. It is a process. Take it slow and give enough pauses in between the conversation that allow you to observe and reflect. Ensure that the feedback is clear to the individual. The pauses also give the individual a chance to absorb what is being discussed. Check with her how she is feeling about the dialogue and give her a chance to speak and discuss.
- Summarize and close – At the end of the session, it is important to summarize the key points of a discussion and then follow it up with a written document/email that reinforces the key aspects of the dialogue. If the individual requests for advice, offer ideas and suggestions. Keep away from giving instructions. Help individuals make the right choice, don’t make it for them. And finally, don’t expect dramatic changes in a short while.
Remember, giving feedback is a two-way process. Until the feedback has been received and acknowledged by the individual, there is no ‘giving’ that has happened.
Receiving Feedback
- Seek feedback – Feedback is an opportunity to develop and grow. If your supervisors have missed giving you feedback in a while, ask for it. Encourage people to give you feedback. If you are open about it, you will receive it frequently!
- Listen actively– It is not very easy to do this especially when it is time for some constructive/ developmental/negative feedback. But be patient and listen carefully without interrupting. One is tempted to defend herself or rationalise the behaviour that was observed. Resist that feeling.
- Clarify and share - After hearing the feedback, check to ensure that you understood it correctly. Take notes. Ask questions. Ask your supervisor to share specific examples of what they observed and when. Share your feelings about the feedback without justification or rationalization. Ask for suggestions and ideas to make things better.
- Reflect and consider – After the feedback session, reflect on what was discussed. Take time to think. Refer to your notes about the specific behaviours and actions that were discussed. Check with your peers and friends. Perhaps they had observed the same but were shy to share it. Decide what you want to do about the feedback. Try one of the suggestions or ideas mentioned during the meeting. Try to do things differently and do your best to resolve the issues.
Remember, when receiving feedback, you don’t have to agree with everything that you hear. But it is important for you to hear it and decide what you want to do about it.
