Prime Performance News

Burnout

2011-01-25T19:26:00.000-08:00

You might think it is odd to start the New Year by talking about burnout, but it is something that needs to be guarded against whether you are running your own small business or if you are in a position which has high energy demands.

Specifically, burnout occurs when there is dissonance between your level of engagement and your level of job satisfaction. There are many factors which can lead to burnout and here are the most common:

Getting stuck in the day to day running of your business

We may think that running our own business is very satisfying, until we burn out. What we have not registered, along the way, is the insidious drain on our energy of those tasks that we really don't enjoy.

Work-life imbalance

Another cause of burnout is lack of work-life balance. I once spoke to a business professional who said he just didn't get what all the fuss was about. He felt his life was in balance because he spent all his time at work and he loved what he did for a living. A short time later he was forced into early retirement because of ill-health - he was unaware that we need time-out to take care of the body that carries us through life and also to make time for the personal relationships that support us and enrich our lives.

Time management and letting go

Business owners often feel overwhelmed and constantly under pressure; the symptoms of burnout. So they neglect to make the time to develop those people to whom thay could delegate the tasks they find draining.

To take a free test for burnout follow this link:
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTCS_08.htm#Table
If you score 33-49, contact Prime Performance to assist you to reduce your risk.

Employees burnout too. Unfortunately, if we don't provide a workplace culture that nourishes our employees, their enthusiasm withers; they disengage.

There are ways to measure engagement, identify areas of concern and then provide coaching or training to close the gaps.

Burnout may prevent you (and your key people) from being fully engaged in achieving the goals of your business. You may not have the energy to give your business the attention and focus it deserves. And, if this is the case, that lack of focus may well be causing you to lose customers, performance and profits. We don’t want that!! Prime Performance is able to help business owners, executives and managers to determine their level of engagement using an on-line survey with follow up one-to-one coaching to reduce your risks of burnout.

For more information email Prime Performance via http://primeperformance.com.au

Grow Your People

2010-11-22T19:51:00.000-08:00

Get the best out of yourself and retain talented employees

This sustainable human resource management program helps you with strategies to improve people performance by maximising the value of each member to achieve business success; thereby increasing productivity and profitability.

The Program also frees up business owners, from micro-managing the day to day running of the business, so they can focus on "big picture" strategies.

The emphasis of this program is on:

learning how to improve people performance
assisting you, the business owner, in developing your own interpersonal and people management (leadership) skills
formulating a solution-based HR plan to develop your skills and your people
maximising productivity and business growth
succession planning
releasing you from everyday roles and tasks to focus on what energises you.

Benefits:

for businesses without the resources to employ Human Resources [HR] staff or with limited HR training.
assists the business to attract and retain key employees
learn to provide a workplace environment conducive to growth and job satisfaction

$1500 subsidy:

Eligible businesses will receive a $1500 fee subsidy from the Department of Industry, Innovation and Regional Development.

Follow this link for more information:
http://primeperformance.com.au/growyourpeople.html

Leadership paradigm shift

2010-11-01T22:19:00.000-07:00

As you probably realise by now, I have officially declared this week 'Leadership Week'. For those of you who have followed this blog and read the previous article, or watched the video, you are probably seeing a theme emerge. Yes, I am trying to drag you screaming and kicking off your viewpoint (about Leadership) so you can establish a "viewing" point.

What is my motivation for doing this? Well, it's all about creating happy, harmonious, productive workplaces where people can't wait to get to work.

'There goes that ("blue") cock-eyed optimist", I hear you say. But, you know me - I never say something unless I can prove it; that's the "green" in me. And it makes ("gold") economic sense. So, I'm appealing to the ("orange") entrepreneur in you all to give this some consideration:
What if you took a risk and tried something different? What's the worst that can happen?

In 2007, I presented at the NPODS Leadership conference in Sydney, where I met Daniel Pink, amongst other like-minded people. He seemed to be speaking my language, so I read his book and yey! here was someone who thought just like me. I wasn't insane!

I therefore present, for your entertainment, the following offering from Daniel. I don't want to spoil the surprising conclusions but, suffice to say, I am sure that you will agree that what motivates us all is AUTONOMY, MASTERY and PURPOSE. If, after watching this very entertaining piece (which, incidentally appeals to all "colours"), you want to make this happen in your organisation, you know who to call. No not Ghost busters! Prime Performance, of course: http://primeperformance.com.au/index.html

Now sit back and enjoy this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc&feature=player_embedded#!

The Essence of Leadership

2010-10-30T21:34:00.000-07:00

Many people in business believe they are leaders because they own a business and employ people. But what is the true essence of leadership?

Take a look at this short video on the essence of leadership:

http://www.theleadershipmovie.com/miami/?utm_source=NL&utm_medium=10.16.2010&utm_campaign=TEOL

then tick which of the following refers to you.

Do you:

have a service attitude and engender this in your people?
love what you do?
give your people recognition and praise?
cultivate optimism and a sense of humour in the workplace?
make striving for excellence a habit not a catch phrase?
live by core values every day?
let your people know you care about them?

Leadership is about creating a work culture that supports your people to deliver excellence in customer service

If you need coaching to achieve this, follow this link:

http://primeperformance.com.au/dimensions/workshops.html#2

Responsible Leadership

2010-10-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

What is your definition of Responsible Leadership? Do you think you are a responsible leader?

We all like to think we are acting in a responsible and ethical manner, but are we?

Prime Performance focusses on delivering training which improves communication and trust in the workplace. This is accomplished through developing a workplace culture that engages employees. http://primeperformance.com.au

Employers who value their employees have the qualities to show ethics and responsibility on a wider scale.

For a free forum on responsible leadership, follow this link:
http://responsibleleadership.eventbrite.com/?utm_source=Total+Executive+Community+Membership+Newsletter&utm_campaign=79c3d0f62f-Total_Executive_October_2010_Newsletter10_29_2010&utm_medium=email

Participation also entitles you to one year free membership valued at $495.

Becoming an employer of choice - creating an employee centred culture

2010-09-16T21:49:00.000-07:00

Prime Performance not only develops people for business, we also help the business owner to improve employee engagement, by creating an employee-centred culture.

Why is this important? Because employees who are engaged are more productive, enjoy working for the organisation and contribute to the success of the business, i.e. increased revenue.

What are the values of your organisation?

"Here are the values that the employees from two organisations chose to describe their company current culture. These two companies work in the same industry, are of similar size, have similar numbers of staff and work under exactly the same market conditions.

The staff at company A chose these words to describe the current culture.
1. client satisfaction
2. making a difference
3. integrity
4. teamwork
5. humour/fun
6. quality
7. ethics
8. financial stability

The staff from company B chose these words to decribe thier current culture.
1. blame
2. short term focus
3. internal competition
4. buck passing
5. risk averse
6. customer satisfaction
7. information hoarding
8. profit focussed

Where would you prefer to work? Which organisation would you guess is better at serving its employees and customers. Which is more profitable?"

(above examples provided courtesy of my Organisational Change Practitioner Network colleague - Phil Clothier, CEO of Barrett Values Centre,Bolton, UK)

If your organisation's values are more closely aligned with Company B, Prime Performance can help you shift towards Company A. (Prime Performance organisational culture development programs are consonent with Barrett values)

http://primeperformance.com.au

T: +613 9444 0511

Mentoring for Managers

2010-09-03T19:56:00.000-07:00

October is Anxiety and Depression Awareness Month.

Small business owners and managers are often at a loss as to how to approach this issue when one of their people is suffering from an emotional illness. In addition, the business owner needs to maintain the business in the face of lost productivity.

Prime Performance has developed a half-day workshop which enables the business owner to assist and support their people through grief, loss and depression, while maintaining the business.

Followers of Prime Performance News may bring a second participant from their organisation to this workshop for half price.

For more information please contact us at:
http://primeperformance.com.au

Upcoming Customer Service Workshop

2010-08-14T03:32:00.000-07:00

After being presented at the national sales conference of the Australian branch of a multinational company, Personality Dimensions Sales, Marketing & Customer Service workshop is now being offered to the broader business community.

Those businesses who have completed the Grow Your People program would be interested in this "add-on" to their toolkit of business and people development skills. However all businesses will benefit. The workshop will be on Wednesday 8 December 2010 and places are limited. Register at http://primeperformance.com.au

Using a tree as a metaphor, businesses usually focus on the the bark, i.e.client demographics, to get the fruit, i.e.sales. However, this workshop focuses on the soil (you and your preferences) and the roots (core needs of your clients) and teaches you how to adapt your style in order to nourish the roots so you get more fruit.