SBG Learning Strategies

New Program!!!

Sharon — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:07:48 +0000

I am flying to NYC today to meet with Niki Flacks, Charla Montgomery and Marsha Clark to develop our new program Women Leaders Talk. Many woman today are in positions of leadership and power. Yet we still have a disparity of pay, power and authority. Women need the skills that their male counterparts naturally exhibit when they are in negotiations, leading meetings, giving presentations and coaching their direct reports. This new program will be a two day intensive leadership communication training course that is geared specifically to women who hold positions of leadership or hope to one day. It will be a must for any professional woman looking to improve her performance as a leader! More information coming soon!!!

It’s 2012!

Sharon — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 03:34:02 +0000

A new year, quite a few new programs and designs. I’ve been working non stop since last December (that is December 2010) and it’s been a fabulous year.

The most recent program design includes VirtualTalk offered by The Bergerac Group. We have a lot of customization we can do with this virtual communication skills program. Pilot programs have already been successful with Novation, Westinghouse and VHA as of this week.

Another new program is Delighting Customers for Life, a PPG MVP program. This program uses the Kano model of customer satisfaction along with Social Style profiling to learn how to meet various customer needs.

If 2012 is anything like 2011, I will be busy. We are also looking at making Virtual Talk into a book. So, stay tuned. Lots and lots of new things coming up. Have a blessed New Year. I know I will!

How Driving Style People Can be More Effective

Sharon — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 14:41:54 +0000

SOCIAL STYLE TIp of the Day
What Can A Driving Style Do to Please Co-workers?
Working on your Style’s Growth Action is a sure-fire way to improve interactions with colleagues. For Driving Style people, that means doing a better job of listening. Because they are very active and energetic, they frequently do not slow down long enough to gather important information. They can help others, as well as their own productivity, by taking the time to listen to others’ input, ideas, and concerns. Although it can be challenging to do this, it will actually add to their efficiency because they will be better informed and they will earn the support of their co-workers.

Social Styles – Analytical

Sharon — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 17:13:15 +0000

How to Compliment an Analytical Style

Analytical people are concerned about doing things right and appreciate compliments about their expertise and the quality of their work. Link their contributions to the meaningful effects their work had on the organization, giving concrete examples of the benefits of their accomplishments. They like to see the value of their work and you can continue to motivate by pointing out the quality of their efforts. Though they generally aren’t opposed to public recognition, keep it simple and professional.

Social Style Tip of the Day – Analyticals and Management

Sharon — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 21:15:57 +0000

What do Analytical Style People Look for in their Manager?
These individuals look to their managers for recognition of their efforts and support for their activities. Because they often consider themselves to be specialists in a certain area, they want their managers to notice their efforts and support them in these endeavors. They like to do things right, or follow particular processes and strategies, so they can be motivated by managers who place value on their way of doing things. They also look to their managers for professional competence, and will expect them to have a good sense of direction for the department.

Social Style Tip of the Day

Sharon — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 14:11:19 +0000

How to Hold a Meeting with a Driving Style
First, do not schedule a meeting unless it is necessary. These people don’t like to waste their time. When you do have to meet, plan ahead to use your time efficiently and effectively. Have a clear agenda and focus on the goals or outcomes. Be brief and clear about your opinions, and expect that the person will freely express his or her own viewpoints. If possible, try to make decisions quickly and end the meeting on time.

The Ten Essential Elements of Communication

Sharon — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 00:36:11 +0000

One of my main partners is The Bergerac Group out of Dallas, Texas. They are the world leaders of communication skills training and consulting. Here are some ideas from what they consider to be the Ten Essential Elements of Communication. I will do one each week for the next few weeks to keep you plugged in!

1. Confidence – As a mom of a young lady about to do the Miss South Carolina pageant, I know how hard it is to exude confidence in front of a large audience. But what about in our everyday presentations and meetings. Or our interactions with tough customers. Confidence is one of those things that you either have, or you just need to act like you have! They say “fake it til you make it”. We teach people to pay very close attention to their body language because that is the first place people look for confidence. A lot of people think that their data and information speaks for itself. But that just isn’t true. Yes you need the data to be correct. But you also need to communicate it in a compelling way.

So, how do you do that? Think about things like posture, whether or not you hold good eye contact when looking at other people. Use your hands and gestures to create your ideas in space rather than just flapping your hands around or holding them tightly in front of you. Make your gestures meaningful. And as we say at the Bergerac Group, “always let your armpits breathe!” That means bringing your arms away from your body which opens you up and makes you look confident. Think Broadway actress at the end of a song. Of course if I had videos on here I could show you. I’m working on that! Really!

Confidence also comes from your facial expressions. Don’t be afraid to use what God has given you. Smile, or be expressive. Have energy and enthusiasm for your content. Nothing “sells” like enthusiasm.

And finally, be sure you are prepared. Whether or not you have a difficult conversation or a big presentation, you need to think and practice what you will say. I do it in the car on my way to an appointment. I don’t even feel like a crazy person anymore when I talk through content in my car because everyone is talking on their cell phones.

Hope this has been helpful. If you know someone who could use fabulous communication skills training, please let me know. sbgregory45@yahoo.com

Feedback

Sharon — Tue, 04 May 2010 01:36:47 +0000

Truth or Consequences: How to Give Employee Feedback By Judith Lindenberger
Why is it that many of us put off giving feedback to our employees even though we intuitively know that giving and getting honest feedback is essential to grow and develop and to build successful organizations? Maybe it is because there are so many ways to screw it up.
Here are ten common feedback mistakes:
1. Speaking out only when things are wrong. “Praise to a human being represents what sunlight, water and soil are to a plant – the climate in which one grows best.” – Earl Nightingale
2.”Drive-by” praise without specifics or an honest underpinning. – “Great job!”
3. Waiting until performance or behavior is substantially below expectations before acting on it.
4. Giving positive or negative feedback long after the event has occurred.
5. Not taking responsibility for your thoughts, feelings and reactions. “This comes straight from the boss.”
6. Giving feedback through e-mail messages, notes, or over the telephone.
7. Giving negative feedback in public.
8. Criticizing performance without giving suggestions for improvement.
9. No follow up afterwards.
10. Not having regularly scheduled performance review meetings.
Giving and receiving clear and constructive feedback requires courage and skill, and is essential to building good relationships with and motivating peak performance from your team.
Here are four tips for how to do right:
1. Be proactive. Nip issues in the bud and avoid the messy interpersonal tangles that result from neglected communication. Meeting with employees on a monthly or quarterly basis instead of annually, for example, conveys, “Your success is important to me, so I want to be accessible to you.”
to me, so I want to be accessible to you.”
2. Be specific. It’s never easy to provide negative feedback regarding someone’s work, but as a leader you can’t avoid it. Be as clear as possible when providing feedback (both positive and negative). Give specific examples that illustrate your points.
For example: Instead of saying, “Your attitude is bad” or “That didn’t work,” you might say something like, “When you miss deadlines, then cross your arms and look away when I discuss it with you, it gives me the impression that you don’t care about the quality of your work. I’d like to believe this isn’t true. Can you help me explain this better?”
3. Develop a progress plan. Be clear about the specific changes in behavior that you expect in a specific period of time, and follow up as scheduled.
4. Link employees’ performance to organizational goals. Reinforce the value of your employees’ contributions by giving specific examples of how their work and positive behaviors serve the organization and its customers.
If you are not doing these
work and positive behaviors serve the organization and its customers.
If you are not doing these things, why would anyone else in your organization do them? Craft a performance appraisal process that encourages truth or consequences

Communication Skills – Feedback

Sharon — Tue, 04 May 2010 01:35:16 +0000

SBG Learning Strategies adds Social Style Courses to Product List

Sharon — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 21:47:30 +0000

It’ going to be an exciting year! Even in the midst of a still lagging economy, I am finding that my clients are using as many resources as possible to improve performance, and stay on the cutting edge of their competition. One of those resources is training for themselves and employees!

It is with pleasure that SBG Learning Strategies will now be a reseller of Social Style training offered by TRACOM Corp. This no nonsense training affects everything from communication to leadership and motivation and sales. Looking at preferred behaviors of different people, an individual learns how to better communicate on the level of the recipient. This helps leaders and managers understand how to best connect with every individual on their team. Call it interpersonnal effectiveness training, or performance enhancement. Whatever the case, this training is easy to recall on the job due to a tried and true model that has been used for 50 years.

The two day Mastery Course helps individuals not only understand their preferred behaviors in certain situations, but it also allows them to understand others in which they interact. The participant will assess themselves and enlist feedback from other significant people in the workplace or life to give them a whole picture of how they perceive themselves and how others perceive them.

Versatility is the second part of this training that gives participants a number of improvement opportunities where they can build skills to help them communicate, plan, coach and support others.

This training is a highly interactive two day course, or can be broken down into a one day and or a half day at a time depending on client needs. For more information, contact sbgregory45@yahoo.com