Assalamualaikum and Hello,
Thanks for swinging by. We are now three months past 2015, how time flies.
This year, my first class is with Mendaki and it's Leadership and People Management (LPM) Course.
In this six months course, we will be taught in depth on skills that are useful especially in daily work-life.
The first module introduced is Develop Self and it's being taught by Sofyanty Hassan (Sofi).
It's interesting to have her as my first ever LPM Operations Level in 2013 was conducted
by her too :)
The module was opened by showing on how vital effective communication is. Effective communication is when information given is well received without disturbance and understood.
I was exposed on the three communication models:
a) Action Model ~ One way communication
b) Reaction Model ~ Two way communication with disturbance thus not effective
c) Transaction Model ~ Two way communication that is most effective
In communication, we can talk with our mouth (verbal), hand (writing & non-verbal) and body language (non verbal). Thus we must always be of using the proper words, tone and language regardless to whom we speak to.
In Malay, there's a saying "Terlajak perahu boleh diundurkan, terlajak kata badan binasa", it simply means to mind our words when we open our mouth.
9 years of working, I noticed that a well respected leader adapts transaction type of communication.
They will ensure that I understood what they say and most importantly they listen to our inputs.
Yes, I have had experiences with one-way (action) type of bosses [notice how I changed from leader to boss? :)] Believe it or not,I felt that I wasn't growing and unappreciated. The boss would implement what he thinks best and rarely accepts others' advice.
Hence I realize that it is crucial to listen attentively and be in open-mind whenever we converse because it makes an impact to the other party.
In our third lesson, Sofi played a video from one of Simon Sinek's presentation on his 'Golden Circle'.
It's mind blowing on how simple and effective if we turn around the communication on prioritizing to tell first why we do what we do, followed by how we do things and lastly what we do.
When I first join the workforce in 2006, I was a telemarketer. With little coaching and no experience in sales, it was hard for me to persuade people to buy thus I didn't hit the target set. This made me believe that I'm no good in sales and marketing. After leaving that position and finally got into Accounting, I still find that having good communication skills is important in any job scope and even in daily lives.
It is because we communicate everyday. Thus knowing how to overcome difficulties or barriers, using the right policy, procedures and channels can make huge impact in getting our message across clearly.
Tell tale signs when you are communicating effectively is when your audience or the receiver response, feedback and give comments. They will be able to discuss and brainstorm ideas that can enhance the end results.
After learning the essentials in communication, we were taught *drumrolls* Decision Making skills!
I'm ecstatic as yours truly is lacking in this area and learning it just adds the confidence to make a decision. So by the end of the day, I shall be able to choose whether to buy a YSL bag or go for Europe trip. lol
In life, there are surely times when we face a situation and a tough decision has to be made.
Hence bear in mind that being rational helps in picking the best option and ensure that is well planned, organised and inspire others. Whatever it is, being accountable for it is a MUST.
Gather necessary information such as customer feedbacks, surveys, focus groups, observation etc to evaluate.
Take in the risks of costs incurred and chance of failure or success.
Not forgetting consequences like the decision impact, compliance requirements, statutory obligations and staff resistance. Then take your time to analyse it by looking at the demograhics, competitors and market.
And so.... I have decided to go for the Europe trip and buy a YSL bag while in Paris - kill two birds with one stone. hehe
The last Competency Element (CE) we went through is Develop and Maintain Professional Competence.
In this CE, we had to be brutaly honest with ourselves on our strengths and weaknesses.
There's a difference in a leader and a boss.
A leader leads, inspire, inovates, originates, challenge things, etc. While a boss instruct staffs to do and never groom them.
Review and evaluate through performance feedback through superiors, colleagues and oneself.
Be in open-mind and make a determination to eliminate those weaknesses. Try to build and groom ourselves by improving our strengths and learn new ones.
Take the initiatives to bloom our potentials from asking for advice from mentoring and coaching.
Learn from the correct people and tap on their knowledge. Keep a journal on our progress thus we can see the milestone we've been through and if there's improvement, it will definitely motivate us.
I admit that I'm not the brightest student in school. However in order to be on par in the job market and staying relevant, I pushed myself to attend classes to upgrade and improve expertise in my working field also soft skills. It is not easy and tiring especially during peak season (audit) but I'm grateful for the doors of opportunities that were and are open after improving myself, Alhamdullilah.
Today, 4th April will be our last day of class with Sofi. It has been a smooth sailing and eye-opening journey. I wish her all the best and would like to take this opportunity to congratulate her in welcoming her baby soon. Thank you for your time and effort in passing us the knowledge all these years :)
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