February 22, 2025, Coaching is the most effective tool for managers to improve sales performance. The highly successful sales managers are the ones who are always learning and developing their own skills so that they can lead their team to achieve sales goals effectively. This is even more significant for managers who are experienced and have been very successful as an individual contributor and are now managing a team.  New research identifies that businesses with a strong coaching culture demonstrate 21% higher profit margins and 20% higher productivity. Because of these findings, there is much emphasis on going beyond just being a typical sales manager to being an employee enablement coach. It is therefore imperative that Sales Managers need to be coached as well as refining them as a coach destined for a high-performance path. Performance Enablement Sales Coaching model explores the continuous relationship of activities, objectives and results. The goal alignment strategy helps in setting activities and objectives that are likely to produce the desired results. [custom_html id="10882"] "If I only had a dollar to spend on sales training, I'd spend 75 cents on the frontline sales managers." In this blog, we will look at the nuances of this process, the key tenets of a performance enablement model, and what modern sales management consists of in terms of sales manager functions and objectives. Understanding the Role of a Sales Manager (Source: seismic) DO YOU KNOW? A recent Seismic survey revealed that 80% of the respondents are confident that the company's enablement tools will be instrumental in helping them retain and attract more employees in 2024. What is a sales Manager? A sales manager manages a company's sales team, formulates a sales strategy, and delivers sales targets. He mainly keeps the company's revenues rolling while developing a great culture in the team. The Transformation of Sales Managers into Performance Enablement Model (Source: Mike Kunkle) My book details this Sales Management System and what I call the Sales Management Operating System. There is a great deal to unpack here within this system and this image, but if you take it from top to bottom and one bullet point at a time, I believe that the concepts clearly shine through. Implementation of a Sales Management System for Effective Involvement of Teams Overcoming the Obstacles to Effective Involvement of Frontline Sales Managers with the Teams Organization overloads most frontline sales managers, hence, not allowing proper time that should be used in interaction, performance diagnosis, and coaching. Empowerment of front-line sales managers to do their best Utilize a Sales Management System with an Operating System and an integrated Sales Coaching System to make a difference for the organization. The Sales Management System is instilled with a Sales Coaching System, along with models and processes that create innovation to achieve better sales results. Sales manager training, developing, and coaching front-line sales managers will enable their teams. A Step-by-Step Approach to High-Performance Sales Coaching 1. Coaching Framework Developing a coaching framework in terms of systems and well-defined processes which are conducive and easy to implement. Setting up a progressive and dynamic coaching framework is critical for rolling out effective high-performance coaching. (Source: thecenterforsalesstrategy) DO YOU KNOW? Companies where quality coaching is present reach 7% higher annual revenue growth. 2. Performance Benchmarks Identification of appropriate performance standards and key competencies required to achieve the desired performance lay the foundation of effective coaching structure 3. Goal Alignment Each team members have individual goals and aspirations which needs to channelize and aligned with organizational goals in a manner that motivates and energizes the team to perform 4. Sales Process Sales is a well-defined step-by-step process which needs to be impregnated into the team for higher conversions and better results. Effective sales processes mirror the customer’s buying processes and therefore coaching processes are defined accordingly. 5. Coaching Feedback Feedback in coaching is very important, constructive and specific feedback is the key to successful coaching. Feedback plays the most critical role in success and failure of team performance 6. Overcoming Obstructions Dealing with high emotions and Impasses are the biggest challenges faced by sales professionals. Good coaching techniques to overcome these obstructions is highly critical as most of the deals get stuck at this point and do not get closed. 7. Coaching for Performance The Sales Manager transforms as a Performance Coach, guiding and supporting the team members at every step of the sales process leading to higher conversions and better results. The successful implementation of this coaching model results in the following benefits: - Managers can assess the critical skills & performance gaps of their team members. Equip the team with highly impactful sales process. Facilitate the team with application of tools and techniques to reinforce learning. Develop the leadership coaching skills that help improve individual performance. Lead and effect behavior change conducive for performance mindset. Achieve Incremental sales performance. International Coach Federation Research shows that organizations investing in coaching achieve an average return on investment of 7:1. Now, let's dig into why coaching isn't just a feel-good initiative but instead a strategic business imperative with measurable returns. What Can AITD Do for the Sales Manager to Become a Performance Enablement Coach? To transform a modern business and make its sales force much more effective, a modern sales manager needs to be a performance enablement coach. This is in line with the performance enablement model but enables teams to perform at their best. Amity Institute of Training & Development (AITD) will provide such end-to-end sales manager training in developing a coaching culture. Coaching Culture Development with AITD AITD assists organizations in developing a coaching culture that inspires sales managers to become performance enablement coaches. This includes: Implementation of a structured framework for accessible and easy integration into the sales process. Identification of key competencies and performance standards of teams of sales. Alignment of individual and team goals with that of the organization. Training and support for sales managers on coaching skills development. Alignment with AITD's Expertise in Performance Enablement Coaching AITD skills in the areas of leadership development, sales enablement, and organisational transformation can be of service to an organisation looking to transform its sales managers into performance-enablement coaches. AITD will offer: Developing the personnel program in line with specific requirements of your organization and the sales teams involved Access to the professional network of coaches, trainers, and consultants who can guide them throughout the process of transformation. Continuous support and resources for maintaining the efficacy of organizations in performance enablement coaching will ensure it lasts in the long term. The conversion of sales managers into performance enablement coaches is what is crucial to sales success in the competitive business environment today. AITD can also assist companies in making the right sales manager training program that would help build capabilities and develop skills to improve the capacity of their organizational leadership and eventually boost performance and growth.

December 26, 2024, In today’s increasingly digitised and interconnected world, boundaries are blurred, collaborations are more fluid and the pressure on businesses and organisations to be agile is immense. Digital transformation is affecting every aspect of business from how we communicate, do our work or lead our teams. Current times are forcing leaders to redefine what leadership is about. It’s time for organisations to think of new ways of connecting, collaborating and to embrace technology in every component of their business. According to statistics, new leaders fail in as high as 50% within the first 18 months, basically because they lack the necessary skills and support. This blog looks at the core qualities, styles, and skills relevant to success in the digital world. We explain why it is essential in management, its characteristics, and the influence on organisational culture. Do you know ? the concept of Leadership 4.0 has emerged as a response to the fourth industrial revolution? It stresses the importance of agility, networked thinking, and emotional intelligence as it shifts the focus away from traditional hierarchical structures. Understanding Leadership in the Digital Age As defined by the ability to influence and guide individuals or groups toward the achievement of common goals. However, been broadly referred to in this digital age as a means of successfully playing with the potential offered by technology while engaging in kinds of innovations that help adapt to shifting demands. The hierarchical models have found a replacement in more collaborative and agile frameworks.  (Source:Muse) "Work takes on new meaning when you feel you are pointed in the right direction."--Tim Cooknment. The Leadership Importance in Management Effective management in the current digital age requires strong vision. The leaders themselves thrust their respective organisations into digital transformations and make sure that all teams are skilled up and equipped to flourish. In the Deloitte survey, 57% of CEOs were planning to use new technologies in pursuit of new growth opportunities. No wonder this call to action for leaders to become more active in embracing digital transformation. (Source: vantagecircle) DO YOU KNOW? According to Gartner, 91 percent of business organisations are engaged in some sort of digital initiative, while 87 percent of senior business leaders stated that digitalization is their priority. 89% of all companies have already adopted or plan a digital-first strategy for business. Leadership Good Qualities: What Makes a Great Leader? The phrase "From Vision to Action" encapsulates the journey leaders must undertake to translate strategic goals into tangible outcomes. To develop leaders for the digital era a new set of knowledge, skills and abilities are needed. In this paper we will discuss the competencies required and how organisations can foster future leaders. 1. Lead with digitisation Organisations need leaders who understand the impact digital technology can have on their business. Leaders should be able to foresee possibilities to incorporate and extract value from technology in work. They should pioneer digital transformation in all areas of business. (Source: Stevenson) DO YOU KNOW? According to a Right Management study, 91 percent of HR hiring managers responded that adaptability ranked as an important factor in their hiring decisions. 2. Adaptability It is the acceptance that change is constant and changing our mind is quite natural and acceptable. Ability to adapt is critical in a complex changing environment. Leaders need to be quick learners and change their minds in the face of emerging information. At the organisation level adaptability means being able to innovate and react to opportunities and challenges. Adaptability helps leaders respond to fluid environments and change course if technology and market environments evolve in unanticipated ways. 3. Visionary It implies having a clear sense of long-term direction, even in the face of short-term uncertainty. Leaders must have a clear vision for the future of their organisation, setting course and moving in that direction even if there is ambiguity in execution. Vision becomes even more important during disruptions and when opportunities are emerging. Leaders need vision to motivate and inspire, whilst at the same time adapting rapidly to current, contextual business situations. 4. Engaged leaders listen, interact and communicate with internal and external stakeholders combined with a strong sense of interest and curiosity in emerging trends. Leaders in the digital era need to be always engaged, whether with customers, partners, suppliers or team members. They must break down silos and get people to work together to solve problems. 5. Fostering Digital In the digital era organisations need a new breed of leaders and revamp their internal management programs to build new leaders that have interdisciplinary skills, with an understanding of different business functions, industries and technologies. Most Effective leadership styles in the Digital Era. Transformational leadership : It encourages a culture of innovation and change in order to turn the employees into inspired people who produce great performance. The individual inspires people at work by bringing responsibility from team members to be pliable in their thinking and to take up responsibility in their work. Servant leaders focus on serving the needs of their teams; they empower and support them. This style of management enhances collaboration and trust, which are the two important characteristics required to overcome the complexities of the digital environment. E-leadership is the art of leading a team using online platforms and digital tools to perform various duties, especially when team members work remotely or in a hybrid system. Such kinds of call for one to be tech-savvy and well conversant with the use of digital communication tools. (Source: Deloitte) The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Leadership Emotional intelligence would rank as a critical element of stewardship in the digital age. Leaders with a high EI would be more intuitive and better attuned to how they feel and, importantly, to the feelings of their team members, thereby resulting in more meaningful relationships and better communication. With good emotional connection comes trust and coordination in organisations, which are the essentials to drive success nowadays in an increasingly changing world. The Role of Leadership Thoughts in Shaping Company Culture Here are some of the ways through which an organisation can create a new breed of digital leaders: Identify critical Stewardship roles and assess the readiness of their talent to embrace and pioneer digital transformation. Rethink your competency framework to include emergent knowledge and skills to focus on development. Develop digital accelerator immersion programs to build both technical and capabilities. Cultivate a culture of experimentation to enable leaders to think like innovators, try new things and learn. In the context of "Leadership in the Digital Era," the research paper by (Hill, L. A., Le Cam, A., Menon, S., & Tedards, E. ,2020), Leading in the Digital Era: A Curated Collection of Research Articles from Harvard Business School Faculty, sets the stage for how governance is changing against the backdrop of digital change. The paper articulates key competencies and traits which leaders must develop if they are going to survive an increasingly complex and fast-moving environment. How Can AITD Strengthen Management in the Digital World? In the digital world is a playing field of unprecedented opportunities and challenges that an organisation has to face. Amity Institute of Training & Development (AITD) has taken the lead under the emerging landscape, making it a leader in equipping leaders with the needs of modern times leadership skills and qualities. Mentorship Development at AITD The AITD emphasizes a comprehensive approach to effective leaders: 1. Workshops and Seminars AITD centers content through workshops that create an opportunity to develop leadership skills through the application of practical actions and daily situations. 2. Mentorship Programs The result of connecting potential leaders with experienced executives also fosters development and allows them to learn valuable information related to leadership functions. 3. Conflict Management Training AITD includes modules on conflict management to assist leaders with strategies on constructive management of disputes. How AITD Empowers Leaders to Navigate the Digital Era Partnership with AITD gives leaders the power of cutting-edge training, resources, and support that navigate the challenges within the digital landscape and help lead their teams successfully. According to a Deloitte report, 94% of its chief executives believe that developing leaders is the basis for organisational success. Such statistics make it important to invest in such management programs such as those offered by AITD. The Future of Leadership Development at AITD With these unprecedented digital-era challenges, leading organisations more than ever rely on effective management . AITD is at the front of this change, offering programs tailored to enhance qualities, styles, and leadership skills . Organisations can ensure they have the right leaders in place with their navigation of today's business complexities when they invest in mentorship programs with AITD.

December 24, 2024, The journey toward achieving your goals may be the most difficult endeavor you have ever undertaken; however, it is accompanied by undiluted challenges and triumphs. With an open-minded, optimistic approach and strategic steps that help you cross some hurdles, surely, you will unlock your full potential for success. It arises from a recent research that Forbes conducted where it writes that 3% of the graduates who wrote down the goals ended up earning ten times as much as the other 97% put together ten years after their graduation. Another research by Datalligence.AI also pointed to the same percentage of people that actually attain success and how vague and general goals need to be specific, measurable, clear with no ambiguity at all. In this blog, we shall explore what you need to do to achieve your goals, understand what is stopping you, and get you moving by providing practical strategies overcoming the obstacles in your way. Did You Know? A Forbes study reports that only 3% of people who set their goals on paper achieve them. On the other hand, as reported in a Forbes study, those who write down their goals stand a 10 times better chance of achieving it. Understanding Excuses: What’s Stopping You from Achieving Your Goals? Excuses have their roots in fear, self-doubt, and procrastination. These are the psychological burdens that deter you from pursuing your goals to achieve them. Some of the usual excuses include: Fear of Failure: The fear of failure would make many take the road to nowhere and instead try to desecrate the real goals set. No Time: Lack of time is one of the usual excuses people present when asked about why they did not work on their goals. To be perfect: The need for everything to go well also produces the fewest results. To free yourself from these excuses: identify it as what it really is: self-imposed limitation. Importance of Goal Setting: Achieving Your Goals When a person sets definite goals and action targets, success will surely find its way. Goals direct one on what to do and give everything direction and purpose. Here are the 4 steps to achieve goals: Define Your Goals: Be more specific about what you want to achieve. Create an Action Plan: Break down your goals into actionable steps. Track Your Progress: Continuously see how much ground you have covered. Adjust When Necessary: Be flexible and willing to make changes in the plans. With these steps, you can shape diffuse aspirations into real achievements. (Source: Inc.) How a Positive Mindset Can Help You Achieve Your Target One of the major factors causing failure is a bad mentality. Because you end up with excuses and therefore inaction when you let self-doubt and fear of failure control you, it becomes pretty much impossible to achieve your goals in life. This involves realization of making mistakes as part of the journey and learning from them. “He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”- Benjamin Franklin Whatever the mind believes, the body achieves. The body follows the mind. Goals sustain momentum. Seeing progress is addicting. No seriously, it is addicting because of the dopamine released in your brain after attaining a reward.  Just as a snowball grows as it is rolled down a hill, momentum works the same way. Whatever you were doing you probably did not want to stop because you were what Mikhail Csikszentmihalyi called “Flow” which is the optimal state of mental performance. DO U KNOW ? that the fear of failure can be such a big emotional paralyzer, which stops people from acting? Due to a fear of failure, many people, according to a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, do not pursue their goals as much, hence creating the phenomenon of a self-fulfilling prophecy. But there are times when we have a bizarre tendency to give up the goals that we desperately wanted to achieve. There is a sense of “freeze” or developing a cold foot before we think to achieve what we have decided for ourselves. We feel as if there is this sense of being chained and held back. Something that is making us captive and not letting us be where we wanted to be. Let us explore together what holds us back from achieving our goals. (Source: Lingaro) DO YOU KNOW? Many organisations lack the appropriate funding for data literacy. In this survey, 78% of the organisations that have data literacy training hit their KPI for manufacturing cost—just 50% in those without. What Are the Common Barriers to Achieving Your Goals? 1. Fear of Success Research first diagnosed the fear of success a couple of decades ago. Most scientists and psychologists agree that fear of success exists for both men and women. Fear of success is common, but many of us do not realize that we have it. Self-sabotaging activities – such as procrastination, negative self-talk, and fearing what success will bring – may hold us back from achieving our goals. Fear of success is like the fear of failure. They have many of the same symptoms, the biggest problem for many people is that their fear of success is largely unconscious. They just do not realize that they have been holding themselves back from doing something great. If you experience the following thoughts or fears, you might have a fear of success on some level –  You feel guilty about any success you have, no matter how small, because your friends, family, have not had the same success. You do not tell others about your accomplishments.  You avoid or procrastinate on big projects, especially projects that could lead to recognition.  You frequently compromise your own goals or agenda to avoid conflict in a group or even conflict within your family.  You sabotage your work or dreams by convincing yourself that you are not good enough to achieve them. You feel, subconsciously, as though you don't deserve to enjoy success in your life. That success is something you just will not be able to hold on to if you do achieve it.. Eventually, you will fail, and end up back in a worse place than where you started. So, you think, “Is it worth enough?” How to Keep Achieving Your Goals Despite the Fear of Success The good news is that the more you face your fears, bring them to the surface, and analyse them rationally, the more you are likely to weaken those fears – and dramatically reduce your reluctance to achieve your goals. Take a realistic look at what will happen if you succeed with your goal. Do not look at what you hope will happen, or what you fear will happen. Instead, look at what is likely to happen. It is important not to give a quick answer to this. Take at least 15 minutes to examine the issues and write down your answers to questions like these.  How will my friends and family react if I accomplish this goal? How will my life change?  What is the worst that could happen if I achieve this goal? What is the best thing that could happen?  Why do I feel that I do not deserve to accomplish this goal? How motivated am I to work toward this goal?  What am I currently doing to sabotage, or hurt, my efforts? How can I stop those self-sabotaging behaviors?  Another useful technique is to address your fears directly, and then develop a backup plan that will overcome your concern. DO YOU KNOW? According to Dominican University, only 43% of goal-setters achieve the goals they set. Another study says that, considering the nature of visualization and envisioning the success of the goal, one can become twice as confident in attaining those goals. 2. Obstacle Thoughts So, any time you set yourself a new goal, your mind automatically runs through all sorts of reasons why you can't do that thing, and achieve that goal. That’s normal. So a new goal for you will be to do something different with that, which probably takes you out of this safe comfort zone. Because it may just be a bit unknown or uncomfortable and in which case your mind is doing its job to keep you safe (or perhaps fool you). It is creating obstacle thoughts to stop you from leaving the safety of what it knows.  Obstacle thoughts are the thoughts you are thinking now that stop you from producing the results that you want. Obstacle thoughts can sound like “I don’t know how to do it” or “I’ve never done this before”. They are the thoughts you are thinking about your new goal and if you choose to believe these thoughts, they will probably stop you from achieving your goal. They may also be holding you back from even starting to work towards your goal. What Are the Steps to Achieving My Goals Despite Obstacle Thoughts? The even better news is that once you know what your obstacle thoughts are, you can stop using them as ammunition on yourself and can use them to create action steps or strategies to help you get to where you want to go. Firstly, in conquering your obstacle thoughts, write them down. Take your page and, at the top, write down your smart goal. Then, list all the obstacles and thoughts that come into your head when you think about attaining that goal. Once you have your obstacle thoughts on paper, you can see them objectively. You start to see how they are optional or not held. Secondly, challenge your thoughts and think of ideas to prove them wrong.  The third step is to choose one of the new ideas from step two and put this action step into practice. Plan and put it in your diary. You must keep taking the action step repeatedly until it becomes a habit. Doing this provides your mind with evidence that you do know what to do. This allows your mind to continue to look for more evidence to prove this new thought is true. 3. Too much positive thinking Dreaming of wonderful outcomes can feel great. Unfortunately, those feelings can stop us from doing the hard work necessary to make our goals a reality. If you want to change, you might want to confront your dreams with some hard, cold, even negative reality, studies show.  “It’s so pleasant to believe that positive fantasies will work,” says Gabriele Oettingen, a professor of psychology at New York University and the author of Rethinking Positive Thinking: Inside the New Science of Motivation. “But it’s too good to be true.” Dreaming about a positive future “can entice you into thinking you are already there. Then you do not get the energy to go there. Instead, you just lean back and enjoy the moment.” How Mental Contrasting Aligns with Achieving Your Goals Psychological research shows that we should start making pragmatic plans to accomplish our goals instead of simply dancing in daydreams. This means comparing those rosy visions with our current reality, identifying the obstacles, and finding the best way to overcome them. Research shows that most people fail to effectively engage the strategy in their daily lives, meaning that our good intentions remain wishful thinking, and we never reach our goals. The research paper from Creatrix Campus, "Barriers to Student Success in Higher Education with Career Counseling," emphasized career counseling in overcoming academic challenges. In a study on effective counseling, results showed increases in engagement, satisfaction, and stress reduction while simultaneously increasing the job placement rates of students, making the support in achieving educational goals very relevant. What's Holding You Back? Achieve Your Goals- Exemplify Excellence with AITD Achieving your goals is a step toward success, but it does need a lot of commitment, planning, and proactive steps. Knowing the barriers that make you not move forward in life is part of working toward achieving your goal. Therefore, let us discuss the steps to achieving goals and how the Amity Institute of Training and Development (AITD) can assist you with them. Role of AITD in Achieving Your Goals There are various things that AITD does which help people and organisations achieve higher levels. Its role includes giving conflict management training, which can be very important in the success of reaching high goals. 1. Conflict Management Training AITD provides specialised training in conflict management. Such a skill will allow one to handle conflicts effectively. It is necessary for holding onto a great work environment and preventing your conflicts from causing your way to your goals to achieve. 2. Workshops on Goal Setting Workshops on the 4 steps to achieve goals, AITD help you understand how SMART is setting objectives of the same. You would be guided to define specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound objectives. 3. Learning Continues AITD emphasizes lifelong learning, helping to constantly keep achieving their goals through learning and enhancing knowledge base and skill sets. This is necessary for competing in the current fast environment. 4. Networking and Teamwork The AITD programs afford you the opportunities to connect with other professionals sharing the same aspiration. Through this network, you may easily achieve your target by cooperating and supporting one another. 5. Financial Goal Resources AITD provides resources for people to achieve your financial goals. The different budgeting workshops from the investment strategies are held towards an appropriate practice for measures to drive in the realisation of one's finances. 6. Business Goal Support Its focused guidance to achieve your business goals has greatly helped entrepreneurs and business professionals. Sessions on strategic planning, mentorship programs, and more round out AITD's offerings Success Stories and Testimonials Success With many testimonials for a proven track record in success in helping individuals and organisations realize their goals, AITD's capabilities in this regard could very well be testimonial to successful attainment of positive goal improvement. A recent report indicated that 95% of its clients have seen great improvements in goal achievement after completing their programs. One client, Sarah, related what happened between her and AITD: "Before this, I used to make excuses and excuses and then let the obstacles hold me back. But after receiving the training on conflict management and growth mindset from AITD, I was able to break through the barriers that were holding me back and I was able to meet my goals earlier than I could have ever even imagined." All with the right tools, coupled with a sunny disposition with such organisations as AITD, you set yourself up for doing more than you ever thought possible at the top and touched new heights. Never forget that it's never too late to start anew and never stop achieving your goals.

December 24, 2024, Shed doubts and let success smoothen over by having a clear vision for your life. Having a vision gives a purposeful direction to lead actions and decisions such that it helps to walk through challenges in confidence; people with a defined vision have been proven to achieve a lot more.  In fact, in 70 percent of all individuals, hypnagogic hallucinations occur and can be exploited for creativity and insight during the transition period of being asleep but not quite asleep. Apart from that, experiences having vivid visions while awake time does improve creativity as well as problem-solving ability, just like the doings in the lives of famous minds such as Thomas Edison.  This blog covers the significance of vision in achieving success, how to develop one, and more about having vivid visions while awake, having tunnel vision, and even having visions from God. What Does It Mean to Have a Vision? Having a vision simply means having a clear idea of what you want to fulfill in life. It acts as a guiding principle that takes one through the challenges, giving clues for decision-making. A strong vision inspires you to be motivated when issues arise. DO YOU KNOW? The brain coordinates vision interpretation, and as much as 70% of people experience hypnagogic hallucinations at sleep transitions. These vivid images help clear subconscious thoughts and goals. Why the Concept of Having a Vision is Important for Success Direction: A Clear and well-defined vision means a clear picture to one's mind about what they are looking to achieve and the process that is required to succeed in this. Motivation: The factor of determination to excel in life increases manifolds if he is able to visualize exactly what his desired outcome is and under which circumstances he wants this to occur. Resilience: A strong vision can be helpful to bounce back from failures by revising what it is that you want to achieve in the long run. Ever wonder where your passion, your dreams, and interests come from? What is it that makes you... YOU? Unlike how it’s depicted in the movie Soul- where one needs to find one’s spark, to reach Earth, I believe one needs to rather find it after reaching here. Daniel Gilbert, a Harvard professor makes a simple observation in his book Stumbling on Happiness: The human being is the only animal that thinks about the future. Biologically, it is an astonishing ability! From childhood, we are often faced with the ‘Where do you see yourself in the future or in xx years?’ question in various forms at several stages. Simply because it’s unfathomable for humans not to envisage and look ahead. In fact, having dreams and a desire to reach somewhere breathes life into life and gives us a reason to “Be”. The Journey of Self-Discovery: What Does It Mean to Have a Vision? Last year, I went to a workplace reunion which happened to be the first place of work/job for most of the audience and nearly everyone there had two decades of experience or more by then. I met many of my ex-colleagues, peers, and earlier bosses there, most of whom had a flourishing career- being entrepreneurs or were in senior leadership positions if not part of the C-Suite of multinational organisations. Some had gone into diverse areas and were chasing exciting dreams and running successful ventures. There were however some struggling too and looking for the right career switch or a stable job while balancing with multiple challenges life throws. On deeper interactions and observations, I discovered that most people who were successful and seemed to have a great and fulfilling life had discovered who they were and where they were headed and had figured the reasons why they were where they were. So, they had a north star guiding them toward their set vision while the others were searching for theirs. (Source:marketing eye) Strategic thinking develops business performance and competitive advantages, while stress negatively influences health, productivity, and longevity. According to the graph of the Yerkes-Dodson Law, too much stress will improve performance but has no effect on health or productivity. That got me thinking about how having a vision makes you better able or in charge of your life or vice-versa. Research tells us they are complementary and each triggers the other. People with vision, dreams and goals are far more energetic and fuller of life than the people who are not. Navigating Life's Choices: How to Have a Vision for Your Future As children, we are far more liberated. But often, as grownups, we hold ourselves back from defining a  personal vision- and that I believe is because we are conditioned to make life choices with a restricted view- with limited options of what is in front of us. Also, because we self-doubt, more and more as we age perhaps. Recent research shows that those who visualize more often perform way better in almost all spheres of human functioning, from sports to personal development. Visualization helps develop greater focus, and self-confidence, and allows a person to transcend his or her fears and limiting beliefs; thus, he or she will be better off succeeding with his or her goals. The Impact of Psychological Forces on Having Vivid Visions While Awake In his book, “Toward a Psychology of Being”, Abraham Maslow explains there are two powerful sets of forces within the human condition: a drive for growth and its opposing force, a drive for safety. Scott Jeffery observes in Maslow’s book that growth propels us forward toward the wholeness of Self to discover our uniqueness. An opposing force leads us to defend our current self, clinging to safety out of fear of the unknown. The force of safety keeps us where we are now, clinging to the past and afraid to take chances to improve our current conditions (internally and externally). This safety seeking side is afraid of independence, freedom, and separateness—the very things our growth side is demanding. Maslow writes- We grow forward when the delights of growth and anxieties of safety are greater than the anxieties of growth and the delights of safety. Exploring Different Facets of Vision: What Does It Mean to Have Vision? Having Vivid Visions While Awake Some people claim to have vivid visions while they are awake. The visions are said to be vivid mental imagery that felt real. These phenomena have been associated with increased creativity and even psychic capabilities. Understanding the meaning of such visions can give a person an opportunity to tap into his or her potential for change. Having Tunnel Vision Having an acquired vision is important but should not lead to tunnel vision. Such tunnel vision may make you focus too much on your goals, making you ignore every other aspect of life. A visionist must also strike a balance between ideal pursuits and personal life or relationships. Chasing your vision should not at your own expense of personal and relationship needs. Can People Have Visions? Most would wonder if they can have visions beyond mere aspiration. Some think that these experiences can be more spiritual or psychic, which can include prophecy or guidance from higher powers. That explains the deeper meaning and the motivation for your journey. Having Visions From God  For others, the visions may appear to be real messages from God. This can change the life direction or even the meaning of human life dramatically. Some people can get sense into these visions, which completes their spiritual walk or commitment to their goals. (Source: jackcanfield) I personally have used vision boards to achieve my goals for decades. When we were writing the very first Chicken Soup for the Soul book, we took a copy of the New York Times best-seller list, scanned it into our computer, and using the same font as the newspaper, typed Chicken Soup for the Soul into the number one position in the "Paperback Advice, How-To, and Miscellaneous" category. Steps to Develop a Clear Vision: Can People Have Visions? A conscious acceptance of one’s safety needs and a constant push to challenge oneself makes one better than the previous version. Getting into the right frame of mind is crucial for the discovery of self and what matters to us. A whole lot of guidance is available on finding one’s center- but I believe what works for one may not work for another, hence finding and choosing your own method helps. After all, your values, your strengths, and your dreams are your own- though you could be inspired by someone or happen to inspire others. Once we have found what compels us enough to propel us forward, that’s when we are ready to craft that Vision- we need to remember it’s a process and it’s ongoing. It doesn’t have to be perfect and final. This knowledge gave me a lot of confidence to take that leap and start somewhere. Having crafted a vision is just a start- visualization, revisiting, setting your goals, and evaluating is constant and iterative to bring it to life. And somehow, when you’re living your vision, you get external help too. As author Paulo “...elho put it The Alchemist: “. when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”   This study, "Technology Vision 2024: Human by Design," by Sweet and Daugherty suggests the need to design technology for more humanity especially in artificial intelligence and spatial computing, advising organisations to adopt a culture that is both creative and collaborative to enable this approach with regard to technology. How Can AITD Help Develop a Vision for Success? One thing with doubts and challenges that usually arise as one embarks on having a vision for life and success, among other things, is that they can easily be brushed aside with good guidance and support. This is where  Amity Institute of Training and Development (AITD) takes over. AITD solutions are aimed at helping individuals and organisations realize desired performance results. One of the areas in which they specialise is in conflict management and leadership development. But for someone who is aspiring to have a vision and get rid of doubts, such services can indeed benefit much. How AITD Sees Having Vivid Visions While Awake AITD appreciates that such  having vivid visions, occurring while awake, can be a powerful tool of personal development and creativity.  AITD helps you learn the science behind hypnagogic hallucinations and their possible benefits, techniques for harnessing the Having Vivid Visions, balancing your vision with other aspects of life, and devising strategies to deal with any problems that occur with vivid visions. AITD guides you through those experiences and helps you make better sense of what you're experiencing and then integrate that vision into your pursuit of success. AITD's Commitment to Your Success AITD solutions are implemented after comprehensive research and valid statistics. According to their research, they were able to prove that the individuals working with AITD have twice the chance to achieve the target than a single person trying to do this job individually. Apart from this, the AITD conflict management solutions enhanced the levels of workplace stress from the depth of 30%, thus increasing productivity and job satisfaction. Empower Your Dreams: Have Vision with AITD Support If you have visions for your life and want success, then working with AITD is sure to change everything. With their complete training and development solutions, AITD can be able to help overcome the obstacles that are likely to put you behind schedule, improve your skills, and achieve your goals. Whether you are seeing visions while awake or still restricted to having tunnel vision, AITD will help you get a clear plan and facilitate tools for success.

December 24, 2024, Developing strategic thinking among the leaders who want to lead their ships in the business environment of today is very essential. This includes critical situation analysis, defining long-term goals amidst complexity, and informed decisions made in keeping with organizational goals. For instance, a leader can be developed with strategic competencies, including the analysis and optimization of resources through various training programs and workshops. In fact, as statistics show, organizations that have strong strategic thinkers are 30% more probable to outperform their competitors in achieving long-term success. Here, investing in strategic thinking courses and fostering a culture of innovation will ensure that teams equipped to handle future challenges present themselves in a well-groomed leader. Adopt strategic practices and be ready for full expression in your leadership and results for sustainable growth. The blog will discuss strategic thinking meaning, strategic thinking skills in leadership, and how to work effectively toward these skills. Understanding Strategic Thinking: What Does It Mean? It refers to the thought process through which complex situations are evaluated, all feasible outcomes considered, and strategies devised that are congruent with long-term objectives. It involves various aspects:  Analysis: Critical analysis of data and trends. Vision: Creating a clear mental picture of goals. Flexibility: Strategically changing means of meeting changing circumstances. The best leaders in strategic implication can be able to predict which problems are likely to arise and take steps to prevent them. This is a characteristic attribute in the leadership of teams through transition processes and aligning them with organization objectives. Strategic Thinking Meaning: A Key Competency for Leaders In the definition of strategic thinking meaning, it is understood in more general terms that it has the aspect of looking away from the short-term scope of work and instead on the objectives for the larger organization. Strategic effectiveness involves asking questions such as: Are we doing the right thing? What are the potential consequences for our options? How can I leverage my strengths to pay back opportunities? Help develop organizational culture toward strategic planning by encouraging creativity in solving problems and also collaboration in making decisions? Now, through its personal shopper program, Walmart uses AI to suggest the best possible substitute for an out-of-stock item. “A thinking process applied by an individual in the context of achieving a goal.” The Shift from Strategic Planning to Strategic Thinking Strategic planning was a C-Suite executive and management zone subject. You did not have to know more in your early years, and I was happily oblivious just worrying about my bit of work and focusing there. But did that encourage me to speak up and share my ideas or my learnings on a topic of organizational importance or understand how to join the dots and make my contribution matter in the big picture, or did I even see and comprehend the big picture? – Well, you know the answer. It became more and more evident that the best teams and organizations move away from strategic planning in board rooms to practicing strategic management across all levels. DO YOU KNOW? According to a 2022 survey by McKinsey & Company, almost 90% of executives ranked increasing the strategic mindset within their organizations as one of the top priorities, but just a quarter of them felt their teams were adequately equipped with the relevant skills. In strategic planning, leaders gather data and decide on the path the organization will take to achieve their goals. With strategic culture, employees at all levels and in all functions continually scan for new ways to contribute to the organization’s success. They apply those insights as they carry out organizational priorities and provide input to the overall strategy. In this way, strategic change is part of everyone’s job – whatever their role or level of responsibility. (Source: Medium) The attributes of strategic methods are thus important for superior business performance and the maintenance of sustainable competitive advantages. Why Strategic Management is Essential for Everyone Well, what I have learnt in my experience of working across various roles and teams is that thinking strategically is becoming especially pertinent now with flat and dispersed teams and matrix structures. The merits of enabling and empowering every person in the team to know and work towards the common long-term goal are far-reaching than just the individual’s short-term horse staring approach leading to reactions to present challenges. The better leaders/managers involve their teams for deriving their team vision, as well in the process ideation, identifying opportunities by encouraging questions, assumptions and learning from the larger ecosystem. Awareness leads to better and more informed decisions and even if it requires re-alignment of goals, which is often the case, it yields better and closer targets as just one of the outcomes. There are several intangible benefits like learning and leaning to agility, entrepreneurship mindset to name a couple more. But what if it is not my natural style? Michael Porter said- “Strategic Thinking rarely occurs spontaneously”. Strategic value creation like most practices can be learnt, trained on, and improvised. Simple things like thinking deeply about where you want to head, encouraging dissent in teams, being open to tangential thinking, freeing teams to speak up are just some practices you may be already doing. DO YOU KNOW? According to a Harvard Business Review study, organizations with leaders who can think strategically outperform their rivals in terms of revenue growth and profitability by 23%. Developing a Strategic Mindset: Essential Practices for Leaders In strategic management, a mindset for strategic framework is one of the most prominent qualities leaders need to acquire to move within a very complex business environment. As stated above, Henry Mintzberg did find that the associated thinking process is genuinely different and special with some distinct traits. The following are some good practices that could be applied at both individual and team levels to enhance strategic risk management. 1. Working on Questioning Skills The easiest and most obvious way to get better at strategy is simply by asking more strategic questions. This is a great way to test out your planning skills and make those strategic decisions that you just might employ during the rest of your working life. The Harvard Business School publication suggests that a strategic question may be about any difficulty, chance, or uncertainty you are up against in your current life at work or at home. For example, these could be about starting a new business or product, defeating competition for innovation in your organization. For example, one can have a better sense of the problem by asking why, what, and how? Why? – Why is an altitudinal question. It gives the perspective about a situation from a higher ground … above 10000 feet! It helps one to have an eagle-eye view of the situation and can be used effectively to have a detached view of things - Why are we in this current situation? Why is it important? Why do we need to think about this? What? – What is the realistic or actual question. It gives the perspective about a situation or a problem – “as it is" or gives an “as is “view of things. – What does the situation imply for us? What does the future look like? How? - How is the action question? Whenever we frame a situation as to how, it’s where we are thinking about the idea - How can we solve this? What could we change to do things otherwise? 2. Questioning your assumptions Once you land on nebulous things around which an organization may well help shepherd itself to its goals, question your assumptions and test the hypothesis ruthlessly since otherwise you simply miss out on other possibility.To develop this skill, get in the habit of questioning yourself any time you are about to make an assertion. Should you consider a different perspective? Is there another possibility you may have overlooked?  Ask yourself – Am I missing something? There will still be unknowns or factors which were not counted in. Adapt and adjust and be ready to re-align. If you have prepared for this with the above aspects, then ultimately you would be better placed to do so. 3. Working on your ability to connect the dots This might be a more obvious one, but do you remember that game as a kid where what seemed like randomly arranged dots on the page were then joined together in such a precise manner and suddenly an image appeared? Connect-the-dots may be a simple pastime from your youth, but it is also a metaphor for one of the most powerful capabilities of all successful leaders: strategic mindset.  Strategists should be uncomfortable with vague concepts like “soft synergy.” They should not accept generalized theories of economic behavior, and they should try to understand the underlying specific dynamics relevant to their business in an unbiased way. This ability to connect the dots and let the picture backed by hard facts emerge is a great asset in developing strategic sustainability. The ability to connect the dots can be chiseled by being aware of yourself and the environment you are in – informed about the economy, politics, laws, human behavior etc. More awareness about varied dimensions shall lead one to connect dots well. Real-Life Strategic Thinking Examples from Successful Companies There should be real-life examples regarding strategic digital transformation . A Big corporation like Apple and Amazon has survived because they understand how to adapt and innovate strategically. For instance: Apple: Apple has remained the industry leader in consumer electronics through an orientation of continuous emphasis on user experience as well as integration of hardware and software. Amazon: Amazon, diversified from cloud computing into logistics, has developed a number of streams that improve firm resistance to market shocks. DO YOU KNOW? Amazon's web service is its cloud computing business segment, which has accounted for more than $62 billion revenue by 2021. Others, however, are cautions to avoid. Companies such as Kodak and Motorola are more feared than emulated. Kodak first came up with the first digital camera but failed to shift from its film business to digital photography, filing into bankruptcy. Motorola lost its lead through failure to innovate in smartphones, losing its share in markets it once dominated. The research paper "Exploring the Importance of Strategic Thinking to Strategic Planning in the Strategic Management Process" puts forth the critical significance of strategic innovation in improving strategic planning and effectiveness. The study posits that the incorporation of strategic practices into organizational planning results in more flexible and creative strategies and enhances decision-making and organizational performance. How Can AITD Enhance Your Strategic Thinking Skills for Leadership Success? The establishment of strategic thinking in leadership is quite significant in the competitive business environment of today. It involves an understanding of the concept of strategic mindset, a realization of its essence, and development of the necessary skills in strategic project management. But how do organizations nurture this mind in their leaders? This is when Amity Institute of Training and Development (AITD) comes into play. Role of AITD in Strategic Performance Improvement AITD offers a good combination of training that enables leaders to develop their strategic capabilities. This includes the following: 1. Strategic Thinking Courses This series of courses is believed to equip the leader with the necessary 'tools' to be able to engage in proper strategic planning and actual decision-making. 2. Workshops and Training Sessions The workshops of AITD facilitate maximum interaction with topics through training sessions in which a participant can experience practical activities that strengthen the grounds for strategically structured strategic thinking framework. 3. Online courses For all those who want flexibility, AITD is offering strategic insights courses, which cover many aspects of strategic planning and delivery. The Way Ahead with AITD: Building Strategic Leadership Competency in Teams Developing strategic planning is highly needed for leaders who wish to navigate the complex business environment of today. Investing in a training scheme and embracing new approaches in driving an organization toward long-term success enables enhanced leadership capabilities. Explore the offerings at AITD to begin your journey toward becoming a strategic leader today!

December 3, 2024, This revolution of digital working in the fast-paced business world is changing the management of virtual teams. Organisations evolve through remote work, and there will always be the need for team management skill mastery to achieve its very goals in the organization. Effective communication, emotional intelligence, and delegation are all aspects of team best practices that the effective leader requires to enforce collaboration and productivity. Since 87% of the employees state the importance of open and honest communication, software can hence enhance engagement and streamline workflows. In addition, through team management courses, leaders can arm them with such tools to handle problems within the virtual platform. In this blog, we've outlined various strategies, tools, and techniques used in virtual team management to enhance collaboration and productivity in a remote-based working scenario. (Source: clockify) DO YOU KNOW? A recent Upwork study disclosed that 41.8 percent of American workers now work remotely, a trend likely to continue in the post-pandemic era.  Understanding Virtual Team Management Virtual team management refers to the coordination and leading of a team where people work together at distant locations through the use of tools for effective communication and collaboration. This makes the managers have to change their leadership style and possess new skills in which they are currently operating with remote workers. Importance of Team Management Skills Effective management skills must be present in leaders as they take initiative towards encouraging teamwork and productivity in virtual teams. These include: Effective Communication: Being transparent and clear in all communications. Emotional Intelligence: The consciousness and control of emotions of a given team. Delegation: One assigns the delegation of tasks according to the skill and ability of the members. Conflict Resolution: Addressing issues promptly to maintain harmonies in the team. DO YOU KNOW? According to Gallup's 2023 report, organizations that focus on effective team performance have shown a boost in profitability at 21% and a downtrend in absenteeism at 41%. How to Build Effective Self Managing Teams in a Virtual Environment? Employees working in virtual teams are, to a certain extent, isolated from their colleagues. Although they may have contact with other employees of their organizations, they don't spend much time with them. In this situation, the virtual team member loses opportunities to learn from his or her closest colleagues. In effect, there's a double forfeit.  The virtual worker perceives herself as giving away her knowledge but not having the chance to "replenish her own reservoir of knowledge, and thus feels even more vulnerable”, says Neale. Because virtual teams use technology well, they are likely to share explicit knowledge with the rest of the organization better than traditional teams. But tacit knowledge is difficult to share without direct contact, which means that virtual team members will have a harder time sharing their tacit knowledge with teammates and learning from their team members. And that is one good reason which leads to isolation and frustration. (Source: flexos) DO U KNOW? 75% of workers indicated that their performance level either remained the same or increased while working remotely; many of these attributed it to virtual team building. How Does Lack of Trust Impact Virtual Team Management? Sharing knowledge is not the only challenge with virtual teams. According to research at Harvard Business School, most people consider virtual communication less productive than face-to-face interaction, and nearly half admit to feeling confused and overwhelmed by collaboration technology. Communication can get muddled if teams never meet face to face, trust and collaboration suffer when workers are siloed, and sometimes it’s hard to tell if employees are tasked with too little—or too much. (Source: communicationmgmt) How Does Team Management Software Transform Virtual Collaboration? 1. Team Management Software Due to the need to collaborate between remote teams, team collaboration tools are vital. The applications that offer a project management and communication as well as task tracking tool include Trello, Asana, and Slack. Using these applications, it is possible to assign clear roles and deadlines and monitor progress efficiently. 2. Virtual Team Meetings These teams also need to hold virtual team meetings to facilitate interaction and foster accountability. Video conferencing software like Zoom or Microsoft Teams ensures that virtual interactions do not turn people faceless within virtual teams but ensure interaction among participants despite distance. 3. Self-Managing Teams A modern management of teams encourages self-managing teams. It allows the teams to be responsible and accountable for their jobs, thus resulting in better motivation as well as productivity for the organizations. Providing guidance to employees but keeping room for judgments from the people being managed makes it a challenging procedure for the leaders. The Rise of Virtual Teams in the Global Economy According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, virtual operating organizations include 60.2% of organizations in the United States. The global economy necessitates a different and enhanced work atmosphere. Virtual teams provide an opportunity for companies to recruit the finest talents, whether located anywhere in the country or the world. On the other hand, geographically dispersed and culturally diversified teams require new strategies to manage them properly. (Source: totem) DO YOU KNOW? 64% of organizations believe that the remote work started by COVID-19 will be more permanent in 2021 and beyond. Embracing Virtual Team Management: Navigating the Digital Workplace Revolution Despite these challenges, virtual teams are here to stay as they happen to be the lifeline for fully-fledged offices during these unprecedented times. Remote work allows companies to compete in an increasingly globalized society, so the real challenge becomes adapting to the new workplace. Thanks to this COVID pandemic, statistics show a steep increase in the number of remote workers across the world, a trend that is only likely to continue. Rather than reverting to the old ways of doing business, we can directly address the challenges of managing virtual teams. When we successfully identify and remedy remote workplace issues, we can build a strong, agile team that’s collaborative from their safe homes. 1. Communication If we want to foresee and fix one issue, let's choose communication. It’s the cause of almost every other management issue. Managers provide direction at every step of a project or business initiative, so they need to be extremely good at communicating the strategy and understanding what’s happening within a team.  Communication is key in any workplace—especially one where most interactions occur via email, chat, or calls. Ensuring free flow of accurate information throughout your company’s structure means assigning the right roles to the right people, fostering a communicative culture, and using the right team management tools for the job. Jennifer Stine, former head of executive and professional education at Massachusetts Institute of Technology shares, “Close attention to relationship-building and a process to ensure good communication is important. When the group or the organization has a strong culture that supports collaboration, this can stand-in for many of the detailed steps—it really helps.” (Source:pumble) Best Practices for Virtual Team Management: Prioritizing Communication As a leader, it’s our responsibility to foster a culture of communication throughout the organization. Lead by example by giving regular updates and holding check-ins with your team. If our team sees that we’re an effective communicator, they’ll follow suit by picking up our good habits.  Removing the ambiguity that so often surrounds workplace communication by providing written guidelines that outline what kind of messages should be sent through which mediums, and how team members are expected to interact with each other.  We can make use of communication-based technological tools. Instant messaging, chat and other two-way communication channels make sharing problems and potential solutions easier than ever. Keeping these channels open, and consistently monitoring them throughout the day. If an employee has a problem, idea, or thought that needs to be shared, we should be as responsive and available to a remote employee as we would to any office team member. (Source: ddi) DO YOU KNOW? According to one DDI study, 68% of L&D professionals responded that they intended to move from face-to-face to virtual solutions, showing a change in methodology for training. 2. Trust Because we don’t see them working, it’s easy to assume any lull in communication means remote workers are toying their thumbs, procrastinating, or not aligned with the team. The nicest part of working remotely is that we can easily build blocks of uninterrupted, concentration-time into your day. Set clear expectations for remote workers as to what communication best practices look like at the company, but we should not worry if we don’t get a ping from them at regular intervals. Trust is key in any relationship. When employees trust their managers and believe they’re working toward a shared vision, collaboration and engagement happen naturally. But it’s hard-won in an environment where face-to-face interaction is a rarity. A shared mission, collaborative spirit, and can help instill trust. Building Trust: The Foundation of Effective Team Management Services Regardless, it is vitally important that our team has a shared goal (or goals) and a common understanding of how progress will be measured. Effective collaboration helps team bond and builds trust as people get to know one another’s thought processes and working styles. When team members can build on each other’s ideas and play to their strengths, relationships flourish.  Emphasize the importance of our organization culture, our willingness to be there for our team and enabling them in all possible ways to help achieve the goals shared. Despite being spread across multiple home offices - it’s important for team members to feel valued, heard, and trusted. 3. Productivity One of the obvious risks of working outside a traditional office is low productivity. Sometimes it is hard for team members to use their time well when there is no person overlooking their work daily. On the other end, some employees risk burnout when working remotely due to a lack of boundaries. You want everyone to be on the same page, doing their job without invasion of privacy; this should line out expectations for every role with check-ins periodically to judge progress. It’s unrealistic to expect everyone to work at the same pace, but we should have a general idea of how long tasks take and how much each person is accomplishing week by week, if not day by day. (Source: Fujitsu) Boosting Team Productivity with Effective Team Building Skills Be sure to pay attention to our best performers as much as we do for the rest of our team. These may be the people at risk of overworking themselves. Without the clear boundaries that office life provides, the go-getters on our team may have workdays that never end, setting themselves up for exhaustion and resentment toward the company. Encourage team members to keep regular business hours. Check in if we suspect someone is burning the midnight oil. Erratic or moody behavior, emails sent at odd times, and a drop in work quality are all signs that a remote worker needs to take a breather.  Regular one-on-ones with each member of the team, not only to hold them accountable for performance but also to check in with workload and support needed. The research paper "Defining the Digital Workplace: A Systematic Literature Review" examines the concept of the digital workplace, revealing that elements of it include technology, culture, and processes, and that integration is needed to boost both engagement and productivity among employees. Is AITD the only key to master virtual team management? As the Digital Workplace Revolution continues to change more of the business landscape, organizations realize that they can rest assured to better drive innovation and productivity by tapping into virtual teams. However, managing those distributed workforces calls for special skills most leaders don't have. That is where  Amity Institute of Training and Development (AITD) comes in--to help companies navigate some of the complexities inherent in virtual team management. Key Offerings from AITD for Transforming Virtual Team Management 1. Conflict Resolution Services AITD trains the leaders to manage the team effectively. How to solve a dispute helps build better relations in the team and increases the productivity level. 2. Standardized Team Management Courses All the courses offered by AITD with team leadership are customized according to the issues faced by organizations. Their courses center on the main themes of team workflow management, roles, and the whole process of its management. 3. Use of Team Management Software AITD encourages the use of modern team service delivery that supports ease in communication and effective management of projects. This technology aids in keeping track of progress and ensuring the individual members are accountable. 4. Building Self-Managed Teams AITD advises on building self-managed teams that are given responsibility for their jobs, thus enhancing their motivation and effectiveness. Team Management Software With AITD  While training forms the heart of AITD, the other aspect on which it claims to work is the efficient usage of team collaboration tools. With regard to this, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Asana are collaborative communication and project management software, hence teams work together smoothly as one regardless of their whereabouts. This is a recommendation on the kind of software used in managing teams. AITD: Your Partner in Digital Workplace Revolution As organizations navigate the complexities of the Digital Workplace Revolution, AITD offers a partnership that delivers change to team synergy building. While other programs focus on non-core skills, AITD approaches the development of core skills, enhanced cooperation, and sustained performance for companies in this new working environment. Investment in AITD's strong solutions empowers leaders and teams with the team Building tools and strategies to succeed in a virtual workplace.

December 3, 2024, Competency mapping and succession planning become the most important issues in today's dynamic business environment. It systematically identifies the skills, knowledge, and behaviors necessary for effective job performance. It effectively fosters recruitment and employee development. This is evidenced by research, since 80% of employee turnover derives from inappropriate hiring decisions. The need for an appropriate competency framework of HRM applies here. Therefore, a way of ensuring that a business passes leadership systematically to provide assurance for the future. High-potential employees are ready for progression to replace leadership whenever such needs arise. This gives an early warning of avoiding risks associated with leadership strategy development and boosts the growth culture within organizations. Since 80% turnover in organizations is attributed to poor hiring decisions, capability analysis can be instrumental in reducing turnover rates within organizations while improving organizational efficiency. In this blog we will explore the details of such processes, their techniques, and advantages on how they could be implemented effectively within organizational systems. Do you know? Since its origin in the 1970s, competency mapping has grown exponentially? From what began as merely job description mapping to understanding the culmination of requirements for skills and behavioral outputs in any activity. What is Competency Mapping? This is the structured process of human resource management. It is aimed at identifying and assessing skills, knowledge, and behavior capabilities for employees to function effectively. It makes a detailed inventory of competencies critical to success at the job role or entire organization. Key Objectives of Competency Mapping Alignment of Skills to Organizational Goals: Ensures the adequacy of employee capabilities to meet the organization's needs. Improving the Recruitment Process: Provides a framework for defining ideal candidate profiles. Employee Development: Facilitates areas of improvement and growth. Supports Performance Management: It aligns performance evaluations into competencies and therefore brings fairness to the appraisal. Competency Mapping Methods: The 7 Steps You Need to Know 1. Company Vision  Long and short-term goals, key strategic initiatives, and organizational capabilities/gap assessment are important in determining future talent needs, target markets and will give an indication of how to develop your employees. 2. Skills Inventory  Assess current employees to determine suitability for higher roles. Using a competency framework, you can identify specific competencies needed for success. Skills inventory helps assess employees against these competencies making it easier to determine what is already present and what is still required. 3. Identify & Recruit  If you already have the right talent pool, you can move to Step 4. Otherwise, you will have to recruit talent based on the competency gaps you identify in your skills inventory. 4. Evaluate & Inform Conduct competency assessment of employees to see if their current competencies levels match or are close to those required for the proposed position. It is good to let your employees know they have future opportunities in your Company. 5. Develop Once you have a selection of employees who have the potential for growth, it is important to develop their skills according to competency assessment. The company must provide learning and development opportunities. 6. Engage Retention It is an issue for many organizations, so you need to ensure your high potential employees are engaged and want to remain with your organization. 7. HR Procedures  The competency map can be integrated into job descriptions, performance appraisals, and competency mapping training programs to bring consistency in the organization. Did you know? The term "competency mapping" is derived from the Latin word "competentia," meaning "the ability to do something well." The etymology of the word points to what competence mapping essentially is-meaning the identification of the skills that help an organization succeed. Role of Technology in Competence Mapping Framework With most of the organizations relying more and more on the route of technological excellence to enhance their HR processes, several advancements have come in the way of skills mapping tools in HR software, especially in their implementation. The tools further streamline the process through automatic assessments, dashboards, and analytics support to ensure decision making based on data. For a company that gives priority to sales, we shall illustrate how such competency is defined & performance level established. The Significance of Succession Planning It is the strategic process that involves identifying and developing internally available personnel to replace key leadership positions in the future. The process ensures an arrangement of stability and organisational continuity at the transition point. Succession Planning Process for Effective Leadership Transition Critical Position Identification: Organizations must know which roles are critical to the organisation's success and thus require a succession plan. Competency Requirements: There is a critical requirement that clear competencies in these key positions must be defined for effective succession planning. Internal Talent Assessment: This internal talent can then be assessed against those competencies to spot candidates with high potential for leadership roles in the future. Development Plan: Based on this identified candidate, development plans can then ensure that he/she is adequately prepared to take up a leadership role when the need arises. DO YOU KNOW? 75% of companies with a formal process for successive alignment reported that it had improved employee engagement and retention. This may, therefore, be indicative of the actual effect which effective succession planning might have on the culture of the organization and even the organizational performance. Essential Competence Analysis Tools for Effective Succession Planning Many tools could facilitate competence analysis and succession planning process Competency Management Systems: Software programs that automate tracking and monitoring competency development processes as well as other competence-based assessments. Psychometric Evaluations: The assessment tools aim at testing interpersonal skills, critical thinking, among others to become good leaders. 360 Degree Feedback Systems: These are those systems which provide multi-source feedback of various sources from which an employee obtains insight about his or her competencies. (Source:aihr) Jonathan Westover, OD/HR/Leadership consultant from Human Capital Innovations, emphasizes: “It is important to ensure that feedback is focused on behaviors and actions, rather than personal characteristics or traits. This can help ensure that feedback is objective and focused on areas that the employee can actually improve upon.” Competencies Mapping Format for Sales Roles Proficiency levels may range from Level 1 (Novice) to Level 5 (Master). Each role will have a Desired Proficiency Level (DPL). The analysis of competencies required for higher roles and mapping them with proficiency shown by potential leaders, a clear road map for successive planning can be created. Effective succession planning has advantages both for employers and employees. Employees benefit by knowing the organization has plans for their future development opportunities, and an increased perception of self-worth and value. (Source: imocha) DO YOU KNOW? Organizations on average report 8 percent of new skills added to every role every year, thus making the requirements of jobs dynamic in nature and creating the need for continuous talent mapping. Integrating Competency Mapping with Succession Planning Competence mapping in succession planning helps create a cohesive strategy related to workforce capabilities as they align with the future needs of leadership positions. It helps organizations anticipate when shortages in the workforce will likely occur as well as cultivate a continuing development culture. How Do Organizations Overcome Succession Planning challenges? This creates issues within an organization can be defined more clearly as under-identification of high potentials and lack of engagement among possible successors. Steps to overcome these issues are as follows: Conduct talent reviews regularly. Provide clearly defined career pathways. Create a culture of lifelong learning and development. This research paper titled "Competency Mapping Level of Employees of Weikfield Foods Pvt. Ltd. Pune during Post Covid-19" by Dr. Swati Manoj Yeole and Dr. Jitender Kumar Sharma (2024) emphasizes the relevance of competency identification in this post-COVID-19 era, where desired competency levels for different roles could be identified in order to improve the performance and talent growth of employees. How AITD Can Help in Competency Mapping & Succession Planning? Amity Institute of Training and Development (AITD) provides comprehensive solutions that help organizations successfully implement competency mapping training & leadership continuity planning. Being a well-known HR training & development program delivery institution, AITD is well aware of the issues organisations face in achieving workforces with desired skills to meet strategic goals. Role of AITD in Competency Mapping AITD Competency alignment is the methodological approach toward the alignment of the skills of employees with the organizational goals. Their services include, 1. Job Analysis During AITD's job analysis, they identify the central responsibilities and tasks that are supposed to be performed and the core competencies required in a particular role. 2. Competency Framework Development AITD formulates customized competency framework specifications based on the necessity of the type of skills and knowledge required for success in a particular job role. 3. Competency Based Assessment AITD uses psychometrics and 360-degree feedback tools amongst other things, to assess employee competencies against the defined models. 4. Gap Analysis Analysis of existing and required competencies follow the skill gap and allow AITD to initiate and organize proper training and development programmes. AITD Supports in Succession Planning AITD provides diverse tools to develop effective key position planning efforts: 1. Competency Alignment Training AITD develops the practice of talent succession through different training and development programs in the selected employees so that they become ready to take on greater challenges when the organizations need it. 2. Workshops/Seminar The AITD makes organizations familiar with new ideas and developments in career mapping by conducting workshops occasionally on the best practices. 3. Consulting services AITD offers consulting services on succession plan designing suitable for any specific organization. 4. Competence mapping Certification Certification enables AITD to empower the HR practitioner with knowledge mapping and linking process learning to be implemented within their organizations. Contributed by AITD According to AITD, organizations succeeding in applying competency framework development and succession planning strategies are 1.5 times more likely to beat their competitors. Also, a study states that 80 percent of employee turnover is a result of a wrong hiring decision. That clearly gives out importance to integrate knowledge mapping in the recruitment process. Through its partnership with AITD, organizations will gain the ability to more clearly competency mapping training and leadership continuity to ensure that the workforce will be competent and future-proof. AITD provides customized solutions while being highly aware of HR best practices, making them a trusted partner for the success of organizations.