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Coaching
& development of the
team |
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Recruitment
& retention of talented
facilities staff |
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Managing
service teams and
teamwork |
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Managing
facilities people
as individuals |
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Here
are a few suggestions for development
activity:
Emotional
Intelligence
In FM it is not uncommon to
come across technically excellent
people who are extremely clever
and possess high IQs but are
socially inept. Emotional Intelligence
or EQ as it is known is a behavioural
model used to assess the interpersonal
aspects of individuals. Studies
have shown that successful managers
usually possess high levels
of EQ. This shows itself in
the effective awareness, control
and management of ones own emotions,
and those of other people. The
writer Daniel Goleman identifies
five domains for EQ: Knowing
your emotions; Managing your
emotions; Motivating yourself;
Recognising the emotions of
others and Managing the emotions
of others. Development
in these areas will help the
FM to manage the stress of the
job while ensuring more productive
relationships with others. Read
Golemans book "Emotional
Intelligence - Why it can matter
more than IQ"
Leadership
Facility Managers cast a long,
long shadow. Often in direct
control of large team of people,
influential over even bigger
teams of service contractors,
the way they perform and the
direction they set can impact
upon the entire company. As
a result even the lowliest FM
in corporate hierarchy terms
needs to develop good leadership
attributes. Definitions of good
leadership are dominated by
behavioural issues. This is
where it differs from management
which is chiefly about technique.
People |
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respond
to leaders whom they trust
and respect. A facility manager
with qualities like vision,
integrity, commitment, courage
and determination makes a
really effective leader. These
are things that the aspiring
leader should strive for.
The easiest way to learn these
things is to observe them
in others. Role models of
leadership excellence can
be found almost anywhere.
Many of the best business
leaders have written books
not about leadership theory
but about their working lives
and the challenges they have
faced. Books like "Jack"
by Jack Welch the inspirational
business leader and writer
are packed full of useful
examples that facility managers
can follow.
Coaching
Management
writers Blanchard & Hershey
characterised leadership style
in terms of the amount of
direction and support that
individuals require. Their
Situational Leadership model
requires the manager to adjust
their style between Directing,
Coaching, Supporting and Delegating
to achieve optimum performance.
While this is undoubtedly
effective it can prove difficult
when managing large teams
as we do in FM. In my experience,
successful facility managers
adopt Coaching as a default
style which will be effective
regardless of the individuals
position on the learning curve.
The International Coach Federation
defines coaching as "a
partnership between the coach
and an individual or team
that supports the achievement
of extraordinary results,
based on goals set by the
individual or team."
I think this is entirely relevant
to the leadership and development
of a successful facilities
organisation. The good leader
works with their team to develop
goals and objectives and then
facilitates the training,
feedback, advice and encouragement
necessary to help the team
member achieve their potential.
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