It's all about people

The great thing about this recession is that organisations are beginning to realise that success depends upon people. As a Business Coach my role is to develop people in order to develop businesses, particularly when headcounts are being seriously reduced. The winners are always going to be the ones who engage their employees by getting them sufficiently motivated to take ownership of their part of the company's success.

I hear so many complaints about managers micro-managing their people and ruling by fear - yet being surprised when the results don't come up to expectations. Surely it makes more sense to empower people to get on with what they do best whilst offering them all the tools and support they need?

I'm pleased to say that I have never been busier because the most successful businesses are recognising the need to invest in their key people, developing the talent they already have. It's a bit like bringing up children - if you continually do everything for them they will never learn to do it for themselves, but if you show them how to do it and encourage them to practice their new behaviours they will soon be able to do it all on their own.

My daughter-in-law is a prime example of how it works. She takes her 4-year-old daughter to the supermarket and shows her how to scan the items in her basket, then allows her to do it herself. Of course she's made some mistakes along the way but has learned from those mistakes and is now fully proficient at checking out her shopping all on her own. Staff and shoppers have been amazed at the child's ability but all that was required to give her the skills was a little bit of time and patience. Of course I like to think that my grandaughter is particularly brilliant but I have to concede that her mother has simply given her the tools and support that she needed!
Perhaps personal development is simply child's play after all.