Volume 1, Issue 1 September , 2012

Calibre Creators
Management Consulting <> Human Resource Consulting <> Education and Training <> Management Research
For Free and Private Circulation Only

Any Answers?
Why is the third hand on the watch called the second hand? Why are they called "stands" when they are made for sitting? If all the world is a stage, where is the audience sitting?

The Art of Effective Listening

Experts say that an effective leader is one who constantly communicates, seeks feedback and acts on it. Priya C Nair discusses the need for leaders to solicit feedback from the people who know them the best - the team
According to author and management expert Kenneth Blanchard, feedback is the breakfast of champions. Regular feedback strengthens an individual's performance and enhances his/her personal and professional development. For a leader, his/her team is the best source of feedback - positive or negative, and he/she can act upon it to improve himselfherself. Seeking feedback from employees works wonders for leaders who are making sincere attempts to transit from an aristocratic leadership approach to a more collaborative style. Communication is not only about speaking alone, but also listening. With leaders, empl-oyees always believe they have a sounding board to go to, and the leader who demon-strates good listening skills, is more likely to be regarded highly," says Sharad Sharma, director & chief of HR, Vertex Customer Services India Private Limited. "Taking feedback from the employees is one of the corner-stones of establishing a success-ful working relationship and creating a feeling of openness in the organi -sation," says Raman Subramanian, Vice President Strategic Services Management, QuEST Global. "It helps to create a healthy, transparent and productive work environment and also preserves the work ethos of the organi-sation," adds Subramanian. SOLICIT FEEDBACK How can a leader garner feedback from his/her employees? "Leaders can seek anonymous/ confidential feedback from their team by using tools like 360 degree feedback, circle of feedback, hot-seat (a face-toface controlled feedback mechanism), HPLA (High Performance Leadership Assessment), CASE (Community, Authenticity, Significance, and Excitement) etc. Effective leaders can make feedback a part of their organisational culture and can seek non-anonymous feedback using similar tools. Leaders can also ask for feedback in a face-toface situation, when trust levels are good within the organisation," explains Ashish Arora, founder & MD, HR Anexi. Apart from encouraging their employees to speak out and ensuring a two-way communication within the organisation, many progressive leaders today adopt social media tools to gather feedback from their people. "At QuEST Global, Twitter is a major tool for communication. The COO tweets key developments of the organisation to the employees and encourages them to tweet the feedback directly to him. So, even if there is no face time with the COO, he gets to know things immediately," informs Subramanian. ACTION PLAN Feedback could be positive or negative; so the way a leader deals with the feedback he/she receives from the employee is important. Experts say that acting upon the feedback received is equally important as gathering feedback. If the feedback is not followed by action, then the whole effort remains pointless. "A leader should not be judgmental/ subjective on the feedback he/she receives from the team. He/she must be neutral on the feedback and must take it as a learning opportunity. A suitable action plan must be followed to act on every item of feedback to ensure team appreciation and overall employee satisfaction. Through coaching and mentoring, a leader can improve his/her developmental areas ," suggests Subramanian. Adding to it, Sharma says leaders need to take stock of every input that is provided to him/her before making an informed decision. With honest and open feedback, a leader would be in a position to address a problem way before it becomes a crisis. His/her planning, decision-making and evaluation would improve multifold as he/she is able to collect and timely implement a constructive feedback from the team."- source: Economic Times The Art of Effective Listening requires a lot of efforts Physical and Emotional

Inside this issue:

The Art of Effective Listening 10 Tips for Public Speaking Always Listen to Mom Become a Good Observer The 5 Ws and an H of Life A Report on Hiring Activity India Myths and Reality about HR Professionals

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Caliberisms !
Value each precious momentMorning brings hope, afternoon brings faith, evening brings love and night brings rest. Wish you find them all today. Quality is never an accident. It is the result of planning, teamwork and commitment to excellence. A bank is a place that will lend you money, if you can prove that you dont need it.

10 Tips for Public

Speaking
Feeling some nervousness before giving a speech is natural and even beneficial, but too much nervousness can be detrimental. Here are some proven tips on how to control your butterflies and give better presentations: 1. Know your material. Pick a topic you are interested in.

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Calibre Creators
Transform nervous energy into enthusiasm. 6. Visualize yourself giving your speech. Imagine yourself speaking, your voice loud, clear and confident. Visualize the audience clapping it will boost your confidence. 7. Realize that people want you to succeed. Audiences want you to be interesting, stimulating, informative and entertaining. Theyre rooting for you. 8. Dont apologize for any nervousness or problem the audience probably never noticed it. 9. Concentrate on the message not the medium. Focus your attention away from your own anxieties and concentrate on your message and your audience. 10. Gain experience. Mainly, your speech should represent you as an authority and as a person. Experience builds confidence, which is the key to effective speaking.
C.A. Lokesh Pokharna ,

10 Tips for Public Speaking (contd. From page 1)

Know more about it than you include in your speech. Use humour, personal stories and conversational language that way you wont easily forget what to say. 2. Practice.Practice.Practice! Rehearse out loud with all equipment you plan on using. Revise as necessary. Work to control filler words; Practice, pause and breathe. Practice with a timer and allow time for the unexpected. 3. Know the audience. Greet some of the audience members as they arrive. Its easier to speak to a group of friends than to strangers. 4. Know the room. Arrive early, walk around the speaking area and practice using the microphone and any visual aids. 5. Relax. Begin by addressing the audience. It buys you time and calms your nerves. Pause, smile and count to three before saying anything. ("One one-thousand, two onethousand, three one-thousand. Pause. Begin.)

Always Listen to Mom!

A Warning for those who don't listen to their mothers when they used to tell us DO NOT.... I REPEAT...DO NOT Talk to strangers .. Especially in restrooms... Here's why... While waiting to catch a plane in the Melbourne Airport, I decided to visit the restroom. The first cubicle was occupied, so I went into the second one. I was no sooner seated and comfortable than I hear a voice from the first cubicle ask, "Hi, how are you doing?" Well, I am not the type to chat with strangers in restrooms, and I really don't know quite what possessed me, but anyway, I answered, a little embarrassed: "Not bad." And the stranger said: "And, what are you up to?" Talk about your dumb questions! I was really beginning to think this was too weird! So I said: "Well, just like you, I'm waiting to board a jet. " Then, I heard the stranger, all upset, say, "Look, I'll call you back. There's some idiot in the next stall answering all the questions I'm asking you!"

CA in Mfg. Industry

BECOME A GOOD OBSERVER

We must never allow a day to pass without finding the answers to a list of important questions such as: What is going on in our industry? What new challenges are currently facing our government? Our Community? Our Neighbourhood? What are the new breakthroughs, the new opportunities, the new tools and techniques that have recently come to light? Who are the new personalities that are influencing world and local opinion? We must become good observers and astute evaluators of all that is going on around us. All events affect us, and what affects us leaves an imprint on what we will one day be and how we will one day live. One of the major reasons why people are not doing well is because they keep trying to get through the day. A more worthy challenge is to try to get from the day. We must become sensitive enough to observe and ponder what is happening around us. Be alert. Be awake. Let life and all of its subtle messages touch us. Often, the most extraordinary opportunities are hidden among the seemingly insignificant events of life. If we do not pay attention to these events, we can easily miss the opportunities. So be a good observer of both life and the world around you!
When I was in grade 3, I learned a technique of journalistic writing using the 5W's + H. Asking

The 5 W's and an H of Life

"WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHY, WHEN and HOW" was a formula we used to map out all of the details to get a complete story. By asking each of those questions we were able to reveal the whole story without leaving a rock unturned. Little did I know at that time how effective this mind mapping tool would be in uncovering the whole truth of a person's life. By asking each of these questions, you could better create a clear vision for personal growth, goal setting and timed framed achievements. Let's take a look at how these questions can be applied to your life. WHO? At some point, I think everyone has asked themselves "WHO AM I?" How do you define an identity? What are the true elements that make a person genuinely unique? Although the factors could change from person to person, there are some things that apply to everyone like having values and/or morals. Below are a few questions you could ask yourself to help define your identity: What values do you hold highest? What would you like your legacy to be? How do you want others to view you? What do you feel is your life's purpose? By looking internally and taking the time to come up with honest responses, you could better form your identity and start living your true authentic self, while being aligned with your life's purpose. WHAT? By having a solid understanding of what you want, you are able to set goals and take steps to create your IDEAL LIFE. When I was training to become a coach at the World Coach Institute, one of my instructors shared with the class one of the most profound questions that can be used to uncover any goal or personal destination you may have. What is your ultimate goal? By asking this question, you can dig deep and remove all of the superficial layers and get to the root of what is going to make you successful: THE DRIVE AND MOTIVATION OF ACHIEVING YOUR ULTIMATE GOAL!!! Sounds pretty good doesn't it? The first step of achievement would be assessing your daily, weekly, monthly tasks and ensure they are stepping stones to the ultimate goal. If you start to feel lost, ask yourself if what you are doing fits in with this wonderful ultimate goal. If it doesn't, you need to get

Asking "WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHY, WHEN and HOW" was a formula we used to map out all of the details to get a complete story. By asking each of those questions we were able to reveal the whole story without leaving a rock unturned.

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Page 3 WHEN? There is a great tool that many coaches and other professionals use for goal setting. It is the acronym: Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound I love this tool as a coach because it makes the process of setting goals much easier. For the purpose of this segment we will just focus on the Time Framed portion of SMART. Set a time limit on when you would like to achieve your goal. Without a time limit, there is no sense of urgency in achieving your goal. Having a time frame also allows you to measure your progress. HOW? So I guess this is the million dollar question. You have established yourself as a truly unique individual, have an understanding of what your ultimate goal(s) is, you know what you want your life to look like and where you'd like to be, you are clear why your goals are important to you and you've given yourself a time frame for completion. Now what? You need to create an action plan for making all of these things happen. Start living the way you want your life to be, embody your goals, stay true to your vision and write down the steps you are going to take in order to live your IDEAL LIFE daily. Ensure that every life decision you make is a significant piece of your life goal puzzle and that all of the pieces fit together. Have fun, embrace your passion and stay true to "WHO" you really are. Being honest with yourself will be your compass in whatever direction you want your life to lead.

The 5 W's and an H of Life

back on track by whatever means necessary. WHERE? Have you ever sat and day dreamed about where you'd like to be 5, 10 15 or 20 years from now. What sort of life are you living? Who is with you? What is your living environment look like? Have you achieved all of your goals? Having the drive to dream about where we would like to be is certainly a strong force in achieving your ultimate goal. When asking yourself where you'd like to be whether literally or figuratively, you need to focus on the positive and less on where you don't want to be. If you think about as though it has already happened, you are far more likely to attract those goals. If you focus on the positive, you will attract the positive but the same works with the negative. If you continually focus on where you don't want to be, you're far more likely to attract exactly what you don't want. One thing that is very important to establishing some direction in your life is by knowing when you have reached your destination. WHY? Why is it so important to achieve your goals? This may seem a bit obvious but honestly if you can't name a few reasons off the top of your head, your goals may not be powerful enough. The first step could be asking yourself why these goals are important to you. You need to give your goals conviction. If you don't, you are far less likely to achieve them. Setting goals gives you a long term vision and short term motivation. There is also a sense of pride when you have completed your goals. Here are some great questions you can ask to pave your way through goal setting. What will I gain by achieving my goals? What will I gain by not achieving my goals? How will my life be better by achieving my goals? How will I feel knowing what I've accomplished? Does this help shape my legacy? Remember that only you can answer these questions, but you may gain some clarity and a sense of urgency in accomplishing your goals when you fully understand why you are trying to achieve them.

SECTORAL ANALYSIS

A Naukri.comreport on Hiring Activity in India

SECTORAL ANALYSIS
Most industries have started feeling the brunt of a slowdown. Banking sector has seen the highest month on month dip with hiring activity going down by 16% in Jul-12 when compared to Jun-12. On a monthly level, Oil and Gas, Software services and Auto Sector saw recruitment levels dip within the range of 2% and 4% respectively over the same time period. Although sectors like ITES, Telecom and Insurance have seen about 4% to 7% increase in their hiring levels in Jul-12 when compared to Jun-12, the overall hiring level for these sectors are still 12%, 18% and 35% lower than pre recession levels.

FUNCTIONAL AREA ANALYSIS

ITES and BPO professionals saw increased demand over the last one month with job index moving up by 16% in Jul-12 when compared to Jun-12. Sales, Accounts and Production professionals have seen a steady movement in their hiring numbers over the last one month. On the contrary, Banking and Insurance professionals saw 16% dip in their demand during the same time period. Similarly, Project Management Marketing HR and ITSoftware professionals saw dips within the range of 2% and 6% respectively during the same time period.

FUNCTIONAL AREA ANALYSIS

ITES and BPO professionals saw increased demand over the last one month with job index moving up by 16% in Jul-12 when compared to Jun-12. Sales, Accounts and Production professionals have seen a steady movement in their hiring numbers over the last one month. On the contrary, Banking and Insurance professionals saw 16% dip in their demand during the same

time period. Similarly, Project Management Marketing HR and ITSoftware professionals saw dips within the range of 2% and 6% respectively during the same time period.
Source: Naukri.comJuly 2012 Report

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Try this Tongue Twister Purple Paper People, Purple Paper People, Purple Paper People
Do write to us to share your feedback and contribute articles: E/002, Green Park, Near Shantivan (MHADA), Off. Link Road, Andheri (W), Mumbai - 400 053, Maharashtra, India Phone: +91 9820 530 995 E-mail: sarfaraz.calibrecreators@gmail.com

www.calibrecreators.com Calibre Creators : Our Guiding Philosophy Calibre Creators believes in building Life-Long Relationships with the participants of its training programmes, especially the students. We expect to become their mentors and be able to provide them effective solutions till the time they are well established in their careers.
Our Business Focus: We aim to provide training and lifechanging interventions in these principle areas:

Personal and Corporate Training and Development

Academic : Programs that would enable students to enhance their abilities / attitude for future education oriented endeavours. Career / Corporates: Programs that would help individuals enhance their attitude, ambition, personality, skill profiles to improve their journey in their chosen vocations or professions Life : Programs that would equip individuals of all ages and profiles with essential skills or outlook to further enhance their routine life experiences with the objective of building a better society. Community: Programs that would enable individuals or groups of individuals to improve their relationships within / with their immediate environment and those touching their lives.

Myths about Reality of HR Professionals

Myth # 1 Reality # 1 People go into HR because they like people Todays HR professionals are business people who enjoy the challenges of working with people; not unlike project engineers who enjoy building things. Myth # 2 - Anyone can do HR!!! Reality# 2 - We have to approach human resources not from a traditional view of what has been done in the past, but from a business view of what results need to be achieved and then what HR practices and policies can help the company reach those results. (to be continued in next issue)