Leadership
Coaching
Delegation
Team Building
Performance Management
100
True or False Motivation is based on a person's needs, not his or her goals. Why ?
An individual is motivated by their Dominant Motive - otherwise known as their Personal Goal. (Why they do things.) How they achieve their goal is through their NEED - which is their Primary Interest. It is by doing the What that gets them to their Why.
100
Agree or Disagree Employees who perform routine, repetitive tasks are usually less productive than employees whose tasks are varied and challenging. Why?
Disagree Productivity is not dependent upon the function an employee does; it is more a function of the manager and their management style.
100
Why is relying on body language signals, like a nod of the head, a POOR way to determine if the employee understands a work assignment? What should you do?
What is ASKING FOR UNDERSTANDING ? Verbal communication is imperative when delegating or assigning work projects as well as when re-directing behavior. We as managers need to know what the employee comprehends.
100
Is it more important for your team to clearly understand what the standards are for performance over how well they accomplished the job? Why ?
No - especially with a team and for that matter any employee, job standards are simply a guideline to getting a result. We are equally interested in performance and how it is to be accomplished (the how which is Core Competency).
100
True or False Time Management effectiveness (by a Manager) can usually be increased if the manager just does things more efficiently. This will help avoid any time management problems.
False Get the monkeys off your back! That is the biggest factor in increasing time management effectiveness as a manager.
200
True or False Empowered employees respond best to a directive leadership style
Empowered employees respond best to a supportive leadership style. (See grid on 9.1 in SMART)
200
True or False In an empowered workforce, the primary responsibility for offering guidance and performance coaching is transferred to the employees. Why?
False Do not mistake what empowerment means - to do better vs. be self managed. The Manager always needs to help guide and direct the employee, empowered or not.
200
True or False Delegation makes employees responsible for results rather than activities. Why?
True Delegation is a shared activity between the employee and the manager requiring a determined outcome from the exercise versus activities conducted.
200
Agree or Disagree? In order to maintain harmony supervisors should always match assignments with the interests, personality and preferences of the employees. Why?
Disagree It's not about harmony - it's about having effective employees and delegating to those who need the project for development. Sometimes this is not aligned with the interest or preference of the employee.
200
True or False There are no accurate methods that can be used to measure the effect of a training program on an employee's level of job performance.
FALSE Measuring can be used on the employee's on-boarding process, checking in with the employee before an appraisal and certainly their work performance.
300
Agree or Disagree FACILITATIVE LEADERSHIP is more suitable for teambuilding purposes than developing an empowered work force Why ?
Disagree FACILITATIVE LEADERSHIP differ from more traditional leadership styles in that a facilitative leaders tend to ask specific questions rather than command or direct or ask vague questions. They prefer dialogue to debate and tend to offer sets of related answers rather than one answer. Teambuilding requires a leadership style that will direct the team to a goal and common purpose.
300
Why is carefully telling a new employee how to perform their job NOT the best method of training or orienting them? What would it be?
What is effective on-boarding and training? Different people learn in different ways (learning styles - such as hands-on; short specific goals; routine follow-up; shadowing, etc.) as well as their DiSC Communication Style
300
Why is the following NOT a good idea? In order to avoid unnecessary conflict, supervisors should assign relatively unpleasant tasks mainly to those employees who are willing to perform.
Delegation is used as a tool to build an employee. If we are delegating to the right person - the process and reasoning behind our selection and how we manage it will develop our employee.
300
How will an "effective working team" view conflict? What will they do as a result?
What is an OPPORTUNITY TO BE BETTER? A real team NOT AVOID THE CONFLICT and instead will use the conflict as an opportunity to review group processes; individual and team performance, stated goals and objectives, make adjustments as needed to be better.
300
What are elements of the performance review? And which, if any are the most important?
Employees Performance Core Competencies Upcoming Work Objectives Professional Goals Professional Development Depends upon what trying to accomplish in the conversation - important to have a holistic approach to the review.
400
Why are leaders unable to lead unless their employees (followers) willingly accept and follow their leadership?
What is Influence ? With leadership it's about influence and employees accepting their manager as their leader. To lead there must be followers - in Management, by structure of the organization employees report to a manager and accept them to be their leader and take direction.
400
Why is it more difficult to modify an employee's attitude or behavior than it is to increase their skill?
What is INABILITY TO CHANGE ANOTHER PERSON - WHO THEY ARE. However you are able to assist in someone shifting their attitude and behavior. This is considered emotional competency. Increasing skill and knowledge is much easier to modify.
400
When is it the best time to discuss performance standards with an employee? Give at least 3 different scenarios
Delegation Meeting When Re-Directing Behavior During the Performance Appraisal
400
True or False An effective team typically deals with constructive criticism by using group process techniques like explaining, justifying and defending their actions. Why?
What is FALSE ? An effective team welcomes constructive criticism, it holds itself accountable and understands the value of consequences. It uses the feedback to make things better. Once a team is able to do so it is considered a "real team".
400
True or False The best way for a supervisor to handle an emotional complaint by an employee is to first listen carefully and allow the employee to "blow off steam". Why?
True 80% of a conflict is emotionally based. Allowing the employee to "vent" and not interrupt them provides the employee the ability to express their emotions verbally. We saw where the cushioning process allowed the other person to speak and then we used "clarifying questions" to find out more about the issue.
500
Explain why the biggest disadvantage of leading through the "Power of Expertise" is that employees could develop dependencies on the leader that stifle their creativity.
What is EXPERTISE LEADERSHIP which assumes that the person with the most expertise is right. If that person is the leader then others under this model will follow. Therefore there is less room for innovation and thinking differently.
500
Within the COMMUNICATION PROCESS, when is the process considered complete ? Use the model of a message being communicated by the "message sender" and "message receiver"
What is when the MESSAGE RECEIVER acknowledges receipt of the message ?
500
When conducting a Delegation Meeting with your employee what is your most important communication responsibility as a supervisor / manager?
To communicate in a way that they can hear what you are saying - their DiSC style; so they understand the assignment. NOT to provide accurate information about the job assignment.
500
Explain why increasing the awareness of team members about their own group processes is a major strategy for team building. Provide an example of how you have done this with your team or have seen it done really well.
Having a good team structure is the foundation of a good team. As individuals better understand the team structure and its processes, they are best able to contribute so the end result is achieved.
500
Explain the illogical reasoning to the following statement: "Satisfied employees who are paid more will almost always perform better than dissatisfied employees who are paid less."
Performance is not a factor of pay. In addition nor is performance directly tied to satisfaction. Satisfaction is tied to engagement; how the employee thinks and feels about their workplace. A satisfied employee who is paid less may perform better than a dissatisfied employee who may be paid more.
M
e
n
u