The Team Building Traits of Outbound Training

Throughout history, great men and sages will tell you that it was at the their darkest and deepest moments in life that they learnt some of their greatest lessons. Sometimes a lifetime worth of lessons can only be learnt through the twists, turns, challenges, and obstacles of life. While certain skills like planning, organizing and scheduling can be taught in a formal or controlled environment, other intangible and more valuable qualities like leadership, character, perseverance and courage can only be learnt through the storms of life that one goes through over a period of time. It is precisely these qualities that outbound training seeks to train people in by simulating experiences in controlled environments albeit natural and slightly unpredictable ones. They can immensely help foster the following:

·         Situational leadership skills rise to the surface. The old adage, ‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going’ is proven true. outbound training environments create the necessity of having to step up and take charge to cohesively lead the rest.

·         Teamwork and partnering is crucial, as certain situations will bring about challenging situations for anyone to overcome by himself or herself. This helps develop social skills and teamwork.

·         Working cohesively as a unit in such an environment also helps with communication, efficient management of resources and trouble-shooting skills. This of course requires every member of the team to be on the ‘same page’ with a binding vision that unites instead of trying to accomplish things as an individual.

Outbound Training is a valuable program that companies use everyday to help cultivate such intangible traits in their employees that can never be learnt in the safe and cosy environment of a corporate office.

MMM Training Solutions are experts in the filed of outbound training, corporate training, leadership training, leadership skills training, soft skills training, cross cultural training and many more for corporates in India and abroad.

For more information visit us at http://www.mmmts.com/ 

Childlike Curiosity in Leadership

Recently I watched a video on YouTube of a TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson on ‘Do schools kill creativity?’ The most fascinating part of the talk was a small little story, which he told about a 6 year old restless kid in a drawing lesson. This little kid hardly ever paid attention, but in a drawing lesson she did. The teacher was pretty surprised and went up to her and asked her “What are you drawing?”

“I am drawing a picture of God”, replied the little girl.

A baffled teacher said, “But nobody knows, what God looks like.”

Pat came the reply, “They will, in a minute.”

The little girl had absolutely no fear of being proved wrong. She was trying to do something that not many have done in the past. However she had no qualms of venturing into unexplored paths. In our Leadership Training Program, we encourage our participants to create a path for themselves rather than follow the conventional safe route.

As a child, we are open to new and innovative ideas and risk is seen as an opportunity. As we grow up, we become increasingly risk averse. We start classifying situations as good or bad, possible or impossible prompted by multiple factors - past experiences, fear of failure or complacency. What a tragedy!

When a toddler starts learning to walk, he falls multiple times. Each time he falls down, he picks himself up and starts trying again. He is undeterred by failure or pain. He is driven by instinct to walk. What happens to mankind as we grow up? We lose the ability to see each situation for what it is. No two situations are similar; hence we should have varied approaches for each one. But we start to store our past experiences and use the same approaches to similar situations thus losing our ability to innovate.

“Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious...and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” ― Walt Disney Company

When we are able to see situation as unique, we are able to generate new passion and novel strategies. This does not mean that we will not experience failures. But mistakes can be our best friend, and failures can be our best teacher. So stay hungry and stay foolish!

I leave you with a quote from Plutarch that magnificently summarizes what I have written: “The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.”

The Courtesy of Customer Service

After living in India for nearly 15 years, moving to the West was an eye-opening experience, especially in the field of business and customer service. While India is known and celebrated for many glorious things, unfortunately customer services is not one of them and I’ve experienced more than a decade worth of bad experiences to come to that conclusion. The US was a breath of fresh air in comparison. Businesses would go out of their ways to make customers feel comfortable and cared for here in the West. Mistakes are owned up to and responsibility taken for any errors committed by the business.  Here the customer ultimately called the shots and is truly the ‘king’.

But what is the cause for this disparity? My illustration above might deceivingly give the impression that this is a cultural phenomenon. While culture may be a dynamic it is not the whole picture. It ultimately comes down to an ethical business understanding of customer values. And that has more to do with corporate culture than national culture. Customer experience is a highly valued tenet for businesses and translating that from mere external furnishings and interior decor to one on one relational dynamics is an entirely different enterprise. There are many aspects of customer service that makes a difference to the customer. But the most important of them – Courtesy.

Professional courtesy deals with anticipating the customers’ needs ahead of time, creating a conducive environment that caters to the customer’s shopping experience and servicing the numerous needs of the customer through multiple options. While customers are generally satisfied with the bare minimum that business services offer, the real deal-clincher is when businesses go above and beyond their ‘call of duty’ in order to please the customer or make his life easy. The old adage, “No one cares what you know unless they know that you care”, certainly rings true in the world of business!

Customer Service Training is a specific type of program that businesses these days expect their employees to participate in to train them in appropriate standards of business courtesy that suits the needs of the customer. 
MMM Training Solutions are experts in the field of customer service training, corporate training, leadership skills training, soft skills training, cross cultural training and many more, for corporates in India and abroad. 

The Role of Emotions in a Leader's Life

“Emotional Intelligence emerges as a much stronger predictor of who will be most successful, because it is how we handle ourselves in our relationships that determines how well we do once we are in a given job.” – Daniel Goleman

Recently I conducted training on Performance Dialogues for the executive team of a world-renowned pharmaceutical company. As emotions are a key part of our relationship with people, one of key areas that we focus on in this training is on Emotional Intelligence.

The theme for one of the role-plays was a manager giving feedback to a team member about his not-upto-the-mark performance. The team member played the role of a defiant team member. Within minutes they forgot that it was role-play and played out a real life situation. The manager resorted to the style of coercion that he was used to. The team member displayed anger and frustration about not being heard. The role-play was discontinued and feedback was given. The role-play was then rerun and the participants showed dramatic improvement.

At the end of the two-day workshop, one of the key people of the executive team made two significant remarks:  

• Why was there so much emphasis on emotions? 
• Why did we have to do role-plays? 

Emotions are not encouraged nor talked about enough in the work place today.  There is no cohesiveness in a team if there are no emotions. Emotions are not bad. They serve a purpose when used at the right time - for example; fear saves us from dangerous situations. Emotional Intelligence simply means to be intelligent about the use of your emotions.

I leave you with something to ponder about – “How effective do you think the participant is in managing his team?”

Emotional Intelligence Training plays a crucial role in shaping the emotional awareness and understanding in every individual and promotes a sense of confidence and strength within the team. 

MMM Training Solutions conducts emotional intelligence training, corporate training, soft skills training, leadership training, cross cultural training and more for corporates in India and abroad. 

3 Proven Steps to Stress Management

Stressed out? 

How many times have we asked someone this question? How many times have we been asked this question? There is a very good chance that you may be reading this because you’re a little stressed out. Stress is one of the most debilitating conditions in our society.  Stress can be experienced in virtually any and every aspect of our lives – Job pressure, money, health, relationships, sleep deprivation and poor nutrition. A recent US poll said that nearly 77% of people experience physical symptoms caused by stress. 

Some times it is easy to think of stress as something that just shows up ‘naturally’ once you hit a certain age. Stress is often associated with certain types of lifestyles. While these may sometimes be true, what is not true is that when stress ‘happens’ to you, you are powerless under its weight as a helpless victim. Stress Management is just as much about decisions and attitude as much as it is about circumstances beyond your control. In this article we will look at just three things that one can practice as efficient stress busters:

Identifying the Root

In a company setting, often employees have so many responsibilities and deadlines that an average day can become a blur of activities and stress. After that happens repeatedly, it is tempting to just ‘zone out’ once work is over and turn our mind to other things like rest or entertainment. But in situations like these, stress can build up like steam, creating immense pressure. Whenever one is experiencing stress, it is healthy to slow down or stop, step back and take a look at where this stress is coming from. What is the source? Processing and reflecting on this is a very crucial step to understanding the magnitude and solution for minimizing the stress. Identifying the root of the problem is half the battle.

Prioritizing responsibilities

Often stress can be caused by trying to do too much all at the once. It is better to be efficient at a few things than mediocre at everything. Moving things that require your attention to the top of the urgency list puts priorities into perspective and allows you to focus on that which needs your immediate attention. Everything else can wait.

Drawing boundaries

Sometimes employees don’t know when to say ‘no’ and to whom. Often within a high-pressure situation, the tendency is to bite off more than one can chew. When an employee’s plate begins to get full, the responsible thing to do is to approach their supervisor and discuss redistribution or delegation of responsibilities so that one can manage their tasks well. This will sometimes mean being very clear about what one can do and cannot.

Stress Management Training is an essential program within every company. It looks to serve and take care of its employees for their own sake simply because they are a company’s most valuable assets. Companies have diverse ways of handling stress within their employees:

Taking a Stance - A Leadership Essential

By withdrawing her participation from the National Squash Championship 2015, ace Indian squash player Dipika Pallikal has made a silent yet resounding and strong statement. Her stance came because of the vast discrepancy in the prize money offered to men and women who are competing for the same honor and glory of representing their country and winning laurels for their nation. In this tournament where the male winner stands to receive INR 1, 20,000 a female winner stands to win less than half of that amount, at INR 50,000.

With the wave of women’s liberation, this bold statement from Dipika is a refreshing and encouraging sign of good things to come. For decades, women in India have settled for pay cheques that are far lesser than what men draw for the same amount of work and effort. From the corporate world, to the world of celebrities, to the field of sports and in every other field, the highest award that women receive is still worth much lesser than what their male counterparts enjoy. Although a hue and cry has always been raised about it, Dipika has taken this one step further and put her money where her mouth is and put her opinion about this issue into action.  “I feel we deserve equal pay like most of the tournaments at the PSA professional circuit which are moving towards equal prize money”, she said.

This disparity does not exist only in the world of sports but also extends into the business world. The ratio of men and women who occupy senior positions in most organizations is shockingly variant. People like Dipika standing up against such disparity will hopefully set the precedence for more equality to emerge.

A very though-provoking quote by Helen Keller floats to mind like an illuminating glow of light at such times. “It is for us to pray not for tasks equal to our powers, but for powers equal to our tasks, to go forward with a great desire forever beating at the door of our hearts as we travel toward our distant goal.” Times are changing and as a species we must change along with it. There is advancement happening in every field across the world and women are achieving tremendous heights, leaving nothing but awe and the celebration of success in their wake. Dipika’s recent statement is indicative of women refusing to take the easy way out anymore. All the advancement in the world only means that the world is now an equal, level playing field.

Whether you are a man or a woman, rich or poor, white or black, challenged or able, no matter who you are, the world is open to you in all its opportunities and possibilities. Being who you are does not make anything less accessible to you. Dipika’s move is a lesson on leadership and how leadership skills can make a positive difference. By taking a firm, assertive, unapologetic yet very respectful stand, she has made the world sit up and take notice. She has emulated Malala Yousafzai’s ringing words, “I raise up my voice – not so I can shout but so that those without a voice can be heard. We cannot succeed when half of us are held back.” Are you ready to let your voice be heard amidst the crowd?

Strategies Used for Effective Time Management Training

Time management training has turned out to be an integral part of organizations for successful delegation of quality work. Improper management of time and work, inability to handle excess tasks and procrastination of duties lead to inefficiency and decreased productivity. Training institutes of repute like MMM Training Solutions give you opportunities to buy such training materials from the websites directly. You can also practice certain time management strategies to help you deliver tasks on time.

1. To-Do Lists: Remember how your parents used to pester you to make a planned routine of the things to study for the day or week? This holds true for performing your personal and professional life as well. Keep a small notebook in your pocket, a handy tool to remind you of the tasks that you require completing every day. Priority is the key to successful planning and hence, it is important that you pen down the things according to their importance and urgency.

2. Be Organized, Focus on a Single task: One of the commonest issues which many face while managing a whole load of tasks is being disorganized. Training strategies on Time Management offered by professionals at institutes like MMM Training Solutions teach individuals to first clean away the mess by discarding the items or tasks which you do not need any more or can sell or give away. Once the clutter is cleared plan out how and when to accomplish the rest of the tasks one by one by not going haywire.

3. Learn to Say “NO”: Just as telephone etiquette training teaches you to say “no” to customers for things you cannot do or resolve, an important strategy of time management is to learn saying no to tasks you cannot handle. It is better telling people you cannot help them rather than taking the responsibility and not fulfilling them.

4. Time Yourself: Make use of your time wisely. Incorporate smaller tasks in between commuting or waiting at the doctor’s. Make a planner for setting up goals that need to be accomplished at present and the long term ones.

Time management training is key for success! 

MMM Training Solutions conducts time management training, soft skills training, cross cultural training and leadership training programs for corporates in India and abroad. 

Wish to master the art of managing time? Learn more about our training programs and trainers at www.mmmts.com 

Freedom of Communication versus Political Correctness

Dr. Benjamin Carson a distinguished man of science and healing; the Director of the Pediatric Neurosurgery Division at the John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, narrates a very interesting anecdote in his speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, which provided a lot of food for thought.

A very successful businessman was in the habit of giving his mother exotic gifts on Mother’s Day, and was frantically looking for what to get her one particular year, when he came across two magnificent birds. He got very excited upon seeing them because these were no ordinary birds; they could sing and dance and talk!! Thoroughly pleased with his discovery, he sends the birds to his mother. Unable to contain his jubilation at finding such an exotic gift for his mother, he calls her and asks her, “Mother, mother what did you think of the birds?” His mother says, “They were good!” In utter dismay, he realizes that his mother had eaten the birds and says, “No! No! No! Mother you didn’t eat those birds! Those birds could sing and dance and talk! They cost $5000 apiece!” And his mother coolly replies, “Well then they should’ve said something.”

That, Dr.Carson believes, is where we will end up as well if we don’t speak up for what we believe in. He talks about how political correctness can become quite a threat because it fastens a muzzle on others. People become afraid to say what they are thinking or feeling because they are afraid of offending people. As Dr. Carson lightly puts it, “I have found out that it is very difficult to speak to a large group of people without offending someone.” Once, when he was talking about the difference between a man’s brain and a dog’s brain, someone heatedly claimed he was being offensive to dogs!

It is this bristling sensitivity that makes us deaf to the intention and intelligence behind other people’s opinions. Dr.Carson tells us that education is meant to liberate man and by stifling our voices, we are stifling the spirituality and development of an entire nation. Closer home, we see such a situation emerging in our personal and professional lives as well. People are so engrossed in coming up with the perfect communication strategy, that they lose sight of their point. While it is crucial to show respect for anyone else’s opinion, it is also important to communicate your mind without any shackles on the freedom to communicate.

True spiritual and economic development can only emerge if you remove that muzzle from your mouth and communicate with confidence, sensitivity and strength. Use your intelligence to nurture yourself and your nation. Jump over those communication barriers and never ever give excuses.

Dr. Benjamin Carson proudly concluded his speech with his vision for the future; “One nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”

Being mute out of fear or an unwillingness to take the lead, will only make us take ten steps backwards or end up like those poor birds. A man who was bullied in school, who was the butt of all the jokes, who was called a ‘stupid dummy’ is now one of the most renowned doctors and scholars in the world. If he had chosen to stay mute, or if he had been adversely affected by the cruelties of his critics, can you imagine what the world would have lost out on?

Watch his absolutely inspiring speech on conducting critical conversations versus political correctness, and answer Dr. Carson's question, "What are you most concerned about when it comes to the spirituality and direction of our nation?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgP2yKFV6ig 

Communication Skills Training plays a vital role in shaping the confidence of individuals and also encourages freedom of expression and a healthy intellectual growth.

MMM Training Solutions conducts communication skills training, corporate training, soft skills training, cross cultural training and leadership training programs for corporates in India and abroad. 

The Cardinal Rules of Good Interviewing

I remember conducting my first interview like it was yesterday. I was the production manager in a high-end furniture company and had department floor strength of 29 workers at the time. I was interviewing candidate ‘No.30’. But this interview was more significant for other reasons than just a nice round number. The position I was conducting interviews for was for the floor supervisor position. While there was a lot of talent in my department, they needed a leader to watch over the more trivial aspects of managing a team. Clearly the person for this job needed to have some ‘leadership’ under their belt. And so after sifting through numerous resumes over weeks, I finally narrowed it down to two candidates. I remember scheduling them on the same day, one before lunch and the other after. This was going to be a good opportunity to exercise some interviewing skills.

The first candidate had all the credentials on paper. He had worked in supervisory positions before, was used to being in charge and working under the pressure of goals and targets. But he was a very ‘by the book’ player. When I asked him what he would do in a unique situation, he could not think out of the box. The second candidate, whose resume did not match the first one’s, was a more intuitive leader. He seemed to understand the pulse of a team and had the creativity to handle out of the normal situations. So on the one hand I had a candidate who was very methodical and rigid and on the other I had a candidate who was intuitive and creative. In hindsight though I realized that I probably didn’t give them an equal shot or do justice to how their skills fit into the job requirements. I had interviewed them with different parameters and the results were apples and oranges. I had no way to gauge which one was better for the job. Looking back now I could have done things a lot better in terms of interviewing skills.

• Job requirement vs. Benefit to the job – While I gauged them on their skills and abilities, I was more interested in what they could bring to the job to add to its overall efficiency (or even diversity), instead of determining if what they had, was what the job fundamentally required.
• The Whole Package – I seemed satisfied with the fact that they were one-dimensional in their skills or abilities. While certain employees may lean heavily toward their natural strengths, it is important sometimes for the sake of their own careers that they grow or develop in the areas of weaknesses. Determining this is a crucial part of interviewing.
• Compatibility with Vision – Ultimately, what is most important is not what an employee can bring to the table or which one was better for the job but rather which one, in the larger scheme of things, would fit better not only for the job but also in the larger context of understanding one’s contribution to the company as a whole.

InterviewingSkills Training  plays a vital role in preparing the hiring manager to conduct interviews in an efficient manner to best determine the right candidate, not only for the job but also in terms of the larger need of the company. Even successful corporations today understand the importance of factoring in not only skill but also attitude in such training. 

MMM Training Solutions conducts interviewing skills training, corporate training, soft skills training, cross cultural training and leadership training programs for corporates in India and abroad. 

Corporate Theatre - Our Adventures With Creativity Training Continues!

“Creativity takes courage.” – Henry Matisse

Recently we successfully concluded our inaugural training program on Corporate Theater as a part of our Creativity Training module.  A lot of you may have done a quick double-take at the name of the session and may be wondering how on earth something as artistic as theatre could influence an inherently process-driven corporate team. Well, we must admit that it seemed like quite the task initially, but the positive results of the module left us overwhelmed, stunned and flushed with success.

When the client came to us with the unique requirement, instead of feeling stumped, we were quite excited at the prospect of a new challenge! Putting our heads together and working tirelessly with the client and our internal creative team, we came up with a module that seamlessly integrated the art of acting and theatre, and connected it to coming up with creative solutions to corporate problems.

The ice-breaker saw everyone from Superstar Rajnikanth to wrestling stars to Jack Sparrow entering our midst. As the participants slowly shed their inhibitions, we saw something quite spectacular unfold in front of our eyes.

The activities were designed to give the participants a chance to perform a series of skits in different genres and the core of every challenge was a work-place situation that they would encounter in their daily professional lives. Outrageous characters were created as managers donned the role of Yama Dharma Raaja (the god of death), thieves, Kings, Lord Vishnu, five year old children and even animals found their way into the festivities! What was most interesting was the way they engaged their creative and critical thinking skills when they found themselves under the spotlight.

What we realized at the end of the session, was that while our module enabled the participants to tap into their reserves of creativity, it also gave us an opportunity to dive into our own pools of ingenuity! While we guided the participants into awakening the creative spirit in them, we also used creativity in business and put together a fun, innovative and informative module and unleashed our creative sides as well!

As Albert Einstein rightfully said, “Creativity is contagious. Pass it on!” We definitely saw this come alive both within our own team and within each participant. The more they interacted with each other on creative solutions, the more each and every one of them started thinking outside the box!

So remember, there is a creative genius inside each and every one of us. Sometimes we are awake to its presence and sometimes we are not. So indulge in creativity training and learn to set your ideas wild and free! They will ignite your own conscience and also roar like wildfire across your team, spreading positive thoughts and ingenious innovations all around! 

MMM Training Solutions conducts corporate training, soft skills training, cross cultural training and leadership training programs for corporates in India and abroad. 

Please visit our website http://www.mmmts.com to know more about our programs and our trainers. 

‘Two States’ and Cross Cultural Awareness!

Chetan Bhagat’s novel ‘Two States’ spread like wildfire across the country and soon enough, the sparkling, glitzy,  Technicolor Bollywood movie followed in all its grandeur.

While the world marveled over the picturesque cinematography, the adorable romance between the couple, the acting prowess of the cast and the colorful explosion of Bollywood songs and sentiments, I was focused on something rather different.

The clash between Krish Malhotra’s (Arjun Kapoor) North Indian culture and Ananya Swaminathan’s (Alia Bhatt) South Indian Tamil culture awoke a lot of sensitivity in me and I realized how we have grown very fiercely protective of our own cultures and tradition. While this may be a beautiful sentiment to harbor in an age where tradition and culture is casually neglected, it may be coming at the price of learning to respect cultures that are different from ours.

Despite a vast increase in exposure and education, the need for cultural awareness has grown monumentally today and this especially extends into the professional forum. The work environment now includes people from all walks of life, who hail from different parts of the world. This influx carries a surge of different cultures along with it. Only by imbibing a sense of cultural competence in ourselves will we be able to respect people who are different from us.

With an increase in awareness, the harmony within different, sometimes even conflicting cultural groups will automatically increase and the team synergy becomes a symphony! This is the strength of cross cultural training.

At the end of ‘Two States’ what Krish and Ananya’s families realized, was that only by wanting to learn about other cultures would they be able to understand each other better. When they stopped believing that theirs was the superior culture and looked upon the newcomers with friendliness and a willingness to learn, understand and compromise, the newcomers became fond friends and even families!

In any environment, when we are met with people who are different, the first step towards understanding them is accepting their difference as a beautiful unique identity. I was overwhelmed with excitement at the prospect of the amount of beauty there is in exploring different cultures and this is what I carried with me at the end, when two complete opposite poles of traditions came together in a marriage that had the best of both worlds.

So embrace the adventures that come with meeting people from different cultures and shed your inhibitions! This little anecdote from a popular movie is one of many instances of the need for cross cultural training and cultural competence. This awareness is vital for both our professional and personal lives.

Stay tuned to our blog to see what we bring forth next!

MMM Training Solutions conducts soft skills training, cross cultural training and leadership training programs for corporates in India and abroad. 

Please visit our website http://www.mmmts.com to know more about our programs and our trainers. 

Emotional Intelligence - You Are Your Own Master

“When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.” – Kahlil Gibran

Recently I watched a tamizh movie starring Jyothika titled 36 Vayadhinile (At 36 years of age). This movie is a re-make of the popular Malayalam movie starring Manju Warrier titled How Old Are You and my expectations were quite high as I entered the theater. Half an hour into the movie my mind was whirring with a million thoughts and revelations.

In the first half of the movie, Vasanthi (Jyothika) is the kind of woman who is very submissive with her husband and silently bears abuses and insults from him. But more than feeling sorry for her, I only felt an indignant rage.

When Vasanthi was emotionally manipulated into abandoning the project that she had worked so hard on and moving out of the country, she initially felt she had no way out. But when she thought about it and realized that her decision was in her own hands, she very calmly and confidently put her foot down and refused to do something that she felt was not right. For the exact same situation in which she first felt trapped and betrayed, a simple change in perspective made her feel strong and secure.

Eventually in the second half of the movie Vasanthi finds herself and finds true happiness. While this may seem like a fairy-tale ending that makes us sniffle and well-up, it isn’t as easy as it may seem on the big screen.

We need to make a conscious effort to be more in tune with our emotions. What Vasanthi displayed initially was a complete lack of emotional literacy where she was not aware of her own emotions or the emotions of those around her. Her very low levels of emotional intelligence was the reason she was her own biggest obstacle.

When we apply this concept to our own lives, we realize that we need to be emotionally intelligent so we can grow holistically. If we do not respond to the words that are being said on the inside, the face we present to the world is going to remain resolutely, woefully incomplete.

So put your best foot forward and embrace your emotions. There are instances in your life when emotional intelligence training will make you evolve as a person. Look out for those moments and carpe diem- seize the day!

This little anecdote from a popular movie is one of many instances of the reason for emotional intelligence training and emotional literacy. This awareness is vital for both our professional and personal lives.

The next blog post will delve deeper into the complexities of human emotions and how we can perceive them to our advantage. 


MMM Training Solutions conducts soft skills training, executive coaching and leadership training programs for corporates in India and abroad. Please visit our website http://www.mmmts.com to know more about our programs and our trainers.

Communication Skills for Leaders

Every employee has a story of working with someone who was just a poor communicator. I have my own story too. The person I worked under was, by all polite standards, a mystery. 

He was not clear about his expectations, his feedback (positive or negative),  was always vague and his instructions were very arbitrary to say the least. Simply put, he had terrible communication skills. This caused problems in many areas – poor relationships with his subordinates, lack of camaraderie with his peers and animosity with his superiors. Surprisingly his job with the company somehow lasted longer than it should have. Truth eventually won the battle and he was terminated. But his departure left such a huge ‘crater’ of confusion that the entire company revamped its method, mode and policy for communication across the board. In the aftermath, the new communication policy was much clearer than before!

So what type of communication skills should a good leader have? What makes a good communicator? Leaders carry a great deal of responsibility on their shoulders - manage production output and quality service, marshaling his or her personnel and resources and all the while keeping the whole process within the satisfactory limits of the company’s watchful gaze. 

Lets look at a few aspects of good communication that a leader should keep in mind:

•  Leaders must give clarity to his or her team on vision, goals, roles & responsibilities
• They must give clear and consistent feedback  so that the required demands of performance or quality are adhered to 
• They communicate any progress or deficiency clearly to higher levels of authority so that appropriate decisions can be made in accordance with the needs.
•   Lastly, regardless of how the job plays out, they make sure to give ample motivation and inspiration to the team on a job done, inspiring better efforts for the next project

Communication Skills Training is a vital component of enhancing correspondence within the organization regardless of their size or business. Such training programs equip the people that matter with the skills that matter even more. 

MMM Training Solutions conducts soft skills training, executive coaching and leadership training programs for corporates in India and abroad. Please visit our website http://www.mmmts.com to know more about our programs and our trainers.

3 Traits of an Inspirational Leader

Leaders come in all styles and frames, through different eras in history and accomplish objectives differently. But they all had one thing in common – they made a difference; one that was profound enough to garner a loyal gathering that still revered them long after their passing. Today’s leaders are a different breed – entering a world teeming with technology and conveniences that leaders of the yesteryears never possessed. While modern leadership programs and Ivy league schools can equip a candidate with some rudimentary skills necessary to lead, there are certain intangible aspects to being a good leader that can never be taught. And one of those is to be an inspirational leader. 

In this blog we will examine three such aspects that executive leadership courses never teach:

Facing down challenges

At Steve Jobs’ memorial in 2011, Apple’s design guru gave a heart-warming eulogy that spoke of Steve’s remarkable tenacity and determination. He talked about the hours of work that was spent trying to accomplish that which was deemed impossible; the defeat of cynicism, the rejection of reason and being told a hundred times that something could never be done. Perseverance against the odds is a trait of executive leadership that is highly admired.

Driven by passion

The trait most appealing of inspirational leaders is their passion. Sociologists in a recent study of employees were pleasantly surprised to find out that over 80% of employees polled said they would rather work under an angry boss than a stupid one. Sometimes passionate leadership can sting and seem overwhelming. But there is something subconsciously attractive about an indomitable spirit.

Authentically wired

Leaders, by virtue of being on the front lines, face the most heat in terms of questions and criticisms. Many succumb to the pressure of people’s opinions and expectations and allow popular rhetoric to dominate their decisions. Real leaders persevere in their path regardless of the opposition. Real leaders don’t feel the pressure of needing to comply with the forces of tradition or be suppressed by the system or institution. And in the end it is those qualities of a leader that set them apart from the rest and blazes a new trail untouched by others.

For more information on Leadership Training and how it creates inspirational leaders, please refer to the following article - 3 Essentials for any Leadership Training.


MMM Training Solutions conducts soft skills training, executive coaching and leadership training programs for corporates in India and abroad. Please visit our website http://www.mmmts.com to know more about our programs and our trainers.