Creating a High Performing Team.

One of my favorite quotes is from Albert Einstein, who said, “I never teach my pupils, I only provide the conditions in which they can learn.”  This is a key concept to remember when you start exercising more leadership the further you get into your career.  In determining what kind of leader you will be, you need to know how to create the conditions to produce a high performing team that will grow.

Learning the ropes as a manager can be a long and difficult ride, but it doesn’t have to be.  Here are the most common tips to use to foster an atmosphere of growth within your teams.

1. Your title is not enough: Sorry to tell you but the titles of “director,” “manager” or “VP” will not move your people to outperform their past efforts. It is about learning to earn the respect of your team.  It is about getting out of your office and getting your hands dirty, showing them you are willing to work just as hard as they are to get the job done!

2. We are friends: You have to have defined lines to properly lead others. Yes, you want to have an open door policy for your team, but seek a balance that helps them to help themselves.

3. Goals? What is that: Along with defined lines, your people need to have clear goals they have to accomplish every day, week, month, quarter and year. These need to be 100% understood so they know how to prioritize their day to accomplish projects and tasks in the proper order.

4. I have to hire someone now: The impact of hiring the wrong person can only create more stress on you and your team. Take your time when hiring, make sure they are a good fit within the company and your team’s culture. Hire a team member not just a body!

5. Everyone is motivated by money: Although your employees do need to pay their bills, many of them are not solely motivated by money. Some are motivated by work/life balance and maybe telecommuting can get their performance to increase. Others may need a pat on the back, extra responsibility, or even a sense of camaraderie with the company or team. Everyone is different so help them build SMART goals and watch them shine!

We know there is so much more to being a manager, and that is why we have released our newly expanded catalog of professional enrichment courses.  Built for convenience and packed with quality instruction, our professional development and enrichment courses can help you master many of the obstacles you face when improving your career and teams.  These courses range from business and health to courses that help grow your perspective on the world.  These affordable courses can range from 1 hour of your time to just a few weeks to finish. Bama At Work, The University of Alabama partners with World Education to offer students 100% online career training programs. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google + , LinkedIn or visit our website for more info and news about Professional Development, Online Training and how to improve your professional profile.

Article by Kelly Fuhlman, Director of Social Media  for World Education , and is personally involved in helping others make a better life for themselves through education. World Education is one of the main partner of the University of Alabama for Online Certificate Programs.

Show Your Skills with Digital Badges.

When it comes to the hiring process, social media is now something many employers check out when evaluating candidates.  Whether it’s a LinkedIn page or Facebook profil or even Twitter, wouldn’t it be great to have your education institution endorse you with digital badges for the skills you have learned?

For many adults, the idea of a “badge” comes with memories of our childhood as a Boy Scout or Girl Scout. We had to earn each badge by completing a task and demonstrating our knowledge and skill. We then handed that badge over to our mom or grandmother to sew onto our vest so we could display it with pride. What if there was an opportunity as an adult to earn knowledge and skill badges with the ability to digitally display for all to see? With Digital Badges from World Education.net and Bama At Work, you can do just that!

Digital Badges are a way of displaying the skills you possess based on the courses you have completed; think of it as your own portfolio.  Your skill badges are issued by your education institution, so it is your own university that is vouching for you.  You can download your digital badges as you complete your courses.  They are stored in your “Backpack” online, and from there you can share them via Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and Facebook.

We are committed to enhancing your value and this is another tool we provide to help you succeed in the modern workplace.  Bama At Work, The University of Alabama partners with World Education to offer students 100% online career training programs. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google + , LinkedIn or visit our website for more info and news about Professional Development, Online Training and how to improve your professional profile.

Article by Kelly Fuhlman, Director of Social Media  for World Education , and is personally involved in helping others make a better life for themselves through education. World Education is one of the main partner of the University of Alabama for Online Certificate Programs.

The Advantages of Blended Learning for Six Sigma Courses.

Blended Learning is defined as a Lean Six Sigma training model that integrates multiple delivery modes and learning activities.  Generally, it consists of a mix of e-learning, classroom exercises, coaching and job application.  It is designed to reach a globally and educationally diverse audience in any industry.  It is designed to be highly interactive and flexible with “High Touch” access to mentors who will aid in the application to real business problems.

There are two levels of Lean Six Sigma offered through this program:  Green Belt and Black Belt.  The duration for the Green Belt is approximately 4-6 months.  The duration for the Black Belt would be approximately 6-8 months.  During the journey, an individual will work online to review the course material, work individual exercises that are geared toward working on a process improvement project tied to the business, and complete short quizzes at the end of each lesson.  A mentor/coach oversees the work and provides individual and group workshops, study halls and in-class simulations that reinforce the learnings.

At the end of the course, a completed improvement project is reviewed by the mentor/coach for completeness, content, and tool application.  Individuals will also be asked to take a final comprehensive exam.  A passing grade of 70% or better qualifies the individual for certification.  The University of Alabama will provide the certification credentials upon approval of the mentor/coach. With our new blended format, you get the best of combined learning environments to enable you to master the material with a minimum amount of travel and in-person class time, but with a high degree of personal interaction with our faculty and other students in your class!

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google + , LinkedIn or visit our website for more info and news about Six Sigma courses, professional development for the workplace and how to improve the efficiency of your organization.

Article by Dianna Rockett, MBA, SIX SIGMA MASTER BLACK BELT, and President and CEO of Donald E. Smith Associates, Inc . a business management consulting firm specializing in process improvement initiatives using Six Sigma Methodology. She is also a our instructor for the new blended Six Sigma program.

What to Look For in an Online Certificate Program ?

With the growing cost of a college degree, many students are leery of taking out thousands of dollars in student loans.  In looking for alternatives many of these students are turning to short certificate programs that are significantly less of an impact on the pocketbook and can be completed in 6 months to a year. These courses are short and get right to the training needed without any excess costs for the student.  As good as they are for your time and budget, how can you be sure of the quality of the program you are taking?  If you are considering a certificate program, please pay attention to these “buyer beware” tips you need to follow:

• Accreditation of the school.
  You need to ask the institution if they are regionally or nationally accredited. If the representative you are talking to starts to stutter on this question and begins to ramble about memberships and associations, then you need to be suspicious! Regional accredited schools are most of your colleges and universities, like The University of Alabama with Bama At Work. If you receive a certificate from a recognized school you are covered on the accreditation question and employers will see this as a trustworthy institution. Sometimes the best way to ask this question is “Are you approved by the Department of Education?”. Do your research!

• Preparing for a certification exam.
  Many certificate programs prepare you for an exam that will certify you to work in a certain industry. Many careers in the health and fitness industry require you to have a certain amount of hours in training and an 80% or above on your certification exam before you can work with clients or patients. Make sure the school you choose is an approved training provider and offers vouchers to take the exam.

• Career Services.
  Many schools say they have career services that help students find a job after the training is done. However, you need to find out what services they specifically they offer. When you ask the question “How are you going to help me?” and they fumble over that question or simply give you a document, chances are you will not be happy.  However, if they offer you a personal career coach, resume writing tech, webinars for current students to attend for career development, and also stay with you at least 1 year after completion then you have found the right place!

• Cost and time commitment.
  This is where your research comes into play. Make sure you compare prices before choosing a school. Many schools will charge a premium for programs that you can take elsewhere with the same training, accreditation and vouchers, sometimes at 50 to 60% cheaper. Again, check the credentials of the schools but also make sure you are not paying more than you should for a certificate program.

Using these 4 tips should help you choose the right school and program that fits your needs and not break the bank. Make sure when it comes to your money and education you are an informed consumer!

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google + , LinkedIn or visit our website for more info and news about Professional Development, Online Training and how to improve your professional profile.

Article by Kelly Fuhlman, Director of Social Media  for World Education , and is personally involved in helping others make a better life for themselves through education. World Education is one of the main partner of the University of Alabama for Online Certificate Programs

How can Setting up Goals Help Online Learning ?

The annual review: we have all done it with our managers every new fiscal year.   We fill out our “Individual Development Plan” (IDP) or goal sheets to get an idea of the big picture for ourselves at work. This is an opportunity for the managers and employees together to go over a basic SWOT analysis of our past performance and what objectives we have for the future. For the ambitious, this would be a time to talk with your manager to see what you can do this year to gain some experience, or even possible promotions.

Now this review is common in the business world, but why do we not put an individual development plan (IDP) or goal sheet together for our own personal life.

Before we get into tips on how to put together your very own goal sheet for Life, we need to fully understand why we should have one. We always hear if you have goals, write them down, and it’s not just a suggestion but fact.  Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at Dominican University of California, conducted a study on goal-setting with 267 participants. She found that you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals just by writing them down. Writing down your goals helps give you clarity in what you are trying to accomplish. It will also show you the WHY you are doing what you are doing even on the days you don’t even want to get out of bed. It will be your map when you get lost. It will get you motivated and keep you moving forward.

Ready to get started?  Great!  This then is how you can set goals into place for an IDP:

1. Start NOW: Write down what you want, when you want it and how you plan to get there. It will take time to achieve many of your goals.  Include WHY you want each goal because it will keep you grounded and remind you why you wanted to achieve it in the first place
2.  Take baby steps: Break your different goals and aspirations down into simple tasks with realistic time lines.  Again be patient but consistent in doing something each day.
3. Learn from the best: We all make mistakes along the way and sometimes we place ourselves in a corner all alone dwelling on the fact that we failed. Read as much as you can about as many successful people as you can. They have all failed at some point in their lives and sometimes way more than we could ever imagine. Get a mentor, who is someone you can call when times are hard and also someone to celebrate your small victories even when you don’t see them yourself.
4. Be accountable to your success:  You have to be responsible for your own movement forward in your plan. No one else will accomplish it for you and no one will be willing to help without seeing you working hard for it first.
5. Be humble and grateful in your plan: Make sure you work your plan ethically. As you grow and become successful have plans on how to give back, help those who have helped you along the way. Say THANK YOU! If you step on people on your way up, you will face them again on your way down.”
6. Recognize your worth: This is very difficult because we are our own worst critics. What do you have to give? What are your greatest talents? How can you leverage those talents? Doing a self-inventory is a big part of how to put your plan and goals into action.
7. Be true to yourself and what you are passionate about. Make sure the goals and plans you put together are true to who you are and what you are passionate about. If you love what you do for a career, you will never work another day in your life.
8. Last but not least NEVER GIVE UP! If goals were easy then everyone would be a millionaire or a rock star! You will have periods of ups and downs. Life will hand you lemons and you will need to add sugar, heck maybe a lot of sugar, to keep moving forward.  It will balance out if you put in the effort.

The goals you set for yourself are what separate the sailboats from the boat without a paddle. The sail-boat will hit harsh winds, no wind or the perfect wind and will be prepared for whatever comes. The boat without a paddle will just drift through life wondering what the wind will bring next. This method of goal setting will help future students or student-workers to stay afloat even under the pressure of the job and school. This technique would be even more helpful to accomplish goals that are not actually defined or that are left to an individual’s judgment, in online programs.  While working full time and studying at home, students occasionally may lose sight of the final objective, which is to graduate and get the degree or the certificate that he or she needs for a career boost.  Bama At Work recommends all its students apply this goal-setting technique, underpinned with strong organizational skills, to succeed in their Online programs. We offer more than 46 online certificates and 190 online courses, to allow students all over the world to attend certificate courses and boost their career without leaving their homes.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google + or visit our website for more info and news about professional development, Online Training and how to improve your professional profile.

Article by Kelly Fuhlman, Director of Social Media  for World Education , and is personally involved in helping others make a better life for themselves through education. World Education is one of the main partner of the University of Alabama for Online Certificate Programs.