I started doing call center onboarding training back in early 2000 and quickly discovered that my colleagues who enthusiastically joined the company became disengaged within a few months; this caused their performance to decline rapidly and leave the company. In fact, 1/3 of the department employees left within one year of joining the company.

Noticing this disturbing trend, I started emphasizing to management the importance of high level of engagement to the department efficiency and to the overall company’s bottom-line. I quickly started training department managers on how to become more approachable and encourage higher employee engagement.

Our turnover rates started dropping dramatically, employees started making more improvement suggestions and surveys showed us moving to 3rd place in the industry for customer experience (from 10th place in the previous year, which is dead last in the industry).

This lead me to the belief that a positive well-trained leader can create an optimal work environment and drive company growth exponentially, while an ill-equipped leader will simply drive good employees away and potentially amplify costs of ongoing recruitment and training.

This set me on a path to focus my training efforts on helping manager’s and business leaders to develop and practice essential competencies needed to be a good leader. I started doing workshops, online training and writing about it in blogs posts and books on the topic and started realizing that certain key elements were absolutely essential to developing highly engaged workforce. I formalized my years of corporate training experience into an employee engagement training model called “E.D.G.E.”

Your Leadership Edge will introduce you to this model to help you assess and develop the key leadership competencies you need to drive efficiency and effectiveness in your organisation.

About this book

'Your Leadership EDGE' training program will help you to develop the core competencies needed to become an exceptional leader to enable you to engage and develop your employees so that you can drive massive growth to your organization.

The book is not about making you aware of leadership competencies; awareness is only the first step to mastering anything. This is exactly what most books and programs on leadership do; and that’s why they fail.

In fact, we have had no noticeable improvement in employee attitude over the past decade. Surveys in 2000 and 2012 suggests that there has been no major shift in employee engagement attitude, 70% of all employees continue to be disengaged from their employer interest. In fact, 30% of employee are actively disengaged, that is, they intentionally work against the company’s overall core objectives.

How much more productive would your company be if you could reduce the number of disengaged employees? What would that do to the overall company morale?

The source of the problem is not employees. Numerous exit interview studies have found that employees don’t leave companies, they leave their managers. Yet, most companies focus on carrot and stick approach to effect employee behaviour and engagement levels.

Logically, if 70% of employees are disengaged in the workforce and most report leaving as a result of their experience with their managers - isn’t it time that we look at what the manager’s could do differently to improve employee disengagement situation?

So, is it the manager’s fault? No. Most manager’s became managers because they were good employees and were rewarded with a promotion. But, once promoted, very few organizations train their manager’s to manage properly. These managers rely on their past experience as employees themselves to manage their subordinates without any leadership training.

So, is the answer leadership training. Yes - in part. I firmly believe that training is rarely the silver bullet, however, a solid foundation is a prerequisite to leadership mastery. ‘Your Leadership EDGE’ will give you the foundation necessary to be an effective leader.

Using the step-by-step program outlined in each of the chapters in this book you will not only become more aware of the core leadership competencies; you will acquire the necessary leadership skills foundation that will enable you to develop and support a highly engaged and productive workforce.

Pre-order upcoming book 'Your Leadership EDGE' for these exclusive bonuses including free audiobook, ebook, online training, virtual training, live workshop and more...

About the author

Ravinder has over 13 years experience in training and development. Not many people can trip and fall into a massive industry niche and be fascinating at it. Leadership Expert, Ravinder Tulsiani out of the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada was such a sharp leader he managed to gain this very position.

Because of his knack for leadership he was asked to be a leadership teacher, he began teaching and taught so well he penned his innovative leadership book Your Leadership EDGE: Mastering Management Skills for Today’s Workforce. Tulsiani merges all his expertise into a 230 page book, based on his leadership training and consulting firm, Training EDGE which he began in 2006. Training EDGE offers its clients several training programs, including a two-day leadership in house training program and online leadership training program. Training EDGE is great for Ontario locals and clients abroad.

Author of numerous quality, business and self-help resources including but not limited to, Effective Leadership (2013), Manager’s Guide to Workplace Health and Safety (2012), Time Management in the Workplace (2009), Master Negotiation Techniques (2007) and How to be a Public Speaking Superstar (2006).

Tulsiani’s expertise has become so well respected his knowledge has been seen on several major media outlets including: ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and CNN.

A Learning & Development Leader, Training Design & Delivery, Facilitator, Author and Speaker Tulsiani is at his pinnacle. Many of Tulsiani’s clients pour out golden praises. “Ravinder is a personable, highly motivated Manager that looks into matters with great detail. He is approachable, has integrity and is respectful. His experience, innovation and creativity would be an asset to any organization,” said Alfin Mitha, A Dr. at In GoodHands.

For all the know how in leadership training, pre-order your copy of Ravinder Tulsiani’s new leadership training guide, Your Leadership EDGE at www.ravindertulsiani.com available for pre-sale June 15th and in print in September.

Table of Contents

Overview: A skill development program for Supervisors/Managers seeking to improve their efficiency and effectiveness. Each chapter focuses on core competencies required by today’s leaders.

Chapter 1: How this book will help you...

To master the necessary skills and enable you to deliver results. Overview of core competencies. Help readers to identify their own competency gaps and create an action plan to improve in needed areas.

Chapter 2: Using your time and resources strategically.

Establish performance priorities, set goals and write results-focused plans to maximize effective use of time, unit and organizational resources by concentrating on performance priorities and gaining buy-in.

Chapter 3: Gather and share information effectively.

Effective Communication is the key to building and maintaining relationships, processes and systems. This chapter helps readers understand their own style of communication and listening. They will also learn different personality types to aid them in better relating to others.

Chapter 4: How to transform employees into owners of the organization’s success.

Empowerment and collaboration. This chapter will cover essential elements of team development and team building processes, the many roles team members play, factors which contribute to winning teams, group decision-making, putting team building theory into practice, and detrimental effects of internal competition on achieving organizational goals.

Chapter 5: Enhance job ownership and performance.

Develop better understanding of how employee needs, supervision, job characteristics, work environment, and external constraints influence workplace behaviors and their leadership preference. Understanding different leadership styles and how to determine appropriate leadership intervention.

Chapter 6: Coaching and managing employee performance.

Learn how to effectively communicate performance expectations, provide feedback and training and determine the source of performance problems. Detailed information on how to deal with difficult employees.

Chapter 7: Managing and resolving conflict.

How to identify conflict(s). Avoid destructive communication, identify causes. Assess personal strengths and developmental needs in determining the best approach to managing conflict.

Chapter 8: Problem solving and decision making.

Techniques for solving problems efficiently and creatively, and how to gain employee “buy-in.”

Chapter 9: Change Management.

Implement change, deal with resistance to change, develop effective communication strategy to plan and implement change.

Chapter 10: Develop process-improving strategies.

How to effectively diagnose and continuously improve critical business processes.

Chapter 11: Wrap up

How to ensure that the concepts you learn can be implemented.

Chapter 1

How This Book Will Help You...

As a leader, you may be faced with many hard questions. A successful leader knows how to interpret those questions and transform them into solutions.

This book will serve as your leadership mentor and will enable you to identify and maximize your core leadership qualities. Doing so will support you in developing a highly engaged and productive staff.

Team members rely on their leaders to guide them through their daily tasks. An effective leader will not only guide staff, but will stimulate them to reach their full potential. Identifying exactly what kind of leader you are is the first task you must complete to meet the challenges of today's workforce.

As we continue, we will begin discussing and dissecting leadership styles and determine what it takes to parlay your style into proven strategies for success. We will look at the qualities of a good leader and determine whether or not those are qualities you possess and/or help you to develop those qualities and teach you how to use that skill set to take control of a team and effectively use their strengths and abilities to their maximum potential – thus, garnering a much more productive, happy, self-confident workforce that meets and/or beats their goals and is motivated to strive for success and expand their scope to meet the growing needs of your company.

We will help you to determine your competency gaps and will create a plan of action to eliminate that separation and give you the tools you need to continue to thrive in your demanding position. Like all savvy professionals, a leader is never done developing. A strong effective leader continues to grow and adapt to meet the needs of clients and staff. They will not rest on their laurels waiting for the market to revert back to their comfort levels, but will seek out more information and begin to utilize more effective strategies and will develop their own skills in order to provide credible leadership to those whom depend on them for guidance. These ever-changing skills will complement the overall growth of their team and will enhance the abilities of the team as a whole.

Once you've mastered the necessary skills, they will enable you to produce results and increase the potential of your team members. The team is anxiously waiting for you to lead them using your perfected leadership skill set.

Core competencies are crucial for anyone in a leadership/management position. Knowing what these competencies are is the first step, but understanding and putting those competencies to use is what sets you apart from other leaders. Possessing these competencies places you well ahead of your competition and solidifies you into a league of your own by increasing your credibility, your trustworthiness, and increasing your self-confidence allowing your team to benefit from your wealth of knowledge.

The natural question to ask here is 'What are core competencies?' The answer is not as complex as one might think. Here, we will provide an overview of those competencies and you may be surprised by some of them. You may even believe you have them. That's a start. In the next few chapters, we will expand on those competencies and put them to use for you.

1. Conflict Resolution - Understanding where conflict stems from is a major component to being able to resolve it before it escalates. Having this ability is paramount for a leader. Know that conflict arises from differences. These differences can be large or small. There is no hard and fast rule. In the work place, for our purposes, conflict can wreak havoc on morale. How you handle that conflict is in direct correlation to how you'll be perceived as a leader. People disagree. That's normal. However, their reactions to that are rooted in their values, perceptions, motivations, and ideas. An effective leader will understand that and will without choosing sides nurture and support their team members while examining what caused the conflict initially and make an objective decision and create a plan to circumvent any further rife. Doing so may result in intact deals, larger profits, job security, and stronger team morale.
2. Time Management - Utilizing great time management strategies allows you time to focus on pertinent and urgent tasks. That goes without saying. However, to employ good time management skills you must be able to clearly define them. Avoiding crisis to begin with by completing tasks as required and free of error will nullify any prospect of having to revisit that task again. Another aspect to avoid is procrastination. There's no room for it in business. As the saying goes 'time is money' and you nor your employer are in the business of throwing away money. To increase revenues, you must remain productive and charge head first into your assigned duties. Regardless of how big or small the task is, move ahead with it by implementing a plan to conquer it in it's entirety. Another key to ineffective time management is having unrealistic expectations. You are only at work for so many hours and creating a mental checklist with a plethora of tasks assigned to it is setting yourself up for failure. Allows allow time for interruption and set up a realistic time frame to complete that checklist with quality work and not a rushed delivery thus creating unnecessary stress for yourself and your team. Lastly, understand and make sure your team fully understands what their roles are and how and when to carry out the duties associated with those roles. As a cohesive team, you will be more efficient and confident doing jobs that you are trained to do and you are confident you'll be able to complete.
3. Delegate Successfully - This management skill benefits everyone in the workplace. Know your team and understand what they as individuals and a team are capable of. Be logical in your thinking when assigning tasks. Do not deviate from their scope of knowledge or skills. Giving employees an impossible task that they have no knowledge of will not only frustrate them, but will frustrate you and will demotivate them to want to help. Successful delegation frees up time for yourself and your team as a whole. Prior to assigning a task, ensure that you understand how to do the task yourself so that you may better explain the expectations to the person you are assigning and so that you won't have to micromanage them. Assigning a task and then hovering over the employee severs their confidence and destroys any semblance of trust they may have had in you as their leader. As the leader, it is your job to monitor without hovering and to review the task once it's completed. Your responsibility doesn't end with that review, you must then provide relevant feedback in a timely fashion. Doing this will relegate them to want to continue to work harder and will keep them motivated to acquire more skills.
4. Communication – Actively listening to your employees encourages their expression of ideas and opinions. A strong leader is not intimidated by the input their employees may have. They will welcome it and will lead better for having done so. Learning to communicate via the proper channels is another important facet to good communication in the work place. Know when it is appropriate to send and/or receive messages via email or whether or not a conversation warrants a phone call or direct one on one communication. Timing is an essential component to mastering great communication. Provide feedback promptly. Be clear and concise. Your communication should be timely and relevant. Be mindful of your audience and ensure that your communication is relevant to all parties you are speaking to. The words you choose to communicate to your employees must be chosen wisely. Speaking down to your employees or using abusive language will not only cause them to lose motivation – it is disruptive to the work place and is an ineffective tool. The goal is happy, engaged employees.
5. Leadership – As we speak about core competencies in regards to acquiring your leadership EDGE, what we have not discussed is the most vital component. That is, are you a leader? At this stage in your career, you know what the title means. You have it. It's part of the fabric of who you are. However, are you demonstrating that you actually are an effective leader. We know that leadership requires a combination of specific skill sets and responsibilities. We understand that we are in a position to make decisions and to guide others. The question then becomes how exactly are we doing that? Ask yourself these questions as we progress forward:

Am I, as a leader, demonstrating integrity? Am I visible and easily accessible to staff? Do I hold myself accountable? In my role as leader, do I model positive behavior? Is my behavior consistent? Am I an effective decision maker? Am I influential in a positive way? Do I mentor and help to develop my employees? Do I encourage creativity and participation?

Determining what your leadership style is will lead you in the right direction to gaining your leadership EDGE. What you will find as we progress is not just identifying and defining what the core competencies are, but developing those core competencies in yourself. This isn't a manual that will simply tell you how to expand your knowledge. This book will show you step by step how to take what you know or attain those aspects you didn't possess and to expand upon them and implement them into your daily life.

On the following pages, we will begin to explore and identify your leadership style. When we have a clearer picture of where to begin we will know which path to follow to get you into optimum performance shape.

~ Continued in the full version ~