UNDERSTANDING PEOPLEUNDERSTANDING PEOPLE • Many people find it difficult when trying to improve their people skills. • Yet it is critical for effective leaders to know how to improve

C H A P T E R 7

UNDERSTANDING PEOPLE

By Shaikha Alhogail& Manal Alsolami

OUTLINE

•  Understanding People •  Human Behavior •  The Art of Persuasion •  The Diversity Challenge



•  Many people find it difficult when trying to improve their people skills. •  Yet it is critical for effective leaders to know how to

improve their people skills with the right techniques.



• The starting point of understanding people is to realize and accept the fact: • “Everyone is not like you!” • Each Person has a Unique Personality



• However, there are a set of logical characteristics, including ways of thinking, feeling and acting that all normal human beings have in common.



• Managing people isn’t like managing things or even projects. •  Each person has unique capabilities

and talents, strengths and weaknesses and feelings. • Helping each person achieve her

individual potential may require different motivational strategies and tactics



• Different is not bad, it's just different! A lack of understanding of ourselves and others can lead to real problems such as tension, disappointment, hurt feelings, and poor communication.

•  it is hard to work with a problem



People are different in their:

• Intelligence level • Physical characters • interests • Achievement


HUMAN BEHAVIOR

• Understanding why people do what they do is important for emloyee morale and job performance.

• When the work is done, this understanding is important for dealing with family and friends.


HUMAN BEHAVIOR

•  Business leader Lee Lacocca prescribes a formula for success: “Effective leaders focus on three Ps- People, Product, and Profit- in that order”


CHALLENGES

Challenges with People Issues • Sourcing and retaining the right talent

across worker types • Creating a good workforce comprising all

worker type categories • Workforce planning • Developing global leaders


HUMAN BEHAVIOR

Leaders need to learn about people in order to:

• How to hire people • How to motivate people • How to deal with them in different situations • How to get the best out of them


HUMAN BEHAVIOR

Psychological forces: Psychological and emotional needs are important determents of human behavior, helping explain: • Why people work • Why they have certain personal goals • What they want in their relationships with other


HUMAN BEHAVIOR

Psychologist Abraham Maslow divides human needs into 5 categories; progressing from basic human needs for survival and security, o social needs for belonging and respect, to the complex need for fulfillment. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is perhaps one of the best-known models of understanding human behavior.


HUMAN BEHAVIOR


EXAMPLE

Some would work overtime because:

• They need extra money • They must do it to keep their job • Their co-workers are working overtime • The work is challenging • The company will recognize their contribution


HUMAN BEHAVIOR

Motivation in the workplace: To understand why people behave the way they do, one must consider motivation. Effective leaders must consider that “Motivation should be based on understanding the needs of others”.

How to motivate employees??


HUMAN BEHAVIOR

5-10 % of employees leave organization because of money; while 90-95% leave because they don’t feel they are beong recognized.


HUMAN BEHAVIOR

• Emotional intelligence: • Definition: the ability to monitor one's

own and other people's emotions, to separate between different emotions, and to use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior.


EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

•  The ability to express and control our own emotions is important, but so is our ability to understand, interpret, and respond to the emotions of others. Imagine a world where you couldn't understand when a friend was feeling sad or when a co-worker was angry.



there are four main elements of emotional intelligence: 1.  Self-awareness. 2.  Self-management. (ability to regulate emotions) 3.  Social-awareness. 4.  Relationship management. (Ability to gain

cooperation and inspire others and manage emotions like anger or fear)



Self-awareness: if you're self-aware, you always know how you feel, and you know how your emotions and your actions can affect the people around you. Being self-aware when you're in a leadership position also means having a clear picture of your strengths and weaknesses. Social-awareness: The ability to understand the emotional makeup of other people.



Self-management. ability to regulate emotions Relationship management. Ability to gain cooperation and inspire others and manage emotions like anger or fear


PERSUASION

Persuasion: The process of causing (someone) to do something through reasoning or argument.


THE ART OF PERSUASION

Effective leaders must master the art of persuasion by knowing how to: 1.  Understand people 2.  Use words effectively 3.  Being able to manage conflicts


THE DIVERSITY CHALLENGE

• Diversity: the state of having people who are different (in races, religion, economic class, personality characteristics, age, gender or cultures) in a group or organization.


THE DIVERSITY CHALLENGE

Leaders need to understand that diversity and its many implications are important for a sustained competitive advantage and consequently to organization success. Everyone must be treated fairly (bing respected and accepted)


ASSIGNMENT

•  In the book, part 6, understanding people, mention 3 ways of each:

1.  How can an organization meet survival needs of its employees?

2.  How can an organization meet security needs of its employees?

3.  How can an organization meet belonging needs? 4.  How can an organization meet respect needs? 5.  How can an organization meet fulfillment needs?


Documents

UNDERSTANDING PEOPLEUNDERSTANDING PEOPLE • Many people find it difficult when trying to improve their people skills. • Yet it is critical for effective leaders to know how to improve