The other day I went to order a pizza online and I had to select the base, then I had to decide on the sauce, then I had to pick each ingredient on my topping; and then – at the very end – it said: ‘Do you want a chicken pizza?’. Yes!! I just want a chicken pizza!

There’s an increasing tendency today to overcomplicate things that should be simple: We overthink, we overdo, and we don’t stop to think about what we are really trying to achieve before we go off, full-speed ahead, because “this is such a complicated job and the client/boss wants it yesterday!”

Next time you have one of those jobs, stop for a minute, think, and ask yourself:

What exactly is it that we are meant to be doing with this – what is the true objective?

Am I potentially over-complicating it?

Why am I doing that?

As opposed to making something basic – which implies you are omitting important information, or offering a slap-dash solution – making something simple means:

• Taking the time to really understand what you are doing and why before you start
• Carefully considering the best way to do it – is there a more efficient or logical way? Spend time researching past approaches and alternatives and what has worked (and hasn’t)
• Then make it even easier! Meticulously think about how you are going to break this solution down into logical, comprehendible steps that are easy to understand and straight forward to action.

Because: If you just make it simple, people will do it.

People never finish complicated stuff.

Who has time for that?

Choice Training -

It’s about building a strong foundation through education, which includes developing learning strategies, oral communication, and emotional intelligence as much as furthering reading, writing and numeracy skills.

Many people are trying to skate by, and stay afloat in life and work, without a strong foundation. But the cracks can start to show in a number of ways.

Think about that co-worker who always seems to have a grievance with colleagues or the boss: They have never learnt to communicate properly in the workplace or develop emotional intelligence.

Then there’s the hands-on person who gets ‘promoted’ to an office-based role, but worries because their grammar and vocabulary is limited; an anxiety that is fuelled by the realisation that clients and co-workers will detect this in emails.

But building a good foundation can take time and – just like any construction project – is certainly not a one-size fits all process.

The learning needs to be designed and delivered so that it gives people a step-up, not a hand-out.

Anyone can tick off a list of competencies and never pay the subject another thought, but building a strong learning foundation is about arming people with the strategies to deal with the problems that get thrown at them: “I don’t know how to do this, but I know where I can go to learn it”.

Literacy and numeracy success is all about building foundations, stepping people up, and letting them enjoy a glorious new view.

Choice Training -

Is this the year that you’re going to dust off the bike and start riding again, learn a foreign language, or book (or at least start saving for) that bucket-list holiday? Is 2017 also going to be the year where you get serious about forging ahead in your career?

Whether you want to learn a new skill, step into a management role, become more efficient at what you’re doing, better relate to people, or learn key skills like the value of emotional intelligence; decide what your career goals are now and start to map out how you will action them.

Queensland’s First Chief Entrepreneur, Mark Sowerby, said — at the age of 22 — he looked around himself and asked: “What do I really want to do?” He then thought about it and pondered: “How am I going to get there?”

Once you answer the first question; then second part is often much easier and can be achieved through various modes of development; whether it’s university, on the job, or through a registered training organisation (RTO) like Choice Training.

Providing skills and qualifications in everything from accredited certificates and courses to leadership proficiency, executive programs, talent and team development, and language, literacy and numeracy skills; let us help you to decide how to best fill your 8760 hours this year and make a difference to your career and work life.

Find out more about the training opportunities open to you this year.

Choice Training -

No (or minimal) emails or phone calls, combined with diminishing deadlines and a tangible mood lift around the workplace ¬- this is often our one time of year to truly switch off, lift our heads up for a good look around, and take a deep whiff of the roses (both the floral and chocolate variety).

And it’s so important that we do this. Not only does it help us to recharge our batteries (research indicates we are more creative and better able to solve problems when we are rested); but it also gives us the valuable opportunity to take stock of everything we’ve achieved in the year; which sometimes can be lost in the blur of endless to-do lists.

The other day I caught up with a friend I hadn’t seen in a while and she asked what I’d been up to this year. When I’d finished telling her all the exciting things I’d done, places I’d travelled to, and the people I’d met; it was only then that I realised what a fantastic year it had been. Even better was when I started talking about what was going to happen in the New Year.

What’s the best thing about Christmas in Australia? Allowing yourself to slow down and reflect on all the things that worked for you this year to build upon them next year. Then make plans to take action – whether it’s improving ourselves, enhancing our education, applying for a new job, starting a new job, or shifting to a new state.

And for the things that didn’t work? Let them go. And we can do that because it’s the end of the year – done and dusted – throw it out with the Christmas wrapping and start afresh.

Merry Christmas from all the team at Choice Training!

Choice Training -

I’m all for people, and women in particular, pursuing their passions and making a living out of it; but you really need to be financially savvy from the start to make it work, which includes working backwards. What do I mean by that? Instead of thinking about the business you want to run and how you plan to do it, first consider how much you need to earn to have the lifestyle you want.

For example, you might want to drive (insert the name of flashy car here) – and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that – but are you going to be able to write enough blogs a week or sell enough cups of coffee to achieve that with your current plan? If you need to write 50 blogs a week that take an hour each to reach your desired income, that’s already 50 hours – what about the time for admin or marketing? And the rest of your life?

Of course, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t go into business; but it may require either re-thinking your business model or readjusting your lifestyle expectations – at least in the interim.

Here are three commercial reality checks to tick-off:

1. Choose lifestyle first: Ask yourself, ‘What do I want out of life?’ Put a dollar value on what you want to do and work backwards. How many customers or sales do you need to reach that? Is that possible working the hours you want to work (or have the time for)?
2. Ensure you have the support networks at home: How will your partner react when you are up till all hours again answering emails? Will you feel comfortable missing out on watching the kids play sport some Saturdays? If not, are there any realistic modifications that can be made now to ensure these important aspects of your lifestyle are not compromised?
3. Be realistic: You can set out what you want to achieve, but you need to decide how first. There’s nothing wrong with working 80% of the time as long as you are clear about that from the start and the people you care about are on-board with your decision. Or – on the flip-side – if you can only commit 10 hours a week to this business, is that time going to be enough to provide for your lifestyle goals?

It’s best to have this commercial reality check and a lifestyle plan now rather than your new business dream causing sleepless nights later.

Choice Training -

But one thing that I stress to other peers is that working collaboratively is great, but working for free isn’t.

It’s easy to get excited over a business proposition – especially if you like and admire the women you’ll be working alongside – but before you enter into a new venture, all parties need to be clear on what each is bringing to the table, the hours involved, and the rewards that will be served (financial and otherwise).

Any lack of clarity on these fronts can result in a business collaboration turning into a time-consuming hobby where one or two of the group are shouldering the bulk of the load (while harbouring growing resentment and wondering how to best address the imbalance without causing offence).

Basically, you need to get clear on the responsibilities and expectations from the start.

Here are some key considerations before you sign-up to partner-up:

1. Know your ‘why’: It may be financial reward, or maybe another measureable benefit (like exposure to valuable contacts that will lead to further work), but there needs to be some business value to you, and you need to be 100% clear about what that is.

2. Know your role: How much time can you actually commit and what responsibilities/activities does that involve? What time will the other parties commit and what, exactly, will they be doing in that time? Remember to factor in admin tasks like returning emails and phone calls and bookwork.

3. Know your worth: Don’t under-sell yourself, but don’t be silly either.

Choice Training -

The same can be said for managers who have little or no enthusiasm for what they do, have no interest in helping or furthering the development of their team, and frankly treat every day of work like they’d prefer to be having surgery.

Basically — managers can’t lead and inspire teams if they haven’t had their cup filled themselves. You can’t pour from an empty cup. If your leaders feel empty and under-valued, how are they supposed to rally the troops around them?

So how do we fill their cups? Find something that feeds them. Find out what they need to do their job with excellence, and give it to them. It’s about arming your leaders with the best ammunition you can to do their jobs completely and making them feel safe and equipped with the knowledge they need to thrive. And inspire others to thrive.

Investing in your team’s personal development is a way of whole-heartedly filling them up. You are investing in them and what they care about. Training should never be about ticking off a module in a text book while fighting the urge to sleep.

Engage them. Challenge them. Excite them. Fill their cups.

Here are a couple of presentations that have personally filled my cup:

Sinek: How Great Leaders Inspire Action

Brené Brown: The Power of Vulnerability

Feel free to share your cup-fillers.

Choice Training -

Remember that they are learning about life just like we did but they are able to do so using new mediums and they’ll be able to have a greater grasp on the world compared to our generation. Every generation requires guidance; why we have thrown our hands up in the air and blamed the Millennials for not being the effective worker without giving them any guidance is a mystery to me. Our Generation Y has so many wonderful qualities and they do not always know how to fully utilise their qualities.

Don’t be put off by the disinterested apprentice. Share your knowledge with them and bedazzle them with your brilliance! They need a hero in the workplace and they want to follow you and learn from you because you know your stuff.

And if you are unhappy with how they communicate, talk to them about it. Communication styles are so disparate among Millenials that one single way won’t cut it. Some are more comfortable with talking face-to-face while others are better at expressing themselves through letters and emails. Find out what works for them so that they can work for you.

Finally, listen to these guys and let them know you are listening to their ideas. This is the generation that has access to all the new and exciting technology and platforms and they are not afraid to use it. These guys can use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and heaps of other exciting tools. You will not only build relationships but also learn some new things together, making for exciting times ahead.

Choice Training -

Have you ever stopped and thought about all the skills you use every day to do tasks? If you did you’d start to realise how the skills we take for granted are the skills we need to be effective workers.

Completing daily safety sheets, sending emails, finding information, writing reports, accessing information electronically all require us to use LLN skills. If people in your workplace have not developed the required LLN skills it might slow down processes and cause inefficiency.

Now, everyone can read and write; but are we confident about performing tasks in the workplace to a certain level? LLN skills are necessary in the workplace because it ensures that employees can read and write at the standard that is required of them. An admin person at a solicitor’s office will require much different language and literacy skills compared to an admin person working at a restaurant. In today’s workplace we need to be able to read and write and perform calculations at a high level. If you find yourself asking: “how do I spell that?” or “where can I find this piece of information?” then maybe it is time to upgrade your LLN skills.

Our LLN skills need to be constantly upgraded as we do and experience more in life. We need it when we apply for a better job or for a promotion, when we want to join different committees or simply have our voices heard. As we move up in life, we need to up the ante and it is important that we look to improve our LLN skills.

Choice Training -

First and foremost, I think a leader should be able to inspire their followers. A person who is uninspiring will not be able to capture the imagination of their followers and motivate them to achieve more.

A leader must also be enthusiastic about their cause and love what they do. Being passionate about what you do oozes enthusiasm and people respond more openly to a person of passion and dedication.

The best leaders are also first-rate communicators; they have clear, solid values, and they can communicate these values clearly to their followers. A leader with good, strong values, who can communicate it to their followers, will be able to inspire belief among their followers.

A leader must also have the emotional intelligence required to work with others. Emotional intelligence underlies a leader’s self-awareness, empathy, leadership and resilience. A leader with high emotional intelligence will be able to recognise and respond better to emotions and thus facilitate more productive work environments and better lead and engage their followers.

Last but not least, a leader must know how to delegate tasks to the appropriate people. Empowering your followers, trusting and believing in them will enable them to be responsible for the work that they are doing. Delegating tasks should never be seen as a sign of weakness; instead it should be seen as a sign of strength and that you believe in your team enough to trust them with the important tasks.

Choice Training -