The OnLine Efiko Podcast: Recent Episodes
Omagbitse Barrow - Learning Impact NG
Offering a rich variety of Afro-centric content across various areas of professional and life skills to support professionals, leaders and business owners across various industries on the African Continent and beyond.
One of the most popular quotes that you will hear on the subject of organizational culture is credited to Peter Drucker, the doyen of management who rightly said and I quote “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”. To improve your approaches to gaining the commitment and buy-in of your team into the culture that you want, enroll for our micro-learning course at Effective Leadership
One of the skills that sets people apart in their organizations is their ability to speak confidently in public. To learn more about improving your presentation and public speaking skills, enroll in our micro-learning course at Present Like a Star.
A new field has emerged in management known as positive organizational studies which focuses on fostering organizations where people flourish, thrive, and support the common good. It is gaining interest not only among scholars but also among organizational leaders who want better and more sustainable organizations. We can only achieve this if we go back to the roots – our beliefs and actions regarding the pursuit of success. To learn more about success, and what it takes to achieve sustainable success and be more positive and productive, enroll in our micro-learning course at Personal Effectiveness.
As a service organization, you should try everything you can to prevent customers from becoming angry and lashing out at your employees and other customers. You can achieve this by applying the 6 steps of the fantastic service equation and incorporating them into your everyday service protocols. To learn more about improving the quality-of-service delivery, enroll for our micro-learning course at Customer Service.
Our goal for today is to get you to improve your ability to solve problems, overcome challenges and take advantage of opportunities more creatively, using the powerful tool of brainstorming. To achieve this, I will introduce a theoretical framework that explains effective brainstorming, share 8 rules for effective brainstorming and introduce three of the most common approaches to brainstorming. To learn more about conducting appraisals effectively, enroll for our micro-learning course at Creativity and Innovation
When performance appraisals are conducted improperly, employees are afraid, cynical, and disinterested in the appraisal process, and tend to underperform. However, when performance appraisals are done properly, employees are inspired, motivated, and engaged to not only participate in the appraisals but to improve their performance and results. To learn more about conducting appraisals effectively, enroll for our micro-learning course at Conducting Effective Appraisals
The concept of “management by meetings” is very well enshrined in organizational life today and will continue to play a prominent role in organizational culture going forward, especially as more organizations transition to remote and hybrid workplaces. The truth is that most executives and managers now spend up to 70% of their day in meetings, and these meetings must be managed effectively so that the time spent in them is worth it. To learn more about improving your meetings, enroll for our micro-learning course at MANAGING MEETINGS
Research in the field of management and our experience over the years shows a clear relationship between the quality of goal setting and implementation and the success of any individual, team or organization. To learn more about goal setting, enroll for our micro-learning course at Effective Goal Setting
A selection interview is a communication task that requires you to plan, prepare and practice. You cannot go into an interview hoping to just “wing it”. You must do better, and taking time to apply the 3Ps of planning, practice and preparation enhances your chances of success.
If scientific evidence shows that the level of success that organizations achieve depends on the quality of leadership in the organization, then organizations that are intent on achieving sustainable success must pay attention to measuring and evaluating the quality of leadership on an on-going basis.
Every organization desires the same thing: that it can galvanize all its resources together – physical, human, financial, technological and others to achieve its overall organizational goals and create value for its stakeholders on a sustainable basis.
In this increasingly Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous world, one skill that is top of mind for organizations and leaders are the skills for CREATIVITY and INOVATION - people working collaboratively to clarify challenges/problems/opportunities, identify options, develop solutions, and implement these solutions to create value for themselves and society.
Selling skills consist of the things you need to do to show people the unique value that your products and services offer and influence them to purchase them. Selling skills are important for survival in all human endeavours, but many people are afraid of selling, and will try everything to avoid a job that requires them to sell.
In our increasingly Volatile Uncertain Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) world and workplace, line manager capability stands out as a critical success factor for any organization seeking to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. Our managers need to be AGILE to add value to our organizations.
One challenge that some people have in the workplace is getting along others. Unfortunately, while we may want to dismiss the importance of good relationships, studies have demonstrated that good relationships with coworkers, supervisors and subordinates is a predictor of personal and organizational success.
Emotional Intelligence, that is how you manage yourself and others around you contributes more significantly to your success than your cognitive intelligence that measures just your intellectual ability. In fact, if you have read all the books in the world and are yet unable to manage yourself and others around you, all that “booksmarts” will not be very valuable.
One of the essential skills that intrapreneurs have is their ability to take ownership. The first thing every individual who is a member of a team or organization and intends to work with others to achieve results needs to do is to fall in line and take ownership.
There is nothing more delightful than having people around you who want to be better, who are hungry and desirous of improving themselves, adding value to the work that they do and pushing themselves to do more.
One of the biggest impediments to the success of our organizations is the dearth of business and financial acumen among employees and managers. When people work for an organization and do not understand the strategy of the organization, its business model, how it makes money, and how its financial resources are managed, such people struggle to add value to the organization.
From watching too many gangster movies and listening to rap jams from the 1990s, I picked up the expression “Never get high on your own supply”. A code of conduct for drug dealers that proposes that you shouldn’t use the drugs that you are meant to be selling, so that you avoid the temptation of getting addicted, stealing from the mob, and ending up getting a dose of mob justice as was frequently depicted in the movies and music videos.
There is a lot of evidence in both research and practice that one of the biggest impediments to successful implementation of an organization’s strategy is the lack of commitment and buy-in of employees across all levels and parts of the organization. An evidence-based approach to increasing the buy-in and commitment of employees is to use a 360-degree approach to strategic planning and development.
A colleague of mine told me many years ago that every morning she would wait by the window facing the driveway to our office to see the expression on my face as I came out of my car to determine whether it was going to be a happy day or a sad one. A classic example of an “enigmatic” boss (putting it nicely), and an employee whose happiness had been mortgaged.
In the last fifteen years, I have been actively involved in helping organizations craft and implement their business strategies. That journey has exposed me to some of the largest companies and government agencies, given me a chance to compete against some of the Big 4 Consulting firms and also to collaborate with some of them in this regard.
Preparing leaders for the future is certainly the most important goal for any serious-thinking organization or society. The whole purpose of the education that you give your children for example is to prepare them for independent life, so that they can lead themselves and others around them.
When you interact with many organizational leaders, they are very cynical about the investments that organizations make in training their employees. Unfortunately, the data supports their cynicism: most training does not translate to action and changes in the organization.
We pay a lot more attention to coming up with bright ideas and new strategies than we do on ensuring that they are implemented and create the results that we desire. Organizations that really succeed are not those who have the biggest dreams, they are the ones that have the best execution.
Right-thinking businesses are in pursuit of one thing only: achieving sustainable competitive advantage. This requires them to have a more balanced approach to setting priorities and pursuing goals. Some of the most successful companies in the world have adopted the Balanced Score card as their framework for strategy development, strategy implementation and performance management.
I have always believed that the biggest problem plaguing our society and our organizations is the preponderance of square pegs in round holes – people doing jobs that they are not aligned with.
Presentation and public speaking skills are the most sought-after skills in the workplace today. Thankfully, these skills can be learned with the right motivation, tools, training, and support.
Idea generation is an important step of the creative-problem solving and innovation process that teams and organizations use to drive strategy and transformation. However, without a proper understanding of the foundational principles of ideation, your best efforts at idea generation may not yield the results you desire.
The entire purpose of leadership is to influence people, so it is no surprise that most leaders and managers will agree that gaining the commitment and buy-in of their people is the hardest and most challenging part of leadership. Omagbitse Barrow is going to explore this important issue in this episode of the Efiko Podcast
Many professionals were told when they were young, by teachers, adults, their peers and eventually themselves that they were not GOOD at mathematics, and may have decided thereafter to become math haters, only to grow up to find out that you really cannot run away from math in their adult life, work, and business. Unfortunately, this trend of math-phobia continues to haunt our children. Omagbitse Barrow explores this issue in this episode of the Efiko Podcast.
There are a number of paradoxes and myths about innovation that sometimes stifle our ability to be innovative. In this episode, Omagbitse Barrow examines these myths and paradoxes to help professionals and organizations overcome them and create the culture of innovation required to drive organizational success.
Mr U who works in the FMCG sector in Jos Nigeria just got feedback from his performance appraisal that he needs to manage time better. He reached out to the Online Efiko and we are happy to share our thoughts with him and the rest of our listeners on how to manage time better and stay on top of your game, using To-Do Lists.
What do you do when you have a boss that is threatened by your ambition and drive, or colleagues that are envious of your skills or even subordinates who are constantly trying to undermine your leadership. These are the questions that the Efiko tries to answer in this episode in response to Ms T, a School Administrator from Abuja, Nigeria.
Mr S has just transitioned from being a #team member to being the team #leader and he is concerned that some member of his team are still regarding him as "one of the boys", rather than as the "leader of the boys". What can he do differently?
Well, he can learn to grow his influence, and the Efiko taps into his own experience from two decades ago and provides a powerful framework for helping him and other first time leaders overcome this challenge.
A Senior Manager in the TelCo industry based in Ibadan, Nigeria is not happy about the outcomes of his decisions and his decision making skills. The Online Efiko explores some paradigms in decision making and some of the cognitive biases of decision making with powerful examples from the Yoruba and Itsekiri ethnic groups in Nigeria. Listen, learn and share with others
Coaching is one of the most powerful skills that managers and leaders need to drive performance. Listen to Omagbitse Barrow respond to a Manager who wants to know why she should improve her coaching skills and how.
Ms N struggles to get her team members to do deliver on their responsibilities at work.
According to her "I spend too much time and energy getting upset when things are not done and end up doing them myself. At the end of the year, these same people expect to have good appraisal scores, and make you look like you are evil if you don’t give them a good score. What can I do differently?”
Well, listen to what the Efiko suggests she can do differently to turn things around.
A first-time manager who is eager to make an impact is worried about being able to make the transition to a managerial role and meet the expectations of her multipole stakeholders. Omagbitse Barrow draws from his own experience as a first-time manager from about 18 years ago and shares his thoughts on the Leadership DNA that will help Mrs. P and others faced with a similar challenge or goal.
One of our listeners, Dr D who runs a Private Hospital in Lagos Nigeria is concerned about the high staff turnover and the waste of time and resources spent on recruitment. The Online Efiko provides him some useful advice, not just about hiring but also about the structure and systems in his organization
Today, we explore the very important issue of #SexualHarassment in the workplace as we respond to a question from Ms N based in Abuja, Nigeria. Omagbitse shares his thoughts for the benefit of the victims, perpetrators, and the rest of us who can do something to stem the tide of this problem around us.
Happy New Year! In this episode, Omagbitse Barrow responds to a question from one of our listeners who is the Chief Executive of a Law Firm struggling with paying salaries and collecting income from clients. Listen to find out what insights Omagbitse shares that will no doubt be valuable to your business too.
We all agree that building a culture of service in any organization is easily the most potent strategic focus that any organization can have. Creating and sustaining a culture of service excellence requires a relentless focus on five core capabilities as an organization – we call them the Governing Forces of Service Delivery.
In today’s episode of the Online Efiko Podcast, Omagbitse Barrow explores each of the five governing forces of Service Delivery.
If your employees really know who pays their salaries, they will pay the right attention to ensuring excellent service delivery and sustaining a culture of service excellence.
In today’s podcast episode on “Who Pays Your Salaries”, Omagbitse Barrow explores the issue of service delivery and the commitment that organizations need to make to ensure that customers receive what they truly deserve – exceptional service.
Business owners and organizational leaders must understand the language of business – that is expressed in accounting and finance. You do not need a degree in finance and accounting to be able to understand the basics of financial management and apply them to your work.
In this episode of the Online Efiko Podcast, Omagbitse Barrow introduced listeners to the “Basics of Accounting and Book Keeping”.
If you really want to sell in a manner that ensures that the cash machine keeps ringing; that you have a healthy and consistent pipeline of leads and that you add value to your customers in a way that you get repeat business and referrals, then you must learn to apply the skills for consultative selling.
In this episode of the Online Efiko Podcast, Omagbitse Barrow explores the process and skills for consultative selling.
Business owners and organizational leaders need to be more deliberate about managing their human capital. Failing to do so means that you just keep paying salaries and struggling to get the return on your people investments – which can be a major source of frustration.
In this episode of the Online Efiko Podcast, Omagbitse Barrow explores five ingredients that are important to getting the most out of your people and how you can apply them in simple yet powerful ways in your organization.
Many professionals and managers struggle with communicating effectively in writing and this causes significant man-hour losses due to continuous writing, re-writing, correcting, and editing. In this episode of the Online Efiko Podcast, Omagbitse Barrow explored some of the typical challenges that professionals have with business writing and identify principles and strategies that will help with overcoming these challenges.
Sometimes when my colleagues and I talk about teaching children about financial planning, some parents and educators are concerned – they tell us to allow the children to enjoy the innocence of their youth and not worry about things like “money” until they are older. In this episode of the Online Efiko Podcast, Omagbitse Barrow shared some of my personal stories and experiences to drive home the important point – that money matters matter especially for children.
If some of the fundamental issues with 360-degree reviews are addressed, we can develop and implement “A Better Way to Do 360 Reviews” that will support the much-needed development of leaders and managers in our organizations. In this episode of the Online Efiko Podcast, Omagbitse Barrow discussed how you can improve the capacity of your leaders through honest, balanced, anonymous, structured, and descriptive feedback.
Performance feedback is one tool of performance management that can make all the difference in your performance management system and culture if you deploy it properly. In this episode of the Online Efiko Podcast, Omagbitse Barrow discussed the time-tested principles of effective feedback and frameworks like B.O.O.S.T that we can use to boost the performance of our teams.
Although many organizations already have good performance management systems on paper, there are a number of common challenges which often prevent them from making the most of these systems and optimizing performance. In this episode of the Online Efiko Podcast, Omagbitse Barrow discussed the “Challenges of an Effective Performance Management System” and some actions you can take to overcome these challenges within your organization.
Performance Management Systems create the right discipline in organisations and if you are not sure what difference they make or you are looking to make a strong case for starting or enhancing your existing performance management system, then listen to Omagbitse Barrow's latest podcast episode on 'Why Performance Management"
Preparing for your presentation by carrying out an audience analysis is one of the best ways to ensure that your presentation design and delivery are top-notch. Omagbitse Barrow explores his favourite ideas on audience analysis in this episode of the Efiko Podcast.
In this episode, Omagbitse Barrow concludes his 10 principles of effective presentations
The second installment of our series on the principles of effective presentations and public speaking continues today with Omagbitse Barrow #publicspeaking #presentations #communication
There are a number of principles that drive impactful public speaking and presentations and Omagbitse Barrow shares four out of his top ten.
The age-long debate about nature vs nurture rears its head again in the area of public speaking and presentation skills and Omagbitse barrow sets the record straight in this powerful episode of the Online Efiko Podcast. What do you think? Please listen.
We start off a new series on the Online Efiko on Presentation Skills today and Omagbitse Barrow starts off in this episode by sharing his thoughts on the importance of presentation skills; why presentation skills are rare in the workplace and the benefits of developing these skills to your career and business.
The secret to leadership success lies in being an integral leader - one whose actions are aligned with their beliefs and values. Omagbitse Barrow explores this in today's episode on Values-Based Leadership
Mentoring goes beyond just telling people what to do, and Omagbitse Barrow explains the EQUIP Model to set you on the right track when it comes to mentoring others.
One of the reasons why many teams and organizations under-perform is that leaders foster a culture of blame that leads to cover-ups, more mistakes and worse results. We explore this subject in this podcast episode and show you how to foster a culture of accountability
Omagbitse Barrow explores the very important subject of striking the appropriate balance between the demands of work and life in this thought-provoking episode of the OnlineEfiko Podcast
Coaching is the powerful language of leadership - it is way leaders think, act and engage with others. Omagbitse Barrow explores this powerful subject and the specific skills and behaviours that coaching leaders use each day with the people they lead.
If there is one word that sums up what leaders actually do - it is influencing people - getting people to think and act in a particular direction. Omagbitse Barrow explores the subject today and explains the things that you need to do to get people to move in the direction and achieve the results that you want.
One of the true tests of leadership is what your people do when you are not there. To get people to do the right things especially when you are not there requires them to have an "ownership" mindset. Omagbitse Barrow explores this issue and the skills for fostering an ownership mindset in this episode.
Talent Management is an important aspect of organizational leadership. In this episode, Omagbitse Barrow explains in as as simple terms as possible how you can manage the talent in your team or organization
Our series continues on Leading People and Results and in this episode we explore what it takes to gain the commitment of your colleagues to the action and results that you want to achieve.
We enter the mindset of effective leaders today with a reflection on the Leadership DNA Framework from Omagbitse Barrow
We can achieve a lot in terms of efficiency when we apply the tools for time management, but is it enough? We have found that it isn't and that there is much more to jts being efficient, we need to be effective. Listen to our new podcast and explore a life-changing approach to improving your effectiveness.
If you want to ensure that you remain focused on your tasks and responsibilities each day, you must learn and apply the discipline of using a to-do list. It is a difference maker. Listen to our new episode on "Using To-Do Lists"
It's one thing to have goals, but are they focused on the most important things in your life? Listen to our new episode and explore what it takes to set focused goals.
Before you start to plan your goals for the New Year, it is very important to step back and consider what "SUCCESS" means to you. The way you define and view success will affect your goals and how you act each day, so please listen to this episode of the Efiko Podcast and get a chance to re-think success.
We conclude our series on Emotional Intelligence by exploring a simple model that teaches us the powerful skills of self restraint and self management.
Emotionally intelligent people manage the things that they think, say and do, and you too can do the same.
Just listen to our new episode right here.
If there is one thing that emotionally intelligent people are good at - it is understanding the various personalities that people around them have, and using this understanding to create winning relationships that translate to sustainable success. Check out our latest PodCast on "Understanding Personalities" as we continue our series on emotional intelligence.
Socrates the ancient Greek Philosopher made the concept of self awareness popular through his words - "KNOW THYSELF". How well do you know yourself. join me in this episode of the Efiko Podcast to explore the world of self-awareness and unlock the gate to your success.
Almost everyone recognizes the importance of Emotional Intelligence in achieving sustainable success, but do we really understand what it means and how to achieve it? We kick of a four-part series on Emotional Intelligence with this episode on "Emotional Intelligence Basics"
If you are looking to become an articulate communicator then you need to learn and apply the principle of primacy and recency to your speeches, presentations, and even written communication.
I am very pleased to share this amazing principle with you in this episode of the Efiko Podcast
What is your leadership number on a scale of 1-10? Well, in this episode I discuss the very important subject of leadership and make a strong case for organizational leaders to invest in leadership development based on the 10/10 Principle of Leadership so that they can achieve multiplicative growth in their organizations
Relationships are the foundation for your success as a leader, and in this episode, I will share a powerful tool for relationship building that can help you connect better with your colleagues and achieve better results
Every successful organization that you see today started from the thoughts, vision and actions of one man, a small group of like-minded people or even members of a family.
How did these “one-man” or “family” businesses grow to become organizations of many successful men and women and the household names that we all know and admire?
Having studied some of these organizations I have come to conclude that they were good at four things, and I share them in my new podcast episode - “From One Man to Many Men”
In today's episode we will explore the five governing forces of fantastic service and how to apply them to creating a culture of fantastic service in your organization.
In a society where service excellence is the exception rather than the norm, these 6 steps of the Fantastic Service Equation can give you and your organization a real competitive edge. listen to learn some more.
The Online Efiko - the home of indigenous African online learning is pleased to launch its audio podcast. We look forward to welcoming you each day...