PROFESSIONAL SKILLS FOR

ADMINISTRATORS

FACILITATED BY
FALAJIKI ABIODUN MICHAEL
Bellamy9oct@gmail.com

EECIC CONSULTANCY LTD

SESSION OUTLINE
 Learning objectives
 Introduction
 Personality branding and
leadership
 Problem solving and decision
making
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of the session,
participants will be able to:
• examine the concept of innovation,
creativity and leadership;
• apply creativity and innovation into
the workplace;
• examine core aspects of creativity
and;
• enhance their professional
development skills.
EXAMINING CREATIVITY,
INNOVATION AND LEADERSHIP IN
THE WORKPLACE
• Employees interpret meaning through
environmental cues and supervisors must
communicate through behavior.

• Self-efficacy levels influence the extent to

which employees entertain creative and
innovative activities, initiate creative acts, and
sustain creative levels in their work.
• Supervisors must be aware of the impact and
clearly state expectations to shape creative and
innovative efforts and manage the supervisor/
employee relationship.
• Individuals often generalize their relationships
with direct reports to the entire organization,
this perceived support of creativity and
innovation has even greater impact on the
individual’s relationship to the organization as a
whole.
• Creativity, innovation and leadership are at the
heart of every business.
 • Creativity and innovation have now become an
urgent concern for thoughtful executives.
• As competition turns into a game of who can
generate the best and greatest number of ideas.
• Creativity and innovation offer guidance on the
decisions that leaders in businesses have to make
for desired result.
CREATIVITY
• Creativity is the ability to respond to all that
goes on around us, to choose from the hundreds
of possibilities of thought, feeling, action, and
reaction that arise within us, and to put these
together in a unique response, expression, or
message that carries moment, passion, and
meaning.
• Creativity is the connecting and rearranging of
existing knowledge to generate new, often
surprising, ideas that others judge to be useful.
INNOVATION
• Innovation refers to the creation of new ideas
and their implementation.
 • The process of creating something new. It has
significant value to an individual, group, an
organization, society, or an industry. 
HOW PEOPLE SEE CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE
LEADERS IN THE WORKPLACE…
• Leaders that hold higher creativity and
innovative expectations are viewed as:
• Rewarding creativity and innovation,
• Recognizing creative and innovative efforts,
• Allocating more resources,
• Encouraging collaboration and sharing,
• Applying creative goal setting and modeling
creative behavior in their own work
LEADERSHIP, CREATIITY, INNOVATION AND
QUALITY OF IDEAS
• As people get better and better at creativity,
through practice, the quality of ideas will
improve.
• But if you only acknowledge wonderful ideas,
then people will not make effort, will not get the
practice and will not produce wonderful ideas.
 • Creativity and innovation are a mix of motivation,
time, effort and skill.
CHARACTERISTICS OF CREATIVE AND
INNOVATIVE LEADERSHIP
• Accepts and is attracted to disorder
• Adventurous, full of curiosity
• Strong affection,
• Altruistic
• Aware of others
• Always baffled by something
• Attempts difficult jobs
• Outwardly bashful
• Constructive in criticism
• Deep and conscientious in convictions
• Determined & energetic
• Emotionally sensitive
TRAITS IDENTIFIED IN CREATIVE AND
INNOVATIVE LEADERSHIP
• The ability to find appropriate problems
• The ability to defer judgement
 • Desire for originality
• Failure to conform to social pressure
• Tolerance of ambiguity
• Deep commitment (needed to acquire sufficient
and specific knowledge).
CREATIVITY AND INNOVATIVE STIMULATION
• Keep in touch with creative and people
• Accommodate the effort to the targets
• Evaluate and appreciate the effort
• Protect creative employees
• Leave them peace and time
• Provide them with security
• Tolerate failures
• Maintain creative atmosphere
• Evaluate the creative and ideas quickly
• Be persistent - nothing comes for free
DRIVERS OF CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MIND-
SETS
• Individuals with innovation mind-sets:
– are driven by willingness to create
 – want to make a difference
– share resilience in achieving goals
– love change
– are open for failure and learning
• The innovative Mind-set is enhanced through
four behaviours:
– changing one’s perspective
– taking risks
– finding one’s passion
– challenging assumptions and embracing
ambiguity
WHAT IS NEEDED TO BECOME A CREATIVE AND
INNOVATIVE LEADER
• To become a creative and in innovative leader it
is necessary to:
– acknowledge that the world is changing
– be ready for change
– be able to lead change
– start dealing with change and using it as a
source of power, and
 – take conscious responsibilities for actions
taken and learn lessons
WHAT DOES THE ORGANISATION EXPECT FROM
US?
• Stay aware of the big picture (futuristic)
• Create a productive environment for employees
• Make decisions on your own
• Implement new programs and methods
• Inform your people about company policies and
procedures
• Teach effectively
LEADERS ROLE IN CREATIVITY AND
INNOVATION
• Setting goals
• Demonstrating effective behaviors
• Decision-making
• Managing Change
• Time Management
NEEDED LEADERSHIP SKILLS IN CREATIVITY
AND INNOVATION
• Communication Skills
 • Effective Meeting Skills
• Motivation
• Delegation
• Training
REVIEW YOUR PERFORMANCE AS A LEADER
• Assess yourself as a Leader
– Conduct a SWOT analysis - Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
• Develop an Action Plan to improve as a leader
– list 2 actions you will undertake to address
Weaknesses or capitalise on Opportunities
identified 
• Assess yourself as a Leader
– Apply SMART targets to your actions –
– Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic,
Time-bound
SET PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL GOALS
• Write down your goals
• Discuss with your supervisor and your team
• Review often
TAKE ACTION TO GET IDEAS AND PLANS
ACCEPTED
• Get employee support
• Convince your supervisor and senior management
EFFECTIVE BEHAVIOURS OF CREATIVE AND
INNOVATIVE LEADERS
• Patience
• Tolerance
• Sensitivity
• Empathy
• Decisiveness
• Sense of humor
CREATIVITY, INNOVATION AND FORMAL
STRUCTURES IN THE WORK PLACE
• It has been suggested that the structure should
be that which focuses and emphasizes on
deliberate creative effort.
• Hence the IDEAR teams.
The IDEAR teams
• I = Idea
• D = Design
 • E = Explore
• A = Application
• R = Realise
IDEA
• Teams are about ideas.
• Ideas are ways of doing things.
• Ideas are about putting things together to
deliver value.
• Ideas may create new ideas.
• Ideas are a key element in progress.
• Ideas are a key element in survival and in success
and competition.
DESIGN
• This is the way new ideas are produced.
• It is not a matter of scientific discovery, but of
designing how things can be put together to
create value.
• Design is different from analysis.
• Analysis seeks to find out what is there.
• Designing produces something which is not yet
there.
EXPLORING
• This is looking around to see the potential.
• Where can this idea be applied?
• How can this idea deliver value in different areas
or circumstances?
• Exploring is indeed a form of discovery, but same
direction.
• It means examining possibilities as much as
determining the truth.
APPLICATION
• This is key.
• A great idea with no application is not much use
• A lesser idea with a wide application is superior.
• Creative people often do not put enough
emphasis on the application of an idea.
• So, there is a needed emphasis on application if
the idea is to have real value.
REALISE OR MAKING IT REAL
•  Realize means putting something into action.
• Realize means achieving reality.
• This is all part of the designing of a new idea.
 • It is not a matter of having an idea and then
looking around to see how the idea can be
realized.
• (This is the formal structure known as IDEAR
TEAMS)
TRAITS OF THE CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE
PERSON
• Perceive reality more accurately and objectively;
tolerate and even like ambiguity; are not
threatened by the unknown.
• Accept themselves, others, and human nature.
• Are spontaneous, natural, genuine.
• Are problem-centered, non-egotistical; have a
philosophy of life and probably a mission in life
• Need some privacy and solitude more than others
do; are able to concentrate intensely.
• Are independent, self-sufficient and
autonomous; have less need for praise or
popularity.
• Have capacity to appreciate again and again
simple and commonplace experiences; have zest
in living, ability to handle stress, high humor.
 • Have (and are aware of) their rich, alive,
fulfilling peak experiences.
• Have deep feelings of brotherhood with all
mankind; are benevolent, altruistic.
• Form strong friendship ties with relatively few
people; are capable of greater love.
• Are democratic, unprejudiced in the deepest
possible sense.
• Are strongly ethical and moral individual (not
necessarily conventional) ways; enjoy work in
achieving a goal as much as the goal itself; are
patient, for the most part.
• Have a more thoughtful, philosophical sense of
humor that is constructive, not destructive.
• Are creative, original inventive with a fresh,
naïve, simple and direct way of looking at life;
tend to do most things creatively – but do not
necessarily possess great talent.
• Are capable of detachment from their culture;
can objectively compare cultures; can take or
leave conventions.
SELF AWARENESS
 • Self-awareness is about learning to better
understand why we feel what we feel and why we
behave in a particular way.
• Having clarity about who we are and what we
want and the confidence to make changes.
• Knowing our areas of strengths and weaknesses.
• It’s about knowing yourself.
• Knowing your thoughts, feelings, and actions.
• You can make good choices when you know
yourself
To be self-aware, you need to know:
• Your values
• Your interests
• Your skills
• Your talents
THE ENIGMA OF SELF-AWARENESS
• Seeking self-knowledge is a prerequisite for
personal growth.
• However, we avoid seeking information about
ourselves because it may make us feel inferior.
FIVE AREAS OF SELF AWARENESS

CORE ASPECTS OF SELF AWARENESS

Values
• Foundation for attitudes and personal
preferences
 • Basis for important life decisions
• Help to define morality and ethics
• Your values are what is important to you
• You can become more self-aware by thinking
about your values. 
Which values are most important to you?
• Helping other people
• Being part of a family
• Earning a lot of money
• Having good health
• Being a spiritual or religious person
Cognitive style
• An individual’s inclination to perceive, interpret,
and respond to information in a certain way
Knowing and living by your values
• When you live by your values, you can be proud of
your life.
• Most happy people take pride in their work and
live by their values.
Change orientation
 • Tolerance of Ambiguity: The extent to which
individuals are comfortable coping with unclear
situations.
• Locus of Control: The attitude people develop
regarding the extent to which they control their
own destinies.

SELF DEVELOPMENT
• Ability to control your emotions
• Ability to calm yourself down when you're upset
and cheer yourself up when you're down.
• Ability to control and reduce impulses and
reactions
• To respond by having the judgment to think
before acting
• Ability to act in your long-term best interest,
consistent with your deepest values
THE SENSITIVE LINE
• The point at which individuals become defensive
when encountering information about themselves
that is inconsistent with their self-concept.
THE BLIND SELF
 • The Blind Self is what you don’t see in yourself
but others see in you.
• You might see yourself as an open-minded person
when, in reality, people around you don’t agree.
• You might see yourself as a “dumb” person while
others might consider you incredibly bright.
• Sometimes those around you might not tell you
what they see because they fear offending you.
UNDERSTANDING SELF
Personality
• Enduring traits that make an individual unique.
• Your personality is how you think, feel, and act
• Understanding your personality will help you pick
a career you will like.
• Your personality can make you well suited for
certain types of work.
Interests
• Things you like to do
• Knowing and understanding your interests will
help you choose a career and plan your life.
 • You can figure out your interests by thinking
about your experiences at school, home, work,
and in the community.
Experience and volunteer work
• Experience: Activities you have tried.
• Volunteer work: Work you do without receiving
pay.
Skills
• Abilities to do specific tasks.
• Your skills are your specific abilities
• Skills are things you know how to do.
• Taking care of children is a skill.
• Operating a wheelchair is a skill.
Types of Skills
• Job-specific skills:
• These are abilities you need to do a specific job,
like using a table saw.
• Transferable skills:
• These are general abilities, like reading and
writing
• And personal qualities, like responsibility and
 honesty.
Knowledge
• Understanding facts.
• When you put knowledge and practice together,
you get a skill.
• To improve a skill, you need to learn more and
practice more.
• Practice means repeating something again and
again.
Talents
• Your talents are your natural gifts
• A talent is the ability to do something easily or
to learn something easily.
• You will be happier if you choose a career that
lets you use your special talents
Ways to identify your interests and talents
• Trying a wide range of activities
• Taking an interest or aptitude survey
• Paying attention to what other people say you do
well.
Self-image
 • How you see yourself.
• Self-image is how you picture yourself in your
mind
• When you have a positive self-image, You feel
good about yourself.
• You can picture yourself achieving what you want
in life.
Self-esteem
• A positive feeling about yourself.
• When you see yourself in your mind, do you like
what you see?
• If so, you probably have high self-esteem.
ADVANTAGES OF SELF-ESTEEM
• It helps you feel confident.
• It helps you try new things
• It helps you learn.
• It helps you get along with other people.
• It helps you succeed at school and on the job.
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS THROUGH EMPATHY
 • To communicate well, it is important to use
empathy.
• Empathy is caring about the feelings, thoughts,
and experiences of others.
• Use empathy when you talk and when you listen.
• If someone makes you upset, stay calm and ask
what the person meant to say.
• Communicating with empathy is very important on
the job.
• It helps you get along with customers,
coworkers, and supervisors.
STRUCTURAL CONFLICT
• The power of your powerlessness
• Many of us have a dominant belief that we are
not able to fulfill our desires -a by-product of
growing up
• We believe in our powerlessness -our inability to
bring into being all the things we really care
about.
• This illustrates the conflict -out vision pulling us
forward, while our belief in powerlessness pulls
us back
ELIMINATING SELF LIMITING BELIEFS
• Many of us do not believe that we are worthy or
deserving to have what we truly desire.
• Manifestations are:
• loss of energy
• Not able to finish the job
• Unexpected obstacles develop
• People let us down
• We don’t believe we can do it.
STRATEGIES FOR COPING WITH SELF LIMITING
BELIEFS
• Letting our vision erode self-limiting beliefs
• Will power/determination to get things done.
• We psych ourselves up to overpower all forms of
resistance to achieving our goals
• Motivate ourselves through heightened volition
• Tell yourself the truth
• Continually broadening our awareness
• Continually deepening our understanding current
events
ACTIONABLE AND DO-ABLE TIPS TO ENHANCE
SELF DEVELOPMENT AND PERSONAL
EFFECTIVENESS
Prioritize tasks
• Set priorities for each day by using the ABCD
category grid based upon urgency and
importance.
• A = Act now: B = Better earlier; C = Chase later;
D = Do, Delegate or Dump.
• Daily `do lists’ ideally are written down at the
start of the day or during the previous day.
Remove clutter
• Removing physical clutter from our everyday life
allows us to focus better upon what is important
rather than what is a continual distraction.
• Getting clutter out of sight is a good way to keep
it out of our minds
Develop Good Habits
• Acquire and develop good habits to replace doing
the things that we are not very happy about.
• Stopping any bad habit is notoriously difficult
for most people
 • it is easier to displace it with some better habit.
Write Down Goals
• Writing down our goals, aims or objectives
enables us to clarify them, to focus upon them
and to commit to their accomplishment.
• Having goals that are not written down achieves
the opposite effect and then they lose their
impact.
Plan Ahead
• Planning the use of our time enables us to use
that time more efficiently particularly when we
are faced with several demanding tasks.
• Also, having a plan will often mean that we can
gauge progress and therefore gain satisfaction
and motivation.
Keep Promises
• Keeping promises preserves our credibility and
integrity.
• Other people then view us as dependable and
reliable.
• Breaking promises is the fastest way of removing
our personal effectiveness and credibility
Be Decisive
• Being decisive about the myriad of daily events is
far more effective than dithering or not making
decisions
• People who do not know what they want in life, or
lack direction, or have no plan or suffer great
stress will all have some difficulty in making good
decisions.
Invigorate voice tone
• Make your voice go up and down in pitch and
volume to reflect the message that you wish to
convey.
• Take your lead from the wide range of public
speakers that you might hear in person, on the
radio or on television.
Smile
• Develop a smile that is warm and genuine and use
it whenever you interact with others, even over
the telephone.
• People will then be attracted more to what you
have to say.
• A false smile will achieve the opposite.
Use body language
• It encourages people to believe more easily the
message that we are trying to convey.
• Body language that sends a message different to
our words will totally undermine our message.
• Using appropriate body language enables us to
generate much greater impact with our spoken
words.
Listen Attentively
• Listening to others in a manner that active and
responsive is a prime key to personal
effectiveness.
• We are all rapidly turned off by people who do
not listen to us or who only half listen and then
jump in with what they want to say.
Maintain `Soft' Eye Contact
• Maintaining a form of eye contact that is
attentive without staring is a key skill in personal
effectiveness.
• It shows others that you are listening and that
your thinking is not some distance away.
Assert yourself
 • Being assertive - standing up for one's personal
rights while respecting the rights of others - is a
balanced way to communicate and behave
effectively.
• It can also build confidence and feelings of self-
esteem.
Persistence
• Keeping going in the face of enormous adversity
sets apart people who are really effective.
• No-one wants to hear from people who gave up at
the first obstacle
Empathise
• Trying to see things from another's point of view
• Empathizing - can help us to achieve the required
depth of understanding.
• With a proper understanding we can choose the
most appropriate ways to respond to others.
• That makes us more effective.
• We openly wish for the consequences of error to
be wiped away.
• Asking may be the only way to achieve that.
Ask Forgiveness
 • Asking forgiveness from others is an act of
modesty and humility where we openly admit to
some mistake or error of judgement that we
have made.
Seek Feedback
• Being open to, and actively seeking feedback
from others
• Whether that may be praise, criticism or some
of each - sends a powerful message that we wish
to improve what we do.
• People who simply defend their current position
are less likely to improve
• And are also less likely to influence others on a
personal level.
Use Questions
• Asking relevant questions - open or closed -
enables us to maintain our interest in others and
understand their situation more fully.
• We can then use that understanding to influence
how they communicate and behave.
Avoid negative people
• Escaping and successfully avoiding the vast
amount of negativity that so many people
generate is a well-honed skill.
• This negativity is all around us and is propagated
intensely through modern media.
CONCLUSION
• Everyone has a business to run, whatever your
business is, you -will have to manage
customers/clients, produce a quality product or
service and use your resources well.
• To achieve your goals, you will not only have to
manage other people, but you will have to manage
yourself first.
• Being professional means being self-aware,
managing and developing self, being visionary,
having clear goals, being creative, acquire critical
thinking skills and above all, maintain a work-life
balance to avoid unnecessary stress.
• Therefore, the need for self- awareness,
development and management.
THANK YOU