by Mark Evenden @ Developing People Limited
Being a leader requires you to be able stand on your feet, command attention and deliver your message to small or large groups of people. While it sounds straight forward enough, presenting is often cited as one the most dreaded tasks leader has to undertake and it can often provide many challenges, one of which I can vividly remember!
I was taught that it is important to remember that when presenting you are giving a ‘performance’. You need to capture your audience’s attention and hold it – audiences can be easily distracted by things that are outside of your control and so you need to be aware of them and manage them as best as you can.
I was asked to present at a company conference to an audience of consisting 35 senior managers and directors. While the presentation itself was fairly straight forward, the room that had been hired was not. The room was in a local hotel that was used as a bar/club by the hotel in the evenings, it didn’t have any natural daylight and had various shelves placed around the edges of the room, presumably for people to place their drinks on.
One of the shelves proved to be my undoing. The room was long but quite narrow. As I was sat at the back of the room, I had to walk up a narrow gap between the seated audience and a number of these shelves. As I got to the front I turned slightly and inadvertently caught my trousers on one of the shelves. I immediately heard a loud rip as a hole the size of a large orange appeared at the back of my left trouser leg.
No one really noticed what happened but I was now in a dilemma – do I admit to the designer tear in my trousers or do I just carry on as if nothing had happened?
If I simply carried on, people would have noticed that I had a hole in my trousers. They wouldn’t have been interested in what I was saying, instead they would be thinking about how it had happened, and possibly why I hadn’t changed my trousers before I did my presentation.
However, I needed people to listen to what I had to say so I decided to them about my embarrassing mishap. It caused a real stir, most people found it hugely amusing but by telling everyone achieved two things. Firstly, as I had dealt with the unfortunate incident I had their attention, and secondly I had a good deal of empathy from many of them, both of which led to the presentation being a great success.
As I stated above, when presenting you need to capture your audience’s attention and hold it. Audiences can be easily distracted by events that are outside of your control, and in my experience it best to deal with the incident upfront, as this will keep the audience’s attention focused on you and what you have to say.
Developing People Limited offer bespoke Training Courses on Presentation Skills. For more information, please telephone 0845 409 2346, or send an email to enquiries@developingpeople.co.uk.
Showing posts with label leadership development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label leadership development. Show all posts
Friday, 3 December 2010
Friday, 26 November 2010
Management Development - What Makes an Amazing Managing Director?
by Lucy Cadman @ Developing People Ltd
I have worked with a number of different Managing Director’s over time. They range from brilliant to mediocre, from amazing to frankly quite awful.
At one end of the scale, a particular gentleman ruled the office with a rod of iron – he expected respect without giving any out, he kept clients waiting half an hour whilst he finished reading his newspaper with his feet on the desk, he had no plan for the long term future of the business, and despite him begrudging us buying a jar of coffee or box of teabags, the business was in so much debt that it ultimately ended up being taken over.
In the middle of the scale, I worked for a lovely man who had great plans for the business, who was astute in all aspects of financial control, and who was absolutely revered in his field of expertise. However, he lived in a whirlwind of pressure, stress, incredibly long hours and absolute exhaustion due to the fact that he had no concept whatsoever of delegating efficiently. The stress could make him unapproachable to staff, and often made for a nervous working environment. Sadly the pressure got the better of him in the end, and he passed away at a very young age due to a heart attack.
At the top end of the scale, I work for a fantastic MD who is able to lead the business forward, manage the budget, innovate new ideas, inspire the staff, instil total confidence in the clients, manage his workload effectively, delegate with great confidence, and all this whilst remaining cheerful, calm and approachable at all times. Amazing!
So, to be amazing at a job, it is first necessary to understand exactly what it entails, and what is expected.
The role of Managing Director is the ultimate leadership role. Those who make a success of this role need to have the ability to manage everything – they will demonstrate superb management, leadership and motivational skills, be highly organised, have excellent time management skills, be able to delegate, and have a sharp commercial and strategic brain. A Managing Director also needs to be an excellent ambassador for the company, and have a long term vision of where the company is going. Managing Directors tend to be highly qualified, often with a Business Degree and a recognised management qualification.
The Managing Director leads the company and develops the corporate culture for the entire organisation. They are responsible to everyone – the clients, the staff, the Board and the Shareholders. Other responsibilities include egal responsibility for the company’s affairs, control of the budget, managing the company’s assets and resources, and ensuring they deliver sustainable levels of profitability and growth over time. The Managing Director is responsible for both day to day plans and running of the company, and making strategic plans for the long term future.
No wonder it is a stressful and highly pressured top level job!
Is there a person in the world who can achieve everything listed above (and more!) without a little bit of assistance along the way? You would need to be Superman (or Superwoman!) if so!
Management Development, Training and Coaching can help a Managing Director to truly find their feet in their role. From hints and tips on how to manage email and phone calls effectively through to the art of delegation, from strategic business plans through to controlling the budget, from people skills through to the creation of new cultures, Developing People Limited can help your Managing Director to truly be at the top of their game – all day, every day.
If you would like more information on our Management Development and Managing Training or Management Coaching programmes, please email us or telephone us on 0845 409 2346.
I have worked with a number of different Managing Director’s over time. They range from brilliant to mediocre, from amazing to frankly quite awful.
At one end of the scale, a particular gentleman ruled the office with a rod of iron – he expected respect without giving any out, he kept clients waiting half an hour whilst he finished reading his newspaper with his feet on the desk, he had no plan for the long term future of the business, and despite him begrudging us buying a jar of coffee or box of teabags, the business was in so much debt that it ultimately ended up being taken over.
In the middle of the scale, I worked for a lovely man who had great plans for the business, who was astute in all aspects of financial control, and who was absolutely revered in his field of expertise. However, he lived in a whirlwind of pressure, stress, incredibly long hours and absolute exhaustion due to the fact that he had no concept whatsoever of delegating efficiently. The stress could make him unapproachable to staff, and often made for a nervous working environment. Sadly the pressure got the better of him in the end, and he passed away at a very young age due to a heart attack.
At the top end of the scale, I work for a fantastic MD who is able to lead the business forward, manage the budget, innovate new ideas, inspire the staff, instil total confidence in the clients, manage his workload effectively, delegate with great confidence, and all this whilst remaining cheerful, calm and approachable at all times. Amazing!
So, to be amazing at a job, it is first necessary to understand exactly what it entails, and what is expected.
The role of Managing Director is the ultimate leadership role. Those who make a success of this role need to have the ability to manage everything – they will demonstrate superb management, leadership and motivational skills, be highly organised, have excellent time management skills, be able to delegate, and have a sharp commercial and strategic brain. A Managing Director also needs to be an excellent ambassador for the company, and have a long term vision of where the company is going. Managing Directors tend to be highly qualified, often with a Business Degree and a recognised management qualification.
The Managing Director leads the company and develops the corporate culture for the entire organisation. They are responsible to everyone – the clients, the staff, the Board and the Shareholders. Other responsibilities include egal responsibility for the company’s affairs, control of the budget, managing the company’s assets and resources, and ensuring they deliver sustainable levels of profitability and growth over time. The Managing Director is responsible for both day to day plans and running of the company, and making strategic plans for the long term future.
No wonder it is a stressful and highly pressured top level job!
Is there a person in the world who can achieve everything listed above (and more!) without a little bit of assistance along the way? You would need to be Superman (or Superwoman!) if so!
Management Development, Training and Coaching can help a Managing Director to truly find their feet in their role. From hints and tips on how to manage email and phone calls effectively through to the art of delegation, from strategic business plans through to controlling the budget, from people skills through to the creation of new cultures, Developing People Limited can help your Managing Director to truly be at the top of their game – all day, every day.
If you would like more information on our Management Development and Managing Training or Management Coaching programmes, please email us or telephone us on 0845 409 2346.
Monday, 22 November 2010
Leadership Development - Managing Company Changes, Mergers and Acquisitions Effectively
by Lucy Cadman @ Developing People Limited
The last few years have brought about an unprecedented number of changes for many companies, including merging with or being acquired by other companies as well as internal restructuring. However, many companies have found that their performance post-change, post-merger or post-acquisition declines, and that the organisation struggles to return to previous performance levels.
In the current climate, organisations are experiencing increasing pressure to improve productivity and reduce costs as ever tougher market demands are being placed on them. These pressures are causing organisations to fundamentally rethink how they operate and as a consequence what they need to see differently from their managers and staff to survive.
One of the reasons that can bring about a drop in organisational performance during a merger or an acquisition is that there are unresolved cultural differences between the two organisations. This can lead to confusion and frustration and result in employees becoming de-motivated.
A clash of cultures can be overcome but it requires strong leadership and collaboration between the management teams and HR to ensure that a common set of goals are in place and communicated to employees. This may also mean ‘changing the mindsets’ of employees as cultural changes may also require behavioural changes.
No matter how clear the imperative for change might be, for it to be successful there are a number of prerequisites that need to be in place. For example:
1) There should be a clear vision for change and everyone must understand what it means for them personally (e.g. will they have a job after the change). This should include key milestones and targets for the change journey.
2) Senior managers demonstrate their commitment to the change by regularly ‘walking the talk’.
3) Managers and staff understand what is expected of them and are clear about what they need to deliver, for example changes to working practice, increased productivity etc.
4) The way that managers and staff are measured and managed is congruent with the changes needed.
5) People are involved in the change and can help shape the outcomes within their areas of responsibility.
6) There are regular two way communications. Individuals are listened to and their expectations are managed effectively.
7) Managers have the skills, capability and confidence to manage the reaction to the change both in themselves and their team.
8) Everyone is encouraged to behave in line with the changes and consequential actions are taken if they don’t.
9) Individuals have the personal capacity to implement the changes as well as doing their ‘day job’.
10) The changes needed to existing people and business policies, procedures and measures are clear and known.
To address these issues, it is vital that the organisation identifies and plans the key interventions that are needed to ensure the implementation of the planned change is successful.
A key aspect of this that is often overlooked is the ability of managers to lead change and staff to absorb it. Managers and staff therefore need to be given the appropriate training and development to enable them to develop their confidence, skills and behaviour and adapt to their new roles. In this way managers and staff will be given the right tools to make the necessary changes and ensure that the changes required by the organisation are successfully delivered and maintained.
Leadership skills are therefore a critical element of any management training programme. Historically many companies have not put any onus on leadership training and often management executives have found themselves lacking in the necessary skills to manage and motivate their teams, let alone effectively communicate and guide employees during the merger and acquisition process. By providing them with the relevant training will give managers the necessary skills to help their teams quickly feel they are part of the new company and culture.
At Developing People Limited, we are skilled in developing your leaders and managers to deal with change effectively. Have a look at the Leadership Development page on our website for more information, or you can send an email to us, or phone us on 0845 409 2346.
The last few years have brought about an unprecedented number of changes for many companies, including merging with or being acquired by other companies as well as internal restructuring. However, many companies have found that their performance post-change, post-merger or post-acquisition declines, and that the organisation struggles to return to previous performance levels.
In the current climate, organisations are experiencing increasing pressure to improve productivity and reduce costs as ever tougher market demands are being placed on them. These pressures are causing organisations to fundamentally rethink how they operate and as a consequence what they need to see differently from their managers and staff to survive.
One of the reasons that can bring about a drop in organisational performance during a merger or an acquisition is that there are unresolved cultural differences between the two organisations. This can lead to confusion and frustration and result in employees becoming de-motivated.
A clash of cultures can be overcome but it requires strong leadership and collaboration between the management teams and HR to ensure that a common set of goals are in place and communicated to employees. This may also mean ‘changing the mindsets’ of employees as cultural changes may also require behavioural changes.
No matter how clear the imperative for change might be, for it to be successful there are a number of prerequisites that need to be in place. For example:
1) There should be a clear vision for change and everyone must understand what it means for them personally (e.g. will they have a job after the change). This should include key milestones and targets for the change journey.
2) Senior managers demonstrate their commitment to the change by regularly ‘walking the talk’.
3) Managers and staff understand what is expected of them and are clear about what they need to deliver, for example changes to working practice, increased productivity etc.
4) The way that managers and staff are measured and managed is congruent with the changes needed.
5) People are involved in the change and can help shape the outcomes within their areas of responsibility.
6) There are regular two way communications. Individuals are listened to and their expectations are managed effectively.
7) Managers have the skills, capability and confidence to manage the reaction to the change both in themselves and their team.
8) Everyone is encouraged to behave in line with the changes and consequential actions are taken if they don’t.
9) Individuals have the personal capacity to implement the changes as well as doing their ‘day job’.
10) The changes needed to existing people and business policies, procedures and measures are clear and known.
To address these issues, it is vital that the organisation identifies and plans the key interventions that are needed to ensure the implementation of the planned change is successful.
A key aspect of this that is often overlooked is the ability of managers to lead change and staff to absorb it. Managers and staff therefore need to be given the appropriate training and development to enable them to develop their confidence, skills and behaviour and adapt to their new roles. In this way managers and staff will be given the right tools to make the necessary changes and ensure that the changes required by the organisation are successfully delivered and maintained.
Leadership skills are therefore a critical element of any management training programme. Historically many companies have not put any onus on leadership training and often management executives have found themselves lacking in the necessary skills to manage and motivate their teams, let alone effectively communicate and guide employees during the merger and acquisition process. By providing them with the relevant training will give managers the necessary skills to help their teams quickly feel they are part of the new company and culture.
At Developing People Limited, we are skilled in developing your leaders and managers to deal with change effectively. Have a look at the Leadership Development page on our website for more information, or you can send an email to us, or phone us on 0845 409 2346.
Leadership flaws – which ones do you exhibit?
by Mark Evenden @ Developing People Limited
Great leaders are not successful simply because they are in the right place at the right time. They succeed because they play to their strengths, and they work hard at maximising them. Effective leaders are very conscious of their strengths and know how to deploy them for their own advantage and for the benefit of their Organisation. This mean that they can repeat their performance as a leader in any new role they find themselves in or different organisation they work for.
However, all leaders also have weaknesses. These weaknesses can inhibit a leaders’ success or in extreme cases they can be their downfall, if they are not aware of them. I remember a number of years ago I had a new boss. He was a guy from the ‘centre’, young and keen and the business promoted him to a director role. They wanted to give him experience of an operational role with a view to moving him into a more senior position within the group in due course.
While my new boss was keen and clearly wanted to do the best for the business, he was very unaware of the impact his behaviour had on others. For example he would:
• Grill me about my budgeted overspend and expect me to come up with an urgent plan to correct the situation. On investigation I discovered that he had shifted a large spend onto my budget to make another part of the business appear more successful than it actually was!
• Not listen to me or other people properly - he was not interested in other people’s views, just his own.
• Claim that people were the organisation’s most important asset, but not give time for them.
• Be insensitive to people’s needs and also be indiscrete
• Be overly critical about other people in public.
Great leaders are very self aware and understand their flaws and work hard to minimise the impact of their flaws on others. Sadly my new boss didn’t’ understand this concept - he thought that he already knew what he needed to. Interestingly he often complained about not getting as much engagement and commitment from his staff as he wanted, and he couldn’t understand why people didn’t respect or trust him. Perhaps if he was courageous enough to ‘look in the mirror’ he would have seen his flaws and done something about them.
Here at Developing People Ltd, we specialise in helping your leaders to maximise their strengths. Have a look at our Leadership Development page for more information, or telephone us on 0845 409 2346.
Great leaders are not successful simply because they are in the right place at the right time. They succeed because they play to their strengths, and they work hard at maximising them. Effective leaders are very conscious of their strengths and know how to deploy them for their own advantage and for the benefit of their Organisation. This mean that they can repeat their performance as a leader in any new role they find themselves in or different organisation they work for.
However, all leaders also have weaknesses. These weaknesses can inhibit a leaders’ success or in extreme cases they can be their downfall, if they are not aware of them. I remember a number of years ago I had a new boss. He was a guy from the ‘centre’, young and keen and the business promoted him to a director role. They wanted to give him experience of an operational role with a view to moving him into a more senior position within the group in due course.
While my new boss was keen and clearly wanted to do the best for the business, he was very unaware of the impact his behaviour had on others. For example he would:
• Grill me about my budgeted overspend and expect me to come up with an urgent plan to correct the situation. On investigation I discovered that he had shifted a large spend onto my budget to make another part of the business appear more successful than it actually was!
• Not listen to me or other people properly - he was not interested in other people’s views, just his own.
• Claim that people were the organisation’s most important asset, but not give time for them.
• Be insensitive to people’s needs and also be indiscrete
• Be overly critical about other people in public.
Great leaders are very self aware and understand their flaws and work hard to minimise the impact of their flaws on others. Sadly my new boss didn’t’ understand this concept - he thought that he already knew what he needed to. Interestingly he often complained about not getting as much engagement and commitment from his staff as he wanted, and he couldn’t understand why people didn’t respect or trust him. Perhaps if he was courageous enough to ‘look in the mirror’ he would have seen his flaws and done something about them.
Here at Developing People Ltd, we specialise in helping your leaders to maximise their strengths. Have a look at our Leadership Development page for more information, or telephone us on 0845 409 2346.
Monday, 15 November 2010
Giving Feedback
by Mark Evenden @ Developing People Ltd
Giving feedback can often be fraught with difficulties. You may worry about how the other person will react to your feedback, whether they will believe it, ignore it or possibly get angry, upset or even aggressive.
I remember many years ago working for a consulting firm when my boss asked me for some feedback about a colleague. A couple of months before I had an issue with this colleague as they hadn’t undertaken a final check on a report that subsequently went to a client with a number of mistakes in it causing me a little embarrassment.
I hadn’t said anything to this colleague at the time but as my boss wanted some feedback I explained what had happened. The following week my colleague came to me - they had just had their annual appraisal with our their boss and they were very angry with me.
They accused me of going behind their back and causing trouble – they said that they did not know anything about the mistakes in the report and if it was true then why didn’t they speak to them first?
In hindsight, they had every right to be angry - first of all they weren’t prepared to defend / explain themselves in their appraisal, and secondly I didn’t own the feedback I wanted to give, but did it through a third person instead - our boss.
This was an important lesson for me, and over the years I have picked up other tips to give feedback more effectively too:
1. Remember feedback should not always be about things that someone has done badly - it should also be used to reinforce things that have gone well too.
2. Always give feedback when it is fresh – in your mind and the other person’s. It is a waste of time referring to something that happened 3 months ago, as the other person will probably have forgotten about it and will wonder why you haven’t discussed it before.
3. Prepare what you will say in advance; think through what you will say and how you will say it.
4. Own the feedback you are going to give – don’t give it through a third person. If you have an issue with someone then you should discuss it with them first.
5. When giving feedback ask for the views of the other person first by asking open questions – “tell me about how you think your presentation went’. It may be that they already know what you are about to tell them.
6. Give feedback on what you observed. Make sure you are specific about the details, when, where, how often etc.
7. Own the feedback you give – “I saw, I heard, I observed …”, and stick to the facts and don’t be judgemental ( ‘you are too slow, careless, short tall etc!’), and don’t be vague ( ‘that report was great!’).
8. Discuss the impact their behaviour/actions had on others. For example - ‘The impact of you not turning up on time to the focus group meeting was that the meeting finished later than planned.’
9. Talk to them about the consequences of their actions. ‘The consequence of you turning up late was that our consumers felt we were very unprofessional.’
10. Finally agree with the other person what actions are needed, and what the resulting outcomes will be.
These are tips that I have learned over the years and I hope they help you too.
For more help on Giving and Receiving Feedback, please see our Training Course, or call us on 0845 409 2346 for more information.
Giving feedback can often be fraught with difficulties. You may worry about how the other person will react to your feedback, whether they will believe it, ignore it or possibly get angry, upset or even aggressive.
I remember many years ago working for a consulting firm when my boss asked me for some feedback about a colleague. A couple of months before I had an issue with this colleague as they hadn’t undertaken a final check on a report that subsequently went to a client with a number of mistakes in it causing me a little embarrassment.
I hadn’t said anything to this colleague at the time but as my boss wanted some feedback I explained what had happened. The following week my colleague came to me - they had just had their annual appraisal with our their boss and they were very angry with me.
They accused me of going behind their back and causing trouble – they said that they did not know anything about the mistakes in the report and if it was true then why didn’t they speak to them first?
In hindsight, they had every right to be angry - first of all they weren’t prepared to defend / explain themselves in their appraisal, and secondly I didn’t own the feedback I wanted to give, but did it through a third person instead - our boss.
This was an important lesson for me, and over the years I have picked up other tips to give feedback more effectively too:
1. Remember feedback should not always be about things that someone has done badly - it should also be used to reinforce things that have gone well too.
2. Always give feedback when it is fresh – in your mind and the other person’s. It is a waste of time referring to something that happened 3 months ago, as the other person will probably have forgotten about it and will wonder why you haven’t discussed it before.
3. Prepare what you will say in advance; think through what you will say and how you will say it.
4. Own the feedback you are going to give – don’t give it through a third person. If you have an issue with someone then you should discuss it with them first.
5. When giving feedback ask for the views of the other person first by asking open questions – “tell me about how you think your presentation went’. It may be that they already know what you are about to tell them.
6. Give feedback on what you observed. Make sure you are specific about the details, when, where, how often etc.
7. Own the feedback you give – “I saw, I heard, I observed …”, and stick to the facts and don’t be judgemental ( ‘you are too slow, careless, short tall etc!’), and don’t be vague ( ‘that report was great!’).
8. Discuss the impact their behaviour/actions had on others. For example - ‘The impact of you not turning up on time to the focus group meeting was that the meeting finished later than planned.’
9. Talk to them about the consequences of their actions. ‘The consequence of you turning up late was that our consumers felt we were very unprofessional.’
10. Finally agree with the other person what actions are needed, and what the resulting outcomes will be.
These are tips that I have learned over the years and I hope they help you too.
For more help on Giving and Receiving Feedback, please see our Training Course, or call us on 0845 409 2346 for more information.
Friday, 22 October 2010
A Question of Integrity
by Mark Evenden @ Developing People Limited
Many years ago, I was a management trainee with the National Coal Board. As with many other nationalised industries at the time, they offered excellent management training and a good grounding for future mine managers.
After completing my statutory basic training and close personal supervision, I worked in various roles from underground logistics to work study. My mentor was our Colliery Manager, who was a strong character and claimed to lead from the front. He expected all those in management roles to lead by example.
Working in a mine has a number of inherent dangers, and there were strict rules governing personal health and safety. One example concerned the plethora of conveyor belts which transported coal from the face via various belts to a drift, and eventually to the surface.
Some of the belts were designated “man riding” belts with properly constructed stations for safe access and egress. However, it was prohibited to ride any other belt, including the one which took the coal to the surface via the drift. One day, I was with a ventilation engineer checking air flows at various points in the drift. We noticed two cap lamps which appeared to be on the conveyor, which was strictly prohibited. Two people were indeed riding the belt – one was the Colliery Manager and the other was the Chief Union Official.
This was an abject lesson for me in how not to lead by example. Firstly, how could a Colliery Manager who was responsible for the health and safety of his staff discipline them for breaching health and safety rules when he did it himself? Secondly, how could a Union Official whose union campaigned forcefully to improve the safety and welfare of miners be prepared to risk his own safety and collude with his Colliery Manager?
Neither of them fully understood the consequences of their actions. Interestingly, the mine had a number of incidents of breaches in health and safety (including riding on prohibited conveyor belts). I wonder if the Colliery Manager and Senior Union Official ever understood the root causes of these problems?
Many years ago, I was a management trainee with the National Coal Board. As with many other nationalised industries at the time, they offered excellent management training and a good grounding for future mine managers.
After completing my statutory basic training and close personal supervision, I worked in various roles from underground logistics to work study. My mentor was our Colliery Manager, who was a strong character and claimed to lead from the front. He expected all those in management roles to lead by example.
Working in a mine has a number of inherent dangers, and there were strict rules governing personal health and safety. One example concerned the plethora of conveyor belts which transported coal from the face via various belts to a drift, and eventually to the surface.
Some of the belts were designated “man riding” belts with properly constructed stations for safe access and egress. However, it was prohibited to ride any other belt, including the one which took the coal to the surface via the drift. One day, I was with a ventilation engineer checking air flows at various points in the drift. We noticed two cap lamps which appeared to be on the conveyor, which was strictly prohibited. Two people were indeed riding the belt – one was the Colliery Manager and the other was the Chief Union Official.
This was an abject lesson for me in how not to lead by example. Firstly, how could a Colliery Manager who was responsible for the health and safety of his staff discipline them for breaching health and safety rules when he did it himself? Secondly, how could a Union Official whose union campaigned forcefully to improve the safety and welfare of miners be prepared to risk his own safety and collude with his Colliery Manager?
Neither of them fully understood the consequences of their actions. Interestingly, the mine had a number of incidents of breaches in health and safety (including riding on prohibited conveyor belts). I wonder if the Colliery Manager and Senior Union Official ever understood the root causes of these problems?
Friday, 8 October 2010
Surviving Your Success as a Leader
by Lucy Cadman @ Developing People Limited
I have been enjoying the hobby of Ballroom and Latin dancing for the last few years. I remember the aches and pains in the early weeks – a short lesson that was relatively gentle compared to the standard I dance at these days used to leave me with crippling muscle aches and cracking joints for several days afterwards. I pressed on for further physical fitness and greater technical ability, all the while thinking to myself “If I can just get to *this* standard, then it will all be so much easier”. Having now achieved a standard of passing several exams, winning various medals and being fit enough to dance for three or four hours a day several days a week, has it got any easier? Has it heck!! I now spend all my time trying to maintain the level of fitness that I have achieved, as well as constantly hungering for more technical skill. It never gets easier – but it does remain enjoyable and fulfilling.
After the months and years spent working hard to be successful in leadership, you have made it to the peak – well done! But being a successful leader can be as difficult to maintain as physical fitness and stamina. Success can mean that you take a big step towards stress and burnout, because the pressure of being a high achiever drives us to try even harder to achieve more.
Here are a few ideas to help maintain balance and survive your own success.
1. Learn to relax. Give yourself a break and take time out to relax and enjoy your success – you deserve it! Make sure that you are not at the office late into the evening every day, and when you have a holiday, then make sure you really do take a holiday – that means no mobile phone, laptop or any other device that helps you to be tracked down!
2. Know your limitations. It’s important to remember that success doesn’t mean perfection. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, and trying to be good at everything can water down your impact. Play to your strengths, and don’t get hung up on your weaknesses.
3. Don’t be paralysed by indecision. Decisions lead to consequences and action, but not making decisions will lead to inactivity and organisation paralysis. It is better to make a poor decision that needs to be revised than to make no decision at all.
4. Give yourself a pat on the back. Leading a team can be a lonely experience and so it’s important to validate yourself. Note down your achievements and read them through to yourself whenever you can to reinforce successful behaviour.
5. Learn to fail. At some point you will take a “fall” – this is an inevitable part of life, both professionally and personally. The key to falling is how you deal with it - learn from it, move on, and retain confidence in your abilities.
6. Be a mentor. Establish yourself as a coach or mentor to others. Some may be jealous of your success as a leader, but helping them to achieve their own targets will reduce their negativity towards you.
7. Don’t micro manage. Your success as a leader will not last if you over control your team’s tasks. It is vital to trust other people to do what you used to do. Delegate to your team, and then give them freedom and space to achieve their goals.
8. Have a laugh. A sense of humour is very important, particularly in difficult or stressful times. Being able to smile lifts others and shows your self deprecating style.
Maintaining success as a leader is difficult, but it is totally achievable by following these few simple tips. If you would like to find out how Developing People can help you to develop and maintain your leadership skills, please email us or telephone us on 0845 409 2346.
I have been enjoying the hobby of Ballroom and Latin dancing for the last few years. I remember the aches and pains in the early weeks – a short lesson that was relatively gentle compared to the standard I dance at these days used to leave me with crippling muscle aches and cracking joints for several days afterwards. I pressed on for further physical fitness and greater technical ability, all the while thinking to myself “If I can just get to *this* standard, then it will all be so much easier”. Having now achieved a standard of passing several exams, winning various medals and being fit enough to dance for three or four hours a day several days a week, has it got any easier? Has it heck!! I now spend all my time trying to maintain the level of fitness that I have achieved, as well as constantly hungering for more technical skill. It never gets easier – but it does remain enjoyable and fulfilling.
After the months and years spent working hard to be successful in leadership, you have made it to the peak – well done! But being a successful leader can be as difficult to maintain as physical fitness and stamina. Success can mean that you take a big step towards stress and burnout, because the pressure of being a high achiever drives us to try even harder to achieve more.
Here are a few ideas to help maintain balance and survive your own success.
1. Learn to relax. Give yourself a break and take time out to relax and enjoy your success – you deserve it! Make sure that you are not at the office late into the evening every day, and when you have a holiday, then make sure you really do take a holiday – that means no mobile phone, laptop or any other device that helps you to be tracked down!
2. Know your limitations. It’s important to remember that success doesn’t mean perfection. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, and trying to be good at everything can water down your impact. Play to your strengths, and don’t get hung up on your weaknesses.
3. Don’t be paralysed by indecision. Decisions lead to consequences and action, but not making decisions will lead to inactivity and organisation paralysis. It is better to make a poor decision that needs to be revised than to make no decision at all.
4. Give yourself a pat on the back. Leading a team can be a lonely experience and so it’s important to validate yourself. Note down your achievements and read them through to yourself whenever you can to reinforce successful behaviour.
5. Learn to fail. At some point you will take a “fall” – this is an inevitable part of life, both professionally and personally. The key to falling is how you deal with it - learn from it, move on, and retain confidence in your abilities.
6. Be a mentor. Establish yourself as a coach or mentor to others. Some may be jealous of your success as a leader, but helping them to achieve their own targets will reduce their negativity towards you.
7. Don’t micro manage. Your success as a leader will not last if you over control your team’s tasks. It is vital to trust other people to do what you used to do. Delegate to your team, and then give them freedom and space to achieve their goals.
8. Have a laugh. A sense of humour is very important, particularly in difficult or stressful times. Being able to smile lifts others and shows your self deprecating style.
Maintaining success as a leader is difficult, but it is totally achievable by following these few simple tips. If you would like to find out how Developing People can help you to develop and maintain your leadership skills, please email us or telephone us on 0845 409 2346.
Friday, 27 August 2010
Have you ever been an Ostrich Leader?
by Mark Evenden
I am often intrigued why senior leaders in organisations remain silent when even the uninitiated can see that the situation desperately needs them to take a lead and speak out. This is sometimes referred to as "ostrich style leadership" after the widespread (but untrue) belief that ostriches bury their heads in the sand when faced with danger.
I am not sure whether it is because they think that if they say and do nothing that they will be less responsible for what happens, or whether it is a product of indecision or possibly even fear. As with all animals, we humans are very instinctive and when faced with a crisis we tend to produce a ‘fight or flight’ response. Freezing up under pressure is a manifestation of the fright response, and it is precisely at these crucial times that we need leaders to fill that void and provide clarity and direction to enable others to override their instincts.
Sadly I believe too many leaders don’t like to take this responsibility.
I can remember many years ago when it was announced that the business I worked for was to be closed down. This was a massive shock for the employees, their families and the local community. Many of our staff had never had another job, some had sons and daughters who worked there too, and for them their whole world was collapsing around them.
However, it was clear to me that I had a vital role to play amongst this chaos. In the short term we had customers who had placed orders with us and their business relied on us fulfilling these orders. In addition, all of our staff still had an important future, albeit a new and different one, perhaps working for a different organisation, working for themselves or taking the option of early retirement. It was my leadership responsibility to help our staff to see a positive future for themselves and to enable them to realise it.
The results of all this speak for themselves. Over 75% of redundant staff (excluding those who took early retirement) had found new employment within 3 months of the site closing. In addition, we did not loose any customers or have any service or production issues during this period, which was a great credit to all the staff who worked there.
For me this was an important lesson to learn early in my career. Leadership is not a position, but an act of taking responsibility for a situation - especially a tough one.
Would you like to see greater leadership qualities within your own business? Our Leadership Development training can help you. Click here to email us for more information, or phone us on 0845 409 2346.
I am often intrigued why senior leaders in organisations remain silent when even the uninitiated can see that the situation desperately needs them to take a lead and speak out. This is sometimes referred to as "ostrich style leadership" after the widespread (but untrue) belief that ostriches bury their heads in the sand when faced with danger.
I am not sure whether it is because they think that if they say and do nothing that they will be less responsible for what happens, or whether it is a product of indecision or possibly even fear. As with all animals, we humans are very instinctive and when faced with a crisis we tend to produce a ‘fight or flight’ response. Freezing up under pressure is a manifestation of the fright response, and it is precisely at these crucial times that we need leaders to fill that void and provide clarity and direction to enable others to override their instincts.
Sadly I believe too many leaders don’t like to take this responsibility.
I can remember many years ago when it was announced that the business I worked for was to be closed down. This was a massive shock for the employees, their families and the local community. Many of our staff had never had another job, some had sons and daughters who worked there too, and for them their whole world was collapsing around them.
However, it was clear to me that I had a vital role to play amongst this chaos. In the short term we had customers who had placed orders with us and their business relied on us fulfilling these orders. In addition, all of our staff still had an important future, albeit a new and different one, perhaps working for a different organisation, working for themselves or taking the option of early retirement. It was my leadership responsibility to help our staff to see a positive future for themselves and to enable them to realise it.
The results of all this speak for themselves. Over 75% of redundant staff (excluding those who took early retirement) had found new employment within 3 months of the site closing. In addition, we did not loose any customers or have any service or production issues during this period, which was a great credit to all the staff who worked there.
For me this was an important lesson to learn early in my career. Leadership is not a position, but an act of taking responsibility for a situation - especially a tough one.
Would you like to see greater leadership qualities within your own business? Our Leadership Development training can help you. Click here to email us for more information, or phone us on 0845 409 2346.
Friday, 20 August 2010
Developing Leadership and Strategic Thinking
by Lucy Cadman
I sometimes suffer from what I fondly (or usually not so fondly) term as “Woolly Brain Syndrome”. I know what I want to achieve, and I know what I want to see my company achieve … but sometimes I just can’t figure out a logical thought progression to develop substantive plans to help these ideas to become a reality.
Would you like to improve your own strategic thinking skills? If so, try out some of the following development ideas listed below:
* Read the business pages of a quality newspaper such as The Times, Financial Times, and Telegraph etc. Alternatively subscribe to the Harvard Business Review. Learn about strategies and actions that other organisations have taken to improve their performance. Determine which ones of these would work well within your organisation.
* Prepare a ‘strategic perspective’ for your business / function. Conduct some research - what will the likely key trends and changes be in the next 3-5 years? Look at things such as changes in technology, applications, competition, legislation, demographics, etc. What opportunities and threats are provided?
* Research your major competitors and develop a detailed profile of each competitor. What can you learn from them?
* Analyse the needs of your customers. What is it they need and want in your products applications and services, both now and in the future?
* Challenge the assumptions and beliefs that you have about your business – which ones are obsolete or restrictive? Which ones should you change? For example, the internet has challenged the belief that you can only purchase music on a CD / Tape, and the digital watch challenged the belief that all watches had to have hands to tell the time.
* Volunteer to work on a cross functional business / organisation improvement project.
*Learn to play chess.
* Discuss with a trusted colleague or manager your ability to strategize and see the ‘bigger picture’. Identify any weaknesses or blind spots. Discus ideas to force yourself to move away from details to the ‘bigger picture’ to gain a broader prospective.
* Seek someone who could act as a mentor (either internally or externally) and who could guide you through a strategic planning process.
* Discuss with your manager your ability to make sound judgements and business decisions. What feedback can they give you about your effectiveness? What decisions could you have made differently?
* Identify the most important decision that you have to make in the next 3-6 months. Discuss with your manager or colleague the key steps to making the decision and likely information you will need. Start gathering the relevant information.
This list is not meant to be exhaustive, but if it is put into practise the suggestions will help you to improve your strategic thinking and leadership capability, and will help you to avoid being a sufferer of “Woolly Brain Syndrome”!
If you require further help in developing your Leadership Skills or your Strategic Thinking skills, Developing People Ltd can help you. Please visit our website for more information, or call us on 0845 409 2346.
I sometimes suffer from what I fondly (or usually not so fondly) term as “Woolly Brain Syndrome”. I know what I want to achieve, and I know what I want to see my company achieve … but sometimes I just can’t figure out a logical thought progression to develop substantive plans to help these ideas to become a reality.
Would you like to improve your own strategic thinking skills? If so, try out some of the following development ideas listed below:
* Read the business pages of a quality newspaper such as The Times, Financial Times, and Telegraph etc. Alternatively subscribe to the Harvard Business Review. Learn about strategies and actions that other organisations have taken to improve their performance. Determine which ones of these would work well within your organisation.
* Prepare a ‘strategic perspective’ for your business / function. Conduct some research - what will the likely key trends and changes be in the next 3-5 years? Look at things such as changes in technology, applications, competition, legislation, demographics, etc. What opportunities and threats are provided?
* Research your major competitors and develop a detailed profile of each competitor. What can you learn from them?
* Analyse the needs of your customers. What is it they need and want in your products applications and services, both now and in the future?
* Challenge the assumptions and beliefs that you have about your business – which ones are obsolete or restrictive? Which ones should you change? For example, the internet has challenged the belief that you can only purchase music on a CD / Tape, and the digital watch challenged the belief that all watches had to have hands to tell the time.
* Volunteer to work on a cross functional business / organisation improvement project.
*Learn to play chess.
* Discuss with a trusted colleague or manager your ability to strategize and see the ‘bigger picture’. Identify any weaknesses or blind spots. Discus ideas to force yourself to move away from details to the ‘bigger picture’ to gain a broader prospective.
* Seek someone who could act as a mentor (either internally or externally) and who could guide you through a strategic planning process.
* Discuss with your manager your ability to make sound judgements and business decisions. What feedback can they give you about your effectiveness? What decisions could you have made differently?
* Identify the most important decision that you have to make in the next 3-6 months. Discuss with your manager or colleague the key steps to making the decision and likely information you will need. Start gathering the relevant information.
This list is not meant to be exhaustive, but if it is put into practise the suggestions will help you to improve your strategic thinking and leadership capability, and will help you to avoid being a sufferer of “Woolly Brain Syndrome”!
If you require further help in developing your Leadership Skills or your Strategic Thinking skills, Developing People Ltd can help you. Please visit our website for more information, or call us on 0845 409 2346.
Friday, 2 July 2010
An Abject Lesson in Leading by Example
by Mark Evenden @ Developing People Ltd
Leading by example is an interesting topic, because for many of us we often want to “tell” people (family, friends, work colleagues, etc) something and then expect them to get on with it. We may not feel the need to do the things we have asked of others (for example, we might insist our child keeps their room tidy when the rest of our house looks like a bomb site), but we just expect others to do as they are told. However, our behaviour has a direct impact on the people we interact with, and I will give you a simple example of this.
I have had an interesting first season as the Manager of a girls football team. I had no previous football coaching experience, and so the club assigned me an experienced coach to support me and help me learn the ropes. Initially this was very helpful because I could not make every game due to work commitments.
However, I found out that when I was away, the said “experienced coach” had become very frustrated with one of the league referees. Instead of hiding his frustrations, he made them known to all, and made comments in front of the girls (and their parents) such as “We lost because the other team had an extra player”. His behaviour started to cause angst amongst the team and the parents, and it because a regular discussion point whenever that particular referee was in charge.
The team played really well, and reached the final of the local league cup. However, guess who the match referee was and guess what the outcome of the final was?
Yes, we lost the game - not because the other team were better than us, but because in the minds of the girls and of the parents, we were playing against a team of 12, and therefore we would never ever win.
This is an abject lesson in leading by example. The behaviour of the “experienced” coach affected the team and how they played. Sadly, he still couldn’t see it – his only comment was a hollowly triumphant “See?? I *told* you we wouldn’t win with that referee” !!!
Sometimes (or perhaps often), football coaching has nothing to do with football, but it does have a lot to do with setting an appropriate example.
Leading by example is an interesting topic, because for many of us we often want to “tell” people (family, friends, work colleagues, etc) something and then expect them to get on with it. We may not feel the need to do the things we have asked of others (for example, we might insist our child keeps their room tidy when the rest of our house looks like a bomb site), but we just expect others to do as they are told. However, our behaviour has a direct impact on the people we interact with, and I will give you a simple example of this.
I have had an interesting first season as the Manager of a girls football team. I had no previous football coaching experience, and so the club assigned me an experienced coach to support me and help me learn the ropes. Initially this was very helpful because I could not make every game due to work commitments.
However, I found out that when I was away, the said “experienced coach” had become very frustrated with one of the league referees. Instead of hiding his frustrations, he made them known to all, and made comments in front of the girls (and their parents) such as “We lost because the other team had an extra player”. His behaviour started to cause angst amongst the team and the parents, and it because a regular discussion point whenever that particular referee was in charge.
The team played really well, and reached the final of the local league cup. However, guess who the match referee was and guess what the outcome of the final was?
Yes, we lost the game - not because the other team were better than us, but because in the minds of the girls and of the parents, we were playing against a team of 12, and therefore we would never ever win.
This is an abject lesson in leading by example. The behaviour of the “experienced” coach affected the team and how they played. Sadly, he still couldn’t see it – his only comment was a hollowly triumphant “See?? I *told* you we wouldn’t win with that referee” !!!
Sometimes (or perhaps often), football coaching has nothing to do with football, but it does have a lot to do with setting an appropriate example.
Monday, 28 June 2010
Management Training - Can you teach an old dog new tricks?
by Lucy Cadman
Whenever the subject turns to anything technological in our Team Business Meetings at Developing People, I usually end up having to stifle a smile or two at the reluctance and the disinterest of our more mature team members. The response can be anywhere from a mumbled “Do we really need that?” through to “Can you say that again, as I really don’t understand it”, and usually finishing off with a grudging “Well, I suppose we must move with the times – but YOU can deal with it all!” (with the latter comment always being aimed at and embraced by myself – the 33 year old “wet behind the ears” member of the team!).
During 2009, the High Court upheld the decision that it was legal for the Default Retirement Age of 65 (introduced by the Government in 2006) to remain in place. As the Law currently stands, a British employer can therefore dismiss a member of staff without redundancy payments on their 65th birthday, as long as the employer sticks to the correct procedure for the dismissal. Employees have the right to request to continue working, but the employer can refuse this without giving any reason for the decision. An employer can currently also refuse to employ anyone over the age of 65.
However, the new Liberal Democrat-Conservative Coalition announced in June 2010 that they want to scrap the current default retirement age of 65, and that they plan to bring in an increase to this age – the state pension age for men is now due to rise from 65 to 66 in 2016, and up to 68 by 2046. Women are scheduled to move to a state pension age of 66 a few years after the increase for men. Steve Webb (Liberal Democrats Pensions Minister) says pensionable age should be a better reflection of life expectancy, which is currently 77 years for men and 81 years for women in the UK.
With this in mind, is it justifiable that some employers are still seemingly reluctant to offer Management Training and Development opportunities to their older employers in the age ranges of 50’s and 60’s? Is this a wise investment, or is it too late to be of benefit to either the employer or the employee? Do older employees respond as well to Management Training activities as their younger counterparts?
There is still a strong case for including older employees in management training events :
* They may still have the need, and they definitely still have the responsibility.
* They are likely to be just as motivated to grow and to perform on average and in general as their younger colleagues - indeed some may be even more strongly motivated!
* A "one team" approach is better than a divisive approach
* It could be strongly demotivational not to include them.
* Including older managers gives them and the other participants the benefit from their knowledge, experience and wisdom.
* They often set a good example to their younger peers - and any cynical responses are much more driven by individual attitude differences than by age.
There are many reasons to ensure that you include your older managers in management training that outweigh any concerns about less return on your investment or that they may "know it all already" - after all, they may still be working for you in years to come well into their 70's!
Mr M – long may your time with us continue, and we will get you addressing the masses on Twitter yet …!!!
Whenever the subject turns to anything technological in our Team Business Meetings at Developing People, I usually end up having to stifle a smile or two at the reluctance and the disinterest of our more mature team members. The response can be anywhere from a mumbled “Do we really need that?” through to “Can you say that again, as I really don’t understand it”, and usually finishing off with a grudging “Well, I suppose we must move with the times – but YOU can deal with it all!” (with the latter comment always being aimed at and embraced by myself – the 33 year old “wet behind the ears” member of the team!).
During 2009, the High Court upheld the decision that it was legal for the Default Retirement Age of 65 (introduced by the Government in 2006) to remain in place. As the Law currently stands, a British employer can therefore dismiss a member of staff without redundancy payments on their 65th birthday, as long as the employer sticks to the correct procedure for the dismissal. Employees have the right to request to continue working, but the employer can refuse this without giving any reason for the decision. An employer can currently also refuse to employ anyone over the age of 65.
However, the new Liberal Democrat-Conservative Coalition announced in June 2010 that they want to scrap the current default retirement age of 65, and that they plan to bring in an increase to this age – the state pension age for men is now due to rise from 65 to 66 in 2016, and up to 68 by 2046. Women are scheduled to move to a state pension age of 66 a few years after the increase for men. Steve Webb (Liberal Democrats Pensions Minister) says pensionable age should be a better reflection of life expectancy, which is currently 77 years for men and 81 years for women in the UK.
With this in mind, is it justifiable that some employers are still seemingly reluctant to offer Management Training and Development opportunities to their older employers in the age ranges of 50’s and 60’s? Is this a wise investment, or is it too late to be of benefit to either the employer or the employee? Do older employees respond as well to Management Training activities as their younger counterparts?
There is still a strong case for including older employees in management training events :
* They may still have the need, and they definitely still have the responsibility.
* They are likely to be just as motivated to grow and to perform on average and in general as their younger colleagues - indeed some may be even more strongly motivated!
* A "one team" approach is better than a divisive approach
* It could be strongly demotivational not to include them.
* Including older managers gives them and the other participants the benefit from their knowledge, experience and wisdom.
* They often set a good example to their younger peers - and any cynical responses are much more driven by individual attitude differences than by age.
There are many reasons to ensure that you include your older managers in management training that outweigh any concerns about less return on your investment or that they may "know it all already" - after all, they may still be working for you in years to come well into their 70's!
Mr M – long may your time with us continue, and we will get you addressing the masses on Twitter yet …!!!
Friday, 25 June 2010
Management Training - Improving Your Networking Skills
by Lucy Cadman @ Developing People
I freely admit that I probably spend way too much time on the internet. It seems to be one of those things that is just like Marmite – you either love it or you hate it. And my relationship with the internet is definitely a love affair.
In third place, I would say, is reading and replying to emails. They are such a quick and easy way to keep in touch, especially with those who don’t live locally, or indeed who are from another country altogether. You can cram so much into one single email that you couldn’t probably fit into an expensive international phone call, although I must admit that I ought to get off my sofa and walk round to see my friend who lives in the next street as opposed to emailing her!
Second place is likely to go to using forums. With a number of fairly diverse hobbies (ranging from Ballroom Dancing via Classic Car ownership through to the keeping of several Tarantulas, and all manner of things in between!), I am often on the search for information, supplies, and the company of like-minded people. Forums provide a wealth of information at the touch of just a few buttons, and it is pretty easy to get absorbed into the community feel of such sites.
Without a doubt, in top place is Facebook, and other similar networking sites such as LinkedIn. I can misplace hours at a time keeping up with what friends all over the world have been doing, and keeping everyone up to date with my latest dancing injury, my newest car purchase, or the hiding place of my most recently escaped Tarantula. I can relay news to a couple of hundred friends, old and new, again at the touch of just a few buttons.
In today’s technological times, social and professional networking sites are a quick and easy way to give you access to a large network of people via your computer. Here are five top tips to help you use the internet successfully for networking purposes:
1. Don’t mix business and pleasure. Be careful about the way you use your business networking sites (for example, LinkedIn) as opposed to the way you use your social networking sites (for example, Facebook). If possible, keep business and pleasure completely separate online – don’t invite professional contacts to link with you on social networking sites, and vice versa. The last thing you really want is your professional contacts to be reading all about how you got a bit tipsy at the weekend, or your poorly dog needing to be taken to the vets!!
2. Take the time to look up old contacts. By adding just one contact to your online network, you will often gain access to hundreds more people who are interested in a similar vein of work, or who have professional skills that may be useful to you. Take the time and trouble to look up people you haven’t contacted in a while, and make use not only of their skills, but also of the skills of the people they network with.
3. Be careful how you come across. Remember that the written word does not have the advantage of body language to emphasize its true meaning. Words can easily be misunderstood across a computer screen, so if in doubt, leave it out!
4. Think what your legacy will be. Where as the spoken word is gone the moment it has been said, the written word has a much more lasting legacy. Never type anything out in temper, as it may be difficult to retract it, by which point the damage is already done. Be polite, courteous and professional at all times.
5. Beware of addiction! Networking sites can be incredibly time-consuming. Whilst they are a very important and useful resource, stay aware of how much time you spend using them, and don’t let this become proportionally imbalanced to the amount of work you generate from networking in this way.
One of these days, I will take my own advice on that last point … promise!
I freely admit that I probably spend way too much time on the internet. It seems to be one of those things that is just like Marmite – you either love it or you hate it. And my relationship with the internet is definitely a love affair.
In third place, I would say, is reading and replying to emails. They are such a quick and easy way to keep in touch, especially with those who don’t live locally, or indeed who are from another country altogether. You can cram so much into one single email that you couldn’t probably fit into an expensive international phone call, although I must admit that I ought to get off my sofa and walk round to see my friend who lives in the next street as opposed to emailing her!
Second place is likely to go to using forums. With a number of fairly diverse hobbies (ranging from Ballroom Dancing via Classic Car ownership through to the keeping of several Tarantulas, and all manner of things in between!), I am often on the search for information, supplies, and the company of like-minded people. Forums provide a wealth of information at the touch of just a few buttons, and it is pretty easy to get absorbed into the community feel of such sites.
Without a doubt, in top place is Facebook, and other similar networking sites such as LinkedIn. I can misplace hours at a time keeping up with what friends all over the world have been doing, and keeping everyone up to date with my latest dancing injury, my newest car purchase, or the hiding place of my most recently escaped Tarantula. I can relay news to a couple of hundred friends, old and new, again at the touch of just a few buttons.
In today’s technological times, social and professional networking sites are a quick and easy way to give you access to a large network of people via your computer. Here are five top tips to help you use the internet successfully for networking purposes:
1. Don’t mix business and pleasure. Be careful about the way you use your business networking sites (for example, LinkedIn) as opposed to the way you use your social networking sites (for example, Facebook). If possible, keep business and pleasure completely separate online – don’t invite professional contacts to link with you on social networking sites, and vice versa. The last thing you really want is your professional contacts to be reading all about how you got a bit tipsy at the weekend, or your poorly dog needing to be taken to the vets!!
2. Take the time to look up old contacts. By adding just one contact to your online network, you will often gain access to hundreds more people who are interested in a similar vein of work, or who have professional skills that may be useful to you. Take the time and trouble to look up people you haven’t contacted in a while, and make use not only of their skills, but also of the skills of the people they network with.
3. Be careful how you come across. Remember that the written word does not have the advantage of body language to emphasize its true meaning. Words can easily be misunderstood across a computer screen, so if in doubt, leave it out!
4. Think what your legacy will be. Where as the spoken word is gone the moment it has been said, the written word has a much more lasting legacy. Never type anything out in temper, as it may be difficult to retract it, by which point the damage is already done. Be polite, courteous and professional at all times.
5. Beware of addiction! Networking sites can be incredibly time-consuming. Whilst they are a very important and useful resource, stay aware of how much time you spend using them, and don’t let this become proportionally imbalanced to the amount of work you generate from networking in this way.
One of these days, I will take my own advice on that last point … promise!
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
Leadership and Talent Management - Follow the Leader?
by Lucy Cadman at Developing People
Before settling down to life at Developing People at the grand old age of 33, I had previously had a grand total of 12 (yes, twelve!) jobs since leaving University. It doesn’t take the world’s greatest mathematician to work out that in the 12 years since I graduated at the age of 21, that equates to an average of one job per year. Add in the fact that I was at home with my young family for 4 of those 12 years, and the statistics become too embarrassing to calculate! I’m not even going to mention the fact that absolutely none of my jobs have ever been in the subject area within which I graduated …
So why the massive turnover rate? What was so dissatisfying about my previous roles, and what makes me so sure that I will be at Developing People for the long term?
The 12 roles I have previously held are so amazingly diverse that you couldn’t begin to imagine they have all belonged to the same person. There have been three legal roles, two accounting roles, one teaching role, one equine role, one electronics role, one publishing role and three businesses of my own – one selling baby items, one making dance dresses, and one making dog coats. If you add in my occasional dalliances into life as a wedding saxophonist, a music teacher, a driving instructor and a Tarantula breeder, the list goes from the sublime to the ridiculous!
Law, accounting and teaching were all areas that I enjoyed very much, but at which I actually possessed very little obvious talent. My mistakes were ready, my successes were few, and my leaders were constantly irate with me – instead of giving any time and effort to what I *could* do, I felt as though they were constantly berating me for what I *couldn’t* do. In my work with horses, I was constantly taken for granted – whilst I loved the beautiful animals, their owners were a whole different ball game! I would regularly put in ten hour days and often sixty or more hours in a week for no recompense whatsoever, whether it be a surprise day off, a bit of extra pay or even just a simple “thank you”. Working in electronics turned out to be rather a let down – the company had massive ideas and ambition, but no one was actually capable of leading it into realising its potential. Whilst I had some happy times at the publishing company, again the leadership there was fatally flawed – given that the company was a Christian charity, the fact that the boss was a regular moonlighter did nothing for the morale of the rest of the staff. And probably the least said about me running my own businesses the better – let’s just say that I lack the discipline to produce the required output when working for myself from home.
It is a sad fact that all the companies I have worked for previously had lacked good Leadership and equally as importantly, good Talent Management skills. If I had received the right encouragement, training, appreciation and had leaders that I could aspire to be like, then I don’t doubt that my previous role count would be a quarter of what it actually stands at.
Talent management is concerned with the long term success of a business by ensuring that it has the right people in place to fulfil all the necessary roles in the future. It minimises the risk to the long term future of the business or organisation by ensuring that there is a pipeline of people with the right skills, experience and behaviours to fulfil key positions in the future.
As we stand in May 2010, the job market is currently on a steady increase after the economic downfall that the UK has faced in recent months. However, whilst this is a good thing in some ways, it brings its difficulties in other ways, as the talented members of an organisation’s staff become harder to retain. Businesses face their staff being “poached” – leaders, team members and all. If they want to retain their staff, they need to do something positive and proactive about encouraging and developing them.
Whilst remuneration is a key influence, other factors such as strong leadership, the potential for job advancement, new career paths and training and development programmes for high potential individuals will all act as significant motivation for employees.
So back to the second part of my original question – how can I be so sure that I will stay at Developing People for the long term?
I am now in the job of my dreams. From my thorough but gentle induction plan through to the regular reviews where I get chance to both give and receive feedback, from a relaxed and fun yet so very productive working atmosphere through to fantastic colleagues and leaders who are always ready to help, support and encourage, from challenging yet stress-free work through to ever increasing opportunities for advancement, and from feeling like a valued team player to having the space and time to manage my own workload in my own way – I feel like I have landed on my feet ten times over. This is down to flawless Leadership and impeccable Talent Management within the company.
Would you like your employees to feel this way about your company? Or as an employee, do you want your boss to make you feel like you couldn’t possibly ever leave and move on? If so, take a look at the Talent Management section of the Developing People website for some ideas on how we can help this to happen.
Before settling down to life at Developing People at the grand old age of 33, I had previously had a grand total of 12 (yes, twelve!) jobs since leaving University. It doesn’t take the world’s greatest mathematician to work out that in the 12 years since I graduated at the age of 21, that equates to an average of one job per year. Add in the fact that I was at home with my young family for 4 of those 12 years, and the statistics become too embarrassing to calculate! I’m not even going to mention the fact that absolutely none of my jobs have ever been in the subject area within which I graduated …
So why the massive turnover rate? What was so dissatisfying about my previous roles, and what makes me so sure that I will be at Developing People for the long term?
The 12 roles I have previously held are so amazingly diverse that you couldn’t begin to imagine they have all belonged to the same person. There have been three legal roles, two accounting roles, one teaching role, one equine role, one electronics role, one publishing role and three businesses of my own – one selling baby items, one making dance dresses, and one making dog coats. If you add in my occasional dalliances into life as a wedding saxophonist, a music teacher, a driving instructor and a Tarantula breeder, the list goes from the sublime to the ridiculous!
Law, accounting and teaching were all areas that I enjoyed very much, but at which I actually possessed very little obvious talent. My mistakes were ready, my successes were few, and my leaders were constantly irate with me – instead of giving any time and effort to what I *could* do, I felt as though they were constantly berating me for what I *couldn’t* do. In my work with horses, I was constantly taken for granted – whilst I loved the beautiful animals, their owners were a whole different ball game! I would regularly put in ten hour days and often sixty or more hours in a week for no recompense whatsoever, whether it be a surprise day off, a bit of extra pay or even just a simple “thank you”. Working in electronics turned out to be rather a let down – the company had massive ideas and ambition, but no one was actually capable of leading it into realising its potential. Whilst I had some happy times at the publishing company, again the leadership there was fatally flawed – given that the company was a Christian charity, the fact that the boss was a regular moonlighter did nothing for the morale of the rest of the staff. And probably the least said about me running my own businesses the better – let’s just say that I lack the discipline to produce the required output when working for myself from home.
It is a sad fact that all the companies I have worked for previously had lacked good Leadership and equally as importantly, good Talent Management skills. If I had received the right encouragement, training, appreciation and had leaders that I could aspire to be like, then I don’t doubt that my previous role count would be a quarter of what it actually stands at.
Talent management is concerned with the long term success of a business by ensuring that it has the right people in place to fulfil all the necessary roles in the future. It minimises the risk to the long term future of the business or organisation by ensuring that there is a pipeline of people with the right skills, experience and behaviours to fulfil key positions in the future.
As we stand in May 2010, the job market is currently on a steady increase after the economic downfall that the UK has faced in recent months. However, whilst this is a good thing in some ways, it brings its difficulties in other ways, as the talented members of an organisation’s staff become harder to retain. Businesses face their staff being “poached” – leaders, team members and all. If they want to retain their staff, they need to do something positive and proactive about encouraging and developing them.
Whilst remuneration is a key influence, other factors such as strong leadership, the potential for job advancement, new career paths and training and development programmes for high potential individuals will all act as significant motivation for employees.
So back to the second part of my original question – how can I be so sure that I will stay at Developing People for the long term?
I am now in the job of my dreams. From my thorough but gentle induction plan through to the regular reviews where I get chance to both give and receive feedback, from a relaxed and fun yet so very productive working atmosphere through to fantastic colleagues and leaders who are always ready to help, support and encourage, from challenging yet stress-free work through to ever increasing opportunities for advancement, and from feeling like a valued team player to having the space and time to manage my own workload in my own way – I feel like I have landed on my feet ten times over. This is down to flawless Leadership and impeccable Talent Management within the company.
Would you like your employees to feel this way about your company? Or as an employee, do you want your boss to make you feel like you couldn’t possibly ever leave and move on? If so, take a look at the Talent Management section of the Developing People website for some ideas on how we can help this to happen.
Thursday, 20 May 2010
Must a Good Leader Be Liked?
by Lucy Cadman at Developing People
It strikes me at some point during most days how lucky I am to have such a great boss. No, that’s not just me trying to earn some “Brownie points” – it really is the truth! Having worked for some particularly challenging leaders in my time, I feel justified in being able to comment what makes a good leader, and on the subject of whether or not a good leader must be liked.
A few years ago, I worked for an ogre – and I really do mean of full-scale proportions! This particular gentleman was totally and utterly unapproachable, whether it be with a problem, a question, a suggestion or any degree of social chat. He would stalk through my office at ten minutes past nine every morning on the way to his own dominion, and would (if I were lucky) snap a curt “hello” as he went past. Until he stalked back out again at ten minutes to five every night (despite demanding total and unerring punctuality for nine to five from myself), the only words I would receive from him were bullet-pointed instructions fired as if from a gun, or complaints and criticism if a miniscule item happened not to be one hundred percent perfect.
He honestly believed that he commanded my respect and therefore my devout hard work by this harsh, Dickensian method of running the office. However, it is safe to say that there were more errors made, more disasters that could have been averted, more severely unhappy clients and more questions that never got answered owing to the fact that I lived in constant fear and trepidation of having to knock on his door and go into the lion’s den. Funnily enough, after two days I was hunting through the local job adverts, and after two months I had moved on … shortly followed by my predecessor … and then their predecessor … and then theirs …
Since then I have had a thankfully-received plateau of “pretty nice but nothing truly spectacular” leaders, and have finally, gratefully and happily reached a point where I feel I can ascend no further in the kind of leadership that I receive now.
Good leaders must be many things in varying quantities – for example :
* Trustworthy
* Enthusiastic
* Confident
* Purposeful
* Tolerant and calm
* Analytical
* Committed to excellence
* Respected
They must also be able to motivate and trust their workforce, communicate their ideas well, work effectively and practically, encourage and inspire their staff, and above all, lead by example. They must have drive, passion and enthusiasm, not only for what they do, but for the people who they are responsible for.
BUT is it necessary that they are liked, or even likeable? Or is it purely an added bonus if this is the case?
There is an old military saying that if you take care of your troops, they will take care of you. Another vital element to a good leader, therefore, is taking care of those they lead. Employees who feel good about their workplace and the way they are led will contribute far more above the bare minimum required, and will generate high productivity for a relatively low turnover. So it is imperative that a good leader must be respected and able to get results, as well as also being able to find out what motivates each member of their team personally – and this care for people is something that cannot be faked, or brought to the working environment by someone who could be defined as unlikeable or unliked. Having said that, part of being a good leader is also going to be making difficult decisions which may not be popular (obviously with the best interest of both the business and the team at heart), and it is important that a good leader does not value being liked above making a sound business decision.
My boss took a holiday to South Africa recently, and got stranded there for an extra week in the aftermath of the eruption of the Icelandic volcano. In his absence, I noticed two things in particular. The first thing was how easy I found it to run the office due to feeling confident in my abilities brought about by his faith in me and his encouragement of me. I felt comfortable with the strategies that were in place (even though none of them catered for such an emergency), the clients that I had to deal with, and the workload that we had to tackle that week, again primarily due to the constant good leadership that I experience day in and day out. The second thing was how quiet the days were without the light-hearted and sociable companionship that I am used to there being around this office environment – something that I guess you take for granted until it is not there.
What role does Leadership Development play in all of this? Is it possible to learn all the qualities of a good leader, and thus for a person to transform themselves from having less likeable qualities to being really liked? Leadership skills can of course be learned, but leadership also comes from within – leadership can bring about a transformation within those being led, but the leader must have both the right tools and the right attitude and disposition to see that transformation begin to happen.
It strikes me at some point during most days how lucky I am to have such a great boss. No, that’s not just me trying to earn some “Brownie points” – it really is the truth! Having worked for some particularly challenging leaders in my time, I feel justified in being able to comment what makes a good leader, and on the subject of whether or not a good leader must be liked.
A few years ago, I worked for an ogre – and I really do mean of full-scale proportions! This particular gentleman was totally and utterly unapproachable, whether it be with a problem, a question, a suggestion or any degree of social chat. He would stalk through my office at ten minutes past nine every morning on the way to his own dominion, and would (if I were lucky) snap a curt “hello” as he went past. Until he stalked back out again at ten minutes to five every night (despite demanding total and unerring punctuality for nine to five from myself), the only words I would receive from him were bullet-pointed instructions fired as if from a gun, or complaints and criticism if a miniscule item happened not to be one hundred percent perfect.
He honestly believed that he commanded my respect and therefore my devout hard work by this harsh, Dickensian method of running the office. However, it is safe to say that there were more errors made, more disasters that could have been averted, more severely unhappy clients and more questions that never got answered owing to the fact that I lived in constant fear and trepidation of having to knock on his door and go into the lion’s den. Funnily enough, after two days I was hunting through the local job adverts, and after two months I had moved on … shortly followed by my predecessor … and then their predecessor … and then theirs …
Since then I have had a thankfully-received plateau of “pretty nice but nothing truly spectacular” leaders, and have finally, gratefully and happily reached a point where I feel I can ascend no further in the kind of leadership that I receive now.
Good leaders must be many things in varying quantities – for example :
* Trustworthy
* Enthusiastic
* Confident
* Purposeful
* Tolerant and calm
* Analytical
* Committed to excellence
* Respected
They must also be able to motivate and trust their workforce, communicate their ideas well, work effectively and practically, encourage and inspire their staff, and above all, lead by example. They must have drive, passion and enthusiasm, not only for what they do, but for the people who they are responsible for.
BUT is it necessary that they are liked, or even likeable? Or is it purely an added bonus if this is the case?
There is an old military saying that if you take care of your troops, they will take care of you. Another vital element to a good leader, therefore, is taking care of those they lead. Employees who feel good about their workplace and the way they are led will contribute far more above the bare minimum required, and will generate high productivity for a relatively low turnover. So it is imperative that a good leader must be respected and able to get results, as well as also being able to find out what motivates each member of their team personally – and this care for people is something that cannot be faked, or brought to the working environment by someone who could be defined as unlikeable or unliked. Having said that, part of being a good leader is also going to be making difficult decisions which may not be popular (obviously with the best interest of both the business and the team at heart), and it is important that a good leader does not value being liked above making a sound business decision.
My boss took a holiday to South Africa recently, and got stranded there for an extra week in the aftermath of the eruption of the Icelandic volcano. In his absence, I noticed two things in particular. The first thing was how easy I found it to run the office due to feeling confident in my abilities brought about by his faith in me and his encouragement of me. I felt comfortable with the strategies that were in place (even though none of them catered for such an emergency), the clients that I had to deal with, and the workload that we had to tackle that week, again primarily due to the constant good leadership that I experience day in and day out. The second thing was how quiet the days were without the light-hearted and sociable companionship that I am used to there being around this office environment – something that I guess you take for granted until it is not there.
What role does Leadership Development play in all of this? Is it possible to learn all the qualities of a good leader, and thus for a person to transform themselves from having less likeable qualities to being really liked? Leadership skills can of course be learned, but leadership also comes from within – leadership can bring about a transformation within those being led, but the leader must have both the right tools and the right attitude and disposition to see that transformation begin to happen.
Friday, 9 April 2010
Leadership Succession – Identifying Your Potential
by Mark Evenden at Developing People
Do you know who has the capability to lead your organisation in the future? Do know if you have the people with the capability and potential you need to succeed?
Leadership succession plays a vital role in ensuring that an organisation can fulfill its long term aims and objectives. But how does an organisation go about identifying people with potential?
The first step in the process has to be preparing a ‘specification’ of characteristic of someone with high potential. In other words a description of the skills, capabilities and experiences that the business needs from its key people in the future. These may include:
• Intellectual and critical thinking ability.
• Specific behavioral traits.
• Technical skills and knowledge.
• Experience and types of role.
• Personal impact and credibility.
While evidence to measure/assess some of the above can be collected from how a candidate has performed in their previous roles, the only way to eliminate the prejudices and inconsistencies of different managers viewpoints it to undertake an independent assessment of each person. In this way decisions about who has/does not have the potential to fulfill a key role can be taken in a consistent manner across the organisation.
An independent assessment process will enable further evidence to be collected to help managers make decisions about an individual’s motivations, capabilities and potential.
Typically such a process will consist of collecting evidence in a number of ways, for example:
1. From the candidates themselves by completing questionnaires and profiles.
2. From feedback from people who know the work of the candidates.
3. From a formal assessment centre.
The first two invariably consist of using tools such as: 360 degree Leadership feedback questionnaires, career values questionnaires and other specific psychometric profiling instruments (e.g. Myers Briggs, TMS, 16PF, or OPQ 32).
A formal assessment centre will typically involve a day during which the candidates with potential are observed undertaking a number of challenging individual and team tasks. These tasks may include:
• ‘Intelligence’ tests for example critical thinking, verbal and numerical reasoning.
• Business case studies.
• Leadership and team activities
• Structured interviews.
The information from the whole process is subsequently reviewed and each candidate’s results prepared and benchmarked against other internal or external high performing managers. Once this is complete, the results should be reviewed and validated by using a panel of senior managers who will also make the final decisions about who will and who will not be earmarked for future roles.
Finally, care needs to be taken about how feedback is given to the candidates. It is important that the detailed outcomes from the whole assessment process are provided and it is not just perceived as a pass/fail result.
For further leadership development advice, contact Developing People Ltd
Do you know who has the capability to lead your organisation in the future? Do know if you have the people with the capability and potential you need to succeed?
Leadership succession plays a vital role in ensuring that an organisation can fulfill its long term aims and objectives. But how does an organisation go about identifying people with potential?
The first step in the process has to be preparing a ‘specification’ of characteristic of someone with high potential. In other words a description of the skills, capabilities and experiences that the business needs from its key people in the future. These may include:
• Intellectual and critical thinking ability.
• Specific behavioral traits.
• Technical skills and knowledge.
• Experience and types of role.
• Personal impact and credibility.
While evidence to measure/assess some of the above can be collected from how a candidate has performed in their previous roles, the only way to eliminate the prejudices and inconsistencies of different managers viewpoints it to undertake an independent assessment of each person. In this way decisions about who has/does not have the potential to fulfill a key role can be taken in a consistent manner across the organisation.
An independent assessment process will enable further evidence to be collected to help managers make decisions about an individual’s motivations, capabilities and potential.
Typically such a process will consist of collecting evidence in a number of ways, for example:
1. From the candidates themselves by completing questionnaires and profiles.
2. From feedback from people who know the work of the candidates.
3. From a formal assessment centre.
The first two invariably consist of using tools such as: 360 degree Leadership feedback questionnaires, career values questionnaires and other specific psychometric profiling instruments (e.g. Myers Briggs, TMS, 16PF, or OPQ 32).
A formal assessment centre will typically involve a day during which the candidates with potential are observed undertaking a number of challenging individual and team tasks. These tasks may include:
• ‘Intelligence’ tests for example critical thinking, verbal and numerical reasoning.
• Business case studies.
• Leadership and team activities
• Structured interviews.
The information from the whole process is subsequently reviewed and each candidate’s results prepared and benchmarked against other internal or external high performing managers. Once this is complete, the results should be reviewed and validated by using a panel of senior managers who will also make the final decisions about who will and who will not be earmarked for future roles.
Finally, care needs to be taken about how feedback is given to the candidates. It is important that the detailed outcomes from the whole assessment process are provided and it is not just perceived as a pass/fail result.
For further leadership development advice, contact Developing People Ltd
Thursday, 1 April 2010
Leadership Succession
By Mark Evenden at Developing People
Do you know who will be leading your business in the future? Do you have the people with the capability and potential you need? Or will you leave you leadership succession to chance?
Leadership succession is significant issue for many businesses, as too many do not have a systematic approach to succession planning and effectively leave it to chance. Succession planning is not just a business risk issue. In their research paper ‘Will Succession Planning Increase Shareholder Wealth?’ Shen, Cannella, and Albert, found that there is also evidence that that investors, employees and customers respond positively to companies who invest in planned succession management
Essentially the purpose of succession planning is to ensure that there is a ‘pipeline’ of people with the talent and capability to fulfil key roles and deliver the strategies of the business. Key roles are any role that drives a disproportionate share of the organisation’s performance. While traditionally, these roles are defined in terms of leadership roles, in reality these also include other roles such as technical, product or business development.
Succession planning is not a complex process. It starts with the organisation identifying what’s needed to deliver the strategy. For example:
• What are the ‘key’ roles needed to deliver the organisation’s strategic objectives?
• What capabilities do we need?
• Who might leave or retire?
• What gaps exist?
Once these questions have been answered the organisation can set about preparing specifications for roles and finding suitable people. Finding the right people means measuring and assessing a number of things, such as:
• Current levels of competence and performance.
• Technical skills - does the role require high, medium or low technical skill.
• Experience – for example industry and international experience.
• Cultural fit - personal style.
• Personal motivation.
• Potential.
Evidence to assess the above criteria can be collected from how a candidate has performed in their current/previous roles as well as through independent assessment. The advantage of using an independent assessment process is that decisions about who has/does not have the potential to fulfill a key role can be taken in a consistent manner across the business.
Once the business knows and understands the people it has and their own personal motivations, it can prepare a succession plan However, succession planning does not exist in isolation. For example, any gaps that exist may generate a requirement for recruitment. In addition, the performance of the successors will need to be regularly reviewed as well as appropriate development support provided such as leadership development or coaching to enable successors to reach their potential.
Ultimately, a highly tuned succession planning process cuts the risk to the future success of the business, succession is far too important an issue to leave it to chance.
Do you know who will be leading your business in the future? Do you have the people with the capability and potential you need? Or will you leave you leadership succession to chance?
Leadership succession is significant issue for many businesses, as too many do not have a systematic approach to succession planning and effectively leave it to chance. Succession planning is not just a business risk issue. In their research paper ‘Will Succession Planning Increase Shareholder Wealth?’ Shen, Cannella, and Albert, found that there is also evidence that that investors, employees and customers respond positively to companies who invest in planned succession management
Essentially the purpose of succession planning is to ensure that there is a ‘pipeline’ of people with the talent and capability to fulfil key roles and deliver the strategies of the business. Key roles are any role that drives a disproportionate share of the organisation’s performance. While traditionally, these roles are defined in terms of leadership roles, in reality these also include other roles such as technical, product or business development.
Succession planning is not a complex process. It starts with the organisation identifying what’s needed to deliver the strategy. For example:
• What are the ‘key’ roles needed to deliver the organisation’s strategic objectives?
• What capabilities do we need?
• Who might leave or retire?
• What gaps exist?
Once these questions have been answered the organisation can set about preparing specifications for roles and finding suitable people. Finding the right people means measuring and assessing a number of things, such as:
• Current levels of competence and performance.
• Technical skills - does the role require high, medium or low technical skill.
• Experience – for example industry and international experience.
• Cultural fit - personal style.
• Personal motivation.
• Potential.
Evidence to assess the above criteria can be collected from how a candidate has performed in their current/previous roles as well as through independent assessment. The advantage of using an independent assessment process is that decisions about who has/does not have the potential to fulfill a key role can be taken in a consistent manner across the business.
Once the business knows and understands the people it has and their own personal motivations, it can prepare a succession plan However, succession planning does not exist in isolation. For example, any gaps that exist may generate a requirement for recruitment. In addition, the performance of the successors will need to be regularly reviewed as well as appropriate development support provided such as leadership development or coaching to enable successors to reach their potential.
Ultimately, a highly tuned succession planning process cuts the risk to the future success of the business, succession is far too important an issue to leave it to chance.
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
The key to successful leadership is within us
Developing People’s Managing Director Dave Marchant has a straight forward and pragmatic approach to leadership development. Dave explains: “It is all very well for someone to read the latest leadership theory and think that is how they need to think and act when they don’t fully understand their current behaviour and approach, and how they might be currently de-motivating their staff big time! In reality it is much more straight forward to do something about your current behaviour, rather than learning a totally new, radical or even “proven” approach. Indeed in our experience, many managers de-motivate their employees because they fail to understand even the fundamentals of human motivation”.
Dave’s approach is to help managers understand the behaviours that can quash people’s motivation and to help them change them. His ‘Top Ten’ management failings are:
1) Taking away person responsibility by over controlling peoples work.
2) Being too pushy, aggressive and task-orientated.
3) Disregarding employees’ right to a sensible work-life balance.
4) Making unfair decisions about work routines, pay and reward.
5) Failing to engage people creatively by asking them to do meaningless work.
6) Being incomplete or inconsistent in communications.
7) Applying work rules and policies in a rigid manner without the concern for individual needs.
8) Failing to get the involvement of staff over decisions that affect them.
9) Rewarding and/or promoting behaviours that are contrary to the direction/culture of the organisation.
10) Acting without integrity.
"If an organisation truly wishes to improve the performance of their leaders, they need to provide constructive feedback to them, and make room for a mix of formal leadership development supported by external coaching and possibly mentoring to help leaders change their behaviour," recommends Dave.
Friday, 16 January 2009
Which management training to do in-house and which to use external suppliers for?
Some elements of management training are better to be done using your own in-house resources. These centre around knowledge elements and company specific policies, procedures and systems. Induction training is another element which is much better passed on by using employees from the organisation who understand and inhabit the culture and who know their way personally around the organisation and who have direct experience of the business.
The sorts of management training best supplied by external suppliers relate to external technology or market place knowledge that is best understood by external experts. Also leadership development, personal career development and assessment activities which require external benchmarking comparisons and a high level of trainer/facilitator experience and credibility is usually more effectively delivered by external specialists than by internal management trainers.
External trainers often have a new and creative slant to apply to issues and situations and their thinking and approach are not constrained by the norms, experiences and culture of the employing organisation.
Coaching delivered by external coaches provides the benefit of independent and objective support and challenge that is not so easy to see if you are working inside the same organisation.
It puts a different slant on things and the external coach is not constrained by the objectives and direct demands of their employer.
The sorts of management training best supplied by external suppliers relate to external technology or market place knowledge that is best understood by external experts. Also leadership development, personal career development and assessment activities which require external benchmarking comparisons and a high level of trainer/facilitator experience and credibility is usually more effectively delivered by external specialists than by internal management trainers.
External trainers often have a new and creative slant to apply to issues and situations and their thinking and approach are not constrained by the norms, experiences and culture of the employing organisation.
Coaching delivered by external coaches provides the benefit of independent and objective support and challenge that is not so easy to see if you are working inside the same organisation.
It puts a different slant on things and the external coach is not constrained by the objectives and direct demands of their employer.
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