I believe that it is vital that managers and staff know what is expected of them if they are to maximise their own performance and contribution to the business. It is common for most organisations to set expectations in terms of what managers are responsible for by using job descriptions and possibly personal objectives / targets.
However, it is also important to set expectations about how job responsibilities should be discharged and targets delivered as I believe it is unacceptable for managers staff to deliver these at ‘any cost’. For example, while a manager may meet his or her targets, it should not be to the detriment of their team (for example in terms of personal relationships, trust, motivation etc).
But what is the best or most appropriate way of doing this? The way that I have done this in the past is by setting behavioural expectations or ‘competencies’ for my managers. I describe a competency as ‘a behaviour that delvers effective or superior performance in a job’. In other words a competency is about an ability to do something and as such comprises a combination of skills, knowledge and personal motivation that result in particular behaviour (or outcome) at work. For example, I have set behavioural expectations (competencies) for my managers in areas such as:
* Leading and motivating staff
* Working with others as part of a team
* Developing themselves and others
* Communication
* Ownership and personal responsibility
* Delivering results
* Continuous improvement
* Customer service.
In addition, I set three ‘levels’ of competence for the different levels of management hierarchy, (team leaders, department managers, directors). Clearly what I expected in terms of leadership from a director was different from what I expected from a team leader.
By doing this I clearly communicated to my managers the standards that I expected for successful performance in each of their roles. In addition, it provided me with a means of objectively assessing each manager’s strengths and weaknesses which formed the basis for their personal development.
The proof of the pudding, however, is always in the eating. While setting the competence standards, assessing and reviewing performance and supporting the manager’s development took a great deal of effort, both I and the business were greatly rewarded. Not only did we change the culture of the business from a reactive ‘I will only do what I am told’ style to a more proactive and empowered one, we also dramatically improved performance and customer service. So competencies, if used in the right way really do work!
Monday, 4 April 2011
Friday, 18 March 2011
Leadership Development in Further Education
As a result of reduced government funding and the pressures of the current economic climate, many further education colleges are facing significant challenges and changes. I envisage that the likely impact of these challenges is that there will be:
* Job cuts
* Programme losses.
* Requirements for further efficiency savings and increases in productivity.
* Potential college merges and takeovers, with the emergence of national providers.
At the same time as managing the funding challenges, I know that many colleges will also be striving to improve their quality and student outcomes.
I believe that these pressures will require colleges to change the way they design and deliver their programmes and services. They will need to provide high quality programmes that have a much lower level of affordability and services that are leaner and cost less to provide.
Having discussed these issues with a number of senior managers in FE colleges, many recognise the need for their managers and staff to:
* Drive up quality, deal with poor performance and hold people to account.
* Be much more financially and commercially aware.
* Develop creative and innovative solutions to reduced funding.
* Breakdown academic ‘silos’ and improve team work across the college.
I believe that a key factor in delivering these changes will be the ability of senior managers within colleges to lead, inspire and influence their staff to be engaged and committed to change. This means that many colleges will have an urgent need to:
* Understand in detail the strengths and development needs of their key managers.
* Prepare and deliver appropriate leadership and management development interventions to up skill key managers to enable them to successfully lead and deliver change, drive up quality and improve performance.
The long term potential implication for individual colleges is that if managers and staff do not change and step up to the challenge, there is a real risk of further cuts in funding or the college being merged with or taken over by another college.
It is therefore vital that further education colleges recognise these needs and invest in the appropriate development of their leaders and managers. This of course will be very difficult when colleges are under such difficult financial pressures, and their development partners will need to be able to demonstrate that they can and will delver a fair and reasonable return for the investment made with them.
* Job cuts
* Programme losses.
* Requirements for further efficiency savings and increases in productivity.
* Potential college merges and takeovers, with the emergence of national providers.
At the same time as managing the funding challenges, I know that many colleges will also be striving to improve their quality and student outcomes.
I believe that these pressures will require colleges to change the way they design and deliver their programmes and services. They will need to provide high quality programmes that have a much lower level of affordability and services that are leaner and cost less to provide.
Having discussed these issues with a number of senior managers in FE colleges, many recognise the need for their managers and staff to:
* Drive up quality, deal with poor performance and hold people to account.
* Be much more financially and commercially aware.
* Develop creative and innovative solutions to reduced funding.
* Breakdown academic ‘silos’ and improve team work across the college.
I believe that a key factor in delivering these changes will be the ability of senior managers within colleges to lead, inspire and influence their staff to be engaged and committed to change. This means that many colleges will have an urgent need to:
* Understand in detail the strengths and development needs of their key managers.
* Prepare and deliver appropriate leadership and management development interventions to up skill key managers to enable them to successfully lead and deliver change, drive up quality and improve performance.
The long term potential implication for individual colleges is that if managers and staff do not change and step up to the challenge, there is a real risk of further cuts in funding or the college being merged with or taken over by another college.
It is therefore vital that further education colleges recognise these needs and invest in the appropriate development of their leaders and managers. This of course will be very difficult when colleges are under such difficult financial pressures, and their development partners will need to be able to demonstrate that they can and will delver a fair and reasonable return for the investment made with them.
Friday, 4 March 2011
How honest should you be with your boss?
I have met many people who dislike their boss intensely. They are often frustrated by the behaviour of their boss, but they don’t say anything, and their boss is oblivious to the subordinate’s feelings. Should honesty be the best policy then? As a subordinate should you make your feelings clear to your boss?
Honesty may be the best policy but telling your boss the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth could amount to career suicide. I’m sure many of us have heard of someone who told their boss exactly ‘how they felt’ only to find themselves side lined or overlooked for promotion at a later date.
The majority of people avoid saying anything to their boss, they simply keep their head down and until some point in the future when they decide to leave. This reinforces the old adage that people don’t work for (or leave) their organisation, they work for (or leave) their boss.
Bosses often complain that their staff don’t tell them the whole truth. I remember when I was a director with Johnson Matthey, I was often frustrated by a number of my staff as they wouldn’t tell me exactly what was going on. However, I was far more concerned about the business than my own position or ego, and I did really want to know what my staff thought so that we could change things and make improvements.
However, I recognised that for my staff to want to tell me the truth, they needed to feel safe. One of the ways that I enabled my staff to feel safe was to explicitly ask for feedback on specific issues. I started to ask questions such as ‘what could I do that would make your job easier and you more productive? By listening and acting on the feedback I was given I slowly built greater trust between us. This paid dividends as they started to discuss more issues with me that between us we resolved for the benefit of the business.
Trust is vital for openness and honesty in a boss and subordinate relationship, and ultimately it is the responsibility of the boss to demonstrate that they are trustworthy and wont just ‘shoot the messenger’.
Honesty may be the best policy but telling your boss the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth could amount to career suicide. I’m sure many of us have heard of someone who told their boss exactly ‘how they felt’ only to find themselves side lined or overlooked for promotion at a later date.
The majority of people avoid saying anything to their boss, they simply keep their head down and until some point in the future when they decide to leave. This reinforces the old adage that people don’t work for (or leave) their organisation, they work for (or leave) their boss.
Bosses often complain that their staff don’t tell them the whole truth. I remember when I was a director with Johnson Matthey, I was often frustrated by a number of my staff as they wouldn’t tell me exactly what was going on. However, I was far more concerned about the business than my own position or ego, and I did really want to know what my staff thought so that we could change things and make improvements.
However, I recognised that for my staff to want to tell me the truth, they needed to feel safe. One of the ways that I enabled my staff to feel safe was to explicitly ask for feedback on specific issues. I started to ask questions such as ‘what could I do that would make your job easier and you more productive? By listening and acting on the feedback I was given I slowly built greater trust between us. This paid dividends as they started to discuss more issues with me that between us we resolved for the benefit of the business.
Trust is vital for openness and honesty in a boss and subordinate relationship, and ultimately it is the responsibility of the boss to demonstrate that they are trustworthy and wont just ‘shoot the messenger’.
Friday, 25 February 2011
What are the differences between coaching and training?
When you are training someone, the implication is that you know something that they don’t. It is either some information that they don’t yet know about, have access to or understand, or it can be about helping them make the links between different strands of information or complexities that when pulled together can be described as being learned.
This acquisition of knowledge or the understanding of the links between different data sources or concepts can then be described as learning a skill or an approach that can then be applied successfully to future questions, scenarios, issues or activities. This is often the work that a teacher in education or a trainer in organisations is embarked upon.
Training differs from coaching in these ways:-
* It has a high knowledge content.
* The teacher or trainer is the expert who already possesses the necessary knowledge, approach or skill.
* This knowledge, approach or skill then passes from the teacher or trainer across to the student, trainee or learner.
* This new knowledge or skill which has been passed across can usually be tested in the student to assess whether or not it has been learned and understood and whether or not it can be applied by them.
* It is therefore judged and assessed externally.
* The teacher is the “master”, the student is subservient, where as the coach and coachee are equals.
* The teacher tells the student what and how to do.
* The coach does not tell the coachee what to do.
* The coachee decides for themselves what is important and what and how to do about it.
Training is similar to coaching in these respects:-
* The successful transfer of this learning depends largely on the attitude and motivation of the subject – the student or coachee – as well as on the skill and approach of the teacher or coach.
* It is the student or coachee’s responsibility to make use of the learning and to ultimately decide what to do with it.
* The quality of the relationship between the coach and coachee and teacher and student can have a big impact on their success.
* The teaching or coaching environment is also a key factor.
In summary, non-directive coaching is quite different from teaching or training and it is helpful to both the coach and coachee to recognise these differences so that the coachee can take the maximum advantage of the coaching opportunity. The starting point to understanding this is available right at the start of the coaching process and it is best achieved by the coach explaining this different approach up front as part of the initial coaching session briefing.
This acquisition of knowledge or the understanding of the links between different data sources or concepts can then be described as learning a skill or an approach that can then be applied successfully to future questions, scenarios, issues or activities. This is often the work that a teacher in education or a trainer in organisations is embarked upon.
Training differs from coaching in these ways:-
* It has a high knowledge content.
* The teacher or trainer is the expert who already possesses the necessary knowledge, approach or skill.
* This knowledge, approach or skill then passes from the teacher or trainer across to the student, trainee or learner.
* This new knowledge or skill which has been passed across can usually be tested in the student to assess whether or not it has been learned and understood and whether or not it can be applied by them.
* It is therefore judged and assessed externally.
* The teacher is the “master”, the student is subservient, where as the coach and coachee are equals.
* The teacher tells the student what and how to do.
* The coach does not tell the coachee what to do.
* The coachee decides for themselves what is important and what and how to do about it.
Training is similar to coaching in these respects:-
* The successful transfer of this learning depends largely on the attitude and motivation of the subject – the student or coachee – as well as on the skill and approach of the teacher or coach.
* It is the student or coachee’s responsibility to make use of the learning and to ultimately decide what to do with it.
* The quality of the relationship between the coach and coachee and teacher and student can have a big impact on their success.
* The teaching or coaching environment is also a key factor.
In summary, non-directive coaching is quite different from teaching or training and it is helpful to both the coach and coachee to recognise these differences so that the coachee can take the maximum advantage of the coaching opportunity. The starting point to understanding this is available right at the start of the coaching process and it is best achieved by the coach explaining this different approach up front as part of the initial coaching session briefing.
Tuesday, 22 February 2011
Managing Pressure and Stress
I noticed on the Health and Safety Executive’s web site that the HSE estimate that in 2009 / 10, 9.8 million working days were lost through work-related stress, which equates to an annual loss of 0.42 days per worker. Indeed, other reports suggest that around 400,000 people in the UK admit to experiencing work-related stress. All of this amounts to a lot of people suffering from a range of symptoms such as poor sleeping patterns, sweating, and lack of appetite right up to mental health problems such as depression.
But what can we do about stress in a busy world where we are living in an ever changing environment?
My own view is that it is important to first differentiate between pressure and stress. Stress is the feeling of being under pressure. Some pressure in our lives is important because it can be stimulating and motivating and can help us to increase our productivity and improve our performance. However, if we have too much pressure or prolonged pressure over a period of time that exceeds our ability to cope, it can lead to stress.
This is an important point because while we will all experience unexpected and extreme pressure at various points in our lives, perhaps due to a family bereavement or significant illness, I believe that the majority of the stress I and many others experience are within our control to reduce and manage.
For example, probably one of the biggest causes of pressure (and consequently stress) we have is ourselves. Too often we set unrealistic expectations for our self (and other people) because we want to be the high achieving manager, be the perfect parent and have perfect a relationship with our spouse.
The following therefore are some tips I use to reduce both pressure and stress and hopefully you can use them in your life too.
1. Re-evaluate the expectations you have of yourself. What is it you really want to achieve? Are the expectations you have realistic?
2. Have a ‘to do’ list. This will enable you to evaluate whether you really have ‘too much to do’ or whether you are simply ‘doing too much’, (which may mean you have to say ‘no’ more often!). You can also make sure that you finish one task before starting the next one.
3. Recognise what you achieve. Strike things off your to do list after having completed them. At the end of the day, review how productive you were – it will give you a great deal more satisfaction.
4. Don’t compare yourself to others. Comparing yourself unfavourably with other people can be a strong source of internal stress. Learn to enjoy your personal qualities and achievements.
5. Make time for yourself and protect that time. This could be having lunch with friends, reading, going to the gym - whatever you enjoy doing.
6. Aim for 30 minutes of physical activity 4/5 five times a week. Physical activity is an excellent way of relieving tension as well as releasing endorphins in to your body.
7. Share your concerns with a colleague, boss, friends or family. The old adage of a problem shared is a problem halved is true.
8. Get a good night sleep, and learn to relax. Avoid caffeinated drinks, alcohol, and using the computer or watching TV too close to bedtime.
9. Use your time more efficiently. For example do you spend a lot of time travelling by car? Would you benefit from using public transport more to complete work that you would otherwise complete after your drive.
10. Learn to meditate. Try to meditate for at least 15 minutes a day. Recent research suggests that regular meditation reduces stress.
Please try some of the above and see how much of a difference they make to you.
However, the final word on the matter should probably go to Alcoholics Anonymous who have the maxim:
‘God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference’
But what can we do about stress in a busy world where we are living in an ever changing environment?
My own view is that it is important to first differentiate between pressure and stress. Stress is the feeling of being under pressure. Some pressure in our lives is important because it can be stimulating and motivating and can help us to increase our productivity and improve our performance. However, if we have too much pressure or prolonged pressure over a period of time that exceeds our ability to cope, it can lead to stress.
This is an important point because while we will all experience unexpected and extreme pressure at various points in our lives, perhaps due to a family bereavement or significant illness, I believe that the majority of the stress I and many others experience are within our control to reduce and manage.
For example, probably one of the biggest causes of pressure (and consequently stress) we have is ourselves. Too often we set unrealistic expectations for our self (and other people) because we want to be the high achieving manager, be the perfect parent and have perfect a relationship with our spouse.
The following therefore are some tips I use to reduce both pressure and stress and hopefully you can use them in your life too.
1. Re-evaluate the expectations you have of yourself. What is it you really want to achieve? Are the expectations you have realistic?
2. Have a ‘to do’ list. This will enable you to evaluate whether you really have ‘too much to do’ or whether you are simply ‘doing too much’, (which may mean you have to say ‘no’ more often!). You can also make sure that you finish one task before starting the next one.
3. Recognise what you achieve. Strike things off your to do list after having completed them. At the end of the day, review how productive you were – it will give you a great deal more satisfaction.
4. Don’t compare yourself to others. Comparing yourself unfavourably with other people can be a strong source of internal stress. Learn to enjoy your personal qualities and achievements.
5. Make time for yourself and protect that time. This could be having lunch with friends, reading, going to the gym - whatever you enjoy doing.
6. Aim for 30 minutes of physical activity 4/5 five times a week. Physical activity is an excellent way of relieving tension as well as releasing endorphins in to your body.
7. Share your concerns with a colleague, boss, friends or family. The old adage of a problem shared is a problem halved is true.
8. Get a good night sleep, and learn to relax. Avoid caffeinated drinks, alcohol, and using the computer or watching TV too close to bedtime.
9. Use your time more efficiently. For example do you spend a lot of time travelling by car? Would you benefit from using public transport more to complete work that you would otherwise complete after your drive.
10. Learn to meditate. Try to meditate for at least 15 minutes a day. Recent research suggests that regular meditation reduces stress.
Please try some of the above and see how much of a difference they make to you.
However, the final word on the matter should probably go to Alcoholics Anonymous who have the maxim:
‘God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference’
Friday, 11 February 2011
Putting Your People First ...
A number of years ago a colleague mentioned to me that business leaders should pay more attention to ‘the 3P’s’.
I was intrigued, was this just another management acronym or was there some substance behind what my colleague was saying?
The three P’s I was told stand for:
PEOPLE before
PRODUCT (or service) before
PROFIT (or performance).
The sequence and the word before each P are extremely significant. In other words, if you ensure your that your people are capable, creative and engaged, they will in turn produce great products (or services), which will lead to a successful, high performing and ultimately profitable business.
But how many businesses and organisations think in this way?
I have seen and worked for many who engaged in too much ‘top down’ thinking. They strive for profit and performance without thinking about whether they have the right people engaged in doing the right things.
We have all seen businesses pay huge salaries and big bonuses to focus staff on what needs to be achieved (e.g. sales and profit), and while bonuses can act as an ‘extrinsic motivator’, in reality they only provide a short term ‘Hawthorn’ effect, they do not truly engage staff and are soon forgotten.
So what does putting your People before Product and Profit mean?
I believe that if a business is going to truly put their people first they have to do a number of things. For example, they need to:
* Understand the innate skills and capabilities of the people they have.
* Be clear about what is expected from their managers and staff.
* Support their managers and staff to develop skills that will make them more effective in their jobs.
* Trust their people to do their job and give them the freedom to make their own decisions (within guidelines).
* Involve their staff in decisions that affect them more.
* Listen and pay attention to what their staff say, their concerns, and ideas for improvement, and ACT on them.
* Respond flexibly to the needs of their staff.
In addition, they need to recognise and understand that the culture of the business is dictated by the behaviour of its leaders and managers. The business must therefore work hard to support their leaders and managers to develop the necessary behaviours to enable them to act as excellent role models, and demonstrate on a day to day basis that they put their people first.
If a business truly desires to improve its performance, it must start with its people, their skills, capabilities, motivation and level of engagement. After all, Spain didn’t win the World Cup last year with a bunch of players who had the skills of a Sunday league side!
I was intrigued, was this just another management acronym or was there some substance behind what my colleague was saying?
The three P’s I was told stand for:
PEOPLE before
PRODUCT (or service) before
PROFIT (or performance).
The sequence and the word before each P are extremely significant. In other words, if you ensure your that your people are capable, creative and engaged, they will in turn produce great products (or services), which will lead to a successful, high performing and ultimately profitable business.
But how many businesses and organisations think in this way?
I have seen and worked for many who engaged in too much ‘top down’ thinking. They strive for profit and performance without thinking about whether they have the right people engaged in doing the right things.
We have all seen businesses pay huge salaries and big bonuses to focus staff on what needs to be achieved (e.g. sales and profit), and while bonuses can act as an ‘extrinsic motivator’, in reality they only provide a short term ‘Hawthorn’ effect, they do not truly engage staff and are soon forgotten.
So what does putting your People before Product and Profit mean?
I believe that if a business is going to truly put their people first they have to do a number of things. For example, they need to:
* Understand the innate skills and capabilities of the people they have.
* Be clear about what is expected from their managers and staff.
* Support their managers and staff to develop skills that will make them more effective in their jobs.
* Trust their people to do their job and give them the freedom to make their own decisions (within guidelines).
* Involve their staff in decisions that affect them more.
* Listen and pay attention to what their staff say, their concerns, and ideas for improvement, and ACT on them.
* Respond flexibly to the needs of their staff.
In addition, they need to recognise and understand that the culture of the business is dictated by the behaviour of its leaders and managers. The business must therefore work hard to support their leaders and managers to develop the necessary behaviours to enable them to act as excellent role models, and demonstrate on a day to day basis that they put their people first.
If a business truly desires to improve its performance, it must start with its people, their skills, capabilities, motivation and level of engagement. After all, Spain didn’t win the World Cup last year with a bunch of players who had the skills of a Sunday league side!
Friday, 4 February 2011
Why Management Development and Training pays off ...
by Lucy Cadman @ Developing People Ltd
I’ve worked for a number of businesses during my career, including a fair few who have lived in the dark ages when it comes to management development and training – in fact, when it comes to training and development of any sort whatsoever!! One business in particular springs to mind, and upon doing a little bit of investigation, I discover that even now (more than ten years later), the same CEO is in place, and there is the same rate of staff turnover and low morale that there was in my days there. In fact, I still regularly see the job I used to do being advertised in the local papers – I would estimate a staff turnover of probably 4 to 5 people a year in that one role alone!
Businesses that invest in management development and training will not only find it easier to recruit quality personnel, but they will also enjoy lower rates of staff turnover. Management training can also help to improve business performance and the company bottom line. Management training can cover many areas such as leadership, personal effectiveness, managing performance, developing influence and team development.
There can be real benefits to organisations investing in management training – managers can achieve significant improvement in their ability to manage conflicting demands on their time, improve the leadership of their teams, and manage change more effectively, which in turn helps to improve staff morale and motivation.
There is also evidence of less direct business benefits. Regular training and development is seen as a sign of professionalism and helps to create a positive image for the business in its market place.
While training and development costs should be built into annual budgets, they do not need to be expensive. For example, groups of managers may have similar development needs and a training provider can be brought in to design a programme that specifically meets their needs. This bespoke approach is often more economical and far more effective than sending staff out of the office on “off the shelf” courses.
It is important that the organisation is clear about the objectives of any management training and development. Ultimately they should ask themselves “What is it that I want to see differently from this person or group of people?” In this way, it is possible to monitor the impact of training on individual performance – and just as importantly, on the company bottom line.
The ACAS annual report published in July 2010 shows record numbers of people using its helpline and website services to get advice and guidance on employee related issues. ACAS states that calls on a wide range of issues to its national helpline have risen from 700,000 in 2009 to over 1,000,000 in 2010.
This points to a great awareness of employees understanding and exercising their rights, but sadly also points to the fact that employers have not matched the associated improvement in skill and understanding about how to manage their staff appropriately.
If your business or organisation would like to learn more about the benefits of bespoke Management Training and Development, please call Developing People Ltd on 0845 409 2346 or send an email to markevenden@developingpeople.co.uk for further information.
I’ve worked for a number of businesses during my career, including a fair few who have lived in the dark ages when it comes to management development and training – in fact, when it comes to training and development of any sort whatsoever!! One business in particular springs to mind, and upon doing a little bit of investigation, I discover that even now (more than ten years later), the same CEO is in place, and there is the same rate of staff turnover and low morale that there was in my days there. In fact, I still regularly see the job I used to do being advertised in the local papers – I would estimate a staff turnover of probably 4 to 5 people a year in that one role alone!
Businesses that invest in management development and training will not only find it easier to recruit quality personnel, but they will also enjoy lower rates of staff turnover. Management training can also help to improve business performance and the company bottom line. Management training can cover many areas such as leadership, personal effectiveness, managing performance, developing influence and team development.
There can be real benefits to organisations investing in management training – managers can achieve significant improvement in their ability to manage conflicting demands on their time, improve the leadership of their teams, and manage change more effectively, which in turn helps to improve staff morale and motivation.
There is also evidence of less direct business benefits. Regular training and development is seen as a sign of professionalism and helps to create a positive image for the business in its market place.
While training and development costs should be built into annual budgets, they do not need to be expensive. For example, groups of managers may have similar development needs and a training provider can be brought in to design a programme that specifically meets their needs. This bespoke approach is often more economical and far more effective than sending staff out of the office on “off the shelf” courses.
It is important that the organisation is clear about the objectives of any management training and development. Ultimately they should ask themselves “What is it that I want to see differently from this person or group of people?” In this way, it is possible to monitor the impact of training on individual performance – and just as importantly, on the company bottom line.
The ACAS annual report published in July 2010 shows record numbers of people using its helpline and website services to get advice and guidance on employee related issues. ACAS states that calls on a wide range of issues to its national helpline have risen from 700,000 in 2009 to over 1,000,000 in 2010.
This points to a great awareness of employees understanding and exercising their rights, but sadly also points to the fact that employers have not matched the associated improvement in skill and understanding about how to manage their staff appropriately.
If your business or organisation would like to learn more about the benefits of bespoke Management Training and Development, please call Developing People Ltd on 0845 409 2346 or send an email to markevenden@developingpeople.co.uk for further information.
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