by Dave Marchant
There are times when one type of assignment can turn into something else.
I have been engaged by a client to undertake a mediation exercise with two employees in order to help them improve their working relationship. Having started this work it has become apparent that one or both of the employees is not ready or prepared to take a positive and effective role in the process. Mediation cannot work unless both parties are prepared to let some things go from their past interaction and situation and to look forward to a more positive future. Ideally they should be able to draw a line under the past and to be open minded about the prospect of an improved relationship. They need to want to participate and to give the process a chance of success.
I have experienced participants involved in a mediation process who choose not to engage with the other person and the process and say or do things to antagonise and inflame the situation rather than to move closer to or to seek common ground and a new understanding with the other person. In this circumstance it is not always effective or appropriate to help the person with the inappropriate attitude or behaviours to examine and consider different possibilities or approaches or to vent their pent up feelings in front of the other party.
So a more effective approach can be found in coaching one or both parties individually to think about and consider their options for any change of attitude, approach and behaviours. This coaching approach could give them the time, space, support and challenge to reflect away from the gaze of the other party. If the employee responds to this coaching input then they could be invited back to the mediation process ready to take new attitudes and behaviours into establishing a more appropriate dialogue with the other party.
There could also be a case to do this coaching work with each individual before the start of the mediation process in order to help them prepare themselves for the behavioural changes required of them to make the mediation successful.
Tuesday, 18 October 2011
The Key Elements of Performance Management
Managing performance effectively is becoming increasing important in today’s service and knowledge based economy. However, many businesses and organisations are still unclear about what performance management is or how it should be used. To try and provide some guidance in this area, I have summarised the key elements of an effective performance management process below.
In my view, the overall purpose of performance management is to maximise the contribution of individuals and their work teams to enable a business or organisation achieve its strategic goals. I also believe that performance management is applicable to all levels of an organisation and not just for front line staff.
My own personal (good!) experiences of having my performance and development managed effectively included the following:
For me to be able to take responsibility for my own performance and maximise it, I needed to know what my boss and organisation expected of me. A number of organisations I worked for were very good at this and set expectations by:
• Describing what needed to be achieved through the setting of personal targets that were linked to the business’ strategic aims.
• Describing how I was expected to behave and deliver my personal targets.
Once the expectations have been set, my boss did not just leave me to ‘get on with it’, but should sat down with me every 6-8 weeks to discuss and review my performance against their expectations ‘continually’ reviewed on a regular basis, for example every 6-8 weeks. In this way any issues were quickly nipped in the bud.
My boss also conducted a formal review of my performance once per year to formally record progress and successes. They reviewed:
• What had been achieved against my targets set at the beginning of the year.
• How the targets had been delivered. This was determined by reviewing my behaviour against the organisation’s competence standards and values. It was not acceptable for me to deliver on my targets at any cost.
Clearly for the performance management process to be effective something needed to happen as a result of it. The outcomes from the continual and annual reviews ranged from a recognition of efforts and achievements, sanctioning of my bonuses as well as the occasional consequential action for non achievement. In addition, I agreed a personal development plan with my boss outlining the learning actions for the coming year.
I valued being set clear expectations and then being empowered to deliver on them. I found the process of having my performance and development proactively managed as a very engaging and rewarding one that helped me to perform to my best and achieve my potential.
If your people and business are not achieving their potential it is probably time to review how the performance and development of people are managed in your organisation.
In my view, the overall purpose of performance management is to maximise the contribution of individuals and their work teams to enable a business or organisation achieve its strategic goals. I also believe that performance management is applicable to all levels of an organisation and not just for front line staff.
My own personal (good!) experiences of having my performance and development managed effectively included the following:
For me to be able to take responsibility for my own performance and maximise it, I needed to know what my boss and organisation expected of me. A number of organisations I worked for were very good at this and set expectations by:
• Describing what needed to be achieved through the setting of personal targets that were linked to the business’ strategic aims.
• Describing how I was expected to behave and deliver my personal targets.
Once the expectations have been set, my boss did not just leave me to ‘get on with it’, but should sat down with me every 6-8 weeks to discuss and review my performance against their expectations ‘continually’ reviewed on a regular basis, for example every 6-8 weeks. In this way any issues were quickly nipped in the bud.
My boss also conducted a formal review of my performance once per year to formally record progress and successes. They reviewed:
• What had been achieved against my targets set at the beginning of the year.
• How the targets had been delivered. This was determined by reviewing my behaviour against the organisation’s competence standards and values. It was not acceptable for me to deliver on my targets at any cost.
Clearly for the performance management process to be effective something needed to happen as a result of it. The outcomes from the continual and annual reviews ranged from a recognition of efforts and achievements, sanctioning of my bonuses as well as the occasional consequential action for non achievement. In addition, I agreed a personal development plan with my boss outlining the learning actions for the coming year.
I valued being set clear expectations and then being empowered to deliver on them. I found the process of having my performance and development proactively managed as a very engaging and rewarding one that helped me to perform to my best and achieve my potential.
If your people and business are not achieving their potential it is probably time to review how the performance and development of people are managed in your organisation.
Monday, 10 October 2011
Why Appraisals Don’t Work
I was reminded the other day of a study undertaken by Investors in People that found that around a third of employees think that appraisals are a complete waste of time. Sadly, for many managers and staff the annual appraisal ranks as one of the most unpleasant aspects of their job, as well as the most pointless.
The same study found that half of those appraised believed that their bosses were being dishonest during the process, a quarter thought that it was just a tick box exercise and a fifth thought that their manager did not put any preparation in before their appraisal. All of these findings are a sad indictment of a process that when used properly is an invaluable performance improvement and development tool.
But why do these issues arise in the first place and what can be done to prevent them from occurring? From my own personal experiences I believe that there are a number of reasons why appraisals don’t work, and get such a bad press.
• I have met and been managed by managers who believe that an appraisal is simply an annual event. Yet, managing an individual’s performance and development is a continual process. We all value continual feedback and support to ensure that that we perform to the best of our ability. Rather than sitting discussing performance once a year, I believe firmly that managers need to formally sit down with each member of their staff on regular (e.g. monthly) basis. This enables both the manager and employee to have full and frank discussions about progress and performance and nip any issues in the bud before they become a serious problem. I have found this approach a far more successful way of managing someone’s performance and development. Following this approach, the annual appraisal is simply a summary of all the discussions that have taken place during the year, and consequently not a surprise to either the employee or their manager.
• I have worked for organisations who dictate that appraisals must be undertaken/completed within a specific time frame, for example, during December, in time for the year end. However, the problem with this approach is that a manager may have 10 or more staff that they have to appraise. This becomes too much of a burden in the time available and so the manager cuts corners to get them completed. This problem is compounded if the manager concerned has staff based in different locations nationally or internationally. To combat this problem, I have seen more enlightened organisations use other approaches such as the date an employee joined as the appraisal anniversary date. In this way the manager’s task becomes spread across the year.
• Finally, too often managers do not have the skills necessary to manage the performance of their staff effectively. I have had managers review conduct my appraisal who clearly did not know or understand the fundamentals and in the process let me very de-motivated and confused. I believe that performance management training should be an integral part of a manager’s recruitment or promotion. The training should include the principles of performance management as well as providing the opportunity for a manager to practice their appraisal interview and feedback skills in a safe environment.
The study that was undertaken by Investors in People highlighted a number of important issues that need to be addressed if performance appraisals are to be seen as valuable to employees and not simply a tick box exercise.
The same study found that half of those appraised believed that their bosses were being dishonest during the process, a quarter thought that it was just a tick box exercise and a fifth thought that their manager did not put any preparation in before their appraisal. All of these findings are a sad indictment of a process that when used properly is an invaluable performance improvement and development tool.
But why do these issues arise in the first place and what can be done to prevent them from occurring? From my own personal experiences I believe that there are a number of reasons why appraisals don’t work, and get such a bad press.
• I have met and been managed by managers who believe that an appraisal is simply an annual event. Yet, managing an individual’s performance and development is a continual process. We all value continual feedback and support to ensure that that we perform to the best of our ability. Rather than sitting discussing performance once a year, I believe firmly that managers need to formally sit down with each member of their staff on regular (e.g. monthly) basis. This enables both the manager and employee to have full and frank discussions about progress and performance and nip any issues in the bud before they become a serious problem. I have found this approach a far more successful way of managing someone’s performance and development. Following this approach, the annual appraisal is simply a summary of all the discussions that have taken place during the year, and consequently not a surprise to either the employee or their manager.
• I have worked for organisations who dictate that appraisals must be undertaken/completed within a specific time frame, for example, during December, in time for the year end. However, the problem with this approach is that a manager may have 10 or more staff that they have to appraise. This becomes too much of a burden in the time available and so the manager cuts corners to get them completed. This problem is compounded if the manager concerned has staff based in different locations nationally or internationally. To combat this problem, I have seen more enlightened organisations use other approaches such as the date an employee joined as the appraisal anniversary date. In this way the manager’s task becomes spread across the year.
• Finally, too often managers do not have the skills necessary to manage the performance of their staff effectively. I have had managers review conduct my appraisal who clearly did not know or understand the fundamentals and in the process let me very de-motivated and confused. I believe that performance management training should be an integral part of a manager’s recruitment or promotion. The training should include the principles of performance management as well as providing the opportunity for a manager to practice their appraisal interview and feedback skills in a safe environment.
The study that was undertaken by Investors in People highlighted a number of important issues that need to be addressed if performance appraisals are to be seen as valuable to employees and not simply a tick box exercise.
Managing Performance Effectively
by Mark Evenden
I believe that the success of a business depends on the engagement, contributions, and actions of its staff at all levels, whether they are front line staff efficiently running a customer service function, or senior managers making strategic decisions about the direction of the business.
Managing performance therefore is about maximising the engagement and contributions, from each employee, their teams and ultimately the whole business. Performance management is the activity of setting goals and tracking performance against them and identifying opportunities for development and performance improvement. While reviewing past performance is important, the real focus of performance management should be on the future.
I think that the key question to ask is, what is it that my employees need to be able to do and how can they do it better?
To be successful this means that everyone across the business needs to:
• Know what the business is aiming for and trying to achieve.
• Understand how their role and goals fit with the overall aims of the business
• Know what they have to do to meet their goals.
• Recognise how progress against goals is measured.
• Understands the consequences for achievement or non achievement of
goals.
Ultimately, performance management is about delivering improved bottom line performance such as better customer service, improved productivity, and increased sales and profitability.
Sadly however, I have experienced many managers and businesses fail to get the most from their employees because they make a number of fundamental mistakes. For example, I have witnessed:
• Businesses developing and implementing a highly ‘comprehensive’ performance management system, which is so complex and takes so long that it fails to be used.
• Businesses confusing performance management with annual appraisal, assuming performance management is a ‘one off’ isolated event.
• Managers faiingl to document performance, follow up or take consequential action with staff who don’t perform.
• Organisations assuming that people will automatically know what is expected of them.
• Managers not being clear with their staff about actual performance and how they can improve.
• Managers ranking their employees, causing others to ‘sabotage’ the performance of their colleagues so that they will appear higher in the rankings.
In my opinion, one of the biggest drivers of team and business performance is the behaviour of the managers who lead them. So, if senior managers fail to set a clear direction and don’t spend the necessary time to develop the performance and capability of their own people, they cannot complain when the performance of their business or organisation doesn’t improve either.
I believe that the success of a business depends on the engagement, contributions, and actions of its staff at all levels, whether they are front line staff efficiently running a customer service function, or senior managers making strategic decisions about the direction of the business.
Managing performance therefore is about maximising the engagement and contributions, from each employee, their teams and ultimately the whole business. Performance management is the activity of setting goals and tracking performance against them and identifying opportunities for development and performance improvement. While reviewing past performance is important, the real focus of performance management should be on the future.
I think that the key question to ask is, what is it that my employees need to be able to do and how can they do it better?
To be successful this means that everyone across the business needs to:
• Know what the business is aiming for and trying to achieve.
• Understand how their role and goals fit with the overall aims of the business
• Know what they have to do to meet their goals.
• Recognise how progress against goals is measured.
• Understands the consequences for achievement or non achievement of
goals.
Ultimately, performance management is about delivering improved bottom line performance such as better customer service, improved productivity, and increased sales and profitability.
Sadly however, I have experienced many managers and businesses fail to get the most from their employees because they make a number of fundamental mistakes. For example, I have witnessed:
• Businesses developing and implementing a highly ‘comprehensive’ performance management system, which is so complex and takes so long that it fails to be used.
• Businesses confusing performance management with annual appraisal, assuming performance management is a ‘one off’ isolated event.
• Managers faiingl to document performance, follow up or take consequential action with staff who don’t perform.
• Organisations assuming that people will automatically know what is expected of them.
• Managers not being clear with their staff about actual performance and how they can improve.
• Managers ranking their employees, causing others to ‘sabotage’ the performance of their colleagues so that they will appear higher in the rankings.
In my opinion, one of the biggest drivers of team and business performance is the behaviour of the managers who lead them. So, if senior managers fail to set a clear direction and don’t spend the necessary time to develop the performance and capability of their own people, they cannot complain when the performance of their business or organisation doesn’t improve either.
Friday, 26 August 2011
Should an Executive Coach make notes during a coaching session?
by Lucy Cadman @ Developing People
I have heard people say that a coach cannot be attending and listening properly to their coachee if they are also taking notes at the same time. Taking notes can be a distraction from being fully present with your client – you focus on writing rather than listening, and you can find yourself recording facts rather than the key themes. You may also miss some interesting non-verbal cues if you are concentrating on writing rather than your client. Taking notes can formalise and slow down the interaction, and this may not be helpful if you aim to develop rapport, and encourage responsiveness and spontaneity in the sessions. After all, a coachee doesn’t want to spend the entire coaching session talking to the top of your head!
There may also be an issue with the coachee being concerned about what is being written down, especially in a corporate scenario where they may have concerns about confidentiality. This may then lead to them holding back in the session rather than being fully honest about their thoughts and their situation, which ultimately undermines their relationship with you. For this reason, it is important that there are only two copies of the coaching notes – yours and your client’s. A copy should never be sent to anyone else. It is important to always write up any coaching notes as soon as possible after the coaching session and send them back to the coachee within a few days of the session. They should be sent by e-mail or post to the coachee’s home or work – it is their choice from a speed, convenience and confidentiality point of view.
Notes do provide an invaluable resource - particularly if you are coaching a client over a period of time. Without a record of the sessions, it is very difficult to trace the client's development, change, successes and achievements. A record of the actual language and images used by the client in different sessions can point to recurring issues, themes, perceptions and perspectives and the client's shifts over time. Notes of early sessions can also provide reminders of the bigger picture and initial aims identified by the client.
The benefits of taking notes during the session are that the notes are often a very helpful reminder to the coachee of the content of the coaching session:
- particularly of the actions and commitments made by the coachee
- it brings back to them the sense and atmosphere of the session
- it acts as a check list for them and a reminder for the coach
- it means that they are more likely to take ACTION and DO IT
- they act as a basis for catching up at the next coaching session
- they round off the process
However it is not wise to write them out fully when coaching because:
- some coachees (a small minority) don’t like it and find it off putting
- some clients require the coach to feel completely in tune with them.
- some coaching environments eg. lunch / dinner make writing more difficult
- the coach can become overly responsible for identifying the significant points and developments in the session rather than the client. This can also move the ownership and power in evaluating the impact of the session from the client to the coach.
So in conclusion, I recommend that the coach takes brief notes during the coaching session which are completed straight afterwards, unless it is found that it gets in the way of the coaching relationship and conversation.
I have heard people say that a coach cannot be attending and listening properly to their coachee if they are also taking notes at the same time. Taking notes can be a distraction from being fully present with your client – you focus on writing rather than listening, and you can find yourself recording facts rather than the key themes. You may also miss some interesting non-verbal cues if you are concentrating on writing rather than your client. Taking notes can formalise and slow down the interaction, and this may not be helpful if you aim to develop rapport, and encourage responsiveness and spontaneity in the sessions. After all, a coachee doesn’t want to spend the entire coaching session talking to the top of your head!
There may also be an issue with the coachee being concerned about what is being written down, especially in a corporate scenario where they may have concerns about confidentiality. This may then lead to them holding back in the session rather than being fully honest about their thoughts and their situation, which ultimately undermines their relationship with you. For this reason, it is important that there are only two copies of the coaching notes – yours and your client’s. A copy should never be sent to anyone else. It is important to always write up any coaching notes as soon as possible after the coaching session and send them back to the coachee within a few days of the session. They should be sent by e-mail or post to the coachee’s home or work – it is their choice from a speed, convenience and confidentiality point of view.
Notes do provide an invaluable resource - particularly if you are coaching a client over a period of time. Without a record of the sessions, it is very difficult to trace the client's development, change, successes and achievements. A record of the actual language and images used by the client in different sessions can point to recurring issues, themes, perceptions and perspectives and the client's shifts over time. Notes of early sessions can also provide reminders of the bigger picture and initial aims identified by the client.
The benefits of taking notes during the session are that the notes are often a very helpful reminder to the coachee of the content of the coaching session:
- particularly of the actions and commitments made by the coachee
- it brings back to them the sense and atmosphere of the session
- it acts as a check list for them and a reminder for the coach
- it means that they are more likely to take ACTION and DO IT
- they act as a basis for catching up at the next coaching session
- they round off the process
However it is not wise to write them out fully when coaching because:
- some coachees (a small minority) don’t like it and find it off putting
- some clients require the coach to feel completely in tune with them.
- some coaching environments eg. lunch / dinner make writing more difficult
- the coach can become overly responsible for identifying the significant points and developments in the session rather than the client. This can also move the ownership and power in evaluating the impact of the session from the client to the coach.
So in conclusion, I recommend that the coach takes brief notes during the coaching session which are completed straight afterwards, unless it is found that it gets in the way of the coaching relationship and conversation.
Monday, 22 August 2011
Driven to Distraction by Technology!
by Mark Evenden @ Developing People International
I read an article the other day by Carl Honore, journalist and author of "In Praise of Slowness" which claimed that the average office worker is interrupted every three minutes by a phone call, e-mail, instant message or other distraction. This is an odd position for us to be in, as the digital communications that were supposed to make our working lives run more smoothly are actually preventing us from getting critical tasks accomplished.
I guess it is a challenge of modern working life: email, Twitter feeds, instant messages and text messages come so thick and fast that it is hard to ignore them. Some of the information will be important — and that’s precisely the problem. Turn it all off and you might as well quit your job, but read it all and you become so distracted that it is a challenge to get anything else done. Things are made worse by BlackBerrys, iPhones and other smart devices that enable workers to stay in touch 24/7. A few years ago, a study undertaken for computing firm Hewlett Packard found that 62% of people even checked work messages at home or on holiday.
My own belief is that it businesses want to improve productivity, it is vital that managers help their staff to deal with these distractions and interruptions. For me personally, I have turned off the e-mail setting that delivers a note as soon as it is received, so I don’t know when emails are sent and cannot be distracted by them. Instead, I check my emails on a more planned basis - perhaps 4 or 5 times per day. While this approach may frustrate some who want an ‘immediate reply, it cuts the time down I spend on e-mails dramatically.
I take a similar approach with my mobile. There are times when I don’t want to be disturbed and so I turn it off, and pick up my messages later. In addition I have so far resisted the temptation to have a smart phone; I have no desire to be told that I have an email at 8 o’clock in the evening when I am relaxing or spending time with my family.
Hoverer, managing expectations is the key to the above. Too often people expect an ‘instant reply’ but in reality they don’t need it there and then. If their expectations are managed and they know that their email, text or phone message will be responded to, then a vast amount of time can be saved.
We all need some uninterrupted time to think, plan and complete our own work which we cannot do if we are constantly being interrupted. It is therefore vital that we all learn to manage digital communication and not to let it manage us!
I read an article the other day by Carl Honore, journalist and author of "In Praise of Slowness" which claimed that the average office worker is interrupted every three minutes by a phone call, e-mail, instant message or other distraction. This is an odd position for us to be in, as the digital communications that were supposed to make our working lives run more smoothly are actually preventing us from getting critical tasks accomplished.
I guess it is a challenge of modern working life: email, Twitter feeds, instant messages and text messages come so thick and fast that it is hard to ignore them. Some of the information will be important — and that’s precisely the problem. Turn it all off and you might as well quit your job, but read it all and you become so distracted that it is a challenge to get anything else done. Things are made worse by BlackBerrys, iPhones and other smart devices that enable workers to stay in touch 24/7. A few years ago, a study undertaken for computing firm Hewlett Packard found that 62% of people even checked work messages at home or on holiday.
My own belief is that it businesses want to improve productivity, it is vital that managers help their staff to deal with these distractions and interruptions. For me personally, I have turned off the e-mail setting that delivers a note as soon as it is received, so I don’t know when emails are sent and cannot be distracted by them. Instead, I check my emails on a more planned basis - perhaps 4 or 5 times per day. While this approach may frustrate some who want an ‘immediate reply, it cuts the time down I spend on e-mails dramatically.
I take a similar approach with my mobile. There are times when I don’t want to be disturbed and so I turn it off, and pick up my messages later. In addition I have so far resisted the temptation to have a smart phone; I have no desire to be told that I have an email at 8 o’clock in the evening when I am relaxing or spending time with my family.
Hoverer, managing expectations is the key to the above. Too often people expect an ‘instant reply’ but in reality they don’t need it there and then. If their expectations are managed and they know that their email, text or phone message will be responded to, then a vast amount of time can be saved.
We all need some uninterrupted time to think, plan and complete our own work which we cannot do if we are constantly being interrupted. It is therefore vital that we all learn to manage digital communication and not to let it manage us!
Friday, 12 August 2011
Leadership in Times of Crisis
by Lucy Cadman @ Developing People
The London Riots began on Saturday 6th August 2011 with a handful of people who were angry at the death of a civilian, shot by a police bullet. I was saddened (and indeed frightened) to see that over the course of the next week, the riots grew to encompass the majority of London, as well as some of the other major cities in the UK, and the after-effects have left the whole of the country reeling with shock.
The Prime Minister and the Mayor of London cancelled their holidays to return to the city, and whilst they were never going to don riot gear and tackle the problem in that way, I felt it was vital that their leadership was visibly present. However, I found it thoroughly disappointing that their leadership constituted trying to tiptoe around and make everyone happy, rather than boldly marching in to solve the situation. Sometimes leaders need diplomacy – sometimes they need action. And the defining point of a good leader is that they know which approach to use in every situation they face.
No matter what the leadership challenge being faced, there are three things that remain a constant way to begin the process of getting the best out of a difficult situation.
The first thing is to lead your people rather than herding them. A son once tried to take on his mother’s usual role of getting their chickens into the hen house each night to keep them safe from foxes. Try as he might, he could not round them all up into the hen house, so the next evening he watched to see how his mother achieved the task. Instead of trying to round the chickens up, she walked among them, dropping handfuls of grain. Once the chickens started following the trail of grain, the mother was easily able to lead them inside the hen house, and they willingly followed.
The same principle applies to us as human beings – if we have trust in our leaders, and a reason to follow them, then it makes for a much easier process.
The second thing is to ensure that as a leader, you set realistic expectations. These expectations need to be high enough to challenge your people and push them to the best of their ability, but it is also very important that they are set realistically enough to be achievable, or there is a risk of damage to morale, and an air of “can’t be bothered to try any more” can set in.
The third thing is to remember that as a leader, you cannot be all things to all people. You cannot be the friend, the colleague, the sympathetic ear, the supporter, the inspiration, the motivation and the firm kick-up-the-behind all at the same time. In pleasing some people you are going to end up offending others, and leadership is about having the courage to believe in your choice of actions, and to see them through to the very end. My boss is a good colleague and a friend. I can talk to him about anything in or out of the office, and he is a wonderful listener – however, I am in no doubt that if I ever drop the ball on anything, then I get a swift sharp reminder of exactly who is the boss around here!
Finally, those in leadership should always remember this – people will not remember what you say to them. People will not even remember what you do. But people will always remember how you made them feel. Therefore, a good starting point for leadership is to regularly ask yourself “How do I want my leaders to make *me* feel?”
The London Riots began on Saturday 6th August 2011 with a handful of people who were angry at the death of a civilian, shot by a police bullet. I was saddened (and indeed frightened) to see that over the course of the next week, the riots grew to encompass the majority of London, as well as some of the other major cities in the UK, and the after-effects have left the whole of the country reeling with shock.
The Prime Minister and the Mayor of London cancelled their holidays to return to the city, and whilst they were never going to don riot gear and tackle the problem in that way, I felt it was vital that their leadership was visibly present. However, I found it thoroughly disappointing that their leadership constituted trying to tiptoe around and make everyone happy, rather than boldly marching in to solve the situation. Sometimes leaders need diplomacy – sometimes they need action. And the defining point of a good leader is that they know which approach to use in every situation they face.
No matter what the leadership challenge being faced, there are three things that remain a constant way to begin the process of getting the best out of a difficult situation.
The first thing is to lead your people rather than herding them. A son once tried to take on his mother’s usual role of getting their chickens into the hen house each night to keep them safe from foxes. Try as he might, he could not round them all up into the hen house, so the next evening he watched to see how his mother achieved the task. Instead of trying to round the chickens up, she walked among them, dropping handfuls of grain. Once the chickens started following the trail of grain, the mother was easily able to lead them inside the hen house, and they willingly followed.
The same principle applies to us as human beings – if we have trust in our leaders, and a reason to follow them, then it makes for a much easier process.
The second thing is to ensure that as a leader, you set realistic expectations. These expectations need to be high enough to challenge your people and push them to the best of their ability, but it is also very important that they are set realistically enough to be achievable, or there is a risk of damage to morale, and an air of “can’t be bothered to try any more” can set in.
The third thing is to remember that as a leader, you cannot be all things to all people. You cannot be the friend, the colleague, the sympathetic ear, the supporter, the inspiration, the motivation and the firm kick-up-the-behind all at the same time. In pleasing some people you are going to end up offending others, and leadership is about having the courage to believe in your choice of actions, and to see them through to the very end. My boss is a good colleague and a friend. I can talk to him about anything in or out of the office, and he is a wonderful listener – however, I am in no doubt that if I ever drop the ball on anything, then I get a swift sharp reminder of exactly who is the boss around here!
Finally, those in leadership should always remember this – people will not remember what you say to them. People will not even remember what you do. But people will always remember how you made them feel. Therefore, a good starting point for leadership is to regularly ask yourself “How do I want my leaders to make *me* feel?”
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