Leadership Archives - Page 5 of 9

Are We Setting Our Leaders Up For Success?

People get hired or promoted into leadership roles every day.

Sadly, when they get the job they may get little or no training on how to lead a team.

The opportunity to develop our future leaders before placing them into leadership roles is an obvious one. Building employee skills, capability and awareness to be ready for leadership is ideal, yet is rarely applied well in practice.

The first blog I wrote many years ago was titled, Falling Into Leadership. It highlighted the common practice of people being ‘thrust into’ leadership roles without development and support both prior to and during the opportunity. I have written about this topic again since as it is something that continues to challenge many organisations.

In fact, the low frequency of leadership support and meaningful development was a core reason why I created my business, CoachStation, in the first place. Too often I saw people being held accountable for our own failures to set them up for leadership success and support our team members to achieve.

Based on recent coaching conversations and discussions with clients, it would appear little has changed regarding leadership development in the years since.

It is timely to revisit the message and challenge ourselves as business leaders to ensure we provide the most promising base for our leaders and managers to succeed.

In practice few businesses truly succeed at maximising the opportunity for their new leaders, not to mention the existing leadership team. To genuinely succeed in business, leaders must know their role, continuously develop their skills and be constantly supported to achieve the best they can as a leader, based on each individual. It is worth taking a moment to consider where your organisation succeeds or fails in this area. Take stock and make adjustment where required. (2)

Being a genuine leader does not come from the role and title designated to you but rather from your decision-making, inclusiveness, delegation skills, ability to communicate and other, well-recognised and documented traits. Many of these leadership traits can be learned and enhanced through proper coaching and development, however it takes focus and effort.

Because no one tells them (leaders) how to lead, how to communicate with their team members or how to inspire people, they are left with the mistaken idea that their principal job is to get the highest level of output from their team mates — and that’s all! (1)

That is only part of the story. Maybe you can relate to the following scenario I originally presented in 2012.

You started in a company at a lower level. Opportunity presented itself in the form of a chance to step-up temporarily into a role providing more money, esteem, credibility or some other perceived benefit. You jumped at it! Of course, along with all of the benefits the role also came much higher expectation…that of others and yourself.

You worked hard. Things went fairly well but you didn’t really feel supported to truly excel. You wanted to be the best operator so didn’t ask many questions – after all, asking questions shows that you were not ready for the promotion in the first place, doesn’t it? “Better to bite your tongue and work your way through the issues on your own” is a common thought and action at this stage.

Your boss didn’t spend much time developing you or even working with you day to day. You were mostly left to yourself. In discussions, your boss commented that you were trusted and you should be able to do what’s required without the need to be ‘micro-managed’. This response rarely felt appropriate and in fact is a serious form of avoidance and reflects poorly on your boss but you wondered, what you could do to influence the situation?

In some ways this autonomy had its benefits, but also plenty of downside. You were often stressed, tried to please everyone and in so doing often pleased few people, including yourself.

Longer hours and pressure meant that you regularly wanted something different but didn’t know how to achieve it or even what that difference looked or felt like.

However, after a while further opportunity presented itself. Another step onwards and upwards. You reflected on why you were being considered as you had not felt you were particularly effective in your current role, but people seemed to like you and you occasionally received some good feedback, however insincere it may have felt. You knew in your heart that you were not ready for more responsibility…more pressure…and you wondered, “can I fake it until I make it at an even higher level of management?”

After all, your annual review (which is one of the few formal meetings you had with your boss) went fairly well, even though it lacked real depth and was a relatively ‘safe’ discussion with little meaning or opportunity for improvement.

So, you took on the new role because it was expected of you, or it offered greater prestige, salary or some other perceived or real benefit. You did not want to let others down and certainly the benefits outweighed the negatives…you’re leading people!

You are now responsible for your team, a process and regular input into projects and other ad-hoc work requiring your expertise, skills and knowledge. You were not only accountable for yourself but leading, developing, coaching and inspiring others. You often asked yourself whether you were ready to lead. If not, the impact would be felt by many.

Effective leadership can have a significant benefit on a team or business culture, personnel satisfaction, attrition, sickness levels and the bottom line. Ineffective leadership has exactly the opposite impact. Now, how does that pressure feel for you?

Reflecting on the scenario above, does it sound familiar? In my experience and working with many new and experienced leaders, this is a very common journey felt by many. Most of these people felt they had few opportunities to influence their situation, develop appropriate skills and feel supported during their journey.
Progress and genuine development will only succeed if you are willing to take some risks, source someone to assist you (a coach, mentor, role-model or some other trusted person) and challenge your own beliefs, perceptions and perspectives.

Leadership development is a joint responsibility – yours and your organisations. Too many leaders wait for others to provide them with the answers…and end up waiting a long time.

Accountability and ownership are extremely important traits in your development.

The ability to take yourself out of your comfort zone often enough to test yourself and learn, is key. Knowing when to step back into your comfort zone is also a skill linked to self-awareness and emotional intelligence. These are skills and traits that can be learned.

Employees typically don’t fail. They are failed by their leaders.

No matter what level of the organisation people are employed at, the benefits in setting up all of your employees for success are too many to list here. The opposite is also true, with the risk of not getting it right negatively impacting your organisation for years. Very few companies are actually training people. They are expected to come equipped ready to work. The mindset is “what are you bringing to the table”? However, it’s important to set the employee up for success on the front end with:

A solid job description and clear expectations
Training and development opportunities
A path to grow and develop with the organization. (3)

There is no doubt that the most effective and respected leaders in any role or organisation are those who recognise that they are not in their role because they have all the answers. They are honest in their own self-assessment and seek the same of others. They are successful because they understand their own strengths and limitations, possessing the self-awareness and desire to surround themselves with a team who have supporting strengths and skill-sets that contribute to the effectiveness of the team.

Effective leaders are accountable to themselves and take on the responsibilities for their role, inputs and outcomes willingly and with purpose. This is not a one way street. Organisations must support their current and future leaders and continue to provide relevant and genuine development and growth opportunities.

To succeed as a leader, significant support is required.

Success starts before the opportunity to lead begins…or at least, it should.

Effective leadership manifests itself through many positive influences. It is our responsibility to make this good intention a reality.

Conversely, when we expect people to automatically become the leaders we want without our support and development, the risk is that we get what we deserve.

Sources:
(1) Six Things Real Leaders Don’t Do (Like Boss People Around)
(2) CoachStation: Invest In Setting Up Your Leaders to Succeed
(3) 3 Things Great Leaders Do To Set People Up For Success

Falling Into Leadership

Set New Leaders Up For Success

Three Ways to Set Up New Leaders for Success

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Emotional Intelligence, Employee Engagement, Leadership, Leadership Development, Motivation, Self-Awareness

13 Challenges to the Current State of Leadership

It’s hard to identify why but there are currently major gaps in leadership, in Australia at least.

Actually, it’s not that difficult to understand really. The things we want from work are not that different to what we are looking for from life in general. The difficulty is not in the knowing, it is in the application and doing. It seems that employees in the modern workplace are screaming for a certain style and capability of leadership, but current cultures are challenged in delivering it.

The current state of leadership is not what is wanted nor required.

This is hard to write and I am sure is difficult to read for some. We wish it wasn’t the case. However, no matter who I speak to either on a personal level or within my professional contacts, there is great frustration and disappointment with the current application of leadership in business. In fact, there is considerable angst about leadership being portrayed in most areas including government at all levels. Statements and feelings referring to disengagement; indifference; self-interest; ego; fear; incompetence; and no time to focus on people are common issues, amongst others.

In a strange way I feel that this is the most important blog I have ever written. It encapsulates so much of what is missing, yet is most important and required to rectify the existing glut of good, effective leadership and relationships that impact business and personal success.

Conversations over many years have highlighted the similarities in what employees want from leaders. Consistency in the need for change, themes and discussions, no matter the person, industry or organisation is prominent. I have been speaking about similar themes and topics with various people. Different discussions, different people, same inputs and outcomes! It is in moments such as these that I reflect on what matters most to my clients and customers.

The key leadership challenges across industries are remarkably consistent.

Although referencing a survey incorporating employees from the U.S. a recent HBR Interact/Harris poll highlighted some of the existing challenges related to communication and leadership. None of these work in isolation or silos, with one or more issues/traits influencing at least one other. In their entirety they create a powerful ‘check-list’ of skills and potential actions. Depth of understanding can make you more effective in communicating and ultimately, becoming a more informed and influential leader.

Employees called out the kind of management offenses that point to a striking lack of emotional intelligence among business leaders, including micromanaging, bullying, narcissism, indecisiveness, and more. In rank order, the following were the top communication issues people said were preventing business leaders from being effective (1):

I work with dozens of organisations in various capacities. Within these existing organisations and the dozens I have been engaged by in recent years, a very defined and clear message is being delivered. The discrepancy between what is wanted and what is being provided by leaders remains too substantial – and it is widening. Although a leaders ability and willingness to communicate with their team members is key, it is not the only aspect of effective leadership. Failure to understand self and others is a key contributor amongst other relevant points.

Why is this so? In some cases it is intentional and conscious, political and full of self-interest. In some others it relates to self-awareness, honesty or people not knowing what they stand for and what drives them.

For some it is an unconscious set of decisions and influences built up over time and from previous experience and role-models. Whatever the input or cause, there is a need for change.

The skills and attributes below are attainable…they matter…and are important if we want to turn this around.

As highlighted in one of the points below, to develop in this space is a choice – yours, not someone else’s. There are many traits and attributes but the first step is…

1. Self awareness and knowing who you are…acceptance of self: this could be the single most important attribute of leadership. It is certainly a great place to start and incorporates emotional intelligence and honesty. When coaching leaders, self-awareness and the development of comfort in seeing things as they are, not as we would like to see them is the first, big barrier to overcome in almost every case. For some it takes longer than others and over time, if a coachee is not prepared to go down this path, then I will refuse to work with them. As an employee you often don’t have the same luxury.

However, through developing greater awareness of yourself; comfort, clarity and self-esteem builds and you are more likely and capable to manage the barriers as they arise.

2. Connections and relationships: you cannot be an effective leader who people look up to if you don’t take the time to build relationships. This must take into account the needs of each of your team members, however some people are more interested and engaged in this space than others, so tailoring your style and communication based on individual needs adds power and opportunity.

3. Passion: caring about what you do and who you are. Similar to one of my earlier points, if you are not passionate about leadership or your role it is time to review your direction.

People feel either the benefit or the lack of YOUR passion every day.

Five indicators that a leader has true passion:

• Commit honestly – Passionate leaders genuinely believe in what they espouse. People are touched and engaged by the genuineness of their passion.
• Make a clear case without being dogmatic – They convey the power of their belief without dismissing or belittling others’ points of view.
• Invite real dialogue about their passion – Their passion is balanced with openness: they want to hear and integrate others’ points of view.
• Act in support of their passion – They walk their talk: their day-to-day behaviors support their beliefs.
• Stay committed despite adversity and setbacks – Their commitment isn’t flimsy; when difficulties arise, they hold to their principles and find a way forward. (2)

4. Be a giver, not a taker: altruism in its pure sense has merit. More specifically in leadership this relates to the caring theme in that those who are most successful are those who see their role as one of providing and giving, not removing or taking. Put another way, you exist as a leader because of your team, not the other way around! This remains one of the biggest negative influences on successful leadership and how others see you.

5. Managing outputs: an anomaly in thinking that is being practiced by many leaders during coaching, feedback and discussions with employees. If the goal, target or KPI is 80 and someone is consistently at 70, help them to find the gap. A direct or indirect challenge without support is unreasonable and unfair, but is quite common. Providing feedback only or highlighting the differential is not enough and demonstrates poor leadership. It also does very little to develop trust and engagement with your employees.

Managing outputs or numbers has little value.

Understand and influence the inputs and you will see improved results whilst bringing everyone along during the process – a true win-win. Your role as a leader is to:

• understand what is required
• why it exists
• seek understanding and views regarding what the person/people can do to close the gap
• understand what is required from you to assist
• follow up and follow-through.

6. Care: leaders can only build true connections and relationships if they have a genuine interest in others and care about them.

There is no trick to this – if you are a leader and you don’t care about your team, change it or change jobs because the angst and challenge this creates will always work against you.

7. Trust: is the willingness to believe that someone is honest and means no harm. Not an easy concept in business until the right has been earned, both ways. Trust should not be given to another lightly but once it has been earned can create a platform for honest, frank, challenging and beneficial relationships.

8. Self-esteem: to value self and to be self-accepting is a challenge for many. How you view yourself will determine the course of your life, the choices you make and those you avoid. I previously read somewhere that when taking into account self-esteem, you will never rise above the image you have of yourself in your mind. In reality, this is very true.

9. Values: my journey has led me down many paths, yet values remain a constant. They drive much of who we are, our decisions and motivations. The alignment of values between an individual, their immediate leader and the employer/organisation is very important for sustained engagement and relationships. Values are not understood as well as they should be and have a massive impact on why employees are feeling how they are.

Learn more about your own values and then take the time to understand those of your team and friends.

10. Integrity: how many poor examples exist of this? Privately and in the media we hear and see many situations that have, at least in part, been driven by a lack of integrity from senior leaders and CEO’s in many organisations. This lack of integrity is not the sole remit of senior leaders however, with many employees feeling the pain of this at all levels of leadership.

11. Empathy: The ability to see situations and things from someone elses perspective is a real gift. It may not mean that you relate to even agree with their position, but by positioning your view based on another perspective can be enlightening and a brilliant contributor to relationships and building connections.

12. Choice: has so many implications in our personal and professional lives. This impacts and relates to time management, prioritisation, goals and much more. Choice is also something that many of us struggle to take ownership of. It is becoming increasingly clear to me that the absence of either making a choice at all or making the wrong choices is have a negative impact on leadership in principle and practice.

As with several other traits listed, choice has strong alignment to accountability and ownership, which are their own topics altogether.

13. Ego: is what I consider to be one of the major negative influences on self-awareness, growth and genuine leadership. We see this in our politicians and the decisions that leaders make across industry. Sometimes even when it is known and proven to be a wrong decision, ego and its relationship to integrity and fear continue to drive the momentum of a wrong choice. As leaders, it is most often about others. Ego always makes it about the individual.

It is not just entry level and more junior employees who feel this pain. A report on the InsideHR website notes that the issue is as relevant within leadership ranks also.

There are worryingly low engagement levels of Australia’s workers across different industries…which found that those earning between $70,000 to $150,000 are the least engaged in their work, suggesting that middle management as a collective are disengaged.

“Middle income earners are less engaged than any other type of employee,” said Andrew Marty, managing director of organisational consulting firm SACS Consulting, which conducted the Disengaged Nation study. “Middle managers have less autonomy in their decision making and more disenchantment with their work than either lower paid workers at the coalface or higher paid executives leading organisations,” he said. “This middle manager lag is no doubt dragging organisational productivity down.” (3)

There will be a tipping point in leadership competence, capability and style in coming years. This will increase the requirement for strength in communication skills and developing relationships. They are not ‘soft-skills’ that are negotiable. Ignoring the needs of others and the evidence of what people are looking for has a limited lifespan.

The need for a broader demonstration of genuine, authentic and giving styles of leadership is coming.

They already exist in some areas and organisations, however clearly there is room for improvement. The data and feedback overwhelmingly reminds us that we are some way from providing leadership that resonates with the majority. It starts with each one of us. Being comfortable enough to acknowledge what is working well and what could be improved is a fine start. Doing something with this information matters more.

I am interested in your thoughts. What are your current experiences with leadership? What have you done to resolve these challenges?

Related Reading:
Three Cornerstone Leadership Skills

What Is Your Personal and Professional Brand?

References:
(1) https://hbr.org/2015/06/the-top-complaints-from-employees-about-their-leaders

(2) http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2012/06/11/passionate-leaders-arent-loud-theyre-deep/

(3) http://www.insidehr.com.au/how-hr-can-boost-engagement-through-2-key-levers/

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Leadership, Leadership Development, People Development, Self-Awareness

Does Leadership Intent Equal Business Success?

Not really! The consistently large gap between behaviours, intent, desired culture and reality remains an issue.

I was flying home to Brisbane last week and had the opportunity to read the latest ‘Inside HR’ magazine from cover to cover. It is always an interesting read with much that grabs my attention. However on this occasion, by the time I was towards the end of the magazine a theme had started to form in my mind.

There were various articles and highlights within the content that rang alarm bells for me. Or maybe it was more that the messages were articulating many of my own recent thoughts more clearly.

Let me show you what I mean through various excerpts taken from the magazine:

Engaged employees are at least three and a half times more likely than disengaged employees to say their organisation is committed to bringing innovative products and services to the marketplace. Highly engaged employees are nearly six times more likely than disengaged employees to use challenging goals to improve performance, and more than seven times more likely to agree that their senior leadership team encourages innovation and creative ideas. (1)
The best HR teams and leaders are driving innovation across three key dimensions: achieving the next frontier of functional effectiveness (6)

The gap is widening between what business leaders want and what HR is delivering, according to a global research report, which found that HR needs an extreme makeover driven by the need to deliver greater business impact and drive HR and business innovation. The Deloitte 2015 Global Human Capital Trends report, which involved surveys and interviews with more than 3300 business and HR leaders from 106 countries, found that while CEOs and top business leaders rate talent as a key priority, only 5 per cent of survey respondents rate their organisation’s HR performance as excellent. In addition, just 11 per cent of respondents feel that their organisations provide excellent development for HR. “To put it bluntly, HR is not keeping up with the pace of change in business,” the report said.

“Today, there is a yawning gap between what business leaders want and the capabilities of HR to deliver, as suggested by the capability gap our survey found across regions and in different countries.” The research report found the most significant capability gaps for HR in Australian organisations were in the areas of HR and people analytics, reinventing HR, performance management, leadership, and culture and engagement, while the smallest capability gaps were in the areas of people data, simplification of work, learning and development, and workforce capability.

Other Deloitte research has found that only 30 per cent of business leaders believe that HR has a reputation for sound business decisions; only 28 per cent feel that HR is highly efficient; only 22 per cent believe that HR is adapting to the changing needs of their workforce; and only 20 per cent feel that HR can adequately plan for the company’s future talent needs. (8)
The report shows a widening capability gap in HR’s ability to deliver strong talent solutions, in the areas of:

Engagement and retention (the number one challenge around the world this year), HR teams are 30 per cent less ready than a year ago

Building leadership and filling leadership gaps (the number two challenge around the world), HR teams are only half as ready as they were a year ago

Delivering learning and training solutions (the number three challenge around the world), HR teams are only one-third as ready as they were a year ago.

What is going on? Why are HR organisations having such a hard time keeping up? After studying this marketplace for the last few years and talking with hundreds of clients, the answer is simple. HR today is undergoing more change than ever before, and we are on the brink of disruptive change.

The obvious theme here is that HR is not up to scratch in supporting the goals and actions required for many organisations. Although in my experience this is a genuine issue, holistically it is too easy a statement to make and glosses over the more entrenched issues organisation-wide. It is a much more difficult set of questions that requires multiple solutions owned by leadership, HR and their ability to drive action beyond mere words.

Amongst various factors, HR and its current position/reputation is a symptom of other issues that exists within organisational cultures based around competence, capability, intent, passion and desire. It is untrue to state that many people and specifically leaders do not care about their employers or employees. It is not about caring, but more about doing.

The pace of change; need for outcomes; short-termism; and skill gaps in leadership are hurting business at a time when it can least afford the challenge.

What I have learned is that good intent does not equal improvement, growth or success!

Employee engagement is how strategy comes to life, not a campaign on the side. When people understand the why, how it helps customers, and what will change for them, they invest their energy and ideas. This is implemented when leaders:

Translate the strategy into clear, human language, link it to values, and be honest about trade offs. Invite teams to shape priorities, risks, and measures, since ownership builds commitment.

Set role clarity and decision rights so everyone knows where to act and where to collaborate. Recognise progress often, close the loop, and keep the story of the strategy alive.

Make engagement operational, not accidental. Use simple rhythms such as weekly team check ins and regular 1:1’s to connect work with strategic goals, surface obstacles, and agree next steps.

Share visible measures that track outcomes, quality, and experience, and pair them with short feedback loops so learning turns into change. Equip respected people as ambassadors who model the behaviours, tell real customer stories, and help peers translate intent into action.

Align goals, development, and rewards with the strategy so doing the right work feels natural. When people can see themselves in the plan, effort shifts from compliance to contribution, and momentum lasts.

The articles highlight the ‘gap’ that exists between what business leaders want and need and what is being provided to support them and what they are providing themselves. In fact, the key points in the excerpts that struck me are the need for change yet the struggle to make this happen in reality. What do leaders and HR need to do fill the void that exists?

The opportunity to change culture by focusing on the key initiatives and measuring outcomes is something that I believe many organisations can improve. An idea in itself is not enough. What difference does or will this idea, concept, improvement etc. make to the organisation, its processes, people or customers is often discussed but not always efficiently met? The opportunity to hold team members and employees accountable is one that is missed too often with the outcomes and measurable change not highlighted as a core focus.

Most leaders would argue with this, stating that of course, the outcome and results are critical. But, few actually lead their teams with this in mind on a daily basis.

“We need to turn what we know into what we do!”

The key to this change in culture and expectations has to at least in part, be a change in mindset. Talking about leadership and its criticality to business success is not enough – no matter how success is measured. Leadership by its nature requires that you build strong and effective relationships; know and connect with your team; and influence through coaching, not telling, for example.

In the same magazine there was an excellent interview with Alex Bershinsky who highlighted the need to focus on people and that traditional strategies and tools are, in many cases, quickly becoming irrelevant.

A recent research report found that many leading organisations are moving away from viewing performance management as a once-a-year event where employees are assessed and evaluated, to a series of ongoing activities that include goal-setting and revising, managing and coaching, development planning, and rewarding and recognition. The report found that continuous coaching is becoming increasingly important, as employees want to receive individual feedback and feel valued by their organisations for their unique contributions…The focus on these conversations is less about ‘here are your four KPI’s and tell me what you’ve hit or missed’ and more about ‘how are you going, how can I help you, what are you struggling with and what do you need from me to improve?’ So, it’s a very short, regular talent conversation.

“So we’re not using ratings, but the idea is to get away from ratings, distribution curves and batch data and instead provide real-time feedback to develop the 95 percent of our people who are terrific, versus the 5 percent who aren’t performing – which is the reverse of what most performance management systems are geared to do. That’s a real cultural shift.”

You can only hold others accountable if the appropriate expectations and standards have been established in the first place. Getting bogged down in ‘doing the do’ and not making time for your people will ensure that you fail to progress your business. This is relevant whether you have a formal performance management system or not. Tenets such as accountability, expectations; standards, relationships, connection, ownership and other key elements fill the void created by poor leadership, when applied. This takes effort, prioritisation, practice and planning.

As a leader, it also requires a personal strategy for assessing and measuring performance. It is not solely HR’s responsibility to drive this. Waiting for someone else to develop this strategy can only negatively affect you as a leader or employee. Taking the lead and positively impacting employee engagement in your team is a fantastic place to start.

Develop your own leadership skillset and capability. Then apply your new knowledge in positively leading your team. If Deloitte are correct in stating that employee retention, engagement and leadership are the number one and two business challenges this year, then you will be ahead of the game.

Need I mention ownership and accountability again!? Give it a try and let me know how you go.

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Leadership, Leadership Development, Self-Awareness

Leadership Benefits: Self-Awareness and ROI

Does self-awareness and an understanding of leadership impact really matter to organisations?

Nearly all managers and people in leadership roles believe they make a difference. In some cases, this is true. In reality however, the evidence continues to demonstrate that leaders overstate their value and influence.

One of the core traits observed in the best leaders I have worked with is self-awareness. This is tightly linked to a willingness to be honest with themselves as well as others. There are also points such as decision making beliefs and biases that influence our position on many topics. Our actions are also reinforced by these biases. All the more reason to take a strong position that as a leader it is important to regularly review your own performance as well as that of your team members. We overstate our performance across many fields, so anything that provides a more frank and balanced sense of self is valuable.

In a survey of college professors, 94% said they did above average work.
In a survey of corporate CEO’s, a whopping 92% said they were the only person who could do their job effectively. By the way, more than 50% of those corporations were losing money.
In an M&A involving a flailing target, the average firms pays 40+% more for the target acquisition than the current stock price. Why? Because the acquiring execs believe that they can run the acquisition more profitably. (1)

As an example, I have seen the challenge of holding yourself accountable as a leader when participating in performance appraisal calibration sessions within several organisations.

The discussion is often about what employees have not achieved or the reasons why they will be ‘marked down’. There are two strong points of failures with this:

The disappointing attitude of some leaders that the employee underperformance is a surprise. If the leader acknowledges that an individual has underperformed, then they should be prepared to look at themselves and the failure to have made a difference for/with that person over the past 6-12 months. If it is not the leader’s responsibility to manage this, whose is it?
The focus on the 10-20% of what an employee is not achieving is out of proportion with the discussion of the 80-90% of what is working well. In my experience, the vast majority of these type of discussions focus on what is isn’t, not what it is. This is particularly disheartening if there is little support and coaching provided to to turn this situation around throughout the period. I have been in situations where I have held underperforming employees accountable to the point of terminating employment after much effort to turn them around. Afterwards, during performance calibration sessions I have had other managers state that the decision to terminate is a good one as the employee has been a poor performer for years! My response will always be, “why had nothing been done about it then?” I hope you can see the irony in leadership statements such as this.

Does leadership make that much of a difference to business outcomes and success? You bet! The effort and willingness to grow and develop as a leader is the only way that this benefit can be realised, however. There is ample evidence that those organisations who focus on developing their leadership group see the benefit in many ways beyond improved employee engagement.

Organisations with the strongest leaders have nearly double the revenue growth compared to those with weaker leaders. However, most leaders lack the full complement of skills to thrive in today’s rapidly changing environment…organisations must adjust their approach to leadership and develop leaders who are able to build and enable. In order for organisations to achieve higher growth, truly differentiate themselves from competitors and maintain an edge, they must set a higher bar for their leaders, requiring them to go beyond setting strategic direction and driving execution. (2)

One of the keys to knowing whether you truly add value as a leader is through measurement, both tangible and non-financial. A key question here is, are all aspects of business measurable?

Calculating business benefits is often a complex art. As anyone who has been involved in business cases can testify, investments in ‘tangibles’ e.g. IT infrastructure, marketing spend etc. are often difficult to quantify in terms of the real monetary value they deliver. So when we start to think about investments that deliver ‘intangible’ benefits such as changes in leadership behaviour, the waters get murkier still. In too many cases, the evaluation of Leadership Development Programmes is not properly planned or budgeted for. Rather, it is seen as a tag-on, something to be put together at the very end…work needs to have clearly defined, specific and measurable objectives. So start with the end in mind:

What is the desired outcome of the programme?
What does success look like?
And then the killer question…what are the business metrics that we want to see impacted by this piece of work? (3)

The main point here is to ensure that you have a clearly set expectation for every employee, team and leader. You cannot hold people accountable for something that you have not set standards and expectations for in the first place. Confirming that each person understands and has the opportunity to participate in developing these expectations is also important. When combined with honest self-appraisal and subsequent action the opportunity to influence and contribute to your organisation is increased significantly.

Even more importantly, the influence on and buy-in you will receive from your team members will encourage you to continue down this developmental path and feel the effort is worthwhile. The alternative is to stagnate and continue to do what you have always done. Is that the type of leader you want to be?

(1) http://switchandshift.com/when-leaders-wear-rose-colored-business-glasses

(2) Inside HR – Strong Leaders Grow Revenues Twice As Fast, Issue 2, 2014: Pg 6
(3) http://www.ysc.com/our-thinking/article/measuring-the-roi-of-leadership-development

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Consulting, Contact Centre, Leadership

CoachStation: Contact Centre Case Study

Steve Riddle was engaged in early 2013 to provide consulting, leadership and people development services and produce a report summarising the strengths and areas for improvement that existed at that time. The approach to undertake this review, prepare the report and provide recommendations was to engage stakeholders at all levels of the business including the contact centre, hardship, complaints teams and relevant people external to the centre. The original consultation period and subsequent review occurred between April and June 2013. A highly consultative and holistic approach was taken to review and examine various areas of the business, as highlighted in this document.

Background
The contact centre industry has been a key focus and part of business structure for many medium and large organisations for over 30 years. When designed and functioning correctly the centre acts as a hub for existing customers and potential clients to seek additional information; purchase or apply for new business; seek clarification regarding existing products; and often most importantly, act as a single point of customer contact, in an efficient and cost-effective manner.
In recent years however, the contact centre industry has changed to meet business needs and customer expectations. Technology creation and enhancements, higher levels of customer awareness and expectations of service standards, as well as greater maturity of business understanding of what contact centres can provide has meant a subtle shift has occurred. However, even with this shift, the fundamentals of contact centres remain the same. Lean processes, agent efficiency, effective leadership, modern technology and systems provide the basis to ensure that the optimal internal culture is established and external customers feel the difference in a positive way.
The National Customer Solutions Contact Centre (NCSC) within Toyota Finance Australia (TFA) has gone through significant cultural, personnel and technological change over the past 18 months. This has proven to be a significant challenge and also provided a rewarding outcome as the business begins the next phase of its transformation. Managing the myriad of inputs and influences within the contact centre environment is a constant experiment. Understanding the implications of decisions made and actions taken on other elements of the business is one of the key attributes that is driven within the Centre and led to much of the improvement and resultant success.

NCSC Focus, Results & Outputs

The Beginning: Consultant Review
I was engaged by Brisbane based IT consultancy firm, Business Aspect, to analyse several areas of the customer service operations.

Productivity
Key Performance Indicators
Costs
Resource levels and recruitment
Workforce Management
Reward and Recognition
Training and Development
Quality Measurement
Technology
Social Media
Staff engagement

In addition, data was provided by various sources including Team Leaders, Human Resources and Contact Centre leadership to provide context, basis and benchmarks for implementation and statistical analysis.
The report identified five core Focus Areas for the Contact Centre that impacted on the overall outcomes and experience of Toyota Finance customers:
1) Key Performance Indicators and Productivity
2) Workforce Management, Resourcing and Rostering
3) Technology and Self Service
4) Customer Interaction and Surveys
5) Employee Engagement and Development
Through discussion, data review and an awareness of current cultural and leadership challenges it was identified that these 5 focus areas could be further broken down into specific pillars I highlighted in the graphic below. These were considered to have the greatest impact on overall contact centre success.

The changes we made were significantly influenced by our improvements in technology, data and enhanced line of sight to what was happening in the business:

New Genesys telephony platform
Customer Surveys and Net Promoter Score
Quality Assurance Functionality and Role
Workforce management System and Role
Employee Surveys
Employee Focus Groups

Technology and systems enable growth, engagement and provide the information required to affect change.

Too often organisations implement new technology and expect that this, in itself, will be the game changer.

Technology certainly helps, however without maximising the opportunity through how the technology is applied and engaging our people to be the core part of implementation, we were almost certainly destined to fail or at best have a watered-down opportunity. This is why we focused much of our early attention on the cultural inputs and elements that were highlighted in the previous graphic.
One of the keys to knowing where to go in the future is to fully understand where you are now. Technology as an enabling and efficiency tool and data source is the core to gaining that understanding. The ‘tipping point’ for us came in February 2014 after technology enhancements in January.
Even simplistic sets of data allowed us to start to plan and create a strategy for our future. The challenge now became; how do we manage and collate this data and information into meaningful insights and trends.
We spent the first few months changing the culture to ensure that all of our team members had a sense of what the end goal looked like and to involve them as much as possible in the decision-making. This was achieved through data collection, analysis and staff development based on employee and customer feedback.

As with many things in life…a balance between often conflicting demands and beliefs had to be challenged.

Change and Growth

Customer Surveys
One of the keys to understanding what direction we needed to take was through identifying insights and trends from data. Until February of this year we had little data, few meaningful reports and were hamstrung in our decision making as a result. With few decisions, there were few actions.
That meant we had become very reactive and focused on the day-to-day management of the business, with little strategic direction or planning. Something needed to change and one of the most important steps was to better understand what our employees and customers thought about interacting and working with us.

How we went about changing this was to understand what our clients and customers want…by asking!

Customer Surveys provide strong numerical and empirical data for us to collate and identify trends that drive many of our actions and goals. Why do we bother to ask our key stakeholders? Quite simply, if we don’t ask we assume most things and most often get it wrong.
It has been my experience that without clarity we assume that our customers are looking for the same things we care about internally. This is often not the case. In Customer Experience it matters most how we make our customers feel.

The customer survey we developed consists of 3 questions: Transactional Net promoter Score (NPS); First Call Resolution (FCR); and Brand Sentiment NPS.
It is important to note that I recognise the difference between Transactional NPS (i.e. customer sentiment based on a single interaction) and Brand Sentiment NPS (measuring a customers ‘overall’ sentiment of a brand or company), however the broad implications regarding scores apply.
Taking this into account, however, the consistent monthly results of 60+ remain an extremely worthy comparative outcome when compared to the banking and finance industry averages indicated by the vertical red line on the graph. When comparing the results over the period from March to August 2014, it is apparent that many of our customers feel a great deal of satisfaction when dealing with the Centre.

The results reflect the excellent efforts of many within the centre, based on our ability to access more robust reporting and develop our people accordingly.
The First Call Resolution (FCR) target of 85% has also been exceeded since exception of the customer surveys and continues to improve with results of 96% in the most recent months. Most importantly, when delving into customer surveys it was the verbatim comments, both positive and constructive, that provided the raw material for us to draw on and develop a series of strategies and actions as a result.
Employee Engagement & Focus Groups
Employee Survey Results 2013: Last years employee survey was conducted during the early stages of the Centre’s cultural shift. We were and remain, very conscious of the rapid change that was occurring and worked to ensure that our team members were participating in and communicated to regarding our progress, next steps and ultimate goals. Feedback received indicated that there was a level of cynicism regarding the Centre’s systems and processes, as well as a significant change to leadership personnel which was felt by many. Additionally, the shift in accountability and first-stage development of KPI’s better suited to each role took some time to be understood and accepted.
As a result of the survey a few initiatives were introduced, however the original Centre Review (delivered and approved for implementation in June 2013) and subsequent goals were already in play prior to the survey period.
It is important to ask our team members what is working well and what is not. An example of the type of information gathered was when I facilitated focus groups of 2-3 people in 2014, asking the following questions of our team members:
1. What is working well currently within our business? What areas of our business have improved over the past 6-12 months?
2. How do you feel about coming to work every morning?
3. What are the key areas of frustration for you?
4. What would you do to change your working world if there were no restrictions or limitations?
5. What could we do to improve our leadership and communication?
6. Do you have enough opportunities to contribute to decisions that affect you?
7. Do you understand how your role contributes to achieving business outcomes?
8. What questions do you have for me? What would you like to better understand about our business and/or the direction we are heading?
The sessions were discussion based and the idea was to speak with enough of our team to gauge what areas were working fine and what we need to do to make our business even better. Importantly, the actions and response from this information were key to performance improvement and engagement.

Consolidation and the Future

Whereas the recent consolidation and improvement of processes, technology, structure and metric/results has been substantial, there is still a way to go to meet the high expectations positioned for our team. One of the key challenges has been balancing the rapid change required with the ability to manage the processes and lead through expected employee engagement challenges. For the most part, this has been achieved to plan and has created genuine opportunity for the next 1-3 years.
Key gains and metric improvements have been realised, yet the next phase is about making the most of the solid base created via continued improved employee engagement initiatives and taking the Centre to another level of customer service, whilst also highlighting sales and retention opportunities. Ultimately, the focus is on continuing to develop a culture that exceeds expectations both internally and externally. Whereas many actions and goals have been identified to occur in FY15, many of them will continue into future years and be added to as the Centre culture develops and additional programs of work are identified.
In order to formalise a handover document for my replacement I created a Business Plan detailing what I would focus on if I remained in the role. The plan and its content remain fluid and should be reviewed and updated regularly.

The new leadership team have free reign to take action and set goals accordingly, however the opportunity to explain the past to understand the future is important. The key idea is that as an overall statement of intent and the execution of the goals and strategy will take the Contact Centre, Complaints and Hardship teams through its next phase, setting benchmarks within the industry. There is little doubt the baseline for this to occur has been established, however there is a genuine risk of plateauing as observed in the first half of 2014, stifling opportunity and momentum.
Ultimately, we are focused on continuing to develop a culture that exceeds expectations both internally and externally. The business plan highlights the specific strategies, goals, actions and tactics that will assist to realise this opportunity.

Outcomes and Results

All of this work needs to mean something by reflecting improvement in our KPI’s, metrics and results. Pleasingly this has been the case.
By comparing the results from August 2013 to August 2014, it is clear that improvement exists across all areas of our business; the Contact Centre, Hardship and Complaints.

We have seen ongoing incremental improvement in the abandonment rate from 6% in April to 2% in August. This exceeds the target and importantly is a new benchmark internally, with a greater likelihood to meet this consistently based on earlier decisions and actions. The comparative result of 42% abandoned rate in August 2013 highlights the improvement. Along with GOS, this is our single biggest indicator of consistency in service, particularly as we manage this metric at more granular levels and intervals also.

The Grade of Service (GOS) has improved dramatically from a historical result consistently under 20% and a low of 6% in August 2013. GOS remains our single most effective measure of how our contact centre is progressing, however must be taken into account with customer/employee survey and quality results to ensure we are not succeeding at the expense of those who matter the most, as highlighted earlier in this document.

Average Speed of Answer of 38 seconds in August compared to 114 seconds in April 2014 and 606 seconds in August 2013.
Non-phone customer contact outstanding items at end of month (Emails, Letters & Faxes) of < 92 from April onward, compared to 1,332 in October 2013. This has reduced calls and complaints significantly into the centre through First Call Resolution.
Agent Quality Assurance average score of 81% in September compared to 69% in April 2014. This is as a result of several initiatives; most specifically enhanced coaching and time spent developing our team members at Team Leader and Agent level.
The Hardship and Complaints teams continue to excel in improving the results, which have turned around since June 2013.
As an example, the early-stage or Internal Disputes Resolution complaints have seen significant improvement since June 2013, escalating during 2014. The comparison between June and September 2014 and the same period last year highlights the ongoing improvement:

2013 – Complaint Resolution/delivery: 21 days = 87%%; 5 days = 70%; same day as received = 34%
June 2014 – Complaint Resolution/delivery: 21 days = 94%; 5 days = 72%; same day as received = 47%
Sept 2014 – Complaint Resolution/delivery: 21 days = 100%; 5 days = 89%; same day as received = 74%

The team are rightly very proud of their achievements, however opportunities remain. The ability to gain even greater consistency, continue to improve our technology; take recent people development initiatives even further; analyse and break down the ever-growing sets of data into meaningful trends and insights; ensuring our customer’s remain as highly satisfied as they currently are; and other initiatives as highlighted in this and other documents, are all required focus areas. The business is well-placed to make this a reality.
On a personal note I would like to acknowledge and thank the senior leadership team for their support and faith in making the original strategy and plans into a reality. I have mentioned many times that it is only due to the opportunity to review and impact the entire operation including policies; people & culture; personal and professional development; technology; systems and similar elements, that the gains have been as significant as they have.
Most importantly, it is the people in the Contact Centre, Hardship and Complaints teams who have been prepared to accept, buy into and ultimately apply the change that was (and remains) necessary. It is what we do day-to- day that matters the most! Thank you most sincerely to you all.
Steve Riddle
Director, CoachStation

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Employee Engagement, Leadership

Customer 360 Symposium: Leadership and Your Customers

Under the remit of my current contracted role as Head of Customer Service for Toyota Finance Australia, I recently attended an event in the Hunter Valley in Australia organised by Ashton Media titled Customer 360 Symposium. The opportunity to mingle and share ideas with like-minded professionals and customer focussed providers was genuinely excellent. There were many takeaways, some of which I felt it relevant to share via my blog as there are key points that relate to culture, leadership and creating an environment that encourages outstanding customer service.

I will present much of this as a series of questions, in some cases adding my own thoughts and comments indented in blue font in reply, as applicable. A core benefit of this type of event and my notes below, is the opportunity to be challenged and force reflection regarding our existing processes, practices and beliefs. Hopefully you will also be similarly stimulated.

Dr Melis Senova – Huddle Design

Has our leadership evolved as fast as our thinking?

I am not sure that the issue is how quickly our leadership has evolved or even our thinking. To me the difficulty has been developing effective leadership capability in practice and turning what we know into what we do.

Leaders – have discomfort with ambiguity = fear

We all struggle with ambiguity to some extent. The criticality of providing context and clarity is regularly missed in business. The assumption that our team members can simply pick up the intended message and/or interpret clearly is a challenge and one that must be overcome. Effective leaders provide the right messages with appropriate depth based on the individual employees need and comfort, not their own.

Inauthenticity – decreasing the gap between what we say and what we do. Have a sense of purpose.

Not all that is valuable can or should be measured.

I could not agree more with this. Accountability in all reas of expectation should be the norm in leadership, however many managers are comfortable focusing on the outputs, metrics and numbers that often exist. The ability and willingness to work through the inputs and intangibles of a role and person is more difficult…yet is where the genuine, sustainable growth and improvement comes in. I would argue if you have no interest to do this as a leader it is time to review your contribution and direction.

Solution seduction – know the difference between the solution space and the problem space – they are not the same thing!

Billy Butler – Dell

Technology has always been about enabling human potential – Michael Dell

Ask – what problem am I trying to solve?

Paul Smitton – Qantas

Authenticity is the key to customer satisfaction.

Yes it is. The difficulty is providing an authentic and ‘real’ experience no matter the channel of contact. Consistency, displaying empathy and authenticity go a long way to providing a customer experience that matters.

Personalised offerings – tailor to customer wants and history.

Deeper engagement that can directly or indirectly affect customer sentiment.

Karsten Fruechtl – Bain and Company

Advocacy cannot be managed by senior leadership alone

…and like compliance and customer service, it is not a designated team that is responsible to create outstanding customer experience opportunities. It is the responsibility of the whole organisation and is strongly aligned to depth and strength of culture.

Customer advocacy and employee advocacy go hand in hand

A personal favourite of mine. I spoke at a Customer Experience conference a few years ago and my topic was ‘Customer Experience: From the Inside Out’. Customer data is crucial and needs to be analysed to understand trends and insights. Once this is done however it is virtually impossible to make a difference with this information if the business does not have an engaged, caring and focused employee base. This is continually shifting however how our employees feel has a direct impact on how we make our customers feel.

Promoters typically generate more revenue and costs less to serve – NPS (Net Promoter Score) can be a predictor of customer behaviour.

Don’t ask for feedback unless you are prepared to listen and act on the results.

Michael Henderson – Cultures At Work

Culture now considered as risk management.

Culture is not the way we do things solely – it is how companies respond.

Employee surveys conducted by external parties are flawed thinking. Engagement surveys are questionable as they give people’s opinion of the culture…not what it actually is.

The high degree of subjectivity, confirmation bias, fear, avoidance and other factors that are prevalent in employee surveys is an ongoing challenge. The ability to measure culture remains challenging also however I have found one of the key tools to do so is 1:1 discussions with all of my team, no matter the role or level. Of course, the task of developing trust and comfort to ensure honesty and frankness exists is also prevalent but in my experience is more easily managed in a personal discussion-based situation. It is definitely more time-consuming but the benefits are significantly greater.

Remove silos – create relationships.

Development = individual personal development: can business grow if people don’t personally develop?

When developing my team I focus on them as people not as an employee. The role they have is relevant and regularly comes up in discussion however it is only one part of what each person does, is and wants to be. Most coaching opportunities come from the person filling the role, not from the role itself.

Human values = personal preference x cost of effort.

Customer’s expect efficiency – it is not a differentiator. Customers are hungry for empathy and creativity.

Not high tech – it’s high touch!

What do you think of the statements and themes from the symposium? Are they applicable to you? I would appreciate your comments.

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Emotional Intelligence, Leadership

Character and Personality Contribute to Leadership

Is a strong personality an asset or a hindrance in leadership and how does it compare to character?

As is the case when dealing with people, there is no clear-cut right or wrong ‘type’ of personality. The ability to flex styles and meet the needs of various situations is an asset however we all have ingrained preferences, beliefs, characteristics and personalities. A ‘strong’ personality in itself is also neither good nor bad. However when an individual possesses too dominant or overbearing a personality it can certainly challenge relationships in and out of the workplace.

I like to think of personality and character as related, yet with significant differences. An online definition of personality references character as if they are the same, or at least heavily influenced by the other.

per-son-al-i-ty: noun

1. the visible aspect of one’s character as it impresses others: He has a pleasing personality.

2. a person as an embodiment of a collection of qualities: He is a curious personality.

3. Psychology: a. the sum total of the physical, mental, emotional, and social characteristics of an individual; b. the organized pattern of behavioral characteristics of the individual.

4. the quality of being a person; existence as a self-conscious human being; personal identity.

In what I consider and have proven (at least to myself) to be an astute choice, when recruiting I am much more likely to select a candidate based on character than personality-based attributes. Of course, both are important as is background, skills and capability, although many of the requirements for the role can be taught. It is much more difficult to change someone’s ingrained personality traits.
A risk in recruitment is to hire people who are most like yourself, or those we naturally affiliate with, sharing similar personality traits and views . This is most often not an optimum strategy. Variation and diversity are all attributes that within a team are more likely to add value to the business. Natural affiliation may mean that you will get along more easily with a person, however is that what is best for achieving the team and business goals, as well as the right contributing mix for the team? Generally, it is not, although developing an understanding of each person within the team and sharing this knowledge is most likely to create an environment where diversity is accepted and is a positive rather than a differentiator in a negative sense.

Force of personality is a poor substitute for strong character.

In life too often we see the ‘squeaky wheel’ receiving the most attention. We see this in hotels, retail establishments and in the workplace, amongst other times and places. As leaders we need to be aware of the differences and be clear in what we are looking for in our teams. Those who shout the loudest or longest are not necessarily the same people who have the best ideas or contribute with any more effectiveness than others who may be more reserved. Of course, when it comes to people, it is not a ‘perfect science’ and we have to make judgments every day to find the balance.
Although character traits are much more difficult to ascertain in the short-term than personality, the value add of spending the time to assess an individual more fully is worth the effort in the long term. Conversely the risk of getting it wrong, particularly in business, can be a difficult process to unwind. Alex Lickerman notes the key differences between character and personality, highlighted below:

Personality is easy to read, and we’re all experts at it. We judge people funny, extroverted, energetic, optimistic, confident—as well as overly serious, lazy, negative, and shy—if not upon first meeting them, then shortly thereafter. And though we may need more than one interaction to confirm the presence of these sorts of traits, by the time we decide they are, in fact, present we’ve usually amassed enough data to justify our conclusions.
Character, on the other hand, takes far longer to puzzle out. It includes traits that reveal themselves only in specific—and often uncommon—circumstances, traits like honesty, virtue, and kindliness. Ironically, research has shown that personality traits are determined largely by heredity and are mostly immutable. The arguably more important traits of character, on the other hand, are more malleable—though, we should note, not without great effort. Character traits, as opposed to personality traits, are based on beliefs (e.g., that honesty and treating others well is important—or not), and though beliefs can be changed, it’s far harder than most realize. (1)

It is interesting to see this play out within the friendship groups that our 3 daughter’s have formed. At age 6 there is little identification with anything other than affiliation and mostly personality-based relationships are formed. With our 9 year-old I can see the first signs of relationships strengthening or lessening based on values and character to a limited degree. Whereas this is obviously undefined and is mostly intuitive, the difference is there.

Our eldest daughter recently had 6 friends over for a sleepover to celebrate her 12th birthday. For the first substantial time, it is possible to see the resistance to the personalities that are over-bearing and/or more self-centric than others. In some cases we have even observed intervention and active management of situations within the friendship group when poor character traits or behaviours have been displayed. The stronger bonds have and are forming between the girls who display a depth of character and level of maturity more than others. It is still ill-defined and again mostly intuitive.

One of the interesting changes that I see as our girls have grown up is that the passive acceptance of the overtly strong personality is there to be seen and accepted to a degree, but appears to lessen as they mature and become more self-aware. I imagine in only a few short years these people will either need to taper down the overtness to find a better balance or continue to struggle in how they are sometimes seen and reacted to by others.

When coaching people, it is more common that I work on elements related to character than personality.

Character traits tend to be more fluid and yet, have a level of substance that, when changed, adds real depth to a person and how they are viewed by others. The challenges I see in an individual constantly putting their own ideas forward forcefully, talking over others and listening to little that is being discussed is that these behaviours offer an insight into their persona, not all of it positive. Others see this also and is regularly one of the key reasons I am engaged as a coach.

The outward appearance of these behaviours can make a person appear confident however when the surface is scratched the reality is often a degree of over-compensation for low self-esteem or confidence. I have even observed this with senior leaders and executives in business, which can be a surprise to many. This in itself, is part of the problem as I see it. The apparent broad-ranging and all-encompassing skills and capability deemed appropriate for leaders is misguided.

No one leader has the perfect mix of attributes and capability – neither do they need to. People talk about the fact that an individual leader does not need to possess all of these traits and attributes, however the expectations of others in reality places unreasonable expectations and pressure on our leaders. Many senior leaders feel this pressure and in some cases feel as if they are ‘frauds and are waiting to be found out’. This is a genuine challenge to business and to the leader themselves. I have even had some senior leaders make the statement that they would not be at such a level if they did not possess all of the skills and capabilities. If only that were true!

As the image in this blog identifies, personality is important as it reflects much of the outward image of how we are seen. Character is the bedrock that who we are is built upon and reflects and enables much of our belief system, values and the deeper aspects of us as individuals. When it comes to relationships in the workplace, we often have less choice who we associate with. As a leader, the point of difference is the level of self-awareness and emotional intelligence we have and are prepared to develop. It is also reflected in how much this is encouraged in our team members and through the type of culture and environment we create.

When it comes to people and personality there are no rights and wrongs. A ‘strong’ personality, when balanced and used to advantage can be a valuable asset…of course the opposite is also true. Depth and strength of character are certainly attributes and traits that I look for within my team members, both when recruiting and in their development. This forms a superb base to grow all elements of the person, team and business and without it, becomes a potential long-term challenge. What are your thoughts?

(1) Personality vs. Character: The key to discerning personality from character is time: Alex Lickerman, MD – Psychology Today

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Leadership

Leadership This Year…and Next

This time of year is often associated with resolutions or the idea that changes to what has been the past are required. For me, the idea that a nominal date such as January 1st should be the trigger for self-review and improvement is somewhat skewed. The concept of self-awareness and subsequent desire to be as capable and self-aware as possible is an ongoing effort, or at least, it should be. When it comes to leadership, this ideal is as relevant as ever. As individuals and employees we should feel comfortable with this concept, although I recognise the reality is often somewhat different. Now is a good time to have a look at leadership in general and specifically review how you as a leader are performing against current benchmarks and needs, not those rooted in the past.

What has altered in leadership for 2014?

The point that culture and society is evolving means that we as leaders need to keep abreast of cultural, societal, organisational behaviour and workplace adjustments. We are judged on many things including our ability to relate to people and influence others. This is a significant change in leadership principles from the past. The idea of a directorial, aggressive leader belongs in the past. This does not mean that leadership has become ‘soft’; more that the most effective leaders are able to flex their style as required. It is the leader’s responsibility to engage and flex, particularly in the early stages of a relationship. The concept of our team members and peers having to bend to our style as leaders is antiquated and out of step with the generational expectations and changes that are occurring.

Trends emerge through genuine demand (and sometimes through good marketing), nevertheless at its core, the concept of leadership and its effect remains unchanged.

Although the bold statement made above is something I believe in its simplest form, there are necessities of leadership that have become more prominent and/or need to be reaffirmed in the current environment, including:

The concept that leadership is earned rather than given with a title has become a reality for many. Few people are prepared to tolerate poor leadership or work for someone who they do not have some connection with, at least in part. Expectations are higher and tolerance is lower.
Ultimately, people are still looking for similar things in and out of work that they were in the past. What has changed is both the awareness of what it could be and preparedness to seek it out. Unfortunately I still see many people putting up with aspects of work and personal relationships that they are dissatisfied with, but again, expectations are shifting.
The idea of mindfulness is gaining momentum, particularly when associated with the essence of balance and not feeling overwhelmed by the holistic needs of leading. Being ‘in the moment’ and strengthening abilities to truly listen and connect with your peers and workmates has always been important, however greater research and profile re the brain and how it works is adding value to our knowledge around about the benefits of being mindful.
Being an effective leader requires effort. That has always been the case and always will be! There is no short-cut or silver bullet to leadership learning, as it requires trial, error, success and failure which only comes by being prepared to step out of your comfort zone and take on leadership responsibility in practice.
The degree to which a person is persistent and accountable are two of the traits I see as key reasons for success and failure in leaders I have worked with in recent years.
Change is now the norm. For those leaders who are unable or unwilling to accept change, the current environment is particularly difficult. For those who actively or passively resist change, the days are numbered and work is often stressful. Leader’s who genuinely embrace change, can influence others appropriately and display their value and worth are witnessing that this is their time.
Emotional Intelligence (EI) and self-awareness are becoming more accepted as essential elements of leadership rather than ‘nice to haves’. Those who are truly comfortable with who they are and how they impact others are more likely to be accountable and accepting of their failures, whilst sharing the successes and achievements through their actions as well as words. Volumes of information have been written about the benefits of EI in leadership and life generally. Leaders who are intuitively able to or have learned the importance of EI are likely to feel the benefits within the current work environment.

What do you think – has the leadership concept and leadership in practice changed in recent years? Will it need to change for the future?

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Leadership

Leadership and Managing Redundancies

These are challenging times! It seems that, at least in Australia, we are yet to fully recover the confidence levels that existed before the financial crisis of a few years ago. This has led to less certainty in sentiment and in some cases, reductions in the workforce.
Leadership is imperative at any time, however our recent global and local economic plight brings the importance of leading well to the fore even more starkly. This is no more apparent than when the unfortunate situation arises where members of your team have to be let go, not based on performance but from a financial situation for the company involved. Redundancies are rarely pleasant however, when managed well, the impact for all parties involved can be minimised.

Unfortunately, the worst thing to happen to these organisations isn’t the fact that these redundancies take place, it’s the poor leadership which follows the redundancies. Consequences such as reduced productivity and engagement can linger for many months, or even years, especially when the process has not been handled gracefully. (1)

I have personally been involved in redundancies previously within organisations and generally have felt they were handled well. I have found that leadership is critical to how the news is received and whether employees return to their works-pace with a high degree of bitterness, resentment and negative feelings about the employer or whether it is accepted, to a degree. The initial contact is critical. Key observations and recommendations include:

Communication is core to the acceptance or otherwise of the redundancy news.
Context and consistency in the communication must be prevalent.
Follow up each contact/communication individually and as a team. Every employee has different needs and it is important to provide outlets to discuss privately whilst also sharing the discussion with the impacted group as a whole.
If an existing level of trust and a genuine relationships does not exists, then managing redundancies becomes more difficult. This is the case with any leadership situation where, if the right to earn the conversation hasn’t occurred before the event, then it is more likely to be received with distrust, cynicism and resistance.

It can result in a lack of trust in management and a feeling of ‘what’s going to happen next?’ which leads to poor productivity, distractions and a disengaged workforce…even though tougher economic times called for cost cuttings, the wisest move employers could make is to help their leaders to manage through these times. Leaders have a direct impact on the engagement and productivity of their staff; after all, people tend to leave their bosses, not their jobs. (1)

The reality is that redundancies, downsizing and economic uncertainty will always exists. In economic downtime the impact of these decisions is even greater as the likelihood of ex-employees finding another role is reduced, creating the vicious circle of increased national unemployment, family breakdowns and other social problems. Understanding that situations such as these will occur in the future and proactively managing them now through leadership development, cultural growth and stronger relationships provides a more stable platform for any change or impact in the workplace.

Situations occur, however how we lead through these issues is the most telling point.

(1) Leadership Falters Following Redundancies – HCAMag

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Leadership

Leadership, Politics and Private Enterprise

No matter your political predisposition, country of birth or current location, many of us have seen a dearth of good effective leaders in political circles.

It is not only in private enterprise that we have had the misfortune to see in recent years businesses ignore risk management, develop poor internal cultures and force us to question the value of salaries for some of the most prominent of CEO’s. Unfortunately this is apparent within politics also, particularly in Australia.

This is not a blog about political allegiance but rather a side-note to the need for political parties and individual politicians to start to develop a leadership mindset that is consistent with expectations and capabilities of the best organisations. Consistent with this ideal, Labor politician Bob Carr recently made a few interesting points on the ABC Lateline tv show that are worth highlighting.

I think we’ve got to take leadership training, tutoring, nurturing, more seriously than we do and every organisation in Australian society you’ve got a commitment to train, to coach, to mentor political leadership. Only the political parties think that you can muddle through with people who are never systematically trained for the challenge of being ministers, being a leader in opposition, having the skills and the talents, the disposition required to lead your party through tough times.

We don’t take it seriously. Mentoring, coaching and systematic training, the nurturing of high quality, highly promising leadership material is taken for granted in the corporate and the public sector world.

The only institutions, it strikes me, that don’t do it are political parties.

There’s not a training course held by the Labor Party or the Liberal Party for recruits, say people in their 20s, who have got the promise of being ministers. So we fluke it and we wonder why someone, when thrown into a ministerial role, or even sometimes into the leadership, the party in opposition finds himself or herself struggling. There’s no systematic development of the talents required and we’re unique among institutions in neglecting that.

So if our politicians, both existing and those aspiring to run are not focused on developing a suitable leadership skillset, then are we setting ourselves and our nations up for perennial failure and disappointment? To be fair, there are many leaders in all industries who spend too little time dedicated to their own growth and development, let alone that of their people. However, as politicians, the very nature and requirements of their roles provides ample opportunity to lead. In fact, it is an obligation of their role but one that is not taken as seriously as it should. The evidence is clear – it only takes the viewer a few minutes of watching parliament in action to understand that Mr Carr has a valid point.

Leadership is not given through role or title…it is earned through actions and results. This fact is the same the world over, no matter the culture, nation, organisation or political party. This is something our current and future politicians and corporate leaders in Australia and abroad would do well to remember.

The right to lead is one that is earned every day.

Apathy and tolerance have limited life.