A highly successful European beverage company enlisted the help of Harrison Assessments to transform its existing culture. The company had a clear vision ‘ To transform the existing culture to facilitate greater motivation, accountability, collaboration, communication, trust, cooperation, and mutual support. To increase the number of employees and ensure they would fit into the culture of the organisation’
The results of the Harrison methodology were tracked over a two and a half year period, with employees being supported with appropriate coaching and training.
By the end of the implementation, profits during the two and a half year period increased by 246%
Some managers make excellent leaders, but many never really make the grade. Managers may be brilliant planners and organisers, or good with budgets and resources. They may be great tacticians, but if they lack the basic ability to engage their employees none of these attributes will make them a great leader. We want leaders that inspire and encourage us, give us stretch challenges and above all set a clear direction, and this requires plenty of eye contact and engaging conversation. One fundamental reason why some managers don’t make the grade can be traced back to their development path and is to do with a deep foundational strength found in effective leaders – courage.
I’m not talking about the courage to parachute out of a plane, or to pitch up in the C suite, rather a more subtle courage to display humility, and to accept they still have plenty to learn. Also the courage to ask for and assimilate feedback about their own behaviour from the whole 360 spectrum, and of course the courage to act upon that feedback.
I met a CEO of a tech firm some years back who was an extreme skier. No lack of courage there, but he confided in me that walking into a room full of people he didn’t know would strike in him a fear so strong it took away his ability to speak coherently.
There are a number of irrational fears that managers need to overcome if they are to become great leaders, the first being the fear of socialising, a second is the fear of presenting. All great leaders need to be able to speak with passion and conviction, to any audience, at any time, without preparation, otherwise it’s an obligation and no leader ever became great through merely fulfilling an obligation.
Why is courage important?
I spoke with someone recently who told me he went to a 3-day leadership seminar and sat at the back so he wouldn’t be volunteered for anything. What’s that about? Not enough courage to get involved? I wonder sometimes whether some managers know what being a leader means in terms of their own behaviour.
Unless you want employees who never ask questions, are afraid to ask for help, and bludgeon on independently rarely thinking about team working, then a leader needs to role model positive behaviours. People copy what they see their leaders doing; this is how cultures are created. This is why courage is important. If a manager has neglected this aspect of their personal development it is the first place to begin the journey to becoming an effective leader.
Feedback for champions
The future of executive coaching, it can be argued, lies with the new stakeholder centered coaching (SCC) approach created by Marshall Goldsmith. Whilst there are 360 tools available, many are ineffective and easily misinterpreted. SCC uses real face-to-face 360 feedback, plus an objective leader assessment to provide the leader with priceless information he or she needs to develop into an all-round effective leader. Taking this feedback on board, and acting upon it requires a great deal of courage and humility. This is in fact one of the pre-requisites for enrolling a manager onto the coaching programme.
Perception becomes reality
We all know that perceptions differ widely among people, even their perceptions about a shared experience. This phenomenon can act to cap a person’s potential and limit their capability, especially in organisations that tend to judge people quickly and easily, and where promotions are made via closed room discussions about the potential of individuals based on observed and expected behaviour.
It needn’t be this way. Imagine knowing exactly what your key stakeholders know about you and what you can do to be a better leader. Imagine how this might progress your development, your career aspirations, and your value to your organisation. Imagine also, the people who have formed their perceptions about you and your potential, about how far you can go in the organisation, and what you can be trusted with, these people are your stakeholders, and they are watching you as you shape yourself into the leader they all have said they want you to become. How empowering is this?
Whether or not you are chairing a meeting or attending as a pro-active contributor you have a responsibility for the proceedings to ensure a productive outcome. All too often meetings take place through a sense of duty and those attending often feel they have no choice in whether to attend or feel unable to influence the content let alone the outcome. So whether you are in meeting together in a room or using technology to get together make sure you are exercising some control –
Is the meeting really necessary?
As the chair think carefully about what you want from the meeting particularly if it is a meeting that is held on a regular basis. What is it that you want people to do when they leave? If you are doing it because ‘you’ve always done it’ or because you want to pass on some information think again. Meetings are an expensive use of people’s time and without follow up action they can not only be a waste of valuable resources but can be very de-motivating. As a pro-active contributor – make sure you can be just that – pro-active. If you don’t think the meeting has any relevance for you and that you don’t have anything to contribute then speak up beforehand and spend your time being more productive.
Check Meeting Outcomes
As the chair of a meeting you may have arrived with your own agenda into which you have put a lot of research and effort. Those attending may not have been party to this and will be coming at it afresh. Pay them the respect of taking account of what would make the meeting really useful for them individually by asking them for their outcomes, eg, I have called this meeting to talk about xyz and in a moment I’d like to give you the background to my thinking and research then I will ask you individually ‘what would make this meeting really meaningful for you?’ Make a note, if appropriate on a flipchart or board and be careful to cover them off during the meeting or if appropriate defer them to another time.
As a pro-active participant be clear about your expectations and state your outcomes concisely in the positive. No-one likes a winger so even if you don’t fully buy into the ideas being presented use the time to suggest viable alternatives. If you are ambivalent and have no outcomes then have the courage to leave. Don’t waste time.
Do everything you can to keep the energy flowing
As the chair respect the fact that people have taken time out to attend. Preframe the meeting with your expectations, eg when it will finish, what will happen, what contributions you are expecting. Make a judgement on the venue for your meeting – people remain more energetic and focused in well ventilated, spacious environments with lots of daylight. If this isn’t feasible then pay attention to breaks and activities if your meeting is likely to last more than 30 minutes. Try to vary locations particularly if the last meeting of this group was a difficult one with some negative energy stagnating the progress. If you can’t vary the venue then vary the seating or table arrangements.
As a pro-active participant attending a regular meeting make sure you sit in different places, next to different people each time you attend. This way you will be seen as someone who is interested in others and who doesn’t get stuck in their ways. If you are presenting at the meeting find ways to make your presentation interesting and focused on what you’d like attendees to do as a result of attending. See top 10 tips on giving great presentations.
Stay on Track
As both chair and pro-active participant use the following ‘frames’ technique to keep the meeting flowing. The frames are designed to control the process of the meeting to achieve clearly defined results whilst also controlling the emotional attachment people feel towards the content of the meeting which, whilst understandable, is sometimes not productive and can be harmful to relationships. The frames can be used at any stage where appropriate.
Here is a selection of meeting frames –
Backtrack frame – an opportunity to recap at the beginning on progress so far or at any time during the meeting on progress being made. Stay focused on the outcomes and use wording such as “Can I take you back to what we agreed a few minutes ago …. or “If you remember last time we agreed that …… Possibility frame – “let’s spend the next 20 minutes putting some ideas on the table and looking at the possibilities.” (Use whatever creativity technique you find appropriate and agree the ground rules.) ‘As if’ frame – an opportunity to play out a decision as if it was going to happen and explore the consequences. “So let’s just assume for a moment that we are going to follow this route ……. This has the effect of opening up creativity even more because no final decision has been made. Evidence frame – use this to elegantly challenge someone’s thinking if you believe their viewpoint isn’t based in fact. “I’m really curious about that – can you tell me what you are basing it on ….. Contrast and Compare frame – use this to make comparisons with other alternatives, ideas, companies, previous activities etc. “How does that compare with what we did last time ……? “How does that compare with what our competitors are doing ….? Ecology – Check the consequences of your decisions “How will this impact the team/the environment/the brand/pricing policy/ ………? Agreement frame – use this to recap on agreements either at the end of the meeting or at any point during the meeting. “OK so we are agreed that …..
Check meeting outcomes have been achieved and act!
As the chair check that everyone has achieved their outcome – if not establish how you can help them and make sure you carry out any actions you have agreed.
As a pro-active contributor state whether you have achieved your outcome and if not be clear about what has to happen for you to do so. Make sure you carry out any actions you have agreed.
By David Klaasen, Harrison Assessments Consultant.
There is no getting away from the simple fact that effective management is about effective communication. Survey after survey is also telling us that on average 70% of employees are disengaged from their work. What is going on? What are managers missing? As is often the case, the answer is surprisingly simple.
This blog includes key pointers for engaging employees including:
Unless you have been holed up in a bunker all week-end, you cannot fail to notice that as a nation we are not leading the field in our sporting achievements and our education system is in crisis.
Stuart Lancaster was brought in 4 years ago to lift England from the abyss or more accurately a world cup quarter-final defeat against France and all eyes have been on him since. His mantra was to ‘Get it right off the field and all else follows’ We can now say with some conviction, that he didn’t get it right either on or off the pitch.
Brendan Rogers is currently on the lookout for a new job, with Jurgen Klopp set to replace the Liverpool manager, who was sacked on Sunday.
Back in 2013 Rogers said he ‘Wanted brave players here’ and that a player’s character was a crucial factor alongside their skill on the pitch when it came to signing them. It was important that they fitted in and worked together. He also used statistical analysis to determine the ongoing strategy for the team.
So what went wrong?
New managers like CEO’s can bring in new cultures, and getting the team and staff to live by those values and recruit against them is important. Values are very powerful in attracting and retaining talented people. It is not just the players on the pitch that need to be aligned it’s the executive board, coaches, physios, and medics. If everyone knows what you are working towards you are more likely to get there.
Sir Alex Ferguson, hailed as one of the greatest football managers of all time attributes his success to “maintaining the standards we had set as a football club – this applied to all my team building, my team preparation, motivational talks and tactical talks. I had to lift players’ expectations.” Sir Alex had a defined set of values.
You can define your values in a way that can be measured and developed .You can also use the same measurements for your recruitment process ensuring that with a predictability as high as 95%, that any new employees will both thrive in your culture and strengthen it.
So if you want to recruit brave players in your organisation Quadrant1 can help you find them, inspire them and keep them.
The survey, conducted by the National Union of Teachers, found 61% of those wanting to leave blamed workload and 57% desired a better work/life balance. The main teaching unions have highlighted that teaching is in crisis when it comes to recruitment and retention.
So how do you recruit in a market with the potential for low retention? How do you filter through all those CV’s to find the pearl in the oyster? Where do you find the right teacher that is both eligible and suitable for the role? Once you have them how do you make sure that you hold on to them and continue to support them?
Quadrant1 has the tools and knowledge to answer all of those questions and help you to get the most from your existing staff as well as your potential employees, in all business sectors.
Harrison Assessments’ approach to recruitment assessment uses SmartQuestionnaire™ technology with an in-built consistency check to ensure only the best fitting candidates are selected for short-listing. You will find those pearls.
For more Information on Talent Retention, Recruitment Solutions and Measuring Values within your organisation, call us on 44 (0)7768 922244
