Agents2Change - Smart Business Thinking

Getting to grips with prioritisation

Prioritisation is a great concept when you have the space and time to do it.  The trouble for busy managers and executives is that they often don’t.  They find that their already stretched capacity continues to be spread thinner and thinner, as the responsibilities and priorities increase.  It can become a vicious circle that is very difficult to break.

 

“Jack had a demanding role as head of operations for a global manufacturing group.  He had always been good a delegating and getting things done and had worked his way up from junior management to his current role and was good at thriving under pressure and delivering against all the odds.

Lately however the demands of his peers and his directors in this matrixed organisation were becoming overwhelming.  Everything was urgent; every was a 'Strategic' initiative with a Board member behind it; and saying no was just not an option.  As a result, he and his team felt like they were working their way into the ground.”

 

Jack’s situation is not unusual, and in modern matrixed organisations, competing priorities are often evident.  But prioritisation needs two key levers in order to be most effective.  

1. It needs to be clearly linked to the company strategy.  When new lines of business or new sectors are targeted, then efforts need to be justified in terms of how they support this strategy.
2. Efforts must show a relationship to the bottom line. Strategic initiatives are almost always linked to growth, but it's not unusual for senior managers to lose sight of this; and the relationship of their teams in delivering it.  At the end of the day, or your performance year;  you will be measured as much by business performance as you will on any other target that has been set.

 

Some tips to help you with prioritisations include: 

• Ensure that your annual performance targets are clear and comprehensive.  They become your employment contract for the year ahead, so a clear and well documented set of priorities will help you when the pressure starts to build.
• Where there are priority conflicts, such as competing department goals, escalate this through the hierarchy for resolution  (up to the board if necessary) rather than getting in the cross fire with peers or functional directors.
• Always keep the consequences of non-delivery clear in your mind.  Some targets will have minimal impact, whilst others may have a major impact further down the line. Consider the inter-connectivity of some priorities, which may not be your immediate concern, but will have a major impact for other areas of the business further down the line.  If it becomes a major resource drain on your area, ensure it gets included in your annual targets.

 

If you would like to hear more about how our coaching packages can help you to become better at prioritising, contact us at:  [email protected], for a free, no obligation chat.

 

We can also provide public speaking engagements on the subject of prioritisation.  Contact us at:  [email protected]

Authentic Leaders Only - Apply Within

Authenticity is one of those words that is bandied around quite a lot these days, almost to the point where it loses credibility.  But before you are tempted to throw it in the ‘new age mumbo jumbo’ bucket, let’s just take a few minutes to consider its relevance for the modern business leader.

 

Today’s leaders are under constant pressure to perform, to engage their staff and to communicate to their shareholders.  It is far greater than anything that was experienced by leaders of the last century.  With the global economic crisis, this pressure has intensified considerably, as we see the fall of major corporations like Lehman Brothers, the finger has pointed not only to the policies and strategies of the corporation, but also the behaviours and characters of their leaders.

 

Authenticity is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as ‘of undisputed origin’.  The word originally comes from the Greek word ‘Authentikos, meaning  'principal or genuine'.

 

If the global crisis had taught us anything it is the need to be principled and genuine in business.  Leaders of today’s global organisations need to be able to display a consistent set of behaviours and values that reflect steadfast and reliable principles in how business should be done, if they are to rebuild trust in their institutions and regain the support of their shareholders.

 

Qualities associated with Authenticity include:

 

• Being a really good listener – Authentic people know how important it is to understand and acknowledge other people’s perspectives.  This does not mean agreeing with everyone.  In fact most studies on engagement and communication show that acknowledging differences in opinion heightens rather than diminishes trust.
•  Admitting your limitations – Authentic leaders know that they are not super-human and therefore understand that creating an illusion of being all-knowing is a recipe for disaster.  Acknowledging your limitations openly has a counter-intuitive effect, in that it enhances people’s perceptions of your abilities.  Why?  Because you have displayed self awareness, one of the highest character traits for the authentic leader.
• Empowering others to be creative - Authentic leaders are really good at creating an environment of engagement and participation; it is second nature to them.  They do this because their leadership style is not driven by a power-hungry ego.  Instead, they see power, status and control coming through sharing responsibility across a wide network of players. 
• Deeds and words are in sync – perhaps the most important rule of them all for the authentic leaders is sticking to his or her word.  Reliability in actions is the ‘killer’ ingredient.  It only takes one or two slips on your promises to lose huge ground in the trust of your people. 

 

If you have some experience of authentic leaders, or the impact of not having authentic leaders, please do share your comments below.

 

If you would like to hear more about how our coaching packages can help you to become a more authentic leader, contact us at:  [email protected], for a free, no obligation chat.

 

We can also provide public speaking engagements on the subject of authenticity.  Contact us at:  [email protected].

The Rise of the Corporate Bully

One of the things that we have observed in our work is the rise of the corporate bully.  Bullying in the workplace has the same characteristics to the playground bully, and the motivations of the bully are also similar, but as they are masked in adult behaviour, they can often be ignored or even encouraged by organisations.

Why, I hear you ask, when so much evidence tells us that supportive and engaging leaders achieve more and get far greater levels of commitments than a bullying leader, would organisations encourage such behaviour?

One word – Fear.  The playground bully is a child that feels compelled to bully because he or she feels fearful.  This may be because they are not very smart in the classroom, or they observe dominant and bullying behaviours at home.  They bully to gain power and control.  They crave this because at a deeper level, at the sub conscious, they do not feel worthy of love or respect, and therefore believe that if they can’t have both, they will settle for respect, or at least what they misconstrue as respect. 

Those very same feelings that are observable in the school child of 10 or 12 years old, are virtually identical to those motivations behind the senior corporate bully.  The head of marketing who insists on humiliating under-performing team members; The Head of IT that shouts and screams when team members have missed an important deadline; The Head of Finance that forces his or her team to work late to fix accounting issues to ensure a positive report to the Board, each and every one of them is driven by an innate sense of their own unworthiness or likeability.  They mask the deep hole that these feelings bring by creating fear, distrust and keeping everyone at a distance.

But what of the bosses of these bully managers?  What motivates them to tolerate this behaviour, even if they personally do not sign up to such tactics?  The answer also brings us back to the same issue – fear.  Whilst their fear is not wedded to their sense of self, it is linked to poor organisational performance, a track record of poor delivery and a belief that something is needed to turn this around.  Often exacerbated, they turn to the corporate bully to pull everyone up by their boot-straps to ‘get us out of this mess’.  But does such a strategy work?

According to the CIPD bullying cost UK businesses over £2billion per year (2005 CIPD report).  A workplace bullying survey found that over 38% of Americans have reported bullying at work.  Corporate performance does not fare well in bullying environments.  In fact the losses may be even higher than some estimates have suggested, if we factor in reduced creativity, low morale, and increased turnover — all factors that weigh heavily on the bottom line.

Strategies to help you or your team if bullying is a factor:

• Have your targets and delegated duties written down.  If your boss has a tendency to change their mind, or blame you for not delivering something that was outside of your control, written documentation will help.  Always follow up with an email confirming your understanding of requirements.
• Find an independent mentor  (either in your department, or in another division) who can be a sounding board and the voice of wisdom when you are feeling under pressure.
• Think deeply about how important this role or this organisation is to your long term plans.  If it is very important, then start to network to build a wider span of influence beyond your immediate team to build support.  If it is not important, then start to consider your exit strategy and focus on what qualities and culture will be important in your next role.

If you are affected by these issues, website resource that might help include:

http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-topics/bullying-harassment.aspx

http://www.bullyfreeatwork.com/blog/

http://blogs.hbr.org/research/2010/03/create-a-bullyfree-workplace.html

http://www.workplacebullying.org/individuals/problem/being-bullied/

If you would like more personal support, then we can offer confidential, focused and targeted coaching package to give you strategies to support your needs.  Contact us at:  [email protected].

 

We can also offer engaging and highly participative public speaking and seminar sessions if you would like to bring this or matters of people and performance to your corporate event.  Contact us at:   [email protected].

 

 

Olympic performance and how it provides a framework for performance everywhere

With the Olympics and Paralympics now coming to a close, its with a sense of pride that the host nation can look back on its achievements. Officially the most successful Olympics ever for Team GB and the biggest toll of medals per capita of any nation competing in the events. These achievements, together with the exemplary organisation and event management have lifted the spirits of a whole nation. But these achievements tell of considerable work, organisation and focus behind the scenes. When we blogged about the 2008 Olympics, we talked about the crystal sharp focus on goals and performance for athletes and disciplines.

This was something that was quite new to British Sports, which had a rather haphazard development before this time. Some people commented that the approach taken was quite hard, almost brutal in determining where funds went and who got attention. Perhaps it was, but performance requires a clear set of goals that are then rigorously followed. Taking an egalitarian approach (all sports are equal) whilst very inclusive, rarely leads to exemplary performance.

We also saw that discipline follow through to the Paralympics where Team GB also finished 3rd in the overall medal table and won an astonishing 34 gold medals and won the heart-felt pride of the British nation. But there too, it was performance that drove their success. What can corporations learn from these examples as they look to raise the morale of their people and motivate them to raise their performance to something truly exceptional.

Sports psychology and the Olympics bring many lessons to leaders in business. What Sports do naturally is:

• Putting performance in the context of a stretching and inspiring vision; Is it clear where the finish line is, and how long it will take to get there? 
• Providing a performance framework in which to define, monitor and measure performance. How clear are the goals for your team this month? This quarter? This year? If you cannot answer this, neither can they, so ensure that goals are clear and readily accessible to all. 
• Feedback on a regular basis on performance. In business we can shy away from this, yet in sports its as natural as breathing. Constructive, regular feedback is like an extra muscle. Once you practice and hone it, you can rely on it whenever you need it. 
• Celebrate success: Sports are excellent at celebrating success, but how good are modern companies. How often is time taken to tell everyone of a job well done? Taking time to acknowledge achievements makes a huge difference to team morale and performance. 

So take a leaf out of the Olympic book and look for ways to provide a fun, challenging and competitive environment to help raise the performance of your team.

Turning a bad day into a good one - sharing some great tips

There is a great article from Inc.com about how to turn a bad day into a good one.  We can often find we start the day feeling a bit stressed, negative or overwhelmend.  Often the bad mood can escalate into a really bad day, but it does not have to.  Very often how we think about something can affect its outcome and learning to thing positively is a great way to improve your chances of having a great day.

 

In his article Geoffrey James of Inc.com reminds us to: 

• Remember that the past does not equal the future.
• Refuse to make self-fulfilling prophesies. 
• Get a sense of proportion.
• Change your threshold for "good" and "bad."
• Improve your body chemistry.
• Focus on what's going well.
• Expect something wondrous.

The tips sound simple, but can make a powerful difference in how you feel and how you work.  Read more here and see if it has a positive impact on your day.

 

Bye Bye BlackBerry. How Long Will Apple Last? - Article from Forbes

When we look at game changing technology, it's often tempting to have a myopic perspective.  If we look back just 5 years ago, Blackberry was the be all and end all of the Smartphone market and Apple was less than a twinkle in the eye.  But as Blackberry are just going through a major re-trenching effort, due to falling profits and poorly focused products, we are reminded of how quickly things can change.  Just five years ago, “BlackBerry” was virtually synonymous with “smartphones.” It was well on its way to becoming a generic trademark, like Kleenex or Band-Aid, that would seemingly forever be associated with its entire sector. “For many, the Blackberry is a must-have gadget, a wireless hand-held computer that can send e-mail and make phone calls,” noted a 2005 NPR story on the “CrackBerry,” as some BlackBerry addicts referred to the device. (Incidentally, the story compared the BlackBerry to the Palm Treo, an equally popular device at the time.)  Read more here: via www.forbes.com

How Social Media can humanise Leaders

In an interesting article from emarketer, they suggested that a new study had shown that increased use of social media such as blogging or twitter had had a positive impact on the relationship and reputation of CEOs.  We have written in the past about the game changing nature of social media, particular mini blogging platforms and how they can enhance engagement.  Here is a another example of how it could bring great benefits.

According to a study by social media branding firm BRANDfog consumers and employees regard company leaders who engage on social media platforms positively.  Read More: via www.emarketer.com

About us

Agents2change works with some of the world's largest companies on change and engagement issues.   If you’d like to know more contact us at:  [email protected]

Want to share your experiences of social media in your business?  Post a comment here.

The Five Personalities of Innovators: Which One Are You? - Forbes

We have just completed a two-parter on personality types  (Myers Briggs and the Four Temperaments, and as if to complement that, Forbes have just published this article on the five personalities of innovators.

The Forbes Insights study surveyed more than 1,200 executives in Europe across a range of topics and themes. Using a series of questions about their attitudes, beliefs, priorities and behaviors, coupled with a look at the external forces that can either foster – or desiccate – an innovative environment, a picture emerged of five key personality types the play a role in the innovation cycle.

Are you a:

Movers & Shakers;
Controllers;
Star Pupil;
Experimenter;
Or a
Hanger on?

 

 

 

Read More here:  via www.forbes.com

 

 

About us

Agents2change works with some of the world's largest companies on change and implementation issues. We regularly use personality frameworks for leadership, team and organisational development.  If you’d like to know more contact us at:  [email protected]

Myers Briggs – which type are you?

In our previous blog we explored the four temperaments, perhaps one of the oldest personality type models on the planet.  But to this, we now add a good all-rounder that has proved a helpful framework in which to consider why you work the way you do. 

No psychometric model predicts behaviour, but they can go a long way to explaining the motives behind our actions.  The Myers Briggs model is particularly robust, since it has been developed through over 60 years of research and has shown a high degree of reliability.

Where does the model come from?

The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was developed by Katherine Briggs and her daughter Isabel Myers Briggs, building on the work of Carl Jung.  It was Jung that first coined the Psychological Types in 1921, and his work was taken up by Katherine Brigg and her daughter post World War II to develop into a model of psychological preferences. 

Jung based his original theory on observations of many hundreds of patients and colleagues, whom he found displayed distinct differences in how they responded to the demands of everyday life and arrived at decisions.

 

What are the Types?

The MBTI is based on four opposing pairs, or dichotomies, that are related to how we interact with the world around us and arrive at our own decisions.

A questionnaire helps to define the preferences for each individual, which are always at the heart of our psychological make-up, but may not be immediately obvious to us, as we have learnt to adapt and change our responses based on work and life experiences. 

 

The MBTI model helps to explain why some people :

• may need to talk through their decisions in detail; whilst others need time to reflect and then present their decision.
• are very good at organising and planning their work and others appear to work in chaos.
• are good at remembering fine detail from a situation and others refer to general themes and patterns.
• make decisions based on facts; whilst other will refer to the emotional impact on others.

 

How can you use MBTI?

The framework like all self-assessment tools helps to raise your awareness of how you work and think and how this may impact on your work with others.  The Type indicators can also be informative when thinking of your career and life choices, by helping you to better understand the work roles and organisational settings that will suit you. 

For teams and organisations, it provides a common framework and language from which to explore the many differences in how team members, managers and leaders operate and can lead to a better understanding of the benefits of a diverse workforce.

 

About us

Agents2change works with some of the world's largest companies on change and implementation issues.  We regularly use MBTI as a developmental framework for leadership, team and organisational development.  If you’d like to know more contact us at:  [email protected]

 

The Four Temperaments – What’s your type?

These days there are a plethora of tools, models and frameworks designed to explain the human psyche and how we work, but many of them do not stand the test of time.  However one model, which is perhaps the archetype of all modern psychometric models is that of the four temperaments. 

Over 2,500 years ago in the time of Hippocrates the idea of different types to define the human condition was introduced; this was called the Four Temperaments.  The early thinking was that the differences in mood, emotions and behaviours could be defined by ‘type’ has been a recurring theme in human history.  In the middle ages, right the way up to the eighteenth century, the four temperaments had an enduring appeal, although at that time it was linked to the rather dubious idea of physiognomy; the idea that one’s outer appearance could define one’s inner attributes.  

Of course such thinking could easily lead to stereotypes and discrimination and gradually the concept of the four temperaments fell out of favour.  However it does provide a remarkably fresh and topical way of thinking about the differences in human nature, and deserves to be reviewed in a more judicial light.  Essentially the four temperaments are linked to elements that help to explain and describe the behavioural characteristics within them.

 

 

Sanguine – Air

Typically this temperament is associated with creative and artistic types.  They would have a reputation for being energetic, changeable and perhaps hard to pin down to long-term commitments.  They are outwardly focused and concerned about the world and the environment they live in.  People gravitate towards their energy and often find them inspiring. 

Choleric – Fire

As the element suggests, this is often seen as a strong personality.  Focused on goals, actions and outward success; Cholerics are good at getting things done and getting those around them to follow.  At their most positive they are charismatic and charming, however if less well developed they can come across as dogmatic and bullying.  They often excel in entrepreneurial and leadership roles.

Phlegmatic – Water

One of the top qualities often associated with this temperament is reliability and calmness.  They are seen as hard workers, who will get on with their work with minimum of fuss.  Whilst they can make good leaders, it is not something that they would naturally pursue, preferring instead to have their own space and time to do what they wish.  Rules and routines are important to them and they do not like to have these interrupted or changed unneccesarily.

Melancholic – Earth

This temperament like its element, has its feet firmly rooted in the ground.  They are concerned about the here and now, and do not like needless flights of fancy.  Action and roles must have clear purpose, and they are often the first to find fault in poorly put together plans.  They tend to be quiet and thoughtful, but are in danger of becoming obsessive, if they are left to worry too much about details. 

 

Using the Four Temperaments in your organisation

The temperaments framework, like any other gives us a common language to consider the similarities and differences that are evident between us and our colleagues.  As one of the oldest personality theories, it provides a useful, easy to way in which to reflect on how and why we work the way we do.  To help you to do this, consider the following:

• Which one is your type and how might this differ from your boss and your colleagues?
• Does that impact on how you influence others?
• Can it help  you to understand conflicts that emerge in the workplace?

In our next blog we will look at how the model has been updated and is evident in the Myers Briggs type indicator which is widely used today.

About us

Agents2change works with some of the world's largest companies on change and implementation issues.  We'd love to hear your thoughts on this blog, innovation or change in general.  Share your comments here or email us on [email protected]