Reinforcing Dave and Bar's (as I call them) view that a leader needs to have time to do nothing but think (what a luxury that sounds) in order to keep the big picture in mind, is a recent report by Personnel Decision International.
The Pulse on Leaders was a study of senior executives and CEOs and found a knack for avoiding micro-managing, as well as a lack of passive-aggressive tendencies, distinguished future CEOs from other leaders.
Future CEOs can be recognised by their high energy levels, a desire to be in charge, and the ability to cut through complexity.
So, they have got to really want to do it, be able to identify what is truly important from the mass of information thrown at them and not need regular holidays.
It is easier to survive without a traditional break if your mind is given chance to do what it does best - think. The opportunity to think clearly and without interruption can be as refreshing and invigorating as a holiday.
Are your senior executives driven by the need to be seen to be busy, busy, busy? How do you give your them chance to think and deliver the value they are truly capable of?
Tuesday 29 July 2008
Just think
I had the strange experience of being very reassured by a small piece in the Sunday Telegraph this weekend.
It was a report on a part of the conversation between David Cameron and Barack Obama in which they were discussing diary management (don't we all!). We all think our diaries are out of control but imagine what it is like for these guys. Everyone wants a piece of them and their diaries are filled up in 15 minute increments. David Cameron referred to it as the 'dentist's waiting room'.
What was so refreshing was that they both agreed that the most important thing to do was 'to have big chunks of time during the day when all you're doing is thinking' in order to keep a sense of the big picture and not lose your 'feeling' or the judgement you need to use to make decisions.
It is easy to think that what we need from our leaders is the ability to make snap decisions, under pressure all the time. True, we do need some of that, but we also are in desperate need of them having time to think.
It was a report on a part of the conversation between David Cameron and Barack Obama in which they were discussing diary management (don't we all!). We all think our diaries are out of control but imagine what it is like for these guys. Everyone wants a piece of them and their diaries are filled up in 15 minute increments. David Cameron referred to it as the 'dentist's waiting room'.
What was so refreshing was that they both agreed that the most important thing to do was 'to have big chunks of time during the day when all you're doing is thinking' in order to keep a sense of the big picture and not lose your 'feeling' or the judgement you need to use to make decisions.
It is easy to think that what we need from our leaders is the ability to make snap decisions, under pressure all the time. True, we do need some of that, but we also are in desperate need of them having time to think.
Wednesday 23 July 2008
We're all going on a summer holiday
Visiting a client's offices today I could tell that the summer was upon us by the fact of having a choice of parking spaces in their normally packed out car park.
It is lovely, isn't it, when things slow down, things sometimes even have to wait! Extraordinary. I trained as a Thinking Environment coach, in which the component of 'ease' is critical, so I revel in these moments to pause and reflect.
What is amazing is how generative ease can be. Feed of the need for urgency, to be seen to be busy, to be doing, our minds can allow new ideas to take root and begin to flourish. Bringing up new opportunities and approaches to the issues we face.
How can this time of relative ease be a period of renewal and fresh thinking for you rather than a stage that puts you back?
It is lovely, isn't it, when things slow down, things sometimes even have to wait! Extraordinary. I trained as a Thinking Environment coach, in which the component of 'ease' is critical, so I revel in these moments to pause and reflect.
What is amazing is how generative ease can be. Feed of the need for urgency, to be seen to be busy, to be doing, our minds can allow new ideas to take root and begin to flourish. Bringing up new opportunities and approaches to the issues we face.
How can this time of relative ease be a period of renewal and fresh thinking for you rather than a stage that puts you back?
They are already here
In my last post I spoke about Level 5 leaders, as defined by Jim Collins - a combination of professional will and personal humility - who guided their respective companies to sustained market beating performances.
What was fascinating about them was that they were the opposite of the larger-than-life, egocentric leader that boards often feel they need to bring in to make their company great. Of course, that kind of appointment is high profile, usually applauded and helps to make the board feel that they are 'doing something'.
Ten out of eleven of the good-to-great CEOs, however, came from inside the company. WOW!
What this means is that it is possible that the potentially great leaders for your company are already with you. They are just not as easy to spot as the ego-driving, shouting loudest celebrity leader.
What can you do to identity them?
What was fascinating about them was that they were the opposite of the larger-than-life, egocentric leader that boards often feel they need to bring in to make their company great. Of course, that kind of appointment is high profile, usually applauded and helps to make the board feel that they are 'doing something'.
Ten out of eleven of the good-to-great CEOs, however, came from inside the company. WOW!
What this means is that it is possible that the potentially great leaders for your company are already with you. They are just not as easy to spot as the ego-driving, shouting loudest celebrity leader.
What can you do to identity them?
Tuesday 22 July 2008
Who's in charge here?
It seems that everyone is looking to build\improve\introduce leadership into their senior management teams. But how many of us have actually define what we mean by that; how it differs from management, how to spot it, who is doing it already in our company, what we need to be doing differently.
If you ask most people what are the characteristics of a great leader, whether it be in business, politics or other, you will get the usual replies - dynamism, hard driving, ego-centric, larger than life. Nowadays we would see them as your classic celebrity leader.
Jim Collins, in his wonderful book Good To Great, identified a style of leadership in successful companies as pretty much the opposite of this. He called them Level 5 Leaders:
'Level 5 leaders channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company....they are incredibly ambitious - but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution, not themselves.'
Who are the Level 5 leaders in your organisation?
If you ask most people what are the characteristics of a great leader, whether it be in business, politics or other, you will get the usual replies - dynamism, hard driving, ego-centric, larger than life. Nowadays we would see them as your classic celebrity leader.
Jim Collins, in his wonderful book Good To Great, identified a style of leadership in successful companies as pretty much the opposite of this. He called them Level 5 Leaders:
'Level 5 leaders channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company....they are incredibly ambitious - but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution, not themselves.'
Who are the Level 5 leaders in your organisation?
Thursday 17 July 2008
The Old Ones are the Best
Research overload at the moment, but this one is fascinating.
The BBC website recently ran a feature on a piece of research which suggests that older workers (those over 50 - surely just middle ages!) are happier and more fulfilled in thier work. Link here is you want to read the full thing - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7511205.stm
All well and good. Those in their 30's, however, were most likely to have a negative view of their work. Just a guess, but I expect you see more people in their 30s than 50s when you look around your office.
So what can you do to help these struggling, insecure careerists who are, after all, likely to be relatively highly paid, expensive to replace and the future leaders of your business? Empathising and understanding of those facing mid-career disillusionment can only really be done at an individual level which would suggest mentoring and one to one coaching as the best options.
Do you have the opportunity to use those fulfilled 50 year olds as mentors to give hope and direction to the potential drops out?
The BBC website recently ran a feature on a piece of research which suggests that older workers (those over 50 - surely just middle ages!) are happier and more fulfilled in thier work. Link here is you want to read the full thing - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7511205.stm
All well and good. Those in their 30's, however, were most likely to have a negative view of their work. Just a guess, but I expect you see more people in their 30s than 50s when you look around your office.
So what can you do to help these struggling, insecure careerists who are, after all, likely to be relatively highly paid, expensive to replace and the future leaders of your business? Empathising and understanding of those facing mid-career disillusionment can only really be done at an individual level which would suggest mentoring and one to one coaching as the best options.
Do you have the opportunity to use those fulfilled 50 year olds as mentors to give hope and direction to the potential drops out?
Friday 11 July 2008
Burn, baby, burn
Recent research* surprisingly suggests that burnout occurs largely to those in the early (first 10 years) of their careers. Not the 40-something, 'work has been my life for 20 years' executive of popular imagination.
Whilst it is undoubtedly the individual - whether through the choices they make or the way they handle challenges - who determines whether they burn out or not, it is organisations who create the conditions for it to happen.
The potential cost to an organisation is staggering. Up to £1,000,000 if the person reaches the final stage and leaves the organisation, and hundreds of thousands as performance declines.
The younger they are the more they had the potential to contribute.
Burnout can't always be avoided, but coaching through it can benefit the individual and the organisation by enabling them to develop wisdom, perspective, gounded decision making and a highened sense of service. Priceless.
*T. Casserley & D. Megginson
Whilst it is undoubtedly the individual - whether through the choices they make or the way they handle challenges - who determines whether they burn out or not, it is organisations who create the conditions for it to happen.
The potential cost to an organisation is staggering. Up to £1,000,000 if the person reaches the final stage and leaves the organisation, and hundreds of thousands as performance declines.
The younger they are the more they had the potential to contribute.
Burnout can't always be avoided, but coaching through it can benefit the individual and the organisation by enabling them to develop wisdom, perspective, gounded decision making and a highened sense of service. Priceless.
*T. Casserley & D. Megginson
Thursday 10 July 2008
Let's do diaries
Although the HR department often bear the brunt of it, pretty much anyone who works at a senior level in an organisation know the difficulties of getting people, usually across functions and locations, together for hours at a time.
So how inspired was I to read that Norman Jardine, head of learning and development at the European Commission, managed to get a group of 16 Commission Leaders together for a half day team coaching session! That's 16 different nationalities in one place at the same time. Can you imagine the logistical and linguistic complexities of this? Can you imagine the characters involved? And I am sure time zones had some sort of impact.
Appartently it took him about 3 years of 'toe dipping' exercises to encourage the change from clasical training to self-directed learning.
So, if you are stuggling to encourage a coaching approach in your organisation, take heart! If Norman can do it.....
So how inspired was I to read that Norman Jardine, head of learning and development at the European Commission, managed to get a group of 16 Commission Leaders together for a half day team coaching session! That's 16 different nationalities in one place at the same time. Can you imagine the logistical and linguistic complexities of this? Can you imagine the characters involved? And I am sure time zones had some sort of impact.
Appartently it took him about 3 years of 'toe dipping' exercises to encourage the change from clasical training to self-directed learning.
So, if you are stuggling to encourage a coaching approach in your organisation, take heart! If Norman can do it.....
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