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?
Wednesday, 23 July 2008
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.....
Wednesday, 7 May 2008
Discipline, boy!
I am shocked to see that it has been over a month since my last post. I generally point the finger of blame at my friends in the telecoms industry - it has all been so distracting, can't get on with things etc etc.
Of course, that is all just so much flannel.
And it brought back memories of starting a new job myself. How I would get distracted by seemingly endless induction programmes and catch-up reading. Some of this was created by the people I was now working for, who were 'just to busy' to find me something I could actually get on with in my newby state. But some of it was driven by fear that I might finally have bitten off more than I could chew and if I kept my head down no one would find out.
Finding something - one thing - you can do everyday, not matter how new you are, that contributes to the team (or business in my case) and just do it. Next time you turn round you will find you are busy, involved, contributing and well in the swing.
Where can you 'stick with it'?
Of course, that is all just so much flannel.
And it brought back memories of starting a new job myself. How I would get distracted by seemingly endless induction programmes and catch-up reading. Some of this was created by the people I was now working for, who were 'just to busy' to find me something I could actually get on with in my newby state. But some of it was driven by fear that I might finally have bitten off more than I could chew and if I kept my head down no one would find out.
Finding something - one thing - you can do everyday, not matter how new you are, that contributes to the team (or business in my case) and just do it. Next time you turn round you will find you are busy, involved, contributing and well in the swing.
Where can you 'stick with it'?
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