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3 Changes of Expression to Change Your Business Forever

  By Christina Lattimer • July 6, 2014 - 3:21 pm ,

 

BusinessBusiness “Speak” Can Close Down Employees

My son had a bit of an “Aha moment” at the weekend.  He has been struggling with motivation, which isn’t uncommon for a 17 year old with his life before him and a multitude of opportunities to choose from.

We were sitting in the car and he was talking about going to University.  Of course, being practical I trotted out my singular mantra “You only want to go and get £36k + in debt if you know what you want to do”.  Little did I realise my flippant and black and white logic was actually paralysing him from moving forward.

His “Aha moment” was when he realised that my tunnel vision type logic was flawed.  It sounds so simple, but he figured out he could still plan to go to University, go on visits, work towards it etc., but it didn’t mean by doing so, he had to close down his options to do something else, when decision time came.  He figured out that actually if he worked hard and got good results it would hold him in good stead either for Uni, a good job, and to start up a business if he wanted to.

After he realised this freedom, there was a definite spring in his step which made me realise how inadvertently I had been shutting him down from keeping his options open.  I was mystified why it was such a big “Aha moment” for him.  It hit me like a big sledgehammer that I already assumed he was keeping his options open, but that the language and way I expressed my concerns made him think I expected him to make a decision now.

The incident with my son, made me think about some of the common expressions and practices we use at work from a business perspective and how instead of motivating excellence or great business outcomes, they actually leave employees strapped into a culture of “business speak”, and “norms” of behaviour, leaving them feeling as if their hands are tied, or even worse maintaining a trance-like approach to these practices.   Of course, like the incident with my son, leaders often assume their people understand that they don’t literally mean what they say.  However, in my experience, that’s not always the case.

Here are some of the most common and badly interpreted names and expressions for business practices which can close down thinking and help maintain the status quo.  With some imagination, the way these practices are expressed can help keep minds and conversations open.

  1.  Holding a Performance Review/Appraisal

This much maligned business practice has got such a poor reputation, with connotations of a mechanical approach to giving feedback that any business leader who really wants to make a difference, must think again.  Even if the practice is good, the mere naming it of a performance appraisal or review simply dulls the brain.  Find an alternative way to express the one-to-one time a manager has with his team.  Make the process a continuous dialogue, and have milestones which enhance the way managers interact with their team.  Call them “Driving up performance” sessions” or “How you contribute” meetings”, or even just “One-to-one time”.  Of course it doesn’t matter what you call the sessions if they are mechanical tick box exercises, but by naming these valuable times with employees something meaningful, it can help people see just how important they are.

  1. Business Planning Cycle

This expression implies an especially tedious routine for people who simply hate planning.  For people who enjoy planning, it implies a process related way of approaching the business, in a set formula which might bear no resemblance to the actual issues in hand.   Replacing the traditional business planning cycle with some inspirational language can transform the whole approach to business planning.   Make the coming year a journey, with a story attached to it.  Make it interesting, amusing and exciting.  Alternative ideas could be “Our Journey of Success For 2015”, or “Involving All for Success ….”, or even “Continually improving xxx during….”    Story telling can excite and catch the imagination of your people.

  1. Achieving Results

I would love a £1 for every time I’ve heard an employee tell me the biggest problem with an organisation is their focus on results and targets to the exclusion of other things that matter in a business.  Of course, businesses have to achieve results, but at this time when ethical and values based leadership is becoming more essential, the goal posts have changed.  While any good business leader will of course understand that good business is about a multitude of factors, they may be inadvertently stifling other successes because their language is all about “Achieving Results”.   Instead of simply focusing on results, focus on “Achieving Brilliant Outcomes”,  “Our meaningful Impacts”, or even “Delivering on our Customer Success Criteria”.  Find ways to celebrate success which harnesses the conceptual and emotional sides to your customers and people.

It’s time to become aware of our propensity to close down innovation, creativity, inclusion and participation, and think again.  Next time my son talks about his future, I would simply say “Just do your best, it will all become apparent, and keep your options open”.

Do you have any pet expressions you think close people down in the workplace?  Or have you or your organisation found inspirational alternatives to standard business -speak?

 

This great article is from the People Discovery blog, associated with The e.MILE People Development Magazine: the Magazine is currently running a series for the 6 months April to September 2014 based on the challenges identified by The Centre For Creative Leaderships report 2013 Don't Miss Out!  Sign up here to be notified of our subsequent issues and posts

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If you are a leader, you are continually developing and "Sharpening the Saw".  If you lead and manage teams, then you must read about our Inspirational New Leadership Programme.  Sign up now to find out more details when we launch in July 2014.  There is no obligation to undertake the programme, if you sign up today, you will simply be sent more information about the programme.  You can unsubscribe at any time!  Click below to register for further information.

   
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Do You Show Commitment? – Six Principles to Gain Trust

  By Christina Lattimer • August 10, 2012 - 11:39 am

commitmentCommitment engenders trust

If you are a leader, you must gain the trust of your team if you are going to excel at getting results.  For some people, trust is gained over a period of time, and sometimes, time is not a commodity you have at your disposal, especially if you have been seconded into a role or brought in to spearhead a project for example which has limited time-span.  Commitment and the length of time you spend in your role can be a big deal for your followers as shown in the following example…..

After the retirement of a respected and long serving senior leader, his new bright-eyed replacement newly selected for the position visited the team.  The arrival of the thirty-something female whose career had been fast paced and widely reported was met with eager anticipation.  Not only was she completely different from the outgoing leader; she had a liveliness about her, which together with her highly acclaimed reputation, gave off an air of professional brilliance.

Upon her arrival, her new team were excited, hopeful and welcoming.   But the buoyant mood didn’t last. Within an hour the atmosphere had changed considerably.  In her opening speech, the new leader announced what she hoped to achieve in her time with the team, and in the same breath told them her intention was to stay for two years, by which time she would be moving on.

The team’s optimism was crushed.  In the new leader’s mind, she was being upfront and honest with them.  In their eyes she was planning her exit even before she had opened the entrance door, and she lacked commitment. The deciding factor for her followers was that the two years term suited the requirements of the wider organisation and had nothing to do with the leadership task at hand.

Whether you are committed or not may not be in question at all for you as a leader.  The question and the doubt raised by longevity in terms of your leadership might be more of an issue for your followers.

In this fast paced world, corporate and team leaders come and go.    Founder leaders of established companies are more likely to stay and give their followers welcome consistency.  There are many stories where founders have exited their leadership roles and their “dream” by selling out and moving on, only to find the business fails or falters within years, if not months, of their leaving.  Given the rate of change both in the business world and as our own goals and dreams change, what role does commitment play in our credibility as a leader?

I believe that whether you are trusted as a committed leader depends on many factors. As a leader you must fully understand the depth, length and purpose of the commitment required of you.  Additionally you need to be clear about the possibilities of your leadership term being terminated early for you, and the circumstances in which you might choose to leave before time.  Crucially, in the beginning, middle and end of your term of leadership you plan, communicate and position your intentions.

As a leader several principles are relevant in communicating and positioning your commitment in different circumstances.   Commitment is a crucial aspect of your leadership role which gives your followers the certainty they need to be able to develop a relationship with you and grow in trust.  You must position your particular leadership commitment so that you can manage expectations.

The principles are:

  • When appointed for a specific , be clear about your outcomes and be prepared to see it through to the end
  • When appointed for a specific task, determine the part or phase of the task you will lead on, how long that will take and exactly which outcomes you will be responsible for delivering.
  • If you aren’t sure you will be reappointed, commit to a dedication to the vision, values and mission of the company while you are there. Be clear about your leadership outcomes during your first term
  • Where you are founder, a dedication to your own values and vision and a promise to do all within your power to put in place a sustainable plan after you leave.
  • A commitment to your followers that you will do the best you can for them while you are there
  • A commitment to doing your absolute best no matter how long your term as a leader lasts

I had no doubt that the new leader described above was committed, albeit for a predetermined period.  In retrospect she could have positioned her commitment to two years with a clear vision about her legacy, and what she could do for her followers in that time.

If you lead your team it’s vital you position your commitment.  If you doubt your commitment to any role, no matter how long it is then your followers will pick this up.  What is true for everyone, whether in a leadership role or not, if you doubt your propensity to stay the course, then simply commit yourself for a day at a time.  In that way you will retain your focus as will those around you.

 

 

 

This great article is from the People Discovery blog, associated with The e.MILE People Development Magazine: the Magazine is currently running a series for the 6 months April to September 2014 based on the challenges identified by The Centre For Creative Leaderships report 2013 Don't Miss Out!  Sign up here to be notified of our subsequent issues and posts

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If you are a leader, you are continually developing and "Sharpening the Saw".  If you lead and manage teams, then you must read about our Inspirational New Leadership Programme.  Sign up now to find out more details when we launch in July 2014.  There is no obligation to undertake the programme, if you sign up today, you will simply be sent more information about the programme.  You can unsubscribe at any time!  Click below to register for further information.

   
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Making family friendly work for you – 5 mistakes and how to avoid them

  By Christina Lattimer • June 28, 2012 - 11:20 am

family friendlyFamily Friendly is an employee and business benefit

If you struggle to get the very best people to come and work for you.   If you believe your employees aren’t giving their best, or are stressed because their working life and domestic life don’t work well together.  Or if you have a high rate of unexplained absence, then you may wish to consider reviewing your family friendly offer.

If you want to attract and retain top talent now and in the future;  to remain competitive in the talent marketplace you must consider a family friendly culture as a business benefit as well as an employee benefit.

The main reason why businesses don’t introduce a family friendly environment are three fold, they don’t know how; are afraid that it will detract from and impact negatively on achieving their outputs or results or don’t realise it’s important.

Enlightened organisations create a family friendly culture which fits their business model.  Being family friendly is the way forward and you will find  the best talent (who know they can pick and choose) will opt to work for businesses where they can operate in a way which fits their own personal circumstances.   My guess is you will find that this is the new contractual norm for talented people.

So what do I mean by family friendly?  There are a number of factors involved in creating a family friendly environment.  In short a combination of customs, practices and policies you can adopt to help your employee enjoy and attend to their home life as well as their work life.

Family friendly practices and policies can include:

  • Flexible working – including flexible hours, flexible location and flexible roles.
  • Time out – aimed at helping people care for dependants in the short and long term.
  • Work breaks – including career breaks and sabbaticals
  • Employee benefits – discounted childcare, elderly care, access to family health schemes, onsite crèches, after school clubs, holiday clubs.

Many enlightened organisations realise that a family friendly environment is a key factor in their employee attraction and retention strategy, but not many are easily able to articulate and implement family friendly practices effectively.

Effective implementation means not only do employees enjoy a work/life balance allowing them to attend to pressing domestic responsibilities and values, but also harnesses their loyalty, commitment and enthused effort.  Implemented well a synergistic effect of boosting motivation, leading to improved productivity, efficiency and profitability will result.

If you have tried to introduce a family friendly culture and are struggling, or you want to get started, here are 5 mistakes that business make, which you must avoid.

Mistake 1 – A vision setting out the factors involved in the family friendly offer is not clearly articulated.  The vision does not include what employees can expect, and importantly, omits expected benefits for the business.

Mistake 2 – The organisation doesn’t emphatically state  boundaries.  A family friendly culture must overall improve and energise the performance of the organisation.  There are limits and parameters.  If a family friendly culture begins to negatively impact it has overstepped accepted boundaries.

Mistake 3 – Managers only want to offer family friendly policies to best performers.  They fear some of the workforce will take advantage and not reciprocate by seeing it as a way to improve their contribution. This leads to managers unconsciously choosing who can and can’t take advantage of family friendly arrangements.

Mistake 4 – Managers do not assess workload impact of individual family friendly ways of working on the employee or on others in the team.  Thus adjusting the frame but not changing the internal picture.

Mistake 5 – Organisations don’t adequately train managers to a) understand the “bottom line”, b) harness a win/win result  c) review patterns and workloads d) be confident to say no, when it is fairer to do so and objectively justified

So now you know the pitfalls, here are some ways you can both avoid those mistakes and harness the best of both worlds, by getting the best out of your people, whilst improving their work/life balance.

  • Articulate accepted boundaries, and use as an acid test before you introduce any measure towards a family friendly culture.
  • Be clear about work patterns acceptable to you.  If compressed hours really don’t fit in your organisational model, don’t offer them.
  • Be clear about parameters of each measure. If time off for domestic emergencies is included in your family friendly package for example, make it clear it is not a default position.  Develop a framework to work through setting out alternatives an employee must consider.  If a situation develops which isn’t a one off; you and the employee need to agree an approach to deal with this.
  • Be imaginative about the extent of your work patterns and location framework.  Would extending to evening hours not only give employees some well needed flexible working solutions, but also benefit your customers?  Can employees work from home remotely, and could such a way of working ultimately cut accommodation overheads?
  • Be very clear your family friendly culture is a win/win offer.  You want to help employees with domestic responsibilities so they can be at their best at work, and give you maximum performance.
  •  Manage expectations of all employees.  Resentment can quite often fester when some of your workforce believe they are not included.  Manage perceptions; I once had someone tell me they thought my family friendly approach excluded them because they didn’t have children, or any dependants.  That was until she had to take time off because her dog needed a lifesaving operation.

If you are already going down the family friendly route, or intend to, then congratulations.  If devised and implemented thoughtfully through consultation with your strategists and your people, then it will be successful.  By being clear about your bottom line, you will gain the commitment, loyalty and best performance from your people and have people queuing up to work for you.

 

This great article is from the People Discovery blog, associated with The e.MILE People Development Magazine: the Magazine is currently running a series for the 6 months April to September 2014 based on the challenges identified by The Centre For Creative Leaderships report 2013 Don't Miss Out!  Sign up here to be notified of our subsequent issues and posts

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If you are a leader, you are continually developing and "Sharpening the Saw".  If you lead and manage teams, then you must read about our Inspirational New Leadership Programme.  Sign up now to find out more details when we launch in July 2014.  There is no obligation to undertake the programme, if you sign up today, you will simply be sent more information about the programme.  You can unsubscribe at any time!  Click below to register for further information.

   
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Succession Planning for Success

  By christinapd • February 6, 2012 - 11:50 am
Succession PlanningSuccession planning for success

Succession planning is a bit of an art, if it’s carried out effectively that is.  Perhaps I’m old fashioned, or perhaps I’m just an advocate of the principle of fair, open and transparent to the point of being a proverbial pain.  But do we score an own goal by disincentivising our employees, by not appearing to be fair, open and transparent when succession planning?

Why do we need succession planning?  Well in its purist form, it is to make sure that the organisation can continue to function with the right people, with the right skills at the right time. Some spin-off benefits of succession planning, can be bringing in new and fresh talent, or existing employees with a clear and possible career path.

One of the biggest confusions I have seen about succession planning, is when people are being earmarked to replace people who may be ready to retire, or they might be coming up for their next career step.   The practice of naming specific people to replace an incumbent is not succession planning.   It is a contingency plan.  There may be all kinds of reasons to have a simple contingency strategy, but usually it is because it is a specialist post which would leave a huge vacuum if the incumbent suddenly left and the talent pool is severely limited.

Even a contingency strategy like this can cause resentment with employees if it is not distinctly used away from any succession planning exercised.  To use a contingency strategy properly, employees would have no doubt that the person being earmarked for replacement was the right person, with the right skills, and the process fits with the organisational ethos.

The difference between contingency plans and succession planning is that succession planning is about helping people develop and be in the right place at the right time for existing roles, or developing roles.  Good succession planning should be about bringing in a range of talent, either in or outside of the organisation, and it should be fair and open.

Before you begin succession planning, you need to have an ethos.  Now that ethos will differ depending upon the business you are in.  For example, if you are succession planning in a family run business, it’s usually the first born son…..oh alright, or daughter.  If you are in a corporation or a public sector organisation, you might want to have a policy of growing your talent within and there are a number of ways you can do that.   If you are a business on the move, you might want to look at bringing in new talent with new and evolving skills.  Or you might have a combination of these approaches.

To successfully succession plan, my top tips are:

  1. Be clear about why you want to introduce succession planning.
    • Is it to recruit new and evolving talent?
    • Is it to develop new leaders/managers/specialists for the future?
  2. Be open about why you want to introduce succession planning with your current workforce.
  3. Be clear with your current employees about your rationale and let them see the possibilities for them.  If there aren’t possibilities for them, then be clear about that, but let them know why.
  4. Be clear about the difference between contingency planning and succession planning.
  5. If you have a list in a drawer with names, and the people who are named don’t know they are on there, then you might want to think about how helpful or not this is.
  6. If you have a list of names, and it is to replace specialist jobs and no-one but the named persons know they are on the list, then again you might want to think about your strategy.
  7. Be clear about the criteria you are going to apply to any succession planning exercise and communicate it widely.
  8. Be structured.  Make sure that you and everyone knows how it is going to work and what they can expect.  Align other employee lifecycle events with the succession plan where needed.
  9. Be open to attracting talent from everywhere.  There may be someone in your current workforce, who might not be displaying the characteristics for future job filling now, but with an open invitation, they might just go for it.
  10. If you decide the future is through a graduate scheme, try to make it accessible for existing workers, or have a route through for existing workers.  There is nothing more annoying than being great and going the extra mile, doing the duties of higher level jobs and being told that you can’t compete because you have to have a degree.
  11. If you want to source talent from within, then tie your succession planning to your appraisal/feedback scheme.  It is the easiest way to have those conversations and help people work in a way that helps them aim for different roles.
  12. If employees think they can progress in their own company, then they can be more likely to stay.  Chart out career pathways for your staff so that they can plan for the future.
  13. If your succession plan includes attracting talent from outside the organisation, make sure you have tapped the potential within first.

I have seen succession plans which have caused distrust and suspicion, the most toxic of employee attitudes.  So don’t ruin great relationships with your employees; make your succession planning, business focused, fair and transparent.

What do you think? Do you have any recommendations to add?  Do you have any views?  I would love to hear from you.

 

This great article is from the People Discovery blog, associated with The e.MILE People Development Magazine: the Magazine is currently running a series for the 6 months April to September 2014 based on the challenges identified by The Centre For Creative Leaderships report 2013 Don't Miss Out!  Sign up here to be notified of our subsequent issues and posts

121242255

If you are a leader, you are continually developing and "Sharpening the Saw".  If you lead and manage teams, then you must read about our Inspirational New Leadership Programme.  Sign up now to find out more details when we launch in July 2014.  There is no obligation to undertake the programme, if you sign up today, you will simply be sent more information about the programme.  You can unsubscribe at any time!  Click below to register for further information.