Leadership and Management

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Leaders Make Mistakes Too – 5 Steps to Redeem a Potentially Fatal Error

By Christina Lattimer • August 15, 2013 - 3:07 pm Leadership and Management

Repeated mistakes are no longer sustainable

Ethics, morality and values based leadership are high on any thought leaders agenda right now. Realisation that materialism, self-gain and profit above ethics is no longer tenable, means leaders now have to be really clear their organisational and personal values, not only have to match, but must be demonstrated on a day-to day basis.

The public outcry in response to the face book status, made by Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In Editor, , is a stark demonstration of how questionable values can destroy trust.

For readers who have not yet followed this undoubtedly viral story, Jessica Bennett’s status invited applications for an “unpaid intern” with a description of the desired skill set and expectations in terms of the intern’s availability.

The response was immediate, with the majority of responders expressing “disgust” at the decision to attempt to get unpaid help, while Lean In’s purpose to promote and foster equality in the workplace, appears to be compromised. To make matters worse, it seems, Sheryl Sandberg’s widely reported sale of $91 Million Worth Of Facebook Stock” would suggest the founder of the organisation is not short of a bob or two.

Some brave responders disagreed and suggested the opportunity to gain the experience Lean In could offer would so benefit the intern that to work for free was a “gift”.

At the time of writing Sheryl Sandberg had yet to respond, while the Los Angeles Times, published a a short statement from Lean In. “Andrea Saul, a spokeswoman for Lean In, said in a statement: “LeanIn.Org, like many non-profits, has enjoyed the participation of part-time volunteers to help us advance our education and peer support programs.”

Whatever the intention behind the Facebook status, the announcement has not only caused readers to question Lean In’s organisational values, but also demonstrates how different perspectives and views take on a life of their own and can call into question the values of the leader.

The problem with values at work is that actions always speak louder than words. Leaders who say one thing while doing another are simply creating an environment of distrust and division. Care needs to be taken that all actions are aligned to fundamental values. This is true not only when public announcements take place, but when internal decisions are being taken. Every action is conveyed out, and note will be taken, whether the leader likes it or not.

For Lean In, there may be a number of valid explanations for calling to recruit unpaid people to work for the organisation, but lack of clarification or communication is allowing people to simply make up their own minds. At best, this is a badly worded gaffe. At worst, it demonstrates a lack of commitment to organisational values and therefore calls into question the effectiveness of the aims of the organisation.

Like it or not, if you are a leader, there are going to be times when you either communicate inadequately or simply make a wrong call.

I’ve made many mistakes in my time, and the incident which springs to mind, happened only a few years ago.

I had worked hard with my team to foster a culture of inclusion and collaboration, making sure everyone was heard and had a say, where it was appropriate to do so. I also wanted to offer a service to our customers that was second to none, and the team was tasked to develop a strategy to do so.

Ever an opportunist, while this process was going on I got the chance to sign the entire team up for accredited customer service training for peanuts, as the training provider had access to grant funding. After a pretty unscheduled demonstration I signed on the dotted line, thinking I had bagged a brilliant bargain and a great opportunity for my team.

As soon as I made the announcement, I realised of course, I had made a tremendous gaffe. Notwithstanding the training and assignment time was completely in work-time, notwithstanding the team were going to get a recognised qualification, as well as learn the skills of brilliant customer service, all for a price which hardly made a dent in our ever pressed budget; I had violated at least three fundamental values, which I had been at pains to stress over the months I had worked with the team. The first one was simply to communicate with them, the second, to consult with them about major decisions which affected them and the third was to allow them to develop the overall customer service strategy, and take ownership of it.

Thankfully they took me to task about my actions in no uncertain terms. I was within a hairsbreadth of losing their trust forever. I knew my intentions were good, but I also knew I had to do something honest and with integrity to make matters right. The following framework can be applied to most situations, although they may come in different orders depending on the impact of the gaffe.

Admit you were wrong and apologise. I told them I was sorry, and honestly explained that in my enthusiasm to capture what I thought was an amazing opportunity, I had acted too quickly.

Set out your original intention. I wanted to be able to help my team develop exceptional customer service skills. I wasn’t expecting them to study or attend workshops outside of working hours. I also wanted to give them an externally recognisable qualification so it added to their bank of transferable skills. Most of the time, we do make decisions with the best of intentions, even if we haven’t thought through the entirety of our actions. Without being defensive, it is part of being honest to describe your reasons for making the decision. If well-intentioned then your reasoning is a valid factor.

Get Feedback. It’s no good forging on and making good without really listening to what your team are saying. If you want to make things right, you cannot assume anything. When I first heard objections to the proposal for training, I immediately jumped to the conclusion that the team just didn’t want to commit. Luckily enough I had enough experience to realise this probably wasn’t the case. When I realised it was because they thought I had tread on their space and usurped their decision making powers, I could not but be grateful that the very values I had tried to introduce were alive and well.

Understand Your Bottom Line. Sometimes good decisions are made in the wrong way, and the outcome is un-negotiable. At other times, there are some options, where some compromise can be made and then you can find a solution within those parameters. In some cases, you just have to put your hands up and ditch your decision. In this situation, having listened to team members, I gave them back their decision making power, and made entry onto the course optional; although it was understood we had to find a way to help those not undertaking the training to find a way to meet the aspirational standards we needed. As it happens every one undertook the training (and passed!).

Make Amends. The customer service you remember is when the provider or supplier goes the extra mile. Things may go horribly wrong, but it is how the supplier deals with the situation that you remember best. It is the same with making a gaffe. It is how you subsequently deal with it which is at the heart of your redemption. As well as all of the above steps, in this case, I asked the team how they wanted to interact with me in the future, to make sure they were fully informed about potential developments and also that I consulted with them. I committed to this and made sure I followed up with my promise because I realised how tenuously close I had been in losing trust.

No doubt it will become apparent what the intentions behind the “Lean In” situation are in reality. It may be decided to quietly withdraw the post and make no announcement. I sincerely hope though they follow the 5 steps above or take similar action to deal with their gaffe.

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The 3 Biggest Mistakes Leaders Make Which Diminishes Their Credibility

By Christina Lattimer • August 1, 2013 - 11:25 am Miscellaneous

The 3 Biggest Mistakes Leaders Make Which Diminishes Their Credibility

Inconveniently, I’ve always had a conscience for some reason. This is not a holier than thou admission, it is just telling it how it is. It doesn’t mean I’ve always done the right thing, in fact I could fill this page with actions and reactions I’ve made over the years which make me positively cringe.

What this meant for me for many years, was I would act in a way which logically was right, but I often walked around feeling bad. When I would react in anger or judgement or just downright selfishly, I always had a stab in my abdomen which told me (I thought), how bad I was. Certainly when I was younger I was often angry or judgemental so I felt pretty bad much of the time.

As I grew, I realised that the stab in the abdomen was a warning that I was pretty much going to get myself into trouble, and that I was on the wrong track. It took me years to listen, but when I did, I realised inside me I had a brilliant guidance system which if I listened hard enough would help keep me out of trouble. I think I was lucky though born with a preference for intuition, even though my ego like an unruly rebellious child simply wanted to ignore it much of the time.

What I learned when leading and managing teams was that my intuition was absolutely vital and valuable, when I chose to listen of course.

There are a number of things my intuition told me as I led and managed others. The first one was to act with integrity. I strived to do this; tempted often to be expedient rather than act with integrity I mostly managed it, the gut always flashing that red warning light when I ignored this sound advice.

The second was to value everyone equally, and be scrupulously fair in my dealings with others. This was a challenging call. Like everyone else, it’s easy to lean towards those who are like you and who make your life easier. It’s much more challenging to embrace those who aren’t and who seem to give you endless headaches.

The third I want to highlight is to live a life of contribution. Definitely the most challenging tasks my intuition kept hammering home to me. Although I was always pretty motivated at work (ok, some would say a workaholic), it was only up until a very few years ago I was driven by my own desire to do a good job, my main motivation being to demonstrate to and give my kids a better life. My kids are pretty much grown up now, so once I realised I had kind of achieved that goal, a mini depression set in because I had lost my purpose. And of course, this was just the opportunity my intuition had been waiting for! The only way I was able to regain my sense of purpose was to start down the path of contribution.

There are many lessons my intuition has taught me, and they have all been kindly and affirming. When I have ignored them my intuition just waits silently, not judging, not impatiently, simply waiting for the time when I was ready to listen.

Its vital leaders get in touch with their intuition, because when they do, decision making doesn’t come any easier, but it does have better results. I have found, through both bitter experience and observing others, many ways leaders destroy their credibility and lose the trust of their team. The following are for me the most prevalent.

These mistakes of course, are not limited to leaders and managers; they demonstrate the character of you as a person. So today, ask yourself if you are making these mistakes. If you are don’t worry, we are all do to an extent. But with awareness comes change.

Don’t act with integrity

There are many versions of integrity, and sometimes the components of integrity are difficult to articulate. But for me acting with integrity describes a number of forces at play. Some of them include acting in accordance with the values you lay claim to. Understanding what others value and respecting them even if you don’t agree with them. Accepting others, being non-judgemental, discerning and being true to oneself. Being open to being wrong is always a key component of integrity! To act in true integrity can infer a heightened consciousness, or self-awareness. When leaders don’t act with integrity, then team members don’t feel safe.

Don’t value others equally

This is a hard one, because when someone is making life difficult it is hard to value them as much as someone who isn’t. We all make judgements even superficially. Our unconscious biases are always in play. The differences for leaders who consciously value others equally are the fact they are always questioning their decisions.

One of the biggest problems I find with clients is in their desire to get rid of a difficult person they form an attitude about them as a person. This just gets in the way. The best way to deal with difficult people is to maintain respect for them as people, but deal with their behaviour. Just because you value people equally, doesn’t mean you don’t deal decisively with unwanted behaviour. You are just kind when you do. When leaders don’t value others equally for being human, then even the most favoured employee will observe and note the unfairness, even if they aren’t at the receiving end of it.

Lack a contribution mind-set

There is nothing wrong with a leader who is competitive, results orientated, commercially driven, or profits orientated. But if their drive isn’t coupled with a genuine desire to make a meaningful difference; to help others; to contribute to the community, or to honour others, then no matter how successful, their credibility as a leader will be diminished, even if only a little. Like it or not, our nature is to contribute. If a leader doesn’t embrace that drive within us, then the team whether they are consciously aware of it or not, will hold back with their loyalty and commitment.

So there are my 3 top ways that leaders and managers compromise the trust and credibility with their team. What would you add?

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Performance Appraisals, Judge And BE Judged

By Christina Lattimer • July 26, 2013 - 10:19 pm Miscellaneous

Tasneem Hameed writes about the pitfalls of Performance Appraisals for The Extra MILE E-zine.

“When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself”- Wayne Dyer
To judge someone is a very difficult task. Even God who is almighty fixed a criterion for judging people, i.e. good deeds and bad deeds for reward and punishment. As their mind developed, humans too accepted its value for better control and they adopted it happily. When organizations came in to being, its application increased further because of its acceptance as the best way to manage people, and performance appraisal was the outcome. The modern performance appraisal systems go beyond rewarding the good deeds, i.e. good work, performance or efficiency and effectiveness of employees through money and use it also for development of employees. In addition to direct fixed compensation and bonuses employees get rewards of promotion and career paths. The punishment side comprises of withholding of increment, warning letter or even termination.

Blue Eyes And Bad books
Performance appraisals are not only one of the most critical management processes, but also the most controversial. Judging and rewarding people being a sensitive matter no one can deny its importance. It is difficult to find an employee who thinks or admits that his/her work performance was bad or not up to the mark. Although new methods are being continuously explored and implemented, but there is always a feeling of justice not being done according to most of the employees who don’t get expected outcome from their performance appraisals. As the manager/supervisor of an employee has the most important role in the performance appraisal, he mostly has to bear the brunt of criticism. The most common complaint has been that of personal bias, both positive and negative, i.e. favoritism or dislike. For some employees good appraisal indicates that the appraised is a blue- eyed employee while the employee who does not get good ranking in the appraisal is in the bad books of the appraiser.

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A New Paradigm of Leadership and Management Development – redirected

By Christina Lattimer • July 25, 2013 - 4:18 pm Miscellaneous

To give clarity to my paradigm on leadership and management, I set out below my leadership development model which gives on overview of my own philosophy.

I fell into the leadership and management field really. When I left school at 16, with no expectations other than eventually to get married and start a family I had no clue what I wanted to do. Taking the first job I could, in an office, I eventually became a manager at the tender age of 22. Being the youngest in the office and the manager meant I had to learn quickly, and I did. After decades now of leading and managing teams I made every mistake in the book. Much of my career whilst successful in many respects was born of trying one thing, and when it didn’t work, trying something else. I think I probably need to apologise to my many team members and colleagues over the years, because life with me as a leader wasn’t always easy!

The years of leading and managing though always felt right, even when everything was going wrong, and it quite often did. What I did over that long path of time, was to learn. I realised early on that life was about learning. First of all I had to learn about other people, then myself, and ultimately that real learning which only occurs around relationships.

In the early days, I wanted to learn to become a better person, and often failed miserably. Although I needed to take in information and learn the tools of my trade, I realised these were mere props. Eventually I realised that learning is actually about bringing out of one self. The word “Education” actually derives from the verb educe, which meant “to draw forth from within”.

Having dedicated myself to a path of self-learning over the years, I would contend that the most satisfying purpose in life is to learn and uncover one’s own real self. In this respect, I now know that learning about one’s self is not to make a better person. But rather to uncover the person which was always there. That is true for all of us.

What I also discovered on my learning journey was that as my self-awareness grew and where my leadership development model came into being, so did my understanding and ability as a leader and manager. For someone who hasn’t undertaken a path of self-learning it might sound self-centred and egocentric. But it isn’t. What I have learned is that as self-awareness grows, so does your regard, concern and respect and understanding of and for others. I also believe a true leader does not lead per sae, but brings out the best in others, consciously or unconsciously helping them to unwrap their own true selves.

Sometime last year I spent some time with MBA Students and we were talking about modern leadership. We looked at the many problems with the world, with politics, and with business. We examined the many crises leaders must be tasked with. They are enormous tasks which need great leadership and vision. When I asked them what skills leaders needed across the board to cope with what was to come. This is what they said.

Our leaders need “Integrity: Credibility: Wisdom: Courage: Consistency: Social Intelligence: Charisma: Vision: Communication: Appreciation: Decision making: Fairness: Justice: Rational: Creativity: Honesty: Open-mindedness”

There are many leadership models, hundreds of thousands of leadership books, underlying the many perspectives out there. But at the core of all us there is a commonality. “A knowing” when things are right, and what is needed. I believe many of the attributes most people want their leaders to have are contained in that list articulated by the students.

Below is my leadership model based on this commonality and knowing. This is, I believe, the new paradigm, so sorely needed right now. Many are already there, many on the journey, and many still to undertake it. But it is open for anyone to choose to do so at any time.

THE PEOPLE DISCOVERY LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT MODEL

The Model is based on a number of characteristics which are available to anyone. The characteristics of the Model are:

Connected to Higher Self

1. An ability to connect to ones higher self. Some people call this Right mind or Right brain, or Spirit, Love, Intuition, a Guardian Angel, or some other Inner Guide. And so they are Inner Directed, Discerning and Confident.

Unity Consciousness

2. An understanding that the higher self is who we really are; the main characteristics of which are unity consciousness and love. And so they are Positively Value Based and Value Others Equally.

Self- Awareness

3. Well-honed visionary, thinking and emotional intelligence skills which are used with the purpose of making a real difference and so they are Creative, Self-Aware and Purposeful

Inspiring Others

4. Understand others and therefore know how to communicate, engage, create an environment which encourages enthusiasm, commitment and motivation, and as a result get the best out of their team. And so they are Accepting, Non-judgmental and Inspirational

Motivate Inspire Lead Engage

Leaders who develop the characteristics of the model are able to create the conditions to self-motivate, inspire, lead and engage their people.

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3 Critical Interpersonal Skills Of Successful Leaders

By Christina Lattimer • July 18, 2013 - 1:06 pm Miscellaneous

The effectiveness or not of some leaders Interpersonal skills often seem to be intrinsically linked to their personality or character.

I often wonder if it’s because people think these skills are an unchangeable character trait that they aren’t given the priority they should in organisations. A question I see again and again is: Are soft skills really hard skills?

Less than effective personality, or character traits, of leaders, can be viewed as an irrevocable package deal, where changing is difficult, if not impossible, if the belief is that the leader was born with them and cannot be helped.

Less than effective traits, are particularly damaging when they affect the leader or manager’s interpersonal skills. If an alien was coming from outer space, surely they would ask us why we put leaders and managers in positions of leading people when they don’t have well-honed interpersonal skills.

Seems mad doesn’t it? But it is exactly what we do in many cases. Sometimes it’s because the leader was good at their specialism, or it’s because there’s been a re-organisation and there was nowhere else to go; or perhaps they’ve been in the position for a long time and it’s easier to do nothing, because of the old chestnut “that’s how we do things around here”.

It’s not an ideal world and sometimes people are appointed into roles other than for the only reason they should be there, which is because they have all of the skills needed to do the job and therefore are able to make a difference. Recruiting or maintaining roles where leaders or managers don’t have the right interpersonal skills isn’t inherently wrong. Doing nothing about it though is simply neglectful.

In Research reported by John Tierney in the New York Times in January, it was shown that generally people don’t believe they will change. Apparently, much of this belief is adopted because of either a lack of vision of what the future might hold, or from an over-optimistic self-concept that they are the best they are right now.

If your organisation has leaders who have character traits which limit their effectiveness, credibility or relationships at work, then perhaps the road less travelled, that soft (hard) skills route, is what is needed.

In my own journey from junior manager many years ago, I have changed so much its scary. I look back at those early days and it’s hard to believe it’s the same life. What I did learn on the way though is that interpersonal skills can and should be developed and prioritised in any organisation.

The most significant changes came for me when I learned and was able to use the following three interpersonal skills. These were hard lessons for me, and one’s which I had to learn because frankly my default position simply didn’t get the results I wanted, which was a happy, motivated and inspired team.

Anticipating How People Might Feel.

I see it all around me, and I still am guilty of lacking in this particular interpersonal skill sometimes. Awareness is no guarantee of change, you have to practice hard to change long formed habits.

As leaders, we can be so busy getting things done, as people; we get so caught up in our own story that we forget the impact we are having on others, as parents, we are so busy protecting our children, we forget we can inadvertently invoke feelings of “wrongness”. When we feel justified communicating with a lack of concern for others who are on the receiving end of what we say, we have lost this skill, when we react with anger to someone who has said something in all innocence, we have lost this skill. When we are fearful, impatient, annoyed, or just being thoughtless, we can communicate in a way which dishonours others.

Although some of the characteristics of what we commonly call empathy are in play here, empathy tends to be responsive to others and how they feel already. This interpersonal skill is about our impact on others.

Owning Your Own Truth

We make all sorts of stories and assumptions in our minds about what we see out there. I remember a manager in my team, when describing a woman who was borderline in terms of her performance, said she was lazy. I asked him how he had come to that conclusion and he told me it was because she didn’t put as much effort in as others. Well factually that might have been true, but it didn’t necessarily follow that the employee was lazy. Recently, a teacher who didn’t know my son’s background concluded he was lazy because he hadn’t done the work he needed to do in a particular subject, she had drawn her own conclusion about him because she hadn’t actually asked him what the problem was.

If the employee doesn’t come into work, is unhappy, doesn’t work hard enough, works 24/7 or always volunteers. We make judgments about them. “They don’t care”, “aren’t engaged”, or they are our “life-savers”, or “paragons of virtue”.

The truth is, and the truth we need to own, is we are gathering information constantly, and when we interpret the information it becomes our next instalment.

Owning your truth starts with saying. “I can see that this is/isn’t being done. Why is that?” or “I feel really angry, and I need to understand why I can’t deal with this poor performance in an emotionally free, assertive way”.

Seeing through Multi-faceted Perceptions

Everyone sees things differently. Even when you think you have reached the most watertight and consensual decision, there will be somewhere a slight difference in perception.

Developing the skills to see things from many different perspectives can be powerful and effective. In order to do this easily, an understanding of personality types and the characteristics of each type is useful. Once you get good at this, the first two interpersonal skills mentioned above become clearer and difficult to avoid.

The truth is, we never know what anyone else is thinking, their reasons for doing (or not doing) anything, what their preferences are, or why we might not agree. All we can do is try to see a situation from as many perspectives as possible. Of course De Bono’s “6 thinking hats” is a version of this although often the concept can be confined to the boardroom, when the skill is useful in most situations.

Come find more about Leadership Development and our Great MILE Community (Motivate, Inspire, Lead and Engage). We love connecting with like-minded people, and we want to help you either get your message out, or you can search the directory for the expertise you need.

Christina has managed people for twenty seven years and led hugely successful teams. She has worked with people at all levels in various organisations to help them achieve their potential, and she has been actively involved in the learning and development field in a number of different roles.People Discovery is a Leadership Development coaching consultancy, based in North East England, working globally. The MILE Community is a networking, sharing and business directory for people who know “there must be a better way”By Christina LattimerFollow us on

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6 Practical Ways Managers Can Motivate Their Team

By Christina Lattimer • July 11, 2013 - 9:20 am Miscellaneous

6 Practical Ways Managers Can Motivate Their Team

As a young and inexperienced manager, one of my earliest recollections was a challenge by an equally young and inexperienced member of staff. He was popular and influential and he decided that he was going to make life as difficult as he could for me.With little support from anyone experienced, I pondered my options, and worried that day by day my effectiveness as a manager was being diminished by what felt like, his sabotage. One day my dithering was over when after taking an overly extended and extremely inconvenient lunch break he swanned back into office and when I asked to have a quick word, he swore at me in front of the team.

It was a defining moment for me on a number of fronts, the most vital being the consequences of putting off taking decisive action on a team members behaviour well before it reached critical point. Secondly the subsequent events determined a path I was to tread and refine over the years.

What happened in that moment was I realised I wasn’t going to get anywhere if I didn’t harness the commitment and respect of my team. Nor would they work well unless I demanded and expected the best of who they were.

Once we got over the formality of the strong warning he received, I decided to be wholly frank and I explained the effect his behaviour was having, and at the same time I also expressed my disappointment that he was selling himself short. I managed to get him to talk about his future and what he wanted and most importantly painted a vivid picture of where his behaviour was headed and asked him if that was what he wanted. Of course he didn’t. His behaviour changed from that day, and we never looked back. It took him about 5 years, and we had long since lost touch, but when I read he had been appointed to the role he had at that time told me he would love to do, I had to smile.

Whenever I have interviewed managers and asked what they do to motivate their team, the answer to this question displays a manager’s level of self-awareness and confidence about what makes people tick. Often, great motivators are unconscious of the gifts they have as they are natural people managers, or conversely they have made a conscious decision to develop a good understanding of people, and be open and willing to learn what they have to do to get the best out of their team.

If you are a manager and are not sure how to motivate your people, here are 6 practical ways you can improve levels of engagement and increase the commitment and enthusiasm of your team.

People are either “towards” or “away” motivated. “Towards” motivated people need to have their own vision for themselves (hopefully linked to the company vision, but not always), and once they have a picture of what they want then they will work hard to achieve that vision. For these people, your job is to help them develop a personal vision within the company.
With “away” motivated people, you need to be able to help them articulate what they don’t want, so necessary actions can be taken to move away from these possibilities. These people fear the consequences of not taking appropriate action or making much needed changes. Your job is to help them develop the necessary drivers for change. For example, they may feel motivated because they don’t want to get left behind or their jobs may disappear.
People thrive on being able to make decisions and feeling in control. As a manager you can support people by allowing them as much autonomy as you can. The best way is to agree outcome based objectives or goals, without being too prescriptive about “how” outcomes will be achieved. Give your team permission to try different ways and allow them to “fail and learn”.
Instead of having team meetings, hold team “problem solving sessions”, or “driving up performance sessions”. Encourage your team members to have a say in how collective issues, problems or challenges are approached and solved.
Celebrate success. There is no doubt, what you focus on is what you get. If you continually focus on what goes wrong, then you will encounter more of what goes wrong. By celebrating success both as a team and with individuals, you will find more and more to celebrate. Successes can be a range of things. Encourage team members to note when things are going well and when they feel good about something they have achieved, no matter how small, it may seem.
Think, say and act as if you believe the best in your team. Develop a mind-set whereby you believe that people are doing their best and will do better when they know better. Tell people what you appreciate about their contribution, and find ways to internally and externally communicate your belief in them. If things go wrong, then focus on the lessons to be learned, and don’t personalise behaviour.

Never expect less than the best, and eventually that is precisely what you will get with your team. When you expect and respond positively to great contribution and good outcomes; mediocre and lack lustre performance, or performers will slowly but surely fade away.

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How to Work Smart and Ditch The Long Hours Culture

By Christina Lattimer • June 21, 2013 - 11:20 am Employee Development

Working Long Hours is no longer tenable

It amazes me that in this century we are still talking about a long hours culture. Research completed in the UK by the TUC, reported in the Independent earlier this year states that employees in the UK work an average of 7.18 hours in unpaid overtime every week. Interestingly, a recently published survey by showed that only 1 in 10 professionals consider flexible working to be important, amidst speculation this is because they believe it will only be introduced to benefit the business.

“The TUC said some unpaid overtime was down to heavy workloads, but it believes much of the extra hours being put in were down to “pointless presenteeism”, with staff judged on the hours spent at their desk rather than the work they do”.

I’ve worked in and with many organisations with a long hour’s culture, although I’ve never subscribed to such a senseless way of working personally, and if it were demanded of me, I would have asserted my rights.

Before you get the picture that I cheerily leave the office on the stroke of 5.30 every day, I have to say just because I don’t subscribe to a long hours culture, doesn’t mean I sometimes don’t work long hours, because I do, but not because of the culture, but because the ebbs and flows of the work demand it, at times, but not all of the time.

I have known leaders who have judged an employee’s performance by the number of hours they’ve worked, or how late they stayed at the office, but frankly they didn’t engender respect because employees knew their judgement was ill-conceived and more about either wielding power, or as a crutch to stifle their fear of not being able to deliver.

We live 24/7 lives, and economically every employer wants to get every last penny of value from their salaried employees, of course they do. Although anyone with any real management skills understands if a permanent long hour’s culture is necessary then the business is not being managed well and will not be sustained over the long term.

That’s not to say there aren’t times when employees might be expected to pull out the stops occasionally, for example; if there is a rush order, crisis or a situation which is temporary or seasonal. This has to be balanced with sensible give and take, and a mature attitude and commitment to get done what needs to be done.

Some organisations are resistant to introducing a flexible working regime, or have created a long hours culture, and are scared to let it go because they believe employees will take advantage of them and want it all their own way. This reluctance I believe stems from a lack of confidence to introduce a way of working flexibly with a win/win outcome. I don’t advocate it’s always easy, but it can be done.

If you have a long hour’s culture or a rigid 9 – 5 culture and you want to change it: Here are some suggestions how to achieve a healthier way of working, which will allow you to ditch long hours for good.

1. Operate a Smart Performance Regime

Set outcome-based targets and objectives. This will allow employees the freedom to fit work around their own particular style of working as well as their lifestyle. Objectives can be adjusted depending on capability and business needs, but the focus is not on watching the clock

Evaluate productivity. Long hours do not necessarily mean that employees are working to full capacity. It might be that someone who leaves at 3.30pm to pick up the kids every day is more productive than someone who stays till 6.30pm.

Continuously improve efficiency or lean ways of working. The aim here is to make processes and procedures slick and time-bound, the focus being on reducing hours rather than extending them.

2. Cost out the commercial benefits of a workforce with a healthy work/life balance

Gather together the associated costs with unhealthy working hours. Stress-related absence; or even higher than average sick absence, may be costing the business dearly. The costs of presenteeism, where people attend work when they are ill, are higher than if they were absent. A healthy working pattern can increase employee engagement, lead to greater commitment, reduce turnover, to name a few of the benefits. Develop a matrix of improvements you’d like to see as a result of operating more flexibly to fit with your team’s lifestyle, so you can measure the win/win element.

3. Set out clear standards and bottom line expectations

There are always boundaries and it is being clear about what these are. If people want to leave early sometimes, then there are always provisos. For example if there are minimum volumes of work to be done or standards have to be met, or even if there has to be someone there to answer the phone. Don’t micromanage, but let teams sort out the arrangements themselves. If standards aren’t met then make sure the team is made accountable. Make it clear flexibility is ok, but that the work has to be done.

4. Plan for ebbs and flows

Employees need to understand the pattern of ebbs and flows. Although there will always be some unexpected emergencies where employees might need to stay, most situations can be planned. Set out what needs to be done and give the team ownership for delivering.

5. Show genuine gratitude when employees do pull out the stops

Never let additional effort go without at the very least a “Thank You”. Employees like being appreciated. They want to feel they are making a difference just as much as you do. They will feel they are, if you sincerely feel gratitude to them for going the extra mile when the situation demands.

Remember a healthy work culture may include times when it is right for employees to work long hours for short periods. Motivated and happy staff will often “up their game” when crisis hits or change is occurring.

The trick is to recognise when a long hours’ culture is in place simply for the sake of it. This is when good workers become demotivated as otherwise great performance is ignored because they don’t choose to burn the midnight oil.

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How to Have Difficult Conversations and Avoid Employee Disputes

By Christina Lattimer • June 14, 2013 - 1:17 pm Leadership and Management

Difficult conversations don’t have to end in a dispute

The worst kinds of conversation are those when you have to deliver a negative message to a team member. Whether it is a performance, behaviour or skill set problem, there is something in our human make-up which just makes us feel uncomfortable with the whole thing.

There are many reasons managers don’t tackle negative influences at work. Sometimes, they just don’t like confrontation, have a misguided sense of politeness, or secretly hope the situation will quickly right itself. Other times, they know there is something wrong, but just don’t trust their instincts. And finally some doubt their own ability to be able to have that difficult conversation successfully, and fear counter accusations or even worse the dreaded employee dispute.

They may well rationalise and justify their reasons for leaving things as they are, although secretly feeling resentful and angry inside. Often the negativity becomes a persuasive culture where substandard performance and behaviour become acceptable. After all if one or two people don’t show up firing on all cylinders, why should the rest of the team?

Unfortunately, some managers struggle about where to draw the line and avoid having that difficult conversation. Very rarely does the negative situation just go away, and the result is layer upon layer of annoyance, frustration and resentment.

In the meantime, the person displaying the poor performance, unwanted behaviour or undeveloped skillset is often blissfully unaware they are causing such unrest; or they simply have been allowed to act in that way for so long, they think it’s acceptable.

It’s not all bad news, because with a simple systematic approach and a positive mind set, managers can have those difficult conversations and achieve a win/win result, increase confidence and achieve clarity about when to step in. Here is how:

1. Never act when you are feeling negative

Being impersonal and unattached to the problem are crucial determinates of a successful outcome. If you try to tackle a problem when you are feeling frustrated or angry, then you will likely be accusatory, or otherwise alienate the employee. There is nothing wrong with expressing your concern, but own your emotions, don’t blame someone else for them. If you feel uncomfortably emotionally charged, then wait until it passes and follow the steps below before planning how and when you are going to speak to the person.

“Anybody can become angry – that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way – that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy”. Aristotle

2. Gather your facts

Writing down your concerns with specific examples and more importantly quantifying the impact on the business or team is essential. Quite often you are so busy, you know incidents or situations keep happening, but the whole big picture becomes distorted, or blurred. Getting it down in writing, helps give you clarity and perspective.

3. Be clear about the standards you expect and why

Refer to organisational standards, or if they aren’t in place, take this as your red flag to set some. Instinctively you know when someone’s actions are below par. The trick to testing your instincts for validity is to identify which standard, code or policy the employee’s action is breaching. If you can’t identify any, then you haven’t set out your expectations, and this is your first step.

4. Decide what you want to achieve out of having the conversation

You are having the conversation because you need something about the person’s behaviour, performance or skill-set, to change. You need to be clear about the change you want to happen, when, and what the consequences are if the changes don’t happen.

5. State the facts and own your concerns

Never accuse, but own your concerns. Be factual and don’t personalise the feedback you are giving. So for example saying “This is what I am seeing, and I am concerned about the impact this behaviour is having on the team” Or “I see that only 10 customer accounts have been dealt with this week” Are much more powerful ways of asserting the problem than “You are disrupting the team by this behaviour” or “You aren’t productive enough, we need more from you”

6. Listen intently and keep an open mind

While you have a plan as to what you want to get out of the conversation, you also need to keep an open mind and listen intently to what the employee is saying. Most people want to do a good job and there may be many reasons as to why they aren’t meeting expectations or standards. You need to be flexible in your approach, depending on what the employee is reporting back to you.

7. Reach common agreement about standards, but where you can’t; be assertive

One of the commonest problems managers fear is that the employee dismisses their concerns as not important. So for example, if someone is 20 minutes late for work regularly twice a week, and their response is “Well it’s only 20 minutes it’s not a crime”, this where earlier research on impact is essential.

8. Encourage suggestions for resolution and develop a clear plan going forward

Your way isn’t always the right way, and the employee may well have solutions which you haven’t thought of and which work better for them. If the employee makes a suggestion which you don’t think will work, but they are adamant, let them have a go (assessing impact risk of course), simply restate the outcome you want and let them take the responsibility for achieving it.

9. Plan an appropriate time and setting to talk to the employee

Sounds obvious, but the timing is crucial. It’s no good having a conversation when there is a faith based holiday the next day, or they are planning to go on their annual holiday. You also need to think about what they may have to do to improve and how quickly it needs to be achieved. Much of course will also depend on the seriousness of the impact they are causing.

How to Make Managing Poor Performance Easy

By Christina Lattimer • June 6, 2013 - 1:46 pm Miscellaneous

Managing poor performance can be one of the most stressful parts of managing a team.

The problem is of course; good managers know that the vast majority of employees want to come to work to do a good job. When an employee is not performing, more often than not it is either because:a) They are in the wrong job) They have problems outside of work) They simply need more knowledge or information or understanding.

It takes a skilled and experienced manager to be expert and slick when it comes to raising poor performance. Often teams become less than enchanted with their manager when the manager fails to address poor performance, even when the impact isn’t extreme. One of the most frustrating experiences for a team is when they feel they are carrying a member who is not pulling their weight, frustration can turn to stress when the manager simply does nothing about it

Poor performance can appear at any stage in the employment life-cycle. Managers need to be extra vigilant in any trial period. I have seen managers give new employees the benefit of the doubt and live to rue the day they confirmed a permanent appointment, when they had experienced niggling doubts during that time and failed to listen to their intuition.

What follows are some simple ways to help both prevent problems and when they do occur, what to do about them.

Don’t

Miss the telling signs in the trial period. Follow up on any issues which arise during that time.
Wait until the next performance review. Deal with any emerging problems as soon as they become apparent.
Develop an attitude or fixed view of the employee, there may be many reasons for under-performance
Ignore what other people are saying about someone’s under-performance; subtly check it out, if you don’t at first agree
Wait until a major incident or disaster occurs
Wait until everyone else in the workplace is totally fed up because of the under-performance.
Confuse a performance issue with a conduct problem. Misconduct of course impacts on performance, but they are two totally different issues.
Wait until the under-performer goes off on sick leave.

Have a fair and equitable way of measuring performance for all employees
Use your internal policies and procedures for managing under-performance. Your policies should be designed to assist you to get it right. If your policies hinder the process, they need to be rewritten.
Identify the precise areas of under-performance. Exactly what element of performance is the employee not achieving? Performance can be lack of productivity, efficiency, effectiveness, or an under developed skill set for example.
Gather clear examples and facts which demonstrate the level of performance. Do not rely on hearsay, because your boss told you to do it, or niggling doubts.
Keep an open mind about the reasons for under-performance. You do not know what is going on in the employee’s life. Don’t assume they are under-performing and they just can’t hack it.
Talk to the under-performer as soon as possible, and listen to what they have to say. Let them know you are concerned, not accusing.
Ask them about external factors, their own views about their performance, and what they think the expectations of them are. Ask them about training and skill sets.
Develop a clear and SMART action plan. The outcomes of the action plan must actually prove to you that the employee is capable and willing to bridge the performance gap, and be able to sustain it without constant supervision.
Be clear about the time-scale in which you require the performance to improve and for how long before you relax monitoring.
Meet regularly and give honest accurate feedback about their progress. Listen to them and amend the action plan if there are credible reasons for lack of progress, but stick to your agreed time-scale except if there are exceptional circumstances.
Give them every support in terms of training, mentoring, materials and guidance they might need.
Be kind. The majority of people want to do well at work and it can be a nightmare experience for them if for some reason their performance isn’t up to scratch. Genuinely wish them well and hope that they succeed.
Be confident. You know how you want your team to work. Don’t settle for anything less, and expect great not mediocre results for your team.

If you manage poor performance well and manage to raise performance, then this not only instils a sense of achievement for the employee, but also gives a great message out to other staff that you are fair and tuned in to what is happening. Your team might not know when poor performance is being tackled. But they certainly do know if it is not being addressed at all.

5 Reasons to Go The Extra Mile and Live Your Best Life

By Christina Lattimer • May 23, 2013 - 11:02 am Leadership and Management

For many years I aimed to go the extra mile in terms for customers and was extremely successful.

Setting a vision and outcomes in a working environment, it was pretty easy to set stretching and challenging objectives, not only to meet customer expectations, but to exceed them.

As I matured as a leader I began to realise that the jewels in my crown were my team and without them I simply wasn’t able to achieve what I wanted. I also realised that I needed to go the extra mile for them also, and sometimes unfortunately the ways I wanted to reward and motivate them weren’t always in my power. But what I could do was encourage, engage and give them as much as I could to help them do their job really well.

I would like to put my hands up and say I have always gone the extra mile for my family, both my children and my siblings. It hasn’t always been the case though. Don’t get me wrong, we are a tight knit family and care about each other a lot. I tend to go the extra mile on birthdays, Christmases and holidays. Family occasions feature highly. But do I go the extra mile all of the time? Probably not, but I am working on it. (Don’t we so often take our nearest and most loved people for granted?)

In my business I am determined to go the extra mile for my connections, customers and clients, and sometimes it can be a challenge to find out what will make people feel that they have received a brilliant service. Years ago, one of my stock answers would be to of course “Ask them”. That’s a good tactic, although we can get stuck in asking the wrong questions.

So for example asking what people want as an outcome is good: Better than trying to tell them what they need for sure. The really effective question though is along the lines of “What would make you believe that you had received the best and most excellent service from my company?”

Short of asking people, the next strategy is to observe. Try different things and see what delights people. Gauge reaction and be innovative. Just seeing how people respond is valuable information!

I believe adopting the philosophy of going the extra mile is a great way of living, and there are for me five main reasons why everyone should consider living their lives by going the extra mile.

Going the Extra Mile:

Makes you think hard about your contribution and the difference you are making. Our world is a matrix of giving and receiving. By going the extra mile you are bringing a sense of into sharp focus.
Surprises and delights people, and it’s always good to be a positive influence
Increases your own energy. Energy breeds energy and the additional effort it takes to go the extra mile, helps you to increase your energy, output and commitment
Attracts great energy back to you. What you give out, you get back. It was Newton who said “for every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction”
Sets a great benchmark for yourself and others to aspire to.

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Tag Archives: leadership development

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