Two ethical virtues in times of crisis

By Dr Simon Burgess

As a leader, what are the most essential qualities to possess in times of crisis? Credibility, determination, a reassuring presence, and adaptability all come to mind. After all, your team members want you to be straight with them. They want to retain a sense of purpose, and they want to be able to have confidence in you. If they don’t get clear and credible information from you, they’ll be sure to disengage and get what they want elsewhere.

Now the truth is that all of that applies at any time. Like many fundamental insights about leadership, it can be worth bearing in mind regardless of whether things are chaotic or calm. But in any case, let’s consider a couple of ethical virtues that are perhaps especially relevant in times of crisis. One of these is empathy. The other is principled integrity. Both are vital in maintaining trust during trying times.

Lead with empathy

In some ways, leading through the current coronavirus pandemic is akin to the situation faced by business and civic leaders in New York following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. While the carnage was both horrifying and bewildering, clearly those leaders weren’t responsible for any of it. Their responsibilities were entirely concerned with how best to respond. And virtually without exception, the people they led were immediately ready and willing to accept all the guidance that their leaders were able to provide. Rudy Guiliani, in particular, the mayor of New York at the time, is rightly admired for the empathic role that he performed.

Admittedly, Guiliani has never been universally admired. Moreover, his reputation has taken several serious turns for the worse since he joined the Trump administration. But without pretending that Guiliani has ever been perfect (and no leader is), let’s try to remember the kind of empathic leadership style that he showed back in 2001.

Importantly, his empathy wasn’t mere sentimentality. He didn’t cry in public or put his emotions on display. In fact, in his book Leadership, he explains that “there was no time to spend actually experiencing an emotion. There were moments of anger, fear, and sorrow, but with so much to do it was impossible to dwell on those feelings.”

But Guiliani clearly was emotionally ‘tuned in’ with those around him. He listened to the experts, and his emotional intelligence was central to the open, adaptable, and sure-footed leadership that he provided. His empathy also went hand-in-hand with his confidence that all kinds of people would rise to the occasion, and when we recognise a leader’s empathy in that form, it naturally brings out the best in us. Notwithstanding the shock and grief that were so widely shared, that empathic style actually raises morale and generates a sense of resilience, fortitude, and purpose.

Make decisions based on principled integrity

Without a doubt, something that many organisational leaders will have been quietly contemplating in recent months is the idea that one ‘should never let a good crisis go to waste.’ It’s an idea that has been most avidly promoted in recent years by Rahm Emanuel, former Chicago mayor and President Obama’s first chief of staff. And admittedly, it’s an idea that can be very tempting. When a crisis that isn’t of your own making comes along, it is often possible to exploit it. Put simply, you can use it as a pretext for something that you’ve long wanted to do (whether it be related to structure, strategy, policy or personnel) but for which you have never been able to gain support.

Crises need to be addressed squarely, decisively, and sometimes with radical action. But even in a state of crisis, our actions should be principled. They should always be based on a genuine rationale; one that can be defended with honesty and candour. If your organisation needs a restructure, argue for a restructure. If you want to reassign certain personnel, give honest reasons for your view. But if your supposed need for such changes isn’t genuinely due to the current crisis, don’t pretend that it is. Understanding the context is one thing. Exploiting it as a pretext is quite another.

Simon Burgess is a lecturer in Ethical Leadership at the University of New England Armidale.

Why soft skills are today’s most valuable leadership asset

By Greg Smith

Soft skills have long been a desired leadership capability. However, in an age where rapid advances in technology are redefining how humans add value in the workplace, soft skills will increasingly become the most sought after employee capability possibly eclipsing everything else. Our current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic has thrust us into the new reality right now. And that’s just the beginning. Deloitte’s 2019 study, The path to prosperity. Why the future of work is human, predicts that by 2030 around two-thirds of jobs will be ‘soft-skill intensive’.

Sometimes when change is so rapid, it can feel like a high-speed train bearing down, and the immediate inclination is to jump out of the way. However, the best response is to understand, embrace and run with it!

Let’s see what that practically means when it comes to soft skills and the workplace.

“My boss has terrible interpersonal skills.”

How many times have you overheard one person saying this to another: “My boss is really great technically but has terrible interpersonal skills.”?  This is still a major deficit for some leaders and continues to frustrate the growth and progress of individuals, teams and entire organisations.

Leadership development programs, for some time now, have sought to improve leaders’ ability to better connect with others. However, this remains an elusive skill for many. Dial up the need for this capability many times over, and it doesn’t require much of a stretch of the imagination to see why this will become an absolute requisite and priority for effective leadership.

The notion of soft skills also implies the existence of hard skills. So what are soft skills, and how are they different from hard skills? Let’s first take a look at the sources of soft skills. These are found in personality traits, personal attributes and specific behavioural competencies. Hard skills, on the other hand, are developed through training and learning. It’s easy to see from this comparison why the nature of soft skills makes them much more difficult to impart to others than hard skills! The exciting aspect of soft skills is that they are highly transferable, which in a fast-changing employment landscape driven by technological change, makes them an extremely valuable asset and powerful differentiator when competing for jobs.

Why EQ matters

Fortunately, the concept of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) harnesses the key suite of soft skill capabilities required by leaders and their followers alike. Simply put, EQ may be thought of as not letting your emotions stop you achieving your goals. Although this descriptor neatly packages up EQ into a simple and easy to grasp idea; it doesn’t help with understanding how to develop and enhance your EQ capability.

Daniel Goleman described EQ competencies as “how leaders handle themselves and their relationships” in his book, The New Leaders.  He explains EQ competencies in two domains:

  • Personal competence: Self-Awareness and Self-Management
  • Social competence: Social Awareness and Relationship Management

It’s immediately apparent that EQ competencies cannot be ‘codified’ or automated and therefore replicated by AI or machines, making them solely the domain of human beings. However, if AI and machines take over routine tasks (e.g. technical support, bricklayers or administration) then non-routine roles (e.g. social workers, emergency workers, teachers or chief executives) become a natural place for humans to gravitate towards, an essential transition for secure employment in the longer term. 

Three navigation steps for the workplace

There are three key steps to navigate and take advantage of the wide array of exciting roles that will open up as a result of technological change. These are:

Step 1: understand and internalise the new reality of the transition that’s afoot showing where human beings will add value in the workplace of the future. It’s just around the corner, so it’s worthwhile considering how this may impact your career in terms of risks but more importantly opportunities.

Step 2: reflect on where and how you add value now in your current work role.

Step 3: identify your transferrable skills and consider how you might align these to the jobs of the future. This includes exploring what further training and development you may need to optimise these skills fully.

Start preparing now!

It’s highly likely that you could be drawing on soft skills to drive your future career even if you don’t use or need these skills in your job right now. My advice is to start preparing now for the future that lies ahead. The future is sure to be full of boundless possibilities as new jobs unfold that have not yet been invented or even conceived!

Greg Smith is an expert in career development, talent management and organisational leadership. He is the author of Career Conversations: How to get the best from your talent pool (Wiley).

Personal, organisational and national resilience: lessons from three African nations

By Sam Durland FIML

A few years ago, I had a brief encounter with Julia Gillard, during which I asked her how she had managed to cope with the rough and tumble of politics during a particularly tumultuous time in Australia’s recent history. She answered with one word: resilience. Indeed, in her autobiography, Gillard devotes an entire chapter to resilience, which she ascribes to a sense of purpose.

For me, resilience means the ability to overcome major challenges or setbacks. Over the past 20 years, working as an international development consultant and adviser in several African countries, I have encountered numerous examples of resilience at an individual, organisational and national level.

Personal resilience: a lesson from Uganda

In Uganda, I worked with a local entrepreneur who was developing several enterprises based on primary production. The aim is to enable his poor district in the west of the country to become self-sufficient instead of importing foods and raw materials from elsewhere. He was not driven by a need to generate wealth for himself; instead, a burning desire to provide employment and a secure future for his people. He faced many obstacles, from government officials trying to exact bribes for the services they were charged with providing, to a system of land ownership that made it difficult to obtain secure title to agricultural land.

My client was dogged in his resistance to illegal payments and unrelenting in his efforts to register his land title. I especially marvelled at how he dealt with public servants, who put my client at risk of not receiving the requested service, or more alarming, put his safety in danger. In the end, sheer persistence won the day, and the service was rendered without the payment of a bribe.

The lesson: In reflecting on my client’s character, which I believe formed the foundation of his success, I would describe him as exhibiting resilience based on a strong sense of purpose and an overwhelming desire to be of service to his people.

Organisational resilience: a lesson from Lesotho

In the small African country of Lesotho, I worked with a dedicated group of local and international consultants and advisers on a United States-funded project to develop a new government agency that would provide secure land ownership for the country’s citizens. This agency was intended to replace a government department that was widely thought to be both corrupt and inefficient in its dealings with the general public. Members of the project staff faced a major obstacle in the form of pushback from political interests who appeared reluctant towards change.

Project staff found that they were prevented from meeting with key public servants, they had their furniture removed from their offices, and there was even an attempt to confiscate their computer equipment.

The lesson: Despite these and other setbacks, they were resolute in their determination that the project should succeed (and it did), knowing that there was widespread community support for the initiative, as well as obvious benefits for the country’s economy. In the face of strong opposition, this group displayed resilience based on a sense of integrity and a commitment to do what is right.

National resilience: A lesson from Liberia

Finally, I turn to the West African country of Liberia, recently wracked by an Ebola-virus epidemic and still recovering from a 14-year-long civil war. As a consequence of the war, much of the country’s infrastructure had been decimated and government departments’ records destroyed or rendered incomplete. Here, my role was to work with a team of international and local consultants and advisers, and their counterparts in the public service, to develop a new authority designed to oversee land administration and land management in the country and overcome a fragmented and dysfunctional bureaucracy.

Both the war and the epidemic had significantly touched virtually every Liberian whom I came into contact with that time. Yet, despite the distinct challenges, they exhibited both an enthusiasm for our project and a positive outlook on the country’s future.

The lesson: I ascribe their resilience to a sense of positive leadership at the national level (their President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, had won the Nobel Peace Prize), a strong sense of national purpose, and a national character grounded in hope.

For me, an underpinning sense of hope is present in all of these examples of resilience. Hope’s power is epitomised by Desmond Tutu when he said, “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness”.

Sam Durland is a Fellow of IML ANZ. Sam’s consulting work has taken him to more than 20 countries in Asia, the Pacific, Africa and South America. He previously held senior executive positions with private enterprise, statutory authorities and government departments in Australia and overseas.

Strengthen your resilience

Leaders need resilience to cope with the daily stresses of work and life. But when the work environment has changed and you face new challenges, what can help you perform at your best?

Paralympian and corporate high-performance coach, Katrina Webb OAM MIML  will help take you through a three-phase process to manage your priorities, energy and your mind in our upcoming Virtual Event,  ‘The Road to Resilience’.

Eight moments when leaders must communicate well

By Shane Hatton

When it comes to leading an organisation, every leader fundamentally understands the consequences of a poor leadership approach to finances. We understand the consequences of a poor leadership approach to governance or change management. But how many leaders are fully aware of the consequences of a poor leadership approach to communication?

The impact of ineffective or non-existent communication is felt throughout the organisation. It shows up in higher turnover, absenteeism, negativity and stress; and it perpetuates lower engagement, morale, innovation and productivity. A report from SIS International Research in partnership with Siemens Communications found that an organisation with as few as 100 employees could be leaking over half a million dollars every year as a result of communications barriers and latency.

In a 2013 article, Glassdoor for Employers listed the top five reasons why employees love their CEOs. It wasn’t surprising to read that employees want a leader who is visible both inside and outside the company. Seeing their leader leveraging their platform externally increased pride felt by employees. Hearing regularly from their leader internally, whether they are walking the corridors, writing notes or holding regular town hall meetings, created a culture of accessibility and boosted morale.

Whether in a television interview or online video, a town hall or your weekly meeting, the nature of leadership means you will find yourself addressing a group of people at a moment that demands you do more than just speak – it will be a moment that compels you to lead.

Put another way, every opportunity you have to stand up and speak is a moment either to build or to burn your leadership platform. James C. Humes, speechwriter for five American Presidents, said it this way:

‘The art of communication is the language of leadership. Every time you speak, you are auditioning for leadership.’

James C. Humes

Let’s look at eight unavoidable moments every leader will face. Whether you’re ready for them or not, as a leader you’ll need to know how to communicate effectively and lead your way through them.

  • Moments of pioneering: implementing change
    It has been said that change is the only constant. As a leader you can be certain that you will be required to guide your team through complex change and transition. Some of that change will take you into unfamiliar territory as you pioneer in new spaces. You will need to paint a picture of your desired future, while at the same time intentionally shift fixed mindsets and dysfunctional thinking that causes people to stay where they are.
  • Moments of sensemaking: creating clarity
    You will experience moments of uncertainty when the narrative is open to interpretation. It is in these moments that leaders distinguish themselves. If you cannot tell the story, your people – or worse, someone else – will do it for you. Great leaders view people and circumstances differently and need to help others do the same. You will be required to make sense of uncertainty and chaos and to control the narrative through clearly articulated and compelling messaging.
  • Moments of confronting or reinforcing: shaping culture
    Every time you speak is an opportunity to reinforce and shape your desired culture. By culture, this doesn’t just mean what you want people to do but who you want people to be. The stories you share, the behaviour you confront and the behaviour you reward paint a picture of your culture and reinforce the ‘way things get done here’.
  • Moments of bonding: building connection
    Every moment you have to speak is an opportunity to build and strengthen trust and connection with your team, and trust is a foundation for growth. Leadership author John Maxwell writes, “Teams that don’t bond, can’t build.”
  • Moments of mobilizing: casting a compelling vision
    Do you have a compelling vision or a common purpose to rally around and move towards? Do you know how to communicate it? In his book Amplifiers, Matt Church writes, “It’s been said that when Caesar spoke men wept, but when Cicero spoke men marched.” For a leader to inspire people is valuable but to mobilise people towards action is better.
  • Moments of influencing: strengthening commitment
    Do you have great ideas? Do you want people to buy into those ideas? Do you need something from people? The ability to influence people by articulating and communicating the value of your ideas is a critical leadership skill.
  • Moments of steering: navigating crisis
    There is a challenge and then there is a crisis. As a leader you will be required to navigate both. You must be the calm voice of authority while steering the organisation through turbulence. You must be the steady adviser and voice of reason in seemingly unreasonable circumstances.
  • Moments of translating: managing complexity
    Can you apply your high-level strategy in low-level situations? Can you turn your ideas into strategy and communicate that strategy to generate action? Can you articulate complex information in a jargon-free way that is useful for your team and organisation? In moments that matter, you need to be able to communicate a message that counts. It’s the difference between a person who speaks and a leader who leads.

While all of these moments are unavoidable, all are also important, because every moment you stand in front of your team or organisation is an opportunity to lead. It’s an opportunity to leverage your platform to accomplish collectively in a moment something that might have taken weeks or months to accomplish individually. The question isn’t if you will face them but rather how you will face them. With that in mind, what do you need to do now to get ready?

Shane Hatton is a leadership and communication expert and the author of Lead the Room – Communicate a Message That Counts in Moments That Matter.

Tips for leaders: using digital and online communication tools effectively

By Margot Smith FIML

So often when there is a dispute at work (or in life) it comes down to communication. But more modes of communication should mean that we get it right more often, yes? Not necessarily.

In this increasingly digital world – it’s more important than ever to make sure we do our best to communicate effectively. And effective communication is a real leadership skill – getting it right could make the difference between getting the outcome you want and not. So it’s worth fine-tuning these skills.

Understanding the many and varied online and digital communication tools

When we say online and digital communication what do we mean? It’s an ever-growing list, but let’s say: email, telephone, videoconference, instant messaging or chat, and text at least.

Keeping in mind that when we are face to face with someone, communicating your message is conveyed as follows: 55% body language, 38% tone of voice, and only 7% words.

So if we’re talking email, and we are reliant on the words themselves – that’s a mere 7%. As we change mediums, we slide up that scale in terms of how much more context the recipient of your message gets and how effectively we get our message across. But it can still be fraught with challenges; room for misinterpreting tone, body language or context.

Communication is a bit of a minefield, and is the culprit for many a relationship speedbump!

Tools for the times

The current circumstances mean that we are all using online and digital facilities much more than usual. For those of us who are fortunate enough to be working from home, technology affords us convenience, but we need to ensure it’s not at the cost of relationships and connections. Hence we need to use them in the right context and be careful that our communication is effective in doing so.

And particularly right now.

That’s why I’ve listed five tips for effective online and digital communication:

  • Build a strong relationship offline.
    Doing this ensures your online message is received as intended. (This is the most important rule).

    I find the stronger my relationship with someone, the more latitude I have with the words on the page, tone of voice and, even, body language. For those times that I need to deliver a message online that is difficult – I need to hope I’ve done the groundwork on that relationship.

    If that’s not possible and it’s a new contact that you are building a relationship with, then build rapport by practising active listening. Be ‘present’, listen with all senses, paraphrase what they are saying and use your body language to demonstrate that you are concentrating on what they are saying (this might even help you if you are on the phone).
  • Use the right mode of communication.
    Tools such as WhatsApp have been around for a while now. Their speed, ease with communicating with few or many, and ability to share photos and memes mean that they are a great tool for keeping in touch. At IML we use WhatsApp frequently – great for sharing team wins, organisational updates and team photos.

    But if you’re sending lots of messages, is text or instant messenger the appropriate medium? Sometimes the answer is yes (in an effort to minimise emails or to get an immediate and short response). But if you’re writing an essay via text then maybe consider swapping to phone or email.
  • Put yourself in their shoes.
    Are your instant messages, texts or emails blunt? Read and re-read it to check it’s ok as a stand-alone message. If you were reading it, would it come across ok? Does it serve its purpose?
  • Conduct yourself as if you were face-to-face.
    If you are visible on videoconference – concentrate – no sneaking a look at emails or texts. It will send the message that you are not focussed on the meeting. This tip should apply no matter the mode of communication – to be honest you can tell when someone is not concentrating in a teleconference too.
  • Use it to build and maintain relationships.
    These tools help us keep in touch and stay connected, especially when we can’t be in the same room. Instant chat or messaging, videoconferencing, phone and similar modes of communicating are all great ways to connect. Just remember that building and maintaining relationships is key to any leader. So, use all the tools in your toolkit!

Margot Smith FIML is the General Manager – Strategy & Partnerships at IML ANZ. She is currently mastering the use of instant messaging apps, videoconference, phone and email to manage and lead her team who are spread across three different capital cities.

Communicate with clarity

In times of crisis, we cannot choose our circumstances but we can control the way we respond. That’s why IML ANZ is offering all managers and leaders a Virtual Masterclass on the ‘Communicating with Clarity in Times of Crisis’.

This online will provide you with a ready to use action plan that you can implement in your workplace. Visit the Virtual Masterclass page for more information or to register.

How leaders can be proactive about employee development

By Greg Smith

 

What if you could have conversations that encouraged your employees to find career satisfaction and what if these conversations produced energy, creativity and increased capability? The answers rely on leaders taking a dynamic and ongoing interest in their employees’ career satisfaction and development and can create positive employee relations that benefit the entire organisation.

Effective career conversations with employees is an exceptional opportunity for leaders to build trust, foster collaboration and develop a deep and enduring connection with their staff to ensure engagement, performance and tenure. Leaders who don’t have these soft skills risk being left behind. LinkedIn’s 2019 study, ‘Global Talent Trends, The 4 trends transforming your workplace’ found 80% of survey respondents reported that ‘soft skills are increasingly important to company success’.

It is the responsibility of effective leaders to be deliberate and take a proactive interest in career coaching their employees as an integral component of their leadership skillset. Additionally, one of the by-products of helping others with their career is the mutually beneficial self-insight that accrues for both leaders and employees. Importantly, this skill should not be delegated to others. However, there may be times where gaining an external perspective could be beneficial but it makes sense for leaders to assume this role wherever appropriate rather than leaving it to others. As Mercer’s 2019 Global Talent Study, ‘Connectivity in the Human Age’ found competition for talent is expected increase over the next 12 months. In this environment of increased competition leaders who fail to develop these skills risk losing valuable staff.

 

Start with just one conversation

It starts with an initial conversation and progresses one conversation at a time. Leaders don’t need to be in a hurry nor rush employees to solutions. It’s better to allow their employees to discover their direction and development needs for themselves with a guiding hand from their leader. A narrative approach can be one of the most useful techniques to facilitate this process. Every leader, with a little practice and commitment, can become proficient and realise the benefit for employees and their organisation. It relies on establishing empathetic career conversations on an ongoing basis with employees and allowing them to tell their story from a starting point that’s appropriate for them.

 

Less talking, more listening and better questions

The skill lies in a leader’s capability to foster a growth mindset and guide the conversation by asking thought-provoking questions and use deep listening and solution-focused communication techniques to help their employees:

  • Recognise themes and patterns in their career journey that may be useful in the future,
  • Identify people who have been helpful to them along the way,
  • Understand their career drivers and motivational/career fit,
  • Identify SMART career goals along with practical strategies including networking, self-marketing and written action plans to achieve them.

 

It’s critical to establish an environment of confidentiality where employees feel safe to share their experiences. This will assist with building rapport and trust. Assume positive intent and be open about your position and help them to be open about theirs. Sounds simple but simple doesn’t necessarily mean easy!

Asking the right questions can be trickier than you might think on first pass. Sometimes we don’t even know the question we’ve asked until we hear the answer to that question! This also means having fine-tuned listening skills. Leaders should take note of not just the words that are spoken but also the tone of voice, intonation and body language. Often a key is to watch for the level of animation in their voice to gauge their motivation. For example, if their shoulders, head and tone of voice drop it’s likely their motivation in that aspect of the conversation is low. However, if they show psychical signs of increased engagement by sitting up straight and looking attentive then you can bet whatever your discussing holds great interest for them! Considered reflection of the last conversation combined with a little preparation before the discussion will do wonders in being able to ask highly effective questions.

 

Don’t stop!

Starting the development ball rolling it’s vital for leaders to:

  1. Make time for regular career development meetings and avoid rescheduling them,
  2. Monitor and review progress,
  3. Follow through on commitments,
  4. Be mindful of ethical and cultural considerations.

 

The key for leaders is to first understand and then commit to taking a proactive approach to employee development. This means putting it into action on an ongoing basis and building it into their everyday leadership routine and skill set. Leaders are better for it, employees will be thankful for it and organisations will thrive from it.

Greg Smith is an expert in career development, talent management and organisational leadership. The co-founder of HR consulting firm, deliberatepractice, he helps aspiring, emerging and experienced leaders to develop their everyday leadership skill set. He is the author of Career Conversations: How to get the best from your talent pool (Wiley).

The value of self-discovery for leaders

By Wayne Smithson CMgr FIML

 

After a 40-year career at senior finance positions and having studied in some form for most of that time, I didn’t think I needed to learn anything about my leadership style.

So, when I was asked to consider becoming a Chartered Manager, I thought that this would be a relatively easy and quick process – a first misconception. I also thought that in my position as program director, there would not be any real obvious benefits for either myself or the organisation – my second misconception.

 

A journey of self-reflection

When I commenced the process of becoming chartered, I thought that leadership, a complex and well-covered academic topic, really comes down to experiences and self-anecdotal evidence.

However, these anecdotes and experiences are only valuable if they are intentionally recalled and put into practice. There’s no point assuming that the skills can be stored and accessed on demand.

The process appeared simple. Although in my current role, some of the leadership questions in the submission did not seem relevant at first glance.

 

Reflecting on the reality of one’s unique role

As a program director for the Bachelor of Accounting program for Universal Business School Sydney, I didn’t realise that the current business model I work within called for a different approach to leadership. Call it a transitional contingency approach to leadership if you will.

As with many private higher education providers and universities, the business model involves the tensions created by contractual employment. It can be called a “sessional” workforce, with ongoing employment determined by the demand for the subjects being offered.

This factor alone presents several unusual leadership challenges, not the least is developing and implementing a coherent business unit plan.

By comparison, this would have been a more manageable task had I applied my experiences in a commercial context which mostly meant management of permanent staff. However, with some critical thought, the contingent nature of my leadership role became evident.

 

The value of self-reflection

So what were the benefits for me?

The combination of my written reflection document and the probing questions were the catalysts for leadership self-discovery. It revealed my leadership style and attributes that I apply in my daily management and leadership role.

The three main benefits of self-reflection include learning about:

  • The known – the affirmation of leadership skills of which I was consciously aware and practised well.
  • The unknown – identification of in leadership skills in which were weak and requiring more attention and focus.
  • The unknown unknowns – highlighting leadership traits of which I was not aware I was employing.

 

Of these, the last two were the real eye-openers concerning my role, with the potential to ultimately benefit my team’s effectiveness.

Overall this exercise alone heightened my leadership awareness and intensity, in particular, the “contingent” nature of the leadership skills I have applied in my role.

Identifying where I could improve the application of those skills, however, was eye-opening. Identifying the skills I was employing and was not consciously aware was the big win.

I have now taken these learnings forward in the workplace and generally reflect across the areas of focus required to be a leader.

 

What are the benefits for the organisation?

Although, from an organisational perspective, the benefits can be somewhat intangible, all management and leadership training results typically in a positive cascading effect throughout all levels of the organisation.

Arguably the potential organisational benefits relate specifically to:

  • Highly effective team management
  • Improved team focus and direction
  • Greater productivity

 

I recommend the Chartered Manager program to all those in the academic field, not just for the internationally recognised accreditation, but also for the self-discovery in leadership that it provides. It’s an excellent opportunity for leadership awareness and practical course correction.

 

Wayne Smithson is Program Director of the Bachelor of Business Program at Universal Business School Sydney (UBSS). He is a Fellow of IML ANZ and a Chartered Manager.

Is nudge management the key to overcoming change resistance?

Business and change are inextricable. But just because it’s common doesn’t mean successful business change is easy. As humans, we naturally resist the new and novel. We will fight or flee from anything unfamiliar, especially if it presents a considerable shift from what we know. However, recent studies reveal that small, subtle suggestions are making huge impacts in changing behaviours.

 

Effective, optional suggestions

A technique often attributed to making easier, faster, and simpler choices, nudging isn’t new.  We see examples of it every day. Your alarm is a nudge, so is the default renewal of subscriptions, even the ‘low fat’ labels on food are nudges.

The reason why nudges are effective relates to the fact that you are free to ‘follow’ the push or not. You have a choice. For example, GPS directions are a nudge, but how often do we stick to the exact route provided?

One of the most publicised examples of successful nudge management involves the reduction of fuel consumption by Virgin Atlantic pilots. In the aviation industry, pilots – particularly the captain – enjoy much autonomy when it comes to decisions that involve fuel and the flight. The experiment saw how nudges had an impact on the behaviour of captains. By simply informing the captains that their fuel consumption will be monitored and requesting them to report on their fuel performance, the airline saved $5.4 million in fuel.

Perhaps the experiment was highly effective since it avoided making fuel reduction a ‘mandatory’ requirement for pilots. Instead, it preserved the pilot’s sense of autonomy while making subtle suggestions about improving fuel consumption levels. The change didn’t seem out of their control.

 

Nudging the right way

So what about when it comes to managing change in the workplace? Can nudge management help? If we think about the top reasons for resisting change, nudge management does provide an ideal counter:

  • Fear of losing control: As demonstrated with the Virgin Atlantic experiment, the liberty-preserving aspect of nudges could make them an effective way to start changing behaviour.
  • Concerns about the unknown: The most effective nudges present a benefit upfront. You could suggest an action to simplify a process, help others make healthier choices or ensure their safety (as with speed limits, for example). No one enjoys coercion.
  • Insecurity over reputation: In some change scenarios, people may feel that the shift is occurring because they failed and were ineffective. One type of nudge – the use of social norms – can address this. By confirming that the majority of colleagues feel positive about change (or want to see change occur), that lifts the pressure on the people who may feel personally responsible.

 

While nudge management is a great tactic to use when implementing change, it’s prudent to remember that it is just one of many. Plus, the most successful examples of using nudges to influence change have involved ‘behavioural change’. Structural changes, for instance, may not be as adequately covered by nudge management.

Change is complex. Resistance is only one of the many challenges that accompany any shift from the norm. Every organisation, team and individual will face unique hurdles in their transformation journey. Great leaders will analyse the specific needs of their team or organisation and consider whether nudge management is a tool they can use.

 

 

Building trust in an age of disruption

By Dr Mathew Donald

 

The age of disruption may be characterised as an environment that is fast-paced, uncertain and risky. This new environment emerged from globalisation, aided by technology and trade interconnectivity, whilst facilitated by social media and the internet. A simple presidential tweet, or small change in a trade war is now transmitted instantly around the world, without necessarily any verification, analysis or investigation. This unfiltered and immediate nature of information may contribute to instability and confusion for staff and stakeholders. Leaders may not be able to control the external environment, yet through explanation, influence and engagement, leaders may be able to effectively reduce the stress and worry that results from disruption.

 

The interplay of trust and successful change

Leadership is influence. It can generate a willingness or inspiration to follow. Staff do not automatically listen and follow leaders irrespective of the environment, as they need trust as a precursor. If there is low trust in leaders, their messages may not be heard nor believed. It has long been recognised that trust is an element of leadership. Recent research now indicates that trust is also closely related to organisational change success. In a future disruption environment, change is likely to be constant and the need for trust is heightened, so future leaders will likely require excellent skills in communicating, explaining and involving staff in associated change.

Leaders set strategy, direction and plans to inform and influence their teams. The strategy and planning process is designed to signal a way forward, provide context and alignment across a whole array of staff and stakeholders. When new data and information emerge quickly, leaders could be under pressure to react to new advances, new information or developments. The risks in this scenario is where there is a high prospect of leaders regularly reversing and overriding past decisions. Reacting quickly may be just as risky as delaying decisions in disruption and the competition may react before accurate information or analysis emerges.

 

How disruption erodes trust

The changing nature of disruption creates new challenges as leaders will continue to attempt to build trust by delivering on past promises despite the change around them. Organisations will find it impossible to move forward if the leader is not able to ensure that they are believable and worth following. Imagine if a leader offers a pay rise, only to later discover that their cost of inputs has been altered significantly by a new tariff. Imagine a leader who announced a new acquisition but soon discovers that a new technology has completely eliminated the business value.  Sudden change that alters decisions are part of a disruptive world. So leaders of the future will need to explain changes, risk and uncertainty with their teams in order to prepare for disruption.

 

Leaders must be ready to respond

In an uncertain environment, leaders will need to explain the fast pace, the uncertainty and risk regularly. Failure to do this adequately will likely lead to staff confusion, or blame toward the leader for not controlling the situation. Staff will appreciate regular and open communication on disruption, even when they do not like the described environment. Communication is such an important part of leadership, a factor that is likely to be more important with constant change, so the new leader will need to be cognisant of various communication forms, language styles, formats and regularity. Leadership communication may even be so regular that staff may be included as partners or advisors, rather than merely as subordinates. Leaders will require efficient, effective and regular communication in order to build trust, those unable or unwilling to operate this way may fail to move an organisation forward with the speed required. The leader of the future will likely be comfortable in explaining the new environment and changes, whilst building teams that are resilient to multiple options and decisions despite any ongoing risk or uncertainty.


Dr Mathew Donald specialises in leadership, management and organisational change and has more than 35 years of business experience. He is the principal of Dr Mat – The organisational Health Doctor ™, available globally for consulting, mentoring and presentations. He is also the author of “Leading and managing change in the age of disruption and artificial intelligence” (Emerald $USD 100.00).

Effective change starts with failure

By Richard Shrapnel FIML

 

Because no one likes to fail, we’ve created many ‘feel-good’ sayings about it. However, most of us take these so-called clichés with a grain of salt. But in business, leaders must pay attention to their attitude toward failure – it could hold the key to success.

So, how does your business consider failure?

 

Non-compliance is not failure

Let’s define failure at the outset. Failure has nothing to do with non-compliance. And by non-compliance, I mean not upholding business values, policies, procedures – the set ways which everyone knows the business requires one to act. That’s not failure. That’s breaking the rules; and appropriate sanctions should be applied and enforced. Non-compliance is an issue of discipline, and all business must uphold discipline.

Failure is trying something new, untested, experimenting, stretching the business’s capability to a new level but not reaching the ‘hoped-for’ outcome.

I draw this distinction as many businesses around the world get caught up in not meeting appropriate standards, whether they be internal to the business or external through regulation and even customer expectations. These outcomes are often described as failures, where they are better-considered non-compliance.

Failure should be encouraged whereas, non-compliance should not be tolerated.

 

Failing forward

Success and profitability rely on a business’s ability to outcompete all others in its chosen marketplace. And that means being able to deliver greater value to customers than your competitors today and importantly tomorrow.

Stepping out, evolving, reinventing and creating are some of the descriptors I would use to flag the type of behaviours that a business must immerse itself in to be competitive. If a business simply continues with what worked in the past, then there will become a time when their customers’ needs and their competitors’ capabilities have all moved on, and they are left behind.

This ability to continually evolve requires the practice of trying, failing, retrying and continuing to learn from each step taken. Then incorporate those learnings into the value that you deliver to your customers.

 

Barriers to failing

There are many barriers that exist within a business that will prevent it from failing and taking those learnings forward, but they can all be traced back to the business’s attitude to failure.

In many businesses, failure is spelt ‘your fault’, and it is often swept under the carpet or passed around when it occurs. Such an attitude is anti-change and counter-growth. Everyone wants to be associated with the successful project, and no one had anything to do with the failure. Failure can be a source of fear – real fear – but should it be feared?

Material losses can be incurred by businesses where a fear of failure is prevalent. This fear seeds a blame culture leading to denial, no ownership, and a lack of oversight and accountability. Failures may well be hidden where fear is prevalent, and losses escalated rather than mitigated.

There can be no learnings where fear exists as no one will want to be associated with or recall the project nor its lessons.

So what attitude should a business seek to develop when it comes to failure. Well, there are, I believe, two aspects:

  • We are an innovative and growing business, so experimentation is part of who we must be.
  • Failures will occur and will be acknowledged with humility, acceptance and learning.

 

Honestly, doesn’t something only become a failure if you abandon all the learnings and hope for the future? The attitude you create and sustain in your business must uphold the right attitude towards failure. And do not allow failure to become a political tool within the business.

 

How leaders should handle failure

The way leaders act with respect to failure will set the role model for everyone else in the business to follow. Failure is a test of and testament to the character of leaders. How leaders handle their failures and those of fellow leaders and colleagues speaks volumes to their character and motive. You should listen carefully to what it says as it will identify the worthy leaders in your business.

Leaders will need to develop humility as a core character trait if they are to build a business that grows and can outcompete everyone else in their market. Humility is the character trait that allows you to listen and learn most effectively, and that is a trait you want in your business’s DNA.

The trait you do not want in your business is self-interest. Self-interest will undermine your individual and your business’s success. If you are always putting yourself first, then no one else will be uplifted, and that uplifting of others is essential for growth.

The right people, in the right places with the right attitude, is essential to the growth and enduring success of your business.

How your business views and approaches failure is a cornerstone to its ability to deliver greater value to your customers every day. Allow the wrong attitude to take hold, and your business will stagnate. Seed, feed and flourish the right attitude, and growth will never be an issue.

Richard Shrapnel is a business strategist, advisor and speaker. He is a Fellow of IML ANZ.