Category Archives: Leadership

How can you approach a topic like wellbeing holistically?

How can you approach a topic like wellbeing holistically?

This is our framework.

=> Employee wellbeing is more than programmes or initiatives.

=> It’s a shared mindset with aligned behaviours, enabled through leaders and managers.

=> Employee wellbeing becomes part of the culture when it is:

** Embedded in the employee experience

** Reflects organizational values

We think about 4 dimensions of wellbeing:

– Physical

– Emotional

– Financial

– Social

Our research reveals that organizations with higher levels of wellbeing achieve:

– Better business outcomes

– Higher levels of employee engagement

– Improved revenue

– Greater customer satisfaction

– Fewer safety incidents

Where can you start when you want to improve wellbeing?:

1. The first step is to really understand your current state by seeking insights from leaders, managers and employees. [I do lots of work here, including surveys and analytics]

2. The second step is to develop and design a strategy that is “fit for purpose” for your organization through analysis of gaps, priorities and opportunities.

#Leadership #WellBeing #EmployeeExperience #OrganizationalCulture #EmployeeEngagement #TotalRewards #Benefits #HR #FutureOfWork

How can leaders design for purposeful change?

This is a question that really interests me and it’s a topic where there’s a lot of energy, considering the impact of technology, health, and climate on people now and in the future.

The “Systemic Design Framework” was launched by the Design Council in April 2021.

It’s based on an evolution in thinking about design over time:

1.0 Was about visual communication and assets

2.0 Was about human-centred design to create value-add

3.0 Was about organisational and social innovation

4.0 Now design needs to tackle “wicked problems” and complex systems.

What does it take for leaders to do this?:

=> SYSTEM THINKER: The ability to see how things are interconnected and to zoom between the micro and the macro and across silos.

=> STORYTELLER: To use the power of storytelling to create energy at all levels and to maximise involvement.

=> DESIGNER AND MAKER: To use technical and creative skills to make things happen through prototyping, testing and iteration.

=> CONNECTOR AND CONVENER: To create spaces where people from different backgrounds come together to drive action.

At the heart of all this is sense making, empathy, involvement and co-creation.

My clients are thinking about this, along the lines of “How are we building systemic change into our leadership frameworks as we plan for the future of work?”

If you want to learn more about this framework and approach, this is a great summary article: “Ways of designing: A reflection on strategic and systemic design”.

https://medium.com/design-council/ways-of-designing-a-reflection-on-strategic-and-systemic-design-8ee8004fe110

#Leadership #DesignThinking #EmployeeExperience #Inclusion #CimateAction

#FutureOfWork #BehaviorChange #SystemsThinking #SystemicDesign #HR

What really matters for trust?

Joseph Folkman in his book “The Trifecta of Trust” came up with these three pillars after looking at masses of leadership feedback data. The point of a trifecta is that these pillars have an order to them.

1. The first pillar is Expertise:

=> “This is the extent to which you are well informed and knowledgeable. It includes your understanding of the technical aspects of the work, as well as your depth of experience.”

=> Expertise is demonstrated by good judgement in making decisions.

2. Once you have achieved a level of expertise, you must demonstrate Consistency:

=> This means walking the talk and doing what you say you will do

=> You are a good role model for others

=> You keep your promises.

3. The final pillar is Fostering Positive Relationships:

=> You stay in touch with the issues and concerns of others (empathy)

=> You balance results with concern for others

=> Your relationships generate cooperation

=> You give “honest feedback in a helpful way”

=> You build an inclusive climate.

I also like his discussion of the “humble expert”, the link between trust and engagement, and trust and confidence:

=> “Confidence can magnify trust, but only when a person’s confidence matches up with their competence. Assuming you are much more effective than you really are causes others to lose trust in you.”

That rings very true!

Reference: Folkman, Joseph R.. The Trifecta of Trust: The Proven Formula for Building and Restoring Trust. United States: River Grove Books, 2022.

#Leadership #Trust #PsychologicalSafety #EmployeeEngagement #FutureOfWork #EmployeeExperience #HR #Inclusion #BehavioralScience #BestThingsAlwaysComeInThrees

How does trust grow?

When I started my career in consulting, I was handed a well-thumbed copy of the book “The Trusted Advisor” and recommended to read it. Which I proceeded to do, and then in time handed it on to the next person. That copy became more and more worn over the years. The book is full of great advice. Here’s one thing I’ve always remembered: the trust equation.

Here are some of the book’s insights on trust:

=> It grows rather than just appears

=> Is both rational and emotional

=> Presumes a two-way relationship

=> Is intrinsically about perceived risk

=> Is personal

Another section in the book that I’ve always likes deals with “mindsets”:

=> The ability to focus on the other person

=> Self confidence

=> Curiosity

=> Inclusivity

This kind of advice is more applicable than ever.

Maister, David H., Robert Galford, and Charles Green. 2001. “The Trusted Advisor.” Simon & Schuster.

#Leadership #Trust #EmployeeEngagement #ProfessionalServices

#Mindsets #BusinessManagement #Consulting #Motivation

Emotions and Performance

How can you understand emotions in the workplace, and the link to performance?

This is a hot topic: Companies are doing more ongoing sensing, using new technologies to track sentiment, in part because there’s a growing concern over wellbeing & anxiety, plus there is an awful lot of change happening, which always stirs up emotions.

This multi-level model of emotions in organisations was developed by Neal Mashkanasy and Ronald Humphrey.

What does it tell you? (Apart from things are complicated):

– Senior leaders need to understand that employees’ attitudes and behaviors are partly the result of an accumulation of affective events (shown here in Level 1)

– In this framework, level 2 highlights the importance of individual variability in personality and emotional intelligence

– Level 3 covers the role of emotions in interpersonal relationships, e.g., trust

– In group situations managers need to understand how the transmission of emotions impacts teamwork (Level 4)

– At level 5, the focus may fall on “emotional climate” and the impact on organisational performance.

It’s a useful picture to keep in mind when you come across simple displays of “emotions at work”.

There’s a lot to unpack, including effects across levels.

You can find the paper here:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254089663_Current_Emotion_Research_in_Organizational_Behavior

It’s a fun read as the authors talk about leaders as “mood managers” and the potential damage caused by “emotional contagion”.

#Leadership #EmotionalIntelligence #OrganisationalCulture #PeopleAnalytics #BehavioralScience #Teamwork #HighPerformance

High performance requires a combination of discipline AND entrepreneurship

I’ve always liked this picture, which comes from Jim Collins’ book “Good to Great”. It’s something that we also see in our research into EX leadership. This combination is difficult to get right, but it is key for great performance, not just at an organisational level, but at a team level too. Of course, navigating the “tension” here depends on trust and psychological safety.

Jim Collins talks about the importance of:

=> Hiring and developing self-disciplined people (so leaders can “manage the system” rather than individuals).

=> Disciplined thought, as in: “Confronting the brutal facts of reality, while retaining faith that you can create a path to success.”

=> Disciplined action (the ability to focus on the most critical things). In my experience, many organsiations fall down here with too many priorities and too much complicatedness.

And he highlights the need to build a culture around “the idea of freedom and responsibility within a framework”.

Where would you put your own team or organisation in a matrix like this?

#Leadership #OrganizationalCulture #EmployeeExperience #Creativity

#BehavioralScience #Trust #PsychologicalSafety #Innovation

#EmployeeEngagement

Five Keys for Engagement

Here are five keys for improving employee engagement, based on research into what effective leaders actually do:

=> Really know the people who work for you – understand their experiences, motivations and interests

=> Have an interest in helping people learn to do new things in new and better ways (this isn’t about formal training, it’s about a coaching mindset and encouragement)

=> Inspire people; not through slogans and posters on the wall, but in practical ways that provide a sense of purpose (e.g. customer interaction and feedback)

=> Involve people through building line of sight and business literacy, and by providing access to fresh information (transparency)

=> Recognising people’s contribution: a “Sincere Well-Informed Timely Thank You” is a powerful thing (but many managers struggle with this).

The list comes from the book “Closing the Engagement Gap: How Great Companies Unlock Employee Potential for Superior Results” by Julie Gebauer and Don Lowman.

When I do manager training, it’s depressing to see how many team leaders fall down on “Know people”. I start easy, like, “What are the names of people in your team?” You’d be amazed. This step is really about empathy – or maybe simply caring a bit.

The best managers in my experience, do all these five things and more. What would you add to the list?

#EmployeeEngagement #Leadership #EmployeeExperience #Empathy #HR #PeopleManagement #EmotionalIntelligence #Trust #BadManagersSuck #IMadeAnInfographic

Types of Conversation

How can you understand different kinds of conversation in the workplace? => This is still a useful framework for thinking about types of employee voice. It’s based on Bill Gorden’s two-spectrum model.

** To what extent is voice is active? (e.g., given openly)

** And is it constructive? (e.g., an exchange)

You can identify 4 quadrants:

=> Active constructive, e.g., “principled dissent” and “dialogue”

=> Passive constructive, e.g., “attentive listening” and “quiet non-verbal support”

=> Passive destructive, e.g., “I just work here”-type responses and “calculative silence”

=> Active destructive, e.g., “duplicity” and “badmouthing”

The model is from 1988 and you can see the links to early work on psychological safety.

You can read more here: https://buff.ly/42a2lMi

What can you do with this framework? Well, there is also a lot written about “Active Constructive Responding” in coaching, for example, which I associate with the work of Shelly Gable (and others).

#EmployeeExperience #EmployeeEngagement #EmployeeVoice

#Leadership #Conversation #BehavioralScience #PsychologicalSafety

Conscious Accountability

Conscious accountability is about “expanding awareness to create deliberate intentions, take informed actions, and be responsible for our impact.”

The idea comes froom the book by David Tate, Marianne Pantalon and Daryn David.

Conscious accountability depends on:

– Creating clarity

– Opening up engagement

– Nailing it (do what you say)

– Noticing

– Exchanging feedback

– Claiming it (taking ownership for failures as well as successes)

– Trying again

They touch on this in the article (there is more about it in the book): By considering two outcomes, Relationships and Results, they identify four personas:

1. Harmonizers

2. Hard Drivers

3. Neutralizers

4. Conscious Performers

“Conscious performers are the people who can balance and include a focus on both task performance and relationship quality.” What do these people do:

=> They notice a team’s energy

=> They uncover root causes when there are challenges

=> They appreciate divergent opinions

It’s an interesting read and building accountability is something that I know lots of organisations struggle with. I like the focus here on energy and inclusion.

https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/why-accountability-needs-an-upgrade

#Leadership #Trust #PsychologicalSafety #BehavioralScience

Reflecting Edgar Schein’s ideas

This is a powerful review by MIT of five of Edgar Schein’s most enduring ideas:

1. Coercive persuasion

2. Career anchors and dynamics

3. Organization culture

4. Humble inquiry and leadership

5. Organization change

His work on culture is still relevant as people continue to zero-in on visible artifacts & symbols, rather than explore underlying assumptions. He also examined the way culture, leadership, and organizational transformation intersect.

Another major contribution (certainly in my area) is in process consulting, where he called out the importance of shifting from a “doctor-patient” relationship to one based on active and collaborative enquiry and group problem solving.

What an amazing body of work.

Here’s the link: “5 enduring management ideas from MIT Sloan’s Edgar Schein | MIT Sloan”

https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/5-enduring-management-ideas-mit-sloans-edgar-schein?utm_source=mitsloantwitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=schein

#Leadership #OrganizationalCulture #EmployeeExperience