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Come As You Are

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An empty Johari window, with the "rooms&q...

An empty Johari window, with the “rooms” arranged clockwise, starting with Room 1 at the top left (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If my friends working in the public and private sectors are to be believed, there is a crying need for some coaching for key leaders so they are better equipped to win the hearts, minds and commitment of their staff at every level in their organisations.

 

Seemingly there are key leaders out there who think that – despite headcount reductions and pay freezes – X per cent fewer staff will remain motivated when pressed to produce ever greater outputs.

 

Looking back at some old material on inspired leadership I was struck by the attitude shown by Frank Douglas, in charge of Human Resources in Transport for London (TfL).  Interviewed in July 2010 by People Management magazine the African-American ex-pat noted:

 

“In an age of austerity, when you can’t pay people more you have to focus on career development”

 

He goes on to make the point that the first winner of television series ‘The Apprentice’, Tim Campbell, used to be a marketing manager at TfL.  The organisation should therefore be asking “How many more Tim Campbell’s do we have out there?”

http://www.tim-campbell.co.uk/

 

Interestingly, Frank’s career trajectory also neatly illustrates the principle that the drive for development comes from within.  He says:

 

“The US is a highly mobile society, where people vote with their feet…I’ve had a self-managed career.  I aspired to be head of HR and took the jobs that would give me experience towards that goal’.  He adds towards, the end of the article, ‘the challenge of diversity is about understanding people and managing conflict”.

 

He might have added that people are complex, and that the issues of diversity affecting them may not be immediately obvious (for instance a disability may not be observable; their religion might also not be noticeable).  The principles behind the Johari Window (in which some aspects of an individual’s identity are not visible to others) are applicable here.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johari_window

 

Coincidentally, in July 2011 People Management magazine took a look at sexual orientation in the context of diversity leadership.  David Shield’s, the director of workplace programmes for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy organisation Stonewall notes that:

 

“Organisations have generally become more diverse, but you don’t often see gay people in senior teams, just like you don’t see gender or ethnicity in diversity at top levels …Women or ethnic minority men may fear a double dose of prejudice…which means that lesbians or black gay men are more inhibited about coming out than white, gay men”.

 

If that trend is indicative then there is still some way to go towards establishing fully equal and diverse workplaces.

 

I suspect that ensuring the employment environment has little or no scope for inequality establishes a foundation that is good-for-business.  In that climate a coaching strategy that encourages staff to develop their careers in fulfilling directions would deliver productivity benefits to the organisation and self-esteem benefits to the individual.  Happy staff are productive staff.

 

Underpinning the positive environment and the development strategy should be recognition of the value of the whole person, regardless of their age, disability, ethnicity, gender, orientation, or religion.

 

Organisations are missing a trick if they do not recognise the distinctive contributions that their diverse workforce already makes.  Those employees have real potential to develop further, in a supportive environment.   If more managers were keen to acquire coaching skills they might just be the catalyst to speed that development up.

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Shiny Happy People?

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Cover of "How to Be Happy: Seven Steps to...

I have just seen reports of new research from University College, London
which indicates happy people live longer.  Professor Andrew Steptoe who led the research said to the BBC that longevity might be an outcome experienced by ‘the kind of people who are happy [as they] are the kind who take care of themselves and are therefore quite healthy’.

I can see why that would be the case.  It seems common sense to me if you are fulfilled – in personal, professional, or emotional terms – you are in all likelihood less stressed.  Carry that unstressed feeling over into an active retirement and you are looking at part of the recipe for many golden years.

In terms of coaching I think ‘I want to live life in a way which makes me happy’ could be developed into a workable goal.  I’m not sure living longer could realistically be built into that.  Benjamin Fry‘s book, ‘How to Be Happy’ may be a useful background reference.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-19926775

Equally interesting is research from Dr John Eastwood of York University, Toronto.  This shows that boredom can amount to ‘the aversive experience of wanting, but being unable, to engage in satisfying activity’.

The research, discussed in a Guardian article, notes that ‘frustrated dreamers who haven’t realised their goals can expend all their emotional energy on hating themselves or the world, and find they have no attention left for anything else’.

Of course it wouldn’t be feasible to coach someone whose goal was ‘not to be bored by their life’.  They would need to phrase their aim positively, saying what they wanted to move toward, rather than what they wanted to move away from.

Thinking about it perhaps there is a link between the two pieces of research.  The trick for those experiencing boredom might be to get coached.  That would provide the opportunity for those who are motivated, to stop, reflect, and change course.  It might even give them the chance to start pursuing a goal of living an interesting and happier life…in the longer term.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/oct/14/boredom-is-bad-for-health

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GROWing Pains

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English: An artist's depiction of the rat race...

English: An artist’s depiction of the rat race in reference to the work and life balance. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_race Made with following images: http://www.openclipart.org/detail/75385 http://www.openclipart.org/detail/74137 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’ve received some useful performance coaching recently, to help me successfully suggest how the future contributions of a voluntary project group I belong to could be improved, improving my work-life balance.

It was good quality coaching, following the GROW – Goal, Reality, Options, and Will – formula championed by Sir John Whitmore amongst others.  It left me holding a clear set of actions for two, cards-on-the-table, meetings about the project.  I was going to influence greater participation from group at the first, grass roots meeting.  I was then going to suggest changes to the project vision in the second high-level event.

Of course reality doesn’t work like that.  In the first meeting no one wanted to participate more than they were already doing.  In the second meeting the request for help with the vision went up the line, and came firmly back down again.   The issue with the vision thing was ours to address, not anyone else’s.

Which goes to show that, where you can coach with improvements in your own performance in mind, you cannot expect your actions to produce specific outcomes in others.  After all, others haven’t been coached to ‘participate more’ or to ‘change their vision’.

All this possibly means my next coaching goal may have to be: ‘to successfully document my contribution to the outcomes of this project, so I can use my skills in another context  this year’.

(More information about Sir John Whitmore is  available on this website http://www.performanceconsultants.com/ )

In Cyberspace Not Everyone ‘Likes’ You

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Image representing LinkedIn as depicted in Cru...

Image via CrunchBase

I tried explaining social networking to an older relative recently.  It’s based on identifying yourself on the internet, I said.

 

There was a sharp intake of breath from across the table.

 

My relative wasn’t sure about the risks of putting information about yourself out into the ether, for others to see.  He asked, ‘Won’t people know too much about you’?

 

On reflection I, sort of, see his point, although if you don’t put yourself out there the potential for changing your situation is pretty limited.

 

These days for work, or professional reasons it is sensible to have a Linked In profile.  If a portfolio career appeals it might even be the key to researching new opportunities, which may mean you can develop your future by trading on existing skills.

 

The online edition of American magazine Ebony has an interesting article, with something to say about that subject.  In particular I like their idea that ‘You Can See What You Need to Get What You Want’. 

http://www.ebony.com/career-finance/3-reasons-you-need-to-be-on-linkedin

 

If you set store by finding out more about people who have been there and done that (actually used social media to their advantage), you might want to look at Rich Jones web site concerning professional steps in the virtual world. 

 

http://www.iamrichjones.com/

 

Blogging is an option too.  Finding a topic about which you are passionate and writing about it via WordPress, Blogger, or another platform.  It is always nice to have people read and even follow what you write, but it may take some time to get your readership beyond single figures.

 

Twitter is a third avenue, creating a small you-shaped virtual niche.  It also makes for concise communication as a limit of 140 or fewer characters applies.

 

It is a very quick way of getting your message distributed too.  Although recent events involving Ashley Cole and Rio Ferdinand, illustrate why speed isn’t always helpful.  Frankly it is idea to think first and tweet later.

 

There are a billion users on Facebook too, so that might be a harder arena in which to get your voice heard.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/oct/04/facebook-hits-billion-users-a-month

 

Whichever route appeals it is also worth remembering something friends working in Human Resources have mentioned to me.  Some employers do keep tabs on identifiable social media accounts.

 

Even if they do not have an official policy about employees’ media usage, or even if you are not yet working for them, they may be very interested in what you have to say and the way you say it.

 

That is worth thinking about if you are used to frank speaking online and you don’t want something you said ages ago, concerning a topic about which you are passionate, counting against long after you had forgotten saying it.

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Are We There Yet?

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London 2012 banner at The Monument.

London 2012 banner at The Monument. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As someone who was not sporty at school I have a huge admiration for people who are dedicated, train hard, and ultimately find a way to excel in their particular field.  When they manage to reach their goal against expectations and despite obstacles I am even more impressed.

 

Kudos then to Nicola Adams, who is the first Olympic Women’s Boxing Gold medallist at the London 2012 Games.

 

Speaking to the Guardian newspaper in September she describes what she has learned from competing in the ring, with hundreds of people watching her bout “…[it] teaches you a lot about confidence. Now I know that if I want to get something done, I can do it as long as I put my mind to it”.

 

That’s a philosophy which Nicola has put to the test, as she notes there are still some people who disagree with the idea of women boxing.  As she goes on to say, “If a woman wants to play a sport, she can. There’s nothing stopping us”.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/sep/26/nicola-adams-women-sport-boxing

 

Perhaps the factors stopping anyone from achieving what they set their heart on are twofold.  First other people may disapprove, or get in the way; second there may be an element of self-doubt at work.

 

Hats off to Felicity Aston, the first woman to ski solo across Antarctica in January 2012.  Again, like with Nicola Adams gender expectations shaped attitudes to future success, as did a small inner voice.

 

Speaking to journalist Huma Qureshi, Felicity said that “…the most powerful motivator was thinking of all those people who had underestimated me or put me down – I didn’t want them to be right, I wanted to be right. And so I’d get the strength to carry on, to get up and go”.

 

She continues with an, I think, interesting generalisation about the relationship between gender and confidence.  She says “Sometimes I work with amazing women and yet I sense they have this lack of confidence in their own intrinsic abilities. Sometimes I do too – and I wonder why we do when men don’t?”

 

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/sep/17/i-skied-solo-across-antarctica?intcmp=239

 

I wonder if actually men might just present an air of confidence about their intrinsic abilities, whilst they secretly may feel just as doubtful about their competencies.  An article which appears in the Motoring section of the Daily Telegraph got me thinking about this.

 

In the piece explorer and ‘natural navigator’ Tristan Gooley noted that “Being forced to confront the fact that their [natural navigation] system does not work makes men flustered and usually results in them putting the pedal to the floor in a desperate bid to avoid the reality of the situation”.

 

That seems like a brilliant metaphor to me.  Some people, men and women, are consciously not competent and choose not to address that fact.  They may be the ones who never end up at a satisfactory destination.  Perhaps for either gender it is better to ask for help, to reach your destination, rather than carry on frustratingly doing something that simply doesn’t help complete the journey.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/9548536/Men-refuse-to-ask-for-directions-out-of-blind-panic.html

Mind Your Language

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Andrew Mitchell in Pakistan

Andrew Mitchell in Pakistan (Photo credit: DFID – UK Department for International Development)

Unless you work in total isolation you probably realise that what you say, and the way you say it, has an impact on the people around you.

If you are a senior politician, like Government Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell, it is probably unwise to (allegedly) use the word ‘Pleb’ – a derogatory description for a common person – within ear shot of a Downing Street police officer with whom you have just had a row.  It’s bound to antagonise a public servant to have that language buzzing in his ears.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-19690240

If a comment made in the heat of the moment can be contentious how much worse is a homophobic remark, deliberately launched into cyber space towards Tom Daley and his diving partner Pete Waterfield, through social media?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/diving/9555394/Tom-Daley-homophobic-tweet-by-footballer-Daniel-Thomas-will-not-result-in-charges.html

Interestingly the Daily Telegraph article notes the Head of the Crown Prosecution Service, Keir Starmer, saying ”the time has come for an informed debate about the boundaries of free speech in an age of social media”.  How much thought is needed not to seem a twit when tweeting?

All of which makes the casual references to people being ‘mad’, when they in fact have a mental health issue, seem sadly common place.  Sadly as mental health charity Mind has evidence that verbal abuse can spiral into worse treatment.

http://www.mind.org.uk/blog/7459_coping_with_stigma

So, what is the solution, given the pressures that people are exposed to simply going about their daily lives, and the ease with which some people use offensive speech?

Taking a deep breath, releasing it slowly while counting to ten is probably not enough these days.

Maybe the guiding principle should be: speak to others, in an emotionally charged situation, as you would be spoken to yourself?

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Brand Loyalty

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Unique Selling Proposition / Unique Selling Po...

Unique Selling Proposition / Unique Selling Point / USP (Photo credit: photosteve101)

I was talking to a recruitment consultant last month and found myself agreeing with her when she said the current economy makes this an employers’ market.

 

Large numbers of people without work provides employers with a rich selection of talent sitting on the shelf from which to choose.

 

It is possible that the most attractive prospects at eye level are younger people.  Younger applicants, offer new perspectives, fresh out of school or college.  They are perceived to be more malleable and less expensive than mid-career job changers.

 

All of which made me think about personal branding.  Having a good professional reputation, can improve personal marketability, whatever age you are.  It can make you stand out from the other people looking for an opportunity to shine.

 

In my recent experience of attending public meetings and community events, reputation isn’t always something people consider when they represent themselves, or speak on others’ behalf.

 

For instance what would you think if you heard at a Town Hall meeting that a representative of a faith organisation was prepared to ‘use force’, if that got his planning application approved?

 

http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/wfnews/9909691.WALTHAMSTOW__EMD_planning_meeting/

 

On the other side of the coin how does a Community centre volunteer come across as she describes her venue as an ‘exciting place, from the time the doors open to when they close’?

 

Each speaker is making a statement about who they are and how you might relate to them.

 

If reputation is important the challenge is to establish and enhance one’s own.  That involves finding a unique selling proposition for yourself, to be known for your: attention to detail; ability to influence others; technical competence and so on.  Having earned that USP the trick must be to keep building on it.

 

Trying to build on an established USP can be risky too.  As I mentioned in previous posts, Nick Buckles – head of G4S, the Olympic contractor providing security staff – recently found that out the hard way.  How difficult will it be for his organisation to enjoy its previous tried-and-trusted status I wonder?

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/sep/11/g4s-failed-olympic-security-lord-coe

 

Not ready for the ‘Reduced To Clear’ shelf just yet?  It might be worth asking questions:

 

Am I presenting myself as offering Everyday Value (reassuring, dependable, nothing fancy)?

 

Or do I work at becoming a Premium Brand (luxurious, different, something-a-bit-special)?

 

I’ll do some market research on my own offer and let you know what I find.

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“Oh, I Can Always Do That Later”

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Cover of "The 7 Habits of Highly Effectiv...

Cover of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

I was motivated to write this post by the thought that I really should write something tonight, instead of procrastinating over a variety of To Do items before bed.

 

There’s a very honest BBC News article by Rowan Pelling on the theme of putting things off.  I have included a link to the piece which is worth a quick read.  I can definitely see where the writer is coming from.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19389707

 

Apparently Canadian research, by Prof Piers Steel from the Haskanye School of Business at the University of Calgary, suggests perhaps 95% of us put things off.  Worse yet Prof Piers suggests that those of us who do are:

 

“…less wealthy, less healthy and less happy than those who don’t delay”

 

Sometimes there isn’t a frog to be eaten (my 19 July post – Sharing Your Goals, Or Not – explains that reference).  If so it can be easy to chip away at several tasks, in a scatter-gun way, without the feeling of having completed anything substantial.

 

Perhaps it is really a matter of perspective.

 

Brain Tracy, in his book about ‘Goals and how to get everything you want…’, suggests applying a laser-like focus on the important goal you want to attain.  If an interruption in the shape of an email, text, letter or request for help does not support that focus then the interruption belongs in the ‘Important but not Urgent’ category.

 

That sound like a hardcore approach to getting things done.  It also has echoes of one of the late Dr Stephen Covey’s ‘Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’.

 

Nonetheless I am going to try that approach for the rest of the month.  I’ll see what difference putting first things first makes, and post about it subsequently.

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There May Be Trouble Ahead – Post Script

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Map of Summer Olympics locations. Countries th...

Map of Summer Olympics locations. Countries that have hosted one Summer Olympics are shaded green, while countries that have hosted two or more are shaded blue. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In an earlier post I speculated that there might be Trouble Ahead as a result of the 11th hour pre-Olympic security staffing problem.

 

It turns out the long term impact of the problem is being quantified by the key players.

 

For the armed services – drafted in at the last minute to help ensure the Games were successful – there will be knock-on effects for many months to come.

 

As Wing Commander Peter Daulby, military Chief Planner, commented to the Guardian:

 

“It will take two years to recover from [Olympic deployment], to get back to normal, to get everything back into kilter. You can’t expect [personnel deployed] to go back to normal routine very easily”

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/aug/13/army-olympic-games-recovery-two-years

 

For the original security contractor – G4S – the impact of achieving a reported 83% deployment of their original staffing goal will be financial.  The Guardian reports a 60% fall in half year profits and reputational knock in the longer term.

 

As their Chief Executive, Nick Buckles, said in a recent interview:

 

“…his appearance before the home affairs select committee shortly before the Games, where he was forced to admit that the Olympics process had been a “shambles”, was difficult but necessary”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/aug/28/g4s-50m-hit-olympics-contract

 

Although the Games themselves were rightly praised as a major success, the secuirty contractor’s experience seems to illustrates the principle that; ordinary efforts probably could not have produced the extraordinary planning outcome the Olympics call for.

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Swimming Lessons

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English: Mark Foster, British swimmer, at the ...

English: Mark Foster, British swimmer, at the parade in London to celebrate the achievements of British competitors at the 2008 Summer Olympics. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Interviewed by Benenden Healthcare Society’s ben health magazine in February 2012, former Olympic swimmer Mark Foster offered some views about success in and out of the water.

 

I thought I would share the highlights of what he said, since they have a general appeal.

 

Speaking about what it takes to succeed in his sport, he said:

 

“You have to be mentally strong and believe in yourself 100 per cent.  You need to be the one who trains harder and wants it more and is willing to go that extra mile”.

 

In the working world he emphasised the importance of taking “…responsibility for your job – for your part of the big picture”.

 

Finally he offered some thoughts about striving to succeed:

 

“Never be afraid of failing.  The real winners are those who have a go and go that extra mile.  Don’t be someone who doesn’t try because they don’t want to fail.  Be the best you can be”.

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