Lift: Thinking space - a regular update of ideas & views on leadership

What can your leadership team learn from the financial meltdown?

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen & Katrina) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:46:00 +0000

"Why did no one foresee the recession?" That was the seemingly simple question posed by the Queen when visiting the London School of Economics. The answer, as devised by a group of eminent economists, boils down to a lack of 'systems thinking'. They place the blame for the recession on "a failure of the collective imagination of many bright people". In other words, each individual was performing their own role effectively, hitting their success targets. "The failure was to see how collectively this added up to a series of interconnected imbalances" - no-one had the overview to understand the risks as a whole, they were only concerned with their own individual part.

This 'silo' thinking frequently happens within organisations too. Each department or functional team pursues their own targets, failing to anticipate the ripple effect across the rest of the organisation, resulting in distracting conflicts and turf wars.

The most effective way to overcome this situation, in our experience, is to bring together functional leaders to see the entire interconnected picture, and the part they play in its success. This means leaders can plan to be more effective individually - and collectively.

Right now, many organisations are focusing their people on 'future-proofing' their organisations by developing new strategies - and more power to them. But having bright people developing great ideas is not on its own a guarantee of success (the current situation is testament to that). The real differentiator is how those bright people interconnect to produce a dazzingly 'whole'.

Talk to us to find out more about how you can achieve the full potential of your management team.

Will the real Gordon Brown please stand up?

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen & Katrina) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 21:19:00 +0000

He has held his position... for now, but Gordon Brown is a long way from having the full support of his party, or the full confidence of the electorate. Journalists, political commentators and - let's face it - bloggers are having a field day dissecting Brown's leadership - his supposed 'flawed' personality, alleged temper tantrums and toe-curling appearances on Facebook.

And yet, there's a dichotomy - those who know Gordon Brown, who have spent time in his company, describe him as utterly charismatic, engaging, humorous and with a brilliant, searing intelligence. Who is Gordon Brown?

Is it the case, as his supporters suggest, that GB is a great politician but simply does not have the media presence required of a 21st century leader? It's certainly true that we expect our leaders to be skilled orators, to speak from the heart, to capture the imagination and hope of the people (look no further than Obama). It's a common-held belief that the key role of a leader is to talk things up, inspire and motivate. But what the current crisis shows very clearly is that leadership is so much more than polished communication skills - indeed a few inadvised sessions with a presentation coach may do more harm than good. Remember his 'heartfelt' sentiments for Britain's Got Talent loser Susan Boyle on GMTV? One thing that the public will judge more harshly than an awkward presentation style, and that's one that looks fake.

No, a lack of confidence in leadership comes not so much from what is said, but from what is done (or not done). Public criticisms revolve around a lack of openness (cf. 'stealth' taxes) and in the more recent MPs' expenses scandal, a lack of moral leadership. Within the party, outgoing Ministers have cited a "bullying" and non-inclusive style of leadership, and talked of an inner circle within the Cabinet. So in this media-saturated world, no matter how often that Facebook clip is replayed, we should not lose sight of the fact that Brown's leadership crisis runs far deeper than a few misplaced smiles.

Leaders who aren't getting results aren't truly leading

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen & Katrina) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:19:00 +0000

Picture the outcome of a typical management meeting: action points, lots of them, whiteboards or flipcharts filled with next steps, responsibilities, timelines...

Many of us would regard this as a good outcome - it feels satisfying to have identified what needs to change, to have made decisions, and above all to be doing something about it. As humans, we like activity; we enjoy having an impact on our world, rolling our sleeves up and "getting on with it".

And yet, it is so easy to confuse activity with results. Do we know whether these are the right activities? What results are we trying to achieve? How will we know when we've succeeded? This describes Results Leadership and is the key to delivering exceptional performance.

Results-based leaders have a clear vision of what they want to achieve and how well they are achieving it. They continually ask and answer the question - "What outcome is needed?" - before they decide what has to be done.

They focus themselves and others on the "few big things" that will have an impact, and discard those time and resource-hungry projects that, whilst on the surface may be attractive, are not going to deliver results.

To track their progress, they measure and evaluate as they go. And they adjust their plans and approaches, on the basis of what they have learned.

Many people we've spoken to tell us that they willingly follow leaders who know both who they are (their own values, strengths and weaknesses) and where they are going (their targeted results). Leaders like this instil confidence and inspire trust in others because they are direct, focused, and consistent.

The 3 biggest flaws in management thinking

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen & Katrina) — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 16:00:00 +0000

Decisions made in many organisations are very often based on what we wish were true rather than what we know to be true.

That's the finding of the excellent Hard Facts, Dangerous Half Truths & Total Nonsense (HBS Press, 2006) in which the authors describe the disruption we have all experienced from management "fads", and the mistaken thinking that usually underlies them.

Which of these management thinking traps do you recognise?

1. Copycat strategies - mimicking what successful companies seem to be doing without fully understanding why it works for them

2. 'Party piece' initiatives - implementing processes or systems on the basis of "it worked a treat in my last company so I'll do it again here"

3. Received wisdom - making decisions based on deeply-held (unproven and unchallenged) beliefs about what improves performance

What can you do to get better decisions that are right for your business? Some simple thinking disciplines are a good starting point...

1. Dig deeper to uncover the assumptions that you or others are making about either the organisation, the issue or the solution

2. Insist on localised trials before rolling out promising ideas across the business. Encourage people to experiment, but minimize the risk to the business by starting small.

3. Demand measurable evidence of the impact of any initiative within your organisation before giving the green light to new initiatives

Simple enough, but these checks make sure that the only ideas that get implemented are the ones that really cut the mustard

Too busy fire-fighting to plan for the future?

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen & Katrina) — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 10:33:00 +0000

Are you planning for the future - not just for the organisation - but also for yourself? Or are you too busy putting out fires that 'company arsonists' have started?

You know who they are... every organisation we've worked with has them. Mostly they're trying to do the right thing - it's just that they rush into action without thinking things through.

Whether it's (yet another) restructure, or change programme or whatever, they get a nice warm feeling because 'at least we're DOING something' - you just feel the heat... and so does the business.

It doesn't need to be this way. If you've been on one of our programmes you'll have gone through the pain barrier of thinking together - you'll also have seen what happens when people start to talk about what really matters. The egos are in check; people ask questions to fish for new thoughts, insights, ideas, not to shoot the speaker. People start to listen to each other (really listen, not just reload).

Too busy fire-fighting? Create some thinking space... it makes for better decisions - not just for yourself, but for others round you. How much thinking space is blocked out in your diary this week?

How far would you go to know your customers?

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen & Katrina) — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 15:02:00 +0000

No matter how great the heritage or reputation of your company, unless you are continuously looking ahead, your strong position may already be slipping away...

One way to falter is to lose touch with your customers.

Tesco's number 1 position in the UK is based on a customer-focused strategy. Chief Executive Terry Leahy has built his reputation and the company's outstanding growth by understanding exactly what his customers want.

Take his forthcoming entry into the American market:

Twelve months ahead of his £250m US launch, Leahy has sent fifty directors to live with families in California. To find out how Americans live: how they eat, how they shop, how they spend their leisure time. The information gathered goes directly back to Leahy to help shape his expansion strategy.

Their US venture may or may not be successful - analysts and investors are divided over the risks involved. But this level of preparation for a new venture clearly shows that Tesco won't leave the future to chance.