Our leaders should set clear goals and objectives, and ensure that everyone understands what they will be held accountable for. Command and control management ensures that orders and work requirements are carried out by following strict plans and directions. We have to give this up.
Read MoreI have been asked to consolidate some of my recent blogs into a white paper and make it available to download by my subscribers.
The paper describes what would happen if organisations stopped focusing so much on profit, stakeholder and competition and instead shifted the focus to people.
It is my belief that if we truly focus on the people side of the business, the rest will take care of itself.
Read MoreAt the start of the decade, the typical worker lacked 1.2 of the critical skills needed by an employer to fill a given position. Today, the average worker is missing around 2 of the 18 critical skills that are advertised for a job.
Read MoreThe old lens of profit, return, competition and efficiency will not get organizations to where they need to be.
This old lens on business will not enable organizations to transform in a way they must in order to not only survive but also thrive.
Organizations will have to reexamine not only how they do business but also how they are led and managed.
Read MoreWhat if we focused on our people and realized those ledger items such as profit, return, competitive advantage, operational efficiency etc. as a result?
It is my firm belief that in this era of disruption, a shift in focus is imperative unless organizations want to die a slow and painful death.
Read MoreGreat leaders, like Steve Jobs, are both player and coach. A player-coach is someone who contributes as an individual but also coaches other employees.
Great player-coaches are able to balance their time between playing and coaching. They move up and down the player-coach continuum as needed. They know when to play and when to coach. It is whatever is best for the team.
Read MoreThe first in a series of reports from The Workforce Institute at Kronos and Future Workplace, that examines attitudes of 3,400 members of generation Z, has just been released. The global survey asked about how education prepared them for the workplace, the gig economy and their views on employers of choice.
Read MoreWe all have people admire because they have great leadership skills.
For me I don't have to go any further than Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. Despite being born a scouser and a red at the same time, I don't think I am biased!
I believe that leaders (and budding leaders) can learn a lot from Jurgen’s example.
Read MoreEmployee burnout is a consequence of the increasingly fast pace of change today.
It is preventable if you invest in creating an environment in which your workforce can be resilient in the face of constant change.
Employees will be healthier and happier. Organizations have sustained, long-term productivity and growth.
Read MoreResilience is a real buzzword at the moment. Wherever you look there are articles and posts on resilience in the advent of natural and manmade disasters, resilience amongst political turmoil, resilience in the face of climate change, resilience to cyber threats, resilience on the playing field, resilience for children and resilience at work.
Read MoreThere has been much written about the difference between a leader and a manager. The main difference is that leaders do not necessarily have a position of ‘given’ authority. People follow a leader because they are inspirational and motivational, and because they build a relationship based on mutual trust and respect. People choose whether to follow a leader.
Read MoreI frequently find myself being asked this question. Who should be responsible for leading change in my organization? Change Management Office, HR, People and Culture, middle management, c-suite?
My answer. “All of the above and more. Leading change is everyone’s business.”
Read MoreWhen people use the phrase work/life balance, they generally mean that to be physically and mentally healthy, we need a balance between the both.
The phrase infers that one is bad for us (work) whilst the other (life) is good.
It also implies that the two have to be entirely separate. It suggests that work is something to be kept separate from the rest of our lives.
The truth is that we have ONE life, which is made up of lots of aspects, activities and interactions including work, play, home, social etc.
Read MoreA lot is being written about the global employee disengagement epidemic.
This lends itself to additional narrative about how to retain talent and avoid the high financial cost of turnover due to employee disengagement.
More worrying is the lack of employee movement due to disengagement. Employees are becoming complacent.
Read MoreOrganizations today have to deal with the increasing speed of change and a demotivated and disengaged workforce.
When we have engaged employees who are able to utilise all of their skills and capabilities fully, we have increased innovation and creativity. When employees are micromanaged, there are poor results and low engagement.
Leadership with a fundamental mindset shift addresses this problem. Leaders need to reduce control and distribute power. They need to give it up.
Read MoreTalking with Jonathan Boyd from Q4IT about the Digital Capabilities Management Model (DCMM).
Does ITSM need new ways of working and new ways of thinking?
Read MoreResearch supports my model. GOAL! have been banging on for a while that change management across an organisation should be like a soccer team comprised of managers, coaches and players.
Read More“Unfreeze - change - refreeze”.
Change management professionals and practitioners need to question everything that has been based on this supposed foundation for change management.
The change management profession is relatively young and this may partially explain why it is still competing for its rightful position of prominence in many organisations and industries. Continuing to base our approaches to change management on a linear three-step model with a defined change start state and end state will lose the fight for that position.
Read MoreIt will come as a shock to many change management professionals that Kurt Lewin never said, “unfreeze – change – refreeze”.
Yes – you read that correctly. He never said it, wrote it or drew it.
The change model that we pull out of our toolbox professing it to be the cornerstone model for understanding change developed by psychologist Kurt Lewin back in the 1940s is poppycock.
Read MoreMost people inherently have the capability to identify, initiate, and drive change.
When working in their area of responsibility, they can see ways in which to improve operations and respond to opportunities presented.
We can provide the education, training, knowledge, tools, and resources needed to build the capability to lead and drive change across the organization. We can enable employees to self-manage, and we can educate them about the guidelines within which they can operate. The guidelines are the principles or guardrails that ensure employees are not hung out to dry when they are asked to drive change.
This capability often wilts and dies because it is not supported or nourished by ‘permission’. The capability needs food and water (sustenance and nourishment) that allows it to grow.
Read More
