I contribute to discussions on LinkedIn. A recent discussion asked for opinions on the best strategy to develop engaged staff. Opinions poured in on successful practices so I thought I would add mine. My management style is one of pointing the way, not taking you blindfolded to the destination. I hope my words make you think and form your own questions rather than lay down a heavy tome of “facts”. I want to point you to learning. It’s a coaching style in the main. If I have learnt one thing, in my scientific research of people’s behaviour at work and 46 years of honing that knowledge, it is that what is obvious, is always more subtle and layered where people are concerned. I pitched into the discussion and described a successful action that helped to build the momentum of behaviour change and added to the excitement that something different was happening.
Continue readingCategory Archives: Operational effectiveness
The Growing Organization
I wrote this article a long time ago. It’s about the management changes needed when growing an organization. As I thought about it, I realised there wasn’t one article but several – one for each stage of development. In 1972 Larry Greiner placed an article with this title in the Harvard Business Review. He wrote about the different management requirements as the organization grew. In fact, he went further and said the different skills needed at each stage, carried the seeds of their own destruction. As the organization succeeded and grew, the skills that made that possible poisoned the body corporate. Greiner illustrated it excellently in a diagram like this. Each phase has its own needs to create growth, but that management style eventually strangles growth.
Continue readingIt’s All Cash!
I did some consultancy work with a business that had been running for over a century. They had grown to be an SME and exported to the EU. The Owners/Joint MDs were aware of increasing price competition from the eastern reaches of the EU. They had invested substantial sums in processes, capital equipment and their people costs were lower. My Client had outgrown their site and were having problems with workflow. I started by investigating the workflow, not quite stopwatch in hand, but observing the flow.
Continue readingPeople Work For People They Like
People work for people they like, and respect, so go and say hello to them Note “like and respect” does not always mean “makes me happy”. People are very sensible about what needs to be done to keep an organization effective. It isn’t always possible to physically visit and meet employees. In that case do some one-to-one communication, by phone or video.
Continue readingThere is no standing still
In the world of business and increasingly in public organizations, 99% as good as the best is simply not good enough. Only the best is remembered and gets 80-90% of the business. All the rest scrabble for the 10%. World class performance is about having that small advantage and using it well, time after time. Not that I’m suggesting one small advantage will keep you in front for very long. Your advantage needs to be one that continually renews, expands and refreshes. No time to rest on your laurels, there is no standing still.
Continue readingLeading the Team – Making people want to work
The next part of the Leading the Team series. Why don’t they teach this in the usual management and leadership training establishments? Answers please to our Twitter feed. Enjoy the video.
Continue readingLeading the Team – a human story
One problem with ‘normal’ team leader, management and leadership training, is the minimisation of the human element. The only think more complicated than a human being is a collection of them – a team. Yes, I know it’s difficult. Yes, I know people don’t all react the same way. Yes, I know people rarely react the same way twice. Don’t run away from the challenge but relish it. When you get it right, those awkward, stubborn, people are on your side. Times will always get tough. Not every day can be sunny. You need your people to be stepping up to the challenge. Enjoy the video.
Continue readingAssessing People Or Performance Reviews Done Properly
This is about the animus that the organization has instilled in its staff, not the routine performance review process. Leonardo’s Mona Lisa and my “paint by numbers” horse in a field are both paintings: assessing people working and a performance review have the same relationship. It is time I shared some of my “people watching” skills with you. Nothing to do with hiding behind potted plants though! People and their relationship to their work is my expertise. As you know, because you are an expert in something yourself, an expert has a sixth sense and sees things that non-experts do not.
Continue readingThe science of why people work
The Hawthorne Experiment is widely unknown. It was a long time ago and so many have refuted its findings. But it works! Watch to the end!
Continue readingLeadership Creates Behaviour Which Delivers The Customer Experience
I like restaurants. Not just because I like to eat but my interest is in people and work. Watching people at work is fascinating. I stayed at a hotel while attending a two-day Customer Experience conference. The conference was mid-week and I wasn’t really looking forward to one of those “businessman on his own” type dinners. The restaurant was about half full and very promptly the manager, I assumed he was as he wore a suit, showed me to a table. After a short interval I was asked if I wanted a drink while chose my meal. Then, just as I decided, a waiter came to take my order. Something about the service so far piqued my interest. I am an expert in behaviour at work and this was starting to look remarkable.
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