On unlocking the potential that drives change

Regular readers will remember how proud I am to be working with the Managing Director of a traditional manufacturing site. His desire and challenge has been to transform the negative culture built up over many years to one where people enjoy coming to work, feel they can and want to give their best every day, have freedom to act, are held accountable and have some fun.

The last year has been very hard work but also very rewarding. This Managing Director and his senior team understood that the journey started with them and they have worked hard on their own behaviours and actions, role modelling the type of behaviours they wanted to see in others. A year on and there are real signs of progress, evidenced by measured improvements in staff satisfaction and by a significant move forward in financial results. Although this financial performance is by no means all down to culture change we know it has been a contributory factor.

But what we also know that it will take two to three years to deliver the changes we want to make and to transform the site, and that this leader and his senior team cannot do it on their own. Now is the time to engage more people on the site directly in the journey.

The 'normal' route to do this may have been to work with the next level down of managers, (and we will do some work with them later in the year), but instead we have started off by identifying a group of people across the site whom we believe are 'natural leaders.' These are people from every level in the hierarchy, drawn from operations, maintenance, the laboratory and finance. Several of them have no line management responsibility. What they all have in common is that they demonstrate leadership every day, not through the position they hold but through who they are. They are 'natural leaders.' They already display positive attitudes and energy. In their own way they are already making a difference every day. We know that if we can harness this positivity and energy they can make a real contribution to our journey.

We met with them at the end of last week and explored with them how they could help. It was a superb session. Although they obviously have a certain amount of trepidation (peer and colleague leadership is not without its challenges) they are really behind the changes and welcome the chance to play their part. Critically they have already seen the difference the senior team has achieved over the past year.

They realise that part of their roles will simply be around demonstrating positive attitudes, and challenging negative behaviour but that they may also be able to do more. They will meet in the new-year and consider what else they could arrange or orchestrate as a group.

It is so exciting and satisfying to watch this kind of change in action, to understand what can be achieved when you involve, engage and empower the right people. Those 'natural leaders' are there in every team and organisation, including your own. Sometimes we just need to dig a bit deeper to find them and to understand how we can unlock their immense potential. I'll keep you up to date with what they get up to in 2010.


On values-led decisiveness

An experience last week vividly demonstrated to me the very different approaches managers have to dealing with poor performance in their teams. I understand how difficult it is to deal with under performance, sometimes it feels far easier to ignore problems in the hope they will go away, but they very rarely if ever do.

I was coaching two managers in a large company and both have problems with one of their team. The first manager's approach is, I am afraid, typical, and one I was definitely guilty of on occasions in my previous corporate life. They have a member of their team who is simply not performing. He is a nice enough person (which makes it all the harder) but he is not delivering the required results. This has been going on for some months and the manager knows it needs to be addressed. But for a variety of reasons (and excuses) it has not been tackled. Instead I suspect the manager is hoping the problem will go away somehow ('perhaps he will look for another job') and has fallen into the trap of taking on some of that person's work themselves, because they are so anxious to deliver for their stakeholder. Sound familiar? The result, of course, is that the problems have not gone away, indeed they have got worse. We spent tile last week talking through what needed to be done and putting an action plan in place to begin to address and resolve the issues. This starts with setting really clear measurable deliverables, and then reviewing progress regularly. This lies at the heart of effective performance management.

The second manager works in the same organisation and has similar issues with one of their team. The difference is their absolute determination to deal with the challenges. They are not willing to let the matter rest, or to ignore it. They want to find a way to address the issues quickly and effectively. This is only a young manager, and she needs support and guidance in taking her actions, but this does not mask her determination. The other thing that I find amazing is that she wants to do things in the right way. She wants to ensure that her approach and the action she takes is both firm but also fair. I find this rare in so young a manager and was interested to find what was behind this approach. We had a fascinating discussion over who has been the role model for her when it comes to doing things right, and it is her father. She spoke about how she has learned so much from him, about life and about doing the right thing in business (he runs a successful business of his own.) She might not have used the words but her approach is totally values-led, based around deep rooted beliefs about firmness and fairness she has learned from her father. She is a pleasure to work with and, if she chooses to, I believe she has the ability to build a very successful business career.


On chaos at the heart of education

I have had a particularly disturbing chat was with a friend who runs a business giving life skills training to school students. Over a few beers he explained his complete frustration with current education policy as it affects disadvantaged teenagers. It goes something like this. The Government has decided that it must increase the number of GCSE passes in English and Maths. As such (and this is so familiar from this Government) it has poured resources at this goal and introduced tough targets for schools to obtain. It has demanded absolute focus on achievement of these targets, at the expense of all else. It no doubt has put some pretty big penalties in place for those head teachers and schools who fail to comply or deliver. And I'm sure it waves an impressively large stick.

The result? I have no doubt that GCSE passes are improving (what gets measured tends to get done) but to what purpose and at what cost? While resources are focussed on these achievements they are being diverted away from the life skills development so crucial for disadvantaged teenagers.

The outcome is that many teenagers are leaving school, maybe having scraped a GCSE pass in Maths and English (and I know that is important), but completely lacking in the social skills, the personal responsibility, the values and the wherewithal to apply their new found academic success.

What I never understand about the education system is how little attention is paid to the development of life skills in our children. Of course it is important to focus on academic attainment . Basic Maths and English skills are crucial, as is an understanding (a common sense understanding that is) of history, geography and science, but just as important is the preparation of our teenagers for the social challenges that lie ahead.

That should include a significant investment in teaching such things as social responsibility, financial awareness, values, their role as citizens. If this was approached with as much rigour as the academic targets, and taught by specialist teachers or outside support, not as an additional burden for non-specialist or form teachers, we just might begin to see disadvantaged students leaving the education system with something really worthwhile, maybe even ready and willing to contribute to society.

And yes, I know the primary responsibility for this part of education should lie with parents. But where they are unable or unwilling to provide it, where their examples are not to be followed, teachers can become role models and fill that gap.

I am well aware from my friend at how frustrated head teachers are with this whole situation. They feel their hands are tied with this single minded drive for minimum academic achievement. They find themselves unable to divert resources to where they think it would have the most impact. Releasing head teachers from bureaucracy and government interference, giving them the freedom to allocate their own resources, is crucial.

On dream boards and board women

I have a friend who runs a large property company employing hundreds of people. Anxious to encourage people throughout the organisation to contribute to business improvement ideas they have introduced a fantastic concept they call Dream Boards. It runs something like this. Anyone in the company is encouraged to submit an idea for improving business performance. This could be anything; one that generates sales, reduces costs, improves efficiency, builds morale etc. Alongside that idea they can also submit their dream. Again there are no limits, it could be scuba diving in the Seychelles, climbing Everest, or volunteering in Africa. All business ideas are vetted and if they are valid (and by that I mean relevant, in whatever way, not necessarily ones to implement) the dream is entered into an anonymous ballot. Every six months colleagues throughout the company vote secretly for which dream they want to make come true. The company then funds the dream (to a generous expenditure limit.)

What I find so stunning about this scheme is its simplicity and attraction. They are generating hundreds of business ideas, many of which are implemented, and letting everyone participate in selecting which dreams they want to make happen. Brilliant.


Just as brilliant was the news this week that the French Government is seeking to introduce legislation that would require all French publicly listed companies to increase the number of women on their Boards to 50% by 2015. While I am not usually in favour of positive discrimination I think sometimes a problem is so deep rooted that only intervention can change it.

This may seem to be inconsistent with my comments above on targets for GCSE attainment, but I think it's all about balance, and picking the right cause. The problem is that without intervention real change will just be too slow, it will take generations, just because of the imbalance and inherent sexism that currently exists. Well done Mr Sarkozy (and I never thought I'd write that!)

I believe a similar approach would reap so many dividends in the UK. Maybe 50% is too high a target, but at least increasing representation above its current 12% level amongst FTSE 250 companies. Indeed one on four of those Boards are currently all male, which is appalling.

I guess there is still a long way to go though. It takes me back to a wonderful episode of 'Yes Minister' when Hacker tells Sir Humphrey of his latest plan, to increase the number of women in his department. Sir Humphrey is momentarily thrown into shock but quickly recovers, 'Oh Minister', he says. 'I don't think we have any vacancies for cleaners and tea ladies at the moment.' Priceless.

On mediocrity and great leadership

I had a fascinating insight during the last week to the extraordinary difference great leadership can make. There are two organisations in the same market sector and I have been watching the progress of both of them over the past three years. They are both membership organisations, providing a host of activities, services and support to a large membership base.

The first organisation was, by a whole series of measures, seriously failing three years ago. Staff morale was at rock bottom, performance was poor and it was spectacularly failing to deliver for its members. At that point it appointed a new Chief Executive, someone with a proven record of success. Many were surprised he took the job, seeing it as a poisoned chalice. Last week I met up with someone who knows that organisation very well today, and who had no hesitation in describing it as being truly great, delivering superbly across its wide range of activities. In my view the sole reason for the turnaround has been this Chief Executive, his leadership, clarity, vision and determination to succeed in the most difficult of circumstances has been amazing. They have made dramatic improvements in each of the last three years.

The second organisation has had the same Chief Executive for over fifteen years. He is a thoroughly decent and likable man. Three years ago I would have described his organisation as being mediocre. Not failing by any means, financially very sound and with high levels of involvement in certain areas, but simply not delivering at anywhere near the potential it has. Today it remains mediocre, it has 'flat lined' for the past three years, and is now far behind the performance of the first organisation. In truth it has flat lined for every one of the past fifteen years. Financially secure, doing one or two good things, but scandalously failing to deliver for its members in the way it could.

I had the opportunity to visit that organisation last week and could just sense the feeling of frustration amongst staff and trustees. They know they could be doing so much more, but frankly until there is a change of leadership at the top it is simply not going to happen. The trustees have some difficult decisions to take.

There is a word of caution here. The rise of the first organisation has been dramatic, and it can only be regarded as truly great if it is sustained. Most importantly the existing Chief Executive will leave at some point. He has much still to offer and will do so in bigger jobs. If he is a true 'level 5 leader' he will ensure he leaves his organisation in exactly the right place to continue its success. He will already have a succession plan in place.



On assiduous measurement

Over the last few days I have run two workshops examining various aspects of measurement. I believe that the constant measurement of performance lies at the heart of a high performance culture. For me this is a culture in any team or organisation where people really know what is expected of them, they want to deliver, they feel enabled and supported to do so, their performance is regularly reviewed and a whole series of targets and measures are in place to make that a meaningful exercise.

There is no rocket science here, what gets measured gets done, and it would be pretty pointless watching a football match, for example, if no-one kept the score. Well I think it would, anyway.

My model is that everyone, in any team or organisation, should have a clear, unambiguous role statement. This should be capable of being written in no more than twenty words, it is not a job description. It should set out clearly why the role exists.

This should by a small number of clear objectives. I personally favour just three, there is ample evidence that if we are focussed just on three things at any one time the chances of achieving all three with excellence are pretty high. (See my stuff on 'Power of 3' elsewhere on my web site.) I believe these should get to the heart of what the job is about, and should not be add-ons to the day job. As such they should account for around 70% of what that person does in their role.

Ideally they should also give 'line of sight' enabling that person, wherever they work in the organisation, clarity that what they are doing is important because it is contributing to the overall goals, strategy and vision of the organisation. Where this works that line of sight can be awesome and compelling. I think that usually those objectives can be set for a full year, because they are at the heart of what the job is about. In certain roles, such as those responsible for delivering specific projects, the time scale may be shorter, and new objectives needed during the year.

Now comes the hard part. It is essential that those objectives can be measured and therefore they must be SMART. Most of us are familiar with that acronym for goal setting, but have slightly different definitions of the letters. I prefer 'simple, measurable, audacious, realistic and timely'. 'Audacious' is a strange one, people usually use 'achievable' but that is too close to 'realistic' for me, and I think that 'audacious' pushes us to set objectives which truly take us forward, that will make a difference, with 'realistic' providing a counter-balance.

The hard work is making them SMART, and particularly measurable, but you can get there and it is really worth the effort.

That makes a monthly sit down between manager and subordinate (which I think is at the heart of a high performance culture) such a simple exercise. The meeting is focussed on reviewing performance against the objectives, with the manager's role being to clear the path, to enable the subordinate to deliver.

I see the need to adopt an assiduous approach to measurement. Be relentless in setting objectives for your team that are measurable and then making those measurements happen. You will be repaid in great performance and results many times over.

A further sophistication as a measurement tool is the balanced scorecard, which I think particularly works well at a team level. A balanced scorecard is, as the name suggests, a tool for measuring a range of results instead of simply financial targets. It recognises that far more goes into a rounded performance by a team than just delivering numbers, and in fact achieving those numbers is an outcome of getting a series of other things absolutely right.

Typically I see a balanced scorecard as having four quadrants. One of those will almost certainly have financial targets within it, and another will have some other numbers, maybe some clear numerical non-financial targets. It is impossible to be more precise than that because there are so many variations depending on the team and organisation. I then believe that the other two quadrants should focus on staff and customer measures. These could include staff training, development, reviews and satisfaction, and maybe customer complaints and customer satisfaction.

As ever the hard work is in putting together the right things to measure, and then creating viable targets and measurements. I think that ideally there should only be two targets and measures per quadrant, no more than eight in total. And only ever measure the most important things. As the Titanic was sinking the number of bookings for dinner that night was somewhat irrelevant.



On personal effectiveness

I spent two stimulating and enjoyable days this week working with senior managers from a major environmental charity. They were participants on a leadership programme designed to equip them to deliver major changes within their world.

I have rarely come across a group of such intellectual and focussed people. They are deeply committed to their cause. But they also understand that in order to succeed intellect alone is not enough. They also need to hone their leadership skills in order to engage with their stakeholders, to set out their vision, and to execute their strategy through their people.

We began their leadership journey with two days focussed on building personal effectiveness. Sometimes people find this a strange place to start. They expect me to leap into a session in setting vision and strategy or empowerment or team leadership.

But I believe deeply that personal effectiveness is the only place to begin a leadership journey. By this I mean how effective leaders are within themselves, how they build mutually beneficial relationships with all those around them and how they model the behaviours they want to see in others.

When we are personally effective we have managed to build and to maintain balance in our lives. We understand that although on occasions we end up spinning a few plates this is not sustainable over a prolonged period of time. We know that we need to challenge beliefs, our own and those around us. Only when we challenge those beliefs, persuade ourselves and others to see situations differently, will we act and behave differently and get different results.

Truly effective people also understand that they always have the freedom to make choices, about anything. They exercise that freedom to choose whatever the stimulus, basing their choices on what they know is the right decision or course of action to take. They also constantly set goals, at every level, thinking out what they want the outcomes to be, whether it's a meeting, a project, performance review targets or a business plan.

They then have the ability to deliver those goals through the highly effective management of their time. This is the breakthrough point at which spinning plates ceases. They take control, understand what their most important things to deliver are, plan their time effectively every week, making sure they devote sufficient time to their most important priorities, and then execute daily with integrity and discipline.

Highly effective people then build great relationships with those around them. They understand that those relationships are important and that they have to be nurtured. They invest time in them. They seek win-win solutions through deep win-win thinking and take the time to always listen first, in order to truly understand other people. They also understand that there is always a better solution available to issues and disputes than simply compromising.

Finally highly personally effective people are role models. They understand that they cannot expect those around them to behave in a certain way unless they model those behaviours themselves, constantly and genuinely.

Personal effectiveness really does lie at the heart of the leadership journey. It's the only place it can start. When people are personally effective they have the inner confidence, the willingness and the ability to lead those around them, to build clarity, engage their people and influence their boss and colleagues. Through that they can then contribute to a much bigger journey within the organisation and beyond.

I'm sorry if this all sounds like a bit of a sermon, it's not meant to be. I hope you are still reading! I do believe that over the course of our two days last week the participants understood why personal effectiveness is where the leadership journey begins. Through combining superb leadership with their intellect they will be best positioned to achieve their amazing ambitions.



On taking up a new leadership position

Last week I spent time with the newly appointed Chief Executive and Operations Director of a large organisation. The Chief Executive took up his post some eight months ago and has already begun to come to grips with addressing the many challenges he inherited.

He has just appointed his Operations Director, and sees this as a crucial part of his jigsaw, for this person is inheriting the most dysfunctional part of the organisation. His areas have under-performed, there has been little evidence of leadership, systems and processes are poor, and a 'don't care' culture has, not surprisingly, grown up. There is also evidence of at least doubtful practices, due to lack of basic controls.

Sound familiar? The challenges this new Director faces are certainly not unique. The challenge we were chatting through last week is where to start. The problems are so many and varied, it is difficult to know how to begin addressing them.

I have a view that whenever a new leader is appointed to head up any team or organisation (and this could be through an internal move as well) they should not be tempted to rush in and try and solve everything overnight. Instead they should follow three distinct steps during their first months in the job.

The first step is to listen and to learn. This does not mean doing nothing. This process is essential if the new leader is to make informed choices about what to change. But it means really listening. Digging deep into the team or organisation, not just to the immediate reports. And it also means listening to understand, not thinking you already know the answers. Ask a couple of questions to everyone you meet with, maybe such as 'what are the best things that happen round here?' and 'what is the one thing you want me to do first?' This can build up a real picture of where to focus action.

There is no set time scale for this listening and learning phase, it depends on the size of the team or organisation and the extent of the challenge. But ideally it should take the first 100 days, and will require real discipline to stop you leaping in and taking action.

The next step is then to fix those things that just immediately need fixing. They are so obvious and so crucial that they cannot wait. It is important to stress that these first and second steps are sequential, but one will not neatly stop to allow the second to begin. During the listening and learning phase you will come across things that simply cannot wait and need fixing immediately. Some of these fixes will be quite small, an obvious process that needs to stop, a control that needs to be put in, but some will be much larger, and could even involve someone 'leaving the bus' who is so blatantly now going to be part of the journey.

Remember also that your people are watching you intently during these first two phases, they are studying your every move. The way you model your behaviours to them during this time be fundamental to the way they work with you in the future.

Now, and only now, is it possible to commence with the third step. This is the plan and execute change phase, where you take what you have learned and really map out how you are going to make a difference, how you are going to build a great team or organisation. Of course you will have been building up your ideas during the first two phases, and you will now be in the best possible position to get on and make them happen.

You will still need a robust framework for planning that final phase, and in our discussions last week I introduced the Operations Director to the 'Circle of Organisational Effectiveness', a model I use many times with leaders to help them deliver great things.

I don't even think you necessarily need to be joining a new team or organisation to make changes happen. Too often we have become a bit stale in a role, we know we need, as leaders, to provide new impetus, energy and direction. Begin your listening and learning phase now, even afresh in your current role. It can deliver amazing results.


On having difficult conversations

A common theme that often emerges when I talk with groups about their leadership experience is how much of a challenge so many managers find having difficult conversations with their people.

For many it is the hardest part of being a manager. They are painfully aware that there are issues with a member of their team, maybe to do with under performance or attitude, but they avoid tackling it, thinking, wrongly, that ignoring it, brushing it under the carpet, is the best thing to do.

Often this is compounded by the fact that these issues have existed for a long period of time, since well before this particular manager took over, and have never been addressed, therefore it is easier to avoid the difficult conversation in the hope the problems will go away.

The problem is that they rarely, if ever do, and it is the first conversation that is always the hardest.

Sometimes the issues are really serious. Using the bus analogy once more, these are those people who are sitting firmly at the back of the bus, wither through poor performance, or poor attitude, or a combination of the two. At worse, they are causing damage within their team or organisation, often through spreading negative energy. They may even be an assassin, placing nails under the wheels of the bus, a real threat to the journey.

However difficult those issues are they cannot be ignored. You cannot leave someone at the back of the bus, it has to be addressed. Even if the situation has been ignored before managers have a responsibility to take action. Take advice from HR by all means, but it is the line manager who must address it.

Of course there are many potential outcomes, but the approach should always be based around the principles of determination, honesty, consistency and fairness. And there's an important point here, all too often the person involved may simply be unaware of the impact of their ineffectiveness or poor attitude. They have never been told. After the initial anger or denial, once the person has had an opportunity to reflect, they may even begin to understand their impact and welcome guidance in moving forward.

In the most extreme cases, the first conversation will be part of a process of a person leaving the bus. And, critically, even though they may not recognise it immediately, in those situations it is nearly always the case that it is the right decision for the person concerned as well, at least in the longer term. No-one wants to be unhappy at work and often the person is simply in the wrong role or job.

I am often asked by leaders to challenge someone along those lines in my coaching capacity, and so often it ends with someone leaving the bus at their own volition, and it proves to be the best decision for everyone.

But of course in most situations it is not that serious an issue. An action plan, jointly agreed and executed, can lead to a resolution of the issue, and things can move forward. But engagement is critical, nothing gets sorted by being ignored.

So just take a few minutes to reflect. Is there a conversation with one of your people that you know needs to take place but perhaps has been ignored for too long? Resolve to do something about it within the next week. With the right approach, based on the above principles, you will see positive outcomes.



On book recommendations

Over twenty or so years in 'corporate life' I never read a book on leadership or management. I was never encouraged to and in all honesty never saw the point. Maybe I thought I knew all I needed to know about leadership. How arrogant was that? Since working for myself I have read far more widely. Some books I love. Others are poorly written and a real struggle. But they do help broaden the mind. They are not there to provide the answers to the ancient mystery of leadership but they do encourage you to think about what makes a great leader and what kind of leader you want to be.


Here are a few suggestions. Everyone is different and some prefer weighty evidence based texts, some like to be inspired by tales of heroic leaders and others enjoy books where theories are told as fables, so I've tried to include a variety of different approaches.

Servant-Leadership (edited by Ralph Lewis & John Noble)

The concept of Servant Leadership was developed by Robert Greenleaf in the 1950s. This book brings it to life with real examples presented in a thoughtful manner.

Leading Change (John Kotter)

An excellent framework for driving change in any team or organisation

Our Iceberg is Melting (John Kotter)

For those who prefer the fable approach and lots of pictures, the above book with cute penguins!

The Speed of Trust (Stephen M R Covey)

Stephen R Covey's son, makes a great case of the economic benefit of high trust in an organisation, and how to build that trust.

Gung Ho! (Ken Blanchard)

Once you get through the squirrels, beavers and geese, a compelling story of how to build a high performance culture

Head First (Tony Buzan)

The creator of mind mapping takes a look at our ten intelligences and how to develop them



On influencing

I worked with an amazing group of people last week. This was part of a leadership development programme I am running on behalf of a large environmental charity, and the participants were senior managers from around the country.

Two things stood out. Firstly their absolute commitment to their cause, a truly emotional attachment. They are passionate about what they do and determined to instill that passion in their staff, their volunteers, their members and the public as a whole. And secondly their personal visions of what they each wanted to achieve in the future, dreams and plans that would make actually make a difference to the world around us. Their challenge is to turn those dreams into reality in the years ahead, and I am privileged to play my small part in helping them to realise those dreams. This was not a room full of bankers counting their bonus earnings.

We also shared a great example of how much is achievable if someone really sets their mind to it. One of the group attended a fundraising conference of 1,500 people at which Richard Branson was the star attraction. He was there to listen to ideas with a view to providing the funds to make some of them happen. This person was determined to get her idea to him, and succeeded against stiff competition in being given the opportunity to state her case. He listened, and the outcome is work in progress with 'his people' which promises to deliver real sustainable environmental benefit.


On values

I spent a day with a client last week running values workshops with a number of managers and supervisors. This client has recently taken the decision to seek to embed a set of values within their organisation as a framework for building the right behaviours.

A values based approach to leadership is nothing new, but so often it fails, for a variety of reasons.

Sometimes it is introduced into a team or organisation just because it is flavour of the month. I experienced this some years ago in my corporate life. Someone high up somewhere decided that 'purpose and values' was the 'new thing.' They drafted a set of values and instructed their divisional managers to launch them to their people. What followed was an uncomfortable and at times excruciating few months. Most of the divisional managers just didn't know what to do, and many didn't believe in this latest fad anyway. How could they possibly marry this 'soft behaviour nonsense' with their management style, honed over twenty years of experience, based on 'floggings continuing until morale improves.'

The result was predictable, a period of chaos and confusion followed by a swift return to 'normality' as soon as there was even the slightest hint of a hiccup in results.

Visiting a potential new client a few years ago, in a very traditional manufacturing set up, I asked if a set of values existed in their business. Most people gave me the answer 'no' but the Managing Director insisted they existed. Eventually someone pointed me to a framed notice on the wall, displaying a list of values, signed by the boss of the head office in Italy. They had been sent to their international subsidiaries some months before. Somewhat ironically the first value spoke of 'open and honest communications.'

It is just not possible to impose a set of values from above and expect them to be accepted by a work force, especially when so many examples of the behaviour they see every day from their managers are contra to the values. You cannot impose values in an attempt to change a culture that does not reflect them.

That is why it was so good to be working with my client last week. They have made a genuine attempt to involve as many people as possible in the creation of the values. This has take place over several months in a variety of forums.

The result is a set of five values as follows:

Treat people with trust and respect
Choose a positive attitude to work
Use creativity and innovation
Demonstrate professionalism and integrity
Consistently practice effective two-way communications

None of these are rocket science, but they have been created by the people themselves, and to judge by the comments and attitudes from last week's sessions there is at least a chance that they could make a real difference. Of course everything is not perfect in this organisation at the moment. At the sessions there was a real push back over the current lack of effective two-way communications, for instance.

But they do provide a framework to judge behaviours in the future, and as ever it starts with those at the top. Only when the people I worked with, middle and junior managers and supervisors, see their managers behaving consistently in line with the values will they be willing to do so, and their behaviours will have the crucial impact on their front line staff.

It's exciting stuff.


Values based leadership requires a really enlightened approach to employing people, and I've recently come across two instances in the same company of this in action.

Almost two years ago I was working with a management team in a large private sector company on their personal effectiveness, and did an exercise where people draw how they would like to spend one magical day, (it's a great icebreaker for any group by the way and not as daft as it sounds.) This one guy, in his mid twenties, drew a picture of a camper van in the Australian outback.

That morning was the stimulus for that person to realise he wanted to make that dream a reality. He chatted it over with his boss, who agreed to give him a year's unpaid leave with the guarantee of a job on his return.

I worked with those same managers again last week and this guy has now rejoined the group after an amazing year which has taken him and his wife to South America, where amongst many other experiences they lived with a Bolivian family for a week, to New Zealand for Christmas, to Australia, where they hired that camper van and spent two months exploring in the back of beyond, onto Borneo, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos, and then to India and Japan before returning home.

He is back with life changing experiences, and a new motivation for his work.

This same boss has also recently faced the challenge of an excellent member of staff, with great potential, looking to leave because her partner, a professional rugby player, had joined a French team. Again this leader had the courage and imagination to work up a solution. For a trial period this person is now based in France for half the month and in the UK for the other half. Remote working in the extreme, but perfectly possible with modern technology and communications.

I met this leader one evening last week and explored why she had taken the decision to make these two things happen. She understands that there is a risk in both, not least with the blinkered attitudes of others, who will criticise and hope it fails. But she now has two talented but also highly motivated individuals who recognise the steps she was willing to take. I think both will repay her with loyalty and performance many times over. In fact the woman working from France half the month recognises that she will need to be even more highly disciplined and effective, and produce even more quality outputs, if the experiment is to be successful.

This is win-win thinking of the highest order, sadly missing from far too many employers I come across.



On the need to think differently

One conversation and three pieces in the news in the past week just seem to interlink perfectly into a common theme.

The conversation came as part of some fascinating work I am doing with the Chief Executive of a regionally based third sector organisation. He has been leading work setting out a vision for his organisation for the future, and the strategic themes which will deliver the vision. In order to shape the vision and strategy we set up a series of project teams. Typically those teams could have consisted of people who worked within that particular area but instead we chose to make those teams genuinely cross functional, to encourage wider thinking. We also decided to give those teams wide terms of reference, no interference from above and little supervision. To give them a high level of freedom within a broad framework.

The results have been outstanding, far better than we had anticipated. Free from shackles, and benefiting from the cross functional input driving new thinking, the groups have produced some outstanding results.

This led to us last week chatting about the future of hierarchical management (pretty big stuff for Tuesday lunchtime over a sandwich!) In terms of organisational leadership hierarchy seems to have been around for ever. Our current system is basically identical to the one that existed around the time of the industrial revolution. Factory or mill owners sitting in their big office at the top of their organisation (literally, usually high up on the top floor) telling their people what to do.

And nothing has really changed in many organisations. We still have industrial revolution structures and attitudes. In the worst instances (and I have experienced and witnessed this many times) we still have bosses at all levels who rule by fear and authority, with weak management who believe the only way to get things done is to demand and to bully. The result is a culture where people are scared to put their head above the parapet and challenge and where resentment and lack of trust is high. Of course these types of organisations still churn out results, but is it sustainable?

But you do get hierarchical structures that work. At best you still have a boss at the top, and managers throughout the organisation, but they make a concerted effort to lead in the right way by building trust and empowering their people.

I have no doubt (and ample evidence) that this approach produces better results than authoritarianism, but is it good enough? Is there a better way, a new way of thinking which challenges the traditional organisational structure?

One way it is done is through servant-leadership, which, at its best, turns traditional structures upside down. Leaders in those organisations 'invert the triangle.' They genuinely believe that the role of a leader is to serve others, and devote their efforts to making sure their people have the direction, resources, knowledge, skills, freedom and support to succeed.

Another way is to create self managing teams across the organisation (and I think this cross functional approach is crucial) who are given wide briefs, minimal interference, and the resources they need to deliver on a whole series of projects. These teams are given responsibility for delivering results, and are held accountable for that delivery.

I do appreciate that both of these ways of working fall within the broad principle of a hierarchical structure. To break that down completely could be seen as a recipe for anarchy. But I am convinced that it is a step in the right direction and that far more debate is needed on what lies beyond hierarchy. How can you truly unlock potential? What will follow the industrial age?

In the meantime the leader I am working with is planning to develop further the team working concept by giving those teams responsibility for delivering on the strategic themes they have created. I look forward to watching what results are possible through this enlightened and empowering approach.


Compare that with the current shambles that goes by the name Royal Mail (or is it the Post Office, I am even confused about that.) The Communications Workers Union have balloted successfully for a national strike, and there cannot be a more horrifying example in modern industrial relations of a complete breakdown in trust and respect between management and trade unions.

I am not trying to apportion blame to either side here (the mere fact I use the words 'either side' captures the heart of the issue.) What I am trying to say is that current beliefs, attitudes and entrenched positions and deep, deep bitterness will solve absolutely nothing.

The irony is that the management and the unions are arguing while their business dies around them. It's a pointless approach. It's like officers and crew arguing over how to patch the hole on the side of the Titanic even as the ship is disappearing under the water. Electronic communications or alternative ways of physically delivering mail, are taking over more and more, and entrenched disputes and strike action will only hasten the process.

And from a personal perspective what is the point of 95% of the stuff my cheery postman Steve delivers every day? Take last Wednesday morning for example.
I got: three letters asking me to donate to charities (no point, I have already decided who I donate to and do so on line, and their pens are rubbish)

A business stationery company writing to me as 'Mr B D Communications' (get my name right at least).

Various items of junk mail not even addressed to me but presumably pushed through every door (for a local discount supermarket and a double glazing company)

A letter for the person who moved from my house 12 years ago (12 years!)

It all just goes straight into the recycling bin, what a waste. (of paper, money and effort.)

The serious point I am trying to make is that unless beliefs and attitudes change, unless there is new thinking we are seeing two dinosaurs battling each other and on the slippery slope to extinction.


Which leads me on to the nonsense that is a combination of European legislation, a nanny state and lack of common sense. I'm beginning to sound like Mr Angry of Tunbridge Wells, and it gets worse because this is from an article in Saturday's Daily Telegraph. Let me hasten to assure you that I primarily buy the Telegraph at the weekend for the sport, business news and travel sections, not the news, and I am sensible enough to be able to strip out the bias, but this is article headed 'Unlock the door? I've done my shift' caught my eye because it says so much about the issues we face.

It tells the story of a vulnerable pensioner in her eighties locked out of her care home for several hours because a 'controversial EU directive allegedly prevented the live-in warden from opening the door.' According to the story the warden had just finished a shift, and was meant to take an 11 hour break between shifts. 'If she had walked downstairs and opened the door she would have been in technical breach of the EU working time directive.'

Now I am as pro European as you can get (I am one of the few people I know who openly believes we should adopt the Euro and get rid of the pound) but some of its legislation has become crazy, not in its principles but in its bureaucratic interpretation. But also, of course, her ewe have a complete breakdown of common sense. Would opening that door really have resulted in the combined weight of Brussels and her employer bearing down on the poor warden?

I do get the impression that an empowered culture is not at the heart of that particular warden's organisation.


And finally we leap from the Daily Telegraph and Europe to the wonderful news that Barack Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. There are those (not least my appalled relatives in Texas) who think this has come far too early. Obama is only a matter of months into his Presidency, they argue, how could this prestigious award have been made so early.

My view is that it is entirely appropriate, well-deserved and a wonderful acknowledgement of how someone has already done so much to make a difference, not necessarily in results yet, but through new thinking and new approaches.

Take what happened just a couple of weeks ago. In the space of a few days Obama was fighting to pass health care reform which will give medical cover for the first time to millions of the most vulnerable people in his country, making a major speech on America's new commitment to the environment and throwing down the challenge to create a nuclear free world. Awesome. He has also made an enormous leap forward (taking the first step himself) to a new alliance with Russia by abandoning Bush's missile defense proposals.

This is a great example of where integrity and intent can be just so important. And it is on the basis of that intent that the Nobel Peace Prize is so richly deserved. After the unmitigated disaster of George W Bush, Obama offers such a positive hope to billions of people.


So what's the theme linking a challenge to traditional hierarchy with the Post Office, a warden following EU legislation, and Obama? It's simply that if we are to address the challenges and issues around us, be they local, national or international, to really make progress then we have to think differently about those issues. We cannot be bound by the constraints of the type of thinking which created those problems in the first place. Leaders everywhere have to take a new approach, to challenge their own beliefs and the beliefs of those around them.

And it doesn't matter if its you doing it in your 50 person organisation or Obama doing it on the world stage. The principle is the same. Without that type of thinking, everywhere, so much potential remains untapped. But it can be so different.


On taking personal responsibility

A postscript to my blog last week on taking personal responsibility. During the past few days I received the following note from one of the NHS front line staff I had been working with.

'Well, what can I say, your training is great. I walked into work on Friday and to my great surprise, I have been poached by another department to help head up a national project, my line manager was quiet miffed and didn't want me to accept the challenge, but I positively jumped at the chance (which is not like me, usually I hide away in the background with my head down). Anyway, although I must admit to being a little concerned we won't meet the extremely tight deadline and I have only one member of staff to lead in my team, (normal for the NHS) we are motoring through the work and I am enjoying the busy workload. I finally feel I am being productive, motivated and effective. It's GREAT! Also people are noticing, I have had a comment of thanks from the Acting Director of Facilities and from the Maintenance Manager and we are not even a week into the project yet. I hope the results are as good as expected but I am being positive which is making my colleagues positive too.

Just thought you should know your course does have positive effects.'

What a great note to receive, and a wonderful example of someone who has taken personal responsibility for seizing an opportunity (even against the wishes of their Line Manager) and spreading positive energy. To me this is about seizing opportunities and doing what you really want to do.

Last Thursday evening Jakkie and I went to see Joan Baez at the Symphony Hall in Birmingham (stick with this there is a link.) This woman is a legend, 68 years old and still going strong. She has been performing for over fifty years, having started on the folk circuit in Boston. During the concert she recounted her story of her upbringing. Her father was a famous physicist and was anxious for the young Joan to following his footsteps with an academic career. But she was determined to find her own way and to live her dream of a musical career. She began hanging out in coffee shops in Boston (with her father's permission who thought she would find intellectual conversation) and the rest, fifty years on, is history.

Receiving the note from the NHS staff member and listening to Joan Baez got me thinking about how many people have dreams inside them, things they really want to do, which they so often fail to realise. When working with clients at personal effectiveness workshops, or in one to one coaching, I explore these issues by asking people what one great ambition is that still lies inside them. There are a variety of answers, which often include travel, adventure, a change of career, voluntary work, running their own business. We then talk about the barriers which could prevent these achievements being realised. The list is at first predictable, money, time, other people, family commitments, their job, but then we dig a little deeper and other factors emerge, such as lack of confidence, fear of failure, lack of courage to take the first step. So often that first list are excuses, not real barriers.

Even when people are describing the achievements inside them they use words like 'I'd really like to do this but I know I never will'. Not surprisingly this is so often a self fulfilling prophesy.
But I also come across people who make it happen, like the friend of mine who has left a successful job in the leisure industry because she has a tremendous desire to become a teacher. This decision involves real commitment because of the financial hardship of giving up a well paid job to return to college for a year, but that is far outweighed by her wish to make a difference.

I guess the other connection from the past few days was the news that over half of all children now being born in the developed world will live to be over a hundred (and the revelation that the first person in the UK to live to 120 is female and already 60). Today we are living so much longer, and the traditional view of a full working life followed by retirement in our sixties has become outdated for a whole number of reasons. This gives so much opportunity to approach our working lives with a different mindset, maybe to experience a number of careers, and to continue working part time in our sixties and seventies.

So here's the challenge to you. Does what you do with your life truly fulfil you? When you look back in the future will you have achieved your ambitions? Do you dream of an alternative career, maybe doing something where you believe you can truly make a difference? Do you have a travel bug inside you or an idea for a business of your own? If so, please focus on what you can do to achieve those ambitions, not just on the barriers. And start to develop a plan for how to realise them. It's a well-worn cliché that the first step in the hardest, but it's true. And that first step does not have to be huge. If it's a desire to travel start to plan when it might be possible, and read up on the paces you want to visit. If it's to learn a new language go today and buy a book or CD. If it's charitable work, start by volunteering for just a few days a week. Haven't got time? Think again, is that a real barrier or an excuse?

I'm having just these discussions at the moment with my elder daughter, Lindsay. Fresh out of University with a good degree she has started to apply for graduate entry programmes. But inside her is a long held desire to run her own business. That is her dream, what she really wants to do. Her challenge is to make the plan which will enable her to realise that ambition within a realistic time-scale. That's about combining personal responsibility with big ambitions. Exciting stuff.

On Our 10 Intelligences

In his book 'Head First' Buzan explodes the myth that intelligence is all about your IQ. Too often, especially at work, that is how people are judged or measured. Often promotion, the chance for high office, seems to be completely dependent on the number of letters after a person's name and the level of their IQ.

But how many times have you come across seemingly intelligent people in big jobs who are just so poor at organising themselves, at leading and managing others, at building relationships, at taking decisions. I certainly came across so many people like that in my corporate life and I continue to do so as I work with all sorts of organisations.

As I began to work for myself I came across the concept of EQ, or Emotional Intelligence, our ability to build relationships through empathising with people and truly understanding them. At that point so much fell into place, and I perhaps began to understand what had held me back in my previous working life. I had been working in a culture where the very existence of EQ was not even recognised, let alone valued.

But Buzan takes it a whole stage further by proposing that as a human being we each possess no less than ten intelligences, and if we choose to we can expand and develop each one of these intelligences, transforming our abilities and tapping into our natural genius.

I'd love to briefly introduce you to these ten intelligences, but if you are interested to know more, get hold of the book, it is very readable, well laid out and contains a load of practical ways in which you can develop each of the intelligences.

Buzan divides the ten intelligences into three groupings: creative and emotional intelligences, bodily intelligences and traditional IQ intelligences.

Each group then sub-divides as follows:

Creative and Emotional Intelligences:

1. Creative Intelligence: this is about our ability to think in new ways, to be original. It includes the speed and ease with which we can come up with new ideas, our ability to challenge beliefs and to see things from a differing point of view, our originality and our ability to build upon ideas. Buzan gives Richard Branson as an example of someone with high creative intelligence, someone who was severely dyslexic and struggled through his academic career, considered to be not bright by his teachers. Look what happened to him!

2. Personal Intelligence: this one is about understanding ourselves, and our own personal effectiveness. It's the sort of stuff I train regularly with my Breakthrough Personal Effectiveness programme, the kind of thinking and material in the personal victory part of Covey's 'Seven Habits of Highly Effective People'. Its about our ability to take control, make the right choices and organise ourselves. Christopher Reeve is the very powerful example of someone who has managed to do this despite the most horrendous of physical disabilities.

3. Social Intelligence: this is the one which comes the closest, for me, to the concept of EQ. This is about our ability to build highly effective relationships with others, to understand them, to build empathy, to be at ease in social situations. Nelson Mandela is Buzan's very interesting example of this, the way in which he conducted himself and influenced others after three decades of imprisonment.

4. Spiritual Intelligence: I guess this one takes a bit more explaining, but for me it's about our personal values, the things that are deep inside us, our beliefs, how much at peace we are with ourselves. Mother Teresa is perhaps the predictable but nevertheless powerful example quoted.

Bodily Intelligences:

5. Physical Intelligence: so we move on to the three bodily intelligences, and the premise here is that the more healthy you are, the more balanced and physically fit your body becomes the more balanced and mentally fit your brain becomes. The two work in harmony, as in the saying 'a healthy body is a healthy mind.' I guess we all understand and appreciate the link, it's just doing something about it, through regular exercise that's the tough bit! Michael Jordan is the quoted example but there would be many we could all think of.

6. Sensual intelligence: this is about using each of our five physical senses (and intuition, our 'sixth sense') to the full extent of their quite incredible powers. Walt Disney's work in translating the senses into film is a great example. The opportunities to look, listen, smell, touch and taste, as well as to use our intuition, are around us every day. And did you know that research has shown that when we act on our intuition it is the right decision more than 80% of the time?

7. Sexual Intelligence: this was the one I didn't expect to find here, and the chapter was so interesting that I read it three times! So what is it that makes us live longer, has inspired many of the greatest works of art, music and literature, makes the skin glow, has inspired renaissances and revolutions, reduces stress and is the main reason the human race still exists? Yes, the answer is sex! By the end of the chapter Buzan had convinced me of the link between a healthy sex life and the development of the brain. Mind you, it wasn't hard! And yes, Marilyn Monroe was the quoted example.

Traditional IQ Intelligences:

8. Numerical Intelligence: back to earth with a bump as Buzan examines the traditional IQ intelligences. So many people rank their numerical intelligence as the least developed of their intelligences, but we all possess it and we can all develop it. A Cambridge mathematician is the quoted example, but as with all the examples it doesn't have to be about famous people. We all know people around us who demonstrate or more of the ten intelligences brilliantly. Sad to say I love numbers, I wasn't that great at Maths at school but it's not about algebra and logarithms, who needs those anyway?

9. Spatial Intelligence: this is another fascinating one. Spatial intelligence is about being able to see the relationship of shapes to each other, our ability, for example, to read a map and to turn the information it gives us into actions. It's our ability to understand and use the space around us. Michael Schumacher is the example given.

10. Verbal Intelligence: the last of the ten and again a very traditional one. It's about our ability to use language effectively. Don't forget that we have managed to learn the language we speak and our brain is therefore far more intelligent that the world's most intelligent computer! Here's another intelligence we can really develop. Did you know that the average person writes, speaks and recognises only about 1,000 words! Shakespeare is the inevitable example.

I guess the main point that comes through for me in the book is that we each possess all ten of these intelligences, it's just that some are more developed than others. So even if you claim you are not creative, or no good with numbers, it doesn't mean you don't have the potential to be so, you have just not developed that particular intelligence.

So get working on all ten and unlock your unique and enormous potential



On building true effectiveness

Real effectiveness is not a quick fix, not something we can quickly learn through a few hastily taught techniques. True effectiveness is character based and lies deep inside us. It is based on deep roots of building and maintaining balance in all aspects of our lives, challenging beliefs and understanding that we have choices and how to make the right choices. Only when these roots take hold can we then set out with clarity what we want to achieve and how we are going to do it, and then build effective relationships with those around us to help us achieve our goals.

I guess all of the above is about unlocking potential within ourselves, but in the work place even then not all our full potential is often realised. That is because it is far too often held back by authoritarian managers who stifle their people, who have to be in control at all times.

They do not realise that if they could unlock the potential inside all of us people would achieve amazing things. The buzz word for all of this is empowerment, but I still describe it to people as giving 'freedom within a framework.'

I worked with a client last week on how they could develop an empowered culture with their people. This senior team have set a challenging vision, and are currently implementing the strategy to deliver that vision. Historically they are the first to admit that their organisation's management model has been built around command and control. People at all levels have looked to the senior team for direction, to be told what to do. They understand this is no longer an option of they are to achieve the vision.

They have a lot to do to change that culture but we know so much potential to do so much more exists amongst their people. So we are looking for the senior team to take the lead by example, and to begin to demonstrate to their people that they will trust them and released them using a simple three step model:

1. Set the framework. Let people know what you are expecting them to deliver. Let them know the parameters in which they are operating. Set out the playing field. Make it as large or as small as necessary based on a combination of confidence and level of risk.

2. Then step back and release people, give them the freedom to deliver. But also ensure they are responsible and accountable for delivering. With empowerment must come responsibility and accountability.

3. But none of this is about abandonment. We need to regularly ensure that those we have empowered are able to deliver. This can take many forms, but would often include a scheduled series of meetings based on giving support, recognising achievements, clearing the path and coaching.

Continuing the agricultural theme I often use growing tomatoes as an analogy for empowering people. When we grow tomatoes we first provide the right conditions (the framework.) We plant the seeds in the right place, ensuring there is sufficient sunlight and the right soil. We then allow the seeds to grow into plants, but we do not abandon them. We regularly check they are okay, and free of bugs. We water them. Sometimes we even talk to them. Over time, in the right conditions, the plants prosper and we can enjoy the fruits of their labours. Maybe corny but the analogy does work.

As George Washington no less said 'Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.'



On releasing creativity

I had the opportunity last week to work with young managers in a major UK company, and to just see what could be achieved when creativity is released. I based a day's exercise on the idea behind the book 'One Red Paperclip' by Kyle MacDonald. The premise is simple, you start with one paperclip, and have to find a way to swap that for a 'bigger and better' item, and then swap the new item again for something better, and so on. In the book MacDonald managed to end up with no less than a house, but that was done over several weeks or months and my teams only had four hours to make their swaps.

When they were first given the brief the people involved were like rabbits trapped in headlights, but gradually their own light bulbs came on around the room and what followed was amazing. Over the next few hours, through phone calls, the internet and frantic dashes around the town they swapped their paperclips up and up and ended up with breaks in hotels, a spa weekend, race days, a flight experience, theatre tickets, restaurant meals, a fridge and (get this) a signed photo of Linda Lucardi! One team even got onto local radio to promote their cause. All of the goods were eventually donated to charity, and what had seemed like a daunting if not impossible exercise ended up being loads of fun as well.

How did this happen? Because people were forced to think differently. They were being pushed well outside their comfort zones and had to think creatively about what could be achieved. And this is my issue. At work we stifle that imagination, people are just expected to turn up and get on with their job, but so much creativity exists inside people, if only it could be released. Indeed, as I blogged a couple of weeks ago, it is one of the ten Intelligences each of us possess, and it is just waiting to be released.

So why don't managers release the creativity of their people at work? Maybe its because they are worried that chaos will result, or they are fearful that it might be a threat to their authority. Maybe they don't think they have the time to do it, there is too much work to do to be messing about with all this stuff.

But how can we really move teams and organisations forward without releasing that creativity? For me this is the breakthrough point to achieving amazing results, the kind of amazing thing that allows people to turn a paperclip into a flight experience in a few hours. Imagine if that same level of energy, thinking and imagination was focussed on your biggest challenges at work?

The most important thing we can do as leaders is to create the conditions that allow people to think creatively. Its so difficult to do in our normal day to day working environment. There we have become creatures of habit, beavering away doing the same things day after day. 'If we keep on doing what we have always done we'll get what we have always got'.

But maybe we could:

1. Create a different environment by taking your team away somewhere for the day. It needn't cost a lot of money. Find a location in the countryside, go and climb hills or walk on a beach together, go and volunteer together for a day. But then find time to run a session around a specific issue you need to move forward, and see what happens.

2. Put together a cross functional team who don't normally work together. Se them an issue to consider. It doesn't have to be something that many of them normally work on. This drives a different perspective, new thinking.

3. Don't get involved yourself, leave them to it, set them a brief but then stand back and let them get on with it. Be available to help, to support, to clear the path but give them the space to come up with ideas themselves.

4. It's essential to stretch people well outside their comfort zone. If I'd briefed the teams last week that they just needed to generate small swaps we may have ended up with a pencil or two. When people are stretched they have to think differently.

5. This takes a bit of courage but consider the pre-approval route. Tell a group that whatever the proposal they come back with to move an issue forward, it is already approved and will be implemented. The secret here is to ensure you have set an appropriate framework for the decision making, one they cannot step outside. But within that framework they have absolute freedom. This is an incredibly powerful way to engage people in creative problem solving.

So give it a go, if we want to turn good teams and organisations into great ones we must release the creativity that is bottled up in all of us.




On greatness and on personal responsibility

Two assignments over the last week enabled me to engage in the parts of my work that I find the most enjoyable and challenging.

One was a coaching session with the Chief Executive of a national charity in which we began to set out the path that can give her organisation the opportunity to become truly great. I have recently been working with a number of leaders across a range of organisations of all shapes and sizes on this challenge, how to turn an already good organisation into a sustainably great one.

The concept is, of course, borrowed from Jim Collins' book, and can only even be considered when the leader themselves recognises that their organisation could achieve so much more, and personally has the desire, energy and vision to lead such a journey. Where this does not exist, a good organisation will not improve, and therefore will not remain good for ever, at some point it will slip into decline, usually through a combination of complacency and neglect.

Even when a leader is committed to the concept of a 'good to great' journey the challenge is where to start. Often the challenge seems so big and is difficult to articulate and map out.

I use two pieces of material to enable leaders to commence the journey. The first is the 'Good to Great' book itself, it is based on the premise that breakthrough to greatness only occurs when the organisation has undergone a whole series of disciplined thought driven by disciplined people. The second framework I use is my 'Circle of Organisational Effectiveness', a holistic model that can be used by any team or organisation driving significant change.

There are then four absolute fundamentals which must be in place before the journey can begin:

1. The right people must be on the bus. It is impossible to commence this journey if there are a significant number of wrong people on the bus or if people are in the wrong seats. Leaders must ensure that they have in place a team capable of delivering greatness, and where there are changes to be made they must be resolved before the journey can begin.

2. Absolute clarity of purpose. This is the time to revisit the organisation's mission and purpose. Is it absolutely clear about why it exists? Is it focussed down onto a clear, simple, unambiguous purpose which makes absolute sense? There is a one off opportunity here before the journey begins to test that purpose, and this will often result in a direct challenge to some activities the organisation is currently involved in. The Hedgehog Concept from 'Good to Great' offers the perfect model to base these deliberations on. This demands that organisations only focus on things they are truly passionate about, and best in the world at, and make economic sense.

3. A clear and compelling vision. The organisation must be able to clearly articulate where it is going. What does 'greatness' look like? What will be different, really different, when you get there? How will you know you are there? What measures will be in place? Is the vision really audacious and stretching enough? Will it engage your people, and other stakeholders, so that they really want to be part of the journey?

4. Involving and uniting people across the organisation in a compelling reason for change. The leadership team can work on much of the above. But there comes a point when people throughout the organisation need to become involved, to immerse themselves in the need for change and the journey ahead. They must understand the compelling reason for the change if they are to fully buy in.

All of the above takes time to put in place. There are no short cuts. I believe it takes a minimum of a year from committing to the journey being worthwhile until it can commence in earnest, and it may often take longer. And of course while all this is going on the organisation must continue to deliver good results. There can be no eye off the ball.

The leader I coached last week is absolutely committed to the journey ahead and is very excited about the opportunities. She is under no illusions as to the size of the challenge, but the potential rewards are enormous.


My second assignment last week, and an equally challenging and enjoyable one, was a personal effectiveness programme with front line staff. This time it was a group from the NHS, but it could have been with anyone. I love working with front line staff, those who have day to day involvement with customers (in this instance their patients) and who are wonderful people, really committed to making a difference.

However, these people are not without their issues, usually connected to the way in which they are managed, and last week was a prime example. Among the delegates were a group of five from the same team who were extremely de-motivated. They had many stories to tell of feeling undervalued, not listened to and abused. They felt that they were far too short staffed and were expected to deliver the same amount as always with far less people. They felt powerless to do anything about their situation.

Although I find these situations challenging I spend a lot of time on the programme getting the group to think about and to understand what they can change, not what they can't change. I draw for them three concentric circles and propose that leadership takes place in each of the three circles. The innermost circle is about leading ourselves, in this circle we can decide how we deal with situations, we can challenge our own beliefs, grow our personal effectiveness (inside and outside work) and behave in a way we want others to behave. Although still tough this is relatively the easiest circle in which to drive change because it is the one over which we have full control, even if sometimes we don't recognise it. It's about us.

The middle circle is about how we lead and influence those immediately around us. In this circle are our boss, our work colleagues, our direct reports (if we have any), our family, friends and neighbours. It is more difficult to exercise change in this circle, because it requires influencing other people, but still possible because they are immediately around us. Metaphorically we can touch these people every day. My delegates boss lies in this circle, a tall order to change, but maybe they can at least work at influencing them.

In the outer circle is the wider organisation. This is where change is really tough. Out here lies decisions on staffing levels, other resources, organisation culture, systems and processes, and even, in last week's instance, government health policy. A lot of the issues these people face lie in this circle, that is why they feel so helpless.

But the point I try to get across is this. They can do nothing about most, if not all, of the stuff in this circle, so it is just not worth having sleepless nights about. They can influence some things in the middle circle, particularly how they interact and approach issues with their colleagues. But it is the focus on the innermost circle which is most important, here they can examine their feelings through self-awareness, they can make choices about how they deal with their situation, they can focus on things they can do, not things they cannot control.

It was a hard challenge last week but by the end of the two days I believe there was a light bulb moment for many of those attending, and they went away determined to focus on that inner circle.