The transition from Associate to Partner is a significant change that takes time to master. We worked with our client, a leading international law firm, on leadership sessions that helped position new partners to take on a broader leadership role within the firm and strike a new balance between delivering work and winning new clients.  

We developed the sessions that clarified to Partners; what they needed to do as leaders, developed self-awareness of their own style and built resilience to launch them on the first step of their leadership journey. Our approach built upon internal views as to what makes a partner inspirational, as well as external role models and best practice thinking.  We also advised on and selected the appropriate tool to assess leadership strengths and competence including a 360 degree feedback element. Partners were required to complete a self-assessment and 360 review as part of their development as a leader.

The good news is that the session went very well…  the partners seemed to get a lot out of it.”    

The feedback we received was very positive.

“What we appreciated was not just the quality of your work but that you helped us to project manage the whole process.”

“I really liked the fact that you always had some interesting materials for us to keep us abreast with industry and trends and news in the development process”

A dynamic digital commerce consultancy with operations in multiple geographies is challenged with rapid growth and change as well as time zone and cultural diversity in a fast paced sector.  Teamwork across countries and improved consulting skills are critical to on-going success.

Our client, the Chief Operating Officer, wants to develop his software engineers and global teams to meet the challenges of the growing business and to build the capabilities of his key people.

We worked with the leadership team across countries to increase their communication and inter-personal skills to improve the working relationships inter-team as well as with clients.  We advised on some key interventions and how best to build their capabilities.  The initial team sessions have been very well received and are expected to be rolled out across the organisation.

Feedback from the pilot has been nothing less than stellar”

I thought it was a very valuable day – Firstly, I find it helpful to be forced to acknowledge and/or confront our own attitudes and approaches to life. It’s amazingly easy to never think about how we approach problems ourselves, and therefore we often don’t see the traps we may frequently walk into.”

 Secondly, it encourages us all to think a bit more about our communication with others and to realise that what works for us may not work for the people we’re speaking to.”

Our client had gone through an enormous amount of change in the past year.  Having recently left the NHS to form a social enterprise, won a significant new contract and more than doubled in size, the pains of growth were beginning to show.  So much had changed that the original business plan no longer applied and the team had grown so much they were no longer the tightly knit unit they once were.

Working with the Managing Director, we designed and then ran a 2-day intervention.

As a result the organisation was able to set priorities for the next 2 years and agree how the newly formed senior team was going to work together.

Through a highly interactive and experiential event, the wider team was able to engage in a conversation about the key challenges as well as develop greater mutual understanding of each other’s preferences and working styles.

Whereas before, the burden set squarely on the shoulders of the CEO and a few of her colleagues, the workshop helped to establish broader ownership and enthusiasm for what had been achieved, what had to be done next and what obstacles would have to be addressed

Thank you so much for your facilitation of the Away Days. They were both useful and positive and the office is buzzing today!! You are AMAZING!!! I really value your input and you are making such a lasting impact.”

Whenever I work with teams, one of the ground rules that is always requested is the need for openness and honesty. As one workshop participant put it last week, ‘we don’t want to say something in the bar because we felt we couldn’t say it in this room’.

Yet the truth is that many feel there are consequences to saying what they are thinking. Another participant described it from his own experience: ‘being honest at work has never turned out well for my career, so now I just keep it to myself.’

So what is the truth? When teams ask for openness and honesty, are they really being dishonest?

In my view there are two problems with the agreement for honesty:

Firstly, complete honesty and transparency is simply an unrealistic goal. For this to happen, we would have to share all of our thought processes. Apart from bringing the agenda to a standstill, it would mean sharing everything that goes through our heads, ranging from ‘that dress really doesn’t suit you’, through to ‘if you don’t stop talking now I am going to scream!’ We are all capable of thoughts that are simply not helpful to share. Some level of filtering is required. This doesn’t mean dishonesty, but it does mean complete honesty is an unrealistic goal.

Secondly, it is much easier to be honest about the business than it is about the people within it. Too often, honest feedback becomes an attack on individuals or teams e.g. ‘the call-centre isn’t up to the job’ as opposed to specific, constructive feedback about the business – ‘our lead generation process isn’t generating the level of leads we need for our sales force to be successful’. Honest feedback about people requires careful thought and a workshop isn’t usually the best place for it!

So, when requesting honesty, perhaps the rule should be: we will be more open and honest about our business. That’s something I think most teams could sign up to with er… honesty.

‘There’s no one I look up to anymore, no one I really admire.’ My client bemoaned. ‘All of the good leaders have gone.’ Helen* has a lot of potential; she has risen rapidly through the ranks and is one step away from taking on a company-wide leadership position.

However, without understanding her perspective on role models, Helen could fall into a nasty career-limiting trap. Disillusionment with those above you can create negative energy and trigger career limiting behaviours. At its worst, the high potential leader can discount what those around him or her say, reduce their interactions with those at the top, or openly undermine them.  All of which can ultimately undermine his or her career chances.

So what should Helen and those like her do?

• The first step is to understand the drivers behind this perspective. In the same way that many children realize that their once idolized parents and teachers are mere mortals, so there comes a time in the development of some leaders when he or she reaslies that those around them are just people too; people of varying talents, values and capabilities. It may be time to realize… It’s not the role models that have changed, it’s you.
• The next step is to look for something else. Think sources of inspiration instead of role models. Instead of looking for someone who provides 90% of what good looks like, search instead for those that have 50%. Perhaps a colleague is particularly good at assessing risk, or a new joiner is a particularly positive source of energy.
• Finally, no matter who you are interacting with, always ask ‘what can I learn from this person’.  Consider that today’s role model might be a jigsaw built from component parts.

*Name changed to protect client confidentiality

“I want to land the deal at the final interview” was what my coaching candidate told me. ‘I know they have 3 concerns and I want to make sure I address them all”

I could hear by his voice how much this meant.

“I understand, but who is interviewing whom?” I asked

Peter* stopped in his tracks.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, this is your life. It’s bad news for them if they make a wrong hire, but its much worse for you.  What if it’s the wrong job and you end up taking it?”

Peter and I have been working together for a year now, answering important questions, trying to find out what he was put here on earth to do. Identifying values that are important in his working environment, what he needs from a boss and those around him, environments that will leverage his strengths and make the most of his experiences. Yet Peter was ready to leave all of this to chance as he went into sales mode at the final interview.

And he isn’t alone. Many people let their desire for acceptance run the interview process. The mindset of ‘I have to be whatever it is they are looking for’ hands the power over to the interviewer and allows your own needs to become subordinate to fitting the bill. Your own due diligence becomes a ‘nice to have’ – depending upon how it goes and whether there’s enough time at the end.

“We haven’t been working together for all of this time for you to sell yourself short at the last hurdle.” I reminded Peter. “How will you know this is the best possible opportunity for you?” It was enough. He had made a simple reframe and we were back on course.

Interviewing is a mutual process, not a sales pitch.  It is better not to be offered the wrong job than it is to be offered the wrong job and take it.

* Some details changed

Recently, I’ve been observing what causes teams and groups of people to change.

Having facilitated, coached, led and participated in many teams, I have noticed one essential condition that creates change in organisations.

Change starts when groups of people come together to first define, explore and discuss the problem, NOT when they are simply presented with the answer.

Now, the trouble with many ‘change management’ approaches, is that they are geared towards providing answers.  Programme offices are established, employees are surveyed, visions are crafted, communications are drafted.  But few approaches allow time for teams to come together to define and discuss the problem.

It is in our nature to feel uncomfortable not having any answers, and a meeting designed not to provide answers, but to look into the issues can feel slow or unproductive.  But greater awareness created by enquiring into the problem changes things.

And with change comes…… answers.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joecrimmings/

Confidence is something that people think everyone else has, but they don’t.

The truth is that everybody lacks it some of the time. Nobody has confidence all of the time. It’s just that the triggers may be different. The networking event that makes Peter nervous isn’t the same trigger as the presentation to the board that haunts Sarah. Even the most self-assured CEO I have known admitted to me that he wanted help with his confidence when preparing board meeting agendas.

The most accomplished business leaders can get anxious when faced with their least favourite situations. And even if he or she looks supremely confident, what’s happening on the inside can be a completely different matter.

Nearly everyone I know has been told at some point in their life that they lack confidence, and those that haven’t are just faking it (see below).

So if we all lack confidence, what can you do to summon up more when you most need it?

• Learn confident posture(s). Confidence lives in the body, as much as in the mind. If you put your body in a position of confidence when you need to be at your best, your body will remember to be confident even if your mind has gone to la la land.
• Fake it. Many people succeed by appearing to be confident even when they are not. Like actors, they are able to inhabit a confident persona even when this is at odds with their true feelings. By acting the role of someone who is at ease, you may suddenly find its no longer an act.
• Get really present. When performers were always told to breathe to relax, I didn’t fully understood why. I thought it was about getting oxygen into your system. It is – but only partly. Becoming aware of your breath quietens the mind and gently brings you to the present moment. It focuses the processing power of your brain on what is happening right now and takes it away from running endless, pointless loops of ‘what if’.
• Gain more experience. It’s true. If nothing else works, doing something lots of times helps you feel less anxious. Try rehearsing in front of the mirror, your family, your friends, anyone who will help.
• Have confidence in lacking confidence. As you gain more experience it isn’t necessarily what you did that makes you feel more confident. It’s knowing you did it and nobody died. Remembering this will help you next time.
• Think about your beliefs. Look at the situations that sap your confidence. What are your beliefs in that moment? Perhaps you will think that you will look stupid? People will laugh? You will fail? You won’t be good enough? Are these beliefs 100% true? Are they always true? Is there another more helpful way to look at this?
• Remember why you are doing what you are doing. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly the biggest booster of confidence is to remember your cause. Writing articles like this can be a source of anxiety for me. But remembering that confidence is a huge part of helping good talent earn their rightful place at the corporate table helps get the publish button pressed.

I hate it when the two words change and management are used together.

There is nothing unusual about change. People seek improvement and change all the time. But often what we don’t like is change imposed by others. When this happens we feel a lack of control. Change management implies the design and implementation of changes where the locus of control lies outside of the people expected to change. An approach that is likely to cause resistance – the very opposite of change.

The second problem lies with the concept of ‘management’. Management is about doing things right, whereas leadership is about doing the right thing. Management ‘drives the process’, keeps lists, provides updates and generally dots the I’s and crosses the T’s. It’s a great way of describing the skills and competencies needed for the operational running of the business, i.e. not changing things. But what happens when the change encounters unanticipated obstacles or if the change is just plain wrong? Who will take leadership to change the change managers? As a leader, you must find the courage to use your judgment and make a call. It is about doing things differently. Leadership in contrast to management is really about changing things.

That’s why change cannot be managed. It has to be led.

In a long line of leadership fads, ‘being authentic’ has been in fashion for a while. Along with many others, I love the concept and spend a lot of time working with clients towards this goal.

However, I’m becoming uncomfortable with the term ‘authenticity’. Firstly, it feels like jargon and I believe in using words that everyone understands. Secondly, I’ve seen it used as an excuse for bad behaviour.

I believe that being authentic is about being honest with yourself. That’s being honest with yourself about your motivations for your behaviour, values, strengths and weaknesses. And the reason that matters is that it enables you to be honest with others – an essential leadership ingredient. After all, how can you be honest with others if you aren’t with yourself?

Someone I used to work with desperately wanted to be a someone. He wanted what he said and thought to be of value, for his ideas to have some importance. That’s what drove him. But he wasn’t honest with himself or with those around him. He did not practice what he preached. His team saw an individual whose words and actions did not line up. He managed people, but they weren’t ‘followers’. If he’d been honest with himself, (and therefore those around him), something would have had to have changed: either the words or actions. His team would have worked towards making his ideas become valuable. The leaders we love are never ever perfect, but they are honest with themselves and for that we forgive them.

Perhaps the new authenticity is ‘honesty’?.