Empathetic and factual communication during uncertain times

By Peter Russo FIML

In front of you lays an ever-increasing amount of distressing news, and growing uncertainty. It’s hard to see what your workplace tomorrow, let alone later today, will look like. Your staff are also confronted by this, becoming increasingly apprehensive, which weighs heavily on them – a knot is building in your stomach. The obstacles perhaps seem insurmountable, and your attempts to find answers just create more questions. You are dealing with an unprecedented event in modern times, and it is now, more than ever, a time to become people-centric as a leader. When the mechanical aspects of business seem to be in seizure, you need to draw on the more visceral attribute of leadership – being human.

Throughout history there are multiple examples where collaboration underwrote the resilience for a group to overcome adversity. The remedy to our current state of affairs is no different. Therefore, it’s vital that you are engaging your staff about not only the economic realities facing your business, but the human aspect. The only way to do this is by showing empathy and dealing with facts.

Why empathy and truthfulness matter

In today’s world people are faced with an incredible number of opinions, some of which are generated with the intent to sensationalise. This creates anxiety, and only acts in the interest of derision as a community.

Your message must be clear, empathetic and constructive. No one has all the answers, but you – as a leader – can provide them with a feeling of security, and you shouldn’t be afraid to admit you don’t know. It’s support, not false-hopes, that will bind your team and ensure you’re moving together in the right direction.

The 24-hour news cycle, and the relentless bombardment of news only acts to aggravate fear and panic. What your staff really need is a clear, concise and candid outlining of facts.

What you can do as a leader

Here are some ideas on how to provide empathetic and factual communication during uncertain times:

  • Give regular updates. Do it often and in simple digestible portions. As a suggestion, at least every second day and more often for staff who have been isolated or working from home for an extended period.
  • Provide timely information. Tell your teams what you know now rather than waiting until you have all the answers. Use all appropriate channels to communicate new information regularly.
  • Do not exaggerate. Whether it is good or bad, stick to the facts. Do not simply look for a positive spin.
  • Use a collaboration of ideas. Often staff have sound ideas that can help. Be prepared to unpack those ideas and push them up the organisational chain. In adversity, very few ideas are considered bad ideas as everyone has a part to play.
  • Recognise and acknowledge emotions. Understand the behaviours we see are the proverbial tip of the iceberg; the result of the underlying emotions, including fear, doubt and concern. Have open conversations to help allay fears.
  • Be open and honest. It is very important to ensure you keep your staff in the loop on how decisions are made and what considerations are being taken.
  • Make yourself available. Finally, check-in with your staff. Sometimes a simple ‘how are you?’ can break down barriers resulting from isolation.

The challenges we are facing are unprecedented in modern times. The foundations of our society are being tested, and we ought not forget that. Social distancing is impacting the fabric of our communities and how we collaborate. For many, the work environment, whether it be virtual or physical, is now their sole community linkage and it is essential they maintain a sense of belonging in such an environment. Remember, adversity builds character and over the longer term can bring people together. Create the work community that helps bring staff together and that has some semblance of normal, in a not so normal world at present.

No matter how this turns out, your business will invariably reshape. You therefore are tasked with quite an exciting opportunity – to use a crisis to embed humanistic leadership practices.

Peter Russo is a sessional lecturer at RMIT University and the founder of Engaging Leaders, a  professional training and coaching consultancy.

Mastering social media

By Anthony O’Brien

In digital marketing much has been said about the importance of data to drive decision-making. Much less is said about gut feel.

Yet it was instinct – not analytics – that led advertising guru Wendy Thompson to strike out on her own and establish a social media agency a decade ago.

“I had a strong gut feeling social media would drastically change how people communicated with one another,”

Wendy Thompson

She was proven correct in the most dramatic way possible. Today, 3.2 billion people are using social media worldwide. And Thompson’s Auckland-based social media business, named Socialites, has gone from strength to strength. The agency works with clients across the globe including New Zealand, Australia, North America, Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, and Singapore. Thompson explains, “There are 13 official employees and a network of approximately 30 contractors whom we work with day to day.”

Last year, the Auckland-based firm was named Australasian Social Media Agency of the Year. Thompson was also a finalist in Next Woman of The Year.

NAVIGATING A PATH TO GROWTH

While recruiting social media specialists in the early days was challenging, as a newly minted leader, Thompson discovered that retaining staff was just as arduous. “The first time people leave; you take it personally. But you learn over the years that it’s not about you. It’s about the job or their position in their lives. My attitude to staff leaving now is much healthier.”

Thompson started her business with some start-up experience. “I ran a physiotherapy practice with my husband, which enabled me to learn a lot about running a business,” recalled Thompson. That said, the former advertising pundit found being the sole owner of a business presented several unique challenges. “In the first few years, you did everything. And then, as we picked up a reputation and improved our systems and processes, things have grown, which has been lovely. We go through ups and downs. But in general, it’s awesome. I even brought on a business partner a few months ago.”

Socialites new co-owner Melanie Spencer has started as a managing partner and will be responsible for overseeing the team and the day-to-day operations of the agency. Spencer’s appointment will enable Thompson to work on the business and its plans for more Asia-Pacific expansion. “Bringing in a partner is a big decision. However, when you meet the right person, it’s a lot like a marriage.”

NOT A NATURAL LEADER

As a leader, the self-effacing Thompson describes herself as “sucky.” “I’m not a natural leader. I don’t know if anyone is, but I have completed a lot of leadership development, training, and reading.” Thompson nominates Drive by Daniel H. Pink as the best book on motivating teams she’s read. The social media whiz has also undertaken the Gazelle strategic training program to assist her management style. “Being a leader is not easy, but it’s enriching. There’s something about a team coming together, and it feels like family.”

Thompson describes the working culture at Socialites NZ as high performance. “We say we’re all A-players and one of the best things that I’ve learned over the years, is to hire slow, fire fast.”

Thompson continues, “Also, probably another significant learning is that someone might be fantastic and brilliant when they first come on board. But then, as your company grows, they’re not the right person anymore.”

Thanks to her evolution as a leader, Thompson is adamant she’s not a micromanager, which the appointment of Spencer corroborates. “I do have a pretty strong vision of how things should be. I also go on gut a lot, and encourage my team to listen to their gut, which makes for an interesting and dynamic way of working.”

CONSISTENCY BREEDS TRUST

Since 2010, Thompson has pursued a marketing strategy based on thought leadership to grow the profile of Socialites NZ worldwide and to attract more business-to-business clients. “We still get work from blog posts we wrote two years ago,” she explains.

Consistency is another crucial ingredient in Socialites’ business-to-business marketing success. “The work I’ve done over the past 20 years, and the work the company has done over the previous nine, gives us work now.

“We have competition from huge companies and small start-ups. But our consistency makes us strong. We do consistently good work and are very trustworthy. With us on board, our clients know we will propel them to success every single time.”

This article originally appeared in the December 2019 print edition of Leadership Matters, IML ANZ’s exclusive Member’s magazine. For editorial suggestions and enquiries, please contact karyl.estrella@managersandleaders.com.au.

Attitude and actions: How to display leadership that supports equality

Less than a third of people working in science, technology and engineering in New Zealand are women. It’s no wonder that leading women in the industry, including manager of measurement, insight and reporting at the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, Vij Kooyela MIML, are concerned.

Vij Kooyela MIMLKooyela believes that the challenge isn’t exclusive to leadership and management in the industry – there simply isn’t a solid pipeline of young women entering the workforce in this field.

It’s not that the industry is lagging in taking positive steps toward social change. “The energy industry is in a fantastic space in New Zealand,” Kooyela admits. It is bolstered by policy directions that will benefit the environment, in particular the New Zealand Energy Strategy.

However, Kooyela can see that more can be done to grow the number of women in the energy sector.

 

Leaders’ actions matter

One factor that makes Kooyela acutely aware of the need for greater gender diversity in her industry is the team she manages. “My team are all men,” she says.

Kooyela would love to shake off the stereotype that male-dominated industries become that way due to natural abilities that men possess. “I don’t believe that girls are not as good as boys when it comes to quantitative skills. I think women have excellent communications skills and if that can be coupled with solid technical skills, then that’s an advantage.”

Simply put, the qualities of a good leader remain the same regardless of gender.

She also suggests practical ways for leaders to drive change:

  • Language: For Kooyela, leaders should start with what they say. For example, when recruiting, she believes organisations should take a leaf off the UN, which include specific encouragement for women to apply for roles they advertise.
  • Behaviour: Having once presented to an all-male room – and finding herself, the only woman, left alone on one side of the said room – Kooyela hopes more leaders will consider their actions. She challenges all leaders to remove all barriers to the equal treatment of people and to make everyone feel comfortable no matter the situation.


Leaders’ attitudes matter

Being no stranger to poor management experiences, Kooyela made a conscious decision to lead well. She found herself with a manager who didn’t do a great job and was described as a bully. Although for Kooyela, the focus was always on the silver lining. “I am so grateful for that experience because that is what pushed me to take the right steps, to demonstrate that [leadership] can be better and it can be done well,” Kooyela explains.

Since then, she has challenged herself to be a better manager and leader because of the impact she knows that leaders have on people. “If I can positively influence someone so that they make a step forward – whether that’s in their life or their career – that’s something very powerful,” Kooyela says.

However, she cautions other leaders, particularly women, to break away from the fear of uncertainty. “Leaders find comfort when we can tick all the boxes before venturing into something different and unknown. We want to get everything right,” she says.

Kooyela believes that more women should back themselves. For her, waiting for perfection is not the way forward.

Her advice? “Go for it. Don’t worry about having all the boxes ticked,” confirms Kooyela.

 

Leaders’ dialogue matters 

“The key thing we are looking for is diversity of thought. Women do bring a different perspective on things and every workplace needs that balance of views,” says Kooyela.

What better way to gather a diverse set of views than through dialogue with a group of peers?

In March, for the first time, IML ANZ is hosting two International Women’s Day (IWD) events in Auckland and Wellington. This year, Vij Kooyela will join other leaders to explore the official IWD topic, ‘#EachforEqual’. Be part of the discussion and join forward-thinking managers and leaders in creating the type of dialogue that drives change.

Purchase tickets now:

Auckland – Friday, 6th March
Wellington – Friday, 13th March

Or for more information, contact events@managersandleaders.com.au.

Connecting with the people of the forest

By Karyl Estrella MIML

Nowhere else can you find orangutans in the wild except in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra. So the rare opportunity to see these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat is a genuinely thrilling prospect. A privilege that Core Laboratory Manager at Pathology Queensland, Lara Keller CMgr FIML, enjoyed as a Regional Representative for The Orangutan Project (TOP). “In May this year, I saw the Bukit Tigapuluh ecosystem in Central Sumatra. That was absolutely amazing because only eight people a year enter this conservation site,” recalls Keller. The area is inaccessible to tourists with visits reserved for those able to travel with TOP founder and President, Leif Cocks, while he monitors and evaluates the organisation’s work there.

INSPIRATION

Visits to the orangutan’s rainforest homes are exciting, but that’s not the primary motivation for Keller to volunteer. “In 2017, during a fundraiser for TOP, I got to hear Leif speak about the work they were doing. I’ve always been a massive animal lover and am fascinated by orangutans. They are intelligent, peaceful and sentient creatures, and are Critically Endangered. At that point, I wanted to do something to help, so I decided to volunteer.”

When not visiting remote rainforests, Keller’s activities are less adventurous, albeit very crucial. “Our main goal is to raise the profile of orangutan conservation,” says Keller. “So we do market stalls, attend festivals and visit schools to talk about how people can support the work. We also sell cookies, cakes, books and orangutan toys to raise funds on top of inviting people to adopt rescued orangutan orphans.”

Not only have these activities supported the charity’s ongoing efforts to rescue and rehabilitate orangutans, but they have also opened Keller up to a variety of audiences. “Recently, we visited a kindergarten. I wouldn’t be speaking to kindergarten children in my day job! But it’s a different kind of leadership experience for me.”

Volunteering has indeed helped Keller view leadership from a different lens. “It’s taught me a lot about how to adjust my leadership style and to take into account people’s motivations.” Contrasting her role as a health sector leader to her role as a volunteer leader, Keller hones in on the need to become a positive influence.

“Volunteers have no obligation to meet any targets as paid employees do. Ultimately, I must make them want to join me. They have to feel that we are all working towards something important together.”

WILD ENCOUNTERS

Although given TOP’s unique position, it can be difficult to get a real sense of their work’s impact. Unlike most Australian charities whose work is based on home soil, all the results of the organisation’s efforts are only seen and felt in Indonesian rainforests. That’s why meeting the orangutans was a truly memorable experience for Keller.

On one outing to Central Kalimantan in Borneo last year, she witnessed the rehabilitation of young rescued orangutans in what TOP affectionately calls ‘jungle school’. “They were learning to climb trees, and one of them fell out of the tree and cried out like a baby,” Keller recalls. “It looked like he’d broken his arm, so they put on a splint and took this little one to the closest town, which is an hour and a half away. He got x-rayed, and fortunately, he didn’t fracture his arm and was back to climbing trees in no time.

“During the trip in May this year we saw mothers and babies who have been released back into the rainforest. When we reached a different part of the camp, I recognised one of our adopted babies, Citrawan, as she attended jungle school. I’ve seen so many photos of her and spoke about her to so many people. It was amazing to see her face-to-face. These are the moments not many people get to experience.”

Keller considers her volunteer work as a privilege, offering a unique sense of fulfilment. “You can go see orangutans in captivity, but seeing them in the wild is a completely different experience,” explains Keller. “I’ve looked them in the eyes and seen the person inside. And that’s how I view them, as persons.” Almost literally true when you consider that the word ‘orangutan’ in the Malay language translates to ‘person of the forest’.

It’s no surprise then that Keller recommends volunteering for all leaders. Her advice, “Find something you’re passionate about.” She also recommends doing your research and finding out what the commitment involves. The effort, Keller believes, is all worth it. “It’s been a marvellous thing for me. I feel this is something I do to reach my potential as a person. Giving something back and doing something for my soul makes me feel refreshed and excited. I love it!”

PRECIOUS CREATURES

Today, there are only 104,700 Bornean orangutans, just 7,500 Sumatran orangutans and no more than 800 Tapanuli orangutans – the most endangered of all the great apes.

For more information about The Orangutan Project and their conservation work visit orangutan.org.au.

This article originally appeared in the December 2019 print edition of Leadership Matters, IML ANZ’s exclusive Member’s magazine. For editorial suggestions and enquiries, please contact karyl.estrella@managersandleaders.com.au.

#EachforEqual: How to create a gender equal workplace

By Gemma Lloyd

 

International Women’s Day is on 8 March 2020 and this year’s theme is #EachforEqual. It’s a good reminder that everyone has a role to play in helping create a gender equal world.

 

And a gender equal world means a gender equal workplace, where people are able to access and enjoy the same rewards, resources and opportunities regardless of gender.

While corporate Australia has been making progress on this front, it has a long way to go, with women still significantly underrepresented in leadership. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, only 13.7% of chair positions are held by women and only 17.1% of CEO positions.

Not only is a gender equal workplace what’s right and fair, it also makes good business sense. Working with some of Australia’s top employers, we see those companies with progressive gender equality policies consistently able to attract higher calibre talent – and retain them for longer. And the benefits of gender equality don’t stop there.

 

Gender equality health check

So how is your organisation tracking towards gender equality? Maybe it’s made progress in some areas but struggling in others, or there’s policies in place but room for improvement.

Conducting a gender audit is a good way to identify challenges and opportunities for increasing equality within your organisation, and create a plan for action.

WORK180 has gathered data from Australia’s most progressive companies, analysing their policies on flexible working, equal pay, parental support, career development and employee assistance. The result is a report and HR Health Check tool that employers can use to benchmark themselves against the best in their industry.

The HR Health Check only takes 10 minutes, and you’ll get a rating and high-level report comparing your business – you can get started here.

 

Future proofing your business

By being aware of HR benchmarks and trends, you’re in a better position to make informed policy decisions, and implement strategies that grow and future proof your business.

According to an EY global study, millennials will make up more than 75% of the workforce by 2025. And for them, a healthy work/life balance isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s a deal-breaker.

In order to grow and future proof their businesses, and be able to attract and retain this massive segment of the workforce, organisations need to make changes to the way they engage with employees.

Smart companies are already doing just that. They’re changing and developing their policies and HR benefits, promoting positive outcomes for employees and employers, and offering greater support than the archaic and rigid workplace policies of the past.

 

8 ways to boost gender equality

Aside from conducting a gender audit and evolving policies, what are some practical ways that organisations can foster gender equality? In this WORK180 blog post, Dr Leonora Risse from RMIT University offered some useful tips:

  1. Make everyone automatically eligible for job promotions – instead of relying on candidates to self-nominate, which women are less likely to do, switch promotional opportunities from a choice to an automatic process.
  2. Don’t ask for volunteers, appoint them – don’t rely on community-minded women to voluntarily do the ‘office housework’. Instead, appoint these tasks systematically to ensure everyone in the office does their fair share.
  3. Remove gendered language from job ads – words that are stereotypically masculine or feminine in a job ad can have a powerful impact on whether a candidate applies or not. Use online gender bias decoder tools to screen job ads and make them more gender neutral.
  4. Calculate your organisation’s pay gap – companies need to first measure and recognise the existence of their gender pay gap, before they can fix it.
  5. Banish ‘manels’ – ensuring women are represented among panellists and speaker line-ups is critical for generating diversity of thought.
  6. Hand the microphone to a woman first – research shows that if a female asks the first question in a Q&A situation, it leads to more women asking questions than they would otherwise.
  7. Whose names and faces are on your walls? – if it’s mainly men, think about the message this sends about gender equality in your organisation.
  8. Explain why gender equality matters for men too – clearly communicate to your employees how gender equality and inclusive work practices deliver better outcomes for all.

Gemma Lloyd is the founder and CEO of WORK180, a recruitment platform that pre-screens employers to see how well they support women’s careers.

Join Gemma on 6th March at IML ANZ’s International Women’s Day Great Debate Event in Brisbane. Gemma will be joining five other leaders to debate whether ‘The world won’t listen unless women shout’.

Register here.

How can your workplace help end period poverty?

This is a collaborative article written between women’s charity Share the Dignity and the Institute of Managers and Leaders. Share the Dignity are the official charity partner of IML ANZ’s International Women’s Day Great Debate on 6th March. 

—

If you’re a woman reading this, you’ve probably been caught out in a public bathroom without a pad or tampon inside your handbag. You probably let out a swear word, a sigh and felt some frustration that you once again forgot to leave a tampon or pad in your bag like you promised yourself you would. You probably folded up a few tissues, placed them inside your underwear and ran to the closest store to purchase some sanitary items without a second thought.

Imagine that choice being clouded with the realisation that if you purchased a packet of pads or tampons, you wouldn’t be able to purchase dinner that night. Would you sacrifice skipping a couple of meals for a packet of tampons? Is that a decision you’ve ever had to justify? Every day, thousands of Australian women are deciding between eating a meal or taking control of their period.

Women’s charity, Share the Dignity, believe every woman has the right to her own dignity and should have access to pads and tampons regardless of her situation. Each year they host two sanitary item drives and an annual ‘It’s In The Bag’ campaign to collect much needed necessities for women across the country doing it tough. They rely heavily on the selfless work of volunteers to coordinate these donations to charities all over Australia. They also supply vending machines filled with free pads and tampons to low socioeconomic areas for those in need.

Without any government funding, Share the Dignity relies on the generosity of the public and corporations to help women in need.

If gender equity and female empowerment are important to you and your organisation, then supporting women who experience period poverty is a great way to make a difference. It doesn’t take much to help solve this issue and make an impact on the lives of thousands of women.

Here are several ways you can assist:

Become a collection point

As a collection point, the public and those within your workplace can donate pads and tampons to your collection box. A volunteer will collect the items and distribute them to local charities.

Make a monthly corporate donation

We all know periods are a monthly occurrence, making a monthly corporate donation ensures women are being assisted each month.

Volunteer your time

Volunteers are valuable assets for this women’s charity. Without them, thousands of women across the country won’t get the help they need. If you have five hours a week you can offer us, we would love your help in coordinating our supplies to those in need.

Support International Women’s Day

IML ANZ is proud to have Share the Dignity as our charity partner for our International Women’s Day Great Debate. On the day, Share the Dignity will be running a raffle to raise much needed funds for those experiencing period poverty.

Learn more about Share the Dignity’s work.

Host a workplace event

Get creative! Host a morning tea for $5 entry, organise a workplace raffle, run a bake sale, a silent auction or a dress up day.

Let your voice be heard

Powerful, passionate and thought-provoking, that’s IML ANZ’s International Women’s Day Great Debate event. This year IML ANZ is once again bringing together six hand-picked, opinionated and accomplished Australian leaders and personalities in an entertaining debate that challenges our ideas of equality, diversity and progress.

To join the Great Debate, book your tickets now!

Reinventing business structure

By Jason T Smith

It’s often said that if you keep doing the same thing then you shouldn’t expect a different result. For more than a decade, I led my franchised physiotherapy business, the Back In Motion Health Group, with a traditional vertical organisational structure that mostly worked… up to a point, anyway. But I felt we could do much better.

Our model was unintentionally suffocating talented people through hierarchy and self-limiting position descriptions. Job titles and lines of reporting became discriminatory. Strategy and decisions were mostly formulated in a linear, top-down fashion. Conversations happened behind closed doors. Without noticing it, elitism and class divisions crept into our workplace. People were being artificially designated into executive, management and support strata. Influence was driven more by seniority and position, than by intelligence and merit. Creativity was dying.

The organisational structure that we had was quite normal – the traditional pyramid – but it certainly wasn’t optimal. Especially given that I was just about to set an unreasonable objective of doubling our group footprint over the next three years. We affectionately dubbed it ‘7/50/100’. It was the aspiration to have our brand accessible in seven states and territories of Australia, delivering $50 million worth of physiotherapy and related services, through 100 locations. So, it became time to shake things up.

3D MODEL

We didn’t just turn the traditional pyramidal organisation chart upsidedown as some have attempted. It wouldn’t have worked. We didn’t quite go flat or matrix in our management approach either. This was more about a change in our inner state, than it was a governance strategy. We needed to think, talk, and behave differently. We rounded out our organisational model into a threedimensional spherical expression with no top and no bottom.

Congruent with the spirit of innovation that characterised the change, we gave our new way of life its own name: ONEteam™.

We bounced forward. Or, as management literature might refer to it, we generated ‘adversarial growth’. We evolved through the pain of failures in the past, driven by the hope of the future. We reset our culture around the imperatives of over leadership and under-management. People had their titles stripped, and we dismantled traditional job descriptions. Colleagues were grouped into ‘functions’ and ‘pods’, and people no longer reported to a ‘boss’. We all served the mission rather than a (wo)man.

A MINIMALIST MOVEMENT

The principles of collaboration, distributed authority, and peer accountability became paramount. Individuals identified their best contributions to the workplace, kept their role profiles fluid to ensure agility and adaptability to changing demands, and no longer needed permission to get the job done. Performance was assessed in real time, financial records were laid bare, and strategic workflow became streamlined into the essentials. Minimalism reigned, as we sought to build a champion team, rather than a team of champions.

We even allowed peers to set their own remuneration bands within an overall salary cap, assist in the hiring and firing decisions, and decide their own bonus and incentive reward systems. Why? Because the owners can only guess what their people are motivated by, and inevitably will get it wrong some of the time.

We pulled down office walls, changed seating configurations to cluster people into more functional arrangements, and built additional breakout and meeting rooms. Reserved car parks were opened to all staff on a first-come basis, and we all shared the kitchen cleaning roster.

Even our meeting formats got challenged. We wanted less of them, and more decisions within them. Only those people with a contribution to make or an outcome to achieve were expected to attend. Every meeting was minuted and published for the whole team, with no secret business or hidden agendas.

A REAL SHAKE UP

In short, most things in our once-traditional workplace changed. Only a few essentials remained. We got turned outside-in and downside-up. A real shake up. But this change wasn’t haphazard or poorly considered. It was a metamorphosis of careful design. An intentionally new structure.

We bred a race of corporate freedom fighters. We fought against our own traditions, our flawed habits, and our ineffective strategies of the past. Today, we have achieved brand presence in more than seven states or territories, generated revenues in excess of AU$50 million per annum, and host more than 110 locations in Australia and New Zealand.

Our leadership revolution revealed an authentic and scalable way to give each team member the freedom to do what they love and excel at it. And in facilitating this, we gained so much more.

Jason T Smith is the founder of the Back In Motion Health Group, the Iceberg Leadership Institute and the SOS Health Foundation. In his book, Outside-In Downside-up Leadership (Major Street Publishing AU$29.95), Smith shares how he and his colleagues found the sweet spot between authentic collaboration and the holy grail of peer accountability in their workplace.

This article originally appeared in the December 2019 print edition of Leadership Matters, IML ANZ’s exclusive Member’s magazine. For editorial suggestions and enquiries, please contact karyl.estrella@managersandleaders.com.au.

Take Two: A mentoring pair on the same page

By Lisa Calautti

When marketing manager Emma Tune MIML decided to seek a mentor, IML ANZ teamed her up with business advisor Sarah Hunter FIML. It turned out to be the perfect match.

 

Why did you decide to join the Member Exchange program?

Sarah Hunter: Mentoring is something I do quite a bit anyway. It is definitely a giving back exercise. I enjoy helping people who are at an earlier career stage to jump ahead – you think of all the things you know now, that you wish you had known 10 or 20 years ago.

Emma Tune: I have always been fortunate in having managers and colleagues who have been generous in sharing their time, knowledge and skills with me. But I didn’t have anyone within the business who had a marketing background. Things have changed so much in marketing in the time I have been in my role, so I sought the opportunity to learn from someone with that background and experience.

 

How would you describe the experience of being part of Member Exchange?

SH: Very good. In fact, at our first meeting we were quite overcome by how well matched we had been. We just clicked right from the beginning and it was clear that what Emma needed, and what I had, were extremely well aligned.

ET: We were so well matched. There were so many similarities in my role and Sarah’s experience. We talked the same language.

 

What did you gain from the program?

SH: A bit of clarity of thought. I had to put myself in some circumstances and try not to see things from my perspective or through my own lens. That wasn’t too hard because I was not making decisions, setting direction or giving instructions; just listening and offering reading material or an avenue to follow, then letting Emma do it herself. I had the satisfaction of seeing someone grow and develop, knowing some of the things I had put in front of her were helping her do that.

ET: Sarah was great at recommending resources and frameworks for the different situations and challenges that I had. We talked about many aspects of my role and having an outside perspective helped me to reframe the issues in many cases. Sarah was great at challenging my thinking in a constructive way. Overall I learned that in almost all cases it comes down to people and process. Having recommended resources to use also gave me something tangible I could work with.

One of the key areas that kept coming up was the importance of people management. In my head I already knew this but, through our discussions, I realised there is so much more to it than just managing a team of people. In business it is important to manage relationships at all levels across the business. Another key learning was that seeing the business from an outside perspective makes you look at the bigger picture, which is so important, but hard when you get caught up in the busy day to day.

 

What motivated you to be involved in Member Exchange?

SH: Definitely giving back, and being someone who can help build confidence. Emma taught me that really everything is all about people. No matter what business, industry or stage of life, it all goes back to being about people.

ET: I enjoy learning from people and seeing different perspectives. It had been many years since I had taken part in a formal mentoring program and thought it was the right time for the stage I was at in my career.

 

Would you recommend the program to others?

SH: Yes, I recommend people get involved in mentoring as it is an opportunity to look at things in different ways. This program is a valuable part of the membership for IML ANZ. It has a really good point of difference in bringing together a huge cohort of diversity, experience and insight. Working with younger managers I can see through their eyes the challenges they are facing today, which are not always the same challenges I was facing at that career stage.

ET: Yes, just getting that outside perspective is invaluable. People who are mentors go into it because they want to share their knowledge and coach and help you. By being matched with someone who has experience in areas you identify with, you are set up to succeed straight away.

Find out more about Member Exchange

Australia: managersandleaders.com.au/mentoring-program

New Zealand: managersandleaders.co.nz/mentoring-program

This article originally appeared in the December 2019 print edition of Leadership Matters, IML ANZ’s exclusive Member’s magazine. For editorial suggestions and enquiries, please contact karyl.estrella@managersandleaders.com.au.

How leaders can be proactive about employee development

By Greg Smith

 

What if you could have conversations that encouraged your employees to find career satisfaction and what if these conversations produced energy, creativity and increased capability? The answers rely on leaders taking a dynamic and ongoing interest in their employees’ career satisfaction and development and can create positive employee relations that benefit the entire organisation.

Effective career conversations with employees is an exceptional opportunity for leaders to build trust, foster collaboration and develop a deep and enduring connection with their staff to ensure engagement, performance and tenure. Leaders who don’t have these soft skills risk being left behind. LinkedIn’s 2019 study, ‘Global Talent Trends, The 4 trends transforming your workplace’ found 80% of survey respondents reported that ‘soft skills are increasingly important to company success’.

It is the responsibility of effective leaders to be deliberate and take a proactive interest in career coaching their employees as an integral component of their leadership skillset. Additionally, one of the by-products of helping others with their career is the mutually beneficial self-insight that accrues for both leaders and employees. Importantly, this skill should not be delegated to others. However, there may be times where gaining an external perspective could be beneficial but it makes sense for leaders to assume this role wherever appropriate rather than leaving it to others. As Mercer’s 2019 Global Talent Study, ‘Connectivity in the Human Age’ found competition for talent is expected increase over the next 12 months. In this environment of increased competition leaders who fail to develop these skills risk losing valuable staff.

 

Start with just one conversation

It starts with an initial conversation and progresses one conversation at a time. Leaders don’t need to be in a hurry nor rush employees to solutions. It’s better to allow their employees to discover their direction and development needs for themselves with a guiding hand from their leader. A narrative approach can be one of the most useful techniques to facilitate this process. Every leader, with a little practice and commitment, can become proficient and realise the benefit for employees and their organisation. It relies on establishing empathetic career conversations on an ongoing basis with employees and allowing them to tell their story from a starting point that’s appropriate for them.

 

Less talking, more listening and better questions

The skill lies in a leader’s capability to foster a growth mindset and guide the conversation by asking thought-provoking questions and use deep listening and solution-focused communication techniques to help their employees:

  • Recognise themes and patterns in their career journey that may be useful in the future,
  • Identify people who have been helpful to them along the way,
  • Understand their career drivers and motivational/career fit,
  • Identify SMART career goals along with practical strategies including networking, self-marketing and written action plans to achieve them.

 

It’s critical to establish an environment of confidentiality where employees feel safe to share their experiences. This will assist with building rapport and trust. Assume positive intent and be open about your position and help them to be open about theirs. Sounds simple but simple doesn’t necessarily mean easy!

Asking the right questions can be trickier than you might think on first pass. Sometimes we don’t even know the question we’ve asked until we hear the answer to that question! This also means having fine-tuned listening skills. Leaders should take note of not just the words that are spoken but also the tone of voice, intonation and body language. Often a key is to watch for the level of animation in their voice to gauge their motivation. For example, if their shoulders, head and tone of voice drop it’s likely their motivation in that aspect of the conversation is low. However, if they show psychical signs of increased engagement by sitting up straight and looking attentive then you can bet whatever your discussing holds great interest for them! Considered reflection of the last conversation combined with a little preparation before the discussion will do wonders in being able to ask highly effective questions.

 

Don’t stop!

Starting the development ball rolling it’s vital for leaders to:

  1. Make time for regular career development meetings and avoid rescheduling them,
  2. Monitor and review progress,
  3. Follow through on commitments,
  4. Be mindful of ethical and cultural considerations.

 

The key for leaders is to first understand and then commit to taking a proactive approach to employee development. This means putting it into action on an ongoing basis and building it into their everyday leadership routine and skill set. Leaders are better for it, employees will be thankful for it and organisations will thrive from it.

Greg Smith is an expert in career development, talent management and organisational leadership. The co-founder of HR consulting firm, deliberatepractice, he helps aspiring, emerging and experienced leaders to develop their everyday leadership skill set. He is the author of Career Conversations: How to get the best from your talent pool (Wiley).