Personal, organisational and national resilience: lessons from three African nations

By Sam Durland FIML

A few years ago, I had a brief encounter with Julia Gillard, during which I asked her how she had managed to cope with the rough and tumble of politics during a particularly tumultuous time in Australia’s recent history. She answered with one word: resilience. Indeed, in her autobiography, Gillard devotes an entire chapter to resilience, which she ascribes to a sense of purpose.

For me, resilience means the ability to overcome major challenges or setbacks. Over the past 20 years, working as an international development consultant and adviser in several African countries, I have encountered numerous examples of resilience at an individual, organisational and national level.

Personal resilience: a lesson from Uganda

In Uganda, I worked with a local entrepreneur who was developing several enterprises based on primary production. The aim is to enable his poor district in the west of the country to become self-sufficient instead of importing foods and raw materials from elsewhere. He was not driven by a need to generate wealth for himself; instead, a burning desire to provide employment and a secure future for his people. He faced many obstacles, from government officials trying to exact bribes for the services they were charged with providing, to a system of land ownership that made it difficult to obtain secure title to agricultural land.

My client was dogged in his resistance to illegal payments and unrelenting in his efforts to register his land title. I especially marvelled at how he dealt with public servants, who put my client at risk of not receiving the requested service, or more alarming, put his safety in danger. In the end, sheer persistence won the day, and the service was rendered without the payment of a bribe.

The lesson: In reflecting on my client’s character, which I believe formed the foundation of his success, I would describe him as exhibiting resilience based on a strong sense of purpose and an overwhelming desire to be of service to his people.

Organisational resilience: a lesson from Lesotho

In the small African country of Lesotho, I worked with a dedicated group of local and international consultants and advisers on a United States-funded project to develop a new government agency that would provide secure land ownership for the country’s citizens. This agency was intended to replace a government department that was widely thought to be both corrupt and inefficient in its dealings with the general public. Members of the project staff faced a major obstacle in the form of pushback from political interests who appeared reluctant towards change.

Project staff found that they were prevented from meeting with key public servants, they had their furniture removed from their offices, and there was even an attempt to confiscate their computer equipment.

The lesson: Despite these and other setbacks, they were resolute in their determination that the project should succeed (and it did), knowing that there was widespread community support for the initiative, as well as obvious benefits for the country’s economy. In the face of strong opposition, this group displayed resilience based on a sense of integrity and a commitment to do what is right.

National resilience: A lesson from Liberia

Finally, I turn to the West African country of Liberia, recently wracked by an Ebola-virus epidemic and still recovering from a 14-year-long civil war. As a consequence of the war, much of the country’s infrastructure had been decimated and government departments’ records destroyed or rendered incomplete. Here, my role was to work with a team of international and local consultants and advisers, and their counterparts in the public service, to develop a new authority designed to oversee land administration and land management in the country and overcome a fragmented and dysfunctional bureaucracy.

Both the war and the epidemic had significantly touched virtually every Liberian whom I came into contact with that time. Yet, despite the distinct challenges, they exhibited both an enthusiasm for our project and a positive outlook on the country’s future.

The lesson: I ascribe their resilience to a sense of positive leadership at the national level (their President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, had won the Nobel Peace Prize), a strong sense of national purpose, and a national character grounded in hope.

For me, an underpinning sense of hope is present in all of these examples of resilience. Hope’s power is epitomised by Desmond Tutu when he said, “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness”.

Sam Durland is a Fellow of IML ANZ. Sam’s consulting work has taken him to more than 20 countries in Asia, the Pacific, Africa and South America. He previously held senior executive positions with private enterprise, statutory authorities and government departments in Australia and overseas.

Strengthen your resilience

Leaders need resilience to cope with the daily stresses of work and life. But when the work environment has changed and you face new challenges, what can help you perform at your best?

Paralympian and corporate high-performance coach, Katrina Webb OAM MIML  will help take you through a three-phase process to manage your priorities, energy and your mind in our upcoming Virtual Event,  ‘The Road to Resilience’.

MEMBER EXCHANGE – The problem-solving process

We all encounter problems daily. That’s why we all benefit from good problem-solving skills.

In the workplace problem solving is an important part of any job. The skill with which we solve problems has a direct impact on our professional effectiveness. So let’s consider what problems you have solved recently. How have you handled them?

Although we are not always conscious of our method, most of us follow similar steps to solve problems. It is useful to increase our consciousness of these steps and apply a variety of proven problem-solving techniques to ensure we find effective solutions. Using the following process can improve our effectiveness in solving problems:

The process of solving problems

Identify the problem and establish objectives

This step is the most important and often the most difficult. It can be easy to jump into solution mode and spend surplus time looking for answers rather than having clarity on what really is the problem. Try to state the problem in a single sentence and ensure not to confuse the symptoms, the causes and the problem.

To establish objectives, think about the result you want. Compare where you are now and where you would like to be and be clear in what you are setting out to achieve.

Analyse the problem to determine its cause

In this step, it’s important to gather facts, ideas and opinions of others that may help in your analysis and assess the information without prejudice, preconceived ideas, or emotion to effectively determine the problem’s cause.

A technique used to uncover the main cause of the problem is to ‘ask why’ five times. Here is a ‘why’ chain for high employee turnover:

Why is there high employee turnover?

Why were the wrong people hired?

Why aren’t recruitment and selection techniques applied?

Why am I not confident in them?

Why is more training required?

We can determine from this chain the likely causes of this problem are poor selection and poor induction.

Generate alternative solutions

A choice of options needs to be considered in problem-solving. To find the best option, you must consider several solutions, that way you’re less likely to overlook the best course of action. Work on eliminating the cause of the problem and not just covering up its symptoms. Use brainstorming, creative thinking and ask others what they think to get the ideas flowing.

Evaluate the alternatives and select the most suitable

Evaluate your alternative solutions by considering the advantages and disadvantages of each. Remember the best solution will normally be the one with the most advantages and the fewest disadvantages. Ensure the most suitable option best meet your objectives.

Implement the decision

Now is the time to plan carefully how to implement your decision. Use the “who, how, what, where, why and when” prompts to develop your plan. Consider what could go wrong and how you will monitor progress to ensure your decision is working. Also, consider how you will communicate your decision to those impacted.

Follow-up and evaluate results

Routine follow-up checks will ensure that you have solved the problem. Check the symptoms again – have they gone? Take corrective action where necessary.

In summary, to continue to grow your problem-solving skills and build your personal effectiveness keep these guidelines front of mind:

  • Adopt a systematic approach
  • Focus on important decisions
  • Avoid making snap decisions
  • Don’t become a victim of analysis
    paralysis
  • Base your decision on facts
  • Don’t be afraid of making the
    wrong decisions
  • Learn from your mistakes
  • Use your imagination
  • Resist making decisions under
    stress
  • Make your decision and then move
    on

Enhance your problem solving skills with our short courses

As you can see, these skills are essential to enhance your leadership and deliver results to your teams and clients. To become the best leader you can be, consider enrolling in our short course on problem solving and decision making where you will learn all of the above guidelines and essential skills to tackle any problem head-on.

MEMBER EXCHANGE – How to conduct effective meetings

One of the many disadvantages of becoming an ‘accidental manager’ is that most of the time they become managers largely due to technical abilities and less because of their people management skills. After all, it’s never easy to manage people, especially their former peers.

Although new people managers are keen and excited about new challenges there are some fundamental aspects of managing teams which they may have taken for granted. One such example is when they inherit a team meeting format. While this format may be highly effective, often it is heavily influenced and suited to the previous manager.

Being a new manager is the perfect opportunity to make your mark and running an inclusive and effective team meeting is an excellent place to start. Below are some key elements which the research indicates will create a dynamic and purposeful meeting culture.

Have a purpose

Why is the meeting being held? The answers to this question will inform the agenda, structure and style. It helps if the purpose is aligned to the team goals, even in a broad sense. A team meeting is also a perfect opportunity to achieve a lot of things and a chance to catch everyone up on what’s going on in the overall scheme of things – gives the team the big picture context and how this relates to the team.

Set an agenda

If you have a purpose, you need an agenda. This list of things you want to cover will determine how much time can be spent on each item. If an item on the agenda requires more time than is available, it needs to be prioritised, moved to the next meeting or given a meeting of its own. Regular meetings also help provide focus and momentum for the team.

Stay on time

Meetings need to start on time and finish on time. Avoid recapping for people who are late, as this indicates that lateness is OK. Update them after the meeting. Timeliness also relates to following the agenda and being purposeful.

Take minutes (distribute promptly)

Someone should be assigned to take minutes at every meeting (ideally someone different each time). The minutes provide a record of what was discussed and agreed. They help keep everyone in the team aligned and set tasks and time frames for action items.

Create a mindful environment

We don’t mean integrating meditation into your meetings. This simply means making sure everyone is aware and, in the moment, not distracted and wandering mentally. One effective way of doing this is to implement ‘no phone’ periods when discussing the most essential items on the agenda. By doing this you’ll ensure that every minute of the meeting counts toward achieving outcomes.

Paint the bigger picture

Always provide people with a fundamental understanding of where the business is going. Don’t just provide a cursory statement like, “Everything’s good”. Go into detail. The better informed your team, the better decisions they’ll make. Avoid the temptation to launch into long diatribes with too much information. Remember, it’s about getting the broader view.

Encourage participation

A simple way to do this is to have different team members lead the meeting. It’s important that this role is voluntary, so people are in their comfort zone or do so due to a desire to grow and develop in this area. Create a safe environment to encourage contribution. When team members are invited to share ideas, different perspectives emerge. Don’t be quick to shoot new ideas down and commend participants when they volunteer their thoughts.

Celebrate successes

Team meetings provide an excellent opportunity to acknowledge successes for the whole team and individual contributions. Team members are more likely to proactively contribute to tasks and roles if their contribution is valued and appreciated. It doesn’t always need to be a big deal, a simple thanks for specific rather than general contributions will usually do. The key is to be genuine and specific – that way it feels personal.

Make it fun

A simple way of building and maintaining rapport within the team is to have some fun together. Although team meetings need to be purposeful, having personality, a few laughs and celebrating successes all contribute to the effectiveness of a team meeting and connection between team members.

These suggestions and recommendations need to be adopted within the context of your work environment and how your teams and structures are organised. Don’t discount good ideas from team members around what would work well for your meetings. The key is to make the meetings relevant and give them your flavour – it’s a great way to establish your own management style.

Why good leadership leads to equality in the workplace

Today’s society features many global citizens. People who lived in multiple countries, speak several languages and embody different cultures. In 2019 alone, more than 100,000 migrants arrived in New Zealand. That’s why diversity matters. It brings out the best in everyone and unlocks what no one person or group could achieve alone.

On Friday, 6 March 2020, IML ANZ hosted our first International Women’s Day event in Auckland. It was a morning of informed discussion about the importance of equality in the workplace, the strategies that organisations can employ and the leadership that must underpin all these activities.

We had the chance to chat with one of the event panellists, Jacqueline Parekh CMgr FIML. She is currently the Strategic Projects Lead at Asahi Beverages and before that held a senior manager role in the field of talent and organisation with Accenture. Parekh is also a Chartered Manager, one of the first to be accredited in New Zealand.

She shared her thoughts on transitioning from a technical expert and becoming a leader, the qualities of a good leader and why she is hopeful about the future of gender equality in New Zealand.

Not just a piece of the pie

Parekh recalls that it was when she became the manager of other managers that she fully understood the crux of her role.

“Once you start to assume a management role, that’s when you’ll realise that it’s not just about competency – understanding your subject matter and executing it with excellence by then should be a given. It becomes more about rallying, motivating and coaching people to realise a goal or ambition that they otherwise wouldn’t have done by themselves,” she says.

Revealing a fondness for analysis, Parekh explains the perfect illustration for this transition. “Think of your career as a pie chart. When you start, a larger slice of the pie naturally focuses on establishing sound technical competence in your subject matter specialty,” she points out.

“But as you grow in your career, what you’ll find increasingly is cultivating leadership skills like coaching, mentoring, facilitating, resolving conflict, communicating — basically managing people – becomes the larger slice of the pie. This is the time where you realise you need to pivot from being a doer to a leader.

Good leadership underpins diversity and inclusion

Creating diverse and inclusive workplaces must start with leaders. According to Parekh, leaders must display certain qualities to influence a change in their team’s behaviour. Her top two includes:

  • Integrity. Parekh believes whether it’s giving proper credit for accomplishments, acknowledging mistakes, or putting safety and quality first, great leaders exhibit integrity at all times. They do what’s right, even if that isn’t the best thing for the current project or even the bottom line.
  • Self-awareness. Parekh reaffirms that this quality is one of the core components of emotional intelligence and has been cited as the most important quality for leaders to adopt. She is a firm believer of removing any blind spots that prevent you from improving as a manager and leader. Leaders must understand where their natural inclinations lie and use this knowledge to boost or compensate for them. In fact, she believes highly self-aware leaders lead higher-performing organisations.

On a positive path towards equality

Parekh counts herself lucky for joining organisations, like Asahi, that have a clear focus on equality. “Right from my first job as a graduate, it was clear to me that these organisations I’ve been a part of base their hiring decisions on merit,” she explains.

“They weren’t just interested in my achievements or whom I’ve worked for but asked many questions around cultural fit based on my experiences and personality. I could see that they wanted the richness that diversity alone brings.”

For example, Parekh’s current employer, Asahi Beverages annually review and report the gender pay gap which, as of September 2019 was around 3% against the WGEA average of 14%.

Her previous organisation, Accenture, set two clear goals: first, to achieve a gender-balanced workforce by 2025 and second, to increase the diversity of their leadership by growing the percentage of women managing directors to at least 25% by the end of 2020.

So Parekh remains positive about the future of gender equality in New Zealand. And with good reason. In 2020, New Zealand ranked 7th in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report.

“Empowering equality is not only morally right but economically smart,” Parekh explains.

Parekh concludes that we can see the numerous benefits resulting from a truly equal society. “Be it in employment, leadership or legislation, when we take on a more diverse outlook, we always put ourselves a step up higher than before.”

Managers and leaders of Australia and New Zealand; this is your time to SHINE

By David Pich CMgr FIML

IML ANZ Chief Executive

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Ironically, this saying is a modern iteration of an observation from ancient Greek physician Hippocrates’: ‘for modern diseases, extreme methods of cure are most suitable’. And here we are in 2020, deep into a thoroughly modern crisis that is caused by a thoroughly modern disease. We must – quite rightly – leave the medical response in terms of methods of cure and prevention to the experts (and I pause to give a shout-out those at the frontline of COVID-19 who deserve all honours and awards for their efforts).

Other than fully following the instructions of the medical experts, as managers and leaders, what should our own approach be? What should managers and leaders do in the new normal that is COVID-19? Be the experts at leading well.

I say to all managers and leaders; this is your time. It’s your time to lead. It’s your time to apply the skills that you’ve learnt – those totally misnamed ‘soft skills’ that aren’t actually soft at all but are extremely ‘hard’. These are the skills that you’ve been honing, working on, reading about, watching YouTube clips about and practising. In your time as a manager and leader you haven’t always got things right, but you’ve done your best and you’ve bounced back each time. Now is your time to bring all of these skills together. It’s your time to SHINE as a manager and a leader.

Here’s how you can make your leadership skills SHINE;

Show vulnerability. This is an extraordinary, once in a generation (at least!) situation that is impacting everyone, personally and professionally. As leaders we’re not expected to be superheroes. We have lives and families too and we’re in the same boat right now as our staff. It’s important to share our own stresses and worries as this helps to normalise the stresses and worries that our staff are currently experiencing.  

Hold regular communications sessions. Regular communication across multiple channels is absolutely crucial, especially when staff are working from home or aren’t always in the normal office environment. It’s up to the leaders to set up these communication lines and to walk the talk by ensuring that you are always on the calls, replying to messages and sending emails. Don’t go missing – ensure that you are very visible. At IML ANZ we have set up an All Staff Hump Day Huddle on Zoom. My leadership team has a WhatsApp Group and all teams have set up eChat Sessions and Microsoft Team groups.

Include your team in decision-making (aka, delegate). The sheer number of decisions that leaders need to make right now is incredibly daunting. The very best thing a leader can do is to share the decision-making load. Involve others in the decisions that need to be made, seek opinion and advice, call out for different views so that you can weigh up the pros and cons of things you are considering. At IML we decided to move staff to a working from home model very early in the COVID-19 outbreak. This decision was a leadership team decision that came about after much discussion and consultation. As the leader you need to facilitate the decision-making process, you don’t need to make all the decisions yourself.

Notice things. This is absolutely key during times like this. It’s critical that as a leader you establish ways for you to know what is happening in your business and amongst your staff. Mental health is likely to be significantly impacted and you need to be checking in and making suggestions to assist staff who are impacted. You’re not expected to be a counsellor or a psychologist. That is best left to the professionals. But you need to have your finger on the pulse of your team so that you can point people who need assistance or advice to the correct resources. One way to do this is to contact people regularly and to ask direct questions, such as; Are you OK? Are you feeling lonely or isolated? Are you struggling with anything right now?

Empower your people to make their own decisions about their own situation. One size doesn’t fit all and the current pandemic will impact different people in your team in different ways. A key role as a leader is to recognise this and to allow people to make the right decision for themselves and their families. What makes you comfortable as a leader might make others feel very stressed. It’s time to apply all the emotional intelligence you can muster.

As a leader, as this crisis unfolds this is your time to SHINE. I’ve included below the first all staff email that I sent to my team this week. Feel free to read, comment below or steal the content. See if you spot the SHINE elements in the email. It’s obviously not perfect, but it might be a good start for leading your team or business through the next few weeks and months.

This is an unprecedented time for managers and leaders. It’s undoubtedly a time of crisis and of considerable confusion. But it’s also an opportunity for managers and leaders to show how absolutely critical sound leadership is. It’s your time to shine and to lead well.

– STARTS –


Subject: CEO Update 1. Please read

 Good morning team

I hope you all had a good weekend. I’m not completely sure what ‘good’ means anymore, but at a very base level – I hope you’re all well and feeling healthy.

First, I want to apologise to the entire team. I was a little quiet last week. I did speak to each of the GMs many times, but I quite literally didn’t have time to write this All-Staff email. On a personal note, Eileen and I are having our house renovated. The entire back of the house has been removed (including the whole kitchen). On Monday last week, the builders accidently cut through the sewer line in the back garden. As a result we’ve been without a kitchen, washing machine and toilet all week. It hasn’t been pretty!

On top of that, many of you will know that I’m the President of my kids’ school Parents & Citizens Association. The P&C employs 25 staff, all on casual contracts. If (when!) the school closes these 25 staff will likely lose their income. I spent much of last week trying to find a solution to this very sticky issue. The announcement yesterday that schools in NSW, VIC and ACT will close from tomorrow makes it more likely that Queensland will follow suit sometime soon. My own kids (Pearl and Olive) are no longer in school from today – this is a personal decision that Eileen and I have made based on our own reading of the situation and the experience of other countries. For example, Germany closed all schools two weeks ago.

That phrase ‘personal decision’ is really key, and other than to say ‘hello’ to you all, it’s the reason for this email. I want to say this …

These are uniquely difficult and different times for everyone at IML. Everyone is impacted by the current situation, but of course different IML staff members are impacted in different ways. Some people have kids, others don’t. Some have medical issues, whilst others don’t. Some staff live alone, others live with family or in shared accommodation. On top of all of this, we all have our own personal concerns, anxieties and responses to the COVID-19 situation. My personal response might be very different to yours. And my decisions and actions based on that response will also be both personal and different.

So, and here’s the point (sorry it took me so long to get to it!), every IML staff member must make a personal decision about what they will do. This includes – but isn’t limited to; childcare arrangements, living with family members, locations etc. All I ask is that you let your manager or GM know what you’re doing. Communication is key in all of this. But, fundamentally, you are empowered to make decisions based on your own personal views and circumstances.

It’s always good to give examples, so here’s a couple to illustrate what I’m talking about.

Example 1. You have kids and you decide to keep them home from school / childcare where normally you would drop the off and then head to work or work from home. IML totally understands this and supports your decision. Family and health comes first. Please let your manager know that you’ll be less available due to the change in circumstances at home.

Example 2. You live alone and you think it would be better if you went to live with your parents during this time. IML totally understands this and supports your decision. Family and health comes first, Please let your manager know where you’ll be and what the change in location might mean to your working from home situation. IML will then assist with any technology issues you might encounter.

As I’ve said, communication is key and I’ve asked all GM’s to ensure that all teams are talking across various channels (email, Zoom, WhatsApp etc). I also want to ensure that no one at IML is any more stressed than they need to be at this time. If anything at all is concerning you, please do get in touch with your GM, with HR or with me personally. My eDoor (yep that’s a thing these days!) is always open.

To emphasise my point again, you must do what’s right for you, your health and your family at the moment. Of course, it’s important to keep the IML business running, albeit in a very different format. We’re all empowered to ‘do our best’ in what are very unusual and difficult circumstances.

As an example, today I’m planning to pop to KMART first thing to buy some games and puzzles for the kids. Then I’m spending an hour reading with Olive. Then I’m writing a couple of IML articles (Yes, it’s happening, Whitney!). Then I’m doing some (very) simple maths with Pearl for an hour. She’s 9 and I’ve realised that Year 3 Maths is way beyond my capability.  

This is how my days are going to look for a few weeks – I and the leadership team fully support however your days will look.

Finally, I do want to say this; if you’re feeling unwell, please let your GM know (as well as following medical procedures). We need to keep an eye on each other and look out for each other, even from afar.

Sam will be setting up an All Staff Huddle later this week. It’ll be great to chat to everyone and see / hear how everyone is doing.

Have a great day 😊

Dave

-ENDS –

Please don’t hesitate to contact me or the Institute of Managers and Leaders Australia and New Zealand if there is anything we can do to assist you or your teams through these tough times.

David Pich

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.

Beyond fulfilment: How to keep teams motivated

When employees reach a peak of self-fulfilment and growth, how do you help them to stay motivated? Could there be more to fulfilment than simply achieving personal bests? More importantly for managers and leaders, how does keeping your employees impact your business?

Motivated employees are undeniably valuable. Findings from IML ANZ’s latest National Salary Survey (NSS), show that keeping engagement and motivation levels up is vital. NSS respondents revealed that the single most important human capital challenge they believe would add the most value to their organisation is motivating employees (53%).

Compound that with the fact that the NSS shows a slightly upward trend in voluntary staff turnover. Moreover, what’s the top reason for leaving a job? Employees are looking for a new challenge (72%). So, keeping your teams motivated is not just about getting them to be their best; it is also best for your business.

However, when an employee has achieved much on their own, is it still possible to keep them challenged, excited about the work and motivated to do their best?

Here are some ways to achieve this:

 

Maslow’s sixth level of motivation

Most of us are familiar with Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. At the apex of the five-stage peak is self-actualisation or the realisation of self-fulfilment and peak personal achievements. What is not as widely known is that later in his life, Maslow added a sixth level to his hierarchy of needs – intrinsic values. This involves supporting a cause beyond individual success.

How to harness it: Leaders must help all employees, including high-achievers, to understand how they play a part in the greater purpose of the organisation. Who does your organisation help? How does it contribute to society? Keep them focused beyond self-actualisation to help them stay motivated.

 

The value of teamwork

Staying motivated after achieving much as an individual doesn’t mean high-performing employees won’t appreciate team-led wins. Never underestimate the power of collaboration and great working relationships between colleagues. As social beings, humans always enjoy the sense of working together to overcome an obstacle, reach a goal or even assisting each other when times are tough.

How to harness it: Encourage open communication between teams and within teams. Use technology to open up lines of communication by starting a team chat group. Help your employees get to know each other not just as colleagues but as people – develop real connections by organising social activities. Celebrate successes as a team too.

 

Empowering others

A sense of motivation can be sapped if one feels that they are held back from making decisions. To help keep good performers engaged, display trust in their abilities.

How to harness it: Let your team members make the call on decisions that they know best. Avoid crushing their motivation by making them feel they are powerless when it comes to their own projects.

By emphasising how they contribute to the organisation’s purpose, fostering a healthy team environment and empowering your team members, you’ll keep even the highest achievers motivated to give their best.

Sources:

IML ANZ Members can access these articles via Leadership Direct.

Smart play is a serious team-building strategy

By Lisa Calautti

 

Richard Shrapnel is amongst only a small handful of Lego® Serious Play® Facilitators in Australia. Lego® Serious Play® involves using Lego bricks to bring together leaders and their staff to unite them in problem-solving to help create a cohesive business approach.

 

Building blocks of better business

Shrapnel strongly believes this is an effective tool to help develop better business strategy. He came across Lego® Serious Play® in 2002 via an article in AFR Boss reviewing CUB’s use of the method. He completed the facilitator’s course in Enfield, Connecticut, USA in 2003 and again in 2011, this time in Singapore, learning about the program’s methodology and science.

Shrapnel says the method is particularly popular in Asia, the USA and Europe. “In Australia the typical response I get is, ‘But this is a toy and it’s play and therefore it’s not serious!’”

It is a statement which Shrapnel can easily counter. He is passionate about this Lego method as a valuable learning technique and its power in getting people to use their left and right brains to bring creative logic together and their imagination to create stories around an image they build. “It actually allows you to tap into thoughts which you would otherwise not consider and to be far more creative,” he explains.

 

Serious play in action

Lego® Serious Play® workshops last from a half day up to three days and have been popular amongst medium-to-large corporations, not-for-profit organisations as well as religious groups. A typical workshop begins by proposing an individual activity, for example, ‘build your dream job’.

“It’s getting people used to expressing themselves through building a model and once they are comfortable with that you then come back to the business side,” Shrapnel says. “The tool and methodology allow people to communicate at a level that they otherwise would not be able to reach, and to build an outcome that they can then take away as a combined group. That is the power of it.”

As the workshop progresses and attendees are comfortable with using the specially selected Lego bricks, they come together to form a single model as a team to begin a narrative of their business. It is at this stage participants can see environmental factors around the model and their impact.

“Here’s your part of the business, here’s my part of the business and that is the market. These are the competitors, the technology … all impacting what we do. And because it is now a 3D model, it’s very rich and you walk around it and look at it from a different angle.”

As it is built, each person not only tells their story, but everyone tells a new combined story. “Every person speaks to the model explaining this is our story, our business, and how we will be effective and achieve the outcomes we seek.”

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

Six ways leaders can inspire 21st century employees

By Sam Bell FIML

 

Many leaders struggle to inspire others. Yet, according to a survey conducted by Bain Research, employees are more than twice as productive if they are ‘satisfied’ employees. This suggests leaders who can inspire might provide a powerful competitive edge for their organisations.

In a similar vein, Harvard Business School gathered data from the assessments of more than 50,000 leaders, and the ability to inspire stood out as one of the most important competencies. It was the single trait that created the highest levels of staff engagement, and it separated the best leaders from everyone else. Crucially, it was what most employees wanted to see in their leaders.

Underscoring the importance of inspirational leadership inside workplaces, Gallup identified in their State of the Global Workplace report that 51% of employees are unengaged in their work and 17% are actively disengaged. This means that, on average, only 32% of employees are actively engaged in the workplace. Ultimately, organisations cannot survive or perform well with statistics like these.

 

TWO TYPES OF INSPIRATIONAL LEADER

I believe inspirational leaders can be placed in two distinct categories. Firstly, there are leaders who inspire a diverse population of people whom they have never physically met. These are usually leaders in their field – sport, politics, military and business – whom people admire because of their vision, their struggle, their achievements or their failures. Perhaps the most highly acclaimed inspirational figure of recent times who falls into this category is Nelson Mandela. People admire his lifetime of struggle and leadership for his nation on becoming President. Whilst most of us never met the man, we felt inspired by his journey.

In the second category are the people you know and see every day who give you the inspiration to do better in your daily life. This category of inspiration is by far the most important in my opinion. These people might be your family, friends, colleagues and yes, your workplace managers and leaders. It’s these ‘everyday people’ who give you a vision to be better, to improve, and who provide a purpose in life. These leaders understand the shadow they cast over others and ensure that, within their shadow, people know where they are going and the role they are playing to get there.

Today’s workplace leaders in this second category often lack the playbook to inspire today’s workforce, which is increasingly made up of employees who expect more meaning and value from their workplace. Where today’s leaders have typically cut their teeth in the workplace of the 20th century, today’s employees are increasingly products of the 21st century! The critical question when solving this leadership dilemma is: how do today’s ‘everyday leaders’ inspire the people they lead?

 

SIX WAYS LEADERS CAN INSPIRE OTHERS

  1. Be passionate about the vision and mission. Sharing a vision and mission in a way that enables others to feel passionate is a useful starting point when inspiring staff. The vision and the mission provide essential anchors for empowering others to feel that their work has a purpose and meaning beyond everyday tasks. When a leader communicates the big picture regularly it can assist in reinforcing why the organisation exists.
  2. Listen to your employees. People need to see their ideas being incorporated into the team and into the organisation and/or they need to understand the reasons they weren’t adopted. The ability to inspire others is not only about doing; it’s about listening and explaining.
  3. Make people feel included. Feeling inspired is about feeling connected to the actions and processes that lead to the achievement of the organisation’s goals or to the decisions made. When a leader includes people in the decision-making process they feel a sense of ownership of that decision.
  4. Demonstrate integrity. While vision and passion are important, employees must also trust a leader. Trust stems from seeing that a leader’s behaviour is aligned to what they say. They speak and live by their values and behave ethically. Leaders set the pace through expectations and example.
  5. Establish an environment of continuous improvement. This includes providing opportunities for employees to grow and develop, both personally and professionally, and can be achieved by setting goals and targets, allowing for secondments to other parts of the business, establishing special projects or encouraging further study.
  6. Recognise achievement. While financial reward is undoubtedly a significant motivator, recognition plays a vital role in making employees feel important and appreciated. Indeed, research has shown that a key source of inspiration for employees is speaking directly to them about the value of their work to the organisation.

 

It’s vital for workplace leaders to remember the influence they have over others. Take action to become an inspirational leader. Someone is always watching.

Leading Well book
This is an edited extract from IML ANZ’s latest book, Leading Well: 7 attributes of very successful leaders (Major Street Publishing, A$34.95).

The book highlights seven attributes that ignite inspiring leadership. It focuses squarely on the personal attributes that can transform managers into leaders and good leaders into great leaders.

Order your copy here.

 

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