Is your workplace safe enough for teamwork?

In recent years, workplaces have shown a strong commitment towards workplace health and safety. Although physical risk at work is the lowest it has ever been, psychological safety has traditionally taken a backseat in terms of organisational priorities.

Psychological safety refers to the comfort of individuals to speak up about ideas, questions and mistakes without a fear of being punished or humiliated. For organisations that want to capitalize on the value of high performing teams, it is evident that they need to ramp up their commitment to building psychological safety.

This article will take a look at simple ways to promote a psychologically safe work environment for all employees.

Leadership

Unfortunately, leaders seem to be a major culprit for creating a less psychologically safe work environment. Why? As leaders, sometimes it can be hard to admit that you are wrong or that your opinion may not be as good as someone else’s. However, leaders who refuse to show any signs of vulnerability inevitably instill this expectation onto the rest of their workforce.

To prevent this misconception from constraining team performance, it is encouraged that leaders ask for feedback from their team, acknowledge their mistakes and show a genuine interest in calling on others for ideas.

Discussion space

There are numerous ways to promote a more psychologically safe space for team discussions. In particular, it is important to consider the types of materials encouraged and discouraged in the planning space.

For example, phones and technological devices can encourage member distraction, particularly in initial meetings. This can lead to less active listening by team members and can also make team members feel humiliated when they are sharing their ideas. As such, it is recommended that during initial discussions, technological devices are discouraged.

Another way of promoting psychological safety in team discussions is by holding discussions in a small meeting room. Small meeting rooms can create an impression of a more supportive team environment as it promotes more inclusive body language and reduces the risk of distraction.

Self-awareness training

Another method for reducing the risk of psychologically unsafe team work is self-awareness training. By encouraging team members to understand the perceptions of their personality in a team environment, they can understand the responses of other team members and adapt their behaviours accordingly.

One popular model for developing an understanding of an individual’s personality is the ‘Five Factor Model’. This model evaluates personality based on five key traits: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. By evaluating where each team member sits in this model, team members can tailor their communication style to support their colleagues.

The building blocks of a high performing team

It sounds silly to treat teamwork like it’s Lego; however, effective teams can be built based on a few key building blocks. These building blocks are best described in Pac MacMillan’s (2001) ‘High Performance Team Model’. According to this model, the building blocks of a high performing team are: effective communication, common purpose, accepted leadership, effective processes and solid relationships. This article will take a look at why each of these blocks are significant to team success.

Effective communication

Effective communication is essential for team settings for multiple reasons. Firstly, it is required for healthy debate about topics so that more thorough options can be explored. Secondly, it assists in building the credibility of team members as everyone is able to better contribute towards the team project and understand the requirements of the tasks they are assigned. Finally, effective communication within a team assists prompt decision making so that projects can be completed quicker.

Common purpose

Having a common purpose in a team setting sets the scene for willful cooperation. In a study by Tarricone and Luca in 2002, it was found that having a team that was committed to common goals was essential in developing the accountability of team members as well as boosting their engagement in the project.

Accepted leadership

In organisational settings, sometimes teams are reluctant to assign a team project leader as team members like to feel equal. Sometimes personal motivations can be what comes in the way of this, such as a competitive work environment and desire to stand out to management. However, all personal motivations aside, accepted leadership is essential for team projects as it promotes project productivity, quick decisions, clear deadlines and healthy cooperation.

Effective processes

Effective processes lay out the method of cooperation in team settings. Different team projects may have different processes that are more effective; consequently, this is an important discussion for members to have at their first meeting. Processes may include the regularity of team meetings, how the team communicates with each other and shares information or how work is allocated and reviewed. By having clear processes suited to the specific project, there is less room for error and productivity is enhanced.

Solid relationships

As much as we would love for all team members to have solid relationships with one another, this is not always achievable in workplace settings. As such, organisations are increasingly focusing on the ability of individuals to work in teams when making recruitment decisions through the usage of psychometric testing and values-based interviewing. By building a workforce that is able to effectively manage relationships in team environments, communication is strengthened, misunderstandings are reduced, conflict is prevented and team agility is enhanced.

So there we have the five key building blocks to high performing teams. Can you identify which one of these blocks may be preventing your team from reaching its full potential?

Reference:

http://www.unice.fr/crookall-cours/teams/docs/team%20Successful%20teamwork.pdf

Privcore’s Annelies Moens – global thought leader and Chartered Manager

By Jade Collins in Female Leaders

When it comes to leaders in protection and defence, uniformed heroes on the front line could be the first to spring to mind. In the increasingly digitised world, however, often forgotten and overlooked are the unsung protectors and champions who defend our data privacy.

Annelies Moens CMgr FIML has been instrumental in shaping the privacy profession. Managing million dollar portfolios, her work has protected our personal information and data within the public, private and not for profit sectors. Annelies’ passion for privacy is increasingly sought as our societies, legislators and leaders decide what values and ethics we want to embed into our technology and regulation.

As we develop more connected data ecosystems, and grapple with the fear of losing control of our personal information, Annelies’s work is invaluable. From her time on the front lines of data protection, Annelies has first hand knowledge of the significant, long term impacts to individuals and businesses of data breaches.

As a global thought leader, Annelies Co-founded the Australian and New Zealand industry membership body iappANZ in 2008 and was on the Board of Directors for 6 years, ultimately serving as President.

Annelies’ commitment to investing in her leadership development has meant that in addition to being a qualified lawyer and international MBA graduate, she has become one of the first Chartered Managers in Australia.

YOU HAVE TRANSITIONED YOUR CAREER A NUMBER OF TIMES, AND RECENTLY STARTED YOUR OWN BUSINESS. TELL US WHAT LED YOU TO BECOMING A PRIVACY AND DATA EXPERT.

I started my privacy career in 2001 with a background in IT and law. Back then there were no careers in privacy. I initially applied for an exciting role at the privacy regulator. There I managed teams of auditors and investigators, resolving disputes between individuals whose data had been compromised, and big business and government. It was a very niche area and not many people understood its importance and impact.

Today it is different. Every day we are all impacted in some way, and stories abound in the media about privacy. Just consider the impact of the Facebook Cambridge Analytica issue on peoples’ perception of how data is used and disclosed. Consider electronic health records and their potential uses or abuses, automated decision making in everyday transactions, use of third party cloud service providers to store our data, deployment of facial biometrics at airports, and the list goes on.

With the development of the privacy discipline, a few privacy pioneers including myself created a professional membership body for privacy professionals in Australia and New Zealand in 2008, called the iappANZ. As a Founding Board Director and later President, we established in the region a highly successful membership organisation that has advanced and developed the privacy profession.

After several years managing privacy consultants in Australia, I now consult internationally. My vision is to make privacy core business – a discipline which will become as integral to business as the Chief Financial Officer. After all, much of the value of a company’s business is in the data.

HOW SHOULD INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANISATIONS BE PROTECTING AND GOVERNING THEIR DATA, AND WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO HAVE IN PLACE?

Most organisations are custodians of customer data. How they manage it impacts the level of trust in commerce generally and the level of trust customers have with that organisation, whether it is a private business, government or not for profit. How do organisations handle complaints and deal with data breaches? What do they do with customer data? How organisations manage data can rapidly become an ecosystem problem if not done well. Those with weak security and privacy practices reduce trust for everybody.

As such, managers and leaders need to consider how data is governed in their organisations and what they can do to help build trust, by considering culture, risk management frameworks, accountability, key indicators and relationships with regulators.

Individuals can also help protect themselves and their data by implementing two-factor authentication which these days is very simple to use. There are multiple great free options usable with a wide range of email and social media providers, and other service providers. Individuals need to challenge businesses and government when they feel their data is not being managed in line with their expectations. Businesses and government need to be transparent with how their customers’ data is processed.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?

Helping to shape and influence a growing privacy profession, which is going to become increasingly important as our societies, legislators, managers and leaders decide what values and ethics we want to build into our technology and regulation, as we develop more connected data ecosystems.

WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO PURSUE THE CHARTERED MANAGER ACCREDITATION WITH THE INSTITUTE OF MANAGERS AND LEADERS?

For more than 15 years I have had a strong connection with IML. My journey with IML started when it was called the Australian Institute of Management, and I decided to undertake the mini MBA they offered. The Chartered Manager Accreditation was introduced in Australia in mid-2017, after 10 years operation in the United Kingdom.

I was one of the first in Australia to undertake the accreditation. It was a way to recognise my management and leadership expertise, as well as evaluate where I was in my journey at the time. Particularly, it was invaluable when I was undertaking a potential management buyout process in 2017.

Having a third party assess and provide objective feedback helps determine whether you are on the right management and leadership track, and what, if any, changes you may need to make. I am a strong believer in continuous personal development and learning, and have instilled that in all the teams I have led.

IN WHAT WAY HAS ACHIEVING INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNISED CHARTERED MANAGER STATUS IMPACTED YOUR LEADERSHIP JOURNEY?

The greater recognition of achieving Chartered Manager status affords opportunities to help others. As your leadership journey is recognised and valued, you are given opportunities to help others and provide advice.

WHAT’S ONE PIECE OF ADVICE FOR FUTURE FEMALE LEADERS?

Define what success means to you holistically. Don’t worry about what others think is successful as it is different for everyone. Know what you want and take risks. Believe in yourself and hold your own values no matter the pressure. Open yourself to opportunities and continue to learn – we live in a time of continuing rapid change.

To find out more about Chartered Manager, visit charteredmanager.com.au.

The best manager I ever had

Behind every great leader is a manager who offered inspiration and mentorship. We talk with four leaders to discover the best managers they ever had.

By Nicola Field

Holding the reins loosely Kristen Turnbull, Director of CoreData WA, doesn’t hesitate in nominating Andrew Inwood, founder and principal of CoreData, as the best manager she has ever worked for.

“He’s not just a good manager. Andrew is a great leader,” says Turnbull.

Turnbull began working with Inwood nine years ago when CoreData was in its infancy. It was a big change for her, as she was making a career switch out of journalism and into financial services research.

From the start Inwood stood out as an exceptional leader. “I’ve had good managers before,” says Turnbull. “But Andrew really wanted me to succeed and took the time to understand what makes me tick.” Guided by his example, Turnbull recognises the need to know her own team and keep lines of communication open. “We all have external stresses, and when you truly know your people it’s a lot easier to help them manage external issues that may be impacting their professional life.”

She says Inwood demonstrates genuine interest in his staff, and one particular instance really stands out. “One December I casually mentioned to Andrew that I’d lost my sunglasses. When Christmas rolled around, he handed out gifts to all the staff – and my present was a gift voucher for a new pair of sunglasses. It really highlighted how he listened and cared.”

More than helping her transition into a new career, he encouraged an investment in her personal brand. “Education is very important to him,” notes Turnbull. “And he suggested that I complete a Masters of Business Administration (MBA).”

What was remarkable was the no-strings-attached support provided.

“The company funded my MBA, which is an investment worth tens of thousands of dollars. Even more amazingly, there was no lock-in attached – no formal expectation that I would remain with the company, even after I had completed my MBA.”

For Turnbull, Inwood’s willingness to invest in her as an employee has created a tremendous sense of loyalty to both her leader and CoreData. Six years into the role, this two-way street bore fruit. Expecting her second child and keen to be closer to family in Perth, she approached Inwood about relocating from Sydney to Western Australia. She acknowledges that Perth was not a strategic market for CoreData, but both she and Andrew were willing to turn the move into an opportunity.

Turnbull admits, “Andrew really put his faith in me and let me spearhead CoreData’s entry into the Perth market. Andrew talks about ‘holding the reins loosely’, and by trusting me to build the Perth office, he has encouraged me to share that same approach with my own team – letting them know that support is there if it’s needed but otherwise giving them space to achieve independent success.”

Today, CoreData WA is thriving, and a little over a year ago Turnbull became an equity stakeholder in the business, a step that was especially noteworthy for her. “In previous roles I only felt valued when I had one foot out the door. Andrew has taught me to reward my people in the moment and acknowledge their value today.”

Looking back, Turnbull observes, “Having an outstanding leader has shown me the value of being willing to invest in my own people. It helps them grow – and ultimately that helps the business grow.”

Firm but approachable 

Mark Hayball CMgr FIML, General Manager at RCS Telecommunications in Brisbane, says he didn’t directly work under the best manager he has encountered. Rather it was someone who worked in a different area of the business. He explains: “I wasn’t aware at the time that he was monitoring my progress. It was only much later that I connected the dots.”

According to Hayball, the light bulb moment came when he was nominated to attend in-house leadership training. “I didn’t know who had nominated me,” he says. “I later discovered it was this particular manager. After that I became much more aware of him and his management style.”

What especially impressed was the “firm but approachable” style of the manager involved. “I was in the early stages of my career, and I didn’t really know what management was all about. I wasn’t getting a great deal of leadership from my direct managers, and I was focusing on the technical process. This manager took a very different approach. He was more about engaging people, understanding individuals and what they needed to perform well.”

The absence of bias also left an impression. “I saw a sincere commitment to people in this manager. And he never showed bias to any one particular person.”

Those observations have had a lasting impact on Hayball. “Being able to recognise where staff need help, and giving them opportunities to seek recognition, are essential skills of a good manager.”

These days, it is “ingrained” in Hayball to support his team and offer recognition. It’s also become a two-way street. Mark developed a self-assessment tool for his staff to provide feedback on him as a manager. “It’s a wake-up call!” he says, though he adds that this is fundamental in developing trust. “Senior managers need to be able to guide others, but it’s also essential to be able to receive feedback and not take it personally. One of the biggest challenges facing senior managers is that they don’t let others in, so there is no real opportunity for self-reflection.”

Resilience and emotional intelligence

Aletia Fysh, Head of Marketing at Community First Credit Union in Sydney, says that throughout her career she has benefitted from the support of several good managers, and has distilled the best learnings from each into her own leadership style.

One manager in particular taught Fysh the value of brainstorming the rules of engagement with a team as a whole, so that everyone is on the same page. She notes: “When you set clear expectations it is far easier to explain to team members ‘we agreed to do this’ if things don’t go according to plan.” She adds that it is critical for the team to collectively develop these rules. “When everyone takes part in setting the rules it’s more likely each person will take ownership and adhere to the ground rules.”

Fysh says one manager stood out for encouraging leadership and development training. “This particular manager invested in staff – not just to do their roles, but to learn to lead and manage change,” she explains. “I was encouraged to attend courses that were incredibly effective at developing my leadership skills.”

One learning experience stood out in particular. “I attended a course that taught the value of listening to others to gain insights into how they think. It’s then possible to use this knowledge to convey information in a way that each different person is best able to relate to.”

She provides an example: “I was trying to explain to a colleague how we needed to improve our processes. By listening to their response I could see this person wanted numbers and statistics to make sense of what I was saying. Without this, I wasn’t able to influence the team member in the way I wanted. Realising this, I pulled together some key data and statistics, which the person took on board. I could immediately see a big difference in their reaction.”

The value of formal learning has encouraged Fysh to invest in her own team. “I strongly encourage learning and development among my people.” She is quick to point out though that this doesn’t have to mean funding expensive courses. “Development can come from something as simple as teaming a staff member with a peer they can learn from.”

Across the best managers she has worked with, Fysh says a common feature is resilience and mastery of emotional intelligence. “Managers who get overly emotional when things don’t go to plan can have a very destabilising impact on their staff,” observes Aletia. “Resilience matters because if something doesn’t work out, you need to be able to learn from the experience and not take it personally.”

One of the most useful tips Fysh has picked up from a former manager is having monthly one-on-one meetings with each of her team members. “It’s very effective,” notes Aletia. “You only need to ask three questions – ‘What’s going well?’, ‘What’s not going well?’ and ‘What can we do better?’”

According to Fysh, the beauty of this approach is that it empowers team members. “As a leader, people should feel you are open for feedback. At one-on-one meetings I hand the floor to each staff member and they run the dialogue. There is no need to write up notes. It’s about letting your people think through their progress. It’s also a good opportunity for your team to give feedback about you as a manager and leader. And you need to be prepared to take this on board.”

Galvanising a team

Benjamin Brown MIML, Graduate Civil Engineer in Bundaberg, is still in the early years of his career but he is lucky enough to have encountered a great leader in his current manager, Joe Saunders.

One of the key aspects Brown has learned from his manager is the value of culture. Brown explains that Saunders has been in his current role for 12 years and “embodies” the company’s culture: “He works in the way the company is looking for and that’s something the whole team respects as it sets a strong example.”

Brown also says he has benefited from the investment Saunders makes in one-on-one time with team members. “As I move more into a project management role, Joe regularly checks on me,” he says. “That means he can pull me up at an early stage if I am starting to take the wrong direction. I appreciate that he genuinely cares about my progress, and this gives me confidence in my role and what we’re working towards.”

One aspect of Saunders’ style that Brown particularly appreciates is his frankness. “He speaks his mind. It can be confronting at times but by calling things as they are without sugarcoating the issue, I know exactly what needs to be done to get back on track.”

As Brown’s office team expands, he finds himself moving into a project management role. He says, “I now appreciate the value of being able to galvanise a team. Joe is very good at binding everyone together and providing clear team objectives. Having firm objectives across multiple teams working on the same project helps in providing quality outcomes, and this has helped to set our company apart within the market. It’s taught me the value of keeping in touch with individual team members on a regular basis to achieve the highest level of quality with the experience they have.”

Make your mark. Go Chartered.

IML offers the prestigious and globally recognised Chartered Manager designation to leaders in Australia and New Zealand. Have your leadership experience formally recognised through IML today. Contact our Chartered Manager team on 1300 661 061 or email chartered.manager@managersandleaders.com.au

Details online at managersandleaders.com.au/chartered-manager

 

Blending The Four Personality Types of Leadership

You have a great bunch of people, everyone’s working hard, but you’re just not quite hitting the mark as a team. The problem may not lie with the mix of skills but rather the blend of personalities.

 

By Nicola Field

Building a like-minded team can seem like a strategy for success. However, it could leave you short on a key ingredient – a diverse blend of personalities.

As a leader you’re probably aware of the technical strengths and weakness of those who report to you. And you know you need a high calibre group of people. But a strong group isn’t the same as a strong team, and all organisations need the right mix of personalities to achieve maximum productivity.

Are you dominant, or an influencer?

Teams are typically made up of a variety of personality types. This inherently creates scope for friction and even poor performance. The challenge for managers and leaders is not to resolve “personality clashes” but rather to understand the strengths, weaknesses and quirks that each person brings to the table – and help them work together more cohesively.

So what are these personality types? Charles Go MIML, Research Product Manager at the Institute of Managers and Leaders (IML), explains that a key resource for use in this area is a behavioural profiling tool, such as Everything DiSC.

A variety of psychometric tests are available that centre around the DISC concept. They are based on the work of US psychologist William Moulton Marston, who identified four primary emotions and associated behavioural responses. DISC itself is an acronym that reflects the four different personalities of dominance, influencer, steadiness, and conscientious.

A “D” or dominant personality, for instance, is strong willed, outgoing, direct, fast-paced and task-oriented. “I” personalities – the influencers – are sociable, talkative, lively and people-oriented. Those steady “S” personalities are kind-hearted, supportive, accommodating and prefer things to move at a moderate pace. The “C” people on your team are logical, private, cautious and analytical.

Go says that we each have a personality that can broadly be slotted into one of these four categories. However, as complex beings, few of us will fall absolutely into a single category. We aren’t just one style – people tend to be a blend of styles. DISC profiling recognises this. For example, a “CS” personality type may have a cautious disposition, and be careful, soft-spoken, and self-controlled.

Go explains why it is worth knowing where your personality sits within DISC, saying, “Once you find out which category you fall into personally, it is much easier to recognise the different types of personalities within your team.” From here, leaders can form a clearer view about the way their team interacts.

Juggling diverse personalities

A report by the Stanford Graduate School of Business noted that diversity in a team can be a plus. It found the mere presence of diversity – even something as simple as race or gender – can cue differences of opinion. This cueing can enhance a team’s ability to handle conflict. A more homogeneous team, on the other hand, may not be able to handle conflict as well because the team doesn’t expect it.

That said, Go believes having a team filled with, say, D types is not necessarily a bad thing. “It’s easy to assume the team should have a balance of personality types,” he says. “But if one particular personality is dominant it doesn’t mean the team is weak. It can be a strength, because everyone has a similar way of doing things. The key is to look at how you can manage these people as a team.”

It would be easy to assume that leaders need a blend of each personality type, and Go points out that “leaders do need a bit of everything in the sense that in some situations you need to be an influencer, while in others you may need to be more dominant.” This, he believes, is where the value of DISC lies: “It encourages self-reflection as a leader, and makes you aware of situations where you need to think differently”. If you’re a strong D for instance, you might have to make a more conscious effort at moving slowly and methodically on a project than would,
say, an S.

None of us like to feel we can be pigeonholed into a certain personality type. To avoid this, and to allow team members to better understand the dynamics of the group as a whole, DISC testing is typically followed by a debrief session with a trained facilitator. “This helps to create a common language among the team,” says Go. “It also reduces the possibility of individuals being branded as a certain type of personality, and avoids the risk of people looking at their own DISC report in isolation.”

Understanding the personalities on your team can deliver multiple benefits. It helps to build a sense of trust and encourage team members to tap into each other’s skills and experience. It saves time and energy that is otherwise wasted on office politics and conflicts. And cohesive teams are more productive, which can ultimately create a competitive advantage.

Increasing use of psychometric tests

Of course, there is nothing especially new about these sort of psychometric tests. According to Hudson’s The Hiring Report: The State of Hiring in Australia 2015, 54 per cent of senior executives value psychometric testing as part of the recruitment process. And 40 per cent say they’re seeing more psychometric testing being used now than in the past.

What’s different this time around is the recognition that psychometric testing doesn’t have to be limited to the talent acquisition stage. As the Hudson report points out, most senior executives have been through an assessment process themselves and understand the value it can add. Test results help leaders understand more about themselves: who they are, what drives them, and the strengths they can play on.

Having a grasp of what motivates people is one of the most critical levers of leadership – and organisational success. A review of psychometric tests by the London School of Economics and Political Science found that they deliver “significant correlations between personality scales and measures of job performance”. Nonetheless, knowing how to make the most of what you learn from psychometric testing still hinges on your ability to lead and manage people.

Most personality psychologists believe that traits and situations are interactive. This is one reason why DISC can be so helpful — you can learn to adapt your own responses depending on the DISC style of individuals in your team. The bottom line is that as a manager and leader, you may choose not to behave in a way you’re most comfortable with, but instead use one you know will be more effective for your entire team. It takes conscious effort but as the motto for DISC goes: “It’s not all about me. It’s about us.”

About Everything DiSC

Everything DiSC is part of a suite of analytical people tools offered by IML to members and non-members. A number of Everything DiSC tools are available, and depending on the version, an Everything DiSC survey can take as little as 15-20 minutes to complete. It measures personal tendencies and preferences. It does not measure intelligence, aptitude, mental health or values.

For example, the Everything DiSC questionnaire asks about how you respond to challenges, how you influence others, how you respond to rules and procedures, and about your preferred pace of activity. It does not measure every dimension of personality.

Managers are discouraged from completing the test and interpreting the results themselves. Facilitators available to conduct a debrief with follow-up activities. IML’s Charles Go MIML says that learning outcomes tend to be better when smaller groups are involved, but Everything DiSC can work for larger teams of up to 25 people.

Read full details on Everything DiSC at managersandleaders.com.au/people-analytics

Understanding where each team member fits in the work wheel

Leaders can also tap into another important IML resource, the TMS Team Management Profile (TMP). The TMP uses the Margerison-McCann Team Management Wheel to identify the individual’s work preference from eight core activities (starting from the creation of an idea, assessment of the idea, planning and so on).

IML’s Charles Go MIML notes, “The TMP tool works on the theory that when individuals are matched with what they do best, they are more likely to perform at a high level in their role.”

The TMP is based upon self-assessment and identifies where in the eight-stage process each person is best suited. Go adds, “It’s a great way to discover the preferences of each member of the team and enables leaders to successfully and confidently assign people to projects and tasks.”

Full details on the TMP can be read at managersandleaders.com.au/people-analytics

EUROPEAN SKILLS TO AUSTRALIAN SHORES

after Swiss IT expert Gunnar Habitz became a self-described “accidental manager” he chose to undertake professional development in management and leadership.  

story lachlan colquhoun // photograph Girish Verma

 

 the first time Gunnar Habitz CMgr FIML experienced Australia was a picture postcard arrival in Sydney’s Circular Quay on a cruise ship.

“It is one of the most amazing ways to arrive in any city, anywhere in the world,” says the Swiss IT Manager. “I fell in love with the city and from that moment I started to think that it might be somewhere I could consider as my new home. So I decided to give it a try at 40-odd years old, and start this adventure.”

 

That was two years ago, and since then Habitz has acquired permanent residency and a role as a Channel Sales Manager with the IT provider KeepItSafe, a cloud storage and disaster recovery solutions provider.

“I am passionate about the transformation of modern workplaces to embrace new ways of collaboration,” he says.

“I am convinced that cloud-based tools, mobility and artificial intelligence enable these trends, so I consult and guide my audience as a trusted advisor along the change journey, to prepare them for a connected tomorrow.”

 

He sees the Australian ICT industry as an ideal test market for innovative technologies and services.

“One of the reasons I moved to Sydney in 2016 was to apply my European experience in the cloud to sunny Australia,” he says.

The move came after two decades working in various roles in the IT industry, and more than a decade at Hewlett-Packard in Switzerland, from where he managed sales teams covering Central Eastern Europe.

 

“It was not my initial intention to become a leader, it happened after I became an IT expert, so I am what you would call an accidental manager,” says Habitz.

“I also led the team remotely. My team included 32 people but they were spread over 29 countries, and although I spent 90 days a year staying in hotels on the road, most of the communication happened using virtual communication.

“I found I needed a variable skill set to make that happen and use my visionary and participative leadership styles. I never said to people they had to do things the same way we do things in Switzerland, because I realised the market developments were quite different.”

 

One of Habitz’s goals on moving to Australia was to attend formal management and leadership training, especially as Australia has a reputation for outstanding education programs.

While he had acquired Advanced Business Studies in Zürich on top of his Master of Computer Science and had done in-house leadership trainings at Hewlett-Packard, he felt he lacked formal education in leadership.

Upon his arrival in Australia he finished an Advanced Diploma of Leadership and Management at the Australian Institute of Management and has become a Chartered Manager and Fellow via IML as a commitment to further develop and improve his skills.

 

In approaching his leadership journey, Habitz is guided by a belief that “the world needs more leaders who are not just managers.”

“At the moment I am in a small team and while I am not the manager from an official point of view, I do try to lead with experience and [by] example,” he says.

“This is something that we don’t see enough of in the world — but we need more of it.

“Companies are reducing management layers and smaller start-ups have very flat structures, so the individuals need leadership skills as well to develop towards sustainable success.”

 

Habitz is also driven by a personal credo of management which comprises a series of “i” words. They are inspiration, influence, impact, improve, interest … and imperfect.

Why imperfect? He believes leaders need to understand that no one is perfect. Habitz also draws a distinction between management and leadership: “Simply speaking, a manager is managing processes while a leader is leading people,” he says.

It is a view reflected in his approach to the IT industry where he uses a Sydney Harbour analogy, inspired by his arrival in Australia, to explain the difference:

“Like the Sydney Harbour Bridge covers two important parts of the city, I combine the technical with the business side,”
says Habitz.

 

“As International Sales Manager across European countries, I learnt to adopt quickly to different cultures.

“Now it is great for me to apply that learning on the diversity in the Australian marketplace. The people-to-people business culture helped me to further develop myself to become a strategic networker using modern skills like social selling and virtual leadership.”   

 

 

 

Curious about how IML Membership works, and what it costs? Visit managersandleaders.com.au/join-iml/ to find out more

 

3 PRINCIPLES TO ENSURE LEADERS DELIVER ON PROMISES

Without integrity, discipline and the ability to implement excellence, leaders will fail to  deliver on the promises they make.

by PROFESSOR DANNY SAMSON

 

Effective leaders lead by example and are true to their commitments. They deliver on their promises and, in doing so, set standards for others to follow. When leaders say one thing but do another, the organisation will suffer. On the flipside, when our staff see us as achieving and delivering on our agreed commitments, then they will follow suit.

I have been fortunate to study firsthand many of the world’s best companies, and observe what their leaders do to achieve their industry leadership. The common principles I’ve observed are integrity and discipline. They were strongly connected to a third key principle which was implementation excellence.

 

Principle 1: Integrity

Integrity boils down to openness, honesty and truth-telling. In great organisations, leaders deliver on their promises. They treat all stakeholders with respect and find ways to create mutual value for all parties. Organisations such as HP, Toyota, BHP and ABB are justifiably admired for always striving to take the high road on integrity. (Judging by what we have seen recently during the banking Royal Commission, the same cannot be said about many of our financial institutions in Australia.)

To test the comprehensiveness of your personal and organisational approach to “telling the whole truth”, consider the testing circumstance of how well you manage underperforming employees. Do the managers in your organisation fully manage poor performers and tell them the whole truth? Or do they take the easy route in the short term, and end up carrying passengers that weigh down the organisation and negatively impact on overall morale and engagement across teams and the wider business?

 

Principle 2: Discipline

The discipline principle involves establishing and living by a set of standards, in terms of operating procedures, and having stability in our processes. These help guide us in the delivery of our commitments. It is hard for anyone, even the most capable executive, to effectively deliver on commitments if the organisation is struggling in its day-to-day activities, lurching from one crisis to the next.

I haven’t seen a better company than Toyota when it comes to stability. Whenever the unexpected occurs, Toyota’s management focus as tremendous attention upon it, problem-solves it, and then returns to the steady state. With such a stable organisation in place, when executives commit to engaging in new or innovative initiatives, they usually have time to effectively deliver on them. That approach has become part of the Toyota culture, right from the top floor to the shop floor.

 

Principle 3: Implementation excellence

The implementation excellence principle is a high bar to achieve. Yet it is imperative if you want to consistently deliver on your promises. In fact, this is what separates high performers from the rest of the pack.

My research has found that when it comes to executing on major promises, there are two key requirements. First is the need to be well organised. This means planning and executing initiatives as formal projects, including a specific timeline, budget and outcome. (Executing that plan only works well when there is a solid plan in place of course!) Second comes the accountability for actually doing the work and reaping the benefits from the initiative. That means there are  consequences for poor performance, and recognition for high performance.

 

A remarkable combination

If you can combine these three principles in your organisation, the results can be remarkable. You will see leaders delivering on their promises and, in doing so, they will help to create a culture where others live up to these principles too.

But when leaders are not guided by these three principles, you can expect the organisation to be “soft” and slothful in its achievements. Ultimately the business will suffer after cutting corners and falling short on integrity (as demonstrated recently at various banks).

I encourage you to reflect upon this in two ways. First, by reading further about great leaders and their organisations where you can see these principles in action. Second, by questioning yourself and deciding what improvements you can make when it comes to integrity, discipline and implementing excellence.

Collectively, these three principles will enable you to deliver fully on your promises.

 

 

 

 

Professor Danny Samson, University of Melbourne Director, Master of enterprise & Master of Supply chain Management

 

 

 

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MENTAL HEALTH MEDIC

Dispelling stigma around mental health issues helps those suffering seek help, and Phillip Thompson AFIML, 2018 Queensland Young Australian of the Year, R U Ok? Ambassador and special projects manager for selectability, has dedicated himself to that cause.

  

Phillip Thompson has made it his personal mission to break the stigmas associated with mental illness. More than eight years ago, at the age of 20, the former serving soldier was wounded in Afghanistan, while serving with the First Battalion Royal Australian Regiment.

Thompson, of Townsville, suffered a traumatic brain injury, lost hearing in his right ear and was diagnosed with mental illness.

 

The experience and his road to “wellbeing” dramatically changed his life and outlook. Once Thompson started to work again, he threw himself into philanthropy, volunteering and advocacy work for people who have a mental illness, and those affected by suicide.

His dedication earnt him the accolade of 2018 Queensland Young Australian of the Year and led him to being chosen as an ambassador for well-being and suicide prevention organisation R U Ok? . He was also appointed as the organisation’s Special Projects Manager for Selectability.

 

“Friends of mine from the service have died by suicide and I think it’s important for me to advocate for them and for people who are still struggling,” he said.

He is honoured to be an R U Ok? ambassador and says the role is a perfect fit, as the organisation’s mission to reduce the stigma of mental illness and stop suicide aligns with his personal values.

“I am a hands-on ambassador,” he says. “I try to do all of it every day. I try and lead by example because in the veterans’ space, veterans under the age of 30 have a higher risk of dying by suicide than the general public.

“Townsville has the largest veteran arena in the southern hemisphere and the largest veteran cohort per capita in Australia. With R U OK?, what I do every single day is talk about suicide prevention, where to get help and how to break the stigma.”

 

Thompson’s role as Special Projects Manager for Selectability involves handling the organisation’s special projects. These can involve anything from organising government grants to project works; like a recent initiative that involved sourcing a building to create a purpose-built clubhouse to help teach workforce skills to people suffering from mental illness.

Thompson says it is important to him to lead a meaningful life. “Everyone asks, ‘How do we reduce stigma and how do we slow rates of suicide and combat mental illness?’ I think it’s about having purpose and meaningful engagement,” he said.

“Also, I think that’s what gets me out of bed. I get out of bed because if I don’t, I feel more friends of mine could succumb to their wars within.”   LM

 

Thrown in the deep end of management

What happens when you find yourself managing people… by accident?

Not all managers start out with aspirations to become a leader. For many, it’s a role they find themselves in by accident; one for which they’ve never been adequately prepared. It can happen if you stay at a company for a long time, and rise up through the ranks ‘by default’ as your superiors move on. It can happen if you start a solo enterprise that suddenly morphs into a bigger business. It can even happen when you’re assigned new duties during a company re-structure – and no one bothers to ask if you’re able or willing to perform them.

All the scenarios above can place a person in the uncomfortable position of being an ‘accidental manager’. While some rise to the challenge and quickly find their feet, others are quite conscious that there are things they ‘could’ or ‘should’ be doing to manage people better – yet they have no idea what those things are. In Australia, management has previously been a somewhat invisible skill; something people assume we can all do naturally (much like raising a baby that’s been suddenly thrust into your arms).

Unfortunately, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Good managers aren’t born, they’re made. It’s not enough to rely on the learning by ‘just doing it’ – leadership calls for skills that must be taught. Things like developing skills in others, performance management and conflict resolution. Skills to cope with situations that, outside management, you’re unlikely to encounter.

It’s easy to see why accidental managers are costing their employers money and lost productivity. Managers have the greatest single impact on staff retention and engagement. Gallup recently identified that managers account for at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement. It’s no wonder that 91% of Australian CEO’s believe leadership skills are the number one priority for learning and development.

The issues with Australia’s laid-back attitude to management is that legions of accidental managers are going about their business, with a creeping uncertainty that they’re actually ‘doing it right’. It was this key insight that inspired (IML) to re-brand last year with such a pointed focus on intentional leadership – and it’s this issue that we’re working hard to address.

So how do you avoid becoming an accidental manager?

For those who are on the brink of management (or hope to be soon), it’s worth taking a look at our Foundations of Intentional Leadership Program. This is a practical program where emerging leaders come together and learn the core fundamentals to get them off on the right foot. Over 12 weeks, including six face-to-face sessions, the program offers greater self-awareness through diagnostic tools, one-on-one coaching and mentoring, as well as access to IML’s impressive online Learning Management System – plus, the cost includes the annual IML Membership fee, making it easier to stay in the leadership loop once the program finishes.

“We know that people are being thrust into management roles, often because they’re great individual contributors – but this is not the same as managing a team,” says Sam Bell FIML General Manager, Corporate Services & Research chat IML. “These people really need support, especially if they’re suddenly having to manage people who were previously peers or friends. Through the program, we look at all sorts of challenges that can crop up, such as having difficult conversations, and provide practical ways to approach them. It’s a great way for emerging leaders to get the type of support they won’t automatically receive at work.”

And what if you already are an accidental manager?

“It’s never too late to get some formal training,” says Sam Bell.” Even if you’re a seasoned manager who’s confident in your skills, it can help to have some external support and recognition. We introduced the Chartered Manager  professional accreditation in Australia for this very reason – it’s an internationally recognised designation that gives experienced managers the chance to demonstrate competence and professionalise their skills.”

Wherever you are in the leadership journey, it’s important to know you’re not alone. Managing a team can be tough – but it doesn’t have to be an isolating experience. By connecting with networks like IML, you can get the learning through innovative leadership programs and meet people who get what you’re going through. And by getting your leadership foundations right from the start, you can enjoy a career that’s full of intent and purpose – and success that’s far from accidental.

To find out more about the Foundations of Intentional Leadership join us on July 17th for a free webinar. Register today!

There are limited places available in IML’s Foundations of Intentional Leadership Development Program. Register today: https://managersandleaders.alphasys.com.au/foundations-intentional-leadership/