ARE THINGS HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION?

 SYNOPSIS

 With the Island Games having been a great success it is good to bask in the sunshine of our summer and the glory of our athletes. However one doesn’t have to dig too deep to recognise the widening standards between Elite, Competitors and Tourists and the ever increasing demands for performance just to keep pace with the competition.

 And it is no different in business. Clive Woodward’s book Winning!  was written after England’s winning the Rugby World Cup, and is a good analysis of what sport can teach business and what business can teach sport. I wonder if Jersey has truly capitalised on the opportunities of the Island Games and Commonwealth Games, or indeed businesses have really embraced the idea of performance development over a 4 year period.

 AMATEUR AND RANDOM

 Competitions like the Island Games and Commonwealth Games were once the domain of the talented club athlete, an enthusiastic amateur with a high work ethic or natural talent. Seldom both. However athletes now increasingly find themselves alongside Olympians and Professionals and the game has changed, and so must the standards and criteria for performance.

 Moreover often selection has often been based on meeting a performance criteria of a specific day, time, or race. Effectively a spot-check with all the pros and cons that go with this. Doing your qualifying race the day after an accident, or a few days after flu is rather like doing Performance Review and Appraisal the day after either good-news of bad-news which may colour your performance or the boss’s perceptions.

 ARE THINGS HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION?

 I remember Triathlete Tim Don once saying that he does not worry about results, because they depend on lots of things including weather and other people. Instead his focus is on performance because that is something he can control. Coming second, third or 10th may be a poor result but you can be optimistic and full of confidence if you know that you have been hitting the numbers consistently for the last 12 months and today wasn’t so bad considering you’re recovering from injury. This is not about a stock-pile of excuses, but a more objective overall assessment with the benefit of context and performance trajectory: are things heading in the right direction?



 PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT

 We need to move away from Performance Review and Appraisal which is based on a snap-shot which may be brilliantly or poorly timed to capture excellent or disappointing performance and instead focus on the commitment to 10,000 hours.

 Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers noted that excellence comes from 10,000 hours of practice. Whether that is playing the violin, being Bill Gates, or indeed being an athlete or a compliance officer. The single biggest determinant of success is 10,000 hours. You may ask if talent or passion have a greater value, but Gladwell suggests that these are the things that drive you to 10,000 hours of practice, but at 20 hours the virtuoso, programmer, runner or employee are not statistically better than anyone else with the same level of experience.

 If this is the case the challenge is about how we nature, support, enthuse 10,000 hours of practice, rather than simply tick spot-check performances.

 As an athlete I know 10,000 hours of practice is not just about running, it is about health, strength, nutrition, flexibility. It is an overall programme which is orchestrated toward a performance trajectory. As a project manager I know that success is not about the application of PRINCE2, but about communication, collaboration, consensus, knowledge, understanding, context. These are the underpinning (and often overlooked) components of success which are sometimes overshadowed by methodology.  But to assume methodology is more important than soft-skills is as daft as assuming that doing more running is more important than health, strength, nutrition, flexibility.

 CHANGING THE RECOGNITION AND REWARD MECHANISMS

 I would argue that the success of athletes in future Competitions like the Island Games and Commonwealth Games is going to be increasingly based on a four-year programme of performance development, and a combination of many factors (both training and lifestyle) which set the trajectory for success.

 Similarly I suggest that businesses need to re-think their recognition and reward mechanisms away from spectacular wins, heroic victories toward long term, sustainable and balanced improvement of performance.

 MORE INFORMATION

 In 2013 Tim Rogers was athlete representative for the Jersey Commonwealth Games Team and argued strongly for a revised approach to how we prepare our athletes for world-class performance. This involved moving away from qualifying standards and criteria just 12-18 months ahead of the big event, to a more measured and supported programme starting 4 years out and demanding greater commitment in return for better support. If you would like to know more about this approach and how it may help your performance development please contact timhjrogers@cichange.org

 THE AUTHOR

 Tim Rogers is an experienced Project and Change Leader. He is founder of www.ciChange.org and curator for www.TEDxStHelier.Com . He is Programme Manager for the commercialization of Jersey Harbours and Jersey Airport, and previously Operations Change and Sales Support for RBSI/NatWest, and Project Manager for the Incorporation of Jersey Post. He is also Commonwealth Triathlete and World Championships Rower with a passion for teaching and learning and is a Tutor/Mentor on the Chartered Management Institute courses. He is a Chartered Member of the British Computer Society, has an MBA (Management Consultancy) and is both a PRINCE2 and Change Management Practitioner.

 Email: TimHJRogers@cihange.org
 Mob: 07797762051 | Twitter @timhjrogers | Skype timhjrogers

LEAN - The case for, and against

 SYNOPSIS

 LEAN method, which is ostensibly being efficient and effective with resource, was designed for manufacturing and created to allow Toyota to produce on-demand. Not produce more and stock-pile or less and miss opportunities. The key thing is that it operates at a simple process level and lends itself to streamlining.

 Service based industries often require complex and parallel thinking; how does one thing affect another, and if we change this, it might adversely affect that. In this scenario knowledge, experience and the human brain is far better than over-simplification and mindless automation. Dealing with complex medical, social, political or economic issues cannot be simplified in the same was a self-assembly furniture!

 THE CASE FOR

 There is no doubt that the elimination of waste, error, waiting time and unnecessary inventory can save time, money, and talent which might be better employed elsewhere. From a suppliers’ perspective a reduction in costs may provide an increase in profit or reduction in losses.

 THE CASE AGAINST

 The current local passion for LEAN, which is quickly falling out of fashion in the UK and Europe appears to be as a quick fix to public-sector down-sizing and cost-cutting. However false economies and silo initiatives are not the way to improve overall public service.

 PRACTICE

 I have seen LEAN initiatives succeed, and I have seen them fail. Inevitably those that succeed have leadership from the top, a joined-up vision of what needs to be achieved and a customer (rather than cost) focus. Success is when there are no errors, omissions or complaints.

 Where I have seen failure it has been because isolated improvements have not yielded an overall benefit to a customer. Imagine a car where the engine, bodywork, and wheels are done without collaboration. Each component may be good, but the overall product or service is likely to be rubbish. A faster or cheaper service which creates errors, omissions or complaints and clogs up call centres and helpdesks is not very LEAN if it now takes up significant time resolving the complex issues that automated and unthinking process cannot resolve.

 KEY STEPS

 Before embarking on LEAN….

 Be clear on your purpose: is it to reduce costs (benefit supplier) or improve service (benefit customer)
 Be clear on your organisational commitment, which will demand consultation, communication, collaboration, co-operation and most important, focus on the customer.

 Be clear on leadership; is this another fad, and we will go back to the old ways of working soon. Or is this a fundamental change which may force new thinking, re-organisation, and different priorities.

 Research. There is an amazing amount of literature and case studies about LEAN. Do you homework and make it industry specific because there are very different constraints in product manufacturing to those in service provision. Both MacDonalds and The Dorchester may provide burger and chips but their people, processes, technology and products will be very different.

 MORE INFORMATION

 I have previously shared many publications on LEAN and if you’d like more information please don’t hesitate to get in contact TimHJRogers@AdaptConsultingGroup.com

 I would however recommend reading one book: The Whitehall Effect, by John Seddon.

 THE AUTHOR

 Tim Rogers is an experienced Project and Change Leader. He is founder of www.ciChange.org and curator for www.TEDxStHelier.Com . He is Programme Manager for the commercialization of Jersey Harbours and Jersey Airport, and previously Operations Change and Sales Support for RBSI/NatWest, and Project Manager for the Incorporation of Jersey Post. He is also Commonwealth Triathlete and World Championships Rower with a passion for teaching and learning and is a Tutor/Mentor on the Chartered Management Institute courses. He is a Chartered Member of the British Computer Society, has an MBA (Management Consultancy) and is both a PRINCE2 and Change Management Practitioner.

 Email: TimHJRogers@AdaptConsultingGroup.com
 Mob: 07797762051 | Twitter @timhjrogers | Skype timhjrogers

Research project - The role of mindfulness in the development of resilience in Entrepreneurs

MINDFULNESS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF RESILIENCE

I have recently run TEDxStHelier in Jersey which featured TEDx Speakers Garry Stern and Dr. Andrea Pennington talking about lifelong learning and techniques for a better life through self control.  Dr. Andrea Pennington was a website dedicated to this: http://www.andreapennington.com/

So I was delighted, interested and strongly support Glenda  Rivoallan’s initiative for a Research project - The role of mindfulness in the development of resilience in Entrepreneurs 

And the opportunity is prefect following ciChange work with Solopreneurs and Independents, and also ciChange participation in the “Structural Changes in the States”. With the States of Jersey “down-sizing” there is plenty of need for the development of resilience, and the release of talent from States of Jersey should hopefully create Entrepreuners, Solopreneurs and Independents.

AN OPPORTUNITY

Glenda  Rivoallan, has written to me as follows..

I am looking to gain volunteers who would be prepared to embark on a 8x2 hours mindfulness intervention. I am looking for organisations such as yours in Jersey to invite entrepreneurs (nascent, first time and serial) to take part. The course delivered by Dr Alessio Agostino is normally £480 and will be provided free of charge.

Participants will attend an 8 week MBCT programme consisting of 26 hours of session time including two 1/2 hours and an all-day class, daily mediation and completion of pre and post intervention measures.  The main hypothesis being that mindfulness may be beneficial in improving resilience which is seen as important to the success of entrepreneurs (see abstract below).

Participants will be asked to complete a number of questionnaires before, during and after the intervention. Participants will also be asked to complete a practice diary during the duration of the intervention to record mindfulness practice techniques undertaken.

I would be delighted to talk this through with you and can provide marketing material to highlight the benefits of participation in the study. You may even want to do it yourself?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards

Glenda Rivoallan 

Vice Principal – Lifelong Learning

Highlands College | PO Box 1000 | St Saviour | Jersey | JE4 9QA

SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Business leaders in general and entrepreneurs in particular, experience high levels of stress/distress due to the increasingly competitive and uncertain environments they operate within (Ayala and Manzano, 2014). Challenging circumstances and the adoption of the behaviour patterns of the surrounding culture minimize the likelihood of self-care (Freeman as cited in Bruder, 2014). In complicating matters, as well as neglecting their health, many entrepreneurs, harbor secret demons (Bruder, 2014).  In particular, new entrepreneurs struggle through moments of near-debilitating anxiety and despair, times when it seems that everything might crumble. Rather than showing vulnerability, business leaders have practiced what social psychiatrists call impression management (Piwinger and Ebert, 2001; Goffman, 1959) also known as "fake it till you make it” (Nagy et al, 2012). However, this can come at a psychological price with entrepreneurs reporting higher levels of mood vulnerability, anxiety and depression than employees (Bruder, 2014). The development of resilience in individuals (Mowbray, 2011; Jackson, Firtko & Edenborough, 2007; Neenan, 2009) and entrepreneurs (Bullough, 2014) is viewed by many as a potential answer to the stress associated with contemporary lifestyles and workplaces.

Increasing interest in the development of resilient workers has meant an enormous growth in interest in the role of holistic practices such as mindfulness mediation (Foureur et al, 2013). Kabat-Zinn’s mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and Barnard and Teadale’s mindfulness-based cognitive behavioural therapy (MBCT) are the most commonly used by those seeking to practice, theorise or research mindfulness across mindfulness contexts. The purpose of the proposed research is to explore the potential benefits of mindfulness training in developing resilience in the context of entrepreneurs.

ACTION

If you are interested in this please contact Glenda Rivoallan 

Glenda.Rivoallan@highlands.ac.uk

What can happen when you leave the tap on?

I find myself in a common place, I know it is common because of the amount of clichés to describe it. For example:  “You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink”.

So often I hear people dissatisfied with their lot, the way things are around here, the way things should be different. If only were we more like them over there, those ideas were tried, we did something different.

The problem with this quest for leadership: For someone else to effect the changes on our behalf, and to our specification is that we seem unable to articulate what we want or recognise it when it is there.

For example: Russell Brand ranting that he doesn’t like the political system and that nobody should vote. Too late it seems to dawn on him that the way to change a political system is to vote for a different one. Far from helping his followers the self-nominated guru of change disenfranchised them and left them in the wilderness whilst the others take the spoils.

Sharing knowledge is hard, because you should neither preach nor teach but simply make available the possibilities. This is because you can only teach according to the others’ willingness, capacity, capability or desire to learn.  The same is true of any rehab, it cannot start until the candidate really , really wants it to start. That is usually at rock bottom.

Are enough people at rock bottom to start a revolution or even evolution?  I don’t think Russell Brand is at rock bottom. He seems to be doing OK.

Knowledge is a bit like water, it is all around us but it is pretty difficult to consume it without a glass which gives it meaning: it becomes a drink, rather than something to float upon, bathe in or surf along.

Running events like ciChange and TEDxStHelier I’ve realised that I’ve left the tap on. There is so much knowledge and opportunity there for everyone, but I haven’t provided any cups or glasses to explain how this might quench their thirst.

The last ciChange event attracted over 200 people, the  next TEDxStHelier will have an audience limited to 100 (TED Talks and the TEDx franchise is strictly controlled) I can fly in speakers from all over the world, setting stages and film crews, provide a show, a fair, food and drink. I am be the impresario but it is rather like pushing string, it only really goes anywhere if someone at the other end is pulling.

So rather than do a Russell Brand and tell you to rebel against the system by staying at home and doing nothing I’m going to tell you that we have a broad and eclectic range of speakers from arts, science, technology and business who may be able to transform your world with their insights.

We have a Tech Fair, where you can look at that world from a Drone’s view or Virtual Reality and you can talk with the thought leaders, entrepreneurs and theorists, as well as the practical people making it happen.

Please bring your own cup, bowl, glass, bath, surf board or boat. I’m not going to tell you what this should mean for you. I’m providing the water it’s up to you what you do with it. I’m not a leader, I am not Russell Brand, I’m simply the guy that turned that tap on.

USEFUK LINKS

Come to TEDxStHelier 6 June 2015 http://www.tedxsthelier.com/

THE AUTHOR

Tim Rogers is an experienced Project and Change Leader. He is founder of www.ciChange.org and curator for www.TEDxStHelier.Com . He is Programme Manager for the commercialization of Jersey Harbours and Jersey Airport, and previously Operations Change and Sales Support for RBSI/NatWest, and Project Manager for the Incorporation of Jersey Post. He is also Commonwealth Triathlete and World Championships Rower with a passion for teaching and learning and is a Tutor/Mentor on the Chartered Management Institute courses. He is a Chartered Member of the British Computer Society, has an MBA (Management Consultancy) and is both a PRINCE2 and Change Management Practitioner.

Tim HJ Rogers   

PRINCE2 - MBA (Consultancy) - APMG Change Practitioner

Http://www.timhjrogers.com | Twitter @timhjrogers | Skype @timhjrogers | Mobile: 07797762051

Curator TEDxStHelier (http://www. TEDxStHelier.com)

Founder ciChange (http://www. ciChange.org)

Is it worth dying for?

HAVING A SENSE OF PURPOSE AND A TEST OF RESOLVE

I am going to suggest some really negative thinking, but it’s because it is only when under pressure do we see our true selves and reveal to ourselves our hidden values, limits, bias and assumptions that we simply never bump up  against when we are in our comfort zone.

We have all experienced depression; whether that it has been you, or you comforting someone else it pretty much certain that you will have heard something along the lines of “….not worth living for…” or something similar.

Simply saying “yeah sure it is” really doesn’t help much.  You say it because it helps you and stops you falling into their pit of despair, but it doesn’t really help them (even though you want it to) because they are not listening to you. They are listening to the internal dialogue in their head.

So how do you change the self talk?

Well there are some Chinese torture and prisoner techniques which involved getting prisoners to write pro-Chinese propaganda. The interesting thing is that when you write something the voices in your head provide the narration. When the voices in year head say something you start to believe it. So ironically getting US  to write pro-Chinese propaganda, actually started to brainwash then into believing it, not because the Chinese persuaded them it was true, but because the words flowed through their eyes, their brain, their hands and their pen. The words belonged to them!

OK, so brainwashing is interesting but possibly not the best intervention for someone feeling depression. However I liked the challenge “if life isn’t worth living for, have a go at writing a list of what is worth dying for” This but of reverse psychology breaks the emotional spiral by injecting some analytical thinking and it is interesting because it appears that like the “stall warning” on a plane, people sensing where this might lead pull back out of the dive.

It’s the opposite of “count your blessings” but potentially effective because most of us are critical thinkers, and it’s easier to engage black thinking when you are feeling down than to bounce around wearing a yellow hat of sunshine.

The point is that when you have an idea of what is worth dying for, you have a purpose. When you have clarity on that purpose, and you dedicate yourself to it, you have a pretty good reason to live. If it is something all-consuming and valuable to you and you are dedicated to it, your life will be rich in meaning and value.

This leads me to my second hypothesis. All too often I hear crap like “I’d to anything to be …..” [faster, fitter, thinner, successful, rich, happy] Add what ever you like here. This is a future promise, about a future condition over which you have no experience and nothing at stake (it’s in the future!)

This is bullshit.

A much more realistic test of someone’s resolve is “What are you prepared to give up….” [friends, family, alcohol, chocolate, reputation, money, health] Add what ever you like here. This is a real test of choice, hard choices. Real choices. This is concrete because these are things you know and value, you have experience and something is at stake.

I know someone’s resolve when they answer this.

It doesn’t guarantee success, but resolve is a critical starting point for change. Without it change will falter at the first temptation or distraction.

If you are a psychotherapist , psychologist or psychiatrist (ie qualified to give an opinion on this ) I would be very interested in your views. If you are a witch doctor, or homeopath your views will be interesting too, but they are less likely to change my mind.

 USEFUK LINKS

http://atroche.org/post/61633164818/how-china-brainwashed-american-pows-using-a

http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/106/6/912/

THE AUTHOR

Tim Rogers is an experienced Project and Change Leader. He is founder of www.ciChange.org and curator for www.TEDxStHelier.Com . He is Programme Manager for the commercialization of Jersey Harbours and Jersey Airport, and previously Operations Change and Sales Support for RBSI/NatWest, and Project Manager for the Incorporation of Jersey Post. He is also Commonwealth Triathlete and World Championships Rower with a passion for teaching and learning and is a Tutor/Mentor on the Chartered Management Institute courses. He is a Chartered Member of the British Computer Society, has an MBA (Management Consultancy) and is both a PRINCE2 and Change Management Practitioner.

Tim HJ Rogers    
PRINCE2 - MBA (Consultancy) - APMG Change Practitioner
Http://www.timhjrogers.com | Twitter @timhjrogers | Skype @timhjrogers | Mobile: 07797762051
Curator TEDxStHelier (http://www. TEDxStHelier.com)
Founder ciChange (http://www. ciChange.org)

PEOPLE AND EVENTS, KNOWLEDGE, LEADERSHIP AND CHOICE

A WEEK OF IDEAS:

It has been a fab week meeting and listening to 3 world class speakers on leadership, change and management: Jim Lawless, Mike King and Julian Stodd  (see links below) and I look forward to following @jimlawless @julianstodd @MikeKingLT on twitter.

Learning however is not about listening and accepting what you’ve heard, but instead about thinking, reflecting and applying this to your world. Below are some thoughts arising from their ideas and where they overlap and conflict with each-other causing interesting ripples  of logic which, to me, seem worth reflecting upon.

THE IMPACT OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

The Leadership Trust taster talked about the impact we have on people and events, and vice versa the impact people and events have upon us as well as the impact we have upon ourselves.  I highly recommend their course.

THE VALUE OF KNOWLEDGE

I did however challenge whether the impact of knowledge  was potentially more important than the impact of other things, since knowledge can profoundly affect your attitude, behaviours and feelings towards self, people and events.

Ironically the Leadership Trust event involved a team challenge, where some additional information (added knowledge) made a profound difference to the event and behaviours. Moreover since the course is about imparting knowledge (of self and others) and the value of the course is how we use that I think this is a critical factor.

However I am a knowledge junkie, a facts and figures guy. A analyse and think way too much and so whilst I’ve made a logical case for the pursuit of knowledge I realise those with differing personality profiles and cultural experiences will disagree.

Meeting Julian Stodd  within 24 hours of the Leadership Trust course proved timey and rewarding.

KNOWLEDGE IS NOT POWER

In his book (which I highly recommend, see link below) he started by talking about the importance of knowledge. This made me happy. He then continued marching on making the point that knowledge isn’t really that important since the sum of all human knowledge the world has ever known is about 3 clicks away on Google. 

My world wobbled a bit. All those courses I’ve done, all those books I’ve read, all the people that I have met and talked with; all the knowledge that I have acquired and stored is more readily available to you via Google Search. I am redundant. We all are.

However the title of Julian’s book gives a hint to the solution:  The Social Leadership Handbook.

SOCIAL LEADERSHIP IS CONTEXT AND TIMING

Knowledge has no value unless it is shared, and will not be accepted unless it has meaning.  Einstein would be a forgotten person if he never told anyone that E=MC2 (squared!), or taken the opportunity to explain the significance of this to us all.

This makes sense to me. As Founder for ciChange and Curator for TEDxStHelier, both of which are about sharing knowledge, new ideas, new thinking and challenging people, leaders and community to harness the opportunities I absolutely “get-it”.

You see knowledge without application is pointless, despite my predilection for gathering it. The application of knowledge is only likely to happen in when it adds meaning to the context. When you are struggling with a problem (person, event or self) the right knowledge made available at the right time, in the right way is like the well placed wrench when you find a loose bolt.

The challenge for leaders is not necessarily to equip everyone with a complete toolkit but instead the well timed availability of exactly the right tool at just the time when it starts to dawn on people that this might be useful.

THE ROLE OF A LEADER

I was delighted to find that Julian is a paddler and emailed him as follows…

Good to see you. Let me know if you want a paddle, but feel free to hook-up with these guys if you prefer {I included some links}  Don’t feel you have to take any option, happy to just give you the choice.

In that moment I realised something. In writing “..Don’t feel you have to take any option, happy to just give you the choice…” I considered that perhaps this is the role of leadership. It isn’t command and control, and it isn’t motivate and empower, it is give people knowledge (information that has value and meaning) then simply offer them the choice.

                                                

The ones that exercise that choice are your followers and the ones that don’t are still very nice people. I’d suggest any effort in trying to command and control, or motivate and empower maybe wasted on the latter group.

 USEFUK LINKS

Jim Lawless has presented to JT and many of the top States’ people
http://www.jimlawless.com/

Mike King and The Leadership Trust has launched their new programme in Jersey
http://leadership.org.uk/leading-with-impact/

Julian Stodd  is presenting at Prosperity 24.7 - Leadership in the Social Age
https://julianstodd.wordpress.com/

https://julianstodd.wordpress.com/2014/09/10/the-social-leadership-handbook-launching-today/

THE AUTHOR

Tim Rogers is an experienced Project and Change Leader. He is founder of www.ciChange.org and curator for www.TEDxStHelier.Com . He is Programme Manager for the commercialization of Jersey Harbours and Jersey Airport, and previously Operations Change and Sales Support for RBSI/NatWest, and Project Manager for the Incorporation of Jersey Post. He is also Commonwealth Triathlete and World Championships Rower with a passion for teaching and learning and is a Tutor/Mentor on the Chartered Management Institute courses. He is a Chartered Member of the British Computer Society, has an MBA (Management Consultancy) and is both a PRINCE2 and Change Management Practitioner.

Tim HJ Rogers   

PRINCE2 - MBA (Consultancy) - APMG Change Practitioner

Http://www.timhjrogers.com | Twitter @timhjrogers | Skype @timhjrogers | Mobile: 07797762051

Curator TEDxStHelier (http://www. TEDxStHelier.com)

Founder ciChange (http://www. ciChange.org)

Changing our view on Leadership and Followership

I have recently attended a course on Leadership. I am sure a significant majority of managers have recently done the same.

To put that into context within 48 hours the following high-profile Leadership and Change Management people have done presentations in Jersey

Jim Lawless has presented to JT and many of the top States’ people
http://www.jimlawless.com/

Mike King and The Leadership Trust has launched their new programme in Jersey
http://leadership.org.uk/leading-with-impact/

Julian Stodd  is presenting at Prosperity 24.7 - Leadership in the Social Age
https://julianstodd.wordpress.com/

Some thoughts…

I won’t talk about the content of the course I did (with The Leadership Trust) nor will I try to profess its value and that I might be a better leader (title), or able to show leadership (behaviour) as a result.

Instead I want to share some thoughts about Leadership and learning, which may be either timely (or ill-timed) depending on your view of the surreptitious orchestration of Leadership and Change Management people.

I am a cynic on the subject of Leadership since I recoil at charismatic (personality driven) leadership which can be narcissistic and generally only acceptable in a time of crisis or war. I am more of a disciple of humble leadership which is about collaboration, co-operation and teamwork.

I strongly believe this to be the case given the pace of change, technology, education and the increasing emphasis on trust. Let me explain this further.

Perhaps 100 years ago technology could be comprehended and education was such that some people are the thinkers (upper class) and others are the doers (working class). Management (middle class) is straight forward and somewhat based on industrial thinking.

Nowadays however people do not really comprehended technology: how many of you could build the car that you drive, or programme the computer that you use? Instead we trust that someone else has done their job, and simply work on ours. We don’t second guess the pilot, driver, and scientist.

However ironically education means we aren’t split into the educated elite and work-force there is increasing democracy and opinion on management and leadership. We all have an opinion on our boss, the leader, the prime minister or the football manager or coach.

So we live in a world where we have education, democracy and opinion without comprehension or capacity to cope with a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world of fast paced changes.

The importance of Trust

In my opinion the only way to cope with this is through careful and thoughtful allocation of trust. I am fascinated by the teamwork in a Formula 1 pit stop. There is no panic, everyone has a role, they are all professional and none interfere with each-other during execution of the task. There may be lots of dialogue, introspection in the design and practice but once agreed the plan is executed with precision.

Who do we choose to trust and follow? You might surmise from the Formula 1 comment above that my choices are based on knowledge, experience and action, but I fully accept that others might use based on looks, personality or charisma or many other criteria based on culture, education and their preferences and biases.

I learned a couple of things about myself

I look at an “open field” of opportunity and think I wonder what can be done over there? I know others look at a product or service and wonder where or with whom can they develop their ideas.

I avoid looking at titles, badges and names and look at behaviours and skills. So when people meet I’ll note what they “do” (or how they might be a useful resource) rather than who they “are”. I hadn’t realised that for example when introducing myself I will tell people what I do, but nothing about who I am.

In the leadership task we were given this became apparent when the team I was working in were fixated on the “problem” and learning the factors, patters, etc., whereas the other team were more interested in the “people”.

In the debrief the team working on the problem said they didn’t feel personally pressured (under scrutiny) whereas the other team did feel anxious. The outcome was that Team A failed to complete the task in time, and Team B didn’t, but importantly since it was meant to be an overall challenge we collectively failed.

There was subtle animosity / friction between Team A and Team B for the competition and collective failure, which got me thinking: Would it have been best for both teams to succeed, but second-best for both teams to fail?

What are your attitudes to challenges, winning or losing?

Let’s think about the possible outcomes

A wins, B wins
A wins, B loses
A loses, B wins
A loses, B loses


Some questions…

In what order of preference would you put these results if they were teams or departments working in the same organisation?

Would your preference change if you knew which team you were on, or the personalities on Team A and Team B?

Would your preference change depending on the nature of the task: 1) Life critical task where someone might die 2) Tasks where there is no “fail” only different levels of success 3) Tasks with no discernible value our outcome for the participants

The implications…

I think exploring your own answers (and reasons) may be revelatory to you in understanding your own views of leadership and followership.  This is important because there can be no leadership without followership.

I believe success comes from being able to do both equally well, hence my emphasis on humble leadership, collaboration, cooperation and communication.

I welcome feedback