Session c2 Unlocking Leadership Talent

Javier Bajer

On a 10 point scale look at you as a leader as how proud/ satisfied you are with the impact you have had over the world so far..?

Leadership development be more like yourself..

For years we have spent trying to be more like others

We profile ourselves to se how much we are not like xx famous people

The one thing leaders have in common is not style, but they are themselves. There is coherence between what they believe, say, do….

Only when we realise that talent lives in the individual the quicker the return on investment

Our goal is to unlock human talent – help them to be themselves

This is very different from where we have been developing people.

HSBC – have invested in leadership, they are reporting 50% increase in sales where this programme has been launched

Helping individuals to find themselves as a natural leader.

Individuals grow as their value as a leader, its about alignment

LAT leadership alignment tool…

Leadership – the ability to generate changes that add value


Beliefs

Intentions

Promise

Action

These things need to be aligned

The cost of staying misaligned is more than the change to get aligned. Doing this with many in the org at one time is a large lever for change

Opposite of leadership – victimship not being able to make anything happen but having a good reason for it

Victimship has an ongoing cost for you as a human being… how will this impact how you feel about your contribution?

If you want to see the real changes associated with leadership we need to get people out of victimship – and it is risky for those in it.

The minute we see challenges as a problem we are missing the point

The contextual stuff is exactly what we need for great leadership.

Forget about memorising the values.. based on what we do and HOW we do it what do you think the values are?

The brain is looking for patterns and this is critical – if we say look out for x things but only give y their brain feels trapped (thinking traps) – I,e all or nothing

Normal distribution – most of us fall in a normal boring world – the brain however like extremes.

The brain also over generalises..

The problem is when we over generalise in the negative – this can stop change in its tracks.

Fortune telling is another brain trap – “I know exactly what is going to happen”…the belief that I know the future stops people from trying change

When pushing resistance becomes a habit then you move towards the tipping point and culture change starts.

Take some of these concepts and start to challenge
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Draft post

Surviving and thriving through turbulence

After showing two high energy videos (one showing HR hero's which has started every session of the conference) the keynote for day two was introduced by Linda Holbeche, Director of Research and policy at the CIPD.

The theme of surviving and thriving through turbulence was 'split' into people and change focus and leadership focus.

Carolyn McCall, CEO from the Guardian media group started the session looking at people and change. After outlining the changes that her company had faced through the emergence of the digital age he positioned here experience of leading an organisation through significant and unpredictable turbulence.

McCall said that in challenging time like we are experience requires challenging people. McCall highlighted the challenges that the print media had faced, in that for the past 200 years the business model has hardly changed, however the past 10 years has changed everything. In the past you knew where your competitors were coming from... but who would have predicted that a technology (software) company would be the greatest competitor... Google.

To survive we need to keep our 'experts', however they need to be able to be adaptable and work collaboratively.

In times of change and turmoil McCall says that we need training, coaching and mentoring more than ever, and this is the time to increase this activity - not cut it back.

McCall has a clear view on HR, and that is that HR must not work in a silo or be purely functional. HR needs to be a true business partner. As strategic partners they need to be strong enough, work transparently and be honest to the CEO. It is the responsibility of HR to tell the CEO the truth, not to hide the facts. This can prove to be the key information source to the CEO providing information that cannot be obtained other ways.

We were then show a video showing the views of HR people from the GMG company. This clearly showed the commitment the HR people get and give.

The key seven factors for success.

• Make people strategy an integral part of business strategy
• Make change early to set the tone
• Never compromise on getting the best
• Foster networks, coaching and mentoring
• Plan for succession (needs to be live not just a document kept in a draw)
• Keeping investing for the upturn (training, development marketing etc)
• You can never communicate enough

David Robinson - CEO of richersounds.

Robinson started with the statement that when under stress it is easy for leaders to revert to command and control , but that it is important to keep an eye on the people involvement.

The key five leadership qualities that make the difference Robinson's believes are:

1. Communicate - richersounds do weekly and detailed updates to all staff
2. Integrity - better to tell the truth early and if belts need tightening - tighten at the top first (and not just bonuses)
3. Accessibility - not just platitudes during induction but to really be accessible
4. Bravery under pressure
5. Single mindednesses

Robinson said that it is important to admit to mistakes and show that you learn from the mistakes. Honesty and integrity.

Motivating staff is vital in times of challenge Robinson's 'magic' includes:

1. Fun
2. Recognition (just in time)
3. Flexibility
4. Rewards (reward the behaviours that you want)
5. Loyalty (inc long service)

Finally Robinson outlined that to have a winning team we need to look at the successes of the Olympic team GB. To create a team he believes the following is required:

1. Clear objectives
2. Manage failure
3. Have the best ingredients (people and resources, products etc)
4. Work harder (and smarter) than your competition
5. User trigger words or phrases to engage with your people
6. Lead by example
7. Value rest - pausing can make a big difference - take a break.
8. Celebrate success.

Summary

All of the three speakers were coherent and very listenable. Messages were blindingly simple, it was down to the belief, trust and integrity of the people at the very top of the organisation - total commitment to a leadership approach. It was about CEO's starting to spend as much or more time with the HR professionals than they do with the Finance Officer.

A wonderful and engaging close to the second day of the 2008 CIPD annual conference.

Leading through turbulence

Masterclass - The power of courageous leaders,

Noel Hadden from Deusche Bank opened the session and set the scene, I almost wished Noel had the session to himself.. he was engaging and humorous in his positioning of the session, it was a particularly difficult introduction for him as his very sector is under the worlds spotlights in terms of what is happening in the investment banking sector. By far the bets and most engaging introduction of any session so far.

This session was led by creator of Ming Gym Octavius Black.

Black started the session again by putting into context the challenges that are being faced by our organisations on an almost daily basis. He posed the statement - "we know the economy is in a mess, that is not the question.. what is the question is How bad is it?"

This is very much a theme running throughout all of the sessions I have attended, an indicator of just how quick and deep we are being affected by current changes.

Black did a quick poll of the audience and of the 400 people in the room only 19 had been managers in 1980 - the last time we were managing a time when it was not consistent growth. This clearly demonstrated that we do not have the experience or resilience within management or HR and need to learn to adapt quickly.

After a flurry of examples of how psychology at a micro level can impact individual and organisation performance. Black cited research and activities that he and his associates and colleagues in the world of psychology have been doing to look at effective leadership, particularly through turbulent times. He highlighted a model he uses which is called the seven heads model. This looks at seven factors:

• Authenticity
• Bravery
• Hope
• Vitality
• Humility
• Curiosity
• Persistence

Black then went through each of these giving some details as to what each of these factors meant.

Summary

Throughout the session Black attempted several interactive exercises, sure these were of some value but each could have been provided in the handouts to undertake later - this was a masterclass not a workshop after all. Throughout the pair work (and a simple psychometric style instrument) Black paced the environment 'checking' that individuals understood the task and were making progress. This would have been fine for 30-40 people - but in my opinion was not particularly effective for a group of this size. Black quoted lots of names of psychologists and books, however often too fast for people to take note and not referenced in the presentation notes in context - although to be fair there is a list of books Black has provided for recommend reading.

I have seen Black before and this was not his best performance, I had the feeling he was attempting to cover too much for the allocated time. However some interesting points for delegates, including references to the 'leaders behaviour' 'hope' has been a regular feature of other presenters this week.

Keynote - Becoming a resonant leader

Becoming a resonant leader
This session featured Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee.

McKee started the session and gave us an overview of what it would take to become a resonant leader.

A strong beginning McKee stated that we are in the mist of the greatest change in human history.. with that she was referring to the changes to social structures and the dramatic changes to the economy and business world as we sat in conference. (the announcement of the collapse of the Lehman Brothers organisation). She said that there was an almost universal acceptance that the old models of leadership just don’t work anymore and we need to find and engage with new and appropriate strategies. She said that great leaders (resonant leaders) move us to change, that is they get us motivated, excited and engaged with change.

Curiously McKee turned the situation around pointing out that most stories about leaders are actually about the followers rather than the leaders themselves, this is certainly true for ‘natural leaders’ such as Mandella. McKee said that her research pointed to the fact that as leaders we have the power to touch and move people, that the wisdom of ‘resonant’ leadership lies within each of us..

McKee introduced the concept of ‘hope’ that hope was often a trigger for possibilities and that effective leaders inspire us to find meaning towards hope for the future. McKee explored the reality that resonant leadership may well be common sense but not common practice – that is we may know this but do not apply it. Mckee also introduce the concept of mindfulness – a subject and ‘competence’ that was introduced earlier by Ben Bryant. This may well be a concept that survives beyond the conference!

McKee set the scene for Richard Boyatzis. Boyatzis started his section with some rhetorical questions of the delegates… How can we tap into hope?, How can I manage the cycle of sacrifice and renewal? How can I become more resonate?

Boyatzis stated that his research into neurology suggested that as humans we are ‘wired for hope’ and that people like change… IF it is tied to hope and will make a positive difference to their lives. He highlighted a wide range of long term research looking at graduates and how they adapt to and accept change. Using Chaos based theory he suggested that for change to work it needs to be discontinuous. He used metaphor to explain that for many of us we will change when the reason is great enough and indeed as humans we find it difficult to cope with continuous change – but cope with and welcome ‘step change’.

Through a highly animated and engaging session Boyatzis explored the neurology of positive and negative ‘attractors’ factors which are important but which is more important is the ratio with which highly effective leaders use positive and negative factors. Leaders of effective teams were said to use positive to negative attractors a ratio of 3:1, however in time of stress these could be as much of 9:1 – a consistent factor in the identification of highly effective leaders.

He left us with the questions:
When you are on your way home, think about who's lists you are on? Are you on their positive or negative list?
Hoe can you ensure you use positive attractors more often?

Distractions

At one point in the presentation the antivirus software notification 'popped' onto the screen - tech guys corrected this quickly without the presenter reacting in any way, sitting near some of us was an individual that had fallen asleep and was snoring loudly - a shame as this was one of the best sessions of the day - the snoring did have a number of us in giggles, I was sat next to a member of CIPD staff at the time and we did joke about putting a photo of the poor individual here on the blog - but that would not have been fair... would it?

Summary
Richard was one of the most engaging and inspirational speakers I have seen for some time – a natural and funny man that not only understood his material, but the audience. A natural motivator and story teller (not your usual American motivational superficial speaker) An academic that understands how to apply solutions in the real world.