It's okay to lose your way

I have just been reading some of my much older posts both on this blog and elsewhere. I don't know about you, but often when I have epiphanies they are fleeting and intangible. Rare moments of insight that bring my life and my place in it, into sharp focus.  Sometimes, if I am lucky, I will have an opportunity to write or record these moments of clarity on social media or the back of a napkin.

I have been thinking that right at that moment the flash fades and the thought is written down or recorded, that all that lies before you seems to focus, your way seems clear and you understand your worth and where to apply it.

In terms of leadership, these ideas can often come in "runs" or series, and you become the author of some quite persuasive and inspirational philosophies. An inspirational momentum if you will. I would argue that this quality is one of the essentials of a good leader. Like most authors, though, leaders are not immune to writer's block. Evidenced in point by the dates between my last post and this.

Was I uninspired or a non-believer in that period? No, I got lost in the detail of my beliefs. I was so focused on putting my nose to the grindstone that I forgot to stop and look up at the horizon. That delicate balance between demonstration of grit and  living in the moment. The difference between working for works sake and striving to achieve goals.

A Leader must have vision and the tools to achieve it by coordinating the efforts of themselves and others. One of the things that builds a leader's integrity and trustworthiness is their ability to get in the trenches with the troops when its required. Equally, it is their ability to know when to stop fighting the battle and stand up and direct the war.

“If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favourable.”
– Seneca (4 BCE-65 CE)


I just wanted to say to you today. Stop, look up, breathe in and remember "It's okay to lose your way"

Refocus

You reap what you sow

You reap what you sow. If you sow honesty, you reap trust. If you sow humility, you reap greatness. If you sow perseverance, you reap contentment. If you sow consideration, you reap perspective. If you sow forgiveness, you reap reconciliation. If you sow hard work, you reap success. Nothing can substitute for these, and you can’t speed up the process. So, be careful what you sow; it will determine what you will reap later.

This fundamental truth about relationships applies not just in leadership development but in customer engagement, employee engagement and indeed in most of the relationships you will develop in life. This weeks thought is a simple one. There is a saying in the construction game, measure twice cut once. Do not rush to complete a task for the sake of efficiency or expediency, make sure the otucome is the one you seek. This pearl of wisdom should be in the toolkit of all modern managers and leadership contenders. Slow down, ask yourself one question "What will I reap?". If you want to grow and instil trust in those you engage with, start with trust.

I've learned that it takes years to build up trust, and it only takes suspicion, not proof, to destroy it. The seed of suspicion is lack of communication. Openess and honesty are the seeds you should be planting and from this you will reap.... trust. Have a great week.

Quality Conversations, Corporate Leadership and the 5 C’s

Apple™ are goliaths in the world IT market, it is no secret they do not hawk the cheapest products in the market nor do they possess niche control. What then is it about these types of mega-brands that engages their customers? Why do customers return again and again to these brands when there are a plethora of cheaper and in some cases better alternatives?

It is their ability to have quality conversations with their customers. It is the ability of the company itself to recognise and differentiate a high value client from a window shopper and to treat those customers accordingly and with respect. Put simply it is BRAND TRUST, and it is backbone of any long term sales strategy. Case in counterpoint is poor old Vodafone™ (Australia) who have had several PR disasters in recent years in this market and are still trying to recover.

Without trust customers are simply not engaged and therefore unattached. What is a quality conversation and how does it elicit engagement? I would suggest it is one in which the customer feels understood, and one in which there is brand/client parity. Remember that old pearl, seek first to understand if you would seek to be understood? I am not suggesting that customer is always right but that the customer in fact just wants to be heard.

It astounds me that many companies today still fail to understand that customers are real life human beings governed by human emotions and capable of independent decision making. The impact therefore of human touch points for the customer cannot be understated. Yet often it is in this very capacity many service or retail focused industries stumble. Too often your brand ambassadors are themselves not committed to your brand, and that apathy (in some cases animosity) is undoing any investment you are making in advertising and branding. The end…..

Okay, maybe not. However, if your sales teams and customer service agents and not impassioned by the company they work for then they cannot build that client trust and quite frankly the customer is astute enough to distinguish that.

The goal then would be to impassion your employees, would it not? With marketing budgets and customer retention programs under constant pressure it would seem naïve, nay even reckless, to implement engagement and retention strategies without first getting the commitment of those who will execute them for you?

How? Here is the $64,000 question (insert your marketing and recruitment budget here). Quality conversations begin at home, that’s right, if you want your brand ambassadors to build trust and brand engagement then it starts with you and your leadership group (note the absence of the word management). Quality conversations are demonstrated by the five C’s.

Reference is often made to “business acumen”. I suggest that this does not just denote the ability to negotiate commercial agreements or understand sales/production cycles but that it in fact refers to quality of the team you build around you. Long term success is not determined by the personalities of your managers, but by the character of your leaders.

The character traits of a Care, Compassion, Communication, Congruency and Commendation. Your employees are also human, NEVER forget this. Your leaders will care what these people think and respond appropriately, and the staff should know you care.

Leaders should show compassion/empathy for the employee’s point of view in a way that is measurable (staff attrition, seems obvious doesn’t it?). This is achieved through effective communication. True communication is evidenced by openness and the ability of your leader to deliver news of change, success and challenges with equal aplomb and for the team member to feel as if they are being listened to. Congruency in deed as well as word is paramount to building trust within your team and is in fact a defining characteristic of a leader.

Over the last decade I have recruited and managed over 300 contractors and employees, with a staff attrition rate well below industry averages. I put it down to liberal use of the above qualities and lastly and most importantly commendation. I hold to a simple principle when it comes to staff engagement, use praise liberally and criticism appropriately and sparingly.

Employee engagement is the secret to customer engagement. In most businesses they will be your single biggest investment and an appropriate level of consideration should be given to maintaining and ensuring they are operating at maximum effectiveness.

What is the difference between a Manager and a Leader?

Adapted with license from several sources including the Wall Street Journal and Warren Bennis' "On Becoming a Leader" 1989.

I am in the process of choosing my next leadership challenge.......read: I am looking for a job. In the last 6 weeks during the interviewing process, I have often been asked, "What type of Manager are you?" A fair question, as most of the roles I have been applying for, carry a title ending with that word.

It has probably been one of the most important skill sets a recruiter was looking for in the traditional resources, manufacturing and services context of the late 20th century. The 21st century economy however is very much an information one, look at the positions vacant sections of your favourite job board if you doubt me.

When I was first asked the question, I admit I stumbled, and to the interviewer this probably created a belief that in providing my response I was making it up as I went along. They were not far from the truth. Primarily though, hand on heart, it was because I have never thought of myself as a manager of assets but as a leader of people.

It did however reignite a subject that has been a passion of mine since I entered the marketing field eight years ago. I came from a public service back ground which was dominated by bureaucracy and managers afraid to speak out for fear of losing position. Any original idea was duly stamped, filed and launched into the black hole affectionately known as "senior management".

So when I entered the private sector it was with a view to finding a productive environment where people were both valued and rewarded for effort. I was lucky enough to be employed by then Hewitt Employer of the year for three years running Salesforce. Australia's largest direct marketing and call centre company at the time. It was headed at the time by the inspirational Kevin Panozza, a man who understood that his most valuable asset was his people. His success was built upon their efforts and encapsulated in his corporate motto Fun, Focus and Fulfilment. My first real interaction with a Leader and influencer. I encourage you to search Kevin on YouTube or Google for his philosophies and employee and customer engagement.

What is the difference between a Manager and a Leader? Which gets results? Which is better? By way of disclosure, I consider myself a Leader with Management capability. So you can see why the first interviewer's question may have stymied an immediate response. This has been an ongoing debate for the best part of 10 decades and many a dissertation has been made on the topic. I thought it worth revisiting the subject in todays's blog for two important reasons. One, the global economy is in the process of shifting from traditional sectors to those dominated by the ICT and secondary information services. Two, the crowding of this space is requiring companies and their managers to become leaders, to increase profit and margins not through efficiency frameworks but by increasing productivity via effective leadership. An engaged employee is a productive and fulfilled one. A companies culture is as much on display as the employees CV.

The manager administers, The Leader innovates

The manager is a copy, The Leader is an original

The manager maintains, The Leader develops

The manager focuses on systems and structure, The Leader focuses on people

The manager relies on control, The Leader inspires trust

The manager has a short range view, The Leader has long range perspective

The manager asks how and when, The Leader asks what and why

The manager has their eye on the bottom line, The Leader has their eye on the horizon

The manager imitates, The Leader originates

The manager accepts the status quo, The Leader challenges it

The manager is a good soldier, The Leader is their own person

The manager does things right, The Leader does the right thing

Perhaps there was a time when the manager and their calling could be separated from the Avant Garde approach of Leaders. That is no longer the case, in the new economy where the value comes from the people and their knowledge the role of a Leader is paramount. In crowded spaces it will be the inspiration and guidance of a leader that pulls your people above the pack. The late management guru Peter Drucker wrote “The task is to lead people. And the goal is to make productive the specific strengths and knowledge of every individual”. In essence, people look to their managers, not to assign them a task, but to define for them a purpose and inspire results.

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