Corporate Instinct

Advice for Change Agents from an all-time Master

2012-09-27T08:44:00.003+01:00

There are a handful of universal truths that are so simple and so profound that they can apply to any situation.

Here are Gandhi's Top 10 Fundamentals for Changing the World. - A really solid foundation to any change programme, even if it's not quite on that scale!

Thanks to my friends at Kiva for sharing this.

Performance Objectives: Restriction or Liberation?

2012-09-18T20:05:00.000+01:00

Managers are sometimes concerned that setting clear and highly measurable performance objectives or targets is restrictive of creativity and innovation; after all, we want our people to work flexibly and be responsive to the needs of the business or service, we don’t want them tied down! However, experience tells us that people like to have clear and unambiguous targets and they can be felt as liberating – we just don’t want our whole life to be governed in this way!
If, as a manager, you have control in mind during a performance management discussion, you’ll probably end up with high control, low empower targets for your team member. If you have growth and empowerment in mind you’re more than likely going to negotiate performance objectives that are genuinely helpful to your team member so…

…check your mindset before you begin!

Performance objectives for delivering results.

This is the classic performance target:
“By the end of October process 500 widgets in compliance with the agreed quality standard”

It’s great for… well, processing widgets! And if the quality standard is comprehensive and clear that’s great. But what if we’re not quite in control of the number of widgets that are needed:
“Provide a comprehensive response to requests for information within 3 working days of receipt of the request”

You might use an objective like this where your team member has tended to slip a little on the timeliness.
This allows for flexibility in demand; of course we could go on to define ‘comprehensive’ but we’re talking about people having some discretion and some inherent skill and knowledge here so, unless there is a particular performance issue that needs working on you might want to leave this to the individual. Equally, you might want to agree a monitoring arrangement – a recording sheet, occasional sampling etc. But again, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Far better if you are able to trust your team member to monitor their own performance!

Performance Targets for Behaviour

This seems a bit more tricky, but how many times do you find that it’s not what someone delivers that causes difficulties, it’s how they deliver it?

Many organisations aim for a strong value base across everything they do. So how can you use performance objectives to support a team member to demonstrate those values? After all, if someone has the habit of being a little rude or dismissive to colleagues they’re likely to need some support to find some new behaviours and practice them until they become natural.

A word of warning here: if you start setting objectives in the absence of honest and participative discussion things can start to feel pretty patronising. On the other hand, used collaboratively and set collaboratively, clear objectives can be really helpful to an individual in, firstly, helping them understand the behaviours they need to adopt and secondly, helping them create new positive habits.

Obviously then, the objectives you negotiate in respect of changing behaviours will be very personal, but here are a couple of illustrations.

For the staff member who is described by colleagues as aloof and distant, not part of the team:
“Every morning for the next two weeks, say ‘Good morning” to colleagues when you arrive in the office and on three occasions over the next two weeks, ask a non-work question or start a non-work conversation”

Or, for the staff member who is highly efficient, but not a ‘team player’:
“On three occasions over the next two weeks, offer to help someone with one of their tasks”

Of course seeing this written down emphasises the need to set behaviour objectives collaboratively. It’s far better if the staff member comes up with his or her own performance targets!

A couple of other things to remember:

Behaviour objectives should be short term; today, next week, or a couple of weeks maximum. Anything more and they become almost impossible to sustain and we really need to reinforce with success.

Behaviour objectives need review, so an objective needs underpinning with “Lets meet at the end of the two weeks so we can talk about how you got on and how the new behaviour felt to you.” This review enables the staff member to set new and perhaps slightly more challenging targets for the next period.

Habits are really hard to break. An objective about stopping doing something is unlikely to work. Try instead to add a positive behaviour.

New habits are much easier to create. Ten to fifteen concurrent repetitions of a behaviour are enough to start to form a habit, and then it gets easier and easier!

Finally

Don’t be tempted to set performance objectives for everything! Focus on the things that most need development and agree just four to six clear, measurable and meaningful targets in total.

A lesson on performance management from the London Paralympic games.

2012-09-10T20:12:00.001+01:00

“Lifting the Cloud of Limitation”

(Quote from a London 2012 Games Maker)

- A lesson on performance management from the London Paralympic games.

The Paralympics closing ceremony has just started as I write this; full of emotion, of happiness, of inspiration, of humanity…. asd it’s only 9pm!
Looking back less than two weeks to when the first competitions raised the curtain on these remarkable few days and countless moments of history, I’m recognising a fundamental change in the types of conversation we’ve been having.

Just twelve days ago we were having conversations about disability: “What’s wrong with him?” or, “She looks normal.” and even “He’s almost as good as a normal athlete.” The focus was on “can’t do”, it was on limitation and it was on deficit. It was on making the most of a bad job and at very best, it was patronising.

Athlete first, disability second

Fast forward to today. How much of today’s conversation is about deficit? Not much! It seems like the world has been blown away by the power, the determination and the achievements of these amazing, dedicated and finely tuned athletes. The disability has become secondary; the ability has become the focus.

What’s this got to do with performance management?

So many performance management meetings seem to focus on deficit. What have I not done well enough? Which targets have not been achieved? etc. Would we even be having the conversation if there wasn’t something wrong? In this environment, performance management quickly becomes seen as a negative process, focusing on the disability rather than the ability… and you get what you focus on!

If performance management discussions were about ability, aspiration dreams and excitement couldn’t individuals and organisations start to find the true greatness that rests in all of us?

Of course not one of our paralympic athletes has been naive enough to pretend that they have no disability; part of the success process is to be clear and honest about the challenges we experience. A performance management discussion that avoids these sometimes painful issues is not going to help at all. Our paralympians have learned to work with their disabilities to achieve the truly exceptional.

So, a heartfelt plea: Let’s stop thinking of performance management as a deficit process or as the assertion of restrictive control and instead be determined to deliver performance management as a key process for supporting people to unleash their amazing talents!

The Importance of Rituals.

2011-04-29T16:51:00.002+01:00

Royalist or not, you can’t deny that the marriage of William and Catherine has evoked a really strong reaction! (This will be clear to readers in the UK, - what about the rest of you?) It seems for most people, that the reaction has been hugely positive (although I accept that viewing events through the eyes of the media probably means we only see one side!) I was struck by the numbers of people who chose to spend their day off standing for hours on an unforgiving pavement in London on the promise of a fleeting glimpse of a couple of strangers pulled down a road in a horse-drawn carriage! Why?!

Ritual and tradition prevails in all societies throughout the world. It happens in families: in mine, we’ve just been through our annual Easter egg hunt… again! I’m confident that my twelve and seventeen year-olds have outgrown the Easter Bunny, but it’s still an important part of family life! It happens with football fans: the chants, the songs the rivalries. It happens everywhere.

So what about the rituals and traditions that provide unity and commonality in businesses and other organisations? They are there, and they can be a powerful force for good… or for bad.

The Christmas party
The annual bonus
The Friday after-work drink
The fund-raising event
The jokes at the expense of the sales team, or HR or Finance
The quarterly presentation from the boss
The morning coffee break

Some of these rituals are big and inescapable; some are so much the norm, so much part of the culture that we don’t even notice we’re engaging in them! – But they are powerful!

So some questions:

What are the traditions & rituals that characterise your workplace?

Firstly, look at those that have been deliberately created. Are they creating the positive outcomes that were intended? …. Really? Most times there is a balance – some positive outcomes, but some resentments or annoyances. What could you do to add to the positives and minimise the negatives so that an OK process becomes something fantastic?!

Secondly, what about the traditions and rituals that are just there? These are likely to provide the most accurate reflection of the culture of your organisation. Are they a force of organisational health? Are they pertinent to the current environment? Or do they reflect a situation that existed ten years ago and therefore hold you back?

Do your traditions and rituals have the same positive impact on everyone? What about the groups who feel marginalised by them like the anti-royalists who view the Royal wedding as illustrating nothing more than extravagance in inequality? What could you do to ensure inclusivity?

Rituals are often artefacts of culture so they could use some examination. Making sure that they support the aspirations of your organisation can provide a much more powerful energiser for change that twenty carefully crafted policy documents!

What's your excuse?

2010-09-16T20:03:00.001+01:00

This is a bit different. Powerful & challenging.

Thanks to Neil Cocker for bringing it to my attention and to Sean Mullens for the artistry.

BIRTHRIGHT from Sean Mullens on Vimeo.

So, now for the challenge:

What is it that's stopping you from doing that thing which you know is of crucial importance to you?

What is the dreadful disability that superimposes "Can't DO" in big bold letters over our aspiration?

Whether it be something in our personal life, or a fundamental belief that there's a better way of doing things at work, most of us are great at expending loads of energy finding reasons not to take the risk!

Our global economic and environmental conditions are screaming out for us to find new ways, radical approaches, different outcomes. I don't believe we're short of creative ideas and innovative delivery - but we do seem short of the courage to do what really matters to us.

Any thoughts?

Lessons in Leading Change from the Dancing Man

2010-07-15T15:54:00.004+01:00

I came across this clip whilst researching for a team-building event for a new client. Take a look it, it’s just short of four minutes long but please don‘t try to take a short-cut, watch to the end!

To me, this presents a great metaphor for the leadership of change and I’d like to offer the following thoughts to those of you who are working hard to create excitement and momentum for change:

If you’re really committed to achieving your change goal, go for it big-time! A bit of self conscious hand jiving just won’t do, - you have to get stripped down and put your soul into it! We don’t know if the dancing man felt embarrassed, but he certainly didn’t show it! Note too, that you don’t have to be a fantastic dancer – but you do have to commit, - and to show everyone just what great fun dancing is!
Don’t intellectualise too much. I don’t suppose the dancing man crafted a compelling PowerPoint explaining the features and benefits of dancing. Nor did he commit too much time to persuading others to join in (he tried but it didn't work too well!). Yes, talking and explaining is good – but active demonstration is much more powerful!
Find the right dance-floor. Yes, you want to be visable so you can have an impact, but dancing all over someone else's picnic is not going to make you many friends!
Don’t give up. I suspect most of us, if we had been brave enough to start dancing on our own, would have given up after thirty seconds or so. It takes a long time for someone to grow the courage and enthusiasm to join in. While you’re dancing, and while you’re showing your commitment and enthusiasm is not easily damaged, you’re building up ‘trust-credits’, you’re showing yourself as the sort of person who it’s safe and good to follow.
Make a big fuss of your early adopters! “Wow! You are the best dancer ever! So tasteful! So classy! You are so much better at it than me!” Allow your new-comer to enjoy the experience on their own terms and don’t try to control them too much. This is often difficult for a ‘change leader’. After all, it’s been your dance for so long it’s only natural you will want to show people how to do it and make sure they do it in the way you’ve been dreaming about for such a long time. Sustainable change needs to be organic. As soon as someone joins in it stops being ‘yours’ and starts being ‘ours’. Welcome the new creativity and energy and if you hadn’t envisaged handstands? – well get over it! Of course in practice there will need to be some rules but try and keep these to a minimum early on emphasising values and commitment instead.
Don’t let up. It’s a great feeling when one turns into three and three turns into six but remember that these early adopters will probably not have the commitment or staying power that you have demonstrated. A less experienced dancing man might have stood back with delight and pride, taken a well earned rest….. and watched the support disappear! Notice the successes but be aware that change takes time to bed in. Others will not be as resilient as you have been. They need your inspiration and example, they need to see that you are just as committed to the change and just as passionate as you always were.
Finally, can you imagine how our dancing man felt at the end of the sequence? That’s going to be you someday – maybe sooner than you think!

Making a difference - and getting on with it!

2010-06-08T10:13:00.002+01:00

For a couple of years I've been wanting to find a way of making a difference in Africa in relation to poverty, social or economic exclusion. This was given more immediacy by the fantastic "Wales to Africa" programme conceived and run by the Welsh Assembly Government. I really wanted to take the opportunity to take a short secondment and spend some time supporting an African development project. But it didn't happen, the time was never right with work and family commitments, - it would have been a selfish thing to do.

Since then, I've become more aware of other opportunities to help, notably micro-finance loans which support entrepreneurs to create their own wealth and to find sustained growth for families and communities.

For the last 2 years I've had the web address for Kiva, an American micro-finance charity. For the last 2 years, I've been waiting for the time when work is secure, when the business is established, when...... when..... when the time is right to make an investment.

This last weekend I looked back at my last blog entry: Whilst it's rarely the perfect time, it's rarely the wrong time either. I might want to commit huge sums of cash to support a vision, but what's wrong with starting with a few quid.

I believe that whatever you do, it has an effect. The same does not apply to dreaming about doing something!

So, I've taken some action. Now I need to make sure that people know about it. Lets see what we have to do to create some momentum!

I have taken the decision to:

support female entrepreneurs - because I believe that women remain systematically disempowered
support groups - because I believe that communities offer support and sustainability

What should I do to get others involved?

The key to achieving change

2010-06-04T11:16:00.003+01:00

"The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The next best time is today" Lao Tse

Organisations seem to spend weeks, months, years planning change.

Here in Wales, our government has spent at least 18 months preparing to levy a charge on the purchase of single-use plastic carrier bags and has just announced that it will implement in 9 months. I applaud the initiative, but I'm pretty confident that we have to get much much quicker at implementing change. Whether we're thinking environmentally or economically, we just don't have the luxury of time anymore!

OK, I accept that some things need very detailed programme and project management. Big IT systems being the obvious example (although isn't it well evidenced that nine out of ten of these projects fail to deliver their intended outcomes despite all the planning?) I suppose I'm thinking of initiatives designed to change behaviour - whether it's re-using plastic bags or the subtleties of behaviour that accumulate to form an organisation's culture.

My 'Top Tip' for behaviour change is as follows:

The way to create change is to do something different

-Well there it is - 'bit obvious really!

"Do something different" is not the same as "talk about Change" (although talking is good too). It's not the same as "write a strategy" or "produce a Managing Change procedure". Do something different means just that, - actually do something, - and do it as publicly as possible.

If you're the boss of a small or medium sized organisation, just doing stuff yourself might be enough. People will notice, they will use you as an example of how to behave and your 'Do' you do will start to cascade through your organisation. (But do whatever you're doing consistently and genuinely, if you mess up just once, it will be noticed).

If you run a larger organisation, you might need to brief others to do the change too. The key influencers, whether they be your management team, the receptionist or that guy who's always there whenever there's a group of people having fun are your allies. You don't need to ask them to persuade others though, - just get them to do the Do.

If you're not the Big Boss and have less exposure, you might want to be a little more sneaky. Create a little 'geurrilla movement' of doers and get them to create little pockets of 'Do' around the place. It takes a little longer but if you're doing 'Good Do' others will catch on.

Most of us seem to have this resistance to Do. Is it just inertia, or perhaps it's learnt behaviour, - we've become defeated or found that stepping up is quite dangerous.

I find myself in a place where, as my own boss, I can do just about whatever I want. Yet I have a list of great things I want to do that has been hanging around for a year or more. Why haven't I got on with it? The time will never be perfect, but does it need to be perfect?

(I've been thinking about writing this post for a couple of weeks now, but it didn't get any closer to becoming reality until I started typing!)

Next time I get a spare half hour (which will be over the next few days) I'm going to Do something on that list. The Do may not be perfect, it may not be as big as I really want, but 'behaviour breeds behaviour', so if I Do something, other Dos will follow!

What about Followership?

2010-05-17T14:37:00.009+01:00

In the UK we’ve been focussing obsessively on Leadership for the last couple of weeks. But there’s no leader without a follower and as, in relation to the UK political environment, most of us have little option but to put ourselves in the ‘follower’ camp perhaps it would be worth thinking about followership for a while.

Followership in not as sexy as leadership of course, so there are not so many academics working on it and no bookshelves groaning under the weight of Followership hardbacks. However I will refer to Barbara Kellerman's "How Followers Are Creating Change and Changing Leaders"

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Followership-Followers-Creating-Changing-Leadership/dp/1422103684/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274101028&sr=8-1

Kellerman identifies 5 types of follower :

Isolates – these are people who care little for their leaders and will rarely respond to them regardless of who they are. These people tend to keep a low profile, they want to stay out of the way and just get on with their job without ‘interference from above’.

Bystanders on the other hand are the sorts of people who will offer little support to any leader. They will follow passively and really just observe things from the side lines, rarely getting involved in very much. They differ from isolates in that they tend not to hide from being led or managed nor do they resent it like the isolates can do.

Participants do care about the organisation and do usually want to make an impact. If they agree with the leader they will actively support them, however if they think that the leader is wrong they will actively oppose them, sometimes behind their backs.

Activists have strong beliefs both about the organisation and their leaders. They will actively engage depending on how they see both. If they like what they see they will engage and help create even better conditions. If they don’t they will actively try to get rid of the leader.

Diehards have the highest level of engagement in the organisation and with the leaders and have high passions. If the leader is going (in their opinion) in the right direction they will dedicate all to them and become a disciple. If they think that a leader needs some help to develop they will engage with them, however if they think that the leader is destructive they will set out to destroy the leader.

In the Political context, it’s interesting to speculate what kind of follower is most valuable. Ordinarily we value the highest level of engagement, - but these people come with their challenges. I suspect a government would be pretty satisfied to have most of us Isolates and Bystanders – so long of course there are sufficient more engaged followers to actually get something done!

What politics does do is polarise thinking. Those of us who are a bit more engaged will either love what’s happening in the UK or hate it, - not too many half measures! That strength of feeling brings its own risks. If we enthusiastically follow, delivering on any expectation without questioning or challenging, are we not simply abdicating our responsibility to the society in which we live? On the other hand, if our venom for the Coalition is unchecked, are we denying any opportunity for change? If we assume the worst, we create the worst!

A truly great follower treads a middle ground. We challenge, suggest, remind, nudge, - learning and using the skills of managing upwards as we do.

But we also have to swallow hard sometimes and just give it a go!

Speak like a Pirate Day

2010-04-21T16:12:00.003+01:00

I was running an event on coaching and mentoring the other day for Cartrefi Cymru, a fantastic social care organisation which works across the whole of Wales. Their desire is to work towards creating a coaching culture in supervision and throughout their organisation.

Hats off to Stuart who came up with a great idea for raising awareness of coaching and of the core skill of effective questionning:

Some people will be familiar with the concept of the "talk like a pirate day", - for the whole day, e everyone in the office is expected to fill all of their usual conversations with '"ARRh"s and "Me Hearties" and "Shiver me timbers" - and what ever pirate-like phrases and accents come to mind.

The coaching variation is the "Ask open questions day." With penalty donations to charity for anyone who forgets themself and asks "Would you like a coffee?" or any other closed question.

Wonderfully silly idea, - what a great way of raising avareness of coaching behaviour and the use of open questions to promote learning and developmental conversations.

What's even better, is Cartrefi Cymru are going to give it a go!

Still no Planes!

2010-04-19T11:06:00.004+01:00

What's happened so far?

Willie Walsh has flown his plane through the dust and survived, and several other companys have done similar.

From an industry which proclaims that safety is paramount, we are now getting "It's all a big overreaction" type statements. Decide for yourself, but it seems strange how quickly the corporate mind has changed.

Meanwhile, the UK government is sending in the Navy, a flotilla of small boats has 'rescued' travellers Dunkirk-style, European football teams are driving to fixtures and the Channel Tunnel is having a really good April!

So you can take your choice about what's most interesting and revealing about the reactions:

Airlines: "Let's pretend it's not an issue and get back to normal"

Ferry Companies: "Whoopee!! we can clean up using our existing business model"

Government: "Send in the Navy!!!"

Individuals / small operators: "We can do something new & find a different way"

I wonder if any of the emergent solutions will sustain once the crisis is over.

I wonder what the reaction will be if summer travel were to be threatened.

Volcanos, Ash and Thinking Differently!

2010-04-16T17:18:00.011+01:00

Looking out of my window this morning I noticed an apparently clear sky. Yes, I know that actually there are a whole load of tiny volcanic ash particles with the potential to cause havoc, but I can’t see them. Nor can I see the vapour trails from aircraft that I usually don’t notice – but I notice their absence.

So how long will it be before we’re all back to normal? I’m sure we’re able to suspend this way of life for 24 hours, but 48 hours? 72 hours? How long would it be before, rather than simply closing everything down and waiting, we all decided that we needed to do something completely different? We do what we do because we’ve always done things that way. Or at least, our “doing things that way” has crept up on us over time so we didn’t notice getting into the habit.

However, the really creative thinking arrives when something happens suddenly. Whether it’s a terrorist attack or a natural disaster, a driving ban or a dreadful trauma that leaves us without the physical capabilities we had yesterday, these are the times where our creativity and ingenuity have no bounds.

There’s an interesting exercise for any organisation facing a challenge!

“So we are faced with a 10% reduction in revenues. What would we do if we had to manage a 50% reduction?” (and giving up and going home were not an option!)

“Our prisons are bursting at the seams. How could we respond if the another 50,000 people were given a custodial sentence next week?”

“Fuel prices are rising past £1.20 a litre, what if they were not £1.20 but £12.00, or £120.00”

We have that growing realisation that the way we run our lives and our society has got to change, but we can still pretend that the moment’s not yet here. If we couldn’t keep up the pretence maybe we’d come up with something really exciting – or perhaps the obvious solution that’s been staring us in the face for ages. Well, there’s a whole load of thinkers sitting in airports and hotel rooms just now going nowhere and with nothing much to do. Which of them will be brave enough and creative enough to find a different way?

The Fear Factory

2010-03-19T14:19:00.001+00:00

Two decades of politicians playing the law and order ‘arms race’ have brought a criminal justice crisis to the UK.

Especially when it comes to our young - where we're ultimately creating more of the very thing we fear... criminals.

Despite an all-time high for re-offending rates, despite prisons at bursting point - we plan to keep on building and continue to incarcerate more young people than any other country in Western Europe.

The public's fear of youth crime bears little relation to reality and the young are more demonised, more alienated and more easily caught in a self-fulfilling prophesy of our own making...

….The Fear Factory

With funding from The Nationwide Foundation, three Third Sector agencies came together to commission this film, Safer Wales Ltd, Construction Youth Trust and Addaction. We all work intensively with young people who are either offenders or at risk of offending, to break the cycles of vulnerabilities, and prevent re-offending.

As Chair of Trustees of Safer Wales Ltd. I am really proud of this film which is uniting a range of otherwise very diverse agencies and becoming a catalyst for long-overdue action.

Please take a look at The Fear Factory Website and Blog

http://www.thefearfactory.co.uk/

- and add your weight to the campaign either by simply following the blog or, if you represent an interested organisation, by joining the Coalition.

We are currently discussing the broadcast of The Fear Factory with UK National Broadcasters.

Thoughts on Leadership - Martin Luther King Day

2010-01-21T14:39:00.004+00:00

Last Sunday evening I was driving from my home in South Wales to the North in preparation for delivering a learning programme on Monday.

Amongst the many programmes I heard on the radio (it's a long drive!) was the BBC's Americana http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00kpjpm. In the final segment, a group of Chicago primary school children imagined that Martin Luther King was still alive. What would they ask him if they had had the opportunity?

I'm not sure why this segment made such an impact on me, - but it did so, to the extent that I have transposed the audio from BBC i-player and reproduce it here. (Sorry BBC for reproducing without permission - but it's all good marketing!)

"How did you feel when you could not play with your white friends anymore?"
"How did it feel when people were mean to you?"
"When you were marching, did you think you might get killed or arrested?"
"Was it hard for you to protest against all the unfair laws?"
"Out of all the unfair things, if you could pick one, which one did you dislike the most?"
"When you were a child, did you know you were going to change the world?"
"Do you think that some laws should still be changed?"
"Why did you tell people not to ride the bus?"
"Do you think fighting with words is better than fighting with fists?"
"How did you get so many people to follow your example?"
"What was your very first speech & how old were you?"
"What was your favourite speech you wrote?"
"How did you get to make your speech in Washington DC?"
"When you marched in Washington, what did it feel like to be in front of millions of people?"
"How did you feel..."
"Were you afraid..."
"Were you nervous when you were out there?"
"What went through your head when you gave your 'I Have a Dream' speech?"
"What part of your 'I Have a Dream' speech do you think got people to listen the most?"
"After the speech, where did you go and what did you feel like?"

"What else are you going to change?"

Americana, BBC Radio 4 Sunday 17th Jan 2010

The Necessary Conditions for Innovation

2009-11-29T20:15:00.005+00:00

There is little doubt that public service, whether statutory or voluntary has entered those ‘interesting times’!

Those at the higher end of the food chain now know their budget settlements for next year, those that are not, have or certainly should have, a pretty good understanding of where things are heading.

Whilst many settlements are not quite as scary as many had anticipated, there is little doubt that 2010/11 will be a year of preparing for unprecedented cuts to come.

So, how should organisations respond?

David Snowden, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Cognitive Edge offers a useful perspective.

I find David’s argument about ‘The Necessary Conditions for Innovation’ is particularly interesting right now - because it seems to me that those conditions are arising in abundance in public services, in Wales, in the UK, in Europe and across much of the World.

Take a look at this You-Tube clip and decide for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlmesbbPqtU

In summary, the argument is that there are three necessary conditions which promote an innovative approach amongst individuals and groups:

Starvation, - a substantial reduction of resources,

Pressure of Time, - the realisation that we really can’t carry on like this much longer,

Perspective Shift, - the realisation that what was critical yesterday is incidental today, - and there’s a whole new order of Critical we’ve just discovered!

“Necessary, but not sufficient…..”

Just one thing, David’s word of warning:

These three conditions do not guarantee innovation – they just make it possible. If organisations are to benefit from a new appetite to innovate, just reminding people that “we’re broke, it’s going to get worse and the stuff we went on about last year has no bearing anymore,” is possibly not quite enough!

Where has September gone?

2009-09-29T11:27:00.003+01:00

Well what an incredibly busy September it's been!

- I'm not complaining, I need to earn a living and in the current economic conditions 'making hay whilst the sun shines' has got to be a good thing.

What I've been reminded of however, is how easy it is to get so into hay making that you forget all the lessons you taught yourself when things were a little quieter along with all the life priorities that you know make absoluterly sense!

I've been lucky enough to have been working with a number for fantastic clients in September, - and that's been very affirming and rewarding. I've also been doing a whole load of desk-work culminating last week in three nights in a row working until 2.30am.

The result of this was that I did the absolute minimum necessary to keep home & family ticking over (the most important life priority for me, yet I did the minimum!); I stopped my 'me time' completely (usually allow myself a half hour morning and evening for relaxation/recovery & re-focussing), and I survived on coffee to keep me awake and red wine to get me to sleep!

Is it any wonder that my body took took over the self management for me, - I stooped to get my son's pizza out of the oven & my back gave out. - couldn't move and had no choice but to have a complete 'system shutdown'.

Why do I, and so many other people, refuse to notice the signs and carry on as if we're some kind of super hero? Of course there are some disasters that are genuinely unpredictable, but how many times has a major catastrophe in your work or life been followed by some bright spark saying, "well, you could have seen thast coming a mile off"?!

What is 'Corporate Instinct'? - Part 2

2009-08-21T14:59:00.002+01:00

We're kind of familiar with the concept of 'flow', that wonderful state when we become so deeply and wholly engaged in what we're doing that our subconscious seems to take over and the most challenging task starts to feel effortless. We seem to do things twice as efficiently, the quality of our actions and their consequences seem outstanding and we find ourselves using skills, talents or instincts we didn’t know we had.

That feeling of ‘flow’ has been with me, albeit fleetingly, several times in my working life. It seems to happen to me quite a bit when I’m deeply engrossed in coaching or facilitating action learning, sometimes too when I’m delivering training activities. Professionally, one’s reaction might well be to ‘snap out of it’. We are taught that switching to autopilot can be dangerous; how do we know we’re noticing all the signs? Can we be sure we’re 100% engaged? But somehow you know the difference between the ‘flow’ state and the ‘not quite there’ state, and you know that this is the former.

Now, I can think of a few occasions where I found myself ‘flowing’ with a group of colleagues. It happens at those times of extreme creativity or problem solving. You find your group acting and apparently thinking as one being rather than as separate individuals. I emphasise the word ‘creativity’ as I don’t want to confuse this state with the strict adherence to a drilled routine, - maybe I’m wrong, but synchronised swimming feels to me to be about strict compliance rather than about ‘flow’ – and it only works in highly controlled environments, - not so good if there are unpredictable tides, currents or waves which impact variably on each team member.

It’s just a wonderful feeling when a group of Humans create this collective flow together, - fabulous too of we could use the ability to avoid conflict amongst us.

As Daisaku Ikeda, President of Soka Gakkai International expresses it:

“Birds fly about high in the sky. Yet it does not happen that two birds collide with one another. Again, many fish live in the sea. Yet it is unheard of for two fish to bump into each other. In the immense breadth of the sky and the sea, birds and fish live and move about freely because of their instinctive knowledge of the routes of the sky and the sea as well as the principles that govern the processes of flight and swimming.

In the same way, when living in accordance with the Law [he refers here to the fundamental laws of humanity and nature]….human beings will not uselessly collide with one another. They will not come into conflict with each other on account of minor negative feelings such as jealousy, hatred and arrogance, thus creating unhappiness and misfortune for themselves”

What is 'Corporate Instinct'? - Part 1

2009-07-30T16:56:00.007+01:00

I think I'm about ready to try and share some clarity about the nature of this concept of 'corporate instinct'. Please bear with me, - I'm thinking as I'm doing so won't always get it right first time!

Some words will follow, but I want to start with some images. Take a look at the school of fish and the flock of birds. What messages do the images present when you think about human organisations?

Enjoy!

In both of these clips there's the immediate 'how do they co-ordinate so effectively?' I'm interested in reflecting on this later. But for now, I was particularly interested in the fish clip, - because we are closer to the action, we see more detail:

How is it that different groups of fish simultaneously take the lead (and former leaders allow themselves to be followers)?
Which fish decides on a change? ...or is 'decides' the wrong word?
How and why do subgroups emerge creating harmonious yet contrary motions?
...and how do they re-unite?

Part 2 to follow soon, - but please feel free to comment.

What a great waste of human potential

2009-07-07T12:03:00.008+01:00

I attended the Welsh Human Rights Summit yesterday.

This was a day event organised jointly by The Equality & Human Rights Commission and Public Service Management Wales. It was hugely stimulating, providing both good and bad news stories and critically, generating a powerful 'call to action' for us all.

I left the event, however, feeling unsettled, - frustrated that we were still having the same debates and are, to an extent at least, still stuck in the same place.

You see to me, the concept of unconditional human rights for all is just part of the journey. On Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs, I'd place Human Rights pretty near the bottom, not far above food and shelter. In an organisational context, Human rights are very much part of Hertzberg's 'Hygiene Factors', - the basics that must be in place rather than providing any sustained motivational driver.

I suppose I see human rights as a necessary, but not very exciting starting point. I'm much more interested in the human conditions that are liberated when we enable people to exercise their basic human rights:

What about Human Excitement, Human Creativity, Human Imagination?

What could an organisation that is full of Human Compassion, Human Inspiration and Human Vision achieve?

What could possible stop an organisation that was piled high with Human Commitment, Human Motivation and Human Understanding?

These are the human qualities that will best see us through the current recession, and that will create long-lasting and sustainable transformation. Why is our society, - let's face it, why is our planet, still struggling with the basic conditions that are needed to release this amazing and transforming capability?

Perhaps the good news is that, in the current global economic climate, the organisation that takes on the Human Rights agenda in a genuine and holistic way and recognises the value of unlocking its latent human potential will fly, - and act as a beacon for others!

If you try to borrow someone else’s flow you’re asking for trouble!

2009-06-29T19:49:00.008+01:00

I’m noticing coincidences at the moment.

I’ve been talking about Nick Smith and Flow quite a bit. In his Little Book of Flow which is downloadable for free at http://www.life2point0.com/2006/06/the_little_book.html Nick tells a story about a trip to Silverstone race track and an experience of ‘flow’ whilst racing a single seater racing car.

My story won’t be nearly as good if you haven’t read Nick’s account first, but to summarise, Nick describes an experience where he became ill and was on the edge of passing out as he raced a very powerful single seater race car round the circuit. Perhaps because his judgement was impaired by his illness, rather than stop the car and spoil the experience for his family, he continues to race and, in this strange state of body and mind, allows his inner self, unrestricted by his conscious mind to take control of the car. Nick not only wins the race, but beats the lap record!

Whilst I was reading this account, my wife, who had not read it, was booking me a single seater racing experience at Silverstone! The same cars, the same track, the same experience as Nick.

She booked it for last weekend, 3 days after I had met Nick for the first time and heard him tell the same story at the Welsh Public Service Summer School.

Anyway, the Journey to Silverstone was lovely. Beautiful weather and scenery, - and I was very excited; about to do something I’d never done before – and something that was completely different from a normal me-type activity, - yet it had a real fit with my current reading and learning!

Well, I felt fine. I went through my basic training and got myself strapped into the car. The engine started with a roar and, getting to grips with an unforgiving clutch, I made a jerky and hesitant start. However, a few laps behind the safety car was enough to overcome this and to get to grips with 0 to 60 in less than 4 seconds. Then, as the safety car peeled off into the pits I was racing – and in the lead! (That's me in the photo above). Within a couple of laps two cars had shot passed me and I realised I was doing OK, but not really ‘pushing the envelope’. I started to relax, I eased my grip on the wheel and the gear shift, - I went faster. I allowed my conscious mind to take a back seat and to observe rather than control. I lapped the back-markers. I noticed myself breaking later into the corners and accelerating earlier out of them. I felt totally in control and totally out of control at the same time. I felt no fear, but a real sense of calm and happiness. I was going fast. I was working my way past the other cars to the front. Ahead of me, as the race drew towards a close, I saw the car I had first lapped. Of course I would get passed it again, and that would give me a clear run to the chequered flag. With no worry, no strain – and no particular thought, I felt my car accelerate underneath me and I shot passed – even though he was accelerating hard too. I prepared for the next corner without worrying my conscious mind with the details. Breaking hard, I locked the wheels and squealing and screeching (the car not me) I spun through the safety cones, off the track and out of the race!

So, the moral of this story is to make sure to go with your own flow – don’t try to borrow someone else’s!

The most astounding leader of all

2009-06-25T11:37:00.003+01:00

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to join the Wales Public Service Summer School for the day. This is a week long festival of leadership learning organised by Public Service Management Wales, the public service organisation with which I’ve had the privilege to work over the past three years.

Summer School really is a feast, a glutton’s paradise of learning opportunities for senior and developing leaders. The 200+ learners are exposed to often controversial thinking from across the world, are challenged to convert learning into action and are fed to bursting point with stimulating conversation and calls to action. It’s exhausting and exhilarating at the same time!

Whilst there, I caught up with old friends, was re-inspired by an old acquaintance, Baroness Rennie Frichie, and met, Nick Smith, - the ‘flow’ man and author of the Life 2.0 blog which I have referred to previously and admire enormously. I was also able to support the delivery of a workshop which introduced the powerful action learning methodology to a group of leaders. During this workshop I was disturbed by two members of the group who described how all this contact with great thinkers and leadership theory was leading them to believe that they were really not cut out for leadership. They seemed to have a sense that it was all alien to them, that they didn’t have the way of thinking nor the knowledge that was exhibited by others so weren’t worthy to be in the leadership club.

Lets be clear about what’s important here.

Leadership theories can be great. They can challenge us and stretch us. A decent leadership tool box is a real asset. It gives me more choice and helps me think creatively and communicate effectively. But it’s all just icing on the cake.

Leadership, like any other art form comes from within. It comes from the values we hold, our belief system, our vision, our drive and excitement to make things better, the absolute conviction that there’s something important to be done and the sense of personal responsibility that leads us not to pass the buck!

Only then are the theories and tools useful.

I worry that sometimes we stifle real talent by not recognising and celebrating the fantastic leader within all of us. It's instinctive and intuitive, 100% honest and therefore hugely powerful. Yes it needs nurturing and refining, but it’s the cornerstone of our success and the most genuine and powerful tool at our disposal!

You can be too fantastic you know!

2009-06-12T16:09:00.014+01:00

It’s a funny thing about leadership:

The stereotypical ‘great’ leader, the leader we all (allegedly) want to serve under is strong, decisive, determined, clever, insightful, sensitive, charismatic, full of energy etc. etc. (He or she probably also has perfect teeth, a great tan, fantastic dress sense and is drop-dead gorgeous too, but these are the optional extras not the key attributes!)

But if this leader is so perfect, as a follower I’m presented with a couple of problems:

Firstly, how can I possibly aspire to be such a paragon of virtue? I tell rubbish jokes, am more than a little shy, have to battle against laziness and (here’s a confession) sometimes get things very wrong! (I’m not going to make any comparison in relation to personal appearance, - read into that what you will!)

This image of great leadership is so removed from me that he or she may as well be from a different planet. I’m never going to be like that, so I may as well stop trying and crawl back to where I belong!

Secondly, even if I choose to stay working hard for my fantastic leader, what is it that I can contribute? S/he’s better than me at everything, doesn’t need my advice or support, doesn’t need me to take up the running when s/he’s plain tired or fed-up. What is there to motivate me in just doing what I’m told? Where’s my autonomy? Where’s my creativity? Where’s my sense that I’m contributing something special?

Any decent leader must give time to thinking about the followers. Whether you’re thinking about Anita Roddick, Alex Ferguson, Diasaku Ikeda or Superman, the same applies:

How do I retain the enthusiasm and active commitment of my people?
How do I ensure I don’t inadvertently create an over-dependence?
How do I nurture leaders at all levels in my organisation?
How do I ensure the organisation will survive and thrive after I’m gone?

Oh and another thing, - please lets not pretend to be the perfect leader. If we succeed we alienate everyone and if we fail we look foolish - and still alienate everyone!

Ah Ha!!! - caught myself out!!!

2009-05-26T13:15:00.004+01:00

The deadly trap of the un-noticed ego!!!

Blogging's new to me. I've been getting myself going but not entirely happy with the product. I say what I want to, but it doesn't seem quite genuine.

It dawned on me the other day, - then got confirmed by my friend Mary Hughes (thanks Mary) . As I've been writing, I've been wanting to sound clever, - profound, - and a whole load of things which get in the way of honesty & integrety. Just like every activity, blogging benefits from mindfulness, from being able to separate out the 'real me' from the egoic mask that I and just about everyone else wears most of the time.

This is what we struggle with so much of the time, - and what lies at the heart of my beliefs around leadership and organisational development. We spend most of our time playing the part of ourselves, - presenting ourselves in the way we think we should, being "profound", or "tough" or "caring" or whatever role our ego feels most protected by. This creates a falsehood that others see, and that reduces our ability to add value to our lives. our colleagues and our organisations.

The challenge is to find a way of leaving our egos on the hanger with out coat when we get in in the morning so they can't stop us saying and doing what is right for the circumstance we find ourselves in!

Do take a look at Nick Smith's blog Life2point0 - and in particular, download "The little Book of Flow"

Small Creative Ideas

2009-05-23T10:47:00.004+01:00

Jon Harvey has set up a great blog dedicated to colleacing & sharing ideas for change and improvement. I know that many of my contacts from the Welsh public service would have a lot to offer this initiative (and a lot to show off about!) Do have a look and subscribe to his blog - or even better, share some of the great things we've been doing!

Make the most of who you are!

2009-05-17T15:02:00.009+01:00

"You do not become good by trying to be good, but by finding the goodness that is already within you, and allowing that goodness to emerge."
Eckhart Tolle - A New Earth. Penguin 2005.

We can become truely happy through recognising and manifesting our inner reality, our true-self, our un-restricted insight. Personally, I hold this to be a fundamental truth.

Yet we spend so much time trying to be the person we think others want us to be, - and trying to create in others what we desire of them that we can loose sight of the real creative talent in ourselves and in our co-workers.

This has big implications for the way we design organisations and position people to be the cogs in our corporate machines. Do I have the answer? - Mmm, I think I'll have to reflect on this a bit more!

Can anyone help me out?