The Not Acceptable campaign represents the interests of SMEs supplying services to the government through contract frameworks and is seeking to create a level playing field for all businesses supplying services under the CSL, CL1 and other government contracts. Their is a campaign website, which can be found at http://notacceptable.wix.com/not-acceptable, which sets out the goals and provides background materials on the campaign.

The current way in which change management is looked at needs to change. Specifically the view of change management as a one off static event and the role that management consultants play in this process.

The 2013 Towers Watson Change and Communication ROI Survey found that employers say 55% of their change management initiatives meet their initial objectives. However, only one out of four respondents (25%) say they are able to sustain gains from their change management initiatives over the long term. Change management initiatives can range from program or policy changes, to business transformation, and mergers and acquisitions.

The rate of innovation, competition, and external environmental change is accelerating. There is and increased pressure on organizations to change far more rapidly. Because of this the old models of change management are becoming out dated, Step change is difficult to scale. It is typically sequential and takes too long. More change comes into the pipeline before the last change is completed. The biggest problem with the current change management posses is the assumption that the changes we are putting in place are a permanent fixture and will be fit for purpose in 2 years time (or even 1 years time). Because of this attitude organisations run the risk of continually being in project mode with staff dealing with their day job and additional responsibilities to make sure all of these changes are put in place only to find out the outside world has moved on once they have finished their project.

Consultants who facilitate this change can find themselves simply smoothing out the implementation of change and spend their time fighting for small changes to the process as the real improvements (i.e. the reason for change) are out of scope. This can end up being time consuming and being a huge expense to the client.

The future for change management is to move away from this reactive project based format and start to build organisational structures and processes that have change inbuilt. Rather than a perfect fit between current organisational situation and the processes, training etc. a refocus on implementing changes that are flexible and agile so that they can be changed and adapted to new situations. By getting this right organisations can save huge amounts of money on restructuring and change projects every time the market demands it. 

Is Leadership Development Meeting the Challenges Facing Today's Leaders?

The Issue

The nature and scale of the challenges currently facing leaders is captured in a recent survey, The Management Agenda 2013 by Roffey Park Management Institute, based on responses from 1460 managers.  This shows that 20% rate the leadership in their organisation as poor, while 25% also report that culture change initiatives fail and that leaders are not effective in managing change.  All this indicates a developmental gap for leaders.  Furthermore, the report shows that people want leaders who are authentic (trust becomes particularly important in times of uncertainty and insecurity), adaptable and who provide clear direction.  My own experience as a consultant bears this out.  A client organisation is undergoing significant restructuring and change which will require 70% of staff to change roles and ways of working or take redundancy.  These people know that complete clarity about the future will not be available for some time, but they want their leaders to be as open as possible and to support them in preparing for change despite continuing uncertainties.  Additionally, Roffey's Engagement Research (2010  & 2012) identified five attributes - supporting and empowering people; demonstrating empathy and fairness; consulting and informing people; developing people and improving their performance; and recognising and rewarding people, which leaders can see as a particular challenge in today's financially constrained environment.  Beyond all this, leaders are responsible for setting and/or implementing an agenda of delivering more with less, while their employees have high expectations and requirements of them in terms of engagement and motivation.  All this represents a tough challenge for leaders at personal, team and organisational levels at a time when they are also being directly affected by economic constraints and individual uncertainties.

The Implications for Leadership Development

So, given the nature and size of the challenges facing today's leaders, is leadership development provision keeping pace so it's relevant? Or is it falling behind and failing leaders when they have most need of its support? What does relevant, practical and impactful leadership development look like?  How will leaders feel confident that precious time away from the workplace will be time well spent?  How do businesses know that they will get real return on their investment in leadership development, at a time when all expenditure is under scrutiny?

Initial assessment of the Management Agenda findings suggests that there is plenty of room for improvement!  From my experience, there are several clear challenges to be addressed.  Firstly, while an emphasis on budget control is very understandable and necessary, over- emphasis on costs can get in the way of good leadership development.  As a consultant, I often see evaluation criteria used to assess bids where cost is the predominant factor in the decision-making process, meaning that quality and strong outcomes are passed over in favour of low cost options.  However, we all know from personal experience that buying something on cost alone can lead to more expense being incurred down the line when the initial purchase has proved ineffective.  Clients are also understandably looking for short developmental inputs such as half day workshops, lunchtime sessions etc.  Again, while short inputs can be effective as part of a blended learning programme, sometimes the emphasis seems to be on ensuring that the intervention is brief and not disruptive rather than effective.  For example, a long-standing client has reduced one of their senior leadership programmes from three days to one day to reduce time away from the business.  However, the participants (commercially savvy senior leaders) report that this leaves insufficient time for unpacking their learning in order to create true individual behavioural change.  The drive to short inputs is entirely understandable in the current context.  However, common sense tells us that there is a limit to how effective and impactful leadership development can be when cost and time are the priority selection criteria.  Lastly, unless good attention is paid to how leadership development interventions will be assessed for tangible impact, then it will be easy for less scrupulous practitioners to promise the moon - after all, they won't have to deliver on this for some time!

Meeting These Challenges

While these are significant challenges, there are practical steps that can be taken to address them.

Clear focus: on the most important issues/target audiences and doing these well, rather than spreading resources too thinly and ineffectively.  What's key will be contextual, relating to your business sector, geographical spread, strategy, opportunities and issues.

Blended learning: use online and e-learning to present background knowledge and core concepts so that important behavioural and attitudinal work which needs practice, experimentation, feedback and skilled facilitation can be focused on in valuable face-to-face time.

Facilitator skill: to capture interest and provide real value when leaders have many competing demands on their time requires a high degree of facilitator expertise which enables development to be flexed ‘in the moment' in response to emerging individual/group needs and changing business scenarios.  For example, we have worked with leaders who have just heard about a radical change and who need time to assimilate this before progressing to the expected programme content.  The ability to truly engage, inspire, challenge and add value requires a high level of facilitator skill.

Create strong links to the business: projects, placements and practical challenges which benefit both individual leaders and their businesses all help ensure that leaders experience development as relevant and that organisations derive tangible return on their investment.  My consultancy has worked with both private and public sector organisations to achieve this and it has made a significant difference to leader engagement with development.

Assess the impact: HR/L&D functions must focus attention here in order to reinforce their credibility and make the business case for investment.  We have identified ways in which leaders/ learners can engage in this challenge so evaluation is relevant, adds value and isn’t a drain on L&D resources.

Engage line managers: this raises the priority assigned to development as top leaders feel their agenda and requirements regarding their direct reports are being attended to and met.

Coaching: can enable leaders to recognise what they need to change and how best to effect that change.  Telephone/Skype coaching that complements leadership development programmes is cost and time effective and leads to greater impact and benefits for individuals.

Working in partnership: sharing this challenge between leaders, HR/L&D professionals and external consultants and openly discussing difficulties/constraints will enable the most effective ways forward to be identified.

In Conclusion

At worst, economic constraints lead to development which ticks boxes but doesn’t deliver sustainable change and performance improvement. At best, the current economic climate and its challenges will result in HR/L&D professionals who think carefully and creatively about what's required and how leaders can best be developed. The constraints will lead to significant innovation.

Hitting the sweet spot between conflict and new ideas

Every team is made up of many different personalities, all with their own aspirations, ideas, preferences, and a host of different experiences. Each of these individuals could hold the key to unlocking a difficult problem or providing an innovative way to approach a task.  Or even better, the unique combination of ideas and experience in your team can be used creatively to innovate and problem solve.  There is a vast amount of research that highlights the importance of giving time and space for divergent thinking, diverse opinions and challenge, creating an innovative organisation and for creative problem solving. But will disagreeing with someone really help sharpen both of your thinking and get a better result?

Unfortunately, research suggests that conflict, in nearly all situations, is negative. It shuts down the cognitive system, impedes information processing and even  in situations where  conflict has helped a team, the perception of their own performance is usually low. So, in its most extreme form, conflict can make employees feel they have done a bad job even when they haven’t!

Traditionally, conflict within teams can be categorised as either ‘relationship conflict’ (EG. personal taste, preference, values, style) or ‘task conflict’ (EG. procedures, policies, interpretation of facts). Low levels of task conflict can aid creative activity and divergent thinking, while even the smallest levels of relationship conflict have been found to have a profoundly negative effect on team dynamic, productivity, and satisfaction. Unfortunately, unless a team has pre-existing high levels of trust, openness and feelings of psychological safety, task conflict can lead to relationship conflict.

So how can Managers and Leaders be proactive in avoiding unnecessary conflict in their teams? How can you find the right balance between getting a wide range of ideas and opinions and mitigating against conflict arising from differences in opinion?

The ‘ideas risk analysis’

Firstly, a manager needs to be able to differentiate between routine and non-routine tasks. On routine tasks (especially ones that fit in to a bigger overall system), there should be no conflict between employees. The task is set, a procedure exists and we all know what the outcome is and what the task is for. This does not mean that procedures and tasks should not be unchallenged but just that this is a separate task to completing the job itself.

On non-routine tasks there is clearly a benefit to gathering a diverse section of ideas. But before this is done a manger needs to think clearly on the end result and consider how much time should be put aside for this. The more complex the problem, the more input you may need from your team- but at the same time, how valuable is the result? A new filing system could turn into a complex issue that may not deserve a whole days meeting, or on the other hand it may actually deserve more.  Mangers need to be clear with their team about what is actually at stake, how difficult (non-routine) the task is and roughly the amount of time you expect it to take.  By starting with the end result in mind and doing a risk analysis of how much conflict you can allow, (considering the type of task and how great the reward is) managers to be more specific about input and importance before approaching a problem with their team

Common values and goals

Shared values can help organisations pull in the same direction, set objectives and give a sense of purpose. Setting organisational values is a common practice, why not set values for long term projects or even difficult meetings?  By setting out the types of behaviours that are valued before solving a problem, a manger can help set the tone for a meeting and affect the outcome. For example ‘I believe that to solve this problem correctly we are going to have to be detail orientated’ or ‘We really are looking for an innovative solution, this is going to require us to think more creatively on this one’.

The University of Pennsylvania in 2000 ran experiments on eighty-eight teams of five, working together as consulting teams for various organisations over a fourteen week period. As well as looking at different conflicts that arose, they measured types of working styles that were valued in project teams and their effects on performance. The ages of the groups were very similar (early twenties) and the groups where not widely diverse in nationality. So these results should be used as just an illustration of the point.

• Innovativeness, Outcome orientation and Team orientation all had a positive effect on object performance.
• Stability and aggressiveness had a positive effect on perceived performance.
• Supportiveness had a positive effect on Satisfaction.
• Detailed orientation had a positive effect on both object performance and perceived performance, Decisiveness had a positive effect on all three.

The values that boost perceived performance or satisfaction of a team but do not increase objective performance should not  be over looked. The research focused on a one off short term project rather than teams working together over long periods of time. In a real team environment, satisfaction or perception of the team’s performance becomes more important as it starts to affect how the team works together over the long run. It is also important to consider the type of problem that is being solved and what values you think will get the best result.

Conflict can be dangerous in the workplace. It can slow things down, create negative feelings between employees and stop the right solution being found. But most of all conflict can build, escalate and spread to other individuals and parts of the business.  The aim of this article was to highlight the importance of pre-empting and planning for conflict so that teams can benefit from each other’s ideas and opinions. The key is not to shy away from complex solutions solved by the many but to know the ‘when’ and the ‘how’, as the rewards can outweigh the risks.  

There has been increasing emphasis over recent years for organisations to be able to more strictly interrogate the Return on Investment of the training and development they offer to staff. Softer skills training such as Leadership Development can be seen as a ‘nice to have’ rather than an essential element, and harder skills such as Project and Risk Management are often seen as a box ticking exercise, not always followed up in the workplace to assess effectiveness.

This article will discuss some of the techniques employed in both hard and soft skills training, in terms of delivery method, training design, and evaluation, including benefits and pitfalls of each approach.  It will then explore which of these techniques and benefits could be transferred to other aspects of training and development for greater efficiency and demonstration of return on investment and sustainment of skills.

Traditionally, hard skills training has been easier to quantify in terms of immediate impact- if you can successfully write a Project Plan or Gantt chart following Project Management training, consider the box ticked. But how is that learning sustained back in the workplace? Equally, for soft skills, the ability to manage conflict, conduct effective meetings and influence upwards are skills which participants can readily demonstrate back in the workplace, but how do you calculate a return in monetary or efficiency terms?

For example,  building in training around the concept of influencing upwards and managing conflict as part of a Risk Management workshop could have a demonstrable impact on not just improving those skills, but in achieving sustainable behaviours back in the workplace to the benefit of the management of risk. Essentially, demonstrating  the impact of soft skills training on the productivity of teams and efficiency of the wider organisation can enable securing budgets for essential management development going forwards. 

There is a place for both the soft and hard aspects of training and development as part of an organisation becoming truly agile. We have developed the concept of Lean, Learn, Lead TM which acknowledges that the benefits brought by hard and soft skills training do not have to be mutually exclusive. In fact, those cost reduction, efficiency and change programmes which appreciate the need to use Lean to reduce cost, Learn to skill up their staff to effectively manage the changes, and Lead to empower managers and leaders to engage and motivate their staff, are far more likely to be effective, keep the shareholders happy and bring staff along with them. So how does this work as part of staff training?

Let’s first explore hard skills training, such as Project Management, Risk Management, Financial Skills and Procurement. The outputs of these workshops or sessions are easily quantifiable and measureable- at the end of the workshop you have a template Risk Register that participants  designed during the day. Great. All done and dusted, box ticked.

There is real merit to this kind of training. It is consistent, has often been refined after many years of delivering similar initiatives to similar people, and can often be more easily split into Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced sessions. In terms of training design, an organisation can set very clear expectations of what return they want to see, and can expect clear metrics around cost, time, value and risk mitigated - more of an ‘exact science’.

But what about the pitfalls? Hard skills training can tend to employ an attitude of “you’ve learnt, now go and do!”- but do they?  It may be that the skills that have been developed during the workshop don’t need to be utilised in the workplace for several months after, and with the dreaded ‘business as usual’ getting in the way, the passage of time can be very unkind to our memory! These courses tend to result in new templates to monitor projects or risk, but don’t necessarily result in better managed projects or any reduction in risk impact. This is largely attributable to their lack of focus on the behaviour shift needed to manage complex projects, as an example.

The format and design of hard skills training can also be a potential stumbling block for many learners. With an often rigid syllabus to plough through, the risk of ‘Death by Powerpoint’ can be a very real possibility! This style of delivery can be a real turn off, particularly without the opportunity to try out the tools and techniques being delivered in real time. There can also be little scope for ‘bespoking’ training to the needs of a particular group with this format, which may miss the opportunity to really tap into the needs of the participants and make it easier to apply to real projects back in the workplace.

Let’s now look at soft skills training. This includes subjects such as Leadership Development, conflict management and coaching skills. These can be run either as standalone workshops or as part of a wider management development programme. They can be targeted, experiential, build on real work issues and give participants the chance to share knowledge and experience with their fellow delegates.

The structure tends to focus on learning techniques rather than procedures, and having the opportunity to be introduced to a topic or model, discuss how it could be used, then have a go at using it in the safe environment of the classroom. This form of training tends to be done with smaller groups, allowing for greater discussion and potential critique of models to embed real understanding.

In having this opportunity to ‘learn, do, review’, and often watch how others perform during these exercises, can give people a strong sense of self awareness in terms of their own and others behaviours. There is often that light bulb moment of “Oh so THAT’s why Joe and I don’t get on”, and the action planning following these sessions then gives them the chance to discuss with the group and facilitators how they plan to take this new learning and discovery forward.

Looking not at process but behaviours, enables transfer of learning back to the workplace.  It is not a case of having to remember a strict set of procedures and rules, but in our experience, observing how the smallest change in the way you approach a difficult conversation, or asking a particularly clean coaching question can really stick in a participants mind, and make them keen to try it out back in the workplace.

So if soft skills training is so beneficial, why is it becoming increasingly diminished in priority under difficult budgetary circumstances?  CIPD research suggests that of the over 600 of organisations surveyed, 78% of public sector managers had less money to spend on management training in 2011 than in 2010- and expected the trend to continue by the end of 2012.

It is simply harder to quantify a return on investment for many aspects of soft skills training. It isn’t seen to have an immediate impact on efficiency, or reducing headcount, and due to the smaller group sizes, can be an expensive way of delivering training. There has been a move in the Public sector particularly, to a more e-learning based model (most noticeably the Government’s Civil Service Learning programme). There are certainly benefits to this approach, although largely generic and lacking in tailored content.

We will now explore how  combining the benefits of approach, design and delivery of existing hard and soft skills training, can further refine effective training methods and demonstrate their return on investment.

Lets first take a look at some of the constraints around hard skills training, and how these could be overcome by learning lessons from soft skills training.

Rigid format not necessarily attuned to individuals learning styles and preferences

We gather up front individual participant objectives as to why they are there, and what they want to get from the training. It can start to bring to light some of the real issues people have around that subject- not simply what they want to learn about putting together a project plan or using the right kind of software, but perhaps the difficulty they have in keeping people to deadlines, or influencing and managing upwards to get things done.  This will empower participants to challenge their thinking on how a particular tool or method may work in reality, and how they could use this to better influence others.

Not always structured in a way that participants can transfer their learning back

Berkshire Consultancy run a number of Managing Supplier Relationships, Procurement and Commercial SOR development programmes, traditionally ‘hard’ subjects, in which we have utilised many of the methods discussed in this article to positive effect. This has included building in Influencing and Conflict Management sessions to a Procurement workshop, and introducing Assertiveness models to Managing Supplier Relationships training. During Project Management training sessions, we encourage participants to think about what you do as a manager when things start to go wrong, how to manage the team, deal with difficult stakeholders and re-motivate a poorly performing team member. This means that alongside method training in conducting a procurement or writing a Statement of Requirements document, participants are also given essential skills in dealing with difficult situations, managing conflict and influencing potentially more senior stakeholders as part of the workshops.

Can be difficult to demonstrate return on investment following the programme

To demonstrate a real return on investment, organisations can send a small cohort of participants on, say, a Risk Management workshop, build in some skills practice and the opportunity to present to the group on a certain topic  and receive feedback from their peers and trainers. They can then take this back and deliver a similar level of training to those who may not need quite the in depth session they have attended. This saves money for the organisation, and also gives participants the chance to really demonstrate the depth of their understanding- as well as building in the importance of communication and presentation skills to really engage their teams.

And of course soft skills training is certainly not perfect and could learn a lot from its often stricter cousin! We identified earlier a number of issues around the delivery and embedding of soft skills training, and have some suggestions as to how these could be overcome to regain the budgets so sorely needed to improve staff capability.

We work with the Institute for Leadership and Management (ILM) to accredit our programmes, giving participants either full qualifications or credits to put towards further qualifications. As part of this qualification, participants write a report detailing how they have transferred their learning from the Programme back into their organisations. These reports describe better engaged individuals, more efficient teams, and more proactive and resilient leaders- all with a direct correlation back to the content of their development and training. This level of demonstrable return on investment provides an excellent business case for continuing professional development.

You can attach some fairly rigorous KPI’s at the outset to ensure you can track and realise the benefits promised. We work with one large public sector organisation who were seeking to use Leadership Development to increase the numbers of a particular demographic within the organisation at Senior levels.  This enabled us to specifically design the intervention to include secondment opportunities, presentations at Board level and networking events to increase visibility of participants.  An added benefit for the organisation was the increased visibility of the individual Departments to the rest of the organisation  - not a KPI to start with, but certainly a real test of return on investment.

We have have explored the benefits and pitfalls of the traditional delivery and evaluation of hard and soft skills training, to see what lessons could be learnt from, and applied to, each. What has been demonstrated is that there are some clear ‘quick wins’ to be gained by a level of tailoring and transfer of learning from hard skills training, and more rigour in the initial and review stages of a soft skills development programme. With attention paid to all if these factors, going forward hard and soft skills training needn’t be an ‘either/or’ or a ‘nice to have’, but a fundamental aspect of the development of the leaders of tomorrow- with the ability to please the HR department and the budget holders in equal measure!

Natalie Henville, Consultant, Berkshire Consultancy Limited

We would like to inform you of some exciting changes that have occurred in the management structure of Berkshire Consultancy Ltd.  These reflect a significant step in the development of our business and its mission to deliver top quality consultancy services to a wide range of clients, both in the UK and overseas.

Jo and Allen Knight, who founded the company with me 20 years ago, have now decided that the time has come for them to step back from the leadership of the business.  They will continue to work  for Berkshire Consultancy on an Associate basis on the delivery of some key strategic projects.

Three new directors are joining me with immediate effect in the [ownership and] leadership of the company: existing staff members Keith Jones and Tessa Sharp will become Executive Directors and we are delighted to welcome Peter Bassett in the role of Non-Executive Chairman.

Keith has been Director of Learning and Organisational Development within Berkshire Consultancy for over 10 years and will continue to focus his efforts on developing and building our capability both nationally and internationally.

Tessa has worked with Berkshire Consultancy for the past 9 years, during which time she has established a reputation for excellence with clients worldwide in relationship management and executive education.

Peter was until 2007 a Partner at KPMG, and has extensive experience in consulting with national and international clients. He has held a number of global management roles in KPMG Advisory, including time as Head of Learning and Development where he was lead sponsor and client to Berkshire Consultancy.

Our thanks go to Allen and Jo Knight for their contribution as Directors over the past years, together with our very best wishes for their future roles.  So for now it’s pretty much ‘business-as-usual’.  Over the coming weeks we will be working with the fantastic group of talented people at Berkshire Consultancy and look forward to sharing with you, our valued clients, the exciting developments that are in the pipeline.  In the meantime, if you have any questions do not hesitate to get in touch.

With best wishes,

Mike Robinson

Managing Director

I feel a bead of sweat running down my dusty face as I stop and take a long drink from my water bottle. Glancing at my watch, it is only 11am and the sun is high in the sky, its light reflecting off the sand in the dry riverbed. “How about we walk for another half-hour, stop for lunch and a snooze under those trees over there?” Rudi, our Namibian trekking guide, suggests. Some of the young people in our group are standing with their heads down, looking intently at the saucer like elephant footprints in the sand. Others look towards me; their eyes communicating silently mixed messages of anxiety, bravado, excitement and fatigue, while their heads nod in agreement. I nod too. It’s already been a long day and I’m exhausted from the adrenaline of being so close to a large herd of desert elephants. The thrill of counting and observing these amazing animals is pumping round my body – and we still have an afternoon’s work to do before a short trek to our night’s camp.

The previous night, lying under the stars in a mossie net, I hadn’t slept much, my ears straining for the slightest noise. Up at 4.30am, I had lit a fire and cooked porridge for 15 people in the dark, packed my rucksack, filled water bottles and helped the group lift heavy packs onto their backs, before heaving my own onto my sore shoulders. Everything ached and I really needed a shower. We headed off just before 6am, thankful for the cooler air but knowing it was only going to get hotter as we trekked the 12km to our lunch stop – and then a further 8km to our camp. This has been our rhythm for the last five days, with another five ahead before a shower and a rest day.

After lunch, it was time to continue the 1:1 development reviews with our project group. A complex mixture of coaching, mentoring, counselling and development, these are delightful but sometimes challenging conversations. Some of the participants are on a gap year, with a bright career path mapped out in front of them; some come from socially- and economically-deprived parts of the UK, often with a history of petty crime and drug or alcohol abuse. Others in the group come from SE Asia, mainland Europe and Australia, and a number come from our host country – Namibia. We are often confronted with challenging behavioural issues, exaggerated by the harsh living conditions and extremely physical nature of this research trek. Alongside the 1:1 conversations, the group spend many evenings around the campfire exploring different issues, giving and receiving what can sometimes be very direct feedback. Seeing the transformation in some of these young people after three months in the desert is a humbling and rewarding experience. I know their lives are not going to be the same again. It is a real cultural and social melting pot and I love it.

Three months volunteering as a staff member on a youth development expedition with Raleigh International had not only physically taken me to the other side of the world, it had taken me way out of my comfort zone and asked me to apply my professional skills in a very challenging environment. The challenge was not only physical (living in harsh desert conditions) but mental too – keeping myself going when I was homesick; feeling overwhelmed, out of my depth and not knowing what to do; emotionally exhausted; longing for some home comforts, and fed up of eating dried mopane worms and mealie meal!

During my time on expedition I learned more about working with groups, group dynamics, coaching, facilitation and the art of dialogue and conversation than on any formal CPD training programme or course I’d attended before or since. I now bring these experiences into my work. In fact, I couldn’t do the work I do now without these experiences; they frame many of the group interventions and workshops I design and run. Working with senior leadership teams and boardroom executives doesn’t seem nearly as daunting as a group of 18- to 25-year-olds ‘kicking off’ in the middle of the desert. I also learned a great deal about my own levels of resilience – something that is increasingly relevant in today’s business world. Many of my clients are keen to explore how they can bounce back from whatever adversity they face, particularly in these challenging and unpredictable times. When any of us enter a learning space, we are stepping into the unknown. For many of our clients, this is a scary and unfamiliar place. I believe, as L&D professionals, it is essential we remain familiar with these experiences and tensions, and remember what it feels like to learn. After all, where’s the authenticity in advocating development programmes that challenge and stretch participants, when you’re not challenging and stretching yourself?

When were you last ‘on the edge’ as an L&D professional?

As a practitioner in an increasingly competitive and changing marketplace, keeping your skills and approaches leading edge should be top of your to-do list. You owe it to yourself and your clients to stay ahead of the game and invest time and energy in your own development. It’s easy to get comfortable and complacent when you are working flat out and it’s simple to return to your good old favourite models, theories and session plans, but why should anyone in your organisation, or your consulting clients, use you rather than anyone else?

I often find it hard to describe to people what I do. I don’t view myself as a trainer or a management consultant; more a facilitator of conversations, a developer of people, someone who asks curious questions and doesn’t know what the answers will be. Sometimes I am more comfortable not knowing than at other times. In the Ed Schein view of consulting, I don’t come in as an expert (at least, not a content expert selling my technical expertise in a particular topic); my expertise comes from knowing about group processes, how adults prefer to learn, noticing how people interact with each other and, most importantly, having a deep understanding of myself.

“Be yourself with more skill” is some of the most valuable advice I’ve been given - and it’s something on which I base my leadership development work. I don’t subscribe to the ‘chalk and talk’ school of training and the more I work with individuals and groups, the more I realise the ability to facilitate a good dialogue between people who don’t normally talk is a rare and highly valued skill to develop. In my world of L&D, I am the instrument of my work. How I choose to use myself in my interactions with a group or with an individual is hugely influential in how well the session runs and the participants achieve their goals from it... So it’s important to keep my instrument well-honed and well-tuned. Hence my CPD focus is on equipping myself to be able to be myself with more skill and help others do the same.

I’m constantly asking myself why should people buy me rather than another L&D professional?  The business world around me is changing rapidly and unexpectedly. The context in which I work is messy, unpredictable, volatile and full of ambiguity and contradictions. Leaders talk to me about being tested more than ever due to the conflicting strategic demands of cutting costs and achieving growth. My own agility and ability to understand, and respond to, the business world in which my clients work – and the agility of the leaders with whom I work – is being stretched constantly. How can I be satisfied with dusting off the same old workshop and training materials, safe in my comfort zone, when the people I’m paid to support are clearly out of theirs?

I want to be taken seriously as a professional in my field and completing an MBA enabled me to have business conversations with my clients on their terms and in their language. Learning a new ‘financial language’ was a real challenge; I struggled to grapple with the concepts of balance sheets, discounted cash flow, depreciation and amortisation – and the principles of that increasingly common acronym ROI. Contrast that with…

The soft chanting of the monks and radiating, muffled sound of a gong gently penetrates my consciousness. I breathe in deeply, savouring the woody and exotic fragrance of the incense burners as I open my eyes, blink a few times and let my attention widen to include the rest of the temple. I am mesmerised by the heads of the monks, trainee monks and lay worshippers all neatly sitting cross-legged in rows on the floor cushions. The temple roof stretches high above me, ornate with carvings and statues. The shaved heads, orange and brown robes, stillness, gentle presence and humility of the monks has captivated me and I feel grounded, with a sense of calm radiating through my body. The last hour has flown past far quicker than I could ever have imagined. When I was offered the opportunity to meditate silently for an hour in a Buddhist monastery recently, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I certainly wasn’t sure if I would be able to sit in silence for that length of time! Keeping my attention focused ‘in the moment’, focusing on my breathing and noticing what was happening in my body, had been really difficult. Yet a little over an hour later, I didn’t want to leave.

In the last couple of years, I’ve chosen to focus my CPD on developing my self-awareness and group working skills to a deeper level; to be able to work more often in what I call “the here and now”. I believe we can only change ourselves, our own behaviour and our own ways of leading, through our immediate interactions with – and responses to – other people. It isn’t an easy place from which to work. The first time I chose to draw the attention of a group to what was happening in the room in that moment, I could feel my heart pounding, my palms sweating and every part of my body tingling. Yet, what happened next was such a profound shift in the conversation we were having that it was one of the best interventions I could have made. I felt really alive as a consultant; I didn’t really know what was going to happen next but, for that time, I was comfortable being uncomfortable. CPD doesn’t just happen in a professional context, and I don’t believe the distinction between my professional learning and my non-work learning exists for me anymore – and maybe not for you either. I now bring more of my whole self to my work and my social learning is equally valid and influential in my professional capacity. I would encourage professionals to consider CPD in the broadest context.

Learning how to sail and skipper boats recently really brought this home to me. It was terrifying for me to take charge of a boat, to make the correct navigational decisions, consider the weather, the wind and tides, the abilities of my crew and to safely steer us to our harbour for the night. I didn’t know all the ‘right’ answers and needed to rely on my more experienced fellow sailors – who sometimes didn’t know the ‘right’ answer either! I experienced vividly what it was like not to know something, to grapple with learning new skills and apply them in a real-life context. It made me wonder how often we ask others to do that when we consider embedding learning, role plays and bringing learning to life in organisations, and how often do we do that ourselves.

My CPD story isn’t mainstream.  I admit I’m a learning junkie, a magpie attracted by shiny new methodologies, with a sense of fun and wanting to play in my work – I call it ‘plork’ (‘play and work’ combined). I also believe CPD doesn’t have to be complicated; it doesn’t have to be done in a classroom or formal learning environment and it doesn’t have to take place in some overseas country. Whether it’s learning how to bake, learning a new language, coaching and mentoring learners in an inner city school, scuba-diving for the first time – whatever makes you curious, feel alive, and connects you to what it feels like to learn – those are the experiences to follow and place at the heart of your CPD.

I would urge you to take yourself to your learning edge, take a deep breath, let those feelings and emotions wash over you and, invigorated, take the experience back into the heart of your practice – for you and your clients.

Article writen by Gwen Stirling

The Innovation Gates

In recent years the focus on innovation has been on the successful exploitation of new opportunities via game changing technology. What technology, what new platform will change the world? As hugely important as this kind of competitive advantage is, this is only a small part of what innovation can mean to an organisation.

It is important to remember that some of the most successful innovative organisations were not always the first on the scene. There were many other social networks before Facebook, other search engines before Google, and plenty of mp3 players before the iPod. What these organisations managed to do, was to reimage existing technology, and dare to try something different. If you think about all the differences between the iPod and a regular mp3 player, you will see a lots of good ideas put together to create one innovation.

The dictionary definition of innovation is ‘the act of introducing something new’, or, as I prefer, ‘the act of introducing something new that adds value’. With this in mind, every company should be looking at creating an innovative organisation, seeking to change and improve the ways they operate, respond to customers, and solve new problems, thus setting themselves apart from the competition. By creating an environment where new ideas are explored and turned in to better products or processes, you can create an innovative company whatever your size or sector. Innovation is not just for multi billion pound organisations, it is for everybody. It does not require huge budgets and can equally be about saving money in difficult times as it can be about aggressive expansion or new products.

Having an innovative organisation can be seen as an all most impossible cultural shift for many organisations, but there are plenty of practical steps you can take to start to make this happen. We have identified 5 levels, or ‘gates’, at which innovation must flourish – a blockage at any one of these gates can severely hinder innovation progress.

1.The Idea

This can happen at any level of the business and about any subject. In the purest sense of innovation it could be as simple as a new way of ordering stationery. All innovation starts with an idea.

The organisation needs to provide: Organisational context, the right information.

Skills that can be taught: Capturing ideas, seeing opportunities, joining up the dots, creating time (rattle room).

The person: Brings the whole person to work, naturally curious.

2.Sharing it wider

So you have had a great idea about improving the way your department works, what next?  The best ideas come from teamwork and collaboration. Sharing your idea and running it past people you trust to begin with is invaluable, but once you have gained some confidence that you are on to something, do not over look the benefit of sharing with people who may provide you with valid reasons why it may not work,  critical eye may help you develop your idea.

The organisation needs to provide: Empowering people to take ownership of idea and take them forward.

Skills that can be taught: Knowing your own creative process, wide network, the circle of creativity (a group of people that provide different perspectives on your ideas), breaking down social barriers.

The person: Resilience, confidence in his/her ideas, can overcome negativity.

3.Line manager acceptance

Unfortunately a bad manager can stop imaginative proactive staff in their tracks, putting the brakes on or halting the innovation process. A good manager not only encourages the ideas and collaboration in his team, but then acts as a champion for his/her staff’s best ideas and innovations.

The organisation needs to provide: An easy to understand vision to guide managers, expectations of cost and time allocated to new thinking.

Skills that can be taught: Influencing skills, creating time (rattle room), promoting transparency & knowledge sharing, relationship not based on control and task, knows how to support staff, presenting business cases.

The person: Comfortable being challenged (and being wrong), belief in employees, willing to take risks, cares about the future of the organisation.

4.The processes

Every organisation will do this differently, but finding ways for ideas to evolve and to be picked up easier and quicker needs to be part of the organisation’s DNA.  Here are a few ideas on what this might look like in practice:

·         Cross department teams (and budget)

·         Collection of data

·         Mentoring and shadowing

·         Job Swaps, secondments

·         Collaborative Tech

·         Innovation champions

·         Sharing success stories

·         Low risk experimentation

·         Ways of capturing learning

·         Allowing exception to rule (don’t make the process too tight!).
 

5.Top Team

If the Senior Management Team (SMT) does not understand the importance of innovation, or do not know how to harness the power of good ideas from their employees, the innovation process is stopped in its tracks. It takes a brave SMT to lead an innovative organisation with the ability to make judgment calls on what ideas are worth taking the risk on and the right time to do it.

Skills that can be taught: Understanding the strategic need for innovation, understanding and exploring the innovation chain, giving the right ownership and encouragement, looking for innovation internally and externally, seeking information from staff, making time to plan innovation, promoting transparency & knowledge sharing, risk management.

The person: Able to take managed risks, absence of ego, don’t believe they have all the answers.

This is just an overview of what the innovation gates look like and the types of skills and knowledge staff need to unlock each one. Every time ideas move up through the gates and get to the top team, employee’s confidence in their ideas increase, innovation networks get bigger and the top team become more open to new ideas.

It is important to mention that there are other less tangible cultural aspects at play in an innovative organisation. Such as, playfulness; the feeling of belonging to a company; psychological safety and the ability for the organisation to be ‘change’ ready. But we have found that when you open up the innovation gates by providing the right setting and helping employees get the right skills and confidence, a cultural shift starts to happen. In fact, when it comes to innovation it should feel less like a cultural change and more like an innovative revolution happening.  

The issue

Women represent 51% of the UK population and just under half of the workforce, yet only 19% of senior management and 9.6% of executive director positions are held by women.  So it’s clear that there are fewer women represented as we go up the management hierarchy. Where does your business sit in relation to this? What can you do?

The business case

It’s important to start with the business case for improved female management representation, especially in challenging economic times when it may be seen as a non-essential issue.  Research (Women Matter, McKinsey & Co) shows that diverse boards provide better governance and that businesses led by such boards perform better.  Being seen to be a truly representative employer is also an important aspect of building a positive brand for your business and of understanding your customer base.  There will be other benefits such as the ability to attract and retain the best talent, reducing staff turnover and/or absence levels and increasing employee engagement and therefore productivity among the female workforce.

What’s important is that you do your own research to identify and scope the potential benefits for your business.  Improving female management representation will then be seen as an important contributor to business performance and an essential ingredient for success.

A broad strategy

Most companies rely on one lever to improve female representation – flexible working. Yet McKinsey’s research of almost 800 business leaders shows that the higher the priority a company gives to gender diversity, the broader the range of measures it uses to achieve this. These measures need to go beyond female-friendly policies which will have limited effect if working practices and management attitudes don’t support them.  Development programmes to enable women to move into more senior positions and meet their career aspirations won’t be fully effective unless the prevailing culture supports such development.  And if the outcomes of new policies, practices and development initiatives aren’t tracked and measured, then such initiatives may run out of steam. So an integrated and comprehensive approach is key to success.

Best practices

Leadership and sponsorship

As with any organisational change, you need to ensure there is appropriate leadership and sponsorship.  I recommend that improving female management representation needs to be seen as a business rather than an HR initiative in order to attract widespread support so, even if this is something you feel passionate about and want to lead on, make sure you engage top leaders to actively sponsor your initiative. Rather than focusing on the few women operating at the appropriate level of seniority to act as sponsors, as this can risk marginalising the initiative and their position, it may be worth approaching men in dual career families who are equally likely to have a good understanding of the issues, challenges and business benefits. Better still if your sponsor is someone known for being strongly results focused – as this will underline the relationship between female representation and business performance. And an unexpected sponsor typically has greater impact! What’s critical is that those leading and sponsoring improved representation are willing to be visible and active champions.

Analysis and assessment

You need to identify your starting point so you understand the particular challenges and issues in your business and will be able to measure progress and success.  This means, for example, identifying the percentage of women in your business, in different functions/geographies, at different levels; reviewing any discrepancies in pay between men and women in similar positions; reviewing staff turnover statistics to see if a disproportionate number of women are leaving, and why; looking at promotion processes to assess whether women have a fair opportunity; reviewing levels of employee engagement for women compared to men etc.  It’s important to complement statistical data with qualitative research through focus groups and one-to-one interviews in order to build a rounded picture of what’s going on and to guide priority areas for attention and action. A plan then needs to be developed with appropriate measures of progress and clear success criteria.  Again, I’d recommend a mix of quantitative and qualitative data will give the best sense of progress.  This will also enrich your communication of progress achieved, as often an inspiring personal story has as much (or more) impact in building support for change as a wealth of statistical evidence.  Regular updates are important in keeping improved representation on the business agenda and in maintaining momentum for continuing change and improvement.   

HR policies and processes

HR policies and processes need to provide a supportive framework so that recruitment, performance review, talent identification and promotion systems enable women, as well as men, to progress according to their aspirations and potential.  This includes ensuring recruitment campaigns are attractive to female candidates; ensuring that shortlists for management appointments contain female candidates, particularly at the most senior levels, and that promotion panels work to objective criteria; flexible working arrangements including flexi-time, part-time work and annualised hours; a performance review process that focuses on outputs achieved rather than inputs and includes discussion of aspirations and any barriers to progress; providing support during maternity or career breaks to help keep women connected with the company etc. 

However, HR’s role extends beyond policies and processes to ensuring that the prevailing climate and culture is female as well as male friendly.  Since most people’s experience of HR policies is through the ‘translation’ provided by their immediate line manager, it’s important that unhelpful management attitudes, styles and behaviours are identified and addressed.  Employee engagement surveys with the granularity to identify scores for individual managers and 360 degree feedback can both help in identifying especially good or poor managerial performance and ensuring that appropriate action is taken.

Development programmes

Women with aspirations to progress often need to build their confidence and their political capability to navigate successfully within a predominantly masculine management environment.   Women-only development programmes are an effective way of achieving this, as women feel free to discuss their particular issues and concerns and to build relevant skills in a supportive and safe environment.  These programmes can usefully be complemented by coaching and mentoring, both internal and external, so that women develop an understanding of how to operate at management and leadership levels and have access to positive role models.  Senior men often benefit from mentoring too, as they become more aware of the challenges facing women in trying to progress and learn how best to support them. Women-only development programmes also aid the formation of networks, which often continue to be a source of challenge and support beyond the life of the programme.

Alongside and/or as part of development programmes, women need to be given stretching assignments, especially those with P&L responsibility, which will give them the necessary breadth of business experience required for success at more senior levels of leadership.

Publicising stories of success is important as this inspires other women and enables them to see how their personal values and strengths can be aligned with those of business leaders. Building a talent pipeline at different levels is also important, if improved representation is to be sustainable.

In summary

HR has an important role to play in improving female representation at management and leadership levels.  Key to your success will be your ability to engage top level sponsorship and to design and deliver an integrated strategy which incorporates a broad range of actions. 

“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way” Does this apply to teams?   What makes a happy team?  How can you create an environment where great teamwork thrives – even across distance?

 “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”  Replace “families” with “teams” and Leo Tolstoy’s famous quote from “Anna Karenina” could just as easily apply.  Empirical studies and literature reviews consistently reveal a common set of traits, behaviours and cultures across high performing teams.  These just keep reappearing, like DNA, or the letters running through a stick of seaside rock. 

Often neglected in the literature and thinking on teams is the impact a single team member can have on the climate of the team. 

So what is the DNA of a great team?   The number one factor is having clarity of team purpose, this is over 99.9% correlated with effective teams.  Other highly correlated factors include clarity of roles and responsibilities linked with a recognition of peoples strengths, weaknesses and differences. 

Absolutely critical to the DNA is the handling of conflict.  In newly formed teams or poorly performing teams conflict is not handled well.  Sometimes it is ignored and allowed to fester, or plays out in unhelpful ways.  For example in one senior leadership team, a fundamental conflict over values played out as a personal conflict between two key Directors.  This distracted the energy of the team and severely hampered its work.  Once the real source of the conflict was surfaced and worked on more widely, the team was able to move forward. 

An effective team uses time well.  The team’s agenda focuses on the issues that are important, and time is used wisely.  Discussion is curious and explores what needs to be explored.  Group norms and disciplines allow this to happen well.  Poorly performing teams accidentally collude in an abuse of time, spending large amounts of time on matters of detail, and frequently running out of time before the main issues are opened.

In great teams, conversations happen well, people listen to each other, ask questions, propose rather than tell.  They build on each other’s ideas.  People challenge each other, and all team members feel, and are, valued and heard.  This generates involvement and engagement.

And great teams do stuff; people follow through on the commitments they make.  Team time can then focus on challenges, learning and the future, rather than on yet another round of seeing who has and who hasn’t done what they said they would do.

Finally, really effective teams take time to think together about how they are working.  Great sports teams have team coaches who do this with them, and gain the benefits of that.  Great teams in business make the time to do this, with some using an objective outsider to coach, guide and challenge.  The power of this reflection at individual and team level can significantly enhance the engagement of team members, yet many teams find it extremely hard to create and hold the time and space to do this.  In highly task orientated teams, conversations consistently track back to task rather than process, avoiding the learning and challenge that lies just out of reach

Coupled with this, it does help if team members actually like each other, or at least have trust and respect for each other.  Not only does this make teamwork a whole lot more fun, but it also creates a virtuous circle with the other factors.

We have already looked at the lower four of these.  The top two look beyond the team itself.  It is crucial that teams have good relationships and understanding of their key stakeholders.  If the team doesn’t interface well with the rest of the organisation it won’t help the business.  Great teams really do this well, often going so far as to include members of stakeholder groups in the team.  In Berkshire Consultancy’s work with teams leading change across the health system, the integration of patients and clinicians into teams provides vital insights and brings a kind of magic into the work of the team. 

Great teams are adept at considering the wider systemic and strategic context of their work.  Too often, teams get too task focused and ignore this, missing the point of their work and failing to make it relevant to a shifting agenda. 

So how can you spot a good team?  There are a few specific things to look out for:

What happens when a low status team member questions a higher status team member?

• Does this happen? 
• Are they heard? 
• What happens next? 

Observing such interactions gives useful insights into the teams dynamic, the quality of conversations and dialogue it can have, and the level of complexity it is capable of tackling. 

How long is the silence when a request is made?

• Do team members readily offer?
• Is there a mumble of excuses? 

High generosity of team members to team activity means more volunteering, more action, more commitment, and more achievement. 

How does the team respond to new members, new ideas and new connections?

• welcomed with enthusiasm?
• “not now, we already have too much to think about”. 

Great teams have the capacity and curiosity to stay open to the outside.

How well can the team reflect on its own process?

• powerful and valuable insights. 
• revert to task
• reflections skirt round the real issues.

What is the quality of dialogue and thinking when the team is together?

• Curiosity
• exploration of other views
• generation of options
• great questions 
• Are there big elephants (non-discussable issues) wandering around the room?

How does the team use time?

• discussing what matters? 
• process, and procedure get in the way. 

The impact of one team member on these factors can be high.  Consistently generous in their offers and their behaviour, demonstrating high commitment to the team and its purpose, the effect of these individuals is highly contagious on other team members.  Sadly this can work the other way round too.  Team members who consistently (and often unwittingly) put others contributions down, or make lengthy excuses for their own inability to take on tasks, undermine the team energy in subtle ways. 

Virtual teams have their own challenges.  A lack of time spent together face to face building the relationships that underpin teamwork takes its toll.  Telephone or webex calls just don’t create the same level of energy or enthusiasm.  You can’t see people’s reactions and get to understand their perspectives in the same way as if you are meeting regularly face to face. 

So how can the organisation support great teamwork?  HR and learning and development departments can lead in various ways to facilitate great teamwork.

• Provide the space for reflection and learning.  Encourage teams to step back from task and reflect for a short while.  Make it OK for teams to admit they are challenged, have made an error, or need help dealing with conflict.  Meet these situations with support, perhaps in the form of facilitation help or guidance.

• Share standard approaches to primary tasks.  Organisations such as KPMG that are consistently putting together teams from across the business have standard approaches.  These are common to all and provide a baseline way of working while providing scope for creativity and innovation. 

• Equip people with the skills and behaviours to have high quality conversations and lead great teamwork. 

‘If people don’t know how to have sensitive conversations, generate creativity, or engage in dialogue, solutions will remain over-simplistic and ill thought through.’

• In Berkshire Consultancy’s work with Autoglym, we worked with the chief executive and mid-management to open up the strategic dialogue of the business in both directions.  The managers spent time thinking about their questions on the business strategy and then planned how to ask these in a constructive way.  They gained confidence in asking what felt to them to be challenging questions of the CEO.  The CEO developed a renewed sense of the capability and insight he had at this level, as well as some invaluable challenge to the strategy and its communication.  He also gained greater engagement to the strategy. 
• Help people gain greater awareness of themselves and their impact – psychometric tools such as Myers Briggs Type Indicator and Belbin open up people’s perception of themselves and create a language for talking about difference and development.  This makes development both engaging and real. 

In encouraging teams to reflect on their working, Berkshire Consultancy Limited have developed a team profiling tool which highlights how teams are doing against all these factors.  The tool gives a team an objective insight and focuses its development. 

In conclusion, happy teams inevitably have stronger dialogue, come to better conclusions, and focus their efforts in the right areas.  They can cope better with the complex and changing environment that is evolving around them.  There are many things individual team members, leaders, and organisation development professionals can do to enhance effective teamwork. 

Berkshire Consultancy have developed a team approach combining tools and techniques for bringing learning and business together.  Working “Inside Teams” on the real work in the workplace, the team gains objective insight, and development is focused on progressing real work.

The team of the new age is happy for age old reasons.  Based on old-fashioned principles underpinned by respect, joy, and connection – healthy teams are indeed like happy families, and a whole lot more besides.

Liz Hill-Smith FIC, CMC, MBA, MA (Cantab) is a Principal Consultant with Berkshire Consultancy Limited working extensively with teams, bringing them tailored development and enhancing their performance.

Let’s be honest - the days of ‘golden handcuffs’, large performance related bonuses and generous yearly pay rises are a distant memory for the majority of businesses in this current climate. A company will only grow, innovate, recruit and retain if they can provide employees with a clear vision of a sustainable future. This needs to be honest, realistic and clear about what will be expected of staff as individuals.

One of the key strategies organisations can employ to motivate staff to engage with their vision, is a cohesive and clear Talent Management strategy. This will encourage staff at all levels to be proactive in their personal development, see how their role can play a part in the future of the company, and encourage greater retention of top talent who may otherwise be off to pastures new.

Berkshire Consultancy Limited conducted research with over 70 individuals, those with and without management responsibility, across the Public, Private, and not for profit sectors to assess how Talent Management is carried out in their organisations.

Key Findings

• 80% felt their potential was not being fully utilised by their current employer
• 58% of respondents did not feel that their organisation was doing enough to attract the right people to sustain future growth
• Over a third did not know what their organisation defined as ‘talent’.21% felt that talent identification was mainly a formal process, with an overwhelming majority of 79% seeing the identification and development of talent being done on a far more informal basis.

Many respondents mentioned that the identification and development of talent was done through the appraisal system, or Performance Development Reviews (PDR). This approach is great if conversations are conducted at this stage about what ‘talent’ means in that organisation, and what the next steps would be. The danger of using this in isolation, and without this future focus, is that if people do not know what they need to do to be considered talented, how will they know what they need to be working towards? Will the competencies and behaviours expected of them be different? And what will good ultimately look like if this is the case?

80% of respondents felt current performance was the strongest factor in establishing individual potential, whereas just 18% spoke of the ability to display potential as a strong factor in the identification of talent.

The key issue here is around consistency of message. Naturally, if individuals do not feel they know what to do to be considered talented, then they will not be aware of – or seek – further development to get them to their desired stage. This can be remedied through publicising a talent management strategy, both through the formal PDR process, company intranet and training programmes, and using methods of cascading as part of communicating your organisational strategy/ goals and objectives.

One of the key benefits of a well designed talent management strategy is the potential for a cohesive, well thought through and timely succession planning process. Identifying those you see as having high potential allows you to begin planning their development to enable them to step up to more demanding or more senior roles. At the same time, being able to talk about your strategy for recruiting, developing and ultimately retaining top talent will be attractive to potential employees, and will make it easier to retain those key staff and leaders to enable you to continue to grow, adapt to change and develop as an organisation.

Recommendations and Next Steps for Managers and Staff

The most robust and well communicated talent management strategy will not be successful if the individuals working within your organisation do not have the necessary skills, capability and drive to make it happen. So what are the responsibilities of Managers and Individuals in driving Talent Management forward?

Leaders and Line Managers:

Responsibility on the part of the line manager to spot, nurture and coach talented individuals in order to succeed - this includes defining key performance indicators and competencies for their staff to work towards, and taking the responsibility to have effective conversations around aspirations, career development and performance management where necessary. This involves a need to have difficult conversations and provide....

Challenging feedback - something not all line managers are equipped or confident to deal with, focussed as they may be on the day to day operational ability of their direct reports. Line managers will require specific development support themselves to be

• Objective -have they given individuals or helped them find opportunities to show potential?
• Consistent in approach and confident in delivery -to enable them to have these conversations and fulfil the necessary coaching role to make the most of their top talent, whilst maintaining motivation at the same time.

Sufficient time for personal development  - It is important to make staff development a priority from the top – there are direct organisational benefits to internal mentoring for example. This gives senior people the opportunity not only to spot talent but also get involved in the development of that talent, effectively having the opportunity to mould individuals into the leadership of the future.

You can build training and development opportunities for your staff into their day to day role - making it project based and working on live scenarios to develop their behaviours and test future management responsibility and capability. This will create a development plan which caters to the needs of the individual and their future progression, enables them to become even more efficient and effective at their day job and can provide wider organisational benefit i.e. a work based project may deliver increased efficiencies or reduced costs through the individual doing something differently / engaging more widely with the business.

Ongoing measurement of progress against targets and expectations. Leaders and managers need to ensure that each talented individual has in place a defined and well communicated development plan, with milestones, key deliverables and expectations. This could include secondment opportunities, or taking on additional responsibilities at the next level. This maintains a strong focus on continuing professional development which is defined and regularly updated and an expectation of the specific skills and behaviours you are expecting them to display. And if these are not being met, this needs to be able to be quickly identified and robustly managed, to keep the engagement and motivation of the member of staff, and prompt them to move forward when they stumble or plateau.

Individuals:

As well as this support and guidance on the part of management, individuals need to take personal responsibility for their own career progression, and development and subsequent utilisation of their talent. This can be achieved through:

Proactivity – you cannot expect career development opportunities to fall in your lap. Ask questions, be curious, if your organisation has a talent pool, what do you need to be in it? And if there isn’t one, what are the other opportunities for progression and development? Visibility is a key component of talent management. If you are not yet regarded as “talented”, ask yourself why, what do you need to do differently to get noticed and recognised? This and both of the points below require you to make time for your professional development and to be clear and focussed about what you want and what you need. Be firm about these expectations and make them heard, but be fair and prepared to be flexible where needed- it is yet another skill to help you stand out as a high potential individual.

Build a network –Expand your network outside of your team and manager. Look at the individuals who may have started at the same time as you, have similar qualifications, have moved from your team or department- where are they now and what/who helped them get there? Gaining a new perspective can be invaluable, and the ability to see how your current function fits into the outputs of the organisation as a whole can enable you to better target where you want your next move to be. In addition, secondments to other organisations inside or outside your sector can provide valuable insight to add to your current role and progression opportunities.

Find a mentor – some organisations will have a mentoring strategy in place, if so, get involved. If not, there is nothing to stop you finding your own mentor. This does not have to be a formal process, but links well into the point above about building a network. If you have met someone who you admire, or who has made a successful transition in a similar field, getting their thoughts, opinions and guidance is a great way of continuing your professional development. It also shows that level of proactively, communication skills and ambition that could really set you apart and put you in contention to be included in your organisation’s talent pool or similar.

In conclusion, it is no longer sufficient to simply recruit talented individuals, you need to nurture and motivate them to reach their full potential. The past few years of drastic economic downturn has seen a risk averse approach to career development from some. As the dust settles, this is a great opportunity to identify and nurture key talent to maintain their energy and enthusiasm and give them some security and aspirations as to their professional futures.

                                By Natalie Henville, Berkshire Consultancy Ltd

Mindfulness - The Golden egg at the heart of soft skills development

Many leaders are running on autopilot.  The constant demands of their roles build strong patterns in how they pay attention, and in their typical responses.  While these often serve them well, this can reduce their recognition of, and responsiveness to new and challenging situations. 

Great leaders are typically good at creating the space to reflect, and to be able to select from a wider range of responses to situations.  If we can take greater command of our thoughts and self-talk we can increase our capability to develop creative solutions to complex problems more effectively.  Mastery of this competence can transform a person from an exceptional technical thinker into a better performer all round. 

In this article we will explore what mindfulness is, and take a look at how the Mindfulness “industry” is evolving.  We will look at how Mindfulness Practices have recently established a strong credibility in the Health field, and are now gaining traction in organisations operating at the forefront of Leadership Development.  

In particular we will examine how Mindfulness impacts on three areas of particular importance to organisational leaders:  

• Strategic decision making
• Innovation and creativity
• Emotional intelligence

We will examine what is actually happening in a couple of case study Organisations which have been encouraging Mindfulness practices for some time and examine the impact this is having on their leadership community, and on organisational outcomes achieved. 

In conclusion, we will provide a summary of the current status of mindfulness in the world of soft skill development, and signpost areas for ongoing exploration and experimentation.

Defining Mindfulness and its benefits

So what is Mindfulness?  It is basically about bringing one’s complete attention to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis, without judgement.  

Initially it came from teachings from Eastern cultures, particularly Buddhist traditions.  Mindfulness is one of the eight constituents of the Noble Eightfold Path taught by The Buddha in founding Buddhism almost 2,500 years ago.  However, it is often taught now independently of religious or cultural connotations.  In the late 1970’s an American Doctor, Jon Kabat-Zinn, attending a retreat led by Buddist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, saw the potential of mindfulness for the treatment of chronic medical conditions.  Kabat-Zinn later adapted Hanh’s teachings on mindfulness into a structured eight-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course which has been validated as a clinical intervention. 

Pyschotherapists have adapted and developed mindfulness techniques, using them in conjunction with Cognitive Behavioural Techniques with successful outcomes. 

In 2013 Mindfulness is becoming increasingly talked about and understood.  Mindfulness practitioners, including Buddist monks, are popping up everywhere to teach mindfulness to Leaders in business, to children in school, to depressed people, stressed people, to anyone who wants it.  Recognised programmes, such as John Kabat-Zinn’s MBSR, are now recommended in National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) Health 

Guidelines in the UK[1], and there is rapid growth in accreditation programmes for practitioners and trainers in the field.  There are over 200 apps on the I-phone for mindfulness, with this number rising every month.  There are over 3000 books available about Mindfulness. 

Now that the cost of doing MRI scans is coming down, more research is being done into the impact of mindfulness on brain size, activity and changes.  It is a very exciting time in neuroscience.

Yet what is so difficult about Mindfulness that it needs so many books, apps and accredited programmes?  At its essence, it is basically a simple technique that involves breathing, and focusing only on that breathing, being entirely present in that moment, and accepting thoughts, feelings that come by, and letting them pass on by without judgement.  Variations can include paying attention to what is going on in various parts of your body, in turn, or in paying attention only to the immediate task in hand.  Some people develop mindfulness because pursuits such as regularly playing a musical instrument can foster it. However, it is usually learned through a mixture of guided instruction and personal practice.  Learning how to do it is easy, and basic practices can be introduced and taught in minutes.

What is much very harder is to make mindfulness practice a regular habit.  To create the time for even a few minutes of mindfulness in a busy day can be very challenging.  Mindfulness is often boring, and while doing it, it is easy to think of something that needs doing that gives a good reason to step away from it.  Like exercise, it is through practice and repetition that real benefits build.  Mindfulness is like exercising the muscles of the brain, yet it is a very easy exercise to skive off. 

That said, Mindfulness has established a strong credibility in the Health field.  Since 2009 it has been written into the NICE guidelines for treatment of depression to which UK clinicians now turn for most up to date recommendations on treatment.  Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy is specifically recommended for people who are currently well, but have experienced three or more previous episodes of depression.  Interestingly, the “dosage” size is also quite precisely spelt out in the NICE guidelines – 8 weeks worth of 2 hour sessions plus 4 follow up sessions over the following year. 

Experiments with school children using Mindfulness in the classroom also suggest a reduction in symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorders[2].  There is more to be explored around the Health impact of mindfulness, and researchers have commented that because of the focused nature of medical trials, there are likely to be wider potential benefits that have not yet been noticed.  

The use of mindfulness techniques in the field of sports further adds to their credibility.  Dr Steve Peters who coached the Team GB Cyclists to astonishing success in the London 2012 Olympics has mindfulness concepts at the heart of his approach.[3]

The credibility from the Health field is, however, making it easier for Mindfulness to gain acceptability in the field of management and leadership development.  There are many parallels between the benefits seen from Mindfulness practice, and the competencies that organisations want to see in their leaders, particularly in the constantly changing world of

organisation life today.  The list of large organisations at the forefront of Leadership Development who have run or who are running mindfulness programmes in the workplace is a long one.  It includes Google, General Mills, AOL Timer Warner, Apple, Astrazeneca, BT, Deutsche Bank, IBM, McKinsey, Procter and Gamble, Reebok, Transport for London and many others[4].  Although often positioned to support employees with reducing stress, other benefits are also frequently noticed.  For example Transport For London offered a six week group stress reduction workshop.  Teaching mindfulness techniques alongside psycho-education and cognitive behavioural therapy, the number of days off for stress from those attending the course fell by 71% over the following 3 years.  Absences for all conditions fell by 50% over that time.  In addition, 80% of participants reported improvements in their relationships, 79% improvements in their ability to relax, 64% improvements in sleep patterns, and 53% improvements in happiness at work.[5]

Transport For London – outcomes from Mindfulness Programme[6]

So Mindfulness clearly has positive benefits for the stressed, the depressed, and for children with poor attention.  We will now turn our focus to the business leader.  Many leadership competencies include relationship skills, strategic decision making, and innovation.  What impact does mindfulness have on these?  Let us examine each in turn.

Strategic decision making

Specific research into the impact of the 8 week MBSR programme suggests that the programme increases the grey matter concentration in brain regions involved in learning, memory processes, and crucially, perspective taking.[7] [8] [9] [10] It can help people to see situations from a broader or bigger perspective.  Amazingly, it has also been shown to help people develop the ability to set aside their personal agenda and focus on the wider agenda.[11] [12] [13] [14]

In addition, when compared with a control group, those people who practiced meditation activated a different network of brain areas which helped them to make more rational decisions.[15]  Mindfulness practice also helped people let go of judgements[16] [17], which aided decision making.  It reduced rigidity of thinking, and lessened the tendency to be blinded by experience and thus overlook novel and adaptive ways of responding.[18]

Innovation and creativity

Various experiments have demonstrated that participants who have had mindfulness training or practice demonstrate greater lateral thinking problem solving ability.[19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25]They also show a greater propensity to come up with more creative ideas during divergent thinking activities[26].  They typically showed greater flexibility in shifting their thinking process, and more awareness of the thinking process being used at any time[27].  The mindfulness techniques also resulted in better observation of the things around them[28], and a greater working memory[29], all contributors to enhanced creative processes. 

Emotional intelligence

When we turn to look at the impact on emotional intelligence in leaders, we are particularly interested in how it affects personal resilience and the building of high quality relationships.    Here there seemed to be a strong link between greater mindfulness practice, leading directly to greater emotional intelligence[30].  Research with medical students and with physicians showed that mindfulness can increase empathy levels[31].  Other research shows that mindfulness leads to greater awareness of the social dynamic[32] [33].  It also raises positive emotions and improves psychological functioning[34].  The self regulation of thoughts, emotions and behaviours leads to enhanced social relationships in the workplace, making employees more resilient in face of challenges, and increasing task performance[35]. 

Resilience

When we come to look at the impact on resilience, it is being shown that it can help people cope better with difficult emotions, in some part through lowering blood pressure[36] [37].  MRI scans suggest that a key part of the limbic system, the amygdala, (sometimes called the brains “fear centre”), becomes smaller in the brains of people who practise mindfulness meditation[38].  Among cancer patients, the MBSR programme was found to improve emotional stability by up to 50%[39].

Brain scans also show that mindfulness helps people to develop a more positive outlook.  It shifts brain activity from the right prefrontal cortex to the left prefrontal cortex[40].  Activity in the left is associated with positive mood, whereas activity in the right is associated with depression states.

So given this incredible evidence, what is happening to those organisations which have been encouraging Mindfulness practices for some time?  We would expect to see some pretty amazing things happening in their leadership communities, and also on the organisational outcomes achieved.  Let us examine some case studies:

In General Mills, the Mindful Leadership Program has been running since 2006.  More than 290 officers and directors have passed through one of their programmes covering mindfulness meditation, yoga and dialog.  Survey research completed in 2009 showed that 83% of participants said they often “take time each day to optimise my personal productivity” – up from only 23% who said that before taking the course.  82% said they often “make time on most days to eliminate some tasks / meetings with limited productivity value” – up from 32% before the course.  Among experienced leaders completing the 4 day course, 80% reported a positive change in their ability to make better decisions with more clarity, and 89% reported enhanced capabilities in listening to themselves and to others[41].

In IF Insurance they initiated a Mindfulness Training intervention with a range of business and HR objectives - including to become the healthiest insurance company in Nordic Region, make work a source of energy, development and performance, and develop the highest potential in each employee[42]. 

Case Study IF Insurance Outcomes:

To quote their Head of Risk Management, “The results of the Mindfulness Programme showed immediate benefits.  After only four weeks, a big difference could be seen within the organisation teams.  All participants reported improved ability to focus, increased productivity, better cooperation and less stress.” 

There are many similar case studies which confirm that the positive impacts extend well beyond handling stress into enhancing some of the more complex capabilities of managers and leaders.  In terms of business performance, both General Mills and IF have performed well over recent years, and continue to show strong growth and stability despite the global recession[43] [44].

Mindfulness looks like it is here to stay, and has a central role to play in the development of leaders.  The evidence is compelling, and the timing is right.  The coming together of four key factors:

-          The increased complexity and uncertainty inherent in the business world

-          Smartphone technology that makes it too easy for leaders to multitask and hard for them to “switch off”

-          Continuing reductions in the cost of MRI scanning resulting in the opening up new areas of neuroscientific research

-          The increasing experimentation and evaluation of mindfulness approaches

Could we be on the verge of a revolution of the human brain – where we finally become able to really understand our grey matter and use it to its full potential? 

One aspect I have not considered in this article so far is the connection with the Buddhist concept of loving kindness that is an essential part of the Buddhist teaching of Mindfulness.  That is where mindfulness is coupled with a sense of love and kindness to the fellow man.  This seems such an essential and important component, yet risks being neglected in the corporate adoption of mindfulness.  If mindfulness is to develop as a way to really create positive relationships and happiness, as well as wealth and success in business, this concept of loving kindness is key.

As the Sales Director of IF Insurance comments “I joined the programme expecting that I would become more focused and productive.  That has happened and I am grateful.  However, I realise another much bigger change: I experience of myself and my employees that we are becoming better human beings.”

Over the last few years we have been introducing Mindfulness into our work coaching and leading Senior executives.  Positioned appropriately, it is well received, and clearly evident that it has a central place in our work in developing exceptional leaders.

There was a huge amount of research to draw on in writing this article.  However there are a few gaps that I would be curious to see filled.  What happens to those participants who drop out of trials of mindfulness-based interventions?  This has been rarely explored.  In addition, the whole question of side-effects is under-researched.  Furthermore, it also seems that more work can be done to ensure the behavioural aspects of sticking to a mindfulness programme are addressed, particularly within the busy corporate setting.  How much practice is enough? And how best can it be built into a busy corporate life?

[1] National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) Guidelines (set in 2009)

[2] Napoli, M., Rock-Krech, P., and Holley L.C. (2005) Mindfulness Training in Elementary Schools – the Attention Academy, Journal of Applied School Psychology, vol. 21 (1)

[3] Peters, S. (2012) The Chimp Paradox: The Mind Management Programme to Help You Achieve Success, Confidence and Happiness

[4] Adams, J. (2013) Making the business case for Mindfulness in the workplace, mindfulnet.org, pp. 13 – This paper provides an excellent overview summary of much of the Research used in this article.

[5] Mental Health Foundation (2010). Mindfulness Report (London: Mental Health Foundation)

[6] Transport for London (TfL) Internal Review,  2003

[7] Hozel, Carmody, Lazar et al (2011) Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain grey matter density. Psychiatry Resource 2011 2011 Jan 30; 191(1):36-43. Epub 2010 Nov 10.

[8] Bishop, M. L., Shapiro, S., Carlson, L., Anderson, N., Carmody, J., Segal, Z., Abbey, S., Speca, M., Velting, D. And Devins, G. (2004) Mindfulness: A proposed Operational Definition. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice 11 (3), 230-241.

[9] Gardner, F.L. and More, Z.E. (2007) The psychology of enhancing human performance: The Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment (MAC) approach. New York: Springer.

[10] Wells, A. (2006) Detached mindfulness in cognitive therapy: A metacognitive analysis and ten techniques. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy, 23 (4), 337-335.

[11] Dryden, W. And Still, A. (2006) Historical aspects of mindfulness and self-acceptance in psychotherapy. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy, 24, 3-28.

[12] Knowles, P. (2008) What Is Trying to Happen Here? Using Mindfulness Using Mindfulness to Enhance the Quality of Patient Encounters. The permanent Journal, 12 (2), 55-61.

[13] Langer, E.J. and Moldoveanu, M. (2000) The construct of mindfulness. Journal of Social Issues, 1, 1-9.

[14] Shapiro, S. L. And Carlson, L. E. (2009) The art and science of mindfulness: Integrating mindfulness into psychology and the helping professions. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Publications

[15] Kirk, Downar & Montague (2011) Interception drives increased rational decision-making in mediators’ playing the ultimatum game.  Frontiers in Neuroscience: 18 April 2011.

[16] Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003) Minfulfness-Based Interventions in Context: Past, Present, and Future Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10 (2), 144-156. (EE1)

[17] Shapiro, S.L. and Carlson, L.E. (2009) The art and science of mindfulness: Integrating mindfulness into psychology and the helping professions. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Publications.

[18] Greenberg, J., Reiner, K., & Meriran, N. (2012). Mind the trap: Mindfulness practice reduces cognitive rigidity. PLoS ONE, 7(5), e36206. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22615758

[19] Brown, W. And Ryan, R.M. (2003) The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its riole in Psychological wellbeing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(4), 822-848.

[20] Knowles, P. (2008) What Is Trying to Happen Here? Using Mindfulness Using Mindfulness to Enhance the Quality of Patient Encounters. The permanent Journal, 12 (2), 55-61.

[21] Langer, E.J., Bashner, R.S, and Chanowitz B. (1985) Decreasing Prejudice by Increasing Discrimination, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49 (I), 113-120.

[22] Martin, J.R (1997) Mindfulness: A proposed Common Factor Journal of Psychotherapy Integration 7(4) 291-312

[23] Richhart, R. And Perkins, D N. (2000) Mindfulness has also been found to enhance flexible and critical thinking skills. Journal of Social Isues, 56 (1), 22-47.

[24] Greenberg, J., Reiner, K., & Meriran, N. (2012). Mind the trap: Mindfulness practice reduces cognitive rigidity. PLoS ONE, 7(5), e36206. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22615758

[25] Ostafin BD, Kassman KT (2012) Stepping out of history: mindfulness improves insight problem solving. Conscious and Cognition. 2012 Jun;21(2):1031-6. Doi: 10.1016 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22483682

[26] Colzato, L.S., Ozturk, A., and Hommel, B. (2012) Meditate to create: the impact of focused-attention and open-monitoring training on convergent and divergent thinking. Frontiers in psychology, 3 PMID:22529832

[27] Mace, C. (2007) Mindfulness in psychotherapy: an introduction, Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, vol. 13, pp. 147-154

[28] Mace, C. (2007) Mindfulness in psychotherapy: an introduction, Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, vol. 13, pp. 147-154

[29] Jha AP, Stanley EA, Kiyonaga A, Wong L, Gelfand L (2010) Examining the protective effects of mindfulness training on working memory capacity and affective experience. Emotion 2010.

[30] Li-Chuan Chu (2009): The benefits of meditation vis-à-vis emotional intelligence, perceived stress and negative mental health Li-Chuan Chu Article first published online: 29 SEP 2009

[31] Krasner MS et al. (2009). ‘Association of an Educational Program in Mindful Communication with Burnout, Empathy, and Attitudes Among Primary Car Physicians’, Journal of the American Medical Association 302(12):1284-93

[32] Brown, W. And Ryan, R.M. (2003) The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in Psychological wellbeing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(4), 822-848.

[33] Gardner, F.L. and More, Z.E. (2007) The psychology of enhancing human performance: The Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment (MAC) approach. New York: Springer.

[34] Mindfulness, Positivity and Work Engagement (2012) – Mindfulness Research at LJMU by Lim Hui Jia (To be published shortly)

[35] Theresa M. Glomb, Michelle K. Duffy, Joyce E. Bono, Tao Yang (2011), Mindfulness at Work, in Aparna Joshi, Hui Liao, Joseph J. Martocchuio (ed.) Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management (Research in Personnel and Human resources Management, Volume 30), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp. 115-157 http://www.emeraldinsight.com/books.htm?chapterid=1938232

[36] Lazar S et al. (2005). ‘Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness’, Neuroreport 16(17): 1893-97

[37] Hunter J and McCormick D, “Mindfulness in the Workplace: An Exploratory Study” Paper presented at the meeting of the 2008 Academy of Management Annual Meeting. Anaheim, CA.

[38] Lazar S et al. (2005). ‘Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness’, Neuroreport 16(17): 1893-97

[39] Carlson LE and Garland SN (2005) Impact of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on Sleep, Mood, Stress and Fatigue Symptoms in Cancer Outpatients International Journal of Behavioural Medicine 2005, Vol. 12, No. 4, 278-285

[40] Davidson, R, Kabat-Zinn, J et al (2003)  Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation.  Psychosomatic Medicine. 2003 Jul-Aug; 65(4):564-70

[41] Adams, J. (2013) Making the business case for Mindfulness in the workplace, mindfulnet.org

[42] Adams, J. (2013) Making the business case for Mindfulness in the workplace, mindfulnet.org

[43] General Mills Annual Report 2012: Generating Balanced Growth

[44] IF Insurance Annual Report 2013: The World’s Most Secure People

Too often strategic thinking is seen as the preserve of the boardroom.  Managers and leaders within the body of an organisation typically have limited exposure to strategic tools, ways of thinking, and often admit to not understanding what the word “strategic” actually means.  We are in the privileged position of working with teams of managers and leaders from all levels of organisations on their development as strategic thinkers.  From this experience, and through the conversations that take place with our learners, we have gained a unique insight into the thinking about and perception of strategic concepts at all levels in organisations.  As we introduce strategic thinking to senior and middle managers, we notice an initial absence of understanding of the language, tools and concepts available for enabling this kind of thinking.  However, when we do introduce the concepts, and give managers a chance to explore and apply them to their own situations, we notice a tremendous excitement, connection and sense making.

What happens is that our learners start to understand why change is happening in their organisation.  When they do take a more holistic perspective, and a longer view, they realise why and how things need to change.  One of the key aspects of strategic change that we open people’s minds to is that there are inevitably winners and losers as strategic change evolves.  Knowing this, and working with this awareness with colleagues from other parts of the business, opens up a broader view.  This leads to a greater interest in wanting to understand more about the wider purpose of their role, and to gain greater clarity of this.  We actively encourage this, and deliberately engineer opportunities to explore that perspective within and beyond the classroom.   Another interesting thing which happens is that learners gain an appreciation that things are not as clear cut as they originally imagined and that there are often no easy answers.  This can come as a revelation to those used to more black and white thinking, so we work to help them understand things from a more systemic perspective.  In doing so, they experience a greater understanding of the challenges and uncertainties facing their leaders. 

The impact that this strategic understanding has on engagement is key.  Engagement is closely linked to people having a clear sense of purpose in their role.  Through gaining a better understanding of their organisation’s  strategic direction and their role within it, people typically feel more engaged in their work, and have a greater clarity as to why they do what they do and how it supports the organisations goals.  For example, when a manager involved in doing chemical tests on a cleaning product learnt how important the outcomes of those tests were for the sales department in selling the product, he was able to suggest alternative tests which gave more compelling outcome results. 

Crucially, people open up to see their place in the strategic system and the vital role they have in noticing shifts in the external world.  These shifts may be part of a bigger trend when integrated across the organisation.  For example, when HSBC local bankers in 2007 in small town America started to notice more than average loan defaults in their patch, they asked around their colleagues in other small towns and realised that could be a wider trend going on.  Their visiting CEO picked up on this trend, investigated further and HSBC soon pulled back on lending in this market.  This was at a time when rival banks were going full guns into that sub-prime market.  We all know what happened next, and HSBC emerged relatively unscathed, unlike most of their competitors! 

When middle managers gain this insight, they are able to play their role in operations, finance, HR, Learning and Development more fully as part of a whole.  They have a broader context in which to make their decisions, and a fuller understanding of what kind of information is most important to share with colleagues and others in the organisation.   They also learn how to prioritise their own workload so as to be more “on purpose” themselves.  This is often crucial for busy managers as they learn to manage and delegate a workload which will always be beyond their time capacity as an individual.

Vitally, our learners gain confidence to enter the strategic conversation.  As they are usually more closely connected than the executive suite to customers, patterns, moods, zeitgeists, and to new innovation possibilities, theirs are important voices in that conversation.

So what is the strategic contribution that Learning and Development can make? 

Firstly L&D is crucial in making sure that the skills and capabilities of leaders in the organisation can cope with a future that has yet to emerge.    The world and the current business environment is increasingly described as becoming more VUCA, meaning Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous.  This is not as we have known before, and means we need agile leaders, who are capable of making sense of an ever changing and unfamiliar landscape and leading the ensuing change.  It means giving people an understanding of strategic leadership and the tensions this creates.  It means being able to manage one’s own role in a purposeful and strategic way, being able to hold the space for challenging levels of rich dialogue, and being able to create the conditions for creativity and innovation to flourish.  It also means being prepared to sacrifice one’s own role and position for the wider goals of the organisation.  These capabilities are becoming generic competences in an increasingly complex context.

-          Discovering Purpose – what are we there to do?  How does this define what we do and do not do, how we use resources?   Gaining practice in defining purpose for one’s self, one’s team, and one’s organisation is a powerful and helpful discipline.  When we help people and organisations discover purpose, we notice how clarifying a process it is.   

-          Creating differentiation – what is the unique advantage that can be created over short, medium and long terms?  Gaining clarity over what is different, and how this adds value, is a powerful and important step.

-          Decision Making – understanding processes of decision making, being able to create distinctions between key factors, and make effective choices is a crucial capability.  The ability to create the conditions for real honest and open dialogue is crucial here.

-          Problem Solving – building the skills to define problems clearly, to look at them from different angles, to allow incubation in the sub conscious, to be open to challenge and inspiration from many sources, and to bring creative thinking processes onto that problem.

-          Sculpting Strategy – this is about the process by which strategy is developed – how to architect this so that the right information, and the right people, come together to let good strategy and decision making emerge from the process.  Again, the core skill sets of enabling dialogue and creativity are key components of this art.

We find that our learners can grasp these concepts, and usually enjoy playing with and practicing the skills.  However, there is a big challenge in making this work in their reality.  That is in being able to step out of a highly operational task driven mindset from time to time, and to enter a more strategic way of thinking.  Modern gadgets such as smart phones provide ready excuses to escape from a long term thinking zone back into the often more attractive and accessible short term immediate. 

We have experimented with a number of approaches to help people create space and time for taking a more strategic approach to their role.  These have included

·         mindfulness practices – it is increasingly being shown how mindfulness approaches can make the brain more able to focus, more able to take different perspectives, to make strategic decisions, and generate creative options.  We find these simple practices can be a lifeline for some participants.

·         creating “strategic breathing space” slots in the diary – carving short slots at the beginning and end of the day for connecting back to purpose and thinking big picture can be extremely helpful.

·         defining habits and reminders for particular triggers – we all have de-railers that get in our way when we are trying to shift our behaviours.  For example, saying “Yes, and....” rather than “Yes, but...” in a creative thinking session can have a very different impact, so finding ways of self-correcting on these small but undermining habits can be very powerful – when we know why we are trying not to do our bad habit.

·         Reading the strategic wind – focusing on what we notice, what we are learning, what we are seeing that we are not expecting, and paying attention to it, as if we were sailing a boat and noticed a slight wind-shift across our cheeks.

·         Learning to really listen, to the meaning rather than just the words.  Learning to ask probing and precise questions, to turn up the volume and clarity on the unheard voices, and to put the noisier voices into perspective.

All of these have proved effective.  Often different practices work for different people.  It is also essential that people understand why it is important for them to develop and access this strategic way of thinking, at least from time to time.  Having experienced it in a positive way in a workshop setting, most want to access it more – and see the value.

Finally, how should L&D make its own contribution to strategic debate?  It is often struggling to get its voice heard – and frequently we notice that this is because that voice is not strategic enough in its perspective.  Yet L&D has a vital role to play here in many ways. What does a shift to being a more virtual organisation mean for the L&D needs of the talent pool?  How do you develop in people the skills to lead a virtual team?  Or the skills to lead a constantly changing team?  What are the future challenges and tensions that the organisational system may face in the future?  How are these changing?  What is needed to bridge the gaps?  Is it a question of developing leadership agility, capability, mindset or emotional and psychological dexterity?  Is it a question of what leaders need to 'do', or how they need to 'be'?

How does HR define and sustain the unique differentiation and culture of the business when strategic changes are increasingly becoming multi-dimensional and complex in their impact? For example, plans to outsource elements of an organisation’s activities can mean that a fruitful “greenhouse” for growing talent accidentally goes with it, core competencies can be skewed, and capability constrained.  What challenges will generations Y and Z present for leaders brought up with different hopes, aspirations and expectations themselves?  How will the organisation motivate and retain these people?  What are the implications for succession planning?

To be able to address these issues in a way that adds value to the business, OD and L&D leaders of course need to increase their own strategic thinking capability.  Their capacities to lead dialogue, to act creatively, define problems, make decisions and sculpt strategy need to be strong and effective, so that they can bring to their organisations interventions that are powerful, strategically in tune, and sustainable in this ever changing era.  The very skill set they need to develop in others needs to be developed in themselves, and more.  While a good OD or L&D grounding incorporating a Master’s degree or CIPD study should provide a sound basis, many in L&D come from an activity based training or coaching background where the emphasis is on process rather than outcomes and strategy.  Being able to think clearly about the system under development, to highlight the “taken for granted” assumptions and challenge these constructively, while getting hold of a budget for necessary L&D activity, demands political and tactical savvy.   We notice that the best L&D professionals are always looking to expand their thinking through further qualification, learning in partnership with new people, exploring new horizons, and being ever challenged by new thinking and ideas.  They are not afraid to have their thinking stretched or challenged.  There are many ideas shared on line, through social and professional networks.  However, not all access these, and many are unable to sort the wheat from the chaff in the clamour of noise in that media.    

So why does this matter?  The natural forces pull us all into a short term focus, our technologies, and our evolution, draw us unwittingly yet willingly into this vortex.  Yet this can take us into disengaged workplaces, organisations creating misery, ill-health or debt, disconnected services, and frustrating customer interfaces.  When we look at the best organisations operating today, we see clarity of purpose, a high emphasis on creativity, innovation, and a willingness to engage in real dialogue.  This ability to look up from our busy-ness from time to time, and to put it into a broader perspective and purpose, is essential for our survival. 

Having summarised our experience in this article and opened this debate, we would love to continue it with you if you are a strategic leader or L&D professional interested in exploring these themes further.

So you think your organisation makes good decisions? …

It may interest you to know that most of the decisions that we human beings make, that we think are logical and rational, are in fact heavily influenced by other factors that are quite irrational, sometimes unconscious and have consequences that are often unpredictable.

It is only in consideration of the complex tapestry that surrounds decision making that we can truly be cognisant of exactly what we are deciding and why we are deciding it.

Just consider some of the major decisions that have affected people in leadership life today.Here is a typical example:

The client is a large insurance company and an inexperienced acquirer with a totally inward focus; they have a valuable brand and significant available capital.  They are contemplating a large acquisition, which will likely also require substantial follow-on investment given the high-growth potential of the acquisition.  This opportunity is transformational with significant transaction risk.

The CEO and Head of Strategy are challenged to win the hearts and minds of their senior management group who they perceive as risk avoiding and concerned more about the loss of their own compensation, perks, and low-key working lifestyle.  What do the CEO and Head of Strategy do to inspire this group to rise beyond their own personal concerns in order to do what is bold and right for the organization?

If you consider a range of executive and strategic-level decisions you will see that many are motivated by high levels of self-interest and are often influenced by unseen forces out of sight to stakeholders.It also seems a factor that many of these decisions, although well founded, often fail, largely because of a lack of insight into the dimensions that impact and influence ‘rational’ decision making.

So given this, how is it possible to make really good decisions? Is it actually possible to make good decisions when operating in such a fast-moving volatile market? Or should we consider one final question; should the nature of our understanding of executive decision making radically change?

WHAT IS EXECUTIVE DECISION MAKING? …

Executive Decision Making is the process by which individuals and teams within an organisation generate value for stakeholders and enhance their performance (be that in commercial or quality of service terms).

Several studies on decision making within organisations have revealed that decision makers often take bad decisions (Janis 1989), solve the wrong problem (Forrester, 2003) and cannot cope with uncertainty (Bazerman, 2002).  Such delayed or bad decisions cost organisations millions every year (Forrester, 2003) and can make the difference between survival or closure.

What training does your organisation currently offer to your managers and leaders to equip them for the difficult decision making tasks ahead?  Here is an example of an experience recounted by one of our clients:

“The most difficult decision I ever had to make in my commercial career was many years ago when I was Head of Marketing for a large national retailer.  The MD had resigned and a new MD was joining in 6-8 weeks’ time.  I had yet to meet them as they had been appointed by the Global Corporate Board.  Footfall numbers of customers were consistently falling and my task was to increase the number of people entering the stores over the busy Christmas period.  A range of in-store promotions had been designed to encourage purchase once potential customers were through the doors.

I had been allocated a significant budget to develop a promotion to increase footfall and now was the time when a decision had to be made or we would lose the window of opportunity.  A number of external, specialist marketing agencies were briefed to pitch for this work, but I found their ideas uninspiring and with very little evidence that they would actually achieve the results we needed. 

So my decision was a) do I do nothing and look potentially ineffective to my new boss?, or b) do I go ahead with one of the promotions despite no real evidence of likely success and stand the chance of looking either courageous and effective, or ineffective with no real concern for the company’s money?  I had no mentor, no-one who could advise me so I had to make a decision.  I had never had any training in how to do anything like this, or how to go about making such a decision.  I had a very real need to increase footfall, and £200k sitting in my budget to be spent.”

This example parallels some very real themes present in today’s world of executive decision making.Namely, making decisions in unfamiliar territory, with uncertain outcomes; with a personal and/or organisational reputation on the line; with no or few point(s) of reference or advice; with potential negative consequences if a ‘no go’ decision is taken, and all despite having the very best of intentions.This is apart from the incredibly challenging commercial, competitive and financial environment we find ourselves in today.

WHY IS EXECUTIVE DECISION MAKING SO IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW?

The environment in which leaders find themselves today is more challenging and complex than ever before; there are

• less face-to-face interactions (out of the office, at different sites, or in different countries)
• more cross cultural, cross gender, cross generational biases and perceptions
• less resource, together with hiring and retention challenges
• more virtual working
• greater demands and expectations
• greater use and pressure of technology
• great risk of public shame if things go wrong

All of this creates greater potential for misunderstanding, different perceptions and biases and ultimately conflicting views, styles and opinions.  In such a fast moving and commercially-critical environment right now, effective executive decision making is more important now than ever before. And whilst it is increasingly common practice for individual managers and executives to receive individual coaching, it is much less common for executive teams to be coached in their group processes and group effectiveness. 

Now is the time to take steps to prevent the common ‘public scapegoating’ of executives that we are seeing in the media every day.  With a rare exception, these people are hard-working, well-intentioned individuals who have been working tirelessly to do their best for their families and their organisation.  The public humiliation and expectation that they will fall on their sword has arguable long-term benefits for us all.  Let’s stop the witch hunt and take preventative steps to educate and protect our valuable executive resource.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF EFFECTIVE DECISION MAKING

As you will see from the following content, the tapestry of elements surrounding Executive Decision making are complex and unpredictable.  For those of you who are courageous enough to read on and stick with us through the detail, a world of potential is offered. 

Imagine if you will an organisation where the well-oiled machine of Executive and Managerial decision making operates in open, free and robust discussion; with teams who hold a shared appetite to tackle even the most complex of dilemmas, to resolve issues that have held the organisation or the sector back for years.  What could be the commercial potential for such an organisation?

In this new world, leadership and management teams are supported to gain confidence to navigate with greater agility through change and uncertainty, and where competence and capability to make clear, focused and collegiate decisions begins to permeate throughout the organisation; where effective decision making methodologies become an everyday part of your talent development landscape.

Before long, confidence and motivation levels begin to climb, the leadership become focused on clear strategic horizons, stress through uncertainty begins to subside, a greater wellbeing begins to develop and the seeds of excitement about the future begin to germinate.

So brace yourself and read on …

HOW DO WE SUPPORT EFFECTIVE DECISION MAKING RIGHT NOW?

There are a number of critical dimensions that help support effective decision making.  These are: Process, Organisational Mind-set, Interpersonal Dynamics, Information, Timing, Communication and Motivation:

• PROCESS - Create a clearly defined ‘road-map’ to decision making in your organisation:
  • Follow any variant of Kolb’s learning cycle (1984) – PLAN, DO, REVIEW, CONCLUDE – to provide a route to continuous learning & improvement.  So often we see budget, time or people constraints get in the way of completing the REVIEW and CONCLUDE stages of learning.  These are the key stages that inform and improve the effectiveness and quality of future decision making.
  • Define a focused process of decision making appropriate for your organisation, its goals and the current climate. 
  • To make better decisions, keep accurate records, carefully estimate risks and choose your actions based on carefully considered and agreed probable outcomes.
  • Explicitly identify the current environmental factors that will be significant to each decision. Differing situational needs may necessitate a different approach for each decision, (e.g., survival vs. growth, fast with higher risk vs. slow with lower risk, collaborative vs. directed).  This requires considerable individual and executive team flex in terms of both personal preference of style and established historic ways of working.  It is perilous to assume that decision making processes that have worked in the past will be appropriate for each case in the future, without first taking stock to consider the current environment.
  • Are the individual, team and organisational outcomes clearly and overtly defined and understood by each member of the team? We consistently see executives assuming they have the same shared understanding of a goal that, when explored, it becomes apparent that each member has a differing view of how the desired outcome is defined.
  • Are the people with the most appropriate skills and experience involved in the discussions irrespective of level and role?
  • Consider and explicitly work to reduce the factors which compromise or ‘contaminate’ peoples’ ability to make clean and open decisions. 

• ORGANISATIONAL MINDSET:
  • Decision making is a core competency to be incorporated within both individual and team capabilities.  Is this skill-set explicitly offered as part of your leadership Learning & Development curriculum?  Are competency and capability in this area regularly reviewed and assessed as part of the Performance Management function both at an individual and team level?  Is the outcome of an executive decision the only factor considered, or the efficiency and effectiveness of the process?
  • Most organisations will have developed an established attitude to risk and possibility.  In these competitive and commercially challenging times, is the balance right?  Should the focus be on becoming more innovative and taking more (considered) risks?, or should we baton down the hatches and focus on minimising risk at this time?  The answer to these questions will be heavily influenced by the present-day environment and pressures under which your organisation is operating. 

• INTERPERSONAL DYNAMICS:
  • What is the executive team interpersonal dynamic?
  • How do power & politics influence the true ability for people within the team to offer their honest views and ideas and to what extent are they genuinely heard and their ideas considered? 
  • Quality of listening and reflection; How often we witness executive meetings where people are lined up with their views waiting to speak, rather than attentively hearing and considering what is currently being said by others.

• INFORMATION:
  • How explicitly do you plan to ensure you have the optimum data and information available to make the best decision possible?
  • To what degree do executives really consider all possibilities and the pros & cons of each one before committing to, or avoiding a decision?

• TIMING:
  • How courageous and focused is your organisation to ensure it makes decisions on time? 
  • To what degree does the day to day ‘noise’ of ‘business-as-usual’ activity get in the way of investing and focusing on what’s really important for the long-term security and development of the organisation?  These distractions often result in delays and/or avoidance of decisions or in decisions having to be made in a hurry with very little quality thought about all possible options and/or the possible consequences of those options.

• COMMUNICATION:
  • Some executive teams are great at making clear and focused decisions, but fall down in not effectively communicating and cascading them throughout the organisation checking understanding, emotional engagement and laying the full foundations for effective implementation
  • Clarity of the communication process; communication style, medium, message, audience, timing and agreement of roles and responsibilities are as much part of the effective decision as the decision itself.

• MOTIVATION & ENGAGEMENT:
  • Statistics show us that a very high proportion of change initiatives fail due to lack emotional buy-in.  Employees will often be left with thoughts and feelings such as: “what exactly is it that you want me to do differently?”, “I don’t see the point, it won’t make any difference to me”, “why should I put myself out and add to my workload to do this?”, “things are fine as they are – I don’t understand what all the fuss is about”, “it’ll blow over – we’ll just sit tight carrying on as usual and wait for the next big change initiative to hit”
  • For people to feel motivated, they need to identify for themselves and in collaboration with their leadership, what they can actively do to make a difference and to feel appreciated and recognised for that change of effort.
  • Role-modelling, acknowledgement and celebration are essential to helping to make executive decisions stick.

WHAT ELSE GETS IN THE WAY OF EFFECTIVE DECISION MAKING?

The Psychological Factors that can compromise effective Decision Making

IN SUMMARY

Yes, this is complex stuff.  At a glance, here is a summary of the factors influencing executive decision making:

The Executive Decision Making Cube©

SO WHAT NEXT? …

Our challenge to you is to consider decision making through a different set of lenses; to embrace the complexity of unconscious bias, political self-interest, political non interest, the desire for safety and security. To couple this with a more positive frame; the desire to make a difference, to genuinely increase value and to show that sustainability, agility and the right types of conversations really can make a difference.If you believe this, then we would like to talk with you.Our ideas and our approach have been grounded in a rigorous understanding of people who operate in the same

Janis, I. L. 1989. Crucial decisions - leadership in policymaking and crisis management. New York: The Free Press.

Forrester. 2003. Enterprise visibility makes decisions profitable. Consultancy Report.

Bazerman, M. 2002. Managerial Decision Making. New York: John Wiley and Sons.

Kolb, D. 1984. Experiential Learning: Experience as the source of learning and development

BCL have been successful in being awarded positions on 6 Lots of the HealthTrust Europe Professional Services Framework!

Hard vs soft skills training, Natalie Henville asks what the two can learn from each other in her article in the Training Journal.

Click on the link to read more

One of BCL's Prinipal Consultants Tessa Sharp has had an article published by the Training Journal about The relationship between leadership and ambiguity and how it needs to be recalibrated. Click below to read more....

Download Leadership and Ambiguity PDF

Ruth Ovens has recently joined us in an associate position.  Ruth has a wealth of strategic HR and operational experience gained in not-for-profit and the private sector; she is also MCIPD qualified and holds an MSc in Strategic Personnel and Development.

BCL has been engaged to support a large outsourcing project and help the client achieve improved service delivery and value for money.

One of our Principal Consultants Gwen Sterlin has had a article on Leadership and Development featured in the March Edition 2012 of the Training Journal Magazine.

Please read the below artical for a more experiential view on L&D

Gwen Sterling - March 2012

I am pleased to advise that BCL has been Approved as an ILM Centre for the delivery of the Level 5 Certificate in Coaching and Mentoring in Management. We are now able to award this Certificate after participants have followed the appropriate curriculum. 

A big thank you to Natalie for her excellent work in pulling our ‘portfolio’ together to satisfy the ILM.

Our first client for this Certificate  is the House of Commons and Lord, where we will be runing  6 one day workshops and participants will submit two marked assignments, which are pass/fail. 

Minister pays his respects

The Minister cited NOMS’ Accelerate programme as one example of opportunity for BME development in NOMS, and referred to the cross-criminal justice system “Step Forward” progression programme, which is open to BME staff.

“This scheme and others like it provide opportunities for staff to receive coaching and mentoring and in some cases to undertake lateral job experiences in different departments,” he said.

“The aim is to build experience and confidence to encourage participants to take that next step in their career.”

Having been short-listed to tender for an important programme of NHS Master-classes, we presented our proposals in December to the evaluation panel.  The workshops were in support of the well regarded Breaking Through Programme for BME staff, which we have supported for a number of years. 

We were delighted to hear we have been selected for all 11 of the Master-classes we were short-listed for (more than any other supplier), which reflects both the high level of professionalism and leading edge thinking in our work, and particularly our on-going commitment to Equality and Diversity issues. The classes cover a range of topics, from resilient leadership and  strategic planning to commercial skills.  Our team comprises over 16 staff, many of whom specialise in BME matters as well as their Master-class topic, so we are all looking forward to supporting this exciting programme.

Following an external audit by the Institute of Consulting on 15 December, we are delighted to learn they have recommended that we retain our prestigious Premier Certified Practice for another three years until the next full audit.

It is the culmination of a busy period for the IC, recently merged with the Chartered Management Institute, and for ourselves, having just approved six new Certified Management Consultants (CMCs) within our team, and recertified another nine CMCs.  For the first time, all our consulting staff held CMC status at the time of the audit.  It was therefore good to be able to take stock with the IC, and agree how we work together in future as one of only a select handful of Premier Certified practices, which can confer its own CMC status on staff.

Much preparatory work went into the audit, involving the updating of processes to reflect how our business has evolved and improved over the last three years.  It has been an interesting exercise to assess just how much we have developed, both as an organisation and as individuals in our professional development.  We have new premises, new systems (server and time-logging), new branding and website, new staff, promotions and a huge amount of learning by all, so it was good to reflect on how far we have come in a short time.

Our auditor was most impressed with the evidence presented, and our internal systems to capture on-going learning, client accolades and produce case studies. He said we were ‘up there with the best’ of consultancy practices, which was encouraging feedback to have, and confirms that the high standards we set ourselves are being formally recognised externally.  Our rating was improved to ‘Exemplary’ (the highest possible), in reflection of this.

After seeing off competition from over 100 expressions of interest, we were delighted in December to be told that we had won another 4 year contract with the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) for the design and delivery of the exceptional and very successful ‘Accelerate’ programme. Since 2004, we have led this leadership development programme aimed at developing the talent of BME and disabled senior managers by supporting, challenging and equipping them with the necessary business and leadership skills required for success in the most senior positions and that reflect ongoing organisational changes and priorities. This programme is a key initiative in increasing minority group representation and diversity across the Probation Trusts, Prison Service and Youth Justice Board and one that we are very proud to be a part of.

Mike Robinson, one of our Directors, has had yet another article published in Supply Chain Europe - Lean, Learn & Lead.

Lean, Learn & Lead by Mike Robinson

 Mike Robinson, one of our Directors, has had an article published in Supply Chain Europe -  there’s good news if you change your viewpoint.

There's good news if you change your viewpoint by Mike Robinson

Some of the team from BCL had a very productive and entertaining couple of days at the World of Learning Conference Event at Birmingham’s NEC on 27-28^th September 2011. As well as an eye catching stand, complete with client quotes, testimonials, example programme outlines, case studies (and of course free pens!) for delegates to take away, we were also joined by one of our senior clients from the Law Society on the day. In collaboration with the Law Society, Sarah Hunter, one of our Account Directors, delivered a presentation to an increasingly large audience on our partnering relationship, focussing on the effectiveness of a collaborative approach to deliver maximum benefits from our intervention.

We made some excellent new contacts, had some really fascinating conversations and had our eyes opened to everything from new e-learning solutions to some fairly innovative methods for questionnaire completion – all under one roof!

We have recently completed a project for the College Des Ingenieurs  in Paris. This is a privately funded collage for Scientist and engineers. We have been commissioned by them to provide a solution on professional development impact and personal presence. This was completed successfully to much acclaim from client and delegate.

Our Director Allen has been inspiring new graduates with the success story of his journey into a management consultancy career, featured on the Inside Careers ‘ website.

You can find out more on the advice that Allen has given to students and future professionals by clicking on the link below.

http://www.insidecareers.co.uk/__802574D80054FDAD.nsf/id/8e5ekeakim!opendocument

We are pleased to announce our presence at the World of Learning Conference Event at Birmingham’s NEC on 27-28^th September, 2011.  BCL has been specially selected to present our experience of partnership and collaborative working, together with The Law Society, as a featured part of the event.  We will also be available at our special event stand to discuss who we are, how we work, and the value we can bring to a range of projects.  We look forward to this opportunity to meet and network with other esteemed colleagues and organisations, sharing our industry knowledge and helping to emphasise the importance of learning and development as a key to success in challenging times.

Please see the attached article regarding the Future Logistics Information Service Project Team (FLIS), who have been given a Commendation from the Chief of Defence Materiel.  Congratulations to Ian Fox who was a part of this team. 

Please click on the link below to read the full article.
Download CDM Commendation PDF

In the last of three articles for the Training Journal , we look at the need for L&D professionals to add tangible value to the business and offer some thoughts and tools on how to deliver and demonstrate such value.  It is only by talking the language of the business and driving value that the business needs and understands that L&D will be regarded as a credible partner. 

Follow the link below to read the article

Download Delivering Value Through Development PDF

The majority of training failure occurs in the application phase ie in the workplace.  In this article we examine the critical role line managers play in the process and offer innovative ways of involving them so we maximise the impact of development.

Please click on the link below to read the full article

Download The Role of Line Managers in Learning and Development PDF

Berkshire Consultancy’s Nina Stone has had an article published in Conspectus. The article explores how HR professionals need to adapt to recruit and retain the next ‘iGeneration’ of leaders.

Please click on the link below to read the full article.

Download New Rules of Attraction PDF

Joanna Knight, BCL Director, is taking part in a meeting at the Institute of Consulting on Friday 15th July to discuss consulting qualifications and development. This is part of an ongoing drive to improve the professionalism of consultants - a drive that BCL, as a recognised Premier Practice, takes very seriously and is an active contributor to.

Please find a link below to an article in the Training Journal by BCL entitled 'Learning & Development: Enabling learning for innovation and change at times of uncertainty'. It's the 2nd in a 3 part series BCL have written for the Training Journal, this second part looks at some practical tools and tips including some real examples to show how L&D can meet ambiguity face on and encourage others to do so too with winning results.

Please click on the link below to read more:-

Download Learning & Development PDF

Please find a link below to an article in the Training Journal by BCL entitled 'Learning & Development: Partnering for success in the Changing Economy'. It's the 1st in a 3 part series BCL have writen for the Training Journal, the first part looks at the importance of L&D to reposition itself and truly partner with business to drive value.

Please click on the link below to read more.

Download Partnering for Success in the Changed Economy PDF

Please find below a link for an  article on BCL’s whitepaper Degrees of Change.  The article has been published by Leadership Foundation for Higher Education (LFHE).  LFHE provides a dedicated service of support and advice on leadership, governance and management for all the UK’s universities and Higher Education colleges. 

Degrees of Change

We hosted the second large shared learning event with The Health Foundation for Closing the Gap through Clinical Communities (CtGtCC) last week in Leeds.  8 people from each of the 11 award holder teams were invited to attend the event where they shared their learning from CtGtCC across the teams and more widely.  The event also covered sustaining and spreading improvement which will be the focus for teams in the last phase of the award.

The event was practical with each session providing an opportunity to progress CtGtCC

projects, and share learning and impact with other award holder teams. 

Without exception the group gained confidence and skills in coaching and developing their teams. They are now operating more strategically and commercially, with tangible results in increased sales and development of high quality customer relationships.

In the first of three articles for the Training Journal, Berkshires Rob Sheppard and Joanna Knight examine the need to achieve more with fewer resources and feel that L&D must position itself as a key business partner.

Please open the PDF below to read the full article.....

L & D : Partnering for Success PDF

Sarah Hunter has had a article published in the Training Journal. It discribes how leaders are facing new and unique challenges, complexity and constraints and how it is time to look for creative and flexible solutions.

Please see the PDF below for the article in full.

Download PDF Article

We have won a place on the Dorset County Council Learning and Development Framework. We were successful in gaining a place on all 3 Lots tendered for which were:

·         Lot 1 – Management and Leadership Development

·         Lot 2 - Individual Development

·         Lot 3 – Team and Organisational Development

We are excited at the prospect of working with the Council to support them in further development of their staff and continuing to meet their high levels of service in the increasingly changing climate facing councils across the country following the Spending Review.

Berkshire Consultancy recently conducted come research into Employee Engagement, since the CIPD published research stating that 98% of employees in the UK are disengaged. The data from our research has now been analysed and we have posted our findings and a full research report on the website. You can view the research for free by clicking on the link below or viewing our ‘Interactive Research’ page.

We will be launching our next research questionnaire at the beginning of the New Year, so check out our website to get involved!

Download our Employee Engagement Research PDF

We are delighted to announce that one of our clients has won the 2010 CIPD Award for Organisational Learning. The judges were looking for highly innovative solutions, robust metrics to demonstrate positive impact to the business and a strong link between a learning and development initiative and business growth. The bespoke Leadership Development Programme delivered in RSA has won this prestigious award. RSA selected BCL in 2007 to design and deliver in partnership with Regional HRDs a leadership programme that would promote a pipeline of high potential leaders that could grow the expanding business. The nine-month programme covers soft skills (influencing, engagement, authentic leadership), hard skills (finance, strategy, process improvement), a business project, plus 360-degree feedback and coaching. It targets high-potential leaders capable of moving into a group, country or regional leadership role. The programme has been delivered across the globe and to date, 160 delegates have taken part with impressive results.  Participants demonstrate their ROI at the end of the event and the projects that delegates work on, addressing live problems, are often implemented, with significant cost savings to the business. The other metrics that had particularly impressed the judges were the tracking of candidates over the last 3 years to establish career success stories and the associated cost benefits to RSA including; increase in their engagement scores, reduced recruitment fees for internal promotions and for retaining top talent and extending their roles. This close working partnership continues today and we were honoured to be guests of our client at the award ceremony this week.