To really understand another person’s point of view, you need to climb inside their skin and walk around for a bit.
Building a Kick-Ass Culture
What does organisational culture actually mean? A quick Google search says that it’s those hard-to-pin down values, mindsets and behaviours which govern how teams work together. It’s also an influential factor when it comes to people’s engagement, productivity and satisfaction levels. However, if you ask us, organisational culture is a double edged sword that can either be your competitive advantage or Achilles heel. Culture is the reason why one company’s profits are soaring and another is in the news for absolutely all the wrong reasons. Many leaders will say that they have a great business culture. However, when you scratch below the surface, there’s a level of simmering dysfunctionality with a lack of honest communication, innovation and accountability. Interestingly, there are currently more leaders getting their cultures wrong than right. You only need to look at the Society of Human Resource Management’s ‘The High Cost of a Toxic Workplace Culture’ report which found that: If you want culture to be the reason why your business succeeds, here’s everything you need to know to build a kick-ass culture. What Keeps Poor Cultures in Place? The tell-tale signs that things are horribly wrong in your organisation is when people start exiting in […]
Vision – The Leaders Compass
The vital tool that keeps you and your people on course A powerful vision is like a compass in a leader’s toolbox. It gives you clear direction for decision making, gets everyone on the same page and facing in the same direction. When the vision is created or used as a marketing tool, it fails to resonate with the people and does not shape and inspire them to achieve great work. It is not a marketing slogan used to lure new clients. When your vision and values are alive in the business, you attract and retain good people. A vision is an aspirational statement about the future you would like to create, and in the present, you can enact and influence that future. Great leaders walk and talk the vision and bring it to life in the imagination of their people. This sets a business apart from the rest. Key Takeaways How a powerful vision takes the hard work out of decision making Learn the 7 attributes to give your vision longevity Using your vision as an accountability structure How an effective vision increases productivity and contribution in the business
Silence is Not Golden
How many times have you walked out of a meeting feeling like you weren’t being told the whole story? What about those moments where your colleague nodded along to everything you said but you had a hunch that they didn’t feel the same as you? Do your people regularly say: ‘Didn’t you know that already?’ ‘I could have told you that weeks ago!’ ‘I knew that wouldn’t work…’ Silence rarely means that things are going well. It’s more likely that people are holding back, fearing that their honesty will have them on the wrong side of their boss. Some leaders even choose to play nice and stay silent to avoid difficult conversations with their people. We’ve worked with enough businesses to know that silence is happening in every organisation, including yours. And you know what? That’s bad news because, if those who work closest to your customers and suppliers can’t speak candidly, the only time you’ll hear that something’s gone wrong is when it’s too late. Robust conversations are at the heart of a high performing business and it’s up to leaders to create an environment which allows for open, honest dialogue. Here’s what you can do to make […]
Leadership Attributes Which Promote Open, Honest Communication in Your Business
‘You don’t listen! You lead from “my way or the highway”. People don’t come and tell you anything because they know they’ll be dismissed or ignored!’ That was Rose, a colleague of mine from over 30 years ago. The moment I heard those words, I felt everything go silent except for the blood pounding in my ears. I had to take a deep breath to recognise that she had held a mirror up to my face and I wasn’t liking what I saw. My initial reaction was to defend and offend. Luckily, I came to my senses quick enough to realise the courage she’d displayed in confronting me about my behaviour. After all, no one wants to get on the wrong side of their boss. I’ll always remember that as a pivotal moment that had me considering whether I was the reason my people never told me anything. We’ve talked extensively about the detrimental impact that a lack of honest dialogue has on a business. What we’ve got to consider now is the types of leadership attributes that can encourage people to come out of the shadows and feel safe to speak up. In my experience, effective leaders who promote […]
Building a Kick-Ass Culture
What does organisational culture actually mean? A quick Google search says that it’s those hard-to-pin down values, mindsets and behaviours which govern how teams work together. It’s also an influential factor when it comes to people’s engagement, productivity and satisfaction levels. However, if you ask us, organisational culture is a double edged sword that can either be your competitive advantage or Achilles heel. Culture is the reason why one company’s profits are soaring and another is in the news for absolutely all the wrong reasons. Many leaders will say that they have a great business culture. However, when you scratch below the surface, there’s a level of simmering dysfunctionality with a lack of honest communication, innovation and accountability. Interestingly, there are currently more leaders getting their cultures wrong than right. You only need to look at the Society of Human Resource Management’s ‘The High Cost of a Toxic Workplace Culture’ report which found that: 1 in 5 people quit their jobs due to a toxic culture Staff turnover has cost organisations as much as US$223 billion over the last 5 years If you want culture to be the reason why your business succeeds, here’s everything you need to know to […]
Silence is not golden – Webinar Recording
When people aren’t talking – don’t mistake their silence for acceptance Have you ever walked away from a conversation with that niggling feeling that everything wasn’t okay, even though you had assurances that “all was good”. You decided to leave it and not pursue that nagging feeling and guess what – it came back to bite you. What does it take to act on those doubts before the problem gets bigger, deeper and more entrenched in the business? Can you relate to this – do you have a similar story? So, they’ve told you it’s “all good” and then it goes to ‘hell in a handbasket’ and the comments you get are, “I could have told you that” or “I thought everyone knew that”. When you hear these words what happens to your level of frustration? Mine goes through the roof! Don’t let the silence give you a false sense of security. Silence is an alarm bell alerting you to underlying irritations, which have the tendency to taint future conversations and leave uneasiness in the space. Come along and learn the tools for interrupting “The Violence of Silence”. Nip it in the bud and cut through the issues early. […]