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What do Richard Dunwoody, Mickey Harte, Janet Gray, Stephen Ferris, Adi Birrell and Sir Matthew Pinsent all have in common? Quite a lot actually! Firstly, they have all won the most prestigious awards in their chosen sport; secondly they have all spoken at our Raise Your Game Conferences and thirdly they are taking all of the lessons learned through sport in to their business ventures. That’s why we have created the Raise Your Game concept with the subtitle – Management and Leadership lessons from the world of sport. The characteristics of winners in sport and business are very similar. As a nation we are passionate about sport and have produced some of the world’s finest sporting talent, so it seemed only natural that we bring sport and business together. Of course there are messages from sport that are necessary, but not ones we are perhaps uncomfortable with. There is a certain irony that I am writing this on the day of Alex Higgins funeral. An unfortunate reminder that emphasises the fact that it is not just what happens on the pitch or round the snooker (or board) table that matters. When I was with Bombardier, Chairman Laurent Beaudoin was always keen to emphasise that “a successful company recruits successful people” and that it was the ‘whole person’ we were brining in to the business. That message was demonstrated ‘in spades’ as each of these champions spoke about their values which transcended all areas of their lives - their passion, their vision, their determination and their desire for excellence The other notable characteristic was humility! These were people who openly admitted their failures, their fears, and their personal challenges. They simply let their achievements speak for themselves and I can confirm their achievements spoke volumes. I can also assure you that when you get an opportunity to have 4 Olympic Gold Medals in your hand you want to hear how they were won. What we heard loud and clear from Sir Matthew Pinsent CBE was – Here are some of the top tips for success from our local speakers: RICHARD DUNWOODY – Champion Jockey ADI BIRRELL – Ireland Cricket Coach, World Cup 2007 JANET GRAY – World Champion Water Skier MICKEY HARTE – Tyrone GAA Coach, All-Ireland Winner On reflection there is one other characteristic they all had in common and that is a great sense of humour, especially when it came to having a laugh at their own expense or in the midst of difficult challenges. Success is a serious business; it is clearly a lot of hard work, dedication and at times can be ‘painful’. But as these champions confirm, the rewards can be truly fulfilling and it is important to find the fun along the way. June 2010 In the good old days, say three years ago, it was easy to be an authentic leader – or so it seemed. Like the economy, the persona of leadership was easily masked through the smokescreen of bottom line performance figures. It was a lot easier ‘back then’ to be seen to adopt friendly workforce engagement practices and a host of fun things for employees to enjoy. Now that the situation has changed so dramatically it is clear that the true leaders that have been able to retain their authenticity when put to the test! Indeed it might also be said that it is only in adversity, and once the cosmetics have been stripped away that the authentic leader will be clearly recognised. If there is such a thing as inauthentic leadership, then this title may well be laid at the feet of those who got us in to this mess. In the past year or so I have also met a number of business owners who have quietly come up to me after one of the MLN or Podiem events to say that in the ‘good times’ they thought their success was due to their leadership. Now they are finding in these tougher times that this good time leadership is being put to the test. The fact that these business owners have admitted (albeit quietly) that they do not have the experience to manage in more difficult times is fundamental to finding and building authentic leadership. I’m mindful that the concept of authentic leadership in recent times has been pursued by Bill George, (amongst others) former CEO of Medtronic since the publication of his bestseller, True North. He has also set out seven lessons for leading in a crisis and as you will see there is a direct relationship between his first lesson and those quiet admissions. I have added some thoughts We were recently involved with a local company that introduced employee recognition awards. There was some initial skepticism and reluctance to participate amongst hard core employees. However when the process came to its conclusion and the employees could see that there were no hidden agendas, no gimmicks, complete integrity in the process and outcomes along with senior management buy in the response was overwhelming. One middle manager for example, in an open e-mail apologised for his lack of support for the initiative and committed him and his team for the next year. A real success story for authenticity and a major win for the leadership team. Authentic leadership is not new; it has been with us since people began to come together to hunt or fish. It has always been effective but it has always been difficult to achieve. It is easily lost especially in our postmodern ‘ego’ society. It is not always popular but always respected. It is not about being right but doing the right things – right. It can’t be taught but it can be developed. Bill has spent the majority of his career involved in management and leadership development with individuals and teams at every phase of their development both locally and internationally Bill can be contacted through Podiem bill.manson@podiem.com The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute professional or other advice. May 2010 Why do so many firms invest time, energy and resource in creating strategic plans that never see action or implementation? For long suffering Liverpool supporters it’s a bit like spending £20m on an Italian midfielder and never giving him a run out! In this article I want to briefly look at what local firms can do to avoid the wastage and frustration that comes from forgotten strategies – whatever size or industry sector. Someone once said “a strategic plan is like a navel – everybody has one but they don’t know what for”. Jim Collins (author of Good to Great) suggested that effective managers go out of their way to ensure the “brutal facts” are on the table in advance of strategy creation and implementation. By this he means leaders creating processes that enable conversations with their teams that are: A strategy created in the absence of such conversations will be less viable and more exposed to the ‘silent killers’ of strategic plans. The difficulty is that many managers feel such interaction weakens their leadership….. Leaders who deliver winning strategies know the opposite is true. Just take a look at the Patrick Hurst MLN Ambassador article. So what are the silent killers of strategy implementation? Harvard Professor Michael Beer suggests there 5: A strategic plan is designed to deliver results. To deliver results it must be implemented by all. Full implementation requires full buy-in. Buy-in requires a two-way conversation. It's good (leadership) to talk and better leadership to listen. Returning to the Liverpool example, if Rafa had talked to Gerrard and Torres in the summer he may never have sold Xabi Alonso! Kevin Kelly is a director of Podiem Ltd and regularly works with local firms to create and implement strategy and marketing plans. You can contact Kevin on 028 9076 1030, online at www.podiem.com or by email The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute professional or other advice. If you are a business leader and if you haven’t already realised it ‘Talent’ has just become a more precious commodity. This is a message at the forefront of my thoughts as I prepare to give a presentation to some 80 professionals in the Belfast Insurance Institute on the subject. In difficult and challenging times you need to have the very best people working with you to ensure survival in the short term, as well as building for the future. I have some practical tips to share with you but let me raise some issues I have recently heard business owners talk about • There are plenty of talented people now out in the marketplace I don’t have space to deal with each statement except to say that each has very negative consequences and none of these attitudes - or actions - will deliver the level of performance you need. I’m not saying that you won’t have staff that don’t or won’t fit with where your organisation needs to go but even if that is the case, it’s up to you as a manager to deal with that in a constructive way. Conversely I have had some conversations recently where firms that brought their staff together to explain how difficult things are, have been amazed by the level of ideas and commitment provided. The outcomes have been increased sales, lower costs, new processes, new products and new working methods. As a result the firm has become stronger, with jobs saved and even modest recruitment. Managing Talent is not just about the ‘hi flyers’, it’s about unearthing, unlocking and unleashing the talents we all have. Nor is it about complex HR systems or expensive programmes, although that may be required in some cases, but it is about having a mindset that looks to building a strong capable workforce that means business! I have deliberately concentrated on the manager’s role in this article as I am convinced it is a fundamental leadership responsibility but I am also very aware that each individual has full responsibility for their own development. Here are some basic rules for managers - whether it’s one person or a corporation Pause for thought The ‘Susan Boyle’ phenomenon is a case in point where a great talent is unearthed, unlocked and then unleashed. The lessons we can learn is that the rewards are enormous but get it wrong along the way and the consequences can be disastrous. Its not just about the particular talent – it’s about the whole person. Bill Manson is a Director with Podiem. Podiem offers services in People and Organisation Development, Integration and Event Management. Bill can be contacted by phone on 028 9080 4209, online at http://www.podiem.com/ or by email. The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute professional or other advice.
February 2010 Time & Motion is hardly a modern concept, more usually associated with improving efficiency in production lines rather than the office or showroom. Once hailed as the solution to all efficiency problems it has been overtaken by terms like process improvement or re-engineering, however, the basic theory delivers practical benefits and bottom line results. Time & Motion is not about working harder but working smarter. It helps you build efficiencies in to every task and reduces unproductive time. I was introduced to the idea at an early age and the principles have remained with me ever since. By way of a basic practical example, let’s think about a typical arrival at work in the morning where you want to check your email and have a cup of tea. Approaching these basic tasks in isolation you might take the following approach: Alternatively you could take the following action: I estimate that the second way of approaching the same activities could take half as much time as the first – the result is the same but the time saving is considerable. I realise this example is somewhat naïve but if the same principle is applied to other daily tasks you will find yourself and your team working much more efficiently. Would you not want to find more time without having to spend more time? The challenge you have is to take a look at what is on your list of tasks for the day, especially the repeatable items, and think about the order in which you approach them. At times, busy managers get too involved in ‘doing’ things so fail to see opportunities to work smarter or where others could be working with them on other aspects of the task. The fancy term is working concurrently but the result is the same – arriving at the solution faster. Some might call it multi-tasking, some might call it time management, and some might call it Time & Motion. Whatever you choose to call it, one of the most valuable things to all of us is time . . . . once it has passed it can never be retrieved, so why waste it? The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute professional or other advice.
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