The lonely leader

Leadership is a much used term and there are many courses, books and seminars available to people who wish or need to develop skills in this area. The problem with many of these activities is that too often the focus is on management and leadership theory, with too little emphasis on the practical problems that leaders face. I an often engaged by senior people to work through issues related to critical decisions that will impact of large numbers of people. As an MBA graduate the creation of strategies and assessing the risk of adopting new strategies is reasonably straightforward. This is also true of people at the top of their game. What is more difficult to capture and why leadership is often a very lonely place is the leader's ability to find a support mechanism to talk through strategic change and risk, that is truly safe. A safe place is a confidential place, it is non judgemental, its motivations are transparent and it is a place where a leader can find perspective without fear.
Picture this, you as a senior executive, need to make a decision that will result in job losses. You and you alone are responsible for the decsion. It's tough and you need to move forward. How are you to live with the knowledge that by agreeing to a particular approach many people will lose their jobs? The stress of this decision is difficult to manage and to show stress at work could be seen as a weakness. Thankfully there are things you as a leader can do to help. First take a step back and understand that this decision has been created by a set of circumstances, not all of which are or were within your control. So, take a deep breath and feel some of the stress flow out of your body. Next, you need to focus on the good that will come out of the decision - jobs saved is one such good thing. Keep focusing on the positive and keep breathing deeply.
Now that a little perspective is beginning to take shape you need to look at where you sit in the decision making tree. How did the need to reduce staff numbers come about? Who was involved in this discussion? What data has been used to calculate the reduction? What are the benefits to those left behind? Asking these questions will help gain insight and give perspective, helping you to realise that no matter how tough a decision is, it is rare that it is based on isolated events. That means you should not isolate yourself or take on too much of the stress related to this or other decisions. What you need is to create a safe place to talk through issues and decisions. Talking out a problem with someone who can listen and help find focus and clarity will help bring you back to perspective, work ethically and be more human in your approach to decsion making. A metor or coach is the ideal 'safe' place to start this journey and reduce the potential isolation that leadership can bring.
Next time I'll be blogging about how to downsize in an ethical manner!

Change Happens

Change happens - it's how you deal with it that counts. There's a saying that life is what happens when you are making plans. So how do we deal with change? First we need to remember that there are different types of change - big fat shocking events that can be life changing, slow creeping change that goes unnoticed for some time until you can perceive a real difference. For me there are two other very important factors - is the change imposed or self imposed? The level of imposition is, for me, critical in the ability of an individual or a team to adapt and commit to a new process, set of circumstances or behaviour. Before we look at the change process or change journey as it is often referred to, I want to talk a little about imposed and self imposed change.
If I decide I want to lose weight or get fit by starting a new exercise programme I am likely to embark on a new approach to eating and exercise that is focused on my goals and I am likely to stick to my plans so that I see some results. On the other hand, if after a visit to my Doctor I am told to drop a few pounds and get more active I am more likely to see this as an imposed change which I may resent. This resentment can prove to be the difference in adapting to the changes required to my lifestyle. This might be sounding familiar. You can look at change from many view points, but for me in helping teams and individuals to manage change it nearly always comes down to the level of imposition. Low ownership of change usually means low levels of consultation and staff engagement. In a workplace change can often be imposed by those higher up the management ladder and often the consequences of change are not fully understood until they have been imposed.
So what's the anatomy of change? The change process is well documented: it starts with Shock, Denial, Acceptance (search for meaning) and finally Integration. Alongside this change route are a complex set of emotional and behavioural responses which can determine the timescale for each of the different phases of change.
Shock - is the body's way of coping and giving the brain time to assimilate and process information - the bigger the shock the longer it may take to comprehend what is happening.
Denial - is the step where we challenge the need to make a change. This is where we ask ourselves (and others) why the change is needed; we may react with anger and are bound to be emotionally charged in some way. This step is all about wanting to hold onto the familiar an querying the thinking behind the change.
Acceptance - is where you begin to let go of the past and is only able to be achieved once the emotion surrounding the change has been managed. This might take lot of working through the emotional responses to the change and often physical activity can help release endorphins to calm you down. In accepting the change you have sought and found some meaning and hopefully some benefits to what is happening.
Integration - is the final step where the change is now a reality and part of your new existance.
So change comes in differnent shapes and impacts us differently for example when I work with people who are facing redundancy or early retirement, understanding change and their reaction to it, is crucial.
Next time I'll be blogging about the lonely leader!

Work Life Balance

The Faulkner life balance map is a well known and often used method to help individuals refocus to create a more fulfilling, healthier and happier life. The map is based on the idea that practice and integration of small changes can transform your life. John Faulkner's map has 6 key areas or 'containers of life' which he suggests you need to fill in order to achieve a harmonised way of living. The key is making each of these 'containers' work together - the better the work together the more success you can achieve.
So the containers are: Mental, Physical, Emotional, Social, Spiritual and Symbolic. But what do they mean?
Well, broadly speaking - Mental is the ability to use your brain for both logical, rational planning activities as well as creative fun filled activities - Left and Right brain activity.
Physical - basically looking after your body! Doing a bit of cardio exercise, filling your body with the best foods and not junk, being able to relax and be strong.
Emotional - knowing yourself and facing your emotions. Learning that is is ok to be happy, sad, to love and be loved.
Social - belonging to a group, whether that is familiy, friends, work colleagues or other we all need to belong somewhere.
Spiritual - what you personally believe in and value. This is your sence of right and wrong and could link to a religion or a particular approach to life.
Symbolic - the things that inspire you to dream and achieve, stories, myths, people that are meaningful and inspiring to you.
To rebalance your life the idea is to draw 6 boxes or 'containers' on a plain sheet of paper and give each a label according to Faulkner's map. Now for each container mark a line to represent how full or empty that part of your life is. Focus on the one which is least full - this is the place to start to rebalance your life. So if the social container is lowest you need to start thinking about how to belong to a group - this could be doing voluntary work, joining a community group for the environment or your local church. The beauty of Faulkner's model is that he actively tries to make connections between the containers so that by taking action in one area you inevitably are achieving in another!
Let's imagine you've just changed jobs and are in a new city. Your old networks are more remote and your social life has definately taken a dip. Faulkner would suggest you look at what you like doing, see where there is a group that you might join and rebuild or 'fill' that container. So you like running, you join a local running group, make new friends, keep fit and feel better. Each container has been topped up in some way even if the immediate need was for social fulfilment.
Repeat this exercise every 6 months or so to keep you life in balance.
Next time I'll be blogging about understanding CHANGE.