Coach Train Learn

The Creative Value of Order

The greatest growth in our world has come through the imaginative genius of some of those memorable individuals in history.

Those who set out with a glimmer of a dream, worked and cajoled it until it became a sort of reality that made some sort of sense.

In history, these ranged from geeks who worked in their garage on a kitchen table to the merely curious who wondered just why things fell downwards rather than up.

The workplace is different, because we have made it so. If you look at the wonder in a child’s eyes as they investigate new objects or activities, time takes it’s toll and we, well, grow up.

That wonder disappears.

As we manage, it is invaluable to create the freedom for our people to step back and recapture that inquisitiveness in an environment that acknowledges that to let them be free to explore is a good thing.

Being clear on the corporate, team and individual ‘rules of engagement’ that they need to fulfill as a minimum within the organization might seem restricting.

Yet intriguingly, once people know what’s in and what’s out before they start, they feel freed up to use their curiosity to ensure new and radical opportunities can be explored.

And it’s OK to.

Creativity comes from knowing that the blank sheet you have in front of you, is OK to splash your paint on. Then you can explore to your fullest dreams.

Everyone benefits.

No Time For Excuses

Maybe I’m a bit late for this, but I do need to revisit the demise of the England football team in the world cup.

There are no excuses. Perhaps many would say that overpaid superstars ought to have fared better and that there was no appetite for the game in our players.

The Spanish players, after their victory last night, might have something to say about that.

Ask every one of our players and they would tell you that they went all out for success - that their focus was entirely on bringing that 5Kg 18 carat gold cup back home.

As for the manager, there seemed to be times when he was completely perplexed in the outcome and then every opportunity to find some excuse for the failing - the ones that weren’t down to him, of course - were rolled out.

Sometimes it’s about bad luck.

Ever the optimist, I’m of the opinion that bad luck had it’s part to play at a particularly critical moment in the game we lost to Germany.

Frank Lampard’s ‘goal that never was’ came just a time where we could easily have clawed our way back into the game and with Germany’s precocious young team hauled back from a 2-0 lead, who knows what might have happened then.

Indeed many worthy winners of the World Cup have had extraordinarily poor starts.

Yet as manager, the buck stops with us.

There is no place for excuses that we try to hide behind. We get paid to be successful and when we aren’t, we have to stand up and say that we, ourselves weren’t good enough and we must do better. Then our people trust us, bond better with us and we get up another day to learn and grow and achieve more next time.
Even if the linesman and the referee are the only two people in the ground who didn’t go to Specsavers.

Review Time for Managers

As managers, our lives are busy enough. The work comes at us in an ever-increasing flow and sometimes we take the eye off the ball.

In fact, it’s quite surprising how we can gradually, day-by-day, month-by-month, change our behaviors in an attempt to avoid being swamped by ’stuff’.

Such that we lose sight of what we are really there to do, which is lead and manage our people, as well as deliver the bottom lines demanded of us.

Time to test our perspective against a benchmark of a point 2 years ago.

What have you stopped doing?
What have you started doing?
What do you do more of?
What do you do less of?

And here’s the acid test for you. Which of these adds value to the bigger picture of your management? Which leaches away your performance?

When you have a better picture of how you have changed (and it may be for the better, don’t forget!). you will start to understand how you have shifted - almost imperceptibly - and what you need to revisit. What you need to reclaim.

It’s a fact of life that our behaviors shift over time and it’s vital that we notice and adjust too.

The sign of great managers is that we have this capacity - without self-criticism or blame - as well as the vision within ourselves, to make the differences to what we do, as we go.

Showing Your Face

Are you ready to be amazed?

There’s a simple way to make a difference in the way you relate to those in your team.

If you are focused in what you do, it will take no time at all, cost nothing and revolutionize the way that your people perceive you.

Why managers don’t do this enough is a mystery, but it’s linked to the being busy that we covered in last week’s newsletter.

You see it’s so vital to be able to delegate tasks as far as you can, to leverage the value from the capabilities that your people have (sometimes hidden, of course), that then will allow you more free time to do this simple act that they will love.

And the truth is that it is such an easy activity, that it is a wonder that managers don’t do more.
So, what’s the secret then?

Just be there more.

By showing an interest in your people, without putting any pressure on them, you will be much more valued as a manager and the return on the time you invest will be magnified many-fold.

The behavior of a manager is thought to be the reason for 70% of employees leaving their current employment.
By showing an authentic interest in them as they work - engaging them in easy conversation for example - you show that you are interested in them as people.

This builds relationships strongly between a manager and an employee. This is a hugely valuable asset in today’s employment climate - and one which is becoming more and more rare.

By just ‘chatting’ about nothing in particular, you invest time in the relationships that will serve you very well in the future - when you really do need to ask for help and support.

And that really does make a difference to the bottom line.

Thought About ‘Plan B’?

I almost missed the opportunity to mention the current England demise at the World Cup.

Thanks to my sister Beverley earlier this evening, I feel no pressure to make a tenuous link between their performances thus far and the management we all undertake, day-in, day-out!

There is a very obvious link, of course.

Far be it from me to describe the England manager Fabio Capello as crazy, but there is a precedent:-

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”
Albert Einstein

We are in no different a boat than Capello and his hapless players. Sending the same team out with the same instructions is pretty often going a similar set of results, of course.

Doing the same with your people in your own team is inevitably going to create the same outcome too.

When things are not going to plan, then it’s always a good time to take a look at the plan and find out what it is that isn’t working.

Then go for ‘Plan B’.

Not know what your ‘Plan B’ is?

Well, if you don’t, then now is the most brilliant of times to seek the valuable input of your people and get them involved with making the difference that makes it work out.

Let’s hope Mr Capello does the same on Wednesday at 15.00 UK time!

Are You Ready?

In ‘The West Wing’ there’s a pivotal moment at the start of Season Two (just working my way through the box set!).

There has been a shooting attempt on the President’s team and through a series of flashbacks to when his presidential campaign began, Jed Bartlet is seen behaving like a bit of an arsehole with his key people.

His wife describes him as ‘not being ready’.

At the end of a hard fought battle on the campaign trail, the father of one of his team dies unexpectedly.

He finds out and spends some time with the young man, understanding him better as a person and with that appreciating that he has not been very good with the relationships with the team up to this point.

After this moment of being human at last, he turns to Leo McGarry, who is the force behind his candidature and tells him ‘I’m ready’.

The being readiness of us when we lead others is not a place that comes easily. It often requires a lot of self-awareness.

This needs to be sufficiently strong for us to acknowledge and then shift our behaviors such that we learn and grow for our people - just as much as ourselves.

Be clear - listening and really hearing what our people say is vital. Paying attention and developing ourselves is the action point we take from that.

Then, we really are ready too.