The Leadership Sphere

Neller HR Champion (CEO) Award Winners Partners with TLS

A firm partnership

The Leadership Sphere has been working with top tier law firm Allens Arthur Robinson to build capability in the areas of effective conversations, feedback and coaching.  Recently, Michael Rose won the Neller HR Champion (CEO) Award at the HR Leadership Awards.  

Susan Ferrier, Director of People and Development at Allens Arthur Robinson says, 

"We have worked with the Leadership Sphere for the last two years to help lift the skills of our partners, lawyers  and other professionals in the areas of effective conversations, feedback and coaching. The aim of the training is to help us deliver our firm and people strategies of building an energised and highly engaged workplace where people’s own personal values and the firm’s values work together in a way that motivates and inspires. 

We see effective conversations and relationships as critical foundation capabilities for creating a culture where high performance is expected and recognised and our values observed and promoted. 

TLS have been an outstanding thought partner for our firm and through their innovative and thoughtful delivery have helped fundamentally shift how we manage, lead and engage with each other."

Boost People Skills: Study

Australia could dramatically lift national productivity by investing in corporate management improvement, a landmark international study of 439 companies commissioned by the federal government has found.

The study reveals there is substantial scope for improvement of management practices by company bosses and huge potential returns to firms.  If business is able to lift management performance, it will be a key factor in improving productivity in the economy and can dramatically lift company performance, the study shows.

It's Not About the Money

I recently had a group of executives argue that if you wanted to get the best out of people they needed to be paid well.  Remuneration is only part of the motivation puzzle - in fact a smaller part than many people think.  

Numerous studies have concluded that for people with satisfactory salaries, some non- financial motivators are in fact more effective than extra cash in building long-term employee engagement.  This is true in most sectors, job functions, and business contexts. 

$45,000 Raised for Foundation

Teamscape, the organisation created by The Leadership Sphere and ASI Aviation Consultants, recently announced Diamond Sponsorship (along with the Fosters Group) of the The Financial Markets Foundation for Children gala ball -a unique opportunity to raise funds and bring hope to Australian children. At the Gala Ball held in Melbourne last Friday night (11th September), approximately 700 people attended a sparkling evening. We are really excited to announce that our program was auctioned and bought for $45,000 by the National Australia Bank.  This is a fantastic result with every cent going to the Fund.  

The Financial Markets Foundation for Children is a charity which has been supported by the major Australian commercial and investment banks for a number of years. It was established in 1990 and has raised $7 million to date. 100% of funds raised are donated to research into emerging children's health issues such as childhood asthma, childhood leukaemia, diabetes, and Aboriginal children's health and environment. Grants to research projects are selected from applications by a panel of medical professionals.

Flexible Skills Rule - Says Employers

Transferable or flexible skills are the key attributes job applicants should be demonstrating in the current economic climate, according to research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) in the UK. 

 

In order to stand out from the crowd, job-seekers should develop a flexible mindset and be able to demonstrate to potential employers transferable skills, the research found.

The online poll of more than 100 HR professionals also drew on results from the quarterly employee outlook survey of more than 3000 employees. 

Other key marketable skills for job-seekers were “business acumen” with one-fifth of HR professionals believing it to be the most important attribute. One-tenth identified “demonstrating a fit with the culture and values of the organisation” as key.

Management for the Battlefield

One of my roles in supporting leaders is as an executive coach. And as you could imagine, I hear about leadership challenges almost on a daily basis - and it's often not a very inspiring story.  For example I was recently coaching an executive who was describing the difficulties he was experiencing in holding people accountable and getting them to focus on what matters to the business.  He was frustrated by their lack of 'get up and go' and apparent lack of 'skin in the game'.  

Why Focusing on What Needs Fixing Can Get You in to Trouble

It doesn't matter what area of our lives, particularly our working lives, we love to focus on what's not working rather than what is working. In fact, we are rewarded for spending countless hours analysing problems and then working out what's blocking higher performance. We then spend even more time trying to fix the problem in the form of re-structures, project teams, steering committees and more analysis. Sadly however, these types of activities are often a waste of time, effort and resources. One of the problems with problems is that the investment of energy in looking for and solving problems doesn't actually help get clear about what the ideal state should look or how to get there. 

Teamscape Announces Sponsorship

Teamscape, the organisation created by The Leadership Sphere and ASI Aviation Consultants, is proud to announce Diamond Sponsorship (along with the Fosters Group) of the The Financial Markets Foundation for Children gala ball -a unique opportunity to raise funds and bring hope to Australian children. 

The Financial Markets Foundation for Children is a charity which has been supported by the major Australian commercial and investment banks for a number of years. It was established in 1990 and has raised $7 million to date. 100% of funds raised are donated to research into emerging children's health issues such as childhood asthma, childhood leukaemia, diabetes, and Aboriginal children's health and environment. Grants to research projects are selected from applications by a panel of medical professionals.

Teamscape is donating for auction one of it's highly innovative 7-day leadership programs (n•2 | leader™) to the Foundation.  

About n•2 | leader™

n•2 | leader™ aims to build capability in individuals that hold senior positions or those talented individuals who are being ‘fast-tracked’ for more senior roles. The program blends the necessary skills of management with those of leadership.  Leaders often ascend to more senior positions in organisations because of their technical knowledge, however many individuals fail to effectively manage the transition from providing answers to technical solutions to leading at the strategic level.

n•2 | leader™ provides participants with a challenging yet practical learning pathway to more effective leadership. The modules build on each other, moving from Start-Up (a two-day foundation program), to five one-day modules – starting with Communication & Coaching and Performance Management. The program pace and tone then changes markedly, with participants expected to demonstrate new and innovative thinking about the largest challenges they face, with a focus on Change Management, Leading Teams and Executive Leadership.  This program is a refreshing change for anyone who is sick and tired of the usual rhetoric surrounding ‘leadership development’.  

The program is delivered by a qualified and current airline pilot and by one of Australia’s leading experts on leadership and team development.

Program Benefits include:

• Participants are able to demonstrate real leadership as opposed to counterfeit leadership
• Effective leaders with the knowledge and skills to generate leadership deep into their team, department or organisation
• Organisations infused with committed and focussed people
• Managers and leaders who act consistently and positively in service of business objectives
• New teams (including project teams) can form and perform quickly
• Skilled leaders who know how to manage stars and under-performers leading to a significant return-on-investment 
• Enhanced communication, coaching and dialogue skills leading to less wastage, as well as better outcomes for people and business
• Change is managed properly so the intended outcomes are actually realised
• Constructive behaviours are more readily demonstrated in those who attend
• Flexible delivery options including the selection of modules that work for you and the organisation

About Teamscape

Teamscape® uses a systems based holistic approach to bring the guiding principles of the aviation industry's crew resource management program into the business world.  During the last 30 years the aviation industry has improved its efficiency, teamwork and safety by adopting and applying systematic work practices that focus on high levels of non-technical skills. The success of these practices has led to their adoption across numerous industries by innovative and progressive organisations seeking excellence in performance.

Teamscape® has developed these practices into the n•2 system™ - a range of organisational effectiveness and team development modules with effective support mechanisms such as coaching and on-line learning. Teamscape partners with management teams and works alongside organisations to fully embed the guiding principles and practices of the n•2™ system. Teamscape is committed to working together to build on the strengths of teams and organisations, help manage performance boundaries and open pathways to clear and effective communication.

Last year's gala ball was a great success raising a total of A$558,830 through ticket sales, auctions, raffles, donations and the tombstone. The Foundation would like to thank all sponsors, contributors and volunteers as we look forward to this year's ball.

To find out more about the gala, visit www.fmfc-gala.com/

To find out more about the foundation, visit www.foundationforchildren.com.au 

Corporate transformation under pressure

Most companies find it hard to transform themselves in difficult circumstances. Those that use proven tactics markedly improve their chances of success.

It’s relatively rare for transformation programs to succeed; many surveys, including our own, put the success rate at less than 40 percent.¹ Our recent research, however, underscores the fact that certain tactics promote successful outcomes. The most important tactics are setting clear and high aspirations and targets, exercising strong leadership from the top, creating an unambiguous structure for the transformation, and maintaining energy and involvement throughout the organization.² Companies that used all of these tactics succeeded more than 80 percent of the time.³

Rethinking Trust

Despite deceit, greed, and incompetence on a previously unimaginable scale, people are still trusting too much.

For the past two decades, trust has been touted as the all-powerful lubricant that keeps the economic wheels turning and greases the right connections—all to our collective benefit. Popular business books proclaim the power and virtue of trust. Academics have enthusiastically piled up study after study showing the varied benefits of trust, especially when it is based on a clear track record, credible expertise, and prominence in the right networks.

New Offices

We would like to announce that after an extensive search for suitable premises, we have re-located to the beautiful Southgate precinct.  

The office offers comprehensive facilities suitable for meetings with state-of-the art technology, executive coaching in a relaxed and private environment and workshops.

Our new office is at Level 23, HWT Tower, 40 City Road, Southgate Vic 3006.  Please feel free to visit us.

 

New Strategic Partners: CrossRoads Human Resources

We are pleased to announce a new strategic partnership with CrossRoads Human Resources.  Because TLS works with organisations to create sustainable, high performance cultures - it became clear to us that we needed partners with specialist expertise in HR strategy to partner with us and our clients to ensure all key aspects of culture change were addressed.

Crossroads Human Resources is a specialist HR Solutions and Executive Search practice. They have been working with businesses for 10 years to ensure People Management practices have a positive impact on their business goals.  Crossroads works with clients to ensure that HR strategy is aligned to Business strategy by building solid strategies around HR processes, people and technology.  They work with clients of all sizes across a range of industries providing flexible, pragmatic and tailored services.  TLS and Crossroads will work closely together to ensure that HR strategy is a key part of the process.

We are very pleased to be able to bring the expertise of CrossRoads to our clients.

Go to www.crossroadshr.com.au for more information.

Announcement: The Leadership Sphere and ASI Aviation Consultants form 'Teamscape'

We are pleased to announce that The Leadership Sphere has formed a joint venture with ASI Aviation Consultants to form a second company called Teamscape Pty Ltd.

Teamscape has united the guiding principles of the aviation industry’s crew resource management (CRM) program with leading edge corporate training to develop the n·2 system™ – a range of organisational effectiveness, leadership and team development modules supported by coaching and on-line learning.

A Good Way to Change a Corporate Culture

"I'd like to talk to you about a big project," the woman told me on the phone. "We need to change our culture."

She was a senior leader in a professional services firm, where people really are their most important asset. Only it turns out the people weren't so happy. Theirs was a very successful firm with high revenues, great clients, and hard working employees. But employee satisfaction was abysmally low and turnover rates were staggeringly high. Employees were performing, they just weren't staying. 

This firm had developed a reputation for being a terrible place to work. When I met with the head of the firm, he illustrated the problem with a personal example. Just recently, he told me, a client meeting had been scheduled on the day one of his employees was getting married. "I told her she needed to be there. That the meeting was early enough and she could still get to her wedding on time."

From Lemons to Lemonade: Squeeze Every Last Drop of Success Out of Your Mistakes

It's one of the more uncomfortable subjects to discuss. It's something every human experiences at one point or another, yet we prefer to hide its occurrence from friends, family and co-workers. We've even gone so far as to try to banish its negative effects from the lives of our children. However, it's very likely that all this avoidance is only causing us further distress, in ways we can't foresee. The experience is failure, and author Dean A. Shepherd argues that we can (and should) learn and grow every time we fail. His new book From Lemons to Lemonade: Squeeze Every Last Drop of Success Out of Your Mistakes is a how-to guide to this surprisingly complicated process.

Performance Reviews Without the Anxiety

A manager in Belgium eases employees' tension by giving advice and feedback throughout the year.  No one on Philippe Lescornez' team of grocery sales specialists goes into a performance evaluation expecting any big news. If the manager has something important to say, he will just say it, rather than wait for a formal feedback session.

While for other workgroups, the yearly or semi-annual appraisals can be anxiety-laden confrontations between an employee and a company's official representative, Lescornez approaches them as an opportunity to summarize and commit to paper hundreds of discussions that have occurred along the way.

The veteran manager's team scores him among the top 20% of supervisors worldwide on the Eleventh Element of Great Managing, which is measured by the statement: "In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress." (See sidebar "The 12 Elements of Great Managing.") Lescornez is considered one of the best mentors in his company and was recently recognized with its "Line Manager Excellence" award for Europe.

What Strong Teams Have in Common

Gallup has been studying leadership teams for nearly four decades, and we have witnessed some telltale signs of strong, high-performing teams:

1. Conflict doesn't destroy strong teams because strong teams focus on results.

Contrary to popular belief, the most successful teams are not the ones in which team members always agree with one another. Instead, they are often characterized by healthy debate -- and at times, heated arguments. What distinguishes strong teams from dysfunctional ones is that debate doesn't cause them to fragment. Instead of becoming more isolated during tough times, these teams actually gain strength and develop cohesion.

One reason great teams are able to grow through conflict is because they have a laser-like focus on results. Top teams seek out evidence and data and try to remain as objective as possible. As a result, while people may have different views, they are united in seeking the truth. Team members can argue, but in the end, they are on the same side. In sharp contrast, failing teams tend to personalize disagreement, creating territorial divides that continue to grow.

Love That Culture

A culture that supports high performance remains one the most desirable yet difficult things to attain.  In this article by the Australian Institute of Management (Management Today), Phillip Ralph, Managing Director of The Leadership Sphere is interviewed about how to create a great culture.

Stories, Storytelling, Story-Selling in Business

At this moment in our nations history, we are seeing two epic stories evolving in terms of our new President, and in the state of our economy.

The story of Obama many believe is epic, and certainly the story of our nation’s recession and economic downfall is also a burgeoning epic tale.  Stories move societies forward. They inspire, engage and initiate change through their telling and re-telling.

Basically, there are two types of stories: Truth Stories and True Stories.  The first type, Truth Stories, are those that convey timeless messages and universal truths. Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey were the first Truth Stories. These are the epic stories recounting the Trojan War and the journey of Ulysses. They were stories about heroes and their roles in epic events.

A Note from the Editors at HBR

Leadership is never easy, but it is incredibly tough right now: The global financial system is basically paralyzed, the recession is the worst we’ve seen in the better part of a century, and trust in institutions and the people who lead them is at an all-time low.

Who better to put the subject of crisis leadership in perspective than Doris Kearns Goodwin, the presidential historian? Goodwin has written extensively about Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the two presidents who led the United States during its biggest crises: the Civil War and the Great Depression. She combines a shrewd understanding of how these leaders shaped their times and a profoundly empathetic sense of their emotional makeup. Her Different Voice conversation with senior editor Diane Coutu is about political leadership, obviously, but the lessons Goodwin synthesizes work as well for business leaders as they do for politicians.

Top Management Issues - What Really Drives Your Business?

In 2007, the Australian Institute of Management (AIM) ran an on-line survey asking managers to choose their top six management priorities from a list of 30.  The goal of the survey was to highlight the most critical management issues then facing managers.  In 2007, the top priorities were:

1. Achieving key objectives/outcomes
2. Work/Life balance
3. Finding/appointing talented staff
4. Developing organisational leaders
5. Retaining staff

The same survey question was then asked in 2008, however with quite different results.  The top six management priorities in 2008 were:

1. Leadership
2. Managing organisational culture
3. Motivating staff
4. Personnel development
5. Work/Life balance
6. Achieving key objectives/outcomes

There could be many reasons for the jump of 'Leadership' into first position and 'Managing Organisational Culture' into the second spot.  We would like to think that organisations are finally starting to realise that leadership and culture are more than just 'nice-to-haves', and that measuring, developing and sustaining constructive cultures 'fit-for-purpose' is critical to success.