We don't want to embarrass anyone but how often have you found yourself using some of these phrases in your work environment? I know I have. These phrases seem to creep into the office like osmosis but nobody knows where they originate or half the time what they actually mean.
When you hear them used does the person using them, in your eyes go up in your estimation or do they lose credibility. Interesting question. The intention on the part of the individual is obviously the former, trying to impress but does it actually have the opposite impact.
These are some which are doing the rounds on an ILM forum on Linked In at the moment.
Management Speak
1. Blue sky thinking
2. Lets take this off-line
3. I think we can park that over there for now
4.Burning platform
5. Deep dives,
6. Skin in the game
7. Tyre kicking
8. Let's take this offline
9. Getting our ducks in a row
10. We don't want to frighten the horses
11. Riding a race horse
12. Wake up and smell the coffee
13. Socialise the idea
14. Run the idea up the flagpole
15. Move out of the box
16. Prepare the 'roadmap of where we are going from here
17. Doing more with less
18. Rightsizing
19. I'm giving you the heads up
20. Customer centric
21. Lets drill down to the detail
22. Get in the tent
23. Throw under the bus
24.Kicking the beehive.
When you hear anyone saying these in the future will you be able to stop yourself from smiling?
As a Leader, is it difficult for you to admit to vulnerability, stress or a skills gap? Do you believe that you can’t change or perhaps you have deep rooted issues that are impossible to change?
"The King's Speech" is a film about the relationship between a stammering George VI (Colin Firth) and his personal coach, Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) as they work together to help him resolve his problem. It has great lessons on becoming motivated to change in times of extreme stress. It also shows us a system’s perspective on some of the difficulties of change. There are perverse incentives for his contemporaries to keep him the same. In the film, the Archbishop of Canterbury (Derek Jacobi) enjoys patronising the King and so attempts to get rid of Lionel. The same can apply to team members – perhaps where a manager has no emotional intelligence, or can't give praise, or is lofty and remote – and may seem to justify the exaggerated whining and helplessness in which some subordinates may indulge.
Central to the success of the process is the King becoming more and more open with Lionel. This is shown as the most important element and develops from the King feeling able to say anything without being judged. Lionel also refuses to be impressed by royalty and treats the King as an equal – fostering a healthy relationship. He insists that the King must come to his consulting rooms in Harley Street, where he is confident he can provide a safe place to explore solutions, some of them quite unorthodox.
John Maxwell wrote in Leadership Wired Newsletter that there are 10 questions he asks himself as a leader. Top of the list is “Am I investing in myself?” This is a personal growth question. It’s known that lifelong learners have a common set of characteristics:
1. Developing a personal growth plan.
2. Possessing an open attitude.
3. Investing in growth-oriented resources and relationships.
4. Continually leaving their comfort zone.
5. Assimilating what they learn by applying their knowledge.
6. Reflecting on what they learn and turning experience into insight.
7. Passing on what they learn to others.
Do you have any behaviours that you think are so deep rooted they can’t be changed? Are you enmeshed in a system that is non-conducive to any change you want to make? Can you take a leaf out of George VI’s book and find the support to start making the change? What would it mean to you if you did? What are the consequences if you don’t? For more visit the Call of the Wild website
Many of you will be familiar with Abraham Maslow's theory - Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow argued that people motivate themselves as a result of a desire to satisfy various needs. At the most basic level they have physiological needs such as food, drink and sleep. Next comes "security". As a leader today you are not likely to be faced with employees motivated by these very basic needs.
As leaders what are more relevant are what Maslow defines as the higher needs which influence behaviour. These he divides into 3 groups
Social Needs
Sense of belonging
Social activity
Affection
Self-Esteem Needs
Self-respect
Status
Esteem of others
Self-Fulfilment Needs
Growth
Personal development
Accomplishment
Creativity
1.Applying Sense of Belonging
This realtes to having a consistent and professionalism approach to the induction of employees. A ggod induction process is key to making people feel part of the operation. Things such as Company ethos and mission statement are of fundamental importance moving forward for new staff. A poor induction or no induction can result in demotivation and an early departure.
2. Applying Social Activity
You don't have to go drinking with your staff every night! This requires you to create opportunities for shared time in a social environment even if this is just a place where they can have their lunch together. The importance of social events cannot be underestimated as they provide an opportunity for shared experiences and the building of relationships which have value back in the workplace. Every opportunity should be taken to reward staff and celebrate success. This develops that sense of belonging to the group rather than being an individual outside the group
3. Applying Self-Respect and Status
These can be enhanced by using the right communication techniques. Respect commands respect so adopt a courteous and respectful attitude. Respect also encourages self-respect.Praise and support can also help.
4. Applying the Principle of Self-Fulfilment Needs
This can be achieved by preparing personal development plans.
For more information on personal development visit the Call of the Wild website.
I feel sorry for Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats at the moment as they seem to be between a rock and hard place. This is the time that Nick Clegg really needs to show strong and decisive leadership.
This follows the day when more than 90 prominent Liberal Democrat councillors, including the leaders of 18 local authorities, have criticised the scale and pace of government cuts. In a letter to the Times, they say cuts will have "an undoubted impact on all front-line council services, including care services to the vulnerable".
The Labour Party must be thanking their blessings as there doesn't appear to be a better to time to be in opposition. In attempting to clear the largest deficit in living memory whoever was in Government and tasked with tackling this mountain of debt would be cast of the bad guy no matter who they are. So you can image the thoughts of the Lib Dems back in May last year when they were offered the opportunity of governing, albeit as part of a coalition, for the first time in living memory since 1914. What a poisoned chalice that may prove to be for Nick Clegg, damned if he did and damned if he didn't!
So can he do anything to ensure his party aren't cast into the wilderness for another century! Leadership has been described as the skill of influencing people towards the achievement of goals or objectives. With the scale of cuts being proposed and the frequency of the negative announcements it seems difficult for him to positively influence peoples thinking with so much negativity around. This was illustrated by the debate concerning tuition fees for students when he said that he feared that young people were making decisions not fully understanding how the system would work for disadvantaged students.
Leading involves getting people on board and giving them direction. That is certainly what he needs to do with his own party to ensure they don't implode over the next few months. One of the main roles of a Leader is to promote unity and give that direction.
Leadership is also about building trust and it was interesting again in yesterdays debate that he was continually accused of lying and going back on election promises. This is an area that he needs to address in seeking to rebuild that trust.
I think he also need to adopt a more of a situational leadership approach by altering his leadership style depending on the circumstances and the audience. Will circumstances conspire against him no matter how effective a leader he his? Will it be a case of damage limitation in terms of the reputation of his party? It will be interesting to follow events over the forthcoming months.
In what are testing times for many organisations people are looking for best value from their staff training investmnet. They need to be able to justify their spend by demonstrating improved performance and resultant improved bottom line. So how do you achieve this?
Well what many are doing is looking to accredited courses to meet these objectives. Some of the more popualr courses are those offered by the Institute of Leadership and Management accredited centres, such as ours, The Institute of Leadership and Management is the largest award organisation in Europe for granting qualifications, through their accredited centres, to those who successfully complete courses on leadership and management.
The ILM accredited courses are designed to support future leaders with management capability training that is actually meaningful and complementary to the work they do in the work place. The Institute of Leadership and Management certification programme starts with the a level 2 certificate and go all the way up to level 7. Call of the Wild are accredited to deliver across all these levels and are designed to further leadership and managerial skill in individuals. Improving leadership and management skills at every level requires a range of qualifications that need to be designed to meet practical requirements.
Training courses have to be transferable from the training centre directly to the work place. While theory has its place, the training of executive management and creating future leaders is something that must stay practical. What is taught and learned must have high relevance to what actually happens on the ground, or it is of little practical value. Theory alone cannot do this. Professional development needs to be firmly grounded in reality.
Providing future leaders with access to specific ILM courses designed for improving senior members of staff is a proven method of performance enhancement in the workplace. This benefits employers as well as employees in any organisation. When the entire team is focused and coordinated, engaged and involved through the advancement of leadership and management skills there are tangible results for the organisations bottom line.
Visit Call of the Wild Team and Personal Development website to learn more about our Leadership, Management Training, Team Development and Coaching solutions.
