Management Blog

Team Building Lessons for UKIP & Nigel Farage

Following their recent success what team building lessons are there for UKIP and Nigel Farage to ensure they don’t ‘internally combust’ before the general election next year.

UKIP leader Nigel Farage said he was "over the moon" about the European election results and hailed his new place as leader of the third party in British politics. UKIP has now got at least 23 MEPs, the Tories and Labour have 18 each, while the Liberal Democrats lost 10 MEPs leaving them with just one. (Not including the Northern Ireland results).

For months, the prime minister and other senior Conservatives have tried to avoid mentioning UKIP, after realising Cameron's portrayal of the party as a bunch of "fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists" badly backfired.

Farage said the victory put his party in a good position to win seats at the general election if UKIP could build up "clusters" of support and broaden its top team beyond the one-man-band of himself. Farage said he planned to take some time out of the spotlight over the summer in order to build his new team of MEPs into a stronger frontbench of spokespersons.

This is an extremely difficult time for Farage when looking to build on this success and take the party into the genral election with a coherent manifesto whilst keeping his more outspoken supporters on message.

He’s been very successful so far in bringing togther a disparit group of individuals to form a consensus on a single issue – Europe. But as he’s identified, the challenge now is to broaden the top team beyond his one-man band and build a team of effective , credible frontbench spokespeople.

5 Stages of Team Development

So where are UKIP in the traditional 5 stages of team development  and team building which are:-

• Forming – Orientation, breaking the ice
• Storming – Conflict, disagreement
• Norming – Establishing order, cohesion
• Performing – Cooperation, problem solving
• Adjourning – Task completion

Given the successful outcome of the European elections it can be argued UKIP has gone through the 5 stages. However in seeking to broaden the consensus on a wider range of issues such as the economy, health and education for a General Election the danger is they will slip back to the ‘storming’ phase where there will be considerable conflict and disagreement. As Nigel Farage has acknowledged this will be a challenge when looking to build a team of strong frontbench representatives.

CIPD & Jobcentre Plus Launch Guide To Tackle Youth Unemployment

The CIPD has teamed up with Jobcentre Plus to launch a new work experience guide to help employers raise the quality of work experience available to young job seekers.

A new guide published by the CIPD and Jobcentre Plus, 'Work experience placements that work', is designed to encourage more employers to provide meaningful work experience to help young job seekers get a foothold in the labour market as the economic downturn has hit young people harder than any other group.

The guide offers employers help on giving young people, aged between 18 and 24, their first positive and practical experience of work. It is designed to support the Government’s initiative, Get Britain Working, and quality work experience is at the core of the advice, with recommendations on how to:

• structure the work experience
• devise a work plan around appropriate tasks,
• support and supervise,
• provide constructive feedback and
• help the individual enter working life.

 It also contains a checklist for the employer running a placement and a ‘Work Experience Agreement’ that can be signed by the employer and the young person, helping to ensure commitment on both sides.

For more information on Call of the Wild's work with young people then click here

Leadership and Management Wales Funded Training

The Welsh Government are criticised for many things including the funding of training and skills development which has obviously taken on greater importance given the current economic climate. However in my opinion the Welsh Government cannot be criticised in this arena particularly when compared to the provision of grants and funding for training in Engand by the UK government.

The Welsh Government have been forward thinking in this repsect particularly in the field of enhancing Leadership and Management (ELMS)  Skills. The ELMS programme is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Social Fund with the intention of supporting business growth. The programmes contribute towards the improvement and support for development skills within Welsh companies and organisations.

Programmes introduced by the Welsh Government include the following.

1. Enhancing Leadership and Management Programme

The enhancing leadership and management programme includes the following:-

• Support from a centre of excellence for Leadership and Management training needs
• Leadership and management workshops
• Workforce development with leadership and management Wales training eligible for 50% funding
• Access to the sector leadership fund
• Management diagnostic programme
• Mentoring and coaching skills training

2. Work-Based Training

• Apprenticeships
• Modern skills diplomas

3. Skills Growth Wales

• £30m extension to the scheme until March 2015 offering training support to companies in Wales

4. Redundancy Action Scheme (ReAct) II

• Programme of funding for training for people living in Wales who are facing redundancy or for employers who are downsizing their business or recruiting staff.

This is comprehensive list and for more information on these Welsh Government initiatives click here.

If you are interested in Enhancing your Leadership and Management Skills in Wales then contact us for more information and for a free consultation

 

Consensus Problem-Solving

Paper  written by Rick Roskin and taken from our E-learning website. Contact us for a trial free login. Drawn from the research of Virginia Breen, Ronald Fetzer, Linda Howard and Robert Preziosi The One-Liner When a problem is complex and/or potentially controversial, open communication is essential for effectiveness, as is a structured approach to consensus decision making within teams.  This is especially true if the decision warrants implementation. Consensus Problem Solving This research looks at consensus decision making within the context of a particular approach described by Harley and within a particular theory as outlined by Senge.  Essentially, it is argued that when a problem is potentially controversial and/or complex, teams that follow a structured approach and that are more open in their communication are likely to achieve better results. To quote the authors: the purpose of this research was to test whether a consensus problem-solving technique increases communication openness in a team setting when compared to previous problem-solving sessions when team members were left to their own devices. Communication openness in an organizational setting refers to the message sending and receiving behaviors that occur between superiors and subordinates as well as between peers. It is a central variable in organizational communication and is a vehicle for handling non-routine, and possibly negative, information in the form of suggestions, criticisms, new ideas, and bad news. The importance of this approach is emphasized because information often never reaches those who are empowered to implement a decision.  Additionally, the reason for investigating problem solving approaches turns on today’s changing organizational structures and the environment

Will This be the Welsh Fans Tomorrow?

Celebrating or commiserating

Nick Clegg Under Pressure

We've written posts about Nick Clegg before and how he was damned if he did and damned if he didn't join a coalition Government with the Conservatives.

It seemed obvious that any Government faced with largest deficit in living memory and trying to balance the books was not going to be popular and it would eventually face a backlash. It's just unfortunate for the Lib Dems that it's them seemingly bearing the brunt of this dissatisfaction.

So what leadership style will Nick Clegg adopt to weather the storm? It will be interesting to see what happens over the next weeks.

Is Nick Clegg, Leader of the Liberal Democrats a Good Leader?

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.

For more information on leadership development visit the Call of the Wild website.

Leadership Lessons from the Political Turmoil in Ireland

The political turmoil in Dublin over the past few weeks has made front-page headlines around the world.

For  Taoiseach (Leader of the government of Ireland) Brian Cowen, problems started following revelations that he had not disclosed dealings he had with former chairman of Anglo Irish Bank, Sean Fitzpatrick, in the run-up to the Banks Guarantee in 2008. (This was when the Irish Government put in place a guarantee arrangement to safeguard all deposits, bonds and debts with several banks including the Anglo Irish Bank.)

Whatever the dealings were, positive or negative; there was no transparency to them. Perhaps Brian Cowen could have learned from the philosophy of John Harlin, who at 30, died trying to climb the Eiger “diretissima”, straight up.

“Straight up is a way of serving a drink. It is also a way to climb a mountain and of living a life.” says James Ramsey Ullman the author of Straight Up - the account of the young mountaineer’s life.

Straight up is a challenging and demanding way to live. It can feel risky, but it’s also authentic and rewarding. In our response to leadership challenges, it helps if we are adaptable and flexible. It also helps if we avoid unnecessary posturing and political gamesmanship and so keep things simple and direct.

How straight up can you be in your work? Are all your dealings as transparent as they could be?

For more information on leadership visit the Call of the Wild website.

Launch Of Leading Wales Awards 2011

The Leading Wales Awards is the only established, prestigious, pan Wales’ awards that recognise and celebrate individual people in Wales whose leadership makes a real difference. The Consortium of organisations who have conceived, developed and drive forward these awards believe passionately that good leadership is the  key driver to economic success in Wales.

 

 

The Leading Wales Awards:

• Are entering their 7th year
• Have pan Wales coverage and participation
• Identify, recognise and celebrate the impact of real leadership atall levels in business, the Public Services, not for profit organisations and the community
• The 2011 Leading Wales Awards are in association with Real Radio Wales

The focus for the 2011 Leading Wales Awards is:  “Leaders making a real difference in Wales”.
The awards’ nominations will explore how an individual’s leadership has made a difference: what has changed since s/he took up his/her leadership role? How did s/he achieve these changes for the better? What exactly has s/he done to bring the changes about? What has been the impact of his / her leadership? The Leading Wales Awards:

• Are entering their 7th year
• Have pan Wales coverage and participation
• Identify, recognise and celebrate the impact of real leadership atall levels in business, the Public Services, not for profit organisations and the community
• The 2011 Leading Wales Awards are in association with Real Radio Wales

The focus for the 2011 Leading Wales Awards is:  “Leaders making a real difference in Wales”.
The awards’ nominations will explore how an individual’s leadership has made a difference: what has changed since s/he took up his/her leadership role? How did s/he achieve these changes for the better? What exactly has s/he done to bring the changes about? What has been the impact of his / her leadership?

Department of Education to Continue with Leadership Development for Teachers

The Department of Education  will continue to support programmes which are successful in developing leaders in schools. Through the new Teaching Schools network, we expect the National College to enable many more clusters of schools to offer their own high quality ‘middle leader’ (e.g. heads of department or heads of year) development programmes. This will be significantly more cost effective than offering centralised programmes, and builds on a successful pilot.

2.42 We will also support third sector organisations to expand the availability of their programmes. For example, Future Leaders is a three-year programme which is designed to support highly talented teachers to progress quickly to leadership positions in challenging schools. Teaching Leaders is a two-year programme designed to support the development of outstanding subject or middle leaders in challenging schools. We will continue to support both programmes. The Future Leaders programme will place 50–100 talented teachers a year in challenging urban secondary schools across the country, and we will expand the pilot of the Teaching Leaders programme beyond London, to develop 75 outstanding subject/middle leaders each year.

For more information on our leadership development programmes and ILM Awards visit the Call of the Wild website.