Insights, updates and news
Problem solving is like elephant eating
As the old joke goes Sounds logical when you see it like that doesn’t it? Problem solving is very similar. You need to break down this large, seemingly insurmountable problem that is recurring, systemic and causing lots of hassle and expense in the business. This process is not for little problems that are easily solved, it is for the 10% of problems that keep coming back, no matter how many fixes you put in place, you just can’t seem to nail it. Instead of attributing blame for a problem recurring, why not work in a cross-functional, cross-departmental group to get...
Leadership, not leaders: why united leadership wins over the charismatic individual
And while we are all crying out for signs of leadership, any signs at all, we are not overly optimistic that the Messiah is to be seen on the horizon. In the meantime, we can take solace in the research showing that organisations can at least, become more effective if there is a cohesive leadership team. Their role is to unite and drive the organisation towards achieving great results for their customers and other key stakeholders. Some twenty years ago the Mt Eliza Business School decided to fund a ground breaking, three-year research project into Winning Organisational Practice, seeking answers...
Organisation development: training vs consulting
Firstly what is Organisation Development? There are many different views! Let’s go with, “a critical process that enables organisations build their capacity to change and achieve greater effectiveness by developing, improving and reinforcing strategies, structures and processes”. Strategies include Culture, Leadership and People. OD is so comprehensive that it is well beyond the realms of Training alone, although training could form part of the intervention. The model we use at Leadership At Work consists of six practices. They are: Current Reality – where are we now Vision – creating a shared view of the future Drivers – energising the organisation...
The power is within your team!
Like any good CSI investigation, collecting the facts about a given problem from everyone who is affected by the problem is a key component in effective problem solving. But it is often a step that is skipped. It is seen as taking too long. And we need an answer ‘now’! Unfortunately as any crime scene investigator will tell you, it’s the small details that will make or break a case – the same can be said for problem solving. Interestingly, the answer is normally within the organisation – someone, somewhere will know something that will be the key to unlocking...
90% of problems and opportunities for improvement are already known
Recently I have facilitated a number of Root Cause Analysis ( RCA ) Workshops for organisations in the Food Processing Industry. While there were a variety of different problems to be worked on, they had one thing in common; they were well known and they had been in play for a very long time! Dr. W Edwards Deming taught us many years ago that 85% of problems in organisations were Systems problems, leaving just 15% of problems described as People problems. These Systems problems require a rigorous problem solving process like the one we use in our Problem Solving and RCA...
Job profiling – what is it and how might it help?
Recruitment is a minefield; it’s difficult and time-consuming navigating your way through the observable dangers, let alone those that are hidden from our view. Leadership At Work has a unique, highly effective approach to exposing some of those hidden dangers, using the behavioural profiling tool, DISC, to profile the position you are recruiting for. The application of a rigorous, collaborative investigation of the ‘human’ (as compared to technical) requirements of the role, leads us to an extremely useful report framed within the four behavioural domains of DISC: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, Compliance. Here is a sample: When...
Organisational transformation for executive leaders
Practically all of us involved in Organisational Improvement Programs have witnessed the lack of sustainable change and the inexorable reversion to “the way things were” despite the best efforts of both internal and external change agents. This workshop explains why sustainable change is difficult but more importantly what can be done to really achieve organisational improvement. Robert has over 30 years’ experience in Organisational Development and brings together two powerful forces for sustainable improvement. It is now becoming obvious, that in order to bring about real and lasting improvement, the entire Leadership Team needs to codesign and drive the...
Bound for glory? Why successful teams need more than talent
This is the motto of the modern Olympic Games. Translated (faster – higher – stronger), it is an interesting insight into a culture that focusses on, and certainly celebrates performance through the lens of physical capability beyond that of the normal human. By extension, it perhaps also points to, in part, the apparent rise of performance enhancing drugs, in pursuit of super-human performance at the expense of moral or ethical codes of conduct. We may may never be certain of a “clean” Olympics again, however, we are perhaps witnessing a new paradigm of performance, where athletes are being selected...
Attention managers : feedback on performance improves performance
We believe very much in the value of feedback as a mechanism to improve performance. So why do so many troubling stories abound concerning the negative impact of 360 degree feedback? 1. Feedback is often delivered in a negative way leaving the recipient feeling unvalued and sometimes demotivated. The solution to this is to give sound training to managers in giving constructive negative feedback which includes steps to improve performance. 2. Secondly perceptions on what constitutes good performance or otherwise can differ between manager and team member if that was not clarified at the outset. The way to avoid such misunderstanding...
Profit is not a dirty word – until it is!
I recently attended a business seminar where one of the key speakers made the point loudly and frequently; Profit is not a dirty word! We agree but would add a significant rider—Until it is! The speaker went on to attest that the No. 1 reason to be in business is to make a profit and the most important thing for a business to do is make a profit. However, we see profit as a result, an important one, but not necessarily a reason. Profit may well be the reason that the owner stakeholder is in business for, but there are...