Insights, updates and news
Why does this problem come back to haunt us?
Ever wondered why do the same problems keep recurring? Well there are two good reasons for this annoying and often expensive problem. Firstly, problems often appear in the first instance as symptoms or problem effects. For example a headache is often a symptom of a deeper problem. Taking a painkiller will only at best hide the problem for a while, but it will most likely come back again after the painkiller has worn off. A good GP or alternative health practitioner will ask a series of questions to get to the source of the problem. Those questions will often start...
Need to bust problems down to size? Use “the force” to help!
Problem Buster © uses an array of effective problem solving tools to assist in determining the root cause of problems that don’t seem to go away. Until the problem-solving group can identify the root cause of a problem it is highly unlikely that they will come to a successful solution. The tools used in Problem Buster include Pareto Charts, Run Charts, Histograms, Flow Charts and Scatterplots amongst others. But by favourite tool is The Force Field Diagram. Below is an example of the Force Field Diagram applied to the reason Problem Solving groups are ineffective in their pursuits: ...
Lost in the wilderness? Self-leadership is your road map out!
So, you’re (reasonably) well paid and have a job title that demonstrates you’ve been progressing nicely through your vocational journey, and you’re now reaping the fruits of your labour. Life it seems, is under control, yet for some strange reason, the destination just isn’t what the brochure promised! This story is one we hear regularly. So many successful people are looking for a more meaningful life either at work, post work or outside of work. It is more of a feeling that “there is more to life than my work is currently providing”, maybe some inner feeling of...
Leading and managing team courses – Ballarat
We’ve just released two new Leading and Managing Teams public courses for Ballarat (see below). This 5-day course can be considered as a foundation for emerging Leaders or a refresher for those looking to “sharpen the knife” and keep their leadership and management skills cutting through. Click here to view the program overview or click here to download a registration for these courses. We offer our courses across the State! Please contact us directly to chat about how we can bring Leadership At Work to your people.
Problem Buster: new online problem solving tool available!
Wherever variation occurs in a process, out of specifications results will also likely occur. At a recent Root Cause Analysis session I facilitated we discovered 38 possible causes to a problem occurring in a food processing plant. The multi departmental problem solving team eventually narrowed it down to the two most likely causes and using data analysis eventually discovered the root cause. The Team used all of the 10 Problem Solving steps listed below. These same steps have been applied to countless problems over several decades with very impressive results. The key step, as is often the case, was...
Is Your Organisation Really a Learning Organisation?
Photo by krakenimages on Unsplash Some years ago, Peter Senge wrote his seminal work, ‘The Fifth Discipline’. It was subtitled The Art and Practice of The Learning Organisation. I am not entirely sure what a learning organisation is but I think I will know one when I see one! To me a Learning Organisation will have at least most of the following features: An investment of time and resources in developing their people in a variety of learning opportunities. Learning will be considered an essential part of everybody’s job. Learning will be aligned to both the Organisations Strategic Objectives as...
Can’t Find a Good Leader? Try Leading Yourself!
Can’t Find a Good Leader? Try Leading Yourself! In the Leadership and Management Development space we often lament the lack of authentic and effective leadership. Since the Karpin Report of 1995, study after study keeps tossing up the same theme. ‘We need better leadership!’ In our own experience, over 30 years in organisational life throughout Australia, we have also found the need for more effective leadership. As we continue to run leadership and management courses, and indeed write books on the subject, we are now considering a slightly different approach. With talk going around about wellness, resilience and self-leadership, we...
Howzat!
When will we ever learn? As a keen cricket fan and follower of the Australian Cricket Team I had finally convinced myself to come back to support the men in the baggy green hats in their battles against the Indian Cricket Team in late 2020. Long before the ’Sandpaper Gate’ disgrace of March 2018, I found myself embarrassed by the unsportsmanship antics of some members of the Australian Cricket Team. Of course, I have never been in the cauldron of the pressure of representing my country in cricket or any other sport for that matter, so was I being a...
Australia Day: Is the date really the issue?
The issue regarding Australia Day goes much deeper than the date 26th of January. Much of the rhetoric (noise) has been dominated repeatedly by the extreme views put forward from both ends of the spectrum: (either it’s a very good date or it’s a very bad date.) It’s either great to celebrate what is good about Australia whist the opposing viewpoint calls it Invasion, even Holocaust Day! ‘Either Or’ thinking rarely achieves mutually satisfactory outcomes. Stephen Covey author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People urged us some time ago to ‘Think Win/Win.’ While not always possible to achieve...
The Inverse of Followership
We need REAL Leadership – not delusional followership! I’m a slow learner, I’ll admit it! My first gig as a leadership and management consultant occurred in New Zealand exactly 40 years ago (I landed in New Zealand the day after Greg Chappell introduced a new bowling technique against the Kiwis!). For the next 40 years, along with my associates in Leadership at Work, I have been conducting leadership and management development workshops throughout Australia and indeed, in Europe and Asia. Although our programs, designed to enhance both leadership and management skills, have received very positive feedback, repeat business...