Change is an inevitable and often wearisome aspect of organisational life. If you’re not implementing SAP, you’re restructuring. When you’re not restructuring, you’re initiating a new project that your team must work on in addition to their current projects. Or there is a new CEO, and she is doing things differently, and you are moving offices for the third time in four years. Change is not going to go away – it is inevitable, along with death and taxes. While there may be many problems that accompany change, it has been my observation that there are two main issues.

The first is that the change is initiated as a reaction. The economy has slowed down, or a particular initiative has not born the desired fruit, so a change is initiated – perhaps a change in direction or a change in focus. This, in itself, is not the problem. The problem is that these changes take place every few months and seem to be knee-jerk responses that come from fear, rather than being strategic responses to changing market conditions. When this happens several times in a year, or over several years it creates a sense amongst employees that you are lurching from one drama to the next – a bit like a rudderless ship in a storm. It is unsettling and creates uncertainty and insecurity for employees, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. It does not inspire confidence.

On the other hand, if the business has made and communicated some very clear choices about where it’s going, where it plays (and doesn’t play), how it seeks to win (and which games it will not play) and what it is superbly better at than anyone else, any changes in direction that might be made can be communicated in the context of these choices. These changes will inspire confidence in a way that knee-jerk changes in direction will not – because they can be arrived at and explained with reference to the current, clear strategy. When the North Star is always in sight, changes will be seen in the light of their ability to keep the organisation flying right.

The second problem is that the people side of change is given short shrift – until serious resistance has become apparent – and then there is a whole “change management” intervention. This should have been an integral part of the change in the first place. In any change, people will focus on what they expec to lose. The change may result in a loss of status; it may mean that, whereas you used to be an expert, you are now a novice. It could mean that you lose a certain amount of comfort and predictability, or daily interaction with work buddies. Whatever it is, there will be loss. However, there will also be gain.

The best way to enable people to focus on what they will gain is to involve them in the change process before it even happens. Involve them in discussions in which it becomes clear that not to change is untenable. Let them feel the discomfort of staying the same so intensely that they cannot wait for the change to happen. This is called “constructive discontent” – when the discontent with what is is so intense that we cannot wait for what is to come. This can be done in focus groups and brainstorming sessions – and will pave the way for a far more positive response to the change when it eventually happens.

Read more about change by John Kotter, one of the best known change management experts: http://www.kotterinternational.com/the-8-step-process-for-leading-change/ .
Think about a change that you are going to have to roll out. Is its alignment with the company strategy clear? If not, how can you create clarity? Who can you talk to? Is it possible that you have knee-jerked out of fear and that you should actually go back to your strategy in order to more clearly think through how to respond to whatever gave rise to this change. How will you get people on board? How will you create constructive discontent so that your people cannot wait to make the change?

How has your leadership style and approach changed as a result of this series of articles?  Please send me feedback and let me know what you would like more of.  For previous articles in this series, follow this link.

Decision-making: not everyone is good at it, but the buck ultimately stops with the leader who is the final decision-maker.  This article looks at how to deal with the challenges of making tough decisions, and what leaders can do to create a environment where effective decisions can be made, fast. 
 
I can’t tell you how often I hear people complain that managers around here just don’t make decisions! Usually that is because of one of 3 things: (i) the scope of authority is unclear and it is unclear who should make the decision in the first place; (ii) there is fear that if the “wrong” decision is made, there will be negative or punitive repercussions; (iii) managers don’t have a process that they follow in making a decision, so they have little confidence in themselves. As a result, decisions are not made and this blocks up the works. The resulting frustration causes people to disengage – after all, what’s the point of attempting to be engaged when one gets stymied at every turn. Don’t underestimate the resentment that builds towards the “leader” who doesn’t make decisions. If you have difficulty making decisions (for whatever reason), you will lose the respect of your team. Don’t be surprised if they make jokes at your expense behind your back.  Don’t be surprised if they do the big eye roll as you leave the room having promised to look into something.

The same applies to your meetings. The purpose of meetings is to make decisions! How many meetings do you attend where items are carried over from meeting to meeting? What are your views about such meetings? My guess is that you drag yourself to these meetings, fully expecting that your time is about to be wasted. What about those meetings where people talk and talk, but no decisions are made. Do you look forward to these meetings with anticipation? My guess is not so much. We all enjoy meetings where the debate is vigorous, clear decisions are taken and action is reported on at the next meeting.

If you are unclear on the limits of your authority, have a meeting with your manager and get clarity. Use the table below and agree on the level at which you will deal with each of your responsibilities. If you are being asked to function at Level 4 or below, also reach agreement on the process by which you will progress to higher levels of authority (as your manager’s trust in you grows).

Use an effective decision-making process. I like GROW, which you can learn more about here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GROW_model. Alternatively, you could learn more from here: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_00.htm
What is your greatest decision-making challenge? Is it your limits of authority? Are you afraid of the consequences of imperfect decisions? Do you lack a trusted process that you follow in order to arrive at solid decisions? Draw up a plan for yourself that will improve your own decision-making confidence and ability.
 
Catch up on previous articles by following this link, and please send me your feedback on how they are changing or improving your leadership capacity and approach.

In the previous article in this series we looked at talent and managing the risk of losing talented team members.  Hopefully you have implemented a few changes in strategy to avoid losing your talent.  If you have missed any of the previous articles with their practical tips, questions and exercises, you can read them by following this link.
 
Essentially this article is about continuous improvement. Whether the leader is developing people, resources, systems or anything else, the focus is on being better tomorrow than we were yesterday. Some of this continuous improvement – for example, that which relates to systems and processes - may be about finding incremental improvements in the way we do things. However, there may come a time when small increments do not do the trick. In some instances, the most innovative thing you can do is eliminate the system – or a particular stage in the process. The mind-set that looks for small increments is unlikely to notice that a process is quite useless – unless some bright person has a blinding flash of inspiration and asks “Why are we doing this?” That can be a telling question.

When it comes to developing people, that is also, to some extent about “continuous improvement”. As people develop, their ability to make a contribution grows. Furthermore, they have more options in terms of how they apply their abilities. As a consequence, they become more engaged and do better work. Managers who do not spend time developing their people are not serious about being managers! Any manager who is not willing (or claims to be unable) to invest time in developing team members does not deserve to have that role. Becoming a manager is not a reward for good work. It confers on the manager total responsibility for the performance of the team – and that means that a good proportion of your working hours must be spent developing your people: clarifying expectations; coaching them; giving them projects that stretch them; reviewing their work and spending time supporting them in their work. It takes time – and that means you need to allocate this time. It is not an interruption to your work. It IS your work.

How do you foster development in your team? What disciplines or routines do you have in place that create opportunities to critically evaluate your systems and processes? Do you have a team member who asks “Why are we doing this?” How do you take advantage of this point of view in the interests of improving how you do things? Or do you dismiss these questions? Not a good idea. Rather give this person the opportunity to critically evaluate your systems and processes and make recommendations for improvements. How much of your own time do you spend deliberately developing your people? Do you treat this as an irritation and an interruption? Rather schedule time for this into your calendar, and give it your full attention at those times.

Please don't forget to contact me with your comments, queries or simply to let me know if there is anything you would like me to address in one of my articles.

This article deals with averting the risk of losing talent and organizational knowledge in an increasingly competitive, cut-throat business environment.  If you've missed previous articles in this highly popular series, follow this link.

There is a war on for talent, and your good people are going to be wooed by your competitors, so what could you do? A recent article in the Harvard Business Review by Rebecca Knight called “When the Competition Is Trying to Poach Your Top Employee” suggests that you focus on being the employer that no-one wants to leave. Pay attention to the indicators. Apparently people are most inclined to look around for opportunities around particular anniversaries (either work anniversaries or birthdays), so this would be good timing for career discussions and getting them involved in new projects. A great employee who has just had a project they were invested in put on hold or cancelled is likely to be ripe for the picking – so make sure you quickly address their negative feelings and show that you care. If you can, assign them to a new project that will make their pulse race.

Stay connected to your people to make sure you know if they no longer feel challenged or valued. Notice if they suddenly want to do courses and attend conferences – these could be indicators that they are looking around, so check it out. You can ask the question directly – but make sure that they would feel safe to disclose. You need to tell them that there will be no negative consequence if they are looking around – you just want to know, and you want to know if there is anything you can do to change their minds.

Be alert to opportunities to reduce some of their frustrations. Might flexi-time do the trick? Would working from home twice a week make a difference? Don’t underestimate the impact that these small concessions can make.
Do not allow yourself to be held over a barrel. You are at risk if a single talented individual has knowledge and experience that is crucial to the success of your business. Make sure that you always have alternatives. Ask and answer the bus question: “If this person was taken out by a bus tomorrow, what would I do?” If you struggle to answer the question, you are at risk and need to take action. Make sure these talented people have individual development plans that give them a clear sense that they will benefit by staying.

In the long-run, however, we need to make peace with the fact that there will always be a certain amount of movement – it is natural and sometimes even desirable. For more, read the original article: https://hbr.org/2015/09/when-the-competition-is-trying-to-poach-your-top-employee.

Have you noticed who might be at risk in your team? Any anniversaries? Any big disappointments experienced by key team members? How will you respond to these talented people? Do you have a plan that mitigates any risk attached to having too much intellectual property vested in one individual? Do all your talented people have an inspiring personal development plan? If not, what do you intend doing about it?
 
The next article in this series will look at the concept of development in a broader sense.  If you have any feedback on your progress that you would like to share, email me.  Email me if there is a specific aspect of leadership that you would like me to explore.