tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379894838443955957.comments2011-10-03T12:25:19.310+01:00Potential2AchieveUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379894838443955957.post-33550972399991160652011-10-03T12:25:19.310+01:002011-10-03T12:25:19.310+01:00Thanks for sharing this. It was good to see Mr Web...Thanks for sharing this. It was good to see Mr Webster in action after a few years :DIan Rachwalhttp://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=19241345&trk=tab_pronoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379894838443955957.post-41309208671943759682010-12-12T16:42:20.727+00:002010-12-12T16:42:20.727+00:00Indeed Ian's experience is not untypical sadly...Indeed Ian's experience is not untypical sadly.<br />Having also worked in a FTSE 100 Company, I have seen the effects that increased distance between the top layers of management and the "front- line" employees can have.<br />As the top- level leaders become more and more removed from their key customer- facing people,so their understanding of the real issues and also their willingness to "get their hands dirty" can diminish and sometimes even, vanish altogether.<br />In addition to this, the managers immediately around them may want to convince them of certain things that may not be quite true, and so that disconnect from reality becomes greater and greater.<br />I think we all know the effects such situations can have on employee engagement and also buy- in to the vision, mission and strategy the organisation is working towards.<br />The ability and indeed the discipline of top leaders to go straight to this front- line level and thank, congratulate, speak with and engage people will not only have a significant impact on motivation, but can also keep a clear view of the reality, issues and opportunities that exist.<br />And of course, next time it snows, well I guess those employees you described will be ready and willing to make the effort again...Kosta Christofinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379894838443955957.post-24360440166575638182010-12-11T13:22:30.856+00:002010-12-11T13:22:30.856+00:00An interesting scenario that must make that compan...An interesting scenario that must make that company a good place to work. Will the staff go that "extra mile" next time there are travel difficulties or staff shortages .... they almost certainly will !<br /><br />This reminds me of a number of occasions during my long career with a FTSE 100 company. When a new manager (I won't call them a leader, as will become clear by reading on) would state early on in their new position "I am not here to be popular, I am here to get results". I always understood what they meant but sighed to myself internally because they had missed such a crucial point. That they will only get outstanding results IF their team want to work there ... want to go that extra mile for that person ... i.e. in today's speak - is fully ENGAGED to be there.<br /><br />Many of these managers in my experience (but not all), were relatively inexperienced but were well sponsored and therefore had a good chance of succeeding .... except they didn't all value their people as their ASSETS ! The ASSETS that were going to make then succeed, or fail .... or more likely ... just do what is required - "If they have little interest in me as an individual, well, I will concentrate my enthusiasm in another direction".<br /><br />Churchill was a successful leader during WWII even though he was widely unpopular, rude, arrogant and sometimes abusive. Was he a great leader? Most would say "yes". In that period of time with events unfolding as they were, history has proved that the right person was in the right job at the right time. Is this the kind of leadership that commercial businesses need today? I would say sometimes, but generally only in crisis situations when the future of the business is in doubt. NOT, because an 'intellect' or 'well connected' individual are promoted for the wrong reason into the wrong job at the wrong time.<br /><br />Fortunately I have seen the world changing (slowly) over time to a point where the value of an individual is recognised for the right reasons ... however, this is usually when the person in the leadership seat has also got there for the right reasons ! <br /><br />Still a lot to learn and a long way to go !Ian Rachwalnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379894838443955957.post-8642248675885506532010-03-29T10:15:29.651+01:002010-03-29T10:15:29.651+01:00Interesting angle. Its pretty clear that if mana...Interesting angle. Its pretty clear that if manager is promoted from with then team productivity is bound to drop off at least in the short term. The 'distractions' of leadership, which in reality should be the new manager's prime concern, mean that the individual can not give the same effort and attention as they once did. In addition the team will also be likely to allow their own productivity to be adversely affected now they have an 'ally' at the helm.<br /><br />Normally, the 'succession plan' such as it is has identidied the individual through there work ethic, skill at 'doing' and productivity. No thought is given to the presence or otherwise of any innate or rudimentary 'supervisory' skills. This leads to a sticky situation - 'managing mates'!<br /><br />If the new manager does not assert herself quickly (which is unlikely) she is on a rocky road to hard-times 'mucking in' for the foreseeable future.<br /><br />As the team sees her 'doing' they'll subconciously (sometimes conciously) adjust to the leader not being present as a leader and productivity will drop away even further.<br /><br />With all this negative pressure on performance, the newly appointed leader neds a helping hand. The advice is therefore simple and can be succintly put in a corruption of a familiar saying....<br /><br />Don't just do something - sit there!Lawrence@Phoenixhttp://phoenix-training.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379894838443955957.post-27195059238131956142010-03-14T05:32:18.781+00:002010-03-14T05:32:18.781+00:00Interesting Belief Rod,
I agree with some of your ...Interesting Belief Rod,<br />I agree with some of your points, however, I do hope that your own kids are not born to be followers. <br />As (according to your belief system), there will be nothing that either they (or you) could do to develop them.<br />Fascinating !Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379894838443955957.post-74116645063044748472010-03-01T12:22:43.904+00:002010-03-01T12:22:43.904+00:00Leaders born or made? - undoubtedly born but then ...Leaders born or made? - undoubtedly born but then made ie developed as a result of the interactions they experience. <br />The problems arise when the leaders are 'promoted' before they have had the opportunity to fully experience the consequences of their decisions. <br />This in turn causes the leader to believe his / her own publicity ( which has contributed to the promotion) because, remember, the consequences have not materialised and continues to lead with little or no foundation of proven success or failure.<br />The key word in leadership development is I believe, influence. <br />In particular the benefit that the good leader experiences as a result of being influenced and not directed.<br />If we want to encourage people to become leaders we should ensure they receive the right influence in their decision making as opposed to the right direction.<br />Direction creates managers or leaders without vision.Rod Springettnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379894838443955957.post-41670238093498482482010-02-20T16:38:03.094+00:002010-02-20T16:38:03.094+00:00A couple of very interesting blogs.
How easy is i...A couple of very interesting blogs.<br /><br />How easy is it for leaders today to work systemically when they are driven to achieve short-term targets by shareholders, investors, voters etc. The very best of these can overcome this obstacle by being (no.3) self-confident without being arrogant and seeing the people as the route to performance. These two must therefore be in place first.<br /><br />Relating this to your earlier blog, I believe very strongly that leaders are made and not born. We are all so influenced by the millions of 'systemic' activities/voices/actions that have occured around us since birth.<br /><br />And, in my view, the cancer that is the biggest threat to effective leadership for all but the very best is .... politics! Everyone has their own agenda but when it doesn't match the leaders for whatever reason then the clear 'vision' is lost while matters of today, tomorrow and yesterday are debated.Rachers2noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379894838443955957.post-74459020845499262872010-02-04T14:45:41.590+00:002010-02-04T14:45:41.590+00:00Surely any company that has any chance of survivin...Surely any company that has any chance of surviving in the current harsh economic world must allow leaders the chance to make mistakes and learn from them. Has any CEO made it to that position without making a mistake?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com