performance | change-effect

Bring your A game

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Blog

You bring your A game when things aren’t going well.

When things are fine, you can glide, you can dwell, you can afford to take your foot off the pedal.

The difference between a high performer and an average performer, is that when things get tough, the high performer kicks in and delivers more. They use uncertainty as a base to drive forward.

Every single successful person I have ever worked with, embraced adversity, thrived on it and grew stronger.

Every single passenger I have worked with saw themselves as a victim, sat on their hands and blamed others.

To those that believe, “it isn’t worth it” you are right. It isn’t worth it.

To those that believe, “we can make it better” you are right. We can make it better.

Two truths, one choice.

Your call.

There’s an assumption that often runs through recruitment, that industry experience is necessary. That somehow the experience of a particular environment is more important than the skills and knowledge that may have been developed. It has happened to me in my career that I’ve not been considered for a job because, “they’re looking for someone with experience in x industry”.

I find this peculiar. In my career I’ve worked in,

the public sector
professional services
retail
media

In my team, we have people from a range of backgrounds, transport,manufacturing, media and financial services. But something I noticed over time was we have a lot of people who’ve worked in retail.

A disproportionate amount.

I tweeted something about this last week

and the response was really interesting. In general, there was a lot of positive reaction. But, of course, some people tried to argue the point. So let me tell you what I think.

No career path is the same and there is no “right” way to develop your career. But certain sectors provide a quicker, more intense training ground and experience than others. And retail is one of those.

Why?

Because it is fast paced, fundamentally aligned to the brand, customer focused, varied and genuinely commercial. Pretty much everyone working for a retailer understands why they are there, what they are there to deliver and their role in making that happen.

Each of the sectors that I’ve worked in have given me something different and something challenging, but as a learning ground, I don’t think anything was as formative as my time in retail. And when I recruit good people, a lot but not all, come from retail backgrounds.

So that doesn’t mean that good people only come from retail, or that retail produces only good people. But there is a higher likelihood that you’ll find a bright, commercially astute, experienced and organisationally focussed individual. They might add something to your organisation, even if they haven’t worked in that sector.

The myth of recruiting within sector is dangerous, arrogant and essentially lazy. Cross pollination is the new black, variety is the spice of life and change is the new normal.

All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.

It’s just the way it is.

Telling tales is HR’s job

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Blog

I find it funny that when we mention “telling tales”, we think of mischievous, misinformation and light-hearted deceit. Story telling reminds us of being children and living in a land of make-believe. There is a whimsical, simplicity and a leisurely disdain for the telling of tales or stories. It has nothing to do with the corporate world and business success.

But organisations need to tell stories now, more than ever.

The narrative of corporate life is increasingly complex. Balancing opposing messages, dealing with contending forces. Explaining the paradox of our corporate existence.

Yes, we need to tell stories more than ever.

The environment is increasingly complex, disparate and disjointed. The simple messages of the past, “do this and we will do that”, “be this and you will get that” are no longer true. We can no longer rely on this basic narrative.

Balancing the seemingly conflicting messages of our work life, creating the authentic narrative that reflects the complexity of the working relationship. That is a skill we can all learn better.

HR needs to help tell the organisational tales that connect people, create meaning and purpose. That deal with and accept the contradictions and realities. We need to get better at telling tales. It is one of our most important jobs.

So, if you’re sitting comfortably, I’ll begin……

Lessons in life

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Blog

When I think about the things that my father taught me, two immediate pieces of wisdom come to mind:

– Never put a cork back in an open bottle

– Life is too short to stuff a mushroom

I’m sure there were others. He probably told me not to go in to hotel management (I listened), not to get married young (I didn’t listen) and not to do drugs or get a tattoo (I’m staying silent on these elements).

That’s the way we roll.

When I think about my approach to organisations, to management and leadership, however, I realise that I’ve maybe taken a little bit more on board over the years. Dad was a leader, a leader of people in some of the hardest circumstances that you can imagine. He ran prisons throughout his career, dealing with the good, the bad and the ugly.

Dad believed in trust. I know, because I heard this time and time again. He believed that people were best when they were trusted and should be trusted until they proved they couldn’t be. Dad believed in fairness, in equity and in transparency. Dad believed in building a workplace that showed respect and in turn earned respect.

My dad was a pretty awesome guy.

When I talk to people about my organisational philosophy, they often tell me that, “it won’t work in larger organisations”, or “it is fine in the creative industry”. I even hear, “that’s fine with professional people, but my staff….”

All of which are, of course, just excuses for inaction and ineptitude. Because dad was doing this years ago and in environments that would make your hair curl. Indeed, when a prison publicly melted down in 1995, they called on my dad.

Dad turns 70 today. We don’t always have a perfect relationship, we don’t always see eye to eye, we argue and say things that we don’t mean. But deep down, I’m starting to realise that so much of what I believe, so much of what I do, so much of who I am is driven by the way in which he ran, led and managed his organisations.

I hope one day to get to the top of my profession, in the way my father did. To be the exemplar, in the way he was. And when I do, I know that so much of everything that I believe is down to the early lessons I learnt as a kid. The beliefs bashed out over the dinner table.

Life IS too short to stuff a mushroom. You should NEVER put a cork back in to an open bottle. And you should lead people with dignity, respect and trust. Those are the lessons that my father taught me.

You can’t ask for more than that as a son.