David read an article by European Leaders on the link between motivation and communication on the Personnel Today website.

From a business perspective I guess that all communication and HR professionals will say ‘yep…already knew that’ but I wonder what we’d see if when reading the article we took out ‘company’ and added in ‘country’. Could you say that you know your country’s vision and values and how you fit in? What if they surveyed the thousands of people who brought fear to our streets and shame on our country over the last week? Not, repeat NOT, looking for excuses or someone to blame here. Theft and violence are not acceptable and I’m relieved at the speed at which offenders are being brought to justice, but when the dust has settled and the enquiry gets underway surely this is something that we should consider as a country. What do you think?

Here are the highlights of the article:
Lack of communication between senior managers and their wider workforce is leading to low motivation among staff, according to research published today.
The survey, by people development company European Leaders, found that more than two-thirds (68%) of respondents said that they fail to understand their company’s vision, leading to a lack of motivation and reduced productivity. In addition to this, almost two-thirds (64%) of respondents claimed that they could, and would, work much more efficiently with better motivation.

Currently, less than one-fifth (18 %) of respondents view the business they work for as a good organisation and, as a result, only one-third (36%) describe themselves as working to their full potential.

Respondents to the survey cited strong management as being crucial to building motivation among employees.

Ashley Ward, director of European Leaders, said, “It’s widely accepted that people performance is the biggest influence in business performance, yet, as a nation, we’re still not doing enough. If you look at the UK’s best companies to work for, their focus on company values and employee engagement is right at the top of their agenda.
“The fact that people want to be more involved in their work and their company shows they think about their employer’s business and care about how they’re managed. They have more to give and opening the minds of management to fresh ideas can release a huge amount of energy and skill from the workforce, benefiting the business bottom line as well as the employees as they become more passionate about the organisation they work in. A seemingly negligible investment can get teams much closer to their full potential performance, resulting in a happier workforce and significant financial benefits.”

Latest thoughts from David:

Take a moment to reflect on how you operate as a leader and the processes and checks that you’re the custodian of. What does it all say about the people you employ? One of my biggest reflections from when I had a proper job*1 was when I realised that I actually employed hard working, highly intelligent and dedicated adults and yet some of what I did and some of the checks I put in place would have suggested that I employed lazy, adolescent monkeys.

Ok this is a bit extreme but if you are finding yourself micromanaging, checking up on people and generally walking round with a belief that ‘if you want a job doing right you had better do it yourself’ then there’s probably something wrong with your recruitment and people development processes. You’re also probably working too hard and not being as effective as you could be as a result. So here’s your wake-up call (actually it’s a mantra for when you wake). Before going into the office each day say to yourself, ‘My goodness I employ adults!’ You’ll be amazed at the results and will need to figure out what to do with all your spare time.

*1defined thus: the requirement to be somewhere on a regular basis where you wouldn’t be at all if you won the Lotto*2 jackpot
*2 no I haven’t won as I don’t play so no requests for random handouts please – the key word is ‘requirement’ not ‘Lotto’; as in a proper job has requirements whereas my job has choices

The latest blog from David:

I have always believed that the relationship between worker and manager is an absolutely critical driver of engagement, morale, productivity etc. but have never heard this articulated so brilliantly as in the  phrase ‘people don’t leave companies…they leave their boss’.

Amazing when I reflect on my career, because I have put up with a whole lot (poor brand reputation, salary, working conditions, etc.) when my boss was a good one. Conversely, I left the best two companies (in terms of brand, etc.) that I have worked for because my line manager was ‘less than the most effective leader’; (I could have said this in four letters at the time but the therapy has helped).

It’s definitely true for me that I ‘left’ my boss and not the company…even though I had ‘joined’ a company and not a boss. Pretty obvious stuff really but I still see far too much effort to improve employee engagement being misdirected away from the crux of that matter. So review your plans and make sure that the skills and behaviours of the people who manage other people in your organisation are always where the lion’s share of the effort is directed.

Craig was chatting with a friend recently who was telling him about a belief he had of himself; a negative belief that was restricting him from feeling great and being the best person that he could be.

It turned into a mini coffee-coaching chat; you know the type where you chat and then find yourself asking some well placed questions to help the other person.

As we were chatting I asked my friend how he knew this perception existed and what evidence he had to support it?

It then got really intriguing…

The evidence was based on one piece of poorly delivered feedback and nothing else. He’d held onto that feedback more than all the positive examples he had received.

We chatted and I asked him to give me examples of when he demonstrated a ‘negative perception’ and he couldn’t give any.

After some reflection, he was genuinely pleased and felt better.

Just think about it, how many of us do the same?

One person’s perception does not need to be your reality…unless you want it to be; your choice.

David saw a man on holiday tell his seven year old daughter off whilst playing Scrabble.

Despite her protests of, “Please daddy, I will try harder, but I did think that was how you spelled it”, he proceeded to pack the game away because, “If you are not going to play properly, we are not going to play at all.”

It nearly made me cry….first of all what does playing properly mean? Bit of an odd concept to a seven year old, I think. Isn’t playing about…well…playing? Isn’t that how we learn? Secondly the kid had spelled the word ‘cub’ with a ‘k’ as in kub. Phonetically correct and, whilst I don’t agree with the over use of phonetics in primary education (phonetic isn’t even a phonetic word!), that is how she would have learned to spell the word. Poor kid!

Anyhow, why is this blog relevant to the fab stuff we do here at Rambutan (a very phonetic word by the way)? Well, can you imagine working for the guy? Or are you that guy… do you lead your team on a ‘my way or the highway’ basis?  Are you so caught up in your beliefs about how the ‘game’ should be played that you forgot why you were playing in the first place?

If any of this resonates, then remind yourself that the rules are important but they are not the only thing that is. Leadership is about aligning your organisation (which includes the rules but also includes common purpose, mission, values, etc.) AND empowerment; giving people space to act within that alignment (and spelling kub with a ‘k’ if needs be) AND service, as in how you wake up every morning with the thought that leadership is a privilege and that your job is to serve the people who work for you.

When David visited a 5 star hotel*^{1 and} *²  in the North of England, the general manager asked him what his thoughts were on delivering 5 star service.

I told her that there were two things that need to be focussed on and kept in equilibrium at the same time….two plates to spin if that was not too unfortunate a metaphor.

The first ‘plate’ is alignment. This is about ensuring a consistent understanding and application of how the brand and service offering manifest themselves in all customer interactions AND internal processes and procedures. In my view 5 star service doesn’t start when the customer checks in. It starts at the root of every process, from the laundry delivery, to the order for newspapers, to the person who makes sure that there are enough staples on reception. 

The second ‘plate’ is empowerment which is critical to getting authentic service (and truly delighting customers to the extent where they’ll return and tell ten other potential customers about their experience). This is about trusting employees to deliver for you. In our experience this is the thing that causes the most resistance from managers and yet it is a bit of a no-brainer…if you don’t trust them why did you hire them in the first place or continue to hire them now?

If you get these two out of kilter then you will not deliver consistent 5 star service. With high alignment and low empowerment (trust) customers get the feeling of being processed and not served. It’s like being asked if you would like fries with your order even if you had only ordered fries. With high empowerment and low alignment customers get chaos!    

 * ¹ please note that we don’t normally frequent 5 star hotels

*² no clients were charged in the making of this story

Many of us will be glued to our TV sets as we watch the final of Britain’s got Talent this weekend.

Simon Cowell, who is back to judge the live shows, is often portrayed as being the bad boy of the panel with contestants cringing whilst awaiting his comments. Now, although the delivery of the feedback is not always ideal, his opinions are straightforward, honest and timely. Surely having the ability to give such feedback is a talent in its own right. So is he really a villain for simply being honest?

Searching for talent is not limited to the entertainment industry: organisations are looking for and developing talent too. Reports by the The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development show that talent development not only equips employees to perform, but also inspires them to perform. With such rewards for the employee and for the organisation, the case for developing talent has never been more compelling.

With everyone looking for talent, we need to figure out what it is and ask whether it’s really that difficult to find.

A dictionary definition of talent is:
a special or great ability, ability of a superior quality.
Now close your eyes for a minute and think about talent and the people you know who have it.

What did you think about? The traditional talents such as: the musician whose music can change your mood in an instant; the footballer who can single-handedly control the course of a game; the actor who can bring tears to your eyes with their speech; or the artist whose pictures fire your imagination? If you were thinking of the traditional talents, then clearly finding another Tchaikovsky, Pelé, Gielgud or Blake may be difficult.
Or did you think of other, perhaps less-traditional talents such as: your friend who can change the mood of the room as soon as they walk in; the colleague at work who everyone will listen to; the manger who never judges you; or the leader who can alter the outcome of something by simply listening and coaching? These talents are just as special and exist all around us if we start looking for them!

Often you find what you look for, so if you look for talent in everyone, not surprisingly you’ll find it.

If you’re still not convinced that talent is all around us, then think of a three year-old child. Are they gifted with the traditional talents or do their talents include such things as the ability to learn, a vivid imagination, or the speed with which they make friends with other children?

If you choose to limit what you recognise, then you sentence yourself to a life of meeting talentless people in a talentless world.

If you choose to believe that everyone has talent, then you will always find the best in people and they in turn will get the recognition and feedback they deserve. You’ll then find yourself living in a wonderful world full of talented people.

So, Britain really does have talent, your colleagues have talent, and you have talent. Develop it and you’ll be inspired.

David’s thoughts on equality:

We need to be careful with how we see equality in the workplace. Equal rights is a key tenet of our society which we should cherish and nurture but does that mean equal treatment of all in all situations? I have found that there is nothing more demoralising than equal treatment of unequal performance. Too many times I have seen rules enforced (or warning posters displayed) that are based on the lowest common denominator. I have even seen rest areas closed for use by all because of the untidy habits of the few. This just is not fair! Underperformance and poor standards should not be dealt with using a blunderbuss approach, as too many people can get caught (shot) by the flak. Our organisational rules and processes should enhance the performance of the masses, give them space to excel and reward them for doing so….not shackle them with the irons of indifference. 

So equal rights, yes. Equal treatment, definitely not!

Lance was listening to Martin Johnston, rugby union’s  England Team Manager recently, who was discussing one of the games the team had played:

He was asked why things hadn’t gone to plan. He explained that you can practice and have as many plans as you like, but ultimately you have to be good enough to go off plan. Things don’t always go your way.

So remember that when things aren’t going the way you planned; be strong enough to go off plan.

The latest from Sarah:

I take having a clear vision for the future for granted – it’s something I do both personally and professionally. Why? Because it motivates me, guides my decision-making and allows me to have meaningful conversations with my team members about their goals and plans.  I believe that every member of the Rambutan bunch knows the part that they’re playing in our business’ vision; and I also believe that this is important, nay crucial, to our future success. 

Knowing this, it will now come as no surprise to you that one of the things that struck me when reading the latest Employee Outlook report from the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Professional Development) was the consistently low score that employees give their directors and senior managers on the question of: “They have a clear vision of where the organisation is going.”

Perhaps the vast majority of these directors and senior managers do indeed have a clear vision but have failed to communicate it effectively with their employees?  Or perhaps their employees are right and their leaders are taking the Columbus approach to business and are steering their organisational ship in a large ocean without any idea of what they’ll find, where they’ll end up or whether they’ll fall off the edge?!  Either way, there’s an enormous tranche of our working population out there who cannot engage with the future of the place they spend their working days.

We’ve certainly come across both of these situations in the organisations that we’ve worked with.  The good news is that both situations can be rectified! Whether you’re a senior manager or not, we’d love to hear your stories on this subject; do join us in a discussion on facebook. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rambutan/92874677654?ref=s