Guest Author

Jackie Prendergast

This morning at a Networking Event which I had organised in aid of Childline one of the presenters, Shane Twomey, a fellow HR consultant, threw out a question that really made me think! ” How do you reward poor performers“.  Initially he was met with stunned silence.  You could almost hear people thinking…”what on earth is he talking about…who would reward poor performance?”.  But then the penny dropped.

I must admit that despite being a seasoned HR professional I had never really thought about the issue of under performance in quite this way.  Of course I have expereinced it.  And had to deal with it.  And even had to deal with managers who didn’t deal with it.  But I had never thought about it in terms of “reward“.  But of couse we do.  How?  Well let’s look at what typically happens to poor performers in an organisation:

• You / their manager ignores them
• They are given less work
• Less is expected of them so they have lower targets / performance standards
• They are paid the same or similar pay to average and even high performers
• They are promoted (so they can become someone else’s problem)
• They get a salary increase (well they haven’t been told there is a problem with performance so they have to get it)
• More time is spent on them, dealing with issues and correcting problems
  
• Others are asked to help them complete their work
• They are given overtime to allow them to complete tasks
• They are not asked to do any additional work
• They are regularly sent on training courses (well they aren’t doing much else)

Of couse at the same time you are punishing your high performers.  Typically they will:

• Be expected to work harder and faster
• Get the same or similar salary to poor performers
• Get less training because they are too valuable to release
• Get less of the managers time and therefore less coaching and mentoring
• Be given all additional work
• Have higher targets and standards

The list goes on!  And what does that poor performer think about his higher performing colleagues?  Well he probably thinks they are fools and secretly laughs about them.  And what do they think about themselves.  Eventually they will begin to see themselves as fools too.  They will get tired of always having more work, always having to pick up the slack because their co-workers aren’t up to standard and never seeing any reward.  And honestly, even if they are being rewarded they will eventually become demotivated when they look at their poor perfoming colleagues who can just do as they please, never have a heavy workload and can just amble along, stress-free.

So are you guilty of rewarding your poor performers? If so, it is time you took action – NOW!

Jackie Prendergast is a dynamic and focused HR and business professional with over 15 years experience in both public and private sector environments. She is a firm believer in the concept of delivering excellence through, and with people and strongly supports an ethos of continuous learning and development in the achievement of goals. Jackie established her own HR & Management Consulting practice - Consulting Excellence - in 2007

Guest Author

Lewis Evans

When times are hard and money is tight, I hear this often. The belt-tightening process seems to automatically result in ditching the creative. It’s ironic, because when anyone starts a new business, it surely springs from a creative inspiration. So, why is it that the very thing that inspired the whole thing is seen as expendable?

I think it all stems from one simple fact that we really need to change if we are to move forward, pull ourselves out of recession and achieve a stable and abundant state: it’s simply that we are taught what to think, not how to think.

Consider any belief that you have, and you can usually trace it back to someone you trust telling you that this is a fact. It starts with our parents, and we continue this way of learning, often throughout our lives. Very little of the information we have is information we have originated ourselves. Politics, religion and education reinforce this way of learning to the point where we exclude creative notions as a matter of course – unless, by a process of repeated exposure and our own evidence-building processes (we want to believe certain things, so we find evidence that they are true for us), we start to believe them ourselves. Once we start buying into a belief, we tend to guard it, argue on its behalf and blank out counter beliefs. After all, we may have taken some convincing, and our self-esteem would be damaged if we think afterwards that we have taken on a wrong belief. You can see this happening in all areas of life, from the personal to the international.

We are not taught to be creative. A cynic might say that this is intentional, as it helps maintain control and order if common beliefs are developed that serve the purposes of those dishing them out…
Common beliefs are convenient, and they help things run smoothly. This is true in business, as well, of course. This is what corporate culture, corporate image and identity, advertising and PR are all about, and it can help a company become successful.

So it is to be expected, then, that we often have an uneasy relationship with creativity. Faced with a creative person, business executives sometimes don’t know how to deal with this uneasiness and may criticize or put down creative ideas without appreciating their potential or seriously considering them at all. I call this Fear Undermining Creative Knowledge syndrome, the acronym of which accurately expresses the frustration that is so often felt when a businessman and a creative person try to work together. Two ships passing in a pea-souper at night, foghorns blasting to ensure a safe distance, but each desperately wanting to appreciate the existence of the other. Left brain meets right brain in a tortured dance to find an acceptable middle ground.

Or not. I was listening to Michael O’Leary (Ryanair) on the radio, saying with some pride that he doesn’t use creative consultants, and anyone with a pony tail won’t even get through his door. He has young staff, and they produce all the advertising ideas themselves in-house, so he has created a mix of control and creativity that works for him. Not many companies have that much confidence and such a charismatic leader to make that work well. Often, a weakness of an owner manager is that he or she cannot determine when it is best to seek creative expertise. Many have an ego that serves them well in the good times but can be disastrous in bad times or when the company needs to take a significant step up in order to continue to grow.

All this means that whether the creative process is carried out internally or externally, it often gets a bad rap, and it’s easy to convince board members that it isn’t important for survival. But they are missing one important point in thinking like this. They need creativity in order to move forward, and it’s rarely the creative input that creates the kind of disasters we have seen in recent times, that all combined to create the financial crisis. As we know, it was primarily dodgy financial practices that caused the problems, fuelled by collective unthinking and a lack of creativity to create the tools and mechanisms to avoid it. Once we pull ourselves through the mess, will anything in the financial world change? There are already signs of a repeat performance.

What, then, is the message we are not hearing? Maybe we all have some fresh learning to do about creativity and what it contributes to our lives. Maybe, as Sir Ken Robinson so eloquently urged in his TED talk that has been admired by over 4 million viewers, we need to radically re-think our educational system.

I was told once that in the west, when we see an abstract work of art we assess it, judge it and criticize it. In other cultures in the East, they observe it, and see what they gain from it. To me, that rather sounds as if our culture blocks it out and maintains a distance from something we inherently don’t understand, and the other lets it in, and learns to appreciate what ever it is offering. Which way is the way of progress?

Lewis Evans is an artist, entrepreneur, inventor and marketing communications consultant. Fuelled by creativity and driven by a passion to provide innovation, impact and influence, his career has taken in a large variety of disciplines, skills and experience across many areas of industry and the public sector.

Guest Author

Barney Austen

A meeting that is not constructively planned, lacks a purpose, is not properly conducted and ends with no action points is exactly that. Yet, in business, a substantial amount of our time is spent in meetings that seem to be constructed from the off-set to fail.

The responsibility for a meetings success is largely down to the organiser, but the preparedness of the attendees can also ensure it achieves is aims.

So how do you make sure a meeting is successful?

Well, what is the purpose of a meeting? Simply put, from a business context, it is designed to achieve a decision(s) on an action or actions that will affect your business/project in some shape or form. If it is not going to do this, why are you holding the meeting?

Understand what you want addressed in the meeting and ensure that this is clearly understood from the agenda.

The Agenda!

You must have one otherwise your meeting will simply not be effective and get hijacked by some pirate who wants to use it for airing concerns on another issue. Strong words perhaps, but we have all experienced this at some time or another.

The agenda should state…

• Time, place, duration, attendees and meeting purpose.
• List of agenda items to be covered off

1. Urgent issues towards the top!
2. Quick items should be placed first so they can get covered off otherwise you may not get to them.
3. Avoid putting controversial topics together if possible i.e. vary the pitch and content of the meeting flow.
4. Pop in some breaks if it’s a lengthy session.
5. Time each section (if possible!).
6. Limit the scope for any other business (AOB) by having the agenda fixed with no mention of AOB.

Then send the agenda out in advance.

Remember, if you have a meeting after lunch, most participants will be feeling the effects. Don’t put a heavy duty item first if this is the case. You want participation and interest so start with a topic that will allow this to occur.

The Attendees!

Attendees should be invited based on the contribution they can make. If a person is not a decision maker or is not an expert required to explain a situation, then why are they coming? If an invitee is going to send a representative because they cannot attend, that representative must be able to commit to a decision on behalf of the original invitee – otherwise ask for someone else of defer the meeting until the main invitee can attend. Why? Because if you need that invitee to make a call, you will end up having another meeting anyway!

Attendees should be aware of their responsibilities in terms of preparation i.e. if they have to bring something to the meeting then they need to have this with them and be comfortable presenting it.

Other Things!

The above are the biggies, but don’t forget;

• Meeting venue – is the room suitable? Big enough? Too hot? Too cold?
• Are you going to supply refreshments?
• Do you need a whiteboard? Projector? Screen? Writing materials?
• Organise roles – chair (usually organiser), minute taker, time manager(if appropriate).

It’s really all about preparation – if you have it right, your meeting will work. If you don’t, expect to be back same time, same place discussing the same thing which is a waste of time, effort and cash!

I hope this was helpful! Any additions anyone?

Photo with thanks to:

Barney Austen is a budding entrepreneur working on software product solutions for business. His background is mainly operational and senior management roles in mobile telecoms and software houses. Areas of expertise include professional services, out-sourcing, team management and general operations management.

Guest Author

Elli St.George Godfrey

Imagine you are at a networking meeting and you hear two men talking about their monumental amount of work, the lack of support from their staff, and they feel powerless to speak up and change the system.

Now, what would you think if you knew these two men were actually the owners of the very businesses they are complaining about?

In a 2009 study (The Leadership Gap) conducted by the Center for Creative Leadership, one of the top ten skills needed to be an effective leader is managing change. Many established small business owners keep their vision limited and avoid challenging their status quo.

Frankly, it is easy to get into a rut. The day-to-day operations command our attention. Did all of the invoices go out? Are we collecting money owed to us? Have I paid the bills? Oh, and do I have to check my email right now?  What meetings are on today?  Should I really hire an administrative assistant? When are taxes due? And there is that project deadline. When running a lean organization, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of tasks.

But ruts set the stage for complacency. Complacency becomes the death spiral for what used to be your dream. No one starts a business to get stuck on the mundane stuff. When we spend all of our time focused on operations, we lose sight of the business vision. The energy and enthusiasm we need to innovate internally and externally is sucked away.

How do you support yourself as a change agent for your small business?

Get out of your comfort zone. Do something you don’t normally do, even if it is unrelated to your business. Learn a language, explore a musical instrument, attend an unfamiliar networking group, hire a coach, join a mastermind group, or take a class or seminar. Looking at the world through a different lens refreshes your perspective and provides relief from stress.

Check your assumptions. It is easy to be in the mindset of “should-ing” on yourself. One of my clients found this to be a source of paralysis for her. She really thought that telling herself that she should be doing one thing or another for business development would motivate her. However, she was really accomplishing very little. After removing “should” from her vocabulary, she found her ideal customers and expanded her business. What beliefs are stopping you?

Change is a constant. How do you keep refreshed and engaged?

Elli St.George Godfrey has always been passionate about supporting people to find a way to be their best. Combining a background in psychology and her work with entrepreneurs, she has developed a 3 Keys model that utilizes her clients’ abilities which build on success to propel business and personal growth. By utilizing short-term coaching cycles, Elli and her clients focus on how and who runs the business by integrating the coaching with a process that measures results that can be seen in the bottom line and in each person. Her clients feel confident in identifying and developing strategies to be more effective leaders, plan more creatively, innovate, and overcome the fears and obstacles that interfere with building their businesses according to their vision.

Btb Guest Author

Kelvin Gillen

Reading Irails post made me think about what did I understand by ‘authenticity’ ? and was it something innate or something that could be developed? And how authentic was I as a leader?

At a high level I suppose I understood authenticity to be about being honest and true to ones own values and beliefs, but in reality I think this was a little bit simplistic – in my experience many of us work in complex, politically orientated workplaces where complete honesty and openness are not often possible, practical or effective.  So how do we strike a balance between our authenticity and our environments or the work culture we find ourselves in?

Could managing ones authenticity be an answer?

While on the surface this approach intuitively sounds wrong, it is exactly this approach that many, including Rob Goffee and Garetth Jones, advocate in order to develop as an authentic leader.  This approach does not mean being manipulative or insincere in any way, but simply being able to present different faces to different audiences without losing sight of who you are – this role playing is not fake, but simply presenting different facets of yourself at different times i.e. is your audience made up of clients or colleagues? We need to be authentic with both, but will usually adopt slightly different personas with each.

So if we believe authenticity can be managed, is it something that we can work on and improve? I believe the answer to be a most definite yes,

Irail says that authentic leaders must be ‘consistent in their message’ and I think this is the key – you have to ensure that your actions are consistent with your words or else no one will ever perceive you as authentic.  This last bit is often overlooked i.e. you can’t really be authentic on your own – authenticity is largely defined by what other people see in you.

Finding common ground with those who you are trying to lead or influence is another way to establish your authenticity.  Be comfortable with where you come from and use your background to build a rapport with others and be genuinely curious about other people’s histories.

Authentic leadership is also associated with the promotion of positive psychological states such as confidence, optimism and hope, so you need to work on removing barriers between yourself and others and also try to give people feedback that acknowledges their own values and beliefs i.e. what is unique about them.

Anyway, what do people think? Is managing one’s own authenticity a contradiction?  Or perhaps a mechanism to help you grow and develop as a leader?

Kelvin Gillen is a Senior Manager with Pinnacle Project Partners. Over the last 15 years  he has worked as a Project / Programme Manager, primarily within the Financial Services Sector here in Ireland, but also with clients in the UK, Holland, the US and New Zealand. He have worked on a number of significant large scale projects – ranging from process improvement & automation initiatives, to more traditional solution design & implementation projects. PMP™ certified and holder of a MBA (First Class Honours) from UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School.

Describing a “what is Leadership?” can prove a challenge for a great many organisations.  Unfortunately nowadays, leaders are expected to lead without ever being afforded the time to investigate what it means to lead.

Is leadership a about the result? Is it more to do with the process? Which came first, the chicken or the egg? It is a complex subject matter and one in which we all have a personal take.

Looking at history books can sometimes only add to our confusion, while there are similarities, there are often stark contrast in how the great leaders did their thing. While there is of course merit in the exercise, we sometimes forget to also look forward and envisage how the role of leading may evolve.

The collaborative approach is now the name of the game for a great many businesses. I have sometimes heard collaboration downtrodden by those who perceive it to be fashionable or populist, but with respects this is kind of just missing the point. Real collaboration has significant advantages that can not to be sniffed at. Smart people along with smart businesses are embracing collaboration now.

So my point is this, why then should leadership be any different in this regard.
Collaborative leadership is a concept I like, hence the principles behind “shared leadership” are ones which appeal to me greatly.

Let’s be clear here, two traits that a leader must possess to operate shared leadership are courage and confidence – the courage to trust that people can do the job, and the confidence to not want to own leadership exclusively. Insecure leaders on the other hand, are much more likely to instead choose to surround themselves with yes men – who will provide reassurance over challenge.

The role of the leader changes in a shared leadership situation. The unburdening of his or her “William Wallace” allows for a new categorisation of responsibility. It can be summed up in difficult language or indeed, it can be summed up plainly. My tastes have always been for the less exotic.

•    Find the right people
•    Trust the right people
•    Support the right people
•    Let the right people get on with it.
•    Manage the Interactions between the right people
•    On occasion allow the right people to make mistakes

The collaborative leader is a strategist and manager of people but as importantly he or she is also a teacher and indeed sometimes even a parent. I repeated “right people” in my summing up; this is because one significant advantage I feel a collaborative leader brings is in their ability to recognise the right people. This is then coupled with an ability to develop these same people.

Crucially if you truly understand that it is the people that are the organisation’s greatest resource, you should now begin to realise how fundamentally important this ability is in terms of success.

So then, if you are a leader, ask yourself the question do I need to own leadership?  If the answer is yes, perhaps you may be in the wrong job??

This has been a REALLY tough year for many businesses and business people. “I can’t wait till this year is over” is something a great many of us feel right now. It is entirely normal and indeed healthy to expect that with a new year comes new opportunities and indeed new hope.

Perhaps now it is only right for us to pat ourselves on the back: for still being here, for still surviving, for still wanting, for still believed and for still SUCCEEDING….I have always believed that mountains are there to be climbed and next year may present itself as another or a different peak to scale….Christmas is a good time to take stock, to remind yourself why it is, you do what you do, and where it is you need to go. It is a time to prepare mentally and physically, to recharge those batteries - and to reignite your desire to succeed.

The world in which we now operate is one of constant flux – information and opportunity travels at such a speed, you would be forgiven for thinking that it is impossible to keep up. While the tools of doing business are in some cases unrecognisable from those we used only a few years ago – it is my absolute belief that the rules remain intact. Let me explain, here are my 5 KEYS to a Successful New Business Year

#1. Engage with People

Engaging with people is the fundamental first step towards creating person to person relationships. Relationships equal more in business; way too much talk now focuses on the venue, tool or technology – when really these are all secondary to the simple act of SAYING HELLO…. So whether it is making a face to face introduction, picking up the phone, asking a question, leaving a comment on a blog or RTing a tweet – remember the real power lies in DOING rather than the talking about it.

#2. Start to Truly Listen

Listening is probably our most powerful sense, yet so few of us use it well. We often pretend to listen rather than actually listen. Listening requires effort and concentration but it is worth its weight in gold. Think about it! Through listening we can HEAR what our customers want, where our markets are, where opportunities exist for us, how we can innovate and ultimately how you can be successful.

#3. Realise Together We Are Always Greater

All of mankind greatest achievements have come from us working together. From leaving Africa, to building the pyramids and putting a man on the moon, these achievements serve to constantly remind us – that together we will always be greater than the sum of our parts. Technologies serve to create new exponential opportunities for us to realise our collective potential. All we need to do to get there is reach out to one another.

#4. Become a Real Leader

Celebrity culture now infests our weaker minds; it’s like a drug that threatens to deceive the masses. A lack of genuine leaders has created a gap in a market where people are desperate for something to follow. The real power of influence is in what you do with it, not in how much you can eat. If bestowed with leadership, become a real leader rather than just another leadership abuser, because they are ten a penny.

#5. Develop a New Vision

With all that’s being watched, said and read about the current doom and gloom, you may think that I am losing my marbles – when I say it is really a time of plenty, but hold on! Our realisation that old ways no longer work leads to an inevitable conclusion – new ways will have to be found and someone will be required to find them…. Now is a time of creation, it is a time of innovation and it is a time for vision. To see new ways is to first think in new ways…. You will start to change the world as soon as you start to CHANGE your perception of it.

What are your New Year’s Business Resolutions?