Crispin (Page 11)

Being made redundant

In: Career, Career Development, Working From Home

This article talks to some of the personal experiences people are having being made redundant during CoVID19, how people are being told they are no longer required by video meeting and have no opportunity for closure with colleagues and friends at events. A workplace where you have been employed for a long time can heavily influence who you are, it can be hard to lose a connection to the company, former fellow employees and your purpose at one time. The changing market conditions has also knocked the optimism of some people who would potentially be more buoyant about a change of career and looking for new opportunities. For employers It is important that employers recognise this is a difficult time for people changing roles and looking for new opportunities. Empathy for the situation is critical and while the rules around redundancy in Australia can make it difficult with what youContinue Reading

In: Career

The author is quick to point out that having a positive outlook is widely regarded as being inherently beneficial and that certain cultures around the world have a greater or lesser degree of positivity (Americans high / Finns lower). Reality helps avoid a false sense of securityWe do tend to have a built in level of pragmatism for everyday risks, such as crossing the road. If you recognise the risk of getting hit while crossing the road, you are more likely to take care than have a false sense of security. However this same pragmatism may instead be replaced by over optimism with health related risks (smoking, drinking, or over eating), career related aspirations (I will get promoted even if I don’t work hard), or gambling (I win at the casino more often than not). Humans are pre-wired for optimismWhen it comes to predicting what we are expecting to happenContinue Reading

In: Leadership

This article makes the assertion that many leaders look for successors who have many similar qualities and that the best opportunity for strategic growth for your organisation is for leaders to stop hiring in their own image. Have Data Driven Performance Measures Objective, rigorous, quantitative metrics that ensures the future leaders being recognised based on actual performance rather than politics. It also filters down the list of candidates based on common criteria of what they actually contribute to the organisation and their potential to solve future challenges the company may face. Having the Courage to Change You can only evolve if you are willing to move forward and there is no change without changing yourself. The evolution and innovation of any business is directly connected to its ability to continually renew and to grow. To improve company culture, to re-invent and refresh its leadership. It is very tough to changeContinue Reading

Job Interviews

In: Career, Career Development, Working From Home

Any one searching for a job at the moment is going to face interviewing remotely, this article from HBR provides some practical tips on how to nail a job interview remotely. Tap into your networkHiring managers are looking for some familiarity so make sure you connect with your network and let them know what you are looking for. Remember that most people do want to help you wherever they can, don’t be afraid to reach out via email or LinkedIn explaining your situation and asking for advice as you search for your next position. Update your CV and cover letterIt is good practice to keep your resume up to date, make sure you highlight how you worked in high pressure environments. Most companies right now are looking for people who can contribute to weathering the current crisis, so it is good practise to state you have relevant experience. Prepare forContinue Reading

Why Talented People Don't Use Strengths

In: Career

In this article the author identifies that often really talented people struggle in their jobs because they are not in the roles that best suited their individual strengths. People talk about playing to your strengths but often that is easier said than done and the premise is that is because people often undervalue what they inherently do best. “As a leader, the challenge is not only to spot talent but also to convince your people that you value their talents and that they should, too. This is how you start to build a team of employees who bring their superpowers to work.” Whitney Johnson, HBR, 2018 The author goes on to suggest a series of questions to help you identify the real strengths of members of your team. What exasperates you? What compliments do you dismiss? What do you think about when you have nothing to think about? Each of these help youContinue Reading

In: Innovation, Open Innovation

The concept of Open Innovation was originated by Henry Chesbrough in his book (of the same name) published in 2003. Chesbrough a lecturer a Berkeley and previously Harvard coined the phrase to explain how “a distributed, more participatory and more decentralised approach to innovation” can be more effective than any company attempting to innovate on their own. A key to Open Innovation is that it takes aspects of the processes associated with Open Source Software, also it leverages the logic of effective supply chain management, but it goes much further to include the ideation and creativity in Universities and Academic institutions. So Open Innovation has been around for a while but why is it so relevant now? The HBR article examines how during the COVID19 pandemic companies are coming together in unprecedented ways to create new value often ahead of immediate commercial gains. “Open innovation has the potential to widenContinue Reading

innovation globes

In: Innovation

Continuous innovation is a focus on gradual improvement, it consists of smaller and more frequent innovations delivering continual benefits. Many people associate the term ‘innovation’ with game-changing disruption but that is actually the exception rather than the rule. A disruptive innovation that transforms an industry with a dramatic pivot, new services, creative business/service models and global scale does not come along every day. While continuous innovation is much more gradual, it is much more reliable at delivering small gains, which continue to advance the company year in year out. By focusing on continuous innovation over big disruptive innovations companies can: Strengthen the organisations’ Innovation Muscles Continually deliver improvement Build momentum towards larger innovations – potentially disruptive innovations. To establish the right culture for continuous innovation you need to develop the right innovative leadership. The authors state these leaders must understand: How to establish clear goals for innovation that are ambitiousContinue Reading

In: Change, Leadership

Why is it so difficult to achieve change? You can get everyone aligned to achieving the goal and yet still deal with significant resistance. According to authors Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey the main reason is that most of us have a built in immunity to change. “Doctors can tell heart patients that they will literally die if they do not change their ways, and still only about one in seven will be able to make the changes. These are not people who want to die. They want to live out their lives, fulfill their dreams, watch their grandchildren grow up—and, still, they cannot make the changes they need to in order to survive.” Robert Kegan from “Immunity to Change” https://mindsatwork.com/books-publications/ Organisations don’t change – People do Boaz & Fox (McKinsey, 2014) write about how organisations move quickly from setting performance objectives to establishing a program of change initiatives. TheseContinue Reading

Punch in face

In: Career, Resilience

“Everybody Has a Plan Until They Get Punched in the Mouth” most will immediately recognise the quote as coming from boxer Mike Tyson, it is such a very a familiar phrase, so much so that you have probably used it yourself at one time or another but what does it really mean. When considering your professional career, as a leader or an entrepreneur we all face set backs at time. How well you recover has a lot to do with your preparation, planning and mental resilience. Having contingency plans for your career is not just logical it is essential. Back in the early 1990’s I was working in advertising, where the average tenure of most creative staff was nine months. Lose a client and the whole team expected to lose their jobs, win an industry accolade or award for great work and get poached to work in new firm withContinue Reading

Toxic Co-Workers

In: Career, Resilience

How do you deal with Toxic People? Especially when they are a co-worker or a boss? How should you manage a toxic staff member? There are numerous articles published on this topic and that is because unfortunately the problem is a fairly common one and many of us find it difficult to find the best way to respond. This article pulls together a range of insights, research and perspectives to provide some useful advice and techniques to manage these relationships most effectively without impacting you. Seth Meyers writing in Psychology Today has four recommendations Avoid sharing personal information or your true opinions – The key point being that you should not share information with a toxic individual that you don’t want the world to know. While openness and honesty are usually positive ways to build healthy relationships, with toxic people this information can end up being used for emotional abuseContinue Reading