Crispin (Page 9)

In: Innovation

The Eight Essentials of Innovation – Large companies find innovation hard, they are usually much better at executing strategy than they are at innovating. Which is why many large organisations fail to achieve growth through creativity and instead focus on optimising existing businesses. Innovation and Creativity Innovation is a complex endeavour it requires practices and processes to structure, organise and encourage it. McKinsey have identified eight essential aspects and codify this into an operating system. The first four Aspire, Choose, Discover, and Evolve are strategic and creative in nature. The second four; Accelerate, Scale, Extend and Mobilise deal with how to deliver and establish an innovation cadence in the operating model. Aspire A far reaching vision can be a compelling catalyst, provided it is realistic enough to stimulate action today. Establishing an aspiration target for innovation is not enough, the specific values need to be apportioned to relevant business ownersContinue Reading

In: Leadership

Mental health issues and stress can show up in issues sleeping, increases in eating or drinking alcohol/substance abuse, it is even known to worsen chronic conditions. So mental health is always serious business but the pandemic now has everyone working from home, and further the recession has caused a greater concern about job security. As a leader staying on top of these issues can significantly impact how your business performs. So employers and leaders need to recognise the increased responsibility of protecting their teams mental health as well as their own. Here are four ways to start that process. Start by openly discussing mental health Most empathetic leaders recognise that they have a key responsibility in helping employees achieve a healthier mental state. By continuing the dialogue to reduce any stigma associated with recognising symptoms and where possible providing opportunities for support such as access to professional counselling. Reduce digitalContinue Reading

Imposter Syndrome

In: Career

Impostor syndrome—the idea that you’ve only succeeded due to luck, and not because of your talent or qualifications has been around for quite a while, it was first identified in 1978 by psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes. Its is a common scenario that many very successful leaders face, feeling like a fraud in their role. Mike Cannon Brookes (Jnr) co-founder of Atlassian talks extensively about how he felt an imposter in his Ted presentation in 2018 and he is now worth billions. He also wrote about it on the company blog how he felt like a fraud including how he used the “Fake it till you make it playbook” including a personal story about how he used it to meet his wife. Melissa Ben-Ishay was 24 when she lost her advertising job at the beginning of the 2008 recession. She turned her passion (baking cupcakes) into her purposeContinue Reading

In: Career, Career Development

’70 is the new 30′ it does seem hard to believe that we have the ability to out perform a peer 40 years our junior, but that is what a recent survey from Finland recently established. They found that the physical and cognitive health of adults today is significantly better than it was 30 years ago. Positive changes in nutrition, healthcare, education and an improved working life have contributed to superior functionality (according to the research). “the most important underlying factor behind the cohort differences in cognitive performance was longer education.” Kaisa Koivunen (researcher) According to author Daniel Levitin (Author of The Changing Mind: A Neuroscientists Guide to Ageing) its not that 70 or 80 year olds are the same as 30 year olds physically but mentally the older person has distinct advantages including impulse control, ability to get along with others and structured decision making Many of us believeContinue Reading

RBG

In: Career

This article looks at some sage advice from Ruth Bader Ginsburg, about knowing when to be ‘a little deaf’ and how it can help any professional career. “In every good marriage, it helps sometimes to be a little deaf. I have followed that advice assiduously, and not only at home through 56 years of a marital partnership nonpareil. I have employed it as well in every workplace, including the Supreme Court. When a thoughtless or unkind word is spoken, best tune out. Reacting in anger or annoyance will not advance one’s ability to persuade.” Ruth Bader Ginsburg Being a little deaf to thoughtless and unkind words is essential to having. successful and fulfilling career. It is the basis of being able to accept constructive criticism and not letting poorly considered comments impact your emotions. The author has been running a survey into how resilient people are which found that lessContinue Reading

5 skills

In: Culture, Effective Communication, Leadership

A recent US survey has identified the most important skills for managers as: communication, ability to train, time management, building culture and managing performance. In 2019 the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) released a study  The High Cost of a Toxic Workplace Culture which identified 1 in 4 American workers dreaded going to work and that US companies had lost $223 billion due to culture caused turn-over. In 2020 they updated the study with further research finding that 84% of US workers blame bad managers for creating unnecessary stress. This article unpacks the more recent study and finds that there are five skills that employees wish their managers have. Effective Communication The mostly highly regarded skill is effective communications (41% of those surveyed stated their manager could improve in this area). It is important to remember that effective communication is not just about talking it is also about listeningContinue Reading

In: Leadership

There are different types of leadership. Not everyone is or should be a great people leader but that should not define your career. There are many types of remarkable leader that don’t require team management. Change Leaders Change Leaders drive transformation, they lead strategy, drive optimisation, eliminate inefficiencies and remove roadblocks. example: Consultants and Coaches People Leaders People leaders take time to understand individuals, to explore motivations and know their individual skills and competencies. They work to develop team members careers and to place individuals in the roles that best suit their capability and the needs of the greater team. example: Managers, Chapter Leads Results Leaders Results leaders are motivated by BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) they will do what ever it takes to achieve the outcome. They are ambitious, tenacious, thrive on the competition and above all results focused. example: Project Managers Service Leaders Service leaders are driven byContinue Reading

In: Career, Career Development

What is gut instinct? A mix of knowledge, lived experience, prediction and risk management. So what do we do when the world has changed so much and gut instinct is no longer accurate? When our experience, knowledge, predictive abilities and risk taking reflection no longer give us the relevant knowledge to make an informed decision? The world is so different right now that often there isn’t a ‘right decision’ and no matter what you choose outcomes still have the potential to suck. I Don’t Know As a leader, a teacher or a subject matter expert it is hard to say ‘I don’t know’ but in this different environment that the world is in it is ok to say that you don’t know because the whole world is dealing with similar problems. Saying I don’t know, establishes your authenticity, it recognises that your decisions might not be as well informed asContinue Reading

In: Creativity, Innovation

The idea that creativity is exclusively the domain of youth is an incorrect assumption according to researchers at Ohio State University, their finding is that creativity peaks at different ages. The difference is that those people who generate radical ideas often do so before they are deeply knowledgeable in the conventions of their field. Alternatively experimenters take all of their career knowledge, together with decades of trial and error to go beyond the conventions of their domain. “Many people believe that creativity is exclusively associated with youth, but it really depends on what kind of creativity you’re talking about,”  Bruce Weinberg, Professor Economics, Ohio State University Conceptual Innovators Conceptual innovators are generating creativity in fundamentally new ways, they have clear goals, and seek to communicate specific ideas or emotions. This approach tends to peak early and most of the groundbreaking work from conceptual innovators happens early in their careers. ExperimentalContinue Reading

In: Leadership, Motivation

The things that you have as a leader that other people need are not conformity, it is what makes you different that makes the difference. Know what your unique contribution is, what is it that you have that others don’t. “Conformity makes you average, otherness makes you remarkable”. Conformity makes you predictable but it is similarity that is the foundation to connection with other people. Your uniqueness empowers your meaningful contribution. “Conformity makes you average, otherness makes you remarkable” Consider the organisation like a team sport, everyone in your company is playing the same game but each team member brings unique skills, capability and experience – that uniqueness represents potential. Having a shared mission (and purpose) that gives meaning to the strategic direction enables the team connection and empowers the unique contribution. Consider using opportunities to integrate your personal story into your leadership narrative, sometimes the things you may wishContinue Reading