All elements of your employee life cycle must be linked:

• from attraction through to talent management,
• leadership development, and
• ongoing performance management.

There is a great reward too in doing this. Studies tell us that organisations that prioritise their employee experience are four times more profitable than those that do not.

People Strategy v HR Strategy – what’s the difference?

HR Strategy tends to focus more on the planning side of people such as structures for hiring, onboarding, developing, and retaining.

People Strategy is more about helping employees grow by creating an environment that nurtures and enables high performance. People Strategy usually focuses on:

• values,
• fostering diversity,
• inclusion and employee wellbeing, and
• predicting and reacting to workforce needs.

In essence, creating a culture where employees share equal billing with shareholders and business goals.

According to the world-renowned Boston Consulting Group, the three pillars for developing a people strategy are leadership and culture, talent and skills, and HR.

“In these challenging times, organisations must elevate the most important asset they have: their people. By focusing on the fundamentals of people strategy—leadership, culture, talent, reskilling, and HR—companies can emerge stronger, more agile, more innovative, and better able to respond to an ever-changing environment.”

I’d like to explore two of these pillars.

1        Leadership Culture and Strategy

There are many levers at a leader’s disposal to drive their organisations success and effectiveness.  Strategy and Culture are the most important.

Strategy provides clarity of the company’s goals and helps to align people around them. Culture tends to express goals through organisational values and beliefs. Culture also guides tactics, activity, and implementation.

One thing is sure and that is culture and leadership are linked. Poor leadership and resultant toxic culture usually determine the fate of a business. Studies tell us up to 30% of employees say they left because of poor leadership. These findings highlight the need for every organisation to address this factor.

Culture in more detail

Culture is a more puzzling lever to activate. The reason for this is mainly because Culture can be ambiguous and embedded in unspoken behaviours, people’s mindsets, and social expectations.

Many leaders don’t always appreciate the power of culture.

A recent Gartner Survey revealed that 75% of leadership believe that they run a culture of flexibility. Unfortunately, only 57% of employees agreed.

This lack of appreciation can cause many leaders to either let culture go unmanaged or delegate it to HR, where it can slip to a secondary focus for the business.

Successful leaders embrace the ambiguity of culture. In my experience many leaders I have met avail of the valuable culture diagnostic tools to understand where their organisation’s culture is right now. These tools help them to answer questions such as:

• Is it more of a creative culture or a reactive culture?
• How do the culture snapshot of the board and senior leadership vary from the operational managers’ perspectives?
• How “real” is the conversation in the business?

Gaining clarity around culture can be as confronting as it is it enlightening – but well worth the investment of time and focus. We partner with many specialists in this area, so reach out if you’d like to explore further.

2        Talent and skills

Sixty-four per cent of the world’s most admired companies say they have a good understanding of workforce needs two or more years into the future compared to 54% of their peers.

That same recent Gartner Survey I referred to earlier also revealed the same 75% of leadership also felt that they did a good job incorporating employee voice in decision making. Unfortunately, in this case only 47% of employees agreed.

The forced extreme disruption, which was the last two years, has meant that most businesses naturally thought more about survival than future talent and skills needs. Now is the time to think about your future talent and skills requirements. Some steps to take include:

• Ensure Employee Pulse Surveys acknowledge and act on the feedback provided
• Use customised psychometric assessments to identify traits and skills gaps
• Incorporate customised 360° surveys as part of your development programs
• Facilitate regular check-ins between individuals’ teams and Mangers

Lastly, lockdown work from home is different from long-term working remotely. Most organisation psychologists accept that loneliness, communication, and isolation can trigger depression.

So, if there is a disconnect in your business between HR policies, or the leadership strategies propelling them, and employee sentiment on the ground, greater emphasis must be placed on the needs this new work approach demands.

For example, consider what capabilities and skills (soft and hard) are essential to be future-ready? Do all employees possess the discipline, conscientiousness, and results orientation to deliver in a hybrid environment? What might this mean for remote work and the flexibility we can offer?

Through our business offering, we have many people analytics resources and tools to assist with both these pillars. Reach out if you’d like to discuss how we can help with the future of your people.

The post People Strategy for now and the future – how to close gaps appeared first on Directions Unlimited.

Many managers out there have likely experienced the unsavoury situation of managing someone who believes their performance is terrific when it’s just mediocre at best. Recent studies in performance management have identified that the “underperformer” is a frequent and draining problem.

But what contributes to the perception an individual has about their performance? 

There are several reasons forming the perception of an individual employee at work. It may be that the: 

• crystal-clear feedback they need to develop and improve is lacking, 
• manager is choosing not to address the issues for fear of some type of conflict, or 
• employee is doing ”a good enough job” and flying below the radar. 

In some cases, the individual may be unable to recognise that they’re struggling. 

But whatever the reason, if managers fail to address the situation, there is one thing for sure and that is that it will fester. Not only will the substandard employee’s work not improve, but also the organisation will experience: 

• hidden costs, 
• poor productivity, and 
• the value of a team member who would likely thrive if given the appropriate support and feedback. 

These five approaches will help you correct the problem behaviours. Or at least gain clarity as to whether it’s even possible.

Clear definition of work

It doesn’t matter whether we are delegating or providing feedback, we need to be clear and unambiguous about what needs to be done. There are lots of great feedback models out there. 

My go-to has been the STAR/AR feedback model. The STAR/AR model provides a great framework and helps the receiver understand exactly why what they did worked. And if they made a mistake, working through the model, they’ll learn what steps to take to improve. 

Provide support for people development

Most managers would agree that employees need ongoing support. Significantly, how we approach providing that support is important. Moreover, the build-up of frustration in these situations can lead to exasperation which can undermine our approach. 

 The late Sir John Whitmore, a pioneer of the executive coaching industry and creator of the GROW model wrote “whether we coach, advise, counsel, facilitate, or mentor, the effectiveness of what we do depends in large measure on our beliefs about human potential”.

The expressions “to get the best out of someone” and “your hidden potential” imply that more lies within the person waiting to be released”. 

Coaching your people supports performers across all levels, not just underperformers, to achieve their full potential. The result will be higher levels of employee engagement and profitability. 

Check your Relationship of Competence

There is no one size fits all or “sheep dip” approach to developing your people that works. Everyone learns differently, has unique development needs and motivations. It’s important to point out performing an objective data-driven gap analysis first to ensure the people you are looking to develop have the ability, motivation, and desire to grow. 

Caution: a little self-promotion here. As a coach myself, I find that the unique flexibility of our Great People Inside platform is outstanding. Both an assessment with dimensions (EG Strategy, Leadership, Creativity etc.) that measures precisely what you want to understand, and a customised performance model or benchmark against which you can compare results is created. The outcome is a one-pager graph that allows you to identify any gaps. This provides clarity before you invest in people development on the areas that need focus for each individual. And also highlights those who may not have what it takes to succeed.

Determine “Coachability” for people development

Not everyone is coachable. In contrast to imposter syndrome, many ultra-confident employees fall victim to the Dunning-Krueger effect, a cognitive bias in which “people wrongly overestimate their knowledge or ability in a specific area”. Many employers will have encountered an employee that resented the suggestion that their skills needed to improve and ignored the coaching support that was offered to them. 

If left unchecked, this usually results in the employee blaming others, setting up their colleagues to fail, undercutting them, and misrepresenting their contributions and concerns. The outcome is a total train wreck. 

Praise with care

When an employee with an inflated sense of their own performance delivers a piece of high-quality work or conducts an interaction well, it’s important to praise them. But letting the praise stand-alone can reinforce for them that they’re genius! That everything they do is outstanding. 

Connect your positive comments to other things you want them to address. For example, you could say, “Now that you’ve done so well with the presentation to Client X, for the next one, I’d like you to also {insert the next thing they need to improve}. 

Articulating both the required new behaviour and why it’s needed as part of satisfactory job performance will ensure you improve your chances of getting the critical behaviours you need.

You may be finding it a little tougher in the current climate to find the right people for the jobs combined with the best fit for your organisation over the longer term. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you to inform your people development approach and recruitment decisions.

If you’d like an easier method of handling people development and recruitment, contact us

The post People Development – how to handle an employee who thinks they are better than they are appeared first on Directions Unlimited.

Now may be an opportunity for your business to increase focus on this area with employees recognising the value of these skills.

These skills help overcome challenges in the workplace and build your team and business for several reasons:

• handling interpersonal conflicts
• leading employee training
• managing deadlines
• communicating and distributing information between employees working remotely and onsite
• building a solid company culture, and
• developing your employees’ maximum capability.

Leaders who adopt people management skills provide constructive feedback and mentor employees to grow and succeed in their positions. Goals will also be able to be established and achieved. And overall, the work environment will be influenced positively.

A leader who has an in-depth understanding of their employees can evaluate:

• the strength and weaknesses of their team
• the resources required, and
• set realistic deadlines.

This approach encourages the employees to strive for success and not set them up for failure.

In addition, leaders are able to build rapport, ask the team for constructive feedback, and take actionable steps to make positive changes in the work culture. As a result, this benefits everyone.

Below are four critical people management areas to help you understand your team and individuals at all levels. From onboarding, developing new skills, preparing them for other roles, to working on specialised projects.

1 Understand Human Behaviour And Acknowledging Diversity

It is crucial to understand one simple concept – we are all different. Each individual will react and behave differently in any given situation.

A leader needs to realise that family, environmental and cultural influences have shaped some beliefs and behaviours. Understanding and learning some of the behavioural types and conditioning will allow leaders and managers to treat their employees with respect. In return, the business will be rewarded with best work practices, a motivated team and promote a culture where ideas and opinions are valued.

2 The Individual’s Purpose

It is also imperative to understand how the individual team member sees their own purpose in their role and how they can contribute to the business. This approach can lead to improvements at both the individual employee and business levels. A continued effort in understanding their sense of purpose, whether they are in the office or working from home, ensures the individual and business goals stay aligned. 

3 Transparent Communication

When there is open and transparent communication, it creates an atmosphere of trust. In effect, by employing people management skills, this communication works both ways, i.e., you tell, and they listen, and you have to do the same – listen to your employees. 

This area is more critical than ever for businesses undergoing managing teams remotely. Video-based onboarding and mentoring and a remote communication strategy are essential for employee skill development and project delivery. 

4 We Own This Together

While leading with example is great, it also benefits when you entrust team members with specific tasks which best fit their skill sets. It shows that you are acknowledging their skillset and allowing them to demonstrate their capabilities. As a result, the team is closer and creates an environment of ownership and positive experiences. 

In a remote setting, delegate tasks through shared online platforms that allow for the employee’s autonomy while still maintaining a sense of community in the workplace.

Responsibility and accountability on both ends improve overall morale and reduces people management skills coming across as complicated, unnecessary at times, and time-consuming.

Ongoing people management for development and retention

Just because you have hired a superstar does not mean you don’t have to continue managing and developing them to maximise their potential and business outcomes.

Development should start from day one of an employee’s journey with their new company. The rapport the new employee develops with the company can have long-lasting effects on the business, including the employee retention rate. 

Trends have seen employees become more focused on developing their individual skills. Placing importance on their progress can help connect their goals to the more significant objectives of the business. Supporting these goals can be achieved remotely from the onboarding stage and continue through employment by hosting video workshops and online training seminars. 

Many reasons cause an employee to leave an organisation, such as:

• a lack of training
• development
• engagement
• progression opportunities.

Quantify top performance 

Many assessments compare candidate results against generic benchmarks or no benchmark at all. In other words, this leaves the user with either no reference point or, at best, a near enough is good enough benchmark.

Great People Inside believes assessing an individual’s job performance as accurately as possible requires benchmarks built specifically for each role. Assessments can apply to both positions operating onsite or remotely. By identifying the success DNA of your top performers, you can create job benchmarks based on what success looks like in your business. Further development of your existing team members can be implemented where appropriate, including a coaching option.

As the employer, benchmarking flows through to promoting and succession planning of your people to measure candidate profiles against the relevant top-performing role profile in your organisation.

Given these points, assessments that treat people as multi-faceted complex individuals we are, open a world of possibilities with both your new and existing people. You will find yourself in the stronger position of identifying your people’s true potential and providing opportunities for laser-focused development.

If you’d like to trial GPI’s assessments for consideration as part of your organisation’s people management strategy – click here.

The post How do people management skills improve your business success? appeared first on Directions Unlimited.

What’s a team?

Joanne Richardson (2010:86) defines a real team as: “A group of people working together in an organisation who are committed to achieving clear team-level objectives upon which they agree; who have to work closely and interdependently in order to achieve these objectives; whose members are clear about their specific roles within the team and have the necessary autonomy to decide how to carry out team tasks; and who communicate regularly as a team in order to regulate team processes.”

Wow, I know that’s a bit of a mouthful but in essence it’s about having a unifying team objective, high interdependency levels, and being comfortable holding one another to account.

What’s a group?

When we talk about groups, we are talking about people who come together with a common interest but do not always have the same goal in mind. For example, a group of people may come together to be coached on effective leadership, but each individual has their own final goals to which they would apply their new skills to.

Both team and group coaching involve the gathering of people to learn new skills relating to professional development, workplace communication and leadership. So what really is the difference?

The renowned Professor Peter Hawkins in his book ‘Leadership Team Coaching: Developing Collective Transformational Leadership’ developed some great questions to help identify the difference.

Ask yourself:

Does your team have clear objectives?

Do you work closely together to achieve those objectives?

Do you meet regularly to review performance and how it can be improved?

If you answered “no” to these questions then you are more likely a group rather than a team.

If you apply this definition to your sales people, for example, do you really have a ‘sales team’ or are they a group of individuals? What would best serve your business?

Group coaching

Group coaching involves a session in which recipients discover new skills and enhance their professional performance together. Unlike team coaching, individuals who undergo the same group coaching session needn’t work together in any capacity nor have any common goals. However they should share a common interest in learning new skills and reaching their own workplace goals.

What’s the purpose of group coaching?

Group coaching helps individuals build the skill set needed to lead more effectively and develop their performance. Group coaching is often used as a way to follow up on training activities, as it can help individuals retain knowledge and encourages implementation.

Team coaching

In his book ‘The Complete Handbook of Coaching’, David Clutterbuck defines team coaching as “a learning intervention designed to increase collective capability and performance of a group or team, through application of the coaching principles of assisted reflection, analysis and motivation for change.”  

Like group coaching, team coaching helps individuals develop into better leaders. But it also gives teams the tools to work more effectively together so that individuals can reach their own goals and help the team reach its collective goals. While group coaching helps individuals, team coaching provides teams with the tools and communication mechanisms to reach success.

What’s the purpose of team coaching?

Team coaching helps to accelerate team performance. It is a tool for helping individuals work more efficiently together to reach common workplace goals. It is particularly useful for teams that are newly formed, ones that have experienced a change in leadership or those that would like to improve their performance.

Why is team coaching so important?

Team success relies entirely on how individuals work together. That’s why we call it teamwork. Team coaching enables individuals to work together to improve team outcomes.

Team coaching stresses the importance of each individual within a team in driving overall success. Team success isn’t achieved by having one outstanding team lead. It’s attributed to each individual within the team. Take sport for example. The star player on a sports team can’t be given full credit for a major team success as without the team, they would not be able to succeed.

Team coaching makes each individual within the team accountable for their team’s results, whether they are failures or successes. When individuals feel ownership over the results of their team, they are more likely to be engaged, to reach their own goals independently and develop their overall performance. Because of this, team coaching is a great way to not only boost team performance, but to improve employee engagement, build team morale and retain your best talent.

How does team coaching work?

Teams can hire an external executive coach to come into the office and help with team development. Or a coach can work one-on-one with a team leader to transfer coaching skills, giving them the ability to coach and lead their own team more effectively.

When a team leader knows how to lead, but also knows how to coach their team, it creates the foundation needed for effective lines of communication to thrive. A team coaching mindset is extremely beneficial for all leaders because it gives them the ability to communicate in the right way to help drive their team to reach important business goals.

Our approach

At Directions Unlimited, our team coaching programs consist of a 6-12 month process, that develops a team’s capacity to deliver sustainable high performance.

Guided by an experienced facilitator, our team coaching:

• Focuses on agreed business outcomes
• Provides tools for the team to continue enhancing its performance beyond the team coaching program
• Develops teams that trust one another and hold one another accountable for taking action
• Builds trust in the capacity of both relationship and task aspects of teaming
• Relies on the coach to facilitate a learning and action process, not to give advice
• Recognises the team as a living breathing “system” with attributes and identity that go beyond any of the individual team members
• Does not involve any private and confidential interactions between the coach and individual team members outside of the team setting
• Is not a “team building event”

If you would like to learn more about how Directions Unlimited can conduct team coaching sessions with your teams to improve morale, lift engagement levels and to help your company achieve better results, contact us: info@directionsunlimited.com.au

The post Team or group coaching – the subtle difference you need to know appeared first on Directions Unlimited.

Why do people avoid conflict?

Just as conflict is a part of human nature, the human construct of social niceties has brought with it the desire for us to avoid conflict all together. Our natural tendencies and how we are hardwired can influence how we believe conflict should be addressed. Managers who are naturally highly accommodating may want to be the ‘good guy’, but in doing so can often avoid important and constructive conversations that have the potential to ignite conflict. Equally, highly assertive managers may tend to take a very direct approach (the “four by two” approach) which can start the whole conversation off on the wrong foot. Which approach is right? Consider this.

Conflict happens. It’s a normal part of everyday life whether we like it or not. Although we might think that conflict interferes with our business objectives, the way we deal with it can have an even bigger impact on the overall success of your company.

Conflict that is swept under the rug will not just go away. Unresolved conflict can fester into a wound that is hard to heal, so it’s best to confront conflict before it turns into a bigger problem. If conflict goes unresolved, you could see employees’ engagement and productivity levels plummet and your best talent walk out the door. Taking an overly direct approach may see the employee defending their position rather than listening, and feeling hard done by, which is also likely to cause a reduction in engagement and productivity.

How does conflict interfere with communication?

When managers fear conflict, they can breakdown the communication lines that run within your organisation. If managers fail to communicate effectively with their subordinates and teams, employees might feel less likely to approach their leaders if and when something goes wrong. And if a manager is scared to give constructive feedback to an employee or team, it can negatively impact the growth and development of that individual or team.

So, how can leaders face their fear and address conflict head on?

Gain a coach’s mindset

Coaching skills equip individuals with the ability to communicate effectively, giving them the confidence to approach difficult conversations with ease. A coach will set regular one-on-one meetings with their coachee to see how they’re going with their work and find out what their challenges are, so that they can reach their goals independently. They will also provide regular feedback, both positive and constructive, so that individuals can better understand their strengths and areas requiring improvement. Regular and effective communication means that these leaders often know about issues before problems arise. Conflict is therefore less likely to occur and if it does, they’re well equipped to deal with it.

Be objective yet considerate

When conflict does arise, a great leader will consider each party’s concerns, while remaining focused on the overall objectives of the company. When dealing with conflict in the workplace, it’s important to put yourself in the shoes of each individual involved with the conflict while formulating an outcome that will best serve the company. Remember, if one or more parties isn’t happy with the outcome, it could impact negatively on their wellbeing, engagement and productivity.

Be open

A coaching leader is open, trustworthy and approachable. Maintaining open lines of communication amongst individuals and teams is the best way to prevent conflict from arising and to address it effectively when it does. Giving regular feedback is a great place to start. It’s important to foster an environment in which people feel confident to approach their managers and fellow workers when there is a problem or when they would like advice.

Seek out conflict

Poor managers often have their blinkers on when there is a problem within their team or wider organisation. In order to address conflict, you’ll need to know when it is occurring. Seeking out conflict is not as investigatory as it may seem. You simply need to communicate effectively and follow the progress of individuals and teams so that you know if they have any concerns and if any problems are emerging.

Leverage conflict for growth and development

Where there is conflict, there is the opportunity to learn and grow. Addressing and resolving conflict is a huge learning curve for leaders and employees alike. It requires leaders to problem solve in a high pressure situation and manage relationships in an objective yet empathetic manner which addresses each individual’s needs and desires.

To find out more about how to manage conflict effectively in your workplace, contact us today for an obligation free discussion.

The post How fear of conflict affects workplace communication appeared first on Directions Unlimited.

According to a 2010 Executive Coaching Survey however, nearly half of managers spend less than 10 percent of their time coaching others. So why is this? When employees are transitioned into management roles, often it’s their technical ability that gets them there rather than effective leadership skills. Leadership skills often need to be learnt on the job and many managers aren’t given the coaching they need to become great coaches themselves.

When managers lack coaching skills, it can be detrimental to the development and engagement of the people they manage. Managers who lack coaching skills often fall into the habit of instructing their team what to do. By directing individuals on what to do rather than giving them the tools and guidance to solve problems on their own, managers hinder the development of their team, hurt productivity and inhibit overall company success.

So, how can managers put coaching skills into practice within the workplace?

It all has to do with communicating effectively.

Build relationships of trust

One of the most important coaching skills for managers to maintain is the ability to build a relationship of trust among individuals. This can be achieved by fostering lines of communication between you and your reports. A great coach will organise regular one on one meetings with their reports to gain insights into their strengths, weaknesses, challenges and successes. This is a great way to help facilitate a relationship of trust and to help the employee develop, overcome challenges and reach their potential.

Ask the right questions

How do you see yourself growing in this role? What options do you have to overcome this challenge? What do you think you should do?

Each of these questions encourage an individual to think about and seek solutions to their own workplace problems. By helping an employee find solutions on their own, rather than telling them what to do, the individual will be better equipped to solve problems in the future, helping your team and company to reach success.

Listen intently

After asking the right questions, a coach will listen intently to what their reports have to say. Listening isn’t just about hearing what they have to say. It’s about taking onboard the challenges, questions and queries that employees have and thinking of ways to help them reach their goals. It’s about being patient and determined to facilitate long term results among their team and organisation. A great coach will let employees express both their workplace and personal struggles without passing any judgement.

Provide regular feedback

Managers who lack coaching skills will often wait until there is a problem in the workplace to give feedback. This can hurt employee confidence and engagement. A great coach will provide feedback on a regular basis. They will congratulate successes and strengths as well as identify problem areas. When identifying problem areas, a leader with coaching skills will concentrate on the problem area alone, rather than questioning the individual’s character. They will make their reports accountable for their own success and failures in order to improve engagement. They will also provide encouragement to employees with the aim of empowering them to reach their goals independently.

Let it spread

In order to become a great a coach, one can benefit greatly from being coached effectively.

A great coach will pass important leadership skills onto the person they are coaching, thus strengthening coaching techniques within the entire organisation. The idea of coaching is for it to spread throughout an organisation so that every employee has a coaching mindset. They will then be equipped to encourage the development of other employees so that together, teams can reach important business goals.

For more information on how to leverage the power of coaching, check out our article on the power of coaching for your team.

To find out more about how to incorporate a coaching mindset into your workplace, contact us today for an obligation free discussion.

The post The forgotten skill set of good leaders – Coaching appeared first on Directions Unlimited.

When you’re in a leadership position, you’re in charge of helping people grow and thrive within their professional roles. But who in an organisation helps leaders grow and thrive? Leaders are often left to their own devices with limited, if any, guidance and support. Being a leader can sometimes be likened to being the angel on top of the Christmas tree, the closer you get to the top the more uncomfortable it gets!

Executive coaching can help leaders meet their highest potential as key members of an organisation and therefore drive company success. Coaching gives leaders the opportunity to learn new skills and put them into practice effectively.

What is an executive coach?

Executive coaching involves a professional, confidential relationship between a coach and a key member of an organisation which facilitates individual development and performance growth. As opposed to a mentor, who offers professional advice and guidance, a coach is someone that professional leaders can lean on for support. Coaches help leaders to think about things differently, they challenge an individual’s beliefs and help them to reflect on any limiting assumptions they’re making; coaches hold leaders to account and support them as they move beyond their comfort zone.

So why is coaching such a powerful business tool?

Find out by reading the full article on Business Woman Media. 

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