It seems that the future is even more uncertain, what with Brexit and the prospect of Artificial Intelligence and the impact that might have on our workforce. And that's without the "here and now" issues to deal with: should we be doing annual appraisals or are they old hat, what is it that millennials want, how are we going to find, and retain, the talent we need?

The pressure is on to retain good employees; we need to make sure managers are equipped to deal with changes in front of them as well as those looming ahead. Everyone knows that employees don't leave a company, they leave a "bad" manager but we believe there is no such thing, or at least just a tiny minority. In our experience in developing management capability much can be done to build confidence and practical action from sharing tactics to helping people stand back and view situations with a different lens.

Now is the time to make sure managers have 2020 vision, and preferably 2030 and beyond.; make sure they have the right skills to coach rather than direct, the emotional intelligence to get the best out of others, to recognise unconscious bias, and to be aware of what millennials want and make decisions about what can be offered. We need to make sure that they have the skills to use digital communication and learning effectively, wisely, without have to be SoMe addicts. (That's social media we're talking about).

Our Shaping Future Leaders programme takes the very best of the leadership principles that we know to be true, no fads, and then adds in contemporary issues like how to ditch unconscious bias, how to get up to date with easy ideas to harness technology and SoMe, and finally to get unfrozen ready for change, and helping everyone else through change.

If Artificial Intelligence really does have a big impact. sooner rather than later, then we need our future managers to be upskilled and ready.

There was a flurry of big companies in 2015 reportedly giving up on annual appraisals. People like Microsoft, Google, Netflix. However, as usual, you can't believe everything you read from journalists. Lets consider what actually happens because, let's face it, a lot of managers find the idea of regular review discussions quite challenging so ditching the one annual, documented, occasion might be a mistake.

95% of the HR managers at both events we ran on this topic had no faith in their managers to be effective in effective feedback.

A famous tech company reckons they spend 2 million hours p.a. on poor performance management. A CEO of another global company said that appraisals had too many topics mixed up in the discussion and they ended up being all about pay. "Its not the annual element I have problem with. It's the directive style....there is still a place for annual goal setting."

Research also shows that managers have a tendency to give the easier option of "satisfactory grades" and there is an inherent bias in that managers also are more likely to see "good" performance in employees they like or have the same style as them.

One CEO was quoted as saying " we want to drive a culture where staff ask us for feedback by empowering managers to ask what staff want next over the next three months. We will create lots of touch point data that will form a trend. When an annual review simply becomes about pay, it blurs things, and HR forgets to have more developmental and coaching conversations."

There are so many things wrong in that sentence; you don't need me to point them out but contact me if you don't see what I see.

So the top 5 tips from our research talking to HR Managers:

1. We need coaches not managers (train them)
2. Employees must be clear about what is expected of them (train managers to do this)
3. Involve people in setting goals- its a joint discussion - they wont do it if they don't agree with it.
4. Review and reset goals regularly - one a year is not enough
5. The quality of the conversation is EVERYTHING. Good questions.

Annual reviews or regular feedback? Neither will work if they are not done properly and managers are not trained. 

Are you coaching already and would like to get a qualification? Or are you looking to change career and start coaching? 

Now is the time to take your future into your own hands and start something new and rewarding and become a great coach with support and training from experienced coaches.
....Action Changes Things!

Programme structure
You can join this programme at any time and complete in your own time largely through distance learning. We start with an initial face to face meeting and support you with at least 3 Skype meetings. You will be allocated a personal tutor who will guide you through this flexible elearning approach.

Who is this for?
You will be either coaching already and wish to gain an internationally recognised qualification, or you are seriously interested in coaching others at work.
No formal qualifications are required, just that you will be a practicing manager with some experience and the opportunity to coach others in the workplace during the programme.
Our tutors are all executive coaches with great coaching experience and the ability to coach you to pass.
Two assignments:

1. to demonstrate your understanding of coaching and mentoring skills. 2500 to 3500 words.
2. to demonstrate you have planned and undertaken 12 hours coaching practice and to reflect on your own ability to coach or mentor. 2000-2500 words.
3. Complete a coaching diary

Email Judith now for a full factsheet and to raise any questions you may have.

Create a Coaching Culture: ChecklistA summary from the ILM Coaching Survey 2017 and Forbes Magazine 2017 - 20 options to consider if you really want to create a culture of coaching.

1.  In house training for coaches or consider coaching qualifications
2.  Include coaching skills on management development programmes
3.  Give one to one training on how to coach
4.  Provide a support structure for coaches
5.  Create a band of internal coaches who are not all line managers
6.  Encourage a broad focus on both personal development and business skills
7.  Lead by example
8.  ASK questions
9.  Offer hands on coaching from an expert - an expert pool
10.  Start at the top
11.  Just do it: educate, coach each other
12.  Weekly group coaching sessions
13.  Build a coaching routine e.g. 1 day a week give 30 minutes 1 to 1 coaching for your team
14.  Make managers accountable: clear goals, time and resources
15.  Ask more questions than you answer
16.  Strategic: make it part of your talent management strategy
17. Live it: training, feedback, evaluation, mentorship programmes, rotate leadership opportunities
18.  Lunch time drop in sessions to be coached
19.  Gain buy in by practice first
20.  Offer reverse mentoring for senior managers: a young person who can spend time "educating" the seniors on current attitudes to work.

 

 

According to the latest research both Maslow and Hertzberg are no longer valid, which comes as a shock to most managers who have been trained in both theories for many years. Recent research shows that employees are motivated to perform well if there is a performance culture within the organisation and that requires:
1.   That employees feel like meaningful participants in the strategic direction of the organisation, rather than victims
2.   That employees embrace change, rather than fear it
3.   That employees are performance and outcome focused
 
The proposition is that managers can't manage culture but they can manage aspirations, and that cultures are always in flux, never a steady state.

The key factors for a performance culture, where people are motivated to perform well are:
 

• Targets work to create new norms; setting the right targets creates the right culture
• An   over   focus   on   the   performance   management   system   itself   is   negative; organisations tend to focus on following the system, which is a mistake. Focusing on hearts and minds works far better
• Managers must deal with poor performance as leniency erodes culture
• Ultimately  the  organisation  will  get  a  normative  approach;  those  who  want  to perform do, but those that don't won't.

 
Performance pay is an important part of a performance culture BUT it must be seen to be both procedurally and distributively just and FAIR.
 
Relational rewards (e.g. work / life balance) may be more effective in building a performance culture (rather than transactional rewards: pay / tangible benefits).
 
Women are more amenable to performance pay. They value it more than men.
​Discuss.

​​Did you know that funding can be accessed to develop skills for your existing managers?

100% funded if you pay into the apprenticeship levy and 90% funded if not.

It would appear that some companies are using the apprenticeship levy for MBAs; but we concentrate on practical knowledge and skills for managers where we know from experience that we can make an impact. Choose from a level 3 or 5  Diploma in Leadership and Management from the ILM. This is not just an off the shelf programme; this is a programme to fit your culture.
​
We have been developing management talent with a Return on Investment for many years and have a good track record in adding value. The focus is on the practical implementation of learning for managers, giving them the confidence and the techniques to build effective teams.

We also align learning to your business strategy and culture.
Contact Judith to arrange a fact finding conversation. email judith@elconsulting.co.uk

Just 5 tips for managers to be able to hear what they would really like to hear from the teams:
(taken from a recent talk to a business owners network)
1. Embed the right culture and employer brand
Before we even start to try to get employees working to the best of their ability what have we actually done to ensure we have the right culture in the business? We might like the exercise of putting our business values into words and then having them printed on mouse mats and posters but which are the behaviours we role model and embed in day to day work? If we want to have a culture like Ryanair then fine, its a successful business, but if we want people to use their initiative and be creative then Ryanair does not have the right culture and leadership style for us.

2. Set clear expectations
Produce outcome based role profiles and agree the outcomes we are looking for from people. Gone are the days of turgid job descriptions. We can't complain when employees start to make the job fit their own view of the world if we have not been clear about the outcomes we expect. People don't have a crystal ball. I worked with one plc where the CEO kept everyone in the dark about objectives and then regularly shouted when people did not live up to expectations. The good news is that he isn't the CEO any longer.

3. Leniency erodes culture
Why do we avoid the "difficult" conversations? Hate conflict? Don't want to upset someone because they might leave? Usually because no one has actually guided the manager on how to have that conversation. It is obvious when someone tells you; we don't need special skills just a good structure for the conversation. The point is that if we don't do something about one person's poor performance or behaviour then everyone else will get demotivated. Then we end up with a whole load more trouble.

4. Trendy leadership theories
Ok every theory has a nugget of truth but really it's not rocket science. Leaders need some good techniques and a decent communication structure; ask questions, listen and involve people, delegate well. Its about doing a lot of the right things and minimising the wrong things.

5. Make sure employees know which level of initiative you want them to operate by:
1. Wait until told
2. Ask what to do
3. Recommend, then take action
4. Act, but advise at once
5. Act on own then routinely report
If you don't tell them you are expecting level 5 you will get a lower level and be disappointed. And if you don't tell them then they won't know. Crystal ball again.