To know:

• Where you are heading
• Why you are heading in that direction
• How to get there
• And finally, being able to fully realise the exceptional outcomes

Therefore having a title won’t make you a leader. Everyone has the opportunity to be a leader if they positively influence others. People of influence who multiply their effectiveness don’t rely on “positional power” but on “personal power.” While the position or title they have gives them authority, it is qualities such as integrity, trust, faith in people, the ability to actively listen and respond appropriately, to empower and understand people that sets them apart.

And most importantly of all – communicate effectively with clear purpose.

Everyone matters. Everyone makes a difference. The greatest insult in life or in business is indifference. We can’t afford the perception that people don’t matter enough for us to engage them. What people “do” could be divided into activity and accomplishment. What percentage of our day is made up of activity, as opposed to accomplishment? The latter largely depends on positive influence.

When it comes to leadership (as distinct from management), we are all a work in progress. All of us can lead better. None of us ever truly master the art. Each of our lives is a leadership “lab.”  We don’t need an organization or title to lead. What we need is a desire to make a positive difference and an awareness of the opportunities to lead that present themselves every day. This is determined more by who we are – our character, than what we know.

If each of us chose to lead (by positively influencing) at the right time in the right way what might our company be like? The real test of leadership could be – If you had no title or ability to reward or penalize others, could you still get them to follow you?

The person who thinks they are leading, but has no one following them, is only going for a walk.

So take charge of your career – whether you are an owner/director, CEO, GM or family business leader – indeed whatever walk of life.

Become your own CEO – Chief Energy Officer – and turn 2012 into a highly successful year and achieve all you have planned for – both personally and professionally.

The alternative – believe everything we read in the daily press and get mightily depressed!

Best wishes to all.

When I pursued this with a manager some time ago, he admitted he was really concerned about being time poor, with not enough hours in the day to what he considered had to be done. As a result, he was under stress, had difficulty sleeping, with no time for his family and no exercise program. When asked what he did for relaxation, he simply laughed.

As we discussed this further, it became clear why he had difficulty coping with the demands of his job. Energy management was the root cause. He told me he continually had broken sleep and woke up more tired than when he went to bed. He eventually made an appointment with a doctor and was given some medication which helped him sleep. However, this was only a short term solution. Here are some of the other strategies that helped him become a good time manager, not because he lacked the skills – he lacked the energy!

• Attitude – when you’ve done all that you can do, be satisfied
• Mental energy – don’t beat yourself up and take the blame for issues beyond your control
• Exercise – there is a direct relationship between physical fitness and how we think, feel and act. If we lack fitness, then our attitude, enthusiasm and commitment will be sluggish with resultant poor time management and performance
• Balanced diet  – especially low GI and carbs, fruit & vegetables
• Work / Life Balance – time for family, hobbies or interests
• Mentor– identify someone  to help develop, support and monitor your progress
• and importantly learn how to delegate well through effective communication styles thereby achieving your team’s “buy-in”.

However let us constrain ourselves here to leadership for the Organisation and those people who are the key stakeholders – including the staff. We ask you to consider the following sample as a blueprint for the Organisation’s leader – CEO – reporting to the Board. It is his/her way forward – with clear intent and purpose and implemented through very effective communication styles and skills. It was developed with and successfully completed by a “real” client. We trust you find it valuable.

‘My Purpose and Intent – with Focus and Direction’

“My mission is to provide strong leadership to the company that will guide it in achieving its corporate objectives.  These objectives will be a mix of financial goals as well as other elements that represent the core values and culture of the organisation.

1. To be an effective leader for the company I view this mission as an ongoing, living goal that I am working towards.  It will require fundamental change to my management style and I will need to develop professionally to achieve this goal.

In part, this fundamental change will see a greater emphasis on strategic planning, business development and implementation.

• A key strategy in achieving this goal is the creation of management structures and systems that support the empowerment of key managers to take responsibility for achieving business objectives
• Key performance indicators and organizational goals will be established to facilitate the accountability of those key personnel in achieving business objectives

2. At a personnel level I will become more active in my role as a figurehead, leader and role model for the company.

• This will focus on attending networking opportunities and developing business relationships that will lead to business opportunities and sustainable growth
• Ongoing development of my leadership skills as an effective communicator and motivator are personal goals I have set for myself including the manner in which I influence and maximize the efforts of the management team and individuals

The networking activities and personal development goals are seen as key objectives in my professional development.

3. A function of my leadership will be to ensure strong lines of communication are in place with the Chairman to report on business outcomes and advise on company policy and development initiatives.  Empowered by the Board we will form a strong executive management team (CEO& GM’s) that will harness the collective strengths of the senior management team in creating and implementing company strategies and achieving business goals.

4. At an organisational level, both the current and future needs of key stakeholders and the company objectives need to be identified.  Stakeholders include the Chairman, Directors, the management team, key personnel, all company employees and other key parties being clients, suppliers and customers.  In conjunction with the Chairman and the management team, strategies will be developed to meet these needs.

5. As the organisation grows and develops under this new management regime I will need to monitor, analyze and review business outcomes and in particular, the personal performances of key personnel and provide direction and support where necessary.  This may involve training and skills development programs for individuals.

6. The development of my leadership skills and my role in guiding the new management structure down a successful path is seen as a key component in driving the company forward in meeting our objectives.  Of key importance will be the need for all concerned to understand the need for this change of management responsibilities and embrace their own professional development challenges.

My major, initial challenge will be to sell and drive this message down the line, achieve my own company and personal objectives, and develop synergies and leverage to achieve this overall vision at all company interfaces.

The Commitment

Various objectives are identified in my Focus & Direction statement, and the creation of a new management structure is seen as a key element.  The table below sets out these key objectives details the benefits of these changes and indicates proposed timelines.

This document will be used as a roadmap in implementing the proposed initiatives against outcomes and is also for review with the Chairman and Board.”

I drive past schools these days and wonder where the kids are that used to kick footballs on the oval? All I can see are groups huddled together with their heads down. This makes me believe the need for a headline.

Danger! Obesity on the increase – communication on the decrease!

The potential for serious health conditions is immense! We are all well aware of the current state of the nation regarding obesity. But an alarming trend is emerging – lack of communication.

I am noticing a growing inability of kids to have confidence in simple communication – you know – talking to each other and especially to the older generation.  Communication is often confused with information giving. Text messages, emails, using Facebook or Twitter is all one way information and is often confused with communication. Communication is a two way process. Bill speaks, Mary listens and then responds. While the advance of technology is highly beneficial in many ways, it is eroding our ability to communicate.

Erroneously, many people think technology is assisting communication. Friends, they are talking about information giving! The hours kids spend in front of TV, immersed in their mobile phones or on computer games and social networking could have serious consequences if these alarming trends are not addressed.

The study finds the bulk of workers (61 per cent) are not engaged and do little more than is necessary to keep their jobs. Worse still, 21 per cent are actively disengaged, saying they view their workplaces unfavourably and are highly likely to spread their negativity to others.

The report further finds that engagement is associated with business outcomes. A third (33 per cent) of workers who are not fully engaged have taken at least three sick days in the past month compared to only 11 per cent of engaged workers. This difference amounts to millions of dollars of lost productivity.

Companies who had overall engagement levels in the top quartile experienced nearly four times higher earnings per share growth than the median growth of their competitors. The findings are part of a global study of 47,000 people in 120 countries conducted by Gallup Consulting.

“These findings impact issues such as absenteeism, quality of work, staff turnover, company productivity and profitability. This cannot be a good sign for organisations seeking to lift their business performance post the GFC,” says Allan Watkinson, Senior Specialist Consultant atGallup’s Australian arm.

Source: Management Today – June 2011

The CEO of an emerging company wanted his executive management group of four to attend a presentation very relevant to their stage of development. Even though the event was on a Saturday evening, the CEO, with good reason, could have simply required them to attend, but understanding their personalities, he chose to do the following.

He spoke with them individually and appealed to their personalities. To each one in turn, he explained the benefits to be gained and that the company would obviously cover the costs. He asked the first manager if she would like to organize a dinner prior to the event. She felt excited about this and enthusiastically said she knew just the place and would immediately make the bookings. To his second manager, he promoted the qualifications, background experience and credibility of the speaker, commenting that as a key executive manager, he knew he would not want to miss out on the information being presented. The manager agreed absolutely!

Next in line was the financial controller. He told him the speaker would address many of the detailed questions he had been asking, and in addition, if he could keep notes for the group, it would be really appreciated. The financial controller agreed he definitely was the person to take notes, so he felt important and was eagerly looking forward to the event. Finally the CEO located the fairly laid-back manager, explained the situation and said he would receive the tickets next week.

Some might think what a lot of fuss that was, thinking they wouldn’t have the time to mess around like that. Can you imagine the difference in attitude if the CEO had sent them an email requiring their attendance on Saturday evening when they may have had social engagements? With this personal approach, appealing to their personalities strengths, I am sure they would have looked forward to the evening with anticipation and thus have gained much more from it.

There is little doubt that financing was a key area for organisational competitive advantage before the global financial crisis (GFC). For directors, the challenges now appear to be around the management of human capital and the fight for talent in organisations. As directors become more in tune with this, it is inevitable that boards will seek human resource information with the same degree of integrity as that expected of financial information. Systems and processes will become vital in establishing data that enables boards to proactively manage human capital – real people!

The US experience after 9/11 and after the GFC-driven downturn provides the “canary” for Australian directors. The thought of a W-shaped global growth pattern and the emergence of potential downturns in Australia only heighten the need for directors to become focussed on retaining top talent.

Recent reports have indicated that nearly 50% of US workers are dissatisfied with their jobs. While the largest group of unhappy workers seems to be the under-25 “Generation Me” crowd, the sheer number of unhappy employees is quite troubling. Amid the signs of improving labour markets and employment rates, this news should be downright disturbing to business owners, directors and managers. Now is the time to prepare to help prevent the loss of talented people who may “jump ship” when the opportunity is right – for them.

Studies have shown that only companies that change their management approach survive for more than 18 months post recession. If you want your company to survive the recovery, it must embrace change and find new approaches that reflect the new business and cultural environment.

As it relates to HR, there are few new approaches to measuring business performance and employee engagement.

Some emerging measurement strategies include measuring employee productivity in ways such as sales per employee and value-added per employee as well as measuring employees’ understanding of their contribution to business performance.

Identifying, cultivating and adopting more appropriate measures for top talent can be the key to recovery and long term growth. But how will you know who your most talented and productive individuals are? And, how will you know if they already have one foot out of the door?

By examining and analysing human resources from a more holistic perspective and seeing employees as talent capital, rather than mere workers, companies can do more to retain and nurture talent and ensure a mutually beneficial future for employees and the company.

The role of directors in assessing and monitoring resources beneath C-level executives has never been so critical.

Why Retention Matters

While there may be a number of people your company may not be sorry to see go, valuable others may be on the fence. Retaining team members critical to business processes and continuity is critical. Ironically, these most valuable professionals (MVP’s) may not be the “usual suspects” – certainly the C-level suite is important, but there may also be key individuals among the ranks whose experience, knowledge, charisma, vision and wisdom are vital to progress.

Identifying these MVP’s and keeping them on your team is important beyond the parameters of human resources. So much of a company’s success, its value to customers and its potential for growth reside within its people. Keeping your most talented team members on your side – fully engaged – helps to retail:

• Institutional Memory – the how and the why of your operations, history, client values and methodologies. Change rarely happens in a vacuum and understanding the historical context for changes maintains a foundation for growth.
• Relationships – with customers and other employees. Particularly where cross-departmental collaboration is concerned, internal relationships can be vital for optimising performance and knowing who to turn to get things done.
• Knowledge base – the technical skills, operational expertise and experience of team members. When this is lost, so too is the opportunity to leverage this inherent knowledge across the organisation.
• Investment – in your employees as valuable human capital. If you’ve invested education, skills building and professional development for an employee, the return on investment is gone the minute he/she walks out the door.

Changing Human ‘Resources’ Perspectives

Chief among the reasons most employees give for leaving a position is the lack of perceived investment on the part of the company in employees. They feel neglected regarding training and skills development. The importance of lifestyle has also begun to play a major role in employee satisfaction. Workers want a job that supports their lifestyle, not one that consumes it.

Particularly since 9/11, people have sought a greater sense of purpose and meaning in their work – and this is not just confined to the US. This is also especially true among the “Generation Me” set, whose members seek more fulfilment and enjoyment from their jobs in lieu of loyalty, security and a lifetime commitment.

To prepare for the future, employers must devise better ways to accommodate this desire and to cultivate and harness the incredible creativity, skill and insight inherent in their employees and retain it for future success. To do so, requires a paradigm shift in the way an organisation perceives its employees – at all levels.

The fundamental distinction between human resources and human capital is the idea of consumption versus investment. Even the term human “resources” denotes a finite commodity – something that is diminished or consumed through its use, much like coal, timber or oil. This concept is exactly what most employees today are seeking to avoid.

On the other hand, “capital” is invested, nurtured and pays dividends in the form of a return on that investment. Capital generates additional wealth.

By thinking of your employees as human capital – something in which you invest and that pays dividends – you can look beyond output and production to determine their real value to the organisation, based not just on skills and accomplishments, but also the inherent contribution they make to the culture of the company and the motivation they bring to the job, their colleagues and the workplace.

Likewise, this perspective will change the way employees view themselves and their roles within the organisation – as something to be valued, nurtured and cultivated for the future, and having an effect on the success of the business rather than expended in the name of progress.

By thinking of your employees as human capital – something in which you invest and that pays dividends – you can look beyond output and production to determine their real value to the organisation

Making the Investment

While employees understandably want compensation equal to their skills and effort, they also want to feel invested in as people and professionals. To retain top talent and knowledge while maintaining employee engagement, loyalty and commitment, companies should consider the following:

• Training, beyond skills development to include more indirect programs such as communications, motivation, time management, problem solving, team building and other areas applicable to everyone in the organisation
• Assessment, not only of employees’ skills, but also competencies to help uncover unique aspects of each individual’s abilities and character that brought to bear more effectively in the workplace
• Job duty and performance mapping to determine the exact skills, competencies, qualifications and attributes required for each job role to be successful
• Competency matching to ensure the right employees are in the best position for their competency and skill levels. For example, some employees may feel dissatisfied not because of the employer or the salary, but because they’re simply not in the position best suited for them. Matching required competencies of the position to the competency profile of the employee tends to result in high-performing, motivated and satisfied employees
• Career path and succession planning, which serves the best interest of the employees and the employer – a fine balance that could and should work. Career-path planning helps employees feel the company is concerned about their future, which can dramatically improve their level of job satisfaction. Likewise, succession planning helps the company prepare for ascension, attrition and vacancies by having the right talent in place and ready to go, to ensure the continuity of strategic objectives
• Comprehensive talent-management tools that can integrate all of these functions – from HR and training to career and succession planning to measuring and understanding the performance effect on business success – within a single cross-functional platform. An integrated solution makes it easy and economical to manage the diverse, yet interconnected, needs of an effective human capital-management strategy without a massive upheaval in process, exorbitant capital expenditure or a lengthy and complicated roll out. Also any such program must include a sophisticated, but transparent, agenda for knowledge capture and transfer

In the modern employment setting, every internal function touches another: the days of looking at HR, payroll, sales etc, as individual silos are behind us. With a more integrated perspective, backed by solid, integrated tools, employers and employees can achieve the level of success, satisfaction and fulfilment required to move forward, even amid an uncertain future.

Evaluating, nurturing, cultivating and measuring the effect of talent is an absolute must for reducing the risk of losing your most valuable human capital once normality in the job market returns – if there will be ever such a thing again!

To do so requires the right set of tools that can expand human capital management beyond the traditional set of HR and training functions to integrate career path and succession planning, as well as training and skills, competency and motivational assessment. Crucially for all this to happen requires inspired leadership and the right mindset.

By overlooking any of these areas, one can only wonder how many of your most valuable and talent employees already have one foot out the door.

And, you may never know what you’re missing until they’re gone.

In the workplace, we can’t bark people into commitment. If we want people to care for and look after work decisions, they need to own them so they look after them and achieve good outcomes.

How do you do this? Contact Carnegie to discuss.

1. Communicate the vision of change you want.

2. Identify, and communicate, at least two behavioural changes you plan to work on personally

3. Have senior executive do likewise

Do this and there will be much greater commitment to organizational change than if leadership makes out they are OK and the problems lie with everyone else.

How do you do this? Contact Carnegie to discuss.

I would suggest that when considering performance, the toughest, most accountable and responsible outcome is derived from clear expectations that are discussed, understood and agreed to. Once genuine agreement is reached there is response/ability – the ability to respond to what’s been agreed to.

It’s not a matter of “hard” or “soft” – It’s about placing the responsibility where it belongs – from directing to connecting.