Best Recipes Ever

Category: Leadership Skills

  • A beautiful life – a lesson in leadership from Rick Astley

    Singer/songwriter Rick Astley announced that he will be releasing his eighth studio album this year which is entitled ‘Beautiful Life’. I was listening to the conversation between Rick Astley and a well-known Radio 2 DJ about the album.  More importantly about why Rick wrote a song called “Beautiful Life” and named the album with the same name.

    Rick said something very pertinent in answer to the question “Why Beautiful Life?  In his answer he explained that in fact he has had a beautiful life, with the exception of a few curveballs.  Most importantly, he continued with words to the effect that  it is all about how you look at life and how you regard things that are thrown at you and things that happen to you, and I might add things you do to yourself.

    Personally I resonate with these comments.  How you perceive something is half the battle of working with it, solving it and overcoming it.  Do you look at “setbacks” in a negative sense, react emotionally in some way and fester on the consequences, or do you take the opportunity to understand the message, learn, grow and develop, thus moving yourself forward out of the adverse condition?

    One of the most important aspects of working through perceived negative situations is the emotional side of the situation.  In the case of “it”, what ever “it” is being done to us, the emotions experienced might be anger, frustration, bitterness, disbelief, shame and many others.  In the case of us doing something inadvertently that back-fires on our self, emotions might include guilt, shame, anger and self blame amongst others.

    Harbouring emotions is both unproductive and damaging mentally and ultimately physically.  To be an effective leader we need to be able to rise above any situation and look at the cause of why something happened, rectify it with those involved through helping them understand why this particular approach was not constructive, give guidance on a more positive way to approach the particular situation, and agree on a way forward.  Always avoiding the desire or need to blame someone or something, allowing those involved to take responsibility for their actions, change behaviour, and therefore grow and develop from the experience.

    As Rick Astely so carefully and clearly put it – “Life is beautiful”.  It’s all about how you see it?  Leadership, whilst challenging on occasions is beautiful for all concerned, those being led and those doing the leading.  It all depends on how we firstly see each situation and each person, and secondly how we react to it?

  • A Celebration of International Women

    On the 8th March to celebrate International Women’s day it is appropriate to give credit to the many female Heads of State, CEO’s, Founders, Mothers and Grandmothers. How interesting that the world has a strong representation of female leaders, 22 countries in total including New Zealand, Denmark, Bangladesh, Lithuania, Taiwan and Norway are all led by inspirational women. This is quite a sizeable representation of women in top leadership positions, some in countries that are culturally showing more masculine than feminine qualities according to the Hofstede model of Intercultural sensitivity. It is irrelevant what you think about them, but the fact is these female and other female leaders are running governments, countries and businesses in what can only be termed troubled and challenging times.  In all fairness our male leaders are not exempt from the turbulence affecting everyone across the globe.

    Erna Solberg of Norway has been Prime Minister since 2013. Greece’s President, Katerina Sakellaropoulou has been in office since March 2020, and New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in office since October 2017.  These and many other women are demonstrating both success at achieving the position as well as longevity in the position.

    WHAT ARE THE PRINCIPLE CHARACTERISTICS OF FEMALE LEADERSHIP? 

    A Celebration of International WomenCan we characterize these principles and definitively separate them from the principles of male leadership? Unlikely, because styles of leadership differ amongst men and women equally depending on education, experience, courage, individuality, stamina and so on.  However, when looking at women andLet us celebrate the female leaders around the world on International Women’s Day. men, there are differences and when women bring these differences into play, we might see a broader range of characteristics, showing feminine power. Many of which come naturally to women.  Again, I don’t want to say that men do not display some or all these characteristics and vice versa, but men usually display a more masculine power through male characteristics and therefore the following are more common in women, especially in female leaders.

    Common female characteristics:

    • Intuitive and sensitive, demonstrating fluid emotional intelligence
    • Ability to sense the emotion as well as see the facts in order to make decisions on both factual/logical and emotional levels
    • Goal achievement through perseverance and vision, but not at the cost of others
    • Patience and tolerance, promoting harmony and understanding
    • The ability to encourage and nurture to reveal hidden potential of those who are unable to stand up for themselves
    • Ability to forgive, let go, learn and grow
    • Fosters an environment of trust, cooperation and harmony
    • Quiet drive, courage and resilience, as opposed to power and strength
    • Ability to release own emotions to relieve tension and break stress often through crying, which in men is seen as a weakness 
    • Ability to relieve tension in a situation through empathy and understanding
    • Happy to be out of the limelight and just get on with the job 

    CONCLUSIONS OR QUESTIONS?

    Are we moving into a time when female leadership is more appropriate for the global and work-related challenges we face in today’s world – starvation, homelessness, loneliness, escalation in chronic mental and physical diseases, environmental damage on a huge scale and the ever widening gap between the exceedingly wealthy and those who earn under the minimum wage?

    I don’t know the answer to this, but I do know the questions:  How much longer can we, as human beings go on living in an environment that is under more and more control due to the poor, ignorant choices of our leadership and our own inaction?  One that we are determined to destroy through industrial farming methods, fracking that pollutes and destroys the very integrity of the earth and the finely balanced ecosystem on which we live as well as wasteful habits, all of which combined are removing the right to a heritage for generations to come?

    How long can we go on not seeing, or deliberately covering up the detrimental impact of processed, sugar laden foods on our health and the health of our children, which has manifested in serious escalation in chronic disease, obesity and stress, all of which we see in most of the English speaking world, with other countries not far behind, having adopted a Western diet?

    How long are we going to allow escalation in mental health issues to continue to rise, before taking a close look at our company cultures, leadership approach and work environments?  What might this have to do with the current pandemic?  Could there be a correlation between the number of Covid cases and deaths in countries with the highest levels of diabetes, obesity and other chronic disease?

    LET’S CELEBRATE FEMALE LEADERSHIP

    As we move into the Age of Aquarius with the spring equinox, let’s celebrate all our female leaders and leadership, not only on International Women’s day, but everyday whether Heads of State, Heads of Companies, Entrepreneurs or Mothers. The arrival of the Aquarian age is associated with harmony, understanding, sympathy and trust.  All female characteristics. It is perhaps the female leaders that will turn the ship to restore balance in life, becoming more caring, nurturing, and responsible in how and what we live for?  Fostering a global economy and community that sees nations support each other rather than competing and striving to be the first with the strong, fit and healthy and remembering the rest as an afterthought?

    In the words of Marilyn Munroe, “One of the best things that ever happened to me, is that I am a woman.  That is the way all females should feel.” 

     

    Happy International Women’s Day.

     

    To find out more about how Green Key can help you and your leadership journey, contact Rachel directly.

  • Active Leadership – The Benefits of Combining Movement & Leadership

    When I was a young manager, my first General Manager at the time was a very special man, sadly no longer with us. He was general manager of the Elangeni Hotel in Durban, South Africa and he taught me many things about managing and leading people in what is a demanding, but rewarding industry. He was inquisitive, asked questions not only to satisfy his own interest, but also to check your understanding of what you might have been doing at that point in time, as well as the bigger picture of why I was doing whatever it is I was doing. He was always immaculately dressed, irrelevant of time of day or night in full suit with waistcoat and a red rose in his buttonhole. I don’t think I ever saw him in any other clothing during the 4 years I worked with him. He was respectful of everyone, no matter your position, male or female, senior or younger. I never heard him raise his voice in all that time, even when annoyed. He was a fair man, I suppose strict in some ways. He gave out autonomy to his team members expecting performance as agreed, and these characteristics shone through his leadership approach. On top of this, he led by walking about. He is what I would call an “active” leader. Of course, there were times when he was in his office, but in general once the paperwork, meetings and discussions had been completed, he was out and about. His “finger was totally on the pulse”. Nothing passed him by.

    Much of my leadership approach is based on my learning from this person as well as the variety of people working in the hotel with their vast array of backgrounds, experiences, cultures and education, all doing an honest day’s work in the hotel industry while providing me a fantastic foundation on which to learn. Perhaps they did not feel the same way!

    We often read posts on LinkedIn, X or the like on how important it is to move, to be active whether a manager or not. Personally, I’m a great advocate for this. Managers and leaders generally spend too much time at the computer or other electronic device and not enough time moving, talking to employees and clients. At the same time many managers have ideal job roles that allow them to be active not only before or after work, but also during by combining movement with going around the operations and different departments. Being visible in this way enables managers to see how things are running and to check in with team members, giving individual employees an opportunity to talk, share information, difficulties and so on while also understanding if they have any challenges, what is going well, how they are etc. Being active also provides opportunities to listen to and talk to guests and customers addressing their concerns, hearing their comments and receiving feedback. All while being active and moving around. 

    What is so important about moving? It is not necessary to run a marathon, climb the tallest mountain, or cycle 10 kilometres a day to be active to enjoy the benefits, such as:

    •    Consistent focus, clarity and balanced mental health 

    •    Consistent energy levels throughout the day

    •    Positive outlook 

    •    Reduction in stress, anxiety and mood swings 

    •    Good cardiovascular health 

    •    Easier weight management 

    •    Stronger immune system to combat seasonal bugs and viruses

    •    Better sleep

    If that’s not enough, to this list can also be added building stable and healthy relationships with others, providing the social aspects of life that are so important. Humans are herd animals and to be healthy we need social connections and relationships. A perfect link to the essence of good leadership. Leadership is only possible if followers choose to follow. This requires building relations and consequently trust, understanding employees, strong skills of emotional intelligence and the ability to listen. Showing personal vulnerability, courage, integrity and honesty. A leader cannot demonstrate these characteristics from an office by email or other internal communication system. These tools support face to face communication, but do not replace them. The lessons I learned over 30 years ago from my first general manager are still the same today!

    £340 billion was lost in the UK economy due to employees’ disengagement and 0.8 million workers in 2023/24 were suffering from work-related stress, anxiety and depression according to Perkbox and Vivup. According to HSE Safety, £14.5 billion annual costs in new cases of work-related ill health in 2022/23. How much of this is due to losing contact with employees, just expecting them to perform in accordance with the job description? A recent blog on “Engage Employee” website listed the top five reasons employees go to work and which can be summarised by saying the majority of our employees come to work for the social contact and that sense of belonging. “Engage Employee” survey results with 2,000 employees ranked reasons for coming to work as:

    1.    The People 

    2.    Feeling like I am good at it 

    3.    The hours 

    4.    It’s fulfilling 

    5.    Working as a team 

    Salary was ranked in 6th place.   

    Quite clearly social connection and interaction is rated as extremely important with 3 out of the top 5 reflecting this fact. How can you encourage your managers and leaders to be more active in the workplace, not only to get their “steps in”, and improve their overall well-being and that of their employees, but also to build trust through regular and open communication, stronger teamwork, improve problem solving, and build and manage relations with customers and guests? Being an active leader, costs nothing, but there is much to gain.

    References 

    https://www.engageemployee.com/blog/top-20-reasons-we-go-to-work

    https://hcssafety.co.uk/news/hse-statistics-2024/#:~:text=The%20annual%20cost%20of%20new,22%20to%20%C2%A37.1%20billion.

  • Anyone got a plan b?

    The General Election results have for the second time in recent history demonstrated the importance of having a Plan B.  What I am referring to is the Brexit vote – for most people there was little thought to the fact that Britain would vote “out” seen through comments such as “If I had known we would be out, I would have voted to stay in!”  The Conservative government at the time, also did not consider the fact that the British people would vote “out” and therefore create a Plan B, or contingency to kick in if the unspeakable happened.  Thus, the hasty resignation of David Cameron immediately afterwards and the chaos that ensued to find another Prime Minister.  Not to mention the “no man’s land” that we all seemed to feel with no leader at the helm and the potential impact that had on business both nationally and internationally.

    Again in the recent election results, there was no thought to the fact that the Conservatives would not win.  How can any leader be so confident, or we might say egotistical?  In this blog I am not advocating any particular party preference or view.   It is strange however that on both occasions, not too far apart from each other, it is the Conservative leadership who have fallen into the same trap of not expecting the unexpected.

    Where was Plan B?  In other words why, in both cases was there no apparent discussion on the possibility of the vote going in the opposite direction to firstly the planned goal and secondly the desires of the leadership party?   Effective leadership is certainly about driving towards a specific goal by inspiring and motivating those that are responsible for making it happen, but we should never be so overly confident as to not ask the question “What if…..” and have a plan B for that eventuality.

    Most leaders are motivated to avoid failing, because firstly we plan to succeed, but secondly we need to manage the emotions of disappointment and self shame which often turns to self anger and self-beratement when we realize that we did not achieve that goal, and therefore are imperfect, and consequently everyone else suffers in the same manner.  OK, we had no Plan B.  Now what?

    Failure is an opportunity.  In a crisis many leaders want to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders – “I got us into this mess, I will get us out”  (Theresa May) when actually the way forward is to work with your team with humility and collaboration to find a new way forward and to learn from the experience.  Failure helps to re-visit and re-define priorities.  This might mean giving up the original goal or re-defining the goal and then moving forward.

    Columbus was looking for India, Alexander Graham Bell was trying to invent a hearing aid, and Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame was planning to sell his chicken recipe to restaurants.  Often what we are planning to happen leads us to something very different.

    Plan B is not only for large scale situations, such as running a country, but for smaller situations where the impact of if it goes wrong carries high risk on business operations – the server crashes, your main supplier goes bankrupt, your tanker transporting goods damages it’s hull etc.  Whilst it might not be the most sexy task, it does help provide calmness in the ensuing chaos, focus, and ultimately a framework and goals to continue to exercise effective leadership.

    Sir Ernest Shackleton, The Great Antartic Explorer and his men survived the wreck of their ship “Endurance” coming home in good health and good spirits all because of Shackleton’s leadership.  He later wrote “The disaster had been looming ahead for many months, and I had studied my plans for all contingencies a hundred times.  The task ahead was likely to be long and strenuous, and an ordered mind and clear program were essential if we were to come through without loss of life.”  (Shackleton’s Way, Margot Morrell and Stephanie Capparell)

    Perhaps its time for us all to take a leaf out of Shackleton’s book and ensure when the risk is high to our operations that we have a Plan B?