Best Recipes Ever

Category: Leadership Communication

  • Workplace Wellbeing Series – Productivity and Wellbeing

    Wellbeing and productivity course image

    According to the Health and Wellbeing at Work 2021 survey report conducted by CIPD, wellbeing of employees is growing as a priority for organisations. Below are some results of the survey that help to understand the top 3 causes of stress:

     Main Causes of stress chart

    Productivity and Wellbeing is a course that has been created to address many of these stress-related issues by helping individuals understand factors that are causing  feelings of stress and perhaps even anxiety and to provide tools to manage these issues with the overall goal of developing a healthy work-life integration so that both your employees and the organisation thrives and prospers.

    The co-creator is business trainer and coach Lyndsey Segal https://www.heads-up-coaching.com/. We have shared our expertise to provide a unique and highly valuable training programme to boost productivity and performance of your team while also prioritising and supporting their mental, physical and emotional wellbeing.

     

    Productivity and Wellbeing – Programme outline

    The training programme can be delivered virtually over 6, 2-hour sessions or in-person over 2 days.

    Programme Outcomes· 

    • Each participant to understand their relationship with time and how to be more productive
    • Use strategies, tools and techniques to improve time management, elevate productivity and performance
    • Plan, structure and prioritise time and tasks to reach personal goals and create a healthy work/life balance
    • Use strategies, tools and techniques to build resilience, mental health and improve wellbeing
    • Develop self-care practices for energy and wellbeing
    • Create action plans for performance, accountability and sustainable improvements

     

    Delivered by:

    ·         Rachel Shackleton, Green Key Personal Development and Green Key Health

    ·         Lyndsey Segal, Heads Up Coaching

     

    For further information, please call directly on 01235 639 430 or contact Rachel Shackleton by email at rachel@greenkeypersonaldevelopment.com or Alissia@greenkeypersonaldevelopment.com

    Green Key Personal Development designs and provides learning & development solutions specialized in the spheres of Leadership and Management, Communication, Customer Excellence and Wellbeing in the Workplace. Solutions are delivered face-to-face, online or through e-Learning

     

    Green Key – Nurturing People, Nurturing organisations & Unlocking potential, through interactive training solutions.

     

    twitter.com/gkeydevelopment

    www.linkedin.com/company/green-key-personal-development

    www.linkedin.com/in/rachelshackleton/

     

  • Trust Takes a Lifetime to Build and a Moment to Lose

    Successful leadership and trust go hand in hand.   Unless the leader has the trust of his or her team, leadership is likely to be ineffective and will probably fail on most levels.  Earning trust takes time, losing it is quick.  As leaders it is easy to find ourselves in situations that cast doubt over our trustability.  For example:

    Have you ever been:

    • In a situation when senior management have told you information that affects your team members, but for some reason you have been told not to share this with them?
    • Had to discuss the results of the bonus scheme calculation with one of your team members and because the scheme is not transparent it looks like you are “robbing” the person of what he or she understands they have earned?
    • Asked by senior management to support a particular decision which you personally disagree with, but you have to present this to your team as if you believe in the decision and support it whole heartedly?

    There are many other situations that I am sure you can think of which jeopardise trust built with team members.  These are dilemmas that leaders face on a daily basis.  How can these and other similar situations that question your trust be handled effectively to maintain trust?

    When considering options look for those that help you maximize the trust in your response with all concerned parties.  In my experience gained during my career of leading teams in different hotel departments and ultimately in my own company “Concept Training and Development”, I have always tried to be open and honest with my team and with other groups, whether senior management, customers and clients.  After all this is the way I would prefer others to be with me, even if I don’t like what they are telling me!   Treat people as you would like to be treated is an approach that I strongly support and live by.  Therefore, if going back to the first example above, does that mean that I betray senior management to be open and honest with my team?  No, it simply means that I tell team members openly and with empathy, that “I am not at liberty to share information at this time, due to what ever circumstance.  Once everything is clear and has been decided they will be informed.”

    Building Trust

    Living with integrity is a solid foundation on which others can learn to trust you.  For others to know who you are and to begin to trust you, they have to know what your beliefs and values are, and therefore what foundation you are using to make decisions.  Doing this over and over shows consistency and therefore builds reliability and trust of you.   We cannot expect everyone to share our values, however being prepared to listen to and accept others values is also an important aspect of building trust.  The following points are tips for encouraging and building trust in you, which I work with on a daily basis and which have proved to be reliable:

    • Demonstrate trust of others – this comes first.  If you show that you trust, it is likely that others will reciprocate. 
    • Say “thank you”.  Notice your team members and the contributions they bring, to other team members, to the team as a whole and to you personally.
    • Follow through on what you say you will do – be dependable and reliable.  If you have agreed to do something and find for some unknown reason that you cannot deliver, manage by informing those who have a vested interest in a timely manner– don’t wait for them to come to you and ask!
    • Be open and honest with feedback.  Giving negative, constructive feedback is not always easy, but it is in the interest of both parties to do so.  Be honest, constructive and sensitive, whilst being direct in order that the other person is not left guessing, does not feel steamrollered or treated unfairly. 
    • Stick to your commitments.  Do not idly talk about something which involves another person and “forget” about it later.  For example, if you agreed to work with a person to ensure their growth and development ensure you do so.  If you agreed to put someone forward for promotion if they fulfill certain tasks and demonstrate certain capabilities, do it!
    • Communicate with social intellect – if you can show that you understand the other person they are more likely to put trust in you.
    • If you don’t know, say so!  Just because you are the leader does not mean you have to know everything.  This enables team members to come forward with ideas – and you might just be surprised at the level of skill and knowledge within your team!
    • Above all learn from your mistakes.   As leaders it is unlikely that we will get it right every time, but learning from those mistakes is the minimum we can do.

  • Walk your Talk: developing a healthier work environment and workforce.

    I recently attended the Daily Standard SME Expo in conjunction with Water Cooler “Connecting Workplace Wellbeing Solutions.” Hats off to the organisers for this excellent event that gathered together many experts from different fields to discuss, debate and deliver thoughts, ideas and opinions on different topics related to workplace wellbeing as well as to answer the most urgent questions facing SME’s today. Out of this event has come my latest blog about developing a healthier work environment and workforce.

    Many years ago as a junior member of the management team at the Elangeni hotel in Durban, South Africa I was constantly reminded by my then General Manager to “Walk my Talk.” As I remember this phrase was never really explained to me, but it is pretty straight forward that “Walking your Talk” is doing what you say showing an example to your team members of how to interact with customers, treat each other, carry out your job role professionally etc. While I don’t think this has changed, nor should it, in the new business environment for leaders and team members perhaps it is time for “walking your talk” to take on a broader meaning?

    “According to the World Health Organization, poor worker mental health will cost the global economy $1 trillion this year. Without intervention, 122 billion working days — or 500 million years of work — will be lost between now and 2030.”


    I don’t know about you, but it is unlikely that I will live 500 million years! Joking aside, in order to address workplace health, the current paradigm has to change. Leaders are being called on and challenged to come up with creative ways to inspire and lead others in the process of achieving company vision and goals. Taking a simplistic approach to health we know that sound health and wellbeing – the feeling of being well, the feeling that you are ready to embrace the world and what it has to offer, the sense that you are part of something greater that is both miraculous and inspiring leading to all the energy you need to fulfil your life there has to firstly be love for yourself and the many roles you play – mother, father, son, daughter, aunt, bus driver, engineer, programmer, customer account manager and so on as well as, love for your job and the company in which you work.

     Team members and employees always want to do a good job, it is human nature to feel valued for who you are and what you contribute, therefore returning to the office has to offer something new – an environment that is fun, creative and a comfortable place to be. In other words, it has to create the state that organisations want their employees to be and to achieve. Going into the office to answer emails, no longer makes any sense as that can be done at the home office. Therefore, what does the new office environment need to offer?

    •  Spaces where teams can get together to enhance social connection that a home office cannot provide. 
    • An environment that is less about me and more about us – where individuals can “catch up” and collaborate.
    • An environment that stimulates co-creation and fun.
    • A place that individuals go to get their energy fix and dose of inspiration from their boss and colleagues.
    • An environment that fosters healing and overall wellbeing.

    What about the leadership?

    Leaders need to start connecting more to their hearts and become whole humans to provide a welcome to those in need of coaching, mentoring or simply someone to listen to them while they share what is going on in their lives. Most of us don’t need fixing we need someone to truly listen.

    Of course, organisation goals don’t take a back seat to make way for human interaction on a heart-felt level. Instead we go about achieving the goals in a different way by turning the current paradigm on its head and taking care of people first, so that they take care of the customer, fulfil their K.P.I’s and productivity levels as well as the organisation goals because they feel valued, happy and well.

    The pillars of health include a nutritious diet, adequate sleep, hydration, fresh air and nature as well as a job role that we love. How many people do you know that are working because they have to and not because they want to? How many people do you know that are working for toxic bosses? How many do you know that are working at something they dislike as the pay is good? Too many of these people end up in my consultation room suffering from different issues, such as back pain, digestive problems, hormone issues, headaches, adrenal fatigue…….. mostly because they are in roles in their working lives where they feel undervalued, exploited and even in some cases abused through managers and leaders who themselves are suffering from the pressures that are fed down through the organisation in pursuit of certain numbers. All this is doing is making people sick, literally.

    Looking at normal business processes, why not go about daily tasks through “active working”, a phrase used in one of the discussions I listened to, by holding meetings outside with your team and actually, walk as you talk? When someone comes into your office for a “chat”, put your coat on and go for an active walk. Stop at some point to breathe in deeply the healing that mother nature has to offer. Stop to listen to the birds singing, running water, to look at the beauty of a single flower, or the amazing cloud formations overhead. Mother nature has a profound effect on our nervous system, slowing down the sympathetic to balance with the parasympathetic nervous system putting both you and your colleague or employee at ease and making it easier to open up to what is bothering them. If nothing per se is bothering them, slowing down the sympathetic nervous system, increases focus and attention, encouraging a productive output to the conversation.

    Meetings held outside that start with deep breathing and tuning into yourself as well as into the surroundings, can have profound effects on performance. Resulting in becoming more aware of their feelings as well as those of others, because they simply stop to tune in.

    During fine weather if the “Office” has an outdoor space how can you encourage people to leave their desks and go out to eat, leaving the Wi-Fi driven environment for at least half an hour to allow the immune system to come off high alert and return to normal.

    How can you use “walking your talk” through active working to develop a healthier work environment and workforce? How can you use this approach to encourage collaboration, co-operation and fun? After all the best tonic for the immune system is a good laugh. How can walking your talk enhance the leadership approach to inspire and create dynamic teamwork through becoming present, focusing on the wellbeing of your team and the overall environment through your awareness both of self and others, and ultimately the way you lead?  

    If you would like some help to Walk your Talk and create a healthier work environment and workforce phone us on +44 (0) 1235 639 430 or book a call!

  • What does death, dying and change have in common?

    I have just finished reading “On Death and Dying” by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross.  Sadly this lady is no longer with us, however the work she did whilst on this planet is so very special in many ways.  Through her medical work she not only created a model for working with the death and dying to help with, what for some is a very difficult time, the acceptance that their journey on planet earth is coming to a end, but also providing the corporate world with a model for handling change (Kubler-Ross Change Curve).  Who would ever put these two things together?

    Whilst this book is not the easiest read, simply because of the subject, it highlights many things which as leaders we could do very well when applying it:

    Communicate Openly

    Holding back information from a loved one about their terminal illness, may on the surface feel the right thing to do.  However, the mere fact that you know means you subconsciously change your behavior, which means your loved one knows they are seriously ill.  As in business keeping the topic “closed”  does not mean those around you do not understand there is something going on.  Be open, don’t leave subordinates guessing.  Try to understand how they feel, what is important to them.   Avoid assuming you know how they will feel and react on hearing the “bad” news.  Communicate openly and make decisions together.   The beginning of coming to terms with something, is firstly knowing about it and what options there are, if any.

    Avoidance Does Not Help Anyone!

    Even though, the topic of dying is difficult, we should avoid burying our heads in the sand in the hope that it will go away, or that something miraculous will happen.  As leaders there are many situations which we would prefer not to deal with, for example handling conflict with others in our team, with our boss, dealing with difficult situations, making team members redundant and so on. These situations tend not to go away, nor does something miraculous happen, other than the situation becoming more urgent, in the very least, but more likely getting worse!  Have the courage to address and inform those involved, and then find the way forward together.  The result, as for the terminally ill is very often a relief as it is now in the open.

    Help Others Prepare for Change

    We all react differently to change.  Change tends to stir negative emotions.  It is quite normal and natural to ask the question – What does this (change) mean to me?  This then drives the questions – How do I feel?  What is stopping me from embracing this change?   Talking these questions through can be very powerful therapy and can help us all, irrelevant of the situation we face, to move on with commitment, and a  level of comfort.  Whilst for the dying, with peace and joy to let go.

    As leaders – How are you helping your subordinates, peers and colleagues go through change and embrace it positively, with commitment, despite any fear and an understanding that change is necessary both for them as well as the business?

    Don’t be Afraid to Let Go and Move On

    It is easy to sit at my lab top and think when the time comes, which it surely will, that I will end this life journey with ease.  Probably not!  The idiom, “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know springs to mind.”   For loved ones knowing that you can let them go with love, light and joy is so important to helping them stop the struggle and to let go.  Talking openly about this will help enormously.  As leaders in businesses,  we also have to have the courage to let go of the comfort zone we have created and move into the unknown for a short period of time whilst things once again find the norm.    Hanging on does not ease the pain.   It just prolongs it!

    Move into 2016 with courage, with passion and with enthusiasm.  Those that are meant to be with you will be with you.

    Best wishes for 2016.  Wishing everyone a fun journey, warmth and a compassionate heart.

  • What is Intuitive Leadership?

    In day-to-day operations when things go wrong and there is a problem to solve, the first place that we all invariably go is to the facts surrounding the situation. Through understanding and analysing those facts, we make a decision.  Are decisions based solely on facts combined with previous experience of a similar situation, or do we inject our intuition at some point?

    WATCH MY VIDEO ON THIS TOPIC!

     

     

    WHAT IS INTUITION?

    Intuition, considered as a neurocognitive model, as either “Deliberative” or “Creative intuition” provides a framework for considering intuition and the  importance in leadership decision making.

    Deliberative intuition – Managerial intuition, problem solving, unconscious constructive deliberation, pattern matching, inferential processing and inferential intuition.

    Creative intuition – Entrepreneurial intuition, radical intuition, experiential non-linear processing, synthesis of unconnected memory fragments, strong emotional (afferent) component, passionate attention, holistic intuition, intuitive insight and classical intuition.

    Most of you will be familiar with the psychometric models for assessing intuition, such as MBTI (Myers Briggs), Rational/Experiential Inventory (REI) and Symbolon – Thinking/Feeling, Intuitive/Concrete.  The mere fact that we try to measure the degree of intuition, indicates that this characteristic has some value and importance in the business world, especially when needing to influence and inspire others as in a leadership role.

    HOW DOES INTUITION SERVE US?

    Research amongst GP’s and Emergency doctors, (Coget & Keller) that explored through interviews the role of initiation, came to the conclusion that intuition is important and a common part of practice in the following areas:

    • A sense that something is wrong – a sense of alarm / sense of reassurance
    • Recognition leading to a quick, non linear diagnosis
    • Insight leading to eureka moments through spontaneous diagnostic realisations and sudden frame shifting
    • Quick assessment – sick or not sick
    • Mismatch – when there is a lack of coherence in the symptoms.

    This research shows that the potential advantages of using intuition appear to be speed, accuracy and confidence. Jean-Francois Coget, who carried out this research on intuition, suggests that there is a “Critical Decision Vortex” and this has analytical, intuitive and emotional components.  Coget further suggests that exclusion of any of the three components risks reducing accuracy and speed.  Nygren et al. 2002, supports the idea that intuitive decision making can be more accurate than analytical decision making.

    Taking the example of a wild animal grazing – his or her intuition is going to warn about lurking danger, thus stimulating the necessary response to find safety.  When that danger has gone, it goes back to peaceful grazing.  Therefore, intuition is not something that is switched on and off, it is a sixth sense that is with us all the time. For example, choosing from two well qualified candidates:

    • For some reason the interviewer is in favour of one rather than the other.  However the reason is not explainable in a logical and rationale manner, but rather having an emotional element.   
    • Another example might be when looking into a problem and for some reason you are driven in a particular direction, which might not add up in terms of the analysis and the facts, but yet for some unconscious reason you are drawn to and make the decision based on that direction.

    INTUITION AND LEADERSHIP

    Harnessing and working with intuition is key to effective leadership.  Simply using our “head” brain all the time does not utilize everything in our tool-box.   It only analyses the facts together with any previous experience, discounting feelings connected with the heart as well as our gut feel.

    Understanding emotional issues through the heart, to ensure we tap into our own feelings as well as the feelings of others who are involved or who might become involved, and adding what our intuition is saying, provides a much broader picture and foundation for sound decision making.  In other words what does our gut say or feel about the person, the situation or the conversation in the present moment and therefore what questions have to be asked around the facts to deepen knowledge and understanding before making the final decision?

    As Coget says “Exclusion of any of the three components risks reducing accuracy and speed.”

     

    References:

    Coget, Jean Francois, Kellar Eugene The Critical Decision Vortex: Lessons From the Emergency Room https://doi.org/10.1177/1056492609357009

    Dorfler, Viktor, Ackermann, Fran Understanding Intuition:  The Case for Two Forms of Intuition. Management Learning 43 (5) 545-564 https://cyberleninka.org/article/n/1049255/viewer

    Nygren, Thomas E., White, Rebecca J. 2002  Assessing Individual Differences in Decision Making Styles: Analytical vs. Intuitive https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/154193120204601204

     

    Rachel ShackletonRachel Shackleton is an entrepreneur who owns and manages Green Key Personal Development and Green Key Health. Working with local and multinational organisations, she is a public speaker and trainer in the spheres of leadership, communication and customer excellence. She ensures sustainable productivity and profitability through healthy self-management and leadership practices, ensuring a focused and successful workforce.

  • What is Self Leadership?

    After many years of working in the corporate world as a manager and leader and as a person passionate about development of others, I have come to the understanding that self leadership is essential to effective leadership.  In other words, if you can not lead and take responsibility for yourself  as a totality, how can you lead others?

    What is involved in self leadership?  Self leadership is taking responsibility for yourself, for your family and other responsibilities that you have “signed up to”.  This process begins with your inner core.  Inner core – who you truly are – your values around family, health, work, eating , leisure sport……, and the list goes on. 

    Self leadership is about what makes you comfortable with who you are – your confidence around your knowledge, your ability to share ideas, opinions, disagree with others with assertion, being creative, having the force of your convictions and so on.  However, for me self leadership is also about how comfortable you feel within your body and mind?  And how demanding you are of your body and mind?

    Having goals and direction in life and being in touch with why you are here and having the drive to follow that path, means having respect for the vehicle that carries this programming.  Would you feed your car with a McDonalds and Coke?  What a stupid question I hear you saying followed closely by the answer -“Of course not”!  Why then do you expect you will perform well on the same diet?  Peak performance includes body and mind.  The two are inextricably linked.  A healthy body links to a healthy mind which is able to assess information, evaluate situations, respond quickly under pressure, absorb information, and cope reasonably with crises as and when they occur without causing a huge cortisol rush and constant drain on your adrenals.

    Self leadership for me means listening to your body and responding to how it feels and what it needs in order to keep it on peak performance.  In a nutshell – it is about balance in your chosen profession or work with eating a healthy diet, making sure that movement is in your daily schedule, whether that is swimming, running, walking, doing pilates or anything else, but simply moving, and having adequate quality sleep.  In addition it means recognising and following your life’s purpose, having the courage to follow that path that keeps nagging, but we don’t do due to some reason, some trap or excuse that holds us back.  Is that trap money, time, lack of something, inability, fear or something else?  In fact do you realise that you are trapped?  Zhang Xin (Chinese billionaire business magnate) said “The only thing that limits us is ourselves”.

    What is limiting you from becoming what you want to be?

  • What is the impact of morale on productivity?

    I have been working with a hotel client who has been undergoing a change in ownership from one owner to another.  Any kind of management buyout, transfer of ownership, or change of direction within an organization is guaranteed to create unease amongst the management and staff.   Fear of the unknown is always daunting irrelevant of how vital our position might be or how many times we have been through similar situations.

    Major change automatically, whether consciously or not, takes an individual out of their comfort zone and into the potential sphere of the unknown, with the ultimate impact of slowing down work ethic and productivity through comments such as “The new owners may not like it this way – lets wait.”  “The new owners will probably change this so no point in starting.”  “Why start something now when a new General Manager is coming in soon and he will for sure want something different?” And so on.  Sounds familiar?  This slowing down has its effect on the business through less productivity, less desire to sort out customer problems and more “private chats” in the corridor.  The overall effect usually sees a drop in staff morale

    My client supported the idea of a one day ‘Change Management” programme with elements of effective communication, as the foundation to sharing information – concerns, worries, problems etc   The main goals of the workshops were to:

    • Realize the new owners expect a change in service offered to guests
    • Feel excited and empowered to make those changes
    • Be motivated to want to stay with the new owner

    These goals, whilst appearing unambitious revealed an enormous amount of information about how personnel were feeling, giving them an opportunity to share in a non-threatening environment. Additionally, providing an understanding of where the real problems lay – lack of uniform, poor canteen food, unfair scheduling, the difference between how casual labour are treated against full time staff, lack of and poor communication throughout the operation, lack of working equipment, thus driving the need to hide their own equipment to avoid being embarrassed when serving the guest, to identify a few.

    What was the impact of all these points on the overall morale of the personnel and therefore the direct correlation in how they were communicating with and serving guests and clients?  Knowing you are starting the day looking worn out, with only eight hours between finishing one shift and starting the next.  A uniform that is no longer smart and fresh looking because you only have one, and on this particular day, had no time to wash and dry it before the new shift.  These examples have great impact on internal confidence and morale even before considering the lack of operating equipment needed to serve all customers in the manner that is expected and other issues such as scheduling, communication and taking responsibility.

    As managers and leaders, how can we ask “more” of team members under these circumstances?  Clearly, we cannot.  Addressing these issues and many more has provided a foundation to build trust and from this to start to excite and inspire individuals to believe in what they are doing and to work together to achieve levels of excellence expected from each and everyone in the team.

  • Where is the Blue Ocean Strategy to “Beat COVID”?

    The current national and international lockdown is impacting individuals in ways that may not yet be obvious. Most organisations with the exception of those that are classed as “essential” are either working from home or closed, such as the hospitality sector including hotels, pubs, clubs, restaurants and sports centres as well as many small businesses that are either temporarily or permanently closed as their cash flow could not stand the “forced” closures.

    Whilst Covid19 has taken the world by storm and led leaders in governments to make extreme decisions by closing the economy to protect the vulnerable, what is the actual impact on individual health due to fear, anxiety and lack of social contact?  Is this being measured and is there a plan to address this?

    It is easy to be critical of our leaders for taking decisions that most leaders will never have to face, but assuming that these decisions to close economies are correct, where is the plan to manage the situation, and more importantly deal with the fallout from anxiety caused by firstly the fear of getting the deadly virus and secondly fear of the unknown due to potential redundancy, continued furlough, health of loved ones and so on that is increasing the number of people suffering from mental ill health on a daily basis?  How come this has not been addressed by our governments?  Are our leaders really blind to this?

    WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF FEAR ON A PERSON AND ON SOCIETY?

    During the last year, certainly in the UK we have been told to stay home to protect the vulnerable and our NHS (national health service) therefore, to avoid mixing and socialising, to not visit family members and to keep grandchildren away from their grandparents so that they do not pass on the virus, consequently protecting them. Whilst this is protecting them from Covid, could it be possible that we are negatively affecting both the grandchildren and the grandparents and possibly “killing” them with separation and isolation?

    The definition of fear according to the Cambridge dictionary is “an unpleasant emotion or thought that you have when you are frightened or worried by something dangerous, painful or bad, that is happening or might happen.”

    Fear is the underlying issue that stops us from making change, from taking risk and most importantly from “hearing and seeing” what it is we need to see and hear.  It drives behaviour that we would not normally exhibit when we use our logic and think clearly using our left-brain function of analysis, calculation and logic. Infact fear paralyses the ability to think and therefore those being led through a fear situation often look to their leader/s to provide direction, surety and calm in the way forward.  This opens the door for an autocratic leadership approach during a crisis.  Followers are told what to do, and in most cases follow blindly during the time of uncertainty and chaos.

    Where is the blue ocean strategy to "beat covid"?As the chosen style of leadership has so far been the autocratic style surely it is time to address how we are to move forward in order to generate confidence and trust in both our leaders and the future?  As we have been under the Covid threat for almost a year now, and probably more than a year as there are reports of people suffering with Covid type symptoms in December of 2019, is it not time to pull together a plan of action to:

    1. Balance the Covid threat with everyday life enabling businesses to get on with business and for people to live and go about their business “normally”?
    2. Restore the economy from the devastation the pandemic has caused?
    3. Deal with the fallout from the fear that has led to the massive increase in mental ill health, anxiety and depressive disorders in all ages within our societies?
    4. Bring families together to support each other as would normally be the case in a crisis, rather than dividing them creating additional fear and insecurity, which in turn weakens the immune system?

    Surely leadership is not only about fighting fires, but putting in a plan to get everyone out of the fire, even in an unknown situation?  It is clear now that the current government adviser group are not coming up with answers to address most of these issues, simply hanging their hat on a vaccine that even they admit does not stop transmission of the virus nor does it make you immune against the virus. Therefore surely it makes sense to invite and listen to other expert bodies of people who are not within the usual adviser group to get some different perspectives and inputs on how to move forward out of this situation?

    This brings to mind the book, “Blue Ocean Strategy” by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne published in 2005 which is primarily the study of Cirque de Soleil and several other organisations including Starbucks and North West Airlines and how they created new market space. Instead of competing in a red ocean, they created their own blue ocean of tranquillity and success and in so doing appealing to a new market, leaving competitors behind.   We have been in the Covid red ocean for too long, competing for who supplies who with what to fight the fire and “beat Covid”.  Where is the strategy to leave this red ocean and move on into calm and normality, whatever that might look like?

    Remember, “if you do what you always did, you will get what you always got”?  Cirque de Soleil came out of the red ocean it was in by analysing what others were doing, taking the best from that and creating something completely different, thus creating a market audience so that years later they are still very successful.

    When can we expect to see a Blue Ocean Strategy that our leaders use to lead us into calmer and successful waters?

     

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

     

    References:

    Blue Ocean Strategy, W. Chan Kim, Renee Mauborgne, published 2005, Harvard Business School Press

    NHS

  • Where is the Honesty in Modern Leadership?

    Watching and listening to the various world leaders, no less my own, if “Boris” can be referred to as that, how important is it to work and lead your nation, your organisation, your department and most of all yourself with honesty and integrity?

    It was several days ago that “Boris” was photographed briefing his cabinet on the upcoming new and altered Covid rules which are to be rolled out to the nation.  There they all were sitting closely together around a table supposedly listening intently to what was being said.  Not a mask in sight.  Does that matter when the rules have been relaxed and masks are no longer compulsory?  Actually not, except for the fact that Boris was saying that masks in confined spaces, such as public transport, shops and offices are to be worn.  Is this a case of “Do as I say and not as I do”?

    This subtlety was not missed by our over eager press, and the health minister was later interviewed on the BBC about the message the photograph and particular incident was imparting to the general public, who incidentally, pay government representatives their wages, one would reasonably assume in return for doing their jobs.  In answer to the question from the interviewer, our health minister explained it as “The prime minister did say masks are to be worn if you are in confined spaces with strangers!”  Did we all miss something? Has the Corona virus suddenly found the ability to know who are strangers and who are not?

    Where is the Honesty in Modern Leadership?Where this is going, I have no idea.  However irrelevant of whether you like the current party’s politics or not, surely speaking the truth and working through honesty and integrity is vital to developing trust in those who follow you, not only in your leadership, but also in your goals, policies and direction?  That trust leads to a commitment to follow and implement recommended actions through a clear understanding of the reasoning behind what is being asked.  When there is no trust, it leads to the leadership style becoming more authoritarian and dictatorial in nature.  Perhaps this is the reason why governments have begun to micro-manage people through policies and processes around how to live our lives?

    In the example shown by “Boris”, leadership has drifted a long way from being honest with the general public.  In other words the people he leads. It seems that the leadership characteristic of being trustworthy is unimportant.  The fact that our prime minister is not referred to as Prime minister, Boris Johnson, or in the very least Mr Johnson, but simply “Boris” is reflective of the respect he has on the one hand earned and on the other is given by all he leads, meets and has dealings with. Even President Biden when talking about the new nuclear submarine deal referred to him as “Boris” and the Prime Minister of Australia as Prime Minister Morrison and not “Scott”.

    In an article featured in the IHCAN magazine (Integrated Healthcare and Applied Nutrition, September 2021) written by Ronald Bailey, the Science Correspondent for Reason and the author of several books, I was appalled to read the headlines “Zombie trials” and outright fraud: Why medical research is mostly fake news.  It further read “In a blistering editorial, former editor of the medical journal the BMJ, Dr Richard Smith has asked whether it’s time to assume that health research is fraudulent until proven otherwise.”  Smith continues, “We have now reached a point where those doing systematic reviews must start by assuming that a study is fraudulent until they can have some evidence to the contrary.”

    In his BMJ editorial work, Smith cites the work of Barbara K. Redman, author of Research Misconduct Policy in Biomedicine: “Beyond the Bad-Apple Approach.” Redman insists that the problem is not a problem of bad apples, but bad barrels, if not rotten forests or orchards.”  Redman points out that research misconduct is a systems problem as the system provides incentives to publish fraudulent research and does not have adequate regulatory processes.  She further explains that the research publication system is built on trust and peer review and is not designed to detect fraud. In other words, it is a system built on trust to be professional, and further science through this attitude and approach.  Apparently, journals, publishers, funders and research institutions have little incentive to check for fraud and a big disincentive against damaging their reputations by retracting studies.  This last point is staggering.  Surely, earning a reputation of being a fraudster and having your reputation desecrated is even worse?

    One of the greatest leaders of all time, Nelson Mandela once said “A bright future beckons. The onus is on us through hard work, honesty and integrity to reach for the stars.”

    Science is fundamental and affects so many aspects of our lives, starting with the obvious Corona Sars – Cov2 virus. If we can no longer believe our scientists as well as our world leaders, where does that lead us and where does that leave us?

     
    References

    Bailey, Ronald. (2021). Zombie Trials and outright fraud: why medical research is mostly fake news. IHCAN The practice and science of natural medicine, September, 42-42.
     
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  • Working from Home? Distracted & Struggling with Motivation?

    The present lockdown experienced by the majority working from home has lost its sex-appeal.  The novelty of being at home, and often working in a onesie or your pyjamas, no longer has the initial draw and excitement of going back to the inner child.  Things have become “business as usual” in the home setting with all the added distractions of working from home.

    Most of us are now in the second phase, of trying to motivate ourselves to work through our to-do lists, meet deadlines and engage in the work environment fully motivated and inspired to achieve, to close projects, search clients, close deals, follow up, and meet on-line as the “buzz” of colleagues going about the same, is simply not there.

    Talking to a colleague or boss on-line with the family photograph, wardrobe or favourite plant in the background simply does not cut it!  The human smell has gone, the human touch is distant and the to-do list competes with the distraction of whatever is happening within the family, which friend is calling, in the kitchen, on the patio or simply outside.

    In a recent training, conducted over an interactive business platform similar to Skype, designed to assist with the transfer to working and managing people from home, raised many issues.  The three top issues raised were:

    • How to create a new structure and working regime within a confined space?
    • How to maintain the level of support and contact with team members with a limited toolbox?
    • How to motivate and inspire myself to perform effectively and productivity without the human contact and “touch” of peers and subordinates.

    In the first module we primarily addressed the work structure and regime by sharing ideas and understanding of what colleagues are doing to protect their performance and stay motivated.  It sounds so simple, however when you live in a 2-3 room apartment and there are two of you competing for space, or you are the only one, emotions interfere prying on feelings of lack of security, exhaustion through constant screen time, lack of support in terms of humour, someone to have a coffee with and the importance of recognition when you pass by one of your subordinates to simply say “Hi”.

    Working from homeWHAT ARE THE EIGHT TOP TIPS TO MANAGE DISTRACTIONS, MOTIVATE AND INSPIRE YOURSELF?

    1. Dress for work – start your day as you would normally if you were going to the office. Get out of your pyjamas and go through the routine of preparing yourself for work. In doing this you shift your attitude to a work attitude.Working from home certainly is not new, but with Coronavirus pulling us all into lock down, it has become our new normal. Whether that is temporary or not, here are eight tips to manage distractions, motivate and inspire while working from home.
    2. Use the normal daily routine to your favour.  Avoid trying to search for that perfect variant. Likely it does not exist.  Get up at the “normal” time, eat breakfast, prepare your lunch that you would normally take with you to the office.  Keep it to eat later. Schedule in breaks in accordance with what is on your to-do list and enjoy a virtual coffee break or lunch with a colleague. Close the working day at the scheduled time, informing colleagues that you are finished for the day with a message on the screen.
    3. Educate international colleagues who are on a different time zone that just because you are working from home does not mean you are available 24/7.  Set the parameters and inform them.  There are always exceptions to this rule when there is a crisis of some kind, as there would be if you were working from the office.
    4. Stay in contact – don’t wait for a work-related question to check in with your colleagues and subordinates.  Check in with them to “see” how they are feeling, and to share human contact.  If you feel down and distracted, call someone that you know always gives you a boost, and take 10 minutes to share issues outside of work.  Doing this helps to alleviate the “I’m on my own feeling” and pick up your spirits to return to whatever you were working on.
    5. Recognise and be open with how you are feeling – acknowledge your feelings and work with them through being kind to yourself.  Use techniques such as deep breathing, tuning into your senses for 5-10 minutes, stretching and loosening up, away from your work-space, or try meditating.  It is quite normal to feel insecure, angry and fearful.  However, these emotions when suppressed and buried only undermine your confidence taking away your self-empowerment.
    6. Use any distraction to tune into your senses.  Instead of fighting it, flow with it.  Follow the distraction for a few minutes through sight or hearing.  Be truly present to it. When the distraction naturally comes to an end, return to your work.  You will find that by being mindful and flowing with the distraction that you are now able to focus once again.
    7. Trust yourself and trust others. Systems to a certain extent are able to track productivity, but at the end of the day this is about building relations and not vica- versa.  Having trust that colleagues and subordinates are doing their tasks is important both for mind and body.  If you have agreed with your subordinates on what they are to do, trust that they will do it, being open for questions and nurturing them when they are having an off-day.
    8. Cut subordinates, peers and yourself some slack. The most important aspect of being human, has been removed.  Human beings are social animals. The social recognition given and received from others is vital to our survival.  It is normal and natural to miss that, leaving our minds and ultimately our bodies to fill the gap.

     

    To learn how we can help you and your organisation, email Rachel directly at rachel@greenkeypersonaldevelopment.com

     

    Rachel ShackletonRachel Shackleton is an entrepreneur who owns and manages Green Key Personal Development and Green Key Health. Working with local and multinational organisations, she is a public speaker and trainer in the spheres of leadership, communication and customer excellence. She ensures sustainable productivity and profitability through healthy self-management and leadership practices, ensuring a focused and successful workforce.