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Tag: Leadership

  • Is your job making you sick? The impact of fear on health

    In a recent blog I wrote about the impact of a toxic job. The blog covered typical symptoms that the body expresses when subjected to a constant level of “uncontrollable” stress. What I didn’t talk about is why these symptoms appear and the damage that might be occurring in the body as a result of constantly elevated stress levels, and the impact of fear on health. So is your job making you sick?

    Too many people are trapped in toxic jobs. Jeffrey Pfeffer, an organizational behaviour professor at Stanford wrote in his book  “Dying for a Paycheck,”  (March 2018). Research has found that poor management in U.S. companies accounted for up to 8 percent of annual health costs and was associated with 120,000 excess deaths every year. Are employers really asking employees to put up with poor management and a toxic work environment at the cost of their health?

    Comparing humans to a herd of wild zebra, when a lion or pack of lions appear they go on to high alert in response to the sensed and perceived danger. This means that the sympathetic nervous system prepares the body to run. Most zebras would not take on a fight with a lion! As the lion takes chase the zebra spring into action and literally run for their lives. One of two things will happen, either the lion gets tired and gives up or she grabs a zebra and the chase is over. The rest of the pack now return to grazing peacefully because the danger has gone. This is how the human sympathetic nervous system is designed – to switch on when there is perceived danger and off when the danger goes away.

    What happens when the perceived danger doesn’t go away?

    The stress response causes the body to release the main hormones adrenaline and cortisol which are the “fight or flight” hormones. Constantly being in the fight or flight mode creates excess cortisol circulating the body which can lead to a build-up of visceral fat especially in the mid-section around the vital organs. Visceral fat is different from sub-cutaneous fat that lies just below the skin. Visceral fat has been linked to several serious medical conditions such as high cholesterol, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Researchers suspect that visceral fat causes inflammation in body tissues and organs potentially narrowing blood vessels, which in turn increases blood pressure. Visceral fat is much more difficult to reduce once in situ and may lead to insulin resistance which means that sugar cannot enter muscle or fat cells causing serious complications, type 2 diabetes being one.

    Stress triggers a process that involves three key glands – the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland and the adrenal glands. This system is known as the HPA axis. When the brain perceives stress it signals to the hypothalamus to release corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF) which in turn signals to the pituitary gland to release adenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), which in turn stimulates cortisol release from the adrenal glands to prepare the fight or flight reaction by sending blood to the muscles and heightening the senses to deal with the perceived danger.

    The fight and flight response is supposed to be a short term response and once the danger has passed the body goes back to “normal” mode, as with the herd of zebras. Let’s face it we all have times at work when we feel stressed, which in itself is not a problem as it stretches us to rise to a challenge. When you are stressed for too long or too often the body loses sensitivity to cortisol. In panic the hypothalamus and the pituitary keep telling the adrenals to release cortisol and adrenaline which they do until they are literally exhausted leaving you with a constant supply of cortisol floating around your blood stream that is dumped into visceral fat.  Your highly intelligent body tries to make the best of a bad situation by achieving a “sort of balance” to get by each day by altering brain chemistry and even behaviour. This process is called allostasis and can often lead to a pre-disease state.

    “So what?” A good question

    When in a heightened state all the time you are burning blood sugar which results in your body demanding energy to keep going. Enter some of the symptoms of stress-overload or chronic stress – poor focus, inability to think on your feet, lack of energy and moodiness. Typical things that you might crave are food and drinks that will give you a quick energy boost – caffeine-based drinks and coffee, all stimulants that increase heart rate and dump sugar straight into the blood stream. Chocolate and foods made with simple carbohydrates – wheat-based foods – doughnuts, cakes, pastries, pasta dishes etc. The sugar in these foods is very accessible and quickly absorbed by the system to provide that desperately needed energy boost. Which it does, but at what cost?

    Every time you go around this loop of seeking and eating sugary foods that provide the energy, the energy “high” gets lower and the energy “low” gets lower, ultimately needing more and more to receive less and less response. The slippery slope to burn out and chronic stress. This may in turn result in insulin resistance in the cells of your body, which means that sugar cannot enter muscle or fat cells causing serious complications.

    This is a double whammy that impacts the brain (depression, anxiety, brain fog, moodiness…..) as well as reducing the effectiveness of your immune health. Depending on where you dump stress in your body it might also cause respiration, gastrointestinal disorders (IBS, ulcers…) adverse skin conditions (eczema, random skin rashes) as well as general aches and pains.

    Breaking the Cycle

    As a Leader:

    • Address potential insecurities – Sometimes insecurities are not coming from within the department or organisation, but are fueled by external sources – Covid, rising inflation, market changes, financial issues etc.  Take time to open up conversations for your employees who might be too fearful to ask the question or raise their worries and concerns.
    • Listen to your employees – If they are providing feedback about you or the way in which the department is functioning, whether positive or otherwise, listen. Take it as positive and constructive, understand what is relevant and address it. Ask for updates on the changes
    • Give regular positive feedback – Positive feedback is one of the most important tools you have in your management toolbox. Be sure to give to all your employees regular, positive feedback and make negative feedback constructive to motivate the person to change
    • Address conflict in the team – Avoid pushing conflict under the carpet. Bring it out into the open with relevant parties and get commitment to change. Conflict in the workplace causes those not involved to either discuss it in the corridor, thus becoming involved and adding fuel to the fire, or to withdraw. Both strategies are unhelpful in maintaining a productive environment and healthy teamwork
    • Dare to ask employees how they are doing – Asking this question will build trust and an open environment to discuss things that might be causing difficulty and therefore unnecessary stress. When asking this question listen to the answer! Not listening may make the matter worse
    • Follow up – Show your interest in your employees by following up on conversations and changes as a result of those conversations. This shows respect to your employees and shows that you really care.

    As an Employee:

    • Approach your boss – Go straight to the horse’s mouth and lead an open conversation about how you are feeling and why. Calling your boss “toxic” certainly will not win you any brownie points but, pointing out that his or her leadership approach is inappropriate (be constructive and specific). Encourage him or her to change so that you can be at your best and most productive. This might just help your boss change. If it doesn’t you know where you stand! If you have tried to solve the issue with your direct boss, perhaps HR as well, and nothing has changed you need to fix the underlying problem, not continue to deal with the symptoms in the hope that something will change.
    • Identify triggers – It is not always possible to avoid triggers of stress. However, taking note of specific triggers can help you develop coping and management strategies, which may involve reducing exposure
    • Reframe your negative thinking – One of the principles of cognitive behavioural therapy, is that how you think can change how you feel. Perhaps changing jobs is not an option for you. Therefore, reframing the situation might just work. Using mindfulness to manage unhelpful churning thoughts about how a recent conversation went, what you should have said in a particular situation, instead of what you did say, or what a colleague said to you, can be very useful in stopping these unhelpful thoughts that create dissatisfaction and drain energy
    • Create personal boundaries – Create boundaries for how many hours you work each day. Don’t be overly pedantic about this in being sure to observe the exact start and finish times, but generally stay within the parameters. Take breaks for lunch and get away from your work-station, computer or regular place of actual work, so that you can enjoy your break without interruption. Educate others around your boundaries so that they too can organise themselves
    • Be clear on goals – Clarify anything that is not clear before embarking on the task. Fumbling through tasks that are not clear in the hope that you might get it right uses up much unnecessary energy by generating feelings of lack of confidence and circulating self-talk.  Running round trying to find information from others who are themselves not clear on what they are responsible for and therefore don’t have what you need is both unproductive and stressful
    • Find another job – On recognising that you are in the “wrong” job for you, see these things as a warning that you need to find a new job that better suits your values and needs. Long hours, absence of autonomy, uncertain scheduling, poor management and economic insecurity of a job are all factors that contribute to a toxic workplace environment that needs leaving behind, not just coping with
    • Speak to friends and family – They can provide emotional support and the motivation to take action.

    In summary – a fearful work environment that is causing employees to be overly stressed can be caused by many factors. Living with it is not necessary and therefore can be addressed one way or another with relevant parties. If you are a manager and leader, have close contact with your employees to know what aspects of the job might be causing too much stress and loss of productivity and then proactively do something about it before complaining and unhappiness contribute to making a toxic work environment and ultimately a loss of well-trained and hard-working personnel.

     

    References:

    https://www.visiblebody.com/blog/the-endocrine-system-the-adrenal-glands-and-the-stress-response

    https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323324#health-effects

    The Clinicians Handbook of Natural Medicine, Joseph E. Pizzorno ND, Michael T. Murray ND, Herb Joiner-Bey ND

     

     

  • Is Your Office Ready to Accept Clients and Team Members?

    I recently went into the City of London for a business meeting. The meeting was held on the client’s premises, the same premises I have visited on numerous occasions prior to the onset of SARS-Cov2 and the implications of lockdown.

    On entering the office building I was taken aback when I was greeted by an x-ray machine just on the inside of the main entrance glass doors. Walking on auto pilot, I didn’t realise it was there until faced by several masked gentlemen who requested to know where I was going. For a very short moment, I honestly thought I had auto-piloted myself into the wrong building. Infact it was the right building, just that a highly sensitive company had moved into the same office block hence the x-ray machine for their visitors. With a sigh of relief, I took the lift to where I was going and exited on the appropriate floor. Going through the doors I was greeted by a dark reception, the absence of a happy, smiling receptionist, no smell of coffee being brewed and no fresh flowers. There were boxes stacked up on the floor that were clearly visible to visitors. Strange, is this company moving office or closing down, I thought to myself?

    While waiting, through further observation, it seemed that the place hadn’t been dusted for some time, the TV was not on and the newspaper on the table was dated 8th  December 2021. Is that the last time anyone was here? After what seemed an age of sitting in the dark, the person I was meeting appeared. He didn’t seem to notice the absence of light, absence of the receptionist or the absent usual pleasant smell of fresh coffee. I guess we were both lucky that the heating was on!

    Our meeting proceeded with my almost immediate question – “Are you moving office?” The quizzical response said it all “Why do you ask?” With the invitation I shared my observations. He explained that most people were not back yet to working in the office, but that planning was underway to make the transition for those that want to return. Our meeting continued and afterwards as it was close to the end of the working day, we left together.

    Why do I raise this as a point of interest and importance?

    As this company is one of my clients, I felt it would be remiss of me not to highlight the impression of the lack of “warmth” when entering the reception and how it impacted my perception, and what effect that might have on any future relations, especially if I was a client. Probably in all fairness it started with the x-ray machine heightening my awareness from that point on.

    All the factors described when combined gave me the impression that the company is either closing down or moving office. If I had been a potential client, I might have decided then and there that this company is not stable and therefore would not engage with the services on offer. Worst case scenario that I would actually leave before arrival of the person I am meeting with.

    Most of us are still experiencing nervousness about meeting others and for many, going back to the office is a big step. Consequently, the main focus appears to be on the workforce where and how they would like to work, contracts that support the chosen approach and in doing this keeping the morale high to ensure good continuous service to clients, maintain productivity and ensure consistent flow of revenue.

    According to the conversation with my client this was exactly what was happening in their company and because of this focus, the thought that clients might come to the office had not entered into the discussion, therefore planning to meet and greet appropriately. Sounds strange, but easy to make this mistake, when your trusted receptionist does not want to come back to working in the office combined with the fact that most of us have not seen a client or colleague in person for approximately two years!

    This reminds me of pre-opening processes for the many hotels I was privileged to plan and conduct pre-opening training to support the overall complex process of building, fitting out, stocking and opening a new or newly renovated hotel. Remembering all the things that are taken for granted and that are easily overlooked if no one has it in their sights or Peter thinks that Paul is responsible and Paul thinks that Sara will take care of it when in the end, no one does.

    Perhaps broader internal communication amongst colleagues and external communication with customers is needed at this time? This would be further supported by a simple checklist of actions (at the risk of sounding old!) to ensure the image you want to present not only to external, but internal customers with nominated responsible persons, is agreed.

    Reducing anxiety and creating that feeling of being welcome is as important for team members at this time as it is for customers and clients. Taking a few moments to switch the lights on, start the coffee machine, strategically place some fresh flowers and being there to greet returning colleagues and customers goes a long way to creating a pleasant, calm atmosphere and lasting positive impression.

     

     

  • Leaders are Like Gardeners

    We think about and refer to leaders in many ways – good, bad, poor indifferent, charismatic, dynamic, legendary, but have you ever thought that leaders are like gardeners? Let me explain.

    What or who is a gardener – someone who prepares the earth, plants seeds, nurtures those seeds as they grow to become young tender seedlings and later fully grown plants that bear fruit, whether berries, kale, courgettes, apples, pears or flowers. The goal is always to create the right environment to help the plant, whatever it is, grow and flourish. Plants like people are individual and some will bear fruit, some will have an off year, because the environment is not right, while others will simply keep on growing and producing so long as the environment is right and they have plenty of food. You can probably now see where I am going with this and why we can refer to leaders as gardeners.

    As with gardeners there are good ones and not so good ones. Leaders are no different.

    An effective leader will create the right environment for each person to grow and flourish being mindful that the overall environment is the same for everyone whether experienced or inexperienced. Into that environment they plant the seeds, nurture them, again being mindful that some need more nurturing in order to help them establish themselves within the environment and to grow. Nurturing with compassion, care and attention, support and direction that is just right for each person. As a gardener you would not put fresh horse manure on your roses, why? It is too strong and would kill the plant. On the contrary, put on to a more hardy plant such as an apple tree that manure would probably be perfect. I’m not suggesting for one minute that horse manure is a good way of helping employees grow, but what I am suggesting is that people are different and need an approach that is suitable and brings out the best in them. Leaders need to understand that each employee requires an individual approach to become established and then with the correct nurturing are able to flourish and grow.

    When flowers start to open and blossom, the gardener probably stands back and admires his or her work, remaining attentive to any changes in the plant or the environment and reacting appropriately to that. When winter comes, protecting the plant is a priority to help it survive? Is this not the same for people? Sometimes winter appears in the form of curve balls that life throws at us causing us to temporally lose our way. An effective leader, because they care, will notice the change and provide the support and guidance to that employee helping them weather the cold, a time when they are at their most vulnerable.

    Gardeners know that the roots, make the fruits and if not spending enough time and appropriate effort into establishing those roots, the plant will not survive. It is the same with leadership. Expecting a new member of the team to thrive from the first day, without appropriate “planting”, even if an experienced person is farcical. Just think back to your first day in a different organisation. How comfortable were you? Did you end the first day feeling nervous, but positive that you had made the right choice of company, or did your heart sink with dread because you realised that you had made a grave mistake and that this was not what you expected. Had you known you would not have taken the job?

    The first three months of any new job is difficult for most of us as we try to find our way around the building, the people and who does what, the job itself and the challenges that this creates as well as finding someone who could be a “good” person to get to know. At this time the role of any leader is to ensure this seed, the employee is planted in fertile soil and that he/she will grow to be strong and healthy.

    It is estimated that loss of new recruits within the first three months of employment in UK companies is approximately 5%. Can you imagine as a gardener losing 5% of your crop, garden or allotment during the planting and establishing period? Losing people is much more costly in recruitment costs, training costs (if there was any), hours spent on administration to onboard each person etc.

    Is it time that your leaders become gardeners and put all their focus into creating the right environment, a fertile ground, tending each seed carefully while they establish and grow stronger and then providing the right nourishment to watch each seed grow into a strong plant that flourishes and bears fruit. That “fruit” being consistency, productivity, achievement of goals and ultimately profitability.

    According to a CIPD report, “A good retention rate range is 90 percent or higher. Industries with the highest retention rates include government, finance, insurance, and education, while the lowest rates can be seen in the hotel, retail, and food industries.” This would include the first three months of employment. In reality the churn rate according to a CIPD report is approximately 35%. This cannot solely be blamed on poor leadership, nevertheless leaders and managers have a huge influence on how long someone stays in their job. Below is the breakdown from a recent study conducted by the CIPD on churn rates in 2022. As seen here the first three months is critical, even extending up to six months with the potential of losing 10.5% of newly recruited talent within the first six months.

    https://community.cipd.co.uk/cipd-blogs/b/cipd_voice_on/posts/why-staff-turnover-data-matters

    What gardener would be happy with the loss of 10.5% of the potential crop at the 3-6 month point? Probably no gardener, not only because of losing the crop, but because unless you are planting and growing in a greenhouse, in the UK you have to wait another six months before being able to plant again, losing the crop for that year. A question springs to mind – How long does it take to recruit a new person into the now vacant position?

    The answer lies in the position you are recruiting for, the level of skill needed and how abundant these skills and talents are in the marketplace. Surely it is common sense to encourage your leaders to be gardeners so that the loss of new talent joining your organisation is minimal.

    For more information on Leadership training with Green Key Personal Development, book a call here.

     

  • Leadership – Can You Stomach It?

    “As with stomachs, we should pity minds that do not eat.”

    ― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

    It is my gut feeling that this is the right time to address the topic of digestion, the stomach and the gut and how they relate to leadership.

    The saying in the English language “I can’t stomach it”, can refer to several things:  It can mean that you cannot eat a particular thing because of the texture, flavour, consistency, taste or smell which you find revolting, and consequently “cannot stomach”.

    It can also refer to a person “I can’t stomach him or her.”  Meaning that you cannot bear to be around a particular person. This might also refer to an activity, TV programme, event or food that the person using the phrase has experience of and which leads to such a violent response such as “I cannot stomach that programme.” Or I can’t stomach eating x.” 

    WATCH MY VIDEO HERE:

     

     

    WHERE DID THIS SAYING COME FROM?

    Leadership and digestionAfter extensive search in Google, I have sadly been unable to find the origin of this descriptive and physically felt phrase.  What I mean by this is that you can feel the reaction that your stomach might have to a particular person, issue, activity or foodWhere does the expression, “I can’t stomach him/her” come from? How linked are our emotions and digestion? when you put yourself in through thought only into that situation.

    The digestive system is highly intelligent and if we put something into our mouths that is going to cause a major physical reaction, the system already starts to reject it through reflux and vomiting before it has gone too far, limiting any physical damage.  This leads on nicely to the following saying that is also stomach or gut related:

    “WHY DO I BRING THIS UP?”

    Another saying related to the digestive system.  Usually when we use this term it is pre-empted with something like “I am sorry for bringing this up.”  Or “I would like to bring x up as it is……….”   We try to compensate or balance the potential emotional reaction we think the topic in question is going to stir up in terms of thoughts and emotions that have been hidden, buried or pushed aside in the hope that they might go away.   Lacking the courage or resilience to deal with a particular issue, leads us to “hide” it in order to avoid any scrutiny, not to mention “out of sight, out of mind”.  Perhaps the subject is taboo for some reason or buried as those involved do not want to deal with the consequences or reactions of raising the topic with all relevant parties.

    As managers and leaders it is important that we are able to address situations and people related issues that we find very difficult, perhaps because of those involved, fear of the consequences when “bringing it up” or maybe even the fear of rejection.  The stomach is the part of our anatomy that “digests new ideas and experiences that we have.”  It processes all issues connected with the mind and the emotions – personal power and sense of self.  When there are stomach problems, if we are in touch with our own intuition and feelings it usually means that we don’t know how to assimilate the new experience – we are afraid.  “What or who can’t you stomach?”

    THE PRINCIPLES OF LEADERSHIP

    One of the key principles of leadership is the courage to do and say what needs to be said through open, direct and clear communication to address issues that have been pushed under the carpet, and consequently those involved are not willing to deal with or alternatively hope the situation is not common knowledge.  It is not relevant whether we like a person or not.  It is about knowing the vision of why we exist as a team, department and company as well as knowing and living the values that guide decisions and actions.  Therefore, when for some reason a team member/s have deviated and is/are now under-performing, that we have the courage to follow our gut and address the situation and person/s openly.

    Constructive, open, fair, balanced and clear communication is necessary to help others firstly to recognise that their performance is suffering, to understand why it is below requirements, and then to find their own solution to rectify it.  This openness might be a “hard pill to swallow”.  Knowing the truth can sometimes hurt, however it is the truth that once swallowed leads to personal growth and development, not only of the employee, but the leader also.

    Interestingly, the throat centre (chakra) processes all issues of communication and expression, as well as trust, truth and true expression of who we are, our authenticity.  The throat connected to the mouth and feeding into the stomach is part of the digestive system.

    Knowing this fact as a leader can be useful to remind us that given the correct “food”, cooked in the correct manner might be difficult for the other person to accept, but when they do it leads to learning for all involved through open expression, one of the most important aspects of dynamic leadership.

    In conclusion, our digestion has a lot to do with effective leadership, not weakening a message, but structuring it in a way that makes it an acceptable “pill to swallow”, thus leading to a positive change in performance.   It is my gut feeling that by bringing up this parallel between the digestive system and leadership, even though for some it might raise issues that are difficult to overcome or to stomach, can only result in a healthy digestive system, working environment, and relationships.

    Bon appetite!

     

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

     

    References:  You Can Heal Your Life,  Louise L. Hay

    Spiritual Healing, Jack Angelo

     

    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.

  • Leadership – Living Your Truth

    “No magic bullet, not even the Internet, can save us from population explosion, deforestations, climate disruption, poison by pollution, and wholesale extinctions of plant and animal species.  We are going to have to want different things, seek different pleasures, pursue different goals than those that have been driving us and our global economy.”  Joanna Macy

    There are many definitions of leadership and what or who makes a good leader.  I personally have been training high potentials and business leaders for many years. It takes COVID19 to make me stop and think about the question: What is leadership?

    Leadership is defined in terms of goals, the purpose and the context in which leaders are placed. For example a leader of a country, whether Boris Johnson, Donald Trump or President Putin are all tasked with the same role and goals, in comparison to an army general leading his men into war, the goals and context are vastly different, thus affecting the definition of leadership, and the extension of that – the characteristics of a good leader.

    Perhaps the one common aspect or definition is that leaders inspire and influence others to want to do things. Leaders defined in this way are in every nation and every society. In most cases they are highly visible and have an effect on many aspects of our lives including how we think, how we act, our product choices, lifestyle, values and for whom we vote.  A case in point in the run up to the election in the USA.

    Looking around the world we see leaders who serve the common good, speaking their truth, and we see leaders who believe their position allows them to embezzle, manipulate, corrupt and steal from those they lead through mistruths, subtle or open lies and actions of blatant personal gain.

    It is seldom, in the list of characteristics of a good leader that we see values, words and statements that are reflected in their true behaviour such as speaking their truth, commitment to the common good, to world and planet sustainability, the importance of taking a long term view and decisions that impact not only the short term, but long term as well.

    WHAT IS LONG TERM IN AN ORGANISATION? 

    The answer probably depends on the type of business you are in, the country in which you are operating and the goals of the business.  I remember in my early days of working in the hotel industry at the London Hilton, where every 2-3 years the General Manager would be replaced, the outgoing person moving on to greater things and the incoming on the same trajectory.  What did this mean?  It meant that every GM wanted to leave his or her impact on the profitability of the operation.  You might say, that is natural and that it should be that way.  My view is slightly different, especially when profitability affecting the employees who work so hard to give the “promised” service to each and every guest are left with insufficient tools to do the job, uniforms that need replacing and no longer give pride to the neglected employee who is wearing it.  Who wins here?  The GM who is promoted onwards?  Such short-sighted decisions take time to show the true impact on morale, reputation, performance and turnover.  Long gone are those that were instrumental in this demise.

    Leadership - living your truthAre governments any different?  Clearly not. We can see in the UK how a change of party spends a great deal of time, taxpayer’s money and effort to undo policies, decisions and actions that the previous government put in place.  Why do we allow this?  Long term needs to be no less than 30 years and Is it not about time that leaders live their truth, lead by example, and invest in personal growth?preferably 50+ years to develop sustainability, policies that actually come to fruition to positively impact generations of people, the immediate environment, nature as well as the whole planet in which we all share and live.  At the moment, enjoyment of this planet depends on which side of the exploitation you are!  For example, exploitation of the rain forests, an essential part of the world ecosystem being raped to replace it with a short-term crop of soya which is grown to feed cattle to eventually end up on someone’s plate.  Is this effective leadership?

    How many leaders do you know who invest in their personal development, their true nature – the inner consciousness and knowing that comes with connecting to oneself and the inner knowledge that is shared through connection with all other sentient beings?  The true reality of the self can only be revealed through self-exploration that is beyond logic, information and skills we have gathered along the way, it is about being.  Being comfortable with who you are, being comfortable with the truth, without ego and science.  This is the intuitive self and is a person who is in touch with their soul and their true purpose in this life.

    The Dalai Lama in his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize said “Because we all share this small planet Earth, we have to learn to live in harmony and peace with each other and with nature.  That is not just a dream, but a necessity.”

    Is it not time for leaders within governments and organisations to evaluate their honesty motives and actions to understand whether they are in accord with harmony and peace, with nature, each other and themselves?

    This time of COVID19 seems to be inviting our leaders and each one of us to question our ideas and beliefs, our habits and actions that are neither serving us as individuals, the organisations in which we work, our nations and countries, and Mother Earth.  It is a time to connect to our hearts, our inner wisdom, which we all have, and create inner peace and world peace, joy and happiness through true connection, nurturing and compassionate leadership that manifests joy, values-based leadership and unconditional love for all those you lead.  These characteristics do not take away from having to make difficult decisions such as redundancies of hard-working people, but simply how we go about doing this.  Nor does it negatively influence the profitability of organisations. It might take longer to show this profitability, but in the long term it will be sustainable and more.  Once again Nelson Mandela springs to mind with his gentle, compassionate ability to positively influence even his captors and enemies through living his truth and in doing so, showing others the way.

    How long is it going to be before each and every one of us changes, stops paying lip service to ideals such as sustainability, wellbeing and leadership and actually lead by example through living these qualities, characteristics and ideals?

    This blog was inspired by Robert Rabin and the book he wrote in 1998, Invisible Leadership, and the person who recommended I read it – Owen Bailey.  To both I am extremely grateful as it has helped me order the outer expression of my inner self. 

     

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

     

    Rachel ShackletonRachel Shackleton, Founder of Green Key Personal Development and Green Key Health is a leadership trainer, medical herbalist and naturopath specializing in corporate health through face-to-face, on-line and e-learning development solutions.

  • Leadership – service provider or security pre flight specialist?

    I recently had the displeasure of being subjected to the pre flight security at Terminal 5.  On the best occasions this is not fun, but a necessity.  On average I travel through an airport approximately every six weeks.  Not a lot some might say?  Irrelevant of how you perceive the frequency, this last experience got me thinking about the role of personnel responsible for pre flight security screening.

    The experience was probably the worst experience of security in this particular airport for a good 2-3 years.  I followed the winding line to the point where instead of watching others, I got to put my hand luggage, coat etc in trays to put it through the scanner, before walking through yourself.  As usual there were two lines of x-ray machines for one line of people.  Well planned and thought through.   However, one line of machines was not working for some unapparent reason.  There was no explanation as to why, it just was not, and all the personnel stood around ignoring passengers as best they could.

    Finally it was my turn to put my things into the tray, surprise no trays!  On asking one of the “unengaged” security specialists from the other line for more trays, I was told “ask him over there” and the specialist concerned went back to her conversation.  In addition, the person checking that your belongings were placed correctly was non communicative.  This job would probably have been done better by a robot?

    On the other side, after the X-ray, people were collecting their belongings and blocking the process as trays backed up with no space for new trays to come through, thus halting the active line.  Did anyone from security even try to encourage people to take their belongings and “re-assemble” themselves in the place dedicated for this where there are places to sit?  And yet, in front of this x-ray line was a desk with not one, but three supervisors enjoying early morning conversation.

    After this 25-minute experience, of course I hit the red button, the one with the dissatisfied face.  Not only that, I took the time to fill in a feedback form and post it in the box provided.  I wait with baited breath for a response.

    As a result of this experience, the question swimming in my head was, “What is the role of a security specialist whose reason for having a job is to screen people and their belongings to ensure we are all safe?   For the safety aspect, I am grateful.  Asking the same question about a barista in Pret a Manger, or sales assistant in Pink or any other clothes shop, the answer is clearly to sell clothes, muffins, sandwiches, coffee etc.  If that sales assistant, or that barista, were to sell their merchandise in the same way that the security team did, surely we would all go somewhere else?  The fact of the matter is we cannot go somewhere else when it comes to pre-screening security.

    In reality, every security specialist’s job is to take care of passengers and provide a service that is paid for indirectly through airport taxes.  Thinking about their role from the customer perspective, puts a completely different slant on the role and how that person and the teams fulfill that role.  Every person that travels through is a customer, many of whom are leaving the UK after a visit to enjoy our culture, sights, events and so on.  Is my experience the last impression we want to give about our country?

    Selling a muffin, coffee or salad with no attention to the customer does not change the quality of the product, but it does change the customer experience.  Perhaps its time our security change their perspective on what they do, giving everyone a positive experience?

  • Learning from mistakes – the “oscar faux pas”

    What will the impact of no risk taking be on individual’s and how we learn, on organisations and levels of competitiveness, and on whole countries and nations?  Are we really advocating that we must stay within a known comfort zone?

    It’s one thing messing things up in private, where mistakes can be rectified and nobody notices.  However the news at the beginning of last week after the Oscars was very special.  It was a ‘case example’ of how mistakes are made and the way in which reactions can spread….

    “The winner of the Oscar for the best film goes to ……………….  Oops”

    A certainty in life is that we will all make mistakes, big and small.  We have all been, and will be in, those situations where there is that sinking feeling in the stomach, or throughout our whole body, as we realise a mistake is emerging.

    We live in a culture where mistakes are derided and blown out of proportion.  I admit to laughing a bit at the news of the Oscar prize-winning faux pas, thinking  “What a mess. How is that possible? Probably deserved it, glad that wasn’t me!’.  The mix up at the Oscars resulted in the media leading a somewhat scornful, mocking campaign aimed at those who simply gave the wrong envelope to someone at an awards ceremony.

    Are we in a culture where each one of us is quick to judge others against our own perceived perfection.  Are we in a culture where we can no longer make mistakes?  If we criticise and blame others, how helpful is this?  Does it move the situation forward, help the “accused” learn from their mistake, no it simply causes that person to become down trodden, self critical and de-motivated.  The mistake at the Oscar ceremony was simple human error.  Yes, we can argue that it should not have happened, but it did!  However the overall effect is that we are further drawn into a world where the culture for accepting mistakes, or taking risks, is diminished.

    Many people think that as managers and leaders we are supposed to get everything right.  We are supposed to make all right decisions, answer with the right answer and generally show our knowledge and wisdom.  Is this really so?  I think slightly differently.  Of course, in our positions as managers and leaders we should endeavour to act and behave correctly in each situation, to make those right decisions and to answer our team members with the right answer, but there are times when that is neither realistic nor possible.  Most managers and leaders do not find themselves in life and death situations when having to make decisions, and therefore making a decision becomes far more important than not making a decision, as this holds up operations, processes and team members who are waiting for direction.

    Going down the path after having made that mistake, knowing that we were wrong, it takes courage to admit it, to learn from it and to move on.  Without the courage to take decisions and to take risk we are limiting ourselves and those around us.  We limit our own learning, the learning of others and the excitement of seeing what happens when we take that risk.  Most importantly we spend more time in accusation, blame and protection of what gives us the most for the least effort and keeps us in our comfort zone.

  • How compatible is your company motto with decisions that affect customer loyalty?

    Continuing the airline theme by taking a look at our own national airline in terms of the company motto and how poor decisions within the organisation affect customer loyalty.  As seen on the Ba.com website:

    “At British Airways our promise of ‘To Fly. To Serve’ embodies who we are and what we do. We want to ensure our promise extends beyond our everyday operation and that our commitment is one that lasts. To do that we have one overarching goal: Responsible Flying.”

    Taking this “promise” of “We fly to serve”, further, I have been flying one route for the last 20 years with BA at least 5-6 times per year, not to mention other flights to other destinations. I believe I have been a fairly loyal customer and I am qualified to comment on how this motto of “Fly to Serve” has changed in service delivery on this particular route, and how that has affected my loyalty.

    Today, on this flight, which is approximately 3.5 hours there have been several changes, all of which have occurred in the last 12-18 months:

    • From being served a hot meal, offered hot and cold drinks there is now no food, no drink or snack unless you want to buy it from the M&S menu.
    • The ticket price has gone up considerably and for the last two flights on this same route, I took another airline. All be it not a direct flight, but the price was more than 50% less!  And I got a meal on one and a sandwich on the other together with a hot or cold drink of my choice.
    • Interest of the cabin crew has decreased considerably.  The last flight I was on the crew served the M&S food to those who wanted it and then sat at the back of the plane and talked loudly to each other for the rest of the flight.  I don’t want to hear what stewardesses do in their spare time with their children, husbands and dogs, or any other thing they want to discuss!
    • If I fly hand luggage only, I either have to pay extra to choose my seat when checking in 24-hours before or sit where my seat is allocated, hence having to listen to the cabin crew discussion!

    Further reflecting on “Fly to Serve”, I am encouraged to earn Avios points thus the more I earn, the more loyalty I am giving to the airline.  Fair enough, and a winner for both parties.   Using my earned points was, I believe, to be a reward to be able to use them on a future flight.  As this is a loyalty programme, why then am I penalized for being loyal?  I recently redeemed some of my Avios points for a long weekend in a European city.  Being only a long weekend, I don’t require much luggage, and therefore flying hand luggage is reasonable.  As usual I check in on line 24-hours before to do just that – check in and print my boarding pass making the whole experience easier for BA and myself as I self-organise for the flight.  To my surprise, using my points, I am again penalised as my option to choose my own seat, unless paying more has been removed.  Thus having to sit in the seat allocated.

    How does an organisation with the motto “We fly to serve” make such decisions that lead to giving with the right hand, which helps earn the airline revenue and loyalty, and then taking it away with the left?  Clearly these two policies are in conflict.  Where are the managers who are supposed to ensure a company provides consistent messages to its customers?  Messages that give the impression that customers are valued and we do care which is reasonable with such a company motto?

    What is the affect of these decisions?    As I have free will and the possibility to choose who I fly with, it is clear that most of us would prefer to fly with an airline that actually values its customers and serves them in the fullest sense of the word.  Where the experience on board is safe, friendly and efficient and the rules for one passenger in the same class are the same as for all passengers, whether travelling hand luggage or with hold baggage.   Most importantly, I am welcomed and rewarded for my loyalty.

    It is a shame that the motto is no longer delivering its promise due to poor managerial decision-making, but I guess we can be thankful that at least the “flying” part is still being delivered!

  • How Are Your Listening Skills?

    How Good Are Your Listening Skills?

    I like to listen.  I have learned a great deal from listening carefully.  Most people never listen.

    Ernest Hemmingway

    In order to manage the ever-increasing workload, our lives are focused to processing as much as possible in the shortest time,.  This is further compounded by social media – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the like, all of which demand time, and to which it is easy to become a “slave”.  How are these demands affecting your listening?  Look over the table below and remind yourself of the difference between poor and effective listening.

    Poor v. Effective Listening Behaviour

    The Poor Listener:

    Is distracted by work, other people, interrruptions, noises etc

    Body is oriented away from the speaker 

    Gives no feedback (facial responsiveness, or other appropriate response 

    Ignores speaker’s non verbal communication

    Interrupts and waits to speak 

    Jumps to conclusions – focuses on symptoms and quick fixes

    Takes criticism personally

    Blames others.  Becomes defensive about the organisation or self and is judgemental and punishing when someone complains 

    Blames the organisation.  Takes the side of the person complaining

    Is thrown by stressed-out behaviour of others, and may become stressed-out in turn, Often lacks control of the situation

    Judges others by opinions – prejudices, shuts down listening

    The Effective Listener:

    Focuses on the speaker and what is being said

    Body is oriented towards the speaker 

    Gives feedback and participates appropriately 

    Tunes into the speaker’s non verbal communication

    Occasionally reflects and clarifies.  Allows the other person to finish what they are saying 

    Is patient.  Sees complaints and negative criticism as opportunity for problem solving and learning.  Focuses on underlying causes

    Avoids taking criticism personally 

    Suspends judgement as to who is to “blame”.  Has attitude to focus and find solutions which is seen as being more important than judgement

    Doesn’t blame.  Seeks solutions, is proactive for the future, not seeking revenge for actions in the past

    Realises the other person must have had to “psych up” to make a complaint, and has respect.  Makes allowances for the other person’s behaviour while listening

    Suspends judgement on others – listens to what is being said, not who is saying it

    Listens with head and heart

    Skilled Listeners:

    • Pay attention – focus to the speaker
    • Indicate interest
    • Listen without judgement or prejudice
    • Observe and notice others’ body language and vocal usage
    • Ask questions to expand the other person’s thinking
    • Use the feedback loop to check understanding and show listening

  • How Sustainable is Your Human Resource Strategy?

    Recently I attended a webinar that was focused to helping make businesses sustainable which got me thinking about sustainability in deeper terms than usually addressed through our media and government. My question to the person leading this webinar was, “You have given a case study in this session which you are using to show good measures that this particular company is taking to become more sustainable. In the example, I was confused because as the company is focused to delivery service, they had switched all vans to electric. On the surface we can say that is a good step to take, but going deeper, are electric vehicles really sustainable? How is the electricity generated to charge those vehicles? The company that makes the batteries – are they operating a green, sustainable production? Where and who mines the lithium for those batteries? How much water does production take and so on? Perhaps I digress, as the essence of my question was “Please tell me what does it mean to be sustainable?” What is sustainability?

    Whilst I did not receive a direct answer to these questions, it was clear that we all have to start somewhere in this journey and if we can influence our suppliers to follow suit through buying choices, this can only be a good thing for all concerned, including our environment.

    Seldom do you hear someone in conversation connecting sustainability to human resources. Perhaps I have been sleeping, but it still seems that the emphasis on creating a sustainable workforce is very much on surface level, as perhaps other aspects of becoming a sustainable business are. We measure turnover (churn), sickness and absenteeism, accidents in the workplace, mental ill health and so on. If these issues were truly addressed through the lens of creating a sustainable workforce through effective, caring, nurturing organisation leadership, surely the results of measuring these things would show minimal impact on business productivity and ultimately profitability?

     The conclusion of an article in Science Direct titled, “Systematic literature review on sustainable human resource management” by Janaina Macke, Denise Genari stated “Beyond the triple bottom line concept, leadership plays a very important role in sustainable human resource management. A formal and clear leadership definition is, in fact, the most important element for the implementation of sustainability principles in human resource management”.

    Some organisations take the time to measure happiness, morale and wellbeing in the operation which is a very positive action and one that will be well received by employees if:

    1.    They are privy to the results, in other words results are transparent.

    2.    Actions are taken to change those issues that are not supporting positive morale, happiness, wellbeing and ultimately sustainability.

    3.    Measurement is carried out on a regular basis in order to track results of actions implemented and to track any changes, ultimately making updates to the initial plan as necessary.

     

    In an article by Ed Houghton, CIPD, he stated that “Sustainable HRM recognises performance outcomes, which are broader than financial outcomes (for example, by including environmental and social outcomes) and assumes that in working towards multiple goals there are likely to be contradictory outcomes that must be resolved. In addition to this, sustainable HRM creates and captures value over the longer term and recognises that to be truly sustainable HRM must be able to deal with the internal and external environment and the changing context in which the business is operating.” Surely this again links into the effectiveness and overall approach of leadership within the organisation?

    A few ideas of how I understand the concept of sustainable human resources:

     

    ·      Employees who stay with the company for a minimum of two years

    ·      A healthy track record of promoting from within into positions that are created due to company expansion or to fill gaps due to natural attrition

    ·      Employees who speak positively about the organisation in which they work

    ·      A willingness of employees to help others without being asked

    ·      Minimal absenteeism according to or lower than internal targets set

    ·      Minimal sickness whether physical, mental or emotional according to or lower than internal targets set

    ·      Orientation away from shareholder value to multi-stakeholder value

    ·      Leadership who has the employees’ best interests at heart while remaining focused to organisation goals

    ·      An environment of kindness and positive energy creating positive morale

    ·      Group problem solving and decision making

    ·   Focus to the positives of what was achieved and not the other way round in order to learn from and strengthen successes rather than only focusing towards mistakes and non-successes and what we need to do about them

    ·      Leadership that provides a strong positive example of what is expected, knows all employees by name and gets out and about into the operation. The “old” style of management by walking about.

     

    I am sure there are many more examples of what could be included into an organisation’s sustainable human resource strategy and approach. However, each one of these points has great depth to implement and get it right in order to result  not only in a strategy, but actual sustainable human resource management that really works.

    Why are sustainable human resources important? With the shortage of candidates in the marketplace, surely it makes sense to look after those you already have. Less time fighting fires, avoids costly time-consuming hiring processes, no need for onboarding training to bring employees up to speed, giving time to focus on developing employees in the roles they hold. This translates into increased loyalty, good company reputation and overall productivity. In fact, I don’t see any negatives in this approach. This is simply effective, caring leadership that is part of the overall organisation strategy and goals for becoming and being a sustainable organisation that serves multi stakeholders rather than shareholders only.

     

    References

    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959652618331056

    https://www.cipd.org/uk/views-and-insights/thought-leadership/the-world-of-work/sustainable-hr/