Author: timhjrogers

There are different styles of leadership (see list below) and some have legitimacy in certain circumstances.

For more information see Goleman

I would warn that the coercive style is just bullying: This style can also help control a problem teammate when everything else has failed. However, it should be avoided in almost every other case because it can alienate people and stifle flexibility and inventiveness.

If the aim is to control a problem then check that people agree there is a “problem”, and that there is consensus that this is the best approach.

You’ll win support of your team if the intent is to deal with someone who is undermining the team, working against key values or indeed being a bully. You’ll create distrust if you’re the one being the bully and picking on someone who is valued by the team, or who is acting in accordance with the organisational values.

For example if your organisations’ values are like Starbucks (below) its wise not to remonstrate with someone who is “challenging the status quo” or discussing issues as part of “connecting with transparency”

In school people are advised…” if the bully says or does something to you”

This is more complex in the work-place, particularly if the bully is a boss.

You may not be able to ignore them if they are the boss. Standing up for yourself could be insubordination. You may not have an “adult” you can tell: Your colleagues may offer sympathy but they are unlikely to stick their neck out.  I know many HR people who will diligently listen, offer you advice, and then do nothing themselves because they don’t want to rock the boat.

I have always followed this advice…

There is however a different approach that you might take. There is a theory that there are three key roles in any situation…

When we live in the drama triangle, we see the other person as our  adversary — the villain. If only  they  would change, we reason, things  would be fine.  They  stand between us and happiness. Ironically, they  are usually thinking the same thing about us. To resolve conflict, we  need to relinquish our roles as victim, villain and hero and work with  the other person to solve the problem. 

We must meet the other person in the middle. This means telling them our story (in a way they will be able to hear it) and listening to  their story with curiosity. Such open communication fosters mutual understanding. This understanding provides a doorway through which we can exit the drama triangle and enter into the  circle of resolution. 

I would however concede that this is easier said than done because “telling them our story” is a direct contradiction of “What-ever you do don’t explain” . Trying to justify yourself to a bully unlikely  going to work.

For more information

Tim Rogers is a Qualified Change Practitioner and PRINCE2 Project Manager, with an MBA in Management Consultancy. Past projects have included the incorporation of Ports of Jersey and Operations Change and Sales Support for RBSI and NatWest. He is a tutor/lecturer for the Chartered Management Institute. 

In an earlier blog I suggested that it should be possible to Codify culture. I think it can be as simple as a recipe of factors (environment, peer group, education, common goal) and practice: ostensibly  “fake it till you make it”

See earlier blog

I then suggested that in successive blogs I would explain the recipe of factors and how to bring them together to make culture.

Lane4, the management consultancy which uses Olympians and other sports people to talk about plans, strategy, team-work was set-up by Olympian Adrian Moorehouse. Their philosophy is based on a motto “The aim of this establishment is to create an environment where champions are inevitable” and when you look at managers, coaches, physios, and the competitive and collaborative processes, plus the use of data (watts, power, speed, timings, bio-mechanics, heart-rate) it is clear that a centre and pursuit of excellence leaves nothing to chance.

The Cultural Web identifies six interrelated elements that help to make up what Johnson and Scholes call the “paradigm” – the pattern or model – of the work environment. By analyzing the factors in each, you can begin to see the bigger picture of your culture: what is working, what isn’t working, and what needs to be changed. The six elements are:

STORIES – The past events and people talked about inside and outside the company. Who and what the company chooses to immortalize says a great deal about what it values, and perceives as great behavior.

RITUALS AND ROUTINES – The daily behavior and actions of people that signal acceptable behavior. This determines what is expected to happen in given situations, and what is valued by management.

SYMBOLS – The visual representations of the company including logos, how plush the offices are, and the formal or informal dress codes.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE – This includes both the structure defined by the organization chart, and the unwritten lines of power and influence that indicate whose contributions are most valued.

CONTROL SYSTEMS – The ways that the organization is controlled. These include financial systems, quality systems, and rewards (including the way they are measured and distributed within the organization.)

POWER STRUCTURES – The pockets of real power in the company. This may involve one or two key senior executives, a whole group of executives, or even a department. The key is that these people have the greatest amount of influence on decisions, operations, and strategic direction.

Finally, a lot of my work with Island Games, Commonwealth Games and working with businesses helping people and process development is based on Robert Dilts model “I can do that here”

See blog

Whilst there is no one-size-fits-all approach nor a standard set of ingredients, but there are common themes and I’d like to explore the following in future blogs.

Ingredient  No1: Environment

Ingredient  No2: Behaviour

Ingredient  No3: Capability

Ingredient  No4: Belief

Ingredient  No5 : The Individual

The above assume you already have the people (good, bad, happy or sad) and that you aim to change culture by leadership and management and are not in a position to build culture by selective recruitment.

If you are in a position to build culture by selective recruitment, then I highly recommend three excellent blogs by Dr. Cameron Sepah [Clinical Professor at UCSF Medical School. Startup & VC Advisor] and strongly recommend these for anyone interested in change/leadership psychology

Your Company’s Culture is Who You Hire, Fire, & Promote: Part 1, The Performance-Values Matrix

Your Company Culture Is Who You Hire, Fire, & Promote: Part 2, Anatomy of an Asshole

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/your-company-culture-who-you-hire-fire-promote-part-2-sepah?published=t

Breaking Bad: Why Good People Become Evil Bosses

If you have experience of this, or would like to made a contribution to my next blog please contact me: timhjrogers@adaptconsultingcompany.com

Some organisations have a great culture because of great leadership, great people, great values great practices. Is it possible to codify this so that organisations without the charismatic leadership, dynamic high-fliers and brilliant processes can harness the benefits of great culture?

Bob Hope is credited with saying “The most important thing is honesty. Once you can fake that, you’ve got it made.” Or a variation “The secret of success is sincerity. Fake that and you’re in.”

Is it possible to “fake it till you make it”

I think so.

There are plenty of telesales businesses that follow scripts, dancers that have strict choreography and actors who have lines and stage direction to help them deliver a great performance.

Both positive and negative values (including sexism and racism) are learned from parenting, peer groups and society influence on the individual. It is clear that people are influenced by their environment, education, opportunity and social groups. It is also clear that outstanding individuals can reshape the people and the world around them. People like Martin Luther King or Nelson Mandela.

I would argue that even if you do not have a charismatic leader you can achieve a great culture through planned interventions and carefully orchestrated social engineering.

If you believe “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” (Will Durant) then establishing great culture is simply a matter of following simple steps and getting better with each repetition. This is how we teach dance or karate, so why not leadership and culture. According to Malcolm Gladwell with 10,000 hours you can be fantastic at anything and according to Josh Kaufman [TEDxCSU] you can become quite good at many things with as little as 20 hours.

In this blog I have attempted to suggest that it is possible to codify culture and that leaders are not born but made (by education, opportunity, circumstance and followers). In my next blog I will explore how to codify culture.

If you have experience of this, or would like to made a contribution to my next blog please contact me: timhjrogers@adaptconsultingcompany.com

There is a lot of criticism for managers or civil servants who attempt to outsource risk or responsibility by standing behind consultants’ reports and professional indemnities. The bigger fools are surely those that sell their brand or reputation cheaply without being certain what they are underwriting.