Posts Tagged ‘Intelligent Workforce’
Enterprise Risk and Psychopathic Employees
Saturday, October 1st, 2011
Star employee or Psychopath?
We understand the attraction of trading to those who may show psychopathic tendencies. It is an impersonal activity – a matter of spread sheets and automatic execution into anonymous markets. It offers all the excitement of gambling and computer gaming, with the real risks of the gamble being taken by the employer and apparently mediated by risk management software. It doesn’t require EQ skills.
However, we don’t agree that every trader fits this profile[3]. People who are extremely numerate may not have good EQ. Corporate cultures may reward and encourage what could be described as selfish behaviour[4]. Similarly the effort that went into destroying internal competitors may be the consequence of a failure of performance management. The real risk management issue is not purely individuals (or trading teams). It is both how the organisation assesses and manages performance, and the impact of the prevailing organisational culture on the development and display of these traits.
Psychopathic behaviour damages organisations. Sabotaging colleagues destroys team working, creating a hostile environment with an internal rather than market focus. The consequences include increased churn, with the real talent leaving. Once the realities of working in the organisation are known, attracting good candidates for employment becomes difficult. Promoted into management the damage is worse. Productivity of other teams will plummet as internal competition ‘hots up’, more talent will leave and actions for bullying and harassment will eventually surface. The inevitable resulting internal focus compromises competitive advantage and the organisation’s future.
Fortunately, the psychopath’s ability to blag and charm does not stand scrutiny from effective performance review. A key part of this is the review and feedback process itself. Ironically those who are best qualified to deal with the technical competencies in this population are unlikely to have the interpersonal skill sets to do so, and will feel most challenged by it. Given the risks, it is important that your managers are competent in their interpersonal performance management skills. Talk to us now about how to ensure your managers have the essential interpersonal skill sets to thrive at this challenging task.
[1] University of St Gallen: authors Pascal Scherrer and Thomas Noll
[2]The brain chemistry/mechanism that could be at play has been evidenced by research published by the University of Vanderbilt http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2010/03/psychopaths-brains-wired-to-seek-rewards-no-matter-the-consequences-109865/
[3] Psychopathic tendencies do not automatically mean that an individual becomes a psychopath. The difficulty is semantic, the association with criminality. As we have noted elsewhere, psychology and neurobiology are useful sciences to inform our interaction in the real world which is where organisations operate.
[4] See our ‘Hard Wired to Fail?’ www.theperformancepractice.co.uk/ideas-blog May 2011
‘One out of every 25 business leaders could be psychopathic* ‘
Friday, September 23rd, 2011
- Is your Boss a psychopath?
What a great headline and timely – we’ve all worked with bosses from hell, and at times of turbulence when people are very stressed, these stories have a particular resonance. But the headline is a gross simplification. **1 in 25 out of small sample of 200 individuals – that’s 4% of a really small population.
Many of the skills sets required to be a good boss could easily be confused with those described as psychopathic traits. Doing business means that we are not always authentic in our emotional response to situations. Appropriate senior management behaviours include:
· Always outgoing and charming in public, (even if you’ve just lost a major contract).
· Knowing when not to engage at an emotional level, and even when to ignore individuals (and how not to give offense when you do not).
· Staying adult, (whatever the provocation), with staff, and customers.
· Maximising time to useful contacts; minimising time given to those who are not useful – and making assessments about the ‘usefulness’ of the people concerned.
· Firing people - even if they have families to support and there is no other employment for them.
· Making political accommodations and contracts with people and companies you do not ‘admire’.
Consider also entrepreneurs? Individuals who succeed against the odds – be it in commercial or not for profit sectors tend to have different psychological traits to those of the general population. Some of these traits are not very attractive.
Here is how to protect your organisation from psychopaths:
1 Know your business – it’s hard to fake when managers are knowledgeable about their business.
2 Manage performance – manage performance against objective criteria and agreed timelines. To underline the point, business plans usually come with numbers and dates.
3 Have robust hiring systems.
4 Inform everyone one of and apply relevant processes (including informal networks) to stamp out bullying.
5 Ensure the Organisational Values are alive, not just written on a piece of paper – which means including them in performance management.
Talk to us, in confidence and without obligation about helping your managers develop the competence and confidence to manage effectively. Solutions that engage, motivate and fit around, rather than disrupt the business.
*The Guardian newspaper and other media sources.
**The study was conducted by Dr. Paul Babiak, you will find more – including a (n interesting) check list of psychopathic traits at http://aftermath-surviving-psychopathy.org.
Avoidable risk continues for Beeb
Thursday, February 10th, 2011
‘Being told what to do is not the same as understanding what you should be doing…..Understanding what you should do is not the same as being confident and competent in doing it.‘
The BBC’s official statement[1] following the tribunal verdict against them on ageism and harassment is interesting for the questions it raises. The Beeb admit they were at fault and then promise more ‘training’ for responsible executives and ‘new guidance on fair selection for presenter appointments’. It goes on, ‘These findings also raise questions that need to be addressed by the whole industry.’
We have identified 3 particularly interesting points in the statement.
‘Being told’ or understanding?
Offering yet more training may not solve the problem. Being told what to do is not the same as understanding what you should be doing – albeit it gives HR proof of attending training for the Disciplinary. Understanding what you should do is not the same as being confident and competent in doing it. Setting limits and challenging behaviour is what managers do whatever the group or work team that the manager may be part of thinks. This, after all, is why managers are paid more than others.
Selection Criteria and Competence?
In the tribunal it was apparent that the BBC did not have clear criteria for presenter competence. Given the relatively recent changes to employment law on harassment and bullying, the risks should have been evident. Has the BBC confused the encouragement of an entrepreneurial/creative culture with giving rein to the whims and fancies of ‘Kings and Princes’[2]? Is this much vaunted people business unable to manage people?
Sector leader or follower?
The BBC has significant State guaranteed income. It is hugely economically, culturally and politically powerful. Thus it is difficult to understand why it should be overly concerned about ‘industry practice’. Sector ‘leaders’ do not usually follow the practices of sector ‘followers’ – especially when it comes to talent, a key differentiator of performance.
The Beeb itself now has more than an external PR problem. The BBC generally does better than many large employers at hiring, promoting and retaining female staff, not just presenters. It is this group who must really be wondering about the value of the organisation’s much vaunted statements of equal opportunity. When tested by tribunal process, policy was found not to be practice.
Yet it doesn’t need to be like this. Correctly engaged and motivated even your highest IQ and most creative or technical managers can become super competent in those difficult soft skills they usually avoid. Talk to us, in confidence and without obligation about helping your managers develop the competence and confidence to manage effectively. Solutions that engage, motivate and fit around, rather than disrupt the business.
Competence and Risk….. Pigeons coming home to roost!
Tuesday, September 28th, 2010
The news that the Irish government is to wind up Allied Irish Bank, and in doing must consider the markets reaction and the impact on the Irish economy and government (and of course people), is perhaps an extreme example of the proverbial pigeon coming home to roost.
This one is very tatty indeed having been battered by forays, into the debt boom. If Anglo Irish Bank’s exposure to Quinn Insurance is indicative of a lack of effective risk management and associated management competence, it will be interesting to see what is in the balance sheet at Allied Irish.
The bubble made making money appear easy as the market surged upwards, everyone was a Super Hero – and the risk was managed by wonderful IT systems. But there is no substitute for competence – not just technical risk, but management (governance) competence. The ability to understand what staff are doing, (however arcane or black box it may appear), and when it is appropriate to challenge it, and to do so effectively are key competencies that are developed not innate. Business is still about people.
From the outside we cannot know the motivations, and positive actions that led AIB to build up such a toxic balance sheet. We may however seek to ensure that our own Super Heroes do not fall into the same trap and become homing pigeons.
Talk to us, in confidence and without obligation about helping your managers develop the competence and confidence to manage effectively. Solutions that engage, motivate and fit around, rather than disrupt the business.
The ‘Problem’ with Generation Y
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
Managing performance is possibly the most challenging of management activities. In high IQ companies individuals are hired and promoted for their intellect and associated skills and consequently are usually well educated and have reasonable self confidence. To manage the intelligent workforce, managers must deploy expert soft skills. In these organisations team working is a core component of competitive advantage as they design and deliver complex services and products against global competition. For these managers there is no top down process to hide behind. They are appraising people they selected for their skills and expertise, whom they rely on and work beside every day. It is made more complicated because ‘expert soft skills’ are not that common in managers who were themselves hired and promoted on their IQ.
So far: so normal.
What has changed is that the relative calm of the boom years has come to a sudden end, and with it the status quo. Managers are now significantly challenged in navigating the market turmoil, often whilst restructuring (sometimes for survival). Consequently they have a significantly increased workload and are naturally beset by their own insecurities. Throw into the equation a Generation Y of younger managers and staff who lack experience of recession and who still carry forward their expectations of advancement. The consequences can be explosive.
The complaint is frequently that the new generation do not know how to behave at work. Indeed this may be true (see below). However, the root of the problem lies in the inability of managers to challenge and address inappropriate behaviours. It is difficult for high performing, high intellect and currently very busy and stressed managers to take time away from the business to address their interpersonal skills. In the current economic climate to do so may be seen as a declaration of incompetence, wasting time that is needed for the business and therefore career shortening. The resultant turbulence is often ‘delegated’ to HR as HR ‘fix’ the emotional stuff, and yet of course HR do not lead the business.
The solution is to acknowledge that traditional courses are unlikely to appeal to time and performance stressed managers. This is why we developed our Business Risk Challenge. It is a powerful development activity - but doesn’t feel like it because it is great fun. And it goes straight to the heart of those difficult interpersonal skills. http://www.theperformancepractice.co.uk/the-business-risk-challenge
Next Steps? :
Talk to us, in confidence and without obligation about building management competence and influencing skills especially in technical experts
Generation Y Tales from the Front Line‘
Ø A manager, attempting to keep his meetings productive, asked all participants to switch phones and laptops off . He was contacted by HR and told that this requirement was counter to staff ‘human rights’ after the Generation Y’ers complained to HR..
Ø Two undergraduates wrote to prospective employers suggesting that as they were such good friends they should be employed doing the same job, together. One letter, two signatures.
Ø A graduate engineer denied a place on the company sponsored MBA programme, phoned the CEO to ask why, and express his disappointment. The CEO, in his turn phoned HR to express his disappointment.
Ø A lack of critical thinking as young managers try to solve a problem with the same actions again and again , (according to the procedure manual), even when it is not working.