Posts Tagged ‘Learning and Development’
Hard Wired to Fail?
Friday, May 6th, 2011
The connections between the physical form and functioning of the brain and behaviour continue to be revealed. Professor James Fallon, a true believer in genetic determinism ( i.e. that behaviour is driven by the brain’s biology), makes an interesting appearance on the BBC’s All in the Mind. He reveals his own personal journey to understanding the importance of environment and nurture, recounting his discovery that he had the brain structures of a psychopath, and comes from a long line of convicted murderers. Yet in his case he has ‘turned out well’. What made the difference was nurture and environment.
At the time of writing the interview is still available on the BBC at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b010mcl1
It was Alice Miller, back in the 1950s, who pinpointed nurture and the wider environment as key protective factors in child development. Her work was an investigation into how Hitler became such a monster. This work highlighted that most of the children she studied, who were brought up in unacceptable circumstances, went on to be useful members of society, rather than psycho or socio paths. As Fallon demonstrates by his own life– genetics and biology do not inevitably determine behaviour.
It is not necessary to scan the brains of your employees to identify and exclude the undesirable. Some of those problematic brain structures probably explain success – engineers/quantitative people with autistic tendencies for example. But the science does have useful lessons. Environment may switch certain tendencies ‘on’. We see this particularly in organisational cultures which admire strong leadership. ‘Strong’ leadership may just be sociopathic tendencies playing out – RBS and Fred Goodwin and his apparently bullying sales culture being an example.
Just as for the young, environment (culture) is protective for the organisation. Setting expectations and limits, defining and rewarding appropriate behaviour etc. All make a difference.
Good management skills are not a nice to have, they are a requirement for success.
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.
Change Lessons from Psychopathic Toddlers?
Wednesday, March 30th, 2011
Two leading criminologists (see below) at the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in Washington have presented studies that they suggest show that violent tendencies may have a biological basis. They believe brain scans on children as young as 3 could identify the future violent and criminal.
What a marvellous idea – that through the marvels of science (rather than messy interaction and assessment), we may identify those who do not conform to our community norms and that we may do so when they are still small enough not to be really dangerous. Even better and very comfortingly, if behaviour is an inevitable result of biology (rather than nurture or environment), then surely nothing may be done to change it. The attraction of the thesis is obvious.
Of course, there is one glaringly obvious flaw. Ask any parent; small kids daily demonstrate psychopathic and anti social tendencies in their almost complete disregard for the wishes and concerns of others. Then they grow up.
Caution is always needed with these discourses – remember phrenology, eugenics and genetic predetermination? They pander to our understandable reluctance to manage difference. Perhaps relevant for a governmental department which is able to make people do things, and a prison service that acts as a final destination storage facility for those who will not or cannot conform. They are particularly damaging when it comes to creating and changing high performing organisations. Building an organisation of ‘People Like Us’ (homogeneity), is not great for success in the fast moving complex markets of the global economy.
The comfort in sameness is understandable. Managing people from very different backgrounds is difficult as it requires the manager to stay adult. It usually challenges the manager’s assumptions about behaviour which will have been built up since childhood – be it how stress (emotion) should be expressed, how women should behave, or the place of people of different sexuality. For high IQ managers, who have often had the personal advantage of a relatively stable upbringing and education, it may be particularly onerous.
With change destroying networks, fracturing teams and making new demands upon existing staff, (never mind the incomers), even once apparently staid ‘people like us’ can suddenly become fractious and difficult. With the pressures of revenue and profit delivery, it is easier to not even try – just buy the myth, the software that promises automated work processes and oust those who complain. Yet the rewards for just a little effort are immense; re-invigorated individuals, engaged and high performing teams, continuity of knowledge and external relationships.
The challenge for senior teams and CEOs is to find of way of helping their managers improve their skills without it feeling too personally risky and distracting from business.
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 the business
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/8339772/Child-brain-scans-to-pick-out-future-criminals.html
Supernova – when your Star explodes
Friday, March 4th, 2011
The Pain of Performance
After much professional struggle and personal pain, you are a Star in your industry. But life is not going so well, using alcohol and maybe some other substances to dull the pain, you lose control in public and are arrested for racist and anti-Semitic defamation. The instantly recognisable face of a global retail brand, the outburst filmed by a bystander goes viral on youtube.com. Then you are fired as your employer attempts to avoid brand contamination. Sober, and publicly shamed, you apologise profusely. But the damage is done.
John Galliano’s very public meltdown caught our attention as managing staff performance – however senior or much of a Star they are – is a key indicator of organisational success. UK organisations have a duty of care towards employees that includes the stress from their employment. Failure will, as Dior are finding out, damage your market and employer reputation, may further damage (and thus increase the risk of your being sued) your failing employee and will certainly waste the monies that you have spent developing and hiring him or her. For Dior to un-mesh their corporate identity with that of the Galliano ‘brand’ is a further cost.
High value services and products require teams to deliver into globalised market places. Leading teams of different generational, functional and cultural backgrounds is a daily reality for most managers. You are part of the team you lead and work alongside them every day, and you may even like them. With current market turmoil, the possibility of reducing stress by average scoring and giving the standard pay rise has gone. No wonder it is difficult to persuade managers to engage with this personal and interpersonal challenge.
No surprise then that the banks and IT developers are talking about developing software that will de-risk the 1:1 of leadership – Cyber or Android Manager to take the pain away?
We beg to differ. The solution starts with the senior team acknowledging the significant risks and costs involved with poor execution of these skills. Performance management belongs to line management rather than HR, as it is in those thousands of ‘moments of truth’ as teams interact that performance is managed. Giving managers the competence that leads to expert and confident delivery requires an accessible, engaging, individually low risk programme that fits around demands of running a business.
Talk to us today, in confidence and without obligation, to ensure your managers produce stellar performance from the whole team
NB: Dig a little deeper into the Galliano story and it transpires that the individual who managed the interface between Galliano and his employer, (Steven Robinson), died four years ago. Perhaps this exposed the designer to the stresses of managing his own relations with a corporate culture, and removed an important reality check. Whilst Galliano will no doubt recover from the shock, it is a shame for both the organisation and the individual concerned that the realisation that there was a problem came only after such public and shaming exposure.
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.
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.