What do Leaders really do? Jeff Grout

Providing Direction

"I craft my dreams into ambitions, refine my ambitions into goals and turn my goals into plans" Michael Johnson Olympic Champion

GOAL SETTING Outcome Goal Performance Goal Process Goals

“You achieve success as a leader when people will follow you anywhere, if only out of curiosity .” General Colin Powell

“It is a terrible thing to look over your shoulder when you are trying to lead and find no one out there" FD Roosevelt

Measuring followship Without followers you are not a leader! But HOW do you measure FOLLOWSHIP? I use an interview tool I describe as the T-Test The T-Test is a series of interviews along the horizontal of the senior mgmt team and down the vertical spine of the company. Measuring followship

Providing Direction (The T-test) What is the overall business objective? What are the immediate priorities? How are you contributing to these priorities?

“My main job was developing talent “My main job was developing talent. I was a gardener providing water and other nourishment. Of course, I had to pull out some weeds, too" Jack Welch

COMPETENCE COMMITMENT Minimum level of acceptability BM SM RC GL JW COMPETENCE JA MI LF SW LD COMMITMENT

“Everyone must get what they deserve” Mark Martin HR Director, T-Mobile

Retention was the biggest concern expressed at the recent Robert Half Round Table events CIPD research indicates that 70% of organisations are still experiencing retention difficulties And it will get worse when the economy bounces back There are many staying put during the recession who will move as soon as the economy improves (CIPD estimates that over 1/3 would ideally like to move in the next 12 months) Usual response is Increased L & D opps, better selection/induction Area that needs to be addressed is ‘people skills’ of managers Rarely coach on the job Rarely discuss development needs Rarely give feedback about performance As the Gallop survey showed People leave their managers NOT the organization Sainsbury/T-Mobile – Focus on developing the ability of managers to manage through their people Who measures staff turnover? Actual v target? But what is ideal level of staff turnover? (Over-retention can be a problem – need to ‘refresh’ team The focus shouldn’t be on the numbers leaving but WHO is leaving? Retaining Talent 12

Keeping your Stars Talented people are different So you should treat them differently Give them what they deserve! At 9.30 you will switch on your mobile phones and PDAs Imagine you’ve received a voicemail from one your Stars (someone absolutely mission critical to your success) It is their resignation! Ask yourself these FOUR Questions: Does the person know you consider them a star? Do you make them FEEL like a Star? Have you sat down with them in the last six months? Have you double checked their pay? Also need to redefine what we mean by retention – in 21st Century no longer about continuous employment but more about retaining access to knowledge and experience Need to utilise your ALUMNI 13

“The most important thing to do is to make sure that you’ve got the best people. That is going to be the key to your success.” Dame Stella Rimington former Head of MI5

But what does ‘the best’ look like? The Key Competencies for Success Personal accountability Displays leadership Challenges & Questions Empowers others Integrity SKILLS – What specific skills do they require??? Technical skills ABILITIES – What softer skills are required? Effective Decision Making Good Communication skills Builds client relationships Develops individuals

The Key Competencies for Success

Finding the ‘best people’

But where does recruitment go wrong?

But what have you got to Offer? Set clear expectations from the outset as to the recruitment timetable? How many interviews? Who will they meet? It is important to maintain momentum. May need to keep candidate ‘warm’ during the process. Who will make the offer and how will it be made? May need to provide advice re- resignation/potential counter-offer. It is Particularly important to maintain contact during the pre-start period (especially during lengthy ‘Garden Leave’)

Are you standing out from the crowd? Employer Branding Are you standing out from the crowd?

What is morale really like? What’s morale really like in your company? (and how do you know?) The biggest obstacle to you finding out is your job title. It is important that leaders can sense the mood of the organisation Particularly when there has been a significant number of redundancies The manner of those redundancies has big impact on morale Should be seen as fair, transparent and conducted as quickly as consultation process allows – need to remove uncertainty 1 in 5 think their jobs are at risk Widespread feeling of insecurity Greater pressure and stress Staff are experiencing Fewer promotion opportunities/ fewer bonuses/pay freezes/greater workload Danger of ‘over-consuming’ talent’ – Mark Martin, T-Mobile

“It is difficult to motivate but all too easy to de-motivate.” Sir Clive Woodward

Creating the insider feeling One Team

What do Leaders really do? End of Part One

What do Leaders really do? Part Two

Letting Go

Communication Really Matters

BIG TALK/ Little Talk Communication is the GLUE that holds any organisation together Martin Johnson – Also critical to England’s Rugby World Cup Success BIG TALK = Game Plan/Tactics (STRATEGY) Little Talk =Giving of information, encouragement, re-assurance (Absence of Please, thank you, well done = huge sapper of organisational energy)

“What leaders really do is prepare organisations for CHANGE.” Harvard Professor John Kotter

Preparing for Change

“ The difficulty is NOT developing new ideas but escaping the old ones” J.M. Keynes

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results.” Benjamin Franklin

“I’m an optimist. I am always excited by the prospect that something can be done better”. Charles Dunstone , Carphone Warehouse

Challenge & Question Everything

Challenge & Question Everything What are the good things we do that we must keep doing? What are the bad things we do that we must stop doing? What things do we do only occasionally that we should do consistently? What things don’t we do that we should start doing? In the current economic environment you have a unique opportunity to challenge/question everything (no sacred cows) The leader may not have all the answers but they should be equipped with the right questions (eg Einstein) [FOUR KEY QUESTIONS]

What are the good things we do that we must keep doing? www.ebi? Challenge & Question Everything What are the good things we do that we must keep doing? www.ebi? What works well? Even better if?

“Every winning formula has a ‘Sell-By’ date" Ron Dennis, McLaren

COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF MANY YEARS FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF MANY YEARS

“Heavier than air flying machines are IMPOSSIBLE” Lord Kelvin, President of the Royal Society, 1895

for maybe five computers” “I think there IS A world market for maybe five computers” Thomas Watson Jr, Head of IBM,1943

is inherently of no value to us” “The device is inherently of no value to us” Western Union’s opinion of Alexander Graham Bell’s Telephone 1876

“640K of memory ought to be e n o u g h for anybody…” Bill Gates, 1981

Learning from Past Performance

Criticism or Feedback? ???????? 1 in 3 HR Professionals have serious concerns over their line managers’ interview capability How many of you have been trained? (none of us would allow a 17 yr old to drive…) Some display marked interview phobia More dangerously, others believe they don’t need training Many don’t know what they are looking for – don’t use a job profile Most are not sufficiently prepared Questioning technique is poor Interviews are unstructured Many are poor ambassadors for their organisation (eg. UIP/M&S)

Reviewing Performance

Rate your own leadership performance A* B F

If you don't know why you've succeeded it must be an accident". why you've failed how can you improve? If you don't know why you've succeeded it must be an accident". His comments stuck with me. What relevance did it have for me in business. It is success that you want to replicate. Lord Sebastian Coe

What is your Leadership Brand?

“What you do speaks so loudly that I do not hear what you say” Ralph Waldo Emerson

What do Leaders really do?