I guess we start this year with optimism and yet less certainty than we would normally do. I know most of my friends are much more likely to say ‘If I can…’ rather than ‘I intend to…’ when it comes to personal plans and projects. 2020 was a stark reminder of both how resourceful and how powerless we are as individuals and as humanity. So, within this ongoing unusual context, I wish you all the very best for 2021. Over ...
It’s Annual Performance Review time of year again for many organisations. APRs are amongst those conversations that everyone involved should welcome because of the value they bring. Instead, far too often people dread them. In fact, according to a 2019 Gallup report ‘only 14% of employees strongly agree their performance reviews inspire them to improve. In other words, if performance reviews were a drug, they would not meet FDA approval for efficacy.’ Now, if I were to ask you to list ...
Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes is a powerful leadership skill. Leaders need to communicate important things but, to do this well, knowing what people really need from you is essential. In the latest CommMasters blog post, MD Heather Campbell shares five secrets of leadership communication you can use to understand things from the other side of the table, and make your communications a two-way street. Having succumbed to welcoming Alexa into my home, I’ve been handing over all sorts ...
I was working with a client who had a huge budget for development, leaders who were champing at the bit to engage with the development programme, and an Executive Team that was excited to be walking the walk, not just talking the talk. And then I woke up. Yes, we can all dream of these perfect circumstances when it comes to developing leaders in our organisations. The reality is usually quite different. I’ve been there myself — convincing CEOs and Finance Directors that effective ...
How do you decide how long your leadership development programmes should be? This is a challenge in many organisations, and there are usually two deciding factors involved: The budget you have available for the specific programme How many days you think leaders will be prepared to invest in attending the workshop(s) If you’re like most HR and L&D professionals I meet, you already recognise that – usually – neither the budget nor the time available are sufficient to really get ...
“I’ve got to let you into a secret. I never liked the whole formal performance management thing – and it’s not just because the managers hate me for nagging them about it!” The Head of HR who made this confession isn’t unique. I’ve been there myself. As a former Head of HR & OD in the financial services and utilities sectors, I spent many hours trying to convince leaders that performance management was their responsibility – not something that ‘belonged’ ...