I have been with Orion for over eight years, so leaving feels very strange. I joined a year after the partnership started and over the years progressed to being one of the owners.

Looking back Orion has been involved in some incredible projects, which I have been lucky enough to be part of. These have included some of the largest, highest profile HR transformation programmes in Europe, working on HR outsourcing projects that have changed the market, roving round South Africa taking our skills to that fascinating country, and working with colleagues to launch one of the most innovative HR development programmes in the world. I have also made some great friends along the way.

Looking back these are experiences that you might not expect to find in a “small” company like Orion. However I had these opportunities because a few things have been consistent throughout my time there.

• A belief that our clients successful is our success
• A passion for developing tools and methodologies that are different, because they work better than anything else
• A commitment to bringing smart people to work on projects, with a thought provoking way of looking at issues

I hope I can take something from that as I move on. Either way, I wish the team every success in the future.

“That’s a great idea but I need to have more data”

“I really like what you are suggesting but I don’t have the time right now”

“Could you cut the data a different way and then we will see….”

“I love the idea but the team is just too busy”

Of course there may be good reasons for not taking action but when you have provided a couple of different iterations or raised the idea several times and you begin to get that uncomfortable feeling in the pit of the stomach…. it is probably resistance!

Most change management models assume resistance is inevitable but the science of how the brain works suggests not. With this understanding you could eliminate the need to manage resistance by using the natural reactions in the brain to help you position and gain buy-in to your idea or plan. Take a look at this section in the Success Kitbag for an understanding of the brain science and how you can practically apply it to getting traction on your next idea:  http://www.orion-partners-resources.com/topics/JUakc6XnfZHVAzwf.html 

These weekly tips form part of the HR Success Kitbag service.

If you would like to find out more about the Kitbag, click here

Not always, of course. But too often, once we’ve helped an organisation deliver a major change in their business, we see everyone rushing off to start the next thing. No-one stops to reflect. No-one assesses whether what’s been delivered has moved the business forwards. And no-one learns anything from the process as a result.

So when we got the chance to work with Thames Valley Police to review the success of a number of changes in their HR structure, we were delighted.

 
Click here to read the full case study as a Flipbook

One technique to assist us in this is brainstorming. A commonly used term, but which requires skill to facilitate in a way that enhances group activity and team work and generates multiple ideas.

How often have you attended a ‘brainstorming’ session which involves a group of like-minded people sitting round a flip chart or white board documenting ideas that everyone has heard before?

And yet, when particular conditions are created by the facilitator, brainstorming can be a great way to produce many new ideas in a positive environment. The key steps are outlined in this tool ”Brainstorming“.

Take a look and consider your approach as a facilitator. Where do you usually focus your energy? What will you do differently next time?  What opportunities are available to you to use this approach in your work?

The more you practice, the more skilled you will become. And the more your organisation will benefit from creative ideas generated and captured in a focussed, positive way.

These weekly tips form part of the HR Success Kitbag service.

If you would like to find out more about the Kitbag, click here

Our Leading HR research, carried out in 2008 highlighted the importance of purpose. The best HR leaders spent time defining a clear purpose. Three key themes emerged in terms of how the HR Leaders defined their purpose in the organisation:

• Ensure the organisation has the right talent in the right place at the right time
• Create a people strategy for the business, not an HR agenda
• Transform the business to ensure it meets its full potential

As importantly, when they described how they go about fulfilling this purpose, they consistently mentioned a heavy reliance on intuition and a willingness to take risks, innovate and go out on a limb to make the right things happen. Some of the ways in which they described the importance of purpose were:

Sample quotes on Sense of Purpose…

“I am not at my best unless I am sure of my purpose.”

“It’s about fulfilling the role of ‘people conscience’ on the board.”

“Reinvent the top of the organisation.”

In our more recent research on how the best HR organisations create and execute HR strategy we again see the importance of a clear purpose being created through the people strategy. A purpose which helps individuals in the function make choices, allocate resources and maintain energy in difficult times.

Furthermore purpose helps leaders  bring the function and the business with them on their journey to implement the people strategy. In both studies we found that the use of stories to illustrate the strategy and what success would look and feel like was an important tool for leaders.

Stories are a powerful method of getting people to engage in executing strategy it is one of the tools that defines How leaders make strategy happen.

The answer to why this is the case is an unconscious response in our brain.  When we receive feedback from others we experience this as a threat – our sense of reputation and standing is impacted.   This response happens at an unconscious level before we have had time to consciously process what has been said to us.

As a result, it can be surprisingly easy to accidently threaten someone’s sense of reputation by implying that you are of a higher social standing and as such are in a position to comment on their performance – give them feedback.  This means that it is also possible to trigger a threat response when giving positive feedback.   Bearing this in mind, is it any wonder that our performance management systems falter at the formal review stage….?

One way round this is to ask if the individual would like some feedback – giving them back a sense of control and choice, which in turn elevates their reputation.  Or better still, ask them how they think they did and get them to evaluate their own performance and how they could do things differently.

For more ideas on how to build a brain friendly feedback climate in your team or organisation visit “Developing others”

These weekly tips form part of the HR Success Kitbag service.

If you would like to find out more about the Kitbag, click here

What explains the success of some managers and not others? Managing some of the best teams in the world, with players at the top of their game and plenty of cash to throw around come the transfer window, might sound like a dream come true. Yet there’s such variation in managerial success, with high profile sackings and tabloid headlines illustrating the ‘failures’ all too publicly. Can this be explained purely by managerial style and skill?

At Orion we use a technique that we call the Success Profile to identify the handful of key factors that distinguish people who are excellent in their roles from those who are merely good. Our global research conducted over several years has shown that the Success Profile for HR professionals is made up of attitudes and beliefs rather than technical skills and capabilities. To be exceptional you need the right mindset for success, as well as technical knowledge and capability.  A key factor in the HR Leaders Success Profile is self belief – placing a high value on the impact of your role, and your personal ability to deliver results.

I strongly suspect that similar attributes would be found in the Success Profile for exceptional football managers. Managing talent  in any organisation can be a tough order at times, even more so under the glare of a global audience, and without a strong sense of purpose and self belief then you don’t stand a chance, regardless of your technical prowess. That’s not to suggest that the latter is unimportant, far from it, but once you’ve reached the stage where you’re put in charge of a premier league side you’ve already earned your stripes, and yet still at this level we see big variations in managerial performance.

Take Roberto Di Matteo, the current Chelsea manager, temporarily appointed to the role despite having no previous experience at this level. There was no great expectation of high performance under his leadership, and yet so far he’s thrived, culminating in Chelsea’s recent FA Cup win. The combination of lower-than-usual external pressure to perform and public support from the players seems to have resulted in high levels of self belief. Having this mindset for success may explain why, although seemingly lacking managerial skill and experience, he is delivering where his predecessor wasn’t able to.

In contrast take Barcelona, last year’s European champions – expectations are high and the manager, Pep Guardiola, has delivered a string of trophies for the club. A recent dip in performance has sparked the announcement of his resignation, from a role and a club that typically people only leave when forced to do so. Interestingly Guardiola has cited a loss of motivation as his reason for leaving. In our research we found that commitment is a key component of self belief: those who are most successful cite an unwavering commitment to the objective at hand or strategic direction, as well as the belief that they are the right person to achieve it. The Barcelona manager clearly has the technical skills and experience to deliver, and yet he’s currently struggling to do so – apparently he’s wavered in his commitment to the results that are required.

In fact, it appears there’s a lot that football managers could learn from the self belief of the best HR professionals: resilience and tough-mindedness, the ability to treat disappointment as an opportunity to learn and develop, and an unwavering focus on the end goal which guides decisions and actions. I’m not suggesting this is easy to do either on or off the pitch. However, our research has also shown that mindset is something that can be developed, just as much as behaviour or knowledge. Having had the privilege to work with HR professionals in all kinds of organisation, I’ve seen firsthand the positive impact that a shift in mindset can have, both for the individual and their colleagues and clients. I don’t doubt that the same impact could be achieved by football managers for themselves and their teams.

So, as England prepares for the European Championships in June, I wonder whether the newly appointed manager can develop the self belief needed for success, despite the huge weight of expectation upon him and the team. Only time will tell…

Click here to read our research High performing HR leaders – A model for success…

No matter how good you are at building relationships there will always be some people you have problems with. If you are really working strategically, focused on the things that will move the company closer to achieving its goals, you are inevitably going to have occasions when you disagree with someone. Or you will find that someone has a personal agenda that does not match the business goals.

Knowing where you stand with important stakeholders is an essential tool for HR. Many people tell us they know this intuitively but we urge you to actually map out your stakeholders.  Seeing their names on paper can be very revealing. How strong is their support? Is it tactical or really heartfelt? Who  influences them and how might that impact their degree of support for what you are trying to achieve? Who are the supporters you haven’t taken into account, those people on the edge that may be useful in persuading others?

Take a look at “Stakeholder influence mapping“ to help you do this.

Another aspect of mapping stakeholders which may be missed is to understand where they are on a particular project or initiative. You can do this using this tool “Thinking broadly“.

Even your biggest supporter won’t agree with everything you suggest. Really understanding their point of view and what is important to them at this precise moment in time is key. There will be times when they may have supported you but now they have other issues. Or they may not realise you need a specific type of support on the project. So understanding your stakeholders deeply puts you in the best possible position to be successful. Follow these steps in the Success Kitbag and map your success!

Finally, make a habit of revisiting your stakeholder map. This is not a one off exercise. Things shift and change in business all the time. Update your map regularly and especially at the start of each new initiative.  It only takes a few minutes.

These weekly tips form part of the HR Success Kitbag service.

If you would like to find out more about the Kitbag, click here

I went to a wine tasting last night with the owner of Frogs Leap winery which is based in Napa California. Unfortunately, I was in East End of London not Napa but the wines are very good and the tasting was fun. However, the most interesting part was John Williams’ description of how he grows his vines using the biodynamic method. If you Google this method, you will find all sorts of diverse opinions about it and an  acknowledgement that more and more of the serious wine makers and growers are beginning to grow vines in this way. The approach was started by an early 20th-century Austrian philosopher, Rudolf Steiner. He didn’t know anything about wine, but his teachings gave birth to a spiritual philosophy that attempts to bridge the gap between science, art and religion.

Those winemakers, who practice the biodynamic method, view the health of the vine in a holistic,   ecological way. They are not only concerned with the plant, they believe the health of the vine and the ultimate quality of the resulting wine is dependent upon the life forces – the soil, the people who work in the vineyard, and all the other plants and animals that are a part of the eco-system. Biodynamics is about the subtle manipulation of these life forces, or energies, and aims to work in harmony with the rhythms of nature.  It shares much with Chinese medicine, homeopathy and acupuncture, whose basis is the manipulation of these subtle energies (chi), which they believe are within each of us.

The way John described the method was that the grower orientated them self to the vine. In essence, they put themselves in the shoes (roots) of the vine and manage the winery from that perspective. So a grower would assume the vine is asking itself:

What is the best time to start to grow, coming out of winter?

When should I send new leaves out, is it warm enough?

When is the right time to bud? Will the bees be out to pollinate?

Do I need to dig deeper with my roots to get more moisture and minerals?

The growers’ role is to think like the vine and to ensure that the signals sent by the micro-climate are free and available to the vine so it can make the right decisions about growth and health. Signals come in the form of the weather, animal life and insects as well as the stresses and strains of nature. For example letting the vine seek moisture deeper in the earth rather than watering regularly stresses the plant but also provides a healthier plant and more intensely flavoured grapes if lower yields.

Most farming attempts to control the environment rather than allow it to flourish naturally. It also tries to make life easy for the farmer and to take the risk out of farming. That is control the vine rather than let it make the decisions.  However, increasingly growers of top quality wines view the stresses and strains of growing yield better results.

So what has this got to do with leadership? Well to me it was a metaphor for how we develop leaders and manage leadership development.

Do we spoon-feed growing leaders with all the right development ingredients? For examples many leadership development programmes are designed around making sure potential leaders have the right courses, mentors and access to the right roles. A biodynamic method would use more of the natural rough and tumble of business to develop leaders. The developer would put them self in the leaders shoes, understand what would result in a developmental experience for the potential leader and then organise an environment where the leader has to learn to read the signals that suggest the growth path for them. This type of leadership development would give leaders much more responsibility for their own development and give more options for how the growth took place, rather than a one size fits all approach. Part of the programme would include leaders living with some stress and strain and from that taking risk and maybe even failing a few times. The goal would ultimately be a healthier and stronger leader, like the biodynamic vine. Leaders developed by this method are also much more likely to be role-models for creating a growth culture in the organisation, be more adaptable and have more skills to develop talent in a similar way. As one wine writer said “For me what separates the great wine from the good is its ability to transport me, to make me feel awe.” Not a bad description of how most companies would like to describe their leaders.

As an HR person where is your talent and leadership development approach? The clean managed variety or the environmentally sensitive but ultimately tougher approach. My recent blog on Steve Jobs leadership style  also talks to this. I am pretty sure Steve would have been a biodynamic grower of leaders.