Ochieve

28/06/2023

What does have an anxious manager and the pair of pliers in my son's toolbox have in common?

My son is almost 5 and since he was 3 years old he has had his own toolbox with some of my old tools in it, always ready to help mom "fix" something - and never worrying about what a tool "should" be used for. For example, did you know that you can use a pair of pliers to pick up a piece of bread from the floor? I mean - it makes sense when you think of it, but would you have thought first of using a pair of pliers for that task?

Our leadership teams are under pressure, especially people who are new into management positions. Never before has (and rightly so) there been so much focus on team dynamics, team engagement and employee value. And never before has business moved so quickly and has the need been so extreme to keep pace and remain effective.

More and more of the teams we have the privilege of speaking with are highlighting these challenges. And what we're finding is that the normal, goal oriented advice is not helping. In fact, it is adding to the anxiety.

A technique we've started focusing on recently changes the focus. Instead of trying to only determine what should be achieved, we try and help managers first understand who they are and what makes them tick. What is that personal base from which they can move forward and make sense of the world. How do I work and react?

Knowing who you are, what you value, how you react and what you feel helps you understand the toolset that you can deploy - and how it will impact challenges and anxiety. Give this structure a try and let me know if it works for you.

27/06/2023

Practical tips:

Here is great piece of conversational advice from Vinh Giang - he really has some great content relating to using one of your most important instruments - your voice - to communicate.

”Yes, and…”

This is the power of saying YES AND. Most people say YES BUT in a conversation which doesn't build on their response, it actually negates it.If you want to k...

27/06/2023

Great leaders are willing to sacrifice the numbers to save the people. Poor leaders sacrifice the people to save the numbers. --Simon Sinek

Follow Leadership Right for more.

21/06/2023

Ever seen the meme with Michael Jackson sitting in the cinema eating popcorn? 𝑅𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑛?

That's right - in a comment or email tennis match. And o boy - as much of a time waste that can be, it remains fun to watch. Because it never gets 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆...

I recently had the opportunity to help a young new manager in a logistics business. He expressed that he is really struggling to get others to 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 what he was trying to say. So we had a discussion and I observed for a bit how he worked - and saw that this poor man was trying his best to use slack and email as primary communication tools. He drafted eloquent emails and slack messages and 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑔𝑜𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 when people did not respond or when he prompted them later on something and they had no idea what he was talking about.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿, 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁? I suggested to him that his communication channels is his biggest challenge. Using written communication to get long, complicated points across is not efficient - either for him (spending way too long drafting the things) or for the recipient (who now needs to spend time, in the middle of other things) to digest and interpret his message.

And then we got to the root of the problem. He's not a dumb guy, but he confessed that he is 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 to get his point across in person-to-person discussions and that the written method allowed him to get his thoughts in some sort of order.

We've embarked on a short series of practice sessions to help him start getting more comfortable with in person discussion. Both in discovery sessions as well as where he needs to be more assertive.

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 - that was the challenge. But also making sure to understand when to use which communication channels. Hopefully this infographic will also help you, if you have struggled with the same issues.

21/06/2023

Did you know that you are a scientist?

Yup - you are indeed a scientist. It is not the field of work you are in that makes you a scientist, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑟𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁 - you are faced with challenges everyday, you have to ask critical questions, formulate hypothesis, test assumptions and make decisions based on feedback and results.

But do you 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 like a scientist in that you do not just accept the first option but require some decent evidence before committing down a path and tying up resources? Have you ever thought about this?

Try using the 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱 the next time you are faced with a challenge. It is a systematic process used in research to investigate phenomena, acquire new knowledge, or correct previous understanding.

This infographic shows how this process can be used when, for example, trying to understand the challenge of employee engagement.

20/06/2023

Peter Drucker said it best:

“𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍”

Your thoughts?

20/06/2023

What is the 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 in business? The one question that could significantly minimize business challenges if used correctly? It is different than you might think.

This is a question that is often asked in the corridors, or around the watercooler, or as fleeting messages on slack or whatever communication tool you use. But from our engagements with clients we rarely see this question asked as part of the fundamental focus and prioritization process for the organization.

And this question is simply: "𝑾𝙝𝒚 𝒂𝙧𝒆 𝒘𝙚 𝙙𝒐𝙞𝒏𝙜 𝙩𝒉𝙖𝒕?"

You see - the focus with this question is different. Within an organization - whether large or small - it is normally quite easy to make a project or feature backlog that is as long as your arm. 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 the list is seldom a problem. Where after the list owner has to apply some sort of prioritization process to rank these items from most to least important or urgent.

Seldom though, as part of this process, do we see teams genuinely asking "𝑊ℎ𝑦 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡? 𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑙𝑒? 𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑛 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑔𝑜𝑎𝑙𝑠? 𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒?"

𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 deciding where something should be on the list or in the roadmap or the backlog - however you do this - 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 determine if it should part of the list in the first place. And remember, this is not only relevant to items still to be done, but also to items that are 𝑎𝑙𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡. There are few things more pointless than persisting with an initiative that has no quantifiable value to your team or organization.

So how should you approach this? Well, there are a number of ways companies have successfully implemented this process. And we'll delve into some examples of how different organizations do this in future posts.

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 is to embrace this principle into your planning and prioritisation process. Bring the question into your process.

Start asking "𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒅𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔?" and this small change alone will already help you improve your value efficiency and help ensure better focus on the stuff that really matters.

19/06/2023

Dear Facebook Community - we would sincerely appreciate your help with some research we're conducting into business performance. Regardless of whether your business is experiencing really challenges circumstances or if you are doing really well. We're doing some digging into the relationship between business performance and the 5 Performance Pillars.

This link - https://lnkd.in/d7NcAfpb
- will take you to a questionnaire that will only take 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝟱 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 to complete.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂?

1) Based on your responses we'll provide you with a 𝘍𝘙𝘌𝘌 basic performance foundation analysis that will contain some practical tips you can use as needed,

2) We will invite 2 lucky respondents to a 30 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 on any performance issues they may encounter and provide some practical guidance.

You can choose to do the questionnaire without completing your contact details, but we won't know where to send your assessment analysis, so please include your contact detail?

Confirming - all data will be treated with the highest confidentiality, securely stored and only used for the purpose of doing broad analysis and providing you with a summary assessment. We include an optional sign-up to our newsletter.

Many thanks and warmest regards
Johan Meyer

16/06/2023

Wouldn't it be great if you could do everything at the same time?

But alas - that's not how things work for most of us. Setting the right priorities and selecting where your team should focus first is an age old struggle.

You only have so many resources to deploy and, like a games master, you must now decide what gets a green light and what should be paused. And in addition - you need to ensure that your team is aligned with you and they also focus on these identified priorities.

So, meet Alex...

In this short article - http://surl.li/hxxys
- we introduce you to Alex, an ambitious young leader who faced this same problem. We think many of you can relate to Alex's struggles - and also find value in our suggestions to address this age old question.

­I'm very curious to hear your take on this. Do you have challenges when setting priorities? What mechanism helps you and your team to focus on the right initiatives?

15/06/2023

Work - Life balance… sure…

Often, the term 'work-life balance' conjures images of perfectly balanced scales - equal parts work and personal life. Perhaps 50 years ago it was possible to “switch off” at 17:00 and not think about it until the next morning at 08:00.

𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙩'𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙩: for most of us, that's simply not feasible.

Work often tips the scales and takes up most of our time, either because we're passionate about what we do or because our responsibilities demand it. And come to think of it - work is a part of our life. It’s not something that lives separately and outside of who we are.

Refer to some great pieces written recently by Lisa Martin and Monte Pedersen about managing passion and enjoyment in your job.

And that is partly where this idea of “balancing work and life” came from - it was not about the time spent doing work, but about the impact and toll the work had on the person and their enjoyment of life. And as a consequence, on their families.

𝗦𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀?

Balance does not mean “equal”. Balance (simplified) means applying similar force at both ends of the balance point. So if work takes up 70% of your time, then you need to find a counter-balance that can apply a similar amount of force on the 30% at the other side of the balance point.

We spend a significant portion of our lives working, so it's crucial that we counter-balance this with meaningful engagement in other areas of our lives - be it family, hobbies, friends, or sports.

𝘽𝙪𝙩 - 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙚𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧-𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜.

When at work, immerse yourself completely. Give it your all, and strive for productivity and efficiency. Don't just work harder, work smarter. Remove distractions and apply your mind fully. Not only will you get more done, but you’ll deliver higher quality work.

And when it's time to engage in activities outside of work, commit to them with the same level of focus and presence. Whether you're spending time with your family, pursuing a hobby, hanging out with friends, or playing a sport - be wholly there.

Remember: Just as your work deserves your full attention when you're engaged in it, so does your counter-balance. It's not about achieving perfect balance; it's about creating an effective counter-balance that leads to a fulfilling and well-rounded life.

14/06/2023

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 - 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁

Continuing with our series on 14 Damaging Business Challenges we offer some guidance for situations where roles and responsibilities are not as clear they should be.

This is again one of those business management practices that must be attended to deliberately. Hoping for the best simply does not cut it.

During the last couple of years many organizations adopted a more "fluid" approach to ownership of functions within the business. After all - everyone is working towards the same goals, have great passion and commitment and we'll just pick up the things that need to get done. 𝘙𝑖𝘨ℎ𝘵?

Now although - in general - it would surely be so much easier if everyone just picked up things and got the job done, in practice there are a couple of challenges:

1) Star performers may pick up way too much and this could cause a significant reduction in their overall output and quality,

2) Some key business actions or goals may not get the right focus or attention and fall by the wayside, and

3) With the best intention, some tasks are specialized and should only be done by those that have the right skills.

𝙔𝒐𝙪 𝙝𝒂𝙫𝒆 𝒕𝙤 𝙥𝒓𝙤𝒗𝙞𝒅𝙚 𝙜𝒖𝙞𝒅𝙖𝒏𝙘𝒆

In this article - https://shorturl.at/lyJZ8
- we unpack this in a bit more detail and give you some practical guidance if you find this business challenge might be present on your team.

13/06/2023

There is no such thing as an easy morning when you are a parent - especially with small kids. So what does this have to do with business?

𝑳𝒆𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏...

This morning was just super-hectic, which meant I was late getting the kids to school. And where I normally have the privilege of walking the kids to their classrooms (if we are on time) - this morning I had to say goodbye at the door and watch the teacher walk them down the passage.

And despite going through this door every morning, I could see and sense the impact this 𝘰𝘯𝘦 change had on them. It was different. The familiar routine was suddenly not there and they had to adapt on the spot. I could see them clutching their bags tighter and somewhat nervously looking around. It hit me harder than I thought it would.

But as I drove away from the school my mind made a connection to this situation and big change we are helping a client with. Not a change of environment, but a change of "𝗛𝗢𝗪" things are done.

And I thought 3 things:

1. How 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 are we to the impact of change, to those that have to go through it? Do we appreciate that change - even perceived small changes - could really be a challenge with some in our team? Are we handling change with compassion?

2. How good are we at 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 people to handle change? Do we just expect people to handle change well? Or are we giving them the tools and ability to work through change, despite being fearful of it? and

3. How well are we equipping and 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 the leaders driving the change? Focus is always on supporting the team - and rightly so. But what about the leader who is also going through a change and who has the responsibility to make the change work?

I know I need to equip my kids better - perhaps be late a little more often, help them remain more flexible. I can't prevent change, but I can help them become good at identifying and adopting to change.

Keen to hear your advise on handling change and preparing people for change. Share below and repost to those that can benefit from this message.