Focus@Henley Issue 11 - May 2016 by Henley Business School

ISSUE 11 – MAY 2016

FOCUS BE EXCEPTIONAL. THE HENLEY WAY.

BRINGING YOU THE INSIGHTS YOU NEED TO DRIVE YOUR AGENDA

Data protection: The race is on, but are you up and running? P3

READ

> 41% 81% Uplift 40 points increase

READ

Perceived self What others see

Making a difference, through Learning and Knowledge P4

READ

Making regulation fit for the future

Does performance management do more harm than good? P8

READ P6

Lived self Full range of lived behaviours, conditions & emotions

SOCIAL IDENTITY Learned self Sets of conscious/unconscious rules & regulations Core self Sets of conscious /unconscious rules & PERSONAL IDENTITY regulations Level of congruence between layers

READ

Putting positive psychology to work in organisations P9

READ

Engaging with leaders, engaging with leadership P10

READ

Feeling overwhelmed? Why multitasking isn’t one of our strengths P12

WELCOME

WELCOME TO THE LATEST ISSUE OF FOCUS@HENLEY – THE HOME OF ESSENTIAL BUSINESS INSIGHTS!

Focus@Henley – the latest news and views on management, leadership and learning development Amongst the topics featured in this issue are: – The new EU data protection legislation and what it means for your organisation – How Henley and the FCA are working together to raise standards in financial regulation – An insight into performance management, and how to do it better – The latest research into positive psychology – Engaging leadership, and how companies are sharing new knowledge – Insights into the neuroscience of coaching – Spotlight on Cathy Hughes, Head of School at Real Estate & Planning As ever, your thoughts and comments are genuinely welcomed, so please do send us your feedback and help us to ensure that Focus@Henley continues to be relevant and worthwhile. We look forward to hearing from you. Claire Hewitt, Editor of Focus@Henley magazine Head of Learning Design +44 (0) 1491 418767 exec@henley.ac.uk www.henley.ac.uk

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CASE STUDY

DATA PROTECTION: THE RACE IS ON, BUT ARE YOU UP AND RUNNING? Ardi Kolah, Visting faculty, Programme Co-director of the Data Protection Officer Programme |

he good news – at least for all of us as consumers – is that our personal

data is about to get a lot more secure. As a result of the new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), organisations will be obliged to treat such data with greater transparency and respect than many have done previously.

Last year saw the highest number of personal data breaches ever, and the problem is set to grow significantly. And whether the UK remains within the EU or not, these regulations will apply.

are going to have to make and will find themselves on the end of some eyewatering fines. Early indications suggest that the new penalties could equate to up to 4% of the offending organisation’s previous year’s global revenue, up to a maximum of €20 million, whichever is the greater. Serial recidivists can also have their licence withdrawn, preventing them from trading; in terms of business continuity, that’s clearly a situation to be avoided.

So for those qualifying organisations that hold personal details, there is an urgent need to understand the new European Commission regulation and continually adhere to it.

Focus@Henley

• it obliges specialist organisations

and those with over 200 employees to set aside a budget to appoint and train a Data Protection Officer (DPO) to be responsible for complying with the regulation

This is, without doubt, the biggest shake-up in data protection in over a decade, and if your organisation holds data, you’ll almost certainly need to introduce – or enhance – systems, processes and training to stay GDPRcompliant.

To find out more, visit the Henley Data Protection Officer Programme at: henley.ac.uk/dpo

The time to act is now

But according to Ardi Kolah, the Programme Co-Director on Henley’s recently-launched Data Protection Officer Programme, many businesses are blindly ignoring the changes they

@eu_compliance

The new and unique Henley training programme ensures that companies won’t get caught out, by providing offline and online guidance to anyone responsible for data within an organisation. Designed to be completed within five months from the introductory session, it comprises six modules and finishes with an integration workshop facilitated by an expert tutor.

And with the new regulation being three times the length of the existing legislation, it will be easy to find yourself on the wrong end of a sanction from the Information Commissioner.

Eduardo Ustaran, European Head, Data Protection for international law firm Hogan Lovells, urges business owners to address the issues sooner rather than later, asserting that: ‘it would be a huge mistake to ignore GDPR until it becomes fully enforceable in 2018.’

Ardi Kolah

There are three core aspects to the new regulation, namely: • it fundamentally redefines how data

has to be collected and stored

• it imposes new duties and

responsibilities on the data controller (the organisation) and the data processor (the people in the organisation who are responsible for handling the data)

EVENT - THE HENLEY FORUM CONFERENCE

MAKING A DIFFERENCE, THROUGH LEARNING AND KNOWLEDGE

Dr Sharon Varney

Dr Sharon Varney, Director of the Henley Forum for Organisational Learning and Knowledge Strategies |

@DrSharonVarney

For details of the Henley Forum, click here

Turning research insights into action

uncertainties and thrive when

Most knowledge and learning professionals accept that no one can handle the complexity of modern business alone. So giving skilled individuals ‘freedom, within a framework’, as Dolph Dwars of Shell called it, is a vital starting point. When people really understand the purpose of change and why it matters, they are more engaged and better able to sensibly apply their knowledge and judgement to unfamiliar circumstances.

o say ‘change is a constant’ is old news. What leaders and managers

want are new ways to survive today’s tomorrow looks like a foreign land. The expert speakers at the recent 16th annual Henley Forum Conference, including perspectives from BBC Worldwide, Nesta, BT, the International Olympic Committee and Shell, offered a clear message.

The two themes of the conference – ‘what’s on the horizon?’, and ‘joining the dots’ – looked at how knowledge and learning professionals can make a real difference in a changing world, providing the delegates with new insights and opportunities for reflection.

A similar message about communicating the why of change also emerged in our latest Forum research, exploring how to energise squeezed middle managers, who are pivotal in

implementing change, yet are currently experiencing something of an identity crisis: coping with a vast range of unfamiliar demands. The research revealed that those who saw themselves as change leaders differed in three key ways from change managers – those who defined themselves more as officials with responsibilities for delivering results. Change leaders believed: • one of their primary concerns was to understand more about the aims so they could communicate why change was meaningful for their teams • they had a voice in shaping the direction of change; they felt free to push back and actively influenced upwards • their role was to constantly reinvent themselves and their environment.

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YEARS of knowledge in action

In contrast, those managing change felt they had little time to learn; all their effort went into dealing with insufficient resources, the conflicting demands of the job and keeping their teams on track. This rubbed off on energy levels in their group, with much less productive energy and much more complacent, resigned and corrosive energy than the change leaders’ teams. In another new research report, a team of Forum members provided valuable insights into building successful internal partnerships for change. The research outlines what works in practice in finding the right internal partners, forming productive working relationships, and performing to meet goals. Key to success are establishing mutual interests, nurturing the right relationships and finding ways to develop shared understanding.

Looking forward, to make connections more meaningful On day 2 of the conference, Dr Nicola Millard of BT gazed into the future to offer a view of work and the collaboration challenges it creates, including that of ‘unity in diversity’.

Focus@Henley

And knowledge management consultant, Chris Collison neatly summarised one way of solving this conundrum with current technology: by aiming to provide ‘just enough’ knowledge and learning, ‘just in case’, ‘just in time’ and ‘just for me’. And Chris rounded off the conference by suggesting that, with the imminent prospect of dialogue through wearables and holographic communications, we can look forward to the whole process of sharing knowledge becoming seamless, social and much more personalised! All in all, a fascinating and stimulating two days that provoked much thought, much debate and lots of promises of action to bring about meaningful change. For more about the Henley Forum and the conference, click here

Henley is now ranked

for % of female faculty by the FT 2015 (EE/2015)

Henley is now ranked

in the UK for repeat business and growth by the FT 2015 (EE/2015)

CASE STUDY

MAKING REGULATION FIT FOR THE FUTURE H

enley has been working with the FCA to create a Masters

programme in financial regulation, ensuring that our regulators remain truly world class.

Since many of the responsibilities of the Financial Services Authority were passed to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) back in April 2013, the new body has been developing a more structured approach to its high-level learning.

The FCA’s goal was to create a programme owned – but not run – by themselves, which would provide fresh input and an enhanced level of professionalism for the most ambitious members of the team, and to design a framework for making regulation fit

for future generations. Courses were already available through the FCA Academy, but the new MSc course needed to: • provide a higher level of technical expertise • develop participants’ critical thinking skills • be broad enough to be appropriate and appealing to new staff and experienced specialists Following a search by the FCA for a suitable partner, a wide-ranging tender process was undertaken early in 2014, resulting in Henley Business School being awarded the contract in March of that year. But with a need to launch the first programme in October, including validation of the qualification by the University of Reading, the process proved to be somewhat hectic! Nevertheless, with input from the three stakeholder parties – the ICMA Centre at Henley, the FCA and the

Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) – the first cohort of 27 participants embarked on the three-year programme as scheduled. Following positive reviews from these pioneers, an increased cohort of 31 students began their journey in January 2016. Dr Tim Sellick, Programme Director for the MSc, is positive that the enthusiasm shown by the participants will be reflected in their output: ‘The course comprises three stages, with 60 credits for each. The options for the third stage mean that students can choose how they express their thought leadership, either through a dissertation or through a business project looking at the wider aspects of regulation. Our aim is to have these research pieces presented at a conference at the end of each three-year programme, building up into a really meaningful body of work.’

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The impact on the participants During February 2016, a survey of the first two student cohorts was undertaken, to assess their satisfaction with the programme, and the extent to which it had increased their knowledge, capability and confidence. The survey involved qualitative interviews with the students that also enabled them to rate their own abilities. The results were impressive. For example, in cohort 1, the level of knowledge of regulatory structures and concepts increased from an average of 41% to 81%, while their appreciation of the cultures and sub-cultures that exist within firms and markets rose from 45% to 81%.

Almost all participants felt that their inclination to ask questions, challenge constructively and think in a more analytical way had increased significantly, with an increase across the board in participants’ level of confidence in a business environment – from 61% to 77%.

Every single respondent also said that their ability to achieve their professional ambitions had been enhanced by the programme, and over two-thirds felt that completion of the programme would give them a significant competitive advantage within the sector.

Over 80% of cohort 1 students reported that they were ‘regularly’ or ‘very frequently’ applying their learning in their day-to-day work, and all respondents said they had applied their knowledge at some point. Similarly, 80% of those asked said that they were more inclined to consider an ongoing career at the FCA as a result of participating on the programme, suggesting that as a loyalty and retention tool, offering the Masters programme has been hugely successful for the organisation.

When asked if they would recommend the programme to a friend or colleague, the average rating score was 9.24 out of 10 across all participants. A third cohort is already moving towards the start line, ready to embark in September 2016 on a programme that looks set to become a global standard.

How would you rate your knowledge in the following areas, both at the start of your course and now (Feb 2016)? a. Regulatory structures and concepts, and the tools and techniques they use?

b. Your understanding of financial firms and markets and the range of business models?

c. Your understanding of the nature and consequences of risk, accountability and governance?

41% 81%

46% 80%

48% 79%

Uplift 40 points increase

Uplift 34 points increase

Uplift 31 points increase

d. Your appreciation of the cultures and sub-cultures that exist within firms and markets?

e. Your awareness of moral and ethical issues related to financial regulation?

f. Your knowledge of regulatory legislation?

45% 81%

48% 84%

53% 79%

Uplift 36 points increase

Uplift 36

Uplift 26 points increase

points increase

Average score before Average score now

In what ways has the course been different or better than you anticipated?

Free-text responses

Pleasantly surprised at the amount of academic and theoretical content.

Focus@Henley

It was more academic than I expected – which was positive – but I got my head round it more easily than I thought.

There’s a great mix of people. It’s much better than I thought it would be.

I found it easier to manage alongside my day job than I imagined, and understood areas I never thought I would!

HR DOCTOR

DOES PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD? Visiting Professor Nick Holley |

Visiting Professor Nick Holley

@Nick_Holley

For the full article, click here

comprises: research, focus, consultation, measurement and dialogue.

outlines what areas need to change,

This new approach involves organisations:

hat needs to be done to improve performance management? In

this article, Professor Nick Holley, and change fast.

‘There is a widespread feeling that while performance management has a theoretical underpinning, due to the way it is implemented in most companies, the potentially beneficial outcomes seem to be outweighed by the time invested in it by HR and line managers,’ says Nick. But he believes that there is no universal solution; the answer that is right for any particular organisation is the one that addresses the issues and challenges it faces. Indeed, the search for an answer based on what other organisations are doing is symptomatic of the fundamental problem of performance management and, indeed of HR generally.

So why doesn’t it work? Over complexity – the time spent on the process is not reflected in the value added to the business. Process focus – the underlying purpose gets lost, especially the importance of having great conversations. Demotivation – the way it is implemented by line managers results in lower performance. Short-termism – the desire for quick, individual results undermines innovation and collaboration.

• conducting deep research about

what motivates and engages their people

• evaluating the impact and

Internal competition – the most negative element of all is the calibration of performance against a forced ratings distribution. Management bias – the unconscious biases exhibited by most managers create skewed rating criteria. So performance management often does more harm than good, but some organisations are stripping away the bureaucracy and creating processes that focus more on developmental dialogues to drive higher performance. This involves making performance management: • less about a process; more about

a conversation

• less historical; more forward-

looking

• less about rating performance;

more about improving performance

• less about addressing weaknesses;

more about building on strengths

• less individual; more collective

There is also a move away from one universal model of performance management to a process that

outcomes that their current approach is having at an organisational and individual level, not the process

• focusing performance management

on helping organisation reaching one or two desired business outcomes, and recognising performance management as a key strategic deployment tool not an HR tool

• involving their key stakeholders,

and admitting that they don’t have all the answers

• focusing not on the process and

system but recognising that the differentiator is the dialogue between managers and their people – it’s the investment in this that holds the key to better performance management.

So the message is: challenge your current approach to performance management. Does it fit the current and future needs of your business, rather than some theoretical model of the needs of HR? If it doesn’t, rework it until it does! The full version of this article originally appeared on Changeboard.

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LATEST RESEARCH

PUTTING POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY TO WORK IN ORGANISATIONS

Professor Kevin Money

Professor Kevin Money, Director of the John Madejski Centre for Reputation at Henley Business School

For the full article, click here

ince its inception at the beginning of this century, the positive

psychology movement has generated a significant following among academics and practitioners.

One key belief of positive psychology is that for a long time, psychology has focused principally on understanding mental illness and dysfunctional behaviour. However, it is the view of positive psychologists that important insights into psychological health can be achieved by studying the positive side of human experience. One of the key findings is that beyond the threshold of a safety net, money adds little to subjective wellbeing. It is also evident that we are moving from a money-based economy towards more of a ‘satisfaction economy’. Yet there is still relatively little research undertaken into the application of positive psychology into the workplace.

Research previously conducted by Professor Money in partnership with Professor Carola Hillenbrand and Dr Nuno da Camara explored ways in which positive psychology could be applied, and the relationship between satisfaction in life and at work. It looked at how organisations could harness it to enhance employee wellbeing and performance. Building on the seminal work conducted by Martin Seligman in 2002, the team considered how to measure the three approaches to life: The pleasant life – the pursuit of tangible pleasures 2 The engaged life – taking an interest in activities, learning and growing 3 The meaningful life – the pursuit of and involvement in something bigger than yourself 1

More recent research suggests that the most satisfied people Perceived self have a mix of these What others see three approaches, and when applied to the Lived self workplace, it suggests Full range of lived behaviours, conditions & emotions that employees who are SOCIAL IDENTITY involved in meaningful, engaging work will Learned self Sets of conscious/unconscious be more sustainably rules & regulations happy. If, as seems Core self logical, this translates Sets of conscious directly into greater /unconscious rules & PERSONAL IDENTITY loyalty and improved regulations productivity, it becomes Level of congruence more easily justifiable between layers from an organisational perspective. Professors Hillenbrand and Money have continued their research, exploring in particular

the ideas surrounding psychological ownership (PO) and the ‘layers of self’, as well as the ways in which our individual identities impact on the way we relate to organisations. We all recognise the concept of people being defined by the company they keep, whether this relates to membership of ethnic communities, family groups, circles of friends, the brands they consume or their professional connections, and it appears that there is a close link between a person’s social identity and their personal identity. Individuals like to be associated with groups that they perceive to have a positive image. At the heart of personal identity is the core self, often only unconsciously known even to that person. Through education and socialisation, the learned self is created, and this manifests itself in the everyday emotions and behaviours termed the lived self, some of which remain private, but many of which are displayed openly and influence the perceived self, which is how we are seen and thought of by others. Within an organisational context, however, the real personality of an individual is often supressed. But in those where employees are stretched, challenged and stimulated, and their needs matched by the aims set out by the management, the results can be overwhelmingly positive. By tapping into the layers of their identity, organisations can build stronger relationships with all their individual contacts, not just employees, but prospective customers, existing customers, stakeholders and other business partners, for mutual benefit.

Fig 1 Dynamic Model of Identity Development Through Layers of Self

Focus@Henley

HENLEY CENTRES

ENGAGING WITH LEADERS, ENGAGING WITH LEADERSHIP

The Henley Centre for Engaging Leadership

Download the latest HCEL brochure, click here

community of people – faculty, visiting faculty, researchers and the executive education community – who got together to talk about leadership research and practice. But that was just the start…

The Henley Centre for Engaging Leadership (HCEL) is now into its third year, and it’s beginning to make something of a name for itself. Driven by the energy, vision and passion of Dr Bernd Vogel, Claire and a team of other leading faculty, HCEL is – in Bernd’s words – ‘an open boundaries group, where theory

Dr Claire Collins

The Centre is multi-faceted in its approach. Indeed, its very name allows for a range of interpretations, suggesting a place that is more connected, but can be equally perceived as one that engages ambitious leaders. The flexibility is entirely intentional, insists Claire, and reflects the Centre’s deliberately provocative and challenging philosophy. So who is the Centre aimed at? Bernd and Claire are clear that it provides a two-way learning platform for anyone who has a conundrum that needs solving, from researchers to teachers, practitioners to academics. And it’s definitely not just for business, instead it embraces all types of organisations, including those in the public and charitable sectors. Bernd equates it to an airport, extolling its hub-like structure. ‘It’s a vibrant space, with people coming and going – making connections and moving in new directions. We’re planning to run lots of events and programmes to highlight the variety of approaches that can be taken.’ These events include a debate comparing and contrasting the leadership challenges and styles in the military and civilian worlds, for example, and in the public versus charity sectors.

en gem a g n e … c reating

e at cr e o c nd ees ps a ploy i h s em ation es . ..rooted in rel gers and ye s o l a n n p a m ongst ma em tio ing anisa t c e g ff nd a d or rom a ams an f g n i m … stem of rs, te ng p i and manage d i an h erst ers und g lead e h ds t ar ue n … deepening engagin w up fl d eveloping ays, s in

Leadership was initially just a small

rship as... leade g n i er gag en En & t

the Henley Centre for Engaging

and practice overlap. We want collectively to create thought challenges and, ultimately, become the voice of leadership, and not just at the top of organisations.’

o-ordinated by Dr Claire Collins,

d sidew ar … responsible downw d an

Ultimately, HCEL wants to provide its users with a rich toolkit of opportunities, approaches, ideas and solutions based on practitioner experience, evidence and research.

The Henley LAB takes shape Among the most recent innovations at HCEL is the Henley LAB – described as ‘a core space for intensive collaboration between practice and research.’ ‘Organisations can join us on a twoyear journey to undertake in-depth research, and apply the findings. We want real business problems to solve. Bring us the dilemma and let us diagnose it with different eyes, all within the context of our academic knowledge and experience.’

Dr Bernd Vogel

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For Bernd, this gets to the nub of the impact HCEL can make. ‘We want to affect how individuals and organisations approach shared purpose, and help them to expand their potential.’ And Claire adds her wish that the Centre should ‘get people to understand that they affect the success of their organisation by changing their own behaviour, using evidence-based practice to highlight possibilities, and using our collective intellectual capacity to enable it.’

Applying a wider lens Claire is keen to emphasise that any evaluation of the success of leadership should also encompass much wider issues than the obvious financial performance of an organisation, taking in issues such as morality, ethics, gender, diversity and work–life balance. Both Bernd and Claire agree that Henley can still further enhance its reputation as the go-to centre for leadership learning. ‘We’re already talking to a number of organisations – some local, some global – and we’re especially keen to work alongside representatives from a spread of sectors, including charities and the public sector. We already have a depth of experience in the health sector, for example, but the work we do crosses all boundaries. For any company with 100 or more employees that has leadership issues, big ambitions and a philosophy of excellence, we believe we can make an enduring difference.’ For Bernd, the ultimate accolade would be for the best and the brightest academics, practitioners and aspiring leaders to say: ‘I want to spend time at HCEL. I want to make an impact.’ If their growing reputation to date is anything to go by, that time may already be here.

Follow on Twitter @HenleyBSchool@

Business Snippets

PR disasters come in all shapes and sizes. Adapted from an article by Nicole Fallon Taylor, Business News Daily Assistant Managing Editor March 30, 2016, with contributions from Brian Kearney at Blue Fountain Media, Sabina Gault of Konnect Public Relations, and Morgan Mathis of Highwire PR

Bad customer reviews, scathing reviews, a cybersecurity breach or a legal run-in; big or small, a negative incident can have a powerful impact on a company’s reputation, so the way you respond can repair or worsen the damage to your public image. So what should you do? Appoint a response team Make sure that the right people are speaking to the media and the public on behalf of your company. This could be the CEO, the head of communications or another senior executive – the most important and well-informed individuals. Devise a strategy, brief your team Tell all employees, stakeholders, board members, etc., who will be speaking to the media and where to direct any enquiries. This will save the company from having to explain comments from unofficial company representatives down the line. Craft your message Once the facts have been gathered, agree on how to frame your response. Without placing any external blame, consider the most honest, transparent way to address what your company has done, or will do.

Identify and address the affected parties Getting your message to the right people is almost as important as the message itself. Determine who needs to be informed and which communication channels are the most appropriate. Timing is also vital; the media are quick to pick up stories, so issue press releases and statements before reporters approach you. Monitor the situation For a while after the incident, you’ll need to keep an eye on inbound and outbound communications to address any follow-up questions or concerns. It’s impossible to over-emphasise the importance of keeping in tune with community reactions and reaching out where appropriate. What not to do Whatever you do, don’t: • Lash out • Offer ‘no comment’ • Wait too long (or not long enough) to respond • Dwell on the situation. Except in really extreme cases, the situation will blow over, so don’t let it distract you from running your business. People will forgive and forget your mistake, but they won’t forget how you conducted yourself in the process.

For the full article, visit http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/8935-recoverfrom-pr-crisis.html

Focus@Henley

EXECUTIVE COACHING

FEELING OVERWHELMED? WHY MULTITASKING ISN’T ONE OF OUR STRENGTHS

INSIGHTS FROM NEUROSCIENCE PART 2

Dr Patricia Bossons

By Dr Patricia Bossons, Director of the Henley Centre for Coaching and Behavioural Change and co-author of a new book on the impact of neuroscience on leadership coaching

For the full article, click here

n this series of articles, I will be taking some of the insights we now have available to us about activity in our brains, and relating them to practical experiences in the coaching and leadership development field.

Don’t know where to start with your to-do list, and feeling overwhelmed and muddled? Is your work–life balance a mess, resulting in distress and panic? Finding it difficult to prioritise things? Can’t see the wood for the trees?

If these symptoms sound familiar, you may be able to take some comfort from the fact that these are among the most common issues confronted by coaches. The emotion attached to not getting everything done can be overwhelming and results in paralysis, displacement activity, denial or whatever other coping strategies the individual has devised over time, which also then create their own problems.

Case study

Our coachee is an HR Team Leader at a prestigious university in Asia, who sets the scene: ’I work very long hours; there is so much to do. I have a team of 12 people reporting to me and they all look to me to tell them what to do. I feel like I have 12 other jobs to work out each day. I have two young kids, and my wife is getting upset and says she feels like a single parent. My boss, the HR Director for the whole university, thinks I can go far, but unless I can get some control over my life, I am going to make mistakes and let everybody down, including myself. I don’t know where to start; there is never time to think or plan. ‘I need to be able to step out of the madness and rise above it to see the whole picture of what needs to be done. What I really want is to get some balance and have a life with my family, even some time for myself.’

The coaching challenge The coachee seems to be a victim of his own success, having been recognised by his employer as dedicated and competent. And, as a result, he has been given a more demanding role, with a much bigger leadership element. He is used to focusing on the technical aspects of his own job, but finds the demands from his new team outside the immediate range of his personal experience. He regards his role as problem solving on behalf of everybody, rather than helping his team solve their own problems. So he works harder, longer hours and does everything himself.

The coaching approach One of the first interventions the coach made was to express understanding of the number of things that the coachee was trying to cope with, and reflect on his feelings of being overwhelmed. The coachee visibly relaxed once his situation was acknowledged; even taking a few moments to think was a real change to his normal daily experience. By giving him this time, he could start to prioritise, see the bigger picture and plan ahead. Next, specific pieces of work were done to untangle the different tasks in front of him, create plans, prioritise and manage his time more effectively. Finally, the coach helped him visualise how he would like his life to actually be, and how to manage stress and motivation.

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The neuroscience There are a number of ways that the coachee’s brain is not working at its best. His chronic stress from the sense of being overwhelmed and his inability to complete all of his responsibilities at work and at home leads to anxiety (amygdalar activity), which results in difficulty in focusing on tasks. This is compounded by the number of different tasks that he is trying to accomplish. The prefrontal cortex is the area of the brain that is responsible for focusing on tasks, and while it has some ability to focus on more than one thing at a time, tasks that require similar types of processing (verbal, visual, hypothetical or logical) will compete for space. We are not good at multitasking! He also experiences conflict between his different roles, as a leader at work and a husband and father at home. Working during the time that he is supposed to be a husband and father is likely to conflict with his values leading to increased activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and insula – areas of the brain associated with fairness (de Vries, Byrne & Kehoe, 2014). The coaching tools that will be useful in this case are those that help him to prioritise and plan his time. This will also reduce the load on his prefrontal cortex and improve task performance by limiting the detrimental effects of multitasking. He can also be provided with techniques to manage stress, thus increasing his ability to think creatively about new solutions to his problem. And by considering what resources might help to make the job more possible, it is likely that his sense of stress and being overwhelmed will decrease. This case study is taken from

The Neuroscience of Leadership Coaching by Patricia Bossons, Patricia Riddell & Denis Sartain was published in August 2015 by Bloomsbury.

Coaching Centre relaunch raises the bar On 22nd April, the Henley Centre for Coaching and Behavioural Change was formally relaunched.

delivered this passively, but will now focus very clearly on providing a platform for interaction.

The Centre is a vibrant learning community that shares leadingedge thinking around coaching and behavioural change.

‘We’re committed to offering affordable individual membership (£45+VAT) that will give our community access to online discussion groups, news streams, insightful newsletters, podcasts and webcasts, journals, expert research and analysis, and opportunities for coaches to get their work shared and published.

Henley has been offering its Professional Certificate in Coaching for 12 years and 2,500 participants have passed through the various programmes on offer at the Centre, which include a Masters degree course. According to Dr Patricia Bossons, Director of the Henley Centre for Coaching and Behavioural Change, ‘the strongest feedback we have received over the years is that each cohort wants to maintain regular contact with us and each other, and become a learning community. This has become the driver for the relaunch of the Centre, which has always

‘Of course, we’ll continue to provide CPD, coaching supervision and a register of coaches, but we’re seriously raising the bar now. The agenda will be set by the members themselves at the start of each year, ensuring that it remains at the forefront of the industry and a real focal point for thought leadership in the field of coaching and behavioural change.’ For more information please visit www.henley.ac.uk/coachingcentre

This year’s Coaching Conference theme: Leadership coaching – needed more than ever This year’s Coaching Conference is being held on Friday 17th June 2016 on the theme of leadership coaching. At a time when many of the traditional ways of looking at leadership are being challenged and the world is in a state of continual upheaval, the uptake of executive coaching is increasing yearon-year. Being in a leadership position in an organisation has never been more complex; manager, leader or follower, the boundaries are becoming as blurred as the definitions. We, as coaches and practitioners in the business world, need to be well informed about what happens to human beings when they are faced with leadership challenges. This year’s conference will look at the latest thinking and research on the

nature of the challenges and how coaching can be most effective. We are delighted that Professor Adrian Furnham will be our lead speaker on the day. Adrian is a business psychologist who has written over 50 books, is a newspaper columnist and a regular commentator in the media, known for his stimulating views! Adrian is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and is among the most productive psychologists in the world. Since 2007, he has been nominated by HR Magazine as one of the 20 most influential people in HR. Places are filling fast - to book yours, visit www.henley.ac.uk/conf

The Centre picks up where your programme ends… Focus@Henley

LISTMANIA

MENTALLY STRONG PEOPLE: THE 13 THINGS THEY AVOID Adapted from an article by Cheryl Conner, writer and Amy Morin, a licensed clinical social worker

or all the time executives spend developing physical strength and

health, mental strength can mean even more. Tenacity, grit and optimism are givens, but what is it that mentally strong individuals don’t do?

1 Waste Time Feeling Sorry for Themselves. Mentally strong people have learned to take responsibility for their actions and outcomes, and they understand that life can be unfair. They emerge from trying circumstances with self-awareness and gratitude for the lessons learned.

5 Worry About Pleasing Others. Know any people pleasers? Or, conversely, people who go out of their way to displease others as a way of reinforcing an image of strength? A mentally strong person strives to be kind and fair and to please others where appropriate, but is unafraid to speak up. They understand that someone may get upset and will navigate the situation with grace.

4 Waste Energy on Things They Can’t Control. Mentally strong people don’t complain (much) about bad traffic, lost luggage, or especially about other people, as they recognise that all of these factors are generally beyond their control. The one thing they know they can always control is their own response and attitude, and they use these attributes well.

9 Resent Other People’s Success. Mentally strong people don’t become jealous or resentful when others succeed (although they may take close notes on what the individual did well). 10 Give Up After Failure. Every failure is a chance to improve. Even the greatest entrepreneurs are willing to admit that their early efforts invariably brought many failures. They are willing to fail again and again, as long as the learning experience from every ‘failure’ brings them closer to their ultimate goals.

2 Give Away Their Power. Mentally strong people avoid giving others the power to make them feel inferior or bad. They understand they are in control of their actions and emotions. They know their strength is in their ability to manage the way they respond. 3 Shy Away from Change. Mentally strong people embrace change and they welcome challenge. Their biggest ‘fear,’ if they have one, is not of the unknown, but of becoming complacent and stagnant. An environment of change and even uncertainty can energise a mentally strong person and bring out their best.

8 Make the Same Mistakes Over and Over. Research shows that accepting responsibility for past behaviour, learning from mistakes and being selfreflective in an accurate and productive way are some of the greatest strengths of spectacularly successful executives and entrepreneurs.

11 Fear Alone Time. They use their downtime to reflect, to plan, and to be productive – and happy.

6 Fear Taking Calculated Risks. This is a different thing entirely than jumping headlong into foolish risks. But with mental strength, an individual can weigh the risks and benefits thoroughly, and will fully assess the potential downsides before they take action. 7 Dwell on the Past. A mentally strong person is able to avoid miring their mental energy in past disappointments or in fantasies of the ‘glory days’ gone by. They invest the majority of their energy in creating an optimal present and future.

12 Feel the World Owes Them Anything. Particularly in the current economy, top executives and employees are realising that the world does not owe them a salary, or benefits. 13 Expect Immediate Results. Whether it’s a workout plan, a nutritional regimen, or starting a business, mentally strong people are ‘in it for the long haul’. They understand that genuine changes take time. For the full article click here

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PROFILE

DR CATHY HUGHES

HEAD OF SCHOOL, REAL ESTATE & PLANNING

Dr Cathy Hughes

For more about Cathy’s academic career, click here

athy never expected to end up in academia, let alone a head of school at Henley! Growing up in Yorkshire, she had ambitions only to get into retail, which seemed exciting and glamorous.

However, having studied management science at university in Manchester, the graduate scheme at House of Fraser wasn’t quite what she expected, and she became a research assistant in the Surveying Department at Liverpool Polytechnic. ‘I found this whole new world of buildings and property really fascinating,’ Cathy recalls, ‘and decided that surveying was the job for me.’ Cathy took up a position at the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) – a government department responsible for valuing property – and was gripped

by the redevelopment of the city, and the docks in particular. ‘It was a really exciting time to be in Liverpool, and we became the advisers to the Docklands Development Corporation, so we were right in the thick of it. I was also able to study in my spare time and soon qualified as a chartered surveyor. After moving to Berkshire, Cathy became a senior valuer, but a decade later saw an opportunity to work with Neil Crosby, one of the most respected valuation experts, on a research project at the University of Reading. Neil has an enviable reputation, and shared Cathy’s fascination for the ways in which the data held by the VOA could be utilised to understand changes in UK commercial property leasing practices. ‘It was an opportunity too good to miss, and I soon became a permanent

research officer, later landing a lectureship. I felt a bit underqualified at first, not having a PhD initially, but I finally achieved my doctorate last December. As I was completing my thesis, the previous head of school sadly passed away and various people encouraged me to apply for the role. I was duly appointed, somewhat to my own surprise.’ Cathy is determined that her school will provide research and teaching opportunities around the world, thus remaining at the forefront of the profession. ‘A global perspective is vitally important to Real Estate & Planning. We have an increasingly cosmopolitan group of students and academics, and we want to create a global hub at Reading. Only by being connected and aware of all the possibilities, can we offer our students the best chance to develop their own careers.’ Outside work, Cathy’s real passion is playing the flute, and she has been a part of a local concert band for over 15 years. She also gives time to helping the True Food Community Co-operative, which encourages the community to embrace ethically produced food, by volunteering in the organisation’s shop at the weekend. It seems that things have come full circle, and her dreams of working in retail have finally been achieved, even if – as head of school – her own achievements have taken her to places she could never have even imagined.

Focus@Henley