disability greater visibility

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know’ – in fact, I think I probably said to him, ‘No shit.’ So I was surprised when he said, ‘You won’t get taken seriously.’ I wasn’t going to argue with him, but I just thought, ‘My God, there are people who think that way!’ Possibly the older generation?

“Th en there are the youngsters who are managing today in the workforce, who think completely the reverse!”

Not long after the accident, when he was just starting to get out of bed, Ingham made a video on his tablet for the PageGroup workforce to explain what had happened and his prognosis. Th e video was shared posted on their internal communications channel. “I told them the story [of the accident], and I said, ‘Look, before you get upset or sympathetic or sad for me – don’t. Th ere’s no reason. I’m fi ne.

“ ‘You know, I’ve done a lot of things on my legs. I’ve run a lot of marathons, I’ve run in all parts of the world, I’ve travelled everywhere, I played rugby. You know, I’ve done a lot of skiing – badly,’ ” he joked. “ ‘But I’ve done a lot on my legs. Th ey’ve taken me a long way, and now they’re having a rest. Th at is life, and I can still lead, I can still communicate, and I’ll still be your leader’.”

Th e response from Page’s people overwhelmed him. “If you saw the reaction and read the messages I got after sending that video out – it was unbelievable,” Ingham says. “Very motivating, very uplifting, because to them, their leader was overcoming a bigger challenge than they could even conceive – you know, mentally overcoming it as well as physically overcoming it, and that’s what they want.

“If a CEO isn’t brave enough to come out and talk about disability, how can they possibly imagine hiring disabled people into their businesses,” he says, “because they’re already undervaluing or think people will undervalue them as soon as they announce they are disabled.” • Read our exclusive interview with Steve Ingham on p18-22.

Looking for ‘well-stocked minds’ in future candidates

BY DEEDEE DOKE

ASKING POTENTIAL EMPLOYEES what they have done during the Covid pandemic should provide “a litmus test” in job interviews as to whether candidates are resilient, adaptable and self-motivated, depending on their responses, according to Margaret Heff ernan, professor of practice at the University of Bath School of Management.

Delivering a keynote address for global law fi rm Baker McKenzie’s virtual ‘Future Work: Renewal strategies for a transformational workforce’ event in February, Heff ernan outlined characteristics that employers should look for when they are hiring now, and in the future, to successfully navigate business change.

“What we need are well-stocked minds,” Heff ernan said. “People who are capable of change, embrace change and are committed to lifelong learning.”

Asking questions such as what candidates are currently reading and what they did during the pandemic can showcase such traits, she said. “I’ve seen people do extraordinary things [during the pandemic],” Heff ernan said. “I think that is going to be a real litmus test.”

Speaking of ‘transformation programmes’, Heff ernan said that the failure rate is between 50-80%, often because of employee resistance. Often, she added, “they’re phony programmes. Th e ‘why’ has to be credible”.

Too often, transformation programmes are created behind closed doors which, Heff ernan said, becomes “simply handing down dictats”. Instead, she urged, get more people across the organisation involved and secure their input, telling employees: “ ‘Let’s roll up our sleeves and design this together.’ Participation drives engagement and credibility and legitimacy.”

In the new world of work and acknowledging the economic eff ects of the pandemic, Heff ernan said: “Our challenge now is to build regenerative organisations that can sustain themselves, and… everything is up for re-examination.”

Innovation occurs, she said, when people “work outside their domain of expertise”, challenging and calling on “the human capacity for imagination”. Measurements such as key performance indicators (KPIs) “restrict imagination”, Heff ernan said.

During her hourlong talk, Heff ernan also described traits of eff ective teams and recognising failure as a sign of initiative.