Edge Yule 2019 by LID Business Media

THE JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT

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YULE 2019

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Contents YULE 2019

Update 6

All the latest developments in leadership and management; around the universities

Debate 11

Mailbox

Carl HonorĂŠ, bestselling author and broadcaster, and the global voice of the Slow Movement

Our regular LGBT+ columnist Christopher Hallas highlights that gay and straight people do not feel equal levels of contentment

Insider INSIGHT FROM THE INSTITUTE OF LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT

Positive vibes Chief executive Phil James argues that happiness is not all about smiles and high fives

The joy in jobs Kate Cooper, head of research, policy and standards, argues that meaningful work is important to our overall wellbeing

News International Leadership Week; elections to the Board of Trustees; launch of Coaching Conversations; banter study; star webinar

In the Hot Seat Stuart Cairns, director of training consultancy SLC Squared, reveals what leadership means to him

The Edge Interview 22

Edge meets Dr Mark Williamson and Vanessa King from Action for Happiness

Spotlight HAPPINESS

The pursuit of happiness Searching for meaning and pleasure

Where we belong How to create a happy workplace

Reboot your business Release the energy of your teams

The multiplier eďŹ&#x20AC;ect Creating a culture of happiness through leadership

Case study: Inspecs The glasses company that looks on the bright side

22 Making it Happen MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE

Get ready to be radical

Survive at work

Navigating transitions

Vision SETTING THE LEADERSHIP AGENDA

Pilotlight

Live & Learn

Beyond Borders

MANAGING MENTAL, PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL WELLBEING AND DEVELOPMENT

It comes from within

INTERNATIONAL INSIGHT

Face your fears

Harness the skills of repatriates

Impact strategies

How to lead in a crisis

76 How to ask for a pay rise

Finland

77 Job hunting

78 Think positive

Exporting to Asia

Future of Work STRATEGIES FOR LONG-TERM SUCCESS

75 Coaching Column Helen Caton Hughes

Side hustles

Innovation fatigue

Behavioural scientists

Professional development

80 Book Club 84 Leadership Legend Charles Hampden-Turner explains that resilience comes when we are able to reconcile opposing values

Contributors

AMINA AITSI-SELMI

REBECCA BODEN

NANCY CAPISTRAN

Dr Amina Aitsi-Selmi coaches a range of clients, including top doctors, lawyers, scientists and business executives. Alongside her medical qualifications, research and professional experience, Aitsi-Selmi is certified in strategic intervention from the Anthony Robbins School of Coaching. She is also registered with the General Medical Council and is a member of the International Coach Federation.

Rebecca Boden is professor and research director of the New Social Research programme at Tampere University in Finland. Originally from the UK, she has a PhD in public administration. She became a professor of accounting and critical management before moving to Finland in 2017. Much of her work is on the funding and management of higher education. She has published extensively.

Nancy Capistran is an internationally published, bestselling author, as well as an award-winning, internationally certified executive coach. She is principal of Capistran Leadership, which focuses on leadership dexterity. She is also co-founder of Crisis Interception, a firm that leads decisive change during extreme adversity. Her book is called Open Your Eyes and LEAD.

JOSÉ HERNANDEZ

CARL HONORÉ

JOHN LEES

José Hernandez is a globally recognised expert in corporate misconduct, scandal remediation and ethical leadership. He is also founder of Zurich-based crisis response consultancy, Ortus Strategies. Hernandez has worked on some of the largest fraud, bribery and money laundering cases on record and contributes to global governance discussions. His new book is Broken Business.

Carl Honoré is a bestselling author, broadcaster and global voice of the Slow Movement. His TED Talk on the benefits of slowing down has been viewed three million times and his first book, In Praise of Slow, was BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week and a Huﬃngton Post Book Club pick. Honoré featured in a radio series called The Slow Coach. His latest book is Bolder: Making the Most of Our Longer Lives.

John Lees is a career strategist and author of the bestselling book, How To Get A Job You Love. He is also the creator and moderator of the Career Coach Forum, an international LinkedIn group for career professionals that has over 7,000 members. A regular conference keynote speaker, Lees has written careers columns and thought leadership articles for a number of publications.

Editor’s Letter

A recipe for happiness Exhilaration is not all that it’s cracked up to be By

ow many times has it been said to you, “I just want you to be happy”? You have also probably said it to someone you care about from time to time. Of course, it is natural for us to desire happiness for both ourselves and others – happiness is a pleasant state to be in, especially when compared with the alternatives. Nevertheless, the idea that we can ever exist in a perpetual state of happiness is unrealistic. And to crave that state is only going to send us in the opposite direction – spiralling towards ever-greater unhappiness. Life is too complex and too full of curveballs for delight to be a permanent feature of our existence. And, of course, there’s no escaping the fact that it doesn’t end well for anyone. The highs and lows of life invariably go together. You can’t have one without the other. So, the best we can ever hope for is to be happy some of the time and broadly satisfied for most of the rest. That applies to our working life just as it applies to life in general. To aim for anything else is to put ourselves on track for constant disappointment. While this may seem depressing, the good news is that constantly striving for happiness, especially at work, is not necessarily a good idea. In 2015, an article in the Harvard Business Review by André Spicer, of Cass Business School, and Carl Cederström, of Stockholm Business School, used research to argue that a policy of encouraging happiness in the workplace does come with certain flaws.

Sally Percy Among other points, Spicer and Cederström highlighted that we don’t really know what happiness is or how to measure it; happiness does not necessarily lead to increased productivity; the endless pursuit of happiness can be exhausting; being in a good mood can blind us to the deceptive acts of others; and happiness could actually damage our relationship with our managers by causing us to start mistaking our boss for a surrogate spouse or parent. So, if we don’t want to get overly hung up on happiness, what other options exist to support our wellbeing? One possibility

HAPPINESS CAN ONLY EVER BE A TRANSIENT STATE is to adopt a stoic approach that centres on keeping a calm, rational head so we don’t get too excited by either the good or bad events in our lives. By doing this, we restrict the pendulum swing of excessive highs or lows. For many of us, though, this approach would seem to take the joy out of life. And we would prefer to experience the highs – even if they come with the lows – rather than plod along stoically in the middle. The best we can do in this situation, then, is to accept that happiness can only ever be a transient state and make a point of enjoying it while it lasts. If there is such a thing as a recipe for happiness, that’s probably it. sally.percy@lidbusinessmedia.com

Edge is brought to you by: LID Publishing Editor Sally Percy sally.percy@lidbusinessmedia.com Art Director Kate Harkus Assistant Editor Kirsten Levermore Chief Subeditor Camilla Cary-Elwes Digital Reporter Matt Packer Account Director Niki Mullin Editorial Director Ben Walker Publisher Martin Liu Institute of Leadership & Management Pacific House, Relay Point, Tamworth, B77 5PA. Chief Executive Phil James Head of Research, Policy & Standards Kate Cooper Head of Membership Janet Payne For advertising sales, please contact alec.egan@lidbusinessmedia.com or 07591 200041 Publishing Published in the United Kingdom by LID Publishing, 204 The Record Hall, Baldwins Gardens, London EC1N 7RJ Disclaimer Copyright 2019 The Institute of Leadership & Management and LID Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved. Material may not be reproduced without permission of the publisher. While we take care to ensure that editorial is accurate, independent, objective and relevant for the readers, Edge accepts no liability for reader dissatisfaction rising from the content of this publication. The opinions expressed or advice given are the views of individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of Edge, The Institute of Leadership & Management or LID Publishing Ltd. Edge takes every eﬀort to credit photographers but we cannot guarantee every published use of an image will have the contributor’s name. If you believe we have omitted a credit for your image, please email the editor ISSN 2515-7809 Printed by NewNorth www.newnorth.co.uk

Update

MyLeadership named Best CPD Initiative

yLeadership, which is the Institute of Leadership & Management’s e-learning tool, was named Best CPD Initiative at the prestigious Memcom Membership Excellence Awards this year. Memcom represents professional associations, membership organisations and the broader not-for-profit sector. MyLeadership is a bite-sized, highly-curated learning experience that can be accessed on the go, while also providing personalised direction. Launched in March 2018, more than 14,000 components have since been completed by Institute Members, who have used it to enhance their knowledge and practice of leadership. Commenting on the award, Jay Ludditt, the Institute’s head of digital strategy, said: “MyLeadership is designed to revolutionise personal and corporate learning. It responds to the demands of modern business leaders at all levels, who are short on time and prize self-directed development. “Winning this award recognises that MyLeadership has achieved its aim: to serve the leadership development needs of the modern workforce. The

Above MyLeadership won the Best CPD Initiative award, presented here to the Institute’s Kate Cooper by BBC news presenter Simon McCoy

judges of the awards were impressed not only with MyLeadership’s accessible materials but also with the inclusion of live, expert conversations in an otherwise digital and self-driven learning experience.” The conversations allow learners to reflect on the Institute’s Five Dimensions of Leadership and how these support their own practice. MyLeadership was also shortlisted in the Best Learning and Professional Development Programme category of the Association Excellence Awards. Furthermore, Edge was shortlisted in the Best Association Magazine (circulation over 32,000) category and the Institute’s podcast was shortlisted for Best Association Newsletter, Blog or Online Publication. Winners were due to be announced shortly after Edge went to press. For more on MyLeadership, visit www.institutelm.com/ learning/e-learning-tools.html. Phil James, the Institute’s chief executive, spoke at Memcom’s 20th anniversary conference. See page 18

Trust in chief executives has taken a tumble Employees trust their chief executives less than they did seven years ago, research by the Institute of Leadership & Management has found. According to the Trust in Leaders 2018 report, trust in organisations’ most senior leaders has fallen by 8% since 2011, although trust in line managers has been maintained. The main reason for the drop is that chief executives are failing to understand the contributions their employees make. Significantly, female leaders at all levels are more trusted by their male counterparts. Nevertheless, both male and female leaders perform poorly in accessibility, openness, consistency and understanding the roles of their staﬀ. Perhaps surprisingly, chief executives in the financial services sector are the most

trusted senior leaders. Those in local and national government are the least trusted, closely followed by those in engineering, manufacturing and education. Kate Cooper, the Institute’s head of research, policy and standards, said of the findings: “For any organisation to be successful, trust is not ‘a nice to have’, but is intrinsic to the culture. Trust helps organisations to run smoothly, increases engagement, improves processes, drives individual and team performance, ultimately benefitting the customer or service user. The more chief executives are trusted, the more likely employees are to believe in their ability to navigate the organisation through diﬃcult times.” ‘Trust in Leaders 2018’ is available from bit.ly/2G14UbY

Insecure leaders heed machines

Happiness is being richer than your colleagues

Shutterstock; Andrew Hatfield

If you want to be happy in life, it helps to be richer than your peers. This is according to new research by Warwick Business School and City University in London. Researchers found people were more likely to feel happy if they earned more than other people of the same age, gender, nationality or religion. The finding was particularly pronounced among people who live in countries where there is a large divide between rich and poor, such as China and the US. Commenting on the research, Nick Powdthavee, professor of behavioural science at Warwick Business School, said: “People care very little about the actual figure they earn. They are more concerned with how their income compares with those around them. “For example, their sense of wellbeing is more likely to be influenced by whether they are the fifth or 40th highest-paid person in their

workplace, rather than their precise salary. Now we have evidence that being the richest person in your peer group is likely to buy you more happiness if you come from a country where income inequality is seen as the norm.” There is a downside to relying on income disparity for your happiness, however, as Powdthavee points out. “Earning more than others may improve an individual’s sense of wellbeing more in places where inequality is rife, but it also means they are likely to suﬀer more psychologically if they move down the income rankings,” he said. For the study, researchers used data from the Gallup World Poll to compare the income and wellbeing of 160,000 people in 24 countries, including the UK, the US, France, Germany, Australia and China. For more on happiness, see Spotlight, starting on page 27

When we are under threat, we are more likely to listen to a robot. That’s the implication of research from BI Norwegian Business School, which reveals that leaders who are in danger of losing their position are more likely to take advice from a data algorithm than another human. Psychologist Ingvild Müller Seljeseth conducted studies where participants were assigned to either stable or unstable leadership positions, which they would lose if they made a wrong decision. When asked to estimate the number of peas in a jar, leaders in a stable position were more inclined to accept advice from previous participants than leaders in an unstable position. Participants were also asked to estimate the anticipated price development in the stock market, before being given advice by a data algorithm or previous participant. The threatened leaders were more likely to accept advice from the data algorithm than another human being. Commenting on the research, Seljeseth said: “Leaders in an insecure position feel stressed, so become rigid in their thinking. They feel at risk of being perceived as incapable if they take advice. These insecure leaders are more willing to accept advice from the data algorithm, however, as machines are not perceived as competition.” This finding is a concern, says Seljeseth, who points out that better decisions are made by leaders who are open to advice from others. The researchers also explored the impact of advice reliability. When it was revealed whether the advice came from an expert or someone of average competence, the leaders in a stable position paid more attention to the expert advice, while leaders in a threatened position remained reluctant to follow any advice, whoever it was from. The findings of the research come from three studies that involved a group of 500 participants.

THE TRUE PICTURE OF WORK*

% Almost three-quarters of UK workers are on permanent contracts

% More than half of workers work flexibly in some way

% of workers have at least some autonomy over the tasks they do

*Source: UK Working Lives, The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development

% One in three workers feels they have too much work

% One in four workers overworks by ten hours a week or more

Update

Around the universities A roundup of recent research on leadership and management from across the UK and internationally

Referral scheme doubts Are you running ‘friend referral’ schemes in your business? If so, you might want to consider more closely which products and services to focus on, according to research from Aston University, led by Dr David Dose. New products have a failure rate of 30-60%, so it is tempting to incentivise them. But the team found that offering financial, or other, rewards to existing customers did not increase uptake and may even reduce the willingness of people to refer their friends into schemes for new innovations. Friend referral schemes were far more effective on existing and unoriginal products and services. Leadership takeaway Referral schemes can be effective marketing tools for established products and services, but for new innovations, they can be counterproductive. Find out more about Aston University at www2.aston.ac.uk

More knowledge leads to better public services When the right stakeholders are included in service development, at the appropriate time, non-governmental organisations deliver stronger public services. This is according to Dr Bernadette Best of Queen’s University, Belfast and Dr Sandra Moﬀett and Professor Rodney McAdam of Ulster University, Belfast. They found that non-governmental organisations that deliver public services get vital expertise from external stakeholders through diﬀerent levels of involvement, ranging from light-touch consultation to inclusive co-production and co-delivery. Leadership takeaway When developing services, seek to incorporate a variety of experiences. Think of ways to engage stakeholders, such as at events, in physical spaces and via digital channels, and at cognitive, emotional and behavioural levels. Find out more about Queen’s University at www.qub. ac.uk and Ulster University at www.ulster.ac.uk

A healthy dose of pessimism protects against business failure A healthy dose of pessimism is a key ingredient for success in entrepreneurial businesses, according to recent work from Dr Chris Dawson of Bath University, Professor Andrew Henley of Cardiff University, and Professor David de Meza of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Dawson, Henley and de Meza’s work indicates that pessimism protects against taking on entrepreneurial projects with a higher likelihood of failure. Drawing on 18 years of data, tracking individuals who transitioned from paid employment to entrepreneurship, they found that business owners with the highest levels of optimism earned 30% less than those with below-average levels of optimism. Leadership takeaway If setting up an entrepreneurial venture, remember that although optimism can increase ambition, it can lead to poor assessment of a potential venture and higher likelihood of failure. Find out more about the University of Bath at www.bath.ac.uk, Cardiff University at www.cardiff.ac.uk, and the LSE at www.lse.ac.uk

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Update

The pursuit of meaningfulness Due to the prolific increase in data tools for managing, tracking and undertaking workplace activities, there is increased ‘datafication’ in professional environments. Yet a collaborative international research project, led by Dr MariKlara Stein, Dr Erica Wagner, Dr Pamela Tierney, Dr Sue Newell and Professor Robert Galliers, has established how datafication tools can both help and hinder meaningfulness of work. Accountability systems, which make up much of the datafication, frequently use standardised, homogenous descriptors to quantify activities that are being measured. If systems are modified to include ‘narrative’ data on top of ‘factual’ data entry fields, workers can capture their contributions in meaningful ways so that their work is justified and their achievements are celebrated. Leadership takeaway If your organisation is using datafication processes to record and account for employee activities, consider including elements of customisation and free text data entry so staﬀ can enter narrative data that captures meaningfulness, as well as standardised data sets. For more on the collaborating universities: Copenhagen Business School www.cbs.dk/en; Portland State University, USA www.pdx.edu/sba; University of Warwick www.wbs.ac.uk; Bentley University, USA www.bentley. edu; and Loughborough University www.lboro.ac.uk

Workers don’t unite Flexible work agreements, such as zero-hours contracts, have led to the evolution of a marginalised class of ‘precariat workers’, who have irregular and insecure employment. This is according to Professor Richard Saundry and Professor Duncan Lewis from Plymouth University and Dr Constantine Manolchev of Exeter University. This research found that precariat workers, as a group, lack the cohesion and collective communities that are commonly found in other groups of workers. As a result, these workers are unlikely to unite in order to demonstrate their satisfaction or dissatisfaction in the workplace. Leadership takeaway Do not assume that precariat workers have a collective voice or similar perspectives. Consider how a lack of cohesion among precariat workers may impact on their overall performance and productivity. Find out more about the University of Plymouth at www.plymouth.ac.uk and the University of Exeter at www.exeter.ac.uk

Take a chance on me

A view on LGBT+ networks

Autistic people can struggle to secure appropriate and meaningful employment. Yet Dr Anna Remington, of University College London, and Professor Elizabeth Pellicano of Macquarie University, Australia, found that work placements given to autistic people can be a valuable path into employment. They tracked autistic workers on internship programmes and found they faced heightened anxiety, diﬃculties in judging communication, and challenges with the unwritten cultural rules of the work environment. But they also found that with support, autistic graduate interns were able to experience positive outcomes, while employers reported significant benefits from employing them.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual plus (LGBT+) networks in the workplace can have both positive and negative impacts, according to Dr Ciarán McFadden of Edinburgh Napier University and Dr Marian Crowley-Henry of Maynooth University, Ireland. Employee LGBT+ networks can provide a sense of belonging by reducing social isolation and providing a forum for shared experiences for those who join. But they can also cause anxiety for staﬀ who choose to be private about their sexuality. Some believe the networks over-emphasise sexuality diﬀerences rather than normalise them, which may lead to further separation and isolation.

Leadership takeaway Encourage managers to provide reasonable adjustments tailored to the needs of autistic employees, and to set clear expectations. Find out more about University College London at ucl.ac.uk and Macquarie University at mq.edu.au

Leadership takeaway LGBT+ networks can be helpful for some staﬀ to find solidarity, but it is more important to develop a culture that normalises and accepts diﬀerences while respecting privacy. Find out more about Edinburgh Napier University at www.napier.ac.uk and Maynooth University at www.maynoothuniversity.ie

Update

BRITISH BUSINESSES FAIL TO TRAIN THEIR SENIOR MANAGERS*

% of senior managers report that their business does not offer a training programme for executives

% say that the older they are, the less their organisation wants to spend on them

% reveal that the training programme for younger employees at their organisation is generally very thorough

*Source: Rutbusters, based on a survey of 1,000 senior managers and executives across a range of UK businesses

A leader decoded Bill Gates Who is he? Bill Gates is a US businessman and the principal founder of software giant Microsoft. Now 64, he is thought to be worth more than $100 billion. Since stepping down as chairman of Microsoft in 2014, Gates has concentrated on his philanthropy work. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which he runs with his wife, is reported to be the world’s largest private charity. The charity focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and poverty. Leadership style In the past, Gates has been criticised for being argumentative, aloof and sarcastic. He is also fiercely competitive and thinks it’s important to be surrounded by people who “challenge you, teach you and push you to be your best self”. Gates believes failure teaches the most powerful lessons. Greatest triumph Many would argue that Gates’s greatest triumph was to found a company that went on to have a market capitalisation of more than $1 trillion. Others would point towards his pioneering charitable work, which prompted his friend, the legendary investor Warren Buﬀett, to donate the bulk of his own fortune to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Leadership philosophy in a nutshell “Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking that they can’t lose.”

FROM THE BLOG

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Catch up with the latest Edge thinking at institutelm.com/research-news/news-andviews.html. Here’s a recent extract: Is algorithmic management flawed? Drawbacks to algorithmic management have come under media scrutiny, with three articles pointing out that the workings of the underlying software and its status as valuable intellectual property are routinely leaving workers disillusioned. In the most analytical of the pieces, the Harvard Business Review explores a study of US Uber drivers. Penned by two of the study’s authors, the HBR piece notes that drivers’ biggest sticking points with algorithmic management are: the constant surveillance required to feed Uber’s

algorithm; the lack of transparency on how the algorithm works compared to how much it knows about them; and feelings of dehumanisation stemming from management-by-software. In a second piece, published in The Guardian, UK Uber driver James Farrar, head of the private hire drivers branch of the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain, says: “[Algorithms] collect a lot of information. We should have access to the data and understand how it’s being used.” In the third piece, published in Personnel Today, employment lawyer Jonathan Rennie explores a report from the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation on bias in algorithmic decision-making, noting: “Decision-making processes that are

driven by algorithms can share some of the same vulnerabilities as human decisionmaking. One issue is that the data on which decisions are made may be biased, because the people writing the algorithms allow their own prejudices to creep into the system.” So, is algorithmic management flawed? The Institute of Leadership & Management’s head of research, policy and standards, Kate Cooper, says: “The idea that managementby-algorithm hands the reins to some sort of higher intelligence is simply not credible. Historical data provided by humans, based on decisions humans have made, informs and shapes the foundations upon which AI tools come up with their own decisions.” To read this article in full, see bit.ly/2m06Udc

Debate MAILBOX

SHARING THOUGHTS AND IDEAS 11 Mailbox

12 Carl Honoré

13 Christopher Hallas

Sad to see that tokenism is alive and well It is disappointing, but perhaps not surprising, to see that FTSE boards are appointing women for largely symbolic reasons. [See How must FTSE chiefs end ‘tick-box’ approach to female board members? on News & Views, institutelm.com] The idea that a board would appoint a female (or a black, Asian or minority ethnic woman or man) for tokenistic reasons is dispiriting – particularly for those who work for the organisation, since the prospects of survival for that organisation could be aﬀected. Perhaps some of those ‘token’ board members, even

though they have been appointed to meet a target, could have a positive eﬀect anyway. But it’s asking a lot of that individual to have to break into the inner circle, despite having been ‘invited’ into the room to sit at the table. Stuart Cairns, director of SLC Squared, and trustee of The Music Works This letter has been edited for publication. To see the article in full on institutelm.com, visit bit.ly/2lEjxe3. Stuart Cairns also features in the Hot Seat in this issue of ‘Edge’. See page 21

Thoughts on MyLeadership MyLeadership is the Institute of Leadership & Management’s digital learning platform. It hosts development content related to the Institute’s Five Dimensions of Leadership. Elaine James (right), chief executive of charity DABD, has completed the Authenticity Dimension of MyLeadership. Here, she shares her experiences. How has MyLeadership helped you to become a happier leader? I became a member of the Institute when my organisation was going through significant change. My confidence in my leadership and decision-making abilities was wavering. I needed to remain positive, conscious that my team would take their cue from me. I decided to embark on the MyLeadership journey and as I completed each section, it increased my happiness and confidence. How can you aﬀect the happiness of your team? Positivity and happiness are infectious. I found myself sharing where I was on my journey with my team and

encouraging them to go on the journey themselves. We explored our leadership journeys as part of our team meeting. How do you think MyLeadership will help your career development? Becoming a more confident leader has been great. It has made me more emotionally aware, which has made me more attuned to the needs of my team. I am using the learning to support and mentor others, as well as to develop my non-executive portfolio. What would you recommend about MyLeadership to others? I would recommend MyLeadership to leaders at all levels, and would particularly recommend that leadership teams go on the journey together. It is an excellent team-builder – great for identifying strengths and areas for development within your teams. It is also a brilliant way to identify and grow new leaders. To try out MyLeadership, visit bit.ly/2xAX1Vo

GET IN TOUCH Read anything in this particular issue of Edge that has piqued your interest? Want to express your views on the latest leadership trends? Or perhaps you’d like to share feedback on a recent event or webinar hosted by the Institute? Whatever you would like to tell us about, we would love to hear from you. Please write to the editor at sally.percy@lidbusinessmedia.com. Letters may be edited for publication.

Debate CARL HONORÉ

Slow down You will struggle to be happy if you continuously operate at breakneck speed

e live in a world that is addicted to speed. It is a world where going fast is seen as the key to achievement and career success. But it is not just in the workplace that speed rules. The message coming at us from all sides is that a fast life is a full life; that if you don’t cram every moment with activity then you’ll feel miserable for not making the most of your precious few decades on Earth. “You snooze, you lose,” as the saying goes. But is living in fast forward really the route to happiness? The current crisis in mental health in the workplace suggests not. Burnout, depression and stress can all be caused by constantly operating at a faster rate than our bodies and minds can cope with. Sure, you might get through a long to-do list, but only by sacrificing rest, sleep, exercise, relationships, pleasure, wellbeing and the space to think and be creative. In other words, the price you pay is your happiness. There is only one way to solve the problem of living life too fast. And that is to slow down. Just to be clear, slowing down doesn’t mean coming to a standstill or doing everything at a snail’s pace. What it means is doing everything at the right speed, being fully present, and putting quality before quantity. It means living life rather than rushing through it. A good place to start is with technology. Humans are hardwired to want to communicate with each other, but often we don’t know when to stop. We gorge on emails, texts, Snapchat stories and internet surfing, leaving our brains overloaded

Carl Honoré

DO THINGS AT THE RIGHT SPEED, RATHER THAN AT HIGH SPEED

with information and unable to focus. We get hooked on the adrenaline rush that technology delivers. To shift out of roadrunner mode, we need to turn oﬀ our devices from time to time. There are other ways to slow down. Some are fairly obvious. Take deep breaths. Go for a walk. Take breaks during the working day. Find a space to sit quietly and meditate. But you can also scan your schedule for tasks you can ditch, and allocate the freed-up time to thinking or just being, rather than doing. Embed a ‘slow’ ritual, such as cooking, gardening, reading or painting, into your day. When you are faced with a tough decision, take two minutes to think it over – that will help your brain to see the bigger picture. Listen carefully when talking with other people. Say ‘no’ at least once a day to an invitation or request to do something you can get away without doing. Get up a little earlier so that you start the day in a relaxed frame of mind. No matter how fast we live our lives, one thing is clear: eventually we will all run out of time. So it makes sense to try to be as happy as possible in the time we have. Happiness is more likely to follow when you do things at the right speed, rather than at high speed. You will get more enjoyment out of the hours and minutes if you savour them, instead of counting them. Your work will be more fulfilling if you focus on doing things as well as possible, instead of as fast as possible. Try living your life more slowly. You may well end up happier as a result. Carl Honoré is a bestselling author and broadcaster, and the global voice of the Slow Movement. He has written several bestselling books, including ‘In Praise of Slow’ and ‘Bolder: Making The Most of Our Longer Lives’

Debate DIVERSITY

Don’t fall for the synonym Being gay is not the same as being jolly

he word ‘gay’ is long-standing but now dated and rarely used as an adjective. It means lighthearted and carefree, with its synonyms being: cheerful, glad, jolly, jovial, happy and merry. The more recent usage of gay, which has developed over time, especially since the 1950s, is as a noun to describe a homosexual, especially a man. The synonyms are lesbian, lesbigay, LGBT, GLBT. Another informal use of the word ‘gay’, is to describe something as stupid, foolish, weak, lame and unimpressive. Most lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual plus (LGBT+) people would view the word as pejorative in this context. I have covered the meaning of LGBT+ acronyms in previous columns of Edge, but it’s useful to reprise that while the more recent usage of the word ‘gay’ can specifically describe a man who is romantically and/or sexually attracted to other men, it can also be used to refer to the whole LGBT+ community and its practices and cultures. The background to the development of this usage is the emergence of new attitudes on the part of LGBT+ people. As an open and more confident LGBT+ community developed, its members chose to adopt descriptions of themselves that were diﬀerent to those assigned to them. ‘Gay’ became the preferred word for LGB people to describe themselves, rather than ‘homosexual’ or ‘bisexual’, which had medical and legal connotations, or ‘queer’, which had been used as a derogatory term of abuse. (Although it is worth noting that some, especially younger, LGBT+ people have begun to reclaim the latter term ‘queer’, to invest it with positive meaning.) Trans* people may or may not identify as being ‘gay’, with some trans* people identifying as straight or heterosexual. How ‘gay’ are gay people? Recent UK government research demonstrates that LGBT+ people

Christopher Hallas

are not as happy as the general population. Gay people (new usage) are not as gay (old usage) as straight people. In July 2018, the UK Government Equalities Oﬃce published the results of the National LGBT Survey, on the experiences of LGBT people in the UK. Over 108,000 people participated, making it the largest national survey of an LGBT population in the world to date. The headline findings show that, in comparison with the general population, LGBT+ people are less satisfied with their life, less comfortable in public and in the workplace, and have more negative experiences in relation to health and wellbeing. 2 LGBT respondents gave an average life satisfaction rating of 6.5 (out of ten) and trans* respondents a rating of 5.4, compared with a rating of 7.7 for the general population. 2 More than two-thirds of LGBT respondents said that they avoided holding hands with their same-sex partner for fear of negative reactions. 2 At least two in five respondents reported that during the year before the survey they had experienced an incident, such as verbal harassment or physical injury, because they were LGBT. 2 In the year prior to the survey, 24% of respondents had accessed mental health services.

GAY PEOPLE (NEW USAGE) ARE NOT AS GAY (OLD USAGE) AS STRAIGHT PEOPLE

In summer this year, we saw a lot of media coverage of Pride activities across most of the globe and across the UK. There were plenty of photos of cheerful, merry, jolly, jovial, glad and happy participants. The media coverage suggests that these activities are joyous and exhilarating events for the LGBT+ people who participate in them, along with their supporters, allies and families and friends who also take part. Yet, as the government survey findings show, we still have work to do to ensure gay and straight people achieve equal levels of happiness. Christopher Hallas is a higher education and diversity specialist

MBA MSc Management

Fast-track masters with exclusive exemptions for InstituteLM members With MDC you can complete a fasttrack masters in as little as 12 months. Exclusive exemptions for InstituteLM members mean you only need to attend 2 residential taught weekends (near London) and complete a dissertation. Proven success MDC have been delivering specialised masters courses designed for full members of professional institutes such as the InstituteLM since 1991, and have seen more than 1200 senior professionals graduate. All programmes are taught by University of South Wales who recognise the levels of knowledge attained in the achievement of full institute membership. The executive programmes create a tremendous group dynamic where approximately 30 like-minded individuals join together for the 2 intensive weekends. This creates an

extremely stimulating experience for all course participants, and often gives students a valuable additional network of professional peers. Minimum disruption to working week Unlike typical part time degrees, the MDC fast-track masters allow individuals to gain a major management qualification whilst still in their jobs, with minimal disruption to the working week through blended learning. Assignment completion typically takes 10-15 hours per week but can be fitted around existing work and family commitments. Corporate payback MDC students are usually practising managers. This enables them to apply the ‘action learning’ concept and utilise the theoretical knowledge learned in the modules back in their own organisations. This has proven to be both an effective way of learning for the individual and of real benefit

www.managementmasters.co.uk e: frances@mdc-ltd.co.uk t: 01429 839254

to the individual’s company. The programme involves an 18,000 word dissertation which can equate to a large and (otherwise) expensive piece of consultancy work for an individual’s employer or company. The subject of the research project is chosen by the student, depending on the issues currently facing their company and the needs of their business. Enquire now What would a masters qualification mean to you? Recognition, career progression, earning potential, academic achievement – whatever your motivation, enquire now and you could join MDC’s next cohort in April 2020, and complete your masters within just 12 months.

Apply now for April 2020

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NEWS AND VIEWS 17 Setting the Standard & Webinars

hat’s with our new obsession with happiness at work? We have chief happiness oﬃcers, big sofas and table football in the oﬃce, and books about happiness as a competitive advantage. Some of these are novelties; some really work – for some people. But here we go again, measuring happiness for its contribution to the bottom line and believing our own rhetoric about cultivating a positive mindset. It goes something like: “Happy people have better health, better relationships and a greater sense of purpose.” Have we ever thought that it might be the other way around? I love the idea of happiness at work, but I have a problem with the way happiness becomes instrumentalised as something we can ‘do’ to people. I have an even bigger problem with claims about how good managers should be able to “create a positive culture in seven easy steps” or use our superior emotional intelligence to make other people happy. Yeah, right. Give me a break. What makes us happy is a question that has occupied people for millennia. Philosophers have long abandoned the idea of happiness being simply about satisfying desires and experiencing pleasure. Greek philosopher Aristotle talked of a flourishing life, his eudaimonia encompassing both the struggle and pain that bring us closer to something like fulfilment and a more complex understanding of happiness. With that, it is possible to see that we might be happy about one thing in our lives, while

18 News International Leadership Week; Coaching Conversations launch; banter study

21 In the Hot Seat Member Q&A

Positive vibes Happiness is not about smiles and high fives By

Phil James

suﬀering elsewhere: “Work is going well, but my friend is very ill,” or “It’s great that I hit my targets this year, but I’m worried that next year is going to be really tough.” The problem with extolling positivity and happiness at work is that we’re shutting out the possibility of other feelings and emotions being just as valid and productive. We are also increasing the anxiety associated with always trying to live up to unrealistic – inhuman – goals. Happiness isn’t about smiles and high fives. We should be looking for a deeper sort of happiness – fulfilment and meaning – in our work if we are to avoid falling into the usual pretence and platitudes about management and leadership. That

WE’RE SHUTTING OUT THE POSSIBILITY OF OTHER EMOTIONS BEING AS VALID might show us something about the true nature of happiness – not as a measurable goal, but as something we encounter in the struggle along the way. It’s great that we’re talking about happiness at work, but let’s have a proper conversation. Let’s disagree, let’s become confused, let’s change our minds and let’s learn to dwell in the uncertainty. There, in our interaction with others, we might find a little more of ourselves and catch a fleeting glimpse of what actually makes us happy. Enjoy Edge. Phil James is chief executive of the Institute of Leadership & Management For more on happiness, see Spotlight, starting on page 27.

An inspiring digital event featuring thought leaders and influential speakers from around the globe. Brought to you by The Institute of Leadership & Management.

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Insider SETTING THE STANDARD

The joy in jobs

n this issue, we consider the topic of happiness – particularly happiness at work. It is undoubtedly the case that meaningful work contributes to overall wellbeing. But when we look at what actually constitutes ‘meaningful work’, it has many components. In 2017, Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, published a report entitled Good Work: The Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices. In the report, he outlined “seven steps towards fair and decent work with realistic scope for development and fulfilment”. Taylor’s seven steps resonate with the issues that the Institute of Leadership & Management has been campaigning on over the course of many years – through Edge and other channels. Flexibility is one of these important issues because of the cost and time benefits it brings. Most studies of happiness highlight the premium people put on their time. Often they would prefer to have more time to be able to slow down, rather than more money. Flexible working gives people increased autonomy and control over their working day. We know that one way of alleviating stress is having the ability to make choices. When we have some degree of choice over when and where we work, we have the ability to manage the other demands on our time so much better. Taylor also highlighted the importance of future prospects. We want to feel the work we are doing is not only meaningful in its own right but is also leading us somewhere. As a result, it is essential that we continue

We can work our way to happiness By

Kate Cooper

to learn both formally and informally throughout our careers. Good corporate governance, good management and good employee relations all contribute towards good work. Again, we at the Institute have long emphasised the importance of conversation, and the importance of the relationships between the manager and his or her staﬀ, between people within teams, and between managers across levels. Good relationships with high levels of trust and a high degree of respect will contribute to a much better feeling of wellbeing at work. Conflicts and discord, if managed inappropriately or ignored, are a real contributor to dissatisfaction, or unhappiness at work.

MOST STUDIES OF HAPPINESS HIGHLIGHT THE PREMIUM PEOPLE PUT ON THEIR TIME Our recent ‘Leadership of, and for, the future’ conference series highlighted how work is going to change and how we will have to adapt and respond to those changes. Keeping work good, in the sense Taylor means it, demands that real attention is paid not only to what these impending jobs are going to be like, but how we can prepare people for them. Leaders and managers can promote happiness at work by supporting learning, nurturing diﬀerences, strengthening relationships, and engendering and encouraging high trust. When they do this, they lay the groundwork for a happy future.

Kate Cooper is head of research, policy and standards at the Institute of Leadership & Management

WEBINARS The Institute runs free ‘Learn at Lunch’ 30-minute webinars most Wednesdays from 12.30–1pm. To find out more, visit: https://www.institutelm. com/whats-on/event-listing.html

Check out these webinars, which you may have missed: Resilience for positivity 28 August 2019 bit.ly/2LbrIYo

How to discover your superpower! 4 September 2019 bit.ly/2ZsJgnW

How to stimulate your people to be their best 25 September 2019 bit.ly/2HsmMNK

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International Leadership Week

he Institute of Leadership & Management is holding the inaugural International Leadership Week between 18 and 21 November. We will deliver over 30 educational, inspirational and challenging online events over four days. ‘Values’ is the theme of the week, providing a rich vein of topics that are relevant to leading today’s organisations in a global marketplace. Speakers will discuss subjects such as stakeholder and shareholder value, personal brand, aligning values, creating and living organisational values, valuing employees and embedding global values locally. All our speakers are international business leaders, thought leaders or authors who are able to oﬀer a unique global perspective on values, developed from their own local insight and individual experience. Phil James, chief executive of the Institute of Leadership & Management, said: “This is a truly international initiative and an opportunity for our audience to be part of a global thoughtleadership discussion around values. Wherever you are, there will be an event that will give you invaluable insight into leading in our global marketplace.” He continued: “The line-up is a collection of highprofile, authoritative, cutting-edge voices on leadership, from all corners of the globe. There is no other event in the

leadership calendar that provides a similar forum for communication between international leaders and managers, and we’re delighted to be hosting it.” For more, search using the keyword #ILWeek2019 Don’t miss this four-day global online event, which will be full of lively podcasts, compelling webinars, engaging interviews with high-profile thought leaders, and thought-provoking discussions. To book your seat among the global audience of leaders and managers, go to www.institutelm.com/whats-on/int-leadership-week-listing.html

Closing the leadership skills gap Phil James, the Institute’s chief executive, was invited to speak at the 20th anniversary conference of Memcom earlier this year. Memcom represents professional associations, membership organisations and the wider not-for-profit sector. Senior leaders who attended the conference, which had a theme of ‘Leading into the Future’, heard Phil talk about how leadership education needs to be diﬀerent. “Leadership is commonly a challenge in many sectors and professions,” Phil told delegates. “The trade and professional associations that service these professions and sectors have a responsibility to help address those leadership challenges.” He also spoke about the leadership skills gap,

suggesting that if there is a looming leadership crisis, the best way to address it would be through a fundamental shift in what we mean by good leadership and management, and how we develop people for management roles. Phil hoped his speech would inspire other senior managers to think more about developing their selfawareness. He said: “Small changes in our thoughts and actions start to play out diﬀerently in terms of future behaviour and the way that leadership and management is talked about. I hope that senior managers of professional and trade bodies will partner with us to co-create a new approach to leadership development within their sectors.”

SUPPORT US BY BECOMING A TRUSTEE If you’re a Member, Fellow or Companion of the Institute of Leadership & Management, you may be interested in joining our Board of Trustees. If so, look out for our mailout in December, when we will invite nomination submissions. Contact Beverley Hogg for information at beverley.hogg@ institutelm.com

News

Celebrating the talent in logistics The Institute of Leadership & Management was delighted to be able to attend the third annual Talent in Logistics event, held in Milton Keynes in June. The event supports the recruitment, development, engagement and retention of more than 2.2 million people who work in the UK’s transport and logistics sector. The keynote speech at the event was delivered by Professor Richard Wilding of Cranfield School of Management. He explored the chal-

lenges Brexit has presented to the logistics industry and the associated leadership lessons for the supply chain. Olympian field athlete Steve Backley OBE gave a hugely inspirational talk on the five key principles of performance, while Kate Cooper, the Institute’s head of research, policy and standards, spoke about being an authentic leader every day. The event concluded with an awards dinner, where entertainment was provided by Welsh comedian Rod Woodward. Best-in-class businesses and personnel across the logistics sector were recognised at the awards. Not only did the Institute judge the collaboration and people development award categories, we also proudly sponsored the Inspirational Leader of the Year award, which was won by Michael Price of Clipper Logistics.

Enhancing coaching capabilities The Institute has launched its first dedicated oﬀer in the coaching space: Coaching Conversations. This oﬀer complements our existing suite of online leadership development tools that enable you to practically assess, and gain credit for, your reallife coaching experiences at work. Enhance your coaching capability using the up-to-date curated resources before recording a workplace coaching conversation, which will be assessed against our standard, and recognised with a digital badge. Jay Ludditt, the Institute’s head of digital strategy, said: “Coaching Conversations is perfect for anyone who coaches as part of their role. These conversations happen every day in the workplace and this enables leaders to become better at what they already do, without the need for lengthy written assessments.” Find out more at bit.ly/2LG3GaE

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MyLeadership is a learning journey The Institute has recently enhanced MyLeadership to oﬀer customised learning journeys for our business customers. It is now possible to select the components most relevant to the leadership development requirements of your business, from the 49 available. Completion of the unique selection of components is then followed by either a bespoke individual or group conversation, certified by an Institute assessor. Gaynor Lewis, the Institute’s head of commercial development, said: “We’ve identified 49 compo-

nents of great leadership, but we recognise that employers might like to align specific components with their own existing leadership programmes. Customised learning journeys can now be designed to meet the needs of individual businesses.” These bespoke journeys do maintain core elements of MyLeadership, which are fundamental to practically evidencing learning, such as the requirement to meet our high standards and incorporate real conversations. Find out more at bit.ly/2YkSXbr

ONLINE Star webinar Nearly 300 Institute Members booked on to Dr Audrey Tang’s webinar on mindful leadership. She explored how changing others is easier when you are comfortable changing yourself. The webinar oﬀers simple, easy-to-apply techniques to produce real results in wellbeing and performance. To watch the webinar, visit bit.ly/2G1mn3Y

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News

Legion is Institute Approved The Institute has joined forces with the country’s largest Armed Forces charity, The Royal British Legion. The charity, which provides lifelong support to serving and ex-serving personnel and their families, has independently verified its leadership programme via ‘Institute Approved’. The 12-month Institute Approved programme, which began in May 2019, provides leadership development to 72 leaders throughout the organisation at junior, middle and senior manager levels. Institute Approved enhances the learning outcomes of the organisation’s existing leadership programme, which incorporates structured learning, but also learning by doing. Action learning, individual reflexivity and workshops are built in to the programme, which also oﬀers access to an extensive library of the latest thought leadership. Martin Isaacs, learning and organisational development partner at The Royal British Legion, explained why it views developing its leaders as crucial: “There is no other organisation like The Royal British Legion and it’s essential we possess eﬀective leadership at all levels to enable us to deliver to those we serve. “Institute Approved as a pathway to becoming a professional member of the Institute is also

a great incentive to our leaders. We intend to reward and recognise successful completion of the programme by providing a second year of membership to the Institute.” He added: “Leadership in the Royal British Legion is not about title or position, but about leadership at every level, by everyone. Institute Approved provides a kite-mark of quality for a programme that will embed this philosophy at every level of our organisation.”

Larking around or malicious malarkey? The Institute’s research manager, Dr Arwen Wilcock, presented its study, Larking Around or Malicious Malarkey: The Impact and Management of Workplace Banter, to an audience in Portugal this year. At the event, hosted by the Emirates Association of Arts and Management Professionals, attendees learned that one in five people are embarrassed by banter. They were also shocked to discover that it causes one in ten workers to avoid workplace situations and that women are more negatively impacted than men. Attendees were also surprised by the prevalence of banter (98% reported experiencing it), its acceptance (73% would not ban it) and the fact that 60% think it is important for building rapport with colleagues. Commenting on the event, Arwen said: “It was interesting to learn that many behaviours that are

culturally accepted in the UK would result in disciplinary action elsewhere. This gave me food for thought about the fine balance between humour and appropriate workplace conduct.” Find out more about the impact of banter in the workplace by downloading ‘Banter: Just a Bit of Fun or Crossing the Line?’ from bit.ly/2PMRCCv

SHARE YOUR RESEARCH Above Dr Arwen Wilcock

If you have undertaken any research into leadership and management, written a paper or participated in a best-practice case study, we want to hear about it. We may even be able to feature it in Edge. Email us at research@institutelm.com

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Member Q&A

I N T HE HOT SEAT

Stuart Cairns

This month, Edge meets Stuart Cairns, a retired Royal Air Force oﬃcer who is now director of SLC Squared, an independent training consultancy. He’s also a trustee of The Music Works, a music education hub in Gloucestershire What does leadership mean to you?

psychologist Binna Kandola. I also read The Psychologist, the publication of the British Psychological Society, and I’m a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership & Management. Having recently returned to a trustee role, I am ‘recalibrating my strategic leadership skills’ to hopefully meet the needs of a charity that is growing rapidly, but in challenging economic times. Finally, I am interested in studying leadership from the past, to see what we can take to the future, particularly in extreme circumstances.

For me, the fundamentals of leadership are about building eﬀective teams. It’s about getting to a state of ‘being followed’ rather than ‘needing to lead’. It’s also being passionate about what you do and having relationships that are strong enough to enable frank, meaningful discussions, regardless of where someone is positioned in the organisation.

What are your leadership challenges?

What’s your advice on developing people?

The preservation of open, collaborative, curious and inclusive mindsets in the face of significant pressures to do exactly the opposite. Also, I see leaders who are already comfortable with the benefits of diversity and intersectionality within their teams now seeking out less obvious multiplicity. For example, they are looking for undisclosed skills and talents, introverts and intrapreneurs, the neuro-diverse, as well as people with diﬀerent life experiences. This will enable the construction of new groupings and relationships.

Understand your team so you can help them to reach their individual and group potential. Get to know yourself so you can address your shortcomings and biases. Familiarise yourself with your leaders and peers – and identify how you can help them. Finally, understand how to develop relationships at work through restorative practices – for example, overcoming conflict to create an attuned working environment.

How does membership of the Institute of Leadership & Management benefit you?

How does what’s happening in your sector feed into those challenges? It feels like a lot of lip service is paid to developing more inclusive and humanistic leadership. While this is likely to adversely aﬀect the bottom line over time, many opportunities for people to achieve their potential are currently being lost.

What are you personally focusing on from a leadership perspective? I stay engaged in debates by following diversity and inclusion expert Charlotte Sweeney and business

I AM RECALIBRATING MY STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP SKILLS

I didn’t make the most of my membership initially and therefore didn’t realise what excellent resources we have. I am delighted to say that I recently completed the MyLeadership programme, gaining certificates for all Five Dimensions. It reminded me I still have plenty to learn and refresh. I hope I can continue to share this knowledge with others. Would you like to feature in the Hot Seat? Email sally.percy@lidbusinessmedia.com

The Edge Interview

Action for Happiness

From ‘me’ to ‘we’ Action for Happiness is on a mission to reframe our ideas around personal contentment. Dr Mark Williamson and Vanessa King explain why Writing Matt Packer

Photography Julian Dodd

ny social movement takes flight from a series of catalysts – those electric moments when like-minds meet and mutual enthusiasm flows. Action for Happiness, which launched in 2011, is no exception. For director and chief executive Dr Mark Williamson, the journey towards his own catalyst began with a bout of debilitating, stress-induced back pain towards the end of a long spell in corporate life, during which he developed technologies for HewlettPackard and Accenture. After seeking solace in an MBA, he came to realise that he “wasn’t really interested in selling anyone anything”. So, he moved into raising awareness of climate change as director of innovation at The Carbon Trust. “During that time,” he recalls, “I read Happiness: Lessons From a New Science by Richard Layard, who’s one of our co-founders. His work calls for us to measure progress in terms of human happiness and wellbeing – not just economic growth. It made me see that the way to address environmental issues wasn’t about the technologies I was working on. It was more to do with shifting cultural narrative, which says that success is about earning, having and consuming more. By chasing that false promise, we’re not just breaking the planet – we’re breaking ourselves. And I had an awakening that we have to reframe success as a more authentic happiness. Not

WE HAVE TO REFRAME SUCCESS AS A MORE AUTHENTIC HAPPINESS

just for individuals, but collectively. And that’s now our mission: to shift our culture.” Williamson met with Layard and other thinkers with similar views, and the movement’s nucleus began to take shape. Vanessa King, now Action for Happiness’s psychology expert and workplace lead, had her own catalyst. After studying psychology and biology, she trained as a tax accountant before moving into the strategy unit at Coopers & Lybrand (which later became PwC), where she focused on helping clients with their people issues. A couple of roles later, King was consulting in change, leadership development and talent management at human resources firm Towers Perrin – now Willis Towers Watson – but was growing steadily disillusioned. “Of course succession planning is important,” she says. “But talent management back then was primarily about spotting the top 10% or 15% of staff that an organisation thinks will make it to the top. And I was getting increasingly uncomfortable, thinking: does that mean the bottom 85% or 90% are talentless? Surely, if we could release more of their potential, that would make a huge difference – not just to the organisation, but to their lives.” At the 2008 World Congress on Leadership Development, King heard a speaker talk about the new ‘science of strengths’, focusing on what’s right about people, rather than weaknesses. “It was a lightbulb moment for me,” she says. “So I googled it, and found you could study a Masters in this stuff at the University of Pennsylvania.”

The Edge Interview

LEADERSHIP LESSONS: DR MARK WILLIAMSON Who has been your most important real-life leadership inspiration? “Professor Lord Richard Layard. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve met up with him of an evening, and he’s had to leave to vote in the House of Lords on some obscure, but important, mental health policy. He works incredibly hard on the stuﬀ he believes in.” What does a good leader look like? “I like the idea of servant leadership – leading by trying to help the people who are following you.” What’s your greatest challenge? “My horrific back pain problem was a real wake-up call. For the first time

in my life, I was willing to take oﬀ my mask and say, ‘I’m struggling right now,’ and then to find ways of dealing with that.” What’s the most important leadership lesson that you’ve ever learned? “How to say no to demands on my time with tact and compassion. It transformed my ability to prioritise.” What’s the secret to your own success? “Mindful living. Bringing mindfulness out of the context of eyes-closed meditation and into the way I live has had a massive impact.”

King duly enrolled on the university’s Master of Applied Positive Psychology course and spent the next two years shuttling back and forth between the UK and US. At the end of it, she had an opportunity to present her dissertation at the first-ever Positive Psychology conference in China. On the flight, she found herself sitting next to Action for Happiness co-founder Sir Anthony Seldon, who invited her to meet Williamson. “So I did, and Mark said, ‘Can you help us out with the psychological research and advise us on what evidence-based actions we should encourage people to take?’ And here we are, almost ten years later.”

Coping with reality Why is there a need for us to take action on happiness in today’s world? “If you look at reported levels of wellbeing, we are in many ways blessed relative to previous generations, in terms of technology and health advances and so on,” says Williamson. “Yet, as we look around, we see so much stress, loneliness and isolation – factors that are causing a breakdown of mental health, families and communities. This is all really worrying. But now we have a base of empirical science that helps us to properly understand what makes for a happy life.” He continues: “I want to make it clear that, in talking about happiness, we’re not referring to some glib, smiley-happy, everything’s-fine-allthe-time illusory state. This is about how to help people get the most out of life – and to cope with the reality of the human condition, which is that we all experience sadness, anger, loss and fear. Leading a happier life means responding construc-

ACTION FOR HAPPINESS FACTS Launched 2011 Co-founders Lord Richard Layard, professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science; Sir Anthony Seldon, leading educationalist and political historian; and Geoﬀ Mulgan CBE, chief executive of innovation foundation Nesta; Dr Mark Williamson Patron His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama (pictured above with Williamson) Reach 180 countries Active membership 151,000 Twitter following 163,000

tively to whatever happens to us, and being able to thrive in spite of the problems we face – whether these occur at work, in our family lives, or in our communities. So our mission is to contribute to, and to help create, a happier world.” “It’s important to address the impact our psychological state has on others,” notes King. “If we’re languishing inside – if we are unhappy or overloaded for prolonged periods – that not only aﬀects our physical health, but can ripple out towards other people. We know that if we’re lacking in sleep, we’re more likely to snap at others, be rude, or not notice people. And that’s just one factor. So there’s a responsibility to take care of our own wellbeing, because it’s not just for us. It enables us to contribute to other people’s lives.” The Action for Happiness movement – a registered charity – has three primary initiatives for carrying out its mission to bring happiness beyond the realm of theory and into people’s everyday lives: 2 Exploring What Matters Action for Happiness has thousands of community volunteers up and down the country. They are trained to run an eight-week course on topics such as maintaining good relationships, dealing with stress and defining purpose. People can donate as much or as little as they wish, and many participants find the experience life-changing. 2 Building management and leadership capability Under King’s leadership, the movement goes into workplaces to support practical application of the science of happiness. It visits large corporates, technology firms, charities and public-sector bodies.

Action for Happiness

LEADERSHIP LESSONS: VANESSA KING Who has been your most important real-life leadership inspiration? “Mark. He practises what he preaches. He’s taken on board the science that we’re sharing with other people, and implemented it in his own life. He’s super-busy and super-productive, but pays high-quality attention to others. He’s a great example of walking the talk.” What does a good leader look like? “Someone who is authentic – who is unafraid to share worries or concerns, and who puts people first.” What’s your greatest challenge? “Trying to juggle all the diﬀerent stuﬀ that’s going on all the time – especially

2 Regular nudges Action for Happiness’s ever-expanding network of volunteers, learners and supporters is kept mindful of the movement’s ethos via a series of themed online calendars, which mark each day with a thought-provoking tip. In the resilience-themed month of ‘Jump-back July’, one daily tip was: “Adopt a growth mindset. Change ‘I can’t’ into ‘I can’t yet’.”

The keys to happier living In addition to the donations it receives from delivering local Exploring What Matters courses and the income it generates from its work with organisations, Action for Happiness is sustained by its Supporters’ Circle. Williamson describes this circle as “a philanthropically-minded group of strategic advisers – people who really care about mental health and want to help change our culture”. The movement also has its own manual, penned by King, called 10 Keys to Happier Living. “It’s probably the most evidence-based book around on how to be happier and create happiness for others,” Williamson explains. “There are hundreds of scientific findings in there, but they’re written in a really accessible way. People in our network have used it in all sorts of diﬀerent contexts: organisations, schools, communities.” The ten keys are presented as a menu, rather than a prescription. “If you take their initials in order, they spell out the acronym GREAT DREAM, and the first two letters stand for Giving and Relationships,” says King. “It was really important for me to ensure we built in that meaning: one fifth of our framework is devoted to other people.”

ONE OF THE BIGGEST PRESSURES OF MODERN LIFE IS SELFCOMPARISON

as wellbeing science grows. What are our priorities? Where can we make the greatest diﬀerence?” What’s the most important leadership lesson that you’ve ever learned? “Be unafraid to change direction – even when people around you may think you’re mad. If you know what feels right for you, go for it.” What’s been the secret to your own success? “Saying yes to new opportunities that sound interesting, even if you don’t know where they will lead. It can’t all be planned out.”

Compassion and the Dalai Lama Then there is compassion, which is fundamental to the movement’s mission: “One of the biggest pressures of modern life is self-comparison, which has been heightened by social media,” says King. “Even people who reach – by any objective standard – some sort of material success or status, still don’t feel like they are ‘good enough’. We hear about that all the time. So, part of our work is helping people to be more compassionate towards themselves.” Someone else who is clear about the link between compassion and happiness is His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He argues that by striving to become more compassionate towards others, we increase our own serenity and inner strength. Significantly, the Dalai Lama is involved with Action for Happiness at an organisational level. “He’s our patron,” Williamson explains. “We have no religious, commercial or political aﬃliations. Our movement is a secular, non-commercial way of looking at the world. So the Dalai Lama isn’t there because of his link to Buddhism or his former role as a political figurehead. He’s there because he stands for the same thing as the movement, which is a universal idea that happiness matters – and crucially, that perhaps the best way to reach happiness is by bringing happiness to others.” As he puts it: “At the heart of Action for Happiness is the notion that we’re at our happiest not when we’re caring for ourselves, but when we care for each other. It’s a path from ‘happier me’ to ‘happier we’.” Matt Packer is a freelance writer and editor. Follow him on Twitter at @mjpwriter For more on happiness, see Spotlight, starting on page 27

The Doctorate in Professional Practice (DProf) at UWTSD The Doctorate in Professional Practice (DProf) is the ideal route for senior practitioners and leaders in their professional field to obtain a doctorate whilst maintaining their work commitments. Choose the topic of your research, then work with leading faculty in your area to produce outputs that make a direct contribution to enhancing your effectiveness, profile and career. The UWTSD programme is one of only two generic DProf Programmes in existence worldwide, and is uniquely placed to cater for a wide range of professional backgrounds and research topics. Join an established doctoral student community whose interests span as diverse areas as sports nutrition, marine law, executive coaching, third sector strategy and sales/ marketing in the IT industry.

Entrance Requirements The programme is open to professionals who have at least five years’ experience of a significant professional role, and who possess an upper second class degree or equivalent, and ideally a master’s degree also.

Programme Components Part 1 (duration approx. 1.5 years, part-time): You start by exploring two modules on the nature of research communication and your capabilities and authorities:

• ‘Approaches to Research and Academic Communication’ • ‘Review of Professional Learning’ You then move to develop a thorough background in qualitative and quantitative aspects of research methodology before producing a Proposal for their work-based research project. If you have already studied research methods then you may be able to move directly to proposal development. Part 2 (duration approx. 3-4 years, part-time): Once your proposal has been accepted you will focus on a major work-based research project, supported by an individually chosen supervisory team drawn from a range of Universities which will meet with you at least once a month.

Assessment Each module has its own assessment element involving a mix of presentation, portfolio, and written reports or essay. At the end of Part 2, it is expected that candidates will have produced a thesis based on their research project. Graduates can use the title of ‘Dr’.

Cost For candidates resident in UK/EU, the total cost of the programme for 2019 starters is £23,150 (payable in installments. Bursaries are available to all candidates resident in Wales. Note that you may be entitled to a doctoral loan – please see: www.gov.uk/doctoral-loan For international candidates, the total programme cost is £32,050.

Programme Delivery Part 1 is usually delivered in two-day residential workshops during Spring and Autumn at the UWTSD scholarly retreat at the Lampeter campus, involving small group study with other advanced practitioners. For the remainder of the programme you can work virtually using skype and similar platforms to access tutorial support and the seminar programme as well as the online library and Virtual Learning Environment. Part 2 normally begins with a two-day residential and then monthly contact with your dedicated team of research supervisors.

More information Please refer to www.uwtsd.ac.uk/dprof and you are also welcome to discuss your individual situation with the Programme Director, Dr Christine Davies (Christine.davies@uwtsd.ac.uk). An application form for the programme may be accessed at: www.uwtsd.ac.uk/ media/uwtsd-website/content-assets/ documents/registry/applicationforms/ postgraduate-research-applicationform.pdf, and completed forms should be emailed to: registryadmissions@uwtsd.ac.uk

Spotlight

HAPPINESS

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28 The meaning of happiness

32 Where we belong

34 Reboot your business

36 The multiplier eďŹ&#x20AC;ect

38 Case study: Inspecs

Spotlight

The erroneous pursuit of happiness Meaning and pleasure are more important to wellbeing than sudden whooshes of joy Writing Kirsten Levermore Illustration Stephen Collins

he trillion-pound global wellbeing industry is on the rise. UK businesses alone are spending upwards of £530m on corporate wellness services, according to a report by market research company IBISWorld. Meanwhile, scores of companies have taken on happiness managers – but is it worth it? Philosophers, poets and people who stare out of windows have searched for the meaning of ‘happiness’ for centuries. More recently, a landmark study by psychologists Roy Baumeister and Kathleen Vohs examined the two most common

interpretations of ‘happiness’ – soaring rushes of pleasure, and deep, long-lasting meaning. They delved into the attitudes of 400 individuals towards meaning and pleasure over a month-long period. Two categories of people emerged: those who believed in long-term, meaning-based happiness, called ‘Givers’; and those who were driven by feelgood, pleasure-based happiness, called ‘Takers’.

Givers and Takers Happiness that is associated with pleasure begins and ends in your nervous system, explains Dr Tara Swart, neuroscientist, executive adviser and author of The Source. It’s that whoosh of joy you

Happiness

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experience when you score a goal, eat a good meal, close a deal or take a holiday, because chemicals (the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin) have been dumped in your body and brain. Pleasure-happiness is quick to arrive and often quick to end, lasting between a few minutes and a few hours. As self-centric pleasure-seekers, Takers tend to be in good physical health, relatively wealthy, rarely stressed or worried, and think life is easy. When things don’t go their way, or funds are low, Takers are significantly less ‘happy’ and consider life to have much less value. From a society perspective, Baumeister et al wrote that Takers in positions of power can be particularly dangerous: “Happiness without meaning characterises a relatively shallow, self-absorbed or even selfish life, in which things go well, needs and desires are easily satisfied, and diﬃcult or taxing entanglements are avoided.” Before judging Takers too harshly, however, consider the evolutionary explanation for their existence. Where humans have a need or a desire (such as hunger), we satisfy it, and that makes us happy. Takers are the extreme of this, guided by the Neanderthal within to do what it takes to survive. Happiness associated with meaning, says Swart, is far more abstract. There is no identifiable biological mechanism for ‘meaning’, nor can we physically measure when someone is meaning-happy, or prescribe how to make them feel more so. We don’t even have a rigid description of what the concept really means. Defined by The Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology, a ‘meaningful life’ is a “construct having to do with the purpose, significance, fulfilment, and satisfaction of life”. The book underlines two common aspects in a ‘meaningful life’: a global schema to understand one’s life; and the belief that life itself is meaningful. Emily Esfahani Smith, a positive psychology educator at the University of Pennsylvania, writes in The Atlantic: “While [pleasure-related] happiness is an emotion felt in the here and now, it ultimately fades away, as all emotions do. The amount of time people report feeling good or bad correlates with happiness but not at all with meaning. Meaning, on the other hand, is enduring. It connects the past to the present to the future.” Givers couldn’t be more diﬀerent from their Taker counterparts: Givers transcend the self, looking past quick wins and finding joy in giving to others. Despite experiencing significantly more stress and worry than Takers, Givers consistently rate their satisfaction with life higher than Takers in a rough patch, even when they are feeling down. Though we may not understand the biology behind it, the benefits of being meaning-happy are great:

HOW YOU CAN MOTIVATE GIVERS AND TAKERS Takers tell you what they want. With their quick wins, they can benefit from changes to corporate policy, such as working from home, attractive benefits or decent pay. Motivating Givers rests on supporting them in following their passion in their career, or consistently reminding them of who they are in work and what the bigger picture looks like.

being a Giver improves your health, reduces your risk of many diseases and even protects you from the eﬀects of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s. With such diﬀerent people to motivate, whose happiness are we investing in? And is it what people really need?

A happy staff takes work Happier mindsets are linked to a 43% rise in productivity, according to consultancy Hay Group, as well as higher profitability and significantly reduced staff turnover (33% and 51% respectively, says researcher Gallup). So, happiness seems like a good thing to grant your employees. But, contends David Bellamy, founder and chief executive of corporate culture software provider The Happiness Lab, firms are scared that their happy-centric initiatives will receive a less-thanwelcome reception. He says: “If we fear that telling employees ‘We really care about your happiness,’ will make them laugh or react with scepticism or cynicism, it’s merely a reflection of the insincerity that companies express to their employees when they say ‘Our employees are our greatest asset.’” Pointing to boosts in commercial and performance metrics as evidence that it is time for corporations to take a real interest in their workforce’s feelings, Bellamy asks leaders, “What’s wrong with caring about the happiness of your people?” The truth, he offers, is perhaps that corporations don’t want to ask employees how they feel about them in case their employees are honest in reply. The American tech giants are leading the way with ‘happy workforces’, says Swart. While some oppose dedicated chief happiness officers and happiness leaders on the grounds that spreading happiness should be the job of the chief executive, Swart believes that such appointments “send a message”. She adds: “Employers have a responsibility to ensure balance is achieved and that the work portion of life has upsides apart from remuneration.”

Manipulated by marketers Like sales, arguments and job changes, big decisions are regularly made according to how much ‘happiness’ they stimulate. The Taker’s rush of quick wins, shiny objects and brash slogans can bring down lives, workplaces and societies for a moment of pleasure. The Giver camp is no better, since gritted teeth and austerity in lieu of a good long-term outcome leaves people feeling abandoned, joyless or hopeless. It’s a delicate balance. Marketers and user-experience designers explicitly model our pleasure-happiness. “They

Happiness

THE HAPPINESS DICTIONARY Coherence Feeling of comprehensibility and one’s life making sense.

Purpose Sense of core goals, aims and direction in life.

Contentment Positive feeling of acceptance of a situation.

Resilience The ability to bounce back from adversity.

Fulfilment A sense of contentment following completion of a goal or mission. Happiness State of wellbeing and contentment. Meaning A higher purpose, usually beyond the self. Pleasure Sensation elicited by what is felt or seen as positive or favourable.

Satisfaction An individual’s feelings about their life, or contentment with the outcome of an eﬀort. Significance Sense of life’s inherent value and having a life worth living. Wellbeing Physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health of an individual.

know what makes you ‘happy’ and for how long, to within milliseconds,” reveals Dr Vivienne Ming, a theoretical neuroscientist and tech entrepreneur. “People are rewarded for designing messages and platforms so you experience big hits of pleasure. Sometimes they are rewarded for messing with it, too.” Looking beyond the commercial world, we can turn to recent political campaigns and their outcomes. Stanford University political scientist Francis Fukuyama believes that the rise in populism tells us something about the nature of happiness. “People’s happiness is driven more by relative rather than absolute levels of income and by social recognition,” Fukuyama told The Washington Post. “Many who voted for populist politicians feel they have been invisible to elites, who are indiﬀerent to their struggles and ready to favour immigrants, minorities and others ‘less deserving’.” However untrue the perception may be, Fukuyama adds, the feeling of unhappiness lies behind much of the anger of former majority populations. Campaigners’ attempts to make certain people ‘happy’, says Fukuyama, are why Brexit voters risked economic costs to “take back their country”. They are also why Trump supporters are

often pleased with his openly confrontational anti-elite rhetoric in the absence of concrete socioeconomic gains for themselves. It is important to remember that positive emotions are not suited to every situation. Our emotions have evolved over aeons to serve some important functions. Fear keeps us safe from threats; anger helps us to overcome obstacles; pain teaches us not to make the same mistakes; and sadness tells us something is lost, wrong or needs to change. As shameful as it may be, the manipulation of our happiness – and our evaluation of our happiness versus that of others – is a fact of modern life. For those appalled, three options lie before you. Like the Stoics, you can seek joy within and discount external factors and the wider world. As suggested by the United Nations’ World Happiness Report, you can seek out a tribe with similar feelings and strengthen your connections with others. Alternatively, you can take the advice of Laurie Santos, director of Yale University’s Comparative Cognition Lab. This is to stop comparing your happiness with others’, savour Taking and be passionate about Giving. From there, true happiness will come. Kirsten Levermore is assistant editor of ‘Edge’

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS CAUSES CONFLICT AND LEADS US ASTRAY

Where we belong If you want a happy and productive workplace, people need to feel comfortable and accepted Writing Tracy Powley

he case for happiness at work is clear. Researchers at Warwick University carried out experiments to see whether happy employees work harder. Their results showed that happiness made people 12% more productive. There is also a high level of interest in happiness from an international policymaking perspective, as indicated by rankings such as the United Nations’ World Happiness Report and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Better Life Index. Finally, from a personal experience, we know what a diﬀerence it makes when we feel positive about work and our lives. And yet we are not doing very well at being happy. Unhappiness, particularly in the form of stress-related illness, is worryingly high.

According to the Labour Force Survey, 15.4 million working days were lost due to work-related stress, depression or anxiety in the UK in 2017/18. Meanwhile, figures from the Health and Safety Executive estimated that the cost of work-related injuries and illness in 2016/17 was £15 billion. So, what would help us to feel happier at work? Stanford Graduate School of Business identifies four key drivers:

Higher purpose People want to feel that they are part of something bigger than themselves, and that the shared goal matters.

2 3

Autonomy People want to feel that they are trusted and in control of their work.

Meaningful relationships These are achieved through creating shared experiences for people, which support collaboration.

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A positive impact People are happier if they see the concrete, measurable and positive diﬀerence that their actions have on others. This leads to a sense of being valued. Neuroscience supports this argument. Experiments by neuroeconomist Paul J Zak have shown that trust and having a sense of higher purpose stimulates oxytocin release – the chemical that produces happiness. So a prerequisite for happiness is enabling trusting relationships at work. For this to happen, however, we need to create workplace cultures where people feel comfortable and accepted. Consider these questions to assess whether your own organisation has this kind of culture: 2 How freely do your people feel able to express their thoughts and oﬀer suggestions to each other? 2 How open are they to hearing other people’s point of view? 2 How ‘accepted’ do they feel, and how much of their ‘real selves’ do they bring to work? Or, are feelings and thoughts suppressed, self-esteem worn away and true selves masked? These are all indicators that people are unhappy.

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Part of the community The word ‘belonging’ is increasingly being used to capture the idea of a culture where everyone is accepted and welcomed for who they are. It taps into the strong need we all have to feel part of a community. Communities come in many diﬀerent forms – families, activity and interest-based groups, local communities in your home town – but one of the most significant for many is their workplace. Professional services firm EY’s Belonging Barometer, a study on belonging at work, clearly shows the eﬀect of people not feeling comfortable or accepted in their workplace community – being excluded, in other words. A lack of acceptance can lead to a sense of isolation, loneliness, sadness or even anger – the complete antithesis of happiness. Again, the neuroscience backs this up – high stress inhibits oxytocin release, When we feel stressed, we don’t interact well with others. Think short fuse or shutting down. The things that can lead to that feeling of exclusion are often unintentional. It could be banter at someone’s expense, being teased for something we have said or done, or even how we look. Or it could be unthinking comments that relate to us being part of a minority group. If we work to remove these barriers to ‘belonging’, we start to create an environment

Workplace Culture

A PREREQUISITE FOR HAPPINESS IS ENABLING TRUSTING RELATIONSHIPS AT WORK

where people can be themselves and can thrive. We create the conditions for happiness. So what practical steps can leaders and managers take to create these conditions? The good news is that some very simple actions can be incredibly powerful: 2 Hold regular check-ins These should be especially between manager and team members, but also among co-workers. The check-ins should not only cover operational matters, but also be used to see how the other person is. Simply asking “How are you?” or “How are things going?” helps people to feel that someone else is taking genuine interest in them as a person. It makes a world of difference. 2 Take proactive steps to break barriers down The more people get to know each other, the more we avoid assumptions, which may otherwise damage working relationships. 2 Nip situations in the bud when they are making someone feel uncomfortable A manager can easily move jokes and banter on by saying something like “Let’s have a new joke today.” And if you want to gauge levels of happiness in your teams, there are some very simple ways to do this, too. David Tomas, general manager at Spanish digital marketing agency Cyberclick, and author of The Happiest Company in the World, advocates asking people three key questions at the end of each day and getting them to rate their response with a traffic light system: 2 What mood did you arrive in today? 2 What mood are you leaving in today? 2 On a scale of one to four, how much did you like the tasks you did today? When we get the culture of belonging right, people are more open, more able to cope with pressure and less resistant to change. They put their energy into their work rather than into hiding aspects of themselves, or coping with feeling ‘different’, left out or picked on. As leaders and managers, we benefit from a powerful sense of cohesion and an environment where happiness can flourish. If we can ‘join the dots’ between all these elements, the business benefits of happiness, such as increased productivity and better retention, will naturally flow. And, as well as helping the UK to climb the happiness indices and barometers, we will genuinely be making a difference to people’s lives. Tracy Powley is director of operations at Focal Point Training. See www.focalpointtraining.com

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Reboot your business How can you release the extraordinary energy of your teams? Writing Chris Barez-Brown

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he famous equation for Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity is E = mc2 – or energy (E) being equal to the mass (m) of a body, times the speed of light (c) squared. There is another interpretation of this set of letters and numbers, however. It is one that applies keenly to leaders and managers in businesses looking to increase the energy within their organisation. Simply put, the energy within a company is also

equal to the management of a company times the culture squared. This alternative can be just as dense as Einstein’s theory, but by breaking it down, businesses can unlock the potential to release the extraordinary within their teams.

Strengths and passions Defining energy is notoriously diﬃcult, but we have all experienced days where our energy is through the roof or, indeed, through the floor. If you lack energy, even the most basic tasks are

Positive Energy

draining and everything is a chore. In the workplace, this not only saps productivity, it can also spiral into serious issues between colleagues as projects fall behind. By comparison, in a state of high energy, you can deliver incredible results, yield new ideas and prolific innovation, complete complex tasks with apparent ease and deliver huge value to the business. As an employee, manager or leader, you are the same person; the only thing that has changed is the energy. Getting the right energy within a team, or across a business, starts by matching the strengths and passions of the staff to the specific jobs that drive these rituals. This can be tricky, because businesses typically allocate people into roles or jobs based on what they can do. While it is important to ensure someone is competent at a given task, it is equally important to realise that an ability to do something is not the same as having an affinity for that task. An audit can be a useful way to match the energy of staff to the strategy of the business going forward.

Management: more of the right energies We can classify energy into one of four categories: specifically, how energy aﬀects us physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. In the modern workplace, businesses are already keenly aware of the role of good practice when it comes to physical elements. One of the most recent examples of this has been the UK government green paper recommending a certain amount of sleep each night. Mental health has also become a more prominent issue within the workplace, with businesses now realising the vital importance of addressing issues such as anxiety, depression and stress. But mental health is not just about fixing what is wrong – it is also about building on what is right. Emotional and spiritual energy tend to get less consideration from businesses. While work does – and should – incite a strong emotional connection for some people, in some roles, the reality is that this is not always possible. Spiritual energy is the peak of emotional connection. Here, there is such a profound connection between the personal experience and the activity being undertaken that it can be considered to be more than someone just doing what they are doing. But not everyone can be lost in what they do.

Culture: squared By ‘culture squared’ we refer to the idea of how the culture of a business acts to entrench and then reassert the personality of an organisation so that it defines the environment in which people are working.

EIGHT ENERGY BOOSTERS FOR THE WORKPLACE

1 2 3

7 8

Demand feedback at least once daily Everyone must constantly learn and grow. Start the day clearly Everyone needs to know the ‘one big thing’ that they have to achieve. Zone the day People only have 90 -120 minutes of peak focus. Use this time to concentrate on the right things. Get everyone to ‘go monk and go deep’. Even the highest achievers work with real focus for just 3.5 hours a day. Meetings should not be the norm Don’t go unless there is a clear objective, a small group attending and everyone knows what to contribute. And keep them short.

A COMPANY WITHOUT ENERGY WILL REMAIN STATIC

Lunch Don’t just eat. An hour lunch break is the equivalent to over five weeks’ holiday over a year. In that time, a team can learn new skills, get fit, meditate and more. Invest in positive people and eliminate toxic ones Relational energy is everything; invest in the people who boost the business. Toxic people have a group impact that a business cannot aﬀord, so sack them. Move and hydrate We are not designed to sit in one place for long. Fatigue can be a sign of dehydration. Consider giving up alcohol Alcohol is one of the biggest costs to industry and personal development. Elite performance means being sober.

Culture should be dynamic and develop as the business grows and evolves, but a company without energy will remain static and resist this change. By comparison, a company that proactively manages energy will typically have a culture of growth and continual development. For example, if someone truly wants to grow as an individual in the workplace, then it’s their responsibility to take ownership for their development and demand feedback every day. It is in the company’s interest to foster a culture that delivers this response. By focusing on the positives of what has been done well and what could be done better next time, all employees can learn, grow as a person and – critically – remove any of the anxiety that comes with not knowing how they are performing. Regardless of position, when someone takes ownership of finding out how they are performing, they grow as a result. Multiplied across an entire business, this can be transformational.

Pulling it all together: why aim for the extraordinary? Einstein once said: “Concern for man and his fate must always form the chief interest of all technical endeavours. Never forget this in the midst of your diagrams and equations.” By ensuring more employees, managers and leaders have days when their energy is through the roof, rather than through the floor, a business can be staﬀed and led by people with the strength, passion and vitality to create the truly extraordinary, every day. Chris Barez-Brown is an author, speaker and founder of Upping Your Elvis. See www.uppingyourelvis.com

Spotlight

The multiplier effect As a leader, you are a walking tsunami of contagious emotions. So how can you create a culture of happiness within your organisation? Writing Andy Cope

raditionally, work has been a transaction whereby your toil is rewarded with money. And you tolerate work, otherwise you don’t get to eat. But what if I told you there are a few people who love work and whose passion, positivity and enthusiasm leaks out of them into their colleagues and customers? They’re more energetic and have a zest for life. There’s a technical term for this outlook – it’s called ‘happiness’. Look around, you’ll find there’s a world shortage of it – which is a shame, because happiness is vital to business success.

The science bit Before you read on, I want to lighten the load on your weary managerial shoulders. Your job as a

leader is NOT to inspire your people. Your job is to BE inspired. But how can we do this when we live in a world of permanent pressure and organisational restructures? When our workplace is populated by colleagues who are buzzed up on caﬀeine and sugar, masking their exhaustion as they count down to the weekend or their next holiday? In the past, psychology has focused on what was wrong with people, the aim being to identify phobias, disorders and anxieties, with a view to fixing people. That’s important and useful, but I always felt there was something missing. A few years ago I realised what that something was: psychologists had never studied ‘well’ people, so I set out to do just that. You can probably count them on the fingers of one hand. They are the people in your life who, when they walk into the room, make you feel brilliant. They probably haven’t even spoken, they’re just there.

Culture of Happiness

Or the cheery souls who know the exact level of bright enthusiasm that will raise the level of their work colleagues’ mood. I call the genuine uplifting minority ‘the 2%ers’, a term that doesn’t appear in my research but is something I use as shorthand for the folk who carry a feel-good factor with them. I describe being a 2%er as a ‘portable benefit’. It tends to reside in the person rather than in the job. So while the rest of the psychological community was studying depression and misery, I set to work investigating the opposites: the happiness outliers who nearly fell oﬀ the end of my happiness graph.

IF YOU’RE HAPPY, YOU: 2 Have less time oﬀ with sickness 2 Have more energy 2 Are more optimistic 2 Are more motivated 2 Work better with others 2 Are more creative 2 Learn faster 2 Make better decisions

Care. And I mean genuinely care. Chances are that if your people can respond aﬃrmatively to someone at work who seems to care about them as a person, they will turn up with a positive attitude.

Values are to be lived, not laminated. How many times have I seen values statements on posters (‘We will exceed expectations’), but scratch the surface and nobody’s living them. This starts with leadership. Your leaders are the most influential people in the organisation, and the most emotionally contagious. Positive leaders are not a nice-to-have, they’re a must-have. Your leadership team has to be role-modelling positive attitudes, language and behaviours.

Less ‘to-do’ and more ‘to-be’. We all have a to-do list. The magic sauce comes from switching your attention to the much more powerful ‘to-be’ list. Dare to ask yourself: “Who am I being while I’m doing those things on my list?”

The four-minute rule. Emotions are contagious. If you can commit to being your best self for four minutes (bright, enthusiastic, optimistic and smiling), other people will have almost no choice but to feel good in your presence.

Start with yourself. All the above will only work if you decide to take charge of your own happiness and positivity. It has to start with you.

Say nice things about people behind their back. In a wonderfully serendipitous way, those nice words will find their way to that person.

10½

Catch people doing things well and tell them. Obvious? Yes. Does it cost anything? No. Can you do more of it? Absolutely!

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Purpose is key. If people have a clear and compelling reason to come to work, they will arrive with a spring in their step. Find (or remind them of ) their ‘why?’ A point worth noting is this: you cannot command happiness or purpose. It’s about creating insight, so that people can realise it for themselves.

Recruit and promote for attitude rather than skills. Bring positive people in and put them in key roles where they encounter a lot of staﬀ and customers. This maximises the emotional ripple eﬀect.

The clincher is this – your happiness is bigger than you. Basically, your emotions have a ripple eﬀect that reaches three degrees of people removed from you. If you’ve got a smile and a positive attitude, everyone with whom you come into direct contact experiences an emotional uplift of 15%. That’s terrific news, because you’re raising the emotional tone of your family, friends and work colleagues. But it doesn’t stop there. Those 15% happier folk then pass on their happiness to everyone they encounter, raising their levels by 10%. Remember, you haven’t actually met these 10%ers directly, but they have caught your happiness. And to complete the ripple, these 10% happier folk pass your happiness on to everyone they meet by an extra 6%. But hang on a second. They’re the stats for ‘normal’ people. You’re a leader. You are the most emotionally contagious person in your team. You’re not creating a ripple, you’re a walking tsunami of contagious emotions. The bottom line is that happiness is the bottom line. So here are 10½ top tips that fall into the category of ‘common sense but not common practice’. You can also think of them as leadership quick wins that will help create a culture of happiness:

Keep a positive communication ratio of 6:1. If I were a fly on the wall of your oﬃce and could hear six positives for every whinge, I’d be fairly sure that your team is rocking and rolling. If it dips below 2:1, the energy will be leaking. If your communication dips the other way (i.e. there are more negatives than positives), I’d be worried.

Creating a ripple

POSITIVE LEADERS ARE NOT A NICE-TOHAVE, THEY’RE A MUST-HAVE

Here’s a controversial bonus tip. Give up your oﬃce. Be in the thick of it. The Japanese have a concept called gemba, which is a place where value is created. This means the leader ought to be where the people are working so that he or she can get an understanding of how it’s going. You’re not going to inspire your team while you’re stuck away in an oﬃce, glued to your laptop. Dr Andy Cope is a happiness expert and bestselling author of ‘The Little Book of Being Brilliant’. Find out more about him at www.artofbrilliance.co.uk

Look on the bright side Eyewear company Inspecs has been named the UK’s happiest workplace. Here’s why Writing

We receive many accolades for our eyewear products, but it was also a great honour to be named the UK’s Happiest Workplace in 2018, in a competition hosted by interior design consultancy Wylde IA. In a statement, Wylde IA said: “Inspecs wowed judges with its stylish, creative open space that reflects the company’s working style and philosophy. A non-traditional oﬃce, which feels peaceful, calm and harmonious, with a buzz of creativity, chatter and warmth.”

Inspecs

nspecs is a creative and innovative eyewear design house based in Bath. The company was founded in the 1980s by our chief executive Robin Totterman. We are proud of our optimistic and entrepreneurial values, which have underpinned our global expansion over time. Back in 2007, we were given a Queen’s Award for International Trade in recognition of our growth – and we have got a lot bigger since then.

Ellie Verrecchia

Case Study Inspecs

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HAPPY, HEALTHY PEOPLE PRODUCE BETTER WORK AND STAY WITH US LONGER

It also noted: “The team is close-knit, with a strong family feel, full of friends who have worked together for many years. Staﬀ enjoy regular social events, gifts, flexible working, a generous holiday allowance and pension scheme. The company operates a flat structure, where everyone is encouraged to step forward with ideas and contribute towards the success of the company.”

Creative buzz

ABOUT INSPECS History Inspecs was founded in London in 1988 Number of staﬀ It employs more than 65 people in the UK and more than 1,400 people globally International Inspecs operates ten international offices, including premises in China, Hong Kong, Sweden and the US, as well as six factories Distribution It distributes its products in more than 80 markets worldwide

From a staff perspective, the general vibe of Inspecs is happy and creative. The people are friendly and kind. Also, professionally and across all our teams, we are blessed to have supertalented people, which makes our work together a lot of fun. It also helps that we like each other. Many employees have been at the company for up to 20 years, and there have even been two marriages among Inspecs staff. Socially, we get together on a monthly basis, on average, for a meal or an evening out. Often we are joined by past members of staff, who are still very much considered part of the family. We also celebrate each and every birthday in the office with cake, terrible singing and personal cards that are made by our design team. Traditionally, Inspecs has had a loose, non-corporate structure and our management team is friendly and approachable. The chief executive and all the senior management team sit alongside their teams, so the door is always truly open. We find this arrangement allows the whole team to interact more freely and to understand the commercial strategy of the business so we can help to achieve growth. Recently, we have gone through significant global expansion. After acquiring a larger company in 2017, we went from being 100 employees worldwide to 1,300 employees. With new staff joining all the time, finding spaces to get to know each other and relax during downtime is key to creating collaborative working relationships. So, we have

installed several sofas in the office, as well as in communal areas, to promote more informal work meetings or socialising. We also set up three kitchen areas, equipped with microwaves, kettles, coffee machines, refrigerators and water filters. As creative people, our environment is very important to our happiness. That’s why we are so lucky to work in a beautiful historic building that was once the headquarters of the Bath Gas Light and Coke Company. The building has high ceilings and there are 18 massive sash windows on each floor, which flood our workspace with natural light and allow us to have stunning views of Bath. In the darker months, we have chandeliers with LED lighting that is especially sourced to give us the best quality ‘daylight’ that we need for our design work. We also have a huge display room showcasing all our best work. This has boosted our employees’ pride in our eyewear products and the brands we represent. Inspecs believes that a healthy mind exists within a healthy body. Our building has showers and indoor cycle storage, which are invaluable for employees who like to exercise at lunch or cycle to work. Some of our staff enjoy running marathons or completing in other fundraising challenges. The company will often make a financial contribution to support their endeavours. From time to time, everyone has a challenging day at work. But at Inspecs, we have always striven to create a family-style environment that helps us manage the challenges we face. There is always someone available to step in and help out, on a professional and personal level, which can make a great difference to happiness at work. Inspecs is a great advocate of happiness because we know it makes business sense. Perhaps it’s also significant that our chief executive comes from Finland, which is the world’s happiest country, according to the United Nations’ World Happiness Report. He says: “We know that happy, healthy people produce better work and stay with us longer.” Ellie Verrecchia is head of creative at Inspecs

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SETTING THE LEADERSHIP AGENDA 42 Face your fears Succeed at work and in life

re you happy? I admit this is one of my pet peeve questions. It carries a subtle implication that you have an obligation to be happy and that happiness is a fixed state that can be acquired by ticking the right boxes. The reality is many of us are not happy, however, and do not find it easy to become so. This year’s World Happiness Report shows that our happiness levels do not match up to our material standards of living – which, incidentally, are the highest they’ve ever been. Additionally, mental health statistics show alarming levels of anxiety and depression across high-income countries. Uncertainty is a major source of unhappiness today. As we see the end of ‘jobs for life’ and relationships being supplanted by technology, we are beginning to feel alienated and directionless. In Europe, less than 12% of people report feeling engaged with their work, according to researcher Gallup. So, how can we make ourselves feel better? Here are four practices I have learned to create happiness amid uncertainty – from science, from my personal experience and from years of working with some of the brightest, most service-driven and most fulfilled people on the planet:

Let go of notions of success

Data shows that most people hit a crisis in their mid-thirties (when they start asking questions about what they want from life), which is resolved by their mid-fifties. This crisis is an opportunity to embrace new career and relationship possibilities that are aligned with your true values. Try defining your top two drivers of success today. They might include challenge, connection, contribution, learning, safety or significance. Do you need to upgrade your strategies for meeting them?

46 Impact strategies Ways to make your presence felt

It comes from within Happiness is a practice, not an acquisition By

Amina Aitsi-Selmi

48 Keep your cool How to lead in a crisis

Move from I/mine to we/ours

Declutter and get into the flow

Find refuge within

It’s easy to wake up in the morning and slide into a sea of frustration about the challenges you face. But that’s a limiting and isolating way to live. Ask yourself these questions every morning instead: “Who can I help today? What can I give? Where is my contribution to be made?” Remember to include yourself when you’re thinking about who you can help. When you’re overwhelmed and doing too much, it’s hard to see clearly and prioritise what matters most. Procrastination sets in. Slow down so you can speed up to focus on your true priorities. Create space in your schedule and let go of the temptation to fill it up. A sense of flow will be restored. The safest place on the planet is the quiet, still core that you sometimes experience as you watch a beautiful sunset or look into someone else’s eyes. Allow yourself ten minutes of meditation each day and simplify your lifestyle. It will rewire your brain. Earlier in my career, I explored the systemic factors that aﬀect human health and wellbeing, having started oﬀ as a frontline doctor who moved into international public policy. I concluded rationalism has to be combined with humanism for the world to change – and that the change starts within each one of us. To realise long-held dreams, we need to challenge our thinking and actively step out of our comfort zone. Happiness is not the result of material or social acquisition – it’s the fruit of personal practice. Dr Amina Aitsi-Selmi MD PhD is an executive coach and consultant, as well as an author and speaker on work culture and personal transformation. Subscribe to her newsletter, Wise Wednesdays, on www.doctoramina.com

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Personal Transformation

Face your fears We must reduce the grip of our debilitating tendencies if we are to succeed in work and in life Writing Nancy Capistran Illustration John Holcroft

ear is a vital survival tool in our own personal operating system. It snaps into high alert when our brain perceives risk or danger. Fear is an essential component for evolution. For some of us, when we are in a state of fear, our brain supports us by coming up with thought-provoking and clever ways to carry on and prosper. For others, fear shocks our reasoning and accountability in detrimental ways. Fear can leave us susceptible to intense emotions and impulsive reactions that can lead to incapacitation. Fright can cause us to feel powerless and stifle our progress. Fear factors can be real or imagined. When there is genuine or perceived danger, pain or threat, we tend to display behaviours such as fleeing, freezing or hiding. These behaviours can wreak havoc and fill our mind with narratives of doubt and anxiety. Fear reduces our inspiration to achieve and prevents us from moving up the ladder of prosperity. Whether that progress comes

FEAR REDUCES OUR INSPIRATION TO ACHIEVE

in the form of another step on the ladder’s rung towards success, or a more personal business goal, it is essential that you have the tools to tackle your fears. Opportunities will pass you by, promotions could be stalled and your reputation as an authentic leader could take a serious hit if you don’t learn how to overcome these hurdles.

Head in the sand A chief executive who was interested in becoming a client of mine explained during our initial discussion that he had intentionally been ignoring an ongoing issue that involved a senior-level employee for years. He confessed he had been procrastinating out of fear. He’d hoped that if he ignored the issues long enough, they would self-correct and go away. But the opposite had happened: the situation had reached an all-time high level of toxicity. The employee in question was a longterm overachieving subject matter expert (SME) who had a history of causing significant damage to relationships, both internally and

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externally. This SME was well-known globally, not only for his areas of proficiency but more so for his toxic approach to those unfortunate enough to be in his orbit. I explained to the potential client that not addressing this behaviour was not serving anyone well. The chief executive’s fear of addressing this ‘my way or the highway’ personality caused him to avoid and ignore the individual’s intense, disrespectful behaviour. Left unchecked, the employee’s behaviour had led to a serious reduction in collaboration, productivity and quality of performance for everyone who followed in his wake. Not surprisingly, the organisation’s culture and reputation suﬀered. The low morale and flow of employee departures were what finally caused this chief executive to step outside of his comfort zone and reach out for support. His reputation was on the line because of his deep-rooted fears that prevented him from addressing this hostile situation. Apprehension, embarrassment, guilt and regret can put us in a rut, and we can lose our way. Our mind guides our actions and our life is a direct reflection of our mental framework. Our brain is so powerful that it is the centre of who we are. It’s where our awareness, decision-making, memory, perceptions and thinking come from. More specifically, it is the home for our assumptions, attitudes, creativity, feelings and thoughts. A strong mind helps to shape our approaches, convictions and viewpoints. Deficiencies in these areas show up as our Achilles’ heel.

SHINE A SPOTLIGHT ON THE GOOD How to improve your self-esteem and lead a more meaningful life To maintain continued resilience, cast a more positive light on your strengths instead of focusing on your faults and imperfections. Consistently shining a spotlight on the good, while still acknowledging weak points, is the key to gradually improving self-esteem. It takes positive thinking, preparation and repetition to gain or regain our sense of worth. Also, seek opportunities to appreciate and aﬃrm your most valuable attributes. Doing this will strengthen and support you as you wrestle with life’s ups and downs. Above all, be kind to yourself. Stop listening to the incessant inner critic and break away from narratives that no longer serve you. We will never know our upper limits unless we get oﬀ the merrygo-round of wasted opportunities. Identify the defence mechanisms for what they are and purge those self-limiting habits and counterproductive behaviours to live a more meaningful life.

TO OPTIMISE FORTITUDE THROUGH ACHIEVEMENT, WE NEED TO SLOW DOWN TO SPEED UP

Bad behaviours Problems affect different people in distinct ways. What may be a relatively inconsequential event for one person could be a life-changing disaster for someone else. The mental aspect of continuously quarterbacking our own lives is tough to do. As leaders of our own life, we are responsible for our own reactions, regardless of the problems we have faced in the past or the ones we are currently grappling with. Ultimately, our weaknesses disempower us. They can be all-consuming, and, when left unchecked, they can cause severe complications for our health and our lives. They can also impact behaviour and performance, often showing up in the form of anxiety, distractibility, fear, procrastination, self-sabotage, stress and/or judgmentalism. Typically, our deficits include: 2 Negative self-talk 2 Narcissistic attitudes 2 Obsessive behaviours 2 Deeply rooted bad habits 2 Debilitating thought patterns 2 Toxic relationships Most of us have physical or emotional battle scars that have been caused by our everyday lives. It is important to remember that we are more than our scars, however. They do not define us, but they do contribute to who we are. Emotional wounds can run deep, and some are deeper than others. These wounds can cause good people to get stuck in destructive patterns of behaviour or difficult situations. Depending on the circumstances, they can impact our entire sense of self. When we are brutally honest with ourselves, we can identify our critical flaws. Once identified, we can learn to increase our power over our shortcomings so we can better manage the thoughts and habits that threaten our wellbeing. Our vulnerabilities can be acknowledged and ameliorated, but only if we choose to do the work. No matter how deep our difficulties may seem, we need to be able to understand our own strengths and weaknesses to cultivate peace of mind. It is easy for us to get trapped within our own self-limiting loop, but we have the innate power to detach ourselves from that circuitous narrative.

Take back control The best way to take back control is to reduce the grip of debilitating tendencies. Real transformation can only occur when we identify the core of what is holding us back. To improve our immunity, we need to deeply immerse ourselves into a better

Personal Transformation

achievement, we need to slow down to speed up. When we give ourselves permission to go ‘oﬄine’ from our everyday activities, we can better activate our untapped brain’s energy. By gaining insight and making simple changes, we increase our mental acuity and create the opportunity to achieve more.

What happened next…

comprehension of when and why we do the things that we do. So, what can we do in practice to make a diﬀerence?

When you find yourself derailed, shift focus to the flow and patterns of your thoughts Chart a course for your future success by elevating your life to where you want to be. Most of us have put little thought into our destiny because we are too busy telling ourselves what we don’t want it to be. If you recognise your own destructive patterns, you can stop selfsabotage in its tracks.

Say “I can do this” Traditionally, low self-esteem and a lack of confidence are at the core of self-defeating actions that leave us feeling unworthy of a full life. We fall prey to negative thinking and engage in toxic behaviours that prohibit us from growth. Extracting our inner strength and committing to resolving issues can reduce self-vandalism. By shifting our words from “I can’t do this” to “I can do this”, we are more likely to minimise the distractions that limit our personal and professional success.

Go oﬄine from daily life If we are to overcome the ‘snooze button’ mentality, we need to upgrade our body’s ability to rest and create energy. This will improve brain functionality. To optimise our fortitude through

POSITIVE THOUGHTS REAP POSITIVE OUTCOMES, AND VICE VERSA

About halfway through our coﬀee chat, the chief executive with the ‘my way or the highway’ employee issue decided that he desperately needed help. Our conversation helped him to pause, then turn his focus to the problem at hand: how do you deal with an employee who is lauded internationally but is reviled internally? The chief executive recognised that his own fear had caused him to avoid addressing this employee’s narcissistic personality. He was ashamed to admit he had put this issue on the back burner for far too long. I commended him for mustering up the courage to finally work towards change. We immediately dived deep to identify the most productive actions going forward. To gain traction as quickly as possible, we concentrated our attention on the root cause. My advice for this chief executive was to engage in a fair and deliberate process. I reminded him to make sure each step was documented in accordance with his company’s policies and procedures. There was an overwhelming relief when the employee with the uncompromising, elitist attitude was finally dismissed from the company. There is no easy way to deal with a brilliant yet toxic person, other than to prove to others that they don’t get a free pass – especially when it comes to their obnoxious and disruptive behaviours. By syncing up our wants and needs with our internal feelings and stories, we can harness the energy we need to empower our choices and overcome obstacles. Rewiring our thoughts is an open-ended process. It is helpful to reinforce the good, while repairing and learning from the bad. Positive thoughts reap positive outcomes, and vice versa. It is your choice if you allow toxic thoughts to own you, or if you choose instead to break free of mind games and replace them with positive thoughts and positive actions. Make a transition to what is within your control and capitalise on those actions rather than let the ‘what-ifs’ hold you back. Nancy Capistran is an internationally published, bestselling author and an award-winning, internationally certified executive coach. Her book, ‘Open Your Eyes and LEAD’, oﬀers advice on becoming a positive force in the world, while striving for leadership excellence

Make your presence felt Why every leader needs an impact strategy Writing Mandy Flint & Elisabet Vinberg Hearn

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ou have a strategy for the business, so why wouldn’t you have a strategy for your impact as a leader? Very few things happen by chance. Intention, action and behaviour, on the other hand, fuel change and better outcomes. This is as true for leadership as it is for everything else. And as leadership is the act and art of influencing others, it’s probably the most important thing for a leader to be intentional about. By taking your ability to influence others seriously, you take your impact on the world around you seriously. Because in every moment, you have an impact. Do you know what that impact is? Do you know what others experience in your

presence? What happens as a result of your impact? Is it the impact you want and your organisation needs?

The ‘how’ not the ‘what’ Ultimately, all business is H2H (rather than B2B or B2C) – it’s human to human. It’s people who make decisions about whether to buy or not buy, to stay loyal to a brand or not, or to recommend a company or not. We may, for example, think that we have a contract with an organisation to deliver a service, but that’s only part of the truth. It will always be people who decide to sign that contract or not. If that person, or those people, don’t have a great experience with us, they may choose to sign a new contract with someone else, instead of with us.

Vision

Impact Strategies

All of this may be more obvious in a B2C (business-to-consumer) scenario, where consumers can vote with their feet and decide to not come back if the experience wasn’t good. But don’t underestimate the power of the human aspect of an organisation and its people. It’s all about people. People make decisions. Connections happen between people. And this is why the way in which we conduct business – how we behave in interactions with others and how we make others feel – is so important, and is becoming increasingly important. Every interaction matters, as does the impact you have in each interaction. You are not just representing yourself, you are representing the whole organisation and what it stands for.

responsibility for the ripple eﬀect you create, since your behaviours are contagious. Be thoughtful about what you are spreading. Your strategy around your impact means you have to decide what you want to be known for. What legacy are you creating? Some powerful, impactful behaviours to consider include: taking a genuine interest in others; listening without prejudice; taking responsibility without blaming others; being inclusive; being open-minded; being adaptable; and being honest.

No one is an island It’s the same within an organisation. No one is an island. You don’t work in isolation. You need to continuously have an eﬀect on the people around you to achieve sustainable business results. In fact, throughout the history of mankind, the ability to create relationships with others, and connect and collaborate with others, has been key to success. The concept and power of impact has always existed. But it becomes paramount in the fastpaced, changing world that we operate in right now. The most successful leaders we have met have been very aware of their impact, and taken careful steps to develop it. So what is great impact? It’s respectful and authentic at the same time. There’s not just one way of having great impact. It needs to be done in the context of each leader, each situation and each stakeholder. It’s situational, it’s respectful and it’s borne out of genuine win-win thinking. To have great impact, you need to have great self-awareness (of your own thoughts, feelings, stressors and energisers). You also need great social awareness (what’s happening around you, people’s experience and needs, business and market trends, and the political landscape). With that awareness, you can consciously take control of your own state of mind and how you connect with the world around you. Always strive to improve your self-awareness and include your awareness levels in your impact strategy.

The contagiousness of leadership

TO HAVE GREAT IMPACT, YOU NEED TO HAVE GREAT SELFAWARENESS

A study by leadership development experts Jack Zenger and Joe Folkman shows that leadership, whether good or bad, is contagious. A leader’s impact is multiplied by positional power, so taking control of what you ‘spread’ is crucial. And with great social awareness, this becomes easier to do as you understand what’s going on around you and what is needed from you. As a leader, you have a

What’s in your impact strategy? Let’s get practical. Your impact strategy needs to consider the following: 2 What impact do you want to have, and on whom? In which situations? 2 Why do you want to have that impact (what diﬀerence will it make and what will it lead to)? 2 When do you want to achieve that impact? Is there a deadline? Do you have a specific goal in mind? 2 How will you achieve that impact? What will you do? And, more importantly, how will you be? (Remember that impact is largely about how you make other people feel, which is driven by your behaviours.) 2 How will you measure and assess your impact going forward? How will you know you are having the impact you were going for? What will be the indicators? Is there someone you could ask for feedback, for example? 2 Who has had the greatest positive impact on you as a leader? What can you take from that for yourself? We probably all have memories of people who had a great impact on us, like a boss who believed fully in us, a friend who was consistently honest, or a teacher who stayed behind to give that extra guidance so we could learn and succeed. These are the people that really made a diﬀerence to us. Even if you have good impact today, start crafting your strategic plan for impact. We all have potential for further growth and development – we’re a constant work-in-progress. Finally, remember that very few things happen by chance. Close the intention-behaviour gap by creating a strategy for the impact you choose to have as a leader – to be able to do the best possible job and achieve your goals and objectives. What do you want people to be saying about you and experiencing with you? Mandy Flint and Elisabet Vinberg Hearn are leadership strategists with a focus on future trends for leadership. They are also authors of ‘The Leader’s Guide to Impact’

Panic over By taking some practical actions, you can stay cool and lead eﬀectively through a crisis Writing

company’s market capitalisation tumbles and headlines ask challenging questions about the top leadership. Customers become nervous, especially those that are procuring complex, multi-year projects. Suppliers worry about the cash crunch and tighten their credit lines. Banks become concerned about potential credit downgrades and collateral requirements. This is because they know the organisation can expect to incur significant additional costs as it deals with the crisis. Unfortunately, corporate crisis management isn’t always intuitive. Leaders often have to undertake diﬃcult, seemingly counterintuitive,

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hen crisis hits a business, it is critical that the C-suite has the ability to stay cool, make measured, wellthought-out decisions and lead eﬀectively. Bad news now travels the world with the click of a button, so a situation can snowball and become ever more diﬃcult to slow down or contain. No one wants to be associated with a company that is plagued by crisis. Almost immediately, the

José Hernandez

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Crisis Management

measures to get a grip on the crisis. As such, a crisis is likely to be mishandled by anyone who hasn’t already experienced serious crises first-hand – i.e. most corporate managers. So how can you stay cool and lead eﬀectively through a crisis? Here are nine top tips:

THE TONE OF LEADERS SHOULD BE ONE OF CONTRITION AND OPENNESS

Avoid initial missteps When there is an allegation against a company, the first question many leaders ask is: “Who raised this issue?” This places the focus on the messenger, rather than the message. As a result, it often leads to the allegation having its severity downplayed, or even being dismissed outright. Put aside these rationalisations: corporate leaders should do everything in their power to encourage a ‘speak up’ culture and investigate all allegations that come to them. The temptation for a leader may be to tell his or her people: “Go and deal with this.” As a leader, make no assumptions and get the facts. Encourage your team members to be open to any possibility, and make it clear you are also engaged and open to any possibility. The right instruction is this: “Get me the facts about what’s going on.”

response immediately to protect the company’s reputation. They should send the message that leadership places the highest priority on matters of integrity and ethics.

Communicate only the facts and the process – never speculate Communication needs to be fact-based and honest. The company will need to be as transparent as possible and keep the flow of communication going, while being mindful that there are limits to what can be revealed publicly.

Provide a roadmap for fact-finding and remediation Following any investigation, facts and issues will come to light that require the urgent attention of the board. The situation may demand immediate reviews of business practices, personnel and organisational safeguards. A clear strategic plan for reform and recovery will be needed to strengthen the organisation’s structures and rebuild trust and goodwill with various stakeholders.

Don’t put profits or short-term priorities ahead of dealing with a crisis Even in the most serious crises, corporate leaders often go to great lengths to avoid any action that could be perceived as disrupting the course of normal business. This signals that the allegation and any investigation into it are secondary, and should not take precedence. It is a denial of the situation and sends the wrong message. Everyone connected with the organisation needs to understand that the operating environment has changed and that there are new priorities. Establish a committee or group to oversee the crisis and response Draw on all available resources to perform a thorough, credible and coordinated investigation. Of course, you will need to have legal, communications and the implicated business unit around that table. But you also need the company’s gatekeeper departments: finance and accounting, ethics and compliance, human resources, internal audit and procurement. They will help to ensure that you are not just going through the motions of an investigation while saying the right things. By working collaboratively across functional lines, you will give yourself the best chance of getting to the bottom of things quickly.

Confirm that senior leadership prioritises the facts Good corporate governance dictates that the company’s leaders should initiate their own

Reassure key stakeholders about the process The company should assure stakeholders that they will receive periodic updates, including information on any investigative findings and planned remedial actions. This is an important opportunity to aﬃrm that the company takes all allegations seriously. In keeping with this approach, staﬀ should be informed that while daily business continues, the investigation takes precedence and that their full cooperation will be expected. Learn from the process and build a stronger company Suitable policies, processes and systems need to be introduced to prevent, detect and respond to issues. Business models and practices may need a deep, risk-focused review. When leaders communicate on ethics and compliance areas, they should not dictate or lecture. The tone of leaders should be one of contrition, openness and commitment to real change. Leaders will need to call on employees to help define the new vision and how to put it into practice.

Never let a crisis go to waste – use it as a platform for change A willingness to self-correct rather than fight to retain the status quo may determine whether a crisis becomes a long, drawn-out process of litigation or becomes a catalyst for change. José Hernandez is the chief executive of Ortus Strategies and author of the new book ‘Broken Business: Seven Steps to Reform Good Companies Gone Bad’

• AUTHOR • SPEAKER • CONSULTANT • FACILITATOR

Paul Matthews, CEO of People Alchemy Ltd, is a highly experienced L&D expert who loves to challenge the status quo. His background as a trained engineer and his natural curiosity give a unique edge to his topics. Meanwhile, his travels to remote areas of the world have resulted in fascinating stories that bring his sessions to life. Sessions include: • Leadership and Learning: Their interdependence and what it means to you • Management Development: How to discover your superpowers • Learning Transfer and Informal learning • L&D strategy: The three elephants

Download your FREE copy of Paul Matthews’ Best Practice Guide on the interdependence of Leadership and Learning at paul-matthews.com/edge19 or email edge19@paul-matthews.com with Edge19 Leadership Guide in the subject line.

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Making it Happen

MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE 52 Use your head The secret to surviving at work

hy do so many organisations still insist that to become more senior you must manage people? Some people do love that aspect of their work. Others don’t. They’re not good at managing people and probably never will become good at it. We all know the story of tech giant Apple, which was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak (better known as Woz). The company almost didn’t happen, because of the diﬃculty Jobs had in persuading Woz to leave another tech company, Hewlett-Packard. It is said that Jobs tried to entice Woz by explaining that he would no longer be a small cog in a big wheel, but would instead manage a whole team of engineers. Woz said no, preferring to stay at Hewlett-Packard. Jobs kept trying, emphasising the importance of the role and how many people he would be in charge of. Then, Apple investor Mike Markkula took Steve Jobs aside and explained that Woz just wanted to be an engineer. He didn’t want to be responsible for other people. So Jobs changed his approach. He oﬀered Woz great kit, all the resources he needed and promised: “Woz, you will never have to manage anybody.” That sounded good to Woz and he made the move. The rest is history. Many very talented people have no desire to manage other people, and are probably not very good at it when they do. So why do so many companies have a rigid approach that requires those getting promoted to be put in charge of people? Somebody told me recently that when they started their new job, their manager told them frankly: “I’m not

54 Navigating transitions Practices for leading change

Get ready to be radical Leave the job of management to those who do it best By

Henry Stewart

56 Pilotlight Mentors for social enterprises

very good with people. I probably won’t remember your name. I’d much rather be sitting at my desk writing reports.” That person should not be a manager. It is not good for their wellbeing, it is not good for the wellbeing of the people they manage, and it’s not good for the wellbeing of the company either. They should spend their time doing what they are good at – in this case, writing reports. Poor management makes people miserable. A study by researcher Gallup found that one in two people had left a job to get away from a bad manager. And a report by accreditation provider Investors in People estimated that the cost of poor management is £84 billion a year in the UK alone.

ONLY 10% OF THE WORKING POPULATION ARE NATURAL MANAGERS Gallup, which has surveyed millions of people at work, reckons that 10% of the working population are natural managers and a further 20% can be trained to be eﬀective managers. The other 70%? Get them to do something else. Another finding from Gallup is that 70% of variance in team engagement is determined solely by the quality of the manager. The solution, quite common in the tech world, is to have two tracks of promotion – one for those who want to manage people, and one for experts in their role. I often say that our most radical belief at Happy is that you should choose who manages people on the basis of how good they are at managing people. I hope that one day this idea will catch on. Henry Stewart is chief happiness oﬃcer at Happy. Contact him at henry@happy.co.uk

Keep your head How can you use neuroscience to help you survive at work? Writing Kate Lanz

hen we feel threatened or fearful, we can go into survival mode. Most of us will recognise the physical feelings of cortisol and adrenalin being released into the body: increased heart rate, faster breathing and trembling, as our muscles tense up ready for action. They are all preparing us to escape from the hungry carnivore that wants to eat us. Human beings are designed to cope with the eﬀects of survival mode just two or three times per week. So it is concerning that research by my organisation, Mindbridge, shows that many

IT CAN BE HARD TO CALIBRATE WHEN YOU HAVE MOVED INTO A MODE OF CHRONIC STRESS

senior executives experience this form of hormonal surge as often as two or three times per hour. It seems that many people’s minds and bodies are being subjected to too much stress and strain at work – certainly more than the human body has evolved to deal with. And the consequences are potentially dangerous.

Right brain versus left brain In the most serious cases, being under too much stress for an extended period of time can lead to anxiety, depression and burnout. Even in milder cases, the eﬀect on an individual – and his or her organisation – is decreased brain power and reduced productivity. Neuroscience shows that

Making it Happen

when we are under pressure, we lose our flexibility of thinking, with the clever prefrontal cortex becoming less available to us. The brain has adapted to keep us alive in the first instance and will respond to anything it perceives as a threat extremely fast – faster than cognitive thought can keep up with. This natural adaptation is a major part of the stress problem that exists in the modern workplace. Both brain hemispheres have a diﬀerent ‘take’ on the world. When we are in balance, information flows from the right hemisphere’s broad assessment of a situation to the left hemisphere, which then figures out some of the practical actions we need to take. Finally, information goes back to the right hemisphere for an overall sense check. The right-left-right information flow enables good sense, allowing our experience and intuition to work together towards thoughtful solutions. Under too much pressure, and constrained by too many rules and regulations, this natural process becomes inhibited and our judgement is hindered.

Stop and listen Being overly busy, pushed to our limits and working long hours often becomes the norm – and it is very unhealthy. For high-functioning people, who are good at moving huge agendas and responding well to positive pressure, it can be hard to calibrate when you have moved into a mode of chronic stress. It’s even harder to calibrate when many of the people around you are in the same situation. So how do you ensure that your brain is the winning triathlete on the beach, rather than teetering on the cliﬀ edge above? It is possible to see the warning signs before things get to crisis point, and then take action. Interrupted sleep patterns, an inability to concentrate and a low-level background hum of constant anxiety are all signals that a situation is not sustainable. A constant feeling that something bad is going to happen is the brain’s way of saying all is not right, and we shouldn’t ignore it. Our bodies and brains are highly adapted to ensure our survival, so when we notice these physical signals, we should pay attention to them. They are actually a healthy sign. What we need to do is listen and listen fast. The earlier that we pay attention, the better.

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Positive connections In most modern oﬃces, it’s unusual to do something diﬀerent, such as take five minutes to go for a walk, do some stretches or even look out of the window. These are just some of the ways that will help you keep your head in the heat of the moment, while all about you are losing theirs. There are also longer-term tactics that business leaders and

Surviving at Work

HOW TO STAY IN THRIVE MODE

Connect with yourself and other people.

Show compassion, notice your judgements and set them aside.

Stay curious about diﬀerent views and opinions.

Let go of control and stay open to new ideas.

managers can use to help their own brain, and all of the brains on their team, to thrive. The brain is an organ of relationship and will operate more eﬀectively if a person feels seen and heard, rather than isolated. So, it’s worth taking the time to connect with other people on a human level. Find out how they are feeling. What are their worries and concerns? Do they feel valued? This kind of positive connection lights up the brain’s reward centres. I’ve seen leaders who take the trouble to do this turn around the whole culture of their organisation. It’s also important to notice our judgements of others. We are all biased in some way, which is perfectly normal. Our limbic system works much faster than our cognitive prefrontal cortex, and makes snap judgements of others based on whether, at an instinctive level, we perceive them as friend or foe. We cannot stop the process as it is preconscious. We can, however, know that this is the case and deliberately suspend our judgement in the moment, to allow our colleagues to express themselves. When someone is being compassionate towards us, we can feel it, so our limbic system stands down and allows our cortex to engage.

Extroverts and introverts As well as responding well to compassion, the cortex can tell when someone is genuinely interested in what we have to say. If you are actively curious about why other people hold their views, and ask questions, their cortex will engage and they will do their best thinking. Rather than remaining open and curious about other points of view, people are often waiting to put their own opinion across. This is a huge wasted opportunity. People also think more freely, and are able to explore new ideas, when they are given control. If someone is genuinely listening to us in a meeting, it allows us to come up with good ideas without the pressure of trying to make our point. Remember that people have diﬀerent styles, so be patient. Extroverts might use more words and introverts need more space and time to gather their thoughts.

Compassion and curiosity I have seen this simple approach have an enormous impact on individual and business success. Leaders and managers who take the time to connect with themselves and their team, let go of control and trust their people, and operate with compassion and curiosity, will be able to function at their best. At the same time, they will get the best out of all the brains in the business. Kate Lanz is a neuropsychologist and chief executive of Mindbridge. See www.mindbridge.co.uk

Making it Happen

Make the transition Successful change leadership relies on self-awareness, supportive environments and robust operational practices Writing Catherine Hayes

The downsides of control One of the overlooked outcomes of controlfocused leadership practices is that they facilitate unhappy, fear-based environments and cultures.

When people are fearful, they become attached to the familiarity of what they do and who they know. Often, they unconsciously adapt their behaviours and relationships with others to feel safe. Signs that an organisation is fear-based are when people demonstrate controlling, dominating or intimidating behaviours, or avoid others altogether. When individuals, teams and organisations are surrounded by fear, it can be a step too far for them to embrace and work with complexity and ambiguity. A frequently asked question in organisational cultures that are underpinned by fear is: “How can I take the risk of stepping into the unknown when I don’t feel safe with what I am already in?”

Impermanence Technological advances have burst the bubble of our Western illusion that we can control the universe. The term ‘disruption’ is currently being positioned as something new in the business world. In reality, it is drawing our awareness to how the world is. As quantum physics has

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t is an unspoken given that today’s leaders should be able to navigate an ambiguous and complex environment defined by continuous change. To achieve successful outcomes in this environment, they would do well to develop and apply a practice I have come to know as transition leadership. So, what is this and why does it work? Let’s first take a step back and think about how leaders have traditionally managed behaviours and derived power through organisational structures. They have advocated individual responsibility and accountability, and broadcast information. Often, they have enforced the compliance of rules and regulations. The intent that connects all of these practices can be summed up in one word: control. These are leadership methods that are specifically designed to mitigate the risk of individuals, teams and organisations from being out of control. Control-focused leadership approaches have been practised and honed over many decades in organisations. They are all derived from the Western belief that our world can be controlled. Unfortunately, however, in today’s continually changing environment, they are no longer achieving desirable results.

Change Leadership

revealed, our universe is in continuous processes of transition. The Buddhists have a term for this. That term is impermanence. It means something that is not permanent, lasting or durable. Looking within ourselves, and out into our immediate environment, provides some clues. We have a thought and, moments later, our thought has been replaced by another thought. We may wake up feeling happy and contented, but then we step out of bed and trip over the cat. Seconds later, we have experienced a shift in our physical and/or emotional state. In today’s environment, we can no longer kid ourselves that being able to fully manage change is achievable. We exist amid a paradigm shift. Leaders are being challenged to work with, and adapt to, things the way they are, not just the way they want them to be. Navigating and leading others through change requires working with the emerging complexities of an impermanent landscape.

Transition leadership In over 20 years of researching performance cultures, I have found that being able to work with ambiguity and complexity is key. It requires focused attention, engagement and integration of three key aspects of leadership: Self: gaining awareness and insight

The key principle is that it’s diﬃcult to lead others and organisations if we can’t lead ourselves. Leading successful change starts with knowing how to respond to ambiguity and complexity. The first step is to understand how motivations and needs drive thinking and behaviour. We should pay particular attention to how we respond when our needs are not being met. For example, if we know we need to understand something, it can drive us to learn more. It can also be a hindrance when our lack of understanding creates anxiety, prompting knee-jerk reactions. Leaders with self-insight, and who know the relationships they have with themselves, ambiguity and complexity, create opportunities for informed awareness and choice for themselves and others. Others: creating a supportive environment

There is no ‘silver bullet’ or ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to navigating the complexities and ambiguities of change. Leaders who invest time in understanding and exploring the diverse views, opinions and concerns of others create and facilitate happy and mutually supportive environments. By returning authority to teams and creating sustainable partnerships, leaders can fully leverage the benefits of diverse skills, knowledge and diﬀerent

TRANSITION LEADERSHIP: SELF-INSIGHT One of the key capabilities for developing eﬀective transition leadership skills is self-insight. If you wish to integrate transition leadership capabilities into your own leadership practice, here are questions to support you to begin an inquiry. Self 1 Which needs and motivations drive and inform your leadership behaviour? 2 How do you tend to react and respond to ambiguity and complexity? 3 Where are your personal challenges with ambiguity and complexity? 4 How do your challenges impact on your behaviour and relationships with others?

SUCCESSFUL CHANGE STARTS WITH KNOWING HOW TO RESPOND TO AMBIGUITY AND COMPLEXITY

Others 1 How much eﬀort do you put in to developing and facilitating partnerships? 2 How do you tend to respond to conflict situations? (Do you challenge, engage, ignore or resolve?) 3 In what ways do you return authority to individuals and teams? 4 How much time do you invest in exploring and supporting the views, opinions and concerns of others?

Business 1 Is the purpose of your agenda clear, and how do others understand it? 2 What is your transition strategy and how have you engaged others in delivering it? 3 Which processes and systems might need to be adapted, changed or created? 4 Which project and programme management practices are you using and what impact are they having?

perspectives. The outcomes are reflected in sustainable practices for working within complex markets, and organisational dynamics that create supportive, high-performance cultures. These cultures generate outcomes with a direct impact on the bottom line. Business: deploying robust operational practices

Today’s leaders can unintentionally overlook key operational practices as they respond to continuously changing environments, while under pressure to meet deadlines, expectations and targets. Yet if they clearly define purpose and strategy, they can create a focused context that people can align and connect to. Enhancing processes and systems strips out inefficiencies and dysfunctions that might get in the way of change or hinder effective implementation. Project management ensures that resources are properly deployed. Furthermore, programme management can monitor the progress and change activities that are simultaneously impacting the organisation at any one point in time. Effective transition leaders do not need to be experts across every element of process efficiency, project and programme management, and strategy. What is key is knowing what capabilities to look for, and how they can be used to support the leadership agenda. Catherine Hayes is managing partner at Transition Dynamics, a consultancy that specialises in organisation development, change and cultural transformations. Contact her at catherine@transitiondynamics.co.uk

The pull of Pilotlight Helping charities to become more eﬀective and sustainable can make you a better leader Writing Peter Moss

t’s often said that great minds think alike. But I know I wouldn’t want my boardroom to be full of people with the same experiences of, and approaches to, life and work. I think great minds, and great leaders, need varied views on the world, and therefore need opportunities to broaden their experiences and gain insights by working with issues, organisations and people outside their own industries. In the past, I have been guilty – as have we all, I’m sure – of failing to fully appreciate the diﬀerent perspectives of colleagues, let alone those of wider stakeholders. But through a charity called Pilotlight,

I have enjoyed some eye-opening and hugely rewarding experiences. These experiences have helped me give something back to society and broaden my mind. They have also, I very firmly believe, made me a more eﬀective leader. Pilotlight helps to make small UK charities more eﬀective and sustainable by connecting them with teams of senior professionals who provide coaching and mentoring to their leaders. I am one of the thousands of business people who has acted as ‘Pilotlighters’, as we are called. We create longlasting impact for charities while also expanding our own experience and skills. More than 100 of the country’s top companies have encouraged their leaders to get involved with Pilotlight. Among

Making it Happen

Pilotlight

them are insurance provider Hiscox, investment bank Morgan Stanley, Tesco Bank, and my former employer, media group Thomson Reuters. It was while I was at Thomson Reuters that I first heard of Pilotlight in 2014. The corporate responsibility team invited us to hear about an opportunity to work with, and learn from, a group of people from diverse organisations. I had already been wondering how to get involved in the charity sector. The opportunity to work closely with charity leadership teams on a strategic level – something I would never have experienced through a regular training course – was hugely attractive. And when I heard that, thanks to Pilotlight’s project management, the scheme would only require three hours of my time each month, I was sold.

and for-profit sectors, many of their challenges are very comparable. Having an opportunity to engage with these challenges helps to remind us as business leaders how important it is not to lose sight of strategic, big-picture thinking in the mad dash of everyday demands.

What’s to fear?

Above Disability Action Yorkshire is one of the charities that Peter Moss has worked with as part of the Pilotlight programme

PILOTLIGHTERS ALMOST UNIVERSALLY IMPROVE THEIR LEADERSHIP AND COACHING SKILLS

So how does the programme work? First, you are assigned to a charity, and to a team of three fellow Pilotlighters from other businesses. Then, one of your first meetings will generally involve a tour of the charity’s offices to meet people across the organisation. As you get to know the charity’s leaders better, the three-hour meetings that you hold with them on a monthly basis become very natural sessions that involve brainstorming, strategic analysis, problem-solving and opportunities to develop your coaching skills. I have now been a Pilotlighter five times, working with charities in the fields of welfare, community and young people. I’m really proud of the results that each team I have been part of has helped all of these charities to achieve. I’m always loath to single out any one of them, but for the sake of an example, I would mention Disability Action Yorkshire, a Harrogate-based charity that provides social, learning and other services to people with disabilities. We helped the charity to develop a strategy that led to the development of new services for people with disabilities, while shaping an improved recruitment process and increasing the organisation’s outreach and influence in its community. This example is far from exceptional, though. Pilotlight’s data shows that, on average, charities have increased their reach by more than a third, and their income by nearly 50%, in the two years following their participation in the programme. Some business leaders confess to feeling nervous at the start of a charity engagement because they worry that there’s so much they don’t know about the sector. But there’s no greater way to develop your leadership skills and adaptability than by stepping out of whatever professional bubble you’re in and immersing yourself in a completely different set of challenges and approaches. Equally, while there are many differences between the non-

Business benefits I have hugely enjoyed learning from the different perspectives provided by my business counterparts on the programme. My fellow Pilotlighters have included leaders in HR, marketing, finance and various other professions. This has given me a fresh perspective on my day job, both in terms of the issues facing the company as a whole, and relating to successful internal partnering and collaboration. Additionally, I have encouraged a number of other colleagues to get involved with Pilotlight. It is good to encourage people who have either only ever worked in one organisation, or who have worked in a certain organisation for a long time, to get out of their comfort zones. It is particularly useful for them to be exposed to people who come from different professional backgrounds and adopt varied approaches. Most of my colleagues found the experience challenging but transformative – in common with the vast majority of Pilotlighters. The charity’s analysis shows that Pilotlighters almost universally improve their leadership and coaching skills, and often gain improved job satisfaction, through the programme. Indeed, one Pilotlighter told me it was a far more useful experience than a leadership course he had recently taken at INSEAD business school. I would say there’s no better endorsement of the programme than the fact that many people have – just like myself – come back time and again to take part in it. This is because of its shared value for charities and businesses alike. I would absolutely recommend Pilotlight as a way for other leaders to gain work experience outside of their normal business circles, developing their coaching, listening and management skills in the process. Furthermore, I would urge people to consider the voluntary sector as a source of development opportunities with a difference. These development opportunities allow you to achieve real results for others, as well as yourself. Being a Pilotlighter should make for a wonderful, rewarding experience and it should help to broaden your perspectives. If it does that, it will more than likely make you a better leader. Peter Moss is chief executive of SmartStream Reference Data Utility, a company that delivers data to financial institutions. Find out more about Pilotlight at www.pilotlight.org.uk

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WORLD VALUES DAY

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Beyond Borders

INTERNATIONAL INSIGHT AND BEST PRACTICE 59 Welcome back Harness the skills of repatriates

epatriates will usually return to their home companies with highly relevant global knowledge and new networks that can significantly enhance their ability to get things done. They also have a more global mindset, as well as new perspectives and competencies that should help to improve the competitiveness of their home company. Despite the advantages that repatriates bring, few companies debrief their repatriates on their return, however. Even fewer make it a priority to formally seek out and use their knowledge. Indeed, the lack of set procedures for managing the readjustment process or structuring an appropriate career path for repatriates leads to high attrition rates. Among the experiences common to returning employees are: being viewed as an outsider; being placed in a re-entry job that doesn’t use their new skills; and working for a manager with a parochial view and a closed mind who is uninterested in what the employee’s enriched perspective can bring to the organisation. As with most employee engagement issues, managers are key to the success or failure of the smooth integration of the returning employee. They need to understand the knowledge that the repatriate brings home and how it might be useful to the work of the team. To a large degree, their interest and support determine whether the repatriate, as well as others in the organisation, see repatriate knowledge as a valuable strategic asset. Equally important is ensuring that the repatriate’s re-entry position is relevant to the skills that the individual has acquired on their international assignment. This gives the repatriate greater legitimacy and scope for using their knowledge.

60 Thriving Finland The world’s happiest country

64 Export to Asia Opportunities for growth

Welcome back

From my research among repatriates, I have identified eight key steps that organisations should take to ensure they make the most of their returning employees.

How can organisations harness the skills and knowledge of their repatriate workers? By

Betina Szkudlarek

2 Keep in mind the cost of international assignments and ensure your organisation, rather than a competitor, benefits from the knowledge repatriates bring back. 2 Establish a knowledge management system that harnesses the expatriate’s knowledge, both during and after an assignment. Make it easy to identify and consult employees with global knowledge. 2 Create an organisational strategy that outlines expectations for global knowledge transfer among all employees. Make it clear that requesting and transferring global knowledge is everyone’s responsibility. 2 Ensure that repatriates are placed in jobs that are related to their international assignment. This way, they can take advantage of their global knowledge and networks before they become out of date. 2 Consider using repatriates as mentors for prospective international assignees. This will allow them to use their repatriate knowledge and expertise while setting up new expatriates for success. 2 Create an organisational culture that emphasises learning, employee commitment and a global mindset. 2 Introduce career planning as a strategic aspect. Discussions around post-repatriation placement should take place prior to expatriation. 2 Establish succession and talent management programmes. The professional growth of individuals with international experience should be systematically assessed and appraised to support career advancement. Associate professor Betina Szkudlarek is head of the CEMS Masters in International Management programme at the University of Sydney Business School, Australia

Beyond Borders

Finland

The perfect state? Governments everywhere can learn from Finland – the world’s happiest country Writing Rebecca Boden

ack in June, I decided to go on a self-organised walking tour with friends between Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi lakes. Tampere, where I live and work, straddles the isthmus between them. It was early evening (most people finish work at 4pm sharp in Finland) as we set oﬀ at a brisk pace to cover eight sociable kilometres. In January or February, our equivalent activity is to ski or skate along the 10km track that the local council clears with a bulldozer on the frozen Näsijärvi, or to fish through small holes in the ice. Finns embrace the outdoors, regardless of the season. A UK friend and colleague joined us on this trip – evidently pleased at the local enthusiasm

for outdoor activities after work in preference to commuting, cooking for children and watching TV. We pointed out the lakeshore sights as we strode on, including the municipally-provided large outdoor tanks and mangles for people to wash and dry their rugs after the long winter indoors. Most people have excellent communal laundry facilities in their apartment buildings, but they still enjoy coming to wash their rugs by hand, by the lake. My friend stopped, as if struck by a revelation, and said: “Government in this country is here simply to make people’s lives better, isn’t it?” We looked at each other, each thinking how amazing that was, how simple. And how Britain, with its profit-seeking, competitive, anti-‘nanny state’ ethos, diﬀered significantly. “Ah,” responded one of our Finnish walking companions, “that’s why we are the happiest people in the world.”

A diﬀerent society Similar quiet revelations have struck me regularly since I moved to work in Finland in 2017. For instance, when the Scottish government introduced the baby box (a high-value newborn baby starter-pack, gifted to mothers if they attend antenatal sessions), I explained on Facebook that Finland had pioneered this scheme in 1938 as a way of reducing infant mortality among the very poor forest communities. By 1949, they were given to every mother, regardless of income. A Finnish friend responded that the boxes were not meanstested because they were a gift from the people of Finland to every new baby, because “every child is welcome”. Since 1948, every child in Finland, regardless of family income, is legally entitled to a hot, properly

cooked lunch – a practice that has engendered a healthy food culture. Because children are well-fed at lunchtime, it takes the pressure oﬀ families (and especially women) to spend time in the evenings after work cooking for the family, leaving more time for leisure. What about homelessness? Here, the answer is to build homeless people small apartments and move them in so they can then start, with help, to put their lives back together. Such discoveries regularly bring me up short, reminding me that this is a very diﬀerent society indeed. I find it a small country that does most things quite well. For the last few years, Finland has ranked highly in the United Nations’ World Happiness Report. In 2018 and 2019, it was the comfortable winner, followed by Denmark, Norway and Iceland. In many countries, such a ranking

Finland

would be meat and drink to boastful marketers. But Finns are remarkably modest, so this news is generally greeted with self-deprecating humour and disbelief. People wonder how ‘insignificant’ Finland can outrank much richer, longer-standing and more important countries. That anti-competitive modesty might just be key to understanding what is going on. The World Happiness Report is a more serious undertaking than the rather trite use of the word ‘happiness’ implies. In fact, it’s a piece of hardcore social statistics that ranks 156 countries. The UK is currently 15th and South Sudan 156th. The criteria used in the rankings are: gross domestic product (GDP); social support for those who need it; life expectancy; freedom to make choices; ‘generosity’ (the extent to which people are pro-social and altruistic); and perceptions of corruption. Finland is not the strongest performer on GDP – suggesting that money doesn’t necessarily make you happy – but it scores particularly strongly on generosity or pro-social sentiment.

Proud to pay tax This matters to business, and positively impacts management practices. Countries where workers feel supported and looked after by a state that embodies a strong social contract are likely to feel fairly treated and able to take risks – such as getting an education or developing new skills. Confidence engenders individual success. A high social wage (in terms of, say, health and education) mitigates financial wage demands and leads to a healthy, well-educated workforce. Long life expectancy indicates good overall standards of health and wellbeing support – something that aﬀects businesses’ costs and workers’ productivity. Freedom to make choices allows citizens to develop their skills and aptitudes as best they can, which stimulates entrepreneurial activity. Social generosity means Finns are amazingly collaborative and sharing. The poor are cared for and the rich pay their taxes, usually more than willingly and often proudly, to pay for the state’s activities. People work together, rather than against each other, and this, in my experience, produces collaborative and supportive workplace cultures. Finally, Finland is a trust-based society with comparatively low levels of corruption. This reduces transaction costs and increases confidence.

Finland’s secrets revealed How does Finland achieve this in practice? Although Tampere is an old textile mill city, developed in the 19th century by a Scot called

FINLAND IS A TRUST-BASED SOCIETY WITH LOW LEVELS OF CORRUPTION

Above left Helsinki in summer Above right Nordic walking Opposite page A hiker in Särkitunturi, Lapland Previous page Traditional Easter celebrations in Finland

James Finlayson, most of Finnish industrialisation is post-World War II. The requirement to pay reparations to the Soviet Union after the war prompted the Finns to develop excellent skills in engineering and technology (many of us will be familiar with KONE lifts and escalators). The collapse of the Soviet Union after 1990 meant that Finland had to find new and more challenging markets for its goods. One result of this was Nokia, which significantly buoyed the economy over a long period. Nokia was originally a rubber-based manufacturing firm that diversified into electrical cables and then phones. It might not make phones anymore, but my wellington boots are Nokia-made. The collapse of the phone handset business (Nokia still makes a lot of telecoms hardware) hit the Finnish economy hard, but its well-educated people adapted quickly and Finland now has a thriving games industry. One example of this is Rovio Entertainment –

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Beyond Borders

FINLAND IN NUMBERS*

338,424 km2 in land area

$277 billion nominal GDP

5.5 million people

81.78 years, life expectancy

187,888 lakes (larger than 500m2)

jealously guard their individual autonomy and privacy – sometimes to the point of appearing silent and antisocial. But in reality they tend to be modest people who are genuinely committed to trusting and working with their fellow citizens to make a better life – and the state is the crucible through which that happens. Finland still has a welfare state based on the Nordic model. Although a now-departed rightwing government did start to erode this, a newly elected centre-left government is raising taxes to strengthen the system. The results of a universal basic income scheme are still being analysed. Part of that welfare system includes heavily subsidised healthcare, which works eﬃciently. Proactive schemes of public health awareness also contribute significantly to longer life expectancy. These include a state monopoly (operated through the state liquor store chain Alko) on any alcohol other than weak beer. Drinking is both relatively expensive and extremely inconvenient in Finland.

Genuine equality *Sources: Wikipedia, the World Bank and Eupedia

the developer of Angry Birds. Founded in 2003 by three university students, Rovio was valued at $1 billion when it floated on Nasdaq Helsinki in 2017. A strong GDP contributes to ‘happiness’ but, I would argue, social support, long life expectancy, the freedom to make choices, social generosity and low levels of corruption all make a substantial contribution to GDP. Central to Finland’s strong happiness performance is a nation-building project that began formally in 1918 when the country got its independence from Russia, allegedly because Lenin prized Tampere’s blood sausage. This is no jingoistic nationalism, but rather it is a communitarian endeavour by Finns to collectively build a better life for themselves. Sisu is a Finnish, largely untranslatable concept that roughly means ‘grim-faced determination to overcome all obstacles’. I know from experience as the leader of a substantial group of senior researchers that Finns

FINNS COLLECTIVELY BUILD A BETTER LIFE FOR THEMSELVES

Education, including higher education, is free in Finland. In fact, the country goes a step further, and it is illegal to charge fees for education. There are some non-state schools but, unlike a number of private schools in the UK, these are genuinely charitable or religious institutions. Schools and universities are well-resourced and progressive – and leaders’ children attend them. Children start formal school at around seven years old, but prior to that there is an extensive system of heavily state-subsidised early childhood education that emphasises play-based and outdoor education. This allows parents to work. Finland consistently outranks much more significant economies in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores of educational attainment. Genuine equality of educational opportunity contributes to people’s happiness, creates a society of opportunity and strengthens the economy. In sum, a state that is the expression of the collective will of the people provides eﬃcient and eﬀective public services in health, education, housing transport and the legal system. Individual autonomy and freedoms are simultaneously prized. Sisu engenders a spirit of helping yourself. The state is a vehicle for making people, in United Nations’ terms, ‘happy’ and all ships rise together. On the downside, where I live it hits -30°C in winter. Every silver lining must have a cloud. Rebecca Boden is professor and research director of the New Social Research programme at Tampere University in Finland

Beyond Borders

Made in Britain Why is demand for UK goods rocketing in Asia?

ollowing the 2016 referendum on Brexit, there was an almost instant step-change in the UK’s attitude to trading internationally. Suddenly, the Department for International Trade sprung up and by 2019, UK exports had reached a record high. UK firms sold more goods overseas in the 2018/2019 financial year than at any other time

since records began – with the total worth a mighty £639.9 billion. This demand for UK exports is growing fastest in Asia. In April, figures published by the Oﬃce for National Statistics revealed a remarkable increase in exports to countries across the region in 2018. Exports to Taiwan were up 40.8%, to India they were up 19.3% and to Thailand they were up 17.8%. This is, in part, due to Asia’s own growing prosperity. Standard Chartered bank has predicted that

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Writing Siddharth Shankar

Exporting to Asia

Asia’s share of global gross domestic product will increase to 35% by 2030 – which is equivalent to Europe and the United States’ share combined. By this time, seven of the world’s top ten economies are likely to be in Asia. So why is the demand for British goods specifically increasing so rapidly in Asia, and how can British businesses tap into demand and get a slice of the action? In 2018, research by Barclays Corporate Banking revealed that 64% of consumers in India, 57% in China and 48% in the United Arab Emirates were prepared to pay more for goods made in Britain because they perceive the quality to be higher. British goods are also associated with exclusivity. The brand image of British goods is of unique items that are ‘handmade’ by companies with an impressive lineage. Britain’s strong links with many Asian countries – stemming from the Commonwealth – is likely to play a part. Meanwhile, the rich history of Britain gives its brands a powerful story to tell, which makes them more meaningful to the consumer.

Rise of the middle class Asia’s population is booming and salaries are increasing, meaning there is a rising middle class – the fastest-growing in the world. It is also home to the highest number of billionaires and millionaires of any continent. In Asia’s developing countries, the families of the higher middle class and high net worth individuals are the trendsetters in the markets. Nevertheless, the emerging and growing middle class is the major force of buying power in those markets, for the present and the near future. Asia’s population has an increasingly disposable income, and consumption is rising as a whole. The demand for products and brands is at an all-time high and is set to continue for the foreseeable future.

How can UK businesses break into the market? There is massive potential for luxury and Britishbranded goods to become major global brands as a result of exporting to Asia. Every successful product needs a back story that will sell in Asia, whether it’s about the product being handmade, its exclusivity, or the maker’s long-standing heritage. Breaking into the market is not as simple as finding one or two distributors, however. It’s essential to build a real understanding of the market and culture, and to have the right product and local partners for the business. Before you enter into any agreements with partners, carry out thorough background research and then set up clear and

TOP TIPS FOR EXPORTING TO ASIA 2 Avoid treating Asia as one homogeneous market – a diﬀerent approach is required in each country. For instance, to successfully launch a product in India, it needs to be tailored to the Indian market and ideally launched in the countries around India first. It is comparatively easy to launch a Western product into China. 2 Cultural awareness is key to a brand’s success, and even something very simple can make the diﬀerence. For instance, a company trying to sell a green hat in China is likely to fail because, within local culture, if a man wears a green hat, it means his wife is cheating on him. 2 Timing is something first-time exporters often get wrong. Everything, from local festivals to weather patterns, must be considered carefully. Seasons for clothing and food, in particular, are very sensitive. 2 Good insurance and a proper vetting process are essential. A letter of credit, issued from a local reputable bank, is required for exporting transactions. This would guarantee that a payment for goods goes through, even if the buyer itself defaults.

enforceable paperwork and responsibilities. It is also vital to arrange trade credit insurance, since the average credit period and rates for importers and distributors on payment of goods vary globally. Each country also has a unique tax structure and payment methods, so you will need to consult a tax professional to make sure you calculate all this correctly.

Which products are most in demand? Luxury goods are ever popular in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as Japan and Singapore, but their appeal extends beyond this and it is not just big brands that hold appeal. Companies such as fashion house Burberry, automakers MG Motor UK and Rolls-Royce, and technology group Dyson have taken China, India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by storm, but smaller British brands are beginning to gain traction too. The reasons behind the demand for smaller British brands are more complex than a show of wealth, which can be the motivation behind larger brand purchases. A big brand product, such as Louis Vuitton or Coach, which people purchase and show to friends and colleagues, might demonstrate the owner is rich. But a British brand, even one that is not well known, might convey that the owner has taste. This is the mindset of the new generation of middle-class Asian consumers. The demand for convenient, well-packed food products has also spiked in recent years. Appetite for traditional UK beverages, such as whisky and gin, has reached a whole new level in countries such as China and India. Meanwhile, heavy industrial products are valued across emerging markets such as Cambodia, China, India and Thailand, where huge infrastructure construction is needed and where the country’s own heavy industry manufacturing is relatively weak. Energy products, ranging from traditional fossil industry to all types of renewable energy equipment, are sought after in ASEAN countries. All round, Asia holds a wealth of opportunities for UK businesses. Of course, there are risks involved and the cultural and language barriers that business face are greater than those they face when they export to EU countries. But the rewards are potentially huge. It’s a fast-growing market that only looks set to grow for the foreseeable future. Going forwards, exporting to Asia could be a crucial way for UK businesses to generate growth. Siddharth Shankar is a leading expert in trading with Asia and chief executive of Tails Trading, which helps small and medium-sized businesses in the UK to export their goods to Asia. See www.tailstrading.com

At Malaika, we empower the leaders of tomorrow by giving 340 Congolese girls free access to high quality education. An education can break the cycle of poverty and enable these girls to have successful careers, marry at a later age, have healthier children, and go on to positively impact the future of their country. Malaikaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s primary and secondary school provides a holistic curriculum and supplies uniforms, healthcare, and two nutritious meals each day. Beyond our school, Malaika runs a thriving community center where we offer education, health, IT training, and sport programs to over 5000 locals. Our water program has successfully built and refurbished 17 wells. These supply clean, accessible water to over 30,000 people in the community each year. Malaikaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s comprehensive model is strengthened through partnerships and can be adopted in other villages, empowering not only students but entire communities. Over the past eight years at Malaika I have benefited from quality education, and it has totally changed my life. Louise Mujinga, Malaika Student

To find out more about Malaika and how you can support our work, visit malaika.org

Future of Work

STRATEGIES FOR LONG-TERM SUCCESS 68 Innovation fatigue Bring back those bright ideas

e’re in the era of the side hustle. Today, one in four UK adults is working on either a secondary business or a job, according to a study by Henley Business School. It’s time, then, for organisations to get to grips with the implications of modern moonlighting, so that they can understand its value and reap the rewards. It might sound counterproductive to encourage staff to get a second job, but the benefits of having projects outside of work can be significant – for both employees and employers. Supporting side-hustling staff can be the route to a happy and engaged workforce. Employees are so much more than their job descriptions. So, starting up on the side enables people to indulge their passions and explore new interests that aren’t part of their nine-to-five. What’s more, all this happy-making, out-of-hours activity will provide a motivational kick that they bring back to the office. While side hustles are defined as money-making activities, the value extends far beyond personal profit, with people learning new skills and gaining valuable experience that can benefit the workplace. An equivalent is Google’s ‘20% time’ policy, where employees spend a fifth of their working week on side projects. Not only did this lead to breakthrough products in the early days of the tech giant, but Google found it empowered staff “to be more creative and innovative”. Cross fertilisation is a real payback, since side-hustling employees bring new and highly soughtafter skills and experiences into their day job. That’s what happened to me: when I told my boss about my side hustle, I got to use my new-found skills at work, and earned a promotion and a pay rise.

70 Behavioural science Get the best out of your people

Hail the side hustle The strong case for modern moonlighting By

Bec Evans

72 How to upskill Take charge of your learning

Side hustles can also be a significant staff perk and lead to improved staff retention and recruitment – which are vital in the war for talent. In a white paper called The Side Hustle Economy, Chris Brooks, professor of finance and director of research at the ICMA Centre at Henley Business School, warned of the risks of not taking side hustles seriously: “Employers who refuse to embrace the practice, or support their side-hustling staff, are likely to be less appealing to potential new recruits and risk losing their best talent, and the corporate wisdom that departs with them.” Professor Brooks’ team found that 43% of business leaders have a side hustle of their own. That means managers are in a great position to respond to the change in working practices and use it for organisational advantage. They can start by: 2 Acknowledging that side hustles exist and that a portion of the workforce will have one; 2 Creating a clear organisational policy that outlines the boundaries; 2 Supporting managers to have open conversations with staff to build trust and understanding; and 2 Dealing with any breaches of contract in a transparent and fair way. Avoid any misconceptions that people who start up on the side are taking advantage of work time and resources to build a business, or that they are unsatisfied with their current job and plan to leave. Staff with side hustles are happier and more productive. Supporting them means their main hustle also thrives.

CROSS FERTILISATION IS A REAL PAYBACK

Bec Evans is a writer, speaker and business founder who turned her side hustle Prolifiko – a writing productivity coach – into a startup. Her first book is titled ‘How to Have a Happy Hustle: The Complete Guide to Making Your Ideas Happen’

Future of Work

Bring back those bright ideas How can managers address the modern problem of innovation fatigue?

icture it. You are sitting in a meeting, as so often before. The topic is ‘innovation’ (as so often before) and there are two presentations. One is by an innovation consultant; the other by an executive at your company. The consultant’s presentation is slick, professional, and yet sounds exactly like something you’ve already heard a

thousand times. The same examples, the same suggestions, even the same images. Next comes the executive. The presentation contains more industry-specific material, but the gist of it is similar to the earlier one. It calls for “thinking outside the box”, includes hackneyed quotes from the likes of Albert Einstein and Steve Jobs, and makes random demands for “disruption”. After slide 24, your eyes have glazed over. Welcome to the age of innovation fatigue.

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Writing Alf Rehn

Innovation

Suffering in silence The above example might be something of a caricature, but many in the contemporary business world will recognise the tendency it describes. Innovation has become such a general topic of conversation in organisations that it at times turns into a parody of itself. In most organisations, employees have sat through so many creativity talks and suffered so many innovation initiatives, that one more feels more like Groundhog Day than anything particularly worthwhile. I have started to refer to this sensation as innovation fatigue, an ailment I have begun to identify in a growing number of corporations. The symptoms are easy enough to pinpoint. Staff no longer get energised by innovation initiatives or creativity workshops, but rather suffer them in silence. The entry of yet another innovation consultant elicits winces, and presentations about the need to disrupt the industry play to stultifying silence. More importantly, the organisation simply doesn’t innovate, no matter how many resources are dedicated to this activity. At the root of this fatigue lies the simple problem that innovation, as a concept, has become wildly overused in both individual companies and society at large. Our tendency to refer to everyand anything as ‘innovation’ has made many wary of the term. It feels like it has been emptied of meaning. So when new calls for innovation are made, they are greeted with weariness rather than enthusiasm. This, in turn, can elicit a kind of vicious circle, where management tries to combat a lack of enthusiasm with even more calls for innovation, exacerbating the problem. Managers today must grasp that it is not enough to merely repeat the innovation clichés from the latest conference keynote. Nor can any manager expect that an innovation initiative, or an ideas competition, will by itself set off a cascade of creativity. In fact, these kinds of shallow attempts to elicit innovation have become so well-known in the corporate world that introducing them might even backfire. In order to truly drive innovation today, managers must engage on a far deeper level, and understand how a culture beset by innovation fatigue can be re-energised.

Get the energy back My first suggestion tends to surprise executives. That’s because I start by saying they should talk less about innovation. It’s not because I’m antiinnovation, but because I know a key problem in organisations is that innovation is talked about so broadly, and so generally, as to make it almost meaningless. By speaking less of it, but with more force and meaning when they do, managers can

IF EVERYTHING IS INNOVATIVE, NOTHING IS, AND THIS NEEDS TO CHANGE

be clear that innovation is something more than slogans and buzzwords, and make it count when they mention it. If everything is innovative, nothing is, and this needs to change. The second suggestion is to refresh your examples. One of the key things that creates innovation fatigue is the tendency among some executives to use the same examples over and over. It doesn’t matter if it is electric carmaker Tesla, media services provider Netflix, or some internal project, if it is overused, the example will become a cliché. Use clear examples – preferably ones that feel meaningful and understandable to your audience. My third piece of advice is to think seriously about the greater purpose of innovation within your organisation. The reason why ‘innovation’ fatigues people is because it doesn’t connect with anything beyond itself. It becomes innovation for innovation’s sake, and it is very diﬃcult to become energised by such a self-important notion. What makes people excited about innovation isn’t innovation itself. It is the capacity to enact meaningful change in the world through innovation. So, if you wish to build an innovation culture, this is what you need to tap into. By establishing that innovation should always serve the deep, core purpose of the organisation – be this to create a more sustainable world or to ensure all children have a chance to get ahead in life – you are signalling that innovation matters. This, more than anything else, will make people want to engage with it.

Make innovation matter Last, but by no means least, a contemporary manager needs to show why innovation matters to them. If it is only a demand you use to get your employees to work harder, you can’t act surprised if you find it makes them tired and despondent. Real innovation leaders lead by example, and show their commitment through work and engagement – not seminars and playtime with consultants. In the end, the decision a manager needs to make is whether he or she will commit to innovation, with all the diﬃculties this brings, or simply pay lip-service to ‘innovation’, which is always far easier. Innovation can be the most amazing thing for your company, and drive both motivation and profits. Equally, innovation, or ‘innovation’, can also be the most soul-destroying thing in your organisation, driving people to despair. As a manager, the choice is yours. You can go for glib clichés, which is always the easy way. Or you can make innovation matter, even if it takes a bit of work. Alf Rehn is a professor of innovation at the University of Southern Denmark and a leading keynote speaker. His latest book is ‘Innovation for the Fatigued’. See alfrehn.com to find out more

A behavioural scientist could help you to better understand and motivate your people Writing Helena Rubinstein

don’t know whether you have noticed, but recently there have been quite a few recruitment ads asking for behavioural scientists. Behavioural scientists are being incorporated into customer experience and data science teams. They can be found in innovation

What is behavioural science? Behavioural science is the systematic study of human behaviour. It may sound like a new discipline, but it has been around for a long time, having emerged from other disciplines such as economics, psychology and sociology. It applies scientific methods to understanding why people do what they do – not just what they say they do. Some people think behavioural science is just another fad but, in reality, it is based on sound theoretical principles and is evidencebased. Some people think it is just about ‘nudging’ people and taking advantage of their inherent biases. In fact, it is much broader and looks at the multiple factors that drive people’s behaviour. Some may think it is about putting people into a fMRI scanner and looking at how their brain responds. Yet while this may be a component of behavioural science, examining

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Get inside their heads

and change management consultancies, and in marketing and communications departments. It’s surprising we don’t see more of them in HR departments, however, given that HR teams are involved with activities such as employee engagement, performance management and team building. These are all areas where the skills of a behavioural scientist could prove invaluable. So, what is behavioural science, what does a behavioural scientist actually do, and why might your organisation need one?

Future of Work

how your brain responds in certain conditions can never explain the whole story behind an individual’s behaviour. Behavioural science is almost certainly not a fad, or just a collection of nudges, or a brain scan. It is an increasingly important way for organisations to have greater confidence in their dealings with the people they interact with – be it consumers, customers, employees or suppliers.

What behavioural scientists do It is the job of a behavioural scientist to understand what drives people’s behaviour and design interventions that maintain or change that behaviour. In doing so, they define the target behaviour; gather evidence to understand what is causing the behaviour; write hypotheses about which approaches influence the behaviour; design interventions to change the behaviour; and frequently do experiments to test their hypotheses and find out if the interventions worked. A good behavioural scientist will be able to explain what motivates people, what skills people need or lack, and what opportunities are needed to encourage people to do what they need to do. If everything you do has a behavioural component, then having a behavioural scientist on the team should prove invaluable. Let’s take just two examples – working out a new reward structure, and introducing a new way of working in an organisation.

A diﬀerent reward structure You are trying to develop a new reward structure for the organisation. The assumption of senior management is that this is all about tangible, mostly financial, rewards. Your behavioural scientist, however, is not so sure and thinks there is more to it. She has noticed there are some people who are mainly extrinsically motivated – that is, their behaviour is driven by external rewards such as money, fame and praise – while others are mainly intrinsically motivated – that is, their behaviour is driven by internal rewards that arise from doing things that they find personally satisfying. Rather than take an educated guess, the behavioural scientist does a short survey using a set of psychological questions taken from the Work Preference Inventory that will help her find out what is really motivating people. She finds that in some functions there are people with very high levels of extrinsic motivation and in other functions there are people with very high levels of intrinsic motivation. This knowledge allows her to make recommendations that are suited to the diﬀerent functions. For example, she learns that

Behavioural Science

BEHAVIOURAL SCIENTISTS CAN EXPLAIN WHAT MOTIVATES PEOPLE AND WHAT OPPORTUNITIES ARE NEEDED

the people who have high intrinsic motivation are highly likely to take up the oﬀer of having one day a month to work on a social project, and prize this much more than a simple monetary reward. Whereas in the functions where people are highly extrinsically motivated, this approach wouldn’t work at all.

Introducing a new way of working Management has just developed a new system that will mean that a large part of the organisation has to use new digital data to perform tasks. Most people in the company have got used to receiving data in other formats so they don’t understand and cannot engage with the new approach. Managers have instructed the HR team to put in place a training programme to help employees. But the behavioural scientist is worried. He knows that just telling people to do something diﬀerently is not enough and that while training is a necessary, it alone is not suﬃcient to change behaviours. The behavioural scientist sets about doing a behavioural diagnostic. This diagnostic is actually a rigorous and systematic analysis of all the barriers to, and promoters of, performing the new behaviour. To make sense of the information he gets from the employees, he uses a psychological framework called the COM-B. The COM stands for capability, opportunity and motivation, with all three being needed for a B (behaviour) to occur. His analysis shows that not only do people lack the requisite knowledge to use the new system, they also worry about the consequences if they perform badly (will they lose their job?). They believe that it will take them too long to get up to speed with the new system and they are not sure there will be suitable opportunities to use it. With this new knowledge, he designs a training plan. He also puts in place interventions to reassure people about how long it will take to learn the new system and how they will be evaluated, as well as to create opportunities for more frequent use. In combination, these interventions mean that more people will try to use the new system.

Scientific and systematic There are myriad ways that a behavioural scientist could be your most valuable hire next year. This is because by taking a scientific and systematic approach to understanding the behaviour of people, you have the benefit of having strong evidence for your recommendations, a structured way of deciding what to focus on, and ultimately a much greater chance of success. Dr Helena Rubinstein is head of behavioural science at Innovia Technology and the author of new book, ‘Applying Behavioural Science to the Private Sector’

Future of Work

Take charge Use professional development to ensure that you and your team continue to thrive in the ever-changing world of work Writing Chris Watson

oday’s learners are experiential, social learners, who like to interact with the content, explore the options and then draw their own conclusions. One size no longer fits all. As a result, the fashion for two-week residential training courses has been abandoned in favour of shorter, sharper, more pragmatic learning, which is explicitly linked to the requirements of evolving work tasks. While there is growing consensus around how the majority of learners wish to develop, there is frustration with regard to how upskilling is currently taking place. The LinkedIn 2018 Workplace Learning Report revealed that people want more eﬃcient, eﬀective and flexible learning, made available to them on their terms, to allow them to upskill faster than ever before. According to the report, which is based on a survey of around 4,000 professionals globally, 68% of employees prefer to learn at work, 58% want to learn at their own pace and 49% of employees like to learn at the point of need. For this to happen, however, organisations need to know how to access reliable and proven content. Equally, learners need to feel more empowered to take charge of their own professional development. So, what can you do to take charge of your own professional development and support the development of others? Here are five practical ideas for how you can develop yourself:

Seek out a credible mentor Musician Ray Charles mentored Quincy Jones. Fashion designer Christian Dior mentored Yves Saint Laurent. Scientist Albert Einstein was mentored by Max Talmud. Select your own mentor wisely. As entrepreneur Jim Rohn famously observed, we are all the average of the five people with whom we spend the most time, so make this one person count.

Set yourself great big outrageous goals (GBOGs) Great big outrageous goals shouldn’t work, but they do. They stretch you out of the ordinary and are so ambitious that they resonate with you and others. They oﬀer the power to elevate us beyond what we ever thought was possible. At the age of 16, Winston Churchill shared his own GBOG, when he was quoted as saying: “I tell you I shall be in command of the defences of London … in the high position I shall occupy, it will fall to me to save the capital and save the Empire.”

Begin a journal Personal reflection is a great way to develop self-awareness and capture all your important observations. Keep an ideas file that contains unusual personal development suggestions and innovative ideas. Review your entries at the end of every week. It doesn’t matter whether you use a tatty old notebook, a leather binder or one of the new online sites such as 750words.com – where you can receive feedback on your thoughts.

Upskilling

Find out about the Dunning–Kruger eﬀect This is a cognitive bias where unskilled individuals tend to mistakenly assume their ability to be higher than it actually is. At the same time, highly skilled individuals tend to overestimate the relative capability levels of others by assuming tasks that are easy for them will also be easy for their colleagues.

4 4

Remember much more of what you learn by using spaced repetition Take the same approach as the latest learning-based software and improve your personal retention levels by repeating any learned material over increasingly spaced intervals. This technique has been proven to enhance your ability to recall information at a later date.

Get an earful You will probably have heard of TED Talks, but if you prefer to learn on the go, try tuning in to the TED Radio Hour show at npr.org. This delivers thought-provoking podcasts by some remarkable people. And here are five practical ideas for how you can develop others:

Reject the conventional wisdom that says people can be fixed Recent evidence reveals that your energies may be better invested in trying to draw out what has been put in, rather than wasting time attempting to address what has been left out. Where possible, focus on strengths, not weaknesses.

Throw out the old sandwich The overused ‘praise sandwich’ technique for providing feedback (consisting of praise-criticismpraise) dilutes the message and is rarely eﬀective. Give positive feedback when the employee has earned it and negative feedback when it is necessary. Oﬀering praise and criticism independently of one another is more respectful towards the employee and builds trust between you.

Invest in those who invest in others Demonstrate organisational commitment to your learning practitioners by making their roles a springboard position into other, more senior managerial positions. Underline the importance of “enabling the skills of others” during succession planning exercises. Bolster managerial capability and career planning by insisting that all employees should have spent time in a people development or coaching role, prior to being appointed into a managerial position.

Be there, be useful, be quick Apply these three principles of Google’s ‘MicroMoments’ to your approaches to selfdirected learning. Take advantage of emerging technologies to enable people to consume information through their mobile devices at a time that is convenient to them. Enable your staﬀ to receive short and easy-to-access learning opportunities, which are both quick and useful. Examples could include gaming technologies, infographics, PDFs, podcasts, video clips and relevant articles.

Who does the future belong to? The world of work is increasingly characterised by unexpected and continuous transitions, multiple careers and fast-paced advancements. As a result, people in all sectors are becoming more selective about what they want from their professional development. They are also becoming more instrumental in their own self-development. This is because they recognise, as author Robert Greene once said, that “the future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways”. Chris Watson is an adaptive skills specialist who founded Endor Learn & Develop in 2002. His latest book, ‘Upskill: 21 Keys to Professional Growth’, provides 840 practical ways to help people adapt to new approaches and work methods

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MANAGING MENTAL, PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL WELLBEING AND DEVELOPMENT 76 How to ask for a pay rise Advice on refining your pitch

77 Job hunting Land a role that you’ll love

he term ‘coaching’ first arrived in the workplace in the 1970s. Former racing driver and coaching pioneer Sir John Whitmore later introduced his GROW model and wrote the groundbreaking Coaching for Performance. He worked with US author Tim Gallwey, who wrote the Inner Game book series and was a tennis coach. This partnership underpins the way we think about coaching today. It is founded in sports, focused on performance, and takes people’s thoughts and feelings into account. Between them, the two men shifted the focus from teacher to learning, a shift that continues today. Some people thought the approach would be a temporary fad. Instead, it has made an enduring, and growing, contribution to the high-performance workplace. It’s time to acknowledge the value of workplace coaching – and for managers to incorporate coaching into their leadership styles. But why is coaching important? The obvious starting point is the multi-generational workplace. A directive style of leadership works with people who don’t know what to do, or how to do it. With an educated, experienced workforce, ‘telling’ neither works, nor maintains a manager’s credibility. A coaching style – asking for input, supporting team members to come up with their own ideas and answers, feeling listened to and supported – brings out the best in the multi-generational workforce for the following reasons:

78 Think positive Find more energy for work and life

Better results Coaching has value in a multigenerational workplace By

Helen Caton Hughes

80 Book Club Edge reviews top leadership titles

2 It enables older colleagues to share their experience and wisdom, while empowering younger ones to oﬀer innovations and creativity, making people feel more included. 2 Coaching supports inclusivity of diﬀerent working styles, and enables collaboration and cross-departmental communication. 2 Coaching is also about making better use of resources. Too often we shore up poor performance by throwing resources at a problem. Having conversations about what enables success allows us to focus resources and identify the real gaps. This can lead to some uncomfortable conversations, but a coaching approach is a more compassionate way of giving clear, candid feedback on performance and ways to improve. The most successful coaching conversations are where people identify and take responsibility for their goals. And when learning attitudes spread through teams, culture change happens. A coaching approach also enables leaders to better delegate and deliver because they know and understand the team’s qualities. I’m not suggesting we all become tennis superstars. Or we drop the day job of managing projects and leading people. Rather, by refreshing our coaching skills and working them into our leadership and management roles, we can all deliver better results. Helen Caton Hughes is managing director of the Forton Group, a leadership consultancy specialising in the leader as coach. She is co-author of ‘No Cape Required’. Email info@thefortongroup.com

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How to… make your case for a pay rise

lease don’t assume that because you are reading this article, you can get a pay rise. Or even assume that you deserve one. I have no idea. But if that time of year is approaching in your organisation, the chances are that you will be thinking about how you can argue the case for a pay rise. Here are some tips on how to do it. Timing

You don’t get a pay rise just by asking for it. Think of it as a long campaign that needs to fit within your organisation’s formal review cycle. This means preparing yourself well in advance. Three months is not out of the ordinary. And six months is a sensible campaign duration for a complex argument. Research

You can be pretty sure that your organisation and your boss will have a mountain of data to hand. You will need to do your research, and do it well, to put your argument across. Hard figures and solid evidence are a must. What are you really worth elsewhere? And how realistic is this alternative universe? Also, what are the true costs of replacing you? Understand your organisation’s policies. There’s no point in adopting a position that nobody has the power to accommodate.

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Meeting

Ask your boss for a meeting. What’s more, it should not be a casual ‘while we’re having a coﬀee’ sort of thing. That says it’s a casual request. Ask formally, and request a long enough meeting to discuss your request fully. This is an important pitch, so practise it, refine it, rehearse it. How will you

If you think you deserve an increase, how can you refine your pitch? By Mike Clayton

present your business case in a way that is compelling, persuasive and powerful? Because…

Have an answer to the obvious question: ‘why?’ You will need a compelling business case because the organisation is eﬀectively making a business investment in you. Show you understand this. Build your negotiation strategy around hard data. Always deal in precise figures, rather than rounded ones. While 10% sounds like a number you made up, 9.6% sounds like one rooted in some data. Inscrutable

Don’t be the one to name a number first. Your boss will want to know what you have in mind. If you cannot avoid the question, give a range from what you’re truly worth down to a minimum that you will accept. Keep these figures sensible at both ends. They should not represent too wide a range. A good negotiating strategy builds on flexibility. Be prepared to consider non-cash components of an improved oﬀer. Indeed, are there even things you can suggest? Thinking time

Silence is one of the strongest negotiating tactics. Use long pauses to elicit further oﬀers or clarifications. Show confidence by asking for time to think about a final oﬀer. But show decisiveness by making that thinking time short. First thing tomorrow is usually best. Better still, ask to meet on Friday, which gives you the weekend. Mike Clayton is a speaker, management trainer and author of 14 books, including ‘How to Speak So People Listen’ and ‘How to Influence in Any Situation’. Find out more at MikeClayton.co.uk and OnlinePMCourses.com

Live & Learn JOB HUNTING

The perfect role What’s the secret to finding a job that you will love? By

Illustration by Janne Iivonen Shutterstock

hile job satisfaction may not lift your spirits 24 hours a day, it certainly helps. Indeed, various surveys suggest that purposeful and stimulating work, which is undertaken in good company, is a key factor in raising measurable levels of happiness. Most of us will spend about a third of our waking life at work, and most of our best energy, concentration and creativity will go into work, whether that is paid or unpaid. This means that choosing what you do for a living is one of the most important life decisions you will ever make. You might enjoy work today, but what happens when it fails to stretch you? Too many people are unhappy at work, but they dwell on their dissatisfaction rather than making a change. So what’s the first step to finding a job you will love? You probably have an instinctive understanding of the kind of role that feels worth getting up for on a Monday morning. If not, review what’s going through your head on a Sunday night. More people upload CVs to job websites on Sunday than any other day of the week. So, it’s obviously a day when we run that internal movie called ‘The Week Ahead’. Which activities, challenges and tasks do you look forward to? What subjects do you enjoy talking and thinking about? Taking a brief look at what you like to do, and know, will reveal the key ingredients of your next career move. Here is my six-point checklist for steps you can take beyond analysis and reflection:

John Lees

Know what lights you up. What energises you

at work? Write out a wish list – challenges that inspire you, outcomes that feel meaningful, skills you love to use.

Research before you search. The internet is

a red-hot research tool, but a poor door-opener. Find people in interesting jobs who can tell you about their work and what employers are looking for.

Set out your stall. Catalogue your

skills and strengths, and write a CV that features key messages within the top half of page one. Create a social media profile that sets out your main focus and key experience. Avoid clichés or saying things that make you sound less experienced.

Dig deeper. Find out how

organisations are developing and changing. Keep asking, “Who else should I be talking to?” Discover target job titles. Scrutinise advertised roles to spot the language employers use to describe top performers.

Practise unpacking your experience.

Rehearse talking about yourself (it’s easier to discuss what interests you than to talk about your strengths). When networking, outline a skill you want to build on, and talk about organisations you find inspiring.

Be a smart job searcher. Don’t apply

randomly, but find roles where your experience and enthusiasm make sense. Seek out people, brands and organisations that appeal to you. Anticipate that today’s market will disappoint you with a lack of response or feedback. Meet regularly with positiveminded people to keep you active and connected. John Lees is a career strategist and author of ‘How to Get a Job You Love’

Live & Learn ENERGY

Fight or flight

Think positive How can you find more energy for work and life? Writing Susan Scott

Use self-talk to make the start of each day a positive one Think a happy thought when you first wake up. This could come from a joyful memory, or visualising something good happening today, or achieving a positive outcome. When you go to the bathroom, look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself out loud how fabulous you are.

positive attitude is a hugely powerful attribute if you want to lead successfully and get the best from the people you manage. It’s a people pleaser. That’s because a positive mental attitude creates a positive energy that is attractive and motivating to others, encourages good relationships, and strengthens our personal confidence, happiness and vitality for life and work. All of this creates a powerful breeding ground for health, happiness and success. We define positive thinking as a mindset that is optimistic, focusing on the good and expecting positive outcomes. Thinking positively generates positive emotions and breeds positive results. This means people willingly do more to a better standard, which creates real value to the business as well as to yourself and your team. When you focus on the positive, you will trigger dopamine in the brain, making you feel pleasure. Look at the negative, and it will trigger stress hormones, making you anxious and fearful.

In this frantic world that we now work in, it’s becoming ever harder for many of us to maintain positive energy. That’s not surprising when we consider how we’re built to survive when things threaten us. The brain is hardwired to notice danger (a ‘fight or flight’ response). We have a negativity bias rather like a radar that puts us on alert for what could go wrong. Life-threatening danger is minimal nowadays, but our brains haven’t evolved suﬃciently to recognise the diﬀerence between this and other challenges. Many of us live in a constant state of fight or flight, which triggers a cascade of negative emotions that undermine our performance and impair decision-making. That’s because emotions such as fear, worry and anger, if left unchecked, can leave us feeling out of control, overwhelmed, exhausted, vulnerable and unhappy. Yet, it needn’t be like this. Here are some ideas to help bring positivity and vitality into your life and boost your happiness as a bonus:

Avoid dwelling on issues from the past Doing this has the potential to lock you into a dark place. Tell yourself it happened, forgive yourself, learn from it and draw a line under it.

Try to find the positive in any diﬃcult situation Catch yourself when you are feeling sad or thinking negatively, and consciously switch your mindset. For one week, practise consciously noticing negative thoughts and, each time you catch yourself, take a deep breath and replace the thought with three positives ones.

EMOTIONS, IF LEFT UNCHECKED, CAN LEAVE US FEELING OUT OF CONTROL

Practise thinking positively throughout the day It’s about looking on the bright side of life. Worrying about what might happen, but typically doesn’t, just creates pessimism and negative energy. Set a specific time to practise this. It may be during your commute or your lunch break. Use your senses to notice what is going on around you and analyse your observations in a positive manner.

and our mood because it reduces feelings of stress. Smile whenever you notice a positive thought has crossed your mind.

Be grateful Each evening, write down three things that you are grateful for that day. As you go to sleep, you will be more appreciative of the positives in life, which reinforces an upbeat mindset as you sleep.

Look after your body Take regular breaks to recharge your mind and body (fitness trackers are good aids for this). These breaks could consist of a few minutes away from your focused work on an hourly basis, where you take some deep belly breaths or do some stretches. A walk around a local park at lunchtime helps to lower stress hormones and revive your creativity. Exercise triggers the release of endorphins, producing positive feelings. A healthy and balanced diet provides the nutrients you need to optimise energy and cognitive function.

11 5

Hang out with positive people Positivity is infectious and other people’s good energy will rub oﬀ on you. Negative people drain your energy and create a pessimistic mindset. They should be avoided whenever possible.

Avoid the need to control everything and everyone You can’t do it all; it leaves you feeling overwhelmed and creates a bad feeling within the team. The more adaptive and flexible you are, the more resilient and energised you will be.

Be kind to yourself Don’t say yes when you really want to say no. It will leave you feeling angry and frustrated, and worried about time, which will spiral you into negativity. Take time out to play, possibly catching up with friends or taking a short break. Reward yourself with a treat when you’ve experienced a good outcome.

Find opportunities to laugh Check in with someone who has a wicked sense of humour or take time out to watch a comedy (the commute is a good time for this). Laughter has a positive eﬀect on our health, particularly on our immune system

ULTIMATELY, IT’S OPTIMISM THAT WILL MAKE THE DIFFERENCE

Write a journal This will provide you with a healthy outlet to express some of the emotions you are experiencing. You’ll be able to identify the sources of some of your negative thoughts and plan ways to turn the situation around.

Perform acts of kindness to others Making others happy provides you with positive reinforcement. It boosts your self-worth and self-esteem, triggering happy hormones such as dopamine and serotonin. Think about where you can provide support. If we want more energy to perform to the best of our abilities and enjoy what we do, then we have to consciously correct our instinct to look towards the negative. Ultimately, it’s optimism that will make the diﬀerence. As with forming any new habit, optimism involves more than just thinking happy thoughts, however. We need to practise thinking in new ways, from a variety of perspectives, to eventually create new neural pathways in the brain that allow us to automatically and subconsciously follow a positive mindset in future. Susan Scott is a nutritionist and business psychologist, and author of ‘Life Force: The Revolutionary 7-Step Plan for Optimum Energy’. For more information, see susanscott.co.uk

Live & Learn BOOK CLUB

WHICH BOOKS SHOULD BE KEEPING LEADERS AND MANAGERS AWAKE AT NIGHT? EDGE REVIEWS SOME OF THE MOST INTRIGUING TITLES AROUND

Uncivilised Genes Author Gustav Milne Price £12.99 Independent Thinking Press

Your city is killing you – literally The fatal four lifestyle diseases – cardiovascular, cancer, diabetes and lung disease – now make up around 70% of all deaths. What’s the solution? Leading archaeologist Gustav Milne reckons it lies in our past. Humans evolved over three million years, living oﬀ the land, hunting and gathering, living simply. And then came 24-hour supermarkets, ondemand television and takeaways. The sofa now contributes to more deaths than the motor car. And with

only 10% of job roles now requiring any kind of physical eﬀort, our sedentary lifestyles are causing this generation and the next to fall into a trap of physical illiteracy. In our quest for convenience, we’ve allowed our world to control us, and Milne argues that this has created an urban paradox that stints human evolution. It’s time to reconsider how we work, rest and play to better fit our biology. In short, we need to get back to being cavemen. We need to uncivilise our genes. Lifestyle choices are shaped by complex cultural, economic and societal influences, so knowing where to begin is a tough call. In this fascinating book, we’re taken through a beautifully researched and easy-to-read analysis of the physiological, metabolic and psychological factors that can have a impact on our personal health and wellbeing. Diet, exercise and social networks are all in there, but the author digs deeper, into the architecture and planning of the places in which we live and work, teasing out the need for greener cities and buildings designed with evolutionary-concordant principles. While much of what Milne writes is common sense, it’s not common practice. Adopting the changes may take time, but through simple steps – eating and living like huntergatherers, getting tribal and roaming free – we can learn lessons from our prehistoric past and build a healthier urban future. Get it right and we create our own Garden of Eden. Reviewer Professor Andrew Sharman is an international strategy, culture and leadership consultant, and chair of the Institute of Leadership & Management

The Making of a Manager Author Julie Zhuo Price £12.99 Virgin Books

Practical advice as you start your journey as a manager The journey of the author, Julie Zhuo, is much like that of many of those who become line managers: somebody has developed strong technical skills and receives recognition for this by being

The Meaning Revolution Author Fred Kofman Price £16.99 WH Allen

A leader’s role is to motivate others Great leaders, Fred Kofman argues, no longer say “Follow me”. Instead they say, “Come, join this huge wave.” In part one, Kofman lays out why this change is happening. People in organisations are disengaged and

Edge is looking for readers to review leadership and management titles for Book Club. If you are interested, email sally.percy@lidbusinessmedia.com

asked to ‘manage’, without a real description of all that entails. Faced with resentment from team members who used to be her peers, she had to learn how to manage – fast. This book is the kind of guide the author wished she had when she first started out as a manager. She gives her definition of management: that it’s “a manager’s job to get better outcomes from a group of people working together, through influencing purpose, people and process”. This sets the book up to cover everything from what to expect in your first few months as a manager through to how to lead a team, hire well and give feedback. A lot is covered in a real tour de force, illustrated with the author’s

own experience for reference. There is a lot of content you’ll find in existing management texts, but Zhuo adds to that by providing her own stories along the way. This is the kind of book you want to read when you’re first starting out as a manager, as Zhuo’s advice will prove timely. For those who are more experienced managers, it’s a good opportunity to refresh your familiarity with some of the management techniques that have worked well for somebody else who has been on this journey.

underperforming. Even those who work hard to meet targets unintentionally optimise their own function or silo, while damaging the organisation as a whole. The solution is not more rules and control. The solution is to motivate and align people through leadership. Part two describes the key building blocks for achieving this: purpose, values and, most of all, creating culture. Culture enables anyone in an organisation to do the right thing, in the right way, at the right time. Kofman describes how culture is built around pillars of consensus and commitment, combined with ways of aligning activities over time. Strategy provides one such source of alignment, but ultimately it’s about leader-

ship: defining standards, walking the talk, and ensuring others do the same. The outcome is a world where people switch from being victims to being ‘players’. Issues are no longer seen as threats but as opportunities – to deepen collective understanding and reach higher collective performance. The key (in part three) is to ‘get over yourself ’: to realise that although all the runners in a race seem to be following the leader, in reality all are racing towards the same goal. This is a book for anyone who wants to build an empowered, self-managing organisation. And to empower themselves in the process.

Reviewer David Price MInstLM is a chartered manager and an author of several published books on entrepreneurship, leadership and management. Follow him on Twitter @DavidLeoPrice

Reviewer Finn Jackson is a leadership and change coach, consultant and author

8 Steps to High Performance Author Marc Eﬀron Price £22.00 Harvard Business Review Press

Step out of your comfort zone Marc Eﬀron treats us to a science-based programme of selfdevelopment. Like a personal trainer, he leaves nothing to chance. He starts from a point he calls the ‘fixed 50%’. This consists of upbringing, socioeconomic background, physical attributes, supportive family and friends. Where we can make the most change to our performance, he calls the ‘flexible 50%’. This consists of goal setting, networking, sleep, diet and exercise. Eﬀron reveals elements we can influence and control, starting with us. “Getting out of our own way,” as he puts it, and following the path to high performance. This is a path not well trodden, and full of distractions, enticements and dead ends. It’s reassuring to know that the steps we focus on to get down this path are illuminated by a light that burns brightly, fuelled by science and reason. Reviewer Barry Wilding-Webb is a leadership coach, learning and development practitioner and training manager

Live & Learn BOOK CLUB

The Creative Curve Author Allen Gannett Price £14.99 WH Allen

Creativity is not the preserve of the talented few If you are one of those people who ‘doesn’t do ideas’, you might find this book encouraging, since it argues that anyone can come up with good ideas at the right time, provided he or she follows the ‘four laws of the creative curve’. The first law is consumption – make sure you consume lots of whatever it is you want to generate ideas for. If you want to be a novelist, read lots of books. If you want to start a movie-streaming business, watch movies. Next is the law of imitation – in other words, look at what other people are doing in your field and apply the same principles and structures to your own work. Then there is the law of creative communities, which means putting yourself in an environment

Read My Lips Author Elaine Eksvärd Price £12.99 LID Publishing

Open your eyes to how you can influence others The author promises that this book “will give you all the tools you need to truly transform the link between you and your audience”. Certainly, Elaine Eksvärd does pack in many tools as she takes us through 12 fairly insightful chapters. She comes across as authentic, her anecdotal stories are funny (and sometimes uncomfortable) but real, and they make her very likeable.

ANYONE CAN COME UP WITH GOOD IDEAS

where you’re likely to hang out with creative types. So, basically, it’s goodbye Slough, hello Shoreditch. Finally, there is the law of iterations, where you use a consistent set of processes to generate new ideas that are based on ideas that have gone before. Another key point Allen Gannett makes is that there is a bell-shaped curve relationship between preferences and familiarity. Taking songs as an example, he points out that we “like songs more and more with additional exposure until they reach a peak, at which point they become overexposed”. The key thing then, is to generate ideas aligned with the early stages of the bell curve rather the peak of the curve, when they are likely to seem clichéd. This book has much to offer people who ‘don’t do’ ideas. For those who see ideas as their currency, however, it is less satisfying. It does not offer much advice on how to unlock originality – with originality being something creative people desperately seek – since the overall premise is that creativity is largely the result of imitation and repetition. It is also fairly dismissive of the notion of magic in creativity, which will be demoralising to artists and innovators who believe genuine inspiration informs their work. Overall, however, this book offers some important pointers that will be valuable to all readers. I certainly recommend it. Reviewer Sally Percy is editor of ‘Edge’

I would best describe the book as something to dip in and out of – a reference book that directs the reader to areas of research and explains how to fully use each tool that Eksvärd outlines. Furthermore, if you want to learn what a lot of the theories bandied about actually mean, then this book is a good starting point. I think that the author gives a lot of practical advice. For example, when it comes to dealing with web developers, she suggests the reader shouldn’t work with web specialists who talk unintelligibly. Instead, he or she should look for developers who use simple language. On reflection, I am torn between whether I think that Eksvärd has got the scattergun style exactly right or whether she has sold herself short and could have written more than one book. I don’t think the book has given me enough on any single topic, but it has given me clear signposting as to what I might like to learn more about. Reviewer Penny Whitelock FinstLM is director of Crystal Clear Business Solutions

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Resilience reconsidered We bounce back when we are able to reconcile opposing values

hen considering resilience, it helps to make a distinction between values such as doubt and certainty, and meta values, such as being resilient enough to turn present doubt into later certainty. Meta means ‘about’. So, if there are values such as error and correction, then resilience is about how to learn from errors in order to improve continuously. We need to bounce back. Values apply to people. Meta values apply to other values that then apply to people. Thomas Edison famously said of his struggle to invent the lightbulb: “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The lightbulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.” You need mental toughness to turn failure into learned success. Resilience is by no means the only meta value. Among my other favourites are alignment, aesthetics and beauty, ecology of the mind, emotional intelligence, equality, error-correcting systems, flow, harmony, reconciliation, relationships, synergy symbiosis, superordinate goals, total solutions, transcendence and wider meanings. Some of these concepts only make sense at the meta level. For example, equality is not an ideal end-state, but a way of weighing diﬀerent values and people equally prior to reconciling their diﬀerences. Management philosopher Charles Handy said about the French political slogan, “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” that liberty and fraternity are two opposed values, while equality is the means of mediating between them. Liberty must not be allowed to damage fraternity. Fraternity must not be allowed to abridge liberty. If you weigh these equally, this will not happen. Those of us who deal in meta values get frustrated when intelligent people do not see

Charles Hampden-Turner

what we mean. We believe we have so many answers to so many problems that people should be beating a path to our doors. Consider what resilience does: it joins crisis to opportunity, failure to success, toughness to sensitivity, humility to confidence, service to leadership, participation to directive leadership (by the leader who has learned what everyone wants via participation), questions to answers, body to mind, and so on. So why is everyone not cheering? Why are those who deal in meta values not household names? The problem arises from the essential ambiguity of meta values in general. Synergy has been invoked and discredited by those extolling the virtues of mergers and acquisitions. Resilience does not have a single meaning. Its meaning depends on the values you are trying to join. Joining crisis with opportunity is not quite the same as joining loss with profit, doubt with certainty, or ideas with realities. They all need resilience, but of diﬀerent kinds and qualities. There is a second reason why resilience as a concept will not bring us the credit we deserve. The most popular values are those that are most clearly defined – such as leaving the EU or remaining, respecting laws or making protests, being a servant or a leader and so on. What will bring us success is finding the resilient solutions to clearly defined conflicts. There is a major cultural bias towards specificity and away from the ambiguous holism, of which resilience, synergy and alignment are examples. We need to point to the specific results of resilience – the bottom line, the saved environment and the creative combination. By themselves, meta values are too abstract. We need to show the concrete consequences of reconciling opposing values. Charles Hampden-Turner is a British management philosopher, and was a senior research associate at the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge

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