ASPIRE MANAGEMENT CONSULTANCY LTD

As Peter Drucker once famously said: "Culture eats strategy for breakfast." It is not that defining an organisation's mission (purpose), vision, values and strategy (MVVS) are unimportant, far from it, but organisations which fail to get alignment between these things and their cultures are almost certainly heading for failure. Culture, which can be defined as how an organisation and its people behave (how they do what they do), is a very powerful, deeply ingrained yet often

How do you lead a hybrid team? The vast majority of clients and other contacts I have are moving towards a hybrid working model and it looks like this way of working is here to stay. Whilst the principles of leadership remain the same, their application needs to be tailored to the new environment. This short article by Laszlo Bock for HBR covers 5 key areas to get right: https://bit.ly/AspireMCL115 The point about clarity is particularly notable: whenever I am asked to consu

If there is one skill that leaders and businesses are going to need in ever-increasing measure, it is adaptability. This excellent article by McKinsey gives practical guidance on how to do build 'adaptability muscle': https://bit.ly/AspireMCL095 As the authors note, though, "Just when leaders need fresh thinking and decisiveness, they tend to fall back on tried-and-true ways." This is not a new phenomenon: Kotter identified this tendency as one of the 8 main reasons why so m

It is difficult to overestimate the need for courage in managers and leaders. This short but powerful article by Gallup identifies some of the damage done to people and businesses when they fail to act and speak with integrity: https://bit.ly/AspireMCL077 How can this quality be developed? By having the senior leaders model it, communicate its importance and hold managers to account for delivering it. Rewards including promotions and bonuses should be contingent on the manage

Those famous words by Peter Drucker, the consultant widely regarded as the father of modern management thinking, have been proved true again and again. Just think of how many change initiatives founder because they run counter to an organisation's culture. This example of a failed digital initiative is all too common: https://bit.ly/AspireMCL073 There are many definitions of organisational culture, but in short it can be thought of as the sum of the formal and informal vision

Many companies are evaluating their options regarding working from home. The most common solution emerging is for hybrid working: spending, say, 2 days a week in the office and the rest remotely. This article by HBR highlights the 3 key areas to consider when formulating your strategy, namely productivity, staff and culture: https://bit.ly/aspiremcl067 Whatever your thoughts on the best way ahead for your organisation, good leadership and team building will be essential for s

Engaged employees are those who are motivated at work and actively seek to promote their organisations' interests. The business benefits of engagement are, unsurprisingly, significant. The Government's MacLeod Report quantified some of them in terms of profitability, staff turnover, accident rates, etc. This report by Gallup captures the effect of the pandemic on engagement in Europe: http://bit.ly/AspireMCL067 Whilst Europeans coped relatively well in that they were less li

Most people readily understand the negative effects of micromanagement. However, the reality is that too many leaders, on appointment, find the temptation to interfere at a detailed level with their teams irresistible. This excellent article by Gallup gives the signs, causes and solutions to this damaging behaviour: http://bit.ly/AspireMCL062 It also highlights the benefits of adopting more of a coaching approach. To truly resist the danger of micromanagement, it is necessary

This is a really interesting report from HBR based on 10 years' research into the behaviours of successful CEOs: http://bit.ly/AspireMCL047 Note the high failure rate (25%) for those companies which misunderstand the requirements for success. The behaviours identified are: (1) Decisiveness - they realise they cannot wait for perfect information and that a wrong decision is often better than no decision. The most successful leaders quickly realise which decisions were right an

Effective decision-making is one of the key traits of effective leaders. This HBR article addresses some of the root issues that can result in bad decisions: http://bit.ly/AspireMCL046 In addition, we are all subject to different biases. For example, many tend to give more weight to the first bit of information they receive when considering a complex issue. Aspire MCL helps leaders develop decision-making competencies and the communications and motivational skills necessary f

Good article from Core Strengths about managing conflict in the workplace: https://www.corestrengths.com/managing-conflict-workplace/ It is difficult to overestimate the importance of fostering a culture of healthy and open debate when making a decision, but it remains elusive for many organisations. Often, time-pressed executives will push the 'discussion' to their pre-selected answer. Even when there is a genuine desire for more input, just asking for challenges frequently

Always encouraging to know that clients are benefitting from our services. Delighted to receive this recommendation from a finance director for a multi-national pharmaceutical company: "...an outstanding coach [who] guided us smoothly while we thrived as a team. His insightful approach to each team member during our program has been remarkable. I look forward to working with Ian in other programs." More testimonials can be found on our all-new website here: https://www.aspire

Below is a short but very helpful article by the Belbin team on 3 approaches to work that researchers identified as being helpful to managers in times of volatility. In summary, they are: - Organisational routines, which are also efficient when work is predictable. Many established work processes fall into this category. - Simple rules, or heuristics, which are rules of thumb that can provide shortcuts, speed up processes and decision-making, and prioritise the use of resour

In previous articles and blogs, I have made much of the business benefits of having engaged staff: lower staff turnover, fewer sick days and accidents, greater resilience and agility, etc. Higher profitability is the obvious outcome. In this blog I am going to look briefly at the costs and causes of burnout. A 2019 report by Gallup (https://bit.ly/AspireMCL121) found that 28% of employees experienced burnout 'always' or 'very often' (a further 48% experienced it 'sometimes').

Ian was interviewed by The Leaders Council for a national podcast last week. The Leaders Council is headed by Lord Blunkett and aims to equip the people who run the country and who keep the country running. The interview discussed what effective leadership is, what it looks like in the current crisis, and advice for new and senior leaders. The second part of the podcast features Sir Andrew Strauss, former England cricket captain, who also shares his thoughts on leadership. He

It's not that management is unimportant; far from it, but it is at times like this (crisis/massive change) that good leaders come to the fore and make a difference. Here's a useful article by HBR on leading through a crisis: https://bit.ly/3dRopD3 I would add that a key requirement is the need to be decisive (not rash!). Pushing into the unknown means that mistakes will be made, by you and by your teams. Acknowledge them, learn from them and move on. Want to develop your lead

Leadership is especially important in times such as these and it is particularly important for those in senior positions to act accordingly. Rule number one is: 'be decisive (but don't panic!)'. To quote from a helpful article by McKinsey and Co, "What leaders need during a crisis is not a predefined response plan but behaviours and mindsets that will prevent them from overreacting to yesterday’s developments and help them look ahead." (https://cutt.ly/XtjZmlj). Aspire MCL of

The benefits of employee engagement are well quantified and well known. They include higher morale, greater agility, lower staff turnover, better customer service and higher profitability (see the MacLeod Report for a full listing). However, Gallup's 2018 survey showed that only 11% of British workers are engaged. Despite the obvious competitive advantages of investing in programmes to increase employee engagement, too many managers and executives insist on using 'carrot and

Good, short article from Management Today about visionary leadership: http://bit.ly/Aspiremcl The reality is that there will always be some who are self-centred and will do almost anything to climb the 'greasy pole' for more money, power or to boost their egos. However, such an approach is not leadership and whilst it MAY generate some short-term wins, those who are willing to make more considered choices will create more value and growth for others as well as themselves. Vis

The business benefits of employee engagement are well known and include lower accident rates, fewer sick days, increased profits and lower staff turnover (saving not just money but time and stress as well!). The MacLeod Report, commissioned by the UK Govt, quantified some of these benefits. There is a clear link between good leadership and engagement. Here's a short article which elaborates on this fact with particular focus on the need to be respectful, communicate well and