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Personal Business Coach
Inspired Development and Coaching |
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A sense of urgency
I recently met with the Managing Director of an electronics group in the South West. He is looking to bring us in to his company to work with his senior team. He explained to me that he wanted them to step up to the challenge of working with him in a collaborative manner to craft a vision and strategy for the business. A strategy that was appropriate to the current challenging times. He told me that most of all he wanted them to create a compelling sense of urgency around the business.
What I found really refreshing in talking to this man is that, although he is clear the business is facing substantial change and this needs to be proactively managed, he is evidently excited and invigorated by the challenge. He views it positively, as an opportunity. He is keen for his executive team to share his excitement and his belief that the company will succeed and grow.
What is more, he told me that he had chosen to invest in development at this time precisely because the business situation is becoming challenging. It is now that I need to invest, he said to me, because I must get the best from my key people.
As I sat to write my third article on the subject of managing change in difficult times, this leader immediately came to mind as a model of some key points about effectively managing change. First, he was, as I said, excited and stimulated by change, it was not something he was shrinking form. Secondly, he realized that now was when he was going to get the best returns on focused investment in top team development. Thirdly, he realized that this started with dialogue. Finally, he saw change as opportunity and told me that, in his view, there were more opportunities in times of change than steady state. All of which I found to be refreshing thinking. I have no doubt that this is a business that will survive and indeed thrive in the recession.
Clearly then, some of my top tips in this article are contained in the thinking of this man. Others that I would add, that follow the theme set in the last article, are:
Work with the informal process
Manage by wandering around (MBWA)
Support and encourage a spirit of experimentation
Challenge taken for granted assumptions
Encourage contention within the formal process
Promote “inquiry” into where change is happening
Find and engage people who care
Work piecemeal and locally, not with the whole organization at once
Change happens in dialogue – connect people across the organization and get people talking across silos
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