This old adage is so true whether applied to recruitment methods, meetings or retaining talent to name but a few areas.
Blog
Tin or Aluminium?
What can they tell us about leadership? What, you may ask, am I talking about? This year is my 10 year wedding anniversary, and I was curious to know what traditionally represents 10 years of marriage. The answer is two metals - tin and aluminium - which represent the durability and flexibility of a loving union.
I find it interesting that these metals represent 10 years in a year when durability and flexibility couldn’t be more relevant. It's true that we've all had to be flexible, adapt, and consider how to be in order to work through, bounce back, and last through and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Durability; the quality of permanence or strength that keeps something working or holds it together. Our personal and work relationships are being tested. The psychological work contract will never be the same again. People are now asking "Do I want to do this? What do I need in order to do my job? What is important to me?".
As leaders and managers in business, you will need to be able to respond to new ways of working and consider what this will look like for your teams and your business as a whole. How will you lead in this agile world? What do you need to do differently? In many organisations, the need for employees to be physically present five days a week in an office environment will now be a thing of the past. Managers and leaders who manage by “command and control” will find this transition less than easy, but in an agile world this type of management style doesn't engage teams or result in productive output. You need to individually adapt to the people you lead, and may have a different psychological contract with each member of your team.
As I write this, I'm wondering if this is actually so different. Didn't great people-managers already do this? They knew each of their teams members and adapted their styles to get the best out of each person, knowing just as much about their star performer as they do about their poorer performers.
What is perhaps heightened even more at this time is the need for great people managers to create a sense of community. As a leader you need to create a sense of purpose and belonging for each individual in your team, and give clarity on how each individual contributes to the team and the overall company goals. Clarity of objectives with measurable outcomes is important. You can never have enough communication. and we've learned this even more during the past few months. Build and keep an open dialogue with each member of your team. Listen to hear.
Realise that even though the world has changed, for great people managers it hasn’t changed so much;
Aspire to create a durable community; a strong team that lasts, and;
Do it together.
I find it interesting that these metals represent 10 years in a year when durability and flexibility couldn’t be more relevant. It's true that we've all had to be flexible, adapt, and consider how to be in order to work through, bounce back, and last through and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Durability; the quality of permanence or strength that keeps something working or holds it together. Our personal and work relationships are being tested. The psychological work contract will never be the same again. People are now asking "Do I want to do this? What do I need in order to do my job? What is important to me?".
As leaders and managers in business, you will need to be able to respond to new ways of working and consider what this will look like for your teams and your business as a whole. How will you lead in this agile world? What do you need to do differently? In many organisations, the need for employees to be physically present five days a week in an office environment will now be a thing of the past. Managers and leaders who manage by “command and control” will find this transition less than easy, but in an agile world this type of management style doesn't engage teams or result in productive output. You need to individually adapt to the people you lead, and may have a different psychological contract with each member of your team.
As I write this, I'm wondering if this is actually so different. Didn't great people-managers already do this? They knew each of their teams members and adapted their styles to get the best out of each person, knowing just as much about their star performer as they do about their poorer performers.
What is perhaps heightened even more at this time is the need for great people managers to create a sense of community. As a leader you need to create a sense of purpose and belonging for each individual in your team, and give clarity on how each individual contributes to the team and the overall company goals. Clarity of objectives with measurable outcomes is important. You can never have enough communication. and we've learned this even more during the past few months. Build and keep an open dialogue with each member of your team. Listen to hear.
Realise that even though the world has changed, for great people managers it hasn’t changed so much;
Aspire to create a durable community; a strong team that lasts, and;
Do it together.
Blog Posts
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“If you do what you’ve always done; you’ll get what you’ve always got”Posted by Jacqueline Jardine - Tuesday, 22nd February 2022 at 11:30am
This old adage is so true whether applied to recruitment methods, meetings or retaining talent to name but a few areas.
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One of the positives of the pandemic is that there is no longer the monopoly on leadership due to position.Posted by Jacqueline Jardine - Friday, 17th December 2021 at 9:30am
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I have previously written about "Belonging - what does this mean to you?" (http://j-w-c.co.uk/blog-display/293). I want to now build on this and consider it from a team's perspective and what it means if you are a manager leading a team currently.Posted by Jacqueline Jardine - Wednesday, 8th December 2021 at 8:15am
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Earlier this year, I completed my Mental Health First Aider Training (MHFA) England, something I had wanted to do for a little while.Posted by Jacqueline Jardine - Friday, 19th November 2021 at 8:15am
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Recently, I was delivering the "First 90 Days in your New Role" for LHH. This is a workshop which generates great discussion around helping people who are still interviewing to find their next appropriate opportunity and to think about how they would answer this question at interview.Posted by Jacqueline Jardine - Tuesday, 21st September 2021 at 3:15pm
