July 15, 2018
British businesses missing key productivity and skills boost by ignoring military veterans
Businesses are missing out on key opportunities to boost their skills base and productivity by not effectively employing well-qualified former military personnel, according to new information released by The Institute of Leadership & Management. According to The Institute, 86 per cent of veterans say business managers still don’t understand how military honed skills can transfer into boosting businesses on civvy street. Coinciding with both Armed Forces Day and the 100th anniversary year of the ending of World War One, The Institute of Leadership & Management has released its new report Tales of Transition (registration required), which claims to identify the barriers to helping ex-forces personnel enter the civilian workplace. The report also details the steps that business leaders can take to support the transition of around 15,000 people who leave the UK Regular Armed Forces each year.
Nearly half of UK managers (45.1 percent) are ill-prepared for the role, and a quarter (25 percent) of employees say their manager does not have the right skills for effective management, claims new research by Bridge by Instructure. The study, based on interviews of 1,000 managers and employees across the UK on their attitudes towards both management and learning and development, revealed that more than half of those who responded (53.4 percent) think managers need more training to perform as a manager and, almost half (45 percent) think managers need to be given time to operate as a manager rather than having those responsibilities ‘bolted on’ to their existing role. 
The way to measure an employer’s speed of innovation includes how they find talent, their appraisal process, how employees recommend the organisation they work for to others, and how much employees collaborate, claims a new European study by Cornerstone OnDemand and IDC. “Future Culture: Building a Culture of Innovation in the Age of Digital Transformation” explores the relationship between European organisations’ speed of innovation and talent management, with the research showing that firms with a steady stream of new products and services are more likely to have an ongoing feedback process with employees, rather than an annual performance review, while organisations with a slower rate of innovation often use coaching and mentoring to develop employees.
Almost half (49 percent) of companies are struggling to find skilled workers as digitisation and automation cause significant change in the skills businesses look for in professionals, according to new data from Robert Half UK. As a result, one fifth (21 percent) are now looking to recruit candidates with exceptional soft skills, with a view to developing the desired technical skills on the job. In the Robert Half research, UK business leaders consider an openness to new ideas (28 percent), an openness to change (26 percent) and good communication abilities (19 percent) as key attributes and will prioritise these areas when considering new talent. Digitisation and automation are rapidly evolving the business world. Companies are having to quickly adapt to the changing world of work, and are looking for employees who can keep pace,” says Matt Weston, UK Managing Director at Robert Half.
June 25, 2018
Leading with purpose is the signature strength of a great leader
by Ben Renshaw • Comment, Workplace
Know your past to understand your future
Early in our relationship I asked him about his philosophy about leadership to learn why he did what he did and what he thought about the value of his role. It was a short conversation. David’s response was that he wasn’t a leader, he was a technocrat (although he was already accountable for over 3,000 people), and his role was to deliver the numbers. I realized that going head on into leadership was not the answer. I suggested that we step back and explore what had shaped his career so far and to explore implications for his future. He agreed and quickly told me that his life had been uneventful and therefore it would be a short conversation. Two hours later we were still in the middle of running through David’s life experience and we had to reschedule for the next day. Three more hours and David had painted a rich picture of his lifeline and the impact on his career and leadership.
There were three key values that stood out from his story – doing the right thing, setting high standards and getting the job done. These were paramount for David, strongly influenced by his father who had been a significant role model. When we looked at his purpose David was less clear. He knew that he thrived on change and challenging the status quo. He was at his best when required to achieve stretching targets. He was passionate about showing loyalty to others, including friends and family. We explored his purpose until he arrived at an end point, ”Being a creator of opportunity”. This resonated wholeheartedly and ignited his fire.
Leading leaders
I asked David what it would be like if rather than thinking traditionally about adopting a leadership role he committed to being purpose-led? He was unsure at first because it didn’t seem tangible enough. I followed up by challenging him to define what being purpose-led would look like if he was to follow being a creator of opportunity on a daily basis? He described the following:
• seek new horizons for the company to grow;
• encourage people to develop and succeed;
• embrace problems as a way to learn and continuously improve;
• build relationships to develop better outcomes;
• stay energized to be at the top of his game;
• leave a legacy for the company, products and people to be in a better place than when he arrived.
By connecting with the evidence of being purpose-led, David tapped into his own internal drive to be the best he could be. I then asked him to consider what would happen if these six factors became the backbone of his own leadership framework. He got it. For the first time David was able to make an authentic linkage between what was most important to him and leadership, rather than it appearing like a dry theoretical concept.
Next, we evolved his framework into a living and breathing way of leading. We created a map which gave him the clarity about what his leadership could look like:
David found that by putting his purpose at the heart of his leadership he was able to integrate what was most important for him and remove previous conflict about how to lead.
What is your purpose?
Purpose is the catalyst for personal meaning and reason for being. Your purpose is the glue that binds teams together and the inspiration that enables organizations to outperform. It is the meeting point between your passion and your talent. When you are on purpose you unlock the necessary skillset to thrive in today’s complex world.
So, what is your purpose? To discover your purpose requires an open mind and a genuine willingness focused on peak experiences in your life. Here are three steps to help you find your purpose:
1. Identify peak moments. Ask yourself, when have you been at your best? Most fulfilled? Happiest? For instance, playing sports, travelling the world, hitting goals.
2. Make meaning. What was it about these events that made them so significant? For example, unleashing passion, learning new things and achieving success.
3. Define your why. Reflect upon why your big themes inspire you and how you would describe your ultimate reason for existence.
Once you have found your purpose you are in a position to define what success would look like to be purpose-led. Translating your success measures into actions enables you to lead with purpose every-day. This will become what you are known for, what you are appreciated for and what will bring you ultimate fulfilment.
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