It has been over three years since Steve Jobs died. Since then, books have been written and movies have been made.
Each has celebrated his legacy and aimed to share the secrets he used to build the largest company in the world; things like attention to detail, attracting world-class talent and holding them to high standards.
We think we understand what caused his success. We don’t.
We dismiss usable principles of success by labelling them as personality quirks.
What’s often missed is the paradoxical interplay of two of his seemingly opposite qualities; maniacal focus and insatiable curiosity. These weren’t just two random strengths. They may have been his most important as they helped lead to everything else.
It is understandable that many UK leaders will have started the year with a sense of trepidation. The impact of Brexit looms large and will come more sharply into focus when Article 50 is triggered. But business leaders cannot afford for 2017 to be just about planning to leave the EU.
There are too many other factors to take into consideration if leaders are to futureproof their organisations and ensure their workforces remain motivated and productive and able to compete on a world stage.
Leaders are fully aware of the characteristics they want their people to demonstrate in organisations. They want them to deliver results whilst maintaining good relationships, go the ‘extra mile’, to show initiative and take the lead as situations unfold.
Yet many employees don’t see the point in this philosophy. They just see ‘management’ wanting more out of them without giving anything in return. Why should they bother? It’s not my job to do this becomes the belief of the day!
As the global economic crisis rumbles on with continuing uncertainty and no light at the end of the tunnel, many employees are weary, worn down, battered and bruised.
They may no longer be inspired by their job but trapped by the economic environment, creating mixed feelings towards their employer resulting in them operating below their potential.
The motivation they feel is negative – pushing themselves out of a fear of what might happen, terrified of losing their job if they do not achieve targets and results. This type of motivation is unsustainable and leads to under performance, burnout and eventually the loss of skilled workers.
The challenge facing leaders is how not only how to engage workforces and get the best out but how to keep them focused, motivated and, ultimately, in the right mindset.
The current business and economic climate is causing many business organisations to reassess how they perform on a daily basis. Over the past few decades a great deal of money has been spent on leadership and management development programmes but we now have to ask ourselves what we do next.
In today’s competitive environment, only high performing organisations will survive. There is intense pressure, leaving little or no margin for error. Keeping ahead of the competition demands a leadership team who understand that both individual and group contributions are paramount in order for the organisation to succeed.
Career transition advice historically helps clients do things like create a barnstorming CV, practise to ace an interview, develop mind blowing propositions or build a 30” sales pitch – as if they were simply goals to knock over.
At Rialto, we increasingly think goals alone are insufficient. A focus on goals doesn’t seem to work that well in today’s volatile world which is why much careers advice isn’t worth getting. So instead of goals, adopt a systems approach to career transition.
Who will lead the company in five years’ time?
How confident are you that the people in your leadership have the potential to step up to the next level and ultimately to the C-suite?
Not everyone who excels in a senior management position have the capability to move into an executive leadership role. Succession risk at the executive tier is a critical issue so how can organisations ensure that they have the right people in their leadership pipeline that are able to step up to senior level. Is now the time to consider executive coaching?
Organisations are constantly seeking new ways to ensure their management and employees are more productive and their businesses are more profitable.
Many companies have created rigorous strategic plans that don’t come close to delivering the required outcomes. According to research, the average team achieves only 63% of the objectives of their strategic plans.(Source: Harvard Business Review 2005).
The key issues of a high performance team include, how well the team communicates, aligns itself around top initiatives, creates short term/long-term plans and holds themselves accountable to deliver the required results.
Rialto approaches team development and effectiveness in the context of an organisations vision, mission and business goals. We build leadership and management capability at all levels of the organisation ensuring that unique team attributes and skills are aligned towards achieving desired business results.
We utilise models and practices that successfully address teamwork, emotional intelligence, networking, influencing others, improving team performance and managing difficult conversations through effective coaching and talent assessment techniques.
It is understandable that many UK leaders will have started the year with a sense of trepidation. The impact of Brexit looms large and will come more sharply into focus when Article 50 is triggered. But business leaders cannot afford for 2017 to be just about planning to leave the EU. There are too many other factors to take into consideration if leaders are to future-proof their organisations and ensure their work-forces remain motivated and productive and able to compete on a world stage.
