Change – it STILL means opportunity and risk.

March 14 2014

What would you do if your business was coasting along nicely, but operating in a sector where 90% of providers were about to disappear due to changes in government policy? If recent UK experience is a guide, this is about to happen in the community services sector, specifically with providers of disability support services. It could equally be any sector involved in delivering services as an outsourced quasi-government provider. For many very good reasons, the National Disability Insurance Scheme has… Read more »

Research reveals credibility and positive returns for executive coaching.

February 10 2014

A study of nearly 500 business and human capital leaders found the demand for executive coaching services is growing: Almost 80% viewed coaching as credible and impactful in enhancing an individual’s effectiveness in driving the performance of an organisation Organisations are benefiting from a high return on investment (ROI) for executive coaching. More than three-quarters of enterprise executives view executive coaching as credible and valuable. Investment in coaching is on the rise as organisations strive to build ready pipelines of talent…. Read more »

Strategic Partnering

January 12 2014

Luc Bardin’s book Strategic Partnering: Remove Chance and Deliver Consistent Success (Kogan Page, 2014) shows the potentials and the pitfalls of Strategic Partnering and alliances. Performance improvements are possible, but some key factors must be in place before that is likely to be the outcome. These include there being a real need and desire for the change, and real potential value. A partnership can bring success only if it makes both partners strategically and sustainably stronger in the long run…. Read more »

Is there a secret to motivating others?

October 31 2013

It’s a classic conundrum. If the only really successful form of motivation is intrinsic (where a person motivates themselves) how can leaders effectively motivate anyone else at all? This is often a real challenge for new managers, as they find themselves having to achieve success through a team’s effort for the first time in their career.The transformational/transactional leadership model actually addresses this very problem. In a way it’s all about motivation.When you use transformational leadership, you tap into people’s desire… Read more »

Three ways to make a Performance Management system change-friendly

September 4 2013

Performance review systems can be great, or not so great. They can be encouraging, or punitive. We’ve noted on a post on our Gamechange site about the negative impact of Microsoft’s punitive “stack ranking” performance management system, which by ranking all employees along a bell curve, did more to destroy the company’s culture than anything else.   So can a performance management system not only be good, but also ‘change-friendly”? A story (link below) says yes – if it incorporates three key… Read more »

How do I select and manage to boost business performance?

August 25 2013

Business success is really created by team effort.   Two basic secrets to team member success have been identified in recent studies – and they are as obvious as ‘liking each other’ and ‘sharing similar worldviews’. Obvious maybe, but achieving them is another thing, as many of us know from our workplace experiences. Teams with low levels of trust or ‘liking’ tend to form sub-groups, cutting satisfaction and performance. But surprisingly, there’s evidence that even if team members don’t like… Read more »