When you see the word “leadership” what does it conjure up for you? Do you think leaders should lead from the front? Do you think they should follow the servant-leader principle? Can anyone be a leader or do you have to be in a position of authority? In the present climate everyone is being called to play their part, and this may mean stepping up to lead so that you give your best and encourage others to do the best they can in every situation. Is this what you do? As we’re always encouraging people to allow their best to be seen, we have recently decided to change the Wisborough strap line to “Celebrating the Best in Everyone”. We used to talk about celebrating the hero in everyone but at this time people often think that this sounds too macho an approach.  

If you look at the section here on employee engagement, or the information about the Wisborough leadership programmes we offer, you’ll see that we think good leaders have clarity of vision and expectations, alongside the ability to care for, and be genuinely interested in the people they are working with. And so “Celebrating the Best in Everyone” seems to sit more comfortably with the values that underpin our work. 

Besides a focus on engagement in this Latest News, we’ve some thoughts to help you work out what to do when change in your organisation is getting stuck, plus some info and dates for the Autumn Conscious Leadership Programme. We’re launching a new “open” Programme for leadership called Positive & Powerful Leadership, and Musings over Breakfast considers consciousness  

At the moment we’re working with an organisation to change the management culture and so this prompted us to include this model that you may find helpful if you are trying to bring about change in your organisation. 

For change to happen A x B x C > D  

where 

 A is discontent with the current situation,  

 B is the vision of the future,  

 C is the way (the yellow brick road), and  

 D is the pain of change.  

Therefore, if A, B or C are zero, no change will happen. Nor will it happen if D is too great. 

 If people believe that the current situation is just fine, they will not want to change (A = 0).  

 Similarly, if they don't have a vision of the future, of how good it could be, then they will not change (B = 0).  

 They may be dissatisfied with the present, and able to see how good the future could be, but not able to see how to get from A to B (C = 0). Again they will not want to change.  

 Finally A, B and C might all be in place, but if there is a belief that D could be huge, e.g. the fear is very high, everyone will bury their heads in the sand, and there will be no change.  

You will have noticed that this model is based on perception. In other words, what people believe the situation to be. If we are to be committed to a change we have to believe that A x B x C is greater than D. We have to be able to recognise this for ourselves. 

For people to want to change they need to be aware of the current situation. They need to know what they like about it, what's comfortable, and also what is uncomfortable, what they don't like. We don't want people to be so disgruntled that they choose to leave, but we do want them to be conscious of the problems of the situation, rather than seeing it through rose tinted glasses or wishful thinking. We have to help people work out for themselves their view of the current situation. 

People also need to have a clear vision of how things will be, after the change. Again, it helps if they can see this for themselves. For instance, what is the vision of the company in two years time, e.g what product range do you want, what will the turnover be, how will production be running, what company structure do you want, etc. You can then take this to others and ask them how it fits with their vision of the future, how they might see themselves in the new situation, how good it could feel.  

This then leads easily on to - how are we going to get there? Again people can be involved in their own area. Everyone can see how they can contribute to achieve the vision. Some will contribute more than others, but all will be a part of the process. 

Finally, what about D? This is often forgotten when helping people manage change. We're all so busy being enthusiastic, we can forget to address people's fear of the pain. There will always be some pain. There will be loss - people's jobs will change, work colleagues and relationships will change, people will lose their old work environment. At another level, there will be financial cost and a lot of effort and hard work. 

Unless these difficulties are accurately identified, some people's imagination will run riot as the fear settles in. The perception of the pain will then be so great it will totally outweigh A x B X C. People need help to identify their fears and to know what the facts are, as far as predictions are possible. If they are to be committed, they need to be able to work the equation out for themselves. 

The company also needs to know what the costs will be, (often from the people who will experience them), so that the way (the yellow brick road) can take them into account, and go round them, through them, or over them. People will be able to see that their fears are being taken into account and addressed. So, the planning will also need to include how to build in support. How are people going to help each other during the change? What will everyone need from each other? 

Is it time for you to plan a change and begin to identify your As, Bs, Cs, and Ds? Could the model help you with a change your company is anticipating? We hope so.  

There are only six places on this advanced Programme, so that you can really focus on the specific work you need to do to become more effective. 

“Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness ... is a matter of conscious choice” (Jim Collins) The Wisborough Conscious Leadership Programme is designed to give you insights and the confidence to become a great leader; one that people know that they can trust, because they know you are authentic. They know that you are solid, have integrity, and that you have a real understanding of their needs and the needs of the organisation.  

In this uncertain climate there aren’t always rules to follow, so you have to be able to discern the best way forward. There are often different views and you have to be able to find a way through the disagreements and still take people with you as you find a solution. To be able to lead in this way you have to have an enormous level of self-awareness and self-confidence.  

The Wisborough Conscious Leadership Programme will give you the resilience and the skills you need to create the right conditions for success. It will help you to become conscious of the positions you take and your motives, conscious of your values and the way you are using them to make decisions, and conscious of the consequences of your actions. It will help you make the right choices and put them into action for success. 

The dates for the Autumn Programme are:  

Companies who have the edge have teams who are engaged and so want to give their best, leading to a higher level of performance, and a greater commitment. Would people in your team say that you: 

Are approachable, and honest and open 

Have a strategic vision 

Trust me and delegate well, and let me get on with the job 

Take genuine interest in my development and help me achieve a good work / life balance 

Keep things interesting 

Are knowledgeable 

Are not judgemental 

Listen to me, involve me, and respect me 

Are enthusiastic and inspiring? 

According to the IES research in 2009 this is what people said about managers who know how to engage the team.  

Where teams were disengaged managers often 

Lacked empathy and interest in people 

Failed to listen and communicate 

Were self-centred 

Didn’t motivate or inspire 

Blamed others and didn’t take responsibility  

Were aggressive 

Lacked self awareness 

Didn’t deliver. 

Managers who were able to engage their team, resulting in higher performance, were able to: 

Clearly communicate their expectations 

Listen to and involve, and value the team, and be actively interested in others 

Be supportive, show empathy, and back people up 

Be target focused 

Keep a clear strategic vision. 

It seems that the Global Leadership Alliance definition of leadership (“Leaders see a better future and have the resilience and interpersonal skills to create conditions in which it will happen”) is correct. It clearly shows that managers need to be able to demonstrate qualities and behaviours that show good leadership, rather than simply good management, if they are to truly engage their teams in achieving results for success. 

With leadership and employee engagement in mind we’ve decided to offer another open leadership programme. This is shorter and cheaper than the Conscious Leadership Programme and, although has less depth is great value. The new programme, Positive & Powerful Leadership, works best when delegates are supported by senior managers who have attended the Conscious Leadership Programme. The Programme has been used successfully “in house” by organisations for a number of years and so, we are now also offering it as an “open” programme.  

The Positive & Powerful Leadership Programme will help you to use your emotions intelligently to build positive relationships and communicate powerfully.  

 Create positive and effective relationships  

 Motivate your team  

 Identify and use your sources of power 

 Put your point of view persuasively 

 Manage change effectively 

 Resolve conflict 

 Understand why your feelings get in the way and how you can manage them 

 Communicate positively and confidently 

Day 1: will identify your leadership qualities, show you how to manage your emotions and build powerful relationships within your teams by communicating in ways that create real understanding with others. Day 2: will help you understand your team and how to motivate them to get the best results, and will give you time to practise your skills with real issues  

Then you will have a couple of weeks to practise your skills back at your workplace and see some great results ready for  

Day 3: which will show you how to take your team with you through times of change, how to resolve conflict, and how you can use your power as you continue to develop your skills  

Leadership is about hearts and minds. It’s about helping people really engage with their work and the success of the company. As the leader you need to have the resilience and interpersonal skills to create the right conditions to build a better future. This Wisborough Programme will give you the insights and skills you need to help you and your team, give your best performance, and achieve the results you want.  

This non-residential Programme, for a maximum of 6 delegates, will be held in West Sussex. We are ideally located - 30 minutes from Brighton & Chichester and only an hour and a quarter from London, Victoria, by train. The dates for the Positive & Powerful Leadership Programme are 27th & 28th September & 8th October. The Programme costs £1250 or £1100 (+ vat) if booked 6 weeks in advance. 

Our leadership programme is called “Conscious Leadership” but what do we mean by consciousness? It has come up several times in books we have been reading recently. To us, it means being aware of what you are doing and why you are doing it at the time you are doing it. So, fully experiencing every moment. 

On our leadership programme we help people to be authentic and do what they do because they believe it is the right thing to do, rather than be driven to do it by guilt or anger. We want people to be conscious of their feelings so that they can choose what to do, rather than simply react. In this context consciousness is about being able to “witness” what is happening, e.g. “I notice that I’m upset again”, and then letting it go. 

Consciousness also means being fully present in the moment, being totally focused on what I’m doing at the moment. It means that I am not getting caught up in thoughts about the past or the future, e.g. thinking about what I should have said earlier, or what I am going to do if this goes wrong. I am in the situation I find myself in at the moment, and I am working with that. If I am in conversation with you, you will have my total attention.