In this newsletter I return to Nancy Kline’s book “Time to Think”.  She claims that “everything we do depends on the thinking we do first” and “our thinking depends on our attention to each other”.

I believe she is right and this time I want to pick up her second point that “our thinking depends on our attention to each other”.  She says that “attention – the act of listening with palatable respect and fascination is key to the Thinking Environment”.  [1]

We think we listen, but we don’t.  We finish each other’s sentences; we interrupt each other, fill in the pauses with our own opinions, give advice and come in too soon with our own ideas.  In our haste to present our views and say what’s on our minds we sometimes miss what others might have contributed had we listened and asked questions to help our understanding.  These could be questions such as “What do you really think about this new idea?” “How might we make it a better one?”

I suspect that the more senior you are in an organisation the more important it is to listen.   Peers and staff are less likely to proffer their thoughts and ideas if they think their views will be disregarded by a more senior person in the organisation.

Kline claims that the times when she has just listened with no intervention at all have resulted in the best outcomes.  She cites the example of a woman trying to decide the next step in developing her herb garden project and opening it to the public.   Kline says that she said nothing apart from a few “hmms” and at the end of the conversation the woman thanked her enthusiastically because she’d been so helpful!

So the challenge this year, certainly for myself, is to become a more attentive listener, particularly for the more strategic and difficult issues, but also to listen to those who are prepared to question you with a “but what about . . .?” rather than “oh yes, what a good idea . ..”   What will be the challenge for you in this regard?

There has been much said and written about the virtues of coaching and whether it adds value to an individual’s performance and, indeed, an organisation’s performance.  As part of re-launching the executive coaching offered by Hafton Consultancy I am giving three clients two sessions for the price of one (£100 including VAT).  This will be on a first come first served basis.

Research carried out by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) showed that, when asked about effectiveness, 67% regard coaching by line managers as ‘effective’ or ‘very effective’ and  91% judge coaching by external practitioners to be ‘effective’ or ‘very effective’ showing that coaching by external coaches is considered to be more effective as a means of learning.   For senior managers and Chief Executives, external coaching may be the answer, particularly where line manager coaching is not really an option.

The research carried out by CIPD went on to ask the participating organisations if they were measuring and assessing the impact of their coaching interventions. Rather than solely relying on participants’ perceptions, the feedback showed that organisations were making considerable efforts to assess the impact of coaching including :-

• feedback from participants’ line managers,
• assessing changes in individual performance or career progress,
• measuring achievement of goals set at the beginning of the coaching and
• assessing changes in the culture of the organisation.

By taking the trouble to look at these measures organisations can at least have some idea of whether coaching is making a difference to their managers’ learning, confidence and performance.

Clients I have coached say they have greatly benefitted from the space to talk and think through a range of conflicting issues, and to clarify how they can plan and make major changes.  This is particularly the case when under a burgeoning workload.  The coaching, they said, gave them the vision and clarity they needed to make the change happen.  Coaching, in my experience, whether I am being coached myself or am coaching others, needs to be outcome focussed.   To that end having some specific actions with measures of what success will look like helps the person being coached to know when they’re headed in the right direction.

So does coaching make a difference?  Why not give it a try?  As I said at the beginning I am offering three clients two sessions for the price of one (£100).  These sessions will be for up to one hour each and can be done via telephone or face-to-face at a London venue.  There is no catch but you will be asked to agree to give feedback at the end.

At a time when pay rises are lagging behind inflation how do you keep your staff motivated to give their best performance when there are no pay rises on offer?

Pay is considered a “hygiene factor” along with job security and fringe benefits. This means if you get it right there is no positive satisfaction, but if you get it wrong then it can lead to dissatisfaction and disengagement from staff.

As mentioned in my last newsletter focusing on staff engagement has come to the fore for senior managers. Many senior HR professionals have recognised that making sure staff understand the value of their “total package”, which is extrinsic to the work itself, such as pension, work conditions and work environment as well as career development and progression, has been a key focus.

This is particularly prevalent with top performers. How do you keep your top performers from straying to the competition? They are unlikely to move for a small increase in pay but they might believe that the competition has a more supportive and positive organisational culture and decide that it would be worth the risk. Some organisations have tried introducing enhanced training opportunities and benefits for their star performers in order to keep them sweet.

Recent articles have also highlighted the importance of clearly communicating the rationale for pay decisions, particularly when employees see that the organisation is making reasonable profits, but hoarding these gains rather than giving a cost of living increase which matches inflation. Compare this practice with organisations, such the John Lewis Partnership where staff received a 17% bonus this year. Sir Stuart Hampson, a former chair of the John Lewis Partnership tells the story of the rushed opening of their out-of-town store in High Wycombe earlier this year. Hearing of problems, staff from other shops travelled to the new store on the Sunday before it opened to help clean and prepare it. “They said, it’s our shop, our customers, our reputation, we’re not going to have it anything other than ready to open”.

The light at the end of the economic tunnel still seems far off and we may not be able to replicate the John Lewis Partnership model but there are still plenty of creative ways to keep staff engaged in this cold climate!

Please contact Hafton Consultancy if you want to talk through your organisation’s approach and ideas: annastobart@haftonconsultancy.com

A recent report published by Working Families, an organisation which campaigns for better work-life balance, looked at the link between long-term sustainable performance within businesses and individual performance.  The report found a clear link between individual performance, their level of trust and the overall level of productivity.

Trust: the key to building well-being and performance in the workplace found that trust between staff and their employer is “critical” for driving high levels of performance and motivation and went on to identify eight drivers for building trust.  These included:-  

Employers need to consider all eight of these trust drivers to move towards optimal performance.  However, “truly understanding how individuals are motivated at work provides not just the gateway to optimal performance, something sought by every organisation, but also an environment where every person can flourish,” their lead researcher and consultant said.

How do you think your organisation compares alongside these drivers?  Does your organisation have an environment where staff thrive and flourish or is there more you need to do to cultivate a culture of trust?