tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27648205004571763452024-03-19T14:00:31.858+00:00Executive PresenceSarah Brummitt Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534032590056918350noreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2764820500457176345.post-27862747874017759102024-03-19T14:00:00.001+00:002024-03-19T14:00:00.138+00:00Anyone else suffering from cognitive overload?I’ve been experiencing cognitive overload recently. <br /><br />In simple terms, it happens when the brain is overwhelmed with information and in the context of learning, I’ve found <i>myself </i>on the receiving end of it during this past month. To deliver some work for a client, I have been asked to learn, understand, synthesise, and then translate content which I have not created, but need to deliver.<br /><br />Oh my.<br /><br />As I reviewed the material, I experienced all sorts of anxiety. There was way too much information, so my attention started to wander. There were far too many concepts, so it was hard to distinguish the threads of connection and purpose of understanding it all. There were way too many builds, so I quickly realised that each slide was going to be a long slog. There were too many bullets, which meant that the density of each point weighed heavily on my mind and finally, there was just <i>far too much complexity</i>.<br /><br />So what?<br /><br />Yet again I’m drawn to how this experience relates to the way in which we need to influence, persuade, and engage others in our professional lives. For the audience, it needs to feel relevant, straightforward, clear, ‘risk free’, light on the head, the heart, and the hands.<br /><br />Our challenge with communication as leaders is to come out of the density, provide the clarity and know when to stop.<br /><br />That’s my cue.<br /><br />Until next time….Sarah Brummitt Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534032590056918350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2764820500457176345.post-34865124974581543172024-02-20T14:00:00.001+00:002024-03-19T11:26:43.274+00:00Simplicity Doesn't Mean Stupidity In The World Of CommunicationAs leaders we continually strive to take complexity out of our businesses, out of our processes, out of our decision making… and we do so to drive agility. Makes sense, doesn’t it?<div><br /></div><b>However… I’m continually struck by how we don’t take the same approach when it comes to our communication.<br /></b><br />My conversations with clients this month have focused on pitches that are too long, presentation slide decks that are too dense (and which no-one understands), answers that are too detailed, and opinions that are too unstructured… the list is endless.<br /><br />So, what’s going on here? I cannot decide if it’s driven by a lack of confidence, a need to demonstrate the ‘right’ to be in the room, a power play, a misunderstanding about what influence <i>really means</i>, a belief that our value is in our technical expertise so we need to talk about it extensively in our messaging, a desire to avoid being perceived as stupid or incompetent or something else entirely.<div><br /></div><b>Whatever the rationale, let’s be clear – simplicity of message doesn’t mean stupidity… it means <i>clarity. </i></b>It also means agility. We can only be agile if we remove complexity from our communication.<br /><br />So, if you want to influence others, get support for your ideas, drive momentum to get things done, achieve your objectives, get more time back on your calendar, increase your satisfaction and improve your relationships with colleagues and customers alike, then focus on simplifying your message.<br /><br />Simplicity doesn’t mean stupidity; it means <i>clarity</i>.<br /><br />Until next time….<div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div>Sarah Brummitt Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534032590056918350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2764820500457176345.post-53748657565004457722024-01-16T14:00:00.002+00:002024-03-19T11:22:49.656+00:00Concise, Compelling Communication Isn’t EasyThe new year has begun with international travel to work with clients in the world of law, life sciences, energy, finance and professional services; and even though January <i>still isn’t over</i>, I’m reminded of a stark reality for professionals everywhere. It is simply this: concise, compelling communication isn’t easy. Unless we really hone the essential skills which underpin an influential message; it’s a common error to fall into the trap of ‘blah, blah, blah’. What do I mean by that? I mean <i>too much</i> has been said, or <i>the focus isn’t right or the level of detail doesn’t suit the requirements of the audience</i>.<div><br />Concise, compelling communication means:<br /><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Rigour on the objective for the message. What do you want achieve <i>specifically</i> by the end of it?<br /><br /></li><li>Structure is paramount. A 3-part narrative stops the waffle. If we’re not clear on the sections of our message, it’s impossible to organise and convey our message effectively.<br /><br /></li><li>Grab the audience’s attention at the beginning. The goal is that they ‘lean in and listen’, rather than ‘lean back and check out’.<br /><br /></li><li>STAR moments. Every engaging message needs these. What are they? Something They’ll Always Remember.<br /><br /></li><li>Context – why should they care about what you’re saying? Be clear on this <i>early on</i>.<br /><br /></li><li>Ask – if you’re influencing you’re asking for something. What is it <i>exactly</i>?</li></ul>Until next time...<br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><br /><p></p></div>Sarah Brummitt Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534032590056918350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2764820500457176345.post-57289219844977363702023-11-17T15:54:00.001+00:002024-01-12T15:57:47.132+00:00Think You’re a Good Coach? Think Again…My conversations this month have focused on coaching as part of developing a bespoke coaching programme for senior leaders, and the challenge of highly experienced sales leaders coaching their sales teams. I am reminded again of what the data tells us and has been telling us for years and it’s stark: <i>you’re not as good a coach as you think.</i><br /><br />Research going back more than 20 years has reinforced engagement surveys of several global brands with whom I have partnered for more than a decade. All of them - yes all of them - reinforce what Daniel Goleman talked about when he asked executives to self-assess their coaching capability and compare it to the perception of their skills from the people whom they coached. There was a mismatch - a significant one - and this difference I have come across repeatedly. <br /><br />So, irrespective how long we’ve coached, how do leaders <i>everywhere </i>really need to sharpen their coaching skills?<br /><br />Here are my top tips:<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Get your ‘why coach’ story clear to improve buy-in, because otherwise your team don’t get it, won’t see the value of it and it won’t work.</li><li>Don’t save coaching for 1:1s. Brilliant coaches effortlessly coach within everyday conversations. Coaching isn’t a ‘special event’ where you ‘do some coaching’.</li><li>Having said that, make sure you understand what 1:1s <i>really are.</i> They are very different types of conversations from all the other discussions and so the chance to have a rich, expansive, extensive coaching discussion during 1:1s.</li><li>Each person in your team should have a development plan (irrespective of whether or not they want climb the career ladder in the future). Why? Because we all get tired and stale in our role if we don’t – and worse – we don’t even realise it.</li><li>Understand the difference between coaching, mentoring, advising, directing, empowering, motivating, enthusing, influencing and how <i>it can transform the engagement and performance of your people</i> no matter how long they’ve been in post, how skilled they are, how engaged they are. </li><li>Stop passing the buck. If your team aren’t continually improving their capabilities …then <i>that’s on you.</i> It’s the job of a leader to improve the capabilities of their team <i>and keep them engaged.</i></li><li>You’ve <i>always</i> got time for it. If you talk to your teams every day, then you’ve got time to coach…because that’s where you can coach brilliantly.</li><li>Prepare better for the discussion with <i>far better</i> questions.</li><li>Stop telling all the time. Coaching helps people think, act, and own their own success.</li><li>Show up fully and stay present… your emails, pings, messages etc. can all wait. If they can’t, you’re not delegating sufficiently and developing your team to be able to step away from madness and have quality time with your team.</li><li>No-one is perfect. No matter how superb your team are, everyone can hone their skills. Always. Ask any high performance athlete. Who do they credit when they conquer the world in their chosen sport? Their coach.</li></ul>Sarah Brummitt Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534032590056918350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2764820500457176345.post-88500790861633698442023-10-13T15:50:00.002+01:002024-01-12T15:53:54.901+00:003 Of The Biggest Mistakes Hybrid Leaders Everywhere Need To AvoidSo, how’s it going so far, being back in the office? Is it all sparkles and sunshine? Or is it a bit of a grind and with rumbling dissatisfaction amongst some quarters? My conversations with clients across a number of industries and geographic regions this month have focused almost exclusively of the value of bringing people together in the office, and the challenge which hybrid leaders everywhere face when it comes to getting it right. Here are 3 of the biggest mistakes (let’s call them regrets or learnings shall we, to be a bit more positive), that the experiences so far have revealed:<br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>A ‘Tell Rather Than Involve’ Mentality<br /></b>The default human reaction to change is consistent; we worry as human beings about <i>what we might lose.</i> So, as our teams consider doing battle with the commute, and let me be clear, some of our employees <i>can’t wait to get back to the office, </i>the mistake to avoid is issuing edicts. ‘You must’/ ‘You are required’/ ‘You have to be’ etc. Why do I say that? Because whilst I fully appreciate that organisations have large, expensive buildings which have sat largely empty for several years, and the commercial need to bring people together for lots of good reason is utterly valid, the opportunity here is to involve our people in working out <i>how to make coming into the office </i><u>really work</u><i> for them</i>. That way, our people will want to come in <i>often and are invested in getting the maximum benefit from it</i>. Stephen Covey is often quoted as saying: “no involvement means no commitment”. Asking our teams to contribute ideas and suggestions to the new operational rhythms and routines which will make working from home and working from the office actually – well, <i>work</i> – means trusting and empowering them to work out what the frequency and format should be.</li><li><b>A Lack Of Rigour Around Technology Used In Hybrid Meetings<br /></b>Who can even remember how to turn on the conference room technology in the office, let alone use it? Given the extensive enhancements in enterprise-wide conferencing platform technology - the need to upgrade our kit <i>at the office </i>is essential. The most common mistakes include inadequate audio capability, so the remote audience can’t hear those who are gathered together. Remote teams are pretty well sorted with microphones/headsets at home, but the office hasn’t caught up sufficiently quickly. If we can’t be heard, then who cares? The remote audience will just get going with some emails. Camera angles and being visible when sat in a meeting room is also really important – especially if we want – and we should do – to see our colleagues who are dialling in online.</li><li><b>A Failure To Realise That Better – And Different - Communication Skills Are Needed<br /></b>We meet to have high quality conversations, make decisions, seek commitments and agree actions. We don’t meet to confuse others with lengthy complicated slides which no-one understands, do emails and ignore each other for hours at a time. There’s too much of the latter, and not enough of the former going on in business today. A hybrid meeting (where people are present in person as well as dialling in online), <i>requires a fundamental shift in our communication skills</i>. There is far more complexity to navigate, two different audiences to manage, plus the glorious unpredictability of technology and so our chairperson skills and technology management skills increase to meet these challenges. Brilliant, hybrid communication skills drive equitable, high value, timely and relevant conversations in the hybrid environment, and enable real-time tools such as chat, polling, annotation etc. to work for us, not against us.</li></ol>Sarah Brummitt Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534032590056918350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2764820500457176345.post-19506201996387279422023-09-08T15:47:00.001+01:002024-01-12T15:49:59.557+00:00Back To School… And Back To The Office?<br /><br />As September comes around, the sense of ‘back to school’ and ‘back to the routine’ looms large and as a new school year begins, I’ve been thinking about how clients might mark their own homework in relation to hybrid working and hybrid leadership in their business. What ‘grade’ would we give ourselves?<br /><br />Okay, enough of the academic references. My conversations this month have prompted me to think about these questions and as a result, what are 3 things all great hybrid leaders need to focus on now? Here’s my view:<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Involvement: </b><i>Involve your teams</i> to be part of the solution, rather than set them as being on the other side of the ‘problem’. Leaders want their teams back in the office to some extent. Great! So, what makes it appealing and enjoyable for teams to navigate the commute and be there? Other than being on Teams and Zoom all day? Leadership is an inspiration business… now is the chance to <i>inspire others</i> <i>to want to come back</i>, rather than simply dictate that they are. The latter requires little communication skill; the former requires a lot more. No involvement means no commitment, as the very famous saying goes…</li><li><b>Development: </b><i>Turbocharge professional growth</i>… in a post-Covid world with an ‘intensity bias’ in every business I’ve come across in the past 3 years, each team member needs a relevant, engaging development plan. Engaging your people means helping them be even better in their role so that they can enjoy more success, satisfaction, balance, joy, ease… whatever they want from their role… and this is especially key for your top performers. </li><li><b>Connection: </b><i>Strengthen it. </i> As human beings, we crave it and feel the loss of it at a level which is increasingly profound in a post-Covid world. We want to belong to something that matters to us more than ever, something for which we are deeply appreciated, and we want to be part of something in which we flourish doing things that bring us meaning and purpose.</li></ul>Easy to write; <i>much harder to do</i>… and without exquisite communication skills, we won’t. So, not only is it back to school for our kids… but also for us. What do we need to dial up today?Sarah Brummitt Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534032590056918350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2764820500457176345.post-28909440153016637812023-08-18T15:44:00.001+01:002024-01-12T15:47:18.621+00:00What Makes A Great Hybrid Leader?Many conversations with my clients this month have focused on this question as leaders around the world build teams and businesses within an evolving, hybrid working environment. There is no blueprint; a tight labour market; balance sheets overburdened with debt due to the pandemic, a sense of urgency everywhere, and a workforce which is extremely reticent (role allowing), to return to the office full time. <br /><br />So, no pressure then…<br /><br />You’d expect me to say that at the heart of any great hybrid leader has to be exquisite communication skills…..but it’s true. Leadership is a relationship business, which means it is a communications business. The challenge is, in a hybrid working world… what is it that we need to strengthen our communication skills to be able to do? Well, here’s 5 of my favourites…<br /><br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Build Trust: </b>Any healthy relationship is based on trust; otherwise, it’s not a healthy relationship. If we’re going to meaningfully move the needle on trust, then it starts with giving others our full attention. So, put down the device, turn on the camera, move your phone to one side and start giving others your full and undivided attention… f<i>or more than just a few seconds or minutes.</i> This muscle group is unbelievably out of shape, and it will take some meaningful work to start to strengthen. Always remember, if we appear distracted, what we’re really saying to others is clear and simple: “you and this conversation are not worth my full attention”. Listen deeply, without agenda, with fascination and curiosity. Again, easy to write; most people <i>don’t do this</i>. Ego, pride, shame get in the way and we just can’t help ourselves; we stop listening, start talking… and keep going.</li><li><b>Play An Actively Involved Part In Developing Your Teams’ Skills:</b> Irrespective of seniority, we all need to continually learn, practice, play and evolve new strengths. We shouldn’t abdicate our responsibility in the form of simply booking them on a training programme and passing the ball to the learning and development department. If each member of your team (and theirs) does not have a personal development plan, then they need one… and fast!</li><li><b>Empower Others To Own And Be Accountable For More: </b> That doesn’t mean ‘dump more on your team’… it means, that if you’ve built trust and coached your team regularly to develop their skills, then <i>they will be ready for more and be more effective to deliver more.</i> I see too <i>many </i>virtual catch ups to check in on progress against task… staying connected makes sense of course, but overburdening calendars with calls which effectively say ‘I don’t trust’ you are not useful at <i>all</i>.</li><li><b>Agree And Iterate The Ground Rules: </b>How often do we want to be in the office? To do what? How do we co-ordinate our calendars and activities so that being together is enjoyable, useful, creative, fun, social? What are the ground rules for virtual communication so that we avoid the black screen of boxes where lots of people are on calls not listening to or engaging with one person who is talking to themselves? </li><li><b>Continually Talk About Communication:</b> It is the source of so much conflict. It’s not the case to talk about it once, or at the start of a project. We need to talk about it often, canvassing opinions widely and be willing to be open, flexible, responsive to feedback and meaningfully appreciative of the contributions of all.</li></ol><br /><br /><br />Are there more than 5 aspects to consider? Yes. But this is a great place to dial up our skills meaningfully, deeply and effectively.Sarah Brummitt Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534032590056918350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2764820500457176345.post-80483671985002289322023-07-14T15:39:00.001+01:002024-01-12T15:42:58.066+00:00How Do We Meaningfully Build Relationships In A Hybrid Work Environment?During Covid-19 when we were all working from home and the office doors were locked; a surprising fact is just how<i> productive </i>we all became. We got extremely busy and accomplished a lot. Whilst managing our health, looking after our families, worrying about those we love, staying safe, and wondering when all of this would end; we worked, and worked and worked.<br /><br />Tasks won out.<br /><br />However, amongst many things, in a professional context, what suffered as a result of the global pandemic was <i>our relationships</i> at work. No time to natter; no walking down the corridors catching up on the latest events, no gossiping in the kitchen as we make a coffee, no sitting in the canteen and eating our lunches, no sharing plans for the day/week/weekend, no moments of connection, fun or friendship.<br /><br />It is in all of these moments that we build ‘social capital’, and it is that which binds us together, makes us feel like we belong, like this is a great place to be. It is in these moments that trust is built, and we feel psychologically safe.<br /><br />Humans are wired for connection because we’re pack animals. We want to feel part of something. Fundamentally, we want to feel that we matter. Now that we’re navigating a forever changed work environment where we’re both remote and, in the office, the strain, the challenge <i>and the opportunity</i>, is to strengthen our relationships with colleagues.<br /><br />Why? Because we’re all in a relationship business. We need others to get things done, help us out, make our lives easier, deliver results, demonstrate value to our customers… the list is <i>endless.</i><br /><br />Harvard Business Review published research pre-pandemic which reveals that we’re two and a half times more likely to mistrust colleagues we don’t see very often versus those we see regularly face-to-face. We feel less psychologically safe around them and are more likely to perceive incompetence, mistrust and poor decision making. <br /><br />And here’s the challenge… just <i>how</i> do we meaningfully build relationships now? Especially given the new, hybrid world of work. I’m struck by how many clients operate from the belief that “well, it just happens”. Sometimes that may be the case, but most often the reality is that it does not. Why? Because we need to fight through all of the demands of time and task to get the attention of others, demonstrate value, create connection and build trust. We don’t have much time, or even the same type of opportunities in which to do this, and so we need different skills and strategies to do this well.<br /><br />So where to begin? Over the next couple of months, I’ll share a variety of practical approaches which work in the hybrid world. Here’s just three to kick us off:<br /><br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Set SMART goals for the relationship. Wait, <i>what?</i> Because we need to set intentions and gauge whether or not our efforts are working. Think in very practical terms. For example, by the end of the quarter I want to have met that person face to face. That’s a SMART goal. What’s next? That’s where most people get stuck. Don’t just assume that you’re now mates for life; you’re not. It is a subtle, gradual process around which there is much more to say… and I’ll do so over the coming months.</li><li>Be fully present. Hideously bad habits have become the norm (e.g., talking to you whilst on my device; demonstrably doing emails and not listening on a remote call, off camera most of the time etc.). <i>All of these things</i> and many more besides say ‘you’re not worth all my attention’. Well good luck with that. Show up and be fully present, otherwise don’t show up at all.</li><li>Be curious about others. I have an expression called ‘the press play person’. This individual (and they might be in our family or social circle, never mind at work) just talks, and talks, and talks. It’s like pressing play on a podcast, movie or song. It just goes on and on and on. They never asks you a question about you, your life, your family, what’s important for you, what’s going on for you… they simply talk and talk and talk. Don’t be the ‘press play’ person.</li></ol><br />Meaningfully building relationships in the hybrid environment isn’t easy. There’s much more to say….and I’ll be saying it next time.<br /><br /><br /> Sarah Brummitt Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534032590056918350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2764820500457176345.post-65542625252444314032023-04-14T15:37:00.001+01:002024-01-12T15:39:33.716+00:00Emotional Labour Is Part Of Being A Leader<br /><br /> I’m working with a global brand whose executive team is exhausted. There are many reasons which could point to the reasons why: a world recovering from the impact of Covid-19, a war in Europe, the charge of customers to buy online, a challenging economy, difficulty in recruiting the best talent, trying to get the workforce back into the office… the list is <i>endless.</i><br /><br />And yet… as businesses everywhere grapple with the consequences of all these undoubted difficulties, one powerful reason behind the exhaustion is easily overlooked. It is the challenge and responsibility of ‘emotional labour’. <br /><br />Wait, what? <br /><br />Yes, ‘emotional labour’ is a ‘thing’ in leadership.<br /><br />Harvard Business Review published – as they always do – some brilliant research in 2022 which explores <i>‘The Emotional Labour of Being A Leader’</i>, and in some ways it explains what leaders have known for years. In order to be effective, we need to balance optimism and pragmatism, we need to translate powerful emotions from those above us into messages that will enthuse our teams, we need to be seen as calm and in control whenever things look like they are falling apart. Here’s another list which is endless. Anyone who has ever managed others will know that this means there <i>is always</i> an emotional issue or difficulty going on for at least one member of their team, which needs our support in some way.<br /><br />And that’s emotional labour.<br /><br />So what?<br /><br />Well, so there are so many angles to explore here aren’t there? <br /><br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Let’s start with ourselves. How has the emotional labour I’ve undertaken impacted how I’m now ‘showing up’ at work to my team? What’s been the impact on my resilience? Authenticity? Energy levels? If the answers to these questions are ‘not good’, what is it that I must now do do to rest, recharge and restore my zest for what I do and why I do it?</li><li>Now let’s turn to our teams. There’s also the ‘how’s my team’ angle. If our view is that we’re in a good place, but our team might not be (because of the amount of emotional labour they’ve undertaken), what’s the impact? How is it affecting their professional relationships? Productivity? Engagement? What do they really need now?</li><li>Oh, and one more challenge – to do all of this for ourselves and others in the hybrid world of work, which is here <i>forever more. </i></li></ol><br />As we mark the third year since the pandemic began, and take a moment to look back at everything that has happened to us and our teams, we will have engaged in emotional labour as never before. It’s easy to be flippant; one leader said to me that this is just ‘tea and sympathy’… which is fundamentally to miss the point… and the opportunity. Every leader – no matter their role, industry, geography or economy is in the business of relationships first and foremost. Being an engaging leader, conveying presence, impact, authority and driving that ‘I’ll follow you anywhere’ loyalty amongst teams, colleagues, customers and stakeholders alike means reflecting on how we <i>really </i>are, what we really need to be even more energized amidst the challenges, and how we can help our teams to step up, deliver more and have a brilliant time as they do so. <br /><br />That’s emotional labour and that’s leadership….meaningful, effective, inspiring leadership.Sarah Brummitt Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534032590056918350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2764820500457176345.post-439089695649685842023-03-17T15:31:00.001+00:002024-01-12T15:35:15.718+00:00Dial Up The Empathy An intensely frustrating personal experience recently has focused my mind on its implications for how we connect and relate to others.<br /><br />I locked myself out of my house.<br /><br />Never done that before; but as I went into the front garden to talk with the engineer from my broadband provider, the front door clicked firmly shut.<br /><br />I had no coat, phone, cards, cash, keys (obviously) or any way to get back into the house.<br /><br />Calls, meetings and work awaited, it was freezing cold and my husband was in the City of London; an hour away.<br /><br />We’d changed our front door locks a mere 24 hours early, and with high security keys, the normal spare key that is hidden outside was not yet in place.<br /><br />I don’t know my husband’s mobile number off by heart (because it’s in my phone under his name). I borrowed the engineer’s phone to dial his work number… a tedious rerouting process which proved absurdly unhelpful then ensued.<br /><br />A tale of woe for sure.<br /><br />Here’s my point. The first 5 strangers I called (using the lovely engineer’s phone), in an attempt to get them to help me in some way, laughed. <b>They laughed.</b> What’s so funny? Why laugh when someone is genuinely in a difficult and frustrating situation? I simply don’t get it.<br /><br />Secondly, listening skills were incredibly poor. Each individual offered (after getting past the hilarity of the situation) to take my number and call me back. Did I mention that I’d locked myself out <i>and my phone wasn’t with me?</i><br /><br />Thirdly, it got me thinking… was that just an odd day and these were odd responses? Or is it reflective of a more common trend?<br /><br />Here’s my conclusion. Empathy is powerfully conveyed in the first, immediate <i>moments </i>of our response to others. How we respond dramatically impacts the perception others will have of us, the emotion others will feel about us and the long term memory that others will hold in relation to us. I’m also reminded of the fundamental need we as human beings have for empathy… especially in moments of vulnerability large and small. I’ve yet to meet a professional who <i>doesn’t think that they show empathy,</i> however I’m equally certain that we can completely miss the moments to show it, meaningfully, wholeheartedly, humanely, kindly.<br /><br />If we want individuals to grow, if we want teams to evolve and strengthen trust; if we want our best people to really love working with and for our business, if we want them to achieve that which seems impossible at work, we need to encourage our people to take risks, get things wrong, learn from their mistakes, regroup and go again. That will require courage and vulnerability <i><b>in spades. </b></i><br /><br />So, when they do take that leap, my question for leaders is very simple. When it comes to empathy, how can all of us dial it up?Sarah Brummitt Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534032590056918350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2764820500457176345.post-13583443111547511352023-02-17T15:22:00.000+00:002024-01-12T15:32:49.587+00:00Turning Expertise Into Impact & Influence <p> </p>For all of us today we work in the business of translation. Wait, what? <br /><br /><b><i>All of us</i></b> are in the business of translation whenever we need to <i>influence those who don’t have the same technical expertise as us.</i><br /><br />In a fast paced, global, matrixed, changing business world, evolving through the consequences of a pandemic, professionals everywhere continue to drive performance amidst rapid change and challenge. We do so within a business climate which is trying to ‘fast start’ 2023, navigate a hybrid working environment, and where executives are trying to work out what their policy is regarding encouraging employees to come back to the office. <br /><br /><b>What Often Happens Is:</b><br /><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The habit of ‘can you just put a few slides together?’ is a commonplace, reasonable, but often not useful request that comes our way when meetings appear on our calendar… and we readily comply.</li><li>The purpose of the conversation isn’t clear or agreed, in order to help manage the scope of the discussion.</li><li>The virtual environment has reinforced an over reliance on <i>too many slides</i> to enhance presenter confidence and bring more control to the way in which we manage the audience.</li><li>Slides are <i>eye wateringly dense,</i> data heavy and <i>without a clear </i>message.</li><li>Remote audiences can readily, openly and often disengage because either they don’t understand and/or care about what is being said.</li><li>Alternatively, our audience can gloriously – and without rancour – disrupt and derail what we wanted to communicate.</li></ul><br /><b>To Translate Our Expertise We Must:</b><br /><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Be far more rigorous around what the objective of what we share on slides.</li><li>Provide context <i>immediately. Why this topic? Why now? Why should your audience care about what you’re talking about?</i></li><li>Embrace this fact: credibility <b>does not come from sharing lots of detail, data, expertise.</b> It comes from the clarity of your message. This means we must learn to let go of the ‘the audience needs to know all this’. Often, they don’t.</li><li>Organize your message first. Notice this post is in 3 clear parts and reflects the narrative arc from storytelling. <i>It enables the message flow to be quickly, readily, easily</i> understood.</li><li>Hone soundbites. Soundbites have a personality, pack a punch, leap in the ear and <i>stay there</i>. We want our audience to remember and repeat key phrases, soundbites, conclusions which resonate and persuade.</li><li>Translate our expertise means<b> leaving out a lot of content</b>. This is uncomfortable and difficult to learn to do; <b>and yet it is essential.</b> For your message to have clout, you need to leave the density out. Get to the point, refine the essence, be more crisp.</li><li>Realise that ‘FYI’ is not influence. That’s sharing information. I’m talking about <i>influence</i>. Your audience wants to know: <i>what do you want from me?</i> We need to be <i>absolutely unambiguous</i> with our ask.</li></ul><br />Everything about communication is easy – <i>in theory.</i> However, doing this effectively, consistently and persuasively is not. It takes focus, practice, experience, repetition, rigour. We must assume that our colleagues believe we have expertise. Our challenge is to hone the skills which <i>translate that expertise</i> into impact and influence.Sarah Brummitt Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534032590056918350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2764820500457176345.post-83576272507544195882022-07-26T14:00:00.001+01:002022-07-26T14:00:00.191+01:00When Does Empowering Our Teams To Deliver Become Enabling Bad Behaviour?My conversations this month have - as always - focused on communication in leadership; and specifically, the challenge of getting the balance right between challenge and support when it comes to driving performance from our team. We live in a world where talent is hard to find, harder to recruit and even harder still to retain. This commercial reality in a world trying to live with Covid-19 adds an additional layer of complexity to engaging our team to deliver, and my time this past month has been spent with a fashion brand that is a global powerhouse in the industry, who is wrestling with such a challenge.<br /><br />Specifically, the focus of my discussions with senior leaders who need to take the performance of their team to the next level has been consistent: how to ensure that we empower our teams to deliver, rather than enable bad behaviour? What’s the bad behaviour specifically I hear you wonder? ‘I don’t know’, ‘I haven’t got time’, ‘I don’t know where to get that’, ‘I tried that and it didn’t work’ type responses to dealing with issues, requests, challenges. Have you come across it at all, I wonder?<br /> <br />The difficulty for leaders everywhere is that in the race to be supportive, empathic, helpful and motivating, we can fall prey to the sin of allowing our team to ‘do a YP’. My first ever boss described a ‘YP’ as ‘your problem’. So, when our teams do have an issue, challenge or difficulty, they want to share it with you in order for you to ‘fix’ it. That’s ‘doing a YP’. Now their problem is <i>your problem</i>. And they look forward to hearing from you <i>when you’ve resolved it</i>. <br /> <br />But, isn’t that our job? Aren’t we there to do precisely that? Make their lives easier? Sort problems, resolve issues, galvanize and motivate our team to step up, rather than have them wasting time on issues which you can easily sort?<br /> <br />Beware. Yes, we need to be flexible, dependent on the ability and willingness of our teams to complete the task (we’ve all come across situational leadership), however, engaging our teams is all about <i>enabling them to become more confident and confident to resolve such issues themselves.</i><br /><br />Our communication - if it is to be effective - means getting the balance right between ‘tell’ and ‘ask’. Being able to ask brilliant, crisp questions that explore what they’ve learned, scrutinize what they’ve done, explore their ideas are to address the challenge, identify who can help them, brainstorm options, ground them in metrics of success and agree a date by which we’ll catch up on what they’ve done to gauge progress. <br /> <br />Whoever is asking the questions is controlling the conversation. Pure coaching is the secret sauce of leadership communication…woven into the discussion seamlessly, effortlessly. All of us are much more invested in making <i>our ideas work</i>, rather than trying someone else’s, and that’s how we ensure that we empower our teams, rather than enable bad behaviour.<br />Sarah Brummitt Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534032590056918350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2764820500457176345.post-86782265197779210922022-06-22T12:29:00.001+01:002022-06-22T12:29:25.054+01:00What’s The Problem We’re Trying To Solve? I’ve been working with three global brands this month, talking about the concept of selling ideas, leading change and delivering a different result. <br /><br />There are so many skills and strategies which sit behind taking an idea, convincing a business to invest in it, and then driving lasting adoption over time… there’s a lot of ground to cover and a lot of communication skills to master. <br /><br />The focus of our discussions has been right at the beginning of leading this change, and the first place things tend to fall over is right at the start. Why? Because whilst the good news is that whilst we have an idea to address an issue, the bad news is that it can drive down the scrutiny with which we identify what exactly our idea will help address. We’re so excited and enthusiastic about what we propose, that we quickly, readily, repeatedly revert to talking about how marvellous our idea is; because that’s what will persuade, right? <br /><br />Wrong. Unfortunately. <br /><br />In my experience, no matter how brilliant our idea may be, the chances are that someone, somewhere in our business has - or is currently - trying to address the issue. The challenge, or should I say the necessity, is to demonstrate absolute rigour. <br /><br /><i>What’s the problem we’re trying to solve?</i> The simplicity of this question betrays the power of it. Are we talking symptoms or root cause? What’s changed? What’s the value to our customers? To our business? What’s the return on investment as a result? Why is this a problem? Why now? Who is it a problem for? What’s the scope of this problem? Does it exist everywhere or only in some places? Who’s tried to fix it before? What have we learned as a result? <br /><br />These are questions which we need to ask repeatedly to stakeholders in the business in order to shape our thinking around the problem which our idea will solve, and we definitely need to adapt, improvise and amend our thinking around the problem which our idea will solve. <br /><br />Problems are never what they appear… and never what they become in relation to garnering support from others to invest in idea. <br /><br />Selling ideas starts with defining the problem you want to solve… so in terms of rigour and scrutiny, remember to ask ‘what’s the problem we’re trying to solve?’ Repeatedly. <br /><br /> Sarah Brummitt Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534032590056918350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2764820500457176345.post-46281166072117582632022-05-24T14:00:00.001+01:002022-05-24T14:00:00.183+01:00Do You Talk Too Much?When was the last time someone started talking… and as you listened, you wished they would just stop? I’ve been working with both clients and colleagues this month and I am reminded about the need to be clear, precise and concise. Very recently, I have partnered with a colleague in my industry who simply talks far too much in their answers. They talk about topics which don’t relate to the question, they repeat everything, quickly and they just keep on talking… it’s actually painful and frustrating to experience. Too. Much. Information. TMI. Poor listening. Lack of curiosity. Really poor skills. <br /><br />The research from the world of behaviour economics supports a different approach, and we absolutely have to dial up our skills in this area - especially in a remote working environment that is here to stay. Harvard Business Review published fascinating research in 2016 that I use regularly with my clients to encourage <i>talking less.</i> The first twenty seconds of speaking typically means we have the ear of our audience. As pack animals, we actually like talking and during this period, we can get comfortable and start to relax into our point. Isn’t that great? Well, beware. If we keep talking for a further twenty seconds, there is a very real danger that our audience will think that we’re talking too much. Beyond forty seconds? Then steady on; it’s highly likely that we’ve lost the room. <br /><br />Being better means:<br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Gathering your thoughts <i>before starting to speak. </i></li><li>Organizing your message into three parts. </li><li>Pacing your delivery so that the audience can understand what is being said. </li><li>Knowing when to stop.</li></ol>I’ll take my cue, right there. <br /><br /> Sarah Brummitt Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534032590056918350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2764820500457176345.post-71997434838079973192022-04-26T14:00:00.001+01:002022-04-26T14:00:00.181+01:00Getting Your Audience’s AttentionHow long does it take before you stop listening to others at work?<br /><br />Data published in the past two years suggests that our ability to get (and then keep) the audience’s attention when we’re trying to influence them has never been harder. Two years of working remotely has made our ability to ‘switch off’ listening commonplace – and it is brutal. Seconds have become mere moments… sentences have become a few words, before we stop engaging with the person speaking because we simply don’t relate to any relevance in what they’re saying.<br /><br />My conversations with clients this month focused on answering the ‘why should I care?’ question <i>fast and right up front.</i> If we don’t get this right; then everything we say afterwards doesn’t matter…..<i>because our audience is no longer listening.</i><br /><br />Common mistakes include demonstrating the validity of our work by explaining the rigour of our process or providing an overly lengthy description of the background to our project or our idea, demonstrate our credibility by a too long introduction, or get overly excited by our propositions (because they’re fabulous).<br /><br />We’re social animals and we’re pack animals, and we like to talk. So, we think this helps. Without making context clear and relevant, then it just does not work.<br /><br />There’s a reason why Simon Sinek’s ‘<i>Start with Why’ – How Great Leaders Inspire Action</i> TED talk is one of the most watched of all time. He says, “people don’t buy <i>what</i> you do; they buy <i>why</i> you do it”. If our audience doesn’t immediately understand the answer to the ‘<i>why should I care?</i>’ question, then we will lose them. Everything after that doesn’t matter.<br /><br />So how can you get their attention right at the start? Rhetorical questions, relevant statistics, compelling facts, metaphor, analogy, voice of the customer, soundbites all work. But they must relate to what your audience cares about <i>and</i>, what you’re trying to achieve through the conversation.<br /><br />What do you need to dial up in order to get your audience’s attention today? <br /><br /> Sarah Brummitt Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534032590056918350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2764820500457176345.post-75954890097584579022022-03-22T14:00:00.001+00:002022-03-22T14:00:00.194+00:00It's Time To Talk To Our TeamAs the two year anniversary approaches of this global pandemic - which remains far from over - my time so far this year has been absorbed with loss….not only loss associated with the generation defining experience of Covid-19, but also loss of good people: from our teams, our company, our industry. ‘<i>The Great Resignation</i>’ appears to be well under way and organisations everywhere seem to be focused on finding, hiring, developing <i>and keeping</i> their best people. Added to that is the challenge of wanting to encourage people back into the office (dependent on where we are in the world), and there is a wide variety of views regarding employees’ level of excitement at this prospect. <br /><br />The beginning of year represents new beginnings, reflections, hopes, dreams and aspirations… and now – as we charge through March – it feels as it always does – that being that the year is starting to speed up <i>very quickly</i>. <br /><br />So, what does this means for leaders everywhere who are responsible for engaging their teams to deliver, in spite of everything that has happened? <br /><br />Well, if we haven’t already; it’s time to talk. <i>Really talk</i> with our people about what they want, need, aspire to and dream about achieving as we move through 2022. In this fast paced, distraction filled world in which we all operate, as leaders we <i>may think</i> that we do this well, often and usefully… the challenge here is genuinely a reflective one: <i>do we</i>? <br /><br />We live and work in a highly distracted environment. We kid ourselves that we can ‘multi-task’ (no such thing by the way; we simply task switch). As leaders, we’re in the business of relationships… so how to do this well? <br /><br />Questions on which to base a meaningful, useful, connected discussion include: <br /><br /><i>How are you? </i>(And mean it).<br /><i> What are you enjoying at the moment?</i><br /><i> What aren’t you enjoying?</i><br /><i> How do you feel about the prospect of returning to the office?</i><br /><i> What would make that prospect work for you?</i><br /><i> What’s next for you in terms of your career?</i><br /><i> How can I help?</i><br /><i> What do you need from me? </i><br /><br />We join companies but leave managers; the point is to start talking. Really talking. Now.Sarah Brummitt Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534032590056918350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2764820500457176345.post-68253220827986384432022-02-15T13:22:00.001+00:002022-02-15T13:22:49.874+00:00Who’s Had Too Much Appreciation Lately?Seriously? Absolutely no-one I know. Ever. As we move through the month of February, I’m drawn back to this <i>essential </i>communication skill, based on a recent personal experience with a global, corporate client of mine. As part of a team which supports different leadership groups; I was invited to choose a gift (one from a choice of two), for which I was delighted. “Thank you very much”, I thought. And then, it started to go wrong, and all the positive sentiment behind the initiative was replaced by irritation, frustration, shame and a complete and total lack of empathy. <br /><br />I had to sign up to/download a link to something (blah, blah, blah). <br />“Have you had the link yet I was asked?” ‘No’, came the reply. <br />“You will have had it, double check” was the response. ‘I did and I haven’t’ came my reply. <br />“Well then you probably didn’t sign up properly.” ‘I did, I checked’, came the response. <br />“Redo it”. I did. <br />(At this point I’m fantasizing about what they can do with their gift). <br />“Have you downloaded the link yet?”. Yes. <br />“Has it worked?” No (again). <br />“Well, can you contact XYZ, do ABC, then call DEF and at some point before the end of time you’ll get your gift. Because we appreciate you!!!” <br /><br />Are you serious? I thought. Have you completely lost your mind? It absolutely, certainly didn’t feel like it. So what’s my point? <br /><br />Appreciation is a serious business. A glorious business. A massively enjoyable business. A leadership business. <br /><br /><i>And yet we rarely make enough time for it. <br /></i><br />It’s never about the gift. It’s about the thought. The time. The effort. Not the monetary value. Some of us will think: “yes that’s great Sarah, but I’d like a 20% pay rise anyway.” Of course, who wouldn’t? My point relates to when it’s <i>not about a pay rise</i>. In fact, if the only reason our team will stay <i>is if they get a pay rise</i>, then I argue that we’ve left it too late, too long to help them feel engaged and highly valued as a member of our team through regular appreciation. Remember when we do this well, people stay <i>in spite of the fact</i> that they might get more money elsewhere. <br /><br />When it comes to the art and the magic of appreciation, I believe we don't want ‘things’; we want ‘thought’. We want care, kindness, generosity of spirit rather than generosity of wallet. <br /><br />It’s time to show the love (appropriately!) for our team. We all work in a relationship business, whatever our sector, role or area of expertise. We all need others to help us succeed and we all need to feel that spectacularly good feeling that comes from being truly, authentically appreciated. <br /><br />So, who is overdue appreciation from you today? And what can you do about it now? <br /><br />PS Still no gift. That’s totally fine. The moment and the thought are lost. And it was the thought; <i>and only</i> the thought that counted. Nothing else.Sarah Brummitt Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534032590056918350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2764820500457176345.post-51907190880080373582021-12-21T14:00:00.001+00:002021-12-21T14:00:00.194+00:00What Will You Celebrate This Festive Season?As we continue to unlock and lock down yet again around the world, the topic of celebration may - for some - hold little appeal at the moment.<br /><br />And yet despite all of the loss, fear, grief, monotony, anger, frustration and disappointment of the past 12, 18, 21 months, celebration has been the topic of discussion for my clients in recent weeks. <br /><br />As the end of the calendar year approaches, so does an opportunity to reflect on what we’ve achieved, in spite of it all.<br /><br />For our professional lives, for our clients, for our teams and for ourselves, we should celebrate that <i>we’ve made it through </i>2021. We’re still here. Still standing - or at least still staggering - to fight another day. Out of the woods? No, not yet. Wish we were? Yes, like you wouldn’t believe.<br /><br />Joy has been in short supply; normality continues to be suspended and the future remains uncertain. <br /><br />Do we organize a team meet in person or not? Can we face another virtual drinks on Zoom? And does anyone feel remotely festive anyway?<br /><br />Celebration amidst confusion, chaos and crisis can seem jarring. <br /><br />And yet……<br /><br />Leadership is about connection, fellowship and even love. <br /><br />Leaders who ‘reach’ their teams, inspire loyalty beyond reason and who bring out the very best in others are those who make the time to notice and celebrate individual strengths. To pay attention to that which makes others tick. To marvel at individual brilliance and <b>who make it their business to make sure others know it.</b><br /><br />My view is simply this: your teams don’t need a naff ‘Secret Santa’ gift, or a trite ‘copy and paste’ email which was pretty much the same one they received last year and the year before that. What they need is something far more meaningful and far longer lasting, wrapped up in a completely unexpected, utterly delightful and from the heart commentary that celebrates them for the good they’ve done for you, the team, your clients and the business this year.<br /><br />That’s always worth knowing and it’s definitely worth celebrating.<br /><br />In the meantime, here’s to a better 2022 for us all…… <br /><br /> Sarah Brummitt Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534032590056918350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2764820500457176345.post-783897363239379282021-11-23T14:00:00.001+00:002021-11-23T14:00:00.195+00:00Talk Less<b>We all talk too much. And the science proves it. </b><br /><br />I was tempted to have those two sentences be the total content for my newsletter this month. However, I will elaborate (just a little). <br /><br />My conversations with clients recently have focused on <i>brevity</i>. When we need to make a point, answer a question, handle a challenge, offer a perspective, explain something….how can we say less? Be crisper? Get to the point faster? And <i>know when to stop talking</i>? As social animals we are hard wired to communicate. This is how we navigate and negotiate our way around our world, and <i>it works</i>. <br /><br />However, the challenge and the contradiction in this hybrid world is that our capacity to pay attention to all this chatter is <i>almost zero</i>. Okay, not quite zero, but not far from it. When others are speaking, we can decide <i>very quickly</i> to just stop. Stop listening. Stop caring. Stop interacting. <br /><br />So how to be more effective? Think of it like a traffic light system. This glorious analogy came from Harvard Business research, and I attribute it to them. We have a green light for the first 20 seconds. Our audience likes us if what we’re saying is relevant and serving others in the conversation. We have an amber light for the next 20 seconds. The risk is dramatically increasing that our audience will lose interest. <i>Take heed! </i> We have a red light at 40 seconds. No matter how exciting, engaging, thrilling, relevant, dynamic, and fabulous we think what we’re saying is….just stop. Otherwise, we’re in severe danger of boring, frustrating, disengaging and dissuading our audience completely. Our impact is zero; our ‘wins’ at the start of our message have turned into losses. We said too much.Sarah Brummitt Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534032590056918350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2764820500457176345.post-27212484342629482922021-10-26T14:00:00.001+01:002021-10-26T14:00:00.219+01:00Fed Up With Turning Your Camera On?Recent research would suggest that turning our cameras off in remote meetings leads to us being less tired and more productive. These results came after a four week experiment found that individuals felt more free to ‘focus less on the face of others and more on the content of the meeting’. <br /><br />I have been talking with my clients about this exact topic a lot this month, and reference to this research has been used as an ‘aha, now I can turn my camera off!’ Sounds great, right? <br /><br />WRONG. <br /><br />It’s the wrong solution for this particular problem. Turning our cameras off makes us less influential and less impactful. Rapport lowers, mis-trust increases and – let’s face it – we all know those with ‘cameras off’ could easily mean that they are doing something else for some/part/all of the time that they’re not visible to us. <br /><br />Being able to see the impact of our communication on others is an incredibly powerful tool to modifying, adapting and enhancing our influence. <br /><br />Yes, I agree that we want to be less tired and more productive. Turning our cameras off is not the way to do it. <br /><br />We jump on calls to build relationships, discuss options, solve problems, lead change, galvanise our people, make decisions, agree actions, secure commitments and <i>genuinely make our workloads easier.</i> Being an influential leader means being a visible leader. Always remember that trust increases, rapport increases, dialogue increases when we are <i>on camera. </i><br /><br />So, instead of turning off our cameras off can I suggest:<br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Shorten all 1 hour meetings to 45 minutes and 30 minute meetings to 25 (with a hard stop).</li><li>Review your calendars regularly to remove meetings which are unnecessary, low value, repetitive and too long.</li><li>Use other media to communicate. Some issues don’t need a meeting <i>at all.</i></li><li>Sharpen your influencing skills. In the absence of being crisp, concise and compelling, take one guess as to what the easiest response is from our audience - who are not convinced by us. Yep, you’ve guessed it… the answer is… ANOTHER MEETING. If we are more persuasive, more compelling, more able to reach people, engage people and change people... we don’t need turn our cameras on at all because we don’t need another remote meeting.</li></ol>Sarah Brummitt Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534032590056918350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2764820500457176345.post-15105323151100278582021-09-21T14:00:00.001+01:002021-09-21T14:00:00.202+01:00We’re Heading Back To The Office (A Bit) – Now What?As the world continues to battle with Covid-19 and move through various stages of locking down and unlocking, this month I have found myself talking with my clients about what to do now that some of their team (and themselves) have started to return to the office.<br /><br />What’s the right thing to say or do as a leader? Is it ‘as you were’? Or is it all completely different? <br /><br />Whatever our own personal experience, all of us are living through generation defining change, and in this different, changed world into which we all emerge, gradually - and blinking, the reality is that as we start to return to the office, it will feel either very weird or very familiar.<br /><br />Our challenge as leaders to lead change, engage others with change, drive change, create a culture in which change feels good… so, as we get used to the reality that Covid-19 is with us forever, and our working patterns will be different (for some - forever), the absolute priority for us do now is step up the quality and quantity of our communication.<br /><br />Why?<br /><br />Because the default human response to change is consistent around the world - namely, <i>what will I lose</i>?<br /><br />Given that reality, being a better communicator as a hybrid leader now means:<br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Avoid the mantle of the keyboard warrior. Of course I realise that if you’re running a global business with a 5,000 employee strong organisation then that’s not as easy as it sounds. <i>However it’s no less important to communicate more often, through more channels, with more clarity</i>. Written communication (in long or short form), will never be as effective as the spoken word. Make time for it; defend time for it; and review the impact of your conversations afterwards. That’s the inescapable and outstanding reality of our communication. We can measure its impact in the response we get. If our teams are confused then it means we weren’t clear. If our people are disinterested that we’ve not been persuasive enough. If our organisation doesn’t care, then we’ve not involved them in the right way to <i>engage them</i>.</li><li>Don’t assume you have to have all the answers. Leading change effectively is never about having all the answers, it’s always about having the right questions. No business, no government, no country, no executive team, no company had a playbook for Covid-19. Why on earth would we assume that there’s a playbook for hybrid working? We’re all working this out as we go. We all need to stay curious, be experimental, get comfortable with failure (and we will sometimes). This is all new. So, what do you need to ask now? What do you need to know from your teams now that which enable you to help them be more effective as they navigate new working patterns?</li><li>Listening is underrated and poorly executed. And it’s got worse through remote working. What’s really being said here? I am visible? Present? Suspending my agenda and deeply listening to the words being said and those not being said? Or am I half- hearted, jumping ahead, trying to ‘send that quick message’ whilst professing to care? The greatest delusion is that we think others won’t notice. They do; always. The greatest gift we can give others is our time and undivided attention. How much of your time and your attention <i>are you really offering</i> to your teams at present?</li><li>Reflect, rehearse and refine key messages. I’m not talking about rehearsing <i>everything you want to say before you say it.</i> However, what I am talking about is the absolute, pinpoint accuracy with which you craft <i>the messages which reach people</i>. For those of you who have worked with me in the past, you know I’m a fan of the number three. What top three messages need to land with your teams immediately? Remember, these are the messages that resonate, change minds, win hearts and drive the right behaviours. What are the top takeaways that you want your team and the wider organisation to hear, understand, believe… and repeat? Rehearse them to ensure brevity, precision and impact.</li><li>Encourage conversations and connections between teams and individuals. Who needs to be connected with whom? Where is there an opportunity for learning? Mentoring? Best practice sharing? We’ve all been away from the office, at home, with overbooked calendars, kids being home schooled, no delineation between ‘work time’ and ‘home time’, plus longer days, more stress, a lot of uncertainty, illness, sadness, grief, loss. The initial excitement of Zoom virtual drinks or wearing silly hats has long since gone. Who do we want to get talking to whom? Great conversations change people. When we change people we change performance.</li></ol>What all hybrid leaders need to do now is get even better at having, facilitating and driving better conversations with and between their people.Sarah Brummitt Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534032590056918350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2764820500457176345.post-14124020347876050182021-08-24T14:30:00.001+01:002021-08-24T14:30:00.228+01:00Are You Ready To Become A Hybrid Leader? <br />August is a month which signals that beginnings and ends of seasons are around the corner. Wherever you are in the world, change is on its way – not just in the turning of summer into autumn and winter into spring, but also – COVID allowing - in terms of the very real prospect of returning to our offices and those of our clients more often that we have done over the past eighteen months. <br /><br />The ‘hybrid leader’ – namely one who runs teams with individuals who are both in the office and working from home – is what we all will become. <br /><br />Putting to one side legal, social and cultural considerations around this whole topic for a mere moment, I have been talking with leaders about what this means for our ability to engage and communicate with our teams, the business and our customers. <br /><br />What’s changing? Some of us may think simply ‘nothing’. We operated a hybrid business model pre-Covid. True. Except now we have Covid. Forever. And with this global health pandemic has come profound change to the way we think about, connect with, deliver at and get joy from work. A pulse survey of eleven global brands with whom I’ve worked this month has revealed that <i>all of them</i> are extremely worried about their top talent becoming flight risks, about re-igniting customer relationships that have gone quiet, and re-hiring and re-engaging existing employees. This is the strong and consistent thread of challenge coming from every single one of them. <br /><br />So what does this mean for us as leaders and influencers? As always, leadership is <i>all about communication and influence</i>. The concept of the hybrid leader has been much on my mind in 2021, and so over the coming months, I will be exploring how our ability to persuade and influence others needs to step up given the necessity as a leader of demonstrating empathy, exquisite listening, curiosity, humility, agility, courage to make mistakes and flexibility. As never before. <br /><br />I have yet to meet a leader <i>who doesn’t think</i> they have these skills already. However our challenge is how we will need to take these up yet another level to meaningful convey them; be it remotely or face-to-face. <br /><br />Look out for more information here and across my social media every month and let’s start the conversation. <br /><br />In the meantime, I have a question for you: are you ready to become a hybrid leader?<br />Sarah Brummitt Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534032590056918350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2764820500457176345.post-66148003872803862242021-07-27T14:30:00.001+01:002021-07-27T14:30:00.197+01:00Are You In Danger Of Conveying ‘Ruinous Empathy’? Delivering results through others means getting the balance right between challenge and support. My time this month has been focused on how to practically get this right - which is hard enough to do <i>anyway</i>, without the sixteen months and counting of a global health crisis which has challenged us all as never before. As leaders who drive results through others:<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>How do we conduct those more difficult discussions about below par performance?</li><li>How do we constructively challenge those who’ve had a lot on their plate and where we’ve been both supportive and sympathetic, but now they <i>really</i> need to step it up?</li><li>How do we encourage, enthuse and engage our teams to lean in, dig deep and deliver more when we fear that they are a flight risk and ready to leave our business?</li><li>How do we help our team see the value of returning to the office environment positively, rather than as a veiled threat to future career prospects if they insist on staying at home?</li></ul>The list of scenarios is endless, and the challenge around getting it right is great, so where precisely we start? Endless behavioural science research confirms that distance builds distrust, and that the remote environment can have a damaging impact on the quality of our professional relationships across teams and time zones. These conversations would be hard enough if we were face to face, <i>but now we need to do this remotely</i>. How on earth do we get this right?<br /><br />I have found myself returning to the power of Kim Scott’s work, who wrote a superb book called ‘<i>Radical Candour: How To Be A Kick Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity</i>’. If you’ve not read it; then buy a copy and do so now. It’s on audio, so grab it that way if this is your preference. It is simply exquisite. Scott talks about a simple concept with profound impact: how to care personally whilst challenging directly. As leaders she is straightforward and practical in how to get started and offers a simple and effective framework to critique where we might tend to operate at the moment. The area within the four box quadrant that has taken my time and attention this month is the spectacularly labelled ‘ruinous empathy’. This month, I have been working with sales leaders at a global brand who need to challenge their teams to change their behaviour, learn more quickly and adapt faster to deliver better performance. Tenure, expertise, skill set is no protection against this requirement and whilst caring personally is in abundance; challenging directly is not. This is ‘ruinous empathy’ because we don’t want to damage the relationship or cause offence and yet leaders everywhere must fight against it. Why? Because ultimately, it’s not fair or helpful to the other person to fail to tell them things which <i>they would be better off knowing.<br /></i><br />Are you guilty of ‘ruinous empathy’? Who in your professional world is overdue ‘radical candour’ for which they, the team, their customers and the business would all benefit if you took your communication skills up to the next level? If our relationships are as strong with our team as we like to think they are then now is the time to step up. Care personally, and challenge directly.<br /> Sarah Brummitt Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534032590056918350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2764820500457176345.post-51779268476092501472021-06-22T14:30:00.001+01:002021-06-22T14:30:00.184+01:00Why Turning On Your Camera (Still) MattersSixteen months into a global health crisis which is far from over means for all of us that we’re still spending a lot of our working day on remote video calls. <br /><br />Whilst the clamour to travel to visit clients or get back to the office may be overwhelming for some - and non-existent for others - for now at least, we’re still largely working from home.<br /> <br />I’ve been working with several global law firms this month and I have noticed the resurgence of the ‘I’m not camera ready’ expression….with the preference to remain off camera for a meeting.<br /> <br />It has prompted my curiosity and also my constructive challenge.<br /> <br />What’s going on here? What does this expression mean? And why do we think that it is an acceptable working practice to join remote meetings with lots of black squares and/or out of date photographs are at play?<br /> <br />To be clear, there’s a big difference between needing to go off camera because a child we’re home schooling is having a meltdown, or we need to answer the door to the delivery man. That’s a totally valid reason, and it <i>is not</i> what I’m talking about.<br /> <br />As leaders and influencers, our job is to <i>show up</i>. Being visible by turning our cameras on still matters for a wide variety of reasons:<br /><br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>It sets the tone.</b> Being on camera shows the world that ‘this is how we do things around here’. Linguists will tell us that 80% of our communication is non-verbal and being able to see and read facial expressions, posture and hand gestures all help create connection and improve the quality of the interaction. The ‘illusion’ of communication actually occurring was first observed by George Bernard Shaw. Working remotely has made the task significantly harder and so everything that we can do to counteract this challenge is helpful.</li><li><b>It shows responsibility.</b> By conveying to your team that you’re ready to work. I’m not talking about being fully suited and booted, or spending a lot of time grooming (however much that is), but putting on a clean shirt/top, brushing our teeth and putting a comb through our hair isn’t a lot to ask is it?</li><li><b>It builds connection.</b> As human beings we crave it; and after so long being separated from each other in so many different ways, being visible creates a powerful opportunity to do just that – connect. How we spend our time and how we spend our money tells the world what we care about, and by turning our camera on and our attention to the audience, we’re saying we care… about each other. If we show others we can about them; we encourage the same reciprocity.</li><li><b>It makes us memorable.</b> Expressions such as ‘out of sight is out of mind’ and ‘in one ear and out the other’ reflect what a significant amount of scientific research has already shown, namely that our auditory modality is not as good as our visual modality for remembering the message. Who wants to be forgettable? We jump on calls to <i>talk to each other and influence each other </i>and not to crank through a million emails and messages.</li><li><b>It builds trust.</b> Distance builds distrust. Harvard Business Review found that we’re 2.5 times more likely to perceive incompetence, poor decision making and mistrust our remote colleagues, versus those whom we see regularly at the office. The myriad of rituals that bind us in person are missing remotely, and so we have to work so much harder to that precious commodity which is the cornerstone of any successful relationship.</li><li><b>We’re all in a relationship business, first and foremost.</b> And we lose sight of that at our peril. </li></ol>Sarah Brummitt Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534032590056918350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2764820500457176345.post-9217545160190810342021-05-25T14:30:00.002+01:002021-05-25T14:30:00.225+01:00Dealing With Challenge In The Remote Environment<br />Research has repeatedly shown that distance builds distrust. We are more likely to perceive incompetence, poor decision making and mistrust amongst our colleagues with whom we do not engage regularly, face to face. As a result, trust drops. We are contradicted. Our requests for help, support or action are met with a ‘no’. We are challenged directly about something which is inaccurate, unfair, untrue or unworkable. So, what are we to do? <br /><br />My conversations this month have been centred around high potential talent who are being exposed to more robust conversations across their businesses. <br /><br />Our focus has been to repeatedly practice this skill set, and whilst I call it demonstrating ‘grace under pressure’, like everything in relation to communication, the theory is easy… the doing it is much more difficult. Our immediate challenge is to retain poise and control in these situations, even as our emotions are racing. <br /><br />Here are strategies to strengthen to convey remote presence: <br /><br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Slow the conversation down. Whilst this is counter intuitive because we want to justify, explain, push back, be emotional, what we need to do is give ourselves time to think first.</li><li>Clarify and confirm the challenge. Let the other person do the talking; to put all their concerns on the table so that we have the full picture before we formulate our response.</li><li>Pause… use ‘holding phrases’ like ‘I need to think about this’ or ‘I don’t know what to say to that right now’ to signal your surprise and give yourself the opportunity to reflect and gather your thoughts.</li><li>Ask questions. Where do we need more information before answering the challenge?</li><li>Concede specific points and focus on the facts. Facts are hard to contest.</li><li>Avoid too much information in reply. Lengthy answers with lots of detail do not persuade.</li><li>Convey your answer confidently.</li><li>Watch your tone. I recall an instance of eye watering arrogance, ill-informed challenge and breath-taking stupidity when challenged. However, the person has the right to challenge and we need to be able to handle it graciously.</li><li>Follow up with a note if necessary to appreciate the challenge, explain the facts and move forward positively. That’s the goal…to retain our grace, defend our position and importantly – to continue to have a positive, collaborative relationship.</li><li>Learn from it and adapt where necessary. How do we need to be more effective? More impactful? More persuasive in our communication?</li></ol>Sarah Brummitt Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534032590056918350noreply@blogger.com0