One Saturday in September. The day when many people in Australia stop to watch the AFL Grand Final, played in Melbourne. This years Grand Final has been titled 'The Clash of The Titans' and will be played between St Kilda and Geelong, both proud football clubs with a long history. St Kilda is seeking to win its second premiership ever, its first being in 1966. Geelong is seeking to win its second premiership in three years after being pipped at the siren in last years Grand Final match.
There are two leadership groups in play here. The respective coaches and the team captains. Both coaches have a dilemma on their hands. They have to choose between players that have served them well all season or drop them for a more experienced player returning from injury. How would you handle this situation? Coaches of course don't win or lose games; on the day its those on the field that make the play. Yet decisions made before the game can impact upon morale and even how those on the field play on the day. Everyday senior managers make similar decisions. Who to include, who to leave out, who is the most qualified, the most experienced, most able to handle the situation, the impact upon others in the team and the impact upon inter-team relationships.
Then there are the team captains. On the field they are the ones responsible for leading the way. In this sense sports teams differ from business teams. A sport team captain rolls up their sleeves and gets down and dirty with everyone else. In business, the 'captain' often adopts a more hands-off role. In both instances the team captain is responsible for motivating those in the team, helping them overcome the disappointments, picking themselves up from their mistakes and keeping on going. Again this is where a sports team differs, unlike a business team, if you make a mistake on the sports field it may cost your team the game - and there are no second chances in a Grand Final.
How would you lead in these pressure situations? As a team leader you will get recognition for the combined effort of your team, just as the captains of these two teams will. Just as they cannot play and win this match on their own, neither can you achieve success without all your team members working together in a collaborative manner to the match plan.
Grand Finals are a pressure cooker situation. Lose your cool you will make a mistake and be penalised. As a team leader you don't necessarily work in a pressure cooker yet if you allow your emotions to get in the way members of your team will lose confidence in you and fail to produce. In that situation you, as the team leader, are responsible.
On Monday 28th September, only one off these team will be on the front page of the papers. The other, the losing team, will have already faded into memory. Where will your team be next Monday? How will they view you as their leader? As the Australians say 'Up There Cazaly'.
Let The Journey Continue
John Coxon
Taking You From Frontline Manager to CEO
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http://nfp-management.blogspot.com
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Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Hospital workplace stress
The health sector is by its design a high-stress environment. The sector, even in private health, is formed and driven by political policy and considerations, funding, whether from Government or fee-paying patients, will always struggle to maintain pace with the increasing cost of providing health care, staff deal daily with stressful patient-related incidents that impact upon staff emotionally and hospitals are system and process driven; often they struggle to create an environment that is conducive to high standards of staff support.
None of this is an excuse for mistreating employees or maintaining stressful environments. Managers in the health sector have an obligation, which they accept when they take on the role, to look our for the wellbeing of those staff working with them.
Workplace stress, created by a less-than-friendly workplace environment leads to increased levels of absenteeism, stress-related workplace insurance claims and staff turnover. Add to this mix those employees that experience high levels of stress yet continue to work, do so at minimal levels of effectiveness. It becomes clear the costs associated with workplace stress are high indeed.
As a manager in a hospital, an aged care facility or a medical centre, what can you do to minimise the impact of the workplace upon employees?
Firstly look to help yourself. You cannot help others if you are stressed, unwell or unable to cope. I was working with a manager recently and while we were talking she opened her Outlook task list and pointed out two things. The first was the number of overdue tasks. The second was the number of tasks that she continued to reschedule. These are tasks the manager would like to do, but it was obviously not critical she do them, and one day, if she had time she might get to do them. We talked about those constantly rescheduled tasks and pondered on how many of them were important and if so could they be delegated to others on her work group? A key reason for workplace stress amongst managers is our inability to manage the tasks in our workload. We procrastinate. We leave the unpleasant jobs till they become critical - then we impose stress upon ourselves - and others. We neglect to break large tasks down into a series of small, easily achieved chunks done over a longer period. We fail to plan our work effectively, leading to us taking work home or trying to sleep when we are worried about looming deadlines. That is just what we do to ourselves!
What we do to others on our work group can be much, much worse. When you, as a manager, are stressed and under the pump your capacity to engage in effective decision making is reduced. Your tolerance for working through workplace issues is reduced. Your ability to ask questions and identify the root cause of an issue is reduced. You are always rushing from place to place; unable to spend time facilitating and fostering conversations or listening to what is being said, or even observing what is taking place around you. When you are stressed as a manager you might as well go home because you will be totally ineffective. Your employer is wasting money on you when you continue to operate in a high stress mode.
As a manager you are a role model. Those in your work group will follow you lead. What do you think they see when you appear out of control of your own workload? Are you one of those managers who say do as I say not as I do?
Take some time during staff appraisals to discuss an employees workload, at least. Preferably have an ongoing discussion on this topic rather than once a year! Break down the work and tasks. Work together to identify the bottlenecks. Ask who is the best, most effective, well qualified, most experienced, person to be doing this task? Also ask what is the impact of having this person do this task? Seek out opportunities for sharing roles. Look for the dull, the mundane, the boring and do whatever is in your power to get rid of such tasks. Look for more efficient means of processing the mountain of paperwork demanded by Canberra and Wellington with little or no thought given to either purpose or impact. There are many, many things you can do, as a manager, to help reduce the level of workplace stress amongst employees and staff.
One of the most important management behaviors is to spend time walking around the workplace. I work with the CEO of a Lifeline organisation in Australia. This CEO has spent time in every part of the organisation. She regularly visits the Lifeline stores, wanders round the warehouse and eats lunch with her staff. This is not micro management, this is good management. This CEO has line managers and she leaves them to get on with the job they are entrusted with. When the CEO is walking around she is listening to the stories her staff tell her, she is observing the workplace conditions imposed upon them and her staff can see that she is making an effort to understand how their work impacts upon them. This is not a little thing, this is huge.
Keep your eyes and ears open. Look and listen for signs of distress amongst your staff. Move quickly to provide guidance and support. Whatever you do, do not ignore the signs. The longer you take to act the more it costs your organisation. The sooner you act the less it costs to intervene. When an issue is small and at an embryonic stage it takes much less time and resources to resolve. The more time and resources you devote to resolving an issue the greater the potential for causing distress elsewhere in the organisation.
Failure to observe and failure to act upon workplace stress is very poor management. As a manager you have a duty of care towards those in your work group.
Let The Journey Continue
John Coxon
John Coxon & Associates
Taking You from Frontline Manager to CEO
Email john@johncoxon.com.au
Skype: john_coxon
Blog: http://healthsector.blogspot.com
Blog: http://nfp-management.blogspot.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/johncoxon
Follow john_coxon on Twitter
Join John Coxon on Facebook
None of this is an excuse for mistreating employees or maintaining stressful environments. Managers in the health sector have an obligation, which they accept when they take on the role, to look our for the wellbeing of those staff working with them.
Workplace stress, created by a less-than-friendly workplace environment leads to increased levels of absenteeism, stress-related workplace insurance claims and staff turnover. Add to this mix those employees that experience high levels of stress yet continue to work, do so at minimal levels of effectiveness. It becomes clear the costs associated with workplace stress are high indeed.
As a manager in a hospital, an aged care facility or a medical centre, what can you do to minimise the impact of the workplace upon employees?
Firstly look to help yourself. You cannot help others if you are stressed, unwell or unable to cope. I was working with a manager recently and while we were talking she opened her Outlook task list and pointed out two things. The first was the number of overdue tasks. The second was the number of tasks that she continued to reschedule. These are tasks the manager would like to do, but it was obviously not critical she do them, and one day, if she had time she might get to do them. We talked about those constantly rescheduled tasks and pondered on how many of them were important and if so could they be delegated to others on her work group? A key reason for workplace stress amongst managers is our inability to manage the tasks in our workload. We procrastinate. We leave the unpleasant jobs till they become critical - then we impose stress upon ourselves - and others. We neglect to break large tasks down into a series of small, easily achieved chunks done over a longer period. We fail to plan our work effectively, leading to us taking work home or trying to sleep when we are worried about looming deadlines. That is just what we do to ourselves!
What we do to others on our work group can be much, much worse. When you, as a manager, are stressed and under the pump your capacity to engage in effective decision making is reduced. Your tolerance for working through workplace issues is reduced. Your ability to ask questions and identify the root cause of an issue is reduced. You are always rushing from place to place; unable to spend time facilitating and fostering conversations or listening to what is being said, or even observing what is taking place around you. When you are stressed as a manager you might as well go home because you will be totally ineffective. Your employer is wasting money on you when you continue to operate in a high stress mode.
As a manager you are a role model. Those in your work group will follow you lead. What do you think they see when you appear out of control of your own workload? Are you one of those managers who say do as I say not as I do?
Take some time during staff appraisals to discuss an employees workload, at least. Preferably have an ongoing discussion on this topic rather than once a year! Break down the work and tasks. Work together to identify the bottlenecks. Ask who is the best, most effective, well qualified, most experienced, person to be doing this task? Also ask what is the impact of having this person do this task? Seek out opportunities for sharing roles. Look for the dull, the mundane, the boring and do whatever is in your power to get rid of such tasks. Look for more efficient means of processing the mountain of paperwork demanded by Canberra and Wellington with little or no thought given to either purpose or impact. There are many, many things you can do, as a manager, to help reduce the level of workplace stress amongst employees and staff.
One of the most important management behaviors is to spend time walking around the workplace. I work with the CEO of a Lifeline organisation in Australia. This CEO has spent time in every part of the organisation. She regularly visits the Lifeline stores, wanders round the warehouse and eats lunch with her staff. This is not micro management, this is good management. This CEO has line managers and she leaves them to get on with the job they are entrusted with. When the CEO is walking around she is listening to the stories her staff tell her, she is observing the workplace conditions imposed upon them and her staff can see that she is making an effort to understand how their work impacts upon them. This is not a little thing, this is huge.
Keep your eyes and ears open. Look and listen for signs of distress amongst your staff. Move quickly to provide guidance and support. Whatever you do, do not ignore the signs. The longer you take to act the more it costs your organisation. The sooner you act the less it costs to intervene. When an issue is small and at an embryonic stage it takes much less time and resources to resolve. The more time and resources you devote to resolving an issue the greater the potential for causing distress elsewhere in the organisation.
Failure to observe and failure to act upon workplace stress is very poor management. As a manager you have a duty of care towards those in your work group.
Let The Journey Continue
John Coxon
John Coxon & Associates
Taking You from Frontline Manager to CEO
Email john@johncoxon.com.au
Skype: john_coxon
Blog: http://healthsector.blogspot.com
Blog: http://nfp-management.blogspot.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/johncoxon
Follow john_coxon on Twitter
Join John Coxon on Facebook
Monday, July 27, 2009
The Responsibility Of Management
Release of yet another report into health care in Australia will generate considerable public debate over the next twelve months. Much of this debate will likely centre around how the Commonwealth and State Governments could reduce the cost of public health care.
In the midst of this debate life in any health care facility goes on, yet the nature of the debate serves to create fear and uncertainty amongst those employed in the public health sector. In these circumstances management teams need to show leadership.
Public health care is a political football, it always will be, regardless of how health costs are funded. Management teams must focus on the efficient operation of their facility and leave the political postering to the bureaucrats.
In such situations the rumour mill will run wild. Stories will circulate about many things including control of hospitals, the future of various facilities and even staffing numbers. Rumours are counterproductive, they waste time and they distract staff from their work. Take the lead. Implement a comprehensive communication process. Focus on the facts in your communication and do not leave rumours unchallenged.
Management teams need to maintain a long term perspective. They need to continue to find ways to improve efficiency and effectiveness. During a Government review is not a good time to run up unsustainable operating losses. The level of public scrutiny on the health sector will increase over the next twelve months.
Now more than ever it is important to ensure your management team have the competencies to operate your facility effectively. Do they understand operational costs? Do they understand alternative strategies for controlling costs? Do they know how to source information, how to analyse information and how to work together to make the most appropriate decisions?
No more than ever, these are the things your management team should be focusing upon.
John Coxon & Associates have developed an integrated management process where we work with your management group to identify the various management competencies required, the existing level of those competencies and a process for improvement. All the money and technology in the world will not provide cost effective public health care unless management have developed the ability work together in a collaborative manner and make the right decisions.
Let The Journey Continue
John Coxon
John Coxon & Associates
Taking You from Frontline Manager to CEO
Email john@johncoxon.com.au
Skype: john_coxon
Blog: http://healthsector.blogspot.com
Blog: http://nfp-management.blogspot.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/johncoxon
Follow john_coxon on Twitter
Join John Coxon on Facebook
In the midst of this debate life in any health care facility goes on, yet the nature of the debate serves to create fear and uncertainty amongst those employed in the public health sector. In these circumstances management teams need to show leadership.
Public health care is a political football, it always will be, regardless of how health costs are funded. Management teams must focus on the efficient operation of their facility and leave the political postering to the bureaucrats.
In such situations the rumour mill will run wild. Stories will circulate about many things including control of hospitals, the future of various facilities and even staffing numbers. Rumours are counterproductive, they waste time and they distract staff from their work. Take the lead. Implement a comprehensive communication process. Focus on the facts in your communication and do not leave rumours unchallenged.
Management teams need to maintain a long term perspective. They need to continue to find ways to improve efficiency and effectiveness. During a Government review is not a good time to run up unsustainable operating losses. The level of public scrutiny on the health sector will increase over the next twelve months.
Now more than ever it is important to ensure your management team have the competencies to operate your facility effectively. Do they understand operational costs? Do they understand alternative strategies for controlling costs? Do they know how to source information, how to analyse information and how to work together to make the most appropriate decisions?
No more than ever, these are the things your management team should be focusing upon.
John Coxon & Associates have developed an integrated management process where we work with your management group to identify the various management competencies required, the existing level of those competencies and a process for improvement. All the money and technology in the world will not provide cost effective public health care unless management have developed the ability work together in a collaborative manner and make the right decisions.
Let The Journey Continue
John Coxon
John Coxon & Associates
Taking You from Frontline Manager to CEO
Email john@johncoxon.com.au
Skype: john_coxon
Blog: http://healthsector.blogspot.com
Blog: http://nfp-management.blogspot.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/johncoxon
Follow john_coxon on Twitter
Join John Coxon on Facebook
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Reducing Workplace Stress
Notice I have use the term 'reduce' rather than to manage stress. My reasoning is this. The events that cause us stress are (a) either self generated or (b) we are able to put in place some countering strategies. Our aim should be to reduce the potential for stress rather than trying to manage stress after it has occurred.
Everyone experiences events that are stressful to them. For some its being late for appointments, or when others are late, or being interrupted when on the phone. Take a piece of paper. List the events that really give you the irricks at work. Prioritise the list - some events are more stressful than others. Now beside each event note down the signs you might observe that indicate the potential for stress. For example, you might be chairing a meeting, you notice a couple of empty seats. This is a sign. The aim here is to identify the range of trigger points that might send you into a tiz. When you can identify the event and the signs that such an event is likely to occur you can then identify a range of strategies to help you cope better.
In most instances a stessful event is not attack on you personally. When a person is late for a meeting, its not that they don't appreciate your time or topic, its that they have sloppy work habits. That is their problem; not yours - so try not to take it personally.
Be proactive, don't wait for something stressful to occur. Move yourself from the event. Get some fresh air, cold water to drink, move around so that you are more relaxed, create your own 'sadhana' a place where you go to relax and reflect or find an ally to talk things through with.
Many of the things that cause us to be stressed are created by our own behaviour. If you become stressed at being late for meetings then leave yourself more than adequate time to get there. I am aware of a colleague who absolutely hates walking into a room full of strangers. So instead she arrives early and makes a point of greeting people as they arrive. Relaxed and positive. Another person who becomes physically stressed at moving from fresh air to an air conditioned room. He experiences severe persperation. The strategy, arrive early, go to the indoor area, sit, relax, take off the jacket, have a cool drink of water and let the body acclimatise. Then attend the meeting feeling relaxed and confident. If you have a task that requires uninterrupted concentration, try moving to a secluded place (where people cannot find you), work from home or a quiet cafe or just close the door with a polite sign asking people to indulge your need for privacy at this moment.
Many people, when they are trying to get you to accept their point of view, will attempt to raise the stress levels. They intuitively understand we are at our weakest when we feel stressed. It is when we are mot likely to give into their demands. You can control the stress levels in these situations.
We increase the stress levels by being reactive. One of the quickest ways to to shift from being reactive to becoming proactive (and less stressed) is to ask a question. It means you have to listen actively, you have to think through the questions. Others have to listen and they have to think through the answer.
As a manager be constantly aware of stressful situations occuring in your work group. Keep your ears and eyes open. Coach employees through stressful situations. Bring the group together to discuss, reflect and set boundaries for behaviours. It is important you remain cool, calm and collective, and avoid becoming stressed yourself - or being seen to be stressed - you as a role model is critical. Others will follow your lead and that helps to design the culture that works for your group. Been seen to practice the very things you would like others to do themselves.
Develop the ability to say NO. If you are unable to say no, politely, then you will become a doormat for someone. It is possible to say no to your boss. The success is in the way you say it. Some people prefer to say yes for fear they might cause offence in saying no. Others simply dont feel comfortable saying no to their manager. Your manager would much prefer someone else, more able, to do a task, than have it only partially done because you have insufficient time or to have you break down at work. Be upfront. Say, I am sorry, I would like to help out but I've got XYZ to complete by this date, I would struggle to complete it well, and would prefer you ask someone else. It's that simple. And, if you have a boss who is a prick, then go find a better place to work.
You cannot do your job effectively if you are stressed or on sick leave. You have customers and patients that rely upon you. You must look after yourself by being proactive about reducing the opportunity for stress. Adopt a Buddhist approach, say the right things, take the right actions and be mindful of your environment.
Finally don't beat up on yourself. We are human, we make mistakes. Sometimes our emotions trigger off a reaction faster than we can spot it coming and do something else. When that happens say sorry, mend the bridges and move on. You will learn from the experience. Remember you dont have to like the people you work with, however you do need to develop the skills to work with them in a positive and productive manner
Let The Journey Continue
John Coxon
John Coxon & Associates
Taking You from Frontline Manager to CEO
Email john@johncoxon.com.au
Skype: john_coxon
Blog: http://healthsector.blogspot.com
Blog: http://nfp-management.blogspot.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/johncoxon
Follow john_coxon on Twitter
Join John Coxon on Facebook
Everyone experiences events that are stressful to them. For some its being late for appointments, or when others are late, or being interrupted when on the phone. Take a piece of paper. List the events that really give you the irricks at work. Prioritise the list - some events are more stressful than others. Now beside each event note down the signs you might observe that indicate the potential for stress. For example, you might be chairing a meeting, you notice a couple of empty seats. This is a sign. The aim here is to identify the range of trigger points that might send you into a tiz. When you can identify the event and the signs that such an event is likely to occur you can then identify a range of strategies to help you cope better.
In most instances a stessful event is not attack on you personally. When a person is late for a meeting, its not that they don't appreciate your time or topic, its that they have sloppy work habits. That is their problem; not yours - so try not to take it personally.
Be proactive, don't wait for something stressful to occur. Move yourself from the event. Get some fresh air, cold water to drink, move around so that you are more relaxed, create your own 'sadhana' a place where you go to relax and reflect or find an ally to talk things through with.
Many of the things that cause us to be stressed are created by our own behaviour. If you become stressed at being late for meetings then leave yourself more than adequate time to get there. I am aware of a colleague who absolutely hates walking into a room full of strangers. So instead she arrives early and makes a point of greeting people as they arrive. Relaxed and positive. Another person who becomes physically stressed at moving from fresh air to an air conditioned room. He experiences severe persperation. The strategy, arrive early, go to the indoor area, sit, relax, take off the jacket, have a cool drink of water and let the body acclimatise. Then attend the meeting feeling relaxed and confident. If you have a task that requires uninterrupted concentration, try moving to a secluded place (where people cannot find you), work from home or a quiet cafe or just close the door with a polite sign asking people to indulge your need for privacy at this moment.
Many people, when they are trying to get you to accept their point of view, will attempt to raise the stress levels. They intuitively understand we are at our weakest when we feel stressed. It is when we are mot likely to give into their demands. You can control the stress levels in these situations.
We increase the stress levels by being reactive. One of the quickest ways to to shift from being reactive to becoming proactive (and less stressed) is to ask a question. It means you have to listen actively, you have to think through the questions. Others have to listen and they have to think through the answer.
As a manager be constantly aware of stressful situations occuring in your work group. Keep your ears and eyes open. Coach employees through stressful situations. Bring the group together to discuss, reflect and set boundaries for behaviours. It is important you remain cool, calm and collective, and avoid becoming stressed yourself - or being seen to be stressed - you as a role model is critical. Others will follow your lead and that helps to design the culture that works for your group. Been seen to practice the very things you would like others to do themselves.
Develop the ability to say NO. If you are unable to say no, politely, then you will become a doormat for someone. It is possible to say no to your boss. The success is in the way you say it. Some people prefer to say yes for fear they might cause offence in saying no. Others simply dont feel comfortable saying no to their manager. Your manager would much prefer someone else, more able, to do a task, than have it only partially done because you have insufficient time or to have you break down at work. Be upfront. Say, I am sorry, I would like to help out but I've got XYZ to complete by this date, I would struggle to complete it well, and would prefer you ask someone else. It's that simple. And, if you have a boss who is a prick, then go find a better place to work.
You cannot do your job effectively if you are stressed or on sick leave. You have customers and patients that rely upon you. You must look after yourself by being proactive about reducing the opportunity for stress. Adopt a Buddhist approach, say the right things, take the right actions and be mindful of your environment.
Finally don't beat up on yourself. We are human, we make mistakes. Sometimes our emotions trigger off a reaction faster than we can spot it coming and do something else. When that happens say sorry, mend the bridges and move on. You will learn from the experience. Remember you dont have to like the people you work with, however you do need to develop the skills to work with them in a positive and productive manner
Let The Journey Continue
John Coxon
John Coxon & Associates
Taking You from Frontline Manager to CEO
Email john@johncoxon.com.au
Skype: john_coxon
Blog: http://healthsector.blogspot.com
Blog: http://nfp-management.blogspot.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/johncoxon
Follow john_coxon on Twitter
Join John Coxon on Facebook
Sunday, July 5, 2009
None so blind as those that refuse to see
Recently I heard a television broadcaster pose a question. Will soccer become a bigger sport in Australia than Aussie Rules? My colleague, with me at the time, a true-blue Victorian, scoffed and said it will never happen. My response was to suggest her very response indicated it would happen.
Our choice of language is important. When we say it will never happen we may be opening the door to allow it to happen. Leaving aside the greater global popularity of soccer, the opportunities for players to represent their country, to play in almost any country in the world, to earn greater income, for television studios to demand higher advertising rates and provide greater sponsorship, for parents (and players) to avoid lifelong complications from a variety of horrendous injuries and the list goes on. In saying, 'it will never happen' we are closing our minds to the possibility it may happen and preventing ourselves from implementing flexible strategies designed to ensure sustainability.
How often do we say the words, 'it will never happen'? How often to we use these words to defend past ways of doing things? Part of our rationale is our fear of the unknown. We prefer to work with what we know rather than what we don't know. That doesn't mean we shouldn't take the time to discover what we don't know, in doing so the unknown becomes known, the future becomes clearer, our fears reduce and we move forward.
An army patrol has three options. The first is to sit and do nothing. The second is to send the entire patrol out at the same time, side by side, in a line and the third is to send out a couple of scouts to survey the approaching environment. If they elect to do nothing everyone will die. If they elect to walk shoulder to shoulder the majority will die. When they send out a scouting party, one or two or even maybe none, will die.
If you sit and do nothing then the future envelopes you to become the present and very soon you become the past. If you rush blindly into the future without taking time to gather information then you are gambling on survival - heads or toes. When we take the time to survey the future, gather information, blend it with past and create a new future, we adapt and the majority of us survive.
My colleagues approach to the question on the rise of soccer over Aussie Rules was to dismiss the possibility out of hand; in doing so took the sit and wait approach. If my colleagues perspective were representative of the majority of Victorians, then Aussie Rules may become a minority sport in time.
How do you avoid the 'sit and wait' approach at work? Firstly acknowledge the future will be different to the present. Nothing stays the same. Consider nursing, arguably the second oldest profession in the world, look at how it has evolved since the days of Florence Nightingale! I am sure many old-school nurses would prefer the profession to have remained as it was. Had it done so, how successful would hospitals be at attracting high quality people, today?
Take time to explore and ask 'what if' or 'how can we do this better'? In doing so you are intuitively exploring the changing needs of your customers and consumers. You are adapting.
I am certain Andrew Demetriou, CEO of the Australian Football League believes soccer could be bigger than Aussie Rules, if he and his executive team were to allow it to happen. I am equally sure they do not intend to sit and do nothing. The executive team of the AFL owe to their army of stakeholders and supporters to be aware of the the emerging environment and to prepare accordingly. As a member of the management team in your organisation you owe it to your stakeholders to do the same.
My question for you, this fine Sunday morning, is this. Is your management team hunkered down in a foxhole, content with present, believing it can survive a firestorm or have you sent out the scouts, to survey the emerging environment and to provide you with information to enable your organisation to operate in a sustainable manner?
If you are a manager in a public hospital perhaps I could pose the question to you in another way. Could the health system in Australia and New Zealand become a privatised system similar to that of the United States?
Let The Journey Continue
John Coxon
John Coxon & Associates
Taking You from Frontline Manager to CEO
Email john@johncoxon.com.au
Skype: john_coxon
Blog: http://healthsector.blogspot.com
Blog: http://nfp-management.blogspot.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/johncoxon
Follow john_coxon on Twitter
Join John Coxon on Facebook
Our choice of language is important. When we say it will never happen we may be opening the door to allow it to happen. Leaving aside the greater global popularity of soccer, the opportunities for players to represent their country, to play in almost any country in the world, to earn greater income, for television studios to demand higher advertising rates and provide greater sponsorship, for parents (and players) to avoid lifelong complications from a variety of horrendous injuries and the list goes on. In saying, 'it will never happen' we are closing our minds to the possibility it may happen and preventing ourselves from implementing flexible strategies designed to ensure sustainability.
How often do we say the words, 'it will never happen'? How often to we use these words to defend past ways of doing things? Part of our rationale is our fear of the unknown. We prefer to work with what we know rather than what we don't know. That doesn't mean we shouldn't take the time to discover what we don't know, in doing so the unknown becomes known, the future becomes clearer, our fears reduce and we move forward.
An army patrol has three options. The first is to sit and do nothing. The second is to send the entire patrol out at the same time, side by side, in a line and the third is to send out a couple of scouts to survey the approaching environment. If they elect to do nothing everyone will die. If they elect to walk shoulder to shoulder the majority will die. When they send out a scouting party, one or two or even maybe none, will die.
If you sit and do nothing then the future envelopes you to become the present and very soon you become the past. If you rush blindly into the future without taking time to gather information then you are gambling on survival - heads or toes. When we take the time to survey the future, gather information, blend it with past and create a new future, we adapt and the majority of us survive.
My colleagues approach to the question on the rise of soccer over Aussie Rules was to dismiss the possibility out of hand; in doing so took the sit and wait approach. If my colleagues perspective were representative of the majority of Victorians, then Aussie Rules may become a minority sport in time.
How do you avoid the 'sit and wait' approach at work? Firstly acknowledge the future will be different to the present. Nothing stays the same. Consider nursing, arguably the second oldest profession in the world, look at how it has evolved since the days of Florence Nightingale! I am sure many old-school nurses would prefer the profession to have remained as it was. Had it done so, how successful would hospitals be at attracting high quality people, today?
Take time to explore and ask 'what if' or 'how can we do this better'? In doing so you are intuitively exploring the changing needs of your customers and consumers. You are adapting.
I am certain Andrew Demetriou, CEO of the Australian Football League believes soccer could be bigger than Aussie Rules, if he and his executive team were to allow it to happen. I am equally sure they do not intend to sit and do nothing. The executive team of the AFL owe to their army of stakeholders and supporters to be aware of the the emerging environment and to prepare accordingly. As a member of the management team in your organisation you owe it to your stakeholders to do the same.
My question for you, this fine Sunday morning, is this. Is your management team hunkered down in a foxhole, content with present, believing it can survive a firestorm or have you sent out the scouts, to survey the emerging environment and to provide you with information to enable your organisation to operate in a sustainable manner?
If you are a manager in a public hospital perhaps I could pose the question to you in another way. Could the health system in Australia and New Zealand become a privatised system similar to that of the United States?
Let The Journey Continue
John Coxon
John Coxon & Associates
Taking You from Frontline Manager to CEO
Email john@johncoxon.com.au
Skype: john_coxon
Blog: http://healthsector.blogspot.com
Blog: http://nfp-management.blogspot.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/johncoxon
Follow john_coxon on Twitter
Join John Coxon on Facebook
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Intelligent Leadership
Let's look at the word intelligent. What does it suggest? It is similar to the word intelligence - the gathering of information. To be intelligent is to make effective use of intelligence. We gather intelligence from a wide variety of sources and we constantly refresh our pool of knowledge - well we would if we were providing intelligent leadership.
With deference to Stafford Beer, let's see if I can compose a visual image of an organisation. Firstly we have have a group of primary activities. In a health provider, for example, theatre could be considered a primary activity. In an aged care facility the kitchen could be a primary activity. In itself, a primary activity is self sustaining and is a model of the entire organisation.
Around the primary activity units you have the administrative support activities that develop the information channels, enable communication between primary activities and coordinate activities.
The third group is those that provide operational planning and control. Let's refer to them as the management group.
There is a fourth group concerned with business development, marketing and research.
The fifth and final group is responsible for policy direction and identity - let's refer to them as the Board.
These five groups within any organisation for the internal environment. Surrounding them is another group we will refer to as the external environment.
The easiest way to visualise this is to draw six circles on a sheet of paper. The order doesnt matter and number them 1-5. Label the sixth circle 'external environment'. What is the first thing you notice? Is it that each of these group is disconnected to each other? Which means, of course, that their will be limited communication between the groups.
You're first reaction will be to say, well yes, that is possible but it is impossible for an organisation to function without communication. You are correct. It is impossible for an organisation to be its most effective without communication between those six groups.
This is where the intelligent leadership comes into play. It is easy to establish essential communication channels between groups in an organisation. Unfortunately all that achieves is day to day survival and eventually leads to demise. More is required. Intelligent leadership establishes multi-directional communication. Most people only ever achieve one-directional communication. That is they say, give me the information and I will decide if I want to use it or not. They offer nothing back in return. The do not consider the bigger picture and where else that information might be useful. They hoard the information they have due to a misplaced sense of gaining power. They fail to understand that they are a part of a much larger jigsaw and that the piece they hold may be the missing piece that completes the picture.
Stafford Beer refered to this as a viable system. When you have a group of self sustaining activities interacting in such a manner as to not only feed off each other but also provide nutrition to each other - independent and interdependent - then you have the most effective organisation. I refer to this as intelligent leadership.
Are you in a leadership role? Try this. Take out a piece of paper. Write down the outcomes your group are expected to acheive. Identify the communication channels that exist. Ask yourself what communication is needed to achieve optimum effectiveness. You now have the gap. Call me, John Coxon, on +61355612228 or email me and we can talk more about how to develop intelligent leadership in your organisation.
Let The Journey Continue
John Coxon
John Coxon & Associates
Taking You from Frontline Manager to CEO
Email john@johncoxon.com.au
Skype: john_coxon
Blog: http://healthsector.blogspot.com
Blog: http://nfp-management.blogspot.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/johncoxon
Follow john_coxon on Twitter
Join John Coxon on Facebook
With deference to Stafford Beer, let's see if I can compose a visual image of an organisation. Firstly we have have a group of primary activities. In a health provider, for example, theatre could be considered a primary activity. In an aged care facility the kitchen could be a primary activity. In itself, a primary activity is self sustaining and is a model of the entire organisation.
Around the primary activity units you have the administrative support activities that develop the information channels, enable communication between primary activities and coordinate activities.
The third group is those that provide operational planning and control. Let's refer to them as the management group.
There is a fourth group concerned with business development, marketing and research.
The fifth and final group is responsible for policy direction and identity - let's refer to them as the Board.
These five groups within any organisation for the internal environment. Surrounding them is another group we will refer to as the external environment.
The easiest way to visualise this is to draw six circles on a sheet of paper. The order doesnt matter and number them 1-5. Label the sixth circle 'external environment'. What is the first thing you notice? Is it that each of these group is disconnected to each other? Which means, of course, that their will be limited communication between the groups.
You're first reaction will be to say, well yes, that is possible but it is impossible for an organisation to function without communication. You are correct. It is impossible for an organisation to be its most effective without communication between those six groups.
This is where the intelligent leadership comes into play. It is easy to establish essential communication channels between groups in an organisation. Unfortunately all that achieves is day to day survival and eventually leads to demise. More is required. Intelligent leadership establishes multi-directional communication. Most people only ever achieve one-directional communication. That is they say, give me the information and I will decide if I want to use it or not. They offer nothing back in return. The do not consider the bigger picture and where else that information might be useful. They hoard the information they have due to a misplaced sense of gaining power. They fail to understand that they are a part of a much larger jigsaw and that the piece they hold may be the missing piece that completes the picture.
Stafford Beer refered to this as a viable system. When you have a group of self sustaining activities interacting in such a manner as to not only feed off each other but also provide nutrition to each other - independent and interdependent - then you have the most effective organisation. I refer to this as intelligent leadership.
Are you in a leadership role? Try this. Take out a piece of paper. Write down the outcomes your group are expected to acheive. Identify the communication channels that exist. Ask yourself what communication is needed to achieve optimum effectiveness. You now have the gap. Call me, John Coxon, on +61355612228 or email me and we can talk more about how to develop intelligent leadership in your organisation.
Let The Journey Continue
John Coxon
John Coxon & Associates
Taking You from Frontline Manager to CEO
Email john@johncoxon.com.au
Skype: john_coxon
Blog: http://healthsector.blogspot.com
Blog: http://nfp-management.blogspot.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/johncoxon
Follow john_coxon on Twitter
Join John Coxon on Facebook
Sunday, April 5, 2009
A new form of leadership
We need a revolution in leadership. The current economic crisis is a result of greed - a very specific form of leadership, one based upon oneself without regard for the impact one's actions upon others.
We need to move away from the individualised, ego-driven, form of leadership, baed upon charisma that we have been witnessing for the past twenty years.
The answers to our dilemmas and problems rest in collaborative action; our ability to work together, to have meaningful dialogue, to make promises and commitments and to establish trust. This is not the world of policies or legislation, organisational development or management processes. It is the world of people working together for the common good of all involved.
Each person in your team has something to contribute. As a leader your role should be to bring out the best in people, to help develop their potential and to encourage them to contribute to the collective leadership of the team.
The type of leadership required as we move past the current crisis and search for a more equitable world is one where we view the workplace as a community, a place where everyone works together in a collaborative manner to ensure ongoing and satisfying work, where the pool of money is shared more equitably, where multicultural diversity is celebrated and where everyone understands how every part of the organisation interacts and how they contribute to its success.
Let The Journey Continue
John Coxon
John Coxon & Associates
Taking You from Frontline Manager to CEO
Email john@johncoxon.com.au
Skype: john_coxon
Blog: http://healthsector.blogspot.com
Blog: http://nfp-management.blogspot.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/johncoxon
Follow john_coxon on Twitter
Join John Coxon on Facebook
We need to move away from the individualised, ego-driven, form of leadership, baed upon charisma that we have been witnessing for the past twenty years.
The answers to our dilemmas and problems rest in collaborative action; our ability to work together, to have meaningful dialogue, to make promises and commitments and to establish trust. This is not the world of policies or legislation, organisational development or management processes. It is the world of people working together for the common good of all involved.
Each person in your team has something to contribute. As a leader your role should be to bring out the best in people, to help develop their potential and to encourage them to contribute to the collective leadership of the team.
The type of leadership required as we move past the current crisis and search for a more equitable world is one where we view the workplace as a community, a place where everyone works together in a collaborative manner to ensure ongoing and satisfying work, where the pool of money is shared more equitably, where multicultural diversity is celebrated and where everyone understands how every part of the organisation interacts and how they contribute to its success.
Let The Journey Continue
John Coxon
John Coxon & Associates
Taking You from Frontline Manager to CEO
Email john@johncoxon.com.au
Skype: john_coxon
Blog: http://healthsector.blogspot.com
Blog: http://nfp-management.blogspot.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/johncoxon
Follow john_coxon on Twitter
Join John Coxon on Facebook
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