Elite Thinking: Coaches as strengths-based leaders (part 2)

 

“If you want to grow – if you want to be successful in any way in your career, your relationships, your life – you’ve got to focus on strengths, and manage around your weaknesses”. (Marcus Buckingham, Founder of the strengths revolution)

There is a strengths wave that has been building momentum for some time. Whether you work in business, health, education or the sports industry, the strengths-based approach has changed the way we see ourselves, our colleagues, our children and our world. The strengths approach is at the core of my Elite Thinking methodology which teaches that you learn very little about excellence when you study weaknesses. It is simply incorrect that a deep understanding of weaknesses will amount to a deep understanding of excellence. That is why we study successful teams and not unsuccessful teams in business and sport. It is why we analyze great leaders so we can discover what made them so successful. We move in the direction of our thoughts and as we lean more to looking at success, excellence, and productivity, so we will discover the ingredients, the characteristics, the paradigms, the actions and so on that will lead us to further success. The strengths-based Elite Thinking methodology advances players and coaches to levels previously unattainable. It gives teams a competitive advantage in sports, business and life. This methodology helps coaches know their own strengths, and have them be the guide for their lives, and to help players uncover, unpack and unleash their strengths. While the focus on the methodology is on strengths, we cannot ignore weaknesses. This article looks at the challenges of focusing on weaknesses and introduces the idea of the positive pivot.

 We move in the direction of our thoughts and as we lean more to looking at success, excellence, and productivity, so we will discover the ingredients, the characteristics, the paradigms, the actions and so on that will lead us to further success.

Fixating on Weaknesses

We often hear the importance of playing to one's strengths, so why is there a deep desire to focus on weaknesses? Part of that desire comes from our upbringing and how we were led to focus on our report card flaws and improve those to become strengths. That may have arisen because our parents (and we can include teachers, coaches and managers) have two incorrect paradigms through which people are viewed. One is that we can become competent at anything if we put our minds to it. Two, each person’s greatest opportunity is in their area of weakness. Unfortunately, it is not only the report card conversation where we see evidence of this. Organizations typically fall foul of a strengths-based focus and are fixated on fixing weaknesses. Most organizations I go into have a deficit focus and have these characteristics. Performance reviews examine an employer’s weaknesses, and then designs training around how to fix them. Individual Development Plans are built around areas of weakness. Even the company-wide SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) has an area for weaknesses that is typically emphasized. And, since people operate from the paradigm that a person can be competent in almost anything, people are both hired based on competencies and potential, and promoted based on performance in their current role, not necessarily a strengths-fit for the new role. It is no wonder that the majority of employees across the globe do not feel engaged in their work and the financial, personal and health issues that result from this lack of engagement are severe.

Furthermore, people have so little understanding of their talents and strengths. Why? Because before the rise of positive psychology, the focus of psychology was on diagnosing and fixing issues and problems. This traditional notion of people being broken has ensured we spend most of our time fixing people when in fact we should be focusing on the potential within their strengths. The strengths wave backed by science shows us clearly that identifying what we are good at, those natural talents and gifts, and turning them into strengths is transformational. And, I would argue, a still-to-be tapped resource in the world of sports coaching. Weaknesses typically remain weaknesses, and so we spend so much of our time hiding these flaws from others. Self-confidence takes a hammering and the result is often less drive to learn, grow and improve. Stories of player burnout, addiction, mental illness, locker room fights and coach exhaustion abound.

 Identifying what we are good at, those natural talents and gifts, and turning them into strengths is transformational

Strengths focus ignites talent

Coaches are tempted to fixate on weaknesses. It seems preposterous to focus only on the strengths of a player when there is so much to work on. Let’s examine this for a moment. Imagine if Steffi Graf, the brilliant tennis star, had forgone hours of practicing her devastating forehand to focus on her backhand. Her backhand was not a weapon, but her foot work and her ability to get around her backhand to unleash the forehand was exceptional. That is what got her to be ranked world No. 1 for a record 377 weeks and win 22 Grand Slam singles titles. What would it look like if players could focus on their strengths? Studies have repeatedly shown that a person is more engaged, productive, and creative when playing to their strengths. Furthermore, individuals exhibit better judgement. In the heat of battle, a coach needs their players to be able to make the correct calls. Coaches ought to know their players and be able to coach them so that certain skills are at competency level, and the natural strengths of players are focused on so that they become the best at their game in those talent-filled areas. The key lever for any coach then is to get each person to play to their strengths and in doing so their players become better performers. When strengths are the focus of a coach, they are on their way to building a high performance team.

 

In cricket, for example, we see lower order batters spending time improving their batting skills so they don’t get too easily dismissed and contribute to the team’s score, but they don’t spend that time at the expense of improving their bowling, the very strengths that got into the team. Or soccer goalkeepers who work on their dribbling and ground passing skills to reach levels of competency that add value to their core role of goalkeeping, but not to the expense of their ability to keep the ball out the net. We move further, faster and have more fun in our areas of strength.

 

It’s a ratio game

A coach cannot ignore a player’s weak technical skills. If a player is holding the ball or bat incorrectly, the coach needs to step in and correct that. You don’t let a player flounder. But it’s a ratio game. The coach needs to ask, “How much of my interaction time is spent fixing weaknesses versus highlighting strengths?” Coaches must be aware of the traditional deficit-type questions that are obsessed with problems and aim to remove or reduce impediments to success. There are absolutely times when a direct intervention is necessary; however, a coach who relies too much on this approach is failing to tap into the strengths of the players and missing the opportunity to create thinking players.

 

A player learning a new skill (like a knuckleball) needs some direct coaching, where to place the fingers, what the release point looks like and so on. This is coaching a skill or technique. I always ask, “What does it feel like when you play the shot/bowl the ball/pitch the ball perfectly?” “Describe what you are thinking, doing, feeling when you pitch at your best?” Players themselves begin to break down their technique on their own. They start from the best shot, best pitch, best throw. They begin with a perfect model in their thoughts and work out in detail what that looks and feels like and then work to replicate that on a near-consistent basis thus creating a strength.

The strengths-based Elite Thinking methodology advances players and coaches to levels previously unattainable.

Power of the positive pivot

The Journal of Change Management has an article on sport and positive psychology that states this strengths-based approach “poses an interesting challenge for sports coaches and business leaders,  who often see themselves as problem-solvers who are expected to ‘fix what’s broken.’”(1) Yet, positivity literally changes how our minds work. By pivoting from a focus on fixing weaknesses to seeing strengths, coaches can ask positive questions that create a conversation that brings with it the opportunity for positive action, a positive environment, and the opportunity for players to play to their strengths.

 

 

Dr. Peter Dry

March, 2021

peterdry@thepdlearninggroup.com

 

Peter uses his Elite Thinking methodology to unleash the potential in teams across all sectors.

 

1. Martin Dixon, Sarah Lee & Tony Ghaye (2105): Strengths-based reflective practices for the management of change: applications from sport and positive psychology, Journal of Change Management.

Photo credit: https://100daysofa11y.com/2019/01/30/day-61-identifying-a11y-issues-for-users-who-magnify-their-screen/

Elite Thinking: Coaches as strengths-based leaders (part 1)

“The opportunity to forge ahead of the pack lies in the ability (and courage) to shift from the old management or coaching philosophy towards a more empowering strengths-focused environment” 

(Paddy Upton, former mental conditioning and strategic leadership coach of the Indian cricket team when they became the first team to simultaneously hold the no.1 ranking in all formats of the game).

 

Elite Thinking is a framework that has been used with many athletes and coaches to build a world champion mindset. The work is grounded in the belief that greater levels of self-awareness around the strengths of an individual builds sustainable success for players and teams. This is a solution-focused approach which entails identifying what creates a successful team, who the team is when they are at their best and then aiming to replicate that each game. The coach’s role is to engage the players’ strengths and highlight positive performances  to create confidence, belief and enthusiasm and ultimately outstanding performances. Focusing on the strengths of the players and magnifying or appreciating best practices and moments of the individuals and team builds a winning culture. 

Play to your strengths

A young player I coached had the opportunity to be coached by Alvin Kallicharan, the brilliant West Indian batsman. I commented that the player played the cut shot very early in his innings. (That particular shot is often seen as a risky one to play early in an innings). I asked whether he should hold back on playing it until he had his eye in. Kallicharan commented to me that he had noticed the player cutting. “It’s a strength of his,” he said, “Why would he not play it?” 

A friend of mine who opened the bowling for Natal got some advice from Malcolm Marshall the great West Indian fast bowler who had been given a contract at the franchise and was a new arrival at the ground. My friend was exceptionally excited to be bowling alongside such a legend. He told Marshall he was working on an away swinger, as well as an off cutter and wanted some advice on how to improve. Marshall looked at him and said, “You’re a fast bowler, man. Just bowl fast.”

 

It is seldom the case that we focus on our strengths. We tend to want to improve our weakness. This need partly goes back to schooling and parenting. When you received an A for English and a C for mathematics on your report card, what was the conversation around the dinner table that night? I ask this questions to dozens of groups each year and the answer is always the same. The C for math! I listen to coaches debriefing a game with their players and what do I typically hear? The majority of the conversation is focused on what went wrong and what needs to be improved. Quarterly reviews in the business world sound very similar. We have been regulated to think we need to improve weaknesses. However, Gallup, the globe’s best company for using data and analytics to understand and unlock the potential of people, teams and organizations, interviewed millions of people from across the world and from multiple sectors, and found that the key ingredient to improving performance does not lie in fixing weaknesses, but building on strengths. Less than one third of people play to their strengths each day. This translates to very low engagement which in turn affects effectiveness and efficiency. Other studies show coaches, parents, and managers typically navigate towards a focus on what players, children and employees do wrong, rather than on what they have done right.

 

Recent test matches

Some assessment of the approaches of the India and Australia series sheds some light on the power of strengths. Langer, the coach of Australia and former star player, is a man I reluctantly admired. Even as a South African supporter, I had to be impressed by his mental toughness, physical courage and skills. I received some insight into his coaching style watching The Test, a documentary recently aired on Amazon Prime. I do understand that we don’t get the full picture, but Langer’s approach to coaching was clear. He is very direct, does not hold any punches and values open, honest and sometimes brutal dialogue.

 

One episode of The Test takes place in a room where the Australian players less than 24 hours after a 2019 Headingley defeat in what has been termed the greatest test match ever, are made to watch a video of failures of the game. It was a brutal defeat. England had snatched the highly improbable victory from the jaws of defeat. The Australian players were still hurting, many holding their heads in their hands as they relived the events of the past day. I would argue that the approach taken to focus on the negative was well-intentioned, but damaging to the players and to the morale of the team. Sure, weaknesses could not be ignored, but they did not need to be the focus. I appreciated the comments of Tim Paine, the Australian captain. During the video session he acknowledged some weaknesses, and he tried to focus on the positives. He spoke about the plans they had on the field, and how even in the midst of great pressure, the players had shown tremendous calm and resilience. They had fought on in spite of a terrific counter attack by England. And, on that day, they came second and England won. In spite of the defeat, there was so much good to draw on. Yet, the team was not given the space to focus on the positive elements of the test, and therefore lost the opportunity to draw on those strengths another time.

 

Releasing players to play to their strengths.

Let’s look at Indian captain, Rahane’s reaction to a disastrous defeat to Australia in the first test in December 2020 which had the media and former players making claims of a massive series defeat. Unlike the Australian team a few years before, he did not lead his team into a deep dive of the weaknesses that led to defeat. Rahane did not let his team dwell on the 36 all out. Perhaps he called on the ideas in an ancient Hindu prayer that says, “From the unreal lead me to the real”. He had his players focus on the “real” truth of why these men play cricket.  The “real” lay in the joy of batting, of taking wickets, and of being a team. Success is all about seeing the truth in all things. Rahane saw the truth of a strong united team  playing with joy. The truth was not in the 36. That was one hour. A blemish. Nothing else. Seeing the truth meant seeing the truth about each player - their strengths. He told Ashwin not to worry about his batting. He told his players to bat with joy. With joy comes freedom. Freedom to play shots. Shots that win games. Playing wisely and doing what you love. The combination of playing to one’s strengths, finding the joy in what you do and sticking together as a team. This makes sense on the field and in the workplace!

 

Scientific studies show that a steady inflow of positive emotion also allows people to be more resilient, that is, mentally tougher. They experience openness, perspective and grit. These people are more likely to rise to the challenge and more hopeful. These are key qualities any coach would want in his/her team, especially when the team is under pressure. Think back to Rahane. He asked his players to play to their strengths and to do so with joy. And they did. Even though the Indian team was under huge pressure on the final day, the positive emotions emanating from leadership and collectively from the team allowed the Indians to be resilient and handle adversity with courage and positivity. Their ability to fight through tough times in Australia made them a better team and win the series. Brain science shows that resilience is a property of social groups and builds collective resilience. Each micro-moment of positivity resilience builds like a savings account ready to be tapped into when times get tough. A captain and coach then needs to intentionally create a culture that allows his/her players to connect regularly over good feelings, to share more moments of positivity and connection. It builds resilience and strengthens teams.

 

Positive emotions

It is ironic that a few years later, Australia again lost a game that they should have won, with India batting for 97 overs and winning a game that for all intents and purposes looked out of reach and helped destroy a 32-year streak of Australia not losing at the ground. Furthermore, it sealed a 2-1 series away win for India. I would argue that memories of Headingley, 2019 started to return. Opportunities were missed at the team debrief of that 2019 game when the focus defaulted to assessing what went wrong instead of trying to understand what went right. Instead of having strengths to draw from, the memories would have triggered feelings of hopelessness, negativity and perhaps even fear. Not ideal ingredients to succeed.

 

Brain science

Brain science shows that it is unlikely that people build off negativity. The brain shuts down and becomes very narrow in thought and action. The body responds with tension. If Australia had focused on the positives and built off their strengths, there may have been some powerful memories, attitudes and approaches to draw from in later games. To build powerful and galvanized teams the platforms and opportunities that are created for members to share positive emotions are what allow a team to bond. Sharing positive experiences as a group has a remarkable impact on individuals making them more engaged, feel more connected and more likely to be creative and innovative. Willingness to take risks increases because people feel safer. Think of those tough times on the cricket field. Instead of shutting down in fear and pressure, players feel more in tune with each other, more able to solve problems as they feel cared for and valued. Negative emotions narrow awareness, positive emotions broaden  awareness. When players feel positively connected to each other, they are better able to access the wisdom of their past experiences and are generally intellectually smarter. (Brain scientists show that just ten minutes of pleasant conversation with someone increases your performance on IQ tests, making you wiser and more pragmatic). Mind power is unlocked, players are more likely to be able to think their way out of tricky situations. That gives great insight into some of the strategies that coaches could use in game debriefs (more on those in another article).

 

The default to negativity

This isn’t just an elite coaching problem. Focusing on the negative for fear of “not confronting weaknesses” is very real. I recently played a game of cricket where we won off the last ball to get into the finals. It was tremendously exciting and probably a game we should not have won. At the end of the game, the captain got his players together and said, “Right, first the negatives…” and listed what was done poorly in the game. Not only did it take the wind out of an incredible performance, there was also a massive lost opportunity to build an even stronger team by focusing on the positives of the game and being mentally prepared to repeat those in future games. (We went on to lose the final). My point here is that we are unfortunately conditioned to focusing on the negative. This is how we are hardwired. It’s the ancient defense mechanism the brain needed as humans had to constantly scan the environment for danger, brains ever ready to engage in fight or flight.

 

Too often, we are led to believe that by focusing on the negatives, we can eliminate them and get stronger. We are led to believe growth emanates from focusing on our weaknesses. People are afraid to only focus on the positive. There is concern that this is nothing but paint-on-positivity and that we are in fact terribly vulnerable if we only see the positive. This is simply not true. The model set before us is incorrect. In fact, focusing on the positive does not mean ignoring the weaknesses and issues (more on that in another article). Appreciating what is good, what went well, on where success was found actually is far more beneficial and forms the basis for winning teams in business, sports and in relationships.

 

Positive approaches

To get positive results coaches must use positive approaches. Simply, it’s like making the best chocolate cake. You figure out the right ingredients and the perfect process and you aim to repeat that each time you make the cake. Most of the time, the best chocolate cake will be the result. That’s like with teams. Identifying what creates a successful team, who the team is when they are at their best and then aiming to replicate that each game is what the focus ought to be. The coach’s role is to mobilize the potential of the players and create confidence, engagement, energy, enthusiasm and ultimately outstanding performances. The coach creates these conditions for success. To build this winning team, a winning culture needs to be in place. To build the winning culture, the coach must believe and help their players believe that they have the capacity to make a meaningful contribution to the team’s success. The coach draws out and nurtures the positive power and potential of each player. This entails focusing on the strengths of the players and highlighting or appreciating best practices and moments of the individuals and team. This builds tremendous individual and collective capacity and a culture of positive power. In these cultures, players are more open to criticism and feedback, more engaged and more likely to take risks. Ultimately, performance is elevated and games are won.

 

Dr. Peter Dry

February, 2021

peterdry@thepdlearninggroup.com

 

Peter uses his Elite Thinking framework to unleash the potential in teams across all sectors.

 

Photo: https://newsbust.in/prakash-raj-reaction-on-indian-win-test-series-india-vs-australia-ind-vs-aus-4th-test-india-vs-australia-india-beat-australia-by-dust-prakash-raj-said/

Culture eats strategy for breakfast

I have been working closely with a school and its leadership team during the current COVID-19 outbreak. The leaders have managed school closure, online meetings, preparing a roll out of online learning, canceling local trips, getting groups back in to the USA from abroad, communicating to parents, closing boarding programs, monitoring several news channels, communicating with multiple stakeholders and health and government officials and so on. Challenging times indeed.

No school was fully ready for the outbreak in spite of all their emergency plans; but, some are better prepared than others to pivot to a new way of teaching and learning in the online space. (Yes, resources do matter, and some schools unfortunately, and through no fault of their own do not have the resources and nor do their students). Why are some schools, including the one I am working with specifically, pivoting successfully to managing change and move to online learning?

The schools most ready to adapt to online learning are not necessarily the schools with the best strategies or resources for online learning. The schools best able to adapt are those with an already established culture of ongoing learning and development, risk taking, collaboration and trust. The move to online teaching and learning at this particular school will not be seamless, but it will shift quickly, creatively and successfully. Why? Because ‘culture eats strategy for breakfast’. This school has an established culture for innovation. Teachers are already in the mindset of trying something new (and not sticking rigidly to the old); looking to solve a problem creatively (rather than becoming frozen); ready to take risks (and not being afraid of making mistakes); collaborating with peers (instead of being stingy with ideas). This is a culture that enables buy-in, flexibility and innovation and where the faculty daily collectively take responsibility to create an engaging and future-ready environment.

Culture cannot be left alone to self-create, and leaders must embark daily on an intentional journey to cultivate the culture they know will create an engaging, productive and innovative work place, or school in this case. School culture (or any organizational culture) is tough to create. It acts like a moving target and can often mean something different to everyone. It grows organically, and emerges from stories, interactions, conversations and policies. Thus, it must be carefully and intentionally cultivated.

This school’s leadership has over the past several years purposefully nurtured a culture for innovation that has as a key element (there are many aspects to building culture), magnifying the good. Some examples of this include, starting each meeting with an agenda item to magnify the good; sending handwritten notes of gratitude to peers and students; running magnify the good assemblies; encouraging shout-outs and, importantly, creating a strengths-based culture where the culture takes a more positive approach by focusing on identifying each person’s strengths and supporting the productive application of those strengths at work.

Another name for magnifying the good is appreciative inquiry. When a culture rests on this foundation, practices of appreciative conversations fill the hallways, meeting rooms and minds of people. Even the end-of-year summative reviews have an appreciative tone. Teachers and administrators are asked questions like “What are your leadership highpoints?”; “What are your hopes and dreams?”; “What are the opportunities for improvement?” Appreciative conversations and relationships mold values and attitudes of the people so they can both individually and collectively “imagine a preferred future together that is more hopeful, boundless, and inherently good…It is about … finding those positive, anticipatory images that compel action toward them.” An appreciative inquiry approach has proven to be foundational in “designing, transforming, and growing” an effective school culture that is ready to adapt to this massive global change. Teachers are eager to activate positive change in their teaching and learning approaches to make them more relevant to the rapidly changing needs of the students.

In conclusion, ‘culture eats strategy for breakfast’ is believed to be a famous quote from the great scholar of leadership and management, Peter Drucker. Drucker was not saying that strategy was unimportant, but that rather that an intentionally cultivated, powerful and inspiring culture is a surer path to organizational success especially when the world is changing so rapidly and immensely that we may no longer have the strategies required to manage the change.

Dr. Peter Dry March, 2020

Reference: 

Appreciative Inquiry Handbook for Leaders of Change by Cooperrider, Whitney and Stavros. 2008

https://www.supplychain247.com/article/organizational_culture_eats_strategy_for_breakfast_lunch_and_dinner/legacy_supply_chain_services

What would you need on a desert island?

What is it that innovators can’t do without and that leaders need to provide for their ideas to take hold and flourish?

You know the old conversation starter, “If you were stuck on a desert island, what 3 things could you possibly not do without?” The answers I have received range from three good books, play station, skin moisturizer, soccer ball, pen and paper, Swiss Army Penknife, hat, sunglasses, yoyo, Rubik’s cube and so on.

This got me wondering about what innovators (or even intrapreneurs) could not do without in order for their ideas to take hold and flourish. So, I did a little research, had a few conversations and this is what emerged.

The experiences of Steve Sasson (the inventor of the digital camera) at Kodak showed that individuals in an organization cannot take a new and ground-breaking idea from birth to profitable product. Innovation must live in the DNA of the company. When I am asked to help innovation to flourish in organizations, I look to create a culture for innovation. I work with leaders to help them understand that innovation has to live in the culture, and the culture is largely defined by the leadership. Innovation has to be to an organizational-wide effort and must be supported across the organization by culture and systems and practices that encourage groundbreaking ideas and products. Innovation seldom flows freely. Organizations across the sectors need to have all systems working to create a mental space for innovation. That is, employees know they have permission and are supported by systems to challenge the status quo. If that does not occur, innovation will be stifled and the innovators will take their ideas elsewhere.

Here are principles for leaders to follow for innovation to flourish:

1.     If the culture allows for it, identify your potential innovators. Give them opportunities to ideate, create, design, prototype, implement and even scale the new ideas keeping the innovation connected to the organization and not siloed.

2.     Find the shepherds; someone who can act as a protector and guide the innovator through the political maze that exists in many organizations. Especially if the culture of the innovation defaults to the status quo and tends to squash new ideas. The shepherd opens financial doors too, being an advocate for the innovator allowing the latter to focus on developing the new idea and not expending too much energy on other matters.

3.     Ensure a strong business/team partner. Times get tough especially when you are breaking new ground and you need a strong partner to lean on. The partner provides support, guidance, and feedback. They also offer another point of view encouraging you to see things in different ways.

4.     Talk to your innovators about their role models. These range from the Steve Jobs and Elon Musk’s of the world to the small business owners who deliver great value to customers and build a strong brand. These people provide inspiration and lessons.

5.     Build a sense of team around your innovators. They can be tricky people to work with, but we need them and they need a team. Team support of innovations can take down opposing forces (or use them to make the product/service even better) to make successful innovation stick. The sense of team can also mean empowering everyone with the ability to contribute towards significant change. Have conversations about innovators and innovation with your people. A cultural valuing of innovation, creativity, learning and quality helps to unite a team or business and provide a clear framework of ‘how things are done around here.’

6.     Encourage love of the product. Many innovators speak about how they love what they do. Loving the customer meant being deeply aware of customer needs. After all, innovation happens where the customer is. Loving the product/services means really caring about the quality ensuring it is defect free and goes beyond the expectations of the customer. Part of love is patience which is required in the relentless pursuit of an optimal solution (there is seldom an ‘aha’ moment) to yield high-impact breakthrough.

7.     Encourage and model a harmonious lifestyle. Pay attention to all the aspects of what makes us who we are; mental, physical, social/emotional and spiritual. Productivity and happiness increase when you feel healthy, aligned, stimulated and importantly playing to your strengths. Successful people take holidays, exercise and catch up with friends and family. This creates space for contemplation and mental ‘tinkering’. Making this an element of the culture is one step to creating a culture for innovation that all your people can be part of.

I know this list contains more than three things, and they may not help you survive on a desert island, but I wonder which of these exists in your team or company to give innovation and innovators a chance to thrive?

By Dr. Peter Dry, 2020

Picture source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Desertisland.jpg

On your bike! How to attract and retain more innovative, bright and engaged people to our organization?

I remember observing a large group of 9^th grade boys ready to head out on a cycle. They were fit, strong and ready to ride. You could feel the energy and excitement. This was way better than sitting in a classroom. However, 30 minutes later they were still standing beside their bikes being lectured to by a teacher on road safety. Things got a bit restless as you can imagine. After 45 minutes the lecture was still going on and the boys were ready to riot. Sure the safety aspect was important, but so too was getting the kids on bikes and letting them go

One of our roles as a leader is to get the most out of our people. To let them jump on their bikes and fly! Yet, traditionally we position our business to attract customers (and to retain them of course). Maybe we do a few things on the fringes that may be attractive to good employees. However, our people are our most important asset. When I am charged with improving or team or organization, I fundamentally look at the way people are treated and how engaged they are. An engaged employee base matters, says Gallup. Employees who are more engaged “achieve earnings-per-share growth that is more than four times that of their competitors.” Furthermore, higher engagement accounts for better retention, higher profitability, better health and greater levels of innovation and creativity. Teams function better as trust is higher.

When nearly 30% of the workforce is in transition, how do you position your business to attract and retain the best people beyond benefits, perks and ping pong tables that have been shown to have limited long term effects?

1.     Grow your managers. Gallup research shows that “70% of the variance in team engagement is explained by the quality of the manager or team leader”. I have seen that an intentional, middle management leadership program is key and is one of the first things I look to implement in organizations that want to improve. Train managers to have frequent conversations with employees that are regarded as meaningful and supportive, and employees are more engaged and less likely to leave. When managers talk about what matters to employees around hopes and dreams, employees stay. And, when managers have strengths-based conversations, employees work more effectively and stay.

2.     As a manager, say ‘yes, and’ more often. The worst thing you can do as a manager is to hire bright people and then restrict them. Leaders need to develop an ‘art of allowing’. This is a key part of being an authentic leader where you honestly allow people the opportunity to grow and thrive. There is an element of risk taking and letting go but it is well worth it. You build self worth, self confidence and most importantly trust. These are the foundations for more willingness to innovate and build the organization.

3.     Allow people to work on projects that may not be completely aligned with their position description. That’s okay! It may have to be “under the radar”, if the company culture is not quite ready for such an approach. I saw huge benefits of this tactic when I led professional and organizational learning at a global financial services firm. I saw how bright, creative minds love to work on multiple projects and have a keen sense of growing their portfolio. Locking these people into their position description restricts their growth, limits trust, and stifles what they could potentially be offering to the business. And we saw some exceptional outcomes. (Beware, these people tend to leave if they feel stifled).

4.     In some industries, encourage your people to speak at conferences, publish white papers and educate your market. Many of the brightest love to learn and to be seen as experts in their industry. In most organizations I have worked for this has been a stretch for most employees. However, once they get a taste of the joy of sharing their expertise, the personal and organizational growth is rapid. Remember, in the post-knowledge era, an organization that does not learn, dwindles away.

We need to attract people who can cycle fast, creatively and intelligently, and then we need to let them get on their bikes and pedal to their heart’s content!

By Dr. Peter Dry, 2020.

Source: https://news.gallup.com/poll/241649/employee-engagement-rise.aspx