The Business of People

Leadership for the Changing World

Iain Fraser, Madeleine Taylor

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2019
• Topic: Business
• eBook ISBN:
  9781000711134
• Subtopic: Management
• Index: Business

The Business of People is purposefully focused on people. The book will assist you to develop and support yourself with your people leadership, knowledge, and skills. It is an opportunity to better manage yourself and lead others, including your organization, into the modern volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world. It is also a sequel to the top-selling book The Business of Portfolio Management: Boosting Organizational Value.

Authors Madeleine Taylor and Iain Fraser combine to give you the very best in knowledge and experience in a variety of situations. This is a book that cuts through the nonsense and presents real-world solutions for situations facing leaders today and tomorrow.

Shifting from managing people to leading people requires a pivot...Leadership matters because the future is at greater risk without it. Regardless of where you are in your leadership journey I am confident this new book from Madeleine and Iain will be a valuable resource for you. Enjoy the journey, it never ends.
—Mark A. Langley, Former President and CEO, Project Management Institute

Iain and Madeleine are honest and raw about the challenges faced, and the resiliency needed, to lead in business.
—Suzanne M. O'Gorman, Senior Strategic Business Architect, United Healthcare Group

In a world where leadership increasingly requires emotional and cultural intelligence skills, this masterpiece couldn't be any timelier.
—Dr. Hilary Aza, Senior Portfolio Manager, Tarrant County, Texas

Essential for anyone seeking to better understand their personal leadership and to inform further development.
—Rob Loader, Executive, Capital Planning & Delivery, Telstra Corporation

The book to me is written from a position of empowerment, cultural acknowledgment, hopefulness, and purpose.
—Elissa Farrow, Founder, About Your Transition

This book will challenge your own thinking and behaviour and give you an opportunity to develop your adaptability and leadership style for an evolving future.
—Thomas Davis, GM, Corporate Services, Capital & Coast District Health Board, New Zealand

Section One

Managing Yourself and Being the Best You Can Be

Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must do without one, be without strategy.

— Norman Schwarzkopf^*

1.1 The Story So Far—Your Behavior Matters!

It is now day three into Sam’s new role as a change leader.

Sam is acutely aware of the need to be successful as quickly as possible, given the range of business issues the organization wants them to remedy.

Sam decided that it would be pertinent to complete a leadership refresher to ensure that momentum builds early. Specifically, Sam identifies that a focus on building resilience would greatly assist in countering the onslaught of the Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous (VUCA) world and finds a suitable assessment tool to use.

Sam began the day as usual; got out of bed at 0600, ate breakfast, and then cycled to work. Having arrived, showered, and dressed, Sam was ready for the day ahead at 0730.

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^* https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/norman_schwarzkopf_163145

Sam has good self-awareness and knew that today could be quite overwhelming. Already there are files piled up on the desk; a very full email inbox; no Sue, Sam’s Executive Assistant (on leave); and a To-Do list left by the previous change leader, who left under a cloud. There was a nice welcome card from Pat, the CEO, on behalf of the executive leadership group.

In order to cope, Sam took time to focus, using a technique called ABCD (see Tool S1.1 on page 27) and then thought about what was needed to remain calm and stay present for the tasks at hand.

Sam knows that the best time for their thinking happens in the morning, so scanned and planned in order to prioritize. However, having faced several interruptions from calls and staff, Sam needed to apply emotional intelligence skills to manage the building stress.

Feeling those signs of stress and the ensuing tendency to criticize, and in order to ensure that didn’t happen, Sam reminded self about maintaining respect in the workplace. They used an app on their smartphone to check in as to the level of civility being displayed and scored 85 percent. The app feedback came with 10 ideas for improving their respectfulness in the workplace.^*

As Sam took control, they also remembered that a priority was to develop key internal relationships, especially with Sue. Sam needed to understand what had taken her away on leave. Sam had arranged to meet with the change team, a cross-functional group, at 1130 and invited everyone to meet individually over the next week.

Just before midday Sam received a “good luck” message from a childhood friend who had recently become bankrupt. Sam knew success was not down to luck, but the message gave them food for thought and made Sam consider how it was they got to be in this current role.

Sam was reminded of a few situations in which individual leaders had not managed their personal situations, and this had led them to sabotage themselves, which was preventable had they been able to be more aware.

_______________

^* Porath, 2019

^† Stewart and Joines, 2002

1.2 Case Study

There are many reasons that people obstruct themselves. One theory of human communication and interaction in the workplace, as detailed in Stewart and Joines’s TA Today,^† is a concept called “script,” which is described as a life plan, based on the decisions made as a child and reinforced by adults. It is mostly outside of the person’s awareness. Reality becomes redefined to “justify” the script—creating a distortion. In order to be the best you can be, we invite you to explore your own script messages by completing an exercise in the Tools section (see Tool S1.2 on page 27).

Here are some examples of how you can get in your own way:

• Losing your temper. A leader has a temper and often gets irritated with themselves but takes it out on the team members. The justification is that if the team members gave more notice or time for the work to be done, then the team leader’s temper wouldn’t be lost!

• Standing over people. A leader tends to micromanage people and stands over them to manage the detail of their work. This justification is that as leader they knew more than the worker and did not want them to make a mistake.

• Not able to make decisions. A leader is timid and unable to make decisions in ambiguous situations; this leader misses opportunities and fails to get products to the market on time. This leader’s justification is that it was important to know all the information prior to deciding and they did not want to lose lots of money, as has happened in the past.

• Developing an illness. A leader has developed a terminal illness but is not able to recognize their vulnerability to the situation. They do not have the energy to follow up with things, and the financial situation is becoming untenable. Their justification is that they didn’t want to face the distress their death would cause the family.

In each of these situations, the end of the story is this: The outcome of the scenario was that the inability to see the situation for what was there meant a self-fulfilling prophesy occurred and each of the organizations failed.

To avoid the traps that can so easily ensnare a leader, we are sharing with you leadership concepts we have used ourselves and with others—concepts which empower us all to achieve better outcomes.

1.2.1 The Importance of Soft Skills

We know that people who understand and manage their own and others’ emotions make superior leaders. These leaders can deal with internal tensions, overcome obstacles, and focus others to work collaboratively. They manage conflict with less fallout and build stronger teams. They are also more balanced in themselves and portray a happier demeanor at work. These leaders understand basic skills of self-awareness and social empathy. They recognize their own feelings and moods and understand their impact on others around them. They are adaptable in today’s fast-paced world but predicable in their behavior. They demonstrate emotional intelligence, which is, “The ability to control your own emotions and respond effectively to other’s emotions,” according to Daniel Goleman,^* a renowned author on emotional intelligence.

In his 2000 work he states there are key skills that make up an emotionally intelligent person:

• Assertiveness

• Empathy

• Self confidence

• Optimism

• Flexibility

• Self-awareness

• Self-reliance

• Relationship skills

Take some time to reflect. Which of these skills are easy for you to say, hand on heart—I can do this? Which are harder? What would your best friend or life partner say you needed to work on? When you are stressed, which of these skills fly out the window?

The good thing is that you can learn all these competencies. Each of the skills will be covered as you progress through this book.

We have seen projects, programs of work, and businesses fail because leaders lacked the required emotional intelligence and social competence to lead in the modern world.

1.3 Solutions for the Situation

1.3.1 Understanding How Your Brain Works

We understand from neuroscience more now about how the brain works. This body of knowledge is growing continuously. Each area of the brain has certain functions—all aimed at our survival.

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^* Goleman, 2000

There are three key concepts to keep in mind that will assist y...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Early Reader Reviews
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables and Tools
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• About the Authors
• Preface
• Section One: Managing Yourself and Being the Best You Can Be
• Section Two: Leading Others One-on-One—Helping Others Be the Best They Can Be
• Section Three: Managing Groups—Working Together for Great Outcomes
• Section Four: Leading the Organization—Creating a Dynamic Organization Which Delivers Ongoing Value
• Epilogue
• Appendix: Poems to Ponder
• Glossary
• Bibliography and References
• Index