At Roffey Park, we are in the early stages of a research project investigating how organisations have responded to austerity and recession, and in particular how their capacity and capability to innovate has been supported. And as we enter a period of fragile economic recovery, and surviving organisations look to long-term sustainability, how are they planning to develop and support innovative capacity and capability? What are the implications for the development of people, teams and organisational culture? What are the barriers to developing innovative capacity, particularly in what is still a challenging time for many? And how are these barriers being overcome?

The first phase of our research is currently underway, and we have held exploratory discussions with leading organisations with a focus on innovation. We now wish to make contact with other organisations and key people within them who have a story to tell about innovation in their organisation in lean times. The benefits of participating in the research would include the opportunity to:

• hear about and discuss approaches to innovation with representatives from other organisations
• reflect on your own organisation’s approach to innovation and how it may be improved
• network with others who share an interest in and passion for innovation
• share good practice and experiences with a wider audience through a programme of dissemination

If you feel your organisation has an interesting story to tell, or you have some experience or good practice you would like to share, please contact me by email or on 01293 851 644 if you are interested in contributing to our research and would like to discuss in more detail what it might involve.

• to reflect on the environment in which we notice ourselves and our clients operating in at the moment and what we consider the implications of this are for the HR and OD profession
• to share how we have been sharpening our thinking on the areas of overlap and difference between Strategic HR and OD
• to offer you five key questions to consider for your HR or OD function

To find out more about Roffey Park’s support for HR and OD professionals please click on the links below or contact us:

• MSc in People and Organisational Development
• Research
• Programmes
• Consultancy
• Strategy Coaching
• Tailored development

Here are my top ten tips for developing as an authentic leader:

1. Embark on a lifelong voyage of self-discovery. Try stuff out and see what works. Treat every mistake and failure as a rich source of learning. It’s all a part of being human and learning what you’re naturally good at and what stirs your passion. Ask yourself deep reflective questions as you journey, never stop learning or being open to feedback, always be curious about your own responses and what lies beneath them as you encounter life’s ups and downs. Always be determined to grow through whatever life throws at you.
2. Trace your journey as a leader up to now. What key events, decisions and turning points have made you the leader you are today, what passions and values have developed as a result? What golden threads and wisdom from this journey would you do well to hold onto, what baggage must you let go of to be the leader you want to be, and others need you to be, today and tomorrow?
3. Give up on the tribute band idea. Don’t be a copy, be an original. By all means look to great leaders for inspiration and ideas, but find your own unique expression of leadership, your own unique ‘Voice’. Most of those that history remembers as great leaders can be characterised by their individuality as much, if not more than, their similarities. Each had a unique role to play in a unique context at a unique moment. What’s yours?
4. Discover your natural ‘signature’ talents, strengths and personality preferences: those strengths and preferences that energise and fulfil you as you play to them. Use inventories and other tools such as the Myers Briggs Personality Type Inventory and the Realise 2 Strengths Inventory to unearth your natural, authentic self.
5. Develop a sense of identity that is bigger than your work, one that encompasses the whole of your life, that embraces a diversity of roles. Develop definitions of success for all of your major roles in life. Then, seek the appropriate balance between those roles. You will be a better leader as a result, more objective when you need to be, more able to take a stand when your values and principles are in danger of being compromised, if your work role alone does not define you.
6. Develop clarity in, and commitment to, your ethical and moral values and principles. Decide before the crunch moments where your lines in the sand will be in those areas where you know you might be tempted to compromise. Think through potential scenarios you might face and consider the possible consequences, both for yourself and for others of following different options. Decide in advance how you will handle them and it will help strengthen your resolve in the moment not to compromise your integrity and do something you would later regret.
7. Ask yourself the ‘Spice Girls Question’: what do I really, really want? Many people go through many decades of their lives without asking this question. And yet it’s one of the most powerful questions for uncovering the motivations and dreams of the authentic self.
8. Find a purpose that is other-centred. A fulfilling life often involves discovering and playing to your strengths. But many people find a deeper level of fulfilment when they can use their talents in the service of a cause greater than themselves. What causes stir you? What difference do you want to make? What legacy do you want to leave in the lives of others?
9. Raise your awareness of what builds and destroys trust in your important relationships, at work and at home. Different things work for different people. Covey¹ writes of emotional bank accounts that need to be invested in if trust is to result. Chapman² writes of ‘The Five Love Languages’: ‘Words of Affirmation’; ‘Acts of Service’; ‘Quality Time’; ‘Gifts’ and ‘Physical Touch’. Which are most meaningful to you and to those you love? Speak their language.
10. Write your own personal vision or mission statement – drawing on your answers to the questions above. Make it a statement of your ‘Voice’ in the world; of what and who is important to you; what you value; the kind of person you want to be; the legacy you want to leave and with whom. Write and refine it over a period of weeks or months until you are happy with it. Use your statement as a touchstone and an anchor as you face life’s challenges, crossroads and major decisions.

Questions for Reflection

Q1. How authentic is your leadership? How do you know?

Q2. What has helped you develop a sense of authenticity as a leader?

Q3. Which of the ideas Adrian gives above would be worth trying for yourself?

Refs

¹Covey, S.R. 1992. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Simon & Schuster: London

²Chapman, G. D 1995. The Five Love Languages. Northfield:Chicago

Adrian Lock is a Senior Consultant and Programme Director for Strategic Leadership. 

Often I meet people who have things that they do, that don’t work for them in terms of what they really want. Often they can tell me why it is they do what they do (sometimes even going into the depth of their personal history), can even spot it when they are doing it, and therefore qualify as having a lot of self-awareness.

But, what they don’t do, is change the behaviour.

Sometimes they have become addicted to the next great “aha” moment of awareness and are searching for that; sometimes they have just not been helped to actually change their behaviour and don’t know how; and sometimes they think that it’s ok, if they can be aware of it, and that they don’t need to change it. Even more often, I hear it used as an excuse, “just the way I am…”

When dealing with the development of leaders however, it is vital that we move beyond simply being aware, to changing – from self-awareness to self-cultivation.

Here at Roffey Park we run the Embodied Leadership programme, in collaboration with Strozzi Institute, where we work on the cultivation of the self. In this programme we less interested in what you know about, either models or theories about the world or self-awareness, and more interested in whether you are able to do something different – this is embodied learning.

But cultivation of the self is hard work – why would I want to do this? The simple reason is gained through looking at what we are committed to in our lives and our organisations. The question then becomes, who do I need to be, or how do I need to cultivate myself, in order to fulfil on what I care about. This creates the energy to change those things that I know that I do.

Self-awareness is still important in these programmes; it is just seen as a starting point. The progression in this work is:

1. Attention
2. Awareness
3. Choice
4. Volition
5. Action
6. Accountability

In Embodied Leadership we bring attention to how people are leading, engaging others, dealing with ambiguity, dealing with conflict (and many more areas), and we generate awareness. Then we really get moving. When we have awareness we have choice, but making these new choices can be difficult. I have a routine, habits, a current set of practices that keep me repeating the same patterns time and again.

To change, we must bring something forth within ourselves – volition or will-power. It is this that keeps us going. This brings us into taking new actions and having a different level of accountability – not just a case of I know why I am that way, but actually I am working to be different. Then we can be truly accountable.

This process is fairly simple, intellectually, but complex and difficult in practicality. Changing embedded behaviours is difficult, especially when it counts – learning to stand up for ourselves, and being able to do that in a charged meeting with the CEO is difficult to learn. That’s why we develop a set of supporting practices.

Practices are ways in which we can practice the behaviour in a safe space or environment, so that when it comes to the difficult moment it is available to us. One participant I know, decided to begin a practice of disagreeing with opinionated taxi drivers in order to develop the capacity to disagree and say no in important business meetings. In some ways this is simple and obvious – before we start playing jazz, we learn to play the scales.

Too many leadership development programmes, that I have seen, stop at self-awareness. The individual is then left on their own with what to do next. This is not enough! The programme needs to equip the participants with the capability to change, if there are to be transferable results to the business.

The Embodied Leadership programmes we run here at Roffey Park are designed to produce an individual leader who can and will fulfil on their commitments, through self-cultivation.

Peter Hamill is Programme Director for the Embodied Leadership open programme. Embodied Leadership is run at Roffey Park, in collaboration with Strozzi Institute.

Today, there is more public scrutiny than we’ve ever seen before.  The speed at which news and information is shared across social networks is unprecedented.  People don’t trust politicians or corporate heads and are suspicious of even the suggestion of corporate spin.  Altruism may be an unachievable goal, but trust and transparency are crucial whether you are in Government or growing your own organisation. HR has a crucial role to play in fostering this, but too often fails to get it right.

In my view, there is too much emphasis on HR being strategic and talking the language of the business, and not enough on its role in governance and ethics – being the custodian and guardian of values and good practice.  This starts with HR leaders and professionals needing to have strong values and the courage to defend them in the face of resistance from business leaders.  They are ambassadors of good practice and should not, when dealing with the darker side of organisations, turn a blind eye.

At the same time, HR’s role in building a healthy and ethical organisation is not soft stuff.  As we’ve seen time again – from Barclays to News International to the BBC –  ethical crises don’t just  damage image, but ultimately the commercial future of an organisation. Research consistently shows people want to work for or be associated with ethically led organisations, and this will become even more of a factor as younger generations make their mark on the workplace.

It’s not just up to HR, however.  Business leaders have a huge role to play in “being as well as the doing” and demonstrating authenticity in everything they do.

In her HR Leadership book, Linda Holbeche (a Roffey Park Fellow) says “sustainability involves more than building environmental or social responsibility policies.  It is more than ensuring that employees are treated fairly.  It is fundamentally about ensuring that the organisation has an ethical basis of its existence and the organisation delivers on its promises to all its stakeholders, including society at large”.

Currently based in Singapore, I am struck by the debate and dialogue happening here in the “National Conversation” about Singaporean identity and shaping the future of the country.  One of the shared societal values which have helped to create Singapore’s strength and success is “society above self”. There is much we could learn from this in terms of our own national behaviour going forward.

Gary Miles is Director of International Operations and Associate Relations at Roffey Park Institute

I was right. As I got closer, the words in much smaller type above Stevie’s name came into focus: “A tribute to…”. My eyes returned to their sockets. Some of these tribute bands are pretty good, and Stevie’s songs are Stevie’s songs after all – but there’s nothing like the authentic Stevie.

It got me thinking about our desire for authenticity, how the word ‘authentic’ has been used and abused over recent years, plastered all over cheap clothing trying to give it some kind of credibility, with little success. And it is a word that has been used and abused in reference to leadership, too. “What we need is authentic leadership” has been the cry of many an author and many an employee as the subject of leadership has been pored over and turned into print more than almost any other subject.

What do we mean by ‘authentic’ leadership?

I must admit, something in the phrase “Authentic Leadership” is appealing to me. I want the real deal, the genuine article. But what do we really mean by it? It’s difficult enough defining leadership. As Charles Handy  said in his book  ‘The Gods of Management’: “Leadership is one of the most studied but least understood of all the social sciences. Like beauty or love, we know it when we see it, but it’s much more difficult to define it or produce it on demand.”

The dictionary definition of authenticity varies: ‘genuine’, ‘original’, ‘real’, ‘not counterfeit’, ‘natural’. But if you read the literature on authentic leadership, the theme often strays towards simply exploring effective leadership per se.

When Goffee and Jones studied the leadership literature for their book “Why should anyone be led by you?” they concluded: “there are no universal leadership characteristics. What works for one leader will not work for another. We think that those aspiring to leadership need to discover what it is about themselves that they can mobilise in a leadership context. They need to identify and deploy their own leadership assets”. They suggest  that leaders need to ‘be themselves – with skill’!

So, in authenticity there is something about being yourself as a leader, a sense of genuineness, of not simply playing a role, or imitating someone else, but playing yourself.

Five characteristics of authentic leaders

But is that what people are asking for when they appeal for authentic leadership? I think it starts with this, but is also more than simply being yourself. When I yearn for authentic leadership, in myself and others, I notice that I am looking for five characteristics, for leaders to demonstrate that they are:

1. Trustworthy. We need Leaders that can be trusted – that show integrity, credibility, reliability and congruence;  that say what they mean, mean what they say and do what they say too – walking the talk and keeping their promises.
2. Human. Leaders that are approachable, not hiding behind their role or status; capable of a degree of intimate connection; in touch with their own emotions and those of others, not afraid to show their emotions, when appropriate.
3. Humble. Leaders that are self-aware, that know their strengths and limitations; that recognise their need to work with those who have complementary strengths. Leaders that own up to their mistakes and offer a sincere apology when appropriate, particularly when they break a promise. Leaders that recognise they are on a journey; that they are still learning.
4. Principled. Leaders who know what they believe, what they value and the principles that they will live and die by. This doesn’t mean they are rigid and intransigent and unable to compromise – they should be able to flex and give on many issues when the situation demands it.  But they know where their line is drawn, the relatively few principles on which they will not compromise even if it means that profits, popularity or prospects suffer as a result. Bill George describes this as a Leader’s ‘True North’ in his book: ‘Finding your True North’.
5. Other-centred. Leaders that are not self-absorbed or self-conscious, but basically secure in themselves, comfortable in their own skin, and as a result are able to keep their focus on serving others. Leaders that are not self-promoting but recognise their role is to enable and empower others to be the best they can be for their own good and the good of the organisation.

I could add many other characteristics if I was to define an all round effective leader, but in terms of authentic  leadership, these are my top five – the ones that would earn the label ‘Authentic’ in my book.

But what do you think?

• Do you agree with the notion that ‘to be a leader is to be yourself’?
• To what extent do you feel free to be yourself at work – to ‘play yourself with skill’? Or do you feel you need to play a different role?
• Do you resonate with Adrian’s five characteristics of authentic leadership?
• What would be your top five?

Adrian Lock is a Senior Consultant and Programme Director for Strategic Leadership. 

How many of your issues are wicked?  A wicked issue:

• Keeps coming back, even after you think you have solved it.
• Involves so many parts that you can’t think of them at the same time.
• Is totally new so no one, including you, has a reliable roadmap.
• Transforms itself so quickly that you never know what to expect.

In the past, we had to be satisfied with wishing wicked issues away, settling for the temporary fix, waiting for them to solve themselves, or blaming others for creating or failing to solve them.  None of these approaches was effective, but we simply didn’t know what else to do. That is no longer true.  Research and practice in human systems dynamics—at the intersection of complexity and social sciences—have uncovered a variety of simple models and methods to help you tame wicked issues.

You can explore many HSD approaches at our wiki give URL here, but I’d like to share one particular one here.  It is called Same & Different, and it is one of the simplest and most powerful ways to engage with wicked issues.

You begin by drawing a simple diagram like this:

Then you frame a question about similarities and differences that might influence your wicked issue.  Examples include:

• How is this issue same as and different than it was yesterday (or last quarter or last year)?
• What are the similarities and differences between this wicked issues and related issues that are less wicked?
• How would I like the future with regard to this issue to be the same as and different from how it is today?
• How do multiple people view the issue similarly and differently?

In answering the question, you brainstorm similarities and differences.  Very often, this process itself generates new and innovative options for action.  If not, you can focus more closely by asking three additional questions:

• Which of these similarities and differences have no significant effect on the wickedness of the issue? (Put 0 in front of those.)
• Which ones make the issue worse (Put – in front of those.)
• Finally, which of the similarities or differences make the issue better?  (Put + in front of those.)

Again, this step may uncover a new way to engage with your wicked issue.  If not, then move to action by choosing one of the items and planning action to shift it.  You may want to strengthen a positive one or weaken a negative one.  You may focus on increasing or decreasing similarities or on increasing or decreasing differences.  Whatever you choose, take the action and see what happens.  How does your wicked issue transform?  Then begin the process again.

This simple approach isn’t always easy, but it does always generate new insights and options for action to reframe or remove the most wicked of your issues.  Try it.

Glenda H. Eoyang, PhD currently serves as founding Executive Director of the Human Systems Dynamics Institute, a network of professionals working at the intersection of complexity and social sciences. A master teacher and facilitator, Dr. Eoyang supports change for individuals, organizations, and communities around the world.  Her experiences as guide, leader, entrepreneur, author, and public speaker provide a wealth of resources.

Roffey Park is delighted to be hosting the Human Systems Dynamics Institute’s certification programme offering a unique opportunity to work with Glenda Eoyang in the UK. The HSDP Certification training program provides insights into the theory and practice of the emerging field of human systems dynamics.  For more information please visit our website.

Much is made of Britain’s knowledge economy. The Government often cites it as a route to growth. It was a major theme throughout the Olympics, from the blaze of colour, sound and narrative of the opening ceremony, celebrating our industrial origins and growth in science and technology, to the Government’s business summits at Lancaster House throughout the games aiming to showcase innovation ripe for investment.

But it was down to earth with a bump when the latest figures came out showing just how much organisations are struggling to grow in the current economic climate.  There are not just austerity measures in the public sector, but organisations across the country are operating in a culture of austerity with tight fiscal control. So it’s not surprising to read research findings from KPMG  that suggest European hierarchies stifle innovation at work, with just 8 per cent of respondents saying their organisation was good at spotting and nurturing innovation from the bottom up.

Innovation can wane as austerity leads to over-cautiousness, where innovators have to provide justification in triplicate to get ideas through. It should not be reliant on the person at the top; the most successful innovators will enable the process from different parts of the organisation, encouraging ideas through networking and collaboration.

And the most successful entrepreneurs and innovators also have at least one thing in common – they all failed at the beginning, before re-grouping and discovering success.  Failure is definitely an option and employers need to encourage more of it in their workplaces.

So, what can managers and leaders do to enable innovation among their teams? They should:

• move away from a blame culture and into a more appreciative way of working. Mistakes should be applauded rather than being received critically, which can stifle creativity.
• encourage more fun in the workplace.  I’m a strong believer that fun and innovation are linked and in today’s austerity climate, the fun has definitely gone from work.  But this isn’t about creating games or fun activities – organised fun, if you like.  Fun should come from people’s work and their interactions with colleagues across the workplace.  If there is a common purpose, and work is challenging and interesting, they will have fun and innovation will flow.
• challenge the process.  Kouses and Posner’s work, The Leadership Challenge, highlights the importance of leaders who question differently, enabling others to venture ‘out of the box’ and hence encourage innovation. These leaders are openly dismayed at the statement “but this is how it has always been done”

Regardless of what you might think about some of the elements of Danny Boyle’s opening Olympic ceremony, it was a wonderful example of innovation and creativity – a very visual demonstration of what Britain can and does do.  Let’s encourage more of this in our working lives and organisations

For the next three hours the isle was indeed full of noises as England’s idyll gave way to England’s Armageddon, the invention of our story tellers,  the brilliance of our engineers , the commitment of our nurses  gave way to the wit of our Queen and the energy of our musicians.

What Danny Boyle did in his Opening Ceremony was to allow the complexity of our nation to shine through.  He did not force a single story but allowed quirkiness, eccentricity, humour , brilliance , inspiration, endeavor, honour and humility to co-exist on one glorious stage, so that across the country people recognised something of themselves in what they saw. And they liked what they saw.

And what has that got to do with Organisational Development the discipline which has at its heart the responsibility to ensure that the organisation is fit for purpose? A lot as it happens; organisations, like Danny Boyle’s Opening Ceremony, are complex entities not best served by the straight jacket of conformity  or the tyranny of a single story. While the single story is appealing in its simplicity, it risks exclusion . Organisations need to be able to accommodate multiple perspectives,  to be inclusive not just for the sake of appearances but because in diversity lies innovation, challenge and the creativity. Organisations need to survive in a diverse world.

There is  much to learn from Danny Boyle whose commitment to inclusion was exemplified by the Wall of Memory.  Even those who could not be there in the Olympic Stadium were included .

OD is about seeing the big picture, seeing the interconnectedness of things and at the other end of the scale it’s also about sweating the small stuff. Ensuring that organisational values play out at a micro level as well as at a macro level  means they run more than skin deep and will really drive your business .Danny Boyle with a big picture commitment to inclusion made sure that even  the dresses of the young women accompanying the trams into the stadium carried a digital print of  images of those volunteers not able to be at the ceremony.  It seemed as though just like  the lettering on Brighton Rock those values ran right through the core of the production.

It is sometimes said in OD that the first question you ask in an organisation is fateful determining the outcome of the conversation. When asked by the BBC”s Hew Edwards “Where do you start trying to construct an event of this scale?”  Danny Boyle said “We sat down with a blank sheet of paper and asked what is it about us; you focus on the best of us…  Hew it’s a wonderful thing to do …… you do have to be slightly critical …”

The results of that focus on the best of us writ large for 60 billion people around the world to see, played out in the Olympic Stadium on Friday night. When you look at the world through a lens which says let’s look at what’s working you find the energy for the challengers which lie ahead and that applies as much to organisational life as to the Olympic Games.

And finally leadership; Danny Boyle demonstrated that if you ask people to do something important in a way that makes sense to them; if you engage them in the challenge in a way which connects with them, they will do it. In the week leading up to the Opening Ceremony approximately 100,000 people must have become aware of the details of the ceremony. Danny Boyle asked them to “Save the Secret “and they did. Despite the lure of Facebook, Twitter, email and text they  saved the secret becoming part of what made one magical night .

Sue Belgrave is an associate of Roffey Park and organisational development specialist with 20 years experience gained in both senior management roles and consultancy work.

There is a record number of over-65s in the workplace, according to the Office for National Statistics – demonstrating very clearly that the impact of the economic crisis on pension pots means that many of us will be working well into our 60s and beyond.

Working for longer is a depressing thought at the best of times, especially if economic circumstances mean your planned, and hoped for, retirement is a little further away. However, there is no doubt that older workers are a huge asset to the workplace. Not only are they highly experienced but they come with wisdom invaluable for younger generations. But as we grow older our energy levels change and this can be difficult to manage with the demands of the modern day workplace. For older workers, finding a role that is fulfilling and comes at a pace you can handle can be difficult in today’s climate when competition for jobs is fierce.

So what can you do in your organisation to harness this talented segment of your workforce?

• Think of coaching and mentoring opportunities that you can exploit at little cost to tap into the knowledge and experience of your older workers.
• Consider a workforce health, well-being and counselling programme. In particular offering support to older workers will help them continue to have healthy and productive working lives so they can continue to make a valued contribution to your organisation.
• Implement measures such as reverse mentoring to avoid potential generational conflict. Our own research into this topic reports that as Generation Y make their mark on the workplace and Generation X embed into senior leadership roles, there are more generations working than ever before, creating tensions. Asking younger generations to mentor their older colleagues, perhaps regarding technology, is a simple but effective way of getting generations working together.
• Sell the benefits of flexible working. The ONS also showed that the majority of those working over state pension age are working part-time. At the same time, and worryingly, research published by Timewise suggests there is a stigma attached to working part-time and this is particularly true the higher up you are in the organisation. If this is the case, then consider turning to Charles Handy’s vision of Portfolio career as a choice that can be a reality for them giving the best of both worlds – paid, fulfilling work and rewarding voluntary work, perhaps even a NED post.

Of course, anyone that has worked part-time will realise that part-time can be a myth, as you can, at times, end up working as many hours as your full-time counterparts. In which case, create boundaries for them and their line managers to make sure they aren’t taken advantage of and help them to manage the transition from full-time to part-time working.

We are all living and working for longer so this issue isn’t going to go away. What thoughts do you have on retaining older workers in your organisation?