Leadership ConneXions - Issue 7
Welcome to Leadership ConneXions Issue 7 and welcome to all our new subscribers. Leadership ConneXions currently reaches out to over 1000 subscribers.
In this issue, we have included contributions from a few of our readers. This is the direction we would like to take Leadership ConneXions. We want YOU to share your stories, the good web sites and articles you have found, the tips and tricks you use. After all, it is all about connecting you with others to spread knowledge, skills and experience that will make us all better leaders.
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Reflections on What is Good
I was a young graduate, actually a steelmaking metallurgical engineer and a management cadet. When the steelmaking complex had an industrial dispute and the workers went out on strike the staff used to run the plant, they had to as the plant could not be shut down. Well I was assigned to the blast furnaces. One of my jobs was to couple the rail oil tankers to the storage tanks, and this entailed following a process of using steam to unfreeze the solid oil in the pipes and then the oil would flow into the storage tanks, a process which should have been complete in less than five minutes. Well, I had the steam flowing for over 20 minutes – and no result.
So, I went down to the Senior General Foreman’s office to get advice. He said, first we have a cup of tea, then another cup of tea. Now I left the tanker about one am and it was about 3am before he said well we had better get up and see about this tanker. Ten minutes later we arrived to see oil about twenty centimetres deep on the ground. The pipes had become clear whilst we were away. Without any negative feeling the Senior General Foreman said “I will get a truck load of sand and front-end loader to clean this up. It will be fixed by change of shifts and there will be no comment in the shift report.”
I was relieved. I wasn’t crucified. I wasn’t made a scape goat. Instead I learnt a valuable lesson about leadership, about initiative and importantly about building a team. These lessons learnt over thirty years ago are still vivid and with me today.
I have reflected on the things I learnt in my post graduate studies in management, from management seminars and the negative style putdowns of which sadly there have been many. I conclude that it is the examples of other people’s actions, when they are under pressure, that have impacted on me most. Indeed they have played a significant role in shaping my values and behaviour today.
I conclude that throughout the day many things will occur which have the potential to draw from within me a response of running counter to basic values. Indeed they are great and invaluable learning and team building opportunities.
Chris Sandford
Natural Resources and Mines
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Don’t Become a P.E.S.T.
I would like to submit my P.E.S.T Theory for your readers. If I see it in the newsletter I will know you think it is worthwhile, if not that is Ok too, because I still teach it in my management courses.
Where did it come from? - I developed it over the last 35 years.
Having worked in large organisations for over 35 years I have come up against, worked with, for and under a myriad of Supervisors, Managers, and CEOs. - some were great on occasion, however 99% of the time they all floundered on the P.E.S.T. theory of management.
P.E.S.T. postulates - do not become a PEST to your people.
P = Power: As a manager of others we have a variety of "Powers" to draw from, some being positional power, referent power etc. The biggest problem is that we tend to use or more so abuse those powers to the detriment of our people. For example, "I'll fix him, he won’t pull that stunt again; I'll just make a mental note to downgrade him on his next performance review. (subconscious says "Why, because I have the power to do so that's why).
E = Ego: do I need to explain this - basically keep your ego in check - The biggest challenge of all. Even in the last example you can see the ego like a neon flashing sign. We go to great lengths to protect this fragile little organ that is buried deep in out psyche. Poor little thing. It is the biggest menace to yourself and others. Excuse me while I just tuck mine back into his little bed of cotton wool.
S = Status: We all have, as supervisors, managers and CEOs - status. Conferred on us by the organisation and shamefully most of the time conferred upon ourselves through our egos. For example - "I'm a manager now, I need a bigger office, bigger desk and most importantly a bigger chair (ring any bells!!) A Quick Story: It is 1998, my friend had just been given (fairly permanent) relieving as manager, the other manager, well he had realised in life, working long hours etc. was not all it was made out to be (more money, status really = sad life). Anyhow she was not in the job anymore than a few days when in came the new desk (bigger than the last), a desk blotter made of leather, a bigger chair (plush, plum colour), a new desk set she could put her new gold pen set in, and new bigger paintings on the wall. Funny thing happened after those changes she became a PEST to us all - some would say a right royal bit....h.
T = Traits: Now this is an easy one to understand. We all have our own little traits, quirky as you may think, harmless as you may also think. These are the things that drive other people insane. Example - the manager who did not like paper clips (would staples do - maybe) but a bulldog clip was better or one of those new slide ons that come out of a plastic "gun". Solution for you - ask your best friend (if you have one) to tell you what your trait/s are and then stop them (it is OK, the world will not end if your trait/s disappear off the planet).
So in closing - please do not become a PEST to your staff and to yourself in the end..
If you want to know the PAST and POST theories that add onto the PEST theory let me know and I will elucidate further.
Peter Silk
Qld. Police Service
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Change Management in Large Organisations
Paul asked Leadership ConneXions:
Has anybody personal experience with change management in very large organisations? What are the hard-and-fast rules?
Paul,
Some time ago you were asking for what we had re change management. I think the 8 step process recommended by Prof. John Kotter makes a lot of sense (see below).
8 step process
• Establishing a sense of urgency
• Creating a guiding coalition
• Developing a vision and strategy
• Communicating the change vision
• Empowering others to act
• Creating short term wins
• Consolidating gains and producing even more change
• Institutionalising changes in culture
This I have extracted from a presentation that I gave on Leadership & Change for a Knowledge Sharing Session in Main Roads in May 2003 (see below in case you find any of the other bits/context helpful:
1. Go to: http://mux2000.mutronics.biz/03847212/YouAsked.asp
2. Enter you email address to log on
3. Click on the “You Asked” button
4. Click on the link to View Bob’s presentation
Robert de Verteuil
Main Roads
For more info on John Kotter’s views on change, also try the article “Winning on Change” at http://www.pfdf.org/leaderbooks/L2L/fall98/kotter.html