The Icing on the Cake

I had the pleasure last week of attending the Institute of Recruitment Professionals annual award dinner, courtesy of my client, Derek Goff of Advanced Resource Managers who had been nominated for the Best People Development Business Award 2009. And I am delighted to say that it turned out to be a winning nomination!

But being recognised in this way is really just the icing on the cake for what has been a hugely successful investment in both leadership development and talent management. Like most recruitment companies ARM were facing challenging economic conditions at the start of the year but while others were cutting costs, this Havant based recruiter was investing in its people. Here's a summary of what worked so well:

1. The company made a proactive investment in people development during a recession.


2. The program was driven from the top, embraced and supported by the whole senior leadership team.


3. The program was divided into two halves - a leadership development program for existing people managers and a talent development program for prospective managers.


4. The program was designed and delivered on a modular basis so that delegates could apply their learning between modules and I could review their experiences at the beginning of the next module.


5. Derek Goff, the Learning and Development Manager, attended each module so that he could provide ongoing coaching support.


6. The leadership program was aligned with the Chartered Management Institute's professional qualifications so that staff could receive formal recognition of their achievement.

But the aspect that impressed me most was the overall attitude and application of the staff attending each module. These were busy people who have faced a challenging business environment all year and yet they produced a 100% attendance record and worked together between modules to ensure key concepts and principles were being applied in their day-to-day activities.

Not surprisingly, the company, the managers and their staff are reaping the rewards of all this as they set themselves to come out of a tough economic climate stronger than they went in. From my perspective, it was a pleasure to have worked with ARM, designing and delivering both the leadership and talent development programs and providing additional coaching support when required.

In an industry where less than 1% of annual turnover is invested in staff training, it is refreshing to see a company reverse the trend. The real prize is the positive impact on the business and people's careers and while it is nice, last week's award is really just the icing on the cake.















From Left to Right:
Derek Goff, Learning & Development Manager ARM
Samantha Templer, Human Resources Manager ARM
Simon Cooper, Program Facilitator
Joel Hard, a member of the talent development group who has since been promoted to Team Leader

The problem with promoting your best people

I recently appeared on the Sales Roundup Podcast discussing the problems and challenges of promoting top sales people to the role of sales manager - a problem that is magnified with a failure rate as high as 50%. This problem is not restricted solely for promoting the best sales people but can be extended to a wide range of expert doers from I.T. to finance and just about any specialist or professional discipline.

The major challenge faced by expert doers being promoted to management or leadership roles is making the transition from doing the job themselves to getting it done through others - often, people who are not (yet) as good as doing the job as they were. This presents significant issues around delegating to others, training or coaching others, making performance interventions, helping others to solve their own problems, trusting and empowering the team, motivating others. In short, it is a steep learning curve and one that all first-time managers have to go through.

But, here's the kicker...

Many expert doers don't really want to be managers but rather, it is the only career path available to them if they want to be promoted.

On the one hand, companies need to consider creating expert career paths that do not include managing others, enabling expert doers to progress and add value in other ways. On the other hand, when promoting expert doers to management roles, companies need to invest time and resources in training and supporting them through the transition. The key learning areas are likely to be:

- How to manage and motivate others.
- How to move from self-centred behaviour to team-centred behaviour.
- How to create an environment where results are delivered by others.
- How to help others learn and solve their own problems.
- How to let go of the doing.

This training should be at the point they need it - either just before or at the time of making the transition to management. Ongoing support or coaching should be provided through the first year or two in a management role. And if it doesn't work out, a route back to being an expert doer should be made available.


Simon Cooper heads up ELC Training Solutions and is the author of the best selling leadership development book, Brilliant Leader.

Where are the Hot Spots in your company?

"You always know when you are in a Hot Spot. You feel energized and vibrantly alive. Your brain is buzzing with ideas and the people around you share your joy and excitement. The energy is palpable, bright, shining."

This is an extract from the excellent book Hot Spots by Lynda Gratton, professor of management practice at London Business School. Dr Gratton's research is based on a number of in-depth case studies and Cooperative Advantage Research in collaboration with executives and teams from seventeen companies. The aim was to explore why some companies buzz with energy and innovation and others don't.

In conclusion, Dr Gratton found that there were four key elements:

Element 1 - A cooperative mindset. This is the basic assumption and expectation of ourselves and others that we will behave in a coopertaive and supportive manner.

Element 2 - Boundary spanning. For true Hot Spots to emerge, initial networks need to expand from immediate colleagues to stretch across the boundaries of groups, functions and companies.

Element 3 - Igniting purpose. An igniting purpose provides the focus for the energy that has been created and can be triggered by an igniting vision, an igniting question or an igniting task.

Element 4 - Productive capacity. For value to be created from a Hot Spot, there needs top be an emphasis on productive practices. Depending on the complexity of the Hot Spot this might include appreciating talents, making commitments, resolving conflicts, synchronizing time and establishing a rhythm.

Dr Gratton then goes on to consider the leader's role in Hot Spots, designing for the emergence of Hot Spots and resources for creating Hot Spots. It is a truly innovative and ground breaking study of teams and organizations that are a cut above the rest and includes some excellent case studies, examples and anecdotes that bring the text and concepts alive.

Hot Spots can be purchased online

and you can visit the Hot Spots website


Simon Cooper heads up ELC Training Solutions and is the author of Brilliant Leader, the best selling leadership development book.

Are you getting that Coach Energy?

Why is it that some leaders love personal coaching and absolutely swear by it and others reject it as unnecessary and a waste of time?

There might be many reasons of course but one significant factor became apparent to me recently when I was having a discussion with some colleagues about the Wilson Learning Social Styles Model - you know, the one that breaks our preferred communication styles down into Driver, Expressive, Amiable and Analyst.

One of the traits that most coaches seem to share is what I refer to as 'coach energy', a vibrant, open and engaging communication style that is apparent as soon as they walk into the room. This translates pretty well into the social styles model and indicates that many coaches share a natural preference for the Expressive style. But this could be a problem if you have a strong preference for one of the other styles. You might see expressive coaches as unfocused (Driver), intimidating (Amiable) or shallow (Analyst). In turn, this might see you spurn the services of a leadership coach, even though you might need one more than you realise.

Of course, the best coaches develop an intuitive ability to adapt their style for different types of people. And we should not forget that the social styles model is just one lens through which we can view character traits and communication styles. Nonetheless, it highlights one of the reasons why some leaders totally buy-in to their coach and others don't.

While 'coach energy' can be infectious and motivating, it can also have the reverse effect on some, especially those with a strong preference to communicate in a different style.


Simon Cooper heads up ELC Training Solutions and is the author of the best selling leadership development book, Brilliant Leader.

How Expensive is Poor Leadership?

More than you think...

Retaining talented employees should be a major focus for companies these days. I have heard over the years, that “anyone is replaceable.” When I was a young engineer fresh out college, I believed it myself. There were over 50 engineers in my graduating class and I was competing for jobs like they were. We had very similar skills and backgrounds and I knew I had to separate myself from them so an employer would hire me and not them. Even a couple years after college, I still believed that I could be replaced at any moment by fresh new talent.

It has been drilled into our heads over the years that we are replaceable and we have to conduct ourselves in a way that borders on humiliation. I took my first leadership role over a year ago after working for a few companies that really did not value the contributions of their people. Overtime and chaos was name of their games. Fortunately, those experiences allowed me to create my own leadership philosophy that centers on the fact that my people are not replaceable.

Employee turnover is very expensive. I recently was invited to speak at the Talent Management and Succession Planning Conference on creating a work life balance for employees to motivate and retain good talent. My emphasis will be on the importance of creating a pleasant work environment where leaders and employees respect each other. People will generally stay with a company if they are treated fairly, are given legitimate challenges, and feel their contributions are recognized.

The best way to illustrate the cost of poor leadership is give an example of what it takes today to hire a mid-level engineer. First, the engineer’s resume would cost the company around $15,000 provided it is coming from a recruiter. Today, many professionals move around the country, so the company would offer a full relocation package that would include moving of household items, vehicles, and pets. This would cost around $8,000. Then the employer would cover travel expenses including airfare, temporary housing, rental cars, and maybe thirty days of living expenses during the transition. I will be modest here and say that would cost around $5,000. Many employers also cover closing costs on both selling and buying of a home that could run as high as $10,000 total. Finally the engineer may be offered a starting bonus of $2,000. So, before the employer even starts paying the engineer his or her $65,000 a year salary and before the new employee steps in the door they have paid out around $40,000. This is a very large investment and I have seen many people in these positions quit after ten months to a year from poor leadership in a hostile work environment. Now the company has to do this routine all over again.

Good leadership is the key to retaining good employees and bad managers will only drive them away. As a leader myself, I cannot afford high turnover. I invest time and money into enhancing my people to be better employees. It becomes expensive to keep hiring people and training them to be productive and successful employees. I realize employees leave companies for a variety of other reasons. However, I can still do my part to make their work life a pleasant one.


Guest writer Chris Ortiz is a senior lean consultant and the owner of Kaizen Assembly. He has spent the majority of his professional career working for Fortune 500 companies, teaching and guiding them to become more efficient businesses. He has designed and constructed well over 100 assembly lines and other manufacturing processes resulting in millions of dollars in cost savings and waste reduction. Chris can be reached at chrisortiz@kaizenassembly.com or visit his company's website at www.kaizenassembly.com