Updated: Feb 18, 2023
The first edition of โ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ต๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐ท๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐จ๐ฆ๐ด๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ๐๐ฆ๐ธ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต approaches: ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ช๐ฃ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐บ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ด๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฃ๐ต๐ด โยฉ has almost centred the original goal on letting attendees sharing ideas, opinions doubts and proposals about how to enhance classic Competitive Advantages (CAs) regrouped in high-level groups and how to achieve the new ones. In addition, keeping away Jargon and buzzwords (to the best of my capabilities) was successful.
Lesson learned:
I have reconsidered the optimal number of attendees: 6 + me (instead of 8-10.) because:
1. It is more intimate.
2. As when starting from a question, thoughts unfold progressively (critical reflection)
3. Thus, there is more time to discuss and express new concerns, doubts, experiences, and ideas.
A. We have introduced the following CAs:
And the agreement has been found in the new ones: agility, innovation, experimentation, talented people, customer focus and customer experience, sustainability, resilience-
B. The starting point for the discussion was: How do we achieve the new CAs?
The discussion developed around leadership, leaderships delegation and leadership culture: pillars of
ยท The agility-quicker decision-making process, experimentation
ยท Cultural awareness from the leader side
ยท Mechanisms for delegation
There were remarkably interesting points both as reflection/doubts and proposals:
Leadership
ยท Being transparent makes evident your values and living with them.
ยท Openness to adapt different leadership styles to facilitate the delegations keeping in mind to shape the responsibility matter.
Delegation
Gap between the delegation to make the organisation flatter and the accountability parameters-looking for a balance.
People want to be more independent in doing their job, and they see an opportunity to grow.
Dialogue: clarity in what the responsibility is and ask if they feel ready to get it
Highlighted that there are no links between highly skilled people in their roles and management skills.
Training and initial support for growth and about culture are required.
Empowerment is the key response to increase trust.
Leadership-Culture
Still, top-down approach, and newcomers find policies and procedures but nothing about values--> culture.
The delegation was related to being based on culture
People need to be aware of the leaderโs values and vision but not with a statement only.
On the personal aspects of a Leader, being detached from some delegated activities is only based on trust.
Trusting people who work with you allows delegation. This can drive the company towards psychological safety and activate experimentation, learning, and keeping people accountable.
Then hierarchy reduction is possible with the companyโs progressive growth as well. More learning with accountability can help this growth.
Interesting question about inserting cultural elements (i.e., creativity) from diverse cultural types: is it possible?
C. The next question was: where do you start to prepare the ground and act?
Knowing your companyโs culture
We still donโt really know what people think and what peopleโs ideas are about culture, and mostly what culture actually is
Listening.
The paradox is that we work with people 8-10 hours per day, but we donโt know what they think and how they perceive the current companyโs culture. Then leaders can assess the culture. And analyse gaps.
Personalities
One attendee mentioned that the effort for a Leader is to try to understand the differences in personality. Fitting in your values and behaviours, as a consequence, need to be considered if you want to activate a people-centric strategy, of which the first element is โpeople are happy in their workโ.
And the logic behind the first action to take was: How can we change something we are unaware of?
Hope
An interesting experience from one attendee was working for a multinational company. It emerged that despite the typical block roads of such a level of hierarchy and with the constraints of the National culture in three years, the cultural shift happened.
Statement
Managers who focus attention only on numbers can analyse them and make decisions in an environment that is not known to them. Thus, without cultural knowledge and people focus, change actions can fail.
Advice
I reminded that a mapping of influencers is due before a change project or a cultural shift beyond roles and hierarchy. They also express their ideas and walk the talk with their behaviours. The influence can be based on their seniority, the trust and respect they have from other people, and being active in taking responsibility to experiment with new things from the top because they want to be considered. The companyโs influencers in an organisation will be discussed in another post. ๐
This influencers analysis before any actions are undertaken is not to manage resistance or use them as allies. Still, it is only a step for a leader to know possible sub-cultures. This follows the above-expressed concept: how can we change something we are unaware of?
And I quote JA. Davis- โRadical Business:โ Donโt wait for a crisis to instigate changeโ.
Looking forward to the new calendar and new events.
Next event is planned on: THURSDAY 3rd of MARCH, 06:00 pm ( GMT)
Other weekly dates have been planned:
Other questions are waiting for clarification to be shared in a Safe and Confidential environment: A round table on โ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ต๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐๐ฅ๐ท๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐จ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ฆ๐ธ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต approaches: ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ช๐ฃ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฃ๐ต๐ด โยฉ
See you there!