If you haven’t got the right tools for any job, the outcome is likely to be sub-optimal. Without a complete set of tools the pathway to strong employee engagement will inevitably be pretty rough and a response such as “Darn it!” (or something stronger) to the results of an employee engagement survey an unwelcome probability. The response itself, though, gives a clue as to what might be missing and…
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If, like us, you’re based in the northern hemisphere, I imagine we find you towards the end of the holiday season. Perhaps you’re anticipating or looking back on a relaxing time on the beach or by the pool, a long cool drink in hand… Sounds idyllic. How long can you hold that thought… in a sweltering car stuck in a tailback, a packed plane or an airport queue with the more traditional sounds of summer, cries of “Are we there yet!”… “I’m bored!”… “Waaaah!”
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Do we ever wonder why well-intentioned ‘initiatives’ fall flat? Instead of basking in glory, we’re mourning their demise. Neuroscience might help us understand the reasons and remedies. Our brains detest uncertainty and ambiguity. It’s often a lack of clarity in an initiative’s context and purpose that lies at the root of the issue. Imagine… Imagine people listening to one of your leadership team and hearing their opinion on why, how…
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As the furlough scheme runs down many organisations will start the “unfurling” process. For many this will signal a welcome return to a place of both physical and emotional safety & comfort. However, the reality is that things will necessarily be different. A wise man once said that nothing is constant but change. Ironically, the wise man was Heraclitus being quoted by Plato. So, ironically, on the one hand it’s…
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There’s an awful lot been talked and written about Safety Culture, some of well-informed, some well-meaning and some well out of date. So it can be hard to separate fact from fiction. Based on our experience of the most common assertions since the concept first emerged, some 20 years ago, we’re happy to give some in-depth analysis of some of the myths that have grown up. #1 Safety Culture can’t…
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The phone rings, it’s our seventeen year-old daughter’s school. They have excluded Mandy and sent her home. She has been caught “selling” her homework to kids in her class. Just as we hang up the phone Mandy comes through the front door. What are we going to say/do? Tell her off/punish her?Ask her why she did what she did in a very parental style (raised voice/pointing finger etc), and then…
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Mobile apps in support of safety have been around for a while but tended to be a bit clunky and not really fit for purpose. With the advent of faster processing and more effective smart phone/tablet technology then organisations are now starting to see major benefits. As we know with human nature, if something isn’t easy to use, people wont use it so that’s a major focus for the service…
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Leadership has been well described by many authors, some good some bad and one I find that allows us to pull together our thoughts specifically around engagement and motivation is by John Adair in his model of Action Centered Leadership (Fig 1.). The model links well with our own Integrated Improvement Model (HGIIM) (Kevin Hard / Nigel Girling) published in 2016 (Fig 2.) and is further supported by Dr. Derek…
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Many people are now talking about a VUCA world (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) where leadership, at all levels, must be more agile, more informed and more connected. We know that good leaders are Emotionally Intelligent but leaders in this VUCA world also now need to understand concepts such as Fluid Intelligence – the ability to use yours and others mental capacity to think creatively and intuitively through difficult issues and…
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“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him to fish and you feed him for life”. A famous saying that suggests that we help people to find their own way rather than provide them with all the answers. One way of doing this is through coaching, of which there are numerous models to choose from. All involve asking questions to help the person move from…
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