Have you packed yet?

Following on the MBTI theme, the fourth dimension looks at how we take action.

• Was your packing planned weeks ago, with lots of lists and putting things in the spare room 'ready'?

        OR

• Will you leave it to the last minute and maybe even buy at the airport, saying "I'll see what's there"?

Those with a JUDGING preference like to live life in scheduled and orderly ways.  They like to make plans and stick to them, taking great satisfaction in getting things done.

A PERCEIVING preference likes to keep open to new experiences and information.  Living life in a flexible, spontaneous way, going with the flow and taking advantage of last minute options as they arise.  They feel constrained by plans and structures.

Problems in the workplace may occur when completing a project.  Perceiving types often start tasks at the last minute whilst Judging types are focused on the deadline and plan their work, they find it difficult to trust that the Perceiving types will finish in time.

How do you like to organise a project?  What conflicts have you encountered on the way?

I would love to hear from you.

How might you resolve family conflict on holiday?

Following on the MBTI theme, the third dimension looks at how we make decisions.

When there is a disagreement about what you are going to do on holiday, how you resolve it may indicate which MBTI preference you have.

• Do you settle it by making sure everyone gets their 'fair' share?

        OR

• Do you assess the impact of decisions on each person?

Those with a THINKING preference make decisions from a detached standpoint.  They analyse the logical consequences of a choice or action and use consistent rules and principles.

A FEELING preference would mean that decisions are made from an involved standpoint, by gauging the impact of actions.  They prefer to make decisions that take account of individual needs.

These both describe decision-making processes, it doesn't mean that Thinking types don't have feelings or that Feeling types are incapable of logic, it is just that they use different criteria to make their decisions.

Feeling types strive for harmony and positive interactions and may appear to be a bit 'soft and tender' by Thinking types.  Thinking types want to solve problems with logic and want everyone to be treated equally.  Feeling types might interpret them as being 'tough minded' and possibly abrupt and critical.

How are you making your decisions today?  How do others around you make decisions?  Does that sometimes leave you feeling confused?

Let me know!

What postcard do you send home?

Following on our Holiday MBTI theme....

....When you send a postcard home will it be

• a montage of all the places you have visited, so that those back home can really get an idea of where you are?

        OR

• a sunset - it represents so many things!

How you answered can indicate whether you have a preference towards SENSING or INTUITION.  These relate to the types of information you prefer to pay attention to:

SENSING types prefer specific information and facts to find out what is happening.  They are observant of what is going on around them and especially focused on the practical realities of a situation.

INTUITION types prefer to attend to the associations between facts rather than the facts themselves.  They are interested in connections and looking for ideas and possibilities.

In the workplace there is the potential for confusion in communication when the preferences aren't recognised or understood.  Sensing types might be sceptical of concepts and want to see concrete evidence that the idea will work.  The Intuition types interpret lots of questions as being nit-picky or challenging.  If they can't give the facts and details, the Sensing types see the idea as impractical.  On the other hand, Intuition types become bored with the lengthy details and facts presented by the Sensing types!

Next time you are trying to 'sell' and idea just consider what the other person's preference might be.

Let me know how it goes!

What's your ideal summer holiday?

What does your choice of holiday say about your MBTI preference type?  Would you prefer a holiday that was:

• busy, with lots of action, full of activities and bursting with opportunities to meet new people?

OR

• a quiet time to reflect, read a couple of books, spent with a small group of really good friends?

How you answered can indicate whether you have a preference towards EXTRAVERSION or INTROVERSION.  

So what's the relevance to the workplace?  Have you ever wondered why you might have such a different approach from others? 

The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is the most widely used instrument for understanding personality differences.  I use it successfully in coaching individuals and teams in:

• increasing self-awareness
• understanding and resolving conflict
• building team cohesion
• career development

Over the coming weeks, on the run up to the holiday season, I will be sharing some more questions for you to ponder on. 

If this has stimulated your curiosity, please do give me a call to discuss how MBTI could enhance your personal impact and relationship with others.

"What Leaders really do"

Following on from my last blog about the need for real consultation and engagement in the public sector cuts, I was interested to see in the July edition of People Management an article focussing on the need for a "boost in capability" in public sector leadership. 

The CIPD chief economist, John Philpott, comments that the politicians may not have fully considered the "enormous management challenges" that measures to reduce the budget deficit will create in a workforce that will be increasingly demoralised.  He warns that the public sector is "numerically overmanaged" and "qualitatively undermanaged".  The editorial points out that whilst there are some capable leaders, there are not sufficient to deal with the degree of transformation required.

Whilst I reflected on this, John Kotter's classic Harvard Business Review article "what leaders really do" sprang to mind, in which he says that "they don't make plans;they don't solve problems; they don't even organise people.  What leaders really do is prepare organisations for change and help them to cope as they struggle through it".

So, how to lead this change?

There are many leadership models, and one of my particular favourites is Daniel Goleman's Six Leadership styles, as it is so well researched.  His model identifies successful leaders as those who "use one or more of 6 distinct leadership approaches and skilfully switch dependent on the situation".  So here they are:

• Visionary: they inspire and explain how efforts contribute to the 'dream'.  Through empathy and clarity they move people towards the shared goal.
• Affiliative: creates harmony that boosts morale and solves conflict.  A useful style for healing rifts or motivating during stressful times.
• Participative: a superb listener, a team worker, collaborator, influencer.  By valuing people's input they get commitment through participation.
• Coaching: by listening and helping people identify their own strengths and weaknesses, they encourage, delegate and improve performance by building long-term capabilities.
• Pacesetting: a strong drive to achieve, high personal standards and initiative, pacesetters get results from a competent team.  But too much and employees feel stifled and have less room to grow.
• Directive: this style demands compliance, and is more effective in a crisis situation.  It is least effective when used with capable and self-motivated employees.

So having read the leadership styles, which ones would you say you use effectively, under-use and maybe over-use?

Hopefully this has given you a little 'food for thought' in managing through tricky times!  I would love to hear from you, on how you are implementing changes.

"Ministers ask public sector staff to suggest savings" - BBC News 24th June

This article appeared in the news last week, and I was intrigued by the fact that David Cameron and Nick Clegg have emailed or sent letters asking public sector staff to help find "fair and responsible" cuts.

Nick Clegg said that the government was "prepared to look at any innovative idea, however bold, however radical, however off the wall it might seem to people, if it could save money in a way that was fair and protected frontline services".  He went on to say that "all serious ideas would be passed on to officials for consideration and that workers would be invited to discuss their suggestions face-to-face with civil servants".

When I first heard this news on Radio 5 Live I was excited by the possibility of engaging people in looking at their own jobs and identifying waste and non value-adding activities.  In my experience, people are more likely to embrace change when they are truly involved.  However, I was disappointed by the second comment, as I immediately imagined the bureaucracy, endless committees and advisers 'blocking' and making any changes difficult to implement.  Too many layers stifle innovation, creativity, decision making and most importantly, individual responsibility.

So my advice to our political leaders is to ASK but make sure you REALLY LISTEN.  Then two things: on the 'easy stuff', let the people just get on with it; where it is more difficult, delegate that responsibility giving them the power and authority to implement it quickly, and give them access to the top when the 'blockers' start to surface.

So, David and Nick, be brave, be bold and take a risk.  You might be surprised by what people can achieve when they are given the chance!

I would love to hear about your experiences of these cuts.

Touching the Summit

I have just returned from a weekend away climbing Snowdon with my son and his Scout Group and have been reflecting on some of the stories of personal triumph and leadership.  

The group I was assigned to were young Scouts keen to reach the summit first.  Whilst this played to my competitive spirit, it was rather in conflict with getting the whole Scout Group to the top.  I had to remind them of the children's Ice Age film - that we are a herd and we stick together.

My son (aged 8) hit the 'wall' halfway up resulting in some tears.  But he was encouraged to think about breaking the challenge down into smaller chunks to overcome the seemingly impossible task of reaching the summit that he could see the whole route.

Another Scout commented within the first mile that he "doesn't do hills" and proceeded to offer more elaborate excuses as the journey progressed.  The Scout Leader had to respond with ever more imaginative responses, but felt a great deal of personal satisfaction in getting him to the top.

One Dad got an 8 year old girl to the top by distracting her with conversations about her favourite things.  Whilst another Dad told how, with the summit in full view, he got a Cub to lift his finger and 'touch the summit'.  This proved highly energising to the young boy, who was frequently seen reaching out.

So what can we learn from this experience?

Robert Greenleaf wrote 'Servant Leadership' in 1977, in which he said that "service ought to be the distinguishing characteristic of leadership".  What we as a group of parents and Leaders did was to forego our own goals and come together to work unselfishly to help the children achieve, what for many was, a tremendous challenge.

I wonder, if we all did more of this in our business life might we achieve more?

I'd love to hear about your experiences of Servant Leadership.