Join The Evolution - Leadership Blog

How to Make Rebels of your Customers

2012-03-05T01:25:37Z

It always starts at top and ends with the customer.... and here is a great example. (if you hate sports keep reading, it will be worth it)

Roman Abramovich, the owner of UK premier league side Chelsea has had 7 managers in 12 years. It's a revolving door and it turned again a few hours ago as he sacked Andre Villas-Boas.

Abramovich's leadership style is to give the manager plenty of money to buy players and equipment (good) but then puts on massive pressure for quick success and micro-manages as soon as they lose a few games. (Power and Perfectionism). Carlo Ancelloti, a previous manager won the Premier League and FA cup in his first season but said that the pressure from Abramovich the next season made his life 'unbearable'

Recently Abramovich spent all week at the training ground watching his manager work. So what effect did this pressure have on Andre Villas-Boas? He became so afraid of losing that he became obsessed, slept at the training ground, used hard and fast rules that senior players rebeled against and lost the teams respect.

The fans were chanting for AVB to be sacked.

So, Perfectionism and Power leadership styles get repeated as you go down the structure and ultimately even the customer rebels!

What behaviours are you passing down the chain and to your customers? Make them constructive :-)

Read the full story here

Create Cost Effective Training Solutions

2012-01-21T08:40:12Z

If your training budget is not as large as you would like, it is still possible to develop your team. The key is to truly understand what behavioural changes will make the biggest impact on performance and get really creative with how the training solution is delivered.

Ask your team and your team's clients (internal and external) what behavioural change would make the biggest impact on performance.
Add your knowledge to the above
Select the behavioral change
Agree a performance goal for the change
Work with your team to come up with 7 different solutions to deliver this training (yes, seven)
Choose one solution - by analysing the balance of 'effectiveness' and 'cost'
Implement with Passion!

Experience has shown me that when I work with clients to come up with a variety of training method options we learn a great deal about the challenges of the team and arrive at a highly successful and cost effective solution. This solution may be entirely delivered by internal staff, by myself or a blend of both. If you'd like to understand more about how I could assist you with creating successful and cost effective training solutions - click here now

Innovate - the Steve Jobs Way

2011-10-07T05:47:51Z

As you will no doubt already know, one of the worlds most influential evolutionaries, Steve Jobs has sadly passed away.

His massive success with Apple and Pixar was based on his ability to innovate and lead others to do the same.

Download this insightful free document outlining his 7 Key Principles of Innovation. I've found this very useful for my own evolution. Thanks Steve for this! and Carmine Gallo for putting it together

Join the Evolution - It's Exciting!

Kindest Regards,
Adrian

Open Heart Upgrade

2011-05-23T23:36:10Z

It's been a fascinating few weeks for me what with running training programs, coaching, consulting, presenting at a conference in Fiji and squeezing in some great family time in the Easter Break. My son Louis, 13, is into surfing and surf photography so we spent some time in the waves and on the cliffs shooting videos together. My daughter India, 11 is a ball of energy and I got to hang out with her, surfing, baking, dancing to new music! and generally having a lot of fun, that is when I was not embarrassing her by wearing the wrong shirt! Teenagers soon....

Love Leads To Money

I want to share with you something that I'm extremely passionate about - setting and living your purpose. By doing this you will automatically upgrade your success in life and at work. Having been feeling a little off direction for a while I decided a few weeks ago to reset my purpose (the reason I do what I do) not only for my work but for my whole life. Using the 'Setting My Purpose' process I have devised, I realised that my new current purpose is 'To Open Hearts'. This is important to me because, by having an open heart, you are able to give and receive love and encouragement. The latin word Couer, that courage is derived from, means heart. So by having an open heart, you are able to 'give heart' (en-courage) to others. The joy is that a group of two or more open hearted people actually grow each others hearts. They exchange encouragement and, because the hearts are open, the love can flow from one open heart and into the other open heart, growing its capacity for more encouragement. Cool isn't it!

So..... the lesson seems to be that by opening your heart, it will grow. You will have deeper more insightful conversations and exchanges with others and grow their courage at the same time which is a key leadership trait. My experience of being open hearted is that people really understand the intention of my communication- key leadership trait - and are inspired to positive successful actions - key leadership result . I recently had some solid validation of this when I checked in at Brisbane airport for an international flight. I had my guitar with me which I use during my leadership conference keynote presentation "Compose Yourself'"© and Air Pacific required a $50 fee to take a guitar, even though my total baggage weight was fine. I must have handled this news and the ensuing discussion in an open hearted manner as a few minutes later I was called to return to the counter where they asked for my red boarding pass and replaced it with a green business class one - upgrade! The person at the desk said it was for being a 'lovely man' (very touching!) So I walked away very happy and it seemed our interactions had grown both our hearts despite the tricky content of the discussion.

So, by having an open heart, your leadership capability will soar because people will just 'get you' so clearly and be inspired to be their best.

Join the Evolution - It's Exciting!

Kindest Regards,

Adrian

Worlds Greatest Film Director - Leadership Style

2011-03-08T00:24:16Z

Martin Scorsese, the acknowledged world's greatest living film director, uses one of the most powerful leadership tools to gain his success. Mr Scorsese has gained the loyalty and trust of hollywood's finest actors (Robert De Niro), editors, cinematographers and screenwriters who return time and again to work on his movies (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Aviator, The Departed).

The secret to his success is that he uses coaching to draw out the best performances from his people. Coaching is the process of empowering and inspiring the individual to achieve outstanding results through questioning.

For example, Mr Scorsese sets the purpose of a scene and lets the actors do a couple of takes. Rather than step in and tell the actors exactly what he wants he asks them questions such as :

1. How do you feel that take went?

2. Remind me of the purpose of the scene?

3. How well do you feel that take achieved the purpose of the scene?

4. What would you feel needs to happen next time to really achieve the purpose?

These questions draw out the experience and instincts of the actors who then implement their ideas, connect with the purpose and perform an excellent scene.

The same process applies to getting the best performances out of your people.

1 Set the Purpose of the situation

2 Coach

3 Monitor progress

4 Coach

5 Complete/Review.

If you and/or your leadership team are curious to learn how to coach effectively and release the innate ability of your staff, I will be running a Leader as Coach Public Program in a few weeks time. Register your interest now.

This powerful program can also be delivered in house exclusively for your leaders. Enquire how now.

Bring It All Together

2011-01-31T02:34:27Z

Please accept this e-book gift of the collected leadership blogs of 2010 - packed with powerful real world leadership strategies, skills and mindsets - email address required.

Thanks for your support in 2010. I look forward to partnering with you 2011 and together achieving some really powerful and inspirational results.

Download Here Now

Download and distribute to your peers, your team or your leaders. The content will encourage some very useful conversations.

Join the Evolution, It's exciting!

Kind Regards,

Adrian

Gratitude is the Key

2011-01-01T13:39:53Z

Position Vacant?
$3 a day for making 2000 incense sticks in 10 hours. Half a day a week off, sit on the floor, 40 year minimum contract.

Any takers? I thought not. I was recently in the city of Mysore in India and watched an older lady making incense sticks. She was squatting on the floor at the back of an incense shop, rolling the sticks on a small black stone table. She didn't look up. On further enquiry I discovered the above information about her work life. $3 in India buys around 15 decent sized cups of tea, so in Australian terms that is $45 per day, $4.50 per hour in appalling work conditions.

So my New Years resolution is to be grateful for what I have. That way it is more likey to stick around. I will also be more grateful for what I ask for before I recieve it, that way it is more likely to appear.

Thankyou everyone.

Have a great 2011 and let's all be more grateful, that way we will all be more successful, happier and get along even more famously!

Join the Evolution - It's Exciting!

Kindest Regards,

Adrian

Get Yourself Connected

2010-11-30T08:23:19Z

I am currently in India combining some conference dates with a family vacation. This country is changing at a massive rate. Last time I was here a few years ago we took a train trip and the platform hawkers were selling wooden rolling pins, this time their wares included usb memory sticks! Further proof of this exponential shift in India's development came last week when I was standing listening to a blind beggar singing a beautiful song on the pavement in Darjeeling market. He was sadly dirty and dishevelled with a few fingers missing. I loved his singing so much that I put a few notes into his good hand and pressed record on my portable digital audio recorder so my children could hear his voice later. The digtal recorder attracted much attention from passers by and soon there was a sizeable crowd listening to the blind beggar. All of a sudden, in mid song, there was the loud sound of a ringtone to be heard through the blind beggars voice and to everyone's amusement he reached into the breast pocket of his old jacket, pulled out a mobile phone and proceeded to take a call!

This unexpected turn of events created much laughter from the crowd and a broad smile from the blind beggar! One of the key reasons that India is developing so quickly is that the vast majority of Indians (even the 'poor') can afford a mobile phone. The plans (domestic and international) are also extraordinarily cheap. This is is very smart of the India to provide it's population with the Chance To communicate easily - it's one of the primary keys to successful outcomes.

3 keys to successful outcomes

1 - Want To (desire)
2 - How To (skill)
3 - Chance To (opportunity)

So, how well Connected are you and the team you lead? This could be in terms of technology but also consider the culture you are creating and how this either enables or restricts the Chance of your team sharing information with each other, with other teams in the business and, massively importantly, with you.

Great teams are Connected!

Join the Evolution - It's Exciting!

Kindest Regards,

Adrian

Momentum? no problem!

2010-11-09T01:22:24Z

John C Maxwell says “Managers solve problems. Leaders create momentum”. When we slow down to solve a problem, more often than not when we solve it, we notice other problems appear (inevitably smaller and more numerous). When we create momentum, the problems solve themselves.

It’s like driving on a corrugated country dirt road. If you drive too slowly it is noisy, dusty, uncomfortable and over time your vehicle will suffer damage. If you drive a little faster, you will cruise over the corrugations so you will reach your destination in good time and have a quiet, clean, comfortable journey with a fully functioning vehicle, completely ready for the next journey.

Where will you focus? On solving problems, or creating momentum?

How to create momentum

Focus your team on their purpose, vision and values - you will have less problems arise anyway and if they do, your empowered team will handle it and you can get on with leading.
Make a habit of making wise decisions and then implementing swiftly rather than unthought decisions that you then need to revoke and rethink.
If a challenge arises that some may call a problem, coach your team to use it as an opportunity. “So whilst this situation may not at first appear ideal, I’d be curious to know what opportunities you think this presents us with”.
Set and/or co-create exciting and inspirational stretch goals with your team.
When coaching the goal ask questions that highlight the result of achieving it, such as “how will you feel when this is achieved?” or “What will achieving this goal bring you and the team?”
Reduce perfectionistic thinking and aim for brilliant, excellent results rather than adequate ones - remarkably there will be less problems and more momentum.
Encourage and demonstrate positive language. For example “Notice the customer’s decision making process” rather than “Watch out for the customer’s objections”.
When doing check-ins on projects ask questions like “Whats working?” and “What will take our progress to the next level?

Enjoy the momentum!

Join the Evolution - It's Exciting!

Kindest Regards,

Adrian

PS You can share this blog entry on your social networks and add value to your contacts - Click 'SHARE ARTICLE' below

Creativity is the new Information

2010-10-28T00:38:36Z

The information age is over. The sun has officially set (at least in the developed world). Everyone with access to an internet connection can find out anything they need to know in an instant and Google has become a verb.

The new age is the creativity age. Those with the ability to take the information, twist it through the ringer of opportunity and bring something new into the world are this decade's sunrise. I recently heard a great quote courtesy of Katherine Allen of The Writers Studio who defines creativity as the "dance between structure and imagination". How good is that? With solid structure the imagination can be captured and translated into effective action.

"Creativity is the Dance between Structure and Imagination"

Successful future businesses, teams and individuals will be those whose can spot the opportunity fastest and combine their imagination and structure to create wonderfully effective solutions. So how successful are your team at creating brilliant solutions and how successful are you at leading your team to create brilliant solutions?

Tips on Growing Team Creativity

Ensure your team has a good mix of structural and imaginative people and they get to work together on opportunities
Train the imaginatives to use structure and the structuralists to use their imagination
Use the GROW coaching model and spend solid time on the Options section - ask for safe ideas, good ideas, cool ideas, wild ideas, effective ideas, cheap ideas...
Encourage creativity by demonstrating it yourself.
Take your team into environments that display creativity as well as the key elements of the opportunity - for instance, if there is a need to communicate better with clients, take your team on a walk across (or over) a great bridge like the Sydney harbour bridge, finish up in a place where you can still see the bridge and ask 1) what are the key attributes of the bridge that means the north can communicate with the south so effectively. 2) Use those attributes to ask how we can communicate in the same way with our clients.

There are infinitesimal ways to grow creativity in yourself and others, just dance between structure and imagination and you will find the answers for you and your team. Feel free to share to share your discoveries.

Join the Evolution - It's Exciting!

Kindest Regards,

Adrian

PS You can share this blog entry on your social networks and add value to your contacts - Click 'SHARE ARTICLE' below