Leadership is the glue that holds everything else that you do together

Posted on September 20, 2011 and written by David Knowles-Leak

Leadership is the glue that holds everything else that you do together, it is the route through which you get the things that you want in life and in business, well conceived leadership designs are an essential ingredient in the makeup of people who achieve. © dkl Accelerating Performance

As true as all this is why does leadership so often fail, and why do organisations who invest heavily in leadership development suffer such catastrophic failure: you can argue that the evidence for this is seen in News International, the Metropolitan Police and UBS. We may soon have to add the minders of the EMU to this list.

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No more two dimensional management in a three dimensional world!

Posted on May 1, 2012 and written by David Knowles-Leak

Our global economy dictates the need for a major shift in leadership and management capability, people at all levels in an organisation must specifically determine where they’re going, and how they will get there.

Our capacity to organise ourselves is one of the things that distinguishes us from other species on the planet, but whilst we have made enormous strides in our physical development (as exemplified by Usain Bolt and athletes similar to him) there is much to be done to reach similar standards in larger than pack size groups.

Smaller workforces, intense competition, global connections, instant communications, quality demands, and customer requirements, are some of the factors that drive organisations to up their game in effectively monitoring their performance. Compliance often means that constancy and consistency are the watchwords of 21st century management.

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Coaching & Mentoring

Posted on April 28, 2012 and written by David Knowles-Leak

Consulting, coaching and mentoring, interim, project and crisis management, and advising in its many guises are all used to brand the intervention of third parties in organisations; they cover a multitude of disciplines and providing they are competently delivered and relevant to the needs of the day, they all have value.
However, these interventions can often be piecemeal in that they frequently deal with specifics and individuals, and they involve processes and result in outcomes are not always a good fit with the strategies in place. Continue reading →

Article Categories: Business Strategy
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The Communication Gap Kills Companies

Posted on July 11, 2011 and written by David Knowles-Leak

The recent furore surrounding News International raises many issues and it highlights the essential connection between Leadership and Communication. This, and the failure of BP to get it’s communications right over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill together with Gerald Ratners throwaway remarks trashing his own products demonstrate how communication and leadership failure can have a catastrophic effect on a company’s fortunes.

Leaders need to be able to effectively communicate what matters when it matters, they also need to heard properly and to generate a climate in which they get to hear from subordinates critical information that comes their way. Companies can only operate in this happy state by analysing their leaders communication style, testing its impact on direct reports and other stakeholders, and then managing The Communication Gap.

The Communication Gap consists of the parts of the leaders message that is not heard or is misheard, plus the critical information held by subordinates that is not passed up the line.

Measure it, train and develop in order to ameliorate it; and then manage it.
The impact of failing to do this can propel companies into disaster management.
Leaders depend on communication.”

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Is your glass half empty or, half full?

Posted on November 30, 2010 and written by David Knowles-Leak

When the sun shines or when the rain pours and you go out to play your game, it is the same for both sides: and more often that not, one side wins and another side looses.

Life is a bit like that,the nation has a millstone of debt round its neck, the banks have not come to the party, and the world is full of naysayers. However, the next few months will see winners and losers so, what are you doing to make sure that you are a winner.

It starts with attitude.

Do you have self-belief?
Are you determined?
Are you resilient?
Do you know what you are doing and what the outcome will be?
Will you keep your focus?

Its a fact that the winners are not always the most talented and they are not always the cleverest, but they are the most focused and determined: they never give up.

Most problems have solutions and if you don’t have the answer, get someone to help you.
When you have solutions your glass goes from being half empty to being half full.

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Organisations without a vision screw things up.

Posted on November 16, 2010 and written by David Knowles-Leak

Organisations without directors who have bought into the vision screw up big time.

One of the great routes to disaster is to put the horse before the cart; in business terms this translates into running a business without having crystallised the vision into an inspirational statement that sits in the mind, and is the final arbiter in decisions about what is worthwhile.

Know what is compelling about your organisation and make sure that everyone in your world knows what it as well.

How else would people know if they were acting in the best interests of the organisation?

You may be surrounded by people who know what the vision is, but don’t buy into it. These are the real naysayers; always surround yourself with people who challenge and test every aspect of the decision making process; every aspect that is, except your values and your vision. Real naysayers should be shown the door because they will not only rot your teeth, they will also rot the teeth of those around you.

So if you haven’t got a vision and the commitment of the key people in the organisation to it, deal with it today.

The simplest things can often take a long time to get right, and they often need the help of outsiders to create.

A vision is like a well cut diamond: it takes a long time to cut and polish, and it needs to be in a prominent and enduring setting to show it off to best effect.

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