The Praesta Insight Pieces 1
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The Praesta Insight Pieces 1 The Praesta Insight Pieces praesta insights 2 Table of Contents Foreword 3 Foreword When Praesta’s founding partners first planned their new business, they were determined to create a firm that would be wholly focused on their collective 5 Faster Faster passion – harnessing the power of executive coaching to help people and the Thriving in a faster faster world organisations they work for achieve their ambitions and aspirations. We wanted the firm that opened on July 4th 2005 – Independence Day! - to 10 Riding the Rapids achieve a reputation for professional excellence. We were also determined How to navigate through turbulent times not to rest on the laurels earned in our legacy business. After all, our clients evolve and develop, so it was right that we should too: we owed it to them to be as good as we could be. 15 What Makes a Great Chair in the Public Sector? Our coaches begin with the foundation of senior careers, have undergone 22 Seizing the Future advanced coaching qualifications and then commit to on going development through supervision, peer sessions and annual international conferences. As we bring in new coaches to grow the firm and take the practice forwards 28 Living Leadership you will see some new faces, while longer serving members continue to be Finding equilibrium active and bring significant value to our clients and the firm through their extensive experience. 34 Metro Leaders A new breed of men in business? We have coached and mentored in excess of 6,500 senior executives and 100 executive teams. In addition to our UK business we have member firms in France, Ireland, Germany, Hungary, Turkey, Singapore and UAE. To harness 39 The Age of Agility the collective experience gained through our client assignments we decided to provide some practical – as opposed to theoretical - thought leadership in 44 Continuity and Succession our market place. We began to publish practical, thought-provoking Praesta How not to lose the baby with the bathwater Insights on topical subjects that would inform and engage our clients. As they are busy people, we set ourselves the challenge of boiling the content of these documents down to a fifteen minute read. 48 Beyond 2020 Things will be different In this publication we have brought together a collation of our most popular Praesta Insights, covering topics such as developing resilient teams, 52 Board Players continuity and succession, board players and living leadership to name a few. How Chairs, Independent Directors and CEOs make their boards effective We hope you enjoy as much as we have enjoyed the journey with our clients to enable us to share these insights. 58 Knowing the Score What we can learn about leadership from Edward Dulson Chairman and Partner, on behalf of everyone at Praesta music and musicians 67 The Resilient Team 4 The Praesta Insight Pieces 5 2007 Faster Faster Thriving in a faster faster world by Heather Dawson (2005-2013) praesta insights Work, at senior levels, in the 21st century has accelerated – many executives find themselves in what we call a “faster-faster” world, with unrelenting pressure, global travel and high performance expectations. Yet, contrary to popular belief, many individuals thrive in this pressured environment. How is this possible? We decided to explore this question and draw together what other executives could learn from those who cope well, because this shift to a “faster-faster world” has been so noticeable in our coaching practice. But wait a minute – have things really Key skills and disciplines changed? We have observed that there are certain skills and Some point out that senior executives were expected disciplines that allow some individuals not only to work long hours in the 20th century, often in to survive but even to thrive. The first is a classic highly pressured environments. But executives tell set of skills that every successful executive must us that the nature and pace of work has changed have. These nonnegotiable skills have become even noticeably in more recent years: more critical given the sheer complexity and speed of business today. They provide the foundation for • There is far less time for leaders to settle into success. But there is also another set of disciplines bigger and more demanding roles. that gives some executives the edge, allowing them • These roles hold challenges that are more varied, to thrive in a faster-faster world. This paper explores numerous and complex. these “faster-faster” disciplines, starting with “shaping the role of work in one’s life”. • Decision making must be faster, leaving little time for consultation and reflection. 1. Shaping the role of work in one’s life • Information from voicemail, email, text messages, websites and “hard copy” documents can deluge We have noticed that executives who believe “my senior executives and distract them from thinking life is my own” are a step ahead. They have clarity and maintaining strategic focus. on the key tenets of their life – what is important to • Boundaries between work and personal time them, what they would like to achieve, and how they are more porous. Many executives have global want to lead their lives. They may not have been responsibilities in different time zones, their successful all the time, but they approach their life sleep and work patterns are disrupted by world and work with a positive attitude. They have a sense travel, and there is a creeping sense of needing of choice about the role of their career in their life. to be “available” constantly, with the help of One size does not fit all. Some are fulfilled by communication technology. working hard in demanding jobs – and they have made that deliberate choice. For others, a different It is notable that those who thrive in this new balance between work and family life is appropriate. environment appear to see these trends as Some protect weekends and holidays, others opportunities – opportunities to move quickly on appreciate the flexibility of interweaving work and major initiatives, to engage with employees and personal life throughout the day – for example, customers around the world using today’s exciting taking children to school, working, getting home communication technology, and to build new early, and working late at night. The notion of businesses. So, what skills, disciplines and attitudes uniformly separate times for work (e.g. 8am-6pm) underpin the executive who thrives in this faster- and personal activities (e.g. evenings and weekends) faster world? 6 2007 Thriving in a Faster Faster World The Praesta Insight Pieces 7 is shifting towards each individual finding a balance to another. Our experience indicates, however, that this that works for him or her. approach to work – operating in mini slices of time and constantly multi-tasking – is at times useful but is not a The must-have foundation skills Whatever their personal rhythm, executives who can prerequisite for success at senior levels. see choices feel liberated from the sense of “being One, perhaps surprising, insight from our • Listening carefully to colleagues, clients and done to” or out of control. They may not get all they In this fractured working life, it is even more critical conversations with executives is that thriving in advisors to help build an understanding of ask for, but they are often surprised at what they can that executives find time for deep focus. This enables a faster-faster world means really mastering some what is important achieve. them to step back and reflect thoughtfully on a business basic, classic management skills. These skills issue, on how they are doing, or on a particularly • Stepping back and asking oneself “what is 2. Managing communication technologies need practice and updating as responsibilities knotty problem, without distractions. This focused time going on here?”, “what matters?” has a different quality from checking off a to-do list or and circumstances change. Successful leaders In the early 2000s, many executives found themselves reacting to what others are saying or doing around one. master all three: Many of our clients appreciate that they need swamped by emails and voicemails. They were sucked into the middle of issues that really belonged to other Executives have told us about some of the approaches time to do this, either by themselves or in 1. Build capability around them executives or managers. Communication technology that have helped them find time to focus: changing conversations with colleagues. What they find can draw executives into a level of detail that is the physical environment (e.g. working away from a Those who thrive in a faster-faster world challenging is carving out that time (see faster- unproductive, thus pushing decisions inappropriately cluttered desk), engaging in conversation/dialogue with recognise and act on the following principles faster skill number 3: Finding time to think up the line. Moreover, the ubiquitous “ccing” of email a trusted colleague/friend/mentor, writing out pros and in building a team: and focus). allows individuals to abdicate responsibility with the cons, going for a walk, working half a day at home. phrase “but we told you so”. There is now published Whatever the approach, finding time to focus and think • They cannot do it all by themselves. evidence that interruptions – e.g. through emails, pays dividends with greater clarity and perspective and 3. Plan and think ahead voicemails, instant messaging – reduce productivity. renewed energy. • They understand where, as leaders, This skill may seem selfevident, but Not surprisingly, then, some executives are beginning they can add value. it definitely helps to manage stress. to think carefully about the signals they send out 4. Leading amidst uncertainty and ambiguity It includes: on how they wish their organisations to work with • They know when to be hands-off or communication technology.