As we start 2009, I’m sure I’m not the only one who is wondering what the New Year will bring.  During the last couple of months we have seen a number of large businesses succumb to the turbulent economic climate.  These recent losses have made us all realise that no-one is safe and that the future is not just about survival of the fittest but also about creating a sustainable future.  By keeping positive and focused we can ride this storm and seek out opportunities to continually improve … it’s only when we allow the doom and gloom to feed our anxiety that we start to panic and act in ways that worry those around us.

We may get away with acting a bit strangely at home, but it’s very different in the office.  When leaders allow pressures to affect their attitudes, behaviours and actions it inevitably affects the culture of the business as everyone tries to second guess what the next change will be.  This is made worse as internal communications reduce to a minimum and cost cutting takes place on activities that have an impact on staff moral, rather than on the items that will make a real difference to the bottom line.  In the meantime, the attitudes and behaviours of the whole workforce become frayed around the edges as they become filled with uncertainty.  When leaders create this type of environment they tend to be heading down one specific route.  Before realising it, they have created their own worst prophecy of being ‘a business in decline’.

Their actions also manifest themselves in others who stop treating their staff as adults, questioning their every move, who in turn, become disenchanted with the way they are being managed.  It’s not long before absenteeism starts to increase.  Blame cultures start to appear with some people becoming the target when things go wrong.  Other staff stop taking ownership and responsibility for their actions and bit by bit the business starts to become more dysfunctional.  These reactions don’t only result in an increased cost base, but also create processes that hinder improvement rather than drive it forward.

With the right leadership these scenarios don’t happen.  Leaders who recognise that their staff are their most important asset continue to facilitate enabling cultures to ensure there is full involvement of all their staff. This is critical as research shows that empowerment has the strongest impact on improving sustained productivity, being 7% higher than other activities such as Total Quality Management tools.  Crucial if you want to remain focused on the future rather than just the here and now.

As we experience this climate of uncertainty, the role of the leader has never been more visible or critical.  Leaders who will survive and prosper are those who:

• Recognise that internal communications are of vital importance.  When people are feeling low and concerned about their futures it is important that leaders remain inspirational.  It’s really important to increase levels of communication to keep people up to date with the vision of the company.  By explaining what you’re trying to achieve helps everyone understand the part they play to make it successful.  If staff know that they are an integral link to the business achieving its goals they are more likely to be motivated and accountable for their actions and helping the business to succeed.
• Implement productivity improvements i.e. measuring the ratio of employee related costs to outputs.  Although I’m a subscriber to ‘what gets measured, get’s done’, you do need to be certain that you are measuring the right things.  It’s no good measuring everything that moves.  Pick out some key performance indicators that staff can influence and communicate the results back regularly so that everyone can see the fruits of their labour.
• Identify obstacles that stop the business moving forward and explore and implement ways to overcome them.  In the past I have held sessions where we have listened to recorded calls that were handled most ineffectively, not because of the operator, but because of the business processes or rules that caused barriers to providing great service. Attendees of the meeting couldn’t criticise the operator.  They had to find ways in which they could remove any barriers that stopped us providing excellent service.  This whole process had numerous benefits but three key ones were the sharing of knowledge, increased teamwork and streamlined customer service.
• Increase the flexibility of their workforce, enabling them to adopt and manage change in a positive way.  Workforce capacity will be critical in 2009 as businesses flex and increase efficiencies.  This will mean that staff need to be adaptable to change. Ensuring that the business is equipped with the right tools to manage change properly means that you can be fleet of foot with the activities that you need to undertake maintaining buy in by all concerned.  Change managed badly can create all sorts of problems and usually allows the cynics to create chaos rather than enlighten the process with their concerns.

Leaders who can create flexibility within their workforce will be the winners of the future.  If staff:

• understand the part they play in creating the vision of their business,
• can easily measure their success and
• are able to continually improve and adapt to the changing needs of their customers

they will weather this storm and become stronger and fitter – and so will the business.

So what do you know about me?

I’m often told that my success is attributable to my ability to develop organisational cultures that achieve their strategy with the full engagement of their people, whatever level in the organisation.  This happens because I genuinely care about making a difference to the organisations I work with and end up infecting all their staff with my passion, energy and positivity. Most of my projects are linked to developing cultures that bring to life the brand values, improve the customer experience, enhance leadership and/or focus on continuous improvement processes.

Please contact me if you’d like to discuss any of the above in more detail.  My initial two hour consultation is free and it could help you focus on some sustainable survival techniques for the future!

I’d like to finish with a quote from Helen Keller who said ‘When one door closes another one opens, but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we don’t see the one that has opened for us’.  Don’t let that be you in 2009!

Wishing you an extremely positive year.