Tag: Chief Energy Officer

Are You Seeing The big Picture Craig Johns

ARE YOU SEEING THE BIG PICTURE?

Posted on by nrg2perform in Article

Do you know what helps you navigate the clutter, complexity and commotion on a daily basis that allows you to take a birds eye view and see the big picture?

It is a challenge when you have your head down, in the zone and focused on the task at hand to understand where you are at and even sometimes to clarify what the big picture really is. The big picture is about:

  • Knowing not just how and what to do, but knowing why
  • Viewing the whole and not just its parts
  • Seeing a vision, a sense of the bigger picture
  • Having the ability to see significance in work, beyond the obvious
  • Understanding that a legacy will live on, whether in the bricks and morter or in the impact made on other people

You have to know what naturally helps you to clear the mind and find the space to step outside your body and mind so you can focus on what is really important. For me, it is going for a long ride by myself or running on a trail. I find it’s my form of meditation and reality check.

Some people find travel helps them to find a clearer perspective, as 10,000 feet up provides a pretty good birds eye view of situations. Another common time is when listening to podcasts that challenge our ways of thinking, leadership strategies or are industry related.

Sometimes we find it difficult to see the big picture by ourselves. You may find it easier through conversations with a friend, colleague or even a group of like-minded people in a “circle of trust’ monthly catch-up over a coffee.

When it comes to financial analysis, you may find manually writing out your budget or financial reviews with pen and paper allows you think of the numbers in a different way than on a computer screen where formulas are producing numbers for you.

A lot of people will work continuously without breaks during a day. Research shows that our ability to perform tasks diminishes after approximately 90minutes of concerted effort and focus. It is important to take a 5-15min break every 90minutes allowing your mind a chance to recharge and your body a chance to move around rather than sitting in one place.

Going long periods of time without a break may also result in you heading down a rabbit hole of time-consuming focus on the unimportant things, without realizing you are on a path of less value.

Organising a dedicated brainstorm or review session with team members of what you are currently doing and where you can go, while ensuring that everything is aligned to the overall mission, strategies and goals is crucial. You will find it invaluable as not only does it provide a big picture check for you, but it also enables the team to develop greater cohesion in what the big picture looks like to everyone.

I have witnessed a few people using apps, such as rescue time, to monitor and track their use of time. It allows them to see how much time is spent on each daily activity and most importantly on the tasks that are making forward progress.

We are often caught up in our own assumptions, ways of thinking and complexity. Try challenge some of your assumptions to see what would happen if you removed one or more of them. Remember complexity is the enemy, so sometimes the most simple and obvious thing maybe blurred or hidden from our ability to see the big picture.

Identify whether you team have a connection to the big picture. Share the big picture regularly by providing the details first and then the context later. Ask them what they see and make sure that you connect the big picture to their work. Most importantly connect the big picture to meaning as people want to know that their working has a purpose.

Make sure that you include the activities that allow you to see clarity from a big picture point-of-view, in your daily or weekly routines. It is crucial that you are on the right road and haven’t taken the wrong left turn. To take it to the next level, it is even more valuable to ensure that you have time following your big picture activities, to find time to analyse and translate your insights into specific actions.

Life is all about choice. We may feel we are snowed under, constrained by deadlines and under the pump from either your boss or a client, but remember you are the one in control. Prioritise what is important, what you need to gain clarity and disregard the meaningless activities that halt your progress. What you do is only as good as the clarity of your big picture.

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Have We Got The Hiring Process Totally Wrong?

Have We Got The Hiring Process Totally Wrong?

Posted on by nrg2perform in Article

Have We Got The Hiring Process Totally Wrong?

It has been reported that “81% of people lie or bend the truth in their resumes and when being interviewed”. (Schwantes, Unknown) Candidates can talk the talk, but can they walk the walk?

Are you tired of sifting through resumes and conducting tireless interviews only to find out 2 weeks after hiring someone that they are the wrong fit?

When we are recruiting someone to fill a role in our company or team we are looking for the best available talent. So are our processes actually identifying talents or are we just testing how good people can write a resume, interview and tell stories?

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What do sports coaches, dance company’s, symphony orchestra’s, music labels and art galleries have in common when they are recruiting new people?

They conduct auditions and trials.

How do builders, plumbers and other craftsman recruit people?

They conduct apprenticeships.

So, why don’t companies and teams place potential employees through real-life situations, such as auditions or apprenticeships, when recruiting?

Let’s take a look at how you can reduce the opportunity to hire a talker rather than a walker.

When recruiting, we need to be able to assess the following:

  • Behavioural characteristics
  • Skill level
  • Values compatibility
  • Team cohesion
  • Complimentary skills to improve team performance

Audition’s, trials and apprenticeships allow you to test the candidate’s ability to perform the kinds of tasks that they are likely to tackle in a typical day. They allow you to view multiple skills, see how they work, how they prioritise, what they do when faced with challenges and you can interact with them in a work situation. It is a great way to safeguard your company or team against those who are good at bluffing their way through a situation or interview. (Smyth, Unknown)

Auditions need to be appropriate to the role recruiting for. If you are recruiting for a role that requires a lot of collaboration and management, then it might be more useful to bring all key candidates into the same room and set a group puzzle solving task. Whereas if you are recruiting for a role like a journalist, you could set them a highly technical brief and observe how they tackle challenge in a role-playing type situation.

In a group audition, try placing the candidates into groups of 4-6 people, provide them with a puzzle, and then sit back and enjoy. You will see their personalities shine through as they will naturally showcase their leadership, teamwork, working style and coping ability. At the end get them to present to the other group/s and then provide an opportunity for the group/s to provide feedback on the project and the process they went through to solve the puzzle.

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Conducting a group audition allows you to reduce the total time of the recruitment process. It also provides observations on how people react in unique, awkward and pressure situations.

If you are completing individual auditions, then you need to establish an efficient process, to ensure that you get the best value for your time. Role-playing is a great way to achieve this. It gives you the opportunity to test both technical and soft skills. You get to explore the candidate’s ability to analyse, solve puzzles, think critically and present.

The audition process allows you to reduce the element of risk. You can really hone in on the skills you are looking for rather than trying to decipher through the candidates reflection of previous stories or even making up an answer. (Smyth, Unknown)

Interviews can deceive your analysis of a candidate’s performance potential. For many people, the interview process takes them into an unnaturally uncomfortable position. This may affect their non-verbal cues such as eye contact, handshake strength and ability to control nerves. You need to make sure your judgement is based on the actual skills required in the role they are applying for rather than the “first impression” soft skills. (Smyth, Unknown)

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It is valuable to develop a meaningful measuring system to ensure all aspects of the audition are analysed effectively. You need to accurately measure and score against the skills required in the role. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the audition is based on simulations or every day work rather than a once in a lifetime crisis-type event. (Smyth, Unknown)

Some other ways to effectively assess your candidates (Lipsey, 2017; Musser, 2017):

  • Two-step role playing – Challenge their reflection & response to feedback
  • Creativity tests – Observe how candidates navigate the unexpected
  • Feedback/self Improvement – Assessing the vulnerability of a candidate
  • Paid trial period – Short-term commitment
  • Trial day – Place them into the work environment for a day
  • …athon – Set a task that requires work related skills, open it up to the market and create a competition out of it.

It’s time to find amazing talent, rather than good actors. How are you hiring?

Resources

Lipsey, R. F., (2017). Hiring A+ Candidates for Your Start-up How to Sport a Learner. The Huffington Post. Link

Musser, J., (2017). Transforming Interviews into Auditions. Sales Potential. Link

Schwantes, M., (Unknown). The Job Interview Will Soon Be Dead.  Manuseto Ventures, Inc..Link

Smyth, G., (Unknown). Do Audition-Style Interviews Really Work? Seek Insights & Resources Australia. Link

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ARE YOU LEADING A HIGH PERFORMANCE CULTURE?

ARE YOU LEADING A HIGH PERFORMANCE CULTURE?

Posted on by nrg2perform in Article

As a leader you are at the steering wheel of your organisation or team’s cultural journey. You set the temperature in the room as you bring people together to change the personality of the organisation or team.

Being a role model of beliefs, through practising what you preach, is an important part of reinforcing the new values of the organisation or team. You need to give cultural building the effort it deserves as you set the tone for everyone involved.

Subtle leading is important as you don’t want to force the changes down their throats. It is crucial that your structure resembles the culture that is desired. You need to stimulate healthy discussion and prioritise the key aspects of cultural change.

Leading cultural change requires you to teach it, define it, live it, measure it and most importantly reward it. You must be consistent in your approach and ensure the delivery hits the sweet spot every time.

Positive Workplace

Creating a positive workplace, through successful cultural change, provides many great benefits to your organisation or team. Let’s take a look at some of the most valuable benefits, which employees can experience:

  • Improved productivity throughout the organisation
  • More focus on their work and the work of the whole organisation
  • Proud to be associated with the organisation
  • Knowledge & experiences are shared to enhance the organisation
  • People enjoy coming to work
  • More committed to the company
  • Go home happy & feel satisfied
  • Positive impact on society, especially the relationships with their friends, family and the community

High Performance Culture

Why do certain companies or teams excel beyond the norm in productivity, cohesion, ratings and performance? They know how to deliver a high performance culture. They live and breathe it every minute of every day. Let’s take a look at what a high performance culture is all about.

How do you know where you are going, if you don’t know where the destination is?

High Performance cultures start with clearly defining and understanding what winning looks like. The culture is connected to the big picture. The team spells out their preferred culture and sets about ensuring everything and everyone is aligned.

Performance is increased through transparency, employee engagement and an ownership mentality. Team members are adaptable and highly accountable. They work as one and feed off each other.

There is an internal focus for continuous improvement and information sharing. Coaching and mentoring programs are ingrained to ensure leadership is developed and nurtured.

Storytelling is deeply embedded in the company or team. It’s the lifeblood that continuously fuels performance. It draws the DNA of the company or team and allows it’s personality to shine.

Exceptional customer service and open internal communication is a natural way of being. It drives customer satisfaction and fuels employee cohesiveness.

Employee recognition is prioritised and they take the time to celebrate all wins, both large and small. Celebrating small victories lift the spirits of the team, help in motivation and team encouragement.

As Peter Drucker once said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”. If you think of building a house to sell, the culture is the foundation that enables the strategies to shine through that draw hundreds of people to the Open Home.

A high performance team sets high standards, stretch targets and won’t settle until they figure out how to achieve it. They are dedicated, determined and meticulous in their planning. The team knows their culture is only as good as its strategy and therefore are reviewing both on a regular and planned basis.

Do you lead a team of winners and the company DNA to deliver a high performance culture?

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Achieving Successful Change – Changes Series Part 3 Link
Change Tantrums – Change Series Part 2 Link
Why Change? – Change Series Part 1 Link
I Make No Apologies This Is Me! Link

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