Perhaps the most valuable thing to emerge from ‘The Iron Lady’ the recent film on Margaret Thatcher is the reminder of the power of will.  Love or loathe her politics and policies, Thatcher epitomises, for us, the value the power of will brings to achieving sustained change.

So, what is will and why is it critical to outstanding leadership and business success? 

It is the quality that enables us to function consistently at the highest level of productivity and can separate the most effective leaders from the least.

The underpinnings of will power are discipline and self-control.  Though probably the least ‘sexy’ character strengths or virtues in the human repertoire, they can make the greatest contribution to driving through change, maintaining a steady course, resisting the expedient option where its outcome will be less than.

The contemporary organisation – with its on-call nature and constant stream (of almost tsunami-like proportions) of emails, voicemails, meetings, conference calls and so on – generates distractions at every turn that can mitigate against getting things done.

Willpower provides the fundamental bridge between leaders knowing what needs to be done and actually doing it, getting them beyond the distractions of organisational life as well as within themselves.  It brings energy and focus, both critical components in getting things done.

And it fuses them with a vital third component – belief in the goal, an emotional connection to the change and the benefits it will bring. 

It is this fusion allows the leader to take purposeful action, succeeding whatever the distractions, dissenting voices, seductive and easier alternatives and more popular options.

Of course will needs to be wielded with great care.  In its purest form, untempered by goodness (as in will to good or goodwill) it can be harsh and destructive.  We witness this, on occasion, with politicians and business leaders who are seduced by the impact of their will.  To be at its best will must be balanced by love, filtered through the heart, to ensure achievement is for the better.

Want to use the power of will more effectively in your leadership?  T: 01628 662645 / E: lorraine@azzur.co.uk

The shift in the corporate powerbase over very recent history to businesses whose invention creates long-term impact on how we live and relate to each other – think Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Apple, et al – throws down a very real challenge to leaders of organisations with more ‘traditional’ output to define and create a meaningful legacy beyond the shackles of shareholder value.

But without the push of mass market technological wizardry is such impact possible? 

The tough economic climate of recent years has led many organisations to focus on maintaining the status quo, and to squashing the change that could liberate corporate potential.

Moreover, the status quo is rather like a fire blanket, protecting the people within the organisation whilst at the same time smothering them – held in place, as it often is, by a more transactional and controlling style of governance.

For leaders the first challenge then is to let go some of the conventional power – decision-making vested in a small group at the top of the organisation based on tried and tested inputs.

To effect real change decisions need to be based on fresh input and different thinking.  The resources are, though, within easy reach – from all members of the organisation.

This presents the second challenge for leaders – to remove the controls that block the flow of thinking at all levels of organisation to allow: for questioning how things get done and even if they’re the right things; for healthy dissent; for the future-focused conversations that define organisational legacy and generate the commitment and motivation to build it.

The legacy of this approach may be a model for how we could function successfully in 21^st century workplaces – democratic, inspiring, and managing by connection, open communication and collaboration (rather than command and control); the very same values that the earlier mentioned technology companies are bringing to societal shift. 

When did you last encourage your people to contribute to changing the thinking in the organisation? How open are you to challenge?  How much real listening are you doing?

Want to change the thinking in your organisation?  T: 01628 662645 / E: lorraine@azzur.co.uk

Perhaps more than any other practice reflection can give the leader a fast track to more insightful decisions and incisive action.  Despite its power though it’s the practice that isn’t overtly in the job description and is most likely to get squeezed by the need for action. 

How, then, can you lever the benefits of reflection into your daily repertoire simply?

There are many different approaches to reflection including journaling, simple breathing techniques and meditation. 

We’d like to offer the simplicity of the daily review…four questions for reflection at the end of each day:

• Something I appreciated?
• Something I acknowledged?
• Something I learned?
• Something I changed? 

To be truly effective, of course, the practise requires consistent practise, together with the self-discipline to make it stick. It is also most powerful when we can approach our reflection with compassion for ourselves.  

As we all know, leadership lived well is a tough road and as we undertake our reflection and reviews it is really helpful if we focus on some level of gentleness with ourselves.  As we fall off our horse and get back on again it is the discipline of choosing to reflect and recommit ourselves to the behaviours and practises that we know to be ‘right’ that sets us apart as great leaders.

For more effective reflective practise…T: 01628 662645 / E: lorraine@azzur.co.uk

Women in senior positions in organisations is the issue that won’t go away.  Every few months the background hum from this issue reaches a crescendo.  In politics Ed Miliband’s most recent commitment to more women in his Shadow Cabinet saw him create a top team including 11 female MPs. 

In business Prime Minister David Cameron recently wrote to FTSE 350 companies asking them to speed up their response to the Davies Review (pub. February 2011) which recommended organisations set (higher) targets for numbers of female board members.  And beyond the board many big companies have a stated intent to balance their senior management communities too.

But is gender balance the real debate?  Surely it is about seeking to integrate the essence, values and qualities of the feminine into organisations.  Isn’t addressing this far bigger challenge successfully the debate leaders should be having? 

The real opportunity in gender balance isn’t just the quick fix of bringing more women into senior roles.  It’s about bringing feminine values and qualities to the workplace, and into balance with the more traditional masculine values that predominate in many organisations to further sharpen competitive advantage, and deliver sustained higher performance.

Co-operation, interdependence, building trust and relationship, empathy and compassion, endurance, listening, finely tuned social skills, openness, are some of the qualities and capabilities ascribed to the feminine.

 In organisations they underpin effective team working, employee engagement, space for more options to inform better decision-making and purposeful consensus (rather than bland agreement), a more considered approach to risk, a broader embrace of diversity – all factors which are proven to increase organisational success.

 However, contrary to the label, feminine values are available to us all, irrespective of gender.  Bringing them into consistent organisation practise is the challenge. 

 Though not the complete solution development can help, focusing on building self-awareness, self-management and generating more socially-attuned, skilful and people-focused behaviour (the core building blocks or emotional intelligence). 

 Equally, if not more, powerful is a shift in what leaders value and reward – empathy and compassion, relationship-building, communication built on dialogue rather than information, collaboration – and then role-modelled day-in, day-out in their leadership practise.

 Want to bring more feminine power into your organisation? T: 01628 662645 / E: lorraine@azzur.co.uk