Preparing for personal change?

Preparing for personal change? – try thinking in different ways but above all else – hold your nerve!

So the August bank holiday is almost upon us. The leaves are starting to turn a mild shade of orange. The heavy dew on the grass in the mornings and evenings warns us of the cooler nights and days ahead. There’s even some early marketing for those Christmas corporate parties. It’s all change!

And so too all those working in the public sector will return to busy times again in September when the main holiday phase ends. Parliament opens and the raft of bills just waiting for approval will move swiftly through – and then it begins.

Everyone knows what lies ahead. Organisations are to be abolished. Funding is to be cut. New corporate entities are to be created. Mergers are welcomed! And amongst all of this there’s an element of needing to continue to deliver the day to day business as well as trying to find the time to focus on personal futures. Just where do you start if you’re in the middle of this shuffling pack of cards when you know that you won’t be where you are in 2 years?

Take a step back and try a different approach. We’ve all heard the saying that if you carry on doing the same things over and over again, you’ll get the same results. So here’s how I’d play out my time right now, if I was back in gainful public sector employment!

• Make best use of the up and coming ‘caretaking roles’. Organisations that are being abolished still have a statutory duty to deliver their responsibilities and will need people to fulfil certain roles as key personnel start to leave. Keep an eye out for those roles that can offer you something different that you could move into and gain new insights, skills and experiences. Caretaking is a wonderful opportunity to get some new exposure whilst also helping out the organisation.

• Make best use of those people around you who really challenge your thinking about how the future will look and feel. If you carry on talking with the same clique and group of people you generally work with, you’ll end up with the same conversations. Seek out those whom you would not normally link in with and open up some new avenues – most people love being listened too and sharing thoughts with someone new.

• Don’t get hung up on job titles as you start thinking about what your next role is likely to be. This whole public sector transformation is likely to throw up new ways of working and thinking that goes far beyond the traditional roles that we have seen over the last decade – it has to if it’s to succeed. Look beyond the title into the potential for the role and how what you enjoy doing most, is likely to feature in it.

• Know your values inside out! We all know there is the standard practice of knowing your strengths and weaknesses. Also, understanding your skill base and using your experience to move you into your next career phase is an expected approach. But there is something much more fundamental than this that can help carve out your future – your values! You need to be clear about those personal values which make you who you are and which underpin your beliefs. If your next career move compromises them in any way, you’ll be even more frustrated than you might be right now.

I remember once being in an organisation that was being abolished. It was hard to hold your nerve and still do your day to day job, as people started leaving around you. But you have to find ways and breakthrough strategies to do just that, as you may be the one who is actually turning the lights out!

If your own personal future is in a dilemma – start thinking in ways that you’ve never done before. The changes this time round will be colossal and demand new approaches. But above all – be true to your values!

Just be up to something interesting!

I remember once reading in the plethora of leadership and management journals, about one particular individual’s view that leaders should always ‘be up to something interesting’. I remember at the time that it stopped and made me think. After pondering for some time, I tended to agree with the statement.

I believe now that whatever we ascribe to the definition of leadership, I would argue that we are all leaders of some make, if only leaders of our own destinies. Therefore by this definition alone, we should all be up to something interesting!

And as the threat of unemployment looms for many in the public sector over the next 12-24 months, the challenge to be ‘up to something interesting’ will just be too much. But it will be this positive frame and outlook which will give people the edge for future gainful employment. After all, would you employ someone or want to work with someone who has nothing different or interesting to say?

And so I write this blog now because a very dear friend asked me this week – ‘What are you up to then Renshaw?” My answer was as swift as his curiosity:

• Dibley, my Newfoundland dog had just passed her first stage of the water life saving tests by ‘rescuing’ me from a lake.

• We were just back from a week in Somerset where I found out to my surprise that all businesses only deal in cash at the tills!

• I’d had an amazing night at the theatre with my Mum seeing The Sound of Music.

Now of course none of this was work related – and oh how he had expected something about contracts, clients and climate! But our conversation had lasted longer. We both shared some personal experiences that none of us had known about the other before……..and of course we smiled and laughed together. We also found out how better we could work together in the future!

So where ever you are right now – do you have your answer ready?

Call to the public sector

Just be honest with yourselves – you know now where many of the cuts can go!

Nobody could argue that the public sector change movement is now hot news and gaining momentum every ticking minute of every day!

Our daily tabloids are crammed full of stories and sound bites of individuals affected by the cuts, families distressed at losing services, and MPs in opposition being stripped of their legacy without any emotion whatsoever. Even my Accountant has reminded me recently that it’s no good just talking about public sector cuts – the indirect affect in the private sector will be colossal.

But with just under 30 years experience of working across the public sector both as an employee and an external resource, I offer the following fundamental observations that I’m sure will ring true for many working in the public sector:

• There will be those staff who just want to leave the organisation and head off into new directions or simply wander around the wilderness aimlessly. They will see this as a time for celebration and gaiety!

Let them go where you can as they will drain those around them who do not share their enthusiasm for unemployment.

• If you’re honest with yourself, you already know where the slack is in the system – or someone close to you will! This is a one off opportunity to remove it so make the most of it. Let’s face it, there will be far less scrutiny on this revolution of management cost reductions!

• You will find it emotionally challenging but focus on the core of what you do and withdraw from activities that are senseless and have no currency in the new world.

Everyone will have a story of pointless activities and services that can be shed. Have the courage to point them out and the conviction to stand by your decisions.

Oh and by the way, I’m not oblivious to my Accountant’s advice! But that does not stop me from believing in what I feel organisations should be doing right now.

A question that gets right to the heart!

I’ve just finished reading a book that I had started some weeks ago. Not because I was finding it difficult to complete – it’s just that my work portfolio had suddenly shifted and the book took second place.

But I’ve now closed that last page! And I want to share a simple questioning technique that the book introduces and that can be applied to most decision making instances.

I’ve mentioned before a book called ‘Time to Think’ by Nancy Kline. She takes you through her thoughts and experiences of developing organisations into thinking environments. There are just over 250 pages of her wisdom. But for me, there is just one sentence/question/frame of words that I came across which has helped me more than anything at work and at home.

You know when you need to make a difficult or profound decision. When you probably know the answer but are in denial of it. When your emotion and gut is telling you something but your logic won’t accept it? Well here is a question that just gets to the heart of the matter. It generates moments of silence. It questions the very being of the issue. It challenges what we already know to be true.

“What do we already know that we are going to find out in a year?”

The beauty of the question is that you can apply it to most circumstances. You can amend the words and timescales to suit the circumstances. You can ask it of yourself. You can ask others to ask it of themselves. It avoids extracting logic. It concentrates on something much deeper in your thinking. And here’s how it’s been amended in my recent work.

“What do you know about this job that you’re going to find out in 5 years?”

“What do we know about this organisation that we’re going to find out after the merger?”

“What do you know about yourself that others will learn in a year?”

“What do we know about this government that we’re going to find out in a year?”

“What do you know about this client that you’ll find out by working with them?”

What the question seems to do is unravel a plethora of emotions that we find difficult to explain or give logic to – yet these are the very feelings which help drive our strategies and decisions

Go on try it! Apply the question to something that’s puzzling you. Even better, help someone else to work through something using this framework. I’d be delighted to hear how you got on!

Raising our game for feedback – just who are we in it for?

Over the bank holiday and early into this week, I have come across several occasions of people proffering their expertise, knowledge and skill. All of this has been with the aim of providing colleagues and friends, with much sought after feedback on key areas of development or discussion.

I have acutely listened and watched. I have despaired!

When we give feedback, an appraisal, a critique - can I offer a gentle reminder of what I believe to be five components that will make it a successful intervention:

* That the true beneficiary of feedback is the recipient – it is not to amplify the status, knowledge or perceived expertise of the individual offering their thoughts.

* That silence has a major part to play in the exercise – just because you cannot hear any dialogue does not mean that an inner conversation is not at work. Let the silence be.

* That the starting point is always the context of the person receiving the feedback. It is not your world that is most important here but the other person’s.

* That you should speak less than the appraisee! – Difficult for a lot of people!

* That you close your feedback intervention with the offer of an insightful question that is most likely to move the appraisee forward – after all it’s about them and not you!


Often when we are asked to give feedback on something for someone, it raises our own esteem and status on the issue – after all, they must be asking us because we are the experts!

But the true art of giving is about serving the need of others. So the next time someone asks you for feedback on something:

* Take a breath and be clear on whom you are doing this for – your own esteem or theirs.
* Accept that your view of the world may not be the best for others.
* Be comfortable in silence.
* Remember it’s their choice on what they do with the feedback.

And finally…

* Find a smart ending that will really help move the individual on in a thought provoking way!

Would you sabotage your values? – Only at your peril!

It’s been a few weeks since I wrote my last blog – but I make no apologies for my absence!

I’ve been immersed in the whole political debate of the new coalition and the early reception and reactions to this new hybrid beast! Don’t get me wrong – I’m not a political animal. But what I find fascinating to watch and listen to, is how people and parties can believe that the values which drove their very being, are being ignored, undermined, and at its very best simply sabotaged!

I see and hear cross-party agreements. Of compromises. Of consensus. And what we observe are overt behaviours that synchronise with these new ways of being. But at the heart of what makes us tick, are our values. The very things that give us life and the reason for being. Whether they be our own personal values or those we subscribe to in organisations or parties – they are the core that drive our belief systems. And isn’t this what a political party thrives on to survive?

When behaviours and actions dissent from our values, we can no longer sign up to working in such a way. I suspect that many in time will walk away from this coalition when they feel that their personal or their party’s values are being sabotaged. If they do not physically walk away, they will threaten even the best laid plans and offer a set of behaviours that have hitherto remained obscure.

Think of the last time you were asked to do something that conflicted with what you believed in – my guess is that it if you did as you were asked, if would have left you in deep thought, querying why you did it, but intent on not putting yourself in such a position again. Or you may simply have used the rule of two feet, and walked away at the beginning.

Our values are intangible. They cannot be seen or heard – but they are played out in the way we behave. They are integral in creating and shaping our belief systems. Political parties who believe that newly created coalitions, reshuffled cabinet positions and joint party debates are the answer for this country’s future leadership, are naïve. They will find that they need much than this. They will find that it will be the values debate which will make or break them!

How we all revert to type - Organisations in change and people in crisis!

I am currently privileged to be one of the "stranded" number of UK citizens forced to find themselves on the foreign office list - I´m advised that my relatives and loved ones can call a helpline for further information. Or they can simply text or email me through this robust technological cloud...

Before I left for my 11 day holiday I wanted to write a few words about organisational change - but I followed my instinct which told me to turn the laptop off, leave the iPhone alone, and simply catch the plane! I was on countdown and my thoughts were elsewhere - how many of us have been there before trying to clear the "to do" list before we turn the key on the doors to our homes?!

But I resisted. I bought a book called "Time to Think" by Nancy Kline - and I recommend it to anyone who thinks they are an expert at listening. Because believe me, when you have read this book you will feel humble, unskilled and completely lacking in the key areas of competence that you once tried to sell or push onto others.

But amidst all of this, I now found myself completely out of control and in the hands of those who know more than I do. And I feel helpless - but surprisingly OK! We are caught up in the global confusion surrounding the volcanic ash and are thousands of miles away from family and loved ones. We are no longer experts that have a place in society - somehow we all smell of the same coconut sun oil, and eat at the same tables in the same restaurant! We swim in the same pool - we all take our breakfasts together. You would not think that there is any difference in our intellectual ability or societal view on the world. And there may well indeed not be - and who am I to even presume that there might be?

But in my role as organisational change specialist, I am struck by some fundamental observations:

* How is it that somehow we know who to talk to of the same language - and get it right every time?

* Why is it that union leaders emerge claiming to speak on behalf of others - when they have no mandate to do so?

* Why are those that speak the loudest always given the floor first to speak?

And so I turn to the title of my blog. In times of crisis and change - we revert to the behaviours where we are most comfortable. Those who have something to say first, find the nooks and crannies to get their voices heard. Those who believe they represent others, will never be put off their tracks to voice their worries on behalf of others - and believe me, they are as annoying out here in the Gran Canaria and 85 degrees as they are in the UK!

And those who listen acutely, observe others, and merely take in all the information are accused of being passive and unconnected to what´s going on. I happen to sit with this crew of people and make no apologies for doing so.

It´s clear to me that the behaviours I see out here are no different to what I see in organisations going through change;

* People all react differently - but each position is to be respected and acknowledged.

* We are not clones and cannot expect everyone to behave in the same way - we were different before the change so why should we be identical now?

* We should harness those different reactions - and build on them to take us through the change process.

What I am advocating is very much a people-centred process. As I write this, there will be civil servants at the foreign embassy mapping my individual position on a map in London. They will be scoping the collective mass of stranded UK citizens and no doubt arranging sea and ferry transport to bring us home if these worst case scenarios continue.

I would much rather our local tour operators simply talk to us face to face and allow us to chat more informally. Sorry, but here I go again - isn´t this simply what we´d expect of line managers in organisations as they take staff and employees through organisational change?

It feels simple - in times of crisis, start the debate - not the information exchange!