the delusions of senior management (...and why it harms all of us)

At a recent seminar I attended, I noticed that the more senior a persons’ role is, the more likely they are not to have brought a notepad/pen, etc. with them - yet they know they're coming to an event where they’ll be exposed to learning, and so be wanting to keep notes for their reference later. 

Perhaps this is because that due to the seniority of their role, they assume that others will have taken care of such ’basic’ administrative needs for them (a self-delusion of how important they think they are)?

And this concerns me - this obvious erosion of a person not taking responsibility for themselves is surely at odds with their responsibility for the performance and well-being of others under them? If they can’t be trusted to make sure they’ve a notepad and pen when going to an event where they know they’ll need them, then how can we have faith in their competency to manage significant budgets or large numbers of other people?

There are, thankfully, exceptions I’ve seen to this - people who’ve been on leadership programmes with the likes of Common Purpose, people in co-operatives (where one of the defining values is ‘self-responsibility’), and people in faith-based organisations, where there is a commonality of theological teaching around proving you can be trusted in the small things before being allowed to take on the larger responsibilities…

So perhaps we need to challenge people in authority more; not over the public failings that cost people’s livelihoods, but before they can get to that stage - check that your boss carries a notepad and pen with them when out and about…

On being a 'Guru'...

People often refer to me on occasion as being a ‘Guru’ in different contexts - seeking to express their appreciation for my knowledge and skills in relation to social franchising, social and co-operative enterprise, governance, social impact reporting,… - and I’m always nervous if they do so publicly.

Not because I don’t think I’m ‘worthy’ of recognition, but because of the risk that I might start to believe my own hype - which leads to complacency and arrogance. Which leads to people I work with not getting the standard of support they need, and so not benefiting as they should do.

I find myself having to manage a difficult tension - presenting this hype as part of my expert abilities in order to win commissions of work, but at the same time needing to make sure that I remain humble enough to work alongside clients in ways that they’re comfortable with and that are appropriate, recognising where I might need to change my approach or invest in new skills.

There’s also a risk to my professional relationships within networks and with my peers - there are plenty of self-proclaimed ’Gurus’ out there, who through ignorance end up offering a poor quality of service and support that leaves clients in a worse position that when they started. As a result, people are often sceptical of ‘Gurus’, and I’m concerned that I’ll be tarred with the same brush.

The key lesson in all this is not to take a persons’ word for how great they are in their field of expertise - ask for examples and testimonials. If you’re not able to ask for such things (for whatever reason), then you can do things like look at their websites, or recommendations on their LinkedIn profile.

Don’t believe what you’re told at face value - you’re relying on the ‘expert’ to support you to resolve an issue or problem you don’t feel able to yourself, and its you who’ll be left to live with whatever they introduce or implement on your behalf - they can walk away afterwards, but you can’t.

How I (nearly) made a client faint - and why they gave me a fruit basket afterwards

As some readers of my blog will know, a lot of what I do is supporting people and communities to realise their visions by creating new co-operative, social, or private enterprises. And I do this through various means – training courses, consultancy, beer mentoring, etc...

Recently, I’ve been working with a number of south Asian women who want to use their skills to improve the well being of families in deprived communities, but also want to work in ways that ensure people’s dignity is paramount in that process as well. They were ‘awarded’ 4 days of my life through the co-operative enterprise hub to help them to pursue and realise this, and through that time I’ve helped them develop their business model, financial plan, marketing and also to incorporate themselves as a worker co-operative. And it’s this last part that caused their ‘excitement’ – they were so sure that they would have made a mistake on their submission to companies house (they structured their worker co-op in a guarantee company form, in case you’re wondering), that when their company certificate arrived in the post, they were overcome with excitement... they told me that one of their number almost fainted! (although I’m not sure I can take all the credit for that, as it turns out that the person also had a cold at the time...)

 

Anyways – they were so impressed with how I’ve supported and encouraged them over these few days, that at my last session with them this morning, they produced a fruit basket as a traditional means of expressing their thanks for all I’ve done with them over the last couple of months. And I’m very touched – normally, at the end of supporting an individual or group, there’s the awkward handshake and assurances about keeping in touch, but this felt really nice – so  thank you Access Alpha Ltd of Burnley, and may the universe reciprocate your generosity many times over.

(NB – i’m also partial to cake, beer and donughts in case any other clients I’m supporting are thinking of finding ways to thank me...)

a square peg in a round hole...

Earlier this week I took the opportunity to spend a morning hanging out with fellow graduates of Common Purpose programmes in the North West (Common Purpose is an international charity that encourages people to develop leadership skills so that they can have more impact and generally make the work a more groovy and lovelier place for everyone).

 

 Having blagged my way onto two Common Purpose programmes over the years (renew NW and Local Links), I’m of the view that I don’t readily confirm to their (or most other peoples’) view of what a ‘leader’ is – everyone who usually participates in their programmes are employees and have responsibilities for other staff – I work as a freelancer and am usually the person being controlled by lots of other people...

But that’s OK because whilst immersing myself into the Common Purpose world hasn’t helped me to develop and enhance my leadership skills (on reflection I’ve felt that what they’ve encouraged people to embrace I already have quite a lot of already), it has and does give me some great opportunities to not only meet fantastic people, but also critically reflect on my own working practices and philosophies from perspectives and contexts I would have otherwise missed. As a freelancer, most of my ‘natural’ networking opportunities are with fellow sole traders and consultant-types - Common Purpose is very good at bringing a disparate group of people together to openly talk about the various challenges we face and how we can manage and resolve our fears in how we might best address them.

Common Purpose advocates and encourages you to take responsibility for ideas that would normally be seen to be outside of your role. I’ve always done that – but being part of the Common Purpose tribe has meant that I’ve been able to better reflect on how when I’ve done so I’ve been developing my own leadership, influencing and supporting skills and intelligences – its led me to realise that I’m very often a square peg in a round hole, but that this is usually a good thing to be.

my latest social accounts – more impact, but not all positive...?

So, it’s that time of year again when I publish my summary ‘social accounts’. There are various reasons why I choose to be so transparent and open in my performance in respect of the values that I try and conduct my business and work by, and I’ve listed them before. (If you’re curious as to what they are – you can read about them in previous posts here).

And year on year, they show that I’ve gotten better at managing my environmental impact and also in strengthening the resilience of my local economy. But what they also suggest is that my ‘performance’ as a trainer seems to have struggled in comparison to previous years (although it’s still a high satisfaction rating) – this prompted me to dig a little deeper into this apparent variance and has meant that for the first time, I’ve included a brief commentary to the findings that offers some additional insight into what lies behind the figures.

This expansion to the presentation of these ‘accounts’ I prepare has prompted me to revisit the overall structure of how I monitor and report on my impacts. As a small business/sole trader offering a range of consultancy and support services both to and through a wide variety of groups (see my portfolio), I needed to create a template that was easy to use, didn’t require a lot of resource (‘cos I don’t have a lot to spare!), and would allow me to reflect on my values in a tangible and meaningful way. The expansion of this to begin to include narrative commentary to some of the findings means that I’m wondering afresh if there are also ways in which I might begin to consider how the methodologies of established social impact standards such as SROI and SAA (which are not designed with sole traders in mind!) might be able to be applied to a small business/sole trader who trades across a wide range of customer groups and impacts on not only local groups, but also national policy and legislation.

I’d welcome any comments people might care to offer... meanwhile, you can see the latest set of my social accounts on the last page of my ‘blag sheet’ here.

I'm more accomplished than I realised!

Very often, we don't fully appreciate the impact we have on those around us until much later (if at all), when comments are made in passing - which is another good reason for adopting social impact reporting, but that's not the focus of this musing...

I was struck by a piece of post I received yesterday: my shiny new RSA Fellowship card arrived, but I didn't initially recognise myself as the person it was addressed to. You see, I usually refer to myself as 'Adrian', and while I hold some qualifications and awards, I don't usually list these in any context (unless I'm bigging myself up when pitching for contracts!).

The letter I received was addressed to "Mr A Ashton MA MBA ASIP FRSA FCISI" - well, they got the FRSA letters right, but sadly I don't have an MBA, and am not entirely sure what some of the other letters even mean!

Could it be that they have foresight about what I'm about to embark upon; that its a reflection of their appreciation and perception of my skills, abilities and apititudes (after all, they originially approached with with an invitation to join their Fellowship); or perhaps just a clerical filing error...

In a world when we don't always get thanked for the efforts we make on behalf of others, I know which of the explanations I'd like to believe...

Where have all the pens gone? (the hidden victims of technology and austerity custs)

On the occasions that I find myself at conferences I've noticed that I'm increasingly 'lending' my pen to the person I'm sitting next to. And I wonder if this is symbolic of the rise of mobile technologies and budget cuts – after all, before the rise of the smartphone we would have to scribble notes and ideas down in a notepad but now we can just tap them onto a keypad; and the assumption that delegate packs will always have a pen in them just can't be taken for granted anymore (they may not cost much individually, but can soon add up when you're trying to keep within a budget!)

So – I'd like to propose that you all take a moment to mourn the passing of what was once a common item in all suit pockets and ladies' purses – the humble biro. But don't worry, I always carry a spare so if you find yourself short at an event: just see if you can spot me!