At the helm

Thoughts, musings, insights and debate on anything leadership, management and skills related from Acua UK's blogger. Acua Limited delivers tailored leadership development programmes, accredited by Coventry University, in the workplace to improve performance and drive business growth. www.acuauk.com

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Working with rivals

So after years of preparation, planning and team work the Olympics is in full swing.

  Throughout the next two weeks the world will witness tremendous acts of courage and team work as well as individual pain, success, and in some cases, immense disappointment.

  This extends from the spectacular Opening Ceremony which saw 10,000 people, many of them volunteers, working together to put on an impressive welcome to the world, through to the ultimate competition on the track or in the arena, such as Great Britain’s gymnasts defying the odds to win the first team medal in their sport in 100 years.

  But it’s not always compatriots that need to work together in the quest for gold, as Mark Cavendish and the GB cycling team found out to their cost.

  The cycling road race is different in many ways to the majority of events taking place across London, and indeed the UK (including just down the road from Acua Limited at the City of Coventry Stadium!).

  For the sheer intensity of the 250k race requires cyclists to share the work load at the front of the pack. But unlike in the Tour de France, Cavendish only had four support riders to help pace him to the end and within striking distance of the finish line, not eight.

  Rivals from Germany and Australia, would ideally have shared the work load and helped their own sprinters dash for the finish line. The only problem for Cavendish and his team mates was they all knew Team GB’s plan and were desperate to avoid a sprint.

  So as it happened Team GB struggled to keep the near 150 field together and a group broke away early and left their main man medal-less.

  Encounters and situations where rivals have to work together occur pretty much every day in the work place, be it a business development provider like ourselves accrediting people development programmes led by other parties, or firms working jointly on mergers and acquisitions.

  Unlike the road race, all parties have to put their rivalries to one side and pull in the same direction to ensure the management of projects is efficient and successful.

  And although there is not always a gold medal at the end of a project or a deal, the prize of success and repeat business can be worth far more to a company. And the prize to the individuals involved can be much greater – the pride, increased esteem and buzz that come from having performed well and delivered a winning result can motivate a team to even greater performance.

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Bridging the skills gap

The results of what is said to be one of the largest skills surveys of its kind were published recently and made for very interesting, while also sobering, reading.

The UK Commission’s Employer Skills (UKCES) Survey looked at training and staff development, vacancies which have been unfilled because of skills shortages, along with the recruitment of education leavers.

As many as 87,500 employers helped contribute to the project, with the overall aim of helping to provide a comprehensive picture of the skills need and training investment needed in UK business.

 So what were some of the headlines to come out of the study?

Around 1.5 million employees in the UK do not have the right skills to do their job

Only 54 per cent of employees received training in the previous year

 From reading deeper into the report it is clear the UK still has a long way to go to address, and fill, a major skills gap which has been developing.

So what are we doing to address this problem and drive the economy back where we want it to be?

The only way to close this gap is through hard work and investment in developing our people. It is people that make a business successful after all and developing skills and attracting and retaining talent is as important as ever in these difficult economic times.

At Acua Limited we’ve been working hard over the last four years to help develop a talent pool which has now reached nearly 10,000 employees in more than 100 bluechip companies.

We’ve made, and are continuing to make, a significant impact on developing skills by tailoring solutions to the learning needs of the individual and the business and delivering them in the heart of their workplace.

As a result businesses see rapid benefits with more confident, capable staff making an immediate difference.

Major organisations and thriving SMEs have taken advantage of the Government funding made available to help close the skills gap.

This support extends to companies in a whole host of sectors, from construction and logistics firms through to transport and health care organisations.

The funding is also still available to organisations to invest in skills development programmes being launched within the next two months.

The impact the development programmes can have on performance and results can be incredible. Take a look at a few of our case studies if you want to find out more.

To read the full UKCES survey click here

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The Olympic torch relay – a team effort

Zara Phillips, Didier Drogba and popstar Will.i.am have all been in the headlines this week, and not just for their better known roles as Olympic hopeful, Champions League goalscorer and popular rap artist.

  All three are among the 8,000 people carrying the Olympic torch on its 8,000 mile journey to the opening ceremony at the Olympic Stadium on July 27.

  The logistics of getting the torch from A to B can’t be under-estimated with so many people involved, and as we’ve already seen this week there are bound to be a few hiccups along the way.

  It got me thinking about the rigorous process employed to make sure each of the 8,000 torchbearers get each ‘kiss’ of the torch right and are able to proceed without any problems.  From the stance of the participants, to the order of switching on one torch and switching the other off, every step has been carefully choreographed.

  Within any team it is vital to always have good communication, to not panic when something doesn’t go as expected, and to have clear contingency plans in place.  Like when the flame unexpectedly goes out, as it did on Monday.

  And it is important to note that this happened despite the torch having been rigorously tested, including 3 days spent in a wind tunnel in Munich, to ensure that it wouldn’t go out.

  In this instance a LOCOG spokesman was able to confirm that the mother flame is kept alight in specially designed lanterns, which meant that the flame could be re-lit and could continue on its journey.

  In business, it could simply be having a back-up memory stick just in case files become corrupted or are accidentally deleted before a big presentation. When all said and done, having a Plan B can often be the difference between success and failure.

  It is clear to see a lot of team work and planning has gone into the relay, from the torch bearers, the Torch Security Team and local authorities across the UK who have played their part in planning the route.

  Part of the planning process for the torch relay involved a full dress rehearsal, which was carried out a month before the big day to prepare for every eventuality. Just as in a business situation where you wouldn’t go into a big contract pitch without running through the presentation first. Preparation is vital.

  So on day one of the relay when we saw a few instances of over-zealous members of the public trying to get too close to the torch, the security team were prepared and reacted quickly to make sure the journey wasn’t interrupted. Likewise, when the torch was taken on a wrong turn which resulted in the journey running ten minutes behind schedule, the preparation of the back-up team resulted in there being minimal disruption.

  It’s the same in business.  It’s not just the team at the forefront of a contract pitch which is required to make sure a bid goes smoothly and doesn’t fall behind schedule. The importance of the back-up team and having the required support mechanisms in place to get the job done, regardless of any hiccups, should never be underestimated.

  So it was heartening to see the torch moving smoothly from town-to-town this week despite one or two early problems. I wouldn’t be surprised to see further challenges before the opening ceremony, but it is how you react to a problem which is important, and I’d say it’s a case of so far so good en route to the eagerly anticipated opening ceremony.

  Here at Acua Towers in Coventry we’ve got a short wait before the Olympic flame passes through our neck of the woods on July 1 and 2, but when it does we’ll be playing our part and cheering the torch bearers on as they bear the flame on to The Olympic Stadium and the opening ceremony on July 27.

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Websites – just how important are they?

Just how important is having a good website to a business? You only have to look at the number of visitors that Google attracts every month (more than one billion) to answer the question - extremely important!

  Search engines are often the first point of call to find a company, and the popularity of smart phones across the globe to provide instant and remote access means more than ever before that if you are not online then you are missing out on a big slice of the action.

  And it’s not just companies selling online which need a good web presence as websites can create the first and lasting impression of any business for anyone whether looking to find information on its products or services or even just its location.

  So when our new website went live last week at www.acuauk.com it was an exciting time for everyone at Acua towers!

  We’ve been working on updating the site over the last few weeks and, after the inevitable bit of last-minute fine-tuning, it hit the World Wide Web.

  The new site is more user friendly and as well as reading all about our work with close to 100 organisations in more than 20 sectors, you can now view new video case studies and download background information about our programmes and management frameworks.

  We’ve also expanded the news section so you can keep up-to-date with developments within the company and successes with our clients, and added a Twitter feed - so tweet or follow us and we’ll follow you back!

  For Acua, our website has always been an important means of communicating our developments to the wider world and its new look and content has provided us with a bigger and better stage to engage our audience.

  The fast paced environment we live in means that we will need to review our website more frequently than ever before. 

  Search engine rules are constantly changing - customers are increasingly looking for content in different forms, such as social media and videos, and the growth in our own business has broadened our offer, the case study material available to us and the success stories we have to share with our audience.  

  So no matter how busy your business is it’s important not to neglect your website and give it a good makeover now and then!

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The pressures of bank holiday season

No sooner has the nation polished off its Easter eggs and another bank holiday is just around the corner, with two more to follow hot on its heels.

  UK bank holidays are said to cost the economy as much as £2.3 billion in lost productivity every year, and can create headaches for managers in businesses of all sizes.

  This year there are as many as nine bank and public holidays in England and Wales, and calls have been made to spread them out more evenly across the year, or even scrap some of them altogether.

  For now though they are here to stay and, after coping with Good Friday, Easter Monday, the early May bank holiday and Spring bank holiday, businesses will also have to deal with the extra public holiday on June 5 for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee!

  Not all companies will be factoring in the extra day however, as it is not a legal entitlement for employees to have paid leave on a statutory or public bank holiday. So it’s best to check with your manager and HR department before planning a street party!

  So how do you leaders and managers make sure momentum is not lost and crucial deadlines are met despite the loss of vital time? Plan, plan and plan again.

  Yes the holidays create inconvenience for thousands of businesses across many sectors, but there is an argument to say that we all know at the start of the year when they will fall and should be able to plan around them in good time.

  Creating an environment whereby teams are happy and engaged is one of the most important aspects of a leader’s role. Happy employees are after all more likely to go that extra mile for the business and this can make the difference between a project being finished before a bank holiday break, or being left until the return to work.

  As a manager, I know I’d prefer to complete projects before a bank holiday and then enjoy the sun, or more likely rain, or even snow - as we all know the weather is definitely something you can’t plan for in this country! 

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Business cards - in or out?

Are we getting to a point where business cards are becoming obsolete? 

If you’d asked me five years ago if a time would ever come when they wouldn’t be needed you’d have got an instant answer – ‘no way’. Now I’m not so sure.

  I was at a networking event the other day, and as I’ve done countless times before, traded business cards with people across the room.

  I couldn’t help but notice one well dressed gentleman was introducing himself to people and was taking cards, but was not giving them out. He must have left his business cards back at the office I thought, we’ve all done it before after all. I was wrong - he didn’t use them at all.

  ‘Look me up on LinkedIn or Twitter’ he said. It got me thinking, is this the way business networking is going? I hope not. Yes Twitter and LinkedIn are both good ways of making contacts, but surely phone and email will always be the first point of call when making and maintaining professional business contacts …only time will tell. 

  Yes teleconferencing can certainly be efficient, but nothing beats that eye to eye contact and the need to ‘get to know personally’ the people you do deals with, which teleconferencing and social media inhibit as the ability to read body language and understand client mood is vital to successful business relationships.

  And as you climb up the hierarchy in a company at what point do you reach when you consider business cards to not be needed? Is Richard Branson so famous that he doesn’t need to use business cards for instance? And what about Bob Dudley, Sir Philip Green or Judith McKenna? Maybe I’ll tweet and ask them!

  It goes to show how important social media has become in business. I for one, however, am not ready to ditch my business cards for quite a while. I’ve used them for years with great success and I’ve always said if it’s not broke don’t fix it.

  And anyway, I’ve still got a box of 500 in my drawer – I’d hate for them to go to waste!

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Time management and what to do with the extra hour of evening sun

So the clocks have moved forward and we’ve all got an extra hour of evening sun to enjoy. Well that’s the idea if you’re on top of your workload and able to manage your time effectively. If you’re not it is more than likely you’ll just be spending a bit more daylight in the confines of the office.

  If you class yourself as being in the former group you may be interested to read an article I saw in the Independent on Sunday at the weekend which gave tips on how to put a spring in your step and make the most of the extra hour of evening sun.

  Number one on the list was to go owl spotting – apparently a long dusk means you’re more likely to see a barn owl!

  Perhaps number four on the list, going alfresco and dining outside while it’s warm, is a more likely pursuit for many. The full list of 12 can be found here if you are intrigued.

  The best managers often have an uncanny knack of being able to manage time effectively. It’s often said that time management is a skill you are not taught at school or college, but is something you have to learn.

  So what can you do to make sure you have time to have a crack at doing some of the pursuits on the list.

  Here are four quick tips – as obvious as they sound I know many of us struggle to follow them a lot of the time

  1. Do the most important thing first

Set the task you want to do first thing in the morning during the evening before so as soon as the day starts you know exactly what the most important job is.

  2. Organise your to-do list every day

If you don’t know what you should be doing, how can you manage your time to do it? Some people like writing to-do lists out by hand every day, as this shows a commitment to each item until it gets done.

  3. Know when you work best

All of us have a best time. Monitoring your productivity over a period of time will help you discover yours. When you find out yours then manage your schedule to make sure you are able to do your most important tasks during that time.

  4. Decide what you are not going to do

Time management can be more about deciding what you won’t do, rather than what you will do. It is important to make sure you do the things that can really make a difference.

    If you can implement these four effectively as a starting point you might just find you’ll have a bit more time to enjoy the sun!

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The return of Lord Sugar and The Apprentice

Amidst all the talk of the Budget on Wednesday, Lord Sugar and his next wave of aspiring apprentices almost crept under the radar.

  Every series an interesting bunch of candidates are unearthed and this year appears to be no different. A professional wrestler, former ice skater and a show jumper – need I say more!

  The last series brought with it a change in format, with a £250,000 investment on offer rather than the promise of a job, and I dearly hope Series 8 also sees a change, in that those in the running demonstrate simple business acumen and the ability to manage people.

  This has been seriously lacking in the vast majority of those who have set foot in the boardroom over the last seven years.

  Leading a team is all about managing different personalities, making sure everyone knows exactly what their role is and knowing who responds best to certain styles.

  Yes it can be very challenging in such a short space of time to recognise each of your team’s individual strengths and weaknesses – especially when everyone is out for themselves.

  But after the initial spouting of nonsense we’ll inevitably get from each of the candidates when we first meet them, let’s hope we get to see some of Britain’s most talented young business minds showing off their skills.

  It’s not too much to ask….is it?

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England, Stuart Pearce and the pressures of interim management

Interim management can sometimes be a bit of a poisoned chalice. It can be an exciting challenge to temporarily manage resources through a period of transition, crisis or change, but always around the corner you know the final whistle will be sooner rather than later. 

  So how has Stuart Pearce stacked up against the management theorists? The Institute of Interim Management suggests there is a need for clarity on objectives for his role as well as significant analysis of the current situation.

  I believe Pearce has clarity on his role in terms of a clear focus on succession planning and talent management – particularly how uncapped players respond to the pressures of international football.

  So we should not be judging Pearce on the results on the pitch, but how effectively he has created the right environment for the players and the rest of the England team for the future manager.

  Interim management requires Pearce to present a detailed proposal of his analysis and understanding of the current challenges England face in the forthcoming European Championships.

  So despite losing the one match he has had in charge so far, there’s an argument to say it’s a case of ‘so far so good’. He has showcased the talent available for the Euros and has tried to give his successor as much evidence as possible on which to base his selection for Poland and Ukraine.

  Yet we should also ask the question how independent is Pearce remaining as interim manager? He is involved in the players’ development, friendly games, planning for the Euros and generally holding the fort.

  But there will always be key decisions he is making as interim manager that are around the long-term performance of England that he should or should not be addressing.

  Not all of the challenges he faces will be black and white, only he will know if he is truly aiming to make himself indispensible by dealing with the more serious long-term issues in the England camp.

  We must also ask the question of whether the Football Association (FA) have thought about managing his exit more effectively than they did Capello's, or whether they even need to? Do a good enough job and he may get the post – in fact Pearce did not attempt to play that prospect down recently.

  Electing to name Scott Parker as his captain for the defeat against Holland, rather than go for the safe option of Steven Gerrard, was a significant step and a decision supported by his peers.

  In conclusion the job of an interim manager is to ensure his/her objectives have been met, that the organisation is satisfied with performance and complete a general knowledge and skills transfer to their successor.

  Going back to England, Pearce may well be involved in the selection panel for the new manager, but time will tell which side of the interview table he will be sitting.

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The Oscars and celebrating success

If you spotted some tired eyes in the office on Monday morning – the Oscars could well be responsible!

  I shied away from staying up into the early hours and instead settled for finding out the winners over breakfast. And although the UK missed out on picking up a host of the top prizes I was pleased we had a few Oscars coming home.

  Winning awards should always be celebrated, so well done to Terry George and everyone who worked on The Shore for taking home the best live action short film. I haven’t seen it, but will making the effort to check it out very soon.

  It is all the more special when someone you wouldn’t normally expect to win has their achievements thrust into the limelight and when it helps provide a springboard to a career – as I’m sure it will for George and his team.

  Over the next few months a number of leadership and training awards are due to be launched, and although they won’t attract the same column inches as the Oscars, it will be just as an exciting time for everyone involved.

  Winning awards, or being shortlisted in the final nominees, is always a great achievement and helps to build morale and engagement within an organisation.

  Acua has been lucky enough to win a few awards in recent times, including a National Training Award for our success designing and delivering a development programme at one of our longest standing clients - the AA.

  It is often a pleasant surprise collating success stories when putting together award submissions, as it can be all too easy to forget about the impressive achievements going on within your organisation on a day-to-day basis.

  Leaders should regularly ask their teams what achievements they are most proud of. It not only helps to build confidence within an organisation, but it may also lead to you finding out some good news that you didn’t know about!

  If this then leads to an awards submission then great, but if not still take time out to find out more about the achievements as success should be celebrated every day.

  So congratulations again to everyone who worked on The Shore I’m really looking forward to seeing it, and also seeing plenty more success here at Acua.

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The power of social media and a Premier League first

I was reliably informed by a ‘social media guru’ this week that just under a third of the planet is now regularly using the internet. 

So the power that social media platforms can have on your business cannot be underestimated or indeed ignored – be it from a positive, or a negative point of view.

And while a large number of us have embraced this power, there is still a natural instinct within many of us to tip-toe into using it, or to not get involved at all.

The latter is however increasingly becoming simply not an option. Remaining static in a changing market is effectively the same as going backwards after all.

So there’s certainly an argument to say businesses which choose not to embrace the use of blogging, tweeting, etc will get left behind, or worse still lost altogether.

Sometimes you have to go with your instinct and give it a try, much as the top leaders live and die by their ability to make instinctive decisions.

So it was with some trepidation that I ventured into the world of blogging. Last week I posted my first ever blog and I’m pleased to announce, and with some measure of relief, that it wasn’t at all painful!

Once I’d set myself up on tumblr, a simple enough process, there was no stopping me. And I found it surprisingly cathartic.

In these challenging and busy times, there never seems to be time to think about what has been achieved. And I don’t think I’m alone. 

So why not see if it can make you more effective – take some time to reflect on what you have achieved. And if, like me, you discover some real gems, why not share them with others. It’s amazing how good it can make you feel.

So with that in mind, I’ll be aiming to be blogging weekly about all things management, leadership and skills!

A development at Acua towers which you won’t have to wait until next week for, and that I’m delighted to tell you about, is the announcement we’ve made about us working with Fulham Football Club to offer its matchday and frontline staff the opportunity to undertake a university course!

Fulham are believed to be the first Premier League club to offer such a management diploma, and working this way with a group of casual workers is almost unheard of in any industry. So it is some measure of pride the club has asked us to help them engage with their staff. You can read more about it here

Thanks for reading my second ever post. Over the coming weeks I’m hoping to attract a small segment of the third of the planet to this blog…wish me luck!

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Mistake Day

You may or perhaps more likely not know that today is ‘Mistake Day’ – unless I’m sadly mistaken!

  Understandably you are unlikely to see ‘Mistake Day’ featured prominently on the calendar next to your computer, just as with ‘Towel Day’ and ‘International Talk Like a Pirate Day’ – May 25 and September 19 respectively, in case you are wondering when!  And that’s because mistakes are not something people tend to celebrate.

  Nobody likes making mistakes, but the reality is that you are guaranteed to make them, even if it’s every now and then, or as the French proverb goes ‘Only he who does nothing makes no mistakes.’

  All too often people are afraid to make mistakes, through fear of reprisal or risk of personal embarrassment. It makes us feel small or somehow less successful. But if you learn from your mistakes then they can become a positive part of self-improvement.

  After all, part of our rich culture tells us to ‘try, try and try again’ if at first we don’t succeed.  Then there’s trial and error. And not to forget the Test and Learn approach to sales and marketing.

  What is vital is that you understand why the mistake happened in the first place, avoid making the same mistake again, and, where appropriate, apologise with dignity when it affects others – and, above all, learn from each and every one of them.

  Who knows if David Beckham would have enjoyed the career he has without that error of judgement which landed him a red card against Argentina in World Cup 98, or if Bill Gates had thrown in the towel (possibly on May 25th) when the first operating system he created blew up!

  And some of the ‘greatest’ inventions have allegedly resulted from mistakes – cheese, Coca-Cola, penicillin, Post-it notes, the pacemaker and Scotchgard, to name but a few!

  So, on ‘Mistake Day’ be proud of your mistakes, and in fact celebrate them!  And don’t make the mistake of forgetting when it is next year!