Behaviour Matters June 2015

12
Expert Voice
‘A fish rots from the head’
Steve Penson from Alisar specialises in helping
organisations to harness powerful profiling
and create high performing teams that realise
their potential… and is a friend and colleague.
‘A fish rots from the head’ (We advise standing up wind) Why the fish?
Well, have you ever seen an avalanche crashing UP-hill? No, we haven’t
either. Mother Nature knows the best way to cascade is downwards.
So our team working involves senior members first. Bring them in from
the get go, get them using the right language and truly understanding
the benefit of what we’re doing and our job becomes a whole lot easier.
Discussions kick off around the High Performing Team model. We can’t
take credit for the model, that’s down to Harvard Business School and
Tavistock Institute – and they certainly know what they’re talking about.
In a nutshell it says three key components grow highly effective teams:
• Skills: Technical and Interpersonal (including Communication;
Problem Solving; Conflict Management)
• Accountability: Individual and Team
• Commitment: Clear strategic vision; Roles and Responsibilities;
Common working practices.
It’s constantly surprising to find how often these basic team building
blocks aren’t as solid as they should be.
Let’s look at Roles and responsibilities. Frequently discussions around
this topic begin with people quoting their job descriptions, often only
part of the story, as roles and responsibilities blur, particularly within
matrix management structures.
Illuminating sessions
Some very illuminating sessions uncover the (sometimes yawning)
chasm between what people think their role is and what they believe
others roles to be. We also use the powerful Everything DiSC® model
to help teams understand their behaviour, and improve relationships
across the team and their organisation. The DiSC® contextual profiling
tool asks people questions based on their role, such as: “What kind of
person am I?” and “Why don’t I get the reactions I’m expecting?”
It enables people to get to know their default behaviours, recognise
the behaviour of others and how certain behaviours manifest in
certain personality types. Learning to flex your behaviour means you
get the best out of yourself and others, and makes your interactions
much more effective.
Instant hits
Board members are often astounded when we discuss the impact they
have – sometimes even without leaving their office. We told one MD
that his staff felt his shop floor appearances were simply done to point
fingers and criticise. On his next walkaround he did a ‘stop and chat’…
about last night’s soaps, the football results, even said “Cześć, jak się
masz?” (How are you) to a Polish employee… which took some doing!
His bonhomie was an instant hit. Morale improved, people started
interacting more because they realised he was, in many ways, just like
them. All we told him was “Be aware of the shadow you leave”.
We like to play with language (we’re experienced NLP practitioners after
all) and ‘reframing’ can have a profound effect. Here’s an example…
At one of Ann’s recent coaching session someone told her they
practised regular personal affirmations by saying “Being me is no bad
thing” to themselves – a potentially good tool for shy and retiring types
(so we’ve never suggested this technique to Jez!). Ann replied: “Let’s
reframe that, try ‘Being me is a GOOD thing’”. Another instant success.
The tone of voice changed, there was more energy, it was more
believable, it’s more positive. What’s not to like?
We firmly believe in the power of coaching. Giving someone undivided,
one-to-one attention and the space and time to really think through what
they’re doing and where they’re going. Then provide a personalised,
bespoke development route. It works.
The Alisar approach
So, what’s the Alisar approach? It starts with a fact-finding mission,
watching, looking, listening and learning. What’s actually happening?
What really needs attention? Sometimes we compile a survey that asks:
“What do you really need?” We never turn up thinking we’re the experts.
It’s your business, you’re the expert -how can Alisar support you?
Our fact finding is followed by a series of workshops to introduce
general concepts, then we get down to business with one-to-one
coaching. And cascade this process from senior level throughout
the company. We continue the cascade from senior members to the
next tier using exactly the same concepts, then the next… until we’ve
worked with the entire organisation.
Using a confidential questionnaire that demonstrated the real issues
faced by a premium manufacturer, our work resulted in increased
confidence amongst all team members and our recommendations and
improvements helped to:
• Eliminate inefficiencies in business processes and daily work
schedules
• Review, learn and improve what they did, which led to previous
customers returning
• Save the company down time and the cost of generic sales training
• Transform the team into a more communicative, cohesive unit
• Increase their sales closing skills.
An injection of Alisar insights and the company became more efficient,
customer focused, and on course to exceed their annual target by £100K.
Find out more about the Alisar approach, visit our website at
www.alisar.eu
www.thebehaviourexpert.com
www.highperformanceprogramme.com