It was a shoot  new to me this season and I had gathered that it was mainly partridges that were presented to the guns.  I had been on this particular drive once before and knew that where I was standing was unlikely to see much action.  So it was; few birds seen and none shot.  At the end of the drive, I walked over to make conversation with one of the guns.  As it turned out, he hadn’t been on this shoot before so the terrain was new to him too.  He said “You know, this game is about teamwork between all those involved – beaters, guns and picker-ups.  Work well together and we all have a chance of a good day.  In that spirit, I would like to give you some feedback.  You may have noticed that on a few occassions we had to pull out of shots (I had).  This was because where you were standing was too close and we were worried about hitting you or your dog.  The next time, it would be better for us and for your safety if you were to stand further back.  Have you been coming out on this shoot for long?”  We went on to have a friendly conversation and at the end he  hoped to see me again.

I hope our paths cross as well because I knew that I had been in the presence of a skilful communicator.  As someone who is professionally concerned with good conversations at work, I appreciated how he had given the feedback.  On shoots this is a rare experience.  Very often comments are made with bluster and emotion and, more often, feedback is avoided by moaning behind people’s backs.  I took no offence and, in fact appreciated the feedback.  It was a reminder that with partridge the guns have a different swing and I had not allowed enough space for them to operate.  I hope he has people working for him because I’m sure there would be a good spirit in that team.

What had he done well?

• He prepared the ground and I could see why he was giving the feedback
• He was specific and factual
• He had a clear point to make which was delivered in a very even tone
• When he had finished, he went on to build the relationship

Contact me if you would like to talk about building skill in having good conversations at work or would like to improve your team’s relationships.

“Most business leaders see Health and Safety issues as ‘mission critical’. Other HR issues don’t affect them so directly so don’t get the same kind of attention”.

My reaction, as someone who has spent most of his career dealing with ‘the human side of enterprise’, was very strong. Several instances came quickly to mind where ‘people issues’ had seriously affected the organisations concerned:

1. A hard pressed music business conducted a diagnostic survey after making a commitment to work towards Investors in People. The staff expressed themselves very passionately, communicating how much they wanted to make the business work well and how delighted they were to be asked for an opinion. Unfortunately, for the Directors the issues raised fell in the ‘too difficult to handle’ box. Consequently they ignored the results, gave no feedback to the mystified staff and went out of business within 6 months,
2. During a performance improvement programme, the members of a process mapping team made an important discovery. They realised that the company was awarding large bonuses to salesmen who brought in sales that, however efficiently the factory worked, could not return a profit,
3. A technical solutions company was delighted at the improvement in their customer feedback scores but realised that they were in danger of going out of business. The reason? Customers were delighted at the costly corrective actions taken when installations went wrong. At the heart of the problem was that excellent engineers had been promoted but became poor project managers. No other career path had been open to them and the culture was such they could not risk admitting they were in the wrong role.

Have you spotted the people issues that are ‘mission critical’ for you? Contact me if you would like a conversation about where you are and what you might do to create a more engaged culture.

• What is this about?
• Will I look foolish?
• What relevance will it have?
• Could I share this with the Partners?

As it happened, he got really involved in the exercises, finding himself expressing his feelings about making presentations to clients and his Partners. He went on to take a full part in generating ideas for developing relationships between work teams.

With his colleagues, none of whom had used paint for years, he generated this picture about teamworking, in silence, intuitively:

So creativity is for more than Creatives. It’s for everyone at work. This acitivity shows a leader taking a risk, saying it’s ok to experiment, to develop ideas in different ways, do something different, exercise your curiosity.

It also shows a leader supporting the notion that people need guidance in how to develop ideas with others, learning creative habits, creating a mental environment which encourages ideas and the pursuit of innovation.

Try these tips:

• Suspend your critical faculites, look first for what is good in an idea. Build on it, don’t dismiss it immediately,
• If it’s not quite there, show what is needed to make it workable,
• Always keep a notebook at hand for recording those fleeting ideas and reactions,
• Hold your next meeting in a totally different place.

Contact me if you would like more tips on creativity at work or want to discuss training your people in idea development.

Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt.

Blockquote within a blockquote (h3):

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Quisque sed felis. Aliquam sit amet felis. Mauris semper, velit semper laoreet dictum, quam diam dictum urna, nec placerat elit nisl in quam. Etiam augue pede, molestie eget, rhoncus at, convallis ut, eros. Aliquam pharetra. Nulla in tellus eget odio sagittis blandit. Maecenas at nisl.

This is a blockquote within a blockquote

Unordered List (h4)

• qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet
• vel illum qui dolorem
• consectetur, adipisci velit

Sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?

Sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?

Ut enim ad minima veniam (h5)

1. qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet
2. vel illum qui dolorem
3. consectetur, adipisci velit

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt.

Blockquote within a blockquote (h3):

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Quisque sed felis. Aliquam sit amet felis. Mauris semper, velit semper laoreet dictum, quam diam dictum urna, nec placerat elit nisl in quam. Etiam augue pede, molestie eget, rhoncus at, convallis ut, eros. Aliquam pharetra. Nulla in tellus eget odio sagittis blandit. Maecenas at nisl.

This is a blockquote within a blockquote

Unordered List (h4)

• qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet
• vel illum qui dolorem
• consectetur, adipisci velit

Sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?

Sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?

Ut enim ad minima veniam (h5)

1. qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet
2. vel illum qui dolorem
3. consectetur, adipisci velit

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt.

Blockquote within a blockquote (h3):

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Quisque sed felis. Aliquam sit amet felis. Mauris semper, velit semper laoreet dictum, quam diam dictum urna, nec placerat elit nisl in quam. Etiam augue pede, molestie eget, rhoncus at, convallis ut, eros. Aliquam pharetra. Nulla in tellus eget odio sagittis blandit. Maecenas at nisl.

This is a blockquote within a blockquote

Unordered List (h4)

• qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet
• vel illum qui dolorem
• consectetur, adipisci velit

Sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?

Sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?

Ut enim ad minima veniam (h5)

1. qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet
2. vel illum qui dolorem
3. consectetur, adipisci velit

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt.

Blockquote within a blockquote (h3):

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Quisque sed felis. Aliquam sit amet felis. Mauris semper, velit semper laoreet dictum, quam diam dictum urna, nec placerat elit nisl in quam. Etiam augue pede, molestie eget, rhoncus at, convallis ut, eros. Aliquam pharetra. Nulla in tellus eget odio sagittis blandit. Maecenas at nisl.

This is a blockquote within a blockquote

Unordered List (h4)

• qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet
• vel illum qui dolorem
• consectetur, adipisci velit

Sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?

Sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?

Ut enim ad minima veniam (h5)

1. qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet
2. vel illum qui dolorem
3. consectetur, adipisci velit

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Creating an organisation is always a challenge. In my experience, the most successful organisations are very conscious creations crafted in relation to an inspiring vision. They are also co-creations – made with the people engaged with them – based on good conversations around issues that really matter.

Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt.

Blockquote within a blockquote (h3):

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Quisque sed felis. Aliquam sit amet felis. Mauris semper, velit semper laoreet dictum, quam diam dictum urna, nec placerat elit nisl in quam. Etiam augue pede, molestie eget, rhoncus at, convallis ut, eros. Aliquam pharetra. Nulla in tellus eget odio sagittis blandit. Maecenas at nisl.

This is a blockquote within a blockquote

Unordered List (h4)

• qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet
• vel illum qui dolorem
• consectetur, adipisci velit

Sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?

Sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?

Ut enim ad minima veniam (h5)

1. qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet
2. vel illum qui dolorem
3. consectetur, adipisci velit

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.