My clients have included: Maxi, DIGI Malaysia, Telkomsel, XL Indonesia, Telarix US, Huawei, China, CMPak Pakistan. I have worked with operators in Singapore, HK, Taiwan, India and China.
I add all the aforementioned to this blog to give credibility to what I have to say:
It seems to me that we have lost the plot when it comes to getting the best out of our people. We focus on hitting the ground running, perform or leave. We no longer absorb people, our assets into the company culture, we no longer bond them and play to individual strengths for an effective team. Instead, we have created incompetent blind islands that are expected to perform whatever the cost, often at the expense of our colleagues.
Companies have long ago forgotten how to invest and develop their key assets, how to build a cohesive and motivated team:
- Consensus has been replaced by authoritarianism.
- Motivation has been replaced by Bullying.
- Interpersonal skills have been superseded by greed.
In short, we no longer abide by the doctrine of leading by consensus. Providing a quality leadership that encourages passion and enthusiasm. Instead, we push, cajole and bully, we send lambs to the market for slaughter. Individuals who have little enthusiasm or understanding of their companies strengths and weaknesses. In fact, we have driven our teams to the point of medical inspired competence. By that I mean passion and enthusiasm has long been replaced by little white tablets which harness the positive endorphin of the brains will to go forward.
Indeed, so poor are our Management skills that we believe that the TV series "The Apprentice" should be a unifying model of competent management. The only industry that has benefited from such a style has been the pharmaceutical industry as we all rush for Prozac
I am a serious advocate of professional, moral leadership. I am a serious advocate of setting boundaries that should only be crossed as and when conditions are right. I am a serious advocate of bringing a family atmosphere to a company structure. I am a serious advocate of tackling face of the serious issues. I am a serious advocate of recognizing your strengths and weaknesses not just the weaknesses of others.
I will dwell on that single area weaknesses, no person is perfect and there are many cliches around such a statement. It is the best leader who recognizes that element (I have no interest to use the term flaw as this would not be true, it is indeed the recognition of weakness in one's self that is indeed a strength) in their personality and that they are brave enough to compensate. For it is that company that will move forward the best and the fastest.
In addition and a future subject: Many companies in today's dynamic market have forgotten the basic fundamentals of Family life. However, I will come back to that in a subsequent blog.
For now I have introduced the strange concept of getting people to do your company's bidding for their reasons and not yours. Hold onto that thought as when you achieve this you will have arrived at a truly great professional leader.
There is so much more to be seen in the pages of Statura.co.uk
Nigel Saywell-Lee
