Special Report: Leading Australian Executive Performance and Behavioural Coach, Educator, Meeting Facilitator, Keynote Speaker and Author Reveals…

“The Stark Truth Facing Today's Senior Leaders.”

Attention: Being a Senior Leader in any organisation today is NOT for the weak of heart and mind, which is why You should take the time to read what’s in this report NOW because it introduces you to something that’s REVOLUTIONARY…. it’s that Important!

I’ve been there in leadership, in the military, law-enforcement and commerce, and after 40 years experience, through easy and tough economic and situational times,

I now work with senior leaders - chairpersons, directors, CEOs and their direct reports,

helping them to be as great as they desire to be.

Here’s what I notice…

Senior leaders are stressed, not only because of their workload and responsibility, but also because of the current economic times and the talent shortage.

 Let’s look at the daily demands of Senior Leaders…

• Right now cash flow, credit access, sales revenue and employee talent are tight in the economic cycle - this is pressure of a new kind for many of us.

• They are challenged in balancing work, life priorities, and their families suffer.

• All stakeholders rely on them to solve everything.

•  Governance and compliance issues seem to outweigh the leaders’ focus on the main goal.

• If the company is public, enhancing or protecting the share value, heavily influenced by market perceptions (not necessarily truths that relate directly to the organisation) can interfere with ideal actions.

• Inherited organisational cultures make improvement an uphill battle.

• Despite these responsibilities, shirked by others, they are criticised for everything that doesn't work for stakeholders and shareholders.

 Plus

The pressures to perform, innovate and improve under these conditions are causing senior leaders

to privately wonder whether it’s worth it.

In the last twenty years I’ve seen the face of business change to the extent

that senior leaders no longer have the time to…

• Reflect

• Get to know enough of their people

• Learn about new and different ways of doing things

• Recharge their batteries

• Be the leader they’d really like to be.

Instead, I see senior leaders forced to be pre-occupied with…

• Trying to meet compliance issues and their deadlines

• Looking for good people they can’t find or keep

• Trying to lift productivity

• Trying to reverse negative workplace attitudes

• Trying to get lasting benefit from training and development

• Trying to appear their best whilst stressed

• Trying to give their family (and themselves) the time they both need and deserve.

And here’s the real kick in the pants, they also know that

it only takes 3 below average financial quarters to end a career

of hard study work and sacrifice.

Privately, many senior leaders feel very vulnerable, very isolated and very frustrated.

Any wonder that a few of them become sacrificial lambs for a media slaughter, and there but for the grace of “who knows”, go many others.

Yet, and this really inspires me, I see the majority of senior leaders declare one thing -

“I will not give up, because I believe I can make it work!”

I’m so grateful that I’ve had the experience of being in their shoes and also the opportunity to stand back

and refine the core solution. 

But before we go there let’s check out this talent shortage I spoke of earlier.

Here are the highlights of recent research concerning the shortage …

• Employers have difficulty: -
• Attracting and retaining good people.
• Obtaining satisfactory productivity.
• Obtaining sufficient innovation.
• Overcoming workplace negativity.
• Obtaining satisfactory returns on Training and Development.

• Employees are tending to: -
• Demand higher salaries.
• Demand work/life balance.
• Demand Personal Improvement opportunities and progress.
• Demand better relationships with management and leadership.

• In the absence of these, employees seek even more income or exit.

 Additionally…

• Most employees leave because of their immediate “boss”, not income.
• There is shareholder and employee criticism of the quality of their leadership.
• Senior leaders complain about the quality of middle management/leadership.
• There is a mismatch of attitudes between Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y.

Please understand that I had difficulty in accepting some of this research.  But after both investigation and soul-searching I had no option but to accept the findings.

Given this research is accurate; I asked the following questions and came up with the following answers…. 

1. WHO HAS THE GREATEST INFLUENCE ON WORKPLACE ATTITUDES AND PERFORMANCE?

Answer:  Senior Leadership (Chairperson, Directors, CEO and Direct Reports)

2. IS THERE A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GREAT LEADERSHIP, WORKPLACE ATTITUDES AND SUSTAINABLE HIGH PERFORMANCE?

Answer:  They are interdependent and too often dysfunctional.

3. WHAT DO THESE DYSFUNCTIONALITIES ACTUALLY COST THE ORGANIZATION?

Answer:  Too much!  Systems become bureaucratic or not applied effectively; performance diminishes; and good people leave.  Think of the big examples you know of.

4. IF YOU ACCEPT THE ABOVE COMMENTS - WHAT’S YOUR CONCLUSION? 

Effective workplace relationships are critical for sustainable high performance,

and it begins with great leadership.

I assert that Great Leadership requires Great Relationships!

In the military and law-enforcement I learned this: -

Consistent High Performance requires

• Good people
• Great leadership
• Skills competence
• Continuous team training and discipline
• Worthwhile individual and team challenge
• Resources and systems

 I also understand this: -

• In the military, leaders are trained to be leaders, then train with, and train teams, for trust respect loyalty and skills.  Every officer and non-commissioned officer is a trained trainer.

• Commercial leaders are not usually trained, nor train with or train their teams.  Most training is outsourced.

• Great leaders are great trainers ands know how to grow new leaders.

• Great leadership can overcome Baby Boomer, Gen X and Gen Y differences.

• Great leadership in commerce is rare, e.g. Sir Richard Branson – Virgin Group – non-bureaucratic; high performing; positive attitudes; a great place to work for Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y.

• Under the current “culture” of business, there is little time allotted for leaders, let alone senior leaders, to train, train with, or coach and mentor their people.  Their focus is compliance, productivity and profit.

And that is a core cause of the problem, a core cause of dysfunctional relationships.

Put simply, the military model has been applied to commerce, but not in critical areas. 

Those critical areas are: -

• Commercial leaders aren’t effectively trained to be leaders but promoted because of technical, operational expertise and qualifications.  With due respect, an MBA or the “Masters in Leadership” offered by some tertiary  institutions, has not prevented leadership failure.  (Operational qualifications and expertise doesn't deliver great leadership )

• Commercial leaders do not usually train, coach or mentor their people – outsiders do.

• The consulting/training “industry” understandably convinces commercial leadership that they are best equipped to do the training – to allow the leaders to focus on other “issues”.

I know that I will earn the wrath of some consultants and trainers for saying this, and that’s OK.

However I know this - the best consultants and trainers insist upon working with and helping senior leaders to be and do what they must to create the ideal.   They will not do it for them.

Under the prevailing culture, we experience these results:

• Commercial leaders have little relevant training, coaching or mentoring skills – yet they know more about the organization than the external experts.

• External consultants/trainers are a crutch and often “fall-guys” for why it doesn’t work.

• A cycle of finding and funding external training exists.

• Training benefits don’t seem to last

• Good people still leave and are hard to replace

• Unacceptable performance remains an issue

• Senior leaders remain stressed and concerned about the future

 If you can see the sense in this so far, please also realise that it not your fault that this situation exists - it's the current business culture.

But what if you don't do anything about it?

IF THERE WAS A REAL SOLUTION FOR YOU, WILL YOU APPLY IT?

The Real Solution: Develop Great Leadership Skills and Great Workplace Attitudes

to functionalize relationships to enable sustainable improvement of KPI and

create an organization that is “The Employer of Choice”.

### There’s a core insight here – It is not the circumstances or situation that is the problem,

but how we lead and respond in the face of it, that makes the difference.

If the factors of a clear vision; agreement on values; clear objectives; adequate systems and processes; adequate technical and operational skills; a market; adequate material and cash resources, all exist - then great leadership and workplace attitudes “airlift” the organization to outstanding sustainable performance. 

If the first factors are diminished, great leadership and great workplace attitudes are more critical.

CHECK if your organization should utilize the solution with these questions: -

(Answer on a scale 1 to 5, where 1 is very negative and 5 is very positive – if you are 4 or below, your organization can improve – with a tenfold return on investment)

• Is there authentic unity of vision values goals and approach between the board and executive, or  senior leadership and direct reports?

• Is there authentic openness between direct reports and senior leadership and middle/front-line management?

• Is the quality of relationships in your organization helping achievement of full potential?

HOW DO WE IMPROVE ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS?

Develop Great Skills in Leaders and Attitudinal Competence in all members.

###  There's a core insight here:  Great Leadership and Great Workplace Attitudes enables Large Credits of TRUST & RESPECT - that which is most lacking in most organisations.

What I Do to Enable the Solution:

• Work with, coach and mentor Senior Leaders to be Great Leaders;
• Work with them to influence coach and mentor their people to be great, for both the organization and themselves.

 Who I Work With:

• The Chair and Directors;
• The CEO and Direct Reports.

What We Do Together:

• Master Attitudinal Competence (the ability to select the best attitudes for right now, at will) by individual coaching and mentoring and group work.
• Fine tune Skills of Great Leadership by coaching mentoring and group work.
• Work with the people in the organization to influence coach and mentor them to acquire Attitudinal Competence to enhance relationships performance morale and personal life.

 What We Don’t Do:

• Waste Time on Insignificant Weaknesses (but we don’t ignore them).
• Management and Technical/Operational Functions (but your people do).
• Work first on Middle and Front-Line Management.

What’s In It for You?

Authentic Confidence in Leading Diverse People thru: -

• Rapidly Gaining Rapport
• Adept Use of the Power of Respect
• Deep Questioning Skills that Taps Open Thinking and Delivers Powerful Insights & Learning
• Potent Leadership Conversations
• Effectively Dealing with the Unacceptable Whilst Enhancing Trust and Respect
• Using the Secrets of Inspiring Others
• Gaining Authentic Commitment from Others
• Deep Listening with More than your Ears
• The Power to Encourage Other’s Best Attitudes
• Achieving Real Input From All Meeting Attendees
• Powerhouse Coaching on the Run
• Successfully Selling Change
• Reversing Disillusionment in Others
• Rapid Reflection Skills
• Peaceful and Constructive Disagreement
• Removing Stress in Self and Others
• Using, Not Just Knowing, What Matters Most in the Organization and It’s People

 

• Ability to choose your best attitudes and help your family and people choose theirs too.
• Reduced or removed leadership stress – a core cause of corporate error
• Significant Improvement of KPI – impacts on share value
• Creation of “Employer of Choice” reality in the organization
• Improved employee retention and attraction of quality applicants
• Reduction of unnecessary bureaucracy
• Minimal Disruption of Daily Work
• Tenfold ROI for the intervention costs measured over 18 months.

The Process:

• See if we can work together, by meeting and discussing the possibilities     

• Measure Current Position by interviews in organisation and KPI measurement

• Agree to Achieve Specific Goals - including improvement in agreed KPI

• Group work with Senior Leaders to align for process and timing of intervention

• Develop Attitudinal Competence and fine tune Leadership Skills through individual coaching mentoring and group work with Senior Leaders

• Measure Progress – qualitative and quantitative (KPI, interviews)

   

• Adjust and Continue Development and Coaching

• Measure Success - qualitative and quantitative (KPI, interviews) 

• Continue coaching Senior Leadership until the goals are achieved

• Intervention time frame depends upon your structure, think of 6 to 12 months

• Training and coaching for middle and front-line managers is also available.

MY Rock Solid, Iron Clad, 100% Guarantee 

Quite simply, my 100% Guarantee Completely Covers YOU

If Senior Leadership Really Engages In the Intervention and you are not satisfied that you have achieved at least a  Tenfold ROI (based on agreed KPI) on Intervention Costs, I will continue to work with you to reach the agreed goal without further cost.

Now I couldn’t be any fairer than that could I?

Email me now or call me on 0416117771 and arrange a time for a presentation and experience of the process, which I will deliver in your boardroom.  

About me (David Deane-Spread)

• Over 30 year’s operational leadership experience in the military, law-enforcement and commerce.

• Personal experience in chairing boards, executive and non-executive directorship; CEO; senior management.

• A qualified Neuro-Linguistic Programming Master Practitioner.

• Successful developer and coach of executives in mining, government, banking & finance; manufacturing; commerce; services and NGO’s.

• Creator of the model and content for training for Attitudinal Competence.

• Author of “Master the Power of Your Attitudes”; contributing author to “You Lead and They’ll Follow” book series published by McGraw-Hill; co-author of “Ask or Tell – the Power of Asking and the Force of Telling”.

“I’ve experienced and learned from both success and “failure”.