Travelling at the Speed of Life

Have you noticed how people from different cultures have different norms for personal space, rules of conversation, volume of speech etc? I returned from my first visit to Africa last week and was struck by a different cultural speed of movement. At first I wondered if it was because of the heat and humidity but I’ve experienced the same conditions in Asia without the same slowing down impact on speed. Perhaps it’s correlates with a deep cultural outlook – ‘Why rush? What’s the urgency?’

I became conscious of how, by contrast, I instinctively rush around, even when there was no apparent need to do so. I felt challenged. Why am I so driven? What impact does constant high-speed activity have on my health, perspective and relationships? Have I lost sense of pace, harmony, perspective, priority, ability to notice the important things, to live in the eternal Presence? This is the real gift I bring back from Africa – an opportunity to see things in a new light, to approach life afresh, to reconsider God’s perspective and to live anew in that liberating truth.

Leadership and Engagement

Best Companies research in 2008/9 points to 'trust in senior leadership' as the biggest single factor affecting staff engagement (and, thereby talent retention, performance and impact) in the current climate. This is probably because turbulence in the economic environment is creating real anxiety. Employees need to believe that leaders know what they are doing and have the ability to steer the organisation through and ensure its survival.

In the third sector, I’ve noticed over the past year that leaders and employees are expressing a concern that their ministry should not suffer adversely in this climate. In other words, people in this sector are motivated by and concerned for their organisations’ mission and are keen to ensure it is safeguarded.

Bearing in mind these points, the questions and anxieties some staff may be carrying at the moment could be framed as 'Are they (beneficiaries) safe..?'; that is, will leaders keep their interests at the forefront of their minds and not get distracted. 'Are we (organisation) safe..?'; that is, are leaders focusing on and prioritising the right things bearing in mind external and internal opportunites and challenges. 'Am I (me) safe..?'; that is, do the leaders value and care about me?

In the Christian organizations I work with, there’s an additional implicit question at the heart of this matter. ‘Is He (God) safe..?’; that is, will leaders stay faithful to the organisation’s Christian identity, values and sense of calling or compromise these things for expediency’s sake as they navigate through tough times.

Although different people experience change dynamics differently and it's hard for leaders to make concrete reassurances in these unpredictable times, this frame could form a useful backdrop for leadership communications over the coming months. The challenge is how to manage tensions between these potentially competing agendas and demands whilst maintaining a genuine sense of focus, integrity and hope.

The Partnership Business

Business partnership is a new way of working for many in OD and HR and it can feel both exciting and challenging. I’ve found through experience that the nature of this relationship and what it looks like, who does what, what makes it work well in practice etc. is influenced by a range of factors beyond formal job descriptions. These include implicit expectations of one-another (‘this is the part I believe I/you should play); historical experience (‘this is how we’ve always done it in the past’); interests, preferences and skills of each person (‘this is what I can/would like to contribute’); capacities of each person to deliver (‘this is what I have time/expertise to do’); quality of relationship (‘you understand me/I can trust you’).

Confusion, frustration or misunderstanding can arise if different parties carry different implicit assumptions or expectations about one-anothers’ roles, responsibilities etc. The models or paradigms sketched out below are intended therefore as tools to help surface similarities and differences by asking, ‘is this how you see my/your role?’, ‘which aspects of this work best for us?’, ‘what should we each do more of, less of or differently?’, ‘what would make the biggest improvements in the future?’ etc. The models are not mutually exclusive and the OD/HR professional may need to flow between models depending on circumstances - and contract accordingly.

Model 1: Internal consultant (performance coach)

OD/HR role: consultant, coach, mentor to leader. Focus: develop leader’s capacity to achieve his or her goals. Relational modality: ‘transformational’. Features: listens, questions, challenges, advises.

"You [leader] are responsible for good people leadership, management and development in your part of the organisation. Partnership means bringing my [OD/HR] knowledge and expertise to bear alongside yours to help you make wise decisions and to succeed. I will help you identify key issues that you would do well to bear in mind and, as appropriate, offer you challenge, guidance and advice. Unless there are legal, ethical or policy issues that are compelling or prohibitive, the final decision will ordinarily be yours as line-leader/manager. I bring three key contributions to the table: my consulting, coaching and mentoring capabilities; my expertise in the OD/HR field (e.g. change leadership and performance development); my knowledge and relationships within and outside of the organisation. I have three interrelated goals in mind: to help you understand and address the issues, challenges and opportunities you face; to ensure a wise and successful outcome for the organisation; to build your capacity to understand and deal with similar issues in the future."

Model 2: Co-leader (joint stakeholder)

OD/HR role: joint leader/stakeholder with leader. Focus: ensure OD/HR and leader achieve shared or complementary goals. Relational modality: ‘transfunctional’. Features: listens, proposes, negotiates, decides.

"We [leader and OD/HR] hold shared responsibility for good people leadership, management and development in your part of the organisation. Partnership means pooling our knowledge and expertise to achieve a better outcome than either of us could achieve on our own. We will each bring our own agenda and contribution to the table: e.g. personal style, vision and values; roles and responsibilities; group/team goals; knowledge of key issues; professional experience and expertise; proposals for the way forward. We will draw on these to learn from each other and agree the way forward. We will take shared ownership of issues and actions as joint stakeholders. I have three interrelated goals in mind: to work with you to understand and address the issues, challenges and opportunities we both face; to find mutual solutions that satisfy our respective goals and responsibilities; to ensure a wise and successful outcome for the organisation."

Model 3: Service provider (task supporter)

OD/HR role: service provider for leader. Focus: resource leader to achieve his or her goals. Relational modality: ‘transactional’. Features: listens, offers, informs, provides.

"You [leader] are responsible for good people leadership, management and development in your part of the organisation. Partnership means providing you with practical support by doing tasks that you don’t have the time or technical expertise to do (e.g. recruitment processes, drawing up contracts). My [OD/HR] role is to supplement your work and thereby release you to focus on other tasks. The focus of our relationship is on achieving people-related tasks that you identify as priority in a timely and efficient manner. I will provide you with technical information and advice where it is appropriate (e.g. in areas of policy or procedure) and be willing to intervene directly in situations where you believe my expertise could be most usefully deployed (e.g. personal development, mediating conflict). I have two goals in mind: to ensure that people-related tasks are accomplished according to policy and good practice; that you are released to work on higher priorities."

Through the Eyes of a Child

I love the way children are able to challenge our preconceived ideas and assumptions in such refreshing and disarming ways. I was having a conversation with my two young daughters this week, for instance, about 'the fall' in the garden of Eden. As I spoke, Ruth looked increasingly concerned: "Do we still have snakes like that today..?" Hannah added, our cousin has a snake. I don't like them at all." I responded by explaining that this was a special 1-off case and that Satan disguised himself as a snake in order to trick Eve and get her and Adam to trust and and make friends with him rather than God. "Well, if that was the plan," replied Hannah immediately, "why didn't he disguise himself as a fluffy rabbit?" Good point. God calls us to approach him with childlike simplicity and trust. Children remind us to avoid placing too much confidence in our sophisticated ideas and beliefs and to walk in simple faith instead.

A Heart for Facilitation

I'm sometimes asked what the key is to successful group facilitation. In the past, I've pointed to group process consultancy skills or creative techniques aimed at engaging with, building relationships within and drawing the best out of a group. In more recent times, I've come to believe the most fundamental thing is a finding deep intuitive empathy with the group - being tuned in as well as I can be to how people are feeling, how the world looks from their point of view, what seems to matter most to them etc. Working from a place of real empathy can build trust, open my eyes to issues and possibilities I would have missed at a more surface level and create opportunities for real and profound transformation. I'm learning too, however, how this kind of intutive empathy is challenging both in my own practise and to develop in others. There are so many distracting elements - desire to impress the group, need to get the group to a certain place within a certain time, to find techniques that are simple, effective and not so mentally, emotionally or spiritually demanding. The incarnational principle of working from a place of intuitive empathy can feel like hard work but I'm learning the richness of the benefits that can emerge is well worth the effort.

A Life Worthwhile

I spent the last two weeks providing facilitation and coaching at an international Christian NGO event for people from over 50 countries around the world. I met a gentle, humble man from Ethiopia who told me quietly over a meal how conditions are so bad where he is living and working that people often only have one shirt to wear. He has decided to only own two shirts for himself and, if he meets someone without one, he gives one of his away. I also met a bright young woman from Bosnia whose father was killed in the last war and whose best friend was shot dead in front of her by a sniper when she was just 14. She's committed herself to this type of work to help rebuild the lives of others who have also suffered and continue to suffer. Stories like this abounded: of brokenness, struggle, desperation, aspiration, love, care, faith and hope. I came away feeling deeply moved, challenged and humbled. My own life seems so shallow and self-centric by comparison. May God help me to learn from and follow their example and live a life worthwhile in the world.

Christian Talent

Many organisations today are concerned with how to attract, engage and retain talented people. This is because most recent research shows that people who are both talented and engaged typically contribute most to an organisation’s success. People who are talented in this sense are those with high potential who are not only knowledgeable and skilful but have the ability to learn quickly and apply what they bring to fresh, challenging and changing circumstances. People who are engaged in this sense tend to be prepared to go the extra mile, can’t imagine wanting to leave and instinctively encourage others to join in.

Similarly, the church has historically sought to nurture and sustain high levels of engagement – with God and the church in the context of wider community. These things are at the heart of what we might describe as Christian commitment. The church’s view of talent has been, however, similar in some ways and different in others. On the one hand, Christians believe that everyone has particular God-given gifts and talents that should be invested for kingdom purposes (e.g. Mt 25) and on the other, that everyone is valuable – i.e. not just those with ‘high potential’ in a utilitarian sense – and should be honoured as such (e.g. 1 Cor 12).

Churches and Christian organisations alike have struggled with some of the practical challenges this latter tension creates, especially when operating with strong mission mandates, trying to apply professional standards and having to compete with others for scarce resources. The tension is particularly acute when we depend on volunteers with a variety of motivations and a relative ease to leave. The question becomes how to get the job done well through people whilst, at the same time, valuing everyone’s contribution, keeping the right people involved in the right ways and helping release God-given potential.