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Question Of The Month
How important is it for the culture of an organisation to align with the kind of coaching that people in it are getting?
News: The Origins Of Legitimate Leadership In Action
Wendy Lambourne, founder of Legitimate Leadership, was, during March, invited to a Q&A chat event by UK-based business environmental sustainability organisation SUSXL. The event was hosted by Bernard Lebelle, CEO of The Green Link, and Davis Mukasa, founder of TotallyNewThinking.
The Happy Index And Upside-Down Management
Question: What is upside down management?
James Timpson: ‘Most businesses are run from the top down so the people who actually serve customers, drive trucks and put money in the till are told what to do and have to follow lots of rules and processes. If they don’t, they get told off.
‘But in our business those on the front line can do whatever they want, whatever they think is right, subject to two rules:
For more information regarding the above, please e-mail events@legitimateleadership.com
Question Of The Month
By Stefaan van den Heever, Associate, Legitimate Leadership.
Question: How important is it for the culture of an organisation to align with the kind of coaching that people in it are getting?
Answer: A coach hopefully holds up a clear, mostly-untainted mirror for someone so that she can come to terms with those places or areas where there are gaps or incoherence with authenticity. I have been coaching for nearly 20 years but in the past few years it has become clear that coaching can have only a limited impact if the system and culture of an organisation is not conducive to a coaching or learning way of leading really being ‘lived’ by the individual in it.
During coaching, the client can gain great insights about how he comes across to others, and he can then go out and implement new behaviour based on those insights.
But then the new frame of reference ‘collides’ or comes into contradiction with what is going on within the organisation.
It happens quite often that an organisation has an inspirational mission statement and values – but they are only words. For instance, we were commissioned to teach people in a manufacturing plant to lead in a coaching way – to get people to engage with each other in a ‘learning’ way, where listening and asking questions were key competencies for them to build. The training was successful and most people connected to this new way of engaging. Unfortunately when pressure for performance rose, most people reverted back to their old style of ‘control and command’.
Coaching interventions are much more successful when they are part of a systemic intervention in which culture also shifts. Coaching then helps people to embed and really ‘live’ the new way of doing things.
The Legitimate Leadership Model offers this systemic change to shift culture. Then coaching can be really successful.
To submit your question, email info@legitimateleadership.com
News: The Origins Of Legitimate Leadership In Action
Wendy Lambourne, founder of Legitimate Leadership, was, during March, invited to a Q&A chat event by UK-based business environmental sustainability organisation SUSXL. The event was hosted by Bernard Lebelle, CEO of The Green Link, and Davis Mukasa, founder of TotallyNewThinking.
Mukasa commented that Wendy’s “insights on leadership and trust are a powerful take on organisational management … key takeaways include the imperative for leaders to empower employees through decision-making authority, prioritise long-term interests over short-term gains, and foster a culture of accountability and trust. By embracing a ‘giver’ mentality and setting an example for environmental sustainability, leaders can drive meaningful organisational transformation. Wendy’s emphasis on the essential framework of trust in management underscores the enduring relevance of these principles some 30 years on, serving as a poignant beacon for future leadership endeavour.”
During the event Wendy traced the origins of Legitimate Leadership, as well as the book she has authored, called Legitimate Leadership In Action.
How did she initially get exposed to this whole framework?
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Video: The Happy Index And Upside-Down Management
A podcast of UK TV personality Krishnan Guru-Murthy interviewing James Timpson, CEO of Timpson. Timpson has shoe/key/watch repair stores throughout the UK. The group also has Snappy Snaps and other retail brands. James Timpson has authored a book, The Happy Index: Lessons In Upside-Down Management.
COMMENT ON THIS VIDEO BY WENDY LAMBOURNE, LEGITIMATE LEADERSHIP: This is well worth the fairly long read. It is a story of operationalising ‘care and growth’ such that it is embedded in the culture. A few takeaways:
- It is about trusting your people. Timpson employees can do whatever they like as long as they adhere to two rules: put the money in the till, and look the part.
- There is one single measure of area managers’ performance – it is not profitability but their rating on a single survey question: ‘How do you rate your area manager for their kindness to you?’
- Act decisively on poor performance without any of the normal HR processes.
- Spend time in the field where the game is being played to find out what the front-line employees need to provide excellent service to customers.
OUR SUMMARY OF THIS VIDEO:
Q: What is upside down management?
James Timpson: ‘Most businesses are run from the top down so the people who actually serve customers, drive trucks and put money in the till are told what to do and have to follow lots of rules and processes. If they don’t, they get told off.
‘But in our business those on the front line can do whatever they want, whatever they think is right, subject to two rules:
- You put the money in the till.
- You look the part.
‘For the rest, you can do whatever you think is right. All we are interested in is: are you happy, are you doing everything you can to give amazing service, and are you following our two rules.
‘Everyone else’s job is not to tell them what to do but to support them. For instance, if they want to give someone a discount or give something away for free, or they want to change the displays, go ahead. They can order whatever stock they want. They decide when to have a break. They can even paint the shop pink if they want. It’s their shop – they do whatever they think is right to give amazing service to their customers.’
READ THE FULL SUMMARY OF THIS VIDEO BY CLICKING HERE
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