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9 August 2011

In the Psychometrist’s Chair: Episode 1 – MBTI

Posted by Ed under behavioural change, coaching, communication, leadership development, learning theory, life, motivation, psychometrics, relationships, teamwork | Tags: , |
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There are many different psychometric instruments in use, not just in leadership or management development, but also in the recruitment and personal development fields and others. As it occurred to me that very rarely do you get to read a first-hand account of the process of completing some of these questionnaires and receiving feedback on them, I took the opportunity to follow up a fascinating session by an ASK colleague during Adult Learning Week by completing a range of the most commonly used tools and receiving facilitated feedback on them. In this first post in a series, I’ll cover MBTI® (later posts will cover FIRO-B® and instruments from the Hogan stable), and I hope they will provide not just interesting reading, but an insight into the psychometric experience for those who have yet to undergo it or are apprehensive about doing so.

Like many other organisations, ASK frequently deploys a range of psychometric instruments. As we value professionalism, client confidentiality and well-being, we only do so where those administering the instrument in question are licensed to do so, and all feedback is facilitated by trained professionals: while we can’t claim to be unique in this, many individuals each year receive feedback from the use of psychometric tests that is unmediated, unsupported and unfacilitated. (Given that any psychometric tool is a form of mirror to be held up to the person completing its questionnaire, this is never something that we would recommend.)

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21 July 2011

ASK Europe plc forges strategic alliance with MDA Leadership Consulting

Posted by Ed under behavioural change, coaching, HR, leadership development, leading performance, management, organisational development, talent management | Tags: , , , |
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From an ASK Press Release:

Leading behavioural and organisational change specialist, ASK Europe plc, has formed a strategic partnership with US-based MDA Leadership Consulting to strengthen each company’s existing global reach and leverage each other’s talents and core capabilities.

The partnership will enable ASK and MDA Leadership Consulting to support each others’ existing and new clients across a broad range of projects and geographies, from individual assessment through to people and organisational development.”

You can download a full copy of the press release in PDF format here, or from the ASK Elsewhere page in this blog. Please contact us for further information.

 

19 July 2011

Take a chair, Tom: The Apprentice Final

Posted by Ed under authentic leadership, coaching, HR, leadership development, leading performance, recruitment, talent management | Tags: , , |
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After thirteen weeks, I can take that fork out of my leg and celebrate: we have a winner. Pleasingly, the person most of the office here picked a few weeks back, not least on the grounds that hindsight is better than myopia or having a crystal-clear view of your own adoring reflection. As the four finalists presented their business plans to Lord Sugar’s hired human ‘demolition balls’ (thankfully, with the emphasis on the demolition – His Lordship’s testicular fetishism has rivalled Gordon Ramsay’s in this series), it went mostly as you’d expect.

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5 July 2011

“Go big or go home”: The Apprentice, Episode 9

Posted by Ed under behavioural change, coaching, leadership development, leading performance, life, recruitment, relationships | Tags: , , |
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Ah yes, The Apprentice. Even when my Significant Other fast-forwarded through the opening credits and I did the crossword (as opposed to muttering a few), I’d have guessed from some of the language drifting past. Branding, new, exciting, concept, yada yada. Surely not? I thought it was all about launching something that’s been around for ages in a paper bag with no words or pictures on it. Silly me. As the series has been desperately short on marketing and sales-focused tasks, this week they set out to create, brand and market biscuits. While I was musing that, in task competency terms, biscuits really were just like dog food, Susan was making a more literal comparison. Biscuits are just like cosmetics apparently: take a few ingredients, whizz ‘em together, nice box, job done. Custard Face-creams anyone? Maybe ‘chocolate hobnob’ actually is a skin condition and we’ve never realised before.

Some competitive hissing dealt with, two food industry gurus – Helen and Zoe – stepped up as PMs for the week. Grain-based confectionary fight at the OK Corral was duly lined up, as the teams pensively fingered the holsters of multi-chambered cliché-shooters at their executive hips. Anything half-baked, and someone was going to get (slam-)dunked. Nick’s facial contortions suggested a man undergoing strychnine poisoning, or a re-run of that scene from Alien. Maybe he had been at the product tasting?

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27 May 2011

To be really productive, we need to make friends not appointments

Posted by matt evans under talent management, coaching, leading performance, behavioural change, relationships, line managers, HR, communication, reward and recognition, management | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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Although we read incessantly that social networks and anytime media are bringing sharing to the top of the agenda and people closer together, our experience doesn’t always chime in tune with the assertion. So it was interesting that three people here at ASK independently stumbled upon an article by Alexander Fliaster at People Management last week, and were interested enough to present each other printouts of it as ‘something I wondered if you’d seen’. (And yes, we do know we could email each other: I think we hit the print button and used some shoe leather as we were genuinely interested rather than wanting to pay it the digital passing glance of a ‘Like’ button or its ilk– an aspect of social media that Evgeny Morozov commented on in The Net Delusion, reviewed here recently.)

It probably also says a lot that we all recognised each other as people who would – as individuals – be particularly interested in the article, and in Fliaster’s comments. We’re not a project team, and there’s no pressing current project that is focused primarily on creativity: but we do have a culture that means we chat openly and widely, and understand what each other might be particularly interested in (or are curious about what a particular person’s reaction to something might be).

Our reaction to the article proved, in one way, part of its author’s point that:

The real engine of creativity and organisational success is to be found in internal networks of friendship and collaboration.”

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21 April 2011

The Consequences of Busy-ness: Time Management and Mouth Management

Posted by Ed under behavioural change, coaching, communication, leading performance, life, motivation, reward and recognition | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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Back in the 1970s, Shirley Conran famously thought that “life is too short to stuff a mushroom”. As a self-proclaimed Superwoman (the book is still in print), a certain fullness of diary was a natural part of life – and of the image that must be projected of it. Even slovenly instincts were something to be talked up, positioned with poise and verbally lit from the best possible angle, as another quote showed: “I make no secret of the fact that I would rather lie on a sofa than sweep beneath it. But you have to be efficient if you’re going to be lazy.” (It’s something of a puzzle, however, that her presumably considerable book royalties didn’t allow her the efficiency of hiring a cleaner. Or just having the floor replaced when it got dusty.)

Efficiency must be something in which fashions change – as we’re sure the mother of Jasper Conran would agree with us, even if she might be slightly affronted by the Hairy Biker’s culinary response to her most famous moment (although we have no doubt in Lady Conran actually watched the 2010 World Cup avidly – either too busy or absorbed in the hovering, no doubt.) But being busy, it seems, doesn’t go out of style.

Despite knowing – as most of us do – that simply being busy is meaningless (is all that effort actually getting anyone anywhere? Is any of it invoiceable activity, or paying some non-monetary dividend – hey, even good karma will do – further down the line?), it is a popular thing to be. In business communities, the ‘correct’ social answer to “How’s Things?” is – or at least it seems to me – to be “Busy!” rather than “Great, thanks”. “Great!” is what you say by way of congratulation when someone else says they’re busy – being busy is up there with engagements and pregnancies when it comes to things to be immediately and almost unquestioningly praised.

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10 March 2011

“Well said, that man” – the modern speech

Posted by Ed under authentic leadership, behavioural change, coaching, communication, HR, leading performance, motivation | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
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The Guardian recently ran a feature article about great speeches – a timeless topic, even in an age where – despite the dreams of the digital prophets, and the predictions of the demise of language under an onslaught of little dancing icons – words are probably being read more than ever. (Is it just me, or is the Kindle the most ironic invention yet? Wireless connectivity, USB, cloud computing, mobile that, digital the other – and it does what: mimics a book? Mmm.) So, still timeless, but let’s ignore the fact that the times are changing. Significant moments still call for The Big Speech – usually now televised (and then YouTubed and viralled off across the Internet’s virtual pontoon of social networking platforms): Kennedy in Berlin, Obama in Tuscon, Gaddafi in Tripoli, Cameron in Battersea Power Station …

Some situations – whether they are a time of crisis, a sense of a crisis that may occur later unless they are pre-empted, or an urgent desire to kindle change (rather than merely changing Kindle) – demand a response. As there is only so much that any of us can achieve single-handedly, that response is very often a statement: the first action is the call to the action that will – it is hoped – follow. It helps to be mindful of the ‘meta message’ you’re sending, of course.

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24 February 2011

This sporting life: an analogy of two halves

Posted by Ed under behavioural change, coaching, HR, life, relationships, talent management, teamwork
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You will already have the teams in place. Some of you may have been transferred between a number of them already – although possibly without the lavish signing-on fee. There will be official colours and the ‘club’ magazine: the more cutting edge may already have the supporters’ pages on Facebook and the VIP appearances for gala dinners. Many will pursue more traditional pursuits: smiling ‘players’ photographed in the local paper doing good works in the community. The sport/business analogy is a potent one, and very popular. Just remember that you aren’t actually Man Utd. There are some fine lessons to transfer – and some coarse differences to keep in mind too.

There’s many a sporting personality who has made the transition from an eye-catching performance on track, field or (especially) TV. (Go on, name five stellar lacrosse players: there’ll be as much awesome skill and competitive intensity on display as in any other sport, but rather fewer cameras or column inches. England, Scotland and Wales all compete in the World Lacrosse Championships, and England have finished in the top 6 at the last four events. But fame? Glory? …).

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