Leadership in Chaos: 13th edition.
Leaders Digest

Leadership in Chaos: 13th edition.

By 12th July 2024 July 16th, 2024 No Comments

Leadership in Chaos: 13th edition.

speed of trust, workplace not worker, stop trying to impress.

“The problem is no longer getting people to express themselves, but providing little gaps of solitude and silence in which they might eventually find something to say….What a relief to have nothing to say, the right to say nothing, because only then is there a chance of framing…the thing that might be worth saying.”

Gilles Deleuze

 Hannah Starkey

Team: speed of trust.

Warren Buffett famously said, “trust is like the air we breathe – when it’s present, nobody really notices; when it’s absent, everybody notices.” In this snippet, negotiation expert William Ury tells the story of Buffett negotiating with a partner over the purchase of the ABC TV network. Buffett offered $500 million and the partner called to ask, the terms of the deal. Buffett said “you’ve probably thought about more than I have, what do you think the terms should be?”. The partner outlined the terms, which Buffett quickly agreed. They trusted that they’d both done the work. And they operated at the speed of trust. Despite the high stakes. Just like this amazing video of conductor Riccardo Chailly, live on stage, trusting pianist Maria Joao Pires when she realised she learned the wrong piece. Trust is a bridge, a path forward, and a superpower.

A thought for leaders: If trust is a superpower, how can you, as a leader, engender more of it from (and with) your people? A study on trust by a military psychologist found 3 factors central to maintaining trust. The “3 C’s” of trust he found are: competence, character, and caring. Importantly, the research also found that all 3 were were essential to maintaining trust. And leaders who exemplified all 3 were more effective. Are you, and your people, leveraging all 3 C’s?

 Hannah Starkey

Culture: workplace not worker.

In 2019, Ronald Purser wrote the book McMindfullness. It was a scathing attack on the widespread adoption of mindfulness by corporations, as shallow and mostly self serving. The term has since come to describe the general trend of poor wellbeing initiatives. A new study by the University of Oxford, which researched 40,000 people, has now found no evidence that individual wellbeing initiatives had any impact on employees well being. Individual level health interventions, like mindfulness, resilience, stress management, yoga classes etc, have no impact. Organisational changes however, things like flexibility, clarity around roles, more job security, better resourcing, do.

A thought for leaders: Holistic workplace wellbeing is a key criteria for talent (even more so for Gen Z). But table tennis, yoga and free donuts, don’t cut it anymore. As was summarised by the researcher Dr William Flemming “there is growing consensus that organisations have to change the workplace, not the worker”. Pulling drowning people out of the water isn’t enough, you have to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in. So, are you starting with the organisation, or the individual?

Hannah Starkey

Communication: stop trying to impress.

Good communication as the saying goes, is the language of leaders. It’s a critical part of good presenting too, obviously. Smarts and savvy, only go so far. People follow vision and inspiring common goals, but only if they’re communicated well. “Communication is key to persuade investors, stakeholders, and clients”, says Michael Foley, professor of leadership and communication at the Kellogg School. But to connect with your audience he says, stop trying to impress them. He outlines four ways to improve your presentations:
  1. Tailor your message to each audience (say the first thing on their minds).
  2. Design your talk with “structured improvisation” (have freedom to be you). 
  3. Strike a balance between data and stories (we’re emotional beings). 
  4. Set a goal to educate, not impress (it’s about them, not you).

A thought for leaders: It’s the last suggestion that really rings a bell here. He says “as a presenter, if my intention is to impress, perform, or entertain, I’m going to be nervous because my focus is on me”. The alternative is to focus on educating, and bringing value to the audience, which puts the focus on them. Which helps you connect more effortlessly. And takes some pressure off you.

Hannah Starkey

Podcast: EP 8: Building Trust

Keeping with the leading topic of “trust”, we’ll go to the Vaults and return to episode 8: Building Trust. In this podcast, we look at…
  • GreenLine Conversations 5% moments
  • The Neuroscience of Trust
  • The impact of a leader’s ability to build trust and connection with their people

Building trust is a challenging feat. You are working with the limbic system, which is around 150 million years old. It intrinsically knows…it’s its job to know. It can’t be tricked or hoodwinked, so if your goal is to build trust amongst your team, it’s best you know how to work with it, instead of against it.

Listen to the full episode here. Enjoy!

You can follow Flow Group on Linkedin here.

P.S. This month’s featured artist is Hannah Starkey (b. 1971). Since the late 90s, she’s been dedicated to photographing women. She explores the ways they are, and have been depicted, by taking cues from visual culture. She’s known for her cinematic mise-en-scènes, which appear as “fleeting” moments that unfold like a dream. She constructs portraits across a range of generations, often situated in everyday urban contexts.