Leading Through Uncertainty

Jane Ashcroft is the Chief Executive of the Anchor Hanover Group, England’s largest not-for-profit provider of housing and care for older people. Jane was awarded a CBE in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to older people, some 7 years ago but as you’ll hear, her passion and enthusiasm for older people has definitely not waned.

She talks about the importance of listening and collaboration as a CEO balanced with clarity, scorecards and compliance. I think that’s a tough balance to juggle that she seems to have mastered in her organisation.  Jane has encouraged me to think differently about ageing, both in the workplace and for me personally. She was so inspiring in her ideas. I enjoyed hearing about her Grip and Pace approach – the idea that we need to have a grip on the basics and approach change with the appropriate pace. I was struck by the idea that a diverse workforce that spans 4 or 5 generations can work collaboratively together if they have a shared passion and listen to each other’s points of view. That’s so crucial. How do you find the balance between scorecards, compliance and collaborative thinking? How do you encourage diversity of thought as the basis for getting results? 

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Adrian Packer CBE is the CEO of the Core Education Trust, who runs a number of academy schools in the Birmingham area. Adrian has a fascinating career, having started as a teacher at the Brit School, teaching pupils such as Amy Winehouse. He was given the unenviable task of turning around a number of failing schools. He’s keen to point out that academically the children were excellent but the governance and finances were all over the place. Here’s what he has to say about aligning a team in a crisis. I loved Adrian’s dogged determination balanced with a collaborative approach. Those two things might seem at opposite ends of the spectrum but I’m impressed by his ability to hold the polarity of strength and gentleness. He had “One Love” as his mantra, knowing that he had tough decisions to make and a variety of stakeholders with differing needs and opinions to manage. I think that speaks volumes about Adrian’s ability to lead and he’s honest about how challenging it is to lead a team in crisis. Where do you need to balance dogged determination with collaboration? Where might a “One Love” approach help you with tough decision-making? www.judejennison.com

Sally Palethorpe is the Managing Partner of Inspired Partners, a change management consultancy. She talks about the need to support leaders and organisations through change, using her Other framework which provides the skills needed to lead change. She explains the challenges of changing behaviour and why change programmes fail when we ignore the human beings behind the change.

I loved Sally’s Other framework – tenacity rather than resilience. It’s so strange how we still refer to soft skills which are anything but. Some of the hardest skills we can develop are the soft skills. Empathy is tricky – too much empathy and you lose sight of what you are doing, too little and you lose people. Finding that perfect balance is one of the most difficult things you can do in change. How do you strike the balance of empathy and being human so you have the same clarity of direction in harmony with bringing people with you in a way that works for everyone?

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Aaron McCormick is one of my more unusual podcast interviews. Born on the south side of Chicago to a difficult background, he developed an incredible career by bucking every trend and refusing to conform. Instead, he listened to his intuition and inner guidance to be in the 1% of “Best of Best” in IBM as well as running his own tech companies. Aaron’s energy is infectious. I found myself smiling and nodding a lot because he speaks to the need for balance and the polarity and complications of leading our lives.

Whilst he talks about listening to our inner guidance and not bowing down to external pressure, I personally know how difficult this is in practice. So many of us have learned to conform, to fit in and belong. If you’re not yet feeling in flow at work or in life, this podcast will encourage to spend more time introspectively. Where are you feeling out of balance? Where do you want more ease and flow? www.judejennison.com Aaron McCormick is the author of Unbounded - Journey to Your Within available from Amazon and other booksellers.

Denise Bobb is a highly established Portfolio Manager, leading complex change programmes for organisations across both the private and public sectors. I spoke to Denise about how we increase black engagement so that black businesses have a stronger voice as well as BAME employees not being overlooked in organisations. Denise makes it clear that a “spray and pray” approach to racism and black engagement is not going to cut it.

She’s advocating a structured systemic approach to educate everyone and that it must be on the agenda of every organisation. We need to plan it in a structured way just as we would a project. The need for greater openness and a willingness to “get it wrong” is crucial if we are to have some of the difficult conversations that need to be had in every workplace and community. There’s lots to be done. What are you doing in your organisation to promote BAME leaders? What are you doing in your community?

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Ahmed Farooq has been the CFO of Wesleyan Assurance for 5 years. He talks openly about his experience of being an ethnic minority leader in the workplace, about Ramadan, the vulnerability of being curious about other people and the discomfort of having honest and transparent conversations about race and diversity. 

Ahmed is such an inspiration and a great role model for future generations. His blend of attention to detail and nurturing others demonstrates his range as a CFO and the ability to bring out the best in others. I’m always talking about expanding our range because the more well-rounded we are as leaders, the more effective we can be in different situations. Perhaps that’s the key to embracing difference too? The more we stretch into new ranges, the more we can acknowledge it in others. Where do you need to expand your range as a leader? How can you embrace diversity in the workplace more?

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Piers Tincknell is the MD of AtomicSmash, a creative design agency. He talks about the need to adapt and see failure as part of the evolution of learning. He recognises that encouraging his team to learn, to innovate through trial and error is how the business can push boundaries and do great creative work through technology. 

Piers has such a balance between the art and science of using technology for innovation and he recruits and develops his team in the same way. I’m fascinated by how we blend creativity and logic, left and right brain, to solve some of the problems in the world. With technology being a fundamental part of how we live and work, we need to continually be curious about the world we live in and have the humility to recognise when something is not working. How do you balance creativity and logic? Which one might need more attention in your work or your team?

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Andy Childerhouse is the CEO of Viewpoint. He talks about the transformation of a business that was close to failure to a thriving business today. He led the team to redefine the strategy, business model and product base, and crucially the organisation’s culture so that everyone was engaged in the transformation. 

Andy’s inclusive team approach shows how important it is to achieve results through relationships. His humility and transparency of communication were key to the business transforming in an agile way in a challenging environment. As we continue to deal with the Covid 19 pandemic, these skills are crucial for every business today. How do you bring people with you at times of extreme change and uncertainty?  How do create an environment where communication is transparent and based on collaboration, clarity and empathy?

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Amanda Ling is the MD of SFM Limited. She talks about the challenge of transforming organisational culture when it is less tangible than transforming a business strategy. The way she runs her fascinating business shows the potential of focusing on people, profit and planet and how we need to integrate both critical logical thinking with the emotional connection of the heart.

Amanda truly embodies holistic leadership. Amanda is clear that if we want to transform the business culture, we need to be open and honest. I loved her story of three people in a room telling three different stories about the same thing. That is so common in conflict where every perspective is valid and subtly different and how easy it is to misunderstand people. Perhaps if we all listened more beyond the words, we could eradicate conflict and misunderstandings earlier. So much easier said than done though don’t you think? How do you resolve differences of opinion?  What changes need to be made in the culture of your organisation for everyone to thrive and what’s your first step?

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Derek Redmond is a British World and European champion of the 4 x 400m relay, having raced extensively in the 1980s and 90s. He talks about how he and the relay team bucked the trend and took risks to gain the edge on their competitors, as well as overcoming injury and switching what he knew about sport to building a business. 

Derek role models the importance of having humility as a leader in business. He talks openly about his failures, learning from them and taking bold action as a way of having competitive edge. He has picked himself up repeatedly throughout his career and is one of the most warm-hearted people I’ve had the privilege to interview. How do you role model humility and resilience at work? How do create an environment where failure is part of the process of learning, both for you and your team? 

www.judejennison.com