Demonstrate your leadership skills now by supporting others, listening, being positive, building resilience and leading by example.

During these challenging times we can all be leaders and make a positive difference to others.

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5 key attributes of Future Facing Leaders –

1. Adaptability – adapt your style and approach dependant on the individual, the team and the business growth cycle. Learn and adopt new approaches rather sticking with what you already know.

2. Humility – be humble. Become ‘outcentric’ – focusing on others rather than yourself.. Be inclusive rather than exclusive. Use your power to empower others

3. Inspire – lead the future with positivity and purpose. Create followers by what you do rather than what you say. Create a forward thinking vision and purpose that inspires.

4. Challenge – be the agent for change. Encourage creativity. Challenge the norms and take risks. Learn to be comfortable with uncertainty and the unknown

5. Opportunist – create future development opportunities for everyone. We are at our happiest when learning and growing. Give feedback and take feedback. Empower others to make mistakes and to learn from them.

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Mentoring is essentially about helping people to develop more effectively and can add significant value to the growth and development of the mentee, their teams and the business as a whole.

It is an informal relationship between 2 people designed to build confidence & support and to provide guidance to the mentee based on the mentor’s experience.

Mentoring can be used at different points in someone’s career:

• As a new starter to help the induction process and to settle into the company
• When working towards a specified goal or promotion
• When taking on a new role
• As part of a structured development programme or CDP (continuous professional development).

Value of Mentoring

There are many benefits to be realised from being mentored:

• Learning from others with more experience
• Increasing self confidence & motivation
• Being challenged to think differently
• A sounding board to discuss ideas or work challenges
• Increased exposure to more senior colleagues
• Feedback to support personal growth

We all have the opportunity to build capability within ourselves and to share our knowledge with others . Mentoring is 2 way and one of the most effective and rewarding learning opportunities is to become  both a mentee and a mentor   – learning from others and adding value to others.

So what skills do you need to become an effective Mentor?

• The ability to listen & understand
• Self awareness – to understand your own strengths and development needs
• Empathy – the ability to emphasise with others
• To inspire and motivate others
• Inventiveness – be open to new ways of doing things and different ways of working
• To empower others to take action

Reverse Mentoring

Many organisations are now also realising the value of ‘reverse mentoring’.

Mentoring is traditionally a top down process where by a more experienced  individual will support , encourage  & advise someone less senior to themselves.

However, there may be more to gain by reversing this process

We should recognise that regardless of seniority or experience that we all have different strengths, weakness and areas of expertise and that no one will have all the answers or be fully versed in every aspect of the business. There will always be something that we can learn from others whether that be about company strategy, leadership, or how to get the best out of social media and new technologies.

Reverse mentoring gives the opportunity for the younger and junior staff members to educate and inform the more senior especially useful in the areas of social media and new technologies where the more senior experienced executives may benefit from individual help and support.

Mentoring v Coaching

There are some clear differences between mentoring and coaching

Mentoring is more about guiding and teaching someone in a specific task or job, drawing on past experiences to recommend possible solutions to consider whereas coaching will encourage the individual to find a solution by themselves through questioning and challenge.

Mentoring puts in advice, content & information where-as coaching pulls out solutions and information.

‘A coach has some great questions for your answers – a mentor has some great answers to your questions’ (unknown)

Both approaches support growth and development and can be used in different ways to leverage maximum impact dependant on the needs and opportunities of the individual.

Whether your approach is mentoring or coaching or even a mix of the 2 the key is to provide the attention, time and support to the individual to develop their potential, no matter what form it takes.

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The same can be just as important to our industry  –  hospitality

In an increasingly competitive workplace every business faces the same vital question : how to get the best out of our people and maximise performance?

According to CIPD’s 2014 Learning and Development study 78 per cent of organisations intended to carry out leadership development coaching in the next 12 months in order to change behaviour or organisational culture, as well as develop high-potential individuals.

What is coaching? 

Coaching supports individuals to maximise their potential.

It helps them to understand where they are now, where they want to go and how to get there. Coaching is a conduit for change and action. It empowers individuals to seize responsibility and develop their personal skills by committing to specific measurable steps  which support their career development.

Coaching is aimed at developing people’s softer skills such as self-awareness, empathy and interpersonal skills, which are deemed as just as important for today’s leaders as good business acumen.

Establishing an effective coaching programme will empower, motivate and strengthen the team while also embedding a culture of learning and professional development.

Coaching is flexible. It can take place at all levels of an organisation, in response to the needs of the business. Common areas covered include time management, conflict resolution, giving feedback and leading team meetings.

Coaching can also be invaluable when an individual moves from one role to another, takes on more responsibility, or needs support to enable him or her to get the most out of a wider team of colleagues.

A business with a strong coaching culture will achieve more through its people.

 The value of coaching.  Coaching can:

• Develop, encourage and release the potential from within us
• Help us focus on the future rather than the past; on what can be done rather than what has been done
• Stop us focusing on what’s wrong and instead develop new behaviours which over time can be more dominant and influence change
• Help us develop self-awareness and resourcefulness, building self-confidence to achieve more
• Encourage us to take responsibility and commit to taking action
• Be a catalyst for change
• Enable us to consider various options, to try different approaches in the way we behave or do something
• Offer quality time and space where we’re listened to and understood.

Starting the coaching process :

The GROW model is an effective and widely used framework in coaching. The framework consist of 4 stages  –

1.GOAL

What are you wanting to achieve?

• Identify and agree an area which needs to be developed in order to benefit the individual and the business.
• Agree a concrete goal or objective. Once articulated, this goal will serve as a yardstick against which to measure progress and a target at which to aim. In order to inspire, a goal has to focus on the future rather than dwell on the past, and it must stretch and challenge while remaining realistic.
• If a goal is unrealistic, it will lead to a loss of hope. If it isn’t challenging enough, it won’t provide sufficient motivation.

2.REALITY

What is the current situation?

• Once a goal has been agreed upon, ensure the person being coached has fully explained their current situation and how they feel about the areas being focused upon. Discover exactly what the opportunities are, what they feel is holding them back and what solutions have already been tried.
• This stage of the coaching process should allow the person being coached invaluable time to reflect and space to think.
• Listening is a vital part of successful coaching, but it is more complex and difficult than many people imagine. Understanding rather than just hearing is the key. Summarise what you think you’ve heard in order to confirm genuine understanding. Also try and discuss the things which aren’t being said, as well as those which are. 7 Steps to be a great listener

3.OPTIONS

What can you do differently?

• Once the current reality of the area being focused on is fully explored the next stage is challenge the thinking of the person being coached to explore and consider other options or a new approach to achieve their goal.
• Open ended questions are more likely to lead to greater understanding. Questions framed WHEN, WHAT and WHO are more effective than those based around why and how. The latter may lead to the person being coached feeling challenged and adopting defensive, closed thought patterns.
• Incisive and challenging questions will encourage the recipient to pause, reflect and examine their own thought patterns in a trans formative manner.
• Utilise questioning and encouragement to guide the person being coached toward reconsidering the relevant issues and reviewing their options. Encourage them to ask what they could have done, what steps they’ve considered and what they need to do to achieve their stated goals. The fact that they come up with solutions, rather than having answers presented to them, creates a sense of ownership. Use your own experiences to mentor, offering support and advice without being overly judgemental or directive.

4.WILL

When and how are you going to do it?

• Having been presented with options by the person being coached, review them, and set concrete actions designed to achieve the agreed goal. Gain commitment on WHEN and HOW these actions will be met, and insist on highly specific answers. If needed, create a challenge by asking what could get in the way of the actions being performed, and discuss relevant solutions to these hurdles.
• Set up a firm follow up and review process. A good coach will be patient, offer support, listen and build a trusting relationship. The end result of all of this will be to maximise the potential and achievement of the person being coached.

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Post stay questionnaires , online reviews or employee engagement surveys all provide a wealth of invaluable feedback and information that can add significant value to the business, but are you genuinely listening to the feedback from your customer and teams and then taking some form of action as a result?

I raise the question as following 2 recently poor experiences it made me realise that many companies seem to just go through the motions of box ticking to be seen as being customer focussed but in reality they have just been paying lip service to the most important aspect of their business.

Following proactive telephone calls to ask for my assessment on the levels of the service I experienced, neither got back to me when I raised some issues that required further investigation despite a commitment to revert back to me with the outcome.

I was initially pleased that the companies were interested in my views but I was then left with a poor impression due to by their lack of interest, commitment or follow up.

Why proactively ask for feedback from customers or your teams and then take no action as a result?

These recent experiences did however reinforce to me the importance and value of  genuine listening within the workplace and the significant positive impact that it can bring.

Listening is one of the most important skills for leaders, mangers and businesses to master, however it seems that it’s one that is rarely acknowledged or practised. Genuine listening is possibly one of the most overlooked leadership skills and business priorities.

Listening can be compared to a muscle : you have to consciously work at it to improve it and maintain its strength. Effective listening requires education, awareness, practise and commitment.

Even in a world of limitless instantaneous global connection, I believe that the most powerful mode of communication is that of two people listening to each other. You would think that listening to customers and employees to get their views and feedback would be common practise, however in reality it is surprising how little listening at a genuine level happens in today’s workplace.

Genuine listening has become a rare gift , but it can build relationships, solve and avoid problems, ensure understanding and ultimately build value.

How well you listen has a major impact on your job effectiveness, your leadership ability and the quality of relationships with both your external and internal customers.

By listening to your team members, you can tap into their creativity and learn from them, proactively asking for ideas, suggestions and feedback, which in turn encourages commitment and high levels of employees engagement.

Adopting a more effective listening culture can also support your bottom line as your team will feel more engaged and motivated and may well have the answers to many of your business challenges. The worst thing you can do however, however, is to ask for input and then ignore it.

Demonstrate you’ve listened to both your external and internal customers and reinforce that their feedback has been valued. Acknowledge and thank them, get back to them with any follow up, and then commit and take some appropriate or relevant action.

Listening builds loyalty, commitment and trust with both your external and internal customers. Create a listening culture within your business and build genuine value for your customers and teams.

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How many times have you said to yourself that you are under pressure and feeling stressed?

There is a tendancy to link pressure to stress however one doesn’t necessarily have to lead to the other. Make the distinction between the 2. (…)

It is important to recognise the difference between pressure and stress. Pressure, under the right circumstances can enable us to work quicker & more efficiently to meet a deadline or to step up to take responsibility, whereas stress is a destructive force that is counter-productive, leading to a lack of motivation and procrastination.

Pressure drives efficiency and effectiveness; stress can make us feel anxious, overwhelmed and loss of control of our rationale thoughts.

Pressure is a positive aspect of life and work for most people. Many of us need to have standards, targets and deadlines to push us towards good performance. It helps you to keep focused, and it can make you competitive and encourage action. Whenever I have to give a presentation or attend an important meeting, I have usually found that a sense of anxiety and a rush of adrenaline helps me to be at my best. That’s good pressure.

I might have to work hard, take some risks, challenge myself, change or accept new things – but it is manageable. I feel a level of control over the situation.

Stress, on the other hand, occurs when I no longer feel in control. That what is being demanded of me is not manageable no matter how organised, effective or efficient I believe I am. However I am in control of how I react and manage my emotions in a stressful situation

A certain level of stress can be a positive thing. However, dealing with the negative impact of stress is vitally important to us all, especially if we are leading a team of people. Stress and pressure is relative. We all feel it, but we react to and cope with it in different ways.

Here are 5 actions that have worked well for me to prevent pressure becoming stressful –

1.   Keep things in perspective –no matter how bad the circumstances or how big the challenge. Take comfort – you are not alone and you are most probably dealing with the situation much better than you think you are.

2.   Stay fit and healthy – exercise and good nutrition are crucial. Exercise helps to keep emotions under control and allows you time and space to switch off. Good nutrition fuels your body and brain to work at their best.

3.   Open up and offload – stress can worsen when you hold on to too much inside. Open up to someone you can trust who can provide an understanding ear.

4.   Work/life balance – get the balance that works for you. Take time away from the business to recharge your batteries. Continuously working long hours without a break won’t make you more productive. In fact, I believe it can jeopardise your performance.

5.   Be organised and realistic – don’t leave things to the last minute. Be prepared and prioritise the things that matter rather than setting yourself deadlines and expectations that are difficult to achieve.

David Guile is an Executive Leadership Coach. Having worked his way up through all the managerial levels within the hospitality industry to CEO, he combines hard-won experience with a robust coaching methodology to provide insights, support and direction to help managers and emerging leaders find, own and work their potential and the potential of others.

#1Amazon bestseller & CMI Manangement Gold book, Potential & online course – just launched 

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Potential was shortlisted for the’ New Manager’ Award and although not the overall winner on the night I am delighted to announce that it has been awarded CMI Management Gold status.

I wrote the book to share my experiences to support the personal development of emerging Managers and Leaders and to act as a ‘business card’ for my leadership coaching and at the time I never would have imagined that it would take on a life of its own.

It became a #1 Amazon bestseller, provided the foundation for a successful leadership conference, introduced me to new clients and has now been adapted into an online development programme.

Whilst I was apprehensive about stepping outside of my comfort zone to explore new opportunities and doubted my ability to publish a book that anyone would want to buy, my story proves that we are capable of much more than we think and that it is our self-limiting beliefs that can sometimes hold us back.

Embrace new opportunities with confidence and self-belief as you will never know what you are capable of achieving unless you try. You may well be surprised just as I was!

I would like to thank everyone who has supported me during this time and I look forward to an exciting 2018.

David Guile is an Executive Leadership Coach. Having worked his way up through all the managerial levels within the hospitality industry to CEO, he combines hard-won experience with a robust coaching methodology to provide insights, support, and direction to help emerging leaders find, own and work their potential and the potential of others.

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Click here to buy David Guile’s Amazon #1 bestseller ‘Potential’.

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Make them meaningful not meaningless

Most successful companies recognise the importance of having a clear vision and a set of values.

Vision – provides the direction and purpose of the company.

Values – shape the culture and identify behaviours and commitments to support the ‘How.’ (…)

They are the essence of the company’s identity – its guiding principles and beliefs, creating a sense of pride and ownership within the business with employees feeling a strong sense of belonging and engagement.

Throughout my career I have been part of many vision and values exercises and initiatives. They have all been different with some inspiring and impactful to its employees and the business and others just a paper exercise, paying lip service with no real meaning or commitment.

Make your vision and values mean something to your team.

Whether you are the CEO of the business or head up a small team within the organisation, it is essential that you make the vision and values come alive and, most importantly, for them to have real meaning. I would suggest that you cut through all the words of intent and explanations and filter the message down to two key points for your teams – 

• What are we trying to achieve?
• How do we go about achieving it?

Make the vision and values meaningful, not meaningless

Ensure that there is clarity, simplicity and that they are relevant to your team. I have seen too many top level initiatives that haven’t clearly been translated through the business in terms of:

‘what does this mean to me?’ or ‘what do I need to do differently?’

As a result nothing changes and the vision and values becomes almost irrelevant and are soon forgotten. Make them meaningful not meaningless and see the positive impact to employee engagement, retention and productivity.

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