We have never seen more rapidly changing business environments; most forecasts are indicating that the next few years will be even more challenging (or include much more opportunities depending on how you would like to look at it). Running an organisation today means that you need to act fast and adapt to the changing circumstances. Your organisation also needs to increase its capacity to meet the ever-changing market demands.
Nowadays part of the leadership journey very often includes the ability to reduce stress and build more efficient and well-balanced working environments. As leaders we can’t influence all the factors that impact our employees perceived stress levels, however, there are a lot of things we can do that will have a significant impact on how our employees experience their working environments and contribute to the organisation’s performance.
It is often stated that most mergers and acquisitions fail to meet their overall business target. Due diligences are made and the organisations are turned upside down and inside out; firstly to ensure that all that needs to be known is known, and secondly that the organisations (to be merged or acquired) will be a complement to, or add value – with the target that 1 + 1 should at least = 3. So what is the problem, why is it that most mergers don’t succeed and meet their targets?
In today’s rapidly changing business environment there is a strong need for continuous development, which means acquiring new knowledge, skills and learning new effective behaviours and approaches. Some companies have centralised or local-level development plans for their people, increasingly there are committees who meet to discuss their employee abilities and the future need for development within the organisation. Are you one of those people who hope one day they will discover you?
Significant changes in how business leaders work with feedback and development have occurred during the past few years. More and more of the organisations we work with have begun to recognise the connection between clear, relevant feedback, employee development, and the subsequent improvement of business results. Being transparent and open in giving and receiving feedback, with the aim to set clear expectations and support employees’ development processes, is an important element in creating psychological safety. In return, an organisation that is able to establish a culture with psychological safety will experience a faster development process and higher levels of motivation.
Working with leaders across the globe for the last 20 years it very often strikes us how difficult it seems to be to use one of the most powerful tools that leaders have in their toolbox to enable performance. Feedback is essential for fast development and growth of people and organisations and the best thing of all its free of charge. This article will provide you with some thoughts, ideas, and practical tips on how to implement a feedback culture in your organisation. However, it is impossible to describe a process where one size fits all since the as-is culture in the organisation very much sets the baseline for where and how to start or how to continue the journey.