MANAGEMENT NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019
BY GUY RATCLIFFE, MANAGING DIRECTOR, RECREATE COACHING
As leaders, we are responsible
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for making sustainable business
decisions that meet the expectations
of the shareholders, customers, the
environment and our employees.
The performance of our business is
constantly measured: daily, weekly, monthly
and quarterly targets are set, and we align our
resources and assets to achieve the expectations
set by the shareholders, which generally consist
of revenue and profi t. So it’s not surprising that
we fi nd it challenging to fi nd the time to focus on
one of our key responsibilities – our employees.
All too often we start to talk about the ‘softer’
aspects of our businesses and commit to taking
more seriously how we treat our people as human
beings. We hold
one-to-one meetings
and group forums and
receive great feedback,
then overnight the
performance of the
business becomes
the number one
priority and our
good intentions are
diverted to more
pressing matters.
Sound familiar?
The people
within our
organisations are a
key factor as to how
well our business performs;
all leaders know this, but we
all too often forget that they
are human, with the same
fundamental needs that span all
cultures and historical periods.
We all have the same inner
needs to be autonomous or
self-reliant and be connected to
one another. As leaders we are
responsible for ensuring that
these needs are satisfi ed for the
individual, the group and the
environment that we operate in.
To understand what satisfi es
our people – and ultimately
drives their behaviour – we
must fi rst give ourselves the
permission to take time and
fi nd common ground with
them. This requires taking
an interest in others and a
measured amount of disclosure
or openness from us.
Human behaviour is a result
of attempts to satisfy certain
needs and it is a leader’s role
to infl uence that behaviour for
the benefi t of the business. To
infl uence behaviour, we must
fi rst understand it before we
begin to motivate it, ensuring
that the behaviour is an output
that satisfi es the individual’s
own needs. By promoting
openness and disclosure we
fi nd common ground with our
people, but we are also giving
our people permission to act as
we do. Once we fi nd common
ground and understand our
individual needs, we gain
greater in sight as to what
motivates us and our teams.
Changing roles
The World Economic Forum’s
Future of Jobs Report 2018
indicates that as the Fourth
Industrial Revolution unfolds
companies must seek to harness
new and emerging technology
to improve productivity and
effi ciency. To do this business
leaders must plan ahead with
workforce strategies to be
ready for the challenge ahead.
Existing work tasks between
2018 and 2022 show a shift in
the average number of ‘task
hours’ performed by humans.
In 2018 the number of human
task hours averaged 71%. By
2022 this is expected to fall to
just 58% of task hours being
undertaken by a human, with
the remaining 42% being done
by machine. Although this may
present a change in jobs that
RESPONSIBLE
LEADERSHIP
In a world where expectations are increasing
from all angles, today’s leaders cannot lose sight
of the key to their success – their workforce
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