NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019 MANAGEMENT
“To understand what satisfies our
people, we must first take time to
find common ground with them.”
Guy Ratcliffe, managing director, Recreate Coaching
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require dexterity or manual labour, humans
will continue to compliment the changes –
but only if they are granted permission to act
in a natural human way.
People add the most value when they
are freed of the need to perform routine or
repetitive tasks and make use of their human
talents. Human skills such as creativity,
initiative, critical thinking and originality will
be more relevant as the job market evolves.
As our employees become more detached from
task-oriented functions they will find other
roles that will continue to add value. Leaders
will need to display their skills in influencing
and emotional intelligence. There is also a shift
in mindset among the new generation that will
impact our businesses, whereby leaders will be
required to support individuals with a greater
need to be more autonomous, giving them the
freedom to be more creative.
Taking brave steps
As leaders we need to understand and give
ourselves the permission to take the necessary,
and often brave, steps to promote natural
human behaviour. Here are five steps you can
take to do that:
1 Understand your own needs and what
satisfies you: The first realisation that
leaders must have is that your leadership style
derives from your own life story; leaders must
work towards understanding and developing
themselves before trying to lead others.
2Be genuine: To be a truly authentic human
we must treat others as humans. Being
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to try this for 30 minutes every
day (I will be the first to admit
that this isn’t easy!).
A natural experience
As business leaders and experts
in our field we all have the
experience and knowledge to
provide shareholders with what
is expected. By providing our
people with the most natural of
experiences of being listened
to, with permission to express
themselves genuinely with
no fear of repercussions or
consequences, we provide a
catalyst that unravels an infinite
world of greater understanding
and connection. Rather than
just engaging with our people
to achieve what we need,
empower them to satisfy their
human needs by giving them
permission to treat each other
in a way that promotes natural
human behaviour.
authentic in your approach to
leadership will help support
the alignment of business goals.
3Allow creativity: Promote
creativity by not being
specific about how a report
should look or how a plan
should be laid out. Sometimes a
quick doodle on a whiteboard is
OK, but only if you allow it to be.
4Be visible: Openly display
acts of kindness by helping
someone with a task and
encourage others to do the
same. When people realise it’s
OK to stop their own task to
help a fellow human being it
will become infectious, with a
ripple of togetherness through
the organisation.
5Don’t talk about work: At
least not indefinitely! Talk to
your teams without mentioning
anything to do with the product
that you make or the latest
business issue – I challenge you
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