Leadership lessons in the Tour de France

This year’s Tour De France has begun and already we find some valuable insights for those of us in the business world.

What’s particularly interesting from a business perspective is the team dynamics in this event. Competitive cycling is a team sport; an individual cannot be successful without the support of the other riders in their team. Each rider in a team of eight has a clearly defined role and the team is lead by the ‘director sportive’ who doesn’t ride a bike but follows around in a car, in radio contact with the riders. More than that, the riders are supported by a back room staff of mechanics, masseurs, and coaches and, in the case of the British ‘Sky’ team, a psychologist. Each element of the team has to be at the very peak of their profession; the best at what they do. They may not all be riding the bike, but they do have to operate in a completely cohesive way and with a total focus on ensuring the success of the team both on and off the bike.

Each team will have riders with specialist capabilities (sprinters, climbers, etc) and it will down to the director sportive to deploy these resources on a daily basis, depending on the terrain, the team strategy for the day and how the race unfolds with the tactics of other teams. So it’s a very dynamic and fast changing situation which will be impacted by external factors such as the weather, mechanical failures and crashes!

The story so far
Day one saw an individual time trial, where riders set out over a set course, this time through the streets of Rotterdam (not all TDF stages are in France). The riders with more power tend to do better in these stages, but it rained and cautious strategies prevailed. Reacting to the conditions of the day is a valuable lesson for us in business who can sometimes find ourselves operating in a bubble.

Day two showed just how powerful a group can be. It was another day of rain and a crash involving the peleton (the main group of riders) enabled one rider to get away from the group, gaining three minutes on the other riders. There was then a group protest (refusal to compete) in protest about the conditions and all the riders rolled over the line together. The collective will power of the group vs the organisation being very much in evidence and something that should not be overlooked by leaders in business.

Day three gave us the opportunity to value the whole team in the event. Riding over cobbles and very narrow roads meant the race split up, with punctures, crashes and bike failures. With this stage more suited to the powerful riders who can ride hard and fast over the cobbles, it’s the role of the team to get the ‘climbers’ through the stage. On day two, one of the most powerful riders found himself with a dilemma; he had broken away from the main peleton, but his team captain and potential overall winner was back in that group, so did he ride for himself and the glory of winning the stage or hold back to minimise the losses of his team mate? Team objectives rather than individual glory won the day. Once again the business learnings are clear, performing for the longer term good of the team rather than pursuing individual objectives and agendas will see long term business benefit.

More to follow as the stages and race unfold …

Phil Braybrooke, CHPD

Fabio as football leader - room for improvement?

The hype is over, the first game hangover is fading and we already have our scapegoat – it must be England playing at a major football (soccer) tournament!

While most of the British media has concentrated on Robert Green’s blunder, the slightly more concerning dip in form seems to be from a man who has, until very recently, put in a confident, no nonsense performance every time he has pulled on the shirt, or should I say the suit? Is Mr Capello’s halo starting to slip?

Managing any team can be tough, managing one in the glare of the national spotlight doubly so, which is why the appointment of Fabio Capello seemed like the perfect solution. Here was a man who had a proven track record as a winning manager, who believed in the psychological as well as the physical approach to the game, one who managed with authority and respect. And he’s certainly got many things right from a leadership perspective:

Discipline
Gone are the late nights, mobile phones, WAG’s (wives and girlfriends) and player cliques. By removing outside distractions and taking a firmer hand Capello has focused his players on the task at hand. This approach has obviously had a positive effect on the team as England uncharacteristically qualified for the World cup at a canter winning nine of their 10 games. Capello has, until very recently, been firm, fair and decisive and has not been afraid to make the tough calls or decisions. The players may not have liked the change this brought about but they have certainly respected it.

Built a team spirit and given his players confidence
“The manager is a strong manager and none of us want to let him down” - the words from England’s forward, Wayne Rooney, but they could have been lifted from any number of interviews with England players since Capello’s appointment. The players clearly enjoy playing for Capello. Part of the change in the team under his reign has been the confidence he has built, especially with some who were struggling to make their mark at international level. In his own words “It's more important to train the mind, to find confidence, create a group, create a winning mentality.” Capello knows that a winning team is more than just a collection of talented players, they need a winning mentality as well.

Recognised his mistakes and then taken action
Playing an unfit James Milner in the game on Saturday was a mistake that even the most rose tinted of fans would acknowledge. Any manager can make a mistake, what Fabio did well was to recognise this and then take swift, decisive action to rectify it.

For all of these positives, I’m afraid there is still room for improvement. In recent weeks we have started to see a different side to Mr Capello :

Poor communication skills
The media hype surrounding the captaincy, the announcement of the final 23 squad players via ‘tweets’ and the ill advised ‘Capello Index’ do not seem be Capello’s style. He may not have full influence over some of the announcements but he does seem to have made some poor choices recently in his presentation and handling of the media.

Indecision
No team should start a project if its members are unsure of their role. England have had plenty of time to select a goalkeeper for the World Cup and yet Capello went into the tournament seemingly undecided. If reports from the training ground are to be believed then Capello’s indecision looks to have done more harm than good. Capello needs to make a clear choice as soon as possible to end the uncertainty in the team and get their confidence back again.

Even with these recent blots on his copybook, I don’t believe we will see Signor Capello slumped listlessly on the bench or alone under his umbrella as England crash out of yet another tournament. First matches in major tournaments are not a good predictor for performance (as Italy will attest) and the USA game would have been won but for an unlucky piece of goalkeeping and some timid shooting at the other end (and the USA are no ‘mugs’ when it comes to international football having ended Spain’s 35 game unbeaten run). Capello’s record in club management and during qualifying speaks for itself. If he can get his communication and decision making back on track and rebuild the confidence in his goalkeepers then England will still be in with a chance of lifting the trophy on July 11th.

By Gary Cook, Group Systems Director at CHPD

Men may be to blame, but where do we go from here?

Robert Peston (BBC blog, Why men are to blame for the crunch, 29 July 2009) may be right, but will things ever change? Commission after commission reveals that discrimination against women at most work levels is only improving at a snail’s pace, if at all. In Norway, they’re tackling the problem with a minimum 40% quota of women on plc boards. But would that work here? Indeed, is it enough?

I’ve been coaching, developing and working with big business for many years and it seems there are a number of issues that need to be addressed – and soon.

We need diversity

The first thing to say is that this isn’t just about being ‘fair’, it’s about being better. With all-male boards and executive teams comes a very real tendency to think the same way and then develop similar solutions to the challenges the business faces. People have a natural tendency to recruit in their own image. Everyone agrees, so it must be the right thing to do. Organisations need diversity of all kinds; race, gender, style, experience, approach, background. Only with true diversity can organisations become more dynamic and creative in the market.

Cultures must change

Some organisations have recognised that they need to be more diverse; they’ve established ways of employing people from more diverse backgrounds, even setting quotas. But there is a significant risk that this will all be for nothing, unless the fundamental cultures of organisations are addressed at the same time. Too often organisations aren’t seeing the added value of diversity, because once, for example, women join, they soon realise that their skills aren’t really valued and they leave. Either that or they realise that they have to copy the dominant group to get things done. They become ‘more male’ in their approach and organisations fail to realise the true benefits of diversity.

Leaders need help

At CHPD we’ve been assessing and developing leaders for more than a decade and something continues to trouble me. The fact is that vast majority of leaders that come to us have weaknesses in the very leadership capabilities that they need to operate effectively in today’s complex and dynamic environment.

No individual leader can be expected to have strengths in all areas, but across boards and executive teams you would want to see a good spread of strengths. That’s why diversity is so important; in a team you’ll cover each other’s weaknesses and complement the strengths.

We find that the least developed behaviours are those complex interpersonal and cognitive ones which enable people to understand and value others’ perspectives, think outside the existing paradigms, and create powerful ideas within a group – we call them empathy, teamwork and conceptual flexibility.

Women are more likely to be naturally stronger in empathy, teamwork and conceptual flexibility, so there is a real chance that the right women could help redress the balance in the boardroom and beyond. However, in my view there is such a dearth of strategic strength in this area that we should look urgently at development activities for all genders to improve these key behaviours.

And finally …

So diversity makes excellent business sense. It can’t just be about quotas, it must also be about changing systems, structures and values, to create cultures which value and encourage diversity. And we need to help all of our leaders develop the vital skills that redress the imbalances that have contributed to our current economic predicament.

For all our efforts to date, we’ve done barely more than scratch the surface. Let’s stop tinkering and start shifting the paradigm.

More on leadership behaviours

Chris Parry, 2009

A lucky break for the English that first test

The bloody English weather – now I’m convinced the English wish a miserable summer upon themselves!! After six years in London, it stands to reason that I would have accepted the UK weather for what it is. But alas it continues to surprise and disappoint! Towards the end of the first test I started to get very smug with the knowledge that Australia had it in the bag and went about my merry way. Imagine my horror, disgust and all round cue for Australian whinging when the game was a tie because of the rain! Yet again foiled by the weather.

Considering the options
But of course what was heading to be quite a convincing win assured me that the second test would be more of the same. It appears the Australians did as well and this could have been their downfall. It’s worked before so let's not change our strategy. Clearly the wrong decision. The second test was a different ball game in more ways then one. Without reflecting on Freddie’s man of the match game, and my esteemed colleagues views on Strauss’ leadership during the second test; the Australian press seems to be pointing in one direction – the bowling of Mitchell Johnson. To blame the loss of the test on one person seems quite unfair in my opinion, in my amateur opinion I think there wasn’t any consideration of the different factors going into the match.

Firstly this is Freddie’s last test before retirement – after his spectacular contribution in the 2005 test (difficult for me to say even now four years on) he’s going to be playing at the top of his game to go out with a bang – and some pundits are saying that apart from his playing skills he is also having a major psychological impact on his team mates – simply building their confidence to inspire them to a win. Coupled with the threat of not beating Australia at Lords for 75 years – there was a lot at stake regardless of what was happening on the field. Whatever the reasons it worked for them and we didn’t seem to take that into consideration. And now after the Aussie win over Northamptonshire at the weekend with all-rounders Mcdonald and Watson’s good games there is more than one option to be had. The final line up is still a mystery, but the key here is how Ponting retools Australia for recovery.

Building confidence
As it is in the business world, outstanding leaders inspire and excite. They encourage people to achieve or exceed challenging performance targets through their passion, pride and belief in their people and their organisation. Both Ricky Ponting and Aussie coach Tim Nielsen are standing behind Johnson - "We have had the last two years where we have played some pretty good cricket and Mitchell has been at the forefront of all of that. There have been a lot of times when batsmen and bowlers have been out of form and we have stuck with them and shown some faith unlike what seems to be the public or the press's point of view." They both know the importance of building the bowler back up from his less than perfect start to the season – help him to get his confidence back, which will in turn build the optimism of the team. Playing cricket in England is much different for us then it is at home – we don’t have the support of the crowd which can be a massive factor in our team’s confidence, so we need that extra confidence and inspiration from within the team. Ignore the press and listen to your leader, coach and team. And, as is the Australian way, we love to get behind the under-dog and build up their confidence so they can beat the odds and win.

Teamwork
The focus on one player or another in particular takes away from one very important point - there are 11 players! Sometimes it’s easy to forget that when one person does particularly well or particularly badly, but it’s the job of the leader to pull everyone back together. As we know the best results are achieved when we collaborate together and promote teamwork – capitalising on their strengths, using their collective knowledge to strategically respond to the challenges. The third test is an historical game for Ponting – he is on the verge of overtaking Aussie legend Allan Border’s mark of 11,714 runs to put him third in the all time list of highest test run scorers. And in 22 fewer test matches than Border himself. But Ponting is putting it aside - "I know about it," Ponting said of the record. "I have known about it since the beginning of the series … I have bigger fish to fry than that right at the moment.” His focus is putting the best team possible together, keeping the spirits up and making sure we don’t go into the fourth test 2-0.

And, as has been written better than me before, whatever happens we the Australian crowd will always be behind the wearers of the baggy green –

“Night or day, they're out to make us proud

To keep our flags a-wavin' in the crowd

Even gettin' zeroes

They'll always be our heroes

And keep us signing' come on just as loud

COME ON AUSSIE, COME ON, COME ON!”

Posted by: Rachael Gulliver, Client Partner at CHPD

Home cooking the recipe for Strauss and England

With the Third Ashes test approaching and the ‘Fred’ appreciation society finally nursing its hangover, it is important to recognise a key factor in England’s turnaround: Andrew Strauss. The vultures were circling after Cardiff but the performance at Lords was down to Strauss’ leadership more than Flintoff’s hostile bowling. From the end of Cardiff through to the end of Lords, Strauss exhibited key leadership qualities that were vital to England’s success. These qualities ensured the team did not ‘dine out’ on the Cardiff escape and are great examples for any leader, especially within the current turbulent environment. Let’s have a look at the vital qualities that Strauss exhibited:

Confronting the brutal facts
After Cardiff Strauss was quick to highlight the underperformance of England’s specialist batsmen. He talked of pride not self-congratulation, with the plaudits going to the people who made the vital contributions. This put the onus on England to make the necessary changes for Lords rather than live in hope that the Aussies would under-perform.

Building on a core competence
As much as there was a post-mortem after Cardiff it did reaffirm England’s core competence under Strauss of being difficult to beat (the recent tour to the Windies apart). The application displayed by Collingwood, as well as Anderson and Panesar, on the final day in Cardiff demonstrated that Strauss has instilled the will and capability to get through a crisis. This galvanised the team for Lords as the players knew they had a platform to build upon.

Being the predator not the prey
As much as Cardiff may have been an escape Strauss talked of momentum for Lords and the need to play positive cricket. The opening session of Lords set the tone with Strauss leading by example in a very positive display. His 161 was the cornerstone of England’s first innings and ensured that England took the role of Predator not Prey for the remainder of the Test.

Considering the options
On the morning of the third day at Lords many thought that it was certain England would enforce the follow on. However, the weather conditions changed and the pitch became benign: Strauss then opted for England to go back in to bat. His ability to think flexibly and alter the plan based on new information ensured England was able to build a healthy total from which the Aussies could not respond.

Deploying the talent
The fifth morning of Lords was a great example of Strauss ensuring England played to its strengths. He allowed a fired up Flintoff to bowl continuously with a new(ish) ball and deployed the guile of Swann at the other end to provide uncertainty in the minds of the Aussie batsmen. Strauss’ ability to see how to best use his bowlers ensured that victory was swift and convincing.

The challenge now for England and Strauss is to ensure that these qualities are built upon for the third test at Edgbaston. Ponting was quick to take a leaf out of Strauss’ book after Lords: confronting the brutal facts and not dwelling on some questionable umpiring decisions. All is set for an engaging remainder of the series.

Posted by: Kieran Colville, Client Partner at CHPD

“Ain't no mountain high enough”

“The speed at which we'll recover will depend on the international cooperation we can achieve” Gordon Brown – Wall Street, March 25th 2009.

Nobody walked out, everybody had something to call a victory and they all got to bathe in President Obama’s spotlight. While debate will continue about exactly what the world leaders achieved at the London G20 summit, one thing is for sure: the work of the faceless diplomats behind the scenes was invaluable. These so called ‘sherpas’ (leading the mountaineers to the summit) have to prepare all the detailed ground work for their heads of government and draft various communiqués before the meeting has even taken place.

The sherpas' work involves numerous face-to-face meetings, conference calls and e-mail exchanges together with an ability to coax, manoeuvre and negotiate with their opposite numbers. The delicacy of this task cannot be understated. It requires forensic analysis of complicated issues, deft diplomatic communication skills and, most crucially, teamwork - one of CHPD’s core behaviours contributing to high performance leadership. The ability to create teams that truly work together is all too rare. In a recent snapshot of results from years of assessment of leaders in the UK, we found that, on average, leaders were under-developed when it came to ‘teamwork’. (see diagram below).



At CHPD we find that many leaders believe they are good at ‘teamwork‘ because the team themselves say “we have a great team spirit”. This is commendable and to be maintained yet it is actually the output of an entire leadership approach rather than the application of one behaviour like expert facilitation of the team and fostering effective team results.

CHPD’s definition of teamwork at a high performance level is as follows:

“The leader facilitates dialogue between two or more team members so they create shared ‘team concepts’, that are more powerful than any of the individual ideas that were contributed at first”.
This means that the team is constantly working together not only to complete group tasks but also to harness disparate ideas into team strategies and solutions. In essence it is the work of the perfect ‘sherpa’.

CHPD both assesses leaders against 12 behaviours and helps them achieve a higher level of performance through training and coaching. To find out how your leaders stack up against the key benchmarks, email info@chpd.com. In the meantime, try the following tips to boost teamwork in your business:

· Encourage teams to pool knowledge and develop a shared sense of purpose through regular update and progress meetings

· Promote participative decision making rather than imposition of decisions from above

· Promote the cross-fertilisation of ideas by bringing people from your own and other teams together to improve co-operation

· Task teams to talk things through to develop shared thinking and to integrate different perspectives where appropriate

· Build bridges between the ideas of team members by asking them to build on the linkages of their ideas to create broader team concepts

· Stimulate a wide-ranging debate amongst all your employees on the decisions that affect them; encourage team members to understand their colleagues

Having reflected on the use of teamwork you may start to question who had the real leadership behaviours at the G20 meeting – the mountaineers or the sherpas?

Arsenal's X factor

The difference between a functional team and a high performance team is something that we all grapple with. Why is it that some teams have that extra something? At CHPD, we work with all types of teams to measure that 'x-factor' and create the synergy and vision that leads to high performance.

One of our consultants, Anthony Sheldon, recently spotted an interesting article in The Independent about Arsenal's impressive start to the football season. The article included confidential details of a motivational briefing delivered to the players by a sports psychologist.

The briefing was on an A4 sheet of paper with just 224 words. Nine times in the opening two paragraphs the word "team" is used, while there is also an emphasis on being "strong", having "belief" and "keep going until the end".

The messages were clear and simple, covering areas such as playing positively, rather than specific tasks given to each player.

Similarly, the psychologist's briefing calls for the team to work together and uses such words as "driving force" and "dynamic".

It also makes observations on how the players should behave off as well as on the pitch calling for a "positive attitude" and a demand to "stay humble and grounded as a player and a person" which, again, reflects their youth. Nothing, it adds, should be taken "for granted".

CONFIDENTIAL Team meeting 19th September 2008-09-22:

The team:
A team is as strong as the relationships within it. The driving force of a team is its member's ability to create and maintain excellent relationships within the team that can add an extra dimension and robustness to the team dynamic.

This attitude can be used by our team to focus on the gratitude and the vitally important benefits that the team brings to our own lives. It can be used to strengthen and deepen the relationships with it and maximise the opportunities that await a strong and united team.

Our team becomes stronger by:

• Displaying a positive attitude on and off the pitch
• Everyone making the right decisions for the team
• Have an unshakeable belief that we can achieve our target
• Believe in the strength of the team
• Always want more - always give more
• Focus on our communication
• Be demanding with yourself
• Be fresh and well prepared to win
• Focus on being mentally stronger and always keep going until the end
• When we play away from home, believe in our identity and play the football we love to play at home
• Stick together
• Stay grounded and humble as a player and a person
• Show the desire to win in all that you do
• Enjoy and contribute to all that is special about being in a team - don't take it for granted

Source:
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/revealed-arsenals-win-that-was-all-in-the-mind-938723.html

For more information about how we at CHPD develop teams, go to http://www.chpd.com/ourservices/teamdevelopment or email us at info@chpd.com and one of our team will contact you.

What we're reading this week

We asked our staff to tell us what they're reading this week. This is what they came back to us with:

Now Discover Your Strengths – a good insight (for a change) into discovering what you’re good at and remembering to focus on this as well as development areas.

The Wisdom of Teams – the best book on team theory and team building (ever).

Who Moved My Cheese – a little gem of a story around change management.

The Prince – a great (historical) overview of what under-handed and non-legit techniques one could adopt for a more coercive leadership style!