Creating space for the magic to happen...

I am not sure if you've noticed but LinkedIn seems to be getting more human. This week saw the release of a smiling blue 'funny' emoji, which has appeared on my phone (although it's not yet on my desktop).

It reminded me of the many occasions where I've worked with teams and groups exploring their values. Not the values your marketing department rolls out, which most people can't remember but rather the things we actually value in life. Interestingly, having fun is always in everyone's top five and yet, is very seldom reflected in organisational values.

Play, fun, lightheartedness, not taking ourselves too seriously... Bravo LinkedIn - there are loads of laugh-out-loud moments on the platform worth acknowledging. More importantly, I would imagine LI has only made this change after a vast number of people asked for it, reflecting a deeper societal desire for our business platforms to better represent our lives.

3 Things to enrich your thinking for the week ahead

My aim each week?is to bring you three things worth knowing about, thinking more deeply about or taking action on. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this week's trio...

Where the magic happens...

Whenever I design a team engagement for a client, I spend a great deal of time asking loads of questions and listening deeply to what's being said, what's not being said and how it all relates to their strategy and the 'desired outcomes' for the session. Often a brief is presented to me as a problem that needs solving, an issue that needs resolving or a dilemma that needs to be put to rest.

Clients are usually looking for sure-fire frameworks, models, tools and methodologies. Something formulaic. And while all of these are readily at hand, I know there is a space in between, a liminal or ambiguous space, which is rich with possibility. It's usually where the magic happens.

There's a really powerful exercise I often do with leadership teams, designed to create a space for exploration, which I thought I'd share with you.

It's loosely based on a Futures Wheel and I use it when the team is grappling with a particular change, transformation or innovation project or initiative.

I give them the brief, which is to find current news stories across various categories (political, economic, sociological, technological, legal and environmental), which will impact the issue they're working on ten years from now. They then spend some time researching online and come back together with their findings.

We take a look at the stories, organise them across the categories and discuss how each news piece they've unearthed will impact their issue positively, neutrally or negatively.

Something interesting happens when we cast our minds ten or even fifteen years out. We're forced to let go of our current reality, which can really inhibit our thinking about the future - and there is no wrong or right.

We then do it again working backwards into five years out and again with a three-year lens.

It's incredible how quickly we reach a smarter point of departure, the very starting point that initially appeared to be so elusive. They're able to make better decisions, not only about the issue at stake but all of the practicalities. Sometimes the team decides to abandon the project or initiative altogether after discovering their premise was deeply flawed or because they unearthed something way more impactful.

The powerful byproduct is that the team taps into the rich diversity in others' lived experiences, perspectives and expertise, which builds psychological safety and trust. When we realise we need each other - that change, innovation and transformation are team sports, we're able to work so much better, together.

NOTE: If you do decide to try this out, do yourself a favour and bring in an external facilitator. You don't want to get stuck on one team member's perspective - you'll need the collective wisdom and intelligence of each and every person in the session.

Wanted: CXO's with Social Skills

I usually gloss over articles written about the skills C-suite need in today's world of work unless they are supported by a reputable study. My interest was piqued when I stumbled across a Harvard Business School (HBS) article: The C-Suite Skills That Matter Most (July-August 2022) by Raffaella Sadun,?Joseph Fuller,?Stephen Hansen,?and?PJ Neal, which is based on research conducted by the global search firm, Russell Reynolds.

As an ex 'c-suite' headhunter, I'm always really curious about how job descriptions have changed over the years and whether organisations have evolved enough to hire, not only for today's needs but for our emergent world of work.

In this particular study, Russell Reynolds gave HBS access to nearly 5,000 job descriptions that it had developed in collaboration with its clients from 2000 to 2017. The data was sufficient to study expectations not just for the CEO but also for four other key leaders in the c-suite: the CFO, the CIO, the CPO and the CMO.?

"Over the past two decades, companies have significantly redefined the roles of C-suite executives. The traditional capabilities mentioned earlier—notably the management of financial and operational resources—remain highly relevant. But when companies today search for top leaders, especially new CEOs, they attribute less importance to those capabilities than they used to and instead prioritize one qualification above all others: strong social skills."

The underlying philosophy around hiring is in dire need of an overhaul. Today, we have modern behavioural science-based assessments, which deliver great insight into people's personalities. We have integrated digital platforms, which extract personality data to support hiring and onboarding and extend right through to succession planning. We have all manner of developmental methodologies and coaching to enable people to change and grow. We have all the tools.

We also have great insight into how our world of work is evolving and the skills and traits we need to lead more effectively today and into the future.

Organisations that truly innovate around their hiring and development practices will not only attract the best candidates but build cultures we actually want to be a part of.

What exactly is the Circular Economy?

It was a hot hot hot week in Europe and together with all of the enjoyment and advice on how to stay hydrated and unfrazzled, it's also prompted a great deal of talk around climate change.

With all of this chatter, the results of a new study caught my eye: "A survey of over 2,000 people suggests 87% of UK adults are unaware of what the circular economy is".

Commissioned by YoungPlanet , the sustainability platform and led by YouGov, the report suggests:

• 68% said they had never heard of the circular economy before
• 19% of respondents said they had heard of the circular economy but don’t know what it is
• Only 13% had both heard of the circular economy and know what it is

YoungPlanet remarked that this shows a “lack of understanding around one of the most important consumer behaviours that can help reduce carbon emissions”. It says experts predict that circular economy strategies that reduce our use of resources can cut global greenhouse gas emissions by?39%. You can dig into the detail in an article from TechRound here .

According to a post from the World Economic Forum titled "What is the circular economy and why does it matter? ", the way we live now?uses 60% more resources than the Earth can provide?- and we're creating way too much waste. And a recent report by Accenture, quoted on the same page, suggests that a?circular economy could unlock $4.5 trillion of value by 2030.

If you're interested in unlocking value in the circular economy, it's really worth exploring biomimicry because "nature doesn't create waste". Jesse Klein's article in Green Biz: "How three companies are solving problems using biomimicry " is a good place to start.

Thank you for reading #LIFT?- I trust the 3 things explored here enrich your week ahead and beyond. Please comment and share your thoughts with us and if you know of someone else who would also enjoy this edition, why not?share it?

If you'd like to talk to me directly, please send me a private message or email: [email protected]