Unlocking People Performance 3: heading into summer

Welcome to the third edition of Unlocking People Performance.

2024 is passing by in a blur and many of my clients and contacts are now thinking about heading off for a break. My husband and I have already managed a week in Ibiza and (at the time of writing) are due to head off to Taormina in Sicily next week. I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that we were drawn to Taormina by the second season of The White Lotus , although I’m hoping that our visit will be less eventful than the TV show.

With holidays in mind, I’m continuing to think about self-care, and especially the number of senior leaders who are really burnt out.

I particularly see this in the senior HR leaders that I work with; they’re being pulled in several directions and have few avenues of support to pursue. The development of my new CHRO Impact framework therefore feels important. This is a comprehensive framework that illustrates the core mindset, skills, and personas that CHROs and other senior HR leaders need to focus on to be successful. I recently ran a LinkedIn live introducing the framework, which you can catch up on-demand here .

It was great to have my fantastic group of HEX associates together for summer drinks recently at?The Ministry . I have been privileged to build a fantastic team of associates over the last 18 months who support?HEX ?in delivering positive outcomes for our clients. They are talented, committed, and bring unique skills and perspectives. I'm grateful for their work, insights, and friendship.

I hope you enjoy the newsletter. Whatever you’re up to over the summer, I hope you find it replenishes and recharges you for when you’re back.

Best wishes

Tom

A Date for Your Diary

Early Bird tickets available until the end of July

I wanted to share with you this incredible event taking place in November called?‘How HR Leaders Change the World - Live!’ , run by our friends at?From Babies with Love ?and hosted by Cecilia Crossley . We are proud to be one of the headline partners for the event.

Build your influence and impact with inspiring CHROs

• The role of HR in ESG and Sustainability is rising up the agenda.
• What brilliant opportunities lie ahead for you and your teams to create even more business value and positive change?

This is a unique chance for HR or ESG leaders to spend the day with pioneering CHROs and fellow HR Changemakers. The phenomenal lineup of CHROs joining us from around the world includes Ahold Delhaize, Ocado Group and Virgin Money.

You will also:

• Learn how your HR work also drives positive social and environmental change.?
• Leave with knowledge and actionable ideas that you can implement.
• Have the opportunity to work in small groups on connecting HR to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The event takes place on?Wednesday, November 13 2024, 9:30am - 6pm GMT

It will be held in person in London and also via Live Stream.

The early bird offer using the code below is available until the end of July and entitles you to a?20% discount?on the ticket price.

EARLYBIRD CODE TO APPLY WHEN PURCHASING?TICKETS : IMPACT24

We hope to see you there!

Latest Insights

Coping with change

The challenge of coping with change is one that we all come up against. I work with individuals and teams that are going through change, and I deal with periods of change regularly myself. I’m thinking about this subject as I’ve been in a period of rapid and disruptive change for some time now. I left my career, I started HEX, I joined the trustee boards of a couple of charities, and now I’m moving house to a different part of the country.

It doesn’t matter how often we go through change; coping with change doesn’t seem to get any easier.

Why is change difficult?

I dive into some of the psychology behind this, the different stages we go through when we respond to change, and some things I find it useful to remember when faced with change, which I hope you will find useful too.

READ MORE

Beyond Potential Podcast

Our new podcast ‘Beyond Potential ’ continues to grow. I teamed up with my good friend and colleague Tomas Mason and together we're producing the podcast.

We've had some pretty amazing feedback so far, and we're grateful to everyone who has reached out. More to the point we've had some truly incredible and inspiring guests join us, sharing their stories and insights.

Most recently we spoke with Zoe Holland MBE in episode 6, all about taking opportunities when they come, Zoe shares her bravery and tenacity in trying new and exciting things. It's really compelling conversation.

LISTEN NOW

Coaching the fearless way

We also had the pleasure of speaking with Robin Waite , a leading business coach, author, and podcaster who inspires entrepreneurs to reach their full potential.

Robin shares how he built his coaching business, Fearless, and how he drives his clients to success.

As well as being an inspirational guest Robin is also my business coach and has been nothing short of brilliant. He's motivational and empowering and has done wonders for my confidence as a business owner.

LISTEN NOW

You can catch up on all the episodes so far here .

My Favourite Resources

On the topic of self-care, I was interested to read this article in Forbes entitled 'Healthy Leaders Build Healthy Companies', it says we need to recognise two realities: healthy leaders build healthy companies, and health is a company’s biggest asset. True health entails:

• Physical health
• Emotional health
• Cognitive capacity
• Sense of purpose

I wonder if your leaders are prioritising these four areas? If they’re not, the health of your company might be suffering, and with it, its performance.

I was interested to read 'When a Coworker Keeps Giving You Unsolicited Advice' in the HBR about how to deal with unsolicited advice. Often I hear coaching clients respond to unsolicited advice with comments like ‘who does he think he is, telling me what to do?’, when often, the advice is meant as genuine help.

The article offers a few suggestions for how to respond to advice, but doesn’t touch much on how to deal with it emotionally. If I respond badly to advice, I’d be asking myself a few questions:

• What’s going on for me here – what’s causing me to feel triggered?
• Is the person’s intent good?
• If it isn’t, is it about me, or actually just about them?
• When I’ve calmed down, do I think I’ll be able to use this advice positively?

As with most triggering situations, the best response is to do nothing, breathe, and choose a better response.

You may enjoy my recent articles on emotional responses and accepting annoying feedback both of which relate to this topic.

Coaching for Leaders podcast with Dave Stachowiak

I think the Coaching for Leaders podcast with Dave Stachowiak is a brilliant resource for anyone in business. Dave has amazing guests and the podcasts are only 30-45 minutes long. It’s a treasure trove of leadership insights and I am a true aficionado. I recently listened to episode 685: How to Start a Top Job with author Ty Wiggins. This is specifically about transitioning into a CEO role, but the key messages are relevant to any senior role. Some of the key takeaways were:

• You’ll see more in the top job, but hear less. This is even more pronounced for those promoted internally.
• Getting out of the bubble means spending more time with middle managers and front-line employees. Second and third time CEOs do this more from the start.
• Key questions that can help you hear more: (1) Tell me some of the workarounds you have in place and (2) What's the question I haven't asked you but I should?
• The first 90 or 100 days as a success metric is often overstated in top jobs. You’re often still learning context at an exponential rate.
• If it’s on fire, fix it. If it is smoldering, leave it alone until you have more context.
• It’s helpful to address common pain points for easy wins. They don't have to be enormous, but they should be deliberate.

People I am following on LinkedIn

I’m often blown away by the incredible content people share on LinkedIn. If you’re interested in all aspects of high performance then my friend Sean Spurgin of Elev-8 has some great insights.

If you’re looking for some regular motivation and inspiration, then you can’t go wrong with Emma Lloyd from Create the Ripple.

Coincidentally, both Sean and Emma have been or are due to be guests on my podcast, Beyond Potential. Be sure to have a listen !