The Rise of Soft Power
Posted: 21/10/2015 Filed under: Corporate, Personal | Tags: Corporate, Influence, People, Personal Leave a commentI have a strange routine on my daily commute to work. It’s a proper yin and yang – listening to The Today Programme @BBCr4today in the morning, and choosing from my pretty big collection of pop music CDs for the winding and country drive home in the evening (yes, I still listen to CDs. It’s not because I’m low-tech. They sound better than MP3s!)
So I spend some time singing pop songs at the top of my voice, and then the rest reflecting on really powerful journalism and thoughtful business stories. And something on Radio 4 made me think, and then apply the principles to my day job. It’s about the rise of “soft power”.
Joseph S. Nye (diplomat, political scientist and Professor at Harvard) coined the phrase ‘soft power’ in 1990. Broadly it means promoting positive perceptions of a country’s interests and identity overseas. It’s used to describe the way a country like China is changing the way it influences the world in general. For example, helping the world see a nation’s point of view makes the media king. China is allowing more radio and TV channels (e.g. China Radio International and including those transmitting in foreign-languages) to broadcast regionally and nationally.
If some of the most dominant nations in the world are seeing that a different approach is needed, then we all need to take note. This is about a recognition that:
- the past allowed CONTROL over people and companies, but
- the future requires the INFLUENCE of society and business.
And that takes me nicely to the point about leadership and leaders. The #value of a leader used to be derived from their ability to control. In today’s much more complex world, leaders can’t even hope to control everything. So the future #value of a leader will come from something very different – their ability to influence the behaviour of others.
If anyone else is feeling a bit skeptical, thinking that this kind of influence is just an “iron fist in a velvet glove” (meaning it is still control, but disguised as influence) then you’d have a point. But I do think it’s more subtle than that. I’m not going to do justice, in one blog, to the theme of influencing others. But what I do know is that influence requires conscious or unconscious understanding of neuroscience, communication, gravitas, empathy, engagement, coaching and change – and the list goes on.
So if you want to be that #standout leader, take any opportunity you can to practice and perfect your skills in this area. Or just make everything you do become focused on influencing the behaviours of others. The rise of soft power is inevitable, and you’d better start developing yours 🙂
Do More of What You Love
Posted: 27/09/2015 Filed under: Corporate, Personal | Tags: Corporate, Emotion Leave a commentMorning! Put simply, doing what you love creates the most #value. For you. For the people around you. And for where you work.
Here’s my example. Last Friday morning I opened my electronic contact book, which was still on the same page as last week. Eeek. That meant I hadn’t called anyone new, or contacted someone about something new, all week. Even though that is absolutely what I love to do, and it’s where I add most #value.
Why? It’s simple really. For once, everything else I’ve been doing has seemed more important. And some of it is (sometimes!). The people stuff is naturally where I spend my time. The process is necessary if I’m to deliver results. And the politics is what drives many organisations, so practising “political savvy” is how to “get things done”. Where I work has no more politics than anywhere else, but it still takes effort.
But looking at that contact book was still a surprise. It made me realise how easy it is to get diverted from what you love. So this is what I did. I put everything else to one side, and spent just one hour calling people. I had three excellent conversations, and arranged two meetings. That made me smile, and gave me the energy for everything else that day.
For the introverts among you (morning Fi!) picking up the phone, and speaking to people you don’t necessarily know, probably seems like torture. But that’s just my example. What’s yours? What parts of your job give you pleasure? What do you really love to do at work? Will you schedule an hour of your time to do exactly that? Because then you’ll start doing more of what you love. And being happy and adding #value is maybe that simple.
Dogs And Cows, And Whys and Hows
Posted: 09/08/2015 Filed under: Personal | Tags: Leadership Leave a commentWhat a lovely Sunday morning walk across the beautiful Greenham Common in Berkshire! The former military airbase is now perfect for walkers and wildlife. And we’re supposed to be able to co-exist with nature, and not disturb the cows and the horses and the rabbits, right? Well, not today.
I’ve just seen a young dog run at speed into a herd of cows. Watched it head straight for the terrified young calf. And wondered what was going to happen next. Thousands of years of pack mentality meant the herd surrounded and protected the calf. And the aggressive dog suddenly lost interest. Nothing to see; nothing to do (thank goodness).
So WHY didn’t the dog’s owner know it would do that? And HOW could the dog run 100 metres headlong into something where it could get hurt or cause harm? The dog was obviously young. Boisterous and naive. Twitchy and excited. What happened was pretty predictable.
This struck me as being a metaphor for bad leadership of new and junior staff. Think of the dog’s owner as the leader, and the dog as a puppy; a new young member of a team. Someone with purpose, promise and potential. Someone that we’d say has raw talent.
But their hapless leader doesn’t know much about them. Doesn’t have a clue about how they will react in a challenging or stressful situation. And then watches, helpless as they run headlong into a negative experience that will undoubtedly harm their development, or a positive one that unfortunately leaves a trail of destruction behind them. Either way, the leader should have see it coming, or done something to limit the damage.
Your value as a leader is simple. As my wonderful colleague Denis Sartain would say, it’s about giving your people a sense of safety. Only when people feel safe can they adapt and thrive. And by “safe”, I don’t mean complacent. I literally mean safe from harm. People definitely won’t feel safe if you let them rush into situations where they are ill-prepared. Don’t get me wrong; I like to stretch people. I recognise that people learn fast when they are required to sink or swim. But I like to keep my people safe, emotionally and physically.
So if you’re trying to grow your own talent, get to know your people, and think carefully about their individual development. Recognise the risks of putting your people into new situations. Reflect on how they think and what they will do. Rescue them when things are going wrong. Start doing this when people are young in business, and new to your team, and never, ever stop. Whether your people are early, mid or late career, the principles are just the same. People will love you for it, and you will really #standout.
MERITology 