When we face a challenge, when any of our fears or insecurities are provoked, we can easily go spinning off into a mental realm, no longer in contact with the here and now.  Our survival brain hijacks the system and we get stuck under a spell of anxiety. Here we explore the antidote.

We’re regularly asked by clients about the qualities that make a successful leader so here we capture our thoughts. As successful leaders tend to embody many qualities, we have focused on the seven attributes that experience suggests in combination create enduring success.

A recent survey by McKinsey revealed that those organisations who supported and encouraged ‘small connections’ between colleagues such as opportunities to discuss projects, share ideas, network, mentor, and coach, had higher productivity during the pandemic. 

Most organisations now acknowledge that the future of work will be hybrid. The majority of execs expect that, for roles that aren’t essential to perform on-site, employees will be at their desks for between 21 and 80 percent of the time.

The subject of hybrid working has become to HRDs what Brexit was to the British Media before the pandemic - omnipresent and grabbing most of the attention away from all other topics. Like Brexit, it is also open to interpretation, possibly making some leaders who understand the gravitas but not yet the strategy, to feel like chanting ‘hybrid means hybrid’!

Organisations moving towards a more hybrid way of working, mixing at-home and at-office working arrangements, can capitalise on their decreased dependency on the physical office by recruiting in geographical locations that they usually would not have reached. They can also recruit people who previously would have been difficult for organisations to work with, such as those house-bound for mobility or health reasons. Diversity is not just about race, ethnicity, and gender but also age, perspective, physical ability and background.

As organisations face a partial return to the office, hybrid working, or the blending of on and off-site approaches, has presented new challenges to employee morale. Understanding the ways in which this new world has the potential to impact employee wellbeing, makes it possible for leaders to keep their focus on this and take early action to reduce risk.

As leaders we are constantly on the lookout for breakthroughs to take our organisations and our teams to the next level.

In the current highly-competitive climate, reviewing how we operate internally and consciously driving employee engagement can offer the kind of transformation that will enable us stay ahead of the curve. Transparency is critical to that breakthrough, playing a vital role inside our company walls.