Sharing the thinking

In addition to reflecting about what I'm seeing, hearing and experiencing, I want to share back with others. There's a selfish reason for this - it allows me to test my thinking and theories, but also because I want to help others as I go. This comes directly back to this evolving sense of purpose of 'people first'.


The past 2 days have been interesting. On both days I've spent time with people who are new in grade and struggling to make sense of things. For the 2 new partners it is how they can better define their focus and boundaries to be successful while balancing the other demands on their time. For the new director it was about purpose and goal setting - recognising the next promotion is likely to be long way off - how to remain motivated and define different measures of success which are relevant and meaningful over this longer timeframe.


What was interesting in each of these conversations was that there was initial hesitation about whether it was an appropriate conversation to have with another partner, and some relief that on braving the subject I was willing to spend time on it. In all cases the originally intended subject matter got put to one side to spend time listening and sharing experiences and thoughts.


Measuring success gets harder as you get more senior. In the world of professional services your early career is marked by quite rapid climbs up the ladder and you can easily tick off progress. You may also be taking professional exams which help to mark out progression along the way. Once you reach the middle ranks of leadership however it becomes more difficult. Your role becomes less well defined and the link between performance and reward - financial and otherwise - can be more tenuous. If you make partner it's generally true that you'll spend more years with this title than you did getting there. On paper you are clearly successful, but what about a clear sense of regular achievement? I suspect this is why many successful people are into competitive sport - for most of us it's far easier to measure progression through a physical achievement than a professional one. 


I had a moment of clarity last week when talking to one of my team. Having come from a very different type of business she was making the point that those in the middle ranks spend a lot of time delivering and far less time managing the business and our people, particularly on coaching and development. If you are a technical expert then this is probably very acceptable. If however you are someone who wants a more balanced set of objectives then it can feel relentless and, more importantly, disconnected from the purpose led organisation we hold ourselves out to be. The reality for most of us below the executive leadership is that linking the sense of a purpose led organisation to our day to day myopic, short term operating model feels very difficult.


The question then to answer is what do I value? I know that yesterday's client call on a report where we are now on version 18 and I feel like giving up is about as demotivating as it gets (apart from picking through the utilisation stats on a week by week basis - hate that too). Today's client meetings where I felt I brought some insight were better but not as energising as the development conversations I had with people who needed an outlet to share their thoughts and concerns. The fact that big rand organisations, complex global companies, are interested in my point of view still blows my mind, but it generally feels a bit superficial because I'm mostly broad rather than deep.


So one of next my to do's is to ask a few people what they value about me. Needless to say I'm a bit nervous but will be good to hear a different perspective.

People first

The great thing about having had a time for proper reflection is that it allows you to open your eyes if you choose to. So while I've been going about my business, I've been trying to focused a bit more on the process level - trying to understand more about what's going on under the surface.

This week I was on a call to someone who's only recently joined my team and is thinking about leaving the firm. Long story short, the fit isn't right and her gut tells her it is never going to be, we discussed it at length and in the end agreed she should go for the job she's interested in, with my blessing. She commented that it's unusual to find a partner who takes this stance - thinks about the person and what they might need rather than thinking about the business and any disruptions such a move might cause. I realised that's always been my stance. I've always held the view that if you work with people to help them achieve their best, whether it be with whatever organisation currently in or elsewhere, they will in turn be loyal and engaged and do their best for me and the team. This is a really important principle for me and one I've always stuck by - People first.

I don't think this is my purpose as such, but from this I can see that I can make a difference. It is part of what differentiates me as a leader, it's part of what makes me authentic. I don't think this is necessarily my overriding purpose, but it's a part of who I am and I think within this is the nub of what I'm passionate about. It's a starter for 10 as I try and define my professional purpose.

Purpose-led leadership... or 'what's my shit? #1

This week I am mostly going to take some time to understand what it is I love about my job, and what it is that I don't like. It's a good time of the year to reflect - the days are getting longer so there is a sense of positivity about the place, however the financial year is drawing to a close as we come to Q4, and we are increasingly panicky about making our numbers. I want to focus on what I love - it's not enough just to be OK about stuff - what is it that really energises me? Through this I might find my purpose...

Monday - I start my week meeting another partner in a coffee shop, sharing background and areas of focus, before going to meet a CIO to talk about his digital transformation agenda. Let's pause for a moment - I'm getting an hour of a senior leader's time from one of the largest, most advanced and globally integrated organisations in the world. It goes well, I learn a whole bunch of stuff and he connects with me on linked in afterwards so I made an impact. I walk from here in the sunshine to the office, a bit of time in the day to think, breathe and top up on Vitamin D. I spend a bit of time talking about starting a Revolution in the office, make some people feel happy and then go to another FTSE 5 organisation to talk to their Head of IT Security, who suggests amongst other things that we co-create an offering to take to market. This is a good work day and I'm hugely energised by the reach and quality of people I've spent the day with.

Tuesday - a bit more internally focused, starting with a big meeting on whether to take a new offering to a client where my views are listened to and I can make some helpful interventions. I watch the room - it's engaged and focused. From here its lunch with another Revolutionary, then a few emails, some good client calls and I finish off over a glass of wine taking about whether we can put forward a compelling offering which would be seen as a game changer. Only 3 partners have been singled out to assess the opportunity, I'm one of the trusted few. In between this some frustrations over internal emails about short term operational minutia - the stuff that really gets my back up as it completely overlooks the long term. The less time looking in the better in this organisation.

Wednesday - so what's interesting is that today I have a relatively free day and have chosen to work at home, primarily as Scooby is going in for his operation. I found it really difficult to knuckle down to work and managed to fritter away the time. In reality I had some useful calls and organised myself but it didn't feel as productive as it might have been and I realise that working at home all the time would not be my thing. Good insight - add it to the list! I also find on a WFH day that I often struggle to fit in any proper exercise. It's like I have loads of time but less structure and so don't get myself sorted. I am a girl who likes a proper structure to the day...

Thursday - also at home, but today I have lots of calls and some ideas burning which means the day is much more productive. One call (more later) proves to be particularly helpful in the question of purpose...

Friday - the long bank holiday weekend, yippee! However, on a normal week this would be my close out day, the final day of the week where I work from home, close stuff out, take some time to think about whether I've made progress, make those phone calls I didn't manage to squeeze in elsewhere. I need to be honest here. I have a huge amount of flexibility as to where, when and with whom I work. We are a mobile workforce and so I can be anywhere - there is no need for me to be in an office other than to connect, and let's face it - I need that for a good part of the week and for what I do. I hate the commute, but I use it well, and if I wanted to spend more time reflecting and less time 'working' in that window that's fine as well. Travelling first class now makes a difference as well. I also prefer the types of clients I get in London. It's all about balancing the highs and lows...