All of us at Principle Practice would like to wish all our clients, delegates, colleagues, partners and followers a very happy Christmas. Here’s to a happy, healthy & prosperous 2012.

Enjoy the holidays and take care! Warm winter wishes from Hazel, Emma, Timea, Rachel, Zophia, Ruth, Lorraine & Liz xxxxxxx

Post originally written by Principle Practice - a leadership development training company.

THE ROLE OF CHARACTER ETHICS IN LEADERSHIP

By Hazel Lowndes MCIPD, Personal Development Consultant and Trainer

John Kenneth Galbraith, Canadian-American economist, suggests that; “A banker need not be popular. Indeed, a good banker in a healthy capitalist society should probably be much disliked.”

The necessity for bankers to be set apart and distanced from the social / emotional concerns of everyday life may well have been an acceptable business norm in the past when bankers perceived themselves as bastions of good judgement. Now economic tides have shown them to be as susceptible to emotional charge that fuels the serial gambler’s desire to win; as susceptible to the tendency to subordinate what is right in order to fulfil ones own desires as the rest of human kind. Unaware of the emotions that drive behaviour in the pursuit of shareholder value – growth at any price and personal wealth – banking is perceived as solely self-interested and often at times exploitative of its customers.

Popularity And Trust Is A Source Of Competitive Advantage

Lack of popularity today is not a symbol of professional distance that comes of having to make difficult and sometimes unpopular decisions in the best interests of the public; rather it is a sign of complete loss of faith in the moral judgment of financial professionals. Put simply, the public don’t trust bankers’ motives. As if to further cement this perception in the public mind Alexander Dielius, CEO Eastern Europe Goldman Sachs, January 2010, in the Wall Street Journal, said; “Banks do not have an obligation to promote the public good”. This was said only 14 months after the disastrous events of September 2008, exhibiting a level of arrogance and lack of self-awareness that staggers even the most naïve of investors. John Kenneth Galbraith went on to say; “The study of money, above all other fields in economics, is one in which complexity is used to disguise truth or to evade truth, not to reveal it”.

Popularity for banks is now essential if they are to regain public trust and subsequently attract investment and growth. The time for worship of wealth is over as customers flock to what they perceive as more ethical sources, craving honesty, transparency, and simplicity from their professional advisors. The public mood of dissatisfaction waits eagerly upon the emergence of an ethical banking source where a reasonable return is made for financial service. The bank that successfully and authentically transforms its culture to a culture of integrity will be in huge demand.

What Makes Good Men Do Bad Things?

This is not unique to bankers. Put any human being in a position where temptation is put so plainly in front of them, and in the absence of ethical rules that keep the individual safe from inducement, most of us would fall victim to the vices of self interest and greed. Banks are in fact full of good people, who have been placed in a position of economic power for so long, where, in the absence of a focus on virtuous business practice, good people have made bad and unprincipled decisions. It is clear that all types of organisations are vulnerable to creating context where social pressures, arrogance and the lack of moral awareness can influence good people to make bad and even unethical decisions. The psychological transformation from a good person into someone who takes part in wrongdoing is explained by psychology professor Philip Zimbardo, who conducted the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment, in the following way; “When people do not pay attention to ethical considerations of their daily decision making on an on-going basis, it can impact the long term success or failure of an organisation and the personal lives of many.”

Character Ethics And Organisational Development

Organisations are a collection of individual human animals co-operating to create wealth to safe guard their existence. Sets of social rules are necessary to allow humans to co-operate in this way, and these rules may be spoken and recorded in codes of conduct, values statements, and policies.

Often other rules are at play, unspoken behavioural norms that everyone conforms to in order to belong. These unspoken behaviours are often perceived to promote the most effective strategies for survival of the organisation and the individual. Unspoken rules sometimes diverge from the publicly stated procedures in powerful ways. This divergence from the ‘socially acceptable policy statement’ on ethical conduct and the ‘colluded, subconscious behavioural norm’ is witnessed by customers and seen as incongruence – more commonly known as lying. The mismatch between what organisations say they do and what they do is at the heart of customers and investors willingness to trust. This is the ethical dilemma facing many professional service organisations today and the key to business transformation and success. Don’t say you’ll do the right thing; just DO the right thing – consistently, reliably, and forever.

Dr Stephen Covey writes masterfully about the role of doing the right thing or what he calls ‘character ethics’ in organisations. As a result of a study he undertook where he read the last 200 years of writing on organisational and personal success he noticed a significant pattern. The most recent 50 years of literature concentrated on what Covey describes as the “Personality Ethic” technique driven methodologies for ‘quick fixing’ the customer to give you more of what you want.

The shallow concentration on social image, media skills, interpersonal influencing strategies, marketing, and customer service skills etc. These “superficial…. social band-aids and aspirin that addressed acute problems and even appear to solve them temporarily, but left the underlying chronic problems untouched to fester and resurface time and again.” In stark contrast the literature of the first 150 years focused almost exclusively on what Covey calls the “Character Ethic.” These include traits and attributes such as; humility, compassion, fidelity, temperance, courage, diligence, simplicity, honesty, integrity etc. He suggested that individuals and organisations “can only experience true success and enduring happiness as they learn to integrate these principles into the organisations (and, therefore, individuals) basic character.”

After World War 1 the shift from Character Ethics to Personality Ethics was quite pronounced as technology and media communications brought the leaders out into the public domain. The dominance of the media and technology as the major influencing vehicles of our age has meant many leaders have lost sight of the character that drives the collective behaviour of a business. For years organisations have invested in pubic behaviour, image improvement, and technique driven relationship management. We see this today with many banks formulating ‘Customer Charters’, ‘Service Pledges’ and investing heavily in personal branding workshops, and customer service skills training. This is all positive and extremely necessary; however, it is a distraction which has caused leaders to take their eye off the motives that underpin their practice. No amount of fancy rhetoric can compensate for a lack of trustworthiness. Many customers would prefer far less spin with their messages and much more straightforward honesty, compassion and knowledge that service providers are genuinely acting in their best interest.

Lack of investment in character ethics has lead to moral creep, which combined with shareholder pressure and bonus cultures has lead to the many organisational failures of recent times. To mention a few; Enron, Swiss Bank UBS Kweku Adodoli fraud, Bernard Madoff, the political expenses scandal, the sub prime selling scandal, News of The World telephone hacking scandal, protection insurance miss-selling scandal……. etc

The cultural development of Character Ethics in organisations is the conscious and subconscious solution to develop trust, increase popularity, and as a result deliver growth. It won’t ‘fix’ the customer but it might ’fix’ the bank! The slow and demanding process of exploring the character of your organisation, and every individual within it – especially the leadership team, makes sound commercial sense. Some progressive service sector organisations have already realised the economic advantages of ethical practice and are moving rapidly into the field.

The Agenda For Personal Excellence

“Leadership is about character, no… leadership is character” says Alexandre Havard in his remarkable book ‘Virtuous Leadership.’ Character ethics create a space in which leadership occurs by instilling trust. We acquire character ethics through our own efforts, “the very act of acquiring them is an act of leadership” says Warren Bennis.

We have created a model for the development of Character Ethics in leadership which we have called ‘The Agenda for Personal Excellence’ TM. It is devoid of faith based moralising or religiosity and is a practical and secular approach to character development. In developing the model we see no conflict between the need to be successful economically and the pursuit of moral integrity. It is necessary for moral leadership to produce wealth and success otherwise the practice of character ethics would not be sustainable.

The Agenda For Personal Excellence – The Model

Self Awareness – At the heart of this model is self awareness. A leader is able to focus attention on their own behaviour and evaluates it logically. Working from the inside out and consistently lives up to their own personal standards.

Self Determination – Acts without external compulsion based in his/her character. Freely chooses his/her own course of action and acts autonomously without direction.

Professional Moral Courage – Follows a self-imposed code of conduct and consistently delivers on his/her promises. Role models positive leadership behaviour.

Being Open Minded – Demonstrates intellectual curiosity and often uses active imagination to resolve difficulties and remove obstacles. Is willing to suspend their own judgement to consider the views of others.

Authenticity – Behaves in a way that is consistent with his/her own personality. Is honest and truthful. Leads from the authority that stems from their personal beliefs.

Self Confidence & Belief – Speaks openly, but not arrogantly, about his/her successes and achievements and appears to be happy with their achievements in life. Shows no need to prosper at other people’s expense.

Sharing Knowledge – Shares knowledge, skill and expertise frequently in a confident and comfortable way. Creates a family/team/organisational culture or atmosphere that encourages everyone to share knowledge.

Humility – Shows respect for others regardless of status. Is modest about their achievements.

Charisma, Presence – Possesses a compelling attractiveness or charm which commands attention in a non-threatening way. Demonstrates no unrealistic sense of superiority.

Compassion – Consistently shows empathy for others and actively demonstrates sympathy for the suffering of others. He/she regards kindness as a strength and cruelty as a weakness.

Respect – Value the Individual – Expresses an attitude of positive regard for others and accepts others as different without diminishing them.

What do you think? If any of these themes or views have stimulated your thinking or curiosity we would love to hear from you. Please leave us a comment.

You can also tweet us @PrinciplePrac, or post a message on our wall at www.facebook.com/principlepractice.

Post originally written by Principle Practice - a leadership development training company.

‘If you don’t enjoy what you do, what’s the point?’ from Principle Practice on Vimeo.

Some people are very sure it is wise to clearly separate work life and personal life. However, by bringing an element of our personal lives into our work can we actually enjoy being at work more – and even do a better job?

In our latest short film Jill Clark, Training & Development Manager for the National Trust, talks on camera about why life is just too short not to enjoy our working life, and how for some people having fun at work is an essential part of the job.

Post originally written by Principle Practice - a leadership development training company.

The science… and the reality!

By Hazel Lowndes

“Impending or actual change lowers self-esteem and the ability to cope with change, just at the time when we most need to learn” Hanlon’s Paradox*1 states.

Today’s financial crisis and its impact on organisational profits and change couldn’t be more effective in lowering self-esteem.  There is strong evidence to suggest that when the brain perceives a threat in the environment it closes down our thinking and responds intuitively from the most primitive part of our brain the Amygdala.  The Amygdala stimulates the production of hormones that actually divert the blood supply from the higher centres of reasoning in the brain to the major muscle groups in preparation for a fight-or-flight response.

To state the obvious, fear lowers self-esteem! This is what Daniel Goleman in his 1996 book Emotional Intelligence*2 called an ‘Amygdala hijack’. So when your department is being reorganised, when your job is put at risk, or if you are facing financial worries at home its likely that many employees will be experiencing low level Amygdala hijacks much of the time.  As Abraham Maslow*3 so clearly stated that higher order self actualisation needs like learning, growth and fulfillment of potential will be completely subordinated when an individuals physical, safety and security needs have been undermined. The brain, you see, cannot differentiate between a physical threat and a social/ emotional threat.  So it really doesn’t matter that the risk you associate with having to move job role is nowhere as significant as the risk associated with, lets say, base jumping. Your biology reacts as if the risk were the same – well not absolutely the same – but you take my point.  Change actually does ‘dumb us down.’

So, send in 12 worried delegates who in the last two weeks have been informed that their roles are at risk in a downturn reorganisation process and I am met with a range of reactions from downright hostile to massively eager. You might have expected the former but the latter of these two reactions to change, which was in fact a desperate attempt to show willingness to embrace the change and safeguard their job, was unexpected.  Either way, not much learning went on.  OK we went through the motions, round Kolb’s Learning Cycle*4. We went with experience, reflection and theory, but the willingness to let the material impact them at an attitudinal level, to be emotionally connected to the possibilities some of the most transformational theory offers them? No not a sausage.  Perhaps in the fullness of time I hope they will have an opportunity to revisit our work together and let it affect them in the way it was intended.

The three days away were a useful distraction from some from the toxic atmosphere back at the office where reorganisation is the only topic of conversation.  So learning and development has been transformed into a displacement activity for nearly redundant executives on this occasion. As the programme evolved I found that embracing this purpose for delegates and going with it was far more functional that trying to hammer through the agenda set by Head Office.  Sometimes you have to stop the process and listen to what’s on their minds even if you do lose three quarters of a day.  You know when emotions are expressed they often die birthing.  Ignore them at your peril.  They otherwise lie repressed in the room, bubbling to the surface at the coffee break or the in the syndicate room. Often the facilitator represents the authority figure and attracts all the negative transference*5 for some and the idealised saviour for others, either way its not good for learning when people are looking for a scapegoat for their feelings or someone who can fix their distress for them. Challenging times not only for business, but for developers too.  If the investment in learning and development (which represents an event bigger investment in these straightened times) is to provide value for money then as developers it is incumbent upon us to have even more skills at our disposal. So brace yourself and be trained and ready for group therapy!

References:

*1. Proud A, 1982 Managing People Through Change, Fenman
*2. Goleman D, 1996 Emotional Intelligence, Bantam
*3. Maslow A, 1943, Theory of Human Motivation, Psychological Review 50, 370-96
*4. Kolb D, 1984, Experience Learning, Prentice Hall
*5. Freud S, 1940, An Outline of Psychoanalysis, Hogarth Press

Post originally written by Principle Practice - a leadership development training company.

‘Being passionate means I go the extra mile’ from Principle Practice on Vimeo.

We often talk about passion in a personal sense, but this month we’re looking at the role passion plays in business. Can passion help us to be more effective in our professional roles?

In our latest short film ‘People Specialist’ Jane Hirst talks on camera about how being passionate about her work means she can do it so much better, and why it’s important to express passions appropriately, or risk being overpowering.

Post originally written by Principle Practice - a leadership development training company.

On Monday 10th October 2011, Principle Practice delivered its first ever ‘Developing Inspirational & Charismatic Leadership’ course to a VIP senior delegate audience at Weetwood Hall in Leeds.

This 3-day course was an absolute triumph, and you’ll see why when you watch these short video testimonials…

If you’d like to develop an inspirational & charismatic leadership style that is worthy of being followed, talk to us….

Post originally written by Principle Practice - a leadership development training company.

On 13th September 2011 Principle Practice Managing Director Hazel Lowndes delivered a thought-provoking presentation – ‘Why Training Doesn’t Work’ – at the UK Housekeepers Association meeting in London.

Simply ‘telling’ you what to change delivers superficial outcomes and does not create a sustainable transformation in professional business behaviour. Unlike traditional training courses, our Personal Maturity Model permanently changes behaviours and beliefs – out of which flows the unforced ability to improve.

Principle Practice offers a genuine, ethical and holistic approach to leadership, management, and personal development and empowers each individual.

So why does the Principle Practice approach to learning and development work?

• Accelerated learning techniques are applied in order to maximise retention of learning and to enliven and energise the learning process. These techniques include; exercises, activity variation, action planning, implementation plans and multi-sensory learning.
• All theories are supported by experiential skills practice and all the intellectual and theoretical concepts are complemented with realistic application methods.
• The delivery style is lively, inspiring and down to earth and delegates are always approached from a non-judgmental position.
• Jargon and buzzwords are avoided and theoretical concepts are always presented in an understandable format.
• Self-limiting beliefs and tendencies are explored, providing unique insights into the working of the human mind and spirit.
• By working from the inside out the process of self-awareness and self-confidence is supported.

What Principle Practice delivers is a premium ‘business school’ experience that is affordable, down-to-earth, highly effective, and sustainable.

More about Hazel…

Hazel is an accomplished Personal Development Consultant and Trainer with twenty years’ experience facilitating at senior levels within national and international organisations.

She specialises in interpersonal relations and communications and is a member of the CIPD and CIPS and has a Post Graduate Diploma in Organisational Psychology. She is has worked in public, private and non-for-profit organisations where every day major change is a way of being. She draws on her extensive industry and consulting experience to convey information in a down to earth and practical way.

Hazel is adept at dealing with very senior managers and understanding the political workings of organisations. She has a natural ability for putting people from all levels at their ease and communicating in a style appropriate for their needs.

You can watch Hazel talking about one of our principles, ‘Acceptance’, here.

Connect with Hazel on Linkedin here.

Post originally written by Principle Practice - a leadership development training company.

In support of our brand new short course portfolio, we’ve also started to create a series of 23 short films, one for each course.

Our leadership & management training courses are transformational learning experiences that are unlike any other course you’ve been on. Unlike traditional training courses, our acclaimed development approach permanently change behaviours and beliefs – out of which flows the unforced ability to improve

We are always keen to make our films different to the usual training/ corporate films, and with this in mind we went with a look that was summed up by our (highly creative!) MD Hazel Lowndes as being ‘Amelie meets The Fast Show’.

I’m pretty sure our film company have never worked with a brief like that before! However, we think the end results are great. Here are a couple of examples…

We’ve created 6 films for the moment, and you can view them all here. with the other 17 to follow. We hope you like them?

Post originally written by Principle Practice - a leadership development training company.

‘We all need to forget about ourselves sometimes’ from Principle Practice on Vimeo.

There are a number of studies that have shown a link between empathy and business results, including increased sales and enhanced performance in diverse workforce.

What role do you think empathy has in business? Can it actually contribute to business success?

In our latest short film Sue Plank, Training & Development Advisor for the National Trust, talks on camera about the importance of listening first, and why in a business context we can get so much more from our people by ‘walking a mile in their moccasins’.

Post originally written by Principle Practice - a leadership development training company.

‘It’s only through being independant that people can grow’ from Principle Practice on Vimeo.

What role does autonomy play in business? In our latest short film coach & leadership consultant Lee Chalmers talks on camera about the importance of giving staff space to develop, and why creative thinking + great leadership is the key to a successful organisation.

‘Autonomy’ is one of ten principles that underpin everything we do at the Principle Practice, how we live our lives and constantly maintain the personal and professional boundaries of our business.

Post originally written by Principle Practice - a leadership development training company.