Is a Questioning Culture in Your Organisation? - If not, you may be missing out

A fundamental element of Action Learning is the ability to ask insightful questions. You know the ones I am referring to. Not questions that merely have single dimensions to the answers, and not ones that offer little scope for discussion and analysis. Not ones that merely provide the questioner with the answers they were seeking or expecting. And certainly not the ones that fail to promote learning which can result in real change.

Asking the right questions in the right manner, at the right time, and in the right way, can provide some very substantial organisational benefits, which are both long-lasting and productive. The problem is that in a world where leadership is often mistaken for leaders having the solutions to all organisational challenges, leaders tend not to ask the questions throughout the organisation that will get people to really think and reflect before responding. Usually there is not the time to do so. The pace of change warrants an immediate response - or so people think. In fact, the best response could be the delayed one, especially when seeking solutions to complex challenges that should be the focus of such insightful questions.

Knowing how to ask the right question should be one of the many fundamental tools in a leaders' toolbox. Without these questions, are leaders really getting the right input and feedback that ensures the picture they have of the situation is the correct one, rather than a distorted view based on their own biases?

Sydney Finkelstein noted in his 2004 article entitled "Zombie business: How to learn from their mistakes", coined the term 'zombie companies' which he said such a company was a "...walking corpse that just doesn't know yet that it is dead - because this company has created an insulated culture that systematically excludes any information that could contradict its reigning picture of reality." In this sense, the challenge for leaders is not to avoid questions that result in deep and meaningful answers, but rather to see such questions as learning opportunities, opening an organisational culture that is constantly putting a mirror to itself and responding through informed change.

Ed Oakley and Doug Krug in their 1994 publication entitled "Enlightened Leadership" suggested that "... the better we as leaders become at asking effective questions and listening for those answers to those questions, the more consistently we and the people with whom we work can accomplish mutually satisfying objectives, be empowered, reduce resistance, and create a willingness to pursue innovative change."

So how do we best define and develop a questioning culture in our organisations? Michael Marquardt in his 2014 publication entitled "Leading with Questions - How leaders find the right solutions by knowing what to ask", suggests that a questioning culture is "... a culture in which responsibility is shared. And when responsibility is shared, problems are shared and ownership of results are shared. When an organisation develops a questioning culture, it also creates a culture of we, rather than a culture of you versus me, or management versus employee." 

Marquardt suggets 6 defining characteristics of a questioning organisational culture. These include:

1. People within it are willing to admit that they don't know the answer
2. People within it go beyond allowing questions, they encourage them
3. People throughout the organisation are helped to develop the skills needed to ask questions in a positive, rather than negative way
4. People throughout the organisation focus on questions that empower others, rather than disempowering them
5. People throughout the organisation are expected to focus on asking questions and searching for answers, rather than merely always finding the elusive 'right' answer, and
6. People throughout the organisation are recognised for taking calculated risks in pursuing the organisational goals and objectives.

How does your organisation stack up? Do you have a questioning culture? Are you asking the right questions and are your staff well versed in the power of questions?

OPTIMUM NFP in conjunction with Action Learning International launched the Action Learning Question Program in the Australian NFP sector in 2013. The Program runs both as public and in-house sessions and its success has been well documented by those that have participated. It is predicated on resolving organisational challenges and developing staff and leaders by asking the right questions.The Program has been formally accredited by the Australian Institute of Management Business School.

Contact David Rosenbaum at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.au or on 0411-744-911 to arrange a no-obligation meeting to discuss the Action Learning Question Program and how it can help your organisation take on the question culture that many recognise is needed in the modern organisation.

Change Management Podcast - David Rosenbaum and the Australian Institute of Management Business School

David Rosenbaum being interviewed by Professor Elizabeth More, National Academic Director, Australian Institute of Management Business School

1st AIM Business School Podcast series

  

Change management is one of those issues that resonates with just about every organisation, irrespective of industry sector, and irrespective of the organisation's positioning. It is one of those challenges that has been in existence for decades and the extent to which organisations continue to be challenged by it, is recognition of its complexity. In truth there is no simple answer, nor is there a prescriptive approach that guides successful organisational change.

In my own PhD research into change management in the Australian nonprofit sector, I have identified a number of factors which are considered ingredients in successful change, and findings from this research has now been published internationally.

In the first of AIM Business School's podcast series, Professor Elizabeth More, National Academic Director of the Australian Institute of Management Business School interviews me to discuss this very broad topic, both in my capacity as a consultant in change, a researcher and author on change, and as National Unit Coordinator for the Australian Institute of Management MBA Program in the Unit entitled Strategic Organisational Change.

You can access this podcast by clicking on the following URL link:

https://soundcloud.com/user-797298966/david-rosenbaum-change-management

Please feel free to contact David Rosenbaum of OPTIMUM NFP on 0411-744-911 or at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.au to discuss change management in your organisation or to obtain further information about the Strategic Organisational Change Unit at the Australian Institute of Management Business School.

Managing Successful Change - How recommendations from my own PhD research can best be integrated into your NFPs change program

Change management is one of those topics that has been at the forefront of organisational discussions for over 70 years, as a topic that has engaged practitioners and academics alike, all attempting to better understand it so that successful organisational change can become the norm, as distinct to the apparent high failure rates that have been evidenced over the decades. Yet throughout this period, little or no research has been undertaken in change management from a purely nonprofit perspective.

Whilst some argue that this may  not be necessary be! cause organisational characteristics are alike across the sectors, others, including myself, argue that change must be considered from those that are involved in it, rather than purely the organisational perspective. The point here of course is that personnel characteristics within the nonprofit sector are quite different, and in some respects unique, hence the need to consider change management research within this sector, being an important addition to the broader research on change.

My research was undertaken at a Sydney-based nonprofit hospital undergoing major change with regards the design and implementation of an electronic patient management system. The full details of this study have now been published in the Journal of Management and Organization and form the central paper of my soon to be completed PhD. Whilst the full paper, entitled "A Longitudinal Qualitative Case Study of Change in Nonprofits - Suggesting a New Approach to the ma! nagement of Change" can be accessed on-line through Cambridge University Press (http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2016.6) the key recommendations, as presented in the paper, which may be of interest to those within the sector were as follows:

1. There is a need to formally include reflection time and reflective practices for all change participants in the planning, execution, and concluding stages of change, understanding that those experiencing change react to a wide range of emotions leading up to the change, during the execution phase, as well as in the post-change phase, and throughout this period, need to not only absorb the practicalities of the change and what this may mean for their own positions, but to also be able to verbalise their thoughts and discuss these in an open and supportive environment with colleagues, including internal change agents and management.
2. There is a need for the organisation to openly reflect on both the success and failure of past change experiences as a fundamental component of the planning stages of change, reinforcing trust and confidence in management with regards their ability to plan for, and execute change successfully.
3. There is a need for management to maintain an adequate focus on the individuals experiencing the change rather than an organisational focus as a primary (and often sole) consideration, creating an organisation-wide view as to management's interest in the welfare of change recipients throughout the change process and reinforcing an inclusive approach to the challenge of change within the organisation.
4. Finally there is an expectation that timing considerations are appropriately identified in the change-planning process, with specific reference to communication and change-recipient engagement processes, underpin! ning a strong correlation between the level of change preparation and readiness, with actual change execution.

Change is now pervasive within the nonprofit sector, with much of it being quite transformational with regards the design and implementation of new business models that really do challenge the core of many of these organisations. They also present very real challenges for staff, who are now being expected to absorb more commercial elements in their long-standing dealings with their clients. The culture of many of these organisations is being challenged.

OPTIMUM NFP has been actively engaged in assisting organisations design and implement change strategies, using processes that add substantial value to the change outcomes.

Contact David Rosenbaum of OPTIMUM NFP at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.au or 0411-744-911 for a no-obligation discussion on how these findings can be best integrated to changes planned for your own organisation.
 

Letting Your Employees In and The Impact on Leadership

Interesting article in the October 2015 edition of the AIM magazine on page 12, entitled "Time to Open the Books". In light of some recent client assignments it raised in my mind the question of what and how much do employees need to know, or should know, about the broader business, as distinct to the narrower view of what is going on within their own teams, departments, work groups etc. And of course in light of the frequent mantra regarding change management, where building the case for change and setting the scene is considered a pre-requisite for success, how does not 'letting them in' or giving them the broader context, fit that story?

There are other issues here of course, which revolve around keeping your employees engaged and, to a very great extent, excited about what is going on in the organisation, and, more importantly, engaging them in the organisation's future by chasing innovation, efficiency and effectiveness. Additionally, as the article eludes to, what about their emotional well being. A substantial part of an employee's life is focused around their work, so an environment that encourages enthusiasm surely can only be one where engagement is seen in the broader sense rather than the more narrower sense.

One of the key challenges in this approach to employee engagement and inclusion is, of course, the ability for organisational leaders to cope with a changing landscape where leadership is not seen as having all the answers and 'directing' staff, but rather seeking broad input into organisational challenges, recognising that a wide range of requisite skills exist right through the organisation, and diffusing the 'management' process. In many organisations such skills are not necessarily harnessed or even known, let alone sought and embraced. Potentially this begs the question as to the role of such areas as Human Resources - where I often suggest that operational and transactional approaches provide little value-add to the organisation, whilst strategic approaches should really be the focus.

Have organisations truly embraced this openness, as distinct to saying they do but practically they do not, or are some still operating within a historical paradigm of hierarchy and power, as distinct to a flatter, inclusive leadership and management culture?

How does your organisation function in this aspect?

The CEO Roundtable Launches

“The quality of a leader cannot be judged by the answers he gives, but by the questions he asks.” [Simon Sinek]

OPTIMUM NFP is pleased to announce the launch of the CEO Roundtable “(CEOR”), designed exclusively for CEOs of nonprofit organisations. This professional learning forum supports the ongoing development of CEOs through facilitated discussion and peer support

Being the CEO of an organisation is often referred to as a lonely position. The business challenges are coupled with the organisational challenges, which in turn are overlayed with the challenges of simply being the leader.

Would you like the opportunity to meet with other CEOs to

• have a sounding board when your work as an organisational leader challenges the status quo?
• Share your experiences, discuss challenges and collaboratively seek solutions?
• Challenge your thinking so that you achieve better organisational and personal outcomes?
• Benchmark yourself and performance through open and honest reflection?
• Seek strategies for supporting, developing or improving your Board’s governance?

The CEO Roundtable will:

• Be professionally facilitated with a structured agenda that combines free flowing discussion with focussed attention to pertinent issues, ensuring a positive experience for all
• Offer a confidential and emotionally safe environment in which you can exchange ideas, challenge your own and peer thinking
• Hear from invited guest speakers who are recognised experts in relevant fields when appropriate to the group’s needs
• Foster and support new and existing professional networks

How the CEOR will work?

• The CEOR will comprise a series of 10 monthly professionally facilitated sessions, each of 3-hours duration
• The agenda will be structured to provide for reflection on achievements and information sharing; identification of challenges and issues pertinent to the sector with solutions focussed discussion and; specific topic discussion
• The group will be self governing and responsible for setting key components of the agenda for each meeting

Where will the CEOR sessions be held?

• Sydney sessions will be held at the offices of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Australian Institute of Management. These sessions will be fully catered.
• Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide sessions will be held in similar venues with full catering available

David Rosenbaum is an internationally accredited facilitator and a highly experienced consultant to Government, commercial and in particular, the Australian not for profit sector. Within a professional learning framework, David’s group facilitation skills successfully foster peer support, increase positive networking outcomes and encourage individual personal and professional development.

What is the financial commitment to become a member of the CEOR?

• Annual membership of $3,100 plus GST covering 10 CEOR sessions.
• Membership fee becomes payable in full upon registration
• To ensure the integrity of the group’s intent, participants are encouraged to commit to regular personal attendance. Proxies cannot be used to cover absences

For further information, contact David Rosenbaum of OPTIMUM NFP or visit the Website and click on the tab entitled "The CEO Roundtable"

Developing Leadership and Measuring It: The Action Learning Question Program Could Be A Way Forward

Recognition as to the effectiveness of Action Learning as applied to the development of leadership skills, has been highlighted by two well known and internationally accredited academics and leadership practitioners, Michael Marquardt (Professor of Human Resources and International Affairs at the US based Elliott School of International Affairs and Program Director of Overseas Programs at George Washington University) and H.Skipton Leonard (Faculty member at the Carey School of Business at John Hopkins University). In a 2010 publication entitled "The Evidence for the Effectiveness of Action Learning", as published in the Action Leaning: Research and Practice Journal, they identified four reasons to support their conclusion regarding the impact of Action Learning in this field, being:

1.    Action Learning encourages people to take responsibility and action to achieve a desirable result or goal;

2.    Action Learning provides a disciplined process for reflecting and learning;

3.    Action Learning allows people to work on the specific skills necessary to get things done through people, and

4.    Action Learning provides people with the direct and indirect feedback necessary to learn complex leadership skills along the way.

Having considered the strengths associated with Action Learning as it applies to the development of leaders within organisations through either formal in-house leadership development programs or through less formal development, the question of measuring the success or otherwise of leadership development programs becomes the next issue to be addressed. In a recent edition of the MITSloan Management Review, Gandossy and Guarneri (Principal and Research Consultant respectively, from the US based Hewitt Associates, human resource consultants) reported that research from the top tier of US based companies identified the development of a range of holistic measures that addresses key organisational stakeholders namely, people managers, business leaders, HR professionals, and key organisational talent. These measures included, but were not limited to the following:

• identifying when key talents would be ready to move onto new roles within the organisation
• understanding the extent to which leaders take responsibility for their own development and that of their people
• identifying how leaders contribute to the development of talent as a corporate resource
• understanding the extent to which leaders 'walk the walk' on effective leadership behaviours
•  identifying the business trends that most influence leadership strategies within the organisation, and
• understanding the link between our leadership development programs and the internal supply of qualified candidates.

The real linkage that appears to be highlighted throughout the discussion presented by Gandossy and Guarneri relates to the extent to which an organisation can ensure that the leadership development programs are aligned to actual business needs as distinct to being abstract and somewhat detached from the organisational imperatives that need to be addressed.

The design of the Action Learning Question Program ("ALQ") addresses such needs by operating at the dual level of developing your staff but doing so in the context of resolving very real organisational challenges that, left unresolved, will hinder organisational efforts towards future and long term sustainability.

The 2015 public ALQ Program, referred to as Cross-Organisational Cohorts, (which recently concluded in November 2015) proved highly successful and delivered real solutions to the organisations that were represented, and real value to the individuals involved in the cohort.

Similar programs with bespoke ALQ Program structures are commencing in March 2016 as in-house ALQ Programs. These are developed for medium and large organisations that are, from a resource perspective, able to accommodate unique Learning Sets necessary for an effective program. Whilst structural elements are uniquely developed in these instances, both the in-house and the cross-organisational cohorts all operate under a common ALQ framework.

The support provided by the Australian Institute of Management ("AIM") has added further value to both the Cross-Organisational Cohorts, as well as the In-House Cohorts. AIM have identified the rigour and value of the Program, and have agreed to recognise completion of the Program (through undertaking a multi-tiered written assessment process) as one Credit Unit towards their highly acclaimed 8-Unit Graduate Diploma of Management and their 12-Unit MBA programs. Whilst this accreditation path is not compulsory, it provides a very sound base to support ongoing education and staff development - a very valuable process for organisations. 

OPTIMUM NFP in conjunction with Action Learning International Ltd. is currently preparing a further Cross-Organisational Cohort to commence in February 2016. Given the success of the recent Program, and the detailed expressions of interest received from five prospective cohort members to-date, it is recommended that you lodge your interest as early as possible, as these Programs are designed for a maximum number of participants of eight per Program. You can register on-line at www.optimumnfp.com.au (ALQ Workshop tab), or contact David Rosenbaum at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.au or on 0411-744-911 to register or to discuss the nature of the Program and how it may benefit your organisation, as well as yourself.

As the Principal of OPTIMUM NFP and Senior Consultant and Head of Relationship Management and Program Delivery for Australia at Action Learning International Ltd., I am well placed to structure a program that responds to your organisation's requirements. With the advent of both the Cross-Organisational Cohorts as well as In-House Cohorts, all organisations, irrespective of size, can now consider the practical benefits resulting from participation in an Action Learning Question program to solve sticky organisational challenges whilst simultaneously developing the leadership skills that your organisation will need in the coming years.

Contact David Rosenbaum at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.au or 0411-744-911 to discuss how an Action Learning Question program can assist your organisation achieve its objectives.

Build confidence in your future leaders - these are resources that must be invested in for the sake of sustainability

The 2014 Not-for-Profit Leadership Survey authored by OPTIMUM NFP and Growing People+Organisations, identified that 52% of respondent NFP CEO’s believed that whilst their management teams had strong technical capabilities, they lacked the leadership skills needed for the future.

The survey suggested that traditionally, managers were promoted or appointed into their roles for their technical or professional skills and they learnt to manage a team through trial and error. As suggested in the report, the high costs of staff turnover and the need to develop staff to achieve organisational goals meant that managers needed to have highly developed leadership skills more so than technical skills.

Emotional Intelligence, or EI as it is usually referred to, is very often seen as a necessity in leadership roles, especially when leaders are focusing on the implementation of change programs, where appropriate engagement with all staff is not only necessary, but also fundamental to the success of the change program.  EI has many facets including emotional self-awareness, emotional awareness of others, emotional self-management and control, emotional management of others, emotional reasoning, and expression.

Some authors suggest EI cannot be taught. Managers either have this skill or they don’t. Others suggest that whilst an innate leaning towards effective EI traits is prevalent amongst successful leaders, exposure to appropriate leadership and personnel development can either improve existing EI capabilities or at least expose potential leaders to a wide range of EI related attributes where in the right environment, and with the right mentoring, can over time, refine EI type skills.

In a potentially correlated issue, the Survey also found that 52% of respondents believed that their NFP’s inability to adapt to change was a risk to the sustainability of their organisation. A broader issue appeared to be the extent to which these organisations were change ready from a cultural perspective as well as from a technical preparedness level. In this regard the challenge for leaders is to understand what stage their organisation is at with regards its readiness to react to, and absorb change, identify the gaps, and then look to address them with a myriad of suitable approaches, before change is implemented. Of course when we talk organisational culture, be it for change readiness purposes or for general performance purposes, a leader’s EI becomes of paramount importance, given the role that the leader plays in both these issues.

Seeing the above issues in context, it becomes clear that leadership development training may become critical in addressing the challenging issues that face this sector into the future. Existing evidence suggests that traditional leadership development programs may have substantial shortcomings.  McKinsey and Co have identified four such shortcomings. These include:

• the fact that many of these programs overlook context by working on the invalid assumption that one size fits all;

• the fact that reflection is decoupled from real work, underpinning the absence of real-life application of acquired theoretical knowledge

• the fact that the need to change mind-sets which requires an associated change in behaviours is often overlooked, and finally

• the fact that such programs tend to overlook the Return-on-Investment aspect associated with the cost of such programs.

Alternatives do exist utilising an Action Learning framework. Action Learning as an approach for driving performance was originally proposed by Professor Reg Revans in the 1940s and over the years has led to significant international successes, especially in the NFP sector where the central focus on mission and values enables participants to develop relevant work-based solutions in their own organisations, whilst furthering their own personal and professional development. By doing so, the Action Learning process successfully addresses the shortcomings that McKinsey and Co has identified in existing leadership development programs.

OPTIMUM NFP is pleased to announce the launch of the Australian arm of UK based Action Learning international, which has successfully developed the Action Learning Question approach which is designed to aid leadership and personnel development, whilst focusing in the resolution of work-based challenges. These programs have been successfully running in the UK and Europe for the last 14 years in the commercial, public and NFP sectors, and have much to offer Australian not-for-profits.

Action Learning International is holding its public launch in Sydney on Wednesday 4^th June and limited places are still available to hear from the founders of the Action Learning Question program, Professor Richard Hale and Professor Joanna Kozubska from the UK. To register your interest in attending, please visit the OPTIMUM NFP web site and complete the online application, alternatively contact David Rosenbaum at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.au to indicate your interest.