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Monthly Archives: February 2017

On a Bender Over Gender

17 Friday Feb 2017

Posted by Burning Manager in Uncategorized

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gender, Guerlain Kisskiss, linkedin, Luck Kellaway, Prada, QCAT, superannuation, The Atlantic, time value of money, TVM, WGEA, Workplace Gender Equality Agency

easy-weddings-hens-night-2-900x599

Leadership, I read recently on a meme in Linkedin, is not about being in charge. ‘Leadership is about taking care of those in your charge.’ Schmalzy and jingoistic maybe, but not a bad one-liner to keep front of mind when you become one. As men in leadership we have an extra responsibility and that is to diversity. Lucy Kellaway, one of my favourite but more acerbic writers on management, in a recent article in the AFR, exposed two of the ‘great lies of corporate life: diversity and authenticity.’ I think she was saying that while we all advocate for authenticity and diversity in the workplace the fact of the matter is that in the Corporate world there is a blandness and sameness that is the antithesis of originality and being different. Her thesis is that the nature of the Corporate world is such that we encourage similarity or it manifests itself through the competitive nature of the workplace itself. Outliers, and those who dare to be different, struggle against the mainstream which tends, like all mainstreams, to look very similar.

 

Diversity is, I would argue, a critical requirement in business. Diversity comes in many shapes and forms and includes cultural, racial, demographic, disability, religious, sexual orientation and gender to name but a few. It’s gender I want to concentrate on. It’s my feeling that the three big tensions in the future workplace will be around gender, sexual diversity and education. Workplaces of the future that do not embrace a fairness agenda for its female workforce, or who do not show tolerance to the broad spectrum of expressed sexuality, or engage both the educated and not so educated and treat both with integrity are likely to be long-term losers in the business sustainability stakes.

 

A great article in The Atlantic in July 2015 argued the case strongly that gender equality in the workplace has clear economic advantages. They posit that ‘equality can boost profits and enhance reputation.’ I have taken this to heart and have put in my own equality measures. We have endeavoured to achieve accreditation through Australia’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA). Thus far we have been thwarted in this because it doesn’t apply to small companies. Efforts to get a dispensation have been unsuccessful. We keep trying.

 

We have achieved gender balance across both our entire staff and management team. I’ve seen a number of companies achieve this across the staff as a whole but the upper echelons  of management remain stubbornly male-oriented and it is this group, after all, setting employment policies that may well not be advocating for women in the workplace e.g. flexibility, non-detrimental career breaks etc. The third significant push for us has been the differential payment of superannuation.

 

While awaiting a decision by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) to legally contravene the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 it is worthwhile explaining the issue. It was put succinctly by one of my Board Directors the other day when he pointed to his own circumstance. His wife had eight children and he admitted that her Superannuation balance (she is of retirement age) is less than $30,000. They say a balance of closer to $1m is what you need for a comfortable retirement. Women are significantly under-superannuated at retirement age. There are a number of factors causing this and pay inequity, while a contributor, is not the primary reason. Women in general have time off for childbirth and child rearing and are often the first port of call as carer for elderly relatives or sick children.

 

time-value-of-money

All up they tend to be well behind when they reach the age of 65. Add to this the fact that they live longer (we really must do something about this from an equity perspective) and their low balances are an issue that good employers should think about addressing now. We are proposing our female staff get an additional 1% contribution into their superannuation accounts paid for by their employer. This 1% on the face of it doesn’t sound like much but it has a significant impact come retirement based on the age-old principle (and one that isn’t emphasised enough in schools) – the time value of money (TVM).

 

So as the employer what do I get in return? Well I feel good that I am doing something as a ‘male champion of change’ a title that doesn’t sit that comfortably with me. But it’s more than that; it builds our reputation and brand in the market. It differentiates. It defines us as a leader. It breeds loyalty. It retains talent, it attracts talent. I also think it has an impact at a more cellular level and that is it breeds confidence and a certain expansion in what we think is possible. Not many other companies have done what we are endeavouring so if we achieve it our ‘little team’ can rightly point to this achievement and start thinking about what other previously unscaleable elevations we can conquer.

 

p0321g30                          Lucy Kellaway

 If we are going to be genuine in our efforts to create gender diversity and reap the benefits research shows is associated with this, we have to do more than just have platitudes. We have to lead by example and this may mean leading with our chin. There will be knockers and I’ve encountered quite a few. ‘Don’t forget your lipstick and your handbag’ is one of the funnier comments that came my way. I think that is what Lucy Kellaway was referring to. She would argue that there is too much Guerlain Kisskiss and Prada in our workplaces already! To really redress the balance we have to give it a red hot go with all the enthusiasm of a hen’s night party. In other words going on a bender over gender! That’s what we are doing in a methodical and sober way.

 

Getting DT to Get Some DQ

10 Friday Feb 2017

Posted by Burning Manager in Uncategorized

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Beth Brooke-Marciniak, diplomacy, Donald Trump, drain the swamp, EPA, Harvard Business School, JBWere, Professor F Warren McFarlan, The Donald, Trump Corporation, Washington, You're Fired

trump-turnbull

My regular readers may have been wondering whether I have got a case of bloggers cramp seeing I haven’t blogged for a few weeks. ‘Au contraire’ as Marine Le Pen might say. Rather I felt it was inappropriate to comment of the Trump Presidency without giving him a chance to settle in. After all there is no real antecedent job that would totally prepare you for such a role. You have to ease into it. I recall attending a seminar conducted by Harvard Professor F Warren McFarlan who is Albert H Gordon Professor of Business Administration and Baker Foundation Professor [full disclosure – paid for by JBWere]. McFarlan, as you would expect from a Harvard Professor is an engaging and extremely insightful individual. The premise of his approach is that time should always be taken to get a feel for culture and the local politics to prevent going off half-cocked.

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F Warren McFarlan

It would appear that the new President hasn’t taken this approach. To the delight of some and the chagrin of many Donald Trump has blasted out of the blocks all guns blazing. When I say gun it might be helpful to specify what model. It’s no sniper rifle – perhaps more akin to a blunderbuss. Whereas Washington insiders would have a head start having worked in the system – a fact that didn’t appeal to the electorate – Trump has little or no knowledge of the workings of Government, the rules that sit behind this and skill sets required to be an effective leader on the world stage. Putting my business hat on (after all Trump is the head of a family empire) I would expect if you are thrust into a new company (in this case USA Pty Ltd) you would want to get the lay of the land. Half-baked notions of what might be wrong with something may not be the true reflection when you get inside and to the nub of the problem. We have all been there as managers when we found the true cause wasn’t what many people thought it was.

The hardy Washington player or Canberra, London, Wellington for that matter understands that a critical role played by any leadership is diplomacy. So far that skill set has been, one senses, totally devoid in the interplay between the Trump administration and their dealings with the judiciary, the press and some, not all, foreign leaders. It’s almost as if diplomacy is regarded as part of the Washington swamp brigade that needs to be totally dismantled. That’s regarded perhaps as the business of politics and this is a fresh and businesslike approach to running a country. In other words no politics to see here – move on. Part of the public, including a sizeable portion in Australia I would posit, like this ostensibly ‘hard man’ approach. It’s the ‘you’re fired’ approach to management. As any manager who has had to terminate staff and I’ve done probably many more in my time than most, it’s a decision taken with a heavy heart and a lasting impact on your spirit. No one’s flame burns brighter by blowing out someone else’s candle. Trump it would appear delights in the rough and tumble talk where fellow leaders or others in the community get a tongue lashing. To the uninitiated they must think this is how business runs. In some cases it regrettably is.

Diplomacy might, on the face of it, not be an important skill set for business. Clearly ‘The Donald’ has done well without it! You could argue that it’s the preserve of politicians and diplomats. I would argue from a business perspective that it is a core skill. I would go so far as to say it is an essential tool in the manager’s toolkit. We all know about IQ and increasingly managers understand the importance of EQ, but DQ (Diplomacy quotient) is important too.

When Trump thought it advantageous to let on that he had given our Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (aka Trumble) a ‘serve’ in ‘his worst phone call of the day’ on a day he spoke to Putin, it broke the rules of diplomacy. Tweeting about it didn’t so much break rules as create a brand new precedent. You don’t see business leaders tweeting or leaking sensitive phone conversations about what, in the business world, is potential business partnerships. In business cordial relationships are key to good business outcomes. We know from research that hostile takeovers are far less successful than those conducted in a civil and businesslike way.

2017tra_marciniak_20170109

Beth Brooke-Marciniak

Perhaps the best example I have seen lately on the value of diplomacy in the business world is Beth Brooke-Marciniak in her commencement speech to the Class of 2016 at Babson College. Brooke-Marciniak is the Global vice Chair of Public Policy at EY. Someone whose views you would respect in this field. She argues that CEOs are diplomats in their own right. The juggling of short-term and long-term demands from stakeholders in itself requires diplomacy. Diplomacy is required to build teams to get things done. Change cannot be effected without diplomacy. In fact she goes on to argue that there is no power, even as President, without the skilful and patient application of diplomacy.

We live in a VUCA world (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous). To survive and thrive in this environment Brooke-Marciniak argues that we need to slow things down and introduce the dying art of diplomacy. This brings fresh perspective, insight and reflection. As she points out in the race to disruption, people are also getting disrupted. The diplomat understands and empathises with the knock-on effects. Who is thinking about the fall-out from the swathe of Executive Orders emanating from the White House?

Diplomacy provides a perfect platform for negotiation which is critical to business success, both externally and often -less acknowledged -internally. It is, Brooke-Marciniak confesses, brutally time consuming. Perhaps for Trump, desperate to get runs on the board in the first 100 days and prove his mettle to the American people, he has overlooked the fact that ‘light’ not ‘heat’ is what we expect from his approach. I suspect anyone wailing around in the Trump Corporation making lots of waves but no real outcomes would have a pretty limited lifespan. ‘You’re fired!’

It’s worthwhile heeding Brooke-Marciniak’s recipe for diplomacy.

  1. It takes courage. This is the courage to be who you are; to be authentic. That goes to trust and trust is the core to diplomacy.
  2. Listen more than you talk. You don’t know everything so be prepared to learn.
  3. Be prepared to compromise. Diplomats see compromise as a strength not as a weakness

Trump would do well to internalise these three rules especially learning the art of compromise.

When business talks about win-win that is seldom the case. Even when two companies merge there is always a winner and loser. Diplomacy is getting people who are marginally unhappy with the situation to go along with it for the greater good. The world of international affairs is no different. Where the developed world might have to take more of the strain with respect to climate change, for example, to help the whole world, surely this is a good thing. Trump says America has been taken advantage of for too long. Trump denies climate science and puts a known anti-EPA protagonist in charge of US environmental policy. This smacks of many things but not diplomacy. I wonder if someone could put this point to him patiently, calmly and diplomatically!

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