Is retirement dead as a concept? How's your career?

Over the last few weeks there has been a lot in the news about retirement and whether it is an outdated concept or not. What is clear is that many people just simply can't or won't stop working. Why? Because the love doing what they are doing: how perfect.

Managing your career is critical and planning how long you want to continue in your professional career, or what else you could do to compliment your activities requires planning. Leaving this till the 6 months' before you retire is likely to be too late. The Role of a Law Firm Partner now in its 2nd edition, explores what lawyers are facing and the legal profession as a whole around careers. However, much of what we have found out is applicable to anyone who has a technical expertise, has to deal with clients, is responsible for generating income and is au fait with business generally.

You can go online to buy your copy now from Ark.

Alternatively, do get in touch so that we can help you explore what and how should be happening in your firm for a happy future for all.

Difficult Situations need Different Responses!

The LMS (Law Management Section) are holding the second Managing Partners discussion group: on 16th April, 2015 at The Law Society, in Chancery Lane. Join me, (Patricia Wheatley Burt) and the others for a lively and insightful exploration into what can help or hinder the many difficult situations we can all find ourselves in, in business. Often the fall out can include damaged business relationships, unbalanced teams, anger, stress, or maybe that nastiest of all, the hidden, malignant smiling assassin of the passive aggressive.

Whatever your experience, this is designed to help those newly in post who would appreciate the support of others, and tapping into our experience. Go online to book your place.

see you soon on another lovely day:

Who's got Blended Remuneration right?

At the end of February / early March, the 2nd Edition of the report I have written: The Role of a Law Firm Partner in a Changing Legal Market will be re-published by Ark Publishing, which is very exciting.

What is not exciting is that many firms are still struggling to find that perfect balance between:

* profit sharing and equity balance
* getting the behaviours you expect for sustainable business
* performance related elements of pay
* successful energising of Top Talent
* managing succession planning

As one headhunter said the other day: 'If you need to call me in to help you find talent - then you have not been applying yourself to leading and managing your firm effectively'. Whilst this is a little glib, here are some questions to ask yourself:

- How confident are you that your firm will still exist in 10 years' time?
- What are you doing to ensure today's leaders are building tomorrow's leaders - and in whose likeness?
- How confident are you that your partners and associates are building relationships?

The Report has some answers, and James Parsons and I have further thoughts you might like to explore with us: do get in touch for a no commitment meeting: 0208 870 9781.

Talk soon
Patricia

GrowthAccelerator: match-fund your business growth!

At the end of last week we told you about the fast track version of GrowthAccelerator: now some more detail about the core programme:

How does GrowthAccelerator work?

• Eligibility and suitability assessment by a Growth Manager (phone)
• Online interactive assessment tool – GROWTHmapper®
• Growth Manager meets with Directors to assess and identify priorities
to help achieve growth (face to face meeting)
• Growth Manager drafts growth plan (‘Scope of Support’)
• Once agreed, Scope used to select the most suitable Growth Coach
• Contracts signed, Growth Coach selected, coaching starts
• Identify Leadership & Management training needs at all points
• Relationship managed by the Growth Manager
• Client can attend/send staff to up to 6 Business Development Coach Workshops if on the main Coaching Programme (or 3 Masterclasses if on Access to Finance or Growth Through Innovation)

What does it cost?
Size: Cost VAT
1 – 4 employees £ 600 £700*
5 – 49 employees £1,500 £700*
50 – 249 employees £3,000 £700*
*VAT is based on 20% of the nominal value of the service which is £3,500, so all businesses pay the same amount of VAT, which you can recover.

What does a GrowthAccelerator Client receive?
Up to 4 – 6 days of coaching time, based on outputs that have been agreed, attendance at 6 x 0.5 days workshops and 3 full day masterclasses, plus up to £2,000 matched funding for each of the senior management team.

What are the benefits:

Your growth strategy could involve: Business planning, Strategic planning, Marketing strategy, Organisation change, Improving performance and efficiencies, recruitment and people management.
There is help to become investment ready and so more attractive to funders, including specialist finance coach, introductions to appropriate funders and the GrowthAccelerator's Investor Relations team.

Other businesses may be interested in how to commercialise new products, services or consider other business models, maybe developing an innovation strategy and generating profitable IP.

How can Businesses use this opportunity?

First of all it is always good to get an impartial diagnosis of where you are, which the GROWTHmapper© provides, as well as guidance and support from the dedicated growth manager and coach. By attending masterclasses and workshops with peers in the market place, and up to £2,000 per individual leader / manager, firms have a chance to make significant changes that will ensure the survival and sustainable future of their firms. Can anyone really ignore this opportunity to be part of the high growth community?

Contact Patricia or Tony Stubbs on: 0208 870 9781 NOW!

Stop Press: limited opportunity: Matched Funding, GrowthAccelerator

Stop Press! Limited offer: The Growth Impact Pilot from GrowthAccelerator:

A number of years ago the government had Training and Enterprise Councils (TEC), Business Links and other iterations of agencies to help businesses be creative, entrepreneurial, increase the use of technology, improve profitability, leading to increased employment. Today this is achieved through the GrowthAccelerator programme which is available to any business with less than £40million turnover, and less than 250 staff. Originally this programme was due to stop in March 2015 but has been so successful that the Government has extended it. Could this be the kick-start help you might find useful?

AND... there is a brilliant offer for prospective clients who are heading for high growth and:

• Have a turnover between £250,000 and £2 million
• Primarily want Leadership & Management training, already have an identified L&M requirement
• Are prepared to accept the coaching if randomly selected (see next blog).
• They will need to pay £700 VAT if they are chosen.
• The person who provides the training cannot also be their coach (see next blog).
• Know their numbers and are prepared to complete the Application Form (or talk it over with a Growth Manager) and be part of a research study – which could offer some great PR.

There are limited spaces left for the fast track version of the GrowthAccelerator programme, so contact Us: patricia@trafalgarpeople.com and we can signpost those interested.

There may be a Professional Services specialist group developing: let us know if you are interested in this.

A Brief History of Time - outstanding video in 2 minutes!

You may have seen this before.............

This is outstanding.
Hold onto your seat, don't blink your eyes for a second! This is amazing.
Seventeen year old Joe Bush got a high school assignment to make a video reproduction.

He chose history as a theme and tucked it all into two minutes. He took pictures from the internet, added the track Mind Heist by Zack Hemsey(from the movie Interception) and then created this spectacular video.

Hold on tight!

A brief History of Time: http://marcbrecy.perso.neuf.fr/history.html

Glorious 12th: Development Centres are The Way Forward!

Companies are often put off assessment centres because of the time input required and also the potential cost involved. With Trafalgar's Development Team, we have an eye on both which gives you the ownership and control, with cost effective support and external expertise when required, and with comfort in the knowledge that you have an objective recruitment process in place.

Approach
The first stage is to agree the process:

 Agreement on the Objective//Purpose
 Agree Competency Measures/Indicators
(Practical/Measurable/Observable)
 Identify Activities to Cover Competencies
 Agree Feedback Options
 Produce Timetable
(Order/Observers/Timings)
 Produce Paperwork to Support
 Run the Event
 Deliver the Feedback

Pre-event
Clarity around skills required is essential, both technical and competence. From there the planning of the event can take place around competencies, indicators, activities, timetable and paperwork. This may also involve the up skilling of internal assessors/observers.

Event
Managing the logistics is critical with the co-ordination of both the attendees and observers. The smooth running is the basis to creating the right environment for people to excel.

Decision Making
The objective process takes place to determine the right candidate(s) for the position(s) available.

Feedback
One area that sets organisations apart is the commitment to feedback both internally and externally. It also forms the basis of an effective personal development plan.

Benefits
- Managed by the organisation giving ownership and control over costs
- A practical approach for maximum objectivity
- ‘Personalised event to fit in the organisational culture
- Development of internal skills (observation/assessment)
- Credibility both internally and externally (the experience)
- Feedback for individual development.

Next Step For You
For more information contact: Adrian Towell, Director, adrian@trafalgarpeople.co.uk
- Mob: +44 (0) 7785 988944

Evaluating Behavioural Change - a Case Study

One of the biggest challenges that we face is evaluating the impact of training and development on behavioural change. It’s not just the time delay following development to seeing the change but also the commitment to the actual evaluation.

In this situation, the organisation focused on new managers and built in three specific areas:
- 360 degree evaluation/feedback
- Training/development interventions
- Accreditation/development centres

360 Degree Evaluation/Feedback
The first stage was to develop a 360 tool based around current competency measures. This was then completed and forwarded to Trafalgar anonymously who pulled together the information and then sent to the Individual and Manager for a development discussion. This then drove the next stage.

Training/Development Interventions
A series of interventions were developed using eLearning, CBT and training programmes to cover the key competency areas. Some programmes were core and mandated whilst others were optional. Pre and post discussions with the Line Manager were a pre-requisite for all activities. Core programmes focussed on leadership, management, change, team development whilst optional interventions concentrated on assertiveness, presentation skills etc.

Accreditation/Development Centres
The final stage was to attend an internal accreditation/development centre where the behavioural skills were ‘tested’ through group and individual activities. Attendees also had to undertake a specific work project, the results/outputs of which covered the costs of the programme. Observers were internal managers of attendees, which developed the skills and ownership of the Line Manager population. Activities were observed, feedback collated and then made available to the Individual and Line Manager. This then led to either immediate accreditation, a plan towards accreditation or the need to re-attend. All outcomes led to a very focused and specific development plan.

The timeframe involved from start to completion was anything from nine months to two years depending on the gap in development and the benefits……

Benefits
- A focussed and measurable framework for development
- Internal recognition
- Support tool for succession planning
- Buy-in from Line Managers
- Commitment to people
- Self-financing through a work project
- Partnership, owned by the business with external support

Next Step For You
Contact: Adrian Towell, Director
- adrian@trafalgarpeople.co.uk
- Mob: +44 (0) 7785 988944

Survival of the Shifters-Paradigm shifts, drifts, rifts and gifts

Happy Birthday, Donald!

In the 1800’s, Charles Darwin wrote about survival of the fittest in our natural environment. Today, it may be survival of the shifters in our working environs.
I gaze down from the top floor of the National Library, honoured to deliver the Singapore Institute of Management’s 50th anniversary transformation lecture.

The city below has undergone phenomenal transition, itself, since rising from destruction after World War 2. In Year of the Horse, this country exemplifies getting right back in the saddle after a fall; a tiny county with no natural resources, forced to rely purely on human resources to transform into a dynamic nation.
What can I possibly add to the topic of transformation? I settle on the somewhat risqué title: ‘Shift Happens’; although Australians often omit the ‘f.’ Let’s face it-life isn’t perfect and sometimes the more things change, the more they remain the same in terms of human response to such shift. Certainly, this may occur faster in today’s high tech world but in this Year of the Horse, I ponder the paradox that:

-My great grandfather rode a horse to work but was frightened of that ‘new-fangled’ technology called a train.

-My grandfather rode a train but was frightened of the horseless carriage we call a car.
-My father drove a car but was frightened of that new innovation called a plane.
-I fly to conferences all over the world-but can’t ride a horse. (at least, not very well!)

Yes, some things may go full circle but it remains constant that you can’t go forward if you are looking backward and tethered by outmoded paradigms.

Paradigm shift is a term familiar to most and basically refers to a change in a long established pattern of behaviour. But do we simply pay lip service to the concept without actually altering our modus operandi? Here’s a few variations to ponder on the popular phrase:

Paradigm shift or drift? Are you passive to go with the flow even when you can sense things drifting in the wrong direction-or will you be courageous enough to stick your neck out to help shift the course of events?
Horse sense: Don’t put the cart before the horse…unless that’s where the cart needs to be!

Paradigm shift or lift? Do you feel bogged down by changes outside your control-or do you embrace evolving environments and use your energy to focus on changes within your control; to lift yourself to a higher level and become a victor-not victim-of change .
Horse sense: If your work doesn’t feed your dreams, seek new pastures but beware-the grass isn’t always greener.

Paradigm shift or rift? Does your team work together for positive change-or is there a rift amongst peers who fight internally to protect their own little patch of turf? Never forget that the competition is external.
Horse sense: What sort of horse are you…a thoroughbred-workhorse-show pony-old nag -or wooden horse? Be bold and be unique to run your own race as a stayer-not just a sprinter.

Paradigm shift or sift? With the increasing volume of information cascading down on us in avalanche proportions, do you allow yourself to be buried in trivia or able to sift fads from fundamentals; to filter the urgent from the important?
Horse sense: Be sure to sift the wheat from the chaff so you don’t recklessly ride off in the wrong direction.

Paradigm shift or gift? Change is a threat to many but a priceless gift to those who welcome it. I’m reminded of the old fable of two young brothers who asked for a horse one Christmas. One received a beautiful wooden rocking horse but was bitterly disappointed and burst into tears. The other only received a bag of manure but excitedly told his brother: ‘With all this s**t , there must be a pony nearby’ And sure enough there was one waiting outside.
Horse sense: Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Remain positive as every problem presents an opportunity.

Yes, shift happens-and will continue to happen in mother nature and human nature; in organisms and organisations, It’s how we adapt to those paradigm shifts, drifts, rifts, lifts, sifts or gifts that will determine our future.

It may be an old adage to pick yourself up and get back on the horse-or back on course. But, as in generations past, it remains true for everyone today. What are you waiting for?

Catherine DeVrye MSc & CSP Change-Teamwork-Resilience-Service-Motivation
2010 Australian Keynote Speaker of the Year-former Australian Executive Woman of the Year-Best-selling Author

Paying it Forward – Wealth unused might as well not exist!

‘If you believe you can or you believe you can’t – either way you are right.’

Developing a culture of excellence only comes through imagining what excellent client care should be, the total experience as felt by each of your Clients - and then work towards making that experience happen; again and again. This isn’t about lots of training and development – but rather about applying intelligence, willingness to support others and that commodity that seems to be in rather short supply: common sense.

Amongst the various client organisations I am working with I have noticed recently a down-turn in genuine client service. With some it is that gentle slipping of standards, that slightly more churlish manner, maybe dismissive behaviour, or that completely unhelpful: ‘it’s our procedures, we can’t change them’: implying that we have to put up with poor quality or stupid rules as we have nowhere else to go. ‘Big mistake’ (to quote from Pretty Woman) of course we have choice.

Tragically, someone threw themselves under a train, which threw Kings Cross Station into chaos and then a standstill. Clearly the railway staff did their best to help – and I with many others were re-directed to take a train from St Pancras to Nottingham (and on to my destination). At the St. Pancras platform barrier the guards (there were 6 of them), proceeded to exercise their power (and insensitivity) by turning many of us away, refusing to let us use our tickets from their sister station.

Bizarrely in the many years I have used this station, I have never seen any guards check tickets at the barriers before. This is the worst kind of negative Customer Care experience. Just when everyone is feeling pressurised, are late for meetings, or appointments and need help. This behaviour just creates anger, riled feelings and an appalling view of the train operating company. Is this what the CEO of East Midlands trains thinks is happening? He or she should take note.

Maybe it is the pressures of the tightened economy, the more stringent requirements of legislation, or maybe Customer or Client Care is just a passing phase? We can all tell stories of the receptionist who continues to talk to her friend whilst ignoring us, or the drinks that take too long to arrive, or are not what you had asked for, but where are the good stories?

What do your Clients or Customers experience at the hands of your staff and managers? Co-operation, freedom to act and solve problems, independent thought, initiative, a delight – or those dull, uninspired restricted people who are unable to see that ‘what goes around, comes around’. We respond to the emotions given out – positive or negative, so if your staff are able to be positive and supportive, then they will have less hassle from their customers!! It really is very simple – bound up in having the vision and using common sense.

So get out there and check the quality of the experience your customers are getting, ‘be silent shoppers’ – because cream rises, the truly and genuinely excellent organisations are going to survive and thrive in this more competitive environment. Is it a wonderful, luxurious, smooth and efficient experience?

In Aesop’s Fables he tells the story of the Miser who buried his gold under a tree. Each night he would dig it up, gloat over it and bury it again. One night when he went to the tree he discovered it had been stolen. He howled and screamed out at his bad luck. A neighbour came and asked him if he had ever used his Gold, to which the Miser said ‘No’. ‘Well you might as well go and look at the hole, for all the good that Gold did for you! Wealth unused might as well not exist!’

If you allow your staff be visionary then you are using the Gold within your staff; if you do not, then you have a wasted resource, because we can all be excellent at delivering divine customer service. Get out there!

Treating your staff like Customers – getting a Return on your Investment.

On a training programme I attended the other day, we were running a little late and the trainer asked her assistant to double-check whether we could have lunch a quarter of an hour later than scheduled. The answer from the kitchen staff was categorically “No”, We’d booked it for 12.45 pm and that was when we were going to get it. Clearly, the chef was not aware of the principles of customer service.

However, how should we view our customer service when we look at it in relation to managing the staff?

Having worked hard to attract suitable people within the business, it strikes me that at the moment, there are some really unfortunate messages getting out. The other day, Billy, a young banker, was talking to me about how his boss had, during a performance appraisal discussion, led him to believe that if in 5 years time Billy was still with the bank, he certainly wouldn’t have reached Director status. This came as a terrible shock to Billy, who thought he was doing a good job, and so he immediately set about trying to find himself another job. His devotion to his existing job was noted by some of the more senior people within the bank, who actually queried why he was looking for another job. There were some seriously mixed messages going on!

The concept of looking after the people we’ve worked hard to attract into our businesses, may be novel, but if we don’t there will be no return on the investment. The glitzy bonuses will have worn off with the Spring sunshine. Your organisation has to work hard to make sure that the managers you employ are actually capable of doing the job, so that you don’t lose your customers but nor do you lose your good staff!

So what can you do? Using a competency framework helps to establish standards of behaviour, with detailed examples of how you expect somebody to manage their people in particular. Many organisations will hold their performance appraisal discussions in the Spring so why not run your process through the following checklist:

1. When did you last review the competency framework in your appraisal system?

2. How relevant are the competencies and the descriptions of behaviour? Have you changed or improved these recently? Do they connect with your core values?

3. When did you last organise training for your managers to make sure they are passing on the right messages and undertake appraisals effectively?

4. How do you check that the appraisals are being conducted fairly and reasonably, in line with the organisation’s overall standard? What form of “grandfather review” do you undertake?

5. If you do identify any actions as a result of the appraisal discussions, how do you know that these get actioned or implemented; how do you manage managers?

6. What external performance indicators do you use, such as client satisfaction surveys, lost or retained customers, customer recommendation or complaints? All of these help you to establish whether your management team are delivering against their job expectation.

7. Why not use a staff survey to check how your staff are feeling about the way they are being managed?

You need to make sure you are providing the right level of management and leadership in your organisation, otherwise the cost of lost customers, and replacing superb staff like Billy, will cost you more in lost profits.

Don’t ignore this part of the return on investment equation!


Patricia

For more information on the ideas and processes raised here do contact Patricia at Trafalgar – the People Business specializes in Managing Change and Performance Management. Contact us on: patricia@patriciawheatleyburt.com Tel: +44 (0)20 7565 7547 www.trafalgarpeople.com

Prophet warning from the wilderness?

Years ago I interviewed Tom for a Sales Manager vacancy. Part of the interview process was a short Personality Profile, which, when I read it, suggested he was ‘schizophrenic’: it was an impossible profile! However, the Sales Director thought he was the best interviewee and being naïve (and new at the tests) I assumed the test was wrong. 6 months later I looked at the profile with the Detective Inspector in charge of the fraud investigation into Tom. The profile – quick though it was – was right!

Spring (including blustery gales) is that time of year when you should take the Office Procedures Manual off the shelf, dust it down and ask yourself the question – are these processes working? Check some standard People Management indicators:

- how long it takes to fill a vacancy;
- retention of staff: after 1, 2, 5 years;
- Utilization or productivity percentages;
- Customer feedback:
- Grievances about bullies?

Using these to spur you on, why not look at how objective and robust your assessment processes are to judge the attitude, knowledge and capability of your people at recruitment, promotion and when doing the job? Here are four classic options to start with:

 IQ;
 personality traits;
 competencies and skills; and
 Emotional Intelligence (EI)

 IQ:

Albert Einstein had an IQ of 160; have you ever tested yourself, and got into MENSA? There is a vast array of literacy, numeracy and verbal performance ability tests available online (as well as paper based) which look at an individual’s cognitive potential. Could this be useful when working with Graduates?

 Personality traits:

There are hundreds of psychometric and predictive behavioral profiling tools which highlight traits, such as preferred learning styles, approaches to management, communication or selling styles. These are available in multiple languages, and recently I was able to use one system for a global client in Italian, French and German, as well as English: brilliantly inclusive.

 Competencies and skills:

After the 66th page doing an internet Google search for: ‘competencies and skills’; there is so much information that you have no excuse not to have some framework or matrix in place. It must provide a cultural fit with your business, have a few, common competencies, e.g. communication, achieving results, sales, etc., with these broken down into 3 – 4 levels appropriate to job seniority. By defining behaviours expected, you can reward staff appropriately and provide repeatable, if not predictable, performance.

 Emotional Intelligence (EI):

As John Cooper, CEO of JCA Behavioural Consultants said: ‘To get and keep the ‘best of the best’, selection and retention must tap into the deeper level of attitudes and feelings – the domain of EI. Organisations really do have to assess and engage both ‘hearts’ and ‘minds’. Within customer service, getting real interpersonal ‘juice’ from relationships is critical. Customers can ‘sense’ whether someone is genuine. Similarly, if an organisation doesn’t help an employee to feel good, if there is no attitude ‘fit’, they’ll leave.” (www.jcaglobal.com).

Finally you should be aligning your brand values with the core competencies, making sure they are reflected across all People Management processes. If there is business pressure to have employees who can “hit the ground running”, then those same businesses need to respond more laterally and less rigidly to who could do the job.

Using these wide-ranging, robust assessment tools can help you stop being a ‘Prophet in the wilderness’ but a ‘Prophet in a Garden of Eden’.



Patricia

For more information on the ideas and processes raised here do contact Patricia at who specializes in Managing Change and Performance Management. Contact us on: patricia@trafalgarprople.com Tel: +44 (0)20 7565 7547 www.trafalgarpeople.com

The Third Billion - Women are fastest growing economic force

Chrstine Lagarde at Davos has been setting out the case for businesses and economies to recognise the power and importance of women. Companies are learning that when they support women as customers, employees, leaders, future investors, and partners—both their businesses and communities win.

'In recent years, investing in women has become more than inspiring rhetoric or good PR for a company. It’s now becoming a core business strategy yielding quantifiable returns' she said. As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton explained at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in 2011, to “achieve the economic expansion we all seek, we need to unlock a vital source of growth that can power our economies in the decades to come.” By “increasing women’s participation in the economy and enhancing their efficiency and productivity,we can have a dramatic impact on the competitiveness and growth of our economies.”

"Women are already the most dynamic and fastest-growing economic force in the world today.” Read full article here from The Daily Beast.

So what steps is your business taking to embrace these philosophies - in the UK? Are you members of the 30% Club? Do you have selection criteria for progression to leadership roles that make it workable for women as well as men? What is your attitude to this latest debate?

email us!

Are you Diverse enough – how do you know?

The Equality Act 2010 has become the framework for diversity understanding in the workplace. Every employer and organisation is responsible for maintaining a level of good practice; hanging over them is a serious threat of tribunal compensation and other legal expenses. So why don’t you do this because you want to – not because you have to?

Far greater benefit can be derived from following an equalities agenda than purely legislative compliance.

- It can support your business development and CRM strategies: do your partners and staff sufficiently reflect the depth and breadth of clients – existing and prospective?
- Are you wasting time, effort and resources in poor recruitment and promotional criteria – that result in you failing to deliver quality legal services?
- Are you confident you have no unconscious bias in all your dealings with partners and staff, through your performance management and remuneration?
- Do leaders and managers use emotive language – and how do you handle those incidents that could lead to grievances and complaints?

Getting this right is the benefit of an holistic and integrated Diversity Strategy. The SRA have given law firms till the end of September to submit diversity data about staff to improve transparency and diversity in the legal sector. How will you do this effectively?

At a recent Diversity for Law Firms seminar we discussed all these and many other areas with HR professionals from a range of sized law firms. If you would like to check whether you are on track, or would like to explore deeper implementation, contact us and either Michael Lassman and / or Patricia Wheatley Burt and we will come and discuss this with you. Contact us at patricia@trafalgarpeople.com .

Do you need to Change Career – or make your Career have multi-tracks?

There are many professionals questioning what they are doing – and whether they have the right balance in their lives. Apparently a small village in Spain has so overspent investing 3 years ago in facilities for its 3,000 inhabitants (many of which they have had to close down as unaffordable to run) that it will take them over 7,000 – yes, seven thousand years to clear the debt.

How many of us do the same with searching for envied lifestyles – and miss the obvious delights right under our noses? Maybe you do not need to find a change in your career, but maybe take time to reflect on how to get more from what you have got – and so can enjoy the sunshine of the May weekends, in preparation for the next weeks, months and years ahead of great personal fulfillment.

For the most recent issue of Changing Careers Magazine please click here.

For more information on our Not for Profit workshops, please click here.

Higher Hiring of Partners?

If you are planning on bringing in new partners as lateral hires we recommend you consider integration support (provided by our team of consultant coaches) to ensure this investment sticks. Too many firms fail to plan and integrate new partners: ‘s/he is highly capable, so it would seem unnecessary to provide them with that sort of support’ said one MP. Integrating a lateral hire partner into a new role is about supporting them to become the most effective, to ensure they learn quick ‘the way we do things here’. Assuming that because they have been in the market for x years doesn’t mean they will fit seamlessly in. HoDs, Senior Partners are all busy people, often don’t have time – and the attrition rate so give pause for thought about how to make laterals long to stay with you.

For the full article please click here.

Portfolilo Careers for Partners: Seminars for Partners - 2012

Are you ready to find out more about what is involved in being a Non-Executive Director (NED) Trustee or Governor and to learn how to market yourself for such roles? With the Government seeking changes to Board structures, the need for board members to be curators of risk, compliance as well as other functional attributes, we believe lawyers could make excellent additions to such teams – if you only presented yourselves in the right light – and at the right time.

Introductory seminar for Partners on NED roles & responsibilities led by Simon Wethered, Consultant, Committee Member to the Charities Commission and ex-Charles Russell Partner

London (9th October, 13th November)

Click here for details

Introductory seminar to the Not for Profit sector led by Richard Evans, CEO of CfA Executive Search and Selection in NfP. who is increasingly involved with the legal sector.

London (24th October, 22nd November)

Click here for details

Building Board effectiveness through Women: An introductory seminar for Partners led by Julie Harrison, She specialises in working with businesses to achieve and manage change and she is also an experienced Non-Executive Director.

London (8th November)

Click here for details

There are limited numbers on each workshop, so to ensure your place on the date to suit you, click here for all the information you will need. The booking form is the last page of each seminar detail, so please complete the form and return it to us as soon as possible.

If your firms is interested in running these programmes or a combination of programme content in-house, please contact me to explore this option.

Should you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact us.

Enhanced Board Effectiveness through Diversity: an introductory seminar for Partners

Regardless of quotas, or Government guidelines, the Board room would benefit from developing a more inclusive approach to who is on the Board – and why. It is clear that there are many prejudices held against professionals as possible board members, such as lawyers. They are apparently seen as too risk averse, narrow focused and unimaginative, leaving the space clearer for accountants: their saving grace being that they can read the numbers!

It is also evident that fewer women put themselves forward for Board appointments (Executive and Non-Executive) – not because they don’t have the skills, but because they may have too harsh (or realistic) an assessment about their own skills and likely contribution. However, it is this more accurate understanding of self, and so appreciation of other's capabilities that actually makes them effective.

To help start bridging the gap, we are now running a series of seminars to help women partners in law firms tap into their expertise and realize their potential in the Board Room – for mutual benefit.

For details of the seminar including dates, venues and costs please click here

If firms are interested in running in-house programmes we can also introduce some excellent role models to help and contribute to the debate and growing database of opportunities for NED, Judicial appointments and Trustee roles.

How would you fare in front of a Parliamentary Committee?

With everyone glued to their televisions recently watching Rupert Murdoch and his management team along with Sir Paul Stephenson and his leadership team being quizzed, how well do you think you would do under such stressful and tricky times?



Apparently Rupert Murdoch makes very few interviews and therefore had to have intensive media coaching and training just before he went on to prepare him for what was about to happen. Whilst no one anticipates the nightmare situation that they are in, being sure you don't lose your cool or stammer or have rapid eye movement which belies honesty or feeling that you need to rub your sweaty palms on the side of your leg, which all just tell us how deeply uncomfortable you have become. Body language belies our minds and thoughts!

Shelagh Mcnamara is not only a recognised authority on voice and speech presentation, she is also a RADA teacher and expert in helping clients of ours who are busy Executives, Chairmen and/or Managing Partners improve their presentation content and delivery skills, particularly at times of critical change, impact and media scrutiny. With an international presence she is able to jet into your office, support you to ensure that any presentation by you does not exacerbate the situation.

We also are able to support firms with wider services or presentation skills as well as preparing for those regular video broadcasts that are essential for any global organisation: more on this later.

Do you want me to come back?

It was busy this New Years Eve in Cape Town, and maybe that is why the Police (apparently in the next street) didnt hear the gunshot fired at my familys taxi. The five of them were going to HQ night club, Very VIP guests of Johnnie Vaughan and were in a great mood for fun.

Charlie had been leaning forward to look at the shops, and in the flick of an eyes second as she sat back the bullet shot past her forehead, an inch away from killing her, and flew behind Dougs head, smashing through the off-side front passenger window. Glass splintered everywhere, and in the seconds of gasped breath, Dermot shouted: Drive, drive, drive – out of here! to the rather nonplussed taxi driver.

We reported the incident to the Police who were polite but did nothing.

The house letting agent offered counselling, but did nothing. I didnt think that would help: we needed answers. Over the following 7 days, the Police still did nothing, but we all had a growing sense of outrage that no one believed or cared about the incident. The standard response was: well no one was hurt (apart from some minor cuts), were they? Maybe it was a firecracker.

Where is the fine line between customer services and public relations?

The relationship between each one of us and another person is all about trust, faith and a degree of honesty about the situation we all find ourselves in. Usually, and in most instances, this can be a wonderful and satisfactory experience. When it goes wrong – surely we should be working doubly hard to put the situation right?

In fact Vicky wrote about the experience in the Irish Mail – and via the UK it got into the Cape Town newspapers – and reflected badly on the collective civic response.

Double the effort:

If we liken this frightening experience with any everyday customer service experience there are some similarities:

• You don't expect to have a bad experience;
• Being disbelieved only exacerbates your sense of disgust, alienation and frustration
• Your experience is your reality (there really was a bullet shell, broken glass and cuts)
• The memory of the experience is longer lasting than any good experience

Oddly many of us have a higher percentage of negative thoughts than positive: as much as 80% negativity. South Africas government should be working doubly hard to ensure that their country is safe and sound for all the football fans who will be out there in June, 2010 for the World Cup. It was such a shame we had this experience, as it is the most glorious country with many wonderful people, beautiful cities and towns.

A remedy?

What would you have done to advise the Police, if you were in their team? I would suggest you'd say:

• Empathise with the experience, and try to find out exactly what happened;
• Identify what would help to address the situation and then take action;
• If it is high profile, then ensure your PR team are in involved to help mitigate any negative outcomes
• Publicly offer to ensure this sort of incident is rare.

Getting it right is really very easy if your organisation (and you) is genuinely interested in delivering excellence time and time again as you want the customers back, time and time again. If you go to Hout Bays Sunday Market you will find lots of locals selling wood carvings, pottery, sparkly jewellery, etc., and will spend precious time tailoring items to suit you there and then – with wonderful smiles.

Insincerity, lack of guidance for staff at the front line, or inadequate leadership just highlight the gaps: the difference between what you say and what you do.

But that was 31 December 2009 – now we are in a New Year, so maybe things will get better? I hope so, and every day I thank God that my daughter is alive and well.

The Full Article can be read on www.callcentre.co.uk