Leadership Learning - Archive
Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders - June 2022
Welcome to the June 2022 edition of Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders, your monthly leadership learning blog. This edition marks our 1st Anniversary, thank you for all your support in getting Purple Sky Consulting to this milestone :-)!
Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders takes a deeper look into each of the Friday Shares from LinkedIn and builds on them, as a supportive learning resource for all leaders. In this edition, we are looking at creating connections to improve mental wellbeing, the relationship between leaders and HR and asking you to consider what leadership means to you.
As a Purple Sky Consulting subscriber, you get first access to Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders. You can access previous Purple Sky articles and resources through the open access Purple Sky Thinking pages.
A big thank you and welcome to new subscribers…here goes some #purpleskythinking
Friday Share 36 - “14 Ways to Foster Connection between Employees” - Forbes
For Mental Health Awareness Week, the theme being focused on by the Mental Health Foundation was loneliness.
The mental health of your team is critically important, it will impact how they perform but also how they experience your leadership and the workplace. Recognising the role you can play in enhancing the mental wellbeing your team is a positive step. You can do this by looking at activities or ways of working that not only enhance the effectiveness of your team but also create opportunities to combat loneliness and enhance wellbeing.
Forbes have created this helpful guide to help you foster connection between those in your team. Have a read of the article and then consider what this means for you as a leader: 14 Ways To Foster Connection Between Employees (forbes.com)
I really like idea number 7 - “Tackle a Project Outside of Work”, especially when you consider the theme of loneliness. This is a great opportunity to enable people to work together in a more relaxed way. You could consider helping out a local charity or working with a group that need support. Getting people to plan, prepare and take action on the day in a way that is fun and there is less pressure to deliver.
Activity:
Consider which of the 14 ideas would help you to create greater connections across your team?
How can there be benefits for the performance and culture of your team, whilst also enabling those in your team to build greater connection and understanding of each other?
Consider talking to your team about mental health and how you would like to be more deliberate about creating stronger connections across the team, what great ideas do they have?
If you need any further support as a leader relating to mental health in the workplace, consider the resources available from Mind.
Friday Share 37 - “How to strengthen HR and manager relationships” - Sophia Lee, Culture Amp
This is a topic that is very close to my heart. After over 20 years in the HR profession, the strength of my relationships with the leaders that I worked with was critical to our success. This is also very much a two-way process but also a two-way benefit, when it works well.
As a Leader, your HR Business Partner/key contact should be someone you prioritise to build a relationship, and they should be prioritising building their relationship with you too. This is about a proactive and well balanced approach to support your leadership. Let them help shape your approach to ensure that the steps you are taking are fair and that they are supportive of the organsiational values. This relationship should be positive and about you being your best for your team and the success of the organisation.
Have a read through the article from Sophia Lee at Culture Amp: How to strengthen HR and manager relationships | Culture Amp, it considers the different types of relationships that can exist but also 4 ways that you can focus on to help you both strengthen your relationship.
Now that you’ve considered the article consider the following activity.
Activity
Consider the relationship you have with your HR Partner - is it more ‘Blocker’ or ‘Amplifier’?
Based on this, consider the 4 activities suggested by Sophia to strengthen your relationship, with the aim of moving it closer to ‘Amplifier’. What key actions do you want to take over the next 3 months to start strengthening the relationship?
Consider what a stronger relationship will mean for you and why paying attention here matters to you.
Friday Share 38 - “Leadership is…” - A question from me!
Reflection time is really important, especially as you continue to evolve as a leader. Taking the time to reflect on how you have developed, how you’ve changed and what you’ve learnt. As you develop and evolve as a leader, you will change your thoughts and feelings about what leadership means to you.
Therefore, taking the time to revisit what leadership means to you, is a great way to check in on how you and your leadership has evolved.
Activity
Complete this sentence:
To me, leadership is…
Keep a record of what you capture, consider where you are against it yourself and what this means for your ongoing development.
Revisit what you have captured in 12 months time, reflect on what has changed or how you have developed.
Have you considered Coaching?
I offer Individual or Group Coaching for Leaders and these are a great way to build on your self-guided learning. Coaching is a safe and confidential space to explore your goals for leadership, enabling you to feel more empowered and confident.
If you would be interested in considering Coaching, please get in touch for a free and no obligation chat at anwen@purpleskyconsulting.co.uk.
See you in July
I hope you’ve found the topics and resources shared in this month’s Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders useful.
If you do have any feedback or ideas you’d like to share please email me at: anwen@purpleskyconsulting.co.uk
Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders - May 2022
Welcome to the May 2022 edition of Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders, your monthly leadership learning blog.
Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders takes a deeper look into each of the Friday Shares from LinkedIn and builds on them, as a supportive learning resource for all leaders.
As a Purple Sky Consulting subscriber, you get first access to Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders. You can access previous Purple Sky articles and resources through the open access Purple Sky Thinking pages or through these members only pages.
A big thank you and welcome to the new subscribers…here goes some #purpleskythinking
Friday Share 32 - “The 3 C’s of Effective Change Leadership” - The Center for Creative Leadership
Change is constant, it can be challenging and it can be planned or unplanned. Your role as a leader is critical to how well the change is experienced by your team but also how well the change is embedded.
I’m fairly sure you’ll be able to recall experiences of change you have had yourself – think about a positive example and a poor example, what were the key factors of those experiences for you?
Now consider that reflection how does that relate to the 3 C’s of Effective Change Leadership from the Center for Creative Leadership.
https://www.ccl.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/infographic-effective-change-leadership-center-for-creative-leadership.jpg
How will you now consider approaching a piece of change that you are leading or receiving with your team?
The article form the team at the Center for Creative Leadership may help your thinking too: Be a Successful Change Leader: The 3 Cs of Change Initiatives | CCL
Activity:
Consider all 3 C’s for the approaches you’ll take to leading change
Collaborate
Who will you need to collaborate with?
Why might that be important?
How do you think that will work best for you and your team?
Communicate
Who will have the information you need?
Why will this change matter to them? What do they need to understand?
How will it be best to communicate? Will you give key messages directly and more detailed information in a follow-up? How will you keep communicating?
Commit
What will be important for you to demonstrate commitment to the change?
How will you demonstrate this?
Consider talking to your team about how they have experienced change and what is important to them too. Commit to taking action and implementing some of these new ways of working the next time you are leading or experiencing change.
Friday Share 33 - “The Key to Inclusive Leadership” - Julia Bourke and Andrea Titus
The value of inclusion is well understood, but sometimes it can feel unclear as a leader in terms of what it means for you. It is not just the right thing to do but increasingly, and quite rightly so, your team will expect this of you. Be ready, take action and be an example of inclusive leadership.
Juliet Bourke and Andrea Titus have put this great article together that highlights the 6 signature traits of inclusive leaders and it is really helpful place to help you to understand your thoughts and leadership approach: The Key to Inclusive Leadership (hbr.org).
As a prompt and summary of their work, Dr Hayley Lewis has created this great Sketchnote.
Now that you’ve considered the article and the 6 traits complete this Activity.
Activity
Take each trait and score yourself from 0-10 in terms of how successfully you demonstrate these traits. I’d consider 10 you being an exemplar, 5 is when you have an appreciation and some application of that trait and 0 when you have not started yet.
Consider how you have rated yourself:
What action do you want to take?
Consider the priorities for you to ensure that you are developing your capability as an inclusive leader.
Decide on an aim for the next 12months (or the timescale that works for you)
What improvement to you want to see, do you want to get to an 8 or even a 10?
What will it take to get you there?
Make a plan for developing these traits and ensure you are truly an inclusive leader
Ideas for you may want to consider:
Would a mentor help?
Do you have any knowledge gaps?
What conversations am I not having?
Friday Share 34 - “How to Handle Frustration like the Best Leaders” - John Eades
How often do you feel frustrated and how often to you recognise frustration in your colleagues and your team?
Sometimes, I’ve found frustration helpful as its led me to take action or recognised the need to change something. Maybe the source of frustration is something you can control or influence to reduce or remove future frustration for yourself or others.
Consider the article from John Eades, for some insights from how some great leaders handle this impactful feeling: How to Handle Frustration Like the Best Leaders - (learnloft.com)
Activity
Based on this article, what would you like to try out next time you become frustrated or someone else does? Try and then consider:
What was the impact of doing that?
How can you build that into your ways of working to have a wider impact on the frustration you feel?
Consider how you will work with others who demonstrate frustration. How can you build in the ideas from John’s article to support your development conversations.
Friday Share 35 - “10 Leadership Skills for Effective Leaders” - Acesence
This final activity for this edition is thinking more broadly about your approach to leadership.
Here, I’d like you think about how much you enjoy the skills outlined for effective leaders by the team at Acesence.
https://i0.wp.com/blog.acesence.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Infographics-10-Leadership-Skills.jpg?w=1200&ssl=1
I’ve always found that the things I enjoy will get a lot more of my time, and therefore developing the capacity to enjoy the things that are necessary is really important.
You may find that you already enjoy most of these, I hope so as they are the key skills for being an effective leader but it would be useful to really challenge your thinking – how do you really feel about it, how much do you really enjoy it?
Activity
When you’ve consider how you feel about the 10 skills, pick 1 or 2 that you feel maybe aren’t the skills you enjoy most. Have a think about what you could do to increase your enjoyment of that skill.
For example, “Manage Attention” is one of the key skills.
How much do you enjoy truly being present with someone? Do you like the distraction of calls or emails popping in and how do you really hold your attention, especially with others?
What could you try here? How could you be more deliberate about your attention? You could try putting your phone away and closing your emails? You could go for a walk with the person you want to focus your attention on so that limits distractions and creates a different environment.
Alongside the use of this Leadership Learning blog, have you considered Coaching?
I offer Individual or Group Leadership Coaching and these are a great way to build your leadership skills and behaviours. Coaching is a safe and confidential space to explore your goals for leadership, enabling you to feel more empowered and confident.
If you would be interested in considering Coaching, please get in touch for a free and no obligation chat at anwen@purpleskyconsulting.co.uk.
See you in June
I hope you’ve found the topics and resources shared in this month’s Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders useful.
I’d love to hear how you are using it and if you’d like me to cover a particular topic in future editions.
If you do have any feedback or ideas you’d like to share please email me at: anwen@purpleskyconsulting.co.uk
Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders - April 2022
Welcome to the April 2022 edition of Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders, your monthly leadership learning blog.
Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders will take a deeper look into each of the Friday Shares from LinkedIn and build on them, as a supportive learning resource for all leaders.
As a Purple Sky Consulting subscriber, you get first access to Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders. You can access previous Purple Sky articles and resources through the open access Purple Sky Thinking pages or through these members only pages.
A big thank you and welcome to the new subscribers…here goes some #purpleskythinking
Friday Share 30 - “Psychological Safety - When you have it; When you don’t” - Adam Grant
Enabling psychological safety is critical to a high performing team and as the Leader, this should be a top priority. How you behave, act, respond and hold others to account will shape the level of psychological safety felt by your team.
This helpful summary from Adam Grant looks at the behaviours and beliefs you can expect from those who do or don’t have psychological safety.
Knowing how best to approach and develop psychological safety is an important foundation for who you want to be as a leader. Understanding the role psychological safety plays in performance, wellbeing and the culture of your team and wider organisation.
This article “9 Strategies to Create Psychological Safety at Work” from Shana Bosler, based on the work of Amy Edmondson is a great place for you to start considering psychological safety and what this means for you.
Activity - Based on the behaviours and beliefs you see on display from your team, do you feel they have psychological safety?
Capture what you think you see currently
For the next month, be deliberate about the attention you pay to the behaviours and belief on display
What is your conclusion, do you believe that your team are operating and acting in a way that suggested they have psychological safety?
What is contributing to your conclusion?
Based on the 9 strategies suggested above, which are your priority areas to enable psychological safety for your team?
Consider talking to your team about this topic and get some feedback from them in terms of how they feel about some of the contributors to psychological safety. You may also want to consider whether you feel you have psychological safety and whether that is contributing to where your team are.
Friday Share 31 - “The Promises of Giants - I promise to take care of mind and body” - John Amaechi
This clip from the fantastic John Amaechi OBE sharing some key points from one of the chapters of his new book “The Promises of Giants”. It is a great book (or listen for me) and really captures the mission for those who want to be great leaders. This may be doing myself out of a job but I can’t recommend highly enough that book!
The theme of Chapter 6 is a leader accepting the need to take care of themselves and John using the phrase “you can’t pour from an empty cup”. You can’t give of yourself to others, who really need you, if you have nothing or not enough to give. Taking care of yourself isn’t selfish, it is essential so that you can be the best for you but also for others.
Activity - What are you doing to #Fillyourcup?
Consider how full your cup is?
What helps you keep your cup full or at least topped up?
Are you talking about this, especially with those in your team who lead others?
How are you keeping the promise to look after your body and mind?
Set 3 actions to support you in committing to that promise, capture these and review your progress. What difference has it made committing to those actions? Consider sharing your story with the team.
Bereavement
Supporting those in your team experiencing loss
You’ll notice that there are only 2 Friday Shares for March, there should be 3. The reason there isn’t 3 is because the week that a #FridayShare was due, I experienced a significant loss. I took the decision to take care of myself for a few days and rather than stress about creating content that week, I accepted that I couldn’t.
Now that I’m putting this edition of Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders together, I wanted to add in something that may be useful. You might not need it right now, but I think that as a leader a positive way to respond to challenging and personal moments is to be prepared. If you consider in advance the best way for you to respond when faced with something unplanned and potentially emotional, this should be a support and comfort.
There aren’t a huge amount of resources directed as Leaders and how best to navigate this sensitive topic as a leader, but this article from the team at whatsyourgrief.com is very helpful place to start with other resources on the rest of the website: Grief Support vs. Comfort (whatsyourgrief.com)
Activity - Get prepared by understanding the role you will play if someone in your team experiences a loss. Think about how you want to show up and use the resources shared to help you to prepare.
See you in May
I hope you’ve found the topics and resources shared in this month’s Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders useful.
I’d love to hear how you are using it and also if there are any topics that you’d like covered in future editions.
If you do have any feedback or ideas you’d like to share please email me at: anwen@purpleskyconsulting.co.uk
Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders - March 2022
Welcome to the March 2022 edition of Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders! This is my monthly leadership learning blog where I bring together my Friday Shares from the Purple Sky Consulting LinkedIn page.
Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders will take a deeper look into each of the Friday Shares and build on them, as a supportive learning resource for all leaders.
As subscribers of Purple Sky Consulting, you get first access to Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders, this will then be made available to others later on. You can continue to have access to previous Purple Sky articles and resources through the open access Purple Sky Thinking pages. A big thank you and welcome to the new subscribers…you will now have access to the February edition at the bottom of this page.
Friday Share 27 - “Rest, Restore and Reenergise”
As a Leader you set the tone in creating the environment in which your team feel empowered to rest, restore and reenergise. How you behave here will give a perception of your expectations. This might be not what you are aiming for or intending but how you actually behave sets the tone.
So, what is important to you for resting, restoring and reenergising? Do you do this well?
How many times have you worked for a Leader who continues to work, email etc during the evening, at a weekend and whilst they are on leave? How did that make you feel? What impact did that have on you?
Activity - What actual messages are you giving your team about rest based on how you are actually behaving?
What message do you really want to give your team about the importance of rest to enable them to restore and reenergise?
How are you really behaving and does that role model how you want your team to behave?
What conversations are you having with your team about rest and the importance of this for wellbeing and performance?
What do you need to do more or less of to truly role model your aspirations for the team with regards to rest so that they can really restore and reenergise?
Consider talking to your team about this topic and get some feedback from them in terms of how well you are role modelling. Capture a few key changes you want to start implementing and build this into how you work.
Friday Share 28
“Being a caring leader”
Heather R Younger
What does being a caring Leader mean to you?
I love this image created by Heather R Younger and the team at www.caringleadership.co. It highlights some of the key actions and behaviours that contribute to demonstrating care.
Caring is critical and at the heart of being a great leader. It’s not always an easy task, practically or emotionally, but I truly believe that it will give you back as much as you give to it. If you demonstrate and actively promote care with your team, when they see this to be genuine and part of your leadership approach it will enhance their trust in you and they will also want to return that care for you.
Activity - Which of the actions and behaviours identified by Heather do you currently practice? What is the impact of that practice?
For the actions and behaviours that you are already practicing, how can you dial them up some more?
Which of these areas are you avoiding or not practicing? What is causing that? What could you do differently?
What experience of this do you have with your own leader? Where do you need more of this from them?
Prepare to talk about your own caring requirements at your next 121.
Think about the questions you could ask your team, to get feedback about the actions and behaviours that support caring to help you decide on any changes you may want to practice - for example, “Did I involve you enough in…”, “What else could I do to help the team celebrate…..”, “How well do I handle things that don’t go to plan”.
Friday Share 29
“The Benefits of Coaching in the workplace”
Lauren O’Donnell
It will come as no surprise to you that I’m a fan of Coaching!
This article from Lauren O’Donnell at Great Place to Work Canada provides a brilliant summary of the benefits you can return by bringing a coaching style to your leadership and to the wider organisation.
What I love about Coaching, is that it is a skill that everyone can learn and practice. For particular purposes, investing in a professional coach (like me😁) will be the right thing to do but Coaching should be part of any Leaders toolkit.
Coaching is a way of listening, pausing and empowering others to find there own answers and solutions - why wouldn’t you want to do more of that as a Leader of others?
You don’t have to be professional qualified or trained to do it, you just need a mindset that considers a coaching style. As Lauren highlights, taking a conversational coaching approach is a great way to practice this as a leader.
The Center for Creative Leadership have some great tips in this article on Coaching Conversations and I’ve added this handy visual that supports the tips shared.
Activity - Consider the types of conversations that you are having with your team, based on the information shared would you (or would an observer) describe these as Coaching Conversations?
Consider each team member and on a scale that works for you e.g. 1-10, consider how effectively you are holding Coaching Conversations with them. I’m asking you to consider them individually as you may find the types of conversations you are having are different for one person to another and being aware of that is important.
Based on your thoughts on each of these types of conversations, what do you need to do more or less of?
Practice some of these actions and behaviours over the next few months and then repeat this exercise. When you repeat this exercise, take note of how your relationship may have changed with the team member and what are you noticing about their performance.
See you in April
I hope you’ve found the topics and resources shared in this month’s Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders useful.
I’d love to hear how you are using it and also if there are any topics that would be helpful for future editions.
If you do have any feedback or ideas you’d like to share please do email me at: anwen@purpleskyconsulting.co.uk
Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders - February 2022
Welcome to the February 2022 edition of Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders! This is my monthly leadership learning blog where I bring together my Friday Shares from the Purple Sky Consulting LinkedIn page and other topics of interest.
Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders will take a deeper look into each of the Friday Shares or topics and build on them, as a supportive learning resource for all leaders.
As subscribers of Purple Sky Consulting, you get first access to Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders, this will then be made available to others later in the month. You can continue to have access to all Purple Sky Thinking articles and resources through the open access Purple Sky Thinking pages.
Friday Share 24 - “Earn your leadership every day” - Michael Jordan
Image credit - https://www.goalcast.com
Considering who you really are as a leader is an important step in understanding your impact. Are you leading in a way that you want and where you might want to make changes?
A good place to start is asking yourself this useful question: ‘Am I a leader that I would want to follow?’
Activity:
To explore this further, consider these questions:
What actions best describe how I really lead? e.g. organised, delegating etc
What behaviours best describe how I really lead? e.g. compassion, controlling etc
What kind of leadership is important to me?
Now, based on your own description of what is important to you in leadership and how you have described your own leadership:
What do you want to celebrate and continue or do more of?
What do you want to stop?
What do you want to start practicing to support you doing something differently or new?
You might be asking yourself, what do I do now?
It might be useful to get some feedback from your own leader, peers and most importantly your team! Make sure you are specific with them, don’t just ask ‘am I a good leader?’. Think about asking them ‘how do I make a difference to your day’ or ‘what advice could they give me’ about a specific action or behaviour you want to do more.
Once you have this, write your own list or create your own visual of the leader you want to be, use this as a regular check in with yourself on how you are doing and what you want to keep practicing.
Keep looking for resources and inspiration for the things you have on your list so that you can keep growing and learning. Then repeat the exercise at intervals that make sense to you so that it stays relevant.
Friday Share 25
“6 Key Active Listening Skills”
The Centre for Creative Leadership
How do you feel when someone isn’t really listening to you? They might have their phone in front of them and they keep checking it or they jump in and finish your sentences?
I won’t lie, this is a skill that I am definitely still working on. It isn’t an easy one but it is incredibly important to the people that you lead, they want you to actively listen to them. You don’t have the be a master of it immediately but taking steps to improve these skills and demonstrate it consistently, will make a difference to how your team feel about you and how they feel about themselves.
The Center for Creative Leadership have put this helpful graphic together as a reminder of the key skills for Active Listening along with an article that brings the importance of this to life. The article shares more insight to each of the Active Listening skills and they also share additional resources to support you in developing your listening skills.
Here’s the link to the article: Use 6 Active Listening Skills & Techniques to Coach Others | CCL.
Now that you have considered the article, what stood out for you? Which of the Active Listening skills do you already practice? What benefits do you see of improving these further?
Activity:
For each of the 6 key skills rate how well do you already do these, you might want to ask for feedback too.
Give yourself a score out of 0-10, e.g. where 10 is excellent and 0 is where you know you don’t actively practice that skill. Write down these scores and a few notes for yourself, so you can remember why you gave yourself that score.
Choose 2 of the skills to actively practice over the next month and diarise to review your progress in a month’s time. Use the article I’ve shared with you for ideas on how you can practice those skills.
At that review time, consider if your scores have changed for the 2 skills you were practicing, if they have or haven’t what do you think the reasons for that are?
Now look at the scores for the other 4, have you noticed anything about those listening skills as a result of focusing on the other 2?
Consider what actions you want to take now as a result of this review.
Capture the actions and set some time aside to review these actions and how you feel about your ability to actively listen. Also consider, how it has impacted on your interaction and relationships with your team.
Friday Share 26
“Imposter Syndrome v. Self-Compassion”
Susan David Ph.D
I’m not a huge fan of the term ‘Imposter Syndrome’ for many reasons, the main reason is that I feel it gives the habit of negative self-talk legitimacy and something that can’t be changed. I would prefer for this negative self-talk to not have a label handed to it but for it to be recognised for what it is - a harmful habit that can be changed.
Let me be clear, I’m not trying to dismiss the feels and thoughts that someone has, those thoughts and feelings are real. What I do believe that those thoughts and feelings can be changed, so that the person experiencing them can actually begin to feel and think differently, so that they begin a new habit, one that is compassionate and kinder.
As a leader, there will be moments when you or a member of your team has a habit of negative self-talk e.g. “I never do well”, “I don’t think I can do it, what if they think that too”, “I don’t deserve this opportunity”, “they only wanted me to do it because nobody else was available”…I’m sure you can add your own to this list.
Left unchecked, this self-talk can be a habit that never improves but it doesn’t have to be that way. The benefits of changing the self-talk to be positive, kinder language is a habit that you should encourage for yourself and with others.
Consider the work of Susan David Ph. D who’s focus is on Emotional Agility (she has a great TED Talk too on emotional courage) and this feeds into the graphic below. What does your negative self-talk sound like? What do you tell yourself regularly that reinforce a feeling that you don’t deserve what you have or what you could have?
It may be that you are already in good control of positive self-talk, which is a great habit to have as a leader and to demonstrate to others. If you or a member of your team do have a habit of negative self-talk then have a go at this activity.
Activity:
Create a list of the negative self-talk you use
Ask others what negative things they hear you say about yourself
Now consider those statements, if you heard someone saying that about themselves, how would you feel hearing that?
What kinder, more compassionate wording could you use instead - write down those more compassionate statements
Practice using these new compassionate statements instead
Check in with yourself (or the person in your team) in a few weeks time to see how well that is going, are you breaking the negative habit? What impact is that change having on you?
See you in March!!
I hope you’ve found the topics and resources shared in this month’s Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders useful. I’d love to hear how you are using it and also if there are any topics that would be most helpful to you in future.
If you do have any feedback or ideas you’d like to share please do email me at: anwen@purpleskyconsulting.co.uk
Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders - January 2022
A self-guided learning resource for leaders and aspiring leaders enabling them to continue their learning and development. Enabling them to love what they do…
Making changes can be good
The Monthly Update is having a re-name, and in future you can expect to see it called - Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders. In future, this will only be available via a free email subscription and to make sure you continue to have access please subscribe here.
That’s what happens when you have time to reflect at the end of the year, you might decide to make some changes. This is especially true when you are starting something new or handling something challenging. It might have been right at the time or maybe it never was, but its OK to make changes, so that they work for you now.
Don’t stick to something just because you worry that people may think you didn’t know what you were doing in the first place (there’s some insight into my self-talk!). I do know what I’m doing, I’m learning and evolving.
So, why the change?
I’ve been asked before about the name of my business Purple Sky and for me, I love the play on words.
To start with, I love purple! It has always been a favourite colour because it is so versatile and pretty (in my opinion) but it also has links to maximum performance. I’m an F1 fan (always had an interest in it but my other half is a fanatic and I have happily fallen for it too - they come as a package!) and peak performance on the race track is symbolised by the time going purple. Therefore, I always wanted to include to word Purple.
I then considered what leadership, careers, performance, development and possibilities meant to me (yes, a bit deep!) and I visualise a big open sky. What I love about this is that it symbolises no limits, look up, endless sky and beyond.
For me and what I wanted to achieve, Purple Sky was the obvious choice. I couldn’t register just Purple Sky, so I added the Consulting.
I now want to change the name of the Monthly Update to Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders, as it better reflects the aims of this resource.
My aim with creating the Monthly Update was to broaden horizons, to widen the thinking on a topic that is of interest and shared as a #FridayShare. The idea was for it to be used as resource for self-development and on-going learning, for anyone in a leadership role or aspiring to be. It was designed as an invite to endless possibilities.
Move out the way blue sky thinking and get ready and involved in Purple Sky Thinking! The aim as outlined above, remains the same but it now has a name that I think works. I’d love to hear what you think and also to hear your own stories of when you’ve decided to change something that wasn’t quite working for you - either comment below or drop me a line if you prefer at anwen@purpleskyconsulting.co.uk.
Welcome to 2022!
Let’s get back to what the Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders resource is designed for…enabling all leaders or aspiring leaders to continue their leadership learning.
For this January edition, I am going to look back at everything that was shared in 2021 and pick some of what I think are the highlights. I published 23 #FridayShares last year and I’ve picked 5 that I think are really important for all leaders.
If you’ve followed all the LinkedIn #FridayShare posts and the previously published Monthly Updates then you can use this as a refresher. If you are new, welcome, see this as an introduction to how Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders will work.
You are all invited to continue your self-guided learning by making use of this resource each month.
You’ll need to subscribe to receive the future editions but the #FridayShare will continue weekly over on LinkedIn, so if you aren’t already following me or the Purple Sky Consulting page or the hashtag, then please do.
1) Friday Share 1 - “Leadership is a practice” – Simon Sinek
Let’s go back to the beginning, the very first Purple Sky #FridayShare!
I’m a big fan of Simon’s work and he has provided me with many lightbulb moments. I find the ideas he shares really do make me think about my own experiences as a leader and as an employee or member of a team.
He has inspired me to think deeper about my own leadership style and the way to enable those I work with, to be at their best. I haven’t always nailed it, especially at the beginning, but he and his ideas keep me working at it because I want to be the best leader that I can be.
Watch this clip - what are the key points you take from this clip?
https://youtu.be/XGQo-Vge-WU
There are some great points in this - “Leadership is a practice” and “nobody is an expert at leadership”.
The reality is, you are never done as a leader, you will never be too developed at leadership, you will never know it all. Great leaders keep learning and evolving. Seeing what you do as a leader as a continual evolution and an ongoing practice is the healthiest way to view what you do and to stay great at it.
As a great leader, a true leader you should continue to be a student. Continue to be curious and inquisitive about who you are as a leader and continue to be open to learning more.
The key take away for me is - keep practicing and keep learning.
Action: Now over to you
Based on the clip and they key points that stood out for you?
What 2-3 actions/mindsets are you going to take to enable you to remain a student of leadership?
How will you stay curious and keep learning?
Make a note of these, maybe add them to your development plan or put them on a post-it on your desk or on a screen saver, so that they stay present for you. Make time to check in with those commitments to yourself and you might want to share them with a close colleague, coach or mentor for some external support.
2) Friday Share 6 - “Lead with Gratitude” - Amanda Gore
If you just need to have a giggle then this energetic presentation from Amanda might be just what you need. I know it energises me every time I watch it but beyond the feel good factor, there is a very important message.
Watch the clip and consider what this means for you as a leader.
https://youtu.be/CHcP7JOimFA
Which type of glasses are you going for then?
This is one of the things I try and practice regularly in life but also as a leader. As well as making someone’s day, it was one of the things I found hugely beneficial for me as the leader, it contributed to be really loving my team leadership role - being grateful.
Recognising what someone has done and acknowledging it in a way that makes them feel appreciated and energised but also leaves you feel pretty amazing - why wouldn’t you want to do that as a leader?
It is one of those things that can feel cheesy and could feel over played - it isn’t. As Amanda says, we are wired for joy! When people in your team experience joy they perform better and a highly effective way of enabling joy at work is through gratitude. Feeling that gratitude from you as their leader is a boost and builds bonds for the relationship they have with you but also across the team.
Action: Consider these questions:
How regularly are you practicing gratitude with your team?
What are the benefits you feel and you see for others when you do this?
What is getting in the way of you doing this more?
Do you see the team practicing gratitude with each other? What are the benefits of this?
Based on your answers to these questions consider whether you need to practice more gratitude and whether there is anything you could do to increase this across your team. Make a calendar entry in 2 months time to review how things are going, what are you noticing and what do you want to change or do more of?
3) Friday Share 9 - “Confessions of a recovering micromanager” - Chieh Huang
This is a great TED Talk from Chieh and is a really insightful look at the impact of being a controlling leader. It highlights the impact that a lack of autonomy has on the energy and creativity of the people you lead. There are some great examples and stories that brings this to life and certainly identify the need for balance.
Have a watch of this clip and which are the lightbulb moments for you?
I love the reflection about “do we let the team continue to fail”, this is such an interesting way of framing it. There is lots of debate over the merits of celebrating failure but I really do get Chieh’s viewpoint in terms of the impact of failure and using that as part of the learning process.
Often, when I’ve seen this with others and I’ve done this myself, control is about avoiding failure or perceived failure. I know that in the past I’ve stepped in or taken over something when I felt it was going wrong or might do. That was either to save myself, my team or the deliverable, but was it really necessary? How serious would it really have been if I’d just let them carry on? You don’t know because you’ve changed what happened. What might have happened by not taking control? What did I, the team or the deliverable lose as a result of me taking control?
What you are demonstrating by taking control is that you don’t fully trust. What is the impact of that? A lack of creativity and innovation, a lack of belief and frustration with you as a leader, missed opportunities and worse outcomes and a lack of learning? Is it worth missing out on these to retain control?
Action:
Consider your current operating approach of control
How much control do you have over how your team are doing their jobs or projects?
How often do you step in or stipulate how they need to do something?
What do you want to do differently as a result of those reflections? What could you practice over the next 3 months to reduce your control and dial up your active demonstration of trust?
4) Friday Share 16 - “Britain is in denial about race” - Reni Eddo-Lodge
There have been very few occasions when I have interacted with leaders (mainly those who have never faced racism), who were confident and comfortable talking about racism. To a certain extent, that is a good thing, racism is not comfortable, but it is especially uncomfortable for those who continue to face it and have faced it all their lives.
This isn’t about helping you as a leader to be more comfortable with racism but is about you becoming more confident in addressing racism. You need to understand what racism is, how it operates and your role in changing it.
As a White, middle class women, I have never known the feeling of being racially abused or disadvantaged, purely due to the colour of my skin. I can’t change that but I can as a human in our society, as well as a leader acknowledge that racism continues to exist and that I have privilege as a result of that.
Having that privilege means that I can continue to leverage that for myself or I can choose to leverage it to influence others and enable change. As a leader there are many situations that you have privilege and what you do with that matters.
Reni has written a great book called “Why I am no longer talking to white people about race”. I found it shameful and painful. The book helped me to connect more with my own understanding of racism and privilege and that’s where the change can come from, really understanding the reality and choosing to do something about it.
Here’s a quick clip on the reality of racism today in Britain, spoken by Reni.
https://youtu.be/rl-1apL8EE0
Do you speak out about institutional racism? Do you do challenge family and friends if they make racist comments? What are you doing to change things? Do you acknowledge your privilege and what are you doing with it?
Action:
Consider how as a leader you want to leverage the privilege you have
How can you lead the change?
What actions can you take to make a difference to really change things in your organisation or your life?
If you feel uncomfortable or unknowledgeable about racism then recognise that and do something about it - reading or listening to Reni’s book would be a good place to start. Review your reflections above and decide what you will do next.
5) Friday Share 18 - “The Autonomy of Trust” - Brené Brown
An absolutely essential pick is the wonderful Brené Brown.
I find her thought provoking and based on the reality of human connection and behaviour. Leadership is people based, it is all about relationships and behaviour. How you are viewed and experienced as a leader is all about how you build relationships and how you behave.
We’ve touched on how trust is a key leadership behaviour and action in pick 3 and I want to dig into that some more by looking at trust in more depth. Really understanding trust and what this means for how you behave as a leader will help you consider if you are truly building trust with your team. If your people don’t trust you, can you really be a great leader?
Have a look at this clip and consider how you behave as a leader, do you lay the foundation for trust with your team based on what Brené outlines as the components for trust?
https://youtu.be/0SqFiTeka_I
You could feel quite overwhelmed by this, it is quite scary as it singles out the importance of you really holding yourself to account. Do you want to be the leader that someone in your team feels that something that is important the them, isn’t safe with you? I am assuming that you are saying no to this, if not, ask yourself why that is.
Preparing yourself and behaving in a way that is BRAVING will enable you to be a trusted leader.
Action:
Consider each part of the BRAVING model and really challenge yourself on where you believe you are.
On a scale of 1 - 10 for each of the parts of the model, where are you?
Be really honest with yourself. You don’t have to share this with anyone, but be really honest with yourself and then consider what you want to do more or less of to continue to build trust with your team and maintain that trust.
By behaving in a way that is BRAVING, you will demonstrate to others that they can trust you and therefore they will be more willing to follow you. You will be able to build stronger relationships with your team and across your team. This will develop truly trusting relationships that will work both ways.
As a leader, accepting that you are never done with your learning and development will enable you to keep evolving.
I hope you gained something from these 5 picks from the 2021 content.
I’d love to hear from you if you’ve learnt something new about yourself and put changes into place that have resulted in benefits for you and your team.
Thank you for engaging with the Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders January 2022 edition.
Remember to subscribe in order to received the next edition and for other news and updates from me at Purple Sky Consulting.
Monthly Update - November 2021
Welcome to the November Love Leading Collection Monthly Update!!
This Monthly Update is a summary of the #FridayShares from October and expands on what was shared, making it a resource for self-guided leadership development or to inspire you as you develop others.
This is designed to help you keep learning, enabling you to Love Leading and to enjoy some #purpleskythinking.
Friday Share 15 - “Are you running on empty?” - Molly Grisham
How many times have you heard…”put on your own oxygen mask, before helping others”? Hopefully, every time you are on an airplane!! But it holds true across our lives and our leadership lives too.
If you aren’t looking after your own mental and physical wellbeing as a priority, how can you expect to help your team be their best too?
This clip from Molly Grisham brings that thinking to life. Watch the clip and consider what that means for you:
What do you think of when you watch this clip?
I am a big fan of the point at which someone feels like they were being given permission by Molly to look after themselves. Here are a few questions for you to consider and what this means for your own development plan:
Are you waiting for permission to make sure that your battery doesn’t drop to zero?
Do you recognise the impact of your own wellbeing on yourself?
How does this impact how you lead?
What impact does this have on your team?
When you are feeling your best, what is going on with you then, what impact does that have on you and how you lead?
Action: Based on the answers to these questions what 3 things are you going to take action on?
If you need a bit of inspiration, why now consider the article for Forbes by Erin Urban on “strategies for self care for successful leaders”: Erin Urban Article in Forbes
Friday Share 16 - “Britain is in denial about race” - Reni Eddo-Lodge
October was Black History Month, a month to shine a light on and celebrate the wonderful Black people of Britain and beyond. It is also a time to pause and recognise the disgraceful role that racism has played in the history of all Black people and all people of colour.
I reflected in the #Fridayshare post that I feared that using the word history, could give a perception that racism is also history - it is not. Racism remains a constant for Black people and all people of colour.
This powerful clip from Reni Eddo-Lodge for the BBC brings that reality to life:
What are your reflections on that clip?
Consider these questions:
How much do you understand about racism and the reality of racism?
Did you do anything with your team during Black History Month?
What have you done to change the experience that Black people, and other people of colour, have in your workplace?
How active are you in considering the needs of Black people, and other people of colour, in the work you and your team does?
How regularly is racism and understanding of racism discussed in your leadership peer team?
How much discomfort do you experience talking about racism? Why is that?
Action: Based on the answers you have given here, what do you want to do about these answers?
If you don’t feel knowledgeable about racism, it is your responsibility to do something about that.
For those you want to understand racism, ongoing racism and be inspired to make a difference, Reni has written a great book. The book is - 'why I am no longer talking to white people about race' and you can access it as an audiobook as well as in print: Access here
Friday Share 17 - “Connect then lead” - Tanmay Vora
I absolutely love this graphic that outlines very clearly the importance of connecting with people so you can really lead them.
This great image by Tanmay Vora with QAspire.com is easy to follow, fun and puts this important message across clearly.
Now that you’ve considered this, answer these questions:
How much trust do you have in your team?
How much trust do you think they have in you?
Do you respect your team? How do you know that?
Does your team respect you? How do you know that?
How much warmth do you generate with and across your team?
Are you well connected with your team?
Action: What is currently working well that you want to continue and what do you need to practice more of to increase the connection you have with your team?
The key point on connection is trust, when you are ready, move to the next section as we are covering that next.
Friday Share 18 - “The Autonomy of Trust” - Brené Brown
When considering the importance of connection to have permission to lead, the key foundation to achieving this, is trust.
This 9 minute video clip from the wonderful Brené Brown is the best place to start to understand trust and consider what this means for you, in life and as a leader.
How spot on is this clip? When you consider it from your own perspective…so what about when you think about the relationship you have with your team?
Action: Consider each of the BRAVING definitions shared by Brené from her work and ask yourself, how well do you do against each of those points with each of your team. What do you want to do differently?
That’s the last Monthly Update of 2021!
I will hopefully be in New York for the first Friday in December, so I’ll be practicing what I preach and putting my oxygen mask on first.
It does mean that January will be a jam packed edition.
Keep an eye out for the #FridayShare over on the Purple Sky LinkedIn Page as these will keep coming.
Thank you for all the support since we launching in May! See you in the new year!
Monthly Update - October 2021
Welcome to the October Love Leading Collection Monthly Update!!
As a quick reminder - the Monthly Update is a summary of the #FridayShares from the previous month. The Monthly Update expands on what was shared, making it a resource for personal development or to inspire you as you develop others.
You don’t have to cover it all in one go, maybe do a section a week. This is designed to help you to keep learning, enabling you to Love Leading and to enjoy some #purpleskythinking - yeah!!
Friday Share 12 - #worldsuicidepreventionday
Mental Health and Wellbeing are really important topics for us at Purple Sky.
To highlight #Worldsuicidepreventionday we used our first #FridayShare of October to point people to a great article from Forbes and Dr Margie Warrell with some great tips for leaders on how to prioritise mental health.
Have a read and capture your reflections:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/margiewarrell/2020/10/10/world-mental-health-day--why-leaders-must-prioritize-employee-mental-health--wellbeing/
We also considered this campaign from the Mental Health Foundation and some important sources of support. As a leader being aware of these and being able to signpost to them when they are needed is really important.
The starting point for signposting support, especially for suicide are here but also investigate the support services you provide as an employer for wider mental health support:
Samaritans offer a 24-hours a day, 7 days a week support service. Call them FREE on 116 123. You can also email jo@samaritans.org
Papyrus is a dedicated service for people up to the age of 35 who are worried about how they are feeling or anyone concerned about a young person. You can call the HOPElineUK number on 0800 068 4141, text 07786 209697 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org
NHS Choices: 24-hour national helpline providing health advice and information. Call them free on 111.
From those of a Black, Asian and Minority background ReThink have support available at https://lnkd.in/dcH63ryS
C.A.L.M.: National helpline for men to talk about any troubles they are feeling. Call 0800 58 58 58.
Support After Suicide Partnership offers practical and emotional support on their website for people bereaved and affected by suicide.
Now as a leader consider these for your leadership practices:
How many of the tips from Dr Maggie do you use and what impact have they had?
Which of the tips are you going to start using?
Would you feel comfortable enough to ask someone if they were suicidal, if you felt that was a risk?
What support do you need to be best placed to support your team?
What steps would you take if someone said they were suicidal or had a significant mental health issue?
Understanding your responses to these questions will help you to take a proactive approach to mental health with your team but also enhance your own confidence in supporting these situations.
You are not expected to fix someone’s health but you do have a duty of care and a responsibility to act where a member of your team is at risk or potentially putting someone else at risk.
Friday Share 13 - “The importance of company values - James Kerr talks Legacy” - Bruce Daisley
I absolutely love the Eat, Sleep, Work, Repeat Podcast from Bruce Daisley. If you haven’t listened in before then I recommend looking it up on your podcaster of choice. This is unlikely to be the last shared as a #FridayShare as the stories are diverse and touch on topics of interest for all leaders.
I’d also highly recommend his book ‘The Joy of Work’ which I’ve enjoyed as an Audiobook. Great anecdotes, thought provoking and there were many LOL moments.
To explore some more from Bruce Daisley head over to the website - Home - Eat Sleep Work Repeat - workplace culture
Anyway, moving onto “The importance of company values” - This podcast is Bruce in conversation is James Kerr, a consultant and writer on high performance with a keen interest on elite sports teams. During this conversation they explore how company values, their development and the commitment to them influence legacy. There are some great examples shared during this conversation and I had many…”yes, completely”…”bang on”…..moments throughout it.
Considering the legacy you want to develop and leave as a leader is an interesting way of shaping the way you lead. You could look at this as only being valuable for the top executive team, I would disagree, as you can achieve this at any level, as a great way to enhance your leadership and the experience of your team.
Have a listen and then reflect on what it means for you as a leader:
Eat Sleep Work Repeat: The importance of company values - James Kerr talks Legacy on Apple Podcasts
As a result of hearing the conversation:
What are you main points of reflection?
Why have these points stood out for you?
What do you want to explore as part of your own leadership priorities to enhance your legacy and the experience of your team?
Friday Share 14 - “The Secret to Leading Organizational Change Is Empathy” - Patti Sanchez
When I think about the Love Leading approach, empathy is a huge part of that. Empathy is a key part of leading successfully, we’ve focused on empathy as a #FridayShare before and we’ll keep coming back to it as it is so important.
This certainly applies when leading change in organisations. This is often the place where I’ve witnessed leaders shy away from empathy, relationships and connection and they take refuge in process, procedure and getting the task done.
The more you can lean into empathy as a leader when you are leading or part of delivering organisational change the better. It will improve the experience for those you lead, for yourself and for the post change phase.
This is a great article from Patti in the Harvard Business Review on how leaders can focus on empathy during organisational change.
Have a read and consider what this means for your own leadership approach:
The Secret to Leading Organizational Change Is Empathy (ampproject.org)
Now that you’ve read the article, consider these questions:
Would you say that you currently lead change with empathy?
When you experience change in your organisation do you feel empathy towards you as a leader?
What would you need to do differently when leading change to lean into empathy?
How could you influence great empathy during organisational change in your organisation?
What do you see the benefits of dialling up empathy for you and your team during change?
Organisational change is often very challenging for all involved, including you as a leader.
I absolutely believe that if you can lean into empathy when you are leading or implementing change that this will improve the experience of change for your team and you - enabling you to Love Leading. These focus areas from Patti are a good place to start.
Remember that October is Black History Month. What are you doing to celebrate this? What are you doing to shine a light on past racism and race discrimination, as well as the continuing state of this? What are you doing to lead change?
Part of your role as a leader is to create an inclusive and diverse environment so that everyone feels that they belong. That can only be achieved through action, commitment and the right behaviours. Part of dismantling racism is understanding it and that is where Black History Month plays an important role.
If you are not actively considering your role as a leader in ensuring your team and organisation is anti-racist, you are not actively focusing on how to be anti-racist, then how can you create a team that is inclusive, diverse and a place where everyone wants to and feels that they belong?
If you are unsure where to start or are already actively working on being anti-racist then head over to the Black History Month website. Pick some activities, talk to your team about what they might want to do, use the resources signposted on the website - do something.
10th October is World Mental Health Day
My commitment to improving the wellbeing of others and to shine a light on #worldmentalhealthday2021, is to offer up 10 Free 30 minute coaching sessions.
The aim of the sessions is to:
💜 Listen
💜 Use coaching techniques to help you understand what’s really happening
💜 Support you in identifying the actions you want to take to enhance your wellbeing and positive mental health
These sessions are available on a first come, first served basis.
If you think you would benefit from this then DM or email at anwen@purpleskyconsulting.co.uk.
See you for the next issue on Friday 5th November and in between you can find a weekly #FridayShare part of the Love Leading Collection over on the Purple Sky LinkedIn Page.
Have a great October!
Monthly Update - September 2021
Welcome to the September Love Leading Collection Monthly Update!!
As a quick reminder - the Monthly Update is a summary of the #FridayShares from the previous month. The Monthly Update expands on what was shared, making it a resource for personal development or to inspire you as you develop others.
You don’t have to cover it all in one go, maybe do a section a week. This is designed to help you to keep learning, enabling you to Love Leading
Friday Share 9 - “Confessions of a recovering micromanager” - Chieh Huang
This is such an interesting topic, it is an area that line managers need to be very aware of - as well as wary of. There are many impacts of micromanaging.
Take a moment - when have you felt micro-managed? What did that feel like?
This clip is about 12 minutes long but Chieh is incredibly engaging and tells some funny and relatable stories as part of this TED Talk.
I love the definition provided at the start of this clip and the reflections being made of the impact of micro-management. The importance of and impact of control and autonomy. So, why do we micro-manage? Because normally we know how to do the job and have progressed from doing that job ourselves.
When you become the manager and manager of managers, can you ‘let go’ of the job? I also love Chieh’s attitude and approach to things not going so well, what you can learn and benefit from stepping away from the micro-management and actually trusting your people.
Now think about the following for your own leadership approach:
What does control for you mean?
How are you currently demonstrating control?
Is that having a positive and negative impact - on you or others?
How much trust do you have in your team?
What are the 3 things you are going to do to reduce your need for control and your level of micro-managment?
Friday Share 10 - “Blame” - Brené Brown
Up next is the wonderful Brené Brown - one of my absolute favourites. If you have not read or listened to her book ‘Dare to Lead’ then I highly recommend it, I would say it was a turning point for me and my approach to leading.
This clip is only a few minutes but before you start ask yourself - am I a blamer?
Enjoy the clip and then let’s consider this some more and what it means for you as a leader.
So, are you a “blamer”? Be honest about it…
I love the honesty of this clip, Brené is open about her feelings here but what she shares about the research is so interesting. What she shares about the reality of what blame is really, makes me recognise that blame isn’t about others, it is about me!
If I am blaming others then I am discharging my own discomfort and I am not holding others or myself to account. I find that so powerful. That need to blame becomes a barrier for empathy, which is essential for great leadership.
What reflections do you have from this clip?
A few things for you to consider for your leadership practice:
How do I really think and feel when something doesn’t go to plan?
Am I looking for and demonstrating blame?
What impact is this having?
Am I holding people to account properly?
What are the 2-3 things you need to do to ensure that you can properly hold others and yourself to account, to avoid blaming?
Friday Share 11 - “Compassionate Leadership” - Quote from Jacinda Ardern
This was a question to consider: What does compassionate leadership look or feel like to you?
Now consider the following for your own leadership approach:
How do you feel about this quote from Jacinda?
What does compassionate leadership mean for you?
When have you felt compassion from others?
How do you demonstrate compassion as a leader?
After answering those questions, why not do some more research yourself, about compassionate leadership, its value and how you can develop these skills further.
Something else you may want to look at is the article I published on LinkedIn on 1st September 2021 - I shared my thoughts on considering ‘hybrid’ working differently and that considering ‘personalised performance’ would be more valuable.
Here it is: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:ugcPost:6838764732330110976?updateEntityUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_feedUpdate%3A%28*%2Curn%3Ali%3AugcPost%3A6838764732330110976%29
See you for the next issue on Friday 1st October and in between you can find a weekly #FridayShare part of the Love Leading Collection over on the Purple Sky LinkedIn Page.
Have a great September!
Love Leading Collection
Welcome to the August Love Leading Collection Monthly Update!!
As a quick reminder - the Monthly Update is a summary of the #FridayShares from the previous month. The Monthly Update expands on what was shared, making it a resource for personal development or to inspire you as you develop others..
You don’t have to cover it all in one go, maybe do a section a week. This is designed to help you keep leaning, enabling you to Love Leading
Friday Share 6 - “Lead with Gratitude” - Amanda Gore
Fun is important for life and plays a key role in successful teams.
That does not mean that you need to be the next Sarah Millican or Eddie Murphy but creating a space for laughter and fun in your team is absolutely important. This enables connection across your team and allows your team to see more of you.
A great way to create space for laughter and fun is through gratitude.
This is a great clip from Amanda Gore (7 minutes of joy on its own) has some great insights to how leading through gratitude and fun is good for everyone. Prime people for a state of trust, joy, and optimism then this will increase their performance, productivity, creativity and innovation. The key to build trust, joy and optimism is to do it through gratitude.
I encourage you to laugh out loud to this clip and then consider what this means for you.
What I love about this is that it is so simple, it takes no financial investment to change the performance and engagement of your people – it just takes the right mindset and behaviour from you. It is also something that is good for you as a leader too – how would it not bring you joy to see the reaction of others who are recognised for what they bring to the team, that people are grateful for them?
What a wonderful thing – to create the space for gratitude to cultivate joy.
Now it’s your turn:
Reflect on this – “we are born wired for joy and we learn fear” – how often do you create space for joy across your team
How often do you demonstrate gratitude?
Do you encourage gratitude in others?
What three things are you going to start practicing (other than folding and refolding your arms) to increase gratitude and joy with your team?
I’d love it if you share what you try and the impact of it for you and the team – I’d especially love it if you share the ‘gratitude glasses’ that you use.
Friday Share 7 - “Change a dangerous habit, slow down!” - Jeff Black
Next up was an article by Zameena Mejia from www.CNBC.com about some reflections from Jeff Black on a habit that can damage your reputation as a leader. That habit is rushing.
Jeff invites all leaders to consider ‘slowing down by 10%’ and to stop saying ‘I’m busy!’
There is a risk to your reputation as a leader, of ‘being busy’. It looks like you aren’t in control, you can distract people and make them feel uneasy, and you look unapproachable – this isn’t what people are looking for in their leader.
Black says that by slowing down you increase your presence and can be clear and confident, which is a positive for your team.
This simple workplace habit can hurt your image as a leader (cnbc.com)
What do you think about this view and the advice from Jeff Black?
Consider these points:
How often do you say in response to the question “How are you?” – “I’m really busy!” – What do you think is the impact of that and how do you really want to be seen?
How quickly do you walk (harder to answer if working remotely!) and talk?
Are you late arriving to meetings? Why is that?
Consider how you can slow down, just a little, to build confidence and calmness for yourself and across your team. This might be something you consider with a coach or for your development plan.
Friday Share 8 - “8 Ways Managers Can Support Employees’ Mental Health” - Kelly Greenwood & Natasha Krol
The last #Fridayshare for July was highlighting the honesty and openness of Simone Biles. She was able to come forward and say, I’m not ok and I won’t be able to perform at my best.
My reflection on this whole situation was how brave she was to be honest about how she really was but also that it was such a big story – this goes to show how far we still must go in normalising mental health.
As a leader you have an essential role in normalising the understanding and acceptance of mental health across your team. You don’t have to be a mental health professional, but you do need to be able to create a safe space where anyone in your team feels confident to say, ‘I’m not ok right now’.
Leading in a way that your people feel their wellbeing is a priority and that they are cared for, can help normalise mental health in the workplace. If you do this well, you will build trust, inclusivity and better bonds across the team.
This article from Kelly Greenwood and Natasha Krol on 8 Ways Managers Can Support Employees’ Mental Health is a great place to start to consider how you can best approach creating a safe space to normalise mental health across your team.
8 Ways Managers Can Support Employees’ Mental Health (hbr.org)
What are your reflections on these tips and which are you going to prioritise to practice with your team?
Consider the following:
Which of these tips are you going to prioritise to practice?
How regularly do you discuss your mental health with your line manager or peer group?
Could you share a story about mental health, it could be your own or someone else’s like Simone’s. Something to get a conversation started.
See you for the next issue on Friday 3rd September and in between you can find a weekly #FridayShare part of the Love Leading Collection over on the Purple Sky LinkedIn Page.
Love Leading Collection - Monthly Update - July 2021
Welcome to the 2nd Love Leading Collection Monthly Update!!
As a quick reminder - the Monthly Update is a summary of the #FridayShares from the previous month. The Monthly Update expands on what was shared, making it a resource for personal development or to inspire you as you develop others..
You don’t have to cover it all in one go, maybe do a section a week. This is designed to help you to keep leaning as a leader, enabling you to Love Leading.
June was Pride Month and I wanted to use this introduction to reflect on this. I am an LGBTQ+ ally and committed to supporting any persons right for equality. I want anyone to be seen for who they are and be comfortable to do so.
As a leader I have a responsibility to create a safe space for all those I lead but that may mean doing things differently.
I need to be deliberate in considering the issues faced or support required by those who are LGBTQ+, in all aspects of their work, development, progress and the environment they have to work in.
I am responsible for ensuring that they feel that they belong for who they are and can be who they are. That is your responsibility too, as a leader.
“Allyship is not monogamous” (great line from Simone Roche MBE), you don’t have to pick one marginalised group and support only them. It is important to pay attention to how deliberate you are in considering the issues faced and support required by those who may be different to you or who may not benefit from the privilege that you do. It’s about recognising, seeking to understand, being a voice and being part of making things change - that’s how to be a great ally.
A great way to start is by understanding what privilege is and to recognise your own - how might you be considering this or not? This great clip from John Amaechi., will help, he focuses on White privilege but it touches on all aspects of privilege: What is white privilege? - BBC Bitesize.
After you’ve watched the clip, have a think about how you may have privileges that others don’t - what might it be like to not have the privilege you do? how can you be a voice and leader of change for those who don’t have the privileges that you do. Also, which privileges didn’t you have yourself, how can you share to help others?
Friday Share 3 - “Motivating by Mastery” - Daniel Pink
The first #FridayShare of June was from Daniel Pink, where he talks about the importance of making progress with meaningful work for personal motivation. He shares what happens when we strive at improving the things that matter and gives some top tips for enabling this in the workplace.
The clip is about 5 minutes so grab a brew and get ready to get energised!
https://youtu.be/wNqOJnA5Ysw
Now that you’ve watched this clip, what are the key points for you?
The key points for me are, that the days you feel most motivated are the ones when you are making meaningful progress, that the desire to get better at something that matters keeps you going. That in a workplace setting creating instant, continuous, informal feedback is essential to understand progress and keep it going. A great way to do this is to be interested in your team, understanding where they need support but also highlighting where they are making progress.
To help you with this in your own leadership practice, consider these questions:
What am I doing to make meaningful progress in how I lead?
How am I enabling others to have meaningful work?
How am I enabling others to feel that they are making progress with the meaningful work?
How am I celebrating progress with the team?
Take some time to consider your answers to these questions, is there anything you want to do differently? What could you try next week that might have a positive impact on your own mastery and that of others?
Capture the actions you want to take and review how you feel about them in 2 weeks time.
Friday Share 4 - “Stress” - Huffington Post Interview with President Obama / Understanding Stress
This share included 2 video clips. The first is an opportunity to understand the impacts of stress and the second was one of my favourite leaders, President Obama, talking about how he handles it and how he tries to reduce the impact of it for others.
As a leader I want you to consider how well you understand stress and how you handle it for yourself and your team?
Both clips together are just over 4 minutes.
Now that you’ve watched these clips, what are the key points for you?
The key points for me are, that stress can be a positive, but too much negative stress is really bad for you and your team, but it can be managed. You can impact how stressed you are by how you manage it, but as a leader, you need to ensure you are not contributing to it or the cause of it! As the President identifies people identify and react to stress differently, just because you cope or avoid stress doesn’t mean others can or know how to. For him, keeping perspective and focusing on what’s important reduces stress.
To help you with this in your own leadership practice, consider these questions:
How stressed are you?
How stressed are your team?
How do you cope when you feel stressed? what impact on others do you have?
How do you help keep your team focused on what’s important?
How do you help your team to keep perspective?
Are you spending enough time with your team to recognise if they are stressed?
Are there any immediate action you want to take for yourself or your team? What might you want to do differently as a result of considering these questions?
Make a note of any key points and consider how you’ll action them over the next few weeks.
Friday Share 5 - “5 Reasons Why Trust Matters On Teams” - Dana Brownlee (Forbes.com)
The last share for June was this great article from Dana Brownlee, on the importance of trust for a team and is a great reflection for any leader. How much trust do you foster in your team? Have a read (or listen) to the article and consider how much trust already exists in your team. Do you see these things happening?
5 Reasons Why Trust Matters On Teams (forbes.com)
To help you with this in your own leadership practice, consider these questions:
What do you currently do to develop trusting relationships with your team?
What barriers currently exist to trust in your team?
Considering the 5 reasons that trust matters - how much do they exist in your team?
What actions do you need to take to increase the levels of trust across your team?
Capture the actions you want to try to impact trust across your team and consider having a conversation with your team about how much trust exists and how they think more trust can be fostered.
Don’t miss out!
If you haven’t already seen it I’ll be talking about How to Love Leading at an event organised by the FJR Group on 7th July - if you are interested in coming along you can register here: https://lnkd.in/dR59XxB
See you for the next issue on Friday 6th August and in between you can find a weekly #FridayShare part of the Love Leading Collection over on the Purple Sky LinkedIn Page.
Love Leading Collection - Monthly Update - June 2021
In this first issue of the Love Leading Collection Monthly Update we give an introduction into what we are aiming to achieve with the Love Leading concept at Purple Sky.
We also get a bit deeper into the topics we shared through the #FridayShare to support your ongoing leadership practice.
Welcome to the very first Love Leading Collection Monthly Update
The Love Leading Collection is where we’ll be sharing ideas and inspiration for all leaders. This is to support our main aim at Purple Sky, to enable leaders to Love Leading.
This Monthly Update brings together all the resources shared in May from the Purple Sky LinkedIn page. This will include the weekly #FridayShare and other key topics. This Monthly Update pulls together these topics into one place and we’ll build on them as a learning resource for all leaders.
Friday Share 1 - “Leadership is a practice” – Simon Sinek
The first clip we shared was from Simon Sinek. I love Simon’s work, because he brings a really human element to leadership practice.
The clip outlines his thoughts on how great leadership is about continual practice, its about learning, changing, evolving and being curious.
If you haven’t had a chance to watch the clip yet, have a quick look before continuing. It is just under 2 minutes, so it won’t take long.
https://youtu.be/XGQo-Vge-WU
Now that you’ve watched this clip, what are the key points for you?
The key points for me are, that if you want to be a great leader and be recognised as a great leader, you need to be prepared to learn and grow. You also need to care and learn about your people. You won’t always get it right, but how you handle it will show who you are.
To help you with this in your own leadership practice, consider these questions:
When did I try something new with my team?
What isn’t working quite in the way that I would like it to? What could I do differently to influence that?
How much time have I spent with my team this week? How did I use that time?
When you’ve answered those questions, consider if there is anything new you want to practice or try out in the coming weeks.
Make a note of it and then come back to it, reflect on how it went and how it made you feel. What will you do now?
Friday Share 2 - “How ‘white fragility’ reinforces racism” - Robin DiAngelo
On the week of the 1st anniversary of the murder of George Floyd, I shared this powerful video from Robin DiAngelo as part of an article from The Guardian. It is powerful, challenging and at times scary but it is so important.
The role leaders have in bringing important and challenging topics into reality, to shape the experiences and environments of their teams is crucial.
This can be daunting, especially around topics that we are not confident or comfortable with. Embracing your need to understand, learn and enable others to do the same, will be the difference between creating an inclusive and safe environment for your team, or not.
There are so many factors and issues that reinforce racism, in all its forms. As a leader you are part of the change or part of maintaining the status quo….which one do you want to be?
I am deliberately talking in this section to white leaders. I am not assuming that all the leaders who read this are white, but the reality is, because of structural racism, the majority of leaders are not people of colour. As a white leader you must take an active role in changing this.
If you are leader who is a person of colour, then I have no doubt you have faced many issues, challenges linked to direct and indirect racism, on your path to where you are today. I can’t make that better and I will never understand the pain of that. I am sorry that it has been part of your life, I want to learn to understand and to be part of the solution for it not being your future. If there is any feedback you want to share with me directly - I am open to hearing you.
What we do want to do at Purple Sky is enable leaders to develop in a way that is inclusive and anti-racist. As Robin says in the video clip, this is a continuing multi-part process of work. We will keep focused on it and commit to keep the conversation alive. We won’t always get it right and we will remain open to being challenged.
This video is just over 5 minutes but worth every second.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvIO2GU8yTU&t=32s
Now that you’ve watched this clip, what are the key points for you?
For me, the key points are that we all have to accept that racism exists and that it remains the status quo. I have to own my ignorance of experience and privilege. As leaders you have a particularly important role in understanding how racism can be understood and overcome in your own team and organisation. You cannot wait for someone to tell you what to do. You are part of changing and influencing the experience of people of colour.
Taking action starts now - why not take Robin’s advice by:
Completing Dr Eddie Moore 21-Day Challenge 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge — America & Moore (eddiemoorejr.com)
Read or listen to Layla F Saad’s book - Me and White Supremacy Me and White Supremacy: How to Recognise Your Privilege, Combat Racism and Change the World: Amazon.co.uk: Saad, Layla, DiAngelo, Robin: 9781529405101: Books
I’d also ask you to consider these questions:
Do I understand and accept my own privilege?
How many conversations have I had with my peers or team about racism?
How open am I to being called out for racism or behaviour that maintains the status quo?
How would I react and behave if someone challenged something I said?
When you’ve answered those questions, consider if there is anything new you want to practice or try out in the coming weeks.
Make a note of it and then come back to it, reflect on how it went and how it made you feel. What will you do now?
It would be great to hear your thoughts on these deeper looks into our #FridayShare posts. What insight has it given you? What have you tried and learnt?
You can share by adding comments to the #FridayShare posts on the Purple Sky LinkedIn page or if you’d like to share anything directly please contact me at anwen@purpleskyconsulting.co.uk
What topics matter most to you as a leader?
We’d love to hear what topics or areas of leadership you’d like us to talk more about in our #FridayShare and throughout the Love Leading Collection.
Help us shape your development and leadership practice by letting us know where we can help you most. You can share with us here.
Thank you for joining the 1st Issue of the Love Leading Collection Monthly Update and look out of Issue 2 on the 2nd July.
Why you should want to Love Leading
I’m going to take a moment to share a little more about what matters to us at Purple Sky and what we are aiming to achieve with our Love Leading concept.
Let’s start with this quote from Steve Jobs…”The only way to do great work is to love what you do”.
What I love about this quote is that it highlights the importance of having a connection to what we do, through our emotions. That by actually loving what we do, will translate into better outcomes.
Those outcomes could be for the organisation, the people we work with, but more importantly resulting in better outcomes for ourselves. Now, let me be clear, I do not think that this means that anyone who doesn’t love what they do is terrible at it, but I do think if they are not enjoying it, they are unlikely to be getting the most out of it. That’s OK too, if that is what they want and are choosing that, I just think you can choose differently.
The personal enjoyment and love of work can be self-driven but it will be enhanced (or not) by the leaders we have surrounding us. At Purple Sky, our aim is to enable all leaders to Love Leading. We think that having leaders who really enjoy their role, will enable them to be the leaders that teams want to work with and succeed for.
We think that the leaders who really enjoy what they do, will create better experiences for their people, where they can then thrive. We think that the leaders who Love Leading will be remembered for the right reasons, by their teams but also by the organisations they lead in.
The Purple Sky view of the world is that if leaders develop their skills, mindsets and behaviours that this will increase their confidence in their leadership capability.
As leaders build that confidence and see the positive reaction from their team, they’ll continue to value the importance of evolving their leadership practice.
As they experience this, even in the hard times, they will be able to say that they enjoy leading their team, that they enjoy what they do. This is what we want to be part of, enabling leaders to Love Leading.
To achieve this, we have created the Love Leading concept. This is made of a 3 parts:
Love Leading Development.
Love Leading Collection.
Love Leading Community.
To find out more about the Love Leading concept you can visit our pages here or please get in touch directly with me at anwen@purpleskyconsulting.co.uk