The stressful situations leaders are facing force senior executives to focus on continuity and problem solving, he said. Coaches can provide leaders with the space and challenge for creative thinking. But executives tend to change direction only when the existing route is blocked. “Much more dangerous is the open road with no blockages,” he warned, particularly when leaders navigate a new landscape.
Some 500 HR directors attended the two-day summit, with sessions on employer branding, employee communications, organisation resilience and brand tribalism. Motivational expert Chester Elton, author of The Carrot Principle, said that 2009 will be a tough year. “What people really need to hear is ‘thank you’. This is not the soft side of leadership. Employees who hear this are more engaged, productive and loyal.”
Elton shared the results of a 10-year study of 200,000 people by O C Tanner, which revealed that 79 per cent of staff leave jobs through a lack of appreciation. General Sir David Richards of the British Army, in his address, gave a unique view of the leadership qualities required for operational effectiveness in the army.
De Bono provided a reality check about the current crisis: “Thirty per cent of organisations are having a tough time, 50 per cent of the crisis is being fuelled by the media and 20 per cent of organisations are taking advantage of the situation and game playing.”
Volume 4, Issue 2