Friday, July 13, 2012

Patrick Lencioni rocks the conference

MCI is a great fan of the practical materials developed by Patrick Lencioni and so it was a real privilege to see him in action!  For those who have not yet made use of the superb Lencioni material, please attend the MCI Diploma of Management program or ask us to conduct a session specifically based on this material.
What did Lencioni have to say, given his many years of experience in management development?  His advice was practical and easy to implement:
He asked us to rate just how healthy our organisations are.
While this might be usual for some of us, Lencioni believes that this is the most important question that we can in fact ask.
"I don't think it can be over-stated.  Organisational health is the single greatest competitive advantage for an organisation."  He said that it is just about free and it is accessible to any leader who really wants to utilise its force - but not many do.
Sometimes business leaders place way too much focus on the so-called Smart side of the business - this includes strategy, marketing and finance.  But not enough time is spent on the healthy side of the business - which is measured through minimal politics, minimal confusion, high productivity and low turnover.
Lencioni was consulting to top airline and one of the most profitable companies of the past 32 years, South West airlines and asked them why they thought that other companies did not follow this strong emphasis on organisational health.  The response was that perhaps other companies think that this all beneath them.  They consider these things inconsequential or too soft.
Lencioni emphasised that it is not about doing things that build great egos in the business.  It is about doing the things that need to be done to ensure organisational health.
So:
- Always over-communicate with all team members.  When they mock you about what you are saying over and over again, you know you have done a good job...
- Allow conflict to emerge so that it is fine to debate and argue and talk things through
- Create clarity in the company about what everyone does and where the business is headed

As this was a massive American event, they even brought in the marching band!  Enjoy an extract of just how you can create energy in a room!



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