Assessing The Environment - the first role in the first stage of 'The Search for Opportunity'

We are now starting the exploration of the model. The first stage is 'The search for Opportunity' stage where a leader demonstrates three major roles. This episode discusses the first and most important one which is 'Assessing the Environment'. Martin draws on his own experience in leading organizations while Ghadah throughs her research results and work with leaders at large organizations. But this is not all, next will be an exploration of the same role from different leadership levels and organizational sizes.
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Transcript

Introducer  0:03  
Welcome to this podcast series on Neocharismatic leadership with author, leadership expert, and coach, Dr. Ghadah Angawi and executive leader Martin Hedley, where they will both explore the recently published book, Neocharismatic leadership and the coaching topics it covers.

Ghadah Angawi  0:30  
Martin, we are here today. And we are about to start the first role of the first stage of Neocharismatic leadership. And I would like first to ask you to reflect on your own leadership. If you were to be appointed as a leader somewhere, and you have I know, you have the experiences, what would be the first thing you do as you take post?

Martin Hedley  0:58  
There are two contexts in which I've been appointed into a particular leadership role. One was where it was an existing organization that needed to change dramatically, and the others have been where I've been asked to create an organization. Okay, so you think, Oh, those are going to be very, very different. But in fact, I think the answer to your question is going to be, it's the same because whether you've got an existing organization with a lot of people, or you need to create an organization, which of course in time will have a lot of people, there is still output. So for example, when the board of directors hires you to do a particular role, there is an output, there is an expectation from them. And what you've got to do is take stock of the existing situation. Okay, so what's going on? In what environment am I in? What industry am I in? What country am I in what culture, because, you have to take stock of as any sort of systemic level aspects as you possibly can. And so really, what I do, is I take a look at those and I evaluate what needs to change. And I tend to do this by myself, I do get a little bit of input. But you know, I have to understand and believe in my own heart, that I've got the right plan, that is the right thing to do for everybody concerned, all of the stakeholders. Now, once that's done, I then start to talk to more people. And if it's an existing organization, try and make the case for change with them. If it's a new organization, I just talk to new people and try and make a case for change and have them sign up and come along with me. So I think you know that the answer to your question is, oddly enough, as I'm evaluating, right, so the first thing I come in, is you take stock of the situation and see what needs to change, how much does it need to change? And what do I think the change looks like? So at least I can start selling a new vision to others, and see if anybody wants to come along with me.

Ghadah Angawi  3:11  
Yes and you've mentioned observing other factors. Some of them are external, some of them are internal if it is an existing organization, if it's a new organization, you also observe everything, the context itself. So the assessment of the environment is the first of all of neocharismatic leadership. And people might say, but every leader does this. What's the difference?

Martin Hedley  3:39  
Yes. Okay.

Ghadah Angawi  3:39  
Why do Neocharismatic leaders stand out in this role? What is it that they do differently here?

Martin Hedley  3:49  
Yes that's a good point,  is it the new leader? Or is it the new manager? Okay. You said that all leaders do that, I'm going to challenge that a little bit, a really good manager could come in and do the same thing, and they could organize a change. But you know, if you're looking for radically different, if you're looking for something totally new, then you are going to require a leader. So I would say, yes, people typically say don't leaders always do this, but if you're one of the people that say that, then perhaps you should be thinking about your definition of a leader. And is it really all leaders? Because I think it's a special few that do that?

Ghadah Angawi  4:35  
Yeah. I think for me, it's like hiring an architect or hiring an interior designer. You either hire someone to make the place look beautiful, but really, they don't get into the infrastructure, or someone who designs the whole thing from all over again, so that it becomes functional for now and for the future to come, someone who has a deeper vision, a wider perspective, and I think an evaluation is something like this with Neocharismatic leaders, it's not just let's assess the market, let's see how the product can be rolled out in a successful way. It is actually, they look at the whole structure of the departments, and they see where the flow of operations is being stopped or being stalled. And what is really happening inside that is stopping things from happening outside. So there is a balance between external and internal. I think this is where we have to dive in a little bit more because in order for them to achieve this, you've mentioned that you have three perspectives of what's going to happen, you have your own vision as a leader of how things can be improved here. But do you stop here? at your own vision? What if you need more insight? What if there is something missing? 

Martin Hedley  6:09 
Then, the answer is that your great vision may become a reality, but it won't look exactly like what you thought it was going to be. And, you know, I can tell you in 100% of the cases that I've been involved in, that's always been the case. But the point is, what comes out at the other end, if you stay true enough to the radical nature of what you're doing, becomes much, much better than the status quo. And that's what's important. That's what achieves movement in this world and with our with our people. So yeah, what I, what I say is, as soon as you've defined your vision, expect people to come back and say, Well, I don't like that, or, Oh, I'd like it but or could we do it this way, and you know, just 1000 different perspectives. And relax, expect that and realize that it is just feedback, it is a gift. And what they're doing is they are helping you build a consensus as to what really is a good new idea, and what good would look like to most people, that is what builds strength in your idea. If you are a leader that is great at the evaluate stage, and you cannot get people into the Create, because you can't get them on board with you or you're being too difficult, or, you know, just too insistent on a particular way of doing something or about the particular way that it's going to be when it's finished, then you're going to fail as a leader. Whether you're Neocharismatic or not makes no difference. You just simply fail as a leader. I think this challenge from other people is exactly what you need, because it tells you, ah, they think enough of my idea to critique on it. 
If they didn't think much of my idea, then, you know, it's probably not a good idea.

Ghadah Angawi  8:03  
Yeah, surely challenging the status quo is the role number three in stage one, the search for opportunity, and surely sensing people needs are the roll number two in the same stage. But in order to be able to tap in to other roles, you really have to spend enough time in the evaluate assessing the environment role, because you might be blinded to some aspects in the environment that does not reveal themselves until you are challenged enough until you bring people on board, you need to remain curious and listen and open and flexible. And one thing I have observed leaders do is they bring on board in the leadership team, other new elements, which means they're not satisfied with the current expertise. They first evaluate is the leadership team, and this is one major element in the six conditions of high performing teams, that they have to be diverse. And, I have seen  A Neocharismatic leader. When they were appointed, they decided to evaluate their own team first, if they are the right team, people have different experiences, expertise, and expertise has to be diverse. And they told me that they brought in people from different departments with different knowledge and background in order to add to this post, like, you know, so they can get the right feedback on their vision because they came in with a vision, just like you described, and you came in with a proposal.  And I have observed other leaders hire consulting firms to do the work. Some leaders think, oh, we have our internal unit, they can give us all the data we need. We don't need someone from outside.  your internal intelligence or data, they can be tainted, because they're in the environment. And outsiders, sometimes they are the right people to give you the right perspective. you need someone to help you assess the situation properly.

Martin Hedley  10:03 
Yes, that is absolutely true, regardless of whether you're starting an organization or whether you're coming in to transform one. I've seen people on both sides of the fence, some say I'll always hire an outside consultant, and others say never hire one. I think that that's just way too simplistic. You know, if if you look at the nature of the change that you want to make, and in many cases, it's going to be quite big, it would be silly not to get external opinion, because no organization no matter how good the people inside it, no organization can be truly objective as to what is going on in the market. And that's exactly why, as you described earlier, that, youngsters, for example, are getting together on social media, and they're just making change happen. And all of a sudden, that just pops up. And a company is blindsided by it. So, you know, having an external view sometimes can be extremely valuable, because it says, Well, did you know that there are these three sorts of splinter groups if you like that they're trying to do something like what you're doing? Well, that's important to know, because perhaps they're going to topple you later on or before you're successful. Or on the other hand, perhaps that's a huge resource that you need to grab ahold of and ride the wave with them. So, you know, I think it depends on if you've got really good people inside the organization, I would not want to disenfranchise them and make them feel that they've been passed over. So I would definitely make sure they have a role in helping to clarify and define what the vision is and how one achieves it. But I think there also needs to be some external influence as well providing perspective and that if the leader cannot get both sides to recognize the value in each of those, then they're not doing the job properly.

Ghadah Angawi  12:06  
Yes, there is a danger of hiring an external individual which is a consultant and they could be cheap because they're just one person. But I have seen strategic plans fail because of just one person he could have a good relationship with someone and other bad relationships with someone else. And having just a one individual being your own consultant is not healthy, as a coach is fine, but if you really want them to get into the organization and do work for you with other people you really need to make a mixture of a team of internals and externals and not just one person. I know it's easier and I know you have the cost, but that's not going to help you get a wider bigger view, a holistic view of the assessment.

Martin Hedley  15:08  
Yeah, I totally agree with that. The purpose of a coach, of course, is sort of individual, usually one on one or one with a very small group to achieve certain increases in skill set. Whereas what we're talking about here is sort of external consultancy, which is looking at the entire environment. The environment in which you're trying to make the change. So, to me, hiring a one-person consulting company isn't going to do it unless you're very, very tiny. As an organization. In fact, I made a rule that when I hired consultants to help me in my career when the consultant team came in to present and they were bidding for the work, I would ask them some really challenging questions. And I'd have my team asked them very challenging questions. And the team that would actually disagree with each other, as they spoke with us would typically win the business because I don't want a branded, consistent approach that isn't going to be questioned, I want to see a team that is sitting together and they're grappling with the question that we've got and there may actually be a little disagreement in the team, that tells me that they're not afraid to talk about the real issues in front of their potential client, which is fantastic. I know, I'm different, you know, there are other leaders that that say, well, no, I don't like that. I want them all to be buttoned up. And I want them to know what they're talking about. But the fact is, for this kind of consulting, you want a group that is investigating, that is saying, what else is out there? Am I missing something? Well, if they're not willing to challenge each other? Yes. What are the chances that they're really going to challenge us unless they just happen to find some really good research somewhere? And then you're basing your whole strategy on a chance? I just don't think that's the right way to go.

Ghadah Angawi  17:16  
Yeah. And I have seen an organization, a large one, where the leader, a Neocharismatic leader, again, he they hired two consulting firms the kind of assessment they needed, is radical and strategic. And they brought the two consulting firms on the table to draw the strategy, these two consultancies are competitive in the market. But they did, they did it this way, specifically, because they wanted what you have just mentioned, a perspective, the options analysis, and they did, it was a huge diversity. And they were able as well to mobilize the board of directors and get them involved with the consultants. Because this is why the board of directors exists. The advice and they were able to draw upon internal leaders and bring them on board so that it was a team of vibrant consultants 

I realized that we're reaching the end of our episode again, this has been really very interesting to talk about Thank you, Martin, it was very informative. Tapping on your own experiences

Martin Hedley  19:03  
My pleasure, Ghadah, I think we're really getting into the 'how to's now. And, you know, hopefully, the listeners are beginning to realize that this is not rocket science, there is a straightforward way that you can develop Neocharismatic leadership skills yourself. And I'm looking forward to the next episode.

Ghadah Angawi  19:27  
So here's the thing, this is the most crucial stage in the whole model. If a leader can make it right, in this first role, the rest will become easy, because he will be very confident in challenging the status quo and getting people's buy-in. So let's go for it. Next time. We're going to talk about the second role, sensing people's needs, and see you soon.

Martin Hedley  19:56  
I'm intrigued. Bye-bye.

Introducer  19:59  
Ghadah and Martin, hope you enjoyed this episode. There is more information available at Neocharismaticleadership.org. And if you would like to discuss coaching or training for yourself or your team, you can contact Ghadah and Martin through the website. We look forward to your participation next week. Until then, goodbye.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai