MANAGEMENT

Four key factors to organisational success

by

To read the full article subscribe to our newsletter. Practicing management over more than two decades has resulted in numerous insights. In fact every day, we learn from our clients, our peers and the world around us. We believe in sharing these insights and welcome your thoughts, ideas and feedback so together we can be better leaders and, most importantly, better people… Email Mobile/Cell By continuing, you accept our Privacy Policy BY TOPIC 🧭 Management ⋮ 🎯 Purpose ⋮ 👫 People ⋮ 📈 Performance

The Three Factors that Separate Success from Failure

by

What differentiates success from failure? Personally or professionally? In individuals and organisations? We’ve been obsessed with this question for over 20 years. And whilst the answers, like our environment, constantly change, we have identified three themes that seem to stand the test of time. They are: » The Goals we Set – Purpose » Our peer group – People » Our behaviours and habits – Performance OUR GOALS – PURPOSE “You don’t have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things — to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals.” — Edmund Hillary … Read more

The three pursuits that define our lives

by

The life we lead depends in many ways on how we spend our time – our actions, when repeated, become habits. Those habits become behaviours that define our character, personality and identity. It all comes down to our actions or pursuits. Over the course of our work, we have identified patterns that form three key groups that we call the ‘three wolves’. Understanding these three focus areas gives us clarity not only on how we spend our time but, more importantly, on how we should spend it. For, in the end, we become what we dwell on – time, focus … Read more

The three causes of conflict and how to address them…

by

Our work to date on performing teams relies heavily on three key functioning behaviour sets: » Communication & Candour » Trust & Vulnerability » Commitment & Accountability Embracing candour or frank, challenging, and sometimes confronting conversations is crucial to success. We have been proselytising an empathetic approach to candour where we first seek to understand the other person. Empathy is critical in working through conflict, whether it is in the workplace, on teams, or even in our personal lives. We have experienced an increasing need to deliver workshops and seminars on conflict management and, on some occasions, consulting in this … Read more

Father’s Day 2022

by

There are few pursuits more purposeful and important than the call to fatherhood, for those blessed with that calling. A good father shapes not just the generation he’s responsible for but many that follow. Whilst worldly affections such as money, career, status, fame, importance, social standing and influence can be an intoxicating addiction, the silent needs of our children and their quiet cries must never be ignored. Kids don’t care what car we drive, how much we earn, or where we sit on the organisation chart at work, they just want us to be fully present in their lives. The … Read more

Balancing Efforts & Results

by

In the end, it all boils down to effort! We have long argued that as individuals we will always be limited by our biggest weaknesses, but in teams, we can perform to our greatest strength. In environments where there are high levels of trust and vulnerability, each person can feel safe enough to pursue their strengths knowing that others on their team will help make their weaknesses irrelevant. It’s what we call the miracle of teams! An important corollary of this strengths-based theory is performance. As the entire premise relies on each individual acknowledging, pursuing, improving and, most importantly, performing … Read more

Seven Critical Recruiting Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

by

Adding someone to your team is a very important exercise. Getting it right can have tremendous outcomes for you and the recruit. But getting it wrong can be quite disastrous for all involved. Just a few years ago, during my time in sport, one recruiting decision comes to mind as an example of how pivotal this can be. We were sitting not far from the bottom of the ladder with a few games left in the season, following the departure of a key player and a series of losses. The coaching staff had to sacrifice family time at Christmas and … Read more

The Power of One-on-One Meetings

by

Following our previous insight on The Manager’s Diary we have had numerous requests for a more detailed article on what should be discussed in a One-on-One meeting. This article is part of our wider consulting framework. If you’d like to know more please contact us on hello@marvincg.com One cannot hire a hand the whole man always comes with it. Peter Drucker There are few better ways for a manager to spend his or her time than with the people on the team. For it is only in these moments of exclusive and undistracted interaction repeated on a regular basis can … Read more

The Manager’s Diary

by

What should the focus of a manager be? How should a manager’s time be spent? These are questions we get asked quite often in our work. Whilst everyone’s role is different and the answers can vary a lot, there are some common themes worth considering. We have taken a weekly view on the Manager’s Diary to ensure there is an optimal perspective of not being too short-term (daily) or too long-term (monthly). A weekly perspective offers room for flexibility – the ability to make up for the reactive, the unexpected and the unplanned interruptions to our day. The week offers … Read more

The three critical imperatives for cultural change

by

Excerpt 1. Clarifying values but more importantly explaining the reasons for them, how they connect to the organisation’s purpose to performance. 2. Correlating values to behaviours – what actions represent the values – and the more unique, identifiable even outlandish the better. 3. Are the leaders living the values, are there champions across all levels of the organisation that base decisions on values; and finally, do people see themselves as custodians of the values and call each other out when they are not lived. ⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯ How do you change the culture of an organisation? Is it even possible? We often … Read more