The dawning of a New Year
Roger Fairhead Roger Fairhead

The dawning of a New Year

As the new year gets underway, many people set goals for the year ahead. While goals can be a great way to focus your efforts and create a roadmap for personal and professional growth, there is another way to approach setting targets for the new year - focusing on outcomes rather than goals.

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The dawning of a new era
Roger Fairhead Roger Fairhead

The dawning of a new era

We’re living through turbulent times marking the dawn of a new era; when people look back, they’re going to say that the 21st Century started in the 2020s. How can you make sure to make the most of your life as the new year dawns? Here’s a process I’ve used for several years, both personally and with clients. Beware though, this can seriously alter the direction of your life.

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Which way should I go?
Roger Fairhead Roger Fairhead

Which way should I go?

Alice: “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
The Cheshire Cat: “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.”
Alice: “I don't much care where.”
The Cheshire Cat: “Then it doesn't much matter which way you go.”

Which way should I go? That's a question many organisations are asking as we approach business planning season.

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Why are you so grumpy?
Roger Fairhead Roger Fairhead

Why are you so grumpy?

It seems that in today's world our staff need to be issued with a "work exposure meter" to record the level of exposure they have to the harmful world of work. This would need to be checked regularly to keep their exposure below a nationally recognised threshold to ensure their well-being and mental health.

The key thought running through these models has to do with our work being something to be endured and something that needs to be kept below a recognised threshold to allow for employee well-being and permit a decent work-life balance.

Now consider another model. How about if we work on helping our staff actually enjoy the work they are employed to do?

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Secret keys to enjoying your work
Roger Fairhead Roger Fairhead

Secret keys to enjoying your work

"Stephen, will you shut up, or leave the room."

When people use your full name, they're either being polite, or you're in real trouble. 

The Sales Director, Bob, said this to a guy when I was in a meeting with some colleagues and we were discussing the tactics to be used for a new sales opportunity.  He wasn't being polite. 

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What is Sustainable Leadership?
Roger Fairhead Roger Fairhead

What is Sustainable Leadership?

Four keys to Sustainable Leadership.

When you can attract and retain good people to your organisation, you'll be able to increase staff retention, reduce staffing costs, and improve overall productivity and profitability. Use these four keys to create a compelling cause and build a collaborative culture in your organisation and you will be able to attract and to retain good staff to take your organisation forward, and then you’ll be able to lead your organisation sustainably into the new era that's emerging post-COVID.

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Three keys to staff retention
Roger Fairhead Roger Fairhead

Three keys to staff retention

Was Peter Drucker right when he said "Culture eats strategy for breakfast"?

Bill Ford certainly thought so, and so he put that statement prominently on the wall in the boardroom of Ford headquarters.

In an organisation with the potential for truly sustainable greatness treat your employees well by embedding these three keys to staff retention into your culture.

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Six changes needed for Sustainable Leadership
Roger Fairhead Roger Fairhead

Six changes needed for Sustainable Leadership

People under 40 today want a "great job", which they define as one where they can identify and align with the purpose of the organisation, they want to know that they are engaged in meaningful and fulfilling work that makes a difference, that their contributions are recognised and that their strengths are developed. No longer is it good enough for employers to say "you get paid every month, don't you?".

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The countryside code … for business
Roger Fairhead Roger Fairhead

The countryside code … for business

I was struck by the idea that pursuing sustainability in business could be described as “The Countryside Code … for Business”, and for us to take only memories away and leave only footprints behind.

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Compelling Cause
Imagine, Leadership, PRIZE, Put Your Dream to the ... Roger Fairhead Imagine, Leadership, PRIZE, Put Your Dream to the ... Roger Fairhead

Compelling Cause

What's the difference you want to make?

When I was growing up, my dream was to become an Engineer and much of my early career was spent managing engineering projects. A key lesson I learned in that role was that you can manage things, but you need to lead people.

I discovered that a key differentiator between success and failure usually had a lot to do with effective leadership skills; with leading people well. I found that you can get the best out of people when you can turn “have-to” into “want-to” because then people inspire themselves to be great.

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Collaborative Culture
Company Culture, Influence, Interact, Leadership, PRIZE Roger Fairhead Company Culture, Influence, Interact, Leadership, PRIZE Roger Fairhead

Collaborative Culture

I first noticed corporate culture when I moved to my second employer. I didn't know that work environments could be so different! I had been with my first employer - a multinational manufacturing company - for 10 years, and so until I moved to a new company I had no understanding of "Company Culture" at all.

All I knew was what I had experienced. We were a "no-frills" company, and a part of the culture was to make sure that you held on to the best office furniture that you could accumulate as people moved on through.

If someone got a promotion, moved to a different department, or handed in their notice, the rest of the team would be on the lookout for a furniture upgrade - perhaps a more comfortable chair or a newer filing cabinet.

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How to "live usefully"
Develop, Dream, Imagine, Increase, Leadership, PRIZE Roger Fairhead Develop, Dream, Imagine, Increase, Leadership, PRIZE Roger Fairhead

How to "live usefully"

We can choose to be intentional and live usefully; to live our lives “on purpose”, to make a living “on purpose”, and to run our organisations “on purpose”, with a purpose that is greater than simply making a profit or surplus.

“I would rather have it said ‘he lived usefully’ than ‘he died rich’.”
~ Benjamin Franklin.

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A soul whose intentions are good
Interact, Leadership Roger Fairhead Interact, Leadership Roger Fairhead

A soul whose intentions are good

Recently I was looking for examples of a great leader. It seems that we've always had some good leaders among us, and we've often even had some impressive leaders demonstrating moments of absolute brilliance.

However, from my research, we've rarely seen a great leader. Leaders who don't rely on their position or role to get things done, but who seem to gather followers naturally; leaders who lead by acclaim, not by position; leaders who really want to make a noticeable difference in the world around them.

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SORTED Magazine Interview
Developing the Leader ..., Leadership, PRIZE Roger Fairhead Developing the Leader ..., Leadership, PRIZE Roger Fairhead

SORTED Magazine Interview

Last year I was interviewed by SORTED Magazine Deputy Editor Tony Yorke, and here is the article that was published in the Jan/Feb 2022 Magazine.

Roger Fairhead has a dream: he wants all men to understand they have influence; they are all leaders in some shape or form – and need to take their roles and responsibilities seriously.

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Leadership is in crisis the world over ~ 3
GLN, Leadership Roger Fairhead GLN, Leadership Roger Fairhead

Leadership is in crisis the world over ~ 3

The world today has all the hallmarks of living through an International Conflict, and when we emerge on the other side, we’ll not simply find a new normal, we will be living in a new era; never have leadership skills been in greater demand, and yet seemingly in such short supply.

Effective Leadership can be defined as seeing beyond the horizon, plotting a course to get there, and inspiring people to 'want-to' go there with you. So, what can we see as we start to look beyond the horizon? This is my third post exploring this topic, and here are some more thoughts.

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Leadership is in crisis the world over ~ 2
GLN, Leadership Roger Fairhead GLN, Leadership Roger Fairhead

Leadership is in crisis the world over ~ 2

It seems that increasingly, people are taking up the option to stay with remote working, at least for a few days a week, since they have been able to redeem the time spent commuting for other activities, and many people are reluctant to give that up. For example, here’s a graphic for the UK from iNews showing time spent in the workplace and public transport usage.

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Leadership is in crisis the world over ~ 1
GLN, Leadership Roger Fairhead GLN, Leadership Roger Fairhead

Leadership is in crisis the world over ~ 1

As in all periods of large-scale conflict, technology has accelerated at an enormous rate.  We've probably seen a generation's worth of change happen in just a couple of years, especially in terms of communication via zoom and teams.  No longer do we all have to meet in the same physical space; now a 1-hour meeting takes ... 1 hour. 

I have a regular 3-hour board meeting with people from around the country, and it used to be a very long day with 6 hours of travel included to get to the meeting and back.  Now it takes 3 hours in total, and I get the rest of the day to do something else.

In this blog post, I want to explore some of the hallmarks of the world we’re living in today and then look at the implications in a subsequent blog post.

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Seeing Beyond The Horizon
Deliver, Develop, Dream, GLN, Leadership, PRIZE Roger Fairhead Deliver, Develop, Dream, GLN, Leadership, PRIZE Roger Fairhead

Seeing Beyond The Horizon

I recently listened to one of my favourite leadership voices, and I was reminded of one of his recent messages.  John Maxwell was introducing the second publication of one of his earliest and most widely purchased books "Developing the Leaders within you 2.0" when he spent a few moments talking on the two themes - that effective leaders see more than others see, and they see before others see.

“A leader is one who sees more than others see, who sees farther than others see, and who sees before others do.”
~ Leroy Eims

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