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Leader or manager?
Too many people still confuse strong leadership with good management and vice versa. So I thought I would provide some simple guidelines and examples to differentiate between the two and determine whether an individual is either or both. Getting the most out of your people
For all the talk about its importance, the vast majority of organisations simply don't take employee engagement seriously. And they never will until those who run these organisations acknowledge that every employee is a potential asset, not a liability. New beginning? What new beginning?
Many commentators would have you believe that we are witnessing a new beginning, that change is happening all around us. Well, I'm sorry to disillusion you, but I can't see that any substantial has changed as a result of the turmoil of the past 12 months. How do I manage on a budget?
Anne is a newly-appointed department manager at a community college. With a demoralised skeleton staff and severe budget issues, she is already disheartened. Charles Helliwell has some advice to help her build morale and start to manage effectively. Dealing with a backstabber
Harry has landed his dream job. But his task of implementing change is being undermined by an aggressive, back-stabbing colleague who seems determined to resist all of Harry's initiatives and who even their mutual boss is unable to control. What can he do? An asset, not a liability
There's no mystery or silver bullet to assessing the value and potential of your organisation's human assets. It's simply a case of how interested you are to find out and how much you care. Who do they think we are: dumb or something?
In uncertain times, one thing that is predictable is how most of us will react when faced with the inevitability of an uncertain future. So why don't politicians realise this instead of fruitlessly trying to spend their way out of recession? When the boss crosses the line
Kate works as an assistant to eight people. All are demanding, but one crosses the line between the professional and personal and acts like a jerk when she asks him not to. Charles Helliwell has some advice on dealing with him. Challenged!
One of Carla's direct reports has directly challenged her management style and decision-making – and done so in writing. How should she react? Charles Helliwell scopes out a course of action. Implementing sustainable change
Benjamin Franklin wrote that the definition of madness was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting change to happen. But this is exactly how many change programmes - in organisations both large and small - can be described.
Dithering, dawdling and decisiveness
We expect our leaders, be they politicians or business people, to be strong, confident and decisive, particularly when the going gets tough. Instead, they are dithering and dawdling, leaving us all to take our own decisive actions instead. And that's tough. The games people play
Promoted into a new role, Mary has come up against a subordinate who wants to make her look as bad as possible. The trouble is, she is also a favourite of Mary's boss. What can she do? Charles Helliwell has some suggestions. Capitalising on adversity
In times of adversity it is always better to see ourselves for what we are and face up to all the vulnerability that comes with it. Each tomorrow is another journey into the unknown. Far better to go into it with an open and inventive mindset than one which views success as just surviving another day. What gives a business its personality?
Whenever an organisation makes changes, they inevitably affect the behaviour patterns of its various stakeholders. But they don't necessarily change its personality. Just say no - or not
Is it just me, or are people increasingly disinclined – or unable – to just say "NO". This behaviour appears to have become a social and cultural phenomenon which has permeated throughout our lives, both at work and outside it. Bigmouth strikes again
Mary has recently moved into a management position where she is plagued by a colleague who bad-mouthed the previous person in her position and now she is saying the same things about her. Charles Helliwell has some advice. Keep going, keep going
In the current economic climate, it's all too easy to let worry and uncertainty rule your mind. Instead, try changing down a gear or two and focusing your energies on those aspects of your job that you are able to influence the most. How do I get my team back?
Shayla is a young manager with a big problem. Key members of her team have turned against her and her authority – and effectiveness – is rapidly being undermined. Charles Helliwell has some ideas to get things back on track. Surviving a downturn
Every time there's a downturn, organisations seem to become fixated with "business development" in the belief that there's some magical breed of executive who can wave a magic wand and save the business. Founders are sabotaging the company
The three founders of Allan's company are technically brilliant but just aren't interested in management. Staff turnover is high and the problems are mounting. Charles Helliwell has some ideas how they might be persuaded to change. The most important 15 minutes of your life
Feeling overwhelmed? Running just to stand still? What you need is not more hours in the day, it's just 15 minutes of contemplative down time that's reserved for you and you alone. Rid me of this poisonous parasite
Jane's working life is plagued by a poisonous co-worker who has made her life a misery. But rather than let it beat her, Charles Helliwell has a plan to help Jane immunize herself against this pest and get rid of her. The personal branding revolution
Have we really become so gullible as to believe that the more complex our jobs sound, the higher our value and the greater our net worth? Or have a lot of us just forgotten what it is we supposed to be doing?
How do I manage a friend?
Sally has been promoted and now finds herself having problems managing someone who was a friend long before the promotion. Charles Helliwell has some advice to help her through this tricky dilemma. Between a rock and a hard place
Susan loves her job as a teacher, but the pay just isn't enough to ensure financial stability. But with a baby on the way, should she look for a job with better prospects or keep her peace of mind but continue to live paycheck to paycheck? Oil and water
Why do so many executives seem to develop a growing inability to back their instincts and judgement the higher up the corporate ladder they climb? Everyone's a winner
The twists and turns of working life sometimes reflect life inside a casino. The cards you're dealt so often offer the promise of untold wealth and riches and yet the odds are always stacked in favour of the house. The games people play
Has it ever struck you that the way organisations behave when they are attempting to retain staff is very similar to the way that mobile phone and utility companies carry on when they're threatened with the possibility of losing a customer? I hired an idiot as my replacement
Kathy is a first-time manger who is thriving in her new role bar one thing: she has hired an idiot as her replacement - and now she is torn over what to do about it. Charles Helliwell offers some advice. The wonderful world of psychometrics
Psychometric testing. Serious recruitment tool or just snake oil and psychobabble? Whatever you affiliation, just stop to ask yourself whether we might already possess the tools within ourselves to assess the suitability of people we meet. What's all this about learning?
Let's be honest here. Organisations have little, if any, intrinsic interest in providing learning for their employees. So why are they suddenly trying to present themselves as advocates of learning and development? How do I stop the lying?
Craig has been coaching an employee on performance issues, but the problems seem to run much deeper than this. As Charles Helliwell points out, it's almost impossible to coach someone to value their work, if they don't enjoy it or find it stimulating. Butt-ugly but brilliant?
Image and presentation are such important factors in business these days that it's becoming increasingly difficult to rationalise the trade off between the Butt-Ugly but Brilliant manger and those who are just Self-Absorbed Dimwits. I'm a lawyer, not a dogsbody
Kirsty is a graduate high-flyer whose first job in an international law firm isn't panning out the way she had planned. But is this down to misunderstanding and miscommunication or something far more serious? Pushed out by younger colleagues
Brian is 55 and has been working with the same organisation for 15 years. But with the arrival of a younger generation of talent, he fears that he could be sidelined out. Misinterpretation of a common language
It is a commonly held belief that because we all speak the same language, we all share the same interpretation. Like many commonly-held beliefs, however, it is quite wrong. Turning silver into gold
You've got to feel sorry for the youth of today, because youth is their only competitive advantage - and it's a declining asset from the moment they start work. Transaction or relationship?
When you decide to work for an organisation, what's the deal? Are you sure that both sides know what it is they want from each other? Because if you're not, it could all end in heartbreak. Work - or lifestyle?
Work should be more than that painful experience we are obliged to live through from which we derive an income. So why can't it be an integral part of our lifestyle? Behaviour - the expression of choice
The liberalisation of thought and the equality of culture has led to a greater appreciation of the potential which lies within us all. So why is it that both expression and choice are still so poorly represented in the business arena by the bulk of those who work there? |
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