If you are thinking about developing staff, you have a wide range of choices. The wise manager also builds organisational resilience whilst developing staff – skilling up for the future as well as for the present.
When someone leaves the workforce abruptly, even if only for a season, it can put a strain on an organisation. If someone is suddenly taken ill for instance, it can throw the normal running of a department, team or project into confusion.
But should it?
In December 2010 I was told that my job was being made redundant and that I was leaving on the 31st March 2011. But on the 20th March, I read an email asking if anyone was available to manage the Registration Service. The existing manager was going to be away for the next three months.
Yes, I was available.
The Assistant Director already knew me and what I was capable of. So she put me in place, even though I knew nothing about the team or what they did. In fact, I ended up managing the service for six months, developing me and my team. You can read here what she and others have said about me.
And after that I managed a series of one-off projects for the following year. I then set up my own business, having benefitted greatly from the experience.
What’s the key learning here?
It is helpful if you know who is available, capable and willing to take on new things at the drop of a hat. It saves a lot of time
Oven ready chicken that has had space to roam.
This experience is invaluable to the individual in terms of skills enhancement, confidence building and broadening perspectives and experience.
Having someone “Oven-ready” answers a very pressing need that couldn’t have been planned for.
We are familiar with succession planning for possible emerging scenarios. But what about planning for unseen scenarios. Managers need to know who in their team could be loaned out – who can we give the space to roam? This in turn generates space for others to step up. Instead of everyone panicking because Chris has been taken ill, it could be seen as an opportunity to grow skills, try out staff in more senior positions and get some new perspectives on how we currently operate.
And for Chris, having a manager who says, “Don’t worry; we’ve got this.” might be just the medicine that they need.
I was pleased to write an article for The Director’s Hub on leadership and leadership skills. My take on leadership is that it is not about charisma, knowing it all and having the loudest voice. It is about helping your team thrive. Helen Guinness (who knows a thing or two about leadership) summed it up this week – management is processes, leadership is people.
We each have a version of ourselves that is our most effective, confident and capable – a position of poise. Being poised helps us to feel steady and secure, ready to face the unknown. It helps us to make better judgements. This in turn helps us to deal with conflict and to act naturally, overriding negative self-talk and managing our interactions elegantly. Superheroes have it. So can you. And you won’t need Spandex!
I am a Learning and Development Consultant and have spent 30 years training and coaching people to develop various capabilities, including:
management skills
presentation skills
problem solving
assertiveness
This can be in groups, or one to one. Many of these topics have an element of fear and anxiety and I help people overcome that, giving them flexibility in how they respond and behave. Understanding why we get scared, and what to do about it, can open new ways of working. The combination of critical thinking and emotional intelligence can give people clarity and confidence to handle anything. They can handle their colleagues. They can talk in a straightforward way to their seniors. And That Customer (the one everyone avoids – even you!)? No problem.
This is what I do; I help people work towards their position of poise.
But who am I and how did I get into management training?
On my wedding day my father described me as eccentric. I prefer idiosyncratic but, hey, it is not a label I resist. I think it comes from a lifetime of pushing at boundaries, doing things in an atypical way, looking beyond what is in front of me and being curious. Incidentally, I learnt this from my father, who was rather eccentric himself.
In 2012 I started my business, Janet Webb Consulting, after a lifetime of saying yes to opportunities and seeing where they took me. Along the way I have learnt a lot about how the brain works, project management, effective communication and emotional intelligence (particularly the impact of fear). I got to this point by saying “Yes, I can.”
A career built on saying “Yes, I can.”
Egypt, Dance Captain.
At 18, after three years training, I became a professional dancer. The following year I was working for a French dance company and when the director asked me if I could be captain for the next contract in Egypt I said “Yes, I can.”
It was challenging; very challenging. It meant managing a troupe of dancers, in a very different culture, under quite difficult circumstances. Being a young woman in the 80’s in a Middle Eastern country didn’t offer me much respect or support. But I battled on. I didn’t always get it right but I quickly learnt how to be there for my team and to negotiate with clients. My time in Egypt wasn’t the happiest but it was one of the most stretching and educating.
Selfridges, Manager.
After four years of travelling around the world I walked into Selfridges in Oxford Street, looking for a job; any job. I left after an hour with a three-month contract as a temporary sales assistant in the Christmas Greeting Card Department. When after two months my manager asked me if I could join the Stationery team permanently, and then afterwards be team leader, I said “Yes, I can.”
Seven years later I left the store. I worked my way up through the leadership ranks and then I joined the training team, delivering everything from sales skills to management training. Managing staff was fascinating. And I discovered that I enjoyed leading on projects and training people. I had found my new home and passion.
ESCC, HR Manager of Projects.
Whilst working at East Sussex County Council (ESCC) in the training team, managing the training centre and delivering management training to outside organisations, I was asked whether I could take on the management of the HR Projects team. I said “Yes, I can.”
I had to quickly learn about HR and develop the role as an HR Business Partner. During this time, I went through a professional assessment of competence and so gained my Chartered status with the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development). I loved my time in HR, particularly managing a team of staff again.
East Sussex County Council again, Registration Service Manager.
However, after a round of redundancies across the council it became clear that staff needed to go from the HR team and my job could easily be shared out between others. In December 2010 I was given notice of redundancy; I was leaving on the 31st of March 2011. But on the 20th of March an email was circulated asking if anyone could manage the Registration Service, whilst the current manager was on long term sick. And I said “Yes, I can.”
I had previously worked with the Assistant Director who was happy to take me into her team. A three-month contract became six months. I then managed a series of other projects for her over the next year. (I broke the redundancy register software twice. Apparently, no-one is supposed to be at risk of redundancy for over 18 months!)
I repeatedly had to learn a new set of skills and knowledge and I loved the challenge. And each time, it became easier to take on something new.
CIPD, Subject Matter Expert in Critical Thinking.
When I was five years old, I watched an episode of the television programme UFO and a character made a decision based on incomplete information. I can remember the moment as if it were last year. I realised, even then, that much of the time we don’t have the full picture. As a child I probably didn’t use quite those words, but I have been fascinated by how we think, ever since. The study of this is called metacognition. I just thought it was incredibly interesting.
In 2022 I was asked by the CIPD whether I could work on a new course on Critical Thinking as the subject matter expert. I said “Yes, I can.”
Improve decision-making and judgement and find the best solution by learning to use critical thinking strategies.
I was happy to share a lifetime of learning on the topic; how we make judgements based on our beliefs, how we assume things to be true based on our experience (and therefore our culture), how we argue against things with faulty logic, how the state of our bodies impacts on our ability to think or take risks. The list goes on.
What saying “Yes, I can” has taught me.
Something to say?
I have developed a number of crucial skills and attributes through all of this activity:
an ability to embrace and cope with change
being undaunted by working in unfamiliar territory
a massive breadth and depth of experience
having an objective yet unrestricted outlook
great project management skills
One of the main things that I have learnt is that if someone of good sense believes in you, then you should trust their judgement and have a go. Stepping into the unknown is one of the most developmental things that you can do for yourself.
And sharing this breadth and depth of knowledge is one of the best things that I can do for you or your staff. It’s what I am here for.
If you need management training, better presentation skills or just some understanding on how to deal with people, then give me a call.
Do you have a training department? You might have a finance arm, or a marketing team or even an HR department. But how do you get your staff developed?
You have a team of staff. Your organisation is growing. You’re navigating through change and you are thriving – or at least surviving. But you are not yet big enough to have a team of in-house trainers.
And yet…
…to keep your staff working effectively, feeling engaged and able to deal with change, they still need skills development.
That’s where I come in.
Who Is Janet Webb?
Janet training – her happy place.
As a trained and experienced trainer, facilitator, mentor and coach I can offer you the skills that you need, when you need them. I have managed training and development functions; this means that I have managed the whole process from learning needs analysis, through the development and project management phase, through to delivery and evaluation.
So if you or your staff need training but you have no learning and development team, then give me a call.
If more people felt poised the world would be a much better place. Feeling poised means having balance, feeling secure, being sure-footed, enduring with ease.
It comes from having confidence, mastery and inner strength.
And it allows humility, resilience, serenity, authenticity and wisdom.
Poise is not just about how we stand – it’s also about what makes us stand well.
It’s not just about the words we use – it’s also about the thinking behind those words.
It doesn’t just lead to confident behaviour – it leads to effective behaviour and good judgement.
Understanding how our brains work gives us the liberty to respond effectively and efficiently. Difficult situations, like giving a presentation, become much easier. Managing staff becomes more effective as we grow a wider management toolkit. The ability to manage change increases as we develop flexibility and agility. Resilience, the ability to bounce back from stress, grows.
The perfect version of ourselves is like a diamond; tough but shining brightly and perfectly matched for the job in hand. But we can be covered in stuff that weighs us down.
Being poised is about finding that inner diamond. Through developing mastery, knowledge and confidence. My job is to facilitate that. To teach about our inner workings, how the brain functions and how our emotions impact on our behaviour.
You may be wondering about your staffing levels for Christmas. Are you? After all, it is only a few months away. Whilst you consider your options, I would like to share with you what it is like to experience The Future of Work and be a Christmas casual worker at Sainsbury’s.
Look after your Christmas Stars
Last December business was a little quiet for me. It wasn’t desperate, but I was at the point of cancelling lunch with a good friend and I wasn’t having that! So, I signed up to do some casual shifts at Sainsbury’s; sometimes in life you just have to suck it up.
To be one of their merry band required navigating your way through the Indeed Flex App, which is apparently the Future of Work. This is not that straightforward; all very inhuman and not for anyone who isn’t tech savvy. At one point it crashed and I had to start again. After completing the “training” (ie watching a few videos about various things, including lifting and handling – compliance training anyone?) I got there in the end. Within hours I was booked in to do two shifts the week before Christmas. The app is the ultimate in being processed. But hey ho.
So how was working at Sainsbury’s?
Well not that great. Filling shelves and being in the hustle and bustle of Christmas was fine; it took me right back to my early days in retail. There is a certain satisfaction to be gained from getting an aisle straight and helping customers where I could.
What was not so sparkly was the way we were treated.
I arrived for my first shift and reported to customer service. They clearly didn’t know what to do with me or the others also arriving. I was given a visitor badge, number 6, and told to wait.
A manager collected us, took us through to the back office where we could leave our bags and then took us onto the shop floor. I was rather expecting a briefing – health and safety, domestic stuff etc. But no. No explanation of breaks, location of toilets, the canteen, who to speak to, what to do at the end of day, where to take rubbish etc.
Straight onto the floor, shown an aisle and a cage, given a brief explanation of what to do and then left to it.
All day
And I Mean All day.
At no point during that 8 hours did anyone check I was OK, check that I was doing things properly, send me off for a break, be curious, be kind. Not one member of staff came to speak to me. No manager knew my name. I swear I could have walked out of the store and come back at the end to sign out and no one would have known.
The fact that one of the other workers came and found me every time he had a customer query tells you everything you need to know.
It was inhuman. I was a visitor in the store and utterly abandoned.
It was exactly the same for the second shift. I didn’t book a third. I had wondered whether I might make this a regular thing to do at Christmas. I guess not.
The Future of Work?
As a customer and as a person with a particular concern for people at the margins of society, I felt I needed to do something.
I emailed the Store Manager on the 28th March outlining my experience. Then again on the 24th April.
Management skills development is essential for organisational development and team success. It can make the difference between a team thriving or not. But when and how should it be accessed?
The Problem
Staff often get promoted into management positions because they are great at something completely different; the chief widget maker becomes the Head of Widget Making. And then the problems begin. Why? Because management skills are a very different skill set. But they can be learnt.
Traditionally new managers are sent on a course to develop these management skills. This can be a good starting point. However, there are a number of potential difficulties with this approach:
You might have to wait for a good course to become available.
Such a course covers what it has been designed to cover, when it has been designed to cover it. This may not meet the manager’s needs.
A course doesn’t take into account the skills that the manager already has.
There is little or no support to help the learner develop these skills once the course is over.
There is no on-going advice on specific problems, just general principles
The answer to really effective management skills development is to use a mentor, with a vast array of experience and knowledge, to provide bespoke support and training. Good learning comes with input, practice, reflection and repeat, spaced over a period of time. Bespoke training delivered through mentoring can do this.
Mentoring – a place to learn, to reflect and to breathe.
Mentoring can also give clarity and space for reflection. Problems can be dealt with as they arise.
In 1979 racing car designer John Barnard was exploring the use of carbon fibre as a material for making Formula 1 cars and critical thinking was key to this research. His interest was in making the chassis narrower and lighter, without any loss in strength or torsional stiffness (the ability to withstand twisting.)
Barnard approached British Aerospace, who were working with this new product, and asked for their help. Arthur Webb, an aeronautical engineer and carbon fibre (and carbon fibre composite) expert, came on board (in his spare time!) Together Barnard and Webb changed motor sport history. What they did was to think about this new product differently to the way other people were approaching it.
Lesson 1 – Barnard realized that their competitors were trying to use carbon fibre in the same way as they had been using metal. However, aluminium is “stretchy” whereas carbon fibre is brittle. Both products would behave very differently under stress and in an accident.
Critical thinking lesson 1 – techniques that work in one situation don’t necessarily work in another, even if the materials look the same.
Lesson 2 – Hercules Aerospace, an American firm, were funding the construction of the new chassis. Their technicians calculated that the design that Barnard and Webb had come up with wouldn’t work. However, in their calculations they had treated the carbon fibre as “black metal”. Arthur Webb was able to convince them that their calculations were based on wrong assumptions.
Critical thinking lesson 2 – challenge the assumptions you and others are making.
Lesson 3 – Concerns were raised by competitors and in the sporting press, that this new material was dangerous and wouldn’t protect the driver in a crash. Their main objection was that carbon fibre was brittle. What they didn’t take into account was
that brittle in engineering terms has a different meaning to what the man in the street means by brittle.
the carbon fibre composite material has fibres running in many directions to give it all round strength and is sandwiched around a honeycomb of aluminium.
carbon fibre maintains its strength right up to the point where it breaks, unlike metal, which loses its strength as stress is increased.
Critical thinking lesson 3 – check that everyone understands something in the same way.
What a car! A win for carbon fibre.
And Finally
Their new car, driven by John Watson, won the British Grand Prix for Maclaren in July 1981. Later that year, Watson crashed his car at the Italian Grand Prix. Webb and Barnard had built into the design weak points where the chassis would break, giving them a safety advantage. The engine mounts broke, so that the engine sheared away from the rest of the car, reducing the kinetic energy and putting distance between the driver and engine. Watson walked away unharmed and concerns about this new product faded.
“Janet really helped me with a new project. She is a great listener and really understood what I needed, keeping me focused and on track. She is a great strategic thinker, just the right person to help with organisational change.”Michelle Gavin, Business Development Manager
“Janet is a joy to work with. She brings high energy and enthusiasm to any project. She is straight-talking, down-to-earth and practical in her approach, yet she also brings tenacity, strategic thinking and an ability to see the bigger picture. Values-driven, generous, caring, fun. Don’t under-estimate her approachable and informal style; you can be sure that Janet knows her stuff.”Sarah Harvey, Leadership, Culture & Conflict Coach
East Sussex County Council
Interim Project Manager
“Janet was my right hand in the modernisation of the Registration Service in East Sussex. She showed exceptional skills in change management, strategy and vision. She took the staff with her on a very difficult journey. She was so good, I used her again and again and again.”Irene Campbell, Assistant Director, Communities
East Sussex County Council
Personnel Manager and Business Partner
“I worked alongside Janet at East Sussex County Council when she was managing the projects team in what was then the Personnel and Training department. I’m sure the role wasn’t always easy, but working with Janet was a joy. When times are tough, a smile and a good sense of humour go a very long way! Janet had a well-deserved reputation for being a safe pair of hands as a project lead, a supportive line manager, and a dependable colleague.”Tom Elliott, HR Business Analyst
East Sussex County Council
Training & Development Officer and Training Centre Manager
“Janet brings both humour, wisdom and professionalism to her work. She not only delivers to meet the objectives of a project but is flexible and adaptable seeking continuous ways to improve.”Liz Felstead, Head of Corporate Training & Development
St. Richard’s Hospital
Training Officer to Training Manager
“We’ve regraded your role to reflect what you are actually delivering. You’ve gone up two pay grades!”Julie Dodd, HR Director
Selfridges Ltd
Everything from a temp to Training Consultant and a number of management roles along the way
After a month of being a Christmas temp “Will you stay on as a permanent member?”Then three months into that role “Will you be team leader?”And after a year “I’m putting you forward for the management training programme.”
Juliet Quinton, Buyer and Department Manager, Greeting Cards
Dorlann Productions
Professional Dancer
Michou “Would you take a contract in Cairo?”Me “Who will be team leader?”Michou “You!”Michou Dorlann, Director and Choreographer after 6 months of working for her. I was 20!
I hear this style of management quoted often as being great practice; after all, a manager’s job is to coach.
When someone is drowning they don’t need a coach; they need a manager who jumps in.
And I would like to raise an alarm bell. If someone is drowning, they need you to throw a line, or even jump in with them. They don’t need you to coach them to swim.
How Would This Management Policy Work Here?
A few days ago, someone came to speak to me about a very current and desperate issue that they had been struggling with for days. They were at the end of their tether with a problem and were close to tears. If I had said
“and what do you think you should do about that? What are your options? What has worked before?”
I rather suspect that would have finished them off.
They didn’t need coaching. They did need someone to listen but they also needed some help. I wasn’t the expert but I was in a position where I could offer some ideas because I wasn’t the one drowning. I jumped in and offered a life belt. It was just enough to give them some space, take hold of their emotions and see a way through.
So What Is A Great Management Policy?
A manager’s job is to build the environment where individuals can thrive. Sometimes they need telling how to do stuff. Sometimes they absolutely do not. A blanket policy of “don’t come to me with your problems” means you never get to hear about their problems. And that’s not great either. So a policy that decides how you reply before they have spoken is no good. It doesn’t work for them and it doesn’t work for the manager.
Instead, dial up the empathy, listen carefully and then choose the right approach: Tell, Teach, Mentor or Coach. Be the manager that people can come to and get what they need (which may not always be what they want.) You can only do that if you are empathetic enough and flexible enough to choose how to respond.
If you say don’t come to me with problems, what you are saying is “Don’t come to me, particularly when it’s really difficult” and no employee wants to hear that.
You can find other thoughts on great management practice here:
