Entries with tag leadership .

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Blair McPherson
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18 Nov 2014 - 13:12

null F is for fantsay P is for promotion

The police have been fiddling the crime figures for some time (HMIC report) but in this they are no different to other parts of the public sector. This is what happens when performance targets become the measure of success and the means to promotion.    Performance data is suppose to help managers by prompting the right questions. What are the reasons for variances in... See more
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Blair McPherson
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17 Nov 2014 - 17:14

null Let's work together. Let's not....

Don't really want to work with you but can't say so. Don't really want to be at this meeting but darn't say so. Don't see what's in it for us but better not say so. Don't agree with you but it would prolong the debate to say so. Don't even like you. The this last point may seem unprofessional but in my experience of joint working the biggest factor in determine success is the personal... See more
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Blair McPherson
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10 Nov 2014 - 16:06

null How you make your staff feel?

The leadership road show where senior managers do the rounds talking to large groups of staff has become part of most organisations communication strategy. The senior manager introduces the event and is expected to energise the audience with a short standup routine. By lunch time your audience will have forgotten much of what you said in your speech. When asked by a colleague the next day... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
05 Nov 2014 - 15:34

null Leadership as a contact sport

One public sector chief executive described leadership as a contact sport. This is a slap in the face to those of us whose management style is more about cooperation rather than confrontation. Boxers talk about imposing themselves on their opponents, the use of controlled aggression,having the right people in your corner and we talk of people and organisations punching above their weight.... See more
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Blair McPherson
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28 Oct 2014 - 14:12

null argaret Thatcher was wrong and President Kennedy was right t

Senior managers may wish to Do No Harm ( see previous blog) but in this austere financial climate many simply have to pursue the least worst option. In project management there are three elements that must be balanced quality, time and money. Each element pulls in a different direction so it's impossible to treat all three as a priority so two are pursued at the expense of the... See more
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Blair McPherson
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19 Dec 2014 - 14:33

null Memebership of the 700 club

It’s an exclusive club you don’t want to be a member of. The average tenure of an NHS chief executive is 700 days but the issue of the high turnover of senior managers is a concern across the public sector. A study by consultancy Hoggett Bowers found that the main reasons for chief executive departures included difficulties in personal relationships with their chair or a senior figure in a... See more
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Blair McPherson
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22 Sep 2014 - 12:36

null Are you a team player?

You read it in the job adverts. It appears it the qualities necessary for the post and it's often an interview question. Are you a team player? The honest answer would be no but you say yes. You're good at what you do. You have a track record to back up the claim. You're a leader, you're decisive, determined, persuasive, creative and industrious. When you are in charge the team delivers.... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
17 Sep 2014 - 11:55

null Deputies are Rubbish

One of the few good outcomes of budget cuts and subsequent management restructuring has been getting rid of all those unnecessary management posts, the ones that had deputy or assistant in their title. The ones that seemed to carry status but had no real power. I mean what does the deputy president of the US do or our own deputy prime minister? Likewise what did those assistant chief... See more
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Blair McPherson
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05 Aug 2014 - 12:06

null Hypocrisy and senior management

You won't find many chief executives who will admit to hypocrisy but you will find plenty of their staff who accuse them of it. So it's interesting that  in the recently published top 100 places to work chief executives placed an emphases on values, integrity and business ethics. If chief executives think it is so important why do staff think it so rarely happens and have those in the... See more
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Blair McPherson
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29 Jul 2014 - 11:31

null Why this obsession with leadership?

First we had leaders make the difference, success is based on strong leadership. Then it was no more heroes because the charismatic individual’s insistence on uncritical loyalty can lead you astray. This was followed by the need for leaders at every level in the organisation and for all managers to have leadership skills. Unfortunately all managers didn't want to be leaders and all managers... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
24 Jul 2014 - 11:53

null What to do if offered a "Brush- by".

  You know if you have been given the brush off but should you welcome the opportunity for a "Brush-by" ? In the US they are no longer restricted to official meetings,informal meetings and secret meetings they now also have "Brush-bys". Your chair/boss doesn't want you to give this pressure group the status of a meeting fearing it will be misinterpreted as in some way showing support... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
24 Jul 2014 - 11:52

null The gap between the flash and the bang

  The bright idea is followed by, nothing. To misquote president Bill Clinton being a senior manager is like being in charge of a cemetery you have a lot of bodies underneath you but you can't be sure anyone is listening. He was probably having a bad day with Congress. Truman another US president described this gap between the flash and the bang as ," I sit here all day trying to... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
12 Jul 2014 - 13:08

null The leader as boss

  The boss is another name for your manager. "The Boss" is also how the chief executive is referred to by other senior managers. In his new book "The myth of the strong leader" Archie Brown argues that political leaders are not always the boss. He quotes US president Truman " I sit here all day trying to persuade people to do things they ought to do without my persuading ....". Most... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
12 Jul 2014 - 15:18

null Seek neither heroes nor villains

  A friend drew my attention to a series of personal comments put on face book about a former colleague. The hostile comments had been provoked by an article the individual had written but the criticism wasn't about content, it was personal. The individual was an ex senior manager in the organisation those commenting had all worked for. Despite all concerned having left the... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
12 Jul 2014 - 12:54

null Chopping off Heads

  If you end up in special measures you are expected to do the right thing- resign. If you don't chances are you will be forced out. The board want to appear strong, decisive and determined to act. What simpler way to demonstrate this than by sacking the person in charge. Your offer of resignation may be rejected if the board disagrees with the inspection report's findings or... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
12 Jul 2014 - 12:54

null Can you be too good?

  Its tempting to think it doesn't happen in the public sector because we are nice people but do people recent success? Do colleagues feel threatened by someone who has just arrived and starts raising the bar, hits targets with apparent ease, races up the league table and does it whilst delivering efficiency savings and budget cuts? Do colleagues in other departments fear they are... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
12 Jul 2014 - 15:08

null The changing officer member relationship

  "Unfortunately this is unlikely to be acceptable to the politicians". The interim  director was quoting from my report. "This is exactly what I am talking about". The tone was sever and accusatory  but not  address to me but to her senior management team. " Officers seem to think they know better than members, they are forgetting they were not the ones elected. This is... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
12 Jul 2014 - 15:39

null Pushed off the glass cliff

  Women in senior management are more likely than men to be sacked or forced out. The frequency with which this happens has been recognised by a new corporate phrase "pushed off the glass cliff".  Researchers at the global management company Strategy& found that women are forced out of chief executive positions more than a third of the time , while only a quarter of men in a... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
12 Jul 2014 - 12:54

null Over managed or over stretched?

  There is a reason why there are more management posts in the public sector and it's nothing to do with bureaucracy or inefficiency. The new leader of the council was fond of making comparisons from his background in industry " over managers and under occupied". He had no doubt that an easy and relatively uncontroversial way to save money was to cut one in five management posts. It... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
12 Jul 2014 - 15:32

null How do you follow a great leader

  Following some one who has failed  is not so difficult. You distance your self ," my priorities are not  the same , I don't do things that way, my management style is different as are my methods, I will listen more, I appreciate the need to take people with me, I understand the history and sensitivities." Following on from a success story is more difficult. Do you simply do... See more
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