SAISC LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
Hylton Gudmanz is an Executive Coach and Strategy Implementation Consultant, based in Johannesburg and active throughout Africa. He is passionate about effective leadership and agile growth in challenging times. He has a Masters degree in Personal and Professional Leadership from the University of Johannesburg and his undergraduate B. A. focussed on cross-cultural communication( isiXhosa, English and Psychology). Hylton has worked with leaders from Sasol, Saint Gobain Construction, Alstom( Actom), Hitachi, PPC( Cimerwa), Bombela and across multiple other industries. He equips leaders and their teams for the 21st Century connected work environment and hosts the( Pan-African) School of Coaching with IDM Business School.
The book is called Getting Naked( bit. ly / 1OhQIEM) and the process is, yes, about as comfortable for some people as being forced to part with their clothing in public.
Revealing true emotions and making a stand can, at times, be career-limiting or at least disruptive. But robust dialogue enhances team collaboration and innovation, if the“ safety net” of the team culture is authentically supportive. The case for“ vulnerability”( allowing“ kryptonite” near you at times) is simple: the more we share, the more we are trusted. If others know what our thoughts are, they will likely include us and share their own ideas, issues and“ intuition”. John F. Kennedy was the“ perfect president”, but was losing popularity. When he failed with the Bay of Pigs initiative, and took responsibility for this, his popularity... improved! The people responded to his vulnerability with greater support!
Responsiveness is another worthwhile“ weapon”. It means communicating your vision, expectations and boundaries clearly and listening more, asking more( as opposed to telling), and making more of an effort to understand the team’ s expectations and perspectives, and adapt the plans accordingly. If you also commit to protect your team, and give them good“ PR”, you will sustain morale effectively, through“ outsider” interference, isolation( from failure or client loss) and other hurdles. It all starts today. It may surface as the opportunity to greet a stranger, a question that demonstrates listening, an expression of interest in the work someone is doing or a safety concern on a project. It could be a chance to publicly recognise a job well done.
These“ VUCA moments” make a difference, and Clark Kent had to learn these by becoming a journalist and being in a team, so that he could serve the world. He needed a mentor or coach, too, as we all do from time to time. If we are open to constantly adapt and learn, we will earn trust and a powerful reputation and we will thrive, not just survive, in this VUCA world.
Here’ s to you, Manager of Steel!
Steel Construction Vol. 40 No. 2 2016 27