Strategic leadership and culture
Why is there so much talk and focus on leadership and culture in organisations? Rather than provide the answer, I will ask another question: what happens when people in a team fully understand what the organisation, department, and their team is trying to achieve and what their contribution is – now and in the future?
What happens when they understand what is expected of them and how they know whether they have been successful or not? Or when they have done a good job, and feel recognised for what they do and achieve? When they know what is happening around them, have a real voice and feel listened to and invested in? When they know what support is available to them to develop their skills, abilities and careers?
The answer to all these questions is twofold. First, there is a clear organisational culture which is lived through the values and behaviours of the company and directly supports what the organisation wants to achieve.
Secondly, the organisation has the right leaders in the right jobs with the right skills to engage, inspire and motivate their team by acting as a role model and having a relentless focus on achieving results that matter.
At Orbit, we have put culture and leadership centre stage of the transformation of our organisation. We have set u the Orbit Academy, to focus on the development of our leaders, people and organisation.
Tony Williams is director of organisational development at Orbit
Recruitment
Effective recruitment is the key to transforming the shape and culture of an organisation. This all stems from the original question: why do we need this job? If an organisation cannot answer this fundamental question, you won't get the right people through the door in the first place. So how do we change that?
You should be clear about how any new role fits into what the organisation wants to achieve, not just now but in the longer term. Ask yourself, how can this role fit in an ever-changing business?
We align our new roles to our business plan and transformation programmes taking us to 2020, and beyond. It is vital that we have our prospective new colleagues meet not just meet the technical requirements of the position but more importantly fit the culture, values and ethos of Orbit.
All new staff members are taken on this journey. This has the added benefit of developing staff that are loyal, believe in what we are achieving, are receptive to change and embrace all new challenges as a development opportunity rather than perceiving this as a roadblock.
Stuart MacLean is assistant HR business partner at Orbit
What is "great" learning and development?
What makes a member of staff "great" is a question we are still trying to fully answer. But we do know that learning and development is central to the creation of a customer culture, to successful leadership at all levels, to the development of high performing teams and individuals across the organisation, and ultimately to success.
Good learning and development must focus on looking at people as individuals, their preferred learning styles, their personalities and their own personal development.
We need to understand what our employees want to make our development programmes great. We need to all kinds of learning activities from coaching and mentoring to secondments, talent management, knowledge sharing and real life problem solving so that the lessons learned become embedded in day-to-day work.
What is it our staff want to develop on a personal, rather than work, level? If we try and move some way towards meeting their aspirations, the payback in terms of morale, staff engagement and ultimate contribution to organisational success is significant.
The most important figure to encourage and support the development of individuals are your line managers. They are the ones who can facilitate learning by seeing the potential in their staff, listen and provide direction and encourage personal development in both themselves and others.
Dawn Stockmar is a assistant director of Orbit
This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. Join the housing network for best practice and the latest career advice direct to your inbox
