Leading to 2012

“The leader of the past knows how to tell; the leader of the future will know how to ask.” Peter Drucker

Today we ran a special workshop on Leading to 2012, which focused on what are the issues for 2012 and how can we help. The Olympics coming to Weymouth & Portland will provide new and exciting challenges for local businesses. While some are embracing this opportunity, many are not. The question is what is stopping them taking advantage and being prepared? You might say it is ages away, but it is 770 days (as of 17^th June). That is not long in forward planning. Teams are already arriving to train.

It will be like an economic tsunami hitting the area and will create enormous challenges. Good leadership will be necessary to meet these. The opportunities are not just financial ones. It is a time to show case to the world.  There is the chance to get involved in the community, take pride in Dorset and Britain’s achievements, and improve the health and well being of your team. Productivity increases when we have sporting success. (Here’s hoping for the World Cup, F1 and Wimbledon then!)

We plan to offer a Leading to 2012 Focus Group to provide regular monthly meetings for business leaders to come together to help each other address real work based issues; using quality questions rather than advising or telling. At this morning’s meeting, two issues were addressed and actions agreed. We look forward to hearing the outcomes. Some of the learning was

• I need to stay focused
• Make small changes and not try to do too much at once
• It is very easy to tell rather than ask
• The quality of the question determines the quality of the answer
• It’s good to get new perspectives. You can get too close to the issue, which clouds your reasoning
• Establishing success criteria can help define the issue
• It’s good to involve others and OK to ask for help.

To find out more about the Focus Group and how it can benefit you, please contact us.