Find your why and develop your leadership with Dyfrig Jenkins | AHDT S1#9

An experienced business coach with a specialist offering across many key industries providing solutions to organisations based on their individual requirements.
Insightful, creative and passionate, Dyfrig partners with organisations, establishes target objectives and creates a roadmap for end to end delivery and evaluation.

Dyfrig has led operational teams and Learning & Development functions, so has first-hand experience of the pressures and rewards of leading in business. He has the ability to work at operational, tactical and strategic levels, influencing stakeholders up to board level.

Dyfrig's half dozen things are;

1. Be clear on WHY you are doing what you are doing

• What do you want to get out of it personally and professionally? Why? What will it give you? Independence, autonomy, more opportunity to make a difference - a comfortable retirement?

 

• When clear on your Why….Business is about technical competence and management - but if you want to be a leader, you have to learn to lead (self-employed or employed) 

 

• Before, we relied on Knowledge and Skills, as a leader its helpful / essential to focus on Behaviours, Judgement and Perception 

 

• 70 businesses an hour are created in the UK  - but 29% go under in Yr1 and 60% go under by Yr3, much due to a lack of managerial competence and understanding what it takes to be an effective leader 

 

• There are hundreds of quotes about leadership and many explanations - leaders today do need to think role modelling the behaviours their want to see developing EQ, learn about accountability, authenticity, humility, confidence, being able to inspire and influence through positivity and 'can do'. 

 

2. Surround yourself with the best people available - at a price you can afford 

• You probably deserve the place you've worked hard to get

 

• Leaders (those who are stepping up, or who have been in role a while) need to draw on all their skills, but we all have areas that we are not so good at. So ask for help and advice (it can often cost nothing) from people you know and trust; or pay for services such as finance, marketing, HR when you need too

 

• This will allow you to focus on doing what you are good at  - your 'Why'

 

• Employ the best people you can, not just the first ones you find. The best companies have the best people, you might not be able to pay a huge salary, but it has to be competitive - and remember great people don't just work for a salary

 

• Remember that you can employ great people on contacts / part time -  too, be creative 

 

3. Be Customer Centric 

• Your business or organisation is nothing without customers - know who your ideal customers are then go out and get them

 

• 2020 survey suggest that 25.9% of customers prefer excellent service, even if it means paying more. 59.9% of customers want a balance of price and service. 14.2% of customers prefer no frills service

 

• Today's customers want a great experience (all touch points) They want you handle complaints well, they want you to care about them, they want you to be  ethical, they want to know they can trust you

 

• Be willing to adapt to changing customer needs and expectations - if you won't they'll just go somewhere else - customers aren't always loyal

 

• You won't get it right all of the time, but it's critical to learn from what you do well and where you are failing.

 

4. Communicate 

• Communication is about receiving information and transmitting it. Listening is a more difficult skill than talking

 

• A 2019 survey suggest that up to 2/3 of 1,000 people would consider leaving their employer based on poor communication alone

 

• Listen to your customers, your people, your suppliers and others. Ask for feedback - even though you might not like what you hear or read

 

• Talk and engage people; tell stories, share your vision, your standards, successes and frustrations. Engage and role model excellence.  

 

• For leaders who spend all day in meetings / in their office, get out more and be present. It can be more important and productive

 

5. Learn to develop yourself and others  

• The book by Marshal Goldsmith ‘What got you here, won't get you there’ talks about unconscious annoying habits

 

• It's easy for leaders to be absorbed in the day to day operation, it's common for leaders to think there isn't time formal or informal learning

 

• Successful leaders have mentors / coaches, critical friends willing to support / challenge

 

• Successful leaders are the ones who are working on their business, not just in it

 

• Learning is often difficult and it often takes time. We spent years in formal education, we might have then gone to College or University, but what has happened since?

 

• “The best investment you can make is in yourself. The more you learn, the more you earn” Warren Buffett (net worth $88 billion)

 

• If we stop learning and improving our knowledge skills and behaviours, we aren't plateauing, we are declining when compared to peers and our competitors

 

• You people need to be constantly development too. How robust are your induction processes? How to you measure performance? How do you help your people succeed (not fail)?

 

• As your business grows, you will need to delegate work to others, if they are not capable of doing the work, you won't   ever be able to let anything go - a major failing of leaders and you'll end up doing it all. And  there aren't enough hours in the day for that.

 

6. Be flexible 

• A recent survey stated that up to 62% of employees were willing to leave their employer based on its flexibility

 

• Some people might think this may be influenced by Millennials and their need for a more progressive workplace, however in this report; of the people willing to leave their employer, 21% were Millennials and 31% were Baby Boomers

 

• Our experience in 2020 has shown us is that Flexibility can happen in many businesses and organisations. Some people can't wait to go back to the traditional way of working, some will want to date and home and in between there will be many variations. This could work better for you as a leader and for your people too

 

• Flexibility isn't just about working processes and practices, it's a mindset - be open to change, being open to changing your mind