The leadership journey

Lisa Marie Platske lives on an 86 acre farm in Kentucky and from there runs her own leadership and development company where she offers corporate retreats and works with leaders individually and in groups. Her belief is that most people want health, happiness success and meaning in their lives and that the meaning comes from contribution and the desire to make a bigger difference.

People talk about the idea of ‘bigger than myself’ and originally Lisa’s journey was thinking that leadership was very much tactical - you hire, you fire, you work in culture and change. She recognised over time that leadership is a very personal journey. When one doesn't take that journey personally and it is simply about the tactical there is something missing. When you ask about where does this idea of meaning and making a difference in the other and the group comes from, for her it came when she was interviewing leaders and asking what it was they did to be successful. She thought at the time it was about the tactical but came to recognise that each of the leaders took the journey themselves around planning and understanding their personality and creating partnerships.

Lisa also believes that sense of the collective and almost feeling an emptiness when the focus is solely on the self comes from recognising that we are part of the greater fabric of humanity. We are the behaviours we engage in; in how we think and in the actions we take. When somebody engages in their own leadership journey and comes to this awareness, there is more conversation as people move up that hierarchy of basic needs once those are met.

Lisa developed the 7 Pillars of Leadership from the interviews she did with leaders. Her career had been in Federal law enforcement and she didn’t have any background in business. When she started doing the interviews she wanted a short cut in business. What do the best leaders do?  How do they do it? Can this shorten my learning curve? The 7 Pillars came from themes and all start with the letter Plan, Personality, Partnerships, Priority, Presence, Progress and Personal and Professional Development.

You can find out more about Lisa Marie at www.upsidethinkinking

  You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.
Find out more about our innovative Resilience and Burnout solutions. 

Training and development – just as important for older workers

With the UK government making plans to try to attract the over 50’s back to the workplace, it’s essential that businesses are ready to give older workers more training and development opportunities.

The UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt recently stated there are currently 6.6 million “economically inactive” people in the UK, with one million of those aged between 50 and 64. Whilst getting some of these people back into the workforce may well help reduce the current number of vacancies, a large number of the over 50’s already in the workforce are suffering a form of ageism through a lack of training and development opportunities.

Ceridian’s 2023 Pulse of Talent survey shows that as a worker’s age increases, their chances for workplace learning and development opportunities decreases with 31% of respondents aged 45 – 54 and 54% of those aged 65+ saying they hadn’t received any such opportunities over the last year.

Although employers often assume it’s more important to invest financially in training younger staff, on average older workers stay in their jobs longer which provides an extended period for employers to see a return on the initial cost of training. Additionally, many older workers require training that builds on their existing skill set and this can considerably improve the productivity of experienced staff. There is also the loss of a vast amount of information, both technical and organsiational, that older workers possess so it's a huge missed opportunity if their knowledge and experience isn’t passed on.

There are significant returns for companies that invest in growth opportunities for older employees. These can include greater productivity, higher engagement, and less customer turnover through the stronger business relationships older workers often build. The key to achieving this is to have an inclusive approach that makes the most of training resources and having employees of all ages participating fully in the appraisal programme.

No matter what their age, all employees require learning and development opportunities throughout their working life. As the population’s median age increases so too will the average working life. Its therefore essential that older workers are supported and encouraged to stay in the workforce for their personal growth and for the organisation's success.
 

Upskilling to retain your top talent.

According to the World Economic Forum, by 2025, 50% of employees worldwide will need to be reskilled as the adoption of technology continues, whilst LinkedIn’s ‘2022 Global Trends Report’ reveals that upskilling and development opportunities were top priorities for employees.

As we move into 2023, in the UK economic uncertainty, and a competitive labour market means businesses face an on-going talent shortage. The pandemic changed job requirements and left many people feeling unprepared as businesses quickly reorganised and traditional learning and skills development tried to adapt.

The global labour market is also changing. A report from the McKinsey Global Institute says 14% of the workforce will have to change their careers by 2030. With so many employees looking for new jobs, employers have to be creative in their retention strategy and upskilling is an effective way of retaining top talent in the organisation.

Acquiring new skills or knowledge in order to improve job performance or career opportunities is advantageous to both employers and employees. For employers, identifying skills gaps and then investing in training initiatives to upskill the current team moves the priority to talent development rather than recruitment. This helps the business to remain competitive, increases the efficiency and productivity of the current team, boosts employee motivation and job satisfaction which results in improved employee retention. From an employee perspective, it not only offers the opportunity to develop or learn new skills, but also to increase their value and enable them to take on more responsibility or higher-level, better-paid positions within their organisation.

As we move into 2023, it’s clear that employees need to be prepared for the ‘future of work’ and that businesses will need to be resilient to the economic problems ahead. Upskilling can become an important part of a businesses workforce planning, talent acquisition and retention strategy and those that show a commitment to employee growth and implement better learning and development opportunities will be the ones that attract and retain top workers.

From ladder to leader

Ryan Larson has been a fire fighter for 21 years for the city of Phoenix. When he left high school he didn’t really know what to do with his life so he joined the fire explorer programme. He now feels that not only did it introduce him to the fire service, it also helped to mold him into being a good citizen and human being. Ryan had had some issues when he was growing up. His upbringing had been pretty tough and he wasn’t the best kid .He got involved in street fights but the fire explorer programme helped him to develop into a good leader and a good advocate and voice for his clients in his second career, the financial service sector,

In the emergency services sector people often talk about the physical requirements, the structure, the sense of clarity and knowing what you have to do and your role. But you also have to use your brain. Being a firefighter isn’t just about running into a burning building, it’s about knowing your environment, knowing the structure and what you’re going into. You’re trained to use all your senses  - if you go up to a door and its really hot your senses tell you not to go through it so you have to change tactics. It develops you into someone who is able to use their skills to see the dangers. You’re planning, plotting, analysing and doing major risk management in your head as you walk through a building.

There are other skills the fire service provides in terms of being a leader. Getting out into the community and speaking about fire safety needs good communication skills. When Ryan started out as a young firefighter he didn't have these skills. He had struggled at school and the fire service helped him to articulate his words in both his professional and personal life.

As a firefighter you see a lot. On average there are 10- 15 calls per shift. You can be up all night, suffer from sleep deprivation and then when you come home you have to take care of your family and maybe juggle another career. There is the mental aspect of ‘how do I cope with things’. You can’t just tuck everything under the bed. When you see a lot of traumatic things over the years you can become a little desensitized but you need to talk to people because if you don't lower the wall you put up and show your true feeling that's where the mental struggle is going to happen. You need to talk to people. You see a lot of stuff and you need to share it. If you don't share it you lock it away and then you become a little bitter or angry. As a firefighter you see the worst of people sometimes as well as the best.

Nowadays there is a big push about sharing your feelings but this works differently for men. They talk about things in a different way – when Ryan is talking to his workmates they sometimes use dark humour to get them through sensitive issues. Making fun of things becomes a coping mechanism. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect them, it hurts to see people in their worst moments but you have to have some sort of dialogue. Many conversations take place at the table and are very intimate but they don't go outside the walls. You need to bring some light heartedness to the profession because it’s such a stressful profession especially in these days where a lot of things are going on in the world.

Many firefighters have a second income because being a firefighter does not pay enough.  They make a modest income but there a stability in the fire department with a guaranteed income coming in every two weeks and a pension that be accessed after twenty years service. Even so a lot of firefighters have side hustles because ultimately they are hard workers and just want to supplement living expenses and their lifestyle with more money.

It makes sense to transition into second career whilst you are still involved in your first career – it’s sensible to be getting started earlier rather than later. Ryan took the decision to move into the financial services area – moving from one of the most respected careers to one of the most disliked. Ryan realises there is a shadow over the financial world, that some salespeople are looking out for their best interest rather than their clients. Ryan had always looked after his own investments so his plan was always to exit the fire service and move into the financial sector. Initially he had conversations with his co-workers about his own investments and they became interested and started to ask him to look at their finances so he always had a lot of people watching him. He wasn't your typical salesman who comes in and sells you a mutual fund and then walks out the door and collects the fees. Had an obligation to accumulate their wealth so they could achieve their goals.

Ryan’s started writing his book in 2020 during the pandemic. He wanted to share his story of being resilient and the steps he took to achieve his goals. He hadn’t been a good student but that didn’t limit him from achieving all his goals.

You can find out more about Ryan at http://www.laddertoleaderbook.com where you also find his book Ladder to Leader: My Journey from Failure to Fire to Financial Freedom

You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.
Find out more about our innovative Resilience and Burnout solutions.