16 | Engaging your Front line Staff in Organisations

11/05/18 • 33 min

Paul has worked in internal communications for over 20 years - by his own admission, "that was back when internal communications was still a new thing".

He started his career in Barclays where he worked in a number of roles before continuing his career in the Insurance sector with the Prudential, and in mobile telecoms with T-Mobil / EE. He then returned to financial services with RBS to work for the general insurance business before it was floated on the stock market as Direct Line Insurance.

Most recently he was with Rolls-Royce, with a brief to unify people under a new narrative, vision and strategy.

Show Notes:

Paul has worked in internal communications for over 20 years - by his own admission, "that was back when internal communications was still a new thing".

Most recently he was with Rolls-Royce, with a brief to unify people under a new narrative, vision and strategy.

Show Notes:

Previous Episode

15 | How to Own being an Effective Leader

Sean held a number of positions at Smurfitt Graduate School of business over his 20-year career there. Most recently he was Director of Marketing, a role he held for 11 years until he retired in 2015. Prior to joining Smurfitt he was Director of Marketing at BUPA Ireland where he was involved in its launch in 1996. He also had significant experience in the food sector having served as a GM and Marketing Director in Waterford Foods (now Glanbia).

When it comes to leadership, he saw the good, the bad and the ugly through his 50-year career.

Show Notes:

1.02 – Sean and his career journey – 1.56 – Good and great leaders – 2.41 – Clarity of purpose is critical – 4.36 – Education is creating better (but perhaps inexperienced) leaders – 5.31 – Leaders sometimes have to make tough calls – 8.41 – Your people know more about customers than you do – 10.01 - Connection to strategy and strategic planning – 12.16 – Creating engaging teams – 13.22 – Management by walking about – 15.41 – Don’t tell lies! – 18.11 – Avoiding reputational impact – 20.11 – Leading through change –23.31 – Sean’s leadership role models – 26.46 –Sean’s advice for his 20-year-old self – know what you don’t know.

Next Episode

17 | Shining Light on Issues as A Leader

"Sometimes, your job as a leader is to illuminate corners that people aren’t looking in"

Two years ago Jeff, and his wife Mindi, co-founded Caselden Consulting to focus on the people side of the business, something they're both passionate about. Today they work with companies large and small, in Ireland and further afield, to coach leaders and help teams to be the best they can be.

Prior to this, Jeff spent 18 years in Amazon where he worked in a number of different divisions before coming to Ireland in 2008. In the years since then, he worked in a number of roles, most recently as General Manager where he grew the business from 300 to 1,300 employees.

Key Points:

Trust, Openness, Honesty

It's not about having all the answers

Vulnerability, failure and taking risks

Nurturing culture during growth

Show Notes:

50s – A bit about Jeff and his career – 6.20 – Trust, Openness, Honesty are central to great leaders – 8.10 – Being great isn’t about having all the answers – 9.00 – Diversity is key and the challenge is GOOD – 9.50 – Vulnerability, failure and taking risks - 12.30 – Protecting culture during growth – Amazon Leadership principles – 16.40 – Baking values, principles, purpose and vision into everything is key – 17.30 – Five things leaders need to do during change – 21.50 – Importance of communications and listening – 22.40 – Thoughts on Leaders’ role in engagement – 24.30 – Big surveys with no actions just piss people off – 25.50 – Is too much dialogue a risk? – 28.10 – Jeff’s leadership role models – 32.50 – Jeff’s Leadership advice for himself