Maverick Mastery®

A shortage in graduate positions this summer means that newly qualified graduates must break the ‘Lazy Generation Y Stereotype’ and fight to prove their worth in a rapidly shrinking graduate job market, warns leadership specialists at Dynamic Transitions.

Following on from reports that many students may end up graduating and going straight onto the dole queue due to a lack of available jobs, Dynamic Transitions’ MD Judith Germain is urging graduates to wake up to the fact that they need to radically revise their approach to job applications and interviews if they are to stand a chance of gaining employment in the current economic climate.

“Graduates need to be realistic in the jobs that they seek, as they already face scepticism in their ability to achieve by employers who believe that they only have academic knowledge and little experience. There is also a long standing belief that graduates academic knowledge is inferior to previous years and that graduates are lazy, under skilled and difficult to manage”, explains Germain.

Germain, a specialist in the differences between Generation X and Generation Y workers, believes that new graduates will fall victim to the negative connotations associated with Generation Y employees, which is why they need to work harder to prove their worth and their value to the business.

“There is a distinct clash of culture between the X & Y generations. At the moment ‘Y’ are generally ‘the workforce’, with ‘X’ or ‘Baby Boomers’ being ‘the managers’. Managers, especially ‘Baby Boomers’ think employees should do long hours at work and put the needs of the business above all else. Generation Y employees believe that their work can be done without spending hours at work and at a time that is convenient to them. Generation Y are used to studying whilst accessing digital or social media technology like IPods, Facebook, Instant Messaging and multiple ‘windows’ on their computers in the name of multi tasking. This leads them to believe that it’s essential to do many things at once in order to concentrate and therefore complete tasks. For example, Generation Y employees cannot understand why they can’t sit at their desk listening to their Ipod whilst they work, but to attempt to do this will lead to disciplinary action by the typical Baby Boomer or Generation X manager”, explains Germain.

“Things are moving faster and more dynamically than in the past and the cycle of change in business is nearer two years than the ten years that it used to be. Graduates need to show future employers that they are flexible, willing to work their way up and are good potential employees. They need to show employers that they are more interested in the business than they are in themselves”, adds Germain.

Judith Germain is founder of Dynamic Transitions Ltd, a leadership company specialising in dealing with Mavericks in the workplace and Troublesome Talent®. For more information visit www.developing-leadership.com

Baby Boomers facing the choice of either early retirement on good pension plans or struggling through a recession where they are not appreciated or valued by their younger bosses; are likely to take the initiative and leave employment now. Thus leaving a huge skills gap in an already unstable market, warns talent management specialists at Dynamic Transitions.

According to Dynamic Transitions MD Judith Germain, organisations are increasingly realising that younger managers lack the experience and skills to effectively guide their staff through a recession, causing disgruntled baby boomers, who don’t see any benefit in working harder than they have to, opting to leave the workforce completely. Germain warns that this will leave a glaring hole in key positions across core business functions and predicts that many companies will now be facing the prospect of suddenly losing expertise and strategic direction at a time when it is needed the most.

“Younger managers and employees who face working in a recession for the first time can suffer from a lack of confidence and the key skills required to enable their employers to succeed. The reality is that this isn’t likely to be a short recession and there will be ripple effect across the industry for several years at least. These managers may have been more than capable in good times but now the pressure is on, many are finding that they simply don’t have the knowledge and experience to effectively manage and guide an increasingly unnerved workforce and experience shows that the best staff tend to be the first to jump ship if not managed effectively”, says Germain.

Germain argues that the need for effective Talent Management is becoming the most critical requirement for companies who wish to remain in business during the recession, as the lack of short term financial rewards and benefits diminishes, placing a greater emphasis on job satisfaction and a feeling of value. Germain also believes that the implementation of longer-term reward packages would help retain senior talent, a view mirrored by CIPD president Vicky Wright at yesterday’s CIPD Annual Conference.

“Companies need to invest in effective talent management programmes and leadership initiatives that are innovative and creative for the current times and encourage more experienced and senior staff to sign up for the long haul. Those that can achieve this are more likely to succeed and retain the key talent necessary to remain robust in these difficult times”, says Germain.

Judith Germain is founder of Dynamic Transitions Ltd, a leadership company specialising in managing Troublesome Talent®. For further information or to find out more about Dynamic Transitions visit www.developing-leadership.com or telephone +44 (0) 208 288 0512.

Generation X employees need to educate unruly generation Y employees on the appropriateness of using social networking sites in light of revelations that employees at Waitrose and Tesco have been publicly posting insulting comments about their customers on social networking site Facebook, says Talent Management specialist Judith Germain.

As Waitrose becomes the latest high street chain to fall victim to the widespread visibility of their disgruntled employees via their unreserved comments on Facebook. Dynamic Transitions MD Judith Germain believes that Generation Y employees aren’t intentionally trying to tarnish the brand’s reputation, but simply don’t realise the consequences of their actions online, which for many, is an integral part of their day to day lives.

“Whilst Generation X and Baby Boomers know instinctively that conversations in public forums that involve their employers is a bad idea, Generation Y do not have that belief and struggle to understand the effect on their employer’s brand and the consequences that their actions may bring to their careers”, explains Germain, who specialises in managing Troublesome Talent® in the workplace.

Germain believes that employers must act now by educating their Generation Y employees on how to behave appropriately online and by providing ‘safe havens’ for them to express their views and vent frustrations in a controlled environment and away from the public eye, if they want to maintain staff loyalty and customer satisfaction during a particularly difficult trading period.

“Organisations should consider providing a place internally where staff can have ‘conversations’ with each other in a social networking environment which is away from public scrutiny, however, these kind of solutions must be thought through carefully in terms of how they are implemented and how much intervention or moderation they want to provide. The legal implications of getting it wrong can be quite adverse to a business, although getting it right can bring radical results”, adds Germain.

Dynamic Transitions is a leadership company specialising in managing Troublesome Talent®. You can download their free whitepaper ‘Harnessing Maverick Talents’ at www.developing-leadership.com/whitepapers.html For further information or to find out more about Dynamic Transitions visit www.developing-leadership.com or telephone +44 (0) 208 288 0512.

Recession-stricken employees across the country are set to see more innovative and dynamic initiatives from organisations as they battle to motivate and retain their workforce during the recession, says talent management specialist Judith Germain.

With Tesco leading the way in employee engagement with their new monthly talent competition designed to increase footfall into stores and in turn boost employee morale, Dynamic Transitions MD Judith Germain says that companies have realised that their old methods simply aren’t effective in the current climate and now need to be more innovative in how they motivate and retain their most talented employees.

Germain says “with morale falling and companies predicted to be unable to pay bonuses or increase pay there is an increased risk of employee flight amongst the top performing employees. Tesco may have got the balance right with their latest talent show initiative as this could have the double effect of both increasing customer sales and employee’s sense of partnership with the company”.

However, alongside implementing new employee engagement programmes, Germain, who specialises in dealing with Troublesome Talent®, believes that there is perhaps an even more critical need for companies to ensure that their management teams have the right skills to lead the company during this difficult time and in particular their most talented employees.

“Only 20% of most workforces contain the top talent, yet it is these unconventional thinkers that drive companies forward and can provide real competitor advantage and first mover status. Often customers and clients love their flexibility and their unique ability to sense what is needed and what enables them to get close to the customer’s need in a way that their competitors struggle to”, says Germain.

“The problem is that many managers, particularly Generation X-ers, have not had enough relevant experience to manage in these changeable times and it is this lack of ability that is having a disastrous effect on morale and productivity. In our experience poor management is more prevalent at these times, and is often the main cause of such company disharmony that even with the best employee engagement programmes, companies could find it hard to recover”, adds Germain.

Judith Germain is founder of Dynamic Transitions, a leadership company specialising in dealing with Mavericks in the workplace and Troublesome Talent®. For more information visit www.developing-leadership.com

Despite the word ‘Maverick’ being banned by a leading State University for its continued over-use during the past twelve months, the economy is actually dangerously short of real Mavericks and the emergence of Generation Y employees is set to make this situation even worse, according to leading talent management expert Judith Germain.

Following the 34th release of Lake Superior State University’s annual List of Words to Be Banished and the playful inclusion of ‘Maverick’ for its overuse by John McCain in the US Presidential Campaign, Dynamic Transitions MD Germain believes that joking aside, the time has come to redefine what being a Maverick actually means, and why it is good for business.

“McCain coined the word ‘Maverick’ in his campaign speeches but clearly missed the full scope of what being a Maverick actually means in a business context. I define Maverick as wilful independence and ‘Maverickism’ can actually be found on a continuum from the conformist right through to extreme maverick tendencies”, explains Germain.

“A maverick personality is one which is wilfully independent at all times and in all circumstances. They are keen to make their mark and do things their way and often blaze innovation and lateral thinking to the projects and problems that they are working on. They often exasperate the people around them and peers can feel that they can’t keep up or hurt if an objective comment from a maverick is delivered in their usual blunt and brutally honest way”, explains Germain.

Germain believes that having maverick tendencies as opposed to having a maverick personality, is when the CEO or business owner is wilfully independent in their business dealings only.

Germain believes that the real advantage can be gained by those who can achieve Maverick Mastery® which is about being talented and different and being able to blend knowledge and skills for business success.

“When mavericks are running their business they do things in a way that is different to the rest of their industry, they take risks that other CEOs shirk at, and push harder and seek challenges that others feel are ‘insane’. This can be good for business especially if the CEO can harness their maverick nature”, says Germain.

Germain also believes that more Generation Ys need to adopt maverick tendencies if they want to stand out from their peers in an increasingly competitive environment. “Generation Y employees are already at a disadvantage in the current recession due to a difference in their values and work ethics, meaning they are often seen as lazy and unwilling to put in the extra time and effort that Generation X managers see as a given. Finding out what it means to really be a maverick and adapting those tendencies at work will give Generation Y employees real leverage and help them to secure their place in the business”, explains Germain.

Judith Germain is founder of Dynamic Transitions, a leadership company specialising in dealing with Mavericks in the workplace and Troublesome Talent. For more information visit www.maverick-mastery.com

If you liked this post you may wish to share it on Twitter by clicking here.

Despite years of flexible working and child friendly policies, women are still struggling to reach the boardroom and the proposed Equality Bill may make this rise to power even harder to achieve, according to leadership experts at Dynamic Transitions.

Under the proposed Equality Bill, designed to bring together nine major laws and over 100 regulations, companies will be free to discriminate in favour or women, however Dynamic Transitions MD Judith Germain believes that this in fact will do more harm than good when it comes to supporting career progression for women.

Non-parents may feel they have to pick up the slack from parents who are working more favourable hours

“The proposed changes allowing positive discrimination of women and the right to request flexible working for parents of children under the age of 16 will in fact make it harder not easier for women to climb the career ladder. This will be especially true for those in management positions or who work in smaller businesses”, says Germain.

Germain believes that the bill is likely to cause resentment from other employees as it gives entitlement to some people and not others. Non-parents for example might like flexible working and may believe that they will have to pick up the slack from parents who are working more favourable hours.

Germain also believes that managers may perceive that they are being forced to pamper to the whims of parents, a sentiment mirrored by Sir Alan Sugar earlier this year when he warned that current equality laws were ‘counter productive to women’ and would make it harder for women to get jobs.

“Whilst the new bill is designed to boost the proportion of female staff into senior positions, this doesn’t then remove the barriers once they are there. There may be a potential backlash from other employees who feel that women in senior positions don’t deserve to be in the position they are in and are only there because of their gender. As a result, they will receive little respect from the employees they should be managing, something which will be extremely detrimental to their success in the organisation and could put their future career at risk”, explains Germain.

Dynamic Transitions is a leadership company specialising in managing Troublesome Talent®. For further information or to find out more about Dynamic Transitions visit www.developing-leadership.com or telephone +44 (0) 208 288 0512.

Organisations are failing to see learning and development issues as a key strategic priority and as a result are preparing the business for a future without adequately trained management, according to specialists at leadership development company Dynamic Transitions.

In response to the release of the CIPD Research Insight – Supporting, accelerating and directing learning implications for trainers report, Dynamic Transitions MD Judith Germain spoke out at the failure of senior management to take accountability for learning and development of employees and highlighted the need for employees to take responsibility for their own learning.

According to the CIPD report, 60% of HR managers believe that top managers do not see learning, training and development activities as strategic and Germain argues “it is the senior management’s responsibility to ensure that strategy is clear so the whole organisation can work towards common objectives, and that any investment in training is closely aligned to the organisation’s talent management programme”.

And with 52% of HR managers believing that employees do not take ownership for their learning, Germain suggests that it is the responsibility of both managers and employees to make sure that the right skills are available within the workforce, if the organisation is to survive.

“It is increasingly important that employees ensure that they are employable as well as recruitable and to do this they need to be continuously learning and taking responsibility for their learning – if not they will soon find themselves on the redundancy list”, warns Germain, who fears that some of the most talented employees may be unnecessarily lost amidst the surge of job losses rippling through the country as the credit crunch continues.

“The future of any organisation depends on the development and retention of its most talented employees and senior management need to realise that learning, training and development are absolutely critical in preparing their most talented employees for their future roles within the business”, adds Germain.

You can find out more about managing talented employees by downloading ‘Understanding Mavericks in the Workplace’ from www.developing-leadership.com/leadership-whitepapers.html. For further information or to find out more about Dynamic Transitions visit www.developing-leadership.com.

UBS will struggle to retain its top talent under its new no bonus pay structure, and may see its most valuable employees leave or poached by others companies as their trust and loyalty wavers, warn HR experts at Leadership Company Dynamic Transitions.

Experts at Dynamic Transitions predict that the new bonus structure, including the introduction of the new ‘maluses’, where bonuses can be cancelled out completely if targets are not met, is likely to spell further trouble for the struggling bank, and will not just affect the poor performing employees as intended, but also the top performers too.

“Mavericks tend to be the most talented individuals in the company and are not motivated by money. For them, it is not the withdrawal of the bonus that is the issue, but the way it appears to have been imposed. Mavericks by nature are incredibly loyal, and the concept of being rewarded in the good times and not the bad is in keeping with their work ethic, as they will do all they can to see the business survive through troubled times”, explains Judith Germain, MD of Dynamic Transitions and founder of Maverick Mastery™.

Germain believes that bank’s plans to recapture so-called ‘undeserved bonuses’ and to retain bonuses in special holding accounts for up to five years will be disastrous for the morale and motivation of their employees and will simply encourage their most talented employees to leave the organisation.

“Mavericks are wilfully independent people who typically thrive on autonomy, trust and doing what they believe is right. The new scheme will not sit well with these individuals and may well prompt them to look elsewhere, leaving UBS with the prospect of facing a talent shortage in the immediate future. And in crisis times, the last thing you need to be worrying about is losing your best talent”, adds Germain.

You can find out more about managing talented employees by downloading ‘Understanding Mavericks in the Workplace’ from www.developing-leadership.com/leadership-whitepapers.html. For further information or to find out more about Dynamic Transitions visit www.developing-leadership.com.

Organisations experiencing a plunge in employee morale and productivity due to fear of redundancy need to take radical action by demanding that senior management take a more active front line role to help rebuild confidence and loyalty, says the MD of leadership consultancy Dynamic Transitions.

The leadership specialist is urging leaders to take action now to prevent their most valuable employees from moving on to new positions due to their lack of confidence in job security, and says that ‘this is one of the effect’s of country’s mass cull of jobs, and it will continue to ripple through organisations for at least the next 12-18 months”.

“The inherent danger in a credit crunch situation is that the good employees get enticed away in their search for job security, leaving the organisation in a very vulnerable position when it comes to driving the business forward”, explains Germain, a former Head of HR with over a decade of experience in managing the strategic and operational running of the businesses in a number of industries.

“With so much negativity in the air, employees often feel like they are going to be the last one’s to know what’s going on within their organisation, and so try to predict what is going to happen, often making assumptions based on inaccurate or irrelevant information. When there has been internal redundancies, good employees are even more likely to come to the conclusion that they’d better hedge their bets by leave before they are pushed”, says Germain.

Dynamic Transitions has devised a simple 6 point plan for leaders looking to drive employees forward during the credit crunch, suggesting that a very simple internal communications delivered by good managers who can empathise and engage with their employees, whilst continuing to provide valuable and morale enhancing training, will be the making of many organisations over the coming 12-18 months.

“Employees just need to know what is going on and feel like they are involved in the future of the business. Leaders need to think of this period as a time for reflection and focus. Employees need to see that the organisation isn’t just sitting back and admitting defeat but is fighting to build its position in the marketplace and that the team is a core part of the organisation’s future. If employees know that the business wants to survive, and they can see their role in determining its future, they are more likely to want to do all they can to save it”, says Germain.

You can download your free ‘six point plan to keeping talented employees during the credit crunch’ from www.developing-leadership.com/leadership-whitepapers.html. For further information or to find out more about Dynamic Transitions visit www.developing-leadership.com.

The proposed end to Britain’s opt-out of the 48-hour working week could have disastrous consequences for businesses in the UK, who are currently surviving on the goodwill of employees who work extra hours to survive the credit crunch, warn specialists at leadership consultancy Dynamic Transitions.

According to the Surrey-based consultancy firm, many employees and especially managers are working in excess of 48 hours simply to help keep the business afloat and their jobs intact. If they are unable to continue, businesses will have no choice but to raise the cost of their services or hire additional staff, neither of which will sit well in an economy heading towards recession.

The announcement from Brussels comes at the same time as reports by Friends Provident, which suggest that employees are more prone to illness and stress than they were three years ago and that many already put at least seven hours of unpaid overtime in a week or work two jobs. Germain believes the move to reducing the amount of paid overtime available to staff, particularly in ‘blue collar’ jobs such as production or retail will result in even more stress as their ability to earn much needed extra income is slashed.

“Companies may find themselves in a situation where they can’t give staff overtime because they have already worked their 48 hours. This is likely to cause added strain on businesses who may then put pressure on employees to work even harder in less time, resulting in a dramatic fall in morale and an increase in costs if these staff then go sick”, explains Judith Germain, MD of Dynamic Transitions.

But office workers will be hit too, as Germain warns that the biggest issue facing businesses will be managing the performance of high achievers or ‘mavericks’ who enjoy the buzz of working hard and achieving their goals, even if it means working long hours.

“In the UK it is common place to work long hours, its part of our culture and its why most offices, especially in The City, expect staff to be available beyond the traditional ‘working day’. With the option of overtime (paid or unpaid) potentially taken away from them, ‘mavericks’ can become more disruptive and despondent, and this in itself will have a huge knock on effect on the business if they are not managed appropriately”, says Germain.

Dynamic Transitions is a leadership company specialising in managing Troublesome Talent. You can download their free whitepaper ‘Harnessing Maverick Talents’ at www.developing-leadership.com/whitepapers.html For further information or to find out more about Dynamic Transitions visit www.developing-leadership.com or telephone +44 (0) 208 288 0512.